Defending the Wildcat

[Frezo]

I know some people here hate the mention of the wildcat, but we'll be facing it twice this year. By the looks of the Dolphins/Panthers pre season game, Miami has refined it a bit and Carolina didn't have much of an answer for it. Is either the 3/4 or 4/3 better suited to defend it or does it matter? Will speedier LBers make a difference? The Pats defended it well enough in the second Dolphins game last year, but Parcells isn't giving up on it.

 

[363839]

The Pats pretty much stuffed it the last time they played Miami down there.
It won't take BB surprise this time, though I do worry about the new "wrinkles" that have been installed.
We'll see.

 

[jbb9s]

I know some people here hate the mention of the wildcat, but we'll be facing it twice this year. By the looks of the Dolphins/Panthers pre season game, Miami has refined it a bit and Carolina didn't have much of an answer for it. Is either the 3/4 or 4/3 better suited to defend it or does it matter? Will speedier LBers make a difference? The Pats defended it well enough in the second Dolphins game last year, but Parcells isn't giving up on it.

in the 1st game where the dolphins unveiled the wildcat, the defense looked more confused than I have ever seen them play under BB. I hope the Pats can figure it out. Unlike their tendency to burn out at the end of the season (the 4th quarter of the Colts AFCCG and all four 4th quarter superbowls), they should be able to remedy this with proper coaching and guys on the field with high wonderlic scores.

 

[363839]

Let's just say the 'phins were'nt as successful the second time around.

New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins - Box Score - November 23, 2008 - ESPN

 

[Patspsycho]

If I am not wrong, BB stopped it in the 2nd game with a simple solution: gap discipline.

either the 3-4 or 4-3 can stop it.. both have their benefits and downsides.

I would go with the 4-3 to collapse the pocket faster.

 

[unoriginal]

Is either the 3/4 or 4/3 better suited to defend it or does it matter? Will speedier LBers make a difference? The Pats defended it well enough in the second Dolphins game last year, but Parcells isn't giving up on it.

One would think the 3-4 would be a better defense against it, as the linebackers should be better able to run down the sweeps and should be harder to get trapped or reached.

 

[mgteich]

We have BINGO!

Gap defense is the way to stop the wildcat and other similar offenses.

If I am not wrong, BB stopped it in the 2nd game with a simple solution: gap discipline.

either the 3-4 or 4-3 can stop it.. both have their benefits and downsides.

I would go with the 4-3 to collapse the pocket faster.

 

[unoriginal]

Various related threads since search is inoperable:

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...d/10/186807-defending-wildcat-breakdowns.html

First, allow me to preface this by saying this is a post where I talk about actual football. Not trading Captain Awesome for half of the EU, not hypothetical situations, not horrible parody threads posted with offensive excess. No, this is football.

Sorry. I needed to get that off my chest. Ok, so in front of me is my DVR of the game, it's not game tape, but it's the best I got. I'm going to try to do a breakdown of the offensive play first, then describe what the pat's did and how/why it was effective/ineffective. Ok, let's dig in. One last note: please forgive my horrible drawings. I'm on my backup laptop and only can do this with Microsoft Paint.

1st and 10 6:43 inside Patriots 30. 6:40 in the 1st.

Heavy wing formation. Twin tight ends, Pennington farthest out on the farside, Williams the farside wingback, Brown under center. Williams comes in motion towards the nearside, snap to brown, handoff to williams who slips. Play would have been snubbed anyways. Some pretty complicated blocking going on here as well. It would probably just be easier for me to diagram this up. So, here is the basic assignments from the first play. They left Bruschi unblocked. Don't know if it was mental, but the diagram is the executed play.

Regarding the playside tackle doing a pseudo-pull in the diagram. It was a kickout, but the tackle took a full bucket step to allow Vrabel upfield. He then tried the execute the kickout and got nowhere. Interesting design though.

The way it was defended was as anticipated. Wilfork simply dominated Satelle all game, and this play was no different. Hands in his pads, full extention perfect technique. Seymour initially crashed the b gap, then scraped down the line. Warren extended the tight end, Vrabel blew up the kick-out block from the tackle. Had Williams not slipped, the play would have been turned in and Bruschi was attacking the C gap quickly enough to meet Williams at the LOS

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/184329-nfl-com-defending-wildcat.html

I think the major problem with the "Wildcat" package is that it is essentially the same as the standard Pro Set package, from a personnel standpoint. You can't run a 4th DL on the field, because Pennington could just line up at QB with Williams and Brown split behind him, or one of them in the slot.

