This week we’ll look a little harder at the RPO calls that were so common this spring, and also look at the things defenses can do to defend them. Option plays react to the defense. That’s true whether you’re talking about today’s newfangled RPOs or about calls invented during the Split-T days. They are “if/then” plays based on reading the defense. If the defense does X, then the quarterback does Y. In the Zone Read, if the defense crashes the end, then the quarterback keeps. In a second-level RPO, if the read-key linebacker attacks the LOS, then the quarterback throws.