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Wildcat — The Sequel

September 6, 2007 by Walking on Sunshine 

In the history of moviemaking, there have only been two sequels that have won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  That’s typically, of course, because most sequels just don’t live up to the original.  There’s always that ’something’ that’s missing.  Maybe the cast isn’t the same…or the director is different…or the script is just bad.

After watching several practices this fall and the Troy game last Saturday, it’s obvious that the famed ‘Wildcat,’ a package that was ultra-effective at times last season, doesn’t have the same flavor in 2007 as it did last season.  No…this is not your father’s Wildcat.

Darren McFadden / Michael Smith (AP Photo/April L. Brown)Fans and media alike have noticed that this year’s Wildcat is no longer exclusively a variation of the ‘Single Wing,’ as new Offensive Coordinator David Lee has added in something he knows very well:  the ‘radar option.’  We found out in Monday’s Democrat-Gazette that this new variation is called, ‘The Racehorse.’

But before we get into what’s new, let’s look at a few of the reasons why the Wildcat worked in 2006.  Despite the inconsistent quarterback play that caused the package to be overused down the stretch, the Wildcat was still very difficult to stop last season:

  • Because of the motion man, teams were forced to play man-to-man in the secondary.  Those that didn’t right away (Tennessee, for example) got a steady dose of Felix on the corner with a running start.  Pretty hard to stop that.
  • Because of the threat of DMac to fake to the motion man and then run wide in the opposite direction, defensive ends and outside linebackers were forced to play wide with outside leverage.  That left gaping holes in the interior, which could be exploited with a trap or power running play by McFadden.
  • Because the field was spread and there were no other players in the backfield, there was actually one less defensive player to block up front.  As Coach Nutt would say, that let us get a “hat on a hat,” usually leaving McFadden one-on-one with a safety if everybody got their block.  And we all know how that turned out most of the time.

However, if Coach Lee morphs the Wildcat into primarily a radar option series this year, the potential of the original formation is crippled.  By putting one and sometimes two other backs in the backfield next to McFadden, basically what you’ve done is:

  • Taken away the threat of the motion man to get on the corner, making it easier on the defense as lateral speed is no longer a component of the play.
  • Allowed another one or two defenders to enter ‘the box,’ taking away the advantage in numbers the offense enjoyed and making it harder to run the trap play and pull linemen without a defender coming free.

Wildcat 2 (TipsterHog Photo)But some will say, ‘Well…what about Matt Jones?  Didn’t he run the radar option with some success during Coach Lee’s last stint in Fayetteville?’  And the answer is…yes, he did.

The difference is that Matt ran the option for several years in high school and could eventually ‘read it’ (know when to hand off the ball or keep it) in his sleep.

And even as talented as McFadden is, he’s going to have trouble reading it.  You can’t just work on reading a defense for “five minutes a day” (as Nutt says) and expect him to get it.  You saw evidence of this against Troy, as the ball was on the ground three separate times because of confusion during the ‘Racehorse’ read handoff with the backs.

By making these changes, there’s no doubt that David Lee is putting his stamp on this offense.  As the season progresses, though, think about what made last year’s Wildcat package effective, and then compare it to what you see.  Will this sequel be better than the original?

And if they changed the name to the ‘Racehog’ formation, would it work any better?

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17 Responses to “Wildcat — The Sequel”

  1. BlindHog on September 6th, 2007 9:03 am

    Well done Sunshine.

    Gus’ plays were based on his knowledge of the spread which was basically about attacking the corners and as you say opening up the middle. The fact that Dale and Lee don’t understand that Felix in motion is the key to the play says everything about why we run a high school offense. We will see pretty quickly how much imagination Gus brought to Dale’s stale offense. Turning Darren into an option QB is the quickest way to take the ball out of his hands. The defense will always be stacked to make him pitch. And as you say his ball handling and reading the defense are his weak points so it works beautifully for the other team.

    High percentage football is ball control, defense, field position (kicking game.) That is Dale’s philosophy as it was Frank’s after the ‘69 game. You know Mr. Pooch Punt/Draw Play has had a real effect on Dale. Yes, the fans tired of not taking intelligent risks and seeing the rewards. Even a high percentage offense has to have a little excitement. Holtz was a run guy who knew how and when to throw the ball. Royal won that ‘69 game with a pass by the biggest running team in football.

    Darren and Felix bring excitement with their talent alone. But, like Royal in ‘69 or Arkansas at LSU last year, when it comes to a critical 4 and 3 in the second half you had better have a passing game or the game is over.

    Frank stepped down after the poochkick/draw play era ran cold, Kenny left town to similar fan dissatisfaction, and Houston is enjoying the same fate. The fans are part of the game and so it some measure of excitement. You can make the argument that high percentage wins more but only if you can take a Heisman candidate and make the BCS. If not, its really not a very good argument.

