West Coast Offense - Good, Bad or Ugly?

Great responses so far - thanks for the input. Actually, the feedback has created three more questions in my mind:

1) Will the West Coast Offense require Campbell to scramble more? I've always thought he should take off and run with it more - he's definitely got the speed to pick up 1st downs. As far as throwing on the run (i.e. rolling out of the pocket) - this doesn't seem like Campbell strong suit - am I wrong? He seems like more of a pocket passer.

2) Why does everyone think that hiring a great Q-Back coach like Zorn is going to greatly impact Campbell? He is the HEAD COACH. He'll be spending very, very little one-on-one mentoring time with Campbell. As we've already discussed, this is one of the huge downsides of the decision to hire him as Head Coach.

3) Playoff games usually occur in bad weather. How smart is it to have our offense built around a pass-first mentality? Or does it not really matter because of the number of domes and the fact that these guys are pros and are unaffected unless it's a whirling blizzard?

Thanks,
THE ADE


Tried to touch on some of the points you raise in my post above. The offense wont require him to scramble as much as it will to be elusive in the pocket, often being able to make the first potential tackler miss. The ability to roll out, both left and right is one of the principal ingredients neccessary to make the offense effective. Jason is nimble enough, and his feet are quick enough to be effective at what he's going to need to do.

You must remember, Zorn was origionally hired to be the OC, and that hire was designed to further the development of JC. Now that HC has also been attached to his title it's not likely he'll be able to spend as much individual time with JC, however, there are a few things he's going to work on with Jason in hopes of further developing the skills he's going to need to make him effective in this offense.

Bad weather was one of my origional knocks on the WCO. [see Seattle vs Green Bay-in GB] In December & January when it's imperative you have balance, the running game is every teams best friend. I'm hoping our offense will resemble a more modified version of the WC that includes some power running, and not just limited to draw plays & screens simular to what the Phila. Eagles utilize. It's going to have to be more diversified to succeed in inclimate regions when the games are most important.

I think people around here are going to be very surprised just how accurate JC can be when he is running the West Coast Offense. He had a ridiculously high completion percentage(One of the best ever in the history of the SEC) his senior year at Auburn when they went undefeated. That year the Tigers ran a version of the WCO.

Campbell's completion percentage his senior year at Auburn was 69.6%

I read somewhere that the WCO Jason Campbell ran at Auburn was grossly simplified so he could operate it more effectivly. In addition to it be simplified it was also a run first style of the WCO, which many believed is why Campbell was so accurate in the passing game that year. Bear in mind, there were also two top 5 running backs (Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown) on the team, when Auburn went undeafeted, as well.

Keep in mind I am just reporting what I have read from many different people. I do not watch college football, so I cannot say if that is the case or not? If someone knows other wise I would like to hear it.

There are plenty of cold weather teams that utilize WCO principles. Philly, Green Bay, Denver, Seattle, and even New England to a degree.

I found a good article on the history of the WCO, it's by our friend Lenny P but it's still worth the read:

ESPN.com: NFL - All roads lead to Walsh ... sort of (http://espn.go.com/nfl/s/westcoast/history.html)

Pros and cons of the west coast (http://espn.go.com/nfl/s/westcoast/prosandcons.html)

I'd be interested to see if his short to intermediate range accuracy increased as the season progressed last year. I think that part of the reason for his struggles was due to the receivers making the adjustment from left-handed, lo-mein with shrimp armed Brunell, to right-handed, Pachelbelled armed Campbell.

Well there has to be a reason that our WRs dropped so many balls alst year. Campbell throws the ball at least 10 MPH harder and I think that really messed things up with the WRs. They'll get used to it.

There are plenty of cold weather teams that utilize WCO principles. Philly, Green Bay, Denver, Seattle, and even New England to a degree.

