Should the Patriots ever run a Wildcat offense?

[Fencer]

People keep bringing up the idea of a Wildcat kind of offense. But I fail to see how that could possibly be a good idea. (I'm assuming Brady is healthy for the purposes of this discussion.)

1. Running a Wildcat with Brady on the field just sets him up to be hit hard. Using Brady as a WR is not an experiment that should be repeated.

2. Running a Wildcat without Brady on the field gets Brady off the field. I can not think of a single situation in which I wouldn't want Brady leading the Patriot offense. If the yardage is so short that you clearly want a QB sneak -- well, Brady is actually pretty good at carrying the ball in that scenario. If the yardage is any longer, you want one of the greatest passers in the history of the game to be on the field.

That doesn't mean we can't have the occasional direct snap, halfback option, or whatever. But those plays should be used against offenses that are forced to respect Brady standing in the pocket, and hence are forced to respect every Patriot eligible receiver.

 

[NE39]

Teams that struggle to score need to do that sort of thing. As long as the Pats have Brady, I like their chances running their regular offense with him taking the snaps. No need to wildcat, the offense is just fine and doesn't need to be fixed.

 

[SuperPatsFan]

Teams that struggle to score need to do that sort of thing.

Concur. The wildcat is typically a gimmick for teams that can't score.

HOF QB + HOF WR + #83 = no need for the wildcat.

IMHO.

 

[Sciz]

The only time I don't want the ball snapped to Brady are the Faulk shotgun direct snap and the Edelman motion QB sneak. No point in taking the ball out of Brady's hands.

 

[ausbacker]

The only time I don't want the ball snapped to Brady are the Faulk shotgun direct snap and the Edelman motion QB sneak. No point in taking the ball out of Brady's hands.

That's the only scenario I'd ever want to see it in. That said we have more chance to succeed on offense with Tom Brady on the field than off it.

 

[FirstAndGoal]

They're going to run the wildcat but they need to Kyle Eckel back to run the Flexbone.

 

[Willie55]

No need for it. The Pats have one of the highest scoring offenses in the league. Other teams have a very difficult time stopping it. As others have said the wildcat is for teams that have a hard time moving the ball/scoring. I think we'll see a lot of it this week from the Jets.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Not until Brady retires.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

As a rule, I don't want Brady on the field without the ball in his hand. Also, why put him out where he's fair game for a hit. I even get nervous on the "direct snap" plays because I don't want some big lineman running over him to get to the ball. Bad idea all around.

 

[ahmed]

Only teams with average or worse QBs use the Wildcat. Not to mention, it's overrated.

 

[TB=TD]

Since when did Brady become Chad Henne?

 

[Disco Volante]

I can't even picture Brady or Manning lining up at reciever....

 

[ahmed]

I can't even picture Brady or Manning lining up at reciever....

Brady did it in 01 if I remember correctly. Great play too but that was before he became Tom Brady.

 

[JPPT1974]

Pats have enough on their minds. To run the wildcat. So no, not at all.

 

[Gwedd]

Brady did it in 01 if I remember correctly. Great play too but that was before he became Tom Brady.

I think he also did it in 03. It was the game where Patten ran, caught and threw for a TD, IIRC. The ball was snapped directly to the RB, and Brady took off left and up, and caught a pass for a 1st down.

 

[the wrothbroughterer]

I think they should experiment with it with Edelman taking the snaps and Brady off the field. Some sort of sub package with sprint-out option passes where he can look downfield on a short progression or just run. It's another wrinkle to the entire package that makes us a little more unpredictable.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Not until Brady retires.

Or plays to the point where he is a mediocre QB. When you have a QB as good as Brady he should have the ball in his hand 100% of the plays.

 

[Fencer]

I think they should experiment with it with Edelman taking the snaps and Brady off the field. Some sort of sub package with sprint-out option passes where he can look downfield on a short progression or just run. It's another wrinkle to the entire package that makes us a little more unpredictable.

I just don't see it unless Brady's health is an issue.

Maybe if he was playing through some serious injuries and the Pats didn't want to use him on plays where a QB sneak was called for. But in that case why not just send in Hoyer and run a standard play?

 

[SoCal Pmen]

I don't think its necessary this year. Would have been better to try it during the Matt Cassel year.

I know its early but I really believe this could turn out to be one of the most productive and well balanced offenses in the history of football.

When I look at the different ways they can beat you between Moss, Welker, Tate, the two tight ends that can run like WR's, and Faulk out of the backfield. Combined with the power running of Taylor, Sammy & BJGE and #12 at the helm I see some serious challenges for opposing teams.

This weekend will be a big test and even if the Jets stop the run I just don't know how they're going to account for all the other skill players.

 

[Fencer]

I don't think its necessary this year. Would have been better to try it during the Matt Cassel year.

I've thought of that. Might have been more worth trying if Cassell weren't decent with his legs himself. I don't recall much in the way of designed runs for him beyond a few quarterback draws, but you also couldn't cheat off of him on the assumption that he would NOT run.