Turnovers in option vs passing

I have been both an option guy (shotgun) & a passing guy. I have had many more turnovers throwing the ball (alos many more big plays). If you rep the hell out of pitching the ball & reading keys turnovers won't be a problem.

I agree with that statement......option teams will fumble more than passing teams will throw interceptions.

However.....I think that running the option is a higher percentage play than throwing the ball. In other words, an option team will gain positive yards more often than a passing team.

A bad mesh may result in a fumble whereas a bad pass probably will result in an incompletion.


Also, fumbles are less dependent on defense than interceptions are dependent on a defense. I think a defense really has to be coached well to intercept a pass (assuming its not an aweful throw). Defenses are more likely to be near a ball carrier running thru the line. Its easier to fall on a fumble than intercept a pass.


So, IMO, the plus side of running option (more positive plays) outweighs the higher turnover ratio.

My guess is that passing teams still turn it over because it's not just interceptions, it is also fumbles, and particularly from the QB (got to coach him up to keep both hands on the ball - just think of Kurt Warner).

But it is a balance with big plays/explosive plays/yardage ground up and how well you coach the passing teams to not turn the ball over.

One reason the Patriots this season could throw it so much was that Tom Brady so rarely threw interceptions. Put another QB in there and the INTs go from single digits to maybe 20+.

So, is it a belief, or is it a statistic?

I think this is something that can't really be captured in stats. Entirely to many variables to study. Define "option" I have seen John Curtis play two entire games and not pitch. How can you analyze unequal data. The TRUE stat that matters is that BAD TEAMS TURN THE BALL OVER MORE THAN GOOD TEAMS. Passing, option, double wing... doesn't matter.

That said, I would be able to have a logical theory that would say that BAD OPTION TEAMS have more fumbles (lost or recovered) than BAD PASSING TEAMS. Generally, a bad passing team will have bad protection. This leads to more scrambling than it does ill-advised passes. However, I can still see a bad option team more likely to make ill-advised pitches, and getting pressure from defenders who are not the mesh or pitch reads (which causes turnovers)

let me start by saying that there is NO excuse for an interception or a fumble

some people are saying how much they turned the ball over because of the pass rather than the run. Lets remember that unless your team SPECIALIZES in the run or the pass you are going to turn the ball over. If you don't rep the heck out of veer, you're going to be indecisive and make a bad choice. If you don't rep mesh enough, you're going to be indecisive and make a bad choice. So unless you commit yourself to the run or the pass you will never get it perfect. I'm not saying that you can't do both and be successful (USC and OU are perfect examples). This is especially true at schools that don't platoon.

plain and simple I believe that interceptions happen more often than fumbles. I believe that the reason for this is because the kids understand the run plays better than the pass plays and I believe that getting good at passing takes longer than getting good at running.

I have actually seen a pass play called that was only repped literally 2 times all week and it got picked off and the coach yelled at the kid and didn't put him in the rest of the game even though it was totally the coaches fault

If done correctly the point or no-mesh technique will all but eliminate fumbles that happen during the mesh between the QB and diveback. I know this isn't a topic to debate the no-mesh vs. ride and decide but which technique is used WILL have a direct impact on how often an option team turns the ball over. As for the current topic, I would MUCH rather have my QB pitching the ball 4-5 yards vs. throwing the ball down field. IMO it doesn't take much thinking to figure out which play is the safer one.