American football offensive formation
Wildcat formation
describes a
formation
for the offense in
football
in which the ball is snapped not to the quarterback but directly to a player of another position lined up at the quarterback position. (In most systems, this is a
running back
, but some playbooks have the
wide receiver
,
fullback
, or
tight end
taking the snap.) The wildcat features an unbalanced offensive line and looks to the defense like a
sweep
behind
zone blocking
. A player moves across the formation prior to the snap. However, once this player crosses the position of the running back who will receive the snap, the play develops unlike the sweep.
The wildcat is a gambit rather than an overall offensive philosophy. It can be a part of many offenses. For example, a
spread-option
offense might use the aildcat formation to keep the defense guessing, or a
West Coast offense
may use the power-
I formation
to threaten a powerful run attack.
The wildcat scheme is a derivation of
Pop Warner
's
single wing
offense dating back to the 1920s. The wildcat was invented by Billy Ford and Ryan Wilson, and was originally called the "dual" formation.
[
citation needed
]
The offensive coaching staff of the
Kansas State Wildcats
, namely
Bill Snyder
and
Del Miller
, made significant contributions to the formation's development throughout the 1990s and 2000s and is often cited as being the formation's namesake. It has been used since the late 1990s at every level of the game, including the
CFL
,
NFL
,
NCAA
,
NAIA
, and high schools across North America. Coaching staffs have used it with variations and have given their versions a variety of names. The wildcat was popularized in the first decade of the 2000s by
South Carolina Gamecocks
coach
Steve Spurrier
to use
Syvelle Newton
in all offensive positions on the field. It was also used in that decade by
Arkansas Razorbacks
to use the unique skill-set of their three running backs,
Darren McFadden
,
Felix Jones
, and
Peyton Hillis
. It was eventually used in the NFL by the
Miami Dolphins
through running backs
Ronnie Brown
and
Ricky Williams
. Though its popularity as a regular offensive weapon has waned in recent years as defenses have adapted to it, some teams still use it occasionally as a
trick play
.
History
[
edit
]
One possible precursor to the wildcat formation was named the "
wing-T
",
[2]
[3]
and is widely credited to being first implemented by coach
Tubby Raymond
and the
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
team.
[4]
[5]
[6]
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
[7]
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 snap 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 themself.
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.
[
citation needed
]
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.
Another advantage of the wildcat formation is it can be run from typical football personnel group, such as a quarterback, a fullback, a running back, a tight end, and two wide receivers without substitution, by using the players outside of their normal roles. The quarterback, by lining up as a wide receiver, is both pass receiving threat and can block a defensive back. The running back, receiving a direct snap, is a running threat on a variety of designed plays, and has the potential to pass the ball. Using an unbalanced offensive line, along with a tight end and a fullback, provides a variations of the line up to provide strength to the formation, as well as receiving options, and using a wide receiver in motion as a potential
flanker sweep
provides a second running option. Not needing to substitute on offense for a short yardage situation can prevent the defense from substituting into a short-yardage defensive formation, which may provide a mismatch.
High school
[
edit
]
The Wall Street Journal
credited Hugh Wyatt, a longtime coach in the
Pacific Northwest
, with naming the offense. Wyatt, coaching the
La Center
High School Wildcats, published an article in
Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director
magazine in 1998, where he explained his version of the offense, which relied on two wing backs as the two backfield players directly behind the center, alternating to receive the snap. Other high school football programs across the United States adopted Wyatt's wildcat offense.
[8]
College
[
edit
]
Alabama
's
David Palmer
was one of the first "wildcat" quarterbacks on the national scene running the formation in 1993.
[9]
The wildcat was popularized on the college level 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.
[10]
Bishop rushed for 1304 career yards in two seasons, including 748 yards on 177 carries during the 1998 season. Snyder's success inspired
Urban Meyer
at the start of his career. Meyer's subsequent success with quarterback
Josh Harris
at
Bowling Green
helped the formation come to the fore.
The wildcat was continued by former
Auburn
head coach
Gus Malzahn
, and former
Ole Miss Rebels
offensive coordinator
David Lee
when they were offensive coordinators for the
Arkansas Razorbacks
after seeing the success of Snyder and Meyer. 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 called the "wildhog" in honor of the razorback mascot at the University of Arkansas, and then rebranded as the "wild rebel"
[11]
when Arkansas head coach
Houston Nutt
went to Ole Miss as head coach (Ole Miss' mascot being the Rebel), and a variation involving a direct snap to a tight end has been called the "wild turkey" by the
Virginia Tech Hokies
.