If the Dolphins wanted to run a classic wing variation against a defensive package designed to stop it, no doubt they would just leave Pennington on the sidelines and put another tackle or end on the field.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/10/238163-defending-wildcat.html

How the formation is best defended is dependent upon your scheme and personnel. Obviously, it is going to be played with your base run defense set. Then, you need to look at the design of the plays. For the most part, Miami's version of the Wildcat is heavily Triple Option. Granted, there isn't the option of the pitch to the wingback, but it is essentially a Triple Option in effect. So, what does that entail? You need to defend the A gap as well as the C/D gap. One of the advantages of the Triple Option is that the potential fullback handoff (or in this case, QB dive) holds the inside linebackers long enough to allow the play to develop to the outside. If the pursuit doesn't arrive in time, the wingback is in a footrace with the safety to the pylon.

In Cowher's case, his defense is a 1-gap 34 predicated upon penetration. It's almost a 33 stack in execution. This is why his breakdown involved the disruption of the mesh point. The problem with this is that penetration against such an offense is a big play defense. It's either a TFL, a 1st or in many cases; hash, numbers, sideline, six. It's a different defense than what the Pats run.

In the case of NE, when they effectively defended the set in the rematch, it was about keeping the play contained. The defense still wasn't stellar in pursuit from the playside backer (MIA targeted Bruschi for obvious reasons) an because of this, responsibility laid with the 5 tech's and the OLB's. I spent some time watching the DVR of the game and found out how it was defensed. On the plays where the formation was stopped, Wilfork dominated and pushed Satelle upfield taking away the angle for the A gaps (negating the QB dive). Because of this interior domination, the ILB's were free to pursue. Seymour and Warren retained outside leverage on the tackles and sealed the edges. The OLB's and playside ILB were able to mop up with the help of the crashing safety.

When the offense was successful, the tackles won the matchup with the 5-techs. While this was key in opening the gaps, the real key to the play was the blocking scheme. I noticed just how much lineman movement was going on in these plays. Nearly every play, both guards pulled to kick out the OLB and pickup any crashing flack. This was accompanied by a cracking TE trying to seal Mayo. Interestingly, the scheme was designed to seal Mayo, kick out the OLB, and pause Bruschi with the pulls. From the earliest stages of football, ILB's are taught to read the action of the guards. Brickhead LB coaches like the mantra "where the guard goes, you follow". It's effective through highschool, but less so in college where the speed of the game increases enough to exploit this read. That's why there are many plays where the flow of the guards are to the backside of the play. Bruschi is obviously one of the most aware defenders in football, so this concept wasn't very sound. That said, it was designed to exploit Bruschi's lack of speed. The crack was designed to seal Mayo, who they obviously viewed as the key to the flow. On nearly every play, there was a blocker assigned to seal or disrupt the pursuit of Mayo. This was not the case with Bruschi.

So, what did I learn in watching this? That the key to the defense was reliant upon every normal principal they harp on. Maintain gap integrity, control the LOS, turn the play inside, and mop up with the flow of the will or crashing backside safety. The other interesting note is that on nearly every play, the backside safety was coming hard. With Pat White in the mix, this assignment will no longer be a viable one. Bringing the backside safety with a legit thrower rolling to the backside will be suicide. It would be too easy for the play to conceal the TE route. It could start with the look of a designed crack from the playside TE, and have him release into the zone vacated by the safety. This would sell out the run read of the defense and make the play wide open. As the formation and personnel evolve, so will the ways to defend it. With every permutation, there will have to be an added wrinkle. However, the basics have been established. It's going to be an interesting AFCE story line to follow this season with White now in Miami.

EDIT: Just realized how much heavy lifting jays52 did on this topic.

 

[Frezo]

Thanks for the link. I missed it.

 

[BritPat]

If you're around Jay, I hope you don't mind but I've reprinted it for some Dolphins fans I know.

 

[Smith21]

I know some people here hate the mention of the wildcat, but we'll be facing it twice this year. By the looks of the Dolphins/Panthers pre season game, Miami has refined it a bit and Carolina didn't have much of an answer for it. Is either the 3/4 or 4/3 better suited to defend it or does it matter? Will speedier LBers make a difference? The Pats defended it well enough in the second Dolphins game last year, but Parcells isn't giving up on it.

