Post by Coach Campbell on May 27, 2009 9:46:25 GMT
West Coast offense
The Seattle Seahawks use the West Coast offense.The West Coast Offense is a passing ball control offense. Once thought a contradiction in terms, it achieves ball control by using short, high percentage passing routes. Since the routes are relatively short, and the pass leaves the quarterback's hand quickly, there is less need for additional blockers. Thus all five eligible receivers are (typically) used extensively in the West Coast offense. Spreading the ball to all potential targets can create mismatches, often between a running back and a linebacker, or perhaps the tight end and a linebacker. By forcing tighter coverage between the safeties and offensive players, the West Coast offense can pull the safeties toward the line of scrimmage without running and thus it can set up the long pass play with shorter passes or allow a WR to break a tackle for a long gain.
By throwing lots of short passes, the West Coast offense gets the ball to the faster players in open space more frequently. The notion of yards after catch (YAC) was invented for west coast offense players. Twenty yard pass plays used to mean long deep out or deep in patterns with a strong armed quarterback but now more frequently the twenty yard play involves a six yard pass to a talented receiver who made a couple of good moves—and perhaps got a block downfield from a fellow receiver.[citation needed]
The West Coast offense, at its best, annoys a defense into foolishness.[clarification needed By consistently completing short passes, it encourages the defensive backs to move closer to the line of scrimmage, increasing the chance that a receiver will break a big play. The quarterback releases the ball so quickly that the pass rushers are tempted to complacency. Further, it gives the offense confidence.[citation needed] A combination of these factors afford the offense a good opportunity to throw deeper passes
The San Francisco 49ers won their first super Bowl under Bill Walsh with one of the league's worst running games due to the West Coast Offense's ability to control the clock using passing. This is not to say the West Coast offense abandons the run. Like any offense, a running game complements the West Coast Offense because short passes naturally set up situations when the run is more favorable.[citation needed] With the West Coast Offense, the level of commitment to the run varies by head coach, but like the run and shoot is usually not a high level of commitment.
In essence, though, the West Coast offense is more of a philosophy and approach to the game than it is a set scheme that demands exact formations, plays and reads like many of the other offenses discussed here. It stipulates that an offense should pass the ball to spread the defense horizontally to set up the run, not the other way around. This was revolutionary in the 1970s when Don Coryell and Bill Walsh began tinkering with this concept because football until then had been primarily a 'run to set up the pass' game
It was generally accepted that a solid running game must be established first. This would force the defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage and open up vertical passing lanes down the field. But as defenders got bigger, faster, and more athletic, and defensive schemes got more complex, this traditional run-first attack became predictable and bogged down for all but the most talented teams. The West Coast Offense takes the opposite approach: defenses must first be stretched horizontally with a precise, relatively short distance passing attack based on well timed routes and a quarterback that can make quick reads primarily utilizing a three-step drop. This 'stretching' creates gaps in the defense and keeps defenders off-balance, which in turn opens-up running lanes and down-field passing lanes that can be exploited. This approach also reduces an offense's predictability because down-and-distance rarely factors into a coach's decision to run or pass, especially late in games.
Today this philosophy dominates most coaches' thinking and planning, and every team in the NFL and most teams in College incorporate some aspects of the West Coast offense into its scheme. Though formations, play calling, pass protection packages and personnel combinations will vary wildly from team to team, the basic tenet of the West Coast Offense, the 'pass to set-up the run' mantra, is accepted Gospel. More and more high schools are moving towards this approach, too, though the lack of 17 year old quarterbacks with the necessary arm strength, experience, vision and overall football maturity will keep this growth slow.
Note: although this is the current usage of the term, the actual West Coast Offense was a term applied to the Don Coryell/Bill Walsh offense run by the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. More properly, the above should be called the Walsh offense, as it was perfected under Walsh in San Francisco. The actual San Diego West Coast offense involved much longer timing routes and bore little resemblance to the above.
Paul Brown also deserves mention in any discussion of the origins of the "West Coast Offense." The system was developed by Brown and Walsh and implemented by the Cincinnati Bengals before Walsh's departure for San Francisco. The Walsh-Brown version found notoriety and success in San Francisco, but would more aptly be named the "Ohio River Offense."
Criticisms
Despite its reputation for being QB friendly, the West Coast Offense is not particularly QB friendly. It requires great accuracy, consistency, patience, and a very good understanding of the game. Several previously successful pro QBs have struggled and seen their development not only stopped with the implementation of the West Coast Offense but also their confidence and swagger crushed, including Jake Plummer and the infamous Michael Vick.
A primary weakness of the West Coast Offense is that interceptions often lead to game changing TDs. This is why no one tried this type of offense before Walsh. It was considered unnecessarily risky; Too much risk for too little gain. If a Defensive Back jumps a receiver's route, there is no one between that DB and the end zone, unlike vertical passing schemes like the Coryell Offense.
Additionally, executing the West Coast Offense well requires great precision by the entire offense. While there are a large number of West Coast Offenses, very few of them are above average units. The precision demanded by the head coach often determines the success of these units. Although it is an offense built off passes that are likely completions, undisciplined play by the QB or WR can make the entire effort very predictable and as such very risky to the game changing interception.
