The Shurmur O

Okay, I've spent the past 24 hours or so learning more about Pat Shurmur.  Previously I had known him as one of the best OC's who'd failed in Cleveland.  If he's learned his lessons I think he can be sort of a cross between Fassel and Coughlin, which would be a really good get.

First of all, he's not running the traditional WCO, he was sort of raised in, with Minnesota.  He's running the power spread offense combined with the air-raid passing scheme. This, as you've noticed is a very effetive scheme, as it turned out, is easy to teach and easy for players to learn. I think this combo is going to be the new base offense, like the WCO became for 30 years. In the most recent MBA's practice time has been so limited, teams need stuff that's easy to teach and "multiple."

In that he's from the WCO but likely to run something else here,  he is similar to Jim Fassel.  Fassel came to the Giants and didn't really have any QB talent with which to fully install the WCO, though he did run Charles Way ragged with lots of throws to the FB.  Anyway, when Tiki got things figured out and Mouse McNally took over the offense became something a little different from a WCO, and when they had Toomer, Ike, Dixon and Shockey, things got very air raidy for while.  In any event, those best Fassel O's looked a little like the power spread/air raid passing combo will be, and that can be particularly explosive with OBJ, Engram and Sheppard. Paul Pierce will also either prove to be useful as a run and pass guy or he'll be gone.

And he's also sort of like TC in the way he too adjust his O to mix power running and the run and shoot. However; the power spread/air raid is much easier to teach and learn than that combo was. In fact, the reduced practice times may have lead to TC's and the team's diminishing returns.  They almost certainly cost Gilbride his job.

Anyway, with Shurmur we should see the return of a power running game, lots of play action and lots of medium and deep passes.  And that's what our best O's have looked like.