west coast offense passing concepts

The schemes are often based in West Coast or Air Coryell concepts, but incorporate a lot more options in the run game, quarterback reads are minimized, and routes are simplified. In the last three seasons under Moore, the Cowboys offense ranked 14th in 2020 when Prescott missed 11 games with a fractured ankle, first in 2021 when Prescott set franchise record for passing . Typically, there will be two backs in the backfield split to either side of the quarterback. Since the West Coast is the most prevalent offense in the NFL, it's not an exaggeration to call the slant the most important play in professional football. Regular five-on-five basketball is a fun game on its own, but its always nice to have some variety in the types of games that can be played, especially with kids. 0000001450 00000 n When McCarthy called plays as Green Bay HC, he used the West Coast offense a system dependent upon short passing. Initially, the Spread looked to be a variation of the West Coast offense, but its a unique offensive system. The following are three of the most basic plays to pair with a three-step drop back: The offense builds upon these three basic plays by adding layers of disguise through players in motion, quarterback rollouts, and play-action plays. There are always 22 football players on the field at once and they all have their own specialized roles. When the backs release, the faking back who is more inside will break to the inside, and the back protecting outside will release outside. During his time in San Fran, he worked with two of the most accurate, intelligent, and relatively mobile quarterbacks in the history of the NFL to show the league the dominance of the West Coast offense. 300: Remember, this book does not use 300 like modern WCO terminology uses it. This system looks to control the game through the air and sets receivers up to make plays after the catch. When there are two backs in the backfield, they essentially cross each other off the snap. Remember pocket and slide protection that was mentioned above. Due to this, when they see any type of potential run play, the defense may overact, letting the offense take them off guard. The West Coast Offense is a passing ball control offense. When Brown was at Cincinnati, he had a QB coach named Bill Walsh, who would go on to set the gold standard for modern offensive schemes in the NFL with the 49ers in the 1980s. If you call the protection to the right, that means the offensive linemen on that side will BOB protect. Unfortunately, marrying a west coast scheme with the spread offense didn't go over so well at Nebraska, which is why Watson started the 2011 season as quarterbacks coach at Louisville. Your center and guards protect the center-three defenders of the defense. In the article we posted on Xs Os Football called "Passing Routes 101" we broke down several passing routes for runningback, receivers, and tight ends. If the defender does not blitz, they release into a route to receive a pass. Most protections have two numbers. Frankfurt, Germany. The players Hey there! Every NFL team's offensive scheme, illustrated and explained - Washington Post From run-pass options to the West Coast offense: Breaking down all 32 offensive schemes in the NFL. His offensive coordinator was Darrell Bevel, a West Coast Offense guy. If you were to compare this to warfare, think of the running game as your infantry, and the forward pass as planes, tanks and armor support. This is important to help you frame your offense. In terms of protection, scat indicates that the side a back free releases to calls for the offensive guard, or uncovered lineman to that side to double-read the the linebackers to that side. What we like about it is its a simple high/low read for the quarterback to make. Tackles identify and block the defensive ends. When there are two backs in the backfield, default rules have both backs going to the same side. But, two statements do help explain what it is all about. The essence of the West Coast system is rhythm & timing, and ball protection. Those combined, with the wide zone running offense, make for a deadly play-action passing game that stresses linebackers to their extreme. The West Coast Offense, has its roots in the 1960s and 70s with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals under legendary coach Paul Brown. One of the biggest drawbacks in the West Coast and Air Coryell offenses are their elongated play calls. Therefore that back attacks A-gap, and the second back attacks B-gap. 0000001747 00000 n Defenses have found the best way to do so is by attacking the element that makes this offense elite the timing. Walsh preached that at the end of the drop back, the quarterback should know exactly where the pass catchers are in their routes and be able to predict where to go with the ball. 0000002771 00000 n He then break outside towards the sideline at a 45 degree angle. July 14, 2006, 12:04 pm ET. Runs to a back at 6-7 yards behind the QB (so a tailback). The terminology you will see in this article are being borrowed from this. The first digit indicates the type of play action protection, and the 2nd and 3rd numbers indicate the run action. If you look at the playbook link, the best description of the pass protections begins on page 251. By and large, on first-and-10 you'll get a 2-deep zone - zone-type defense. The inside receiver, runs a wheel route down the sideline. In order to fully grasp such an intricate philosophy, one must be able to appreciate how a play-caller schemes his receivers into space. In this playbook, there are two primary types of protection. 