The Option Thread: Understanding reads, help and discussion

[jarv]

In the "Wow! Looks like the Triple Option doesn't work again!" thread I noticed a few people commenting about how it's impossible to run this offense in the game. This is not the case! There may not be cut blocking in the NCAA games, but it is possible to run an option based offense! And this thread contained a ton of great advice on how to run it.

With the new custom playbooks, I have decided to change my playing habits from being a run heavy I-Form offense and instead make a playbook that lives and dies on the option offense! (Flexbone, Wishbone, I-Form Option and some spread option). So I'm attempting to make a centralized thread where option experts, and those hoping to better understand it (or make it their primary offense) can discuss and learn. I'm a novice to running these kind of offenses, I have a very elementary understanding of how it works...but I'll share what little I know and hope some smarter people come in here and help us all out.

Running and option offense in NCAA can be challenging and frustrating. And I believe a lot of it has to do with offensive expectations: With a ton of teams using a spread offense in college football these days, scoring has kind of gotten out of hand. There are tons of teams that live and die on the big play...and this is even more so in the video game world. Everyone has their "money plays" they can use to convert a 3rd and 7 or to put six on the board when in the red zone. They know which plays are more likely to cause break downs in coverage and keep them in their back pocket and take advantage of them to take a big chunk of the field when they need it. Running a triple option offense, you have to chip away at the field and keep an eye on the clock. 3 yards here, 4 yards there, maybe a 10 or 12 yard play...if you've dedicated yourself to running a very run heavy i-form offense, then you know how much patience it takes. But most of the people I've played against IRL and online, love to throw the ball.

Another big part of the triple option offense (and why it doesn't work as well in the game as it does in real life) is deception. Watching a team successfully running it is a beautiful thing. Just like a perfectly executed play action pass, players on the field and camera men up in the booth are fooled regularly...except with a triple option offense clicking, this happens much more often. The problem when translating this to NCAA, is that you always know which player has the ball. If there were a giant glowing ring around someone in real life, this offense would not work as well on Saturday's either.

When I'm under center getting ready for a passing play, this is what I'm doing: Before the ball is even snapped I'm looking at the safeties to see how they're lined up. Check out the linebackers to see whether they're showing blitz, lined up in man coverage to a slot WR or a TE (possibly creating a mis-match), or see if they're lined up expecting a run to go a certain way...If I can't tell what they're doing so I'll put a guy into motion to see what kind of coverage they plan to do once the ball is snapped. Once the ball is snapped, I take a look at the safeties to see which way they move, in order to designate whether they're in a cover 2 or cover 3 defense and then I keep that in mind as I watch for routes to open up down the field.

That's a lot of information for your brain to straighten out in ten seconds.

In an option offense, you're doing many of the same things you do for a passing play as you try to mentally predict what the defense is doing. BUT only a second after the ball is snapped you have to make a number of reads in a split second and react even faster.

In a very basic explanation: The first thing you'll do is look at the DE on the direction the play is going. He's the guy you're going to read. UNLESS, there's an outside linebacker there who's also playing the run...or if a safety comes down. Keep an eye on him as you snap the ball...if he heads outside, you give it to the FB...if he crashes in, you take it...and from there you have to instantly switch your attention to other defenders and decide whether you have room to make a play or whether it's safe to pitch. There will be many times where instead of conceding to the fact you're going to lose a few yards or gain one or two, you'll force a pitch to try to gain some yardage and you'll soon find yourself in a ton of trouble, wishing you'd chose to have your QB take his lumps...and trust me, you're going to want to recruit more quick QB's than normal.

It takes a TON of practice to figure out what you're going to do once you hike that ball, and it takes a lot more dedication to learning the reads than any other offense. I've seen people try to run it, know what reads to make and then panic every single time the ball is snapped, make a wrong decision and lose yardage on every play. I went through it myself. It took ten full games of this before I started to become even below average at making the correct reads and actually scoring some points. Many give up way before that and either declare the option is a stupid archaic system, throw the controller and yell things about EA developers mother's or declare that the engine is completely broken.

I'm not going to get any further into the mechanics of it (like I said earlier, I'm a novice, I don't want to be giving people horrible advice and I'm here to learn as much as I am explain what little I know) so I'll leave it up to the experts who know what they're talking about much more than I do:

Paul Johnson Explaining how the GT offense works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSR3Y-yl1iQ


The I-Form Triple Offense

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsBECjYmaAw



The Wishbone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1U0wOaDV3g



Flexbone Triple Option

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eBsp...el_video_title


Spread Option

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0jS-hDVvBc


Playlist of 55 Flexbone Option videos, so you can see it in action:

http://www.youtube.com/results?sugge...ds%2C+playlist


Veer Offense Explained:

http://www.coachwyatt.com/veerexplained.html

[N51_rob]

It's not that it's "impossible" to run the triple option in the game, it's that the version that you see on Saturday's in Annapolis and Atlanta can't be replicated within the game for various reasons not limited to:

-No Cut Blocks

-Defensive CPU AI "follows" the ball, thus robbing teams of deception.

