Detroit Lions Weblog

Does Proposed “Balance” in Offense Indicate a Return of “West Coast” Concepts?

The Lions coaching staff have been circling the wagons and doing some heavy regrouping since the team’s less than stellar finish to the ‘07 season. Off. coordinator Mike Martz has left the team, and promotions have been made internally to replace him. After yesterday’s press conference, announcing these promotions, I wondered, could we see the return of the highly lamented, and previously thought to be left for dead, “West Coast” offense?

The Lions players apparently did not support the complexity of Martz’s offense, and did not enjoy the pressure (demands) it placed on the offensive line. The Lions offense, prior to Martz’s arrival, was a highly ineffective variant of the “West Coast” offense. Could Colletto, due to the team’s familiarity with the “West Coast” offense as a base, bring back some of those concepts?

The Lions players have expressed an collective interest in featuring more simpler, “bread and butter”-type of plays that would allow them to thrive in their execution. Well, given the team’s familiarity with the dink-n-dunk, “West Coast” offense, it only makes sense that some of those very same safer, more “balanced”, ball-control oriented type of plays make their return.

Upon Martz’s hiring, many hosannas were prematurely exclaimed because many Lions fans actually (foolishly) believed that due to Martz’s previous success, and his considerable, and progressive playbook, ultimately would lead to a much more wide open, vertical style of passing attack.

The Lions offense proved that it couldn’t, or wouldn’t, adapt to Martz’s admittedly, unorthodox passing attack. Since the promotion we have heard about these “improvements” to the Lions offense in ‘08:

1. 3 step passing drops

2. Audibles

3. More running, more bread-n-butter plays

4. Less pre-snap shifting and motion

What really keyed me in, to expect a return to the “West Coast” offense, was the hailing of three step passing drops for Kitna. Sounds like a lot more slants and short passes will be called so that Kitna can deliver safer, shorter passes. I envision more screen passes, swing passes, and crossing passes to make their return, too.

By taking the “teeth” out of a team’s offensive attack, it does not necessarily equate to a more successful, consistent attack. Given the Lions player personnel, and the brand of offense most often utilized in Tampa during Marinelli’s career as coach there, it is not a far stretch to expect the offense to become more “Mooch”-like next season.

Now that you have been duly warned, where are those fabled year two and year three improvements in the Tampa-2 zone we were promised as the players understanding grew exponentially? Or, in other words, for the Lions, the more things change, the more they stay abysmally the same!