Try NFL Sport Channel Seach:
Selected searches:
NFL Football Players Draft Injuries Rookies Season Superbowl
Items by
Pat White: Next Stage In Evolution Of Wildcat
Published: May 29, 2009
No Comments
The “wildcat” formation was unveiled to a national audience in 2008, to rave reviews. In 2009, the Dolphins look to take the next step with the formation, through the addition of second round draft pick, quarterback Pat White.
White set West Virginia and Big East total yards and touchdown record with 9,961 yards and 99 touchdowns. Coming into the draft, the six-foot 197 lbs White was considered to be a future NFL wide receiver by many pundits, but during the offseason he silenced some critics with a Senior Bowl performance that earned him MVP honors.
He continued to impress at the NFL Draft Combine, where White participated in quarterback drills. White was awarded with the General Motors Top Combine Performer award.
White posted impressive triangle numbers of a 4.49 “40”, 7.06 seconds in the cone drill, and a 35-inch vertical jump. Scouts raved of White’s potential in the NFL as a quarterback and during his subsequent pro day event held in Morgantown at West Virginia’s campus, he was not asked to perform wide receiver drills. His stock as a professional quarterback was cemented.
White was drafted by the Dolphins with the 44th overall pick (second round) of the draft, and pundits and experts immediately purred over White’s potential in the wildcat formation the Dolphins utilized in 2008.
They addressed the potential of White to be used in a set that can utilize not only his ability to run the football, but to capitalize on his ability to throw had draniks abuzz.
The wildcat is predicated on offsetting the defensive unit’s numbers advantage after the snap. By taking away the quarterback and putting the primary run option behind center, the offense is basically 11-on-11 and, should the offense execute their blocks fundamentally, the ball carrier should theoretically have to beat one man—his man. If he does, it should result in a score.
Last season, the Dolphins began using this formation, made famous by Gus Malzahn (the former Arkansas offensive coordinator) and David Lee (a staffmate with Malzahn at Arkansas and current Dolphins running backs coach) at Arkansas with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones.
In the third game of the season and over the course of the next seven games, the Dolphins would average over seven yards per play out of the set.
In what would be the set’s magnum opus of the season, on September 21 against the Patriots, the Dolphins ran from the wildcat formation six times and the result was five touchdowns in a 38-13 win.
In the Dolphins final seven games, the set lessened in its effectiveness. With teams around the NFL implementing the wrinkle into their individual offenses, teams were able to focus more on the Dolphins’ attack and what resulted was a lack of results from the formation.
Enter White.
One of the vital elements that went missing from the Dolphins’ version of the wildcat was the threat of the vertical passing game. With running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, the pass was not feared and it gave opposing teams the ability to bring more players into the box. This negated the perceived numbers advantage the wildcat is predicated off of, which would allow the speed sweep, counter, and split zone variations of the offense to flourish.
These gadget or “trick” plays that give the formation variance put the defense in a position to be off balance and ill-prepared for the attack. The threat of a legitimate pass allows this to happen and it is that White—skilled as a passer and a runner—brings to the table as the next step in the evolution to the wildcat formation in the NFL.
