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The Carolina Panthers And Cam Newton Present: A Complete Guide To The Quarterback Option

The beauty of having a quarterback that can with the ball is the ability to call the one play most NFL can’t: the quarterback option. That being said, even if you can run the option, there’s no guarantee it will work. Enter Carolina’s Cam Newton to show us both sides of this coin, which, coincidentally enough, takes place on both sides of the field thanks to the change in quarters between plays.

Exhibit A: This is a textbook quarterback option. Newton fakes to the fullback, lures the New Orleans defense into thinking he might flip to the halfback, and just keeps it himself for the 40-yard gain.

Exhibit B: This is a failbook quarterback option. Newton doesn’t fake to anyone, the Saints defense knows what coming, Newton makes a crappy flip to the halfback way too late, and Carolina turns the ball over on downs.

So as you can see, the option can be feast or famine. If the Panthers ever figure out how to call it correctly (Hint: don’t call the option in a short yardage situation when the defense has nine players crowding the line of scrimmage and are showing blitz. Just a thought.), it could become a very dangerous weapon for them.

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