Chapter 257 255: Internal Showdown
The players stood in neat formations, while the coaches lined up in a row, a formidable sight. A tense, solemn atmosphere permeated the entire practice field, creating the momentary illusion of a military drill. It was hard to believe this was merely a daily practice for a professional football team.
Jim Hubble narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping across the players before him. With an unreadable expression and without any pleasantries, small talk, or even a basic greeting, he cut straight to the chase. "Next, seven-on-seven drills. Offense: three offensive linemen, two wide receivers, one tight end, and a quarterback. Defense: two defensive linemen, two linebackers, and for the remaining three players, any combination of cornerbacks and safeties."
They had done seven-on-seven drills before, back at the Rookie Training Camp. In truth, it was the most fundamental and traditional passing drill, one that every team ran repeatedly in daily practice. Nothing surprising there.
But choosing seven-on-seven drills as the first order of business for Thursday's practice made the intention crystal clear: the competition for the starting quarterback position was about to begin.
"Coach, this isn't fair," Colin Kaepernick said, raising his hand to speak. "Without a running back for protection, the passing pressure increases. This clearly emphasizes a quarterback's passing ability while weakening their ability to run. But for a quarterback, running is also one of their skills."
To put it simply: this was a drill designed for pocket passers, which put mobile quarterbacks at a disadvantage. Lu Ke and Smith were both pocket passers, whereas Kaepernick was a mobile quarterback.
"Games aren't fair. Some offensive lines are outstanding, and some are absolute crap. Are you going to refuse to play just because your offensive line is bad?" Jim had no intention of coddling him and shot back, leaving Kaepernick choking on his words, his face flushing bright red.
Jim continued, "This is a tactical drill. The offensive coach calls the offensive play, the defensive coach calls the defensive play, and you simply execute those commands. We're running through our plays."
During the Rookie Training Camp, the seven-on-seven drill had tested a quarterback's ability to improvise, to make the right adjustments based on their tactical knowledge and their assessment of their temporary teammates' skills. Today's drill, however, was mainly a test of a quarterback's ability to understand and apply the playbook.
From a quarterback's perspective, this was a reading comprehension test on the playbook.
Jim then shot a pointed look in Kaepernick's direction. "If necessary, we'll also run read-option plays. Quarterbacks with different styles naturally lead to vastly different game plans; the coaches understand this better than the players do." Though he hadn't named him, the words were sharp and offered Kaepernick no quarter.
The "read-option offense" was a tactic that had taken the college football world by storm in recent years. It was simple and brutish, yet brutally effective—one might even say unstoppable. Both Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick had dominated the college scene with this very tactic.
Indeed, it was a tactic designed to fully leverage the unique talents of a mobile quarterback.
In a standard offensive play, the offensive line has five players, while the opposing defense's front line has seven—either four defensive linemen and three linebackers, or three defensive linemen and four linebackers. Broadly speaking, it's a five-on-seven matchup.
However, the defensive front has to shoulder multiple responsibilities at once: rushing the quarterback, stopping the run, and defending against short passes. While they have a numerical advantage, their specific assignments depend on the play call.
In a read-option offense, the quarterback will select an outside defender—usually a defensive end or an outside linebacker—and deliberately leave that player unblocked. The blocking scheme for the offensive line, and even the receivers, is then designed to handle the other six players on the defensive front, creating one-on-one or two-on-one matchups to neutralize their rush.
This, in turn, can free up wide receivers, tight ends, or running backs without blocking assignments, creating a numbers advantage downfield.
But what about that unblocked outside defender? With all his teammates engaged by blockers, he is left isolated. He must make a split-second decision: is this a run play or a pass play?
In other words, should he commit to stopping the quarterback or the running back? In making that choice, he's often put in a no-win situation.
The quarterback's job becomes simple: he just has to "read" that one unblocked defender. If the defender crashes down to stop the running back, the quarterback keeps the ball and runs himself. If the defender commits to the quarterback, he hands the ball off to the running back. And if the defender gets caught out of position and the quarterback spots an open receiver, he can even make a pass.
To sum it up, in a read-option offense, the quarterback reads the defense, intentionally leaves one defender unblocked as a "weak point," and has the rest of the offense block everyone else. Then, based on the movement of that unblocked defender, the quarterback can choose to hand off to the running back, run the ball himself, or even throw a pass.
