| Authored by Randolph Charlotin - 13th August, 2009 - 6:29 pm
 The debut was jaw-dropping. It caught the league off-guard. It drew in everyone’s attention.
The infatuation carried into the off-season and through the draft as teams targeted players just to have their own version. The terminology will be different, but it will be the same thing we saw the Miami Dolphins unleash against the New England Patriots in Week 3.
This is the Wildcat offense, a set of plays introduced to the NFL by the Dolphins and the innovation sparked creativity across the league. Some teams already tried it in 2008 and expect more teams to run their own rendition of it this year.
And as quickly as it hit the scene, expect the Wildcat to reach extinction. This year will be the beginning of the Wildcat falling into its natural place as a trick play.
The Wildcat was ported over from the University of Arkansas when it was called Wild Hog. The Razorbacks ran their Wild Hog with RB Darren McFadden taking the snap from shotgun. RB Felix Jones was lined up next to McFadden to possibly take the hand-off. And McFadden had the choice to give it to Jones, look for the pass, or tuck and run.
Change the team and the players, but the concept remained the same: RB Ronnie Brown in shotgun and Ricky Williams the potential ball carrier.
The results were devastating. Six plays gained 119 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 38-13 dismantling of the Patriots.
What happened next was expected. Other teams tried it out, with varying levels of success. And with a full off-season, teams put more time into their own versions of the Wildcat. Some have even drafted athletic passers with the intent of using them specifically for this offensive set of plays.
But on the other side of the ball, defenses had a whole year to prepare for it and the many wrinkles in presents. San Diego tried it out in practice with the primary intent to prepare the defense if a Wildcat look is thrown their way.
Big plays will be few and far between for the Wildcat and its look-alike kittens. Since a whole offense can’t be built around it, coaching staffs will use it less and less until it becomes something used once or twice a season.
The Wildcat lacks the element of surprise. Whether it’s a running back or a third QB that steps behind the center for a shotgun snap, teams have a good idea of what’s coming just by who’s lined up where.
Evolution led teams to draft athletic quarterbacks – a player able to pass equally as well as they run. But this rarely used player coming off the bench is a dead giveaway. Defenses will see it from a mile away and will adjust.
The Wildcat would work well if the starting QB was a dangerous runner like Michael Vick was. Even though Vick wasn’t the best passer, defenses had to respect his ability to run on every play as well as blanket the secondary. If Tennessee’s Vince Young ever becomes a starter again, he would be the ideal Wildcat player.
But when the Dolphins trot out Pat White while Chad Pennington takes a seat, the element of surprise immediately disappears.
In essence, the Wildcat is a new way to execute a play-action rollout pass, and defenses have seen those for years. It boils down to keeping containment with the front seven and the secondary staying with their assignments, not getting sucked in by the run action.
In the Week 12 rematch between the Dolphins and the Patriots, Miami ran the Wildcat eight times. It gained just 25 yards in a 48-28 defeat. Without the element of surprise, the Wildcat has little chance of survival. It will join the list of gimmicky trick plays brought out in rare situations.
Read more by Randolph Charlotin at his New England Patriots blog at . He can be reached at talktome@randolphc.com. |
