Wildcat formation: Difference between revisions

The wildcat formation (or wildcat offense), a variation on the single-wing formation, is an offensive American and Canadian football scheme that has been used at every level of the game including the CFL, NFL, NCAA, NAIA, and many high schools across America. The general scheme can be instituted in many different offensive systems, but the distinguishing factor is a direct snap to the running back and an unbalanced offensive line.

The wildcat is an offensive formation rather than an overall offensive philosophy or 'offense' (for example, a spread-option offense might use the wildcat formation to keep the defense guessing, or a west coast offense may use the power-I formation to threaten a powerful run attack). When the wildcat formation is deployed, it uses the same pre-snap motion coming across the formation on every play and every play initially looks like a sweep behind zone blocking. However, after the snap several things may happen once a player in motion crosses the position of the player receiving the snap.

The precursor to the Wildcat formation was named the "Wing-T",^[1][2] and is widely credited to being first implemented by Coach Tubby Raymond and Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team.^[3][4][5] Tubby Raymond later wrote a book on the innovative formation. The Wildcat's similarity to the Wing-T is the focus on series football, where the initial movements of every play look similar. For example, the Wing-T makes use of motion across the formation as well in order to draw a reaction from the defense, but runs several different plays from the same look.

Another possible precursor to the Wildcat is the offense of Six-Man Football, a form of high school football, played mostly in rural West Texas and Montana, that was developed in 1934. In Six-Man, the person who receives the snap may not run the ball past the line of scrimmage. To bypass this limitation, teams often hike the ball to a receiver, who then tosses the ball to the potential passer. The passer may then throw the ball to a receiver or run with the ball himself.

The virtue of having a running back take the snap in the Wildcat formation is that the rushing play is 11-on-11 (although different variations have the running back hand off or throw the football). In a standard football formation, when the quarterback stands watching, the offense operates 10-on-11 basis. The motion also presents the defense with an immediate threat to the outside that it must respect no matter what the offense decides to do with the football.

There has been much conjecture about the origins of the Wildcat offensive scheme. NFL Quarterback Michael Vick has claimed to be "the originator" of the Wildcat offense.^[6] However, some claim it is named for the Wildcats of Dallas Barton High School, where Chicago Bears assistant coach Marty Davis once worked.^[7] Others claim that the offense was created by double-wing guru Hugh Wyatt, a longtime coach in the Pacific Northwest. Wyatt, coaching the La Center (WA) High School Wildcats, published an article in "Scholastic Coach" magazine in 1998, where he explained in detail his offensive system.^[8] Many other high school football programs across the United States run or have in the past run similar schemes.

The modern version of the Wildcat was first used by Bill Snyder, head coach of the Kansas State University Wildcats with Michael Bishop as quarterback in 1997 and 1998 when they made a run at the top of the national rankings. Another possible origin of Wildcat without a quarterback is on the Playstation 2 of then high school student Tylor Whitham. Whitham became angered at his pocket passing quarterback in an early version of an NCAA Football game. Down to only one quarterback in his dynasty with the University of Missouri, Whitham, chose to bring in a running back to force the defense to account for another person on run plays. Using this Whitham was able to win the game.^[9][10] The Wildcat was popularized on the college level by current Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, and current Miami Dolphins quarterback coach David Lee when they were offensive coordinators for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

In 2006, Malzahn was the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks. Malzahn introduced the Wildcat into the Arkansas offense. When Malzahn left for Tulsa in 2007, Lee became the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks. Both Malzahn and Lee ran a variation of the Wildcat formation which prominently featured running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. The Wildcat formation was sometimes called the "WildHog" (in honor of the Razorback mascot at the University of Arkansas) and subsequently rebranded as the "WildRebel"^[11] when Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt went to Ole Miss as head coach (Ole Miss' mascot being the Rebels), and it has also been called the "Wild Turkey" popularized by the Virginia Tech Hokies. Alabama has also used the Wildcat formation for six plays against Virginia Tech in 2009.

Kansas State has used the Wildcat offense more recently as has the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Kentucky. The University of Pittsburgh has had great success with the formation lining up either star running back LeSean McCoy or running back LaRod Stephens-Howling taking the snap. The Panthers have scored numerous times from this formation throughout the last two seasons.^[12]

In a December 24, 2006 game between the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, the Panthers, because of a quarterback injury, deployed a formation without a quarterback and snapped the ball directly to running back DeAngelo Williams.^[13] The Panthers ran the ball—mostly in this formation—for the first twelve plays of the opening drive. The offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers at the time was Dan Henning, who later developed this concept into the Wildcat as the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.

Relying on the experience of quarterbacks coach David Lee who had run the scheme at Arkansas, the 2008 Miami Dolphins implemented the Wildcat offense beginning in the third game of the 2008 season with great success, instigating a wider trend throughout the NFL.^[14][15] The Dolphins started the Wildcat trend in the NFL lining up either running back Ronnie Brown (in most cases) or Ricky Williams to take a shotgun snap with the option of handing off, running, or throwing. Through eleven games, the Wildcat averaged over seven yards per play for the Dolphins. "It could be the single wing, it could be the Delaware split buck business that they used to do," Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning said. "It comes from all of that."^[16] On September 21, 2008, the Miami Dolphins used the Wildcat offense against the New England Patriots on six plays, which produced 4 touchdowns (three rushing and one passing) in a 38-13 upset victory.

As the popularity of the Wildcat spread during the 2008 NFL season, several teams began instituting it as a part of their playbook, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, St. Louis Rams, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Defensing plays from the Wildcat requires linemen and linebackers to know and execute their own assignments without overpursuing what may turn into a fake or a reverse. The formation's initial success in 2008 can be attributed in part to surprise -- defenses had not practiced their coutermeasures against such an unusual offensive strategy. Since then, most teams are well prepared to stop the Wildcat. That does not mean the formation is no longer useful, though. A defense's practice time is limited. By making an upcoming opponent prepare to stop the Wildcat, that opponent necessarily has less time available to prepare for other offensive approaches. Many teams admit to spending an inordinate amount of time having to prepare for this scheme.^[17][18]

Until the 2009 season, a technicality in the league rules made the Wildcat offense illegal; essentially, the rule stated that a designated quarterback must be in position to take all snaps. This has since been changed.^[19]

• Glossary of American football
• Single-wing formation
• 46 defense
• A Formation
• Flexbone formation
• I formation
• Pro set
• Shotgun formation
• Single set back
• Spread offense
• Sutherland Single-Wing
• T formation
• Triple option
• Trips formation
• Veer
• Wishbone formation

• YouTube video (via CBS Sports) explaining the Wildcat offense and its rise in the NFL
• YouTube video of former Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee diagramming and explaining how a version of the Wildcat formation is run
• Article on how to run the Wildcat offense in the video game, NCAA Football 2009
• Story on the running of the Wildcat offense in the NFL
• Diagram/explanation of how to run a version of the Wildcat package from CoachWyatt.com
• 9, 2008-3490998596_x.htm USA Today story on the Miami Dolphins' running of the offense