Other college teams have used the wildcat formation regularly, including the wildcats of
Kansas State
,
Kentucky
, and
Villanova
, as well as the
Pitt Panthers
. Pitt had great success with the formation having star running back
LeSean McCoy
or running back
LaRod Stephens-Howling
take the snap. The Panthers scored numerous times from this formation during those years.
[12]
Villanova won the
2009 FCS championship
with a multiple offense that included the wildcat, with wide receiver
Matt Szczur
taking the snap. Szczur scored a key touchdown in the Wildcats' semifinal against
William & Mary
out of the formation,
[13]
and made a number of big plays out of the wildcat against
Montana
in the final.
[14]
UCF
uses a wildcat formation they call the "wild knight."
[15]
It was originally intended to be run by
Rob Calabrese
, even after he lost the starting job in 2010 to
Jeff Godfrey
, but he tore his
ACL
using the play to score a rushing touchdown against
Marshall
on October 13, 2010.
[16]
At the time, most agreed that Calabrese was effective at running the wild knight formation.
[15]
The wildcat formation made an appearance in 1998, when
Minnesota Vikings
' offensive coordinator
Brian Billick
began employing formations where QB
Randall Cunningham
lined up as a wide receiver and third-down specialist
David Palmer
took the direct snap from the center with the option to pass or run.
[17]
[18]
In the
1998 NFC Championship
, with 7:58 to go in the third quarter, on a second-and-5 play, the
Atlanta Falcons
deployed quarterback
Chris Chandler
wide left as a receiver while receiver
Tim Dwight
took a direct snap and ran 20 yards for a first down.
[19]
In a December 24, 2006, game between the
Carolina Panthers
and
Atlanta Falcons
, the Panthers deployed a formation without a quarterback and snapped the ball directly to running back
DeAngelo Williams
for much of the game.
[20]
The Panthers, under head coach
John Fox
and
offensive coordinator
Dan Henning
, elected to run the ball?mostly in this formation?for the first twelve plays of the opening drive, and ran the ball 52 times, with only seven passing plays. The coaching staff named the package "tiger" when running back DeAngelo Williams was on the field and "Wildcat" when backup quarterback
Brett Basanez
was under center, both after their respective alma maters, the University of Memphis and Northwestern University.
[21]
Coordinator Henning later developed this concept into the "wildcat" as the offensive coordinator for the
Miami Dolphins
.
[22]
Relying on the experience of quarterbacks coach Lee, who had run the scheme at Arkansas, the
2008 Miami Dolphins
under Henning implemented the wildcat offense beginning in the third game of the 2008 season with great success, instigating a wider trend throughout the NFL.
[23]
[24]
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."
[25]
On September 21, 2008, the Miami Dolphins used the wildcat offense against the
New England Patriots
on six plays, which produced five touchdowns (four rushing and one passing?from Brown himself) 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.
Defending plays from the wildcat requires linemen and linebackers to know and execute their own assignments without over-pursuing 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 countermeasures against such an unusual offensive strategy.
[26]
Since then, most teams are well prepared to stop the wildcat; an example came in November 2008 when the Patriots traveled to Miami nine weeks after the Dolphins win in
Foxborough
;
Bill Belichick
's defense limited the wildcat to just 27 yards and forced the Dolphins to try a conventional passing attack;
[27]
the game lead changed six times but the Patriots wore out the Dolphins with a 48?28 win.
Though defenses now understand how to stop the wildcat, it does not mean the formation is no longer useful. A defense's practice time is finite. Opponents who prepare to stop the wildcat have 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.
[28]
[29]
The
Philly Special
, an iconic play during
Super Bowl LII
, was run out of the wildcat.
[30]
Other teams that use the wildcat formation in the NFL have used different names for their versions. At one time, the Carolina Panthers called their version the "Mountaineer formation", named after the
Appalachian State Mountaineers
, the alma mater of their wildcat quarterback
Armanti Edwards
, who played quarterback for the Mountaineers. The
Denver Broncos
use "wild horses", developed in 2009.
[31]
The New York Jets referred to their version as the "tigerca" formation in reference to
Brad Smith
having attended the University of Missouri when Smith played for New York from 2009 to 2010. The 2011 Minnesota Vikings referred to their formation as the "Blazer package" which employed former
UAB Blazers
quarterback
Joe Webb
.
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.
[32]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Horton: Four plays that show why the Wildcat works"
.
ESPN.com
. 2008-10-10
. Retrieved
2024-01-31
.
- ^
Waldstein, David (December 26, 2008).
"Wildcat offense is actually a form of the single wing, with deep Jersey roots"
.
Nj.com:
The Star-Ledger
website
.
Advance Publications
. Retrieved
March 15,
2009
.
