This is why those two read option runs were so important.

I believe it would have helped the team in the short-term, ie. wins. I don't think it would have hurt RT's development in the long-term unless they went to an inordinate number of runs or read plays. I think that's what happened with Newton, Ckap and RG3. They looked better than they were b/c the read covered their weaknesses (moved the chains and made reads from the pocket easier). Those guys are behind RT in terms of reading from the pocket (Newton did make a jump in his third year, though). IMO they could have called three true read-options per game for RT all year without stunting his development or significantly increasing his odds of getting hurt while significantly increasing the teams odds of winning. Obviously it's a matter of balance and opinion, but that's how I think they should have approached it.

 

I'm a big fan of CKap's game. He struggles against a team like Seattle b/c they have the D to make him play from the pocket. He needs to develop that ability since it is the most critical for a QB to be able to have long-term success. However, it's a mistake to act like having your QB run occasionally will stunt him. The fact is that it adds additional stress on the D. It makes their job harder and makes the QB's reads easier. It simply increases your team's chances of success. IMO Miami's failure to utilize RT's running abilities has left a few wins on the table these last two seasons. That's on the coaches. As I stated above and many other times. They could have helped the team win by using a little read-option while still forcing RT to primarily attack from the pocket.

 

I think the reason he struggles against a team like Seattle is that they have a very good pass defense. Probably the league's best. Drew Brees has no problem making plays from the pocket but he looked like a shell of himself against Seattle.

 

You could make the argument vs. what was done with Newton or RG3, but I'm not sure I would buy the argument that 3 read options a game would have been the difference that makes RT less effective from the pocket.

 

Brees and the Saints look lil a shell of themselves whenever they play on the road.

 

The Saints certainly aren't the same on the road, but they still generally score more than 7 pts.