The Oilers’ Man for All Seasons : NFL: Quarterback Warren Moon has adjusted to four offensive philosophies in seven years, and he’s thriving.

There’s a new Moon on the rise in Houston, but then Oiler fans who have closely followed the kaleidoscopic career of their quicksilver quarterback have long since ceased to be amazed by his transformations.

Warren Moon, like the Greek god Proteus, seems able to change his form to fit the moment. So at this particular moment, he’s busy transforming himself into the quintessential run-and-shoot quarterback.

First-year Coach Jack Pardee took over the Oilers this season and installed an orthodox run-and-shoot offense. This is no hybrid--such as predecessor Jerry Glanville’s so-called Red Gun. This is the true-blue, 100%-of-the-time run-and-shoot, football’s version of fast-break basketball.

In Houston, the Xs and Os are once again a-changing. And once again following the bouncing ball is the ever-transient Moon.

It certainly wasn’t the first time a Houston coach diagrammed his new offensive scheme on a blackboard and asked Moon to go out on the field and make it work. Moon is halfway through his seventh season with Houston, and he’s smack dab in the middle of a fourth offensive philosophy. He has worked with five quarterback coaches over that span.

So he’s as accustomed to making alterations as your tailor.

In 1984, Moon was a rookie sensation--six years and a couple of 5,000-plus-yard passing seasons with Edmonton in the CFL gave him a head start on the guys just out of college--and he threw for a then-club-record 3,338 yards in Coach Hugh Campbell’s offense.

By 1986, Glanville was in charge and running what he liked to call “smash-mouth football,” a game plan built around a punishing running game. The Oilers won their opener and then lost eight consecutive games, prompting a usually self-controlled Moon to publicly complain about the lack of offensive ingenuity. After a meeting with Glanville, the Oilers opened things up, and Moon ended up eclipsing his single-season passing mark with 3,489 yards.

In 1987, the Red Gun began to evolve, and predictably, so did Moon. By the end of the 1989 season, he was preparing to make his second consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl, again had one of the NFL’s top five quarterback ratings and had averaged more than 20 touchdown passes per year for three seasons.

But with all that offensive success and two consecutive forays into the AFC playoffs, it had to be time for another change, right?

Warren Moon, meet Jack Pardee. And by the way, start studying this new playbook, will you?

“The biggest adjustments for me were technique-wise,” Moon said. “I had to get used to throwing on the run more. This is more of a rollout to get yourself squared to the line of scrimmage to throw as opposed to trying to get outside to break the contain, which is what I was used to in college and Canada.

“Also, there’s the number of routes we have in. We probably had only 40% as much offense in the Red Gun. It’s a whole different level of concentration for the receivers and myself. You really have to have your thinking cap on all the time. We used to run the ball maybe 60% of time, and I knew I’d just be handing off. But now, every play is a possible passing play, so you really have to be in tune with what’s going on.

“Then there’s all the reads and adjustments and options. I enjoy it, but it took awhile to get used to the fact that so much of the emphasis is put on (the quarterback and receiver) positions.”

Typically, it didn’t take Moon long to adapt. The run-and-shoot is all about decisions, decisions, decisions, and already, Moon’s making the right ones almost all of the time. He has thrown one interception in his past 156 attempts.

“He’s having a very good season,” Pardee said. “He’s been very decisive. His timing is good. Coming in, I thought he was the perfect guy to run this offense. They had been using the Red Gun the last three years, and he’d been having good production. Now, we’re devoting all of our time to (the run-and-shoot), and now that we spend all our time on it, I think he’s more comfortable with it.

“I don’t know how you can ask any more from a quarterback than what he’s giving us right now.”

The only thing the Oiler offense can’t seem to do with a football these days is stuff it into the end zone. Last week, during a 17-12 loss to the New York Jets, Moon completed 30 of 43 passes for 381 yards but just one touchdown.

Some opponents of the run-and-shoot say its major weakness is in short-yardage situations, especially near the goal line.

But Moon fairly bristles at that notion.

“People can say what they want, but we can score a lot of points,” he said. “We just have to do the little things to get in the end zone. You can’t blame fumbles on the one-yard line and dropped passes on the type of offense.

“This offense will allow us to get down the field a lot of times. Some people’s offense never gets past their own 40. We just have to stick with what we’re doing. We can’t get discouraged with what we’re doing because we’re moving the ball against everyone. We just have to cash in more.”

Moon is quick to jump to Pardee’s defense because, oddly, he’s finally feeling a sense of continuity that was missing in the Glanville years. Last year, Moon and quarterback coach Kevin Gilbride would work on the game plan all week. But on Sunday, Glanville would strap on the headsets and take over the show. Now, Gilbride is the offensive coordinator, and everyone is “on the same page,” in Moon’s estimation.

So this latest transition has been relatively smooth, a collection of subtle changes.

“I’ve gone through a lot of coaching changes, and with any new coach there’s an adjustment,” Moon said. “Our relationship is going along pretty well. We pretty much know what he expects from us now. It’s a feeling out process. There are little changes that he makes in the things you’ve been doing one way for so many years, but, all in all, I think it’s a positive change for this team. I think in the long run, it will make us better and more efficient.”

If you figure that sending the football through the air is easier than trudging it up field under your arm, the Oilers are a model of efficiency. Moon is throwing the ball an average of 42 times per game, and Houston has the top four receivers in the AFC. Ernest Givins leads the league with 40 catches, followed by Haywood Jeffires (39), Drew Hill (38) and Curtis Duncan (38).

There were a lot of people--Moon included--who figured all this passing would leave him with more aches than just a tired arm on Monday mornings. Throw that much, and you’re bound to get hit more often, the theory went.

Moon believed it, so he dedicated the off-season to a weight-training regimen designed to make him more durable. The Jets sacked him five times last week, but generally he has been well-protected.

“I haven’t taken as many hits as everyone thought I would,” he said, “but I think the weights did help me from a physical standpoint and more so from a mental standpoint. Just knowing that I could take it has kept me from worrying about the rush.

“I feel pretty good. We’re all getting more and more comfortable with it.”

Increasingly, Moon has been making all the right moves. He’s thrown himself into a position where he has a legitimate shot at breaking a number of Dan Marino’s single-season passing records, including completions (375), attempts (623) and yards (5,084). If Moon can match his first-half production, he would finish this season with 406 completions, 662 attempts and 4,974 yards.

It may have taken a lot of experimentation and a number of years, but Moon has finally discovered an offense best-suited to exploit his considerable talents, right?

Well, maybe.

“I’m really not sure,” he said. “I mean, I know I can do well in it. I know it allows me more chances to throw, and as a quarterback you want as many chances as possible to throw the ball.

“But for myself, it doesn’t really matter what offense I’m in. I should be able to complete passes.”

WARREN MOON’S SEASON

Opponent Result Att. Comp. Pct. Yds. TD Int. LG Sack Atlanta L, 27-47 52 31 59.6 397 4 2 80 2 Pittsburgh L, 9-20 48 24 50.0 284 0 4 24 4 Indianapolis W, 24-10 39 29 74.4 308 3 1 28 1 San Diego W, 17-7 46 27 58.7 355 2 1 31 3 San Francisco L, 21-24 33 18 54.5 191 2 0 30 3 Cincinnati W, 48-17 33 21 63.6 369 5 1 42 0 New Orleans W, 23-10 37 23 62.2 202 1 0 19 0 N.Y. Jets L, 12-17 43 30 69.8 381 1 0 31 5 Totals W 4, L 4 331 203 61.3 2,487 18 9 80 18