PORT ARTHUR — Some time in the last decade, a new term crept into the football lexicon. Offenses, it seemed, were turning towards something called a “spread.” As with many innovations, it seemed to stem from a trend in college, including Urban Meyer’s attack at Utah and Dennis Franchione’s offense at TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M.

What did it mean, though? More importantly, what the heck is this “read option” play that seemed to be a key component to the running game in a spread offense?

The whole concept in the spread offense is summed up pretty neatly in its name. The goal is to spread the defense out and keep opposing teams from bunching up with eight or nine players in the “box” (a term used to describe the area on the field between the offensive tackles).

Last summer, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra famously went to the Oregon football team under Chip Kelly to learn about the concepts behind it and apply them to the basketball court. He said what he was learning about was “space and pace.”

That’s a great summary of how teams try to run the spread now. They get plays off quickly without running out the play clock. They also line up with receivers out wide, usually without a tight end and big splits between the linemen.

By spreading out wide, the offense then forces the defense to react and also line up wider than normal. Otherwise, the team could run on the edges all day long. When the defense is wider than normal, running lanes open up easier than they do if everyone is bunched up tightly.

That’s the basic setup for a typical option play. Like most “innovations” in play calling, the read option is very similar to many other option attacks in both the Slot T, the old Wishbone attack and any other you can think of. It’s been called a “triple option” before, and the way the Port Arthur Memorial offense ran it at the end of the game against Beaumont Ozen.

What the Titans did in that game is a great example of taking a simple concept and making it work in a lot of different ways. Memorial lined up quarterback Ricky Fisk between two running backs, freshman Kameron Martin and sophomore Corey Dauphine.

When the Titans ran this “read option,” the ball would be snapped to Fisk in the shotgun and he would break to his left. Dauphine would swing out wide to the right like he’s running a sweep outside, while Martin would bend inside like he’s running a dive play.

At that point, Fisk has three different options. He can toss it to Dauphine, hand it off to Martin inside or take it himself wide to the left. What triggers his decision?

If you watch when Memorial runs this play, Fisk’s eyes are always on the defense, and usually on the defensive end. If, pre-snap, he saw the defense was bunching up to one side or the other, he can make the call to pitch it out to Dauphine.

But, if he chooses to keep it, he’s immediately reading what the defensive end is doing. If that end bows out wide to contain the edge, Fisk might hand it off to Martin inside and let him fill the spot that the end just left open.

If the end crashes down inside to close off Martin, Fisk simply pulls the ball out and takes it outside himself. With the end inside, Fisk is matched up with either a linebacker coming from inside or a defensive back on the edge. If you’ve seen Fisk run in space, you know that most DBs have problems tackling him one-on-one because of his elusiveness.

One play, three different options out of the same set. Memorial gets to take advantage of the spaces it created in the formation and can basically run the same play over and over again with different players getting the ball each time and keeping the defense on its heels.

That simplicity and variety all in the same play is a reason why teams have moved to the spread. It’s all about space and pace, turning an old thing into something new.

If you have questions about your football team that you’d like answered in this space, email us at dcoleman@panews.com.