Zero2Cool
14 years ago
Source Link 

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers looks at his huddled teammates and delivers the orders.

"Left wide counter 394 PSZ four Z post."

At the clap, Green Bay Packers tight end Donald Lee has to think about this one for a split second.

Did he hear 394? Or was it 300?

"I really have to have my thinking cap on because that play I don't go out on a route, I have to protect the quarterback's backside," said Lee. "If I'm not paying attention, the D-end's got a free route to hit the quarterback in the back. If I happened to have a brain fart on that play, then the quarterback can get knocked out of the game."

What is the toughest foreign language to learn? Latin? Portuguese? Japanese?

Maybe it's Mike McCarthy's terminology for the West Coast offense.

There are an estimated 300 to 400 plays on offense and all of them have a different name. A few are straightforward; some are just outright bizarre.

Forget skinny post 85 or bailout check down 32. No that would be way too obvious.

One play is grizzly exit red left triple scat three zebra Y whip Z base.

And red robin plus cross outside fire zone; wing right over flop wallaby wide dog; exit blue slot left box 300 X ray corner; and red right flop V left 96 boomer tag.

And everyone on offense has to know the difference.

Now to be clear, for this story, every name of the plays has been jumbled with a substitute fake word. No need to give away the old family recipe. But you get the idea - the names of plays are crazy and long, with distinct cues for certain people, but the players have to know every one just the same.

Starting with Rodgers and the backup quarterbacks. It helps that Rodgers is one of the smartest players on the roster and with more than four years with McCarthy's system, he's got it down. The quarterback has to know what the other 10 players are doing on every play.

"You do have to memorize it all," said backup Matt Flynn. "In college, we'd call like one word and everybody would line up. This is totally different, detailed and specific; every word speaks to a different position. It's not like we're calling concepts."

But other players had to memorize the massive playbook one play at a time.

"I had to keep hearing it, hearing it and seeing it done," said practice squad running back Kregg Lumpkin. "So I can hear it and then visually see it as well. These were the longest plays I'd ever heard."

For an old veteran like Donald Driver, who has played for three different coaches, he's had to translate the play calls. What was three right slot X dagger for Mike Sherman is now zebra deep cross. Or was it blade? As long as Driver isn't confused, he just has to remember is go deep. And cross. We think.

Others have to work out the plays in practice.

"When they first start putting the plays in, they'll tell all the receivers in the huddle: If you don't get the play, yell check," said Lee. "I do that a lot. The plays sound like Chinese talk. I'm like, 'Check, check, check!' - I'm not the only one. A lot of guys do that. Usually the quarterback has to say the play about two or three times."

Even the defense has weird names that have forced the Packers to resort to creative ways of memorization. Linebacker Nick Barnett spent the off-season using flashcards to memorize plays. In other cases, assistant head coach Winston Moss gave the defense write-in playbooks.

"He put the O-line in so all I had to do was draw in the defense," said linebacker Desmond Bishop. "Once you see it on paper, then when you see it on the field the coach calls it live you can see how it is supposed to be executed.

"The play that really gets me is called a closed elephant zone Y. It's not really that long but it's kind of like a tongue twister sometimes."

After they know it, most players seem to listen closely to plays for their specific instruction.

The numbers tell which side the protection is going and then certain key words tell receivers to run certain routes, said Lumpkin.

"For me I've only got to listen to 50% of the call," said left guard Daryn Colledge. The defensive linemen don't have to bother with anything other than gap assignments.

But every word of the play means something different to everyone else. The skill position players really help themselves out if they know all of the plays, however.

"I learn the entire play vs. just my position, because otherwise you don't know what's going on everywhere else," said receiver Greg Jennings.

"You have to know all the plays because they might check an audible, which might not have been put in that week, but we went over during OTAs, so we still have to know," said Lumpkin.

Added receiver James Jones: "You've got to listen to everything because you want to know what other people are doing too. You have to listen in the huddle, read the defense - and then he could still check it!"

Given the challenges of the game, it is almost a miracle any time a play is called that all 11 men work in unison to pull it off.

It's to their advantage that Rodgers enunciates his words and has the deep voice to be heard through a noisy atmosphere. But sometimes even he is hard to hear.

"One thing I do is, instead of just getting in the huddle and trying to listen to the play, I actually get in and get close and squat down so I can look at his mouth to read his lips," said Lee. "That's how I really know what he's saying."

And that's half the battle.


UserPostedImage
jbshell04
14 years ago
Could u imagine havin to order MCDS like that

Zippy do 32 mac mac tate x cross choke
I am therefor I think.
El3ment12
14 years ago
I played football in HS last year, and I never learned the plays. Of course I did not start so I didnt have to 🙂 ........................ 😞
gijoe82
14 years ago
great article, thanks zero. The whole time I was thinking, "wow this is a meaty article must not be from the GBPG." lol when I saw the link.
blank
Yerko
14 years ago
Those are some insane play calls right there. In college we had similar play calling but it was easy as tight end because I only had to listen to two words out of the whole thing, which was what side of the line I am on and if I had to block or run a route.
UserPostedImage
flep
14 years ago
I played D at CB and our D played man coverage with the CB's.

All I did on the snap was look at the O'Line if they came forward over a yard I went to the ball carrier (not forgetting angles mind!!), if the line stepped back I went with the WR.

I got called once on a CB blitz play but the offense lined up 3 WR on my side. I called out the offense and the D captain shouted "can it" so that was my chance of a sack gone!!!! bugger.
Formed Merseyside Nighthawks. British Champions 1992. Packer fan for 32 years
UserPostedImage


I feel very wrong now!!!!!!!!!
PackFanWithTwins
14 years ago
Not as hard as it may seem in reality. Remember many NFL players are not rocket scientists. It just needs to be broken down into its parts. Well the QB has a hard time because he has to put the play together and call it. The rest pick their piece out of it.

Definately harder than my days in HS where we would just run a 31 trap 25 straight times until the defense stopped it once.
The world needs ditch diggers too Danny!!!
packfan4
14 years ago
Where do they pull some of these names from?

wing right over flop wallaby wide dog?

Bill Walsh/Don Coryell had to be on acid when they created the WCO...
UserPostedImage
Zero2Cool
14 years ago

Bill Walsh/Don Coryell had to be on acid when they created the WCO...

"packfan4" wrote:


We have an explanation on Mike McCarthy play calling.
UserPostedImage
Pack93z
14 years ago

Not as hard as it may seem in reality. Remember many NFL players are not rocket scientists. It just needs to be broken down into its parts. Well the QB has a hard time because he has to put the play together and call it. The rest pick their piece out of it.

Definately harder than my days in HS where we would just run a 31 trap 25 straight times until the defense stopped it once.

"PackFanWithTwins" wrote:




+1... it looks worse than it is.. but for some it probably is a challenge.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (13h) : WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling to Bills
Zero2Cool (14h) : Jets and Aaron Rodgers open up on Monday Night Football,
Zero2Cool (13-May) : $170 guaranteed. This might impact Jordan Love
Zero2Cool (13-May) : Lions are signing QB Jared Goff to a four-year, $212 million extension
Zero2Cool (13-May) : I know we moved on. That tidbit just makes me a touch happier.
Zero2Cool (13-May) : Sources spoke of many, many times last summer where Hackett called a play, then Rodgers changed it completely at the line
Martha Careful (10-May) : 1. this is true of all our linemen. 2. His run block is fine. 3. If all OL played like he has, we would win SB.
beast (10-May) : Meyers pass blocking is really good, his run blocking is really not.
Zero2Cool (9-May) : Packers have claimed DE Spencer Waege off of waivers from the 49ers and waived DT Rodney Mathews.
Zero2Cool (9-May) : And the OL protections seem to be good.
Zero2Cool (9-May) : I really don't know lol. I don't see him getting blown up.
Zero2Cool (9-May) : -3 buwahhhahaaha
Mucky Tundra (9-May) : 4th
Zero2Cool (9-May) : because he's 1st
Mucky Tundra (9-May) : Myers isn't even the 3rd best C on the roster atm
Martha Careful (9-May) : I am not sure I understand the Myers hate. He was consistently our third best lineman. RG and LT were worse.
beast (9-May) : Just saying I don't think moving Myers would help Myers.
beast (9-May) : Center is usually considered the easiest position physically if you can handle the snap stuff.
Mucky Tundra (8-May) : Bust it is then
Zero2Cool (8-May) : Context. Sounds like Myers won't be cross-trained. C or bust.
Mucky Tundra (8-May) : @BookOfEli_NFL Packers pass game coordinator, Jason Vrable said that Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks shared a placed in Florida while train
Mucky Tundra (8-May) : For now...
Zero2Cool (8-May) : Packers go about evaluating their "best five," OL coach Luke Butkus makes on thing clear: "Josh Myers is our center."
beast (8-May) : Though I'm a bit surprised letting go of CBs, I thought we needed more not less
beast (8-May) : It was confusing with two DB Anthony Johnson anyways
Zero2Cool (8-May) : Packers actually had Ray Lewis on the phone.
Zero2Cool (8-May) : Packers wanted to draft Ray Lewis. Ravens stole him.
Martha Careful (6-May) : Happy 93rd Birthday to the Greatest Baseball Player of All-Time...Willie Mays
Zero2Cool (6-May) : Walter Stanely's son
buckeyepackfan (6-May) : and released CB Anthony Johnson and DL Deandre Johnson and waived/injured WR Thyrick Pitts (thigh-rick).
buckeyepackfan (6-May) : The Green Bay Packers have signed WR Julian Hicks, OL Lecitus Smith (luh-SEET-us) and WR Dimitri Stanley
Zero2Cool (6-May) : Petty, but it's annoying me how the NFL is making the schedule release an event.
Mucky Tundra (4-May) : @mattschneidman Matt LaFleur on how he tore his pec: “Got in a fight with the bench press. I lost.”
Zero2Cool (3-May) : Jordan Love CAN sign an extension as of today. Might tak weeks/months though
TheKanataThrilla (3-May) : Packers decline 5th year option for Stokes
Mucky Tundra (3-May) : @ProFootballTalk Jaylen Warren: Steelers' special teams coach has discussed Justin Fields returning kicks.
Zero2Cool (2-May) : Season officially ending tonight for Bucks ... sad face
Zero2Cool (2-May) : Giannis Antetokounmpo is listed as out for tonight's game.
dfosterf (2-May) : Surprisingly low initially is my guess cap wise, but gonna pay the piper after that
dfosterf (2-May) : The number on Love is going to be brutal.
Zero2Cool (2-May) : May 3rd. Extension day for Jordan Love. (soonest)
Zero2Cool (1-May) : USFL MVP QB Alex McGough moved to WR. So that's why no WR drafted!
earthquake (1-May) : Packers draft starters at safety ever few years. Collins, Clinton-Dix, Savage
beast (1-May) : Why can't the rookies be a day 1 starter? Especially when we grabbed 3 of them at the position
dfosterf (1-May) : Not going to be shocked if Gilmore goes to the Lions.
dfosterf (1-May) : I hear you dhazer, but my guess would be Gilmore Colts and Howard Vikings from what little has been reported.
Mucky Tundra (30-Apr) : S learn from McKinney who learns from Hafley who learns from the fans. Guaranteed Super Bowl
Zero2Cool (30-Apr) : could*
Zero2Cool (29-Apr) : Safeties should learn from Xavier.
dhazer (29-Apr) : And what about grabbing a Gilmore or Howard at CB ? Those are all Free Agents left
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2024 Packers Schedule
Recent Topics
39m / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

13-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / dhazer

13-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

12-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Martha Careful

11-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

10-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

10-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

9-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Martha Careful

7-May / Packers Draft Threads / Mucky Tundra

7-May / Packers Draft Threads / Mucky Tundra

5-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / greengold

5-May / Packers Draft Threads / wpr

5-May / Packers Draft Threads / wpr

5-May / Packers Draft Threads / wpr

5-May / Packers Draft Threads / beast

Headlines
Copyright © 2006 - 2024 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.