Andy Richardson
Like most NFL fans, I thought it was awesome when the Miami Dolphins went into Foxborough last year, surprised the Patriots with their "Wildcat" offense, and trounced a team that hadn't lost a regular-season game for almost two calendar years. I thought it was cool when Miami continued to have success with the formation, which was really not a new thing but an old thing, and when other teams incorporated their own versions of it.
But, enough.
I think my fondness for the Wildcat started to die late last year, when everyone was doing it, and it got the final stake through the heart last night, when Brett Favre threatened to end two seasons -- Houston defensive back Eugene Wilson's, and his own -- with an ugly illegal crackback block, out of the Wildcat formation, in a meaningless preseason game.
Fortunately Wilson was OK, reportedly, just annoyed and/or angry about the block. Favre wasn't hurt either. The only real damage, I guess, was done to Favre's image -- "What a cheapshot!" -- and to the ears of fans listening to the ESPN announcers drone on about it ("What a cheapshot!").
Now, I'm a well-known Favre enabler, so I'll admit a bias here. But the truth is that if you've watched Favre over the years, blocking for his wideouts on reverses and endarounds, you know that -- like most NFL quarterbacks, I imagine -- he has about as good an idea of how to throw a legal block as most people watching an NFL game. Which is to say none. I've seen him faceplant into the turf without even touching a defender, and I've seen him take out (or attempt to take out, usually badly) an opponent by the ankles or knees. Getting older, slower, and less athletic hasn't improved anything.
Leaving aside the fact that this was a meaningless preseason game -- OK, I can't leave that aside -- but anyway, the point here is that quarterbacks throwing blocks in the NFL is kind of like American League pitchers batting in inter-league games. Ugly. Embarrassing. And a bad idea.
I watched a lot of games last year, and I didn't see many quarterbacks throwing good blocks. I saw most of them lining up as wide receivers and loping slowly downfield just for appearances sake: Here I go, yessirree, the pass is coming my way, sure it is, you'd better cover me, la la la. The pass doesn't go their way. They don't contribute to the play in any positive fashion. And with any luck they don't get clobbered by a defensive back drooling at the thought of a free shot on a quarterback.
And then there's the fantasy aspects of it all. Nice for Ronnie Brown, I guess, but can you really start, say, Michael Vick or Percy Harvin strictly on Wildcat potential? Most Wildcat players aren't easy to start -- all they do is hurt the value of the players, like Donovan McNabb, who they replace. Or of Favre, who's sent out to wide to hurt some poor defensive back or get his shoulder busted up himself.
Is this how a defensive back's season should end: having his knee blown out after being blocked by a quarterback with little to no skill or experience throwing a block? Is this how Favre's starting streak should end: getting his shoulder broken while throwing a block badly? Is this how anyone really wants Tom Brady, Chad Pennington, or any capable passer to get injured?
The Vikings have Percy Harvin, who's an extremely talented runner, and they're going to use some Wildcat this year. That being the case, it makes sense to practice it during the preseason. If they're going to use it.
But around the time they begged a 40-year-old quarterback who can't run, can't block, and are paying $12 million to this season and need to stay healthy to get their money's worth out of him to come out of retirement, maybe it should have occurred to them that using the Wildcat carried with it a lot more risk than reward.
- Comments [0]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