Teams
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Philadelphia Eagles
Green Bay Packers (1992-1999 and 2006-Present)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Denver Broncos
Minnesota Vikings
Houston Texans
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Boston College Eagles
San Jose State Spartans
Atlanta Falcons (present)
Washington Redskins (present)
Tennessee Volunteers
The Seattle Seahawks use the West Coast offense.The West Coast Offense is a passing ball control offense. Once thought a contradiction in terms, it achieves ball control by using short, high percentage passing routes. Since the routes are relatively short, and the pass leaves the quarterback's hand quickly, there is less need for additional blockers. Thus all five eligible receivers are (typically) used extensively in the West Coast offense. Spreading the ball to all potential targets can create mismatches, often between a running back and a linebacker, or perhaps the tight end and a linebacker. By forcing tighter coverage between the safeties and offensive players, the West Coast offense can pull the safeties toward the line of scrimmage without running and thus it can set up the long pass play with shorter passes or allow a WR to break a tackle for a long gain.
By throwing lots of short passes, the West Coast offense gets the ball to the faster players in open space more frequently. The notion of yards after catch (YAC) was invented for west coast offense players. Twenty yard pass plays used to mean long deep out or deep in patterns with a strong armed quarterback but now more frequently the twenty yard play involves a six yard pass to a talented receiver who made a couple of good moves—and perhaps got a block downfield from a fellow receiver.[citation needed]
The West Coast offense, at its best, annoys a defense into foolishness.[clarification needed By consistently completing short passes, it encourages the defensive backs to move closer to the line of scrimmage, increasing the chance that a receiver will break a big play. The quarterback releases the ball so quickly that the pass rushers are tempted to complacency. Further, it gives the offense confidence.[citation needed] A combination of these factors afford the offense a good opportunity to throw deeper passes
The San Francisco 49ers won their first super Bowl under Bill Walsh with one of the league's worst running games due to the West Coast Offense's ability to control the clock using passing. This is not to say the West Coast offense abandons the run. Like any offense, a running game complements the West Coast Offense because short passes naturally set up situations when the run is more favorable.[citation needed] With the West Coast Offense, the level of commitment to the run varies by head coach, but like the run and shoot is usually not a high level of commitment.
In essence, though, the West Coast offense is more of a philosophy and approach to the game than it is a set scheme that demands exact formations, plays and reads like many of the other offenses discussed here. It stipulates that an offense should pass the ball to spread the defense horizontally to set up the run, not the other way around. This was revolutionary in the 1970s when Don Coryell and Bill Walsh began tinkering with this concept because football until then had been primarily a 'run to set up the pass' game
It was generally accepted that a solid running game must be established first. This would force the defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage and open up vertical passing lanes down the field. But as defenders got bigger, faster, and more athletic, and defensive schemes got more complex, this traditional run-first attack became predictable and bogged down for all but the most talented teams. The West Coast Offense takes the opposite approach: defenses must first be stretched horizontally with a precise, relatively short distance passing attack based on well timed routes and a quarterback that can make quick reads primarily utilizing a three-step drop. This 'stretching' creates gaps in the defense and keeps defenders off-balance, which in turn opens-up running lanes and down-field passing lanes that can be exploited. This approach also reduces an offense's predictability because down-and-distance rarely factors into a coach's decision to run or pass, especially late in games.
Today this philosophy dominates most coaches' thinking and planning, and every team in the NFL and most teams in College incorporate some aspects of the West Coast offense into its scheme. Though formations, play calling, pass protection packages and personnel combinations will vary wildly from team to team, the basic tenet of the West Coast Offense, the 'pass to set-up the run' mantra, is accepted Gospel. More and more high schools are moving towards this approach, too, though the lack of 17 year old quarterbacks with the necessary arm strength, experience, vision and overall football maturity will keep this growth slow.
Note: although this is the current usage of the term, the actual West Coast Offense was a term applied to the Don Coryell/Bill Walsh offense run by the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. More properly, the above should be called the Walsh offense, as it was perfected under Walsh in San Francisco. The actual San Diego West Coast offense involved much longer timing routes and bore little resemblance to the above.
Paul Brown also deserves mention in any discussion of the origins of the "West Coast Offense." The system was developed by Brown and Walsh and implemented by the Cincinnati Bengals before Walsh's departure for San Francisco. The Walsh-Brown version found notoriety and success in San Francisco, but would more aptly be named the "Ohio River Offense."
Criticisms
Despite its reputation for being QB friendly, the West Coast Offense is not particularly QB friendly. It requires great accuracy, consistency, patience, and a very good understanding of the game. Several previously successful pro QBs have struggled and seen their development not only stopped with the implementation of the West Coast Offense but also their confidence and swagger crushed, including Jake Plummer and the infamous Michael Vick.
A primary weakness of the West Coast Offense is that interceptions often lead to game changing TDs. This is why no one tried this type of offense before Walsh. It was considered unnecessarily risky; Too much risk for too little gain. If a Defensive Back jumps a receiver's route, there is no one between that DB and the end zone, unlike vertical passing schemes like the Coryell Offense.
Additionally, executing the West Coast Offense well requires great precision by the entire offense. While there are a large number of West Coast Offenses, very few of them are above average units. The precision demanded by the head coach often determines the success of these units. Although it is an offense built off passes that are likely completions, undisciplined play by the QB or WR can make the entire effort very predictable and as such very risky to the game changing interception.
Teams
San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Philadelphia Eagles
Green Bay Packers (1992-1999 and 2006-Present)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Denver Broncos
Minnesota Vikings
Houston Texans
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Boston College Eagles
San Jose State Spartans
Atlanta Falcons (present)
Washington Redskins (present)
Tennessee Volunteers