West Coast offense

In American football, the West Coast offense is an offense that places a greater emphasis on passing than on running.

There are two similar but distinct offensive strategic systems which are commonly referred to as "West Coast offenses". Originally the term referred to the Air Coryell system popularized by Don Coryell. However, following a journalistic error, it now more commonly refers to the offensive system devised by Bill Walsh while with the Cincinnati Bengals, characterized by short, horizontal passing routes in lieu of running plays to "stretch out" defenses, opening up the potential for long runs or long passes.

History and use of the term

The term "West Coast offense", as it is now commonly used, derives from a remark made by then-New York Giants coach Bill Parcells after the Giants defeated the San Francisco 49ers 17-3 in the 1985 playoffs. Parcells, a believer in tough defense over finesse-oriented offense, scornfully derided the 49ers' offense with the statement, "What do you think of that West Coast Offense now?"^[1] In 1993, a Bernie Kosar quotation used to describe the 1993 Dallas Cowboys' offense as 'West Coast offense' was publicized by Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman ("Dr. Z"). Originally Kosar had meant a comparison to the "Air Coryell" system used by west coast teams in the 1970s, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. A reporter mistakenly applied Kosar's quotation about the Air Coryell system to the 1980s-era attack of Walsh's San Francisco 49ers.^[2] Initially, Walsh resisted having the term misapplied to his own distinct system (Zimmerman noted that an article so misapplying the term led to an upset Walsh phone call to Zimmerman – "He called me up....(saying) that wasn't his offense."), but the moniker stuck. Now the term is commonly used to refer to a range of pass-oriented offenses that may not be closely related to either the Air Coryell system or Walsh's pass-strategy. Despite the "West Coast" name, the true origins of the offense go back to Paul Brown, legendary coach of the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Under Brown's tenure, Bill Walsh was tasked with coming up with an offense better suited for quarterback Virgil Carter, who had a relatively weak arm. What Walsh would devise is system based on precise, horizontal stretch-based passes. This system countered for Carter's weak arm, as it allowed the ball to be thrown to intermediate routes-the theory being that the receiver will make up the total yardage. After leaving the Bengals, Bill Walsh implemented his ball-control, high percentage pass game in San Francisco to great success. The West Coast offense was then passed on by Walsh's disciples, and its principles still remain in use today.

Vertical

Bernie 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 instead the term West Coast offense is usually used to describe Bill Walsh's system.

The offense uses a specific naming system, with the routes for wide receivers 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. Conversely, the Walsh "West Coast offense" could in theory have more freedom, since route combinations are not limited by 0-9 digits, but at the price of much more memorization required by the players.

NFL teams that used Sid Gillman's Vertical offense

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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 to 1975, while working under the tutelage of mentor Paul Brown. Bengals quarterback Virgil Carter would be the first player to successfully implement Walsh's system,^[4] leading the NFL in pass completion percentage in 1971. Ken Anderson later replaced Carter as Cincinnati's starting QB, and was even more successful. In his 16-year career in the NFL, Anderson made four trips to the Pro Bowl, won four passing titles, was named NFL MVP in 1981, and set what was then the record for completion percentage in a single season in 1982 (70.66%).

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, behind the passing abilities of legendary quarterback Joe Montana. As a result, Walsh's version has come to be known as the "West Coast offense". Montana thrived for many years as the starting QB for the 49ers. He captured 4 Super Bowl titles (three of them under Walsh), 3 Super Bowl MVP awards, and 2 AP NFL MVP titles while in San Francisco in the 1980s. Montana and Walsh have both been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Walsh's coaching tree

Several of Walsh's coordinators went on to successfully implement his West Coast Offense system.

George Seifert succeeded Walsh as San Francisco's head coach in 1989, and won two Super Bowls with the 49ers; once with Joe Montana at quarterback in 1989, and later with Steve Young in 1994.

Mike Holmgren won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in 1996 behind the quarterbacking of 3-time NFL MVP Brett Favre, and then returned to the Super Bowl in 1997 where they lost to the Denver Broncos coached by Mike Shanahan. Holmgren later became head coach of the Seattle Seahawks where they were Super Bowl finalists in the 2005 season. One of Holmgren's assistants, Jon Gruden, went on to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 season. Another one-time member of Holmgren's coaching staff, Andy Reid, has successfully utilized the West Coast offense during his tenure as a head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, with the Eagles being Super Bowl finalists in the 2004 season.

Mike Shanahan won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos in 1997 & 1998, utilizing the leadership and passing skills of quarterback John Elway. Shanahan's run-heavy variation of the offense, under the leadership of offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, is also known for utilizing previously unheralded running backs, including 1998 NFL MVP Terrell Davis, and developing them into league-leading rushers behind small, yet powerful, Zone Blocking offensive lines. Kubiak became head coach of the Broncos in the 2015 season and won the Super Bowl.

