Curious about the Wildcat

by Sir_Fiendish on Nov 19, 2008 1:49 PM PST

Seeing as it is is all the rage in the NFL, why hasn't anyone become adept at stopping the wildcat formation. Specifically, when the franchise QB is sitting out at the WR position. I still haven't seen a a cornerback give a hard jam to one of those QB's sitting out on the edge. Wouldn't you think that once a CB knocks one of these franchise Qb's on their butts the Wildcat would fade into the sunset?

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The NFL is slow at adapting to anything

Fans idolize coaches as geniuses – and in the realm of teaching football and developing talent they have few equals – but this isn’t the first strategy wrinkle that’s been strangely effective and for a curiously long time.

by John Morgan on Nov 19, 2008 3:41 PM PST reply actions

not sure

A lot of franchise QB’s out there are bigger than most CB’s. I’m not sure a CB could deliver such a blow in a legal manner to make coaches abandon an effective strategy. These QB’s take blindside hits from linebackers, they’re not made of glass.

by Snuffleupagus on Nov 19, 2008 5:30 PM PST reply actions

Then put JP out there on him.

by PascoJoe on Nov 19, 2008 6:30 PM PST up reply actions

I don't think teams with a franchise QB

are running the wild cat very much are they? I don’t think Warner was on the field when the Cards ran their wildcat.

by Nate Dogg on Nov 19, 2008 6:07 PM PST reply actions

He was

and I think not jamming is a courtesy along the lines of not having your defensive end intentionally injure the opposing quarterback.

by John Morgan on Nov 19, 2008 6:15 PM PST up reply actions

Hahaha, Chad Pennington a franchise QB. Oh man...

by myx on Nov 19, 2008 7:50 PM PST reply actions

Still finding a way....

And just b/c its obvious doesn’t mean we know what play they are running, the Wildcat still confuses Defenses, remember when Miami lined up wildcat and they run it up the gut for a 50 yard td….

Remember though, the shotgun when first invented was a formation that no team could figure out how to stop…..

It is just the evolution of football, it will become more common and in turn defenses will learn to defend it.

by collyb on Nov 19, 2008 10:52 PM PST reply actions

slightly different idea

but it drives me crazy when teams line up in a power goal line formation with no WRs and still keep the QB in there. what’s he doing there?

even on a rollout if you have a RB with a basic decision between a 5 yard pass/ tuck it and run option it doesn’t seem like it’s asking a lot.

by Will Kier on Nov 20, 2008 12:43 AM PST reply actions

I think that

once you take the QB out of the goal line formation, you do two things:
1) You eliminate the threat of a bootleg
2) Someone else has to take the snap, and you can bet that that guy will have less of a chance of successfully taking the snap and executing the play than the QB

by PascoJoe on Nov 20, 2008 8:31 AM PST up reply actions

well

1) that’s what I intended with the rollout comment. and while you couldn’t just stick random players in there, asking a former high school or college QB who has changed positions to make a decision between tossing 5 yards or tucking and running seems fairly basic.

2) is the chance of a mishandled snap (a risk that can be mitigated with practice) greater then the advantage of having 11 on 11 when running the ball, versus the average 11 on 10? that seems like a really, really big advantage to have.

by Will Kier on Nov 20, 2008 3:10 PM PST up reply actions

Not sure if you saw this on FO or not

but this is a pretty good article about the wildcat, common plays and the writer talked to Cowher about how he would defend it.

I’m don’t know if thats a fairly common D to defend the wildcat, but it certainly looks like Cowher loves him some Troy Polamalu. And who can blame him?

by Nate Dogg on Nov 21, 2008 12:31 AM PST reply actions

With Hasselbeck in decline and Holmgren on the way out,

if we were to switch to something other than the west coast offense, could it make sense to implement parts of the wildcat into this offense around Seneca for a year or two. You could even go get Tebow to back him up (or start) as long as it wasn’t at the top of the draft and go get Vick as a #3 (maybe). It could be a cost effective offense because it requires the type of players who can be castoffs from pro-style offenses.
Maybe? Maybe not?

by PascoJoe on Nov 30, 2008 12:20 PM PST reply actions