  2. Dan on September 6th, 2007 10:49 am

    Did you guys see this?

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=KR76aoKghM8

  3. HogBlogger on September 6th, 2007 12:57 pm

    Dan - yep, saw it. We didn’t use any of those three Saturday in the WildHog. Everything was oriented around option. Most of the work I’ve seen in practice has been oriented around option. They still have these three plays, so we may well see them a lot as time goes by.

  4. Waldron Hog on September 6th, 2007 1:22 pm

    Dale has set himself up for a big fall with all this. He’s hung his hat with Casey and David Lee. He has made negitive comments about Gus and looks very dirty in the Mitch situation. Now they seem to be overhauling the Wildcat offense. If this works out, great! If it doesn’t, there will be a lot of disappointed fans.

    I fully realize they need to continue toadd to the Wildcat package. Changing the foundation to more of an option attack might even be the correct thing to do. Only time will tell.

  5. TipsterHog on September 6th, 2007 1:25 pm

    I think the key part of Sunshine’s post is “if Coach Lee morphs the Wildcat into primarily a radar option series.” That’s where we seem to be heading based on the fall practices we saw and the Troy game we attended.

    Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s no reason why the “old” Wildcat package plays that David Lee describes in that video can’t be used again regularly. The question is how “regularly” will our new playcaller (Lee) use them over his own ‘Racehorse’ variation? Hopefully egos won’t get involved and the plays that are the most effective will be called.

  6. BlindHog on September 6th, 2007 1:54 pm

    They can add but they can’t take the wide motion man out of the scheme. If you take the pressure off the corner it doesn’t work the same, it is just another option play. They can run the radar option instead of the wildhog but it really doesn’t need a new sexy name, it is just the radar option.

    I don’t know what else you would expect out of Lee. He doesn’t have the players to run a pro passing offense, he doesn’t even have the players to run a college passing offense. He is an option guy, always has been.

    You can only image all of the stuff Gus would have added if given a free hand, reverses, reverse passes, double reverse throwback to Darren, no telling.

  7. GonzoHog on September 6th, 2007 5:37 pm

    Blind, one of the very first plays I seen, in the very first practice the Hogs had this year, was a reverse from Felix to London Crawford, with D-Mac running the WildHog package. I know we didn’t see the full potential of this offense in the first game, but I think i’ts great that we didn’t have to. It would be very hard for me to believe this is all were gonna git. Alabama will be ill-prepared for our offense, when the play book opens up, or at least I sure hope so. Otherwise, I will be very disappointed.

  8. OwassoHog on September 6th, 2007 5:42 pm

    No… go ahead and say it…

    we could have had… what?

    a V-8?

  9. BlindHog on September 7th, 2007 9:25 am

    I know I am predisposed but I don’t mean to turn on the new schemes too soon just because I don’t have must faith or Dale doesn’t have much history in delivering. I hope we do see the play book against Bama because I think we are going to need at least some of it. Saban is not going to let us beat him with a couple of power plays and a sweep.

    Each team develops its own personality during the first half of the season. Last years early escapes would have meant little without the handling of Auburn at Auburn. I remember the 1998 Kentucky game in LR when Couch was throwing for the end zone as time ran out. Stoerner had had a bad first half but we came on to win a close one and give more meaning to the thumping we had given Alabama. This year will be no different. Either Casey will come on and find his rhythm or one of the new recievers will develop or the defense will find itself and this team will be off and running.

    The one thing we all know too well; the next two games will tell the tale. After that it is back to the wall or full speed ahead.

  10. Carolina Hog on September 7th, 2007 9:52 am

    Blind,
    You and I rarely agree but you are spot on with the importance of the Bama game. After seeing Auburn last week, I think a win over the Tide sets us up nicely for a run but I’m trying not to get ahead of myself.
    Listening to the game I didn’t get to see the different formations but it interesting analysis. I hope and suspect that we will see the original version show up against Bama and if we are going to put the ball on the ground, this new version needs to be shelved until we can afford to work out some kinks.

    I’m torn on what I want to see from Bama this weekend. I’d love to see Vandy win, but the best thing for us is probably having the Tide roll and then give them a week of hearing how good they are.

    Another note: I think its time to take A. Robinson out of the dog house. He didn’t set the world on fire last year in practice but when the lights come on the kids a gamer. He and Mitchell with Shepard and Mitchell is a pretty damn good line and with Davis, Wade, and Grey baking up it has some decent depth. We’ve got to help the D-backs by getting some preasure on. John Parker Wilson looked pretty sharp against us last year and he is capable on a given night of lighting it up.

    What’s the word on Monk from up on the hill? If we could learn to play without him, we’d be lethal if he returns. Now that’s a few “ifs” for you.

