Bears' offense will shake the NFL—or be shaken out

Sporting News, The, June 19, 2000 by Dan Pompei

The most remarkable offense in the NFL last season probably will change the way teams move the ball. But there also is a chance it could be remembered as a fad of the times, perhaps like the Atkins diet or hip-hop music.

Gary Crowton's offense was so unique and difficult to defend in its first season that it won games for the Bears. There weren't many offensive systems you could say that about. Without Crowton, the Bears might not have beaten the Chiefs on opening day, the Vikings in Chicago or the Chargers.

His offense is a true fan pleaser with its manic rhythm, aggressive passing, varying formations and spasmodic play-calling. It was so effective that four veterans--receivers Bobby Engram and Marcus Robinson and quarterbacks Jim Miller and Shane Matthews--performed at the highest levels of their careers.

"If that offense catches on, they'll have to give defensive coordinators combat pay," Lions defensive coordinator Larry Peccatiello says.

Crowton's offense is difficult to get a handle on because it is so multi-faceted. It can go from five receivers on first down to two tight ends and a fullback on second down. But Crowton figures the Bears used three receivers or more one-third of the time.

This offense runs counter to the NFL's predominant offense, the West Coast. Whereas the West Coast tries to get defenses to line up in standard personnel in order to pass, Crowton's offense tries to get defenses to spread out and go to dime personnel in order to run. The mismatch sustains both, however.

This offense's signature play is the wide receiver screen. Crowton says he has spent a lot of time this offseason explaining the play to inquiring offensive coaches from other NFL teams. But the Bears run the play only about five times a game. It's just one tool in a hardware superstore to Crowton. Another unusual play that isn't getting as much attention but should is the streak read, in which the receiver, usually Robinson, determines if he should stop or run a post based on the defense. Robinson scored about half of his nine touchdowns on the route, according to Crowton.

Though teams such as the Jaguars, Browns, Steelers and Bills all incorporated elements of Crowton's offense, none operated with the same panache. So its unusualness contributed to its effectiveness. "It's hard to prepare for because you don't see it often, and you also have to get ready for a lot of possibilities, which diminishes your ability to prepare for each individual one," Peccatiello says. "It eats up your practice time."

This year, as defenses become more familiar with the Bears' offense and other teams start to borrow from it, the Bears won't be able to rely on surprise or confusion as much as they could last year. But that doesn't bother Crowton, who thinks the offense will be more productive in his second season in part because it will continue to evolve--plans are for increasing motion this year--and in part because the players have not yet mastered it.

"We work on it all the time, and defenses can't, so our familiarity with it will grow much faster than our opponents' familiarity with it," Crowton says. "Even if teams understand it, it still creates a lot of one-on-one opportunities and chances to be successful."

The offense has a lot going for it, as does Crowton. I'm convinced he's going to be a head coach in the NFL. And a good one. He was interviewed for the Patriots' opening last winter. But after one season, there also are some legitimate questions about Crowton's offense, where it is headed and whether it can thrive over time.

Last year, the Bears had the most unbalanced offense in the NFL, throwing the ball a league high 63 percent of the time. The run was the stepchild of the offense, accounting for just 25 percent of the team's total yards. Will it ever fit in? In nine of Crowton's last 11 years of operating this offense or something akin to it (10 years on the collegiate level with a shorter season), he has not had a 1,000-yard rusher.

There were reasons besides the system the Bears did not run the ball more last year. They found themselves trailing at the end of a number of games, and they were forced to throw. Their primary running back, Curtis Enis, did not earn more carries with a 3.2-yard per attempt average. It also should be pointed out that the Bears were not a good running team before Crowton got there. In 1998, their leading rusher, Edgar Bennett, had 611 yards.

The run-and-shoot taught us that offenses that can't control the clock, protect leads and succeed in short yardage will go only so far. Crowton says his offense doesn't have the same problems as the run-and-shoot. It certainly is much more ambitious. But as Ravens coach Brian Billick points out, it shares some principles with the run-and-shoot. "In the open field, it's fine," Billick says. "I don't want to knock what Gary is doing because he's done a fine job. But you have to be able to physically run the ball to be good in the red zone."

It might not be possible to be as diverse as Crowton aspires to be, both from a preparation standpoint and a personnel standpoint. If one area of his offense must suffer, it likely will be the run game. "You can't do everything and do it well," one AFC offensive coordinator says. "There just isn't enough practice time, so you have to concentrate on certain areas."