HQW 4: TIME TO DUMP THE WEST COAST OFFENSE?!

[Guest Huskerboard]

TIME TO DUMP THE WEST COAST OFFENSE?

 

The 4 Biggest Myths of the WCO, Analyzed and Explained

 

AR Husker Fan, HuskerBoard.com feature writer

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I admit it - I'm an old guy, and football, to me, is the art of physical domination. When I think of Nebraska, I think of a stifling defense and an offense that pounds the ball down the other team' s throat. There' s nothing more beautiful than seeing an option perfectly executed.

 

So let' s look at some of the myths and misconceptions of the West Coast offense, shall we?

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1) The West Coast offense makes it possible to recruit the best athletes.

 

What utter rubbish. The West Coast offense allows you a chance to recruit the kinds of athletes that thrive in the West Coast offense. It' s that simple. If you run an option attack, you can recruit option quarterbacks, offensive lineman who prefer to run-block, and stud running backs. If you run a pro passing attack, you can recruit drop-back NFL prototype quarterbacks and "Randy Moss-type" receivers. The key - no matter what offense you run - is to recruit those athletes that can execute your offense. You don' t recruit West Coast players for an option attack. Likewise, you don' t recruit option athletes for a West Coast attack.

 

2) The West Coast offense makes it possible to come from behind.

 

The reality is that the West Coast offense is a ball-control offense - not a quick-strike offense. It' s based on short-to-intermediate passing. Florida' s old " Fun-and-Gun" offense was a quick-strike offense.

 

3) In the West Coast offense, the short passing game is actually the same as a running play.

 

Yeah, right, and my ex-wife was the same as Michelle Phiffer. If she were, she wouldn' t be my ex-wife. Remember the old adage - three things can happen when you pass the ball, and two of them are bad. A pass is a pass is a pass. When you have lousy weather, it' s far safer to hand the ball to the back then it is to put it in the air - I don' t care if the pass travels two feet or twenty yards.

 

4) The West Coast offense provides balance.

 

This one always amuses me. If a short pass in the West Coast offense is akin to a running play, then how can the short pass provide balance? Can' t have it both ways.

 

Given all this, and add in the fact that the offense is so dependent on the quarterback' s ability to read and deliver, it' s clear that this is a failed experiment for Nebraska, and it' s time to go back to the option, right?

 

Wrong. And here's why...

 

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1) Recruiting

 

When you run the option, you need a running quarterback that can pass... and oh yeah, make the near-instantaneous decision to deliver the ball to the fullback, keep the ball for himself, or pitch it to the running back. Folks, those guys are rare. Most high schools that have "running" quarterbacks do so out of necessity - they don' t have anyone who can pass the pill. They place their best athlete at quarterback, and he becomes the primary ballcarrier. He rarely hands off or pitches - and he for damn-sure doesn' t learn to pass. A Tommy Frazier is the exception, not the rule. Likewsie a true NFL-prototype drop-back passer - the guy with the cannon arm - is just as rare. So what' s the most common kind of quarterback? One who is a good passer, has some quickness and ability to slide to elude the rush, and who can make good decisions. I' m certainly not saying that everyone can do this - but the odds of finding one of these kinds of quarterback are higher than the other two.

 

Then you also have the chance to recruit some actual receivers - they know the ball will be aired out. They don' t have to be "Randy Moss-type" receivers, of which there are damn few out there.

 

Finally, there' s the offensive lineman. Ultimately, the option is predicated on the ability to run up the gut. Stop that, and you severely limit what the offense can do. This means that you also need lineman that can physically dominate the defensive lineman. At one time, Nebraska stood head-and-shoulders above the nation in developing this kind of lineman - but those days are done. Why? Because everyone has caught up in terms of weight-training, and with the scholarship limitations a school like Nebraska doesn' t have the option of redshirting kids or not playing them until their junior year - and if they did, most kids would go elsewhere anyway.

 

It's the "instant gratification" mindset. Now, add to that the fact that changing to a true drop-back, pro-style passing offense is not possible at Nebraska - the weather alone kills that "option" - and it becomes clear that the offense which gives Nebraska the best chance to recruit is the West Coast offense.

 

2) Coming from behind

 

Okay, we know the West Coast offense is a ball-control offense. But that's not the issue. What' s important is that even if the short passing game is a "type of run" - and mind you, I don' t agree that it is - it' s still a pass! That means on any given play, the defenders can' t simply plan on stuffing the run. They have to respect the pass - and can' t simply load the box on every play. If the run isn't working, the team has the ability to go to the pass. That kind of versatility can drive a defense nuts - and gives the offense the ability to move the ball. And if the air gets stale - it's back to the ground! In fact, the best iterations of the West Coast offense are always predicated on a good running attack. In an option attack, all a defense has to do is stop the run - the option attack has trouble moving the ball through the air. Likewise, in a true passing attack, the defense can drop back multiple defenders because the offense simply can' t run well enough. How many times can you think of when Nebraska fell behind, and everyone knew that the game was over - because they were one-dimensional, and "out of their element". Sometimes the threat of the pass is enough to make the run work.

 

3) But a short screen pass is pretty much a sweep run, right?

 

NO no no!! Damnit we wen't over this!! (see "a pass is a pass" reference above) BUT...it is a form of ball-control. Yeah, bad things can happen when the ball goes in the air. But the intent of the West Coast offense - unlike a true passing-based attack - is that it's intended to limit the offense' s vulnerability.

