I think the way to defend the read option is to drill the QB on every play. He takes enough of those hits and they'll have to stop running it so the QB doesn't get killed out there.
The question is: how much abuse do you think the refs will allow teams to get away with in this regard? In the Pats' SB win over the Rams, the Pats hit Faulk on nearly every play, whether he had the ball or not. And on a running play, where the QB is a threat to run (which is how the read option works), he can't have the same protections that a pocket passer would have. So what do you guys think? How much will the league and refs let teams hit the QB on the read option?
The question is: how much abuse do you think the refs will allow teams to get away with in this regard? In the Pats' SB win over the Rams, the Pats hit Faulk on nearly every play, whether he had the ball or not. And on a running play, where the QB is a threat to run (which is how the read option works), he can't have the same protections that a pocket passer would have. So what do you guys think? How much will the league and refs let teams hit the QB on the read option?