West Coast offense
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In American football, "West Coast Offense" ("WCO") is one of two similar but distinct offensive-strategic-systems of play: (A) the "Air Coryell" system; or (B) more commonly the pass play system popularized by Bill Walsh. However, WCO may simply refer to an offense that places a greater emphasis on passing than on running.
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[edit] History and Use of the term
The term "West Coast Offense" as it is now commonly used derives from a 1993 Bernie Kosar quote, publicized by Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman ( or "Dr. Z"). Originally the term referred to the "Air Coryell" system used by two west coast teams beginning in the 1970s, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. However, a reporter mistakenly applied Kosar's quote about the Air Coryell system to the 1980s-era attack of Walsh's San Francisco 49ers.[1] Initially, Walsh resisted having the term misapplied to his own distinct system, but the moniker stuck. Now the term is also commonly used to refer to pass-offenses that may not be closely-related to either the Air Coryell system or Walsh's pass-strategy.
[edit] Original West Coast Offense: Air Coryell
Kosar used the term to describe the offense formalized by Sid Gillman with the AFL Chargers in the 1960s and later by Don Coryell's St. Louis Cardinals and Chargers in the 1970s and 1980s. Al Davis, an assistant under Gillman, also carried his version to the Oakland Raiders, where his successors John Rauch, John Madden, and Tom Flores continued to employ and expand upon its basic principles. This is the "West Coast Offense" as Kosar originally used the term. However, it is now commonly referred to as the "Air Coryell" timed system, and the term West Coast Offense is usually instead used to describe Bill Walsh's system.
The offense uses a specific naming system, with the routes for wideouts and tight ends receiving three digit numbers, and routes for backs having unique names. For example, a pass play in 3 digit form might be "Split Right 787 check swing, check V". (see Offensive Nomenclature). This provides an efficient way to communicate many different plays with minimal memorization.
[edit] Walsh's West Coast Offense
Walsh formulated what has become popularly known as the West Coast Offense during his tenure as assistant coach for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1968-75, while working under the tutelage of mentor Paul Brown. Walsh installed a modified version of this system when he became head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Walsh's 49ers won three Super Bowls during this period, and as a result, Walsh's version has come to be known as the "West Coast Offense."
A typical pass play would be Red Right 22 Z-in or Red Right Zip 2 Jet Drive.
In contrast, a typical run would be Black Right 36 trap.
Several of Walsh's coordinators went on to successfully implement this system at other teams. George Seifert won two Super Bowls with the 49ers. Mike Shanahan won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. Mike Holmgren won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers and coached in another with the Seattle Seahawks. Holmgren's assistant Jon Gruden went on to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
At the college level, Lavell Edwards implemented his version of the West Coast Offense soon after becoming head coach at Brigham Young University(BYU) in 1972[2] This offense culminated in a NCAA Division I-A national football championship for BYU in 1984. Several coaches and players associated with BYU's football program had success with this offense at BYU and elsewhere including: Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Ty Detmer, Mike Holmgren, Norm Chow, Andy Reid, Brian Billick and Steve Sarkisian among others. The reason for the success in this version of the offense is that it cuts down on complexity. Norm Chow says you have around 12 pass plays and 5 run plays with screens, also you add those to many formations, tag the plays for a little versatility, and then the players know the offense the second day of practice.
A typical pass play would be Far Rt 65. "6" would be the protection and "5" would be the pass patterns.
[edit] Theory
The popular term "West Coast Offense" as a general concept is more of a philosophy and an approach to the game than it is a set of plays or formations. Traditional offensive thinking argues that a team must establish their running game first, which will draw the defense in and open up vertical passing lanes downfield (passing lanes that run perpendicular to the line of scrimmage).
Walsh's "West Coast Offense," on the contrary, stipulates that a defense must first be stretched with a short, horizontal passing attack that features precisely-run pass patterns by the receivers, this makes up about 65- 80% of the offensive scheme with the rest more downfield throws ( 14 yards +) . The majority of these routs take place 15 yards and under. 3-step and 5-step drops by the quarterback to take the place of the run and force the opposing defense to commit their focus solely on those intermediate routes. Contrary to popular belief, the offense also uses the 7 step drop for shallow crosses, deep ins and comebacks. Watch the Michigan Wolverines, they utilize the 5 and 7 step drops about 85% of the time with West Coast pass schemes implemented by Quarterbacks Coach Scot Loeffler. If the WCO only utilized the 3 and 5 step pass game the offense would be ineffective with the speed today on the defensive side of the ball, the defense would be squatting and breaking hard on those short to intermediate throws with no fear of a downfield pass.
