Bill Walsh and the West Coast Offense- An Excerpt from Ron Jaworski's New Book

This quote hurts

"The fullback was a key component in Walsh's original offense, and some teams don't even carry one on their roster anymore! Zone blitz schemes and defensive exchanges have totally altered protection packages, all but banishing the pro set package of the early eighties."

I know this comes off as more Singletary bashing but the simplistic smash mouth football pre-Walsh is all he knows.

The game is radically different now and up to this point we have been outcoached so badly it is embarassing as a fan

You can still use a FB in the modern NFL but you need to be creative and get him involved in the pass attack.

We use the FB to basically tell the D where the run is going. I remember an article with D players saying they just follow Norris and know where Gore will end up because we rarely use misdirection etc.

sigh...

Great read. What caught me is how much constant innovation there is/was among good coaches on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball around the league. If you want to compete, you need to be constantly outsmarting the other side- not trying to ram it down their throats.

lol football for pansies and nerds

real men run it up the middle every time

Quote:
Timing and rhythm were really what Bill was all about, and that's what has most endured of the West Coast offense. The synchronization of the quarterback's drop and the depth of the receiver's route, spot-on pass location so that the receiver can make the catch without breaking stride, the harmony between the receivers and the offensive line -- this is Walsh football. When you look at today's precision offenses, like those of the Colts and the Saints, you are witnessing skilled, cerebral quarterbacks who understand and live by Walsh's principles. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees honor the memory of Bill Walsh every time they put the ball in flight.

I remember an interview with Steve a couple of years back....he was talking about this rhythm and timing aspect of the WCO. He boiled down the critical skill in QBing the WCO to not be arm strength or even accuracy, but rather footwork.

He said everything in the timing was based on the QB's footwork after the snap....that was the essentially where the precision element was tied up in. Really interesting interview.

Thanks for the great post. Hope springs eternal.

Nice read!

Originally posted by znk916:
lol football for pansies and nerds

real men run it up the middle every time

Yeah...........Down with the forward pass!!!!! Wishbone!!!!!!

But seriously nice read, sad that we are where we are right now though.

A must read for Singletary!

Yep, our offense operates in the Stone Age, compared to what most top-flight OC employ today.

Originally posted by NewEraNiner:
Great read. What caught me is how much constant innovation there is/was among good coaches on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball around the league. If you want to compete, you need to be constantly outsmarting the other side- not trying to ram it down their throats.

ugh, sing is a total boob

Originally posted by excelsior:
Yep, our offense operates in the Stone Age, compared to what most top-flight OC employ today.

the offense has to be dumbed down for singletary to understand simple things...he let go of Martz because his offense confused him too much lol

I remember the game in Chicago, the ("ice bowl"?) that was in horrendously cold weather, at night I think. The Bears were talking s**t and taking their shirts off and such, lots of pointing and yelling.

Yup, the mighty, tough midwest Bears were going to crush the "finesse" 49ers. Heck, I was nervous, I bought into the hype about how the mighty Bears were built for just this kind of late-season game...

The only problem was that the 9ers beat them on both sides of the ball. It was a genius against Ditka or somebody.

Was Sing on that team? If so, what was the lesson he took from it. Just be even tougher?

Originally posted by carlgo:
I remember the game in Chicago, the ("ice bowl"?) that was in horrendously cold weather, at night I think. The Bears were talking s**t and taking their shirts off and such, lots of pointing and yelling.

Yup, the mighty, tough midwest Bears were going to crush the "finesse" 49ers. Heck, I was nervous, I bought into the hype about how the mighty Bears were built for just this kind of late-season game...

The only problem was that the 9ers beat them on both sides of the ball. It was a genius against Ditka or somebody.

Was Sing on that team? If so, what was the lesson he took from it. Just be even tougher?

This is what has always puzzled me also. The true BWO normally ran the clocks on time of possession but if required it could eat up yards in seconds. It was a total football system. He got his ass handed to him when he played the 49ers.

Why change it?

To be honest the attempt to mould this team as a Bears/Ravens copy has never sat right with me.