Rob Ninkovich Loves Quarterbacks Running the "Read-Option"
On "The Blitz" with Jeff Howe and Karen Guregian, Rob Ninkovich was asked about the NFL's newest infatuation with the "read-option." For those who are unfamiliar with this, it premiered on the college stage with scrambling quarterbacks. The quarterback takes the shotgun snap with the running back alongside. He then reads the defense and chooses to either hand it off to the running back or keep it himself as a run. This infatuation began with success as Robert Griffin III and the Washington Redskins have utilized it effectively. The question came up to Ninkovich specifically because of the Preseason opener against Michael Vick and Chip Kelly's Eagle offense, where the New England defense is sure to see the "read-option" live.
Rob Ninkovich does not seem to mind this play, in fact, he seems to rather enjoy it.
The scrambling quarterback's shelf-life could be a short as a running back, but we cannot effectively assess that because we do not have a large sample size. However, we do know that they are injury prone and inconsistent from the tiny sample size we do have (see: Kordell Stewart, Michael Vick, RGIII and Cam Newton). The "read-option" puts the quarterback's health in jeopardy in a way that the prototypical pocket-passer does not face. Ninkovich had this to say about that:
Hopefully Ninkovich is in good position to see that green light tonight, and deliver a hit that sticks in Michael Vick's mind for the remainder of his games against Nink.
Rob Ninkovich does not seem to mind this play, in fact, he seems to rather enjoy it.
"I enjoy that," Ninkovich said of the read-option. "I really do. That read-option for me is a green light to hit the quarterback. If you don’t want to have your quarterback hit, don’t run the read-option."
The scrambling quarterback's shelf-life could be a short as a running back, but we cannot effectively assess that because we do not have a large sample size. However, we do know that they are injury prone and inconsistent from the tiny sample size we do have (see: Kordell Stewart, Michael Vick, RGIII and Cam Newton). The "read-option" puts the quarterback's health in jeopardy in a way that the prototypical pocket-passer does not face. Ninkovich had this to say about that:
"When you run that play, you turn your quarterback into a running back," Ninkovich said. "That’s why teams are changing their quarterbacks to more runners. Whenever you’re getting hit, it’s always going to take a toll on you. The more hits you get on a quarterback, it seems like the ball doesn’t come out of their hand as well when they’re trying to throw it."
Hopefully Ninkovich is in good position to see that green light tonight, and deliver a hit that sticks in Michael Vick's mind for the remainder of his games against Nink.
