west coast of*fense
What Is The Definition Of West Coast Offense In Football?
1. The West Coast offense is a type of offensive strategy that emphasizes more passing plays than running plays. Because of the offense’s reliance on the passing game, the quarterback position is the most crucial position in this offense.
The West Coast offense was developed by Bill Walsh during his years with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1968 to 1975. It was there that Walsh began to orchestrate plays where he would require his running backs and tight ends to catch short passes in order to move the ball, instead of running the ball to gain incremental yardage.
By doing this and having his running backs and tight ends become pass catchers, the plays would eventually be called “nickel and dime plays”. This is because the defense would have to bring in nickel and dime defensive packages in order to defend against this offense design. In addition, by constantly running short passing plays, it manipulates the defense into defending the shorter routes, which would then set-up the big pass plays later in the game.
Despite the offense being developed in Cincinnati, it wasn’t until Walsh became head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 1979 that that the offense began to gain in popularity. During his time as the head coach in San Francisco, Walsh had won three Super Bowls with the West Coast offense.
Why Is It Called The West Coast Offense?
In the 1985 NFL playoffs, Walsh’s 49ers had lost to the New York Giants while running this offense. During one interview after the game, Giants head coach Bill Parcells had mocked the popularity of the offense and had stated, “what do you think of that West Coast offense now?”. The comment was a reference to Walsh’s offense and San Francisco, which is located on the West Coast of the United States.
Example Of How West Coast Offense Is Used In Commentary
1. The Eagles have had some great success in the late 90s and early 2000s while running the West Coast offense, utilizing the talents of both quarterback Donovan McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook.
Sport The Term Is Used
1. Football