It's official - Al Saunders is our new offensive coordinator!

[itvnetop]

this is huge news... KC's running game is second to none- even though they have an edge in OL talent, I believe Saunders can do something with our own personnel.

[steveo395]

if breaux stays, then i think saunders will become assistant head coach-offense and bugel will become just o-line coach (bugels not gonna sign anywhere else so we dont have to worry about that)

[dblanch66]

I like the timing of this move. I don't care about "taking head coaches away" from other teams. I like the fact that they will have an ENTIRE offseason to plan and create an offense for this year. Those who don't see the benefit of this move may be a little football ignorant. More ideas are better than fewer ideas. Throw them all out and then fine tune the ones that work and coincide with the personell. Saunders+Gibbs+Breaux+Musgrave=BETTER OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION.
HTTR!!

[70Chip]

I have to take issue with the Wikipedia link above. It claims that Gilman was the father of what is today known as the 'west coast' offense. Not so. What is now called the 'west coast' offense was developed by Paul Brown and Bill Walsh in Cincinatti in the early 1970s when the two coached together there. (call it the Ohio Valley offense) It was perfected and became famous when Joe Montana ran it for Walsh in San Francisco. This offense emphasises short controlled passes and was developed to allow a smaller team to control the clock without a power running game.

Gilman's offense, by contrast, emphasized deep passes and was the league standard for passing offenses prior to the emergence of the 'West Coast'.

Regarding Martz and Gibbs, I would suggest that in terms of the passing game the two have more, not less, in common. A qb coming from St. Louis to Washington would have much less to relearn than he would going to say Philadelphia or Green Bay where they run the west coast. Within an offense, one coach may emphasize run as Gibbs does now, or he may emphasize the pass as Martz does and Gibbs did in San Diego as the coordinator in 1979 and 1980. That's all.

In addition these offenses are constantly evolving so when one says 'west coast' offense or 'Joe Gibbs' offense, its a dynamic rather than static thing. Gibbs has said that offenses change about 30% a year. They steal things from other teams, think up new ideas, emphasize certain aspects to maximize talent, etc.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

I have to take issue with the Wikipedia link above. It claims that Gilman was the father of what is today known as the 'west coast' offense. Not so. What is now called the 'west coast' offense was developed by Paul Brown and Bill Walsh in Cincinatti in the early 1970s when the two coached together there. (call it the Ohio Valley offense) It was perfected and became famous when Joe Montana ran it for Walsh in San Francisco. This offense emphasises short controlled passes and was developed to allow a smaller team to control the clock without a power running game.

Gilman's offense, by contrast, emphasized deep passes and was the league standard for passing offenses prior to the emergence of the 'West Coast'.

Regarding Martz and Gibbs, I would suggest that in terms of the passing game the two have more, not less, in common. A qb coming from St. Louis to Washington would have much less to relearn than he would going to say Philadelphia or Green Bay where they run the west coast. Within an offense, one coach may emphasize run as Gibbs does now, or he may emphasize the pass as Martz does and Gibbs did in San Diego as the coordinator in 1979 and 1980. That's all.

In addition these offenses are constantly evolving so when one says 'west coast' offense or 'Joe Gibbs' offense, its a dynamic rather than static thing. Gibbs has said that offenses change about 30% a year. They steal things from other teams, think up new ideas, emphasize certain aspects to maximize talent, etc.

I actually have heard that Jerry Burns, the Vikings HC in the 1970s, invented it. And I've heard Walsh. And I've heard that Coryell did while in college and Walsh refined it.

Either way, this is an interesting article.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ins...side_football/

[skinsfanthru&thru]

I literally jumped out of my seat and danced a little jig when I saw the news go across the bottom line on espn after I got home from work. This is freakin awesome news and the team now has one super mega head coach with two head coaches keeping track of the teams 2 most important branches. I'm extremely excited to see what type of play calling wrinkles this will add to the offense one of which is hopefully more rb screen plays as they seemed to work every time when used but I only remember them being called less than a handfull of times this season. and is anyone else buying a little more into my idea of a possible arrington for tony g. trade now if we do trade arrington ?

[70Chip]

Originally Posted by TAFKAS

I actually have heard that Jerry Burns, the Vikings HC in the 1970s, invented it. And I've heard Walsh. And I've heard that Coryell did while in college and Walsh refined it.

Either way, this is an interesting article.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ins...side_football/

This is a killer article. It's almost impossible to believe that the Skins had better offensive numbers at any point in 1999 than the Rams. Anyone who is interested in the history of the league will enjoy this link. Great stuff TAFKAS!

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by 70Chip

This is a killer article. It's almost impossible to believe that the Skins had better offensive numbers at any point in 1999 than the Rams. Anyone who is interested in the history of the league will enjoy this link. Great stuff TAFKAS!

Here a couple more good articles:

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/2003...0224-2703r.htm

http://espn.go.com/nfl/s/westcoast/history.html