Defending the option is all about responsibility. It isn’t about being overly aggressive or making the high light tape. A lot of teams who run the option practice without the ball as well. I was at the GTech game and they spent a lot of time in warms ups running plays without the ball. Running a good option offense is all about buying into a system and being disciplined. You have to carry out your ball fakes, you have to sacrifice yourself on the dive, you have to be patient.

Stopping the option is all about having a system. The Tackles are responsible for stopping the dive portion of the option. That includes tackling whomever it is on the dive fake. The ends are responsible for the quarterback and forcing the pitch. The ends need to stay parallel to the line of scrimmage and not be overly aggressive. You can move down the line to force the quarterback to pitch the ball but you can’t get caught sticking your nose inside every play or you will get burned. The end has to knock the snot out of the quarterback on every opportunity when defending the option. Force him to pitch it too soon. Make him think twice about coming down the line and do NOT let the quarterback get outside of you.

The corners have to turn the ball back inside but maintain leverage and keep the option from getting outside. Forcing it back to the inside allows your help to come up from the safety and backer position. The next key to stopping the option is having guys who can tackle in the open field. If everyone does what they are supposed to, you are left with a one on one match up in open space. If whomever is responsible for the pitch man gets caught in the wash or tries to get creative in his path to the ball, the system fails.

Obviously, these are large generalizations about playing the option. The key point is that there has to be a system. It can’t be 11 guys trying to prove or demonstrate their athletic abilities and be the hero. There is no hero when defending an option. As soon as you get out of position or fail to stop your assignment, your opposition will exploit it. If your tackles are weak and get pushed outside or don’t require a double team (meaning that the O-Line can get to the second level) you are going to see a ton of plays up the middle. As soon as your ends start sticking their nose inside on the dive, your LBs are on an island having the QB and the pitch man come at them. That is the beauty of the option. It allows you to identify your opponent’s weakness and continue to exploit it until they make the adjustment. Once the adjustment is made, they change it all up.

One of the major questions about GTech’s on line is if they fit the mold of their previous line. They were extremely agile, strong, intelligent line men. If I recall correctly, they weren’t huge but were extremely efficient. Most importantly, they were disciplined and they took advantage of our overly aggressive style of defensive play. With the amount of speed we had on defense and how aggressive we were, almost to a fault, the option was a perfect offense to play against us.

Just my two cents. If this is completely wrong just let me know.