EXTRA! EXTRA! 'Read' All About It: Know Your Enemy

The Eagles welcome the World Champion, Seattle Seahawks to the Linc this weekend. Much of the lead-up talk this week will be about Chip Kelly's offense against Pete Carroll's defense. That should be a great match-up to watch. While we don't tend to do a ton of enemy scouting, I couldn't resist taking a deeper look at Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and the Seahawks offense which features a heavy, heavy dose of the read-option. It's  perhaps the biggest challenge the Eagles defense will have to face on Sunday. Warning, this post may also make you ask "What if Andy Reid drafted Russell Wilson?" You can't help but imagine just how dynamic Chip Kelly's offense would have been with Wilson at the helm: 

One thing the Seahawks love to do is run a lot of 3 x 1 formations. They like to load one side of the field with receiving options and run the read-option on the backside. This will draw most defenders to the top of the screen leaving Lynch a lot of room on the cutback, or Wilson a ton of room on the keeper. Also note the wheel route run by the WR on the bottom of the screen. This is really nice design as it often forces the DB to turn his back to the QB preventing him from watching the backfield and defending the run:

On this play the edge defender Brian Orakpo is left unblocked and Wilson will read him. Also note the DB defending the wheel route on the bottom of the screen with his back to the QB:

Orakpo crashes down the line leaving room for Wilson to keep. The safety also crashes down hard to defend against Lynch and as a result is left with a poor angle to cut off Wilson. The result is an explosive gain for Wilson on the keeper:

Same idea here. Another 3 x 1 formation in 12 personnel with a TE lined up on the bottom of the formation. Once again the TE is going to run a wheel route:

This time Wilson reads the unblocked Redskins rookie Trent Murphy:

The rookie crashes hard on Lynch, leaving Wilson with a ton of room for an easy TD scamper thanks to excellent blocking downfield by the tight end:

 

3 x 1 formation here against the Rams with 3 WRs on the bottom of the screen and a TE in-line at the top who will block on this play. Look at the empty field on the top of the screen. Wilson's eyes have to be lighting up when he sees this look:

But there is no way that edge defender on the top of the screen is going to break contain, right? Wilson reads the  unblocked edge defender:

And he loses contain!!!:

The easiest TD Wilson is ever going to score:

And another 3 x 1 formation with a wheel route on the bottom:

Wilson will read JPP as the unblocked edge defender:

JPP crashes on Lynch, and check out the green space in front of Wilson:

One more in the red zone. 3 x 1:

Wilson reads the unblocked DB on the edge:

and Wilson runs around him:

This isn't the first time the Eagles have seen the read-option. Of course they've seen it every day in practice for the last 2 years, they've also faced RGIII, Cam Newton and Terrelle Pryor. The Seahawks just happen to be running it better than any team in the NFL. Through 12 starts, Russell Wilson has amassed an amazing 679 rushing yards. Will the Eagles employ a spy against Wilson like they did against Cam Newton with great success a few weeks back? This is very likely, however in many ways, if you do that, you are playing directly into the Seahawks hands. You see, as good of a runner as Russell Wilson is, the Seahawks also have Marshawn Lynch and their preference is for their franchise QB to hand it off to Lynch to pound the rock over and over and over again. 

Here is almost the exact same play I highlighted above. This time the edge defender stays wide to keep Wilson honest:

and as a result, takes himself completely out of the play to defend against Lynch who scores an easy TD:

Check out another Lynch TD. This is 11 vs. 10. It's not even fair. Zack Bowman is not even in the same zip code. He may as well be sipping a glass of wine in Napa Valley:

And another rushing TD against the Giants reading the safety in the defensive backfield:

This one is 11 vs. 9:

This one should look familiar to Eagles fans. It's the double stack formation with 4 wides spread to the wide side of the field. This leaves the Giants with only 6 defenders in the box:

and with the read option component it becomes 7 vs. 5 as Wilson "blocks" Rolle with the read:

and another gaping hole with a lot of green space:

As you can see the Eagles are going to have to be very disciplined against Wilson and the Seahawks on Sunday. When the Eagles see that 3 x 1 formation; Trent Cole, Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham are going to have to show excellent discipline on the backside. It should be a major test for the group. 

It's a good thing the read-option is dead and is was just a silly college fad. :)