http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/0209vick.html 'I'm a little lost right now' Falcons QB admits to frustration with West Coast offense By STEVE WYCHE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 02/09/06 Honolulu — Falcons quarterback Michael Vick said that his sprained right knee, suffered in Week 4 against Minnesota, was far more severe than he ever let on, prohibiting him from being the multi-dimensional threat last season than he's been in the past. Vick said the injury led to insecurity and that was his fault, not offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, as to why he appeared not to develop in his second-year of the Falcons' version of the West Coast offense. MOST POPULAR STORIES Campbell paid cash for vacations, gifts, TV anchor testifies 'I'm a little lost right now' Hall woman who married 15-year-old back in jail Snow closes schools in mountain counties Michaels Out at ABC/ESPN, Headed to NBC EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR As for that offense, which Knapp and other coaches who've implemented it said takes three-to-five years to digest, Vick said he is "lost" about the team's overall philosophy, wondering why the passing game doesn't consist more of the short, slant patterns of most West Coast offenses. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview following Wednesday's practice for Sunday's Pro Bowl, Vick spoke candidly about his performance last season, his feelings about the offensive system and his brother Marcus' problems and potential NFL future. Q. Some games it seemed like you made an effort, maybe too much of an effort, to stay in the pocket. Was that the case and, if so, what was going on? A. "I think I did but the injury bug bothered me. I hurt my hamstring against Seattle then came back the following week and had a great game against Buffalo. The game after that I come back and sprained my knee then came back after a week off. I should have taken two weeks off. I played a game against New Orleans and I couldn't get myself into the rhythm I wanted to get in. I couldn't really run. I was afraid. I don't know if I was being selfish by staying out there and trying to help our team but after we lost to New England (when he sat out with the knee injury), I knew I couldn't be out too much longer. "When I came back, I got into a little rhythm but then we lost a couple games. Every game, I felt I was prepared and that I was ready and that I did my job. Next year, I've just got to get back in the mode of taking over games. Hopefully my body is healthy enough to do that." Q. Why didn't things work? Why didn't you take over games? A. "I can't really just take over a game by myself. I can step my game up to another level and encourage guys and try to make plays but those other 10 guys around me have to do their jobs too. Same thing goes for the defense. The point I'm trying to make is I can't do it all by myself. "Me being hurt, I couldn't run the ball the way I wanted to. I couldn't cut, couldn't spin. I just couldn't get loose the way I wanted to. I was never back to 100 percent. I took the brace off in Week 13 and it was something I had to fight through mentally. Hopefully next year I can dodge the injury bug and get back to playing the way I'm used to." Q. Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp has taken a tremendous amount of heat because there are some people saying he's tried to make you into more of a standup, in the pocket quarterback. A. "It was not coach Knapp. Coach Knapp never told me to stay in the pocket and go through my progressions. He always told me, 'If it's not there, you do what you do.' It wasn't coach. It was me. I really felt like I needed to protect myself, protect my knee. I just wasn't comfortable. It forced me to stay in the pocket a little bit more. There were certain things we didn't do. There were certain things Knapp maybe didn't put in the playbook." Q. Because of the knee? A. "I can't think of any other reasons, so I'd have to say it was the knee." Q. Going into next season, are there some things that need to be changed offensively? This is supposed to be a West Coast offense, but you guys really don't throw a lot of slant passes or quick-hitters like most teams that run the West Coast system. A. "I thought the West Coast offense was supposed to be a lot of quick, dink-and-dunk passes and it's not being run that way. I'm not saying it's because of coach Knapp, but he's calling the plays. My perception of the West Coast thing is starting to change too. We're not doing what I see Seattle doing or San Francisco doing or Green Bay doing. We're not doing those things. I don't know if it's Knapp changing those things around but as far as I know, it's not the West Coast system as far as the way we run it. "We're not dinking and dunking the way it's supposed to be done. It may be hurting me. It may be hurting the offense. I'm a little lost right now." Falcons coach Jim Mora responded to Vick's answer: "Mike's right. We don't run the West Coast offense. Greg and I have said that from Day One. Our offense is tailored to the skills of our players. That's one of the reasons we've risen in rankings from 29th