Offensive Guru Crowton Revamps Bomber Attack

[voodoochylde]

Original Story Here

 

GARY Crowton’s crash course in Canadian football began a year or so ago, on the very day he was hired by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as their offensive co-ordinator.

 

But, his introduction to the game came decades earlier at a free-agent camp in Fresno, Calif.

 

"I had a tryout with the Saskatchewan Roughriders," said Crowton Tuesday as the Bombers training camp continued at Investors Group Field. "I was a young coach at Snow Junior College and I wanted to give playing one more shot. I can’t remember the year, early ’80s I guess, and it was a three-day camp. They cut after the first day and they cut after the second day. I made it through all those cuts and it came down to two quarterbacks: myself and Joe Paopao.

 

"They signed him and they told me, ‘Be close and if something happens to Joe Paopao, we’ll bring you up.’ Well, Joe played good forever and they never brought me up. Ever since then I’ve had an affection for the CFL.

 

"I remember it being fun in those workouts, I remember guys running all over the place."

 

Continued at link ...

 

A couple of quick points in that article which lend some credence to the belief that protecting the QB will be a point of emphasis this season .. it also seems that both he (Crowton) and Buck are on the same page as well .. granted .. take Buck's opinion with a grain of salt given that Crowton played a large roll in why Buck is back .. but it speaks well for the offense that guys are buying in.

[OldSchoolBlue]

Original Story Here

 

 

 

A couple of quick points in that article which lend some credence to the belief that protecting the QB will be a point of emphasis this season .. it also seems that both he (Crowton) and Buck are on the same page as well .. granted .. take Buck's opinion with a grain of salt given that Crowton played a large roll in why Buck is back .. but it speaks well for the offense that guys are buying in.

 

If nothing else, at least it appears that all of the guys are rowing the boat in the same direction this year. Hopefully they can find something that moves the offense AND keeps Buck from getting his head taken off every second play.

[Super Duper Negatron]

Crowton's offense got progressively better last year. You could see him making adjustments as far as dropping plays that weren't working, etc, as he found his groove. Looking forward to see what he can do with a full year of his own offense.

[kelownabomberfan]

Crowton's offense got progressively better last year. You could see him making adjustments as far as dropping plays that weren't working, etc, as he found his groove. Looking forward to see what he can do with a full year of his own offense.

 

Yes that at least is one big improvement, dropping plays that weren't working and were never going to work.  Lapo seemed to have all the characteristics of an extremely stubborn person in terms of not wanting to give up on plays that the defences of the league had seen before, knew were coming in advance, and were not going to work anymore.  That 20 yard out to Kito Poblah standing still at the line of scrimmage was a perfect example.  Lapo called that play over and over again and Kito got murdered every time.  The defence knew it was coming.  By the time the ball got to Kito there were 3 DB's and an LB standing there smiling waiting to destroy him.  I'm glad that Crowton has looked at the playbook and simplified it.  When you get too complicated, guys make mistakes.  And QB's and WR's get hurt.

[Super Duper Negatron]

Yes that at least is one big improvement, dropping plays that weren't working and were never going to work.  Lapo seemed to have all the characteristics of an extremely stubborn person in terms of not wanting to give up on plays that the defences of the league had seen before, knew were coming in advance, and were not going to work anymore.  That 20 yard out to Kito Poblah standing still at the line of scrimmage was a perfect example.  Lapo called that play over and over again and Kito got murdered every time.  The defence knew it was coming.  By the time the ball got to Kito there were 3 DB's and an LB standing there smiling waiting to destroy him.  I'm glad that Crowton has looked at the playbook and simplified it.  When you get too complicated, guys make mistakes.  And QB's and WR's get hurt.

 

 

Yeah, Lapo was always assumed if the play didn't work, it was an execution thing.

[Mr Dee]

Crowton's offense got progressively better last year. You could see him making adjustments as far as dropping plays that weren't working, etc, as he found his groove. Looking forward to see what he can do with a full year of his own offense.

And just what is wrong with trying something over and over and over again?....it's bound to work sooner or later.

 

Sincerely, Paul

[kelownabomberfan]

And just what is wrong with trying something over and over and over again?....it's bound to work sooner or later.

 

Sincerely, Paul

 

well they are having another baby so that philosophy seems to be working in the bedroom at least!

[bluto]

i see that we've de-valued the word "guru" somewhat... 

[Mr Dee]

"well they are having another baby so that philosophy seems to be working in the bedroom at least!" 

 

 

 

To be named LePaul if it's a boy and LaPaula if it's a girl.

[kelownabomberfan]

i see that we've de-valued the word "guru" somewhat... 

 

you are right, making the Argo defence look stupid wasn't really that hard.

[Mike]

i see that we've de-valued the word "guru" somewhat... 

 

Whether you think Crowton is well versed enough to be in the CFL as a coordinator, he's obviously got talent as a play caller and schemer.

 

What elite division 1 programs or NFL teams has your OC called plays for again?

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm probably just echoing other posters thoughts above, but Crowton really improved his playcalling without the LaPoleash around him. The adjustments, both in-game and week-to-week, improved and he seems innovative enough to design plays around his players' abiltiies. Really looking forward to what he has to show after having a full offseason in charge of the offence.

[JuranBoldenRules]

I get the emphasis on protecting the QB, but I hope we don't abandon playaction and rollouts.  Most of Buck's injuries have occurred in the pocket, and the only one that didn't was a ridiculous headhunt by Isaac that can only be prevented by the league.  Buck isn't a pocket passer. 