When combined with the Pistol Formation, the read-option gives a mobile quarterback a dizzying array of options—even more varied than a pocket passer running the Shotgun Formation. For a defense, such an attack is a nightmare to defend against.
For a pocket passer, the risk of running the ball themselves is too high, and they often lack the skill for it. But for a mobile quarterback, this style of play maximizes their athletic gifts.
In college, the read-option offense was dominant and fueled the meteoric rise of the mobile quarterback. But in the pros, while it has had some success, it has never truly caught on. The reason is simple: the read-option takes an immense physical toll.
A quarterback's primary job is to pass. But this offense requires them to run, facing powerful and vicious hits. The physicality and force delivered by professional defensive players are no joke—that's why offensive linemen are so massive, to absorb that initial wave of impact for the quarterback.
Especially in the pros, the intensity and force of the collisions are on a completely different level than in college. Moreover, NFL tactics are infinitely more complex, and a defensive player's ability to diagnose a play and react is far superior to anything in the NCAA. This means defenses can decipher a read-option play much faster and deliver a devastating hit to the quarterback.
Taking those hits again and again is, for a quarterback, like pitting their weakness against an opponent's strength. Even a "Superman" like Cam Newton is still physically outmatched by defensive players; if he runs the read-option too frequently in a game, Newton faces a high risk of injury.
That's why the few mobile quarterbacks currently in the league, as well as those making a name for themselves in college, are all exceptionally athletic Black players. But even they can become injury-prone in the blink of an eye if they're not careful.
「Returning to the conversation between Jim Hubble and Colin Kaepernick.」
The reason Kaepernick had protested was that passing accuracy was not his strong suit.
Objectively, his passing accuracy was better than Cam Newton's, but his athleticism wasn't on the same level. That was why, in the draft, the Carolina Panthers had selected Newton, while the San Francisco 49ers used a high second-round pick on Kaepernick.
Even so, Kaepernick's passing accuracy couldn't compare to that of Lu Ke or Smith.
During the four preseason games, the team had relied more on traditional passing plays than the read-option offense, and Kaepernick had struggled mightily with understanding the playbook. Now, in a seven-on-seven drill without a running back to block or to create a read-option, his situation was even more unfavorable.
But Jim was so firm because this was a tactical drill. The read-option is an offensive style that relies on a quarterback's raw athleticism and places little emphasis on passing or tactical execution, which was contrary to the goal of this first drill.
This was the reasoning behind Jim's earlier statement that the coaching staff would design plays according to a player's style. But at the end of the day, the competition for the starting job was about what was best for the team, not about showcasing any one quarterback's individual talents.
"Any more questions?" Jim asked, his voice raised, his fiery gaze locked on Kaepernick.
Kaepernick didn't answer. He lowered his head and averted his eyes.
"We'll go one play at a time," Jim added. "The four quarterbacks will rotate. You'll all work from the twenty-yard line. We'll run different combinations of offensive and defensive plays, and we'll see how well the team has grasped the playbook."
"Coach, does that include me?" Scott Torsin asked, hesitantly raising his right hand. He had assumed he wasn't part of today's competition.
Jim looked at Scott. "Are you a quarterback on this team?" Scott nodded blankly. "Then, yes, that includes you. If there are no other questions, let's start. Alex, you're up first. Colin, you're second. Then Lu Ke, and Scott, you're last."
Choosing a starting quarterback was one thing, but tactical practice was another. They couldn't afford to neglect their preparation for this week's regular-season game just to audition starters. Therefore, all four quarterbacks had to take part.
The brief interlude didn't cause much of a stir. Soon, the offensive and defensive players took the field. Craig Roman and Vic Fangio each selected two rotating groups of players, and the drill began.
Every player—not just those on the field preparing for the drill, but also those watching from the sidelines, and even the practice squad members off to the side—fell silent. All eyes were fixed on the field, their attention rapt, their breath held in anticipation.
With all eyes on him, Alex jogged onto the field. Following the coach's play call, he executed the offense flawlessly, smoothly completing a six-yard pass. The short passing game—his reads and his control—had always been Alex's strength, the very skill that had cemented his place in the league.