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No Wildcat in Arians' offense
Steelers Training Camp
Thursday, August 20, 2009
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
[url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/992068-66.stm"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/992068-66.stm[/url]
It doesn't matter that they have a quarterback who is an ideal fit for the package, a player who can run as well as he can throw.
It doesn't matter that they used the package last season after borrowing the scheme from the University of Arkansas.
It doesn't even matter that former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said on national television that the package will revolutionize the National Football League this season.
There is only one NFL team in the state of Pennsylvania that might be running the Wildcat package this season, but it's not the Steelers.
"I've seen what people are going to do to it," said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. "Once our defense saw it enough times, they devised something to stop it. Defenses are catching on real quick."
Then he added: "Plus, I'm not taking a $100 million quarterback and playing him at wide receiver. Or on the bench."
The reference was to Ben Roethlisberger, who would line at wide receiver in the package and pretend to be a wide receiver when the ball was directly snapped to the running back. The other option would have been to remove Roethlisberger and replace him with Dennis Dixon.
The Steelers though, did not put in the Wildcat package because they drafted Dixon, who had 6,337 yards total offense at Oregon. They had already added the formation to their playbook as a way to further feature Pro Bowl running back Willie Parker.
But after using the Wildcat package for four plays in the preseason, the Steelers never used the formation again until they pulled it out for one play in the Super Bowl. And Parker was stopped for no gain.
"I'd love to do it," said Dixon, a fifth-round pick in 2008. "That's something