2013 NFL Offseason and Draft

Kaepernick wont get to play long if he keeps playing that kind of football, look at Newton, Vick, RG3, etc.

Having a season ending injury in a full 16 game season of playing read option is almost guaranteed.

Elurin_sl said:

I still think that's a bullshit argument. Seems like a QB is more likely to get hurt in the pocket where they're not expecting it than if they're out in the field and can control when they get hit.

RG3 just doesn't know how to slide. I don't think Newton has been hurt? And Vick just takes too many risks. Kaeperbro doesn't seem like he does that. He'll run out of bounds or slide if he has to...or just outrun everyone.

Click to expand...

name me a read option quarterback who hasnt been significantly hurt within the first 2-4 years of their career. you'd literally have to google for half hour to find one probably. kaepernick's time will come.

in 2-3 years, 49ers will be shopping for a new starter

young was generally a pocket passer who started running more towards the end of his career
vick was just an athletic scrambler who will play read option this year

Use in professional football
The option has made rare appearances in the NFL. An article on the option play in the ESPN College Football Encyclopedia discussed why the option was not used as much in the pros. While coaches agreed the option would work, the problem was the impact it would have on the quarterback. The quarterback would need to run more which means taking more hits, causing greater risk of injury. Starting in 2004, Michael Vick, Warrick Dunn and T. J. Duckett ran the option with a degree of success not seen in the NFL before.[12] In a December 2007 game against the New England Patriots, the New York Jets ran the option with quarterback Brad Smith, substituting Smith for starter Chad Pennington.
In the 2008 AFC championship, Ravens QB Joe Flacco ran a QB option tucking the ball for a 5 yard gain and a first down on crucial third down. The Ravens offense was known for mixing up its game plan, and although Flacco is not known for his speed, the deception employed by Baltimore allowed for Flacco to mix up plays successfully despite an AFC championship game loss.
In the 2009 season, the New York Jets ran the option numerous times, with Brad Smith. Each play produced positive yards.[13] The Tennessee Titans also ran the option when Vince Young was re-installed as quarterback.[14] In addition, the option helped Chris Johnson rush for 2000 yards.[12]
In October 2010 against the Oakland Raiders, David Garrard performed an option run and kept the ball for a 24 yard run to set up a FG.
On October 9, 2011, the Carolina Panthers effectively ran the option twice against the New Orleans Saints. The first play was an option pitch from QB Cam Newton to RB DeAngelo Williams for a 67 yard touchdown. The second time, Cam Newton kept the ball and ran for 13 yards.[15]
A month later, the Denver Broncos ran seventeen plays with Tim Tebow as quarterback and Willis McGahee as running back totalling 298 yards on the ground.[16] The option was so effective that the Broncos played it almost exclusively in the fourth quarter of the 38-24 win over the Oakland Raiders and continued using it a week later in a 17-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and a week later in an overtime win over San Diego. In that win over San Diego, Tim Tebow set an NFL record 22 rushing attempts by a quarterback in one game. The 2011 Denver Broncos, with Tebow at quarterback, have been the most successful team in the NFL to run a read-option offense.[17]
The 2012 season has seen more NFL teams adopt the option offense, the most prominent being the Washington Redskins, the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.[18][19] 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick rushed for 181 yards (a NFL single game record for a QB) on 16 carries using the read option out of the pistol formation vs the Green Bay Packers in a Divisional Playoff game on January 12th, 2013. As a team, the San Francisco 49ers rushed for 323 yards on 43 carries.[20]
The use of the read option in the NFL has been somewhat controversial. The main reason is because it puts the QB in more harm than usually is comfortable. Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III was the first to use the new style of play as an integral part of the offense. He suffered multiple injuries due to the read option, including a concussion and a LCL/ACL injury, both of which sidelined him for back-up Kirk Cousins.