With the recent Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear to New York Giant Daniel Jones, its time to take a pensive look at the use of the Run-Pass-Option (RPO) and its stressors upon the quarterback.
An early proponent of the RPO was coach Mike Shanahan while coaching the Washington franchise. Shanahan was the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 1995 – 2008 and led the Broncos to wins in Super Bowl XXXII and XXXIII. He had a mobile quarterback in future Hallof Famer John Elway. While with Washington, Shanahan drafted Robert Griffin III out of Baylor in the 2012 NFL Draft. Griffin, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, possessed a special combination of arm talent and playmaking ability. RGIII was the second pick in the entire draft that year.
Shanahan, who helped draw up blocking schemes in Denver that while unique then, are still a staple for so many NFL teams today. Shanahan was known for his offensive ingenuity. The coach repackaged an offense that was popular in college and came up with the read-option play. The concept of the scheme is to read the defensive end on a run play, decide to hand it off to the running back or keep it for oneself based on what the defensive end does.
RGIII’s rookie season
RGIII had an outstanding rookie season in 2012, passing for over 3,200 yards and rushing for over 800 yards. Late in the season, Griffin injured a knee. Not recognizing the significance, Griffin stayed in the game although injured. The injury would prove to be substantial and adversely impacted his career.
Griffin underwent major reconstructive surgery on his ACL and Medial Cruciate Ligament (MCL in the off season, and was able to come back for the opening game the following season. Griffin’s speed and cutting ability that had made him so effective in running the Read-Option was gone. To this day, Griffin maintains that Shanahan’s usage of the read-option offense was the main reason for his body breaking down. The repetitive hits from the defense put too much stress on the knees and joints.
Flash forward to today and there is the Run-Pass-Option, a descendant of Shanahan’s scheme in Washington. The concept of the ability to pass has been added to the scheme. Lamar Jackson, the 2019 unanimous 2019 MVP winner has been the standard bearer of the RPO for the last several years. In Jackson’s magical 2019 season, he ran for 1,206 yards while throwing for 3,127 more yards. He is healthy this year, coming off a season where he missed multiple games to a sprain of the posterior cruciate ligament.
Jalen Hurts and the Run-Pass Option
Last year Jalen Hurts had a magical season in Philadelphia. Under Head Coach Nick Sirianni and Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen, Hurts completed 66.5% of his passes for 22 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. In running the RPO, the Eagles utilize a slightly different sequence that the Raven, as they tend to pass more of first down instead of the Ravens, who prefer to run on first down.
While both concepts have their points, Hurts, who missed several games late in the season, took the Eagles to the Super Bowl, and was ahead of the eventual champion Kansas City Chiefs at halftime. Patrick Mahomes brought the Chiefs to their third Super Bowl victory by overcoming Hurts and the Eagles late in the 4th quarter.
And then there is Daniel Jones with the New York Giants. Under second year coach Brian Daboll, the Giants had an unexpectedly good year last year, finishing with a winning record, and even won a playoff game. This year has been nightmarish. The Giants, in facing stiffer competition, have had trouble winning games. Jones missed several games due to a neck injury and was unable to run the team’s RPO offense. In his first game back this past Sunday, Jones, perhaps not completely healthy went down with an ACL tear and is out for the year.
The conversation about whether defenses are simply too fast and physical at the NFL level for a quarterback to absorb pounding week after week will continue
Barry Schustermann
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