Ever since the Miami Dolphins ran the “wildcat offense,” all the rage is about what version of the wildcat offense does your football team play. So off the top of my head, I can count several teams including the Dolphins who have used it: Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Baltimore Ravens and a whole host of other teams. The total stands at about 16 or basically half of the teams of the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles are the latest to use this formation with the addition of the versatile and controversial Michael Vick. Some teams should use it such as the Chargers with the more than capable LT as the hybrid quarterback/running back.
Why such interest?
I think the answer is quite simple. Its the same reason gadget plays (made famous by Ken Whisenhunt) work. The answer is leverage. If the defense does not know what the offense is going to do, the advantage defaults automatically to the offense which helps them score more points. Unlike gadget plays which are used once or twice in a game, teams are using the wildcat more regularly.
Isn’t the wildcat a college play?
Sure, the wildcat is used more often in college and high school, because not every school has a capable quarterback that can throw the long ball. (Some NFL teams such as the 49ers or Lions should look into this). With that said, the obvious question would be since this offense has been around for so long, wouldn’t coaches have a defensive scheme for it? Yes and no. The college game is different from the pros where defensive coordinators already have it on the books. It was inconceivable that a college play such as the wildcat would have succeeded in the NFL that it was assumed unnecessary for defenses to plan for it. However we know now how that turned out. Some assumptions need to be tested and this passed with flying colors.
Significance of the wildcat
So what is the importance of this discussion anyhow? The NFL has relied on the same number of plays over the years and the wildcat represents possibly a new revolution in scheming in the NFL. New plays and formations may change the game, making it more exciting. (Aside: Dang, Roger Godell should hire me for my type of analysis!). What if we line up with two quarterbacks or what if we only line up with 3 running backs? Wouldn’t that be intersting?
The Super Bowl matchups are now set with the St. Louis er, I mean Arizona Cardinals playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in Tampa Bay in two weeks. The Arizona Cardinals stemming from St. Louis to Chicago have finally kicked the habit! No more failing to reach the Super Bowl. They can finally shrugg of their “Clipper-esque” label. However, today’s post is not about how Arizona kicked the habit of losing which is by no means a small issue. Instead I’d like to discuss yesterday’s NFL conference championship “kicking.” Usually kicking is not important unless a field goal decides the game or a kick/punt return goes back for a touchdown. If you’ve noticed as I did yesterday, the kicking and punting aspects of the games were curiously awful and almost too surrealistic. Continue reading
Sick’em? Yes you heard us correctly. Sick’em boy! Here at imdownfield.com we have a twist on the proverbial “pick’ems” to call our picks on the winner of a particular match. Unlike others where the decision is made by humans (and our inherent errors and inaccuracies), we allow a dog decide the outcome.
How do you ask? We’ll I’m glad we’ve put you into a tease. Basically without going into too much technical information, we lay out two treats (which represent the two teams in a match) in front of a dog. The treat the dog prefers (a la McGruff ) after we yell “sick’em” is the winner of the match. Our job as the founders is to interpret and analyze this “preference” and relay it to the masses (a.k.a you the reader). For scientific reasons (objectivity and precision), each of us (Quackster, jadamusss) have our own dog that we allow for the decision to be made. We’ll see whose dog is more “accurate.” Without further adieu, here are our results:
Quackster’s Dog, Lucky the Pointer chooses: Eagles over Arizona, Ravens over Steelers
Eagles: Lucky chose the Eagles because they are riding high right now with Donovan McNabb zoned in like a locked target in Top Gun (see my cinematic tastes are not limited to Bruce Willis flicks). Oh by the way, the old Top Gun school in San Diego at Miramar Air Base. Just thought you’d like to know this random tidbit. Now back to the pick. The Cardinals are also riding high (Wow! We got a “cockfight!”), but I think their inexperience at this playoff level will be a detriment. In addition, Jim Johnson’s defensive blitzing schemes will knock the immobile Kurt Warner down and stifle their passing game. Look for Asante Samuel to get some takeaways. Let the Eagles soar (with help from former Attorney General John Ashcroft):
Ravens: The Ravens are to win this game because Lucky knows that the Steelers can’t beat the the Ravens three times in a row, that is unless you are the Raiders in which case any team can have a 3 game winning streak or more, even a BCS football team like Utah. Plus, I think the NFL wants a huge “cockfight” for its final in the Super Bowl. Since cockfighting is illegal now, the next best thing are teams dressed as birds: Eagles, Ravens, Cardinals. Out of these three teams, only the Cardinals are not predators but rather prey. In terms of football play, the Ravens are younger and have a better offense with Joe “Cool” Flacco at the helm. I don’t trust ”Big” Ben Roethlisberger is fully recovered from his multiple spinal and head concusions. The Chargers in the last game did not have a good enough defense to exploit Big Ben. Be fearful of the Ravens my friends because they have the poetic supernatural backing of Edgar Allan Poe.
Jadmusss’s Dog, Sharkee the Shorkie chooses: Arizona over Eagles, Ravens over Steelers
First let me say that Quackster’s borrowed dog Lucky is unlucky so I wouldn’t listen to anything he has to say about who will win this weekend.
Arizona will win by 10 points. Before you get your panties all bunched up, let me explain why. The Eagles are overrated and are getting lucky that teams are over looking them. Asante Samuel is a joke and we all know it. I seriously doubt that he can cover Anquan Boldin or Larry Fitzgerald one on one. This means the Eagles will need to bring safety help everytime Larry or Anquan runs a go route. This will free up the other player and Kurt Warner will have a field day with the Eagles secondary. Also I strongly believe the Donovan McNabb will commit two turnovers that will be the difference in the game. Okay I am going out on a limb on this one, but I will say that Kurt Warner will only be sacked once because the offensive line coach will prepare his line to handle the different looks the Eagles will throw at them. Quick! Can you name the offensive line coach? ……. MMMMM yah that is what I thought. His name is Russ Grimm and prior to being with the Cardinals he was in charge of coaching the stellar Pittsburgh Steelers that won Super Bowl XL.
Ravens will win by 6 points. I strongly believe this will be a smash mouth game with a low scoring output. Big Ben will get hit repeatly in this game and will leave with an injury. I do not wish any harm on anyone, but the Ravens will have heard how the Steelers beat them twice already and how they will lose again. This will add extra bulletin points for the Ravens defense to put a monster hit on Big Ben. Joe Flacco will have studied his game film from the previous meetings and made enough adjustments to win it by two field goals. Also Ed Reed should keep the Steelers passing game honest allowing the pass rush to pressure Big Ben into situations where he will turn the ball over.