before Greg took over the offense to 12th this past season and we expect to get much better." Q. Going into next season, what will you do that might be different from the past? A. "The only thing I need to do is get with Roddy White and Michael Jenkins, work with them and stay healthy. If I can do that then I got a shot, we've got a chance. Offensively and defensively, we've got to come to play. Everybody has to do his job. Offensively, that starts up from with the running game. Going down the stretch the end of the year our running game fell off. We couldn't do the things we wanted to do. "Teams were keying on what we were going to do, our blocking schemes and everything that goes into it. It just didn't work and it hurt our offense. I've just got to be healthy — and confident." Q. Regarding your brother Marcus (who was kicked off Virginia Tech's football team for a variety of infractions and later arrested for allegedly brandishing a firearm), how long are you going to keep protecting him? A. "Forever. My brother is not a bad person. The best thing for Marc now is leaving college, getting away from a bunch of people he was around every day. Now he'll have a chance to play in the NFL and have somebody who can be there with him and can guide him in the right direction." Q. What are you doing to guide him? A. "Just talk to him but there's only so much you can say. At some point it has to come from inside. You've got to understand your situation, what's at stake. Marcus, he's more serious now, as far as preparing himself for the future than at any point in his life, even when he took on the starting quarterback role at Virginia Tech. I've never seen him this inspired. He's maturing a little bit. "The last incident that happened was a shame it had to happen. It was a situation where a guy looked at him said, 'I think he pulled a gun on me. I want some money.' Then he'll go to his house and say, 'Give me $20,000 or I'm going to go to the police.' That's how easy it is for us to get into trouble." Q. Did that happen? A. "Somebody could walk up to Marc right now and tell everybody Marc punched him in his face and the whole world would believe him. That's the situation he was caught in. Somebody's trying to get some money. Things I'm dealing with (the civil lawsuit filed by an Atlanta area woman who claims Michael Vick gave her genital herpes), I can't talk about it but it's all about people trying to get money. "It's a bad situation to be in but I guess that comes to the territory - but I don't see other athletes going through things me and my brother are going through. It's just a shame but we're strong so we'll be able to get through it." Q. You have been loyal to Virginia Tech. Has the school's dismissal of Marcus changed your feelings about Tech? A. "No. Absolutely not. That was a situation where after he did what he did in that game (stomped on Louisville's Elvis Dumervil in the Toyota Gator Bowl) it embarrassed the school. A lot of people wanted to see some type of punishment. He deserved what he got. Marc shouldn't have done what he did. I was the first to ask him, 'Why did you do what you did?' "I'm not bitter at all. They made their decision. What can I say? "They've given Marc so many chances. They've dealt with a lot. It came to a point where they couldn't take any more."
If an NFL GM tries to put Vince Young in as starting QB in a West Coast style offense, he will feel the same frustration felt by Michael Vick. An NFL starting QBs success is highly dependent on whether or not his QB skills can be utilized within the offensive system he is in.
Does that apply to guys like Carr, also? Is his problem the system coupled with a horrible O-line? It's a very 'chicken/egg' proposition. Do we always explain a quarterbacks failings as an indictment of his team's offensive system and just blame the coaches or the schemes? Theoretically, you have a quarterbac - say, Eli Manning - who struggles for his first three seasons. He then says he doesn't 'buy in' to the offensive system. So the offensive coordinator is fired and a new one is brought in. Two or three more seasons go by, he muddles through and is barely an above average QB and then throws THIS offensive coordinator/head coach under the bus, as well. A At some point, when do you stop the tape and say 'Hey, this guy might have been great in college but he just can't cut it for some reason at this level'?
Leave Mexico alone...He's about to bang some more chicks... Seriously, it does take years for any QB to master this or any offense...Granted, Vick may not be the best candidate, however, you tailor your plays to any qbs ability...
The west coast offense is so wrong for Vick. They should be running a ball-control rushing offense, with play-action fakes to incorporate a vertical passing game and Vick running ability being a constant X-factor (incidentally, that's the kind of offense, minus the scrambling QB, that got the Falcons to their most recent Superbowl. The "Dirty Birds" with Jamal Anderson and Chris Chandler). You've got to play to a guy's strengths, and for Vick it's running, and throwing the deep ball. This short yardage, timing, ball-control passing offense doesn't fit him at all.
