The Wildcat - Beating a Dead Horse (1 Viewer)

[efil4stnias]

The wildcat wasnt to blame for losing that game. The MIA D unable to stop the big play was. Face it, if running the wildcat can keep a teams D on the field for 45 minutes, that should be a W.

but just like in Philly, Miami showed why the wildcat doesnt work. It takes your passing game out of rythm. And unless you have an elite OB that can fin that rythm in a play or two, it cant help you in a 2 minute offense.

I think the wildcat is good for teams that get up early and try to maintain a lead in the fourth. But then again, if your defense is porous, you need to be able to score quickly in some instances. I dont think that the wildcat leads to quick scores.

 

[LubDemSaints]

Dude, the proper term is "he gone".

"He Gone!" LOL

 

[NPs6724]

I actually wouldn't mind if we ran the Wildcat, but only at the end of games when opposing teams know we're going to run. Like our final 2 drives against both Detroit and Philly. It gets Brees out of there and gives us an extra blocker, not to mention the misdirection. Wildcat with Bell, Bush, and Meachem to run out the clock. That'd be cool to see.

 

[BoNcHiE]

The wildcat doesn't score points consistently, and that is the flaw in it. You have to be able to pass the ball and do it well to score points in this league.

This is the same thing that happened with the Falcons in 2006. They ate up a ton of yards but were aweful in the redzone, ending up 22nd in scoring while top 10 in yards. You have to be able to pass down around the goalines.

 

[Paul]

People know about the wildcat now, it will be a none factor by the end of this year, and will be more than likely GONE by the end of next year.

Here's the problem that I see. Miami's next opponents are the Chargers, Bill, and Jets, then they go into the BYE, and get us at home coming off the BYE. If they go 0-3/1-2 through that three game stretch before the BYE, they may scrap it all together, no?

 

[jaxxxsun]

i wonder what our d will look like against the wild tuna....

 

[LSSpam]

The wildcat is roughly equivalent to the shotgun. Many NFL teams were resistant to installing the shotgun for many of the same complaints that exist about the wildcat. One dimensional formation, takes "best players" out of the play (running backs in the case of the shotgun), gimmicky, required you to practice outside of your normal offense (with the deep snap, different protection scheme and timing, etc), etc, etc, etc

Gruden didn't finally install shotgun into his playbook until a year or two ago.

*yawn*

There is nothing fundamentally "unsound" about the Wildcat, anymore then there is about the Shotgun. I don't think you could base an entire NFL offense off of it, just like no NFL team exclusively runs the shotgun, but the idea that it's just a gimmicky fade that won't exist anymore is laughable.

What will happen is, like the Shotgun, it'll continue to evolve and players (like Pat White) will be developed to take advantage of it, and you'll see it become more varied, complex, and eventually another part of most NFL playbooks. It's not an "offensive philosophy", it's not on par with the "West Coast offense", no team will become an exclusively "wildcat team", it's just a way to change things up and create personal mismatches, like virtually every other formation in the NFL today.

I don't believe you'll ever see the Saints use it too heavily however for the simple reason that anything that involves minimizing Drew Brees' role on offense flat-out doesn't make sense. Even when we run the ball opposing defenses are thinking about Drew Brees (love watching Mike Bell run free past the LOS while linebackers have their backs turned to the play because they're chasing after a TE, just sure it's a play-action pass). But if your quarterback is Kevin Kolb or Chad Pennington and you have Desean Jackson, Brian Westbrook, or Ronnie Brown on your team, it makes a lot of sense.

 

[King Puppy]

Thank you, LSSpam. Almost every offensive innovation in the NFL has been derided in the exact same fashion as we're seeing with the Wildcat. People say stuff like "it'll go the same way as the run and shoot." Well, every single NFL team incorporates concepts that were first introduced under the Run and Shoot.

Anyway, one thing that's driving me crazy is that announcers are calling ANY direct snap to a non QB "the Wildcat." I need to go back and watch our last game, but I'm not sure Philly ever once really ran the Wildcat. Sure, they had several direct snap plays, but that doesn't make it that series of plays.

 

[NPs6724]

Anyway, one thing that's driving me crazy is that announcers are calling ANY direct snap to a non QB "the Wildcat." I need to go back and watch our last game, but I'm not sure Philly ever once really ran the Wildcat. Sure, they had several direct snap plays, but that doesn't make it that series of plays.

Or when they call snaps to PAT WHITE OR MICHAEL VICK the Wildcat.

 

[Scott B]

I remember the Saints snapping the ball directly to Deuce in 2002 or 2003 several times throughout the season, with great success. Not necessarily the "wildcat", but certainly a version of it.