I'm not sure where you are going with this. Are you maintaining that the reason NFL teams do not run option offenses is because they cannot find QB to run them? Could Tony Romo or Patton Manning run an option offense and make it through the season? Most likely not. Someone like McFadden could though. The current type athlete used as QB in the NFL is not suited to run the option every down. That's because the option doesn't work and teams don't run it so there is no reason to carry option QB's on the roster.
NFL defenses are faster, meaner and more experienced at delivering hits. It's really that simple. Whether the QB pitches the ball or not, he's going to take a huge hit. And even if he's Walter Payton-sweetness, he's still going to take some big hits. BY DESIGN. It works in highschool and NCAA because the defenses aren't skilled/fast enough IN EVERY POSITION to crush the QB every time. In the NFL, it would work a fair amount. They'd get yardage. And they'd run through their QBs by about week 10.
and all the QB's would have shortened careers, ala the RB's. They have what, about a 5 year average career?
Anyone who thinks that speed stops the option has never coached against it... the entire point of the option is to neutralize a fast defense... each defender has to slow down in order to play assignment football. I've always said, 'you can't stop the triple option, you can only hope to contain it.' You have to be willing to make some sacrifices. LSU will load up the box to stop the run, the safeties will come down to fill the alleys, then GT will go deep. Hopefully, they don't hit. Now, the best way to slow down the option is to: Play assignment football and do it well... Alternate assignments... DT takes dive, DE takes QB, LB takes pitch... gets beat by midline... crash tackle into A-gap, blitz LB to take QB, and let the DE play the pitch... here comes the outside veer... DT takes dive, DE takes QB, LB scrapes with the ball, and SS comes up for the pitch.. uh oh! Option pass... And Paul Johnson is a master of adapting to defenses... thats why I wanted this guy over Miles...
Red55, How about printing locoguano's post and slipping a copy under Peveto's & Mallory's door. If we stop the bone, I think locoguano will be willing to share the credit.
Don't just assume that just because it's one-dimensional, LSU will be able to handle it. The wildcat is one-dimensional and Arkansas did that pretty well on ole Purple. In a lot of ways the basic discipline of the defense we had against Arkansas's wildcat will be similar to what we'll have to employ here. a guy taking out the middle (Hillis). A guy spying the QB and making sure who has the football (McFadden) and gunners on the outsides trying to control the edges (Jones). Not saying the LSU defense will run the same dime sets against Ga Tech that they did against Arkansas those years. Just saying that the amount of discipline level needed is the same. Will LSU be able to do it now? We'll see.
Look at the stats of RB's the year after they get hit 400 or so times a season. So now imagine asking your QB to get hit 500-600 times a year and then expect him to hold up. The only way it'd work imo is if you had a committee of 2-3 guys to play QB.
Miles said the last time he saw a triple-option attack in game action was when he coached a similar attack as offensive line coach at Colorado in the mid-1980s. http://www.lsureveille.com/tigers_begin_prepping_for_ga._tech_12_15
