West Coast Offense - Good, Bad or Ugly?

Well nobody in the league runs the true version of the WCO anymore but there are a number of teams (Seattle, GB, Philly, KC, Buffalo, NYJ, Jax, Minn, NO, TB, SF) that run some variation of it. In it's truest sense, Campbell would probably struggle because most of the passes are slants and skinny posts hitting the WR in stride.. The version we'll run will likely be closer to the version Philly and Seattle run which has much more of a vertical element as well as an increased number of crossing patterns..

McNabb and Campbell, at this stage in Campbell's development, have very similar throwing motions/accuracy issues but McNabb has become very efficient and proficient (especially when he has WR to work with) in that offense. The way they've done that is to move him out of the pocket, have him get in the rythym short range with screens and swings and taking shots deep down the field.

The other great thing about the WCO is there isn't significant pressure on the OL to hold their blocks for long.. Most drops are a 5 step drop rather than 7, most of the time the ball is out very quickly or the QB is on the move, there's not really much bouncing from read to read and risking holding on to the ball forever.

As for our personnel with the WCO, Moss and ARE are well equipped to be complimentary receivers but we'd really benefit from having a tall, fast WR who can make the catches over the middle and rack up some YAC as well, that should be priority #1 for free agency/trade.. Cooley should have an outstanding year as well next year..

Campbell's problem is when he holds on to the ball to long,he gets nervous..Getting rid of the ball fast in the slant game gives the offense the edge..It limits turnovers because the corner doesnt have as good of a chance to react and get square to the ball..

Well nobody in the league runs the true version of the WCO anymore but there are a number of teams (Seattle, GB, Philly, KC, Buffalo, NYJ, Jax, Minn, NO, TB, SF) that run some variation of it. In it's truest sense, Campbell would probably struggle because most of the passes are slants and skinny posts hitting the WR in stride.. The version we'll run will likely be closer to the version Philly and Seattle run which has much more of a vertical element as well as an increased number of crossing patterns..

McNabb and Campbell, at this stage in Campbell's development, have very similar throwing motions/accuracy issues but McNabb has become very efficient and proficient (especially when he has WR to work with) in that offense. The way they've done that is to move him out of the pocket, have him get in the rythym short range with screens and swings and taking shots deep down the field.

The other great thing about the WCO is there isn't significant pressure on the OL to hold their blocks for long.. Most drops are a 5 step drop rather than 7, most of the time the ball is out very quickly or the QB is on the move, there's not really much bouncing from read to read and risking holding on to the ball forever.

As for our personnel with the WCO, Moss and ARE are well equipped to be complimentary receivers but we'd really benefit from having a tall, fast WR who can make the catches over the middle and rack up some YAC as well, that should be priority #1 for free agency/trade.. Cooley should have an outstanding year as well next year..

I agree with pretty much everything that you said, but I do not agree with NO being a WCO team. I think that Peyton is more of a Air Coryell Offense type of coach. At least that is how he was under Parcelles and his 1st season in NO...

I agree with pretty much everything that you said, but I do not agree with NO being a WCO team. I think that Peyton is more of a Air Coryell Offense type of coach. At least that is how he was under Parcelles and his 1st season in NO...
Yeah, I'd agree he's on the outer fringe of the WCO.. He has much more of a vertical focus but has a lot of passes out of the backfield and crossing passes in his scheme..

It's ironic that the Redskins will now run the WCO and San Francisco will run a version of the Coryell offense (Martz)

It's ironic that the Redskins will now run the WCO and San Francisco will run a version of the Coryell offense (Martz)

LOL. Good call with that one

I know we have some smart football folks on this site - I was wondering what you thought about the switch to the West Coast Offense, specifically:

1) Is it just me or is this a terrible move for Campbell? He throws a sweet, sweet long ball, but his short dinks and dumps are horid. They are almost always off target - he just doesn't have that touch in his arsenal. Since this pretty much IS the West Coast Offense, do you think Campbell can change this part of his game, or is the beginning of the end for him...?

2) We definitely have the perfect receivers for this offense; fast, speedy, RAC WR's. Plus Portis has shown himself to be a great (and in my opinion, underutilzed) receiver. Do you think we are good in this area?

3) What does this mean for the O-Line? I know we had a lot of injuries last year, but they group should be starting next year intact and we all know they are a pretty good group of linemen. Does the West Coast Offense call for a different set of O-Lineman? (i.e. smaller and more agile?)