College origins

LaVell Edwards and Dewey Warren created an offensive system similar to the West Coast offense at Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1973.^[5]

One reason for the success of this version of the offense was in its simplicity. Norm Chow said the offenses had around 12 basic pass plays and 5 basic run plays which were run from a variety of formations, with only some plays tagged for extra versatility, so that the players knew the offense by the second day of practice.

The highpoint of the BYU offense was a NCAA Division I-A national football championship in 1984 and a Heisman Trophy for Ty Detmer in 1990. BYU broke over 100 NCAA records for passing and total offense during Edwards' tenure. Several coaches and players associated with BYU's football program had success with this offense at BYU and elsewhere, including Mike Holmgren, Andy Reid, Brian Billick, Ted Tollner, Doug Scovil, Norm Chow, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Ty Detmer, and Steve Sarkisian.

The University of Washington Huskies were among the first of the Pac-10 teams and in 1970, under coach Jim Owens and quarterback Sonny Sixkiller, used the "Sixkiller" variation of Coryell’s West Coast offense with great success. Years later in 2002, under coach Keith Gilbertson and quarterback Cody Pickett, the Huskies ran a variation of Walsh’s West Coast offense to a conference championship and a top four passing attack averaging 352.4 yards per game.^[6] Today, the West Coast offense no longer only resides on the west coast, but can be found in schools across the nation, including Boise State,^[7] and Vanderbilt.^[8] Former Pittsburgh and Stanford head coach Walt Harris also used a variation of the West Coast offense during his stint at Pittsburgh.

Theory

The popular term "West Coast Offense" 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 its running game first, which will draw the defense in and open up vertical passing lanes downfield; i.e., passing lanes that run perpendicular to the line of scrimmage.

Bill Walsh's West Coast Offense differs from traditional offense by emphasizing a short, horizontal passing attack to help stretch out the defense, thus opening up options for longer running plays and longer passes that can achieve greater gains. The West Coast Offense as implemented under Walsh features precisely run pass patterns by the receivers that make up about 65% to 80% of the offensive scheme. With the defense stretched out, the offense is then free to focus the remaining plays on longer throws of more than 14 yards and mid to long yard rushes.

Desired outcome

Walsh's West Coast Offense attempts to open up running and passing lanes for the backs and receivers to exploit, by causing the defense to concentrate on short passes. Since most down and distance situations can be attacked with a pass or a run, the intent is to make offensive play calling unpredictable and thus keep the defense's play "honest", forcing defenders to be prepared for a multitude of possible offensive plays rather than focusing aggressively on one likely play from the offense.

Beyond the basic principle of passing to set up the run, there are few rules that govern Walsh's West Coast Offense. 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). This imbalance forced defenses to abandon their own favored, conventional formations. Although Walsh-influenced 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.

Another key part of the Walsh implementation 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 both Bill Walsh and George Seifert, often executed this strategy very effectively.

Another key element in Walsh's attack was the three step dropback instead of traditional seven step drops or shotgun formations. The three step drop helped the quarterback get the ball out faster resulting in far fewer sacks. "WCO" plays unfold quicker than in traditional offenses and are usually based on timing routes by the receivers. In this offense the receivers also have reads and change their routes based on the coverages presented to them. The quarterback makes three reads and if no opportunity is available after three reads, the QB will then check off to a back or tight end. Five step and even 7 step dropbacks are now implemented in modern day WCO's because defensive speed has increased since the 80's. Some modern WCO's have even used shotgun formations (e.g. Green Bay, Atlanta '04-'06, Philadelphia '04-present).

Typical plays

The majority of West Coast Offense routes occur within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. 3-step and 5-step drops by the quarterback 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. For instance, past Michigan Wolverines offenses utilized the 5- and 7-step drops about 85% of the time with West Coast pass schemes implemented by then-Quarterbacks Coach Scot Loeffler. Because of the speed of modern defenses, only utilizing the 3- and 5-step pass game would be ineffective since the defense could squat and break hard on short-to-intermediate throws with no fear of a down field pass.

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 down field than in the Walsh-style offense, and the system requires a greater reliance on traditional pocket passing.

Another aspect that makes the West Coast offense one of the most difficult to master is that it requires a deeper connection between quarterback and receiver, and an ability to communicate mid-play. On any given route, a receiver has as many as three options; a hitch, a slant and a fly, depending on what the defense is showing. The quarterback is responsible for recognizing the defense and the reaction of the receiver to it and adjusting the route if needed. This explains the communication mistakes that commonly occur on West Coast offensive plays where the quarterback throws to a spot that the receiver is running away from.

