Godfather of the No Huddle O

[InNOutBurgler]

Greetings Mr. Wyche! Thank you for becoming a contributor to FPL!

I was curious...what is the most important factor in being able to run the no huddle effectively? Peyton Manning? Versatile players? How has the offense evolved? Are you still an advocate of it?

[FessJL0861]

Actually, to add a question Burgler, I can't remember what O you ran Coach. Could you get us up to speed? (really Cris, Dave, and Turk can help here too.) If it wasn't the system you ran, what was your favorite? And definitely some info about the no huddle would be great.

[StarvinMarvin]

As an uneducated fan, it was kinda west coast with a dash of raiders bombs away, and a pinch of OMG! What's he doing now!?!? The no-huddle was classic tho. At the time there were few substitution rules so Sam would run someone in, the rest of the O was no-huddle and the D would be paralysed. Good times!

[msclemons]

Who was the coach in that Seattle - Cincy game that had his defensive players fake injuries to stop the no-huddle? I distinctly recall Coach Wyche being livid on the sidelines over that shenanigan.

[StarvinMarvin]

Think it was Chuck Knox. My biggest memory tho was Marv Levy just going berserk. If I recall, the NFL told Sam he had to allow for defensive subs on the day of the AFC championship! (wrong memories are not to be criticized. I'm old! :P)

[msclemons]

I vaguely remember Marv and a lot of other coaches getting upset over Cincy's use of the no-huddle. It's funny that the no-huddle was regarded as almost "cheating" back in the 80s and now you see it used quite often to give a team some spark.

And I think you're right - Chuck Knox was the scoundrel.

[StarvinMarvin]

The weird thing was, Levy used it the following season in Buffalo. Cincy fans were both outraged and amused.

[PumpknOne]

The weird thing was, Levy used it the following season in Buffalo. Cincy fans were both outraged and amused.

Let's not forget that Mr. Levy and the Bills ran it BETTER and were more successful running it, for a longer period of time. And next time we see a team without a fish on it's helmet run the Wildcat, we will all remember that it's a copycat league, and it has been for a long time.

And that is with all due respect to Coach Wyche. I am a fan.

[Sam Wyche]

Cincinnati was at training camp in Wilmington, Ohio, in 1984........Forrest Gregg had just left to be the new Head Coach (post Bart Starr) in Green Bay.........Cincinnati's new coach came from the 49ers via a one year stay as Head Coach at Indiana University..........
During one of the workouts, in the middle of two-a-days, I blew the whistle and yelled "Nickle Period" -- this is the time in practice when we work on 3rd and medium to long situations.......the offense went into a huddle, and the defense took out the run stoppers and poor cover guys and put in quick, up field rushers and better man coverage players.......
I stood there and said to myself (no one would listen to me, anyway): "Everyone in the stadium knows we are going to pass the ball; why are we going back into a caucus (huddle) for 20 seconds and let the defense substitute? Are we nutts?"
That was the start of the No-Huddle........Five years later we beat Buffalo in the pre-season, regular season, and AFC Playoffs to go to Super Bowl XXIII.........A year later, Buffalo invented the No-Huddle!
Haveagreatlife! Sam Wyche

[Sam Wyche]

Chuck Knox.......super coach and an innovative strategist.....he had their nose tackle (Joe Nash) fake an injury after the 2nd down whistle blew......this caused the clock to stop, and subs to come on the field........pretty good idea, though--and it worked! We played the Bills the next week for the
AFC Championship.........in spite of the Bills' objection, we ran the No-Huddle in that game and won.......By the way, the NFL Commissioner ordered me not to run the No-Huddle in the AFC Championship game--they told me about it 2 hours before the game----I refused and the League backed down.
Haveagreatlife! sam wyche