The Wildcat Offense is NOT a recipe for winning

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Why would I bother to refute anything Billick said when he's the one claiming that first of all people are heralding this as the wave of the future? He gave a nice little history lesson and something we all already knew, that good defenses (amazing!) kept the Wildcat in check last year.

As for what the Dolphins are doing, do a little research instead of believing everything you hear. They aren't going with the Wildcat full time or making it their base offense and they haven't even decided what role Pat White will play. That doesn't stop every pundit from thinking they are going full bore with it.

Your reading comprehension sucks. He never said that it was going to be the trend. He said that other people were saying that and that he didn't think it would be.

 

[AMERICAS_FAN]

...if the RB/TB can't throw the ball well, defenses will sell out to stop the run and that will be the end of it.

When Jerry Jones mentioned using it, he cited Skandrick as a possibility. Not that guy can run in the open field which is why he's on the punt return team. And he used to be a QB so he can throw the ball somewhat. My only fear is that he runs with it and has a LB drill into his sholder.

 

[Alexander]

Your reading comprehension sucks.

No, your's does.

Some have even suggested that this may be the new direction of offensive football in the NFL. I respectfully disagree.

Why would I bother to refute anything Billick said when he's the one claiming that first of all people are heralding this as the wave of the future?

He never said that it was going to be the trend.

Very good.

Now read above (aloud in your big boy voice if you need to) and then let everyone know how great your reading comprehension is.

He said that other people were saying that and that he didn't think it would be.

He erected a strawman argument. Outside of popular opinion I have yet to see anyone claim that this is the direction of the future. No NFL coach or team is jumping up and down claiming it is the wave of the future. If so, he certainly didn't bother to name them before he went off on his brainiac history lesson after he slid his glasses up his nose. Even the one team who has brought the gimmick back to life isn't saying anything of the kind.

I guess congratulations are owed to Billick as he talked down to the common bleacher bum. Very impressive.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

No, your's does.







Very good.

Now read above (aloud in your big boy voice if you need to) and then let everyone know how great your reading comprehension is.



He erected a strawman argument. Outside of popular opinion I have yet to see anyone claim that this is the direction of the future. No NFL coach or team is jumping up and down claiming it is the wave of the future. If so, he certainly didn't bother to name them before he went off on his brainiac history lesson after he slid his glasses up his nose. Even the one team who has brought the gimmick back to life isn't saying anything of the kind.

I guess congratulations are owed to Billick as he talked down to the common bleacher bum. Very impressive.

Actually there is quite a bit of it and a ton of speculation that teams were going to draft for it. He knows more about what NFL people are saying then you will ever hope to.

 

[Alexander]

He knows more about what NFL people are saying then you will ever hope to.

This is the typical weak response after being proven foolish from the artist formerly known as Fuzzy Lumpkins that I have come to expect. Thank you for reaffirming my faith in you. You never let me down. Keep up the good work.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

This is the typical weak response after being proven foolish from the artist formerly known as Fuzzy Lumpkins that I have come to expect. Thank you for reaffirming my faith in you. You never let me down. Keep up the good work.

blah blah blah.

Fact is that Billick is privy to much more information than you could ever hope to and there has been a ton of banter about the wildcat on TV. Heck there has even been internal discussion in our organization as to Stanback running the formation. Stanback has even talked about it.

One thing I know I can count on you is making baseless comments stating them as fact and thinking that your word is good enough to back it up. You are complete weaksauce.

 

[superpunk]

A little too long-winded.

I think Billick could have summarized his article as follows;

"The wildcat is an interesting change of pace offense and can work well if used sparingly to keep a defense off balance, much in the same way that a well timed draw play can turn a bad down and distance into a good situation for your offense. But it will never be successful as a team's primary offensive formation, and the Dolphins probably picked Pat White too high unless they think he can be a good WR."

 

[Q_the_man]

No team in the NFL uses the Wildcat as a base offense, Miami used it for mismatch purposes and it's good to have it in ur arsenal to catch teams off guard and it teams want to draft a player to run it more power to them.....every team is different and not every team will run the Wildcat but to have and use it to throw a defense off is great.....

 

[arglebargle]

Sounds like a good use of a 2nd round pick.

I think Billick is an arrogant blowhard and I can't stand his pompous attitude. But that doesn't invalidate his belief that the wildcat won't work if used too often. Claims of "scoreboard" (what does that have to do with anything) or that he's overrated aren't very persuasive.

And how can anyone say that the wildcat is not an offense but just a formation. I guess we can just call everything a formation... Run and shoot, wishbone, single wing, whatever.

Hey, I love that Sparano tried this in the pros. I'm probably the only mofo on this board who has actually played in the single wing. But the way I see it, if the RB/TB can't throw the ball well, defenses will sell out to stop the run and that will be the end of it.

Hey! I played in a single wing offense my first two years in Pop Warner. Small world, but small club too! I was a weakside guard the first year, but wised up and became a strongside tackle the second. Interesting to read about the flavors of it. We ran unbalanced line, with the QB up tight behind the weakside guard.

As a trick formation that you run once or twice a game (if you have the personnel) its a useful changeup. Sorta like a reverse, you might run it every game, to make people prepare for it, or catch them napping. Not like a flea flicker, which you might run two or three times a season.

Given all the ex college QBs the Cowboys have, especially Crayton and Stanback, it could be used as something more than a run-it funny formation.