Once the defense is focusing on one area only, this will then open up running and passing lanes for the backs and receivers to exploit. In theory, this makes the offensive play calling unpredictable and keeps a defense's play "honest" because most down and distance situations can be attacked with the pass or run in Walsh's "West Coast Offense."
Beyond this basic principle of passing to set up the run, there are few rules that govern Walsh's "WCO". Originally the offense used two split backs, giving it an uneven alignment in which five players aligned to one side of the ball and four players aligned on the other side (with the quarterback and center directly behind the ball). Although Walsh-influenced "WCO" teams now commonly use formations with more or fewer than two backs, the offense's unevenness is still reflected in its pass protection philosophy and continues to distinguish it from single back passing offenses. Throughout the years, coaches have added to, adjusted, modified, simplified, and enhanced Bill Walsh's original adaptation of the Paul Brown offense. Formations and plays vary greatly, as does play calling.
A Walsh innovation in his "WCO" was scripting the first 15 offensive plays of the game ( Walsh went as far as to scripting the first 25 plays but most teams stop at 15). Scripting had several valuable assets. First, the offensive team knew that the first 15 plays would be run as scripted no matter what, allowing them to practice the plays to perfection, minimizing mistakes and penalties. Success of the offense could establish momentum and dictate the flow of the game. Scripting added an element of surprise, since a defense who had a 3rd and long could be caught off guard by a scripted play that had no relationship to the current situation. It also gave the coaching staff an opportunity to run test plays against the defense to gauge their reactions in game situations. Later in the game, an observed tendency in a certain situation by the opposing defense could be exploited.
Another key part of the Walsh "WCO" was "pass first, run later." It was Walsh's intention to gain an early lead by passing the ball, then run the ball on a tired defense late in the game, wearing them down further and running down the clock. The San Francisco 49ers under Walsh often executed this very effectively.
The original West Coast Offense of Sid Gillman uses some of the same principles (pass to establish the run, quarterback throws to timed spots), but offensive formations are generally less complicated with more wideouts and motion. The timed spots are often farther downfield than in the Walsh-style offense, and the system requires a greater reliance on traditional pocket passing.
[edit] Requirements and Disadvantages
The West Coast offense requires a quarterback who throws extremely accurately, and often blindly, very close to opposing players hands. In addition, it requires the quarterback to be able to quickly pick one of 5 receivers to throw to, much quicker than previously used systems. Often, the quarterback cannot think about the play, but instead reacts instinctively--and thus is often under the control of the offensive coordinator, calling the plays for him.
This is in contrast to the previous quarterback requirements of other systems, which were an adept game manager and a strong arm. Thus, for example, many people reasoned that Johnny Unitas, a strong-armed field general would not have fared well in being subservient to the offensive coordinator, and that his long but sometimes wobbly passes would not have worked in the new system. The West Coast offense caused a split still evident today amongst quarterbacks: those who were more adept at the west coast style (Joe Montana, Steve Young, Donovan McNabb) and those more in tune with the old style (Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Peyton Manning).
Also, the West Coast offense requires sure-handed receivers comfortable catching in heavy traffic, and the system downplays speedy, larger receivers who are covered easily in short yardage situation. One result has been the longevity of receivers in the West Coast system (such as the notable Jerry Rice) because a decline in speed is not as harmful, when, in "stretch the field" systems, a receiver who loses a step is a major liability. Finally, receivers must follow precise, complicated routes as opposed to innovation; so subservient, intelligent players are valued more than independent, less-intelligent pure athletes.
A West Coast offense thus requires a willing, accurate passer and sure-handed receivers with intelligence.
Finally, the West Coast offense, with its emphasis on quick reactive skills, can be seen to further develop the running quarterback motif, where extremely fast running quarterbacks (Michael Vick, Jake Plummer, Steve Young) are valued if they are good passers, because, in blitz or short-yardage situations, when the West Coast offense's value is negated, the running quarterback can make up this difference by posing a threat to make the first down himself, paralyzing an aggressive defense.
[edit] References
- ^ 1999 SportsIllustrated.com article. Retrieved 20 May 2005.
- ^ "He put in the West Coast offense before it was known as the West Coast offense. And he did it at a time when college football teams were winning national championships with the run and not the pass." Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2006.
