I dunno if this topic has been discussed on a blog yet… but during a story on that network on michael vick I heard a confident and familiar voice talking about forgiving michael vick… alas it was Lovie Smith. Vick would start at WR for us right now and would be Cutler’s backup… Wildcat with Hester + Forte.

This Den has been pretty successful. I’m posting any Vick links I can for tomorrow’s version so this convo can keep going on and on and on :)

OK. this is the singlewing wildcat against a traditional 4-3 unit. Instead of the QB sliding to the receiver spot and the RB taking the snap, We’re just gonna imagine it’s a mobile QB taking the snap from the shotgun.

The Defense is playing strong right, meaning they’ve shifted their front seven (sometimes just the Linebackers) to the weakside, thus, making the WILL into the SAM and vice-versa.

Notice how the RE is circled in red. He’s gonna be the read. if the RE crashes to pursue the slot Receiver, the QB will keep the ball at the snap instead of handing it to the slot. The QB has options to run both edges, where he’d have to depend on the WRs and the FB/RB to get a good block on the LBs.

However, he has a third option which is squeezing through the 4 gap between the RG and RT neutralize the LBs because of the zone blocking scheme and the Tight End creating a wall by phasing out the left end. The slot receiver should take care of the Strong Safety. The Free safety should be out of range, thus making it impossible for him to stop a big gain or a score.

How the Defense will counter the Wildcat:
stopping the QB from even getting past the line of scrimmage all depends on the LBs reaction to the O-lines blocking.

The Best counter attack is for the linebackers to ignore assignments and focus on plugging whatever holes are generated. the LBs will wait till a hole(usually that 4 gap) forms, all three should spy on the QB, and anticipate where he’s going with the ball. this is the Formula The Pats and Ravens used against the Phins, and they totally shut down the Wildcat.

In closing, I used this post to respond to No It All and show him that the Wildcat is obsolete. But after watching highlights, Learning how it’s ran, and drawing it all out, I think it can still be effective On the NFL level. I still don’t want Vick on the Bears though.

Like the analysis. Was there supposed to be a diagram with this?

link