-With the above, there is no "hesitation" as the defenders try to follow the ball.

-If there is none of that then defensive players don't get "caught" out of position.

-The key to stopping the triple option IRL is defenders just doing their job and getting to their man, the game fails to replicate that accurately.

-A common strategy for stopping the offense is to pinch your DT and get depth up the field on the outside with your OLB/DB.

That said I have to admit that I only read about the first paragraph of your post.

[JBate24]

I've never really thought about running an option offense or knew how to for that matter. This thread should come in handy to a lot of people, including myself. I'm actually going to try these out right now.

[boritter]

Quote: Originally Posted by N51_rob

-Defensive CPU AI "follows" the ball, thus robbing teams of deception. -With the above, there is no "hesitation" as the defenders try to follow the ball. -If there is none of that then defensive players don't get "caught" out of position.

You can gain yards in NCAA using the option. But due to the above reasons it is easier to use sprint options instead of options with ball fakes and misdirection.

[TheShizNo1]

Quote: Originally Posted by N51_rob

It's not that it's "impossible" to run the triple option in the game, it's that the version that you see on Saturday's in Annapolis and Atlanta can't be replicated within the game for various reasons not limited to: -No Cut Blocks -Defensive CPU AI "follows" the ball, thus robbing teams of deception. -With the above, there is no "hesitation" as the defenders try to follow the ball. -If there is none of that then defensive players don't get "caught" out of position. -The key to stopping the triple option IRL is defenders just doing their job and getting to their man, the game fails to replicate that accurately. -A common strategy for stopping the offense is to pinch your DT and get depth up the field on the outside with your OLB/DB. That said I have to admit that I only read about the first paragraph of your post.

This is huge. The option in this game, while not broken, is severely hurt by the AI. It does me no good reading the DE, when the DT's swim move my G/C and get me in the backfield. The split second you have to read the DE in the spread or under center for the FB, takes too long in this game. I believe this "freeze" effect is there for the defense, but the Ike given to recover is far too long.

Also, when a defense lines up a certain way, it does something w/ the defensive AI, and for some reason you'll find yourself reading a CB on the edge instead of the DE.

While not impossible to run, it's jacked up as far as last year w/o the aid of some major slider tweaking.

[Black4track]

To the OP:

Ive read your post and I see where your comming from but until I play the full version of 12, the Option/spread run is broken in this game without proper slider adjustments. The animation for the option is waaaay to choppy.

If you remember NCAA on the PS2, the option worked because it was a smooth animation and fast.

[TheShizNo1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Black4track

If you remember NCAA on the PS2, the option worked because it was a smooth animation and fast.

Hm...maybe not. I'm playing NCAA07 on the old xbox right now. I actually wanted to see if the option works better in the LG games. As far as this one goes, it doesn't. I agree in that it's quicker, but the OT ALWAYS blocks the DE. it's almost impossible to read the key b/c he's blocked most of the time. I've tried this running the triple option with Navy and running the spread QB choice with Oregon.

Success with the option seems to be more luck than anything back on LG.

[illinifan30]

I posted this in the thread about the triple option being broken, but I thought I would add it here also since a new topic has been started.

I played an offline dynasty with GT on 11 and also used them a fair amount online in ranked matches. It can be difficult to use them online because people bring a lot of pressure and the PA passing game doesn't work very well, but it is also very satisfying when you are able to move the ball.

I would agree with some of the posters who said that the GT user did not make the correct reads in the video. Several of those should have been gives to the FB.

There are a few things that I do when using GT / Navy / Air Force online. I am not saying they are the best things, but they have helped me.

1. I usually try to establish the FB right away. People generally pinch the DL, play man, and bring pressure. If you can establish the FB early, it will open up the outside.

2. The triple option should be run to a 5 and a 1 technique (outside shade of the PST and inside shade of the PSG). This gives you a nice bubble for the FB.

3. One of the best things I think I do is formation my opponent. I will often line up both receivers on the same side of the ball (the inside receiver will be ineligible) when I am on the hash. I generally put both receivers into the boundary. Because so many people play man and pressure online, both corners will be on the same side of the field. This allows you to run triple, load options, speed options, and sweeps to the field. If you are able to get outside, the defense often doesn't have anyone to play the pitch. If the defense aligns in zone, you can still run to the 2 receiver side because you will have picked up an extra blocker on that side.

4. One thing I have tried to do to slow down the backside DE is to use a TE and run option away from him. I realize that GT doesn't use TE's, but this can help.

5. I have had some success with the jet sweep and speed option when I play with a WR and TE on the same side of the ball (the TE is not eligible). This is best when people are bringing a ton of pressure inside.

6. The "yo-yo" motion can be effective because people will often control a safety or LB and run him towards the motion. You can catch people off guard if you use this.

7. I don't pass much with this offense and I can't use PA.

8. You have to be patient with this offense. There will be some 3 and outs and I have been shut out by people. I have also crushed some people as Navy who had no idea how to stop it.

Sorry for being so long. Those are just my thoughts.