I found a good article on the history of the WCO, it's by our friend Lenny P but it's still worth the read:

ESPN.com: NFL - All roads lead to Walsh ... sort of (http://espn.go.com/nfl/s/westcoast/history.html)


Over the years I have become a proponent of the WC after witnessing how effective it can be run by some teams [not all that use it] There have been varying viewpoints, and each viewpoint has it's pro's and con's. I certainly cannot argue with success, and after watching Bill Walsh win four SB utilizing this particular type offense, I see no reason why it can't be successful for the Redskins. Right coaching-right personell=success.

I read somewhere that the WCO Jason Campbell ran at Auburn was grossly simplified so he could operate it more effectivly. In addition to it be simplified it was also a run first style of the WCO, which many believed is why Campbell was so accurate in the passing game that year. Bear in mind, there were also two top 5 running backs (Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown) on the team, when Auburn went undeafeted, as well.

If someone knows other wise I would like to hear it.

Jason Campbell holds Auburn's career completion percentage at 64.6%.
This guy had to run a new system every single year he was there and he still ends up with the all time accuracy record?

To say Ronnie Brown and especially Cadillac Williams have underachieved as pro's considering where they were drafted would be an understatement. Those two running backs play so far seems to help prove that Auburn's quarterback was quite possibly the reason that team was so efficient. Also college teams usually run simplified versions of pro schemes if they attempt to run them at all.

Jason Campbell was voted as SEC player of the year during the undefeated season. It was Jason Campbell who dismantled Tennessee in the SEC Championship game. He completed 27-of-35 for 374 yards. He also rushed for 57 yards, setting an SEC championship game record with 431 yards total offense.

I assume that the Redskins will run a type of WCO that best fits the players that we have to run it. Maybe we can run a simplified version that will allow Campbell to continue to fool people with his inaccuracy.

Al Saunders system might not have been the best fit for Campbell and if you want to see Campbell and his accuracy check out that SEC Championship game. Here is a link.

YouTube - Jason Campbell 2005 SEC Championship Game 1stHalf Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bd7BoF5zbY) 1st half


YouTube - Jason Campbell 2005 SEC Championship Game 2ndHalf Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVPthlhGb54) 2nd half

Jason Campbell was voted as SEC player of the year during the undefeated season. It was Jason Campbell who dismantled Tennessee in the SEC Championship game. He completed 27-of-35 for 374 yards. He also rushed for 57 yards, setting an SEC championship game record with 431 yards total offense.

Al Saunders system might not have been the best fit for Campbell and if you want to see Campbell and his accuracy check out that SEC Championship game. Here is a link.

YouTube - Jason Campbell 2005 SEC Championship Game 1stHalf Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bd7BoF5zbY) 1st half


YouTube - Jason Campbell 2005 SEC Championship Game 2ndHalf Highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVPthlhGb54) 2nd half


WOW. I didn't see that game, but just watched both the clips. If I had to be honest, Campbell was really not all that impressive in those highlights. Especially considering the stats he put up. Almost all of his big plays were when Tennesee didn't pressure him at all and the DB play was horrible. When he was pressured, he was mostly indecisive and usually either threw it away or forced it in to a bad situation. He sure was bailed out a lot by DB penalites... I don't think he'd get away with half of that against an NFL defense. I'm not a Campbell hater for sure, but I came away from those video clips very disappointed. If that is the best game of his college career, then our scouting folks need to be fired. Yikes.

WOW. I didn't see that game, but just watched both the clips. If I had to be honest, Campbell was really not all that impressive in those highlights. Especially considering the stats he put up. Almost all of his big plays were when Tennesee didn't pressure him at all and the DB play was horrible. When he was pressured, he was mostly indecisive and usually either threw it away or forced it in to a bad situation. He sure was bailed out a lot by DB penalites... I don't think he'd get away with half of that against an NFL defense. I'm not a Campbell hater for sure, but I came away from those video clips very disappointed. If that is the best game of his college career, then our scouting folks need to be fired. Yikes.

You must be joking. Maybe football scout isn't the job for you.

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:D