Five Principles of the West Coast Offense

[KDawg]

I wanna break down the QB reads a little. I've received a few PMs wondering what they were, so I figured I could talk about them a little more.

The QB presnap looks for the following:

-Stance

-Positioning

-Depth of Defenders

After presnap reads, there are two types of reads a QB will make:

1) Keying a defender to determine a strong or weakside throw.

2) Reading a passing lane

For 1, when doing the presnap read, you look for the safety located furthest away from the receiver. The quarterback works his reads outside-in from that spot.

For 2, if the quarterback sees a throwing lane is cut off by a defender, he looks for his next progression. Meaning, even if a defender drops into coverage, if that defender isn't in the passing lane to your receiver, the receiver isn't covered.

[BigRedskinDaddy]

Kdawg, you got stickied! Lucky SOB -

[KDawg]

Nah. You, Oldfan, Lombardis_Kid_Brother and Major are just as big a reason why this thread is stickied

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

the way we teach it, there is a technique for a covered lineman, and a technique for an uncovered lineman.

every lineman, at the snap of the ball, steps to the play side. if he's covered, it's a t-step, with the play side foot. a t-step is almost a horizontal step. but it's a very small step.

if you're uncovered, it's what we call a bucket step. basically, you have to give ground to gain ground. the first step is to play side, w/ play side foot, but the step has to give you a little depth.

most down defensive lineman are double teamed at the point of attack (except the last down lin, we add the linebacker, and they learn to make the read and peel off.

Maj,

Are you coaching in the Eastern Panhandle? Were you coaching when JR House was playing?

I think Nitro High's offense under House would have made Oldfan spontaneously combust. They lined up in the shotgun spread, ran nothing but option routes, and scored 60 points a game on everyone.

(House ended up in the Pirates organization for a few years as a catcher, then went to WVU as a QB, but was never going to supplant White....I'm not sure where he is now).

On edit....he has a freaking Wikipedia page; he is with the Astros now.

A top high school football player at Nitro, J.R. House set a national high school record with 10 touchdown passes in the 1998 West Virginia state championship game against Morgantown. He was the West Virginia high school football player of the year and also set a national record with 14,457 career passing yards. House is now third all-time behind Ben Mauk (17,364) and Chris Leak (15,593).[1] During his high school years, he spent fall semesters playing football at Nitro and spring semesters playing baseball at Seabreeze High School in Ormond Beach, Florida; he moved each winter with his father, who owns automobile dealerships in the Charleston and Daytona Beach areas.

[BigRedskinDaddy]

Nah. You, Oldfan, Lombardis_Kid_Brother and Major are just as big a reason why this thread is stickied

I'm flattered brother, but frankly all I've been doing is learning in this thread. You have a far greater football IQ than I, which is ok. That's why it's called ExtremeSkins after all.

That's what I'm here for. To learn.

And occasionally make somebody laugh -

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

KDawg,

In all honesty, if you could get your hands on some tape of Nitro High from 97 and 98, you would see just what a pass heavy high school offense could do. I think their OC took a college job the next year. It's not West Coast, but they blocked usually with just five and had high school kids running option routes and it was just a machine.

The '98 game that the article talks about is insane. Morgantown is a WV power and had a RB/LB that went to Notre Dame that year. That team had a few guys go D-1. There was a lot of pretty good talent on the field, despite it being WV. The final was 69-52. It was the most insane high school game I ever saw.

(I should point out that I like high school football, and try to see the top teams in whatever area I live in. I've been to title games in OH, WV, PA, MD, and VA. When I move to Texas, I want to see Katy High play.

I saw Randy Moss play as a sophomore in high school and immediately said, "He's going to be an All Pro someday." I've seen a lot of pretty good talent. I was in Pittsburgh when Lavar was a senior. But, the gap between Moss and everyone else on the field was the most dramatic thing I ever witnessed in a sporting event. And he was 15).

[KDawg]

I'll be back tomorrow. Going on a camping trip.

I might have to see if I can find any coaches around here that know of anyone at Nitro High. I'd LOVE to watch that film. A team of HS kids all running option routes is ridiculous.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I'll be back tomorrow. Going on a camping trip.

