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The Wildcat


YoloinOhio

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Lynn has used the wildcat formation a bit last 2 weeks with McCoy and gillislee. Thoughts? I loath when OSU does it but somehow like the Bills version.

 

 

When I see the Wildcat, I think to myself, this looks very easy to stop.

 

Everyone knows they are going to run it, there really is not much of a threat at all that there will be a throw (so I think), and they should be able to stack it and stop it.

 

Yet, we seem to be pretty damn effective at getting good yardage out of it, rather consistently.

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Hate it. I wanted to reach into my TV and punch Lynn. It is a dated gimmick that you almost never see in the NFL anymore. Running it once is bad enough. Run it 3 or 4 times, and I wonder about his ability to be an OC.

Why hate something that works? There are no Russian judges handing out style points.
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I actually did my own version of a wildcat with my youth football team (6th-8th graders). We had 12 plays out of it, 2 were pass plays. Everything could be done in a hurry up no huddle which is what I liked about it. You focus on one half of the field, our goal was to get 5 yards a play. We had the #1 offense 2 years in a row with it but I also had very athletic kids.

Edited by mikef272002
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In theory, I dont like it. But in practice, it has been working so well that I cant complain. Seems like Lynn understands how to find a good balance and use it only when appropriate.

 

Quite interesting to see hw well players can play when they are on the same page with their coaches. It's the same playbook as they had with Roman, but Lynn is much more in sync with what the players see and want to run as well.

 

And that really is what team work is all about. You dont necessarily have to have the most talented players, but if you can get everyone rowing in the same direction at the same time, you'll be practically unbeatable.

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Seems to have been effective so far this year and i think it will continue to be as long as they only run it a couple times a game.

I agree.. Running it 2-4 times a game is plenty. I don't know how many times they ran it yesterday but it seemed like a good amount to run it.. 4 times maybe?

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I actually did my own version of a wildcat with my youth football team (6th-8th graders). We had 12 plays out of it, 2 were pass plays. Everything could be done in a hurry up no huddle which is what I liked about it. You focus on one half of the field, our goal was to get 5 yards a play. We had the #1 offense 2 years in a row with it but I also had very athletic kids.

The idea of it from a no huddle/hurry up is interesting. Particularly if you get a favorable defensive set out there like a nickel against 12 personnel.

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In theory, I dont like it. But in practice, it has been working so well that I cant complain. Seems like Lynn understands how to find a good balance and use it only when appropriate.

 

Quite interesting to see hw well players can play when they are on the same page with their coaches. It's the same playbook as they had with Roman, but Lynn is much more in sync with what the players see and want to run as well.

 

And that really is what team work is all about. You dont necessarily have to have the most talented players, but if you can get everyone rowing in the same direction at the same time, you'll be practically unbeatable.

+1

I have to admit at being fooled by Roman. I thought he was going to be really good here. But he bombed. I think his playbook was good, but he couldn't call a game worth a damn more than half the time.

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I think the OL does a nice job blocking for it. I don't think they will use it a ton going forward as I agree it's not sustainable, but it's something opponents need to spend time preparing for since no one else uses it (that I've seen).

Agreed. It's a wrinkle, not a pillar, of the offense. Give other teams as much to worry about as possible.

 

I'm not an X's and O's guy, but can the wildcat be used to set up a pass? Obviously there's risks in having your RB throw the ball, but a less risky dump-off to the side or something seems like it would really catch the defense by surprise.

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Agreed. It's a wrinkle, not a pillar, of the offense. Give other teams as much to worry about as possible.

 

I'm not an X's and O's guy, but can the wildcat be used to set up a pass? Obviously there's risks in having your RB throw the ball, but a less risky dump-off to the side or something seems like it would really catch the defense by surprise.

Yes see what makes it able to expand more than it is right now is because Taylor stays on the field and is a weapon.