4) We all know that the priorities for the draft are D-Linemen and DB's. Is the move to West Coast Offense going to re-prioritize any of our draft picks?

Thanks for your input!

THE ADE

Mr. Ade,
Very good post. You ask some very important questions.
The true WCO puts a lot more of the pressure and responsibility on the QB, more so than our last system. The West Coast Offense employs a variety of formations and pre-snap motion designed to confuse defenders. This can also confuse young QB's.
The WCO uses the short passing game in place of running the ball so much, so the amount of throwing is going to automatically increase compared to last year. The WCO passes the ball at least 60% of the time. In some cases like the Eagles, even more then 60%. The WCO tries to avoid tendencies that defenses can key on so they throw on any down to diffrent parts of the field. In order to run the true WCO successfully Campbell will need to be ready mentally.
One more thing, Gibbs protected Campbell by running the ball more and keeping a TE or a back in to provide extra blocking. That goes against the WCO philosophy which relys heavily on an ability to flood a defense with more receivers than they can handle.

Campbell was good at the beginning of the season but sorta lost it at the end. He was always throwing picks in big moments and wasnt very accurate. I think that he definatley has a lot of work to do because he can throw the long ball, but it isnt very accurate. He definately needs to improve his decision making because from what I have seen it has been very poor. I also think the receivers have a lot of work to adjust to this too because Coooooley cant do al the short throws. In 05 I remember at least 2 or three passes where Moss got a screen from Brunell and juked one guy and was off to the races. Randle El will have to be better to.

Bottom line: This is gonna be ugly.

I know we have some smart football folks on this site - I was wondering what you thought about the switch to the West Coast Offense, specifically:

1) Is it just me or is this a terrible move for Campbell? He throws a sweet, sweet long ball, but his short dinks and dumps are horid. They are almost always off target - he just doesn't have that touch in his arsenal. Since this pretty much IS the West Coast Offense, do you think Campbell can change this part of his game, or is the beginning of the end for him...?

2) We definitely have the perfect receivers for this offense; fast, speedy, RAC WR's. Plus Portis has shown himself to be a great (and in my opinion, underutilzed) receiver. Do you think we are good in this area?

3) What does this mean for the O-Line? I know we had a lot of injuries last year, but they group should be starting next year intact and we all know they are a pretty good group of linemen. Does the West Coast Offense call for a different set of O-Lineman? (i.e. smaller and more agile?)

4) We all know that the priorities for the draft are D-Linemen and DB's. Is the move to West Coast Offense going to re-prioritize any of our draft picks?

Thanks for your input!

THE ADE

1) While accuracy is not yet JC's strong suit, Im sure than having a former QB as the head coach will definitely be an asset. Zorn will undoubtedly have Campbell more than ready before the season starts, and as someone mentioned earlier, he ran a version of this in college.

2) I think that we are good in this area, but we definitely could do better. The WCO does need receivers that have YAC (yards after catch) ability, it also requires larger receivers who can also break tackles in this predominantly short pass oriented offense. I dont think we need to draft a receiver right away because of this, but we may want to look into it and/or keep our eyes open to who's released in free agency.

3) Our O-line is good. Just add depth in the off season and we will be good. The WCO should bode well for them, because the WCO requires shorter drops from the QB. This in turn, shortens the time that the O-line has to sustain their blocks in pass protection.

4) I think that depending on how our cap space looks, what we do in free agency, and who we release will dictate who we draft. We need a receiver anyway, so Im sure we will address that in the draft. If the draft were held today, I think we would take Devin Thomas out of Michigan state if he is there. At earliest we get a receiver in the 2nd round.

Side Note - I think we should snatch up this guy in the 3rd round. He is projected as a 3rd round player at best, but I say he is the best receivers that you have never heard ofYouTube - Inside K-State Sports - Jordy Nelson Highlight Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6B_VmbiR7o&feature=related)

He would be a joy to have and a value pick at that for us in those middle rounds.

Campbell was good at the beginning of the season but sorta lost it at the end.

Campbell threw for over 300 yards in week 11 and 12 and then got hurt in week 14. Not sure that qualifies as losing it at the end for a rookie quarterback. He did make some mistakes on game ending drives, but people seem to forget that he had a knack for driving us all the way down the field every single time we were in a close game in the final minutes it's just that he had problems right at the very end with regards to finishing. In my mind that was a very good sign from a young QB.