Pat Fitzgerald: RPOs Are Communism

Pat Fitzgerald coaches football at Northwestern, one of the finest universities in the country with a track record of nurturing the best minds. So it’s no surprise that he’d dip into some high-minded analysis of run-pass options. Analysis that will challenge the most nimble of brains.

“RPO is the purest form of communism,” Fitzgerald said today during his media availability. ““I don’t understand how offensive linemen can be downfield. It used to be when [they] tripped and fell down, it was illegal man downfield. Now if it’s just an uncovered lineman and you go 2.3 yards downfield, it’s not a penalty. But if you go three yards it is and nobody can see it until after the ball is thrown.”

It’s unclear what, exactly, RPOs and communism have in common. Perhaps Soviet scholars can tell us if Lenin and Stalin used to employ something like the strategy in military movements. Perhaps the writings of Marx could shed some light on the issue.

If anything in college football is pure communism, it’s the overtime system, where every team has the same number of possessions.