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Wildcat formation
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Wildcat formation
Wildcat formation is 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 a 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 wildcat formation to confuse the defense, 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 the Arkansas Razorbacks, employing 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.
One possible precursor to the wildcat formation was named the "wing-T", and is widely credited to being first implemented by coach Tubby Raymond and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. 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 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 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.[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.
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.
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Wildcat formation
Wildcat formation is 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 a 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 wildcat formation to confuse the defense, 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 the Arkansas Razorbacks, employing 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.
One possible precursor to the wildcat formation was named the "wing-T", and is widely credited to being first implemented by coach Tubby Raymond and the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. 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 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 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.[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.
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.
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