 

[masomenos]

Last time I checked Billick won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at QB. He coordinated the 1998 Vikings which set all kinds of NFL records and is 5-3 in the playoffs.

Sparano's claim to fame was beating a Bradyless Pats team by unveliing a gimmick offense and having a winning record on a last place schedule.

Well to be fair, Billick's "genius" is centered around the obvious. He tries to get the his best players the most touches. In Minnesota that meant telling the best deep threat in the NFL to run straight and telling your strong armed QB to throw it deep, no matter the coverage. In Baltimore, it meant getting the ball out of Dilfer's hands as quickly as possible.

But then that's what Garrett was doing last year too and he lost his "genius" label for it.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Last time I checked Billick won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at QB. He coordinated the 1998 Vikings which set all kinds of NFL records and is 5-3 in the playoffs.

Yeah, he looked pretty good with two first ballot HOF WRs. That's very true. Unfortunately for Ravens fans, he perennially had the worst offenses in the NFL for about a decade running without them.

There's lots of larger, more relevant and inexplicable phenomenons around the NFL besides why a specialized formation wont work as a base package. . For example, maybe in his next column Billick can breakdown for us how John Harbaugh takes a group of players that the previous coach finished 5-11 with and leads them to the AFC Championship the following year. Or maybe explain to us the thought process as to why someonde would trade a first day draft pick for a notoriously fat, slow, lazy, mediocre RB with a history of knee problems and gives them a fat new contract with tons of guaranteed money. Or maybe he could clue us in on how someone gets a man crush on a mediocre (at best) college QB who only started 1 year in college, just because he looks good in throwing drills in the predraft underwear olympics. I think Billick could provide unique insights into all of these questions.

 

[playmakers]

Hate to break this but the wildcat will be "no" cat in 09. Last season, the wildcat took everyone by suprise. This season every defensive coordinater has an entire training camp to practice against it. Just like the option etc etc the NFL has players are too big and fast for these gadget plays. Did they work last year? Yes. But when was the last time you seen that type of offense in the NFL before that?

 

[jay cee]

Well they had no offense because they had no quarterback. It's that simple.

And the Wildcat IS just a formation, you are right. But so is the 3-4 and thats a defense. His point is just that, it needs to stay a formation, and not BECOME a base offense, because as an OFFENSE, not just a formation, it has no chance to succeed.

I agree with him.

Has any team ever suggested making the Wildcat their base offense? I think it's ok as a package, but would not succeed as a base offense either.

 

[5Stars]

The wildcat offense actually came into existence when Vick started playing for the Falcons...except it was called the "wild dog offense".

Just a little history for youz...

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Yeah, he looked pretty good with two first ballot HOF WRs. That's very true. Unfortunately for Ravens fans, he perennially had the worst offenses in the NFL for about a decade running without them.

There's lots of larger, more relevant and inexplicable phenomenons around the NFL besides why a specialized formation wont work as a base package. . For example, maybe in his next column Billick can breakdown for us how John Harbaugh takes a group of players that the previous coach finished 5-11 with and leads them to the AFC Championship the following year. Or maybe explain to us the thought process as to why someonde would trade a first day draft pick for a notoriously fat, slow, lazy, mediocre RB with a history of knee problems and gives them a fat new contract with tons of guaranteed money. Or maybe he could clue us in on how someone gets a man crush on a mediocre (at best) college QB who only started 1 year in college, just because he looks good in throwing drills in the predraft underwear olympics. I think Billick could provide unique insights into all of these questions.

That offense also had no TE to speak of a decent OL and Robert 'JAG' Smith at RB, and Randall Cunningham at QB. He outproduced all of the Rams offenses of that time period who had a much better receiving corps that was 4 deep at WR with Holt, Bruce, Proehl and Az-Hakim, an OL anchored by Orlando Pace who is going to the HoF and Marchall Faulk who is also a HoF. Lets not forget about Kurt Warner either. Hes gotta shot at the hall as well.

Billick didnt have Anderson, Mason, Flacco, or a last place schedule in 2007. Quite frankly all you can come up with is two bad personnel moves as if that speaks anything about his ability to coach.

Billick coached the second greatest offense in the history of the NFL and is a Super Bowl winner. The only thing that is overrated is the notion that you know a damn thing about football.

 

[TraceActions]

The Wildcat would be a disaster for the 'Boys. Gurode still has problems snapping the ball when Romo is back in shotgun.
How many times a game does he have to reach over his head to pull in a high snap? He's 2 inches taller than Barber (who is the tallest of the bunch).

 

[InmanRoshi]

The only thing that is overrated is the notion that you know a damn thing about football.

And 32 apparently other NFL GMs, considering he's not even taken remotely seriously as a head coaching candidate, and hasnt even gotten a sniff of an interview since the Ravens finally sacked him two years ago after putting up the worst offenses in the NFL for the better part of a decade. He had the worst offense of any team to win a Superbowl history, and he's supposed to be an offensive mastermind.

I brought up 3 bad moves and Im using selective criteria, but you keep on harping on one good offense year (and the Vikings had another good year without him the following year) but you won't touch the better part of a decade of horrible, horrible, horrible offenses with the Ravens with a 10 foot pole. And please don't bring up the "He didn't have Flacco" excuse. Everyone knows the Ravens wouldnt even have drafted Flacco with Billick, because he would still insist that his undying true love for Kyle Boller would eventually pan out. The Ravens couldn't move on from the Kyle Boller era until Billick was out of the building. You claim you know football, and you don't know this piece of common knowledge?