Madden 25 The Read Option

Last year the read option play in the NFL took offenses to a another level, whether it was from the Pistol formation or from a regular Shotgun formation, it was effective. Ask the teams that faced the Redskins, Seahawks, Panthers and the 49ers; who all enjoyed success running various forms of the read option to move the ball consistently down the field and had defensive ends heads on a swivel. In Madden NFL 25 there will be even more of an emphasis on running the read-option with some new formations but even if you have trouble making the correct read, the developers at EA SPORTS gives you some assistance.

In the NFL and in Madden NFL 25, you are going to need two things to effectively run a read option type of offense.


The #1 thing you’ll need is a threat at both the QB position and at the RB position. Let’s take a look at 4 teams that used the read option more than any other team last year and check out their personnel.

Redskins

QB – Robert Griffin III – The fastest QB in the NFL and in Madden with a 92 SPD and is deadly accurate with his arm making him a threat to run or use a playaction to throw down the field out of the Pistol formation.

RB – Alfred Morris – Wasn’t rated high at the beginning of the season last year but rushing for the 2nd most yards in the NFL last season, I expect him to get a significant boost. Especially in Trucking (TRK),



Seahawks

QB – Russell Wilson – Russell Wilson finished strong last year and is has some speed about him as well. Not the biggest QB, but who needs to be big when you can run around.

RB – Marshawn Lynch – “Beast Mode” … enough said. Mr. Skittles is probably one of the toughest running backs to bring down in the open field.



Panthers

QB – Cam Newton – Cam Newton is big and fast and can throw as well. He can get that 1 yard or throw it 80 yards and is always a threat on the move.

RBs – Jonathan Steward and DeAngelo Williams can both get it done on the ground and it doesn’t matter which one is in there with Cam, you have to respect both of them.



49ers

QB – Colin Kaepernick – Kaepernick has a strong arm and like I said in my previous article about my Top 5 ‘Run Free’ QBs; Kaep is just a solid option in the run game and pass game.

RB – Frank Gore – Frank Gore has always been one of the most powerful runners in the NFL and in Madden. He has a dose of speed but powerful enough to run over a defender and get tough yardage.





Now that you know the type of personnel you’ll need the other thing you’ll need is the ability to read the defense on the fly and make the right decision of either giving the RB the ball or pulling it out and taking off with the QB. Luckily for you this year EA does a great job at showing you exactly who to read to enabling you to make those decisions quickly.

Let’s say you come out in a Pistol Weak – Read Option and the defense comes out in a 4-3 2 Man Under. Typically what you want to do is read the DE on the side the action is going to. This year in Madden NFL 25 there will be a ‘R’ icon above the DE you need to read making him the ‘Dive Read Defender’. If the ‘Dive Read Defender’ crashes in toward the RB you want to keep the ball with the QB and run it. If the ‘Dive Read Defender’ takes the QB, then you want to hand the ball off to the RB by pressing ‘A’ on XBOX or ‘X’ on the Playstation. This is a quick reaction option, something that you need to read and identify in about 1 second. At the snap of the ball the ‘Dive read Defender’ will either stand up or run in. If he stands up, then you know he is waiting for the QB and you need to give it to the RB and if his first step is to go in then you need to keep it with the QB. Sounds simple, but there is more.

What happens if you come out in a Pistol Weak Triple Option (yea, it’s in there)? So now not only do you have to read the ‘Dive Read Defender’ which has a ‘R’ over him but you’ll also have to read the ‘Pitch Key Defender’ that will have a ‘P’ over his head and this could be a OLB, a Safety or a DB depending on the defensive formation called. You still read the play the same. If you snap the ball and that ‘Dive Read Defender’ crashes in for the RB, you want to keep it and in the Triple option you’ll have another guy running with you. This is when you want to read the ‘Pitch Key Defender’. If the ‘Pitch Key Defender’ runs toward the QB, you want to pitch the ball to the RB with the ‘LB’ button for XBOX or ‘L1′ button for Playstation.

If you read ‘Dive Read Defender’ or the ‘Pitch Key Defender’ wrong, it will probably result in a negative play and could get your QB creamed and more importantly hurt.

So now that you know how to run the ‘Read Option’ and Triple Option in Madden NFL 25; who will you be running it with? Kaep and Gore, RG3 and Morris, or is there another combination in the NFL your looking forward to running this type of offense

Personally I'm not a fan of the read option. So I doubt I will be using it.

Don't forget Joe Webb and Adrian Peterson...
Oh wait, Joe Webb is a receiver now... There goes my dual threat