Questions about Wildcat Offense

[Donno]

So does the receiver (not the quarterback) always motion and where does the left tackle line up? X's and O's would be appreciated + rep.

[tjsunstein]

The WR doesn't always have to motion but it causes the defense to adjust to it. I think some teams use it as an option where as the person taking the snap can read the defense and if he sees something that makes him wanna hand it off to the motion guy, he can. As far as I know the line, lines up as it would on any other play. Of course you have a pulling guard here and there. You can use alot of formations for the wildcat and any other play so its not restricted at all but the wildcat does become limited as you saw in the Ravens game. The Ravens stacked 8 guys in the box and had the discipline to stay in their lane which effectively stopped that. With the 8 in the box they pretty much challenged Ronnie Brown to throw against their man coverage with one of the recievers being the QB. If a defense can have the discipline of staying in their lane and doing their job on one play then they can effectively stop the 'Wildcat.' I went to google for some pictures for you and found some good ones on wikipedia on the formations that David Lee ran at Arkansas last year.


That's the basic formation. Out of that the person taking the snap can either hand it off to the guy next to him, hand it to the guy motioning if there is one, fake the handoff and take it himself, or pass.

That's a speed sweep. Handoff to the motioning WR.

[NY+Giants=NYG]

Here is a picture of the Wildcat run by Kansas City.
It depends on what the OC wants to do.. Motioning just allows the WR to hand the ball off or freezes the defense and allows the OL to get to their blocks.

From an Xs and Os standpoint, you are giving more information for the Lbs and DL to process. DL will have run and pass keys once they make their read, they will have to read where the flow is going.

Lbs have to get their run/pass keys and study the backfield flow. And by sending the WR in motion it gives the LBs more information to process, and thus the OL men can block and chip off to the next level.

If you look in the picture below. The Saints have a 4-3 with 3 Lbs and 3 skill players on the 3 WRs. Thus meaning single high safety allowing for C1 or C3 beaters, or running the ball. It gives the offensive options.

In essence you have a 4-3, which means 7 total players vs 5 OL, 1 TE, and 2 people in the backfield. So it will be 7 on 8, with the outside guys blocking or running a route clearing out. This theory comes off the Spread Option which Florida runs with Tebow. So as you can see theories are related in various offensive systems. The motioning is up to the offense C. and serves to run many, many plays off of 1 single look. That's where this system is effective.

[CC.SD]

I have a question too; why does no aggressive cornerback ever just knock the QB out on a jam?

[NY+Giants=NYG]

Originally Posted by CC.SD

I have a question too; why does no aggressive cornerback ever just knock the QB out on a jam?

Depends on the coverage called. If the CB is the force on that play, then jamming him is a waste because I may chose to run the ball. Which means your making my job easier to block you, meaning then I take care of the force player, and now LJ, in the example above has an easier chance to run.

Also, if you miss, then your screwed because there is a single high safety. The Force is for C2 and it's branch offs, so go with that assumption. You really can't see the front side backside CB/SS so don't know what exactly they could be playing.

[CC.SD]

Originally Posted by Shockey+Manning=Shocking

Depends on the coverage called. If the CB is the force on that play, then jamming him is a waste because I may chose to run the ball. Which means your making my job easier to block you, meaning then I take care of the force player, and now LJ, in the example above has an easier chance to run.

Also, if you miss, then your screwed because there is a single high safety. The Force is for C2 and it's branch offs, so go with that assumption. You really can't see the front side backside CB/SS so don't know what exactly they could be playing.

This is true if you're judging success or failure based on a single play. But stepping back, there's a whole lot of benefits to hitting the hell out of a QB no matter what the circumstances are. If I'm a D-coordinator, I tell my guys to slap him silly if they're gonna put him out there in space, and watch it pay off by the 4th quarter.

[NY+Giants=NYG]

Originally Posted by CC.SD

This is true if you're judging success or failure based on a single play. But stepping back, there's a whole lot of benefits to hitting the hell out of a QB no matter what the circumstances are. If I'm a D-coordinator, I tell my guys to slap him silly if they're gonna put him out there in space, and watch it pay off by the 4th quarter.

Yeah I am talking about the single play. That's one element of this formation which I never agreed with. I wouldn't want to risk injury to my QB. But I can see why he is there too, because he can be the motion guy, and stop, get the ball and throw it down field. I would rather have Brad Smith or even Pat White do it. Maybe even Randel EL or Hines Ward, former Qbs.

Also, if you're a DC and chose to do that and risk injury, I am sure other DCs will respond by telling their guys to aim for your QBs knees. Not illegal by any means, but it does risk injury. So in the end both teams have hurt QBs, which accomplishes nothing.

Plus Coaches at all levels of this sport have to be good PR guys because one day the other be promoted and hire the other. If I am the OC and you hit my QB, then if I am HC, I may not hire you and give you a break, because of it. That's why Coaches rarely ever rip each other. Wonder why? Because all have to be good PR guys because you never know who your next boss will be.

[CC.SD]

Originally Posted by Shockey+Manning=Shocking

Yeah I am talking about the single play. That's one element of this formation which I never agreed with. I wouldn't want to risk injury to my QB. But I can see why he is there too, because he can be the motion guy, and stop, get the ball and throw it down field. I would rather have Brad Smith or even Pat White do it. Maybe even Randel EL or Hines Ward, former Qbs.

Also, if you're a DC and chose to do that and risk injury, I am sure other DCs will respond by telling their guys to aim for your QBs knees. Not illegal by any means, but it does risk injury. So in the end both teams have hurt QBs, which accomplishes nothing.

Plus Coaches at all levels of this sport have to be good PR guys because one day the other be promoted and hire the other. If I am the OC and you hit my QB, then if I am HC, I may not hire you and give you a break, because of it. That's why Coaches rarely ever rip each other. Wonder why? Because all have to be good PR guys because you never know who your next boss will be.

That's fair enough, from a political perspective it's not a good idea. but if you're trying to win a game, and the other team continually lines its QB up at wideout, that's tough to resist. Jams aren't dirty when they're performed on real receivers.

[NY+Giants=NYG]

Originally Posted by CC.SD

That's fair enough, from a political perspective it's not a good idea. but if you're trying to win a game, and the other team continually lines its QB up at wideout, that's tough to resist. Jams aren't dirty when they're performed on real receivers.

Yeah I agree. But sometimes politics of this game take an equal front seat especially since the turnover rate is sky high in the NFL and D1. Just look at the Jags coaching staff. They had a huge number of ex NFL Head coaches on that staff.

Dave Campo- ex dallas
Mike Shula - ex Alabama
Mike Tice- ex Vikings

and Jack Del Rio took them all in. If Campo a defensive coach did that to Del Rio's team, Campo wouldn't have a job. But that's part of the NFL. You win or lose, but that's on game day, everytime else it's all manners and PR, because you want to stay in the league.

[tjsunstein]

Finnegan tried to blow up Favre when the Jets ran it. Can't find a youtube video, maybe if I looked long enough on NFL.com videos for it but regardless he tried but Favre stayed on his feet therefore making Finnegan look stupid as it was Favre's assignment to block him anyway.

[Brooder]

Guys, what's the difference between the wildcat offense and the zone read with a mobile QB like Vince Young or Dennis Dixon. Is the wildcat a variation of the zone read?