Falcons Taking Very Proactive, Deliberate Approach to Countering the Read Option

The Falcons aren't taking the read option lightly as they prepare for the 2013 season. And why would they? They're slated to face 4 different teams (Panthers, Redskins, 49ers, and Seahawks) with mobile quarterbacks a total of 5 times in 2013's regular season. And that doesn't even include the playoffs. Cam Newton, RGIII, Colin Kaepernick, and Russell Wilson accounted for 741, 815, 415, and 489 regular season rushing yards respectively. All four of those men, especially RGIII, Kaepernick, and Wilson, could arguably rush for even more yards in 2013. So how do the Falcons cope? They visit Clemson, of course.

“Every offseason we go and visit coaches,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “That’s part of the offseason process that we go through. Coaches are always exchanging information and ideas.”

Clemson was a good choice to visit. Tigers quarterback Tajh Boyd is an efficient operator of the pistol system. However, he rarely keeps the ball when they run read-option plays.

Why not? Around here, we spend the off-season hiding our malt liquor from Dave, mainly because we're bored and we like watching him drool. The Falcons can't just scout players all off-season, they have to mix it up a bit. They have to game plan their season, if that makes sense. This is part of that preparation. This is the kind of thing Mike Smith will include in his autobiography; that and the heretofore top secret recipe for those delicious big mouth burger bites Chili's makes.

Your thoughts?