West Coast Offense

[Daanie]

In the fun-n-gun, you dont protect the QB

[Darth Tater]

The WCO is all about preparation and integration.

[Robbnva]

Fun n' gun has as many pass catchers on the field as possible, which means little protection for the QB, which is why Ramsey was annihilated back there.]

The WCO uses a zone blocking technique, and employs many sets, not just 5 WR. WCO is a proven offense on the NFL level. Fun n' gun is proven only at the college level.

WCO emphasizes the pass to set up the run, fun n' gun really only emphasizes the pass.

Thta's about as simplistic as I can make it.

Spurrier didn't like the idea of dump off passes, usually a team will have a player available in case nobody was open and Spurrier never had that in his offense.

[darrelgreenie]

Can anyone here explain to me simplistically, the differnce between what Zorn is attempting to do and what Spurrier failed at doing. Are these not the same offenses. What makes this organization believe we can be successful if we already failed in this system? Who else in this division has been successful with this system.

Confused

Zorn will run the 'WCO' offense. The 'Ole Ball Coach' used a deep passing attack with very few and often no check down receivers. Most if not all the receivers routes ended in the endzone eg(X-Deep Post Y-Deep Flag Z-Go Route).

The 'WCO' and 'ol pitch and catch' are opposites.

The 'WCO' is hard to explain in simply terms but its is predicated on the QB throwing short-intermediate passes designed to hit receivers running 5-15 yard patterns in stride to run after the catch.

In the 'WCO' the QB gets the ball out quick.

The Eagles run it.

Also: Green Bay, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Broncos, Vikings, Texans, Jets

I hope it helps

[LifelongSkinsFan]

Another good link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_coast_offense

[“Misdirection”]

I find this to be the best link by far:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-west-coast-offense.htm

[dcnativenerd]

From what I understand, The Old Ball Coach liked to use the deep pass often to put points on the board quickly. The WCO (Zorn's system) uses short passes to set up the run, move the ball down the field, and eat away at the clock.

I'm feeling good about this season, guys. I can't recall feeling this optimistic since...last season

[Emoshag]

Basic differences:

WCO

Many variations of the WCO.

Passes - horizontal and short. Emphasis on high percentage throws with gains coming in yards after the catch. Relies upon the extended handoff instead of standard running plays. That is, many passes will occur behind the line of scrimmage - screen plays and other dump offs to RBs and FBs.

Position Groupings - varied. We may see 4 WR sets, 2 pass catching TEs + 2 WRs, 2 RBs + 1 TE + 2 WRs. Since Cooley and the new TE have both done HB duty I expect we'll see those guys moving around quite a bit.

Running plays - generally zone blocking as WC OL's are often designed for pass blocking first and power blocking second.

The WCO isn't designed to dump off. The routes are shorter and quicker and are designed to keep space. Hitches, slants, drags and curls are the typical passing routes. The reason accuracy is emphasized is because in press man coverage the receiver needs to keep stride to create the YAC.

Notorious WCO Examples:

Brett Favre throwing the WR slant.

Donoan McNabb throwing the HB hitch.

Steve Young throwing the Jerry Rice curl.

The dump off is actually timing based for the TEs and RBs. It functions more like a screen where the receiver (TE/RB) sets, engages and releases the defender at the line of scrimmage, creating space behind and far enough in front of the secondary to pick up YAC. Al Saunders had a few routes for Cooley like that in his book, but he only ever seemed to dig them out on 3rd and longs.

The best way I can describe those routes for non-playcalling types is like the offense attacking the secondary with a saftey blanket.

[HateOffSeason]

The best expaination I ever saw on the WCO was on a show on NFL network where Joe Montana was going through all the wide reciever progrressions and different quarterback drops. It was an old video, probably done when he was still playing for the 49'rs. He really did an excellent job explaining what he looked for first, and what made his decision for where he threw it. The quote I really remember was that he said they didn't set up for deep passes, deep passes were designed into every play, but was only thrown if it was open.

I'm sorry I don't remember the name of the show, or have a link. Maybe someone better than I am at searching can find the video on the internet.