What is Belichick up to with Tebow?

There has been a lot of speculation and consternation about why Bill Belichick signed Tim Tebow.  Fans and detractors of Tebow alike have wondered why he was signed and whether he would make the team.

The answer is simple.  Belichick wants to force opponents to spend time preparing for the Read Option instead of preparing for Tom Brady.

All the evidence is there.  Reporters have been slyly alluding for the past week to a Tebow-specific offense being run at training camp.  They were not allowed to describe the specifics, but the Pats took the wraps off in the first preseason game and everybody saw Tebow run multiple read option plays from a pistol formation.  According to the reporters, these plays were not read off coaching cards, meaning they had been installed in the offense before camp.  Also, consider what Stevan Ridley said when asked about Tebow:

Tebow is special.  For him to come in there and we change from [QB Tom] Brady and [QB Ryan] Mallet as pocket passers to go to an option quarterback and somebody who can make it happen on the ground, is making nice changes is our playbook. Tim is a winner and for us all he’s done is come in here and done his job. He’s quiet, he works hard and the coaches seem to be putting more play in that fits his style. He’s not Brady, he’s not Mallet but he does bring a special feature to the game and he does it well.

It is pretty clear from his comments that the Patriots did not install Read Option plays just so Tebow could play; they acquired and put in Tebow to run the Read Option.

Why would Coach B would do this?  He already has one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and an extremely effective offensive system built around him.

Look at it this way: you are an opposing defensive coordinator.  You just finished your Sunday night game and are on the plane back home.  You whip out your laptop to review film of your next opponent and realize with a shudder you are playing the Patriots.  That means you are playing Tom Effin' Brady.  You do a quick mental calculation: 48 hours of game planning and 4 practice days to get ready.  If you sleep in your office and run perfect practices with no distractions, your defense might be prepared by the end of Friday to hold Brady to 30 points or so.

Then you remember: they also have Tebow and the Read Option.  Gotta prepare for that too.  Groan.  So you spend part of each practice, or most of one practice, working on containing the Read Option, plus at least a few hours of coaching time on Monday to watch the tapes and figure out how to game plan it.

Now you could decide to ignore the Read Option ... but what happens to teams that face the Read Option without preparing for it?  Well, in 2011 the Broncos unveiled the Read Option against the Raiders, and rushed for 299 yards in a lopsided victory.  At one point they were 6-0 with the Tebow-led Read Option offense, before teams figured out how to stop it.  Stopping the Read Option requires preparation.  That is how Rob Ninkovich says the Patriots did it::

"Playing against a guy like Tim Tebow, you have to give him a lot of credit.  You have to prepare for him to run, to run the option, to get out of the pocket and do things on the run. It’s difficult. You have to be disciplined. You have to be prepared."

So Belichick has ensured that every opponent will be 25% less prepared to face Tom Brady.  I'll bet BB likes that idea.  A lot.

Didn't the Jets try the same thing and fail?  Yes, but Rex Ryan and Tony Sparano were clueless about the Read Option.  More precisely, they confused the Read Option with the Wildcat, which is understandable since both coaches had previous success with the Wildcat.  The Wildcat, which essentially is a direct snap to the ball carrier in an empty backfield, is a simple play with little deception, and is easily stopped by any defense expecting it.  The Read Option is a far more complex offensive system that allows for multiple formations and requires much more extensive preparation. The Wikipedia entries on Wildcat and Read Option are a good primer on the basics of the two approaches.

Also, Rex couldn't fully embrace anything with Tebow because it would undermine Mark Sanchez, so he limited Tebow's use to single plays where the defense knew what was coming.  The Read Option only works when you run it repeately to establish the running back as a primary threat.  Once the defense is conditioned to pursue the running back, then the QB springs the trap and breaks off a long run.  The Jets did not get that at all.  Tebow did not get a full series until the 14th game of the season!

The Patriots have already showed they can do better. Tebow ran the Read Option from a pistol formation with a loaded backfield, and he did a true read of the outside defender, not just a QB dive up the middle like the Jets did.  The result: Tebow gained 31 yards on 4 rushes for an an average of nearly 8 yards per carry, and Legarrette Blount ripped off several solid runs.  Having a powerful, dangerous running back is just as important to Read Option success as the running ability of the quarterback. Willis McGahee had over 1,000 yards running the Read Option with Tebow in Denver in 2011.

The Patriots most likely did not decide to install those plays until they hired Tebow in June. The coaching staff, none of whom has a lick of experience running the Read Option, had about 30 days to draw up a basic portfolio of plays.  The team did not even start working on those plays until the second week of camp, so they only had a few days of practice.  What's more, they ran those plays against the Eagles in joint practices, so the defenders had plenty of practice stopping the plays.  How much better will the Read Option work after the Pats coaches study preseason tape, refine play design, add more wrinkles, fully train their players to execute, and play against an unprepared opponent?

Belichick does not even have to pull Tom Brady out during the regular season to establish the threat. He just has to maul an opponent for a few drives during the preseason, and everyone will be forced to reckon with the possibility of the Read Option and prepare accordingly.  That means each opponent will be less prepared for Tom Brady.  That is not good news for anyone except for Patriots fans.  It's also great news for Tebow, because it buys him a year on the roster while he works to improve his mechanics.

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