The Ravens used a 2 lineman 5 linebacker set to stop it.. and they basically just blitzed all 5 linebackers at different spots..

 

[DarrylS]

If our offense is as good as '07, the wildcat may not be an effective tool... as do not think it will work playing catch up from 3 td's down.

It is innovative, but BB and crew will not be fooled again.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I'd be interested in reading something on how the great teams from the 1930's and '40's routinely defensed the Single Wing, if anyone knows where to find it. For me, the thing about the first Miami game last year wasn't that the Dolphins caught BB by surprise on the first series or so, but that he didn't dig into that awesome football brain of his to identify schemes from the (really) old days that were the closest thing to one of current D formations that he could have used without introducing something new during the game. I actually had the thought that if his dad were still alive, he'd have called him during the game (not sure that's legal under NFL rules).

 

[livinginthe past]

The wrinkle with the 2009 wildcat is more than that.

With Pat White in at QB you have a genuine threat to run or throw the ball - teams (probably the Patriots 2nd time round included) did not have to respect the pass play they just diagnosed the ball carrier and shut of his avenues.

It will be interesting to see how the Patriots and Bill B, react to this improved Wildcat.

 

[Sicilian]

The wrinkle with the 2009 wildcat is more than that.

With Pat White in at QB you have a genuine threat to run or throw the ball - teams (probably the Patriots 2nd time round included) did not have to respect the pass play they just diagnosed the ball carrier and shut of his avenues.

It will be interesting to see how the Patriots and Bill B, react to this improved Wildcat.

Isn't this the same as defensing a mobile QB in ANY formation though? When Mike Vick drops back to pass, you have to simultaneously cover receivers and be ready if he takes off.

 

[Rob0729]

I think Miami was stupid to showcase the new wrinkles in the Wildcat in a preseason game. It gives opposing teams two weeks before the season even starts to design ways to stop it. The real reason the Wildcat worked so well last year especially against the Pats was the element of surprise. The Pats weren't prepared for it and they couldn't come up with a plan in game to stop it, but totally stiffled it in the second meeting.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think Miami was stupid to showcase the new wrinkles in the Wildcat in a preseason game. It gives opposing teams two weeks before the season even starts to design ways to stop it. The real reason the Wildcat worked so well last year especially against the Pats was the element of surprise. The Pats weren't prepared for it and they couldn't come up with a plan in game to stop it, but totally stiffled it in the second meeting.

Funny . . . I seem to remember the Patriots heavily scouting Pat White . . . I can't imagine why that might be. . . .

 

[WhiZa]

The Ravens used a 2 lineman 5 linebacker set to stop it.. and they basically just blitzed all 5 linebackers at different spots..

I can't see how that could work with any other team though (ravens have excellent LBs). You'd normally don't want your 250lb LBs taking on 300lb OL when they are running straight at you.

I'm guessing the 4-3 would be the best bet. Take away the run, and force them to pass with whatever RB snaps the ball.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

The wrinkle with the 2009 wildcat is more than that.

With Pat White in at QB you have a genuine threat to run or throw the ball - teams (probably the Patriots 2nd time round included) did not have to respect the pass play they just diagnosed the ball carrier and shut of his avenues.

It will be interesting to see how the Patriots and Bill B, react to this improved Wildcat.

Meh. If Pat White were a regular at receiver, I'd see how this could be an issue, but if he's subbed in, you can respond by sending in your Stop-the-Wildcat package. The real value of the Wildcat is where you can run it out of your regular offense, so you can creat matchup difficulties for the opposing base defense.

 

[Nathan]

I think Miami was stupid to showcase the new wrinkles in the Wildcat in a preseason game. It gives opposing teams two weeks before the season even starts to design ways to stop it. The real reason the Wildcat worked so well last year especially against the Pats was the element of surprise. The Pats weren't prepared for it and they couldn't come up with a plan in game to stop it, but totally stiffled it in the second meeting.

I didn't really see much in the way of new wrinkles except one time they faked a counter to Pennington that Ronnie Brown kept and hit the same hole he always hits on the "Power" play.

They ran the Williams to Pennington flea flicker last year (and it was totally obvious that they were going to bust out some kind of flea flicker to Chad at some point).

I think it was actually smart of them to dust that play off in the preseason. It was a reminder to the league that they can and will throw out of that formation, which should open up the run a bit since it was starting to get keyed on. The real new wrinkles will show up when Pat White takes over.