Devising A Scheme To Stop The Read-Option Will Be An Offseason Priority For The Falcons
Last week we learned that Packer coach Mike McCarthy was sending his defensive staff down to Texas A&M to figure out a way to stop the read-option offense. Now Falcons coach Mike Smith is saying that figuring out ways to play against the read-option is going to be one of the Falcons’ offseason priorities as well. So is the read-option the latest gimmick and just another Wildcat, or is it here to stay? Only time will tell. From the the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
The Falcons’ defensive coaches will spend a lot of time this offseason coming up with a better plan to stop read-option offenses. In the playoffs against Seattle and San Francisco, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan didn’t adjust from his scheme that left a void that was exploited by tights ends Zach Millier, Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker. “I think all defensive coaches . . . will spend time this offseason on it,” Smith said. “I know that our coaching staff is going to spend a whole lot of time on it because it could be the wave of the future,” Smith said. “I’m not saying that it will be, but that it could be. More and more college teams are running that style of offense and you’re going to have to be prepared to play it. “We are going to play it again next year. We are playing the NFC West and we play it twice in our division. It’s something that we want to make sure that we have a very good understanding of.”
