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If Favre Comes To Tampa Bay ...

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By IRA KAUFMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

LAKE BUENA VISTA - If Jon Gruden's playbook was faxed to Brett Favre's Mississippi home Tuesday night for light reading, Favre probably ran out of copy paper.

Despite 16 years in Green's Bay's West Coast offensive scheme, Favre will need a crash course in new terminology - and significantly more complex concepts - if he becomes a Buccaneer.

"It would definitely be a battle of the minds," said former Bucs tight end Anthony Becht, who signed with the Rams this spring as a free agent. "Brett is used to one version of the West Coast attack, but if he ends up playing for Gruden he's about to see the new-age version. Jon Gruden has twisted it and made it his own."

Gruden's playbook is 5 inches thick and stocked with wrinkles he has added since learning the basic principles in San Francisco from the late Bill Walsh, considered the guru of the West Coast offense.

Walsh's philosophy was to emphasize an accurate passing attack, utilizing short drops, to open up the running game. The 49ers won four Super Bowls in the 1980s by relying on quarterback Joe Montana's pinpoint passing and the ability of receivers to gain significant yards after the catch.

In Gruden's 10 years as a head coach, he has taken those concepts a step further.

"It's very difficult," said quarterback Brian Griese, in his second stint with the Bucs. "The first time I came here 2004, I really didn't have a good grasp on the system until the following year. People say that all West Coast offenses are the same, but that's not true. It's more difficult here than anywhere else I've ever been."

But former Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Theismann suggests Tampa would be a natural landing spot for Favre, a three-time league MVP who was just starting to build his legend in Green Bay when Gruden was a Packers assistant.

"To me, the No. 1 question is whether there's a system Brett can get into right away - adaptability is the key," Theismann said. "If you bring a Brett Favre into something other than the West Coast style, you'd have to limit your offense. But in the span of one training camp, he'd be ready to lead the Bucs. He can't go anywhere the system is different."

Gruden's complex jargon and elaborate formations are designed to confuse enemy defenses, but his own players often grapple to master the intricacies of the playbook.

"It took me probably about until Week 6," said tight end Jerramy Stevens, who joined the Bucs in late April 2007. "I was really just out there playing. It took me awhile. This is a complicated offense, and it doesn't stop. They continue to add something every week. It's complicated, but it's perfect once you get it."

Wide receiver Joey Galloway once joked that Bucs players often return to the offensive huddle sheepishly, trying to suppress a grin.

"We're laughing like, 'I have no idea what was just called, but hopefully that's right when we go back and watch the film,'" Galloway said.

With training camp slated to end Aug. 14, Favre would have little time to learn Gruden's nomenclature and tendencies before the team returns to Tampa.

Perhaps the best barometer in forecasting how quickly Favre would grasp Tampa Bay's scheme is to look at the man he would replace under center.

"There are variations to the West Coast style of offense, and I had a chance to work with the Green Bay staff in Hawaii this year at the Pro Bowl, and their terminology was very different than ours," incumbent starter Jeff Garcia said. "Different coaches in the system have added different levels, and Coach Gruden has taken it a certain direction.

"He's multiplied what I've experienced in San Francisco and in Philly. He's multiplied it maybe three or four with the amount of volume we have in the system. It took me probably through the middle of the year last year to feel confident and comfortable with everything that I was doing, yet I had a base of the West Coast system for pretty much my entire NFL career."

Gruden likely would streamline his playbook for Favre, at least at the start, so "22 Jet Smoke" and "Zebra Trojan" might be kept in storage if No. 4 arrives.

"There are so many checks and reads in Gruden's offense," Becht said. "That's something Brett and Coach would have to work on. It would be a very interesting relationship, to say the least. You'd have a guy coming in after 16 years working in an old-school West Coast style meeting up with the guy who picked him up at the airport when Brett was traded to Green Bay.

"And one thing we know for sure about Coach Gruden ... there's nothing old school about his playbook."

Reporter Ira Kaufman can be reached at (813) 259-7833 or

ikaufman@tampatrib.com.

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