You, m_cable, did not read the interview, he and his coaches said that that the Falcons do not run the west coast offense, they run the offense that you're describing, they don't have the WRs to run a true west coast offense, and they don't have the OL to run the offense you want.
if your offense takes 3-5 years to master, it's a stupid offense or you're not teaching it right. i don't recall the 49ers needing until the middle of the 80s before they got the offense down.
Well said. Here's some evidence (it did help that they started Joe Montana. To coin a political phrase, Michael Vick ain't no Joe Montana...) http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/sf49/49ers.html 1978: Prior to the start of the season the 49ers made a blockbuster deal acquiring RB O.J. Simpson form the Buffalo Bills for draft picks. However, O.J. was held to just 593 yards on the season as he was sidelined most of the season with a shoulder injury. IN addition QB Steve DeBerg struggled throwing almost 3 Interceptions for every TD, as the 49ers got off to a miserable 1-8 start. The 49ers would fire Coach Pete McCulley, but under Fred O'Connor the team could not do any better finishing with a franchise worse 2-14 record. 1979: Under new Coach Bill Walsh the 49ers would struggle to another terrible 2-14 record. However, all over there were signs of improvement as the offense went form one of the worst in the NFL to one of the best despite another disappointing season form O.J. Simpson, a season that would be his last. However, while O.J. was ending his career, a Rookie QB form Notre Dame was just getting started debuting with 96 yards at 1 TD pass in 23 attempts, named Joe Montana. 1980: The 49ers showed gradual improvement in their rebuilding program under Coach Bill Walsh. A 3-game winning streak to open the season, combined with a 3-game victory string from Week 12 through Week 14 enabled the 49ers to post a 6-10 season, tripling the number of victories from each of the previous two seasons. Their Week 14 win made NFL history, as QB Joe Montana who earned the starting job at the end of the season, led the 49ers to an amazing 38-35 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints at Candlestick, after the 49ers trailed at halftime 35-7. The comeback was the biggest comeback in NFL history. 1981: The season did not start out very good, as the 49ers lost 2 of their first 3 games including a season opening loss in Detroit to the Lions. However, the 49ers would lose just 1 more game the rest of the season and captured the NFC West Title with a 13-3 record. Getting the credit for the turn around was Coach Bill Walsh who was voted the Coach of the Year. However, Walsh had lots of help as QB Joe Montana passed for 3,565 yards in his first full season as starter. Also helping to guide the turn around was a vastly improved defense led by the addition of rookies in the secondary CB Eric Wright, and Safeties Carlton Williamson and S Ronnie Lott. In the playoffs for the first time in 9 years the 49ers hosted the New York Giants in the Divisional Playoffs. After playing to a 7-7 stalemate in the 1st Quarter the 49ers pulled ahead in the 2nd Quarter by scoring 17 points. After the Giants got to within a TD in the 4th Quarter the 49ers put the game away with 2 quick TDs capped by a 20 yard Interception return from S Ronnie Lott, as the 49ers won the game 38-24. In the NFC Championship at Candlestick the 49ers faced their old nemeses the Dallas Cowboys. The game would go back and forth all afternoon, as the 49ers looked to be going down again trailing 27-21 late in the 4th Quarter facing the task of driving 89 yards for a TD. However, the world was introduced to the Montana magic as the 49ers young QB drove the 49ers down the field. With less than a minute left the 49ers faced 3rd and Goal from the 6, as Joe Montana was flushed form the pocket. Trying to avoid a backbreaking sack Montana tried to throw the ball out the back of the endzone. However, WR Dwight Clark leaped up and brought the ball down with perhaps the most famous catch in NFL history to give the 49ers a 28-27 lead. The 49ers would go on to hold on for the win, as a dynasty was born.
No I did not. But last I saw of them, they're still running a timing offense based on progressions, and other WCO principles. And the fact that Vick is confused about whether they are playing the WCO or not shows a disconnect between the messages that the coaching staff is sending out. So I really don't see how the offense is "tailored to the skills of our players".
Vick, Mora, and Knapp all said they weren't running the West Coast offense, to me it looks like they have deep threats at WR, however no precision route runners that are needed for the West Coast offense.