Scripted plays

A Walsh innovation was scripting the first 15 offensive plays of the game. Walsh went as far as to script the first 25 plays but most teams stop at 15. Since the offensive team knew that the first 15 plays would be run as scripted no matter what, they could practice those plays to perfection, minimizing mistakes and penalties. By ignoring situational play-calling and increasing the game tempo, scripted plays also served to confuse the defense and induce early penalties. Executing these plays successfully could establish momentum and dictate the flow of the game. 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.

Requirements and disadvantages

The West Coast offense requires a quarterback who throws extremely accurately, and often blindly, very close to opposing players. In addition, it requires the quarterback to be able to quickly pick the best one of five receivers to throw to, certainly much more quickly than in previously used systems. Often, the quarterback has no time to think about the play and must act robotically, executing the play exactly as instructed by the offensive coordinator, who calls the plays for him.

This is in contrast to the roles quarterbacks were required to perform in other systems, which were to be an adept game manager with a strong arm. 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 West Coast system. The West Coast offense caused a split still evident today among quarterbacks; those who were more adept at the West Coast style: Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck; and those more in tune with the old style: Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, and Peyton Manning. Rich Gannon is a good example of a quarterback who fared better in one system than the other. Gannon struggled in the old style system but found great success with the Oakland Raiders and the West Coast system run by head coaches Jon Gruden and Bill Callahan.

The West Coast offense requires sure-handed receivers who are 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 Jerry Rice, because familiarity with the system and clear signalling is of greater importance than systems that require a receiver to "stretch the field" where any loss of speed is a major liability. "WCO" systems also rely on agile running backs that catch the ball as often as they run. Roger Craig was a leading receiver for the 49ers for many years and was a 1,000 yard rusher and 1,000 yard receiver in the 1985 season. Finally, receivers must follow precise, complicated routes as opposed to improvisation, making meticulous, intelligent players more valued than independent, pure athletes. Jerry Rice's unique skill-set made him a reliable and durable asset in both Walsh's and Seifert's versions of the West Coast Offense, and he was able to break numerous NFL receiving records over the course of his career. Rice, who earned induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010, recorded 1,549 receptions, 22,895 receiving yards, and 208 total touchdowns, more than any other NFL player in all three categories.

Another aspect of the West Coast offense is the use of fast running quarterbacks. In blitz or short-yardage situations, many of the West Coast offense's strengths are negated by defenses blocking running and passing lanes. A running quarterback can compensate by acting as a runner himself, paralyzing an overly aggressive defense. Quarterbacks such as Randall Cunningham and Michael Vick have been successful runners in this offense, as well as other notable scrambling quarterbacks such as Jake Plummer, Donovan McNabb, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick

College teams that used the West Coast offense

• 1977–1978 Stanford – Coached by Bill Walsh
• 1989–1991 Stanford – Coached by Dennis Green
• 1992–1994 Stanford – Coached by Bill Walsh
• 1995–1997 Stanford – Offense coordinated by Dana Bible
• 1996 California - Coached by Steve Mariucci
• 1999–2006 Boston College – Offense coordinated by Dana Bible
• 2004–2007 Auburn – Offense coordinated by Al Borges
• 2004–2005 UCLA – Offense coordinated by Tom Cable
• 2004–2008 Mississippi State University – Coached by Sylvester Croom
• 2004–2007 Nebraska – Coached by Bill Callahan
• 2007–2012 North Carolina State University – Offense coordinated by Dana Bible
• 2008–2011 Texas A&M – Coached by Mike Sherman
• 2009–2010 San Diego State University – Offense coordinated by Al Borges
• 2011–2013 University of Louisville – Offense coordinated by Shawn Watson
• 2013–present San Diego State University – Offense coordinated by Bob Toledo
• 2014–present Vanderbilt – Offense coordinated by Karl Dorrell
• 2014–present Wyoming – Offense coordinated by Brent Vigen
• 2014-present Alabama - Offense coordinated by Lane Kiffin
• 2015–present Michigan – Coached by Jim Harbaugh
• 2008–present Baylor University – Offense coordinated by Art Briles
• 2015–present University of Georgia – Offense coordinated by Brian Schottenheimer

NFL teams that used the West Coast offense

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References

Notes

External links

• Culture Crossfire article covering History/Background of West Coast Offense
• 1999 SportsIllustrated.com article
• 2004 SportsIllustrated.com article
• ESPN.com explanation of West Coast offense
• 1982 San Francisco 49ers Playbook
• 1985 San Francisco 49ers Playbook
• 1985 Stanford QB Manual Bill Walsh
• 1991 San Francisco 49ers Passing Game (Mike Holmgren)
• 1994 San Francisco 49ers Pass Installation
• 1997 Green Bay Packers Playbook
• West Coast Offense