 

Run the Jet sweep motion with Taylor, also can have Shady hand it to Taylor and now you have the run pass option because you mobile QB has the Ball in his hands as well.

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When I see the Wildcat, I think to myself, this looks very easy to stop.

 

Everyone knows they are going to run it, there really is not much of a threat at all that there will be a throw (so I think), and they should be able to stack it and stop it.

 

Yet, we seem to be pretty damn effective at getting good yardage out of it, rather consistently.

Yeah it's being blocked up exceptionally well...have gained at least 4-5 yards every time I think
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In theory, I dont like it. But in practice, it has been working so well that I cant complain. Seems like Lynn understands how to find a good balance and use it only when appropriate.

 

Quite interesting to see hw well players can play when they are on the same page with their coaches. It's the same playbook as they had with Roman, but Lynn is much more in sync with what the players see and want to run as well.

 

And that really is what team work is all about. You dont necessarily have to have the most talented players, but if you can get everyone rowing in the same direction at the same time, you'll be practically unbeatable.

Yes. And if we run it 2-3 times per game, opponents have to prepare for it, respond to it, align their defense accordingly thinking it is a run. The game at home vs. the Pats may be the perfect time to pass the ball from the wildcat.

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I read somewhere (maybe here) that the backs like getting the ball a few yards deeper so they can see the field and holes better. The Wildcat helps with that and avoids a handoff that takes precious fractions of seconds for holes to close. I agree to use it judiciously, but don't abandon something that works.

well said....McCoy seemed to be able to pick his spots well in this...I don't like it either and think it would be easy to stop.....but just because you know the play doesn't mean it can't be successful

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Hate it. I wanted to reach into my TV and punch Lynn. It is a dated gimmick that you almost never see in the NFL anymore. Running it once is bad enough. Run it 3 or 4 times, and I wonder about his ability to be an OC.

It seemed to work pretty well. They got good yardage every time they ran it. I think it's OK to use like they did yesterday, 3 or 4 times a game as long as it continues to work for them.

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I have to be honest, I have never liked the Wildcat. Seems like a waste if you don't at least throw occasionally. If you really plan to run... take Tyrod out and put in an extra blocker.

 

That being said...

 

Can someone provide an intelligent theory behind why this wildcat play is advantageous to a regular running play?

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The idea of it from a no huddle/hurry up is interesting. Particularly if you get a favorable defensive set out there like a nickel against 12 personnel.

We lined up in the same exact formation every time and just ran different plays from the same formation. This way the kids weren't confused where they should line up. I'd call the play from the side line with hand signals and the QB would yell out the play. If it was through the five hole he'd yell a number that ended in a five, such as 55, or 25. This way the defense didn't hear the same play getting called. (not hard to confuse 6th-8th grade defenders). The key was down blocking (blocking the guy to the left or right of you instead of straight head on blocking, it created big holes.

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If a play works, I don't care if it's the Wishbone. That Wildcat makes teams prepare for it, and it's valuable if only for that. What I like about it is that LeShady gets time to look for a hole, and then can hit it with speed. It's a lot better than those stupid shotgun handoffs where the RB is flat-flooted when he gets the ball.

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It seems to me they're using this as a set up to something else. Based on how much they ran it yesterday I'm guessing they have a plan to install some pass / option wrinkles that will hopefully catch a defense off guard.

i was thinking (hoping) that might be the case too. Showing it now to set up something for later.
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i was thinking (hoping) that might be the case too. Showing it now to set up something for later.

Speaking of setting things up- I thought that they were doing just that with Goodwin- setting up a double move, like a 5-7 yard out and break off to a fly... Maybe they were and just never needed to use it, who knows

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Frankly, I was surprised at how effective it was against the Pats....like they didn't believe it was coming, and they didn't prepare for it. Expecially with gilly in there.

 

Yeah, I couldn't believe it was working for us so well, but if it works, I'll take it! Won't expect it often in the future but it was an effective wrinkle in our plan yesterday.

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