Why Cam Newton, Tim Tebow Prove Option Offense Can Work in NFL

This season, we have seen two titans of SEC football get their chance to change the paradigm at quarterback in the NFL.  Cam Newton and Tim Tebow, two very different players, are proving that, indeed, an option attack can work in the NFL.

Both Newton and Tebow ran over and through college football in zone-read option attacks.  While the two quarterbacks have radically diverged in the NFL, with Cam Newton lighting up scoreboards through the air and Tebow struggling to do much of anything outside of the fourth quarter, both have had success running the ball out of the same zone-read attacks that led them to BCS championships.

In a lot of ways, what we are witnessing is an extension of the wildcat attacks that had their day in the sun in the NFL in previous seasons.  The difference now is that we are seeing quarterbacks that are big and athletic enough to take the hits and execute those plays.

While the wildcat has largely fallen off in the NFL, the option could have staying power for teams that have the right quarterback to execute it.  The wildcat became stale and predictable, largely because it featured someone other than the quarterback taking the snap, such as Ronnie Brown in Miami.  With Tebow and especially Newton, teams are able to mix in the zone-read without tipping their hands.

What is most interesting about the rise of the zone-read option in the NFL with these two quarterbacks is that it can work with or without a strong passing game to go along with it.  Both quarterbacks are averaging over 40 yards rushing per game this season, even though Denver is a run-centric offense and Carolina loves to air it out.

Running quarterbacks have tended to have incredibly short shelf lives in the NFL, and time will tell if Tebow and Newton can continue to take the hits in the NFL.  While we are unlikely to see any team get too heavy with the zone-read, Tebow and Newton both have shown that a simple high school football concept can be used effectively in the NFL.