  11. Dan on September 8th, 2007 9:44 am

    Of course we heard it here first…

    http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/200828/

    Sorry to be posting the links, but this one explicitly states the option being added in as the ‘Racehorse’. I like the additional confusion that it adds to the offense (for defenses of course), but i hope we use a consistent mix of play calling rather than hone in on just the Racehorse. I guess they should use whatever put points on the board.

  12. GonzoHog on September 8th, 2007 5:40 pm

    Did anyone see the Bama-Vandy game a little earlier today? All of the talk, lately, has been about the Hogs developing a balanced attack. If Alabama was supposed to show us how that is done today, then I would have to say they get a big fat “F”! I watched the game from the middle of the 2nd qr., until the end. Bama-24 Vandy-10. It would be hard for me to believe the Tide only threw 3 passes over that time period, but I know it couldn’t have been much more than that, since that is the total amount I saw. I must have a least missed 2 or 3. They have a TB named Grant, who is a Red-shirt Fresh. He’s pretty good too. He reminds me alot of Fred Tally at 185 lbs. I doubt he’s quite that fast though. All in all, I would have to say if the Tide is going to beat us, they better hope the Hogs shoot themselves in the foot enough time to make up the difference. Thier gonna need it. GO HOGS GO BABY!!!!! BEAT BAMA!!!!!

  13. Defense Wins Championships on September 9th, 2007 9:03 pm

    John Parker Wilson’s passing ability will likely be used a bunch this year according to what the other team is willing to give up. He seems to be a pure passer. Likely, they did not need his arm in the Vandy game but wanted to hone their running ability. Saban usually likes both…the run and pass.

    Stafford of Ga. did not look so good passing…perhaps it is because Carolina had them figured out quite well. He is also a pretty good pure passer but it did not show in the game. Mitchell looked as sharp as always. Another pure passer.

    LSU…awesome. Loved their Defense. I doubt that Va. Tech is actually as bad as they looked but Flynn played lights out. Appears that they have everything to go undefeated and win BCS Championship game. As Holtz was famous for saying, “Nothing is as good as it seems and nothing is as bad as it seems.” So, we shall see. SEC at this point sure is looking very, very strong!

    We do not have long to wait now to see whether Razorback’s passing is on target.

    I keep hearind and reading that some prognosticators say that Tebow is not that great a passer but I wonder where their eyes are. I have not thus far seen him faulter with the pass although he is a strong runner.

  14. Defense Wins Championships on September 9th, 2007 9:13 pm

    Aaah Auburn. Looks like one of you were correct when you said that you though Auburn was overrated. That may be but I do remember some prognosticators did mention that you better look out for South Florida because they (in their words) appear about ready to make a statement. Auburn did not look good…especially their defense. In fact, if they play like that on defense, I think McFadden and Jones can have a banner game again against AU. I do not think that their QB Cox has come on as one would expect at this time in his career at AU. Burns with experience or at least great command of their system will certainly help them to be a force if they do not re-group with Cox. However, it does appear that their defense has problems.

  15. OwassoHog on September 9th, 2007 9:15 pm

    Let’s do a quick comparison between Casey and Tim - why don’t we? Just for comparison sakes, why don’t we use Troy for an Apples to Apples comparions! :-)

    Passing CP-AT YDS TD INT RTG
    Casey Dick 11-20 108 0 0 100.4
    Tim Tebow 18-25 236 3 0 190.9

    Oops! No comparison! Tebow wins this contest!

  16. GonzoHog on September 10th, 2007 3:22 am

    At this point and time, comparing Casey and Tim Tebow is useless. Look at all the weapons at WR Tebow had around him, coming back from last year, while our best, and only proven reciever is out with injury. I would hardly say that is apple to apple. Also, it was a known fact that troy was known to have 2 DB’s of NFL caliber. Did Western Kentucky have this?

  17. BlindHog on September 10th, 2007 8:54 am

    Parity has come to the SEC. The days of the haves and havenots are at least temporarily at an end. One week Georgia looks good and the next it is South Carolina. The one exception of course is LSU. They are a machine. Les Miles may finally get out from under Saban’s shadow particularly after a 50 to 10 beating later this year and a shot at the National Title.

    Alabama is still a work in progress but so is Arkansas. We will see about Kentucky this week against Louisville. But, I think the Hogs success hangs on the Soap Opera. We will see this week if they are motivated and focused and ready to play. If they are it is clear sailing to Knoxville depending on how Superior does until November. The Hogs were either distracted this year or they became closer and more committed. We are about to find out. We have the horses to beat Alabama if we are ready to play and don’t get out coached.

    Casey is no Tim Tebow. He can be an acceptable SEC QB for the next two years if they are willing to invest some time in developing him. Until now they have not committed enough practice time or game time to the passing game. Not even Tim Tebow would look good with the offense Casey is asked to run.