I might have to see if I can find any coaches around here that know of anyone at Nitro High. I'd LOVE to watch that film. A team of HS kids all running option routes is ridiculous.

Out of the no huddle. I forgot that part.

It was shown on TV in West Virginia. You may be able to get a tape from a Charleston or Wheeling tv station.

If you call a high school in WV and ask about the JR House game, they will probably know what you are talking about.

[Major Harris]

LKB, i was at wvu when house was playing hs ball. i followed him a bit, i remember all the crazy stats, but i never saw him play. i always heard their passing scheme was more complex than a lot of college teams.

randy moss side note: he played hs bball with jason williams of nba semi-fame at the now-closed dupont high. they were a sportscenter show by themselves. but they got beat by martinsburg in the '94 championship, a team w/ zero div. 1 players. alley oops and catching it off the backboard to throw it down, but they got beat by a team that just played fundamental basketball.

[Major Harris]

another side note on house, that i was reminded of while looking at his wiki page...

he transferred every semester. football in the fall in wv, baseball in the spring in florida. because of that, the wvssac (hs sports governing body in wv) made a rule that you could only transfer one time without sitting out a year. it's known as "the jr house rule."

[The 12th Commandment]

This is a really good thread. I haven't been involved in football, excepting as a fan, for 20+ years and I never was one to delve into the specifics anyway. I just liked to hit people. I thought the WCO was short passes. I'll fess up. Very interesting to see it isn't necessarily that at all. Also nice to see it put in layman's terms. I now have a much better idea of what to look for or expect from us this year. Thanks Kdawg and all the other contributors.

:applause:

[Oldfan]

Since we're talking offense here, I'm anxious to see how we attack in the red zone this year.

If they're big enough, your receivers don't need to get separation.

In the second half of the 2004 season, Robert Royal and Patrick Ramsey hooked up for four TDs in the red zone. Royal simply screened off the DB the way a power forward would handle being guarded by a smaller player in the low post. All Patrick had to do is to put the ball where only his guy could catch it.

We now have four receivers on our roster as big and more talented than Robert Royal.

[Major Harris]

Since we're talking offense here, I'm anxious to see how we attack in the red zone this year.

If they're big enough, your receivers don't need to get separation.

In the second half of the 2004 season, Robert Royal and Patrick Ramsey hooked up for four TDs in the red zone. Royal simply screened off the DB the way a power forward would handle being guarded by a smaller player in the low post. All Patrick had to do is to put the ball where only his guy could catch it.

We now have four receivers on our roster as big and more talented than Robert Royal.

we should definitely be better in the red zone. of course, as with anything in football, our line has to stay healthy and be productive. but the big targets make it a lot easier, because, as you say, you don't have to wait for separation so much now.

i also think we'll be far less predictable in the red zone, and that will help, maybe even moreso than the big targets.

[skinfan2k]

we are gonna be better in the redzone because we aren't gonna play like ****es down there like last year. This year Zorn threw in the endzone from the 30, we would have gone jumbo from the 30

[Fifty Gut]

Fantastic thread. I encourage more members to start threads like this. Real chalk talk is what this site has gotten away from over the last couple years. That's not the fault of the administrators though.

Good call. We need to encourage threads like this. The strategy of the game is what really matters in the big picture.

[ArmchairRedskin]

Anybody know if Zorn will be scripting the opening plays? I know it's a pretty big part of the WCO to run 10-15 plays in practice to perfection so as to minimize errors when you run them in the game. Maybe a part of the reason we looked so sharp in the HOF game was that the plays were scripted and ran to perfection in practice?

Nevermind, I found my own answer.

He will script plays

Zorn plans to script the Redskins' first 15 plays of each game (at halftime the staff will establish 15 plays for the third quarter as well), a tenet of many coaches from the West Coast offense. Zorn and Smith have a headset cadence to hone, determining when to communicate, and how quickly they must work in tandem.

"You just talk when you need to, you don't talk to talk," said Smith, stationed in the press box for the first time after years on the sidelines. "We'll have our game plan, I'll look at what Jim hasn't called, and I'll start planning the first 15 [plays] for the second half and bring up things like, 'We have to get to this, these plays are there.' "

And we did script plays for the HOF game

After three plays the Redskins had a 7-0 lead, with Campbell finding Antwaan Randle El for a 20-yard touchdown on a crossing route, a duo of linebackers chasing hopelessly after the defense rolled coverage to decoy receiver Santana Moss on a post route.

