No escaping 'West Coast' tag

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Sep 12, 2004

JIM MORA was irritated.

"We don't run the West Coast offense," the Atlanta Falcons coachsaid this week. "We're going to end that right now."

Fat chance.

The rule of thumb regarding offensive labeling is basically this: If you ever coached with someone who worked with someone else who ever picked up a framed picture of Bill Walsh, then you're a West Coast guy.

West Coast, a generic term for the ball-control, short-passing offense Walsh once ran with the San Francisco 49ers (Walsh disowns the term, by the way) is long gone, broken up into small bits the way Wall Street liquidates companies.

Coaches refine and modify it to fit the talent on hand.

Mora has some "West Coast" elements blended with a cut-blocking, trapping running game similar to the one run in Denver.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden prefers some West Coast elements blended with a power running game.

The Oakland Raiders supposedly junked the system entirely. So how come Rich Gannon was talking this week about how many of the principles in Norv Turner's version of the Don Coryell system are essentially the same as the ones Gruden used?

So go ahead and enjoy the West Coast, in whatever region it happens to reside. Just understand there's no truth in labeling laws when it comes to the NFL.

Jumping to Week 1 conclusions:

The NFL push for diversity appears to be paying off. There are five African-American head coaches (Tony Dungy, Herman Edwards, Marvin Lewis, Dennis Green and Lovie Smith) and 14 minority coordinators as play starts this weekend.

If a podiatrist were deciding the starting lead back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jerome Bettis probably would get the nod.

"Jerome, I'll say this, is probably the best he's looked in the last three years in camp in terms of his feet," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said.

That said, Duce Staley apparently had a leg up on Bettis and will start.

The 49ers are looking longingly at backup quarterback Ken Dorsey, a seventh-round pick, and imagining Tom Brady, who was selected in the sixth round.

Good news for the Raiders (3-1), bad news for the 49ers (0-4). Recent history suggests good preseason results may lead to regular- season success after all. Over the last 10 years, eventual Super Bowl champions went 30-12 (.714), and only one (Dallas in 1995) was below .500 at 2-3, and another (St. Louis in 1999) was at .500.

AFC WEST NOTES: Kansas City TE Tony Gonzalez wrote a children's book called "Tony Gonzalez: Catch and Connect," which includes a three-point plan for dealing with schoolyard bullies. Gonzalez has been having book signings in the K.C. area. ... Denver RB Quentin Griffin, who aspires to be a full-time back this season, was one of only three of the top 50 rushers in the NFL last season who were under 200 pounds. The others were Charlie Garner and Warrick Dunn. ... San Diego CB Quintin Jammer is predicting big things for himself this season, setting a goal of 13 interceptions. Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer enlisted the help of former Raider and Chief Albert Lewis to work with Jammer and other Chargers defensive backs.

AFC NORTH NOTES: Ravens LT Jonathan Ogden, the position prototype upon which Raiders rookie Robert Gallery is based, played in all 1,058 offensive plays for Baltimore last season. ... Cincinnati CB Madieu Williams came to the United States at age 9 from Sierra Leone, escaping a Civil War with his family that claimed 50,000 people. He grew up speaking English and Krioa, a form of English-influenced Creole. ... Cleveland has had little on its mind other than the 500 yards (295 and 205) Baltimore's Jamal Lewis racked up against the Browns last season. "This is so big. It's going to be a tone-setter for the whole season," Browns LB Andra Davis said. ... Pittsburgh CB Chad Scott points to his contract as evidence he's not worth the abuse heaped on him by Steelers fans. "Believe me, if I wasn't doing my job and I wasn't getting the job done, I wouldn't be out there," Scott said. Scott's salary is $4million.

AFC SOUTH NOTES: Houston offensive coordinator Chris Palmer has set a goal of 30 rushes per game this season to take pressure of the Texans' defense as well as QB David Carr. Houston has reached that figure only 10 times in 32 games. ... Tough luck for Tennessee PK Joe Nedney, one of the league's good guys. Nedney suffered a hamstring pull so severe it ended his season on Sept.7 -- exactly a year to the day he suffered a knee injury that ended his 2003 campaign. "It's hard to find any logic in this. I'm still sick about it. It doesn't seem fair," Nedney said. ... The city of Indianapolis will hire a builder to conduct a $600,000 study into whether a new stadium could be built at a site near the RCA Dome. ... Jacksonville's first-team offense didn't score a touchdown in 18 preseason series, although it should be noted RB Fred Taylor carried the ball only six times.

AFC EAST NOTES: Miami's tumultuous off-season threatens the NFL's longest run of non-losing seasons. The Dolphins have 15 straight years of .500 or better. ... Buffalo WR Josh Reed was happy his team picked WR Lee Evans in the first round, and for good reason. "Having Lee around will allow Josh to work inside in the slot where he's at his best," QB Drew Bledsoe said. ... The Jets are concerned that injuries to Santana Moss and Wayne Chrebet robbed them of a chance to get their timing down with QB Chad Pennington during the preseason. However, Pennington did get extensive work with new wideout Justin McCareins, who could emerge as New York's go-to receiver. ... After the Patriots gave up 142 yards on 30 carries to Edgerrin James in the opener, there was speculation in New England that they already missed NT Ted Washington and DE Bobby Hamilton, who joined the Raiders as free agents.