San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh wants to ensure that mobile quarterback Colin Kaepernick isn't blatantly targeted Sunday by the Green Bay Packers, so he has gone to the NFL for clarity about when Kaepernick is supposed to be safe before he's declared a runner, the Associated Press reports. Kaepernick ran the read-option to near perfection on a big stage against Green Bay in the NFC divisional round in January. By league rule, a quarterback in that scheme isn't as protected as his peers once he leaves the pocket and it's clear he's running. "You're hearing a lot of tough talk right now. You're hearing some intimidating type of talk, the same thing we were hearing a couple years ago," Harbaugh said Wednesday. "It sounds a lot like targeting a specific player. You definitely start to wonder. "A man will usually tell you his bad intentions if you just listen. You know what's being said publicly, not what's being said privately. You hope that their intent isn't going to be anything that's not within the rules." On Tuesday, Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews told ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike" that perhaps the best way to slow read-option quarterbacks like Kaepernick is to hit them. "One of the things that the referees have told us is that when these quarterbacks carry out the fakes, they lose their right as a quarterback, a pocket-passing quarterback, the protection of a quarterback," Matthews said. "So with that, you do have to take your shots on the quarterback, and obviously they're too important to their offense. "If that means they pull them out of that type of offense and make them run a traditional, drop-back, pocket-style offense, I think that's exactly what we're going for. So you want to put hits as early and often on the quarterback and make them uncomfortable." Source: The Redzone
i was under the impression every qb was specifically targeted to be hit by defenses, but maybe i'm just wrong.
if he wants to run the option then he will get hit. If you don't want your qb to get hit that often then don't run the scheme. Can't have it both ways.
The concern isn't about running QBs.. its about the act of presenting the ball, while in the pocket, to the RB from the pistol formation and then either giving, running or stepping back to pbutt.
I agree with the rule in theory, but I wonder how much balls the refs will have to keep a flag in their pocket once one of these read-option QBs gets crunched on fake without the ball.
That will be a problem I think. If the qb is known to run then he should get hit if he does the option. Not if he just drops back and passes. But I don't think Kap is worried.