- ^
"'Wildcat' offense rooted in football's past"
Archived
January 24, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Google Books results on Tubby Raymond's Wing-T contribution
. Retrieved
March 15,
2009
.
- ^
"Interview with Tubby Raymond on Wing-T"
. Highbeam.com. August 1, 1998. Archived from
the original
on January 25, 2016
. Retrieved
March 15,
2009
.
- ^
"Basic Wing-T"
. Fbforyouth.com
. Retrieved
March 15,
2009
.
- ^
"Cleveland Browns' wildcat offense: A major part of 2010? Poll"
.
Cleveland Advance
. 9 August 2010
. Retrieved
2 August
2019
.
- ^
Charles, Siebert (September 24, 2009).
"Football's Subversive Side"
.
wsj.com
. Retrieved
January 9,
2010
.
- ^
Alabama's Greatest Players: Pound for pound, David 'The Deuce' Palmer was No. 1
- ^
Sports, Geek (September 4, 2008).
"A Look at Bill Snyder's Impact on Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer"
.
cnnsi.com
. CNNSI Press
. Retrieved
January 6,
2012
.
- ^
Herndon, Mike (September 4, 2008).
"Nutt: Wild Rebel is here to stay"
.
Gulflive.com
. The Mississippi Press
. Retrieved
March 15,
2009
.
- ^
Starkey, Joe (September 19, 2007).
"Pitt employing wildcat offense to alleviate QB woes"
.
Insider.espn.go.com
. Retrieved
December 22,
2008
.
- ^
"Villanova advances to school's first FCS championship game"
.
ESPN.com
. Associated Press. December 11, 2009
. Retrieved
2009-12-31
.
- ^
Kensing, Kyle (December 18, 2009).
"Villanova Takes Home First National Title With 23?21 Comeback Win Over Montana"
.
NCAA.com
. Retrieved
2009-12-31
.
- ^
a
b
Embattled UCF quarterback Rob Calabrese thrives as `Wild Knight'
- ^
UCF storms past Marshall
- ^
Pierson, Don (November 26, 1998).
"It Computes: Billick's Ideas, Vikings' Talent Equal No. 1"
.
Chicago Tribune
.
- ^
"Vikings plan to pump it up vs. Falcons in title game"
.
Baltimore Sun
. January 17, 1999
. Retrieved
2012-10-13
.
- ^
1998 NFC Championship Game highlights
from YouTube
- ^
Odum, Charles (December 24, 2006).
"Panthers 10, Falcons 3"
.
Sports.yahoo.com
. Retrieved
December 22,
2008
.
- ^
Gantt, Darin.
"Panthers coach Fox: Father of the Wildcat offense"
.
The State
. Retrieved
2017-10-24
.
- ^
Graham, Tim (22 September 2008).
"Miami coaches had 'Wildcat' familiarity"
.
ESPN
. Retrieved
2012-10-13
.
- ^
"Dolphins using wildcat formation to great success"
.
Swsentinel.blogspot.com
.
USA Today
.
Associated Press
. December 10, 2008
. Retrieved
March 15,
2009
.
- ^
"Dolphins Breakout Wildcat Offense in Their First Win"
.
Lloydvance.wordpress.com
. September 22, 2008
. Retrieved
December 22,
2008
.
- ^
Wine, Steven (October 9, 2008).
"Dolphins help single wing make comeback"
.
Usatoday.com
. Archived from
the original
on March 28, 2012
. Retrieved
December 22,
2008
.
- ^
"The Dolphins Formation: How They Did It - The Fifth Down - Sports - Pro Football - New York Times Blog"
.
fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2008-09-28.
- ^
November 23, 2008 Patriots at Dolphins full box score and play-by-play list
from
Pro Football Reference
- ^
"Raiders' wildcat formation might not work against Ravens"
.
MercuryNews.com;
San Jose Mercury News
website
.
Media News Group
. October 24, 2008. Archived from
the original
on June 22, 2011.
- ^
Somers, Kent (November 12, 2008).
"Pahokee a wild card for Cards"
.
Azcentral.com
. Retrieved
December 22,
2008
.
- ^
The "Philly Special" Stuns Belichick, Super Bowl LII
(NFL Turning Point, NFL Films, posted to YouTube on Feb 7, 2018)
- ^
"Dissecting the "Wild Horses" Success of the Denver Broncos"
.
Bleacher Report
. October 14, 2009
. Retrieved
2012-10-13
.
- ^
"CFL UNVEILS NEW RULE CHANGES BASED ON SUGGESTIONS FROM FANS"
.
The Sports Network
. May 11, 2009
. Retrieved
May 11,
2009
.
External links
[
edit
]