Load the Shotgun!
It would appear that Jason Campbell and Jim Zorn have already agreed on some adjustments for next week. Namely, JC and JZ have agreed on utilizing the shotgun formation to ease Campbells comfort level in the new offense. The Washington Post quotes JC, saying:
“I was really happy to hear him say that, because I like the shotgun,” Campbell said. “The shotgun gives me the chance to do some different things than when you’re under center. Right now, we’re all still learning this new offense and adjusting to it, so anything that can help us get to where we want to be, I’m all for it.”
When I think of West Coast offense, I think of Joe Montana and Steve Young. I don’t recall either of them using the shotgun formation. They may have. I just don’t remember. It seems a bit odd. That aside, however, Whatever is needed to facilitate comfort in JC is a good thing at this point. But, both he and Zorn have to be careful to not telegraph to the defenses what they are trying to do.
Specifically, I can’t imagine our running game working out of a shotgun formation. When Steve Spurrier was here, that seems like all we did run…at least effectively. Campbell acknowledges that could be a problem.
“But we can’t go from a shotgun all the time,” he said. “Some plays are just designed to start under center, and defenses would start keying on certain things if you tried to do it all the time.
“You’d have to start running out of the shotgun to keep the defense guessing, and that’s not really what this offense is set up to do. Down and distance are really going to determine when we can use it, and the feel of the game, too. Coach Zorn is going to leave it up to me to decide, but it has to work in the offense. It can’t be outside of what we’re trying to do, and it won’t be, it’s just something that can help us get into the things that we want to do . . . until we get everything down as a group.”
The bottom line is that we need to figure out what we do best within the framework of this offense. And, based on the comments by JC, it sounds like the shotgun, at least for now, may be a workable concession to facilitate our objectives.
