Wildcat Wonder

Exploring two myths about the Wildcat offense.

Myth 1. “Michael Vick will excel in the Wildcat formation”

The Wildcat is not for finesse runners like Vick, or any quarterback, except maybe Thom Brennaman’s boy.  It is for bruising, dynamic backs like Ronnie Brown.  The Wildcat is designed for the offense to put a blocker on the entire front line of the defense allowing the running back to take the direct snap and run in between the tackles and put his shoulder down and take on a safety at the next level.  It is not designed for fragile quarterbacks to run around the end.  The Wildcat is also not a passing formation. The Dolphins threw the ball twice last year out of 103 snaps in the Wildcat formation, this is why I never understood why the Eagles signed Vick unless they planned on only using him as a traditional back-up quarterback. Vick was productive in his Falcons days when he improvised and used his legs scrambling outside of the pocket. He will not have that type of success in a Wildcat formation.

Myth 2. “The Wildcat is a fad, and will be non-existent in a year”

The Wildcat may not have the level of success this year as it did for the Dolphins in 2008, but it will not go away.  As we saw on MNF in Week 2, the Wildcat is still effective despite the element of surprise. The Wildcat works well in exploiting a soft run defense. Indy cannot stop the run, so when Miami pulled Pennington out of the game in the Wildcat formation, the Dolphins gained an additional blocker, or decoy. The defense was put at even more of a disadvantage despite knowing that Miami was running the ball.  The Colts made zero adjustments at halftime to stop the Wildcat, and it worked the entire game as evident by the Dolphins 239 rushing yards.

I’m not suggesting that the Wildcat is the next revolutionary offense. In fact, it should only be mixed in by a handful of teams. Teams with solid quarterbacks in traditional offenses, like Indianapolis, New England, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, to name a few, shouldn’t really bother. The Patriots would be doing themselves a disservice having Tom Brady split wide or holding a clipboard next to The Hoodie for fifteen plays a

game.  But, for teams with running back depth and a mediocre quarterback like the Dolphins (no offense, Chad) it can be helpful.  A traditional offense is the ideal situation for a NFL success, but there are only so many Brady’s and Manning’s out there.  Some teams can really benefit through these gimmick offenses to help move the ball. As long as there are weak run defenses and mediocre quarterbacks, the Wildcat can have its place in the league.  The Wildcat will not win you a Super Bowl, but it can certainly have some success (2008 AFC East Champs) if it’s run properly.