Wednesday, January 18, 2006

What is "Norv" short for?

posted by BH

As a life-long Forty-Niners fan, I was bummed three years ago when Dennis Erickson took the helm and did away with the West Coast offense (WCO). Last year, when Mike Nolan took over and, along with Mike McCarthy, reinserted the WCO in San Francisco, I was, needless to say after two years on the Erickson experiment, overjoyed. Now, with McCarthy's departure, the Niners have hired two-time NFL head coach Norv Turner as the new offensive coordinator. We all know what Turner did in Dallas, and he has been successful in other coordinator positions along the way. I think he will be successful in San Fran, yet doubts remain because of the last time the Niners abandoned the WCO. Evidently, Turner's offense is easier to understand than the WCO, which is good news for Alex Smith, but doesn't that mean it's easier for defenses to break down? Part of the beauty of the WCO is that, once run well, or even adequately, it is an efficient, almost unstoppable offense.

History suggests that Turner is going to be successful in San Francisco. Everyone points to Turner creating a Hall of Famer in Troy Aikman. Aikman credits Turner with getting the Cowboys to the Super Bowl. We'll see. I would love to see nothing more than a powerful Niner team in the future. I'm just going to miss the Niner trademark that is the WCO, even if it would have taken another season to be grasped.

17 comments:

Lunatic Fringe said...

I believe "Norv" is an old German word which, translated literally, means, "A whale's vagina."

Norv certianly got the most out of Kerry Collins and Randy Moss, didn't he? Wait...

Anonymous said...

Barry - Here is a technical question. Why wouldn't the spread offense work in the NFL?

Forget the fact that in the NFL you can't really have more than 4-5 active recievers on your roster as opposed to college where teams have like a 12 deep depth chart.

Everytime I watch a college game it seems like guys are open with no one within 10 yards of them.

Roscoe Galt said...

I really can't answer this adequately. In college we have seen the spread option gaining popularity, but it relies on a quarterback like Vince Young and Alex Smith, guys who are great scramblers who can run with their eyes down field. I think the spread offense itself is flawed in that it puts too much pressure on the offensive line. Since it has a tendency to create one on one mathcup on the offensive line, the QB has to get rid of the ball quickly and the team becomes reliant on YAC.

Anonymous said...

What ever happened to the Run-n-shoot offense? I remember the days of Jerry Glanville and June Jones running it to perfection in Atlanta (Houston) where receivers would always be open. Granted, it never won a team a championship, but it was a pretty effective offense. I think that the run-n-shoot, with a running back like Tiki Barber, would be pretty dynamic.

DMo said...

Run n shoot, piss n shit, whatever. Fuck the Falcons and they're gay shit. I like the Norv signing. I liked him in Washington and fuck what he did in Oakland as Al Davis controls everything anyway. He won't be the head coach which should allow him to focus on what the team needs, A FUCKING OFFENSE THAT DOESN'T SUCK ASS!!! Something needs to be done with the O line if it is to be successful.

Anonymous said...

Run n Shoot, piss n shit, ay? That's clever. How's that working out for you?

Norv is not going to solve the following problems for the Niners:

1) Two of their top-3 receivers are converted college quarterbacks (Battle, Marshall), while the other is one of two people currently on the Hudini List for his propensity for disappearing (Lloyd) Translation: Their receivers suck.

2) Alex Smith, despite his faults, gets about 1.7 seconds to throw on every down. Translation: Offensive line sucks

3) Kevan Barlow is still doing his best imitation of Kevan Barlow, and Frank Gore needs to prove he can stay healthy for more than two weeks. Translation: Running backs suck.

4) Can you name their top-2 tight ends (not counting injury-prone Eric Johnson)? Seriously, can you even name them? If so, do you know how to properly pronounce Bajema? Translation: Tight ends suck.

It's tough to do anything on offense if your personel is this bad. The first Mock Draft on ESPN.com has them picking a LB with the seventh pick. They need to go with offense, offense, offense and some more offense, or the whole Norv debate will be moot.

Anonymous said...

Remember in the 80s when college teams used to run the wishbone. I used to like that for the novelty of it. You never see that anymore. I liked when they had two tailbacks, fullback and an option quarter back there - with two tight ends. The defense had 11 guys in the box. The anti-spread.

Anonymous said...

The guy who created the I-formation backfield died today. No joke.

Doesn't Army or Navy or one of those academys still run the wishbone? And on that note, there is Army, Navy and Air Force... but where are the Marines? I would love to see a college football team made up of guys who's sole mission in life is to become a part of Delta Force.

Roscoe Galt said...

The Marines are part of the Navy.

Anonymous said...

Really? I thought they were a totally different entity. I've been looking all over their web pages and I don't see anything that says that. If you want to sign up for the Marines, you have to sign up with the Navy? I'm not saying I don't believe you, I've just never heard or read that before.

Roscoe Galt said...

I don't think I'm making this up. I mean, generally the word "marine" is used to describe an aquatic environment. Plus, you know, the Marines are a division of the Navy. They are the land force that the Navy takes.

DMo said...

Well all of this is rather confusing. I had a marine buddy and when there was a bunch of navy boys in town he was all about fighting them. Does the navy starve them before dropping them off to their death? That would piss me too. Wasn't tom cruis in the navy and Jack Nicholson in the Marines in that one movie? They didn't like each other from what I gathered.

Anonymous said...

I'm still trying to find a link online between the two, but I can't find anything. Plus, if you go to the Marine website, it traps you in there and doesn't let you back back out. Bitches. That's how they screw you.

Anyways, I'll keep searching because I'm honestly dumbfounded at the moment.

DMo said...

You are dumb. Don't try to convince yourself you're just dumb right now. It's what alcoholics refer to as "a moment of clarity". NAHAT!!! Sonny's dumb!

Anonymous said...

When I'm helping you move your couch, remind me to run you over with my truck.

Anonymous said...

I have confirmation, BH is the smartest man alive. The Marines were originally established to be the quick strike force (before the militay had planes), and subsequently were delivered to their locations on ships. Therefore, they were originated as a branch of the Navy. Why did I never learn this before now?

DMo said...

Thanks Son, I'll be able to sleep tonight.