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Thoughts on the Wildcat formation...

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Buckeyeskickbuttocks

Buckeyeskickbuttocks

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As I saw Texas WR John Chiles take a direct snap this evening I was thinking about the "beginnings" of the now popular "Wildcat" formation. (Obviously, single win football isn't anything new...) Of course, most people probably think of Felix Jones and Darren McFadden at Arkansas...

But....

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12-29-2004

I'd have used Krenzel 2002, but.. well.. he was still a QB running the single wing.. :biggrin:
 
It's not a new concept to have a former HS QB on your roster in case your starter goes down, but the wildcat is unique in that it is a predetermined package, not an option only used in case of injury.

Honestly I believe if it wasn't for the Dolphins-Pats game last season the wildcat phase would be over with.
 
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The wildcat used to be called the single wing back in the day. It was all the rage.

Like seeing that Ginn pic from the Alamo Bowl. That was one fun trip to San Antonio. :cheers:
 
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Merih;1546137; said:
It's not a new concept to have a former HS QB on your roster in case your starter goes down, but the wildcat is unique in that it is a predetermined package, not an option only used in case of injury.

Honestly I believe if it wasn't for the Dolphins-Pats game last season the wildcat phase would be over with.
Click to expand...

It's true that Ginn was the QB after Zwick went down and they didn't want to burn Boeckman's shirt (Smith was unavailable, of course). But, Ginn also took 5 more snaps at QB that day, 1 which was a TD from 7 yards out, despite Zwick being the healthy enough to play QB the rest of the time.

Or..

maybe you were just making the observation.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting "Tressel invented the wildcat" It just occured to me that he used Ginn that way in 2004 and people never mention it when they talk about the wildcat, deferring to the Arkansas useage.
 
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the thing about the Arkansas iteration of the single wing was that it wasn't simply lining a RB up in the 'gun and taking direct snaps. they ran it off tackle, ran counters, ran options, and ran play-action. DMC actually had a pretty good passer rating. but not many schools have the kind of talent to run the wildcat the way that the Hogs did.

but yeah. Tressel ran single wing looks before it became all the rage again... i've always liked that he runs a million different formations...
 
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ND has been using the Wildcat a bit this year. I've seen them run anywhere from 2-5 plays a game in the formation and they've scored once or twice as a result. At Michigan State last weekend they faked the run and passed for the TD, they've also scored using a fake handoff and a run up the middle.

I'm a little skeptical of the formation still, especially if the RB doesn't have any previous QB experience. Its one thing to play QB in highschool, it's another to translate that into college. The direct snap isn't a terribly new concept, but this is the most widespread I can remember seeing it. Other NFL teams have addopted it like the Browns, Vikings, and college teams now. It may just be the flavor of the month and defenses will learn to adjust to it, but I expect more teams will put in a package while it continues to enjoy some success.
 
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I remember Stephen Jackson of the Rams basically poo-poohing it as a major orce-good for a surprise, but once DCs got a look at it, they shut it down pretty well. NFL defenders are so athletic, you don't necessarily get a better matchup using the wildcat.
 
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