West Coast/Spread Offense

[RPD]

Lots of coaches have expressed some questions as to how to stop the spread/west coast offense. Well as you know here in the DFW League there are some coaches that run this type of offense. Now, one of the things I do on defense is real simple, I try to put real fast defensive linemen in against it, guys that will attack him and disrupt him behind the line of scrimmage. I put them on boat bases, and tweak them so they are real fast, I want them shooting the gaps(tehy must be fast eneough to get past those OL. I usually carry 8 DL, and they all have a role, here is a picture of 2 of the guys I use against the spread/west coast offense. Thes guys are explosive!!

[jhpr3]

how effective have they been?
Great I bet!

[RPD]

They are very effective, as long as they are FAST

[Reginald Rutledge]

teams "try" to shoot the gaps, it becomes like taking candy from a baby! I honestly have not seen an effective defense yet that can really stop the West Coast offense, especially on the 308.

With the DFW ruleset, the audible is the key to allowing things to come open. To be honest, I have seen no team who honestly runs the "West Coast system" but my Cowboys. Most teams run traditional straight-ahead, want to show they are macho, offensive systems. That's just the facts.

With the West Coast, there are so many holes that can open right off the break that is crazy! If the offensive coach is on his A-Game, it is like shooting fish in a bath tub!

Between the fullback, Tailback, and quarterback, there are more than 30 plays alone that can be ran. Throw in screens, slants, and fades and then it becomes a plethora of plays that can work.

Now that's just my opinion!

Reg

[RPD]

Now Reg, with all due respect, I honestly believe that DL coming thru the gaps with a great deal of speed will slow down the spread/west coast offense, may not stop it all the time but will defenitely slow it down if executed properly.
RD

[Reginald Rutledge]

sometimes it will. The schemes are not 100% all the time! We get sacked from time to time. But when you throw out the roll-out element, then those inside linemen are just that, "out of the play"

We definitely look forward to see you in the Super Bowl. It will be a privilege and an honor to play my esteemed league mate.

Reginald

[mozeek]

do you guys change the board speed during the course of the game at all...or is the speed set at the onset and then maintained during the game?

[Hook'em Horns]

I run the west coast offense some. However, I only use a selected amount of plays from that system. Reg runs the west coast offense to perfection. I trained in that system and take it from me "The 5 time champ" in this league, that is the most difficult offense to stop if the offensive coach is on his game.

However, what RD is speaking of does work but it is also the most vulnerable defense against the west coast style. With so much speed on the front line shootting the gaps, they often times run themselves right out of the play. Very easy to exploit them with a rollout QB or a few screens right behind them.

You see many people really don't understand all of the little ins and outs of the game. EFL is like chess, sometimes you have to give up a key piece to capture the King or Queen later. When the defense finds success with speed lineman its like a false positive if you catch my drift. The bait is really good. However, at key points in the game it is easy to rely on the opposition to resort back to what gave him success and that is when the west coast offense explodes on you.

The only defense that even comes close to stopping the west coast offense is the Zone Blitz defensive schemes. If you don't know how to run this scheme I will break it down for you versus the west coast offense.

In the west coast offense you have wide splits and you have no idea where the lineman are going. The key to the west coast offense is the gaps as well as the ability of the lineman to slide you out of the play regardless of you strength.

Here is the zone blitz schemes...

Line your swoopers up wherever you want to get pressure from. Use 4 defensive lineman off the gaps about 3 yards off the line of scrimmage. This allows the west coast style lineman to reveal to you their blocking schemes once the set is turned on without them laying a single hand on you to slide you out of the way. By the time your lineman reach the line of scrimmage the west coast offensive lineman would have revealed the play allowing your defensive lineman to fill any holes they have left open which will stuff the runners. Hopefully you backers would have gained pressure on the QB. Also, the west coast line isn't very strong so if he runs a draw play your defensive lineman will hold him up for the swoopers to come around end.

Another way to run the zone blitz schemes it to pack the line of scrimmage and have 2 or 3 lineman with their bases on backwards so that once the set is turned on they are dropping back into coverage. This way the offense thinks that you're ganging up for the run and you fool him with the zone blitz. The only flaw in this defense is that its subject to a draw or dive play up the middle and if he recognizes this then you're in big trouble. This is better to run on obvious passing downs.

The 1st system works best. The problem is that most west coast coaches run a lot of different looks at you so if they catch you in hurry up offense and go 5 wide and you have zone blitz schemes going on you're in big trouble because your nickel and dime defense isn't in the game to defend the 5 wide out set. This is where Reg is so dangerous. He is a keen observer. There is very little if anything that you can get by him.

The West Coast offense is very complex. Very few coaches can run it correctly. There is probably about 3 or 4 coaches in the country if that many who can run this offense the way it should be run. It takes a lot of timing, and chemistry. The fastest players are not the best players in this system. B

But FYI RD, the fast lineman are not the way to go defensively. So easy to coach against straight ahead speed. Arrow style bases are the easiest bases to slide out of the way because of their pointed front. The key to EFL is the chess factor. Not knowing where you're opponent is headed. That's the beauty of the west coast offense. No matter how fast you are, if I already know where you're going then I will win the play 90% of the time.

This offense lead me to my first DFW, Bama Blast and TX. Shootout championship.

I hope this helps you guys!

[Coach K-LO]

Thanks Mike..... I like the concept breakdowns.....

[Reginald Rutledge]

guys the skinny!

However, we will be ever changing in our schemes too.

Reg