"It was a wonderful play," Randle El said.

Campbell completed all five attempts for 61 yards, with spotty pass protection the only offensive blemish (all of the quarterbacks were highly effective, a combined 19 of 22 for 216 yards and three touchdowns). Then the starters made way for the rookies and undrafted free agents and Zorn did his best to ensure no one got hurt with four dress rehearsals still to come.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080400046_pf.html

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Scripting plays is not something exclusive to the WCO. Nearly everyone does it at this point. Hell, my high school team was doing it in 1989. And we ran the wishbone.

The only problem I have with scripting plays is that it seems to give a lot of coaches the idea of "Well, I called that play. I can now check it off my list." I think Andy Reid is the worst culprit of this. I get the impression that if he had the choice between a play that had already worked and a play that he had not called yet...he would always go with the play he hadn't called yet. WCO coaches have a tendency to get too cute sometimes.

[ArmchairRedskin]

Actually I don't think scripting plays is predominant in most offenses. I think most other offenses call plays according to situation, whereas WCO coordinators run the scripted plays regardless of the situation. At least in the first 10-15 plays of the game (and in Zorn's case, the first of the second half as well) That means you might pass the ball on a third and short or run the ball on a third and long. It helps to set a rhythm, maybe catch the defense off guard with a play they weren't expecting and see just how the defense does or does not react.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that scripting was something that was unique to the WCO.

[TK]

Good call. We need to encourage threads like this. The strategy of the game is what really matters in the big picture.

Bingo.

When threads like this pop up, with the great discussion like this one, they'll get stickied as an example. It's threads like this that brought me to ES many years ago. So, for you older members, I'm having a 'Cheers' flashback to the good ol days.

Who knows, maybe Maj or some of you other coaching guys will start doing threads like this more often.

[Cdowwe]

Good stuff...thanks KD

[desertfox59]

there are no holes per se, just areas to run to, and the back is looking for alleys.

Thanks for the excellent reply. I would suggest to you that creating the running lanes (or alleys) is easier the wider the o-line splits are. I've done this with great success at the Highschool level. The university of Missouri is currently experminting with wide splits at the college level, we all know how good they did last year.

Since D3 schools do NOT have scholarships, isn't everyone considered "walk-on"??

While it is true D3 schools don't have athletic scholarships, they get around this rule by giving perspective athletes grants.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that scripting was something that was unique to the WCO.

We scripted and heavily noted for our halftime adjustments.

[Major Harris]

Who knows, maybe Maj or some of you other coaching guys will start doing threads like this more often.

i'm going to try. i don't know about what, and i don't know when. just when something strikes me with something that's going on with our 'skins. couple things:

1. i'm not the best writer. i'll try me best...my first one i'll probably write, pm to a smart guy for help cleaning it up and re-write it once or twice. i tend to get very wordy and talk too much and use too many words when talking about football and it gets very hard to understand, if you know what i mean then you understand what i'm talking about (yes, that one was by design )

2. it'll make me watch the game thru coaches eyes, which i don't normally do. it's one thing i've always been able to do, is just watch the game as i did as a kid before i knew much about football.

[Major Harris]

Thanks for the excellent reply. I would suggest to you that creating the running lanes (or alleys) is easier the wider the o-line splits are. I've done this with great success at the Highschool level. The university of Missouri is currently experminting with wide splits at the college level, we all know how good they did last year.

yeah, that's something i should've mentioned, good call. spread teams these days do more than just line up a lot of receivers. they spread the defense out on all 3 levels. the defense really has to defend the whole field. we were using full one yard splits last year at every gap, and if it were up to me, we'd go a little wider.

[Teller]

1. i'm not the best writer. i'll try me best...my first one i'll probably write, pm to a smart guy for help cleaning it up and re-write it once or twice.

Maj, I'd gladly help with writing or whatever, in exchange for some of your football knowledge.

WV, represent.

[TK]

i tend to get very wordy and talk too much and use too many words when talking about football and it gets very hard to understand, if you know what i mean then you understand what i'm talking about (yes, that one was by design )

You're no Om, but I can see the influence.