I think half of the problem for the opposition is the suprise factor and if we did see it we'd kind of be clued up enough to stop it. I'm guessing the Patriots studied it a fair bit during their bye

 

I don't think many other teams COULD run it anyway. If Ronnie Brown wasn't Ronnie Brown I dont think it would work very well. Which is why Ricky isn't the one taking the snap also.

Not even sure who else really could run it....Chargers....who else?

 

I think since our defense has to try and stop it during practice is a good start.

 

It's not a matter of surprise anymore. 90% of the time it's a run to the formations strong side. Beat that and you've beat the play.

Miami beat the strength of the Chargers blocking scheme pretty badly on that goal line stand. Before LT got to the line of scrimmage, the LT, LG, C, RG, and 300 pound H-Back were on the ground. If you can do that kinda thing, you dont have a ton to fear.

 

I would have said AP @ Minnesota but even they put in Chester Taylor (I think) and judging by the throw I can't imagine him doing that many times this season

 

I disagree. The wildcat formation is very RB-friendly. It's easy to study and practice (meaning that it doesn't take long to 'learn' the play but takes significantly longer for a defense to gameplan against it), the RB is blessed with a lot of blockers and ideally, he doesn't even need great field vision or cut back skills because the pre-designed running lane should be open.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of plays out of this formation are NOT option plays. Essentially, for the RB himself, it doesn't really make much of a difference to receive the direct snap instead of a traditional handoff. You do need a back with soft hands though which I think is why Brown is handling it instead of Ricky. He simply has the best hands on the whole team.

Basically, every team in the NFL could use the wildcat effectively to a certain degree provided that their RB doesn't have hands of stone and is likely to fumble the snap. The reason I don't think it'll spread beyond a select few teams is ego. Can you imagine a highly paid, top notch QB being fine with lining up as a receiver on 10 plays a game? Can you imagine a guy like Chad Johnson or TO being fine with this offense? A coach like Childress running it? It's a decent change of pace scheme but it takes the spotlight away from a lot of skill position players. A lot of teams would be begging for locker room trouble if they tossed it in there.

Lastly, I don't think there's any need to use it if your offense is working. For us, it's a way to get the ball to our best player and widen an otherwise limited playbook. There's a bunch of teams out there who are able to do just fine without it.

 

I never looked at it that way, but I'm all for giving CP's shoulder 10 plays off per game as the season wears on. :up:

 

I will even predict that we will see it used against us when we play Buffalo. I can just see that happening for some reason. Lynch and Jackson can do it. Besides, who says it has to be two runningbacks? Plug Lee Evans into the Ricky role and you have the same type of confusion and matchup problems.

 

Hey man, I am in no way questioning your football knowledge, but this formation is not a gimmick nor a trick play. I have coached high school football (Tate High in Pensacola FL) for the past 6 years and the single wing ( or "wildcat" ) and the double wing offense is all I run. I am averaging 37.4 points per game and have only lost 4 games in 6 years with this offense. It's very simple. When the ball is snapped to Ronnie, he is reading the DE. If he boxes ( comes up field ) he is going to pull it and run underneath the end, thus bouncing it to the outside. Now, most teams DO try to pull up defenders to put more in the box to try to stuff the run. When I see them doing that, the very next play I'm going to pass it over the shallow safety or corner. So what I'm saying is that its not wise to pull up defenders to defend the run, because I beat teams on it every week. Now I know that this is high school and the Dolphins are a pro team but there is absolutely no difference. The play is ran the EXACT same way we run it. In order to defend this formation you MUST have strong, fast LBs who can fill the gaps ( A,BandC ) and a super diciplined CB that can cover the right side of the field. i.e. wont get toasted, caught sleeping or can shed a block and stuff a runner. Basically all I'm saying is that there is no gameplanning for this formation really, you have to have some fast guys at skill positions

 

We practic agiants it so we could stop it

 

Off-topic...

Finzman, I had the extreme displeasure to attend PCC for a couple years, until I was able to make my escape. However, the town of Pensacola was GREAT. Could you send a couple of the restaurants down there up my way? I'd really appreciate it.

 

Roscoe Parrish would have been scary in that role. I think Ronnie is more effective because of his ability to break tackles. His run against SD when he was stopped in the backfield only to turn it into a 10-12 yrd gain was a thing of beauty.

 

Sure, but I dont think that you would want to pay shipping and handling on a restruant. lol. so what places did you like? My favorites are Measuite Charlies, and Hemmingways on the beach.

 

I agree, especially if their QB situation is up in the air with Edwards injury and if JP can play well or not.

 

I think that since our offense practices the play against our defense during every practice, they would know how to handle it perfectly.

I dont think they were too succesful defending against it though and that's why Sparano decided to run it.

 

Im the coach of one of the high schools in your district. Will not say which because I could get in trouble.

Thanks for the info on your offense. Will use it next time we play

 

everybody knows what we run. doesnt matter. but, good luck to you and your team, whoever they are:knucks:

 

Vendigo, Finzman 13, thanks, great, informative posts.

 

how long before Brown steps back and fires an intermediate-range pass to someone, just to give defenses another wrinkle to worry about?

let's face it, the guy can run, catch AND throw pretty darn well.