Earlier this season, the Miami Dolphins went to a “wildcat” formation, wherein the snap goes to a running back and the quarterback is in the slot. This creates new opportunities for the offense and chaos for the defense.
After the Dolphins shocked the world by beating the Patriots behind a five-touchdown performance by wildcat back Ronnie Brown (four rushing, one throwing), the entire league was suddenly boning up on the formation. Offenses tinkered with it; defenses were obsessed with stopping it.
Where did the wildcat craze come from?
Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach, has an interesting answer. From an interview on the Steelers’ website:
What has made it in vogue in the N.F.L. this year is that Arkansas did it, and they did it with Darren McFadden. Everybody watched tape of McFadden and Felix Jones leading up to the draft. Arkansas didn’t have a mobile quarterback, they had a passer, so they put McFadden back there. People in this league saw that if you don’t have a mobile quarterback you can still attack people in this way, by putting the back back there and splitting the quarterback out. I think it all stems back from everybody watching Arkansas tape in preparation for the draft.
I don’t follow college football, but I am guessing this is hardly the first college wrinkle that the N.F.L. has imported lately. I’d appreciate it if you college fans could tell us about some other notables. (One possibility, though slim: Penn State head coach Joe Paterno is coaching from a skybox because of an injury, and just yesterday opined: “I’m not sure that’s not the best place for a head coach. … I have a better view of the game from up there than I ever do on the sidelines.”
I am traveling this weekend to Pittsburgh for my annual father-son Steelers game. They play the Giants; both teams are 5-1; it should be a good game.
The biggest question about the Steelers is whether Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu, or Ben Roethlisberger has the hardest head.
and 
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re the comment:
“After the Dolphins shocked the world by beating the Patriots…”
Just to clarify, the USA != the World. By now, you folks should really have noticed this.
We weren’t shocked, here in the UK by this result. In fact we didn’t care. Neither do we care about the results of the “World Series” which we note with interest that only US teams are invited to compete in.
Widen your horizons, gentlemen.
–js.
The other thing helping the Wildcat is that it’s relatively new, and because the NFL is based so much on strategy, there is an advantage of surprise. It’s why that same formation was shut down by the Ravens. When the Dolphins first implemented the formation, thanks to a quarterbacks coach who formerly coached at Arkansas, they needed to find a way to shake up their offense and had nothing to lose.
The other benefit is that because defenses have moved towards lighter and faster lineups to slow the passing game, they are more vulnerable to pounding runs. Wildcat runs and direct snaps (also becoming more common) use all 11 offensive players, instead of having the quarterback hand off so that the offense plays 10 on 11.
Lots of stuff that works pretty most of the time in college sports should not work in the NFL.
1) The worst NFL players are comparable to the best college players. In other words, the weakest links ain’t nearly as weak.
2) More specifically, the speed, strength and (game-specific) intelligence of the below average players in the NFL is stunning.
3) There is so much more time for pratice, coaching and preparation should prevent the less typical stuff from working as well against a team.
The wildcat offense should not work. NFL players and coaches are too good for it to work. So, why has it worked?
Well, it’s a little momentary inperfect. Everyone was so sure that this kind of thing would work that no one tried for a long time. And so no one prepared the players to for it. And the coaches stopped thinking about it.
It’s like what I’ve heard hedge funds do, taking advantages of momentary mistakes in the markets.
This one is quite correctable. Stay in your lanes & don’t overpursue. Unless the linebackers are slower than me, it’s easily stoppable.
So, come December, it’s not going to be a big deal. Will there be any of it? Sure. But play calling in the NFL is about setting things up, not about immediate success all the time. So, you run the weird stuff to keep the defense honest. Then, you can try to take advantage of more conventional weaknesses and the battle of field position continues.
ESPN columnist and author Gregg Easterbrook talks frequently about the wildcat formation, among a wide range of other topics, including economics.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/081007&sportCat=nfl
This reminds me of the A-11 formation that’s getting some play in the high school leagues of late — an innovative play style that can really change the balance of the game. I think we are so used to each player performing an expected role on the field (even down to running the same routes or matching up with the same opposing position) that we are really surprised when something like wildcat or A-11 makes a surprise (re-)appearance. Perhaps if the NFL relaxed some of the position and play rules, we would see more of this kind of innovation which in turn would really make football an interesting game to watch (moreso).
Snap poll: How many blog readers from outside the U.S. understood that post?
“Why Is the N.F.L. Suddenly Ga-Ga About the “Wildcat”?”
‘Cuz it’s freakin’ awesome, that’s why!
Let’s see some more ‘Flea-Flickers’, ‘Hook & Ladder”s, and ‘Statues of Liberty”s, too!!!
Justin Stringfellow: That’s not true, a Canadian team (Toronto) has a chance at the world series also!
(not to be taken seriously)