'Wildcat' Overrated?
INDIANAPOLIS--The "wildcat" formation became a bit of a rage in the NFL this past season after the Miami Dolphins used it during a game to beat the New England Patriots decisively.
Other teams later took to using variations of the setup, putting the quarterback on the sideline temporarily or lining him up at wide receiver and having the ball snapped directly to a running back.
But Washington Redskins Coach Jim Zorn said today that as he studies the results that teams got during the season while using the formation and decides whether to incorporate a version of it into his offense, he has found that there was a point of diminishing returns for the tactic.
"I've got a cut-up of the wildcat sitting on my computer and we've been looking at it," Zorn said. "The one thing that I have seen on that wildcat is, it hasn't been all that effective. When you're looking at teams that are doing it--and most teams want to try it and want to give it a go--and you can get a play here. You can get a play if they don't know it's coming because they've never defended it. The next time you line up and do it, it's a two-yard gain and you might as well have run the ball" from a normal formation.
Zorn did praise the Dolphins for developing and effectively using an extensive package of plays from the wildcat formation. But the options developed by most other teams, he said, were far more limited.
By
Mark Maske
|
February 20, 2009; 1:53 PM ET
| Category:
Redskins
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