 

Can it be affected by weather? Sure it can...but so can the run when you have to pitch the ball. But to say that this is a reason it won' t work at Nebraska is crap. Look at both San Francisco under Walsh and Green Bay now. In San Francisco you have constant wind - not to mention fog and moisture from the bay. In Green Bay you have biting cold. The offense works there. Now, I know what you' re going to say, "Yeah, but the Niners had Montana and Young, and Green Bay has Farve". True - very true. But while Farve has that incredible arm, Joe sure didn' t. What he had was good decision-making ability - same as Farve. That' s what the offense needs. Give it that, and a line that can pass-block, and the quarterback can make the offense run, even in the worst weather. And, again, in the option the ball' s going into the air anyway. Would you rather have it going backwards as a potential fumble, or forward as a potential incompletion? If the weather affects the ball when it' s flung forward, it' s also going to affect it when it' s pitched backward.

 

Okay, you've almost made it through Intro to WCO 101 - stay with me here -one more to go!!

 

4) Balance

 

Above I said that the offense isn' t really balanced - or at least, you can' t claim that the short passing game is the equivalent of a run and call it balanced. But that' s the point - it isn' t a run. And to repeat - the issue is that the defense has to be prepared to defend both the run and the pass. The balance comes from the fact that these are two very different skills, and that the defense can' t simply assume that each play is going to be a run and stack the box. It has to respect the threat of either.

 

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Right now, everyone is bemoaning the West Coast offense. Folks, it ain' t the offense. Dailey needs to grow into it. He has to learn to look off the defense, to go to his second and third receivers. Will he learn it? Can he learn it? Only time will tell. But even if he can' t, that' s not the reason to dump this offense. Over time, it still gives us the best chance - the best chance to gather recruits, the best chance to come from behind even in bad weather, the best chance to keep the defense on its heels.

 

This is going to take time. Even a kid who spent his entire high school career in the offense is going to have difficulty making it run his first time out - and this is, in reality, Joe' s first time out. He may not ultimately be the guy - but it' s too early to make that call. And even if he isn' t, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. It doesn' t mean that the West Coast offense won' t work for NU. IT WILL. It may take longer than we like, but it will - and WE WILL be glad we waited.

 

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AR Husker Fan

[Eric the Red]

WOW, very nice Ark. A lot to digest.

 

For now, this must be up for post of the week. Humerous:

"Yeah, right, and my ex-wife was the same as Michelle Phiffer. If she were, she wouldn' t be my ex-wife."

[RedCountry]

Would you rather have it going backwards as a potential fumble, or forward as a potential incompletion?

 

Good point.. and great read, nice job AR Husker!! Lookin fwd to WCO 102!!

[fasteddie]

football, to me, is the art of physical domination. When I think of Nebraska, I think of a stifling defense and an offense that pounds the ball down the other team' s throat. There' s nothing more beautiful than seeing an option perfectly executed

 

great quote. good story too thankx for it!

[c-husker]

For an "old guy", you sound pretty damn smart. I'm not much of a numbers guy, but I do know that we had 476 total yards in offense last week which, while down from the W. Illinois game, was still 75 yards more than our highest output (yes, highest) of last year. Also, we are currently 7th in the nation in rushing offense (11th in overall offense).

 

Great post.

 

c-husker

(the C is for Callahanrules!)

[Eric the Red]

was still 75 yards more than our highest output (yes, highest) of last year.

SWEET

[HuskerBob]

good stuf AR. man that musve takin some time. thanks for puttin that together brutha!!

[Benard]

I'll be honest. I miss the smashmouth/option. We seem so wimpy, when I see Joe D. try to run this year compared to last it makes me want to gag. Did we need to open it up? Yes, but could we run our smashmouth and be very successful and it would be alot more fun for me to watch.

[fasteddie]

what else is up your sleeve AR??

[gamecocks]

What a great article, but one thing still confuses me. Is a short pass the same as a run or not. Just Kidding. We need to give this offense some time.

[joshuavacek]

I would like to see Joe D. make some visable approvments in his getting through his reads. One of the strenghts of the West Coast Offense is throwing to the running backs, but Joe D. never seems to get there. Our offensive strenghts are at the running back position, so why not try to get them the ball more?

[Benard]

I would like to see Joe D. make some visable approvments in his getting through his reads. One of the strenghts of the West Coast Offense is throwing to the running backs, but Joe D. never seems to get there. Our offensive strenghts are at the running back position, so why not try to get them the ball more?

I'd rather do texas tech's offense then this offense.

[joshuavacek]

TEXAS TECH DOES HAVE THE MOST EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE IN THE COUNTRY BUT THEY HAVE BEEN RUNNING THAT OFFENSE FOR A FEW YEARS AND HAVE PERSONELL THERE THAT CAN RUN IT. iT ALL STARTS WITH THE QUARTERBACK AND THAT IS WHERE WE ARE LACKING RIGHT NOW. NO OFFENSE TO JOE D. BUT HE IS NOT DOING THE JOB THAT IS NEEDED. I BELIEVE HE CAN DO IT, BUT HE IS NOT SHOWING IT RIGHT NOW.IF HE WANTS TO BE THE MAN NEXT YEAR HE HAD BETTER START IMPROVING.

[Benard]

TEXAS TECH DOES HAVE THE MOST EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE IN THE COUNTRY BUT THEY HAVE BEEN RUNNING THAT OFFENSE FOR A FEW YEARS AND HAVE PERSONELL THERE THAT CAN RUN IT. iT ALL STARTS WITH THE QUARTERBACK AND THAT IS WHERE WE ARE LACKING RIGHT NOW. NO OFFENSE TO JOE D. BUT HE IS NOT DOING THE JOB THAT IS NEEDED. I BELIEVE HE CAN DO IT, BUT HE IS NOT SHOWING IT RIGHT NOW.IF HE WANTS TO BE THE MAN NEXT YEAR HE HAD BETTER START IMPROVING.

Don't know if I agree with that. Your going to have to get a peyton manning type before this offense works against the good good teams. Right now it's not even working against the crappy teams let alone the good teams.

[Eric the Red]