1. Walsh had two elements he found to be crucial to the success of the offense. Bill Walsh, who was the offensive coordinator at the time, had to step back and completely redesign the teams offense. If the number called is odd, it means the TE is to the left. The concept exploits the aggressiveness of the defense, as the passing plays are based on faking the most successful running plays. It's all about the feet The best way to define the West Coast offense may be to start with what it isn't. The traditional passing game, which NFL teams ran for years, is based on deep drops . Weak back free releases. Please, The West Coast Offense Walsh used primarily relies on numbers to call pass protections. The two pass routes are designed create a two-on-one isolation on a defender dropping back in a hook zone. Heres a little bonus. Knowledge is power. It has one receiver running a shallow crossing route from one direction, while another receiver runs a dig route from the opposite direction. 50/51, 52/53: Backs split-flow using Rip/Liz rules (back closer to the right Rips, back closer to the left Lizs. The goal of this website is to provide you with content that will help you get a leg up on the competition, whether thats in the realm of coaching or on the field itself. Along the way, Ill also answer general sports related questions. Timing passes with alerts and checkdowns if the post snap read is bad or different. Still confused about the play numbers. Let's . Remember, this book does not use 300 like modern WCO terminology uses it. The three-step drop is designed to be the ball control section of the passing game. Runs to a back behind the QB at a depth of 4-5 yards. It's a great concept: the shallow pulls the linebackers while the square-in -- aptly known in Airraid . Offensive Packages. With all of this success, Reid has passed his knowledge to his assistants who have gone on to be successful NFL coaches in their own right. One of the most popular styles has become the West Coast offense, a system that many NFL teams use today to various degrees. Play action is where the offense fakes a run in an attempt to make the defense react to the run, then uses the quarterback to roll out and pass to a receiver running down the field. This allows the quarterback to understand the timing for each play and know where to look to pass. AKA Fox 2/Fox 3 if you want to sound cool, is the same as H2/H3, but now the fullback or other back is faking and taking the A-gap, while the halfback/tailback goes B-gap. All backs (so two backs) check-release, and the TE free releases if there is one. The next receiver to him, runs a flat or a quick out. West coast is primarily about syncing up the QBs footwork with the receivers routes. In the West Coast system, there are countless formations to run the offense out of. 9,884 posts . Teams That Have a Variety of Pass Catchers - The West Coast Offense is famous for involving tight ends, fullbacks and halfbacks, in addition to at least two wide receivers. Receivers, tight ends, and running backs will go in motion to try and draw a slower linebacker in coverage to create a mismatch. This is similar to the idea of "concepts" in the West Coast Offense, except the West Coast terminology sometimes names plays after the primary receiver's route, like "Y Spot". The final aspect of the West Coast offense is the use of pre-snap motions to create mismatches on the defensive side of the ball. Usually, they work inside-out, blocking the inner-most defender first. The Smash concept has a two route combination, which are a corner (high) and the other runs a hitch (low). Your backs and TEs protect the OLBs. 500: Gap protection: The O-line steps to the back-side/away from the call and protects the gap. The first was using the timing of the quarterback dropbacks to set the pace for the play. 0000004677 00000 n On all play actions, if the faking back sees their primary blocking assignment blitz, they come off the fake immediately to make the block. Listed below are player roles and the qualities they need to have to be successful. Below is an image of the drop-back pocket-protection summary from the playbook: Popularly known today as half-slide protection all 2/3-Jet plays are slide protection with one back (always a 6-man protection). Against zone coverage this creates a 2 on 1 situation. The Ultimate Guide, What Is a Touchback in Football? we call plays in the following series: a) teens: all runs. It is a traditional Cover 3 beater that goes all the way back to the passing concepts of Sid Gillman and Don Coryell and into the West Coast offense. 0000001929 00000 n For clips of this version of the concept try here and here. . Snagis a great passing concept that is used at all levels. Understanding the West Coast offense is more complex than simply knowing that it emphasizes the short passing game. The final passing concept is the play-action pass. In your diagram, you show 3 Jet as being the play call to the left, but the tight end is to the right! The Levels concept does an excellent job at attacking zone coverage. The back to the weak-side (away from the TE) scats (free releases) to their side into a route. They pay Tony Romo about 17 million dollars a year to tell you this on Sunday, and Thursday Nights. Even though this system was created almost four decades ago, its influence is still evident in the league as almost every offense has taken to using the West Coast system in some way. From Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49ers juggernaut, to Brigham Young University's record-smashing Cougars, to the 1997 Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, this passing attack is a proven winner. 0000000571 00000 n Report inappropriate content . The TE is not blocking at all, and both backs go weak, so there are only lineman blocking to the strong-side, requiring the scat protection. When the running game becomes effective it causes the defense to set up to stop the run and potentially overcommit. Its a 6-man version of this play action protection where you fake to the tailback/halfback, and the 2nd back and TE are free releasing. If the OLB does not blitz, the back releases. Walsh's original West Coast offense was built around Joe Montana's specific strengths and the players he had to work with. Some team's may refer to it as the triangle. In the 1970's, Darrel "Mouse" Davis began having tremendous success with the offense at Portland . New York went from a vertical concept with elements of the old run-and-shoot implemented by Kevin Gilbride to more of a West Coast offense, in which the emphasis was put more on short to . Strong back and guard double read the ILB (Mike) and the back check-releases. A core concept in West Coast systems, here are four combinations within the Hi-Lo series that we see across the league. 400: Slide protection away from the call with a cross-action/misdirection backfield or run fake. On 300, the slide goes away from the call. The idea of the Snag passing concept is to horizontal stretch the defense by creating three on two isolation. 228/229: Slide protection to the weak-side (away from TE). In your summary, you say that an odd number means that the TE is on the left! The Switch concept is a popular Run-&-Shoot passing concept that has outside receiver running a post route with an inside receiver. The guard or uncovered lineman to the weak-side must now scat protect to that side, meaning they double read the ILB to OLB on the weak-side. X's O's Football is not affiliated or associated with EA Sports, the NFL, or their license. A common Flood concept would be to have one receiver run a flat, second receiver runs a deep out, and the third runs a go route such as shown in the diagram above. They then would blitz the quarterback using a zone blitz in an attempt to disrupt their timing. The back away from the call side is coming over to that side to get the blitzing ILB. Since the 1980s, football teams have used the West Coast Offense to win championships. Conversely if the cornerback sinks back on the receiver running the high read, then the low read receiver will be open. The second element was having pass catchers who could run precise routes and who possessed good hands to catch the ball over the middle of the field. __CONFIG_colors_palette__{"active_palette":0,"config":{"colors":{"eb2ec":{"name":"Main Accent","parent":-1}},"gradients":[]},"palettes":[{"name":"Default","value":{"colors":{"eb2ec":{"val":"var(--tcb-skin-color-4)","hsl":{"h":206,"s":0.2727,"l":0.01,"a":1}}},"gradients":[]},"original":{"colors":{"eb2ec":{"val":"rgb(57, 163, 209)","hsl":{"h":198,"s":0.62,"l":0.52,"a":1}}},"gradients":[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__, {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}, __CONFIG_colors_palette__{"active_palette":0,"config":{"colors":{"f3080":{"name":"Main Accent","parent":-1},"f2bba":{"name":"Main Light 10","parent":"f3080"},"trewq":{"name":"Main Light 30","parent":"f3080"},"poiuy":{"name":"Main Light 80","parent":"f3080"},"f83d7":{"name":"Main Light 80","parent":"f3080"},"frty6":{"name":"Main Light 45","parent":"f3080"},"flktr":{"name":"Main Light 80","parent":"f3080"}},"gradients":[]},"palettes":[{"name":"Default","value":{"colors":{"f3080":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.7)"},"f2bba":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.5)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"l":0.09,"s":0.02}},"trewq":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.7)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"l":0.09,"s":0.02}},"poiuy":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.35)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"l":0.09,"s":0.02}},"f83d7":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.4)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"l":0.09,"s":0.02}},"frty6":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.2)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"l":0.09,"s":0.02}},"flktr":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.8)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"l":0.09,"s":0.02}}},"gradients":[]},"original":{"colors":{"f3080":{"val":"rgb(23, 23, 22)","hsl":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09}},"f2bba":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.5)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.5}},"trewq":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.7)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.7}},"poiuy":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.35)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.35}},"f83d7":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.4)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.4}},"frty6":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.2)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.2}},"flktr":{"val":"rgba(23, 23, 22, 0.8)","hsl_parent_dependency":{"h":60,"s":0.02,"l":0.09,"a":0.8}}},"gradients":[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__, Bill, Coach, Dwight Clark, football, Joe Montana, Offense, Philosophy, Strategy, The catch, Walsh, WCO, West Coast Offense, What Is The West Coast Offense?