[SPuDS]

Crowton's offense was trending upward towards the end of the season.. Now, having a full off-season and camp/preseason to bring out what he wants solely with the players he has.. I cannot imagine it will regress much if at all and will continue to improve..

 

looking forward to see what he brings to the table with his new look offense. 

[BlueBall]

Crowton's offense was trending upward towards the end of the season.. Now, having a full off-season and camp/preseason to bring out what he wants solely with the players he has.. I cannot imagine it will regress much if at all and will continue to improve..

 

looking forward to see what he brings to the table with his new look offense.

Agree. Wasn't overly impressed with him last season, but yes, things were getting better (too little, too late unfortunately) so it will be interesting to see what he comes up with now that he's in complete control of the offense and had time to work with them. And of course, keeping Buck safe is key.

[SPuDS]

Agree. Wasn't overly impressed with him last season, but yes, things were getting better (too little, too late unfortunately) so it will be interesting to see what he comes up with now that he's in complete control of the offense and had time to work with them. And of course, keeping Buck safe is key.

I agree with the need to keep the QB upright and protected.. I like the idea of bringing in the new kid Fitzie to block and give him an option to keep defenses honest.  Hopefully the O-line coupled with the new look offense will help Buck stay off the turf.. 

[TrueBlue]

I get the emphasis on protecting the QB, but I hope we don't abandon playaction and rollouts.  Most of Buck's injuries have occurred in the pocket, and the only one that didn't was a ridiculous headhunt by Isaac that can only be prevented by the league.  Buck isn't a pocket passer. 

Buck can be super successful when running rollouts as long as he knows when to get rid of the ball if nothing has developed.  He's still got a habit of trying to force something if he has run out of room in front of him.  He's also hurt himself a few times throwing mid-hit and landing awkwardly. 

[SPuDS]

Buck can be super successful when running rollouts as long as he knows when to get rid of the ball if nothing has developed.  He's still got a habit of trying to force something if he has run out of room in front of him.  He's also hurt himself a few times throwing mid-hit and landing awkwardly. 

Yea he is not known to give up on a play, thats for sure.. If he develops the knack for throwing it away at the right time or just getting down to avoid the big hit.. what am I saying, we've been saying this for 4 seasons already lol 

[do or die]

When the Crow has an effective O running consistently......then I'll call him a "guru".  

 

Frankly, midway through the season....that O, still looked like a LaPolice production - which probably irked Mack (after demanding radical change).    We still slipped into some bad habits, near the end of the season - like not using Simpson in the redzone and falling back into that stupid "horizontal" passing attack, at times.

 

But its a clean slate, this year.

[kelownabomberfan]

When the Crow has an effective O running consistently......then I'll call him a "guru".  

 

Frankly, midway through the season....that O, still looked like a LaPolice production - which probably irked Mack (after demanding radical change).    We still slipped into some bad habits, near the end of the season - like not using Simpson in the redzone and falling back into that stupid "horizontal" passing attack, at times.

 

But its a clean slate, this year.

 

That last game especially, we went 100% with Volny....what was Crowton thinking???

[Guest]

That's pretty interesting that Crowton almost became a CFL QB, I don't recall hearing about that when he was brought up here last year, but great to hear that his ties to the CFL started long ago.

 

As for the new system itself, I figured that this was going to happen at some point, especially considering that Buck is the starting QB. I had always felt that going to a Montreal styled offesne was the way to go, heck even DB thought as much. IMO with the receivers and running backs we have this could be the year our offense avoids being in the bottom 3. There was a stretch of about 5 or 6 games games at the end of last season where our offense looked great (tops in the league IIRC), if Crowton improves upon that, we should be fine.

 

Also if the offense does well, it shows that Lapo really was one of the big issues with the offense (aside from the QB inconsistencies/injuries obviously).

[RagingIce]

Honestly, I was really impressed with the progress our offence made last year. The O-Line was doing well, we weren't getting as many 2-and-outs. I really hope that trend continues into the new season

[M.O.A.B.]

"The kind of ball I’m thinking of is: Don’t hold it, get rid of it, use the run and the pass quickly, but do it in a way that is rhythmic so we can get on a roll,"

"I want to control it and move it down there at a good, fast clip."

 

that's what i want to see in our offense this season.

[voodoochylde]

Burke is loving the running backs ..

 

 

ONE of the deepest positions for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2013 is at running back.

 

With their starting tailbacks from each of the last two seasons in camp -- Chad Simpson from 2013 and Chris Garrett from 2012 -- the Bombers are already spoiled for choice.

But making that decision even tougher is the presence of yet another talented tailback in Will Ford, who impressed in 2012 in his limited opportunities and continues to count head coach Tim Burke as a fan.

 

"He adds a different dimension -- he adds the home run ability," said Burke. "Chad and Chris are good inside running backs and powerful and all that. And Will is a guy who's a space player -- he's really good at open field...

 

"So that might be part of the formula -- maybe one of the power backs plays and the space player plays."

 

Burke was asked how hard it would be to keep Ford off the Bombers roster. "It's looking harder and harder, isn't it as you watch him out there." he said. "He's doing a great job. And he's a great guy, too."

[Mike]

I still have to say I think it's going to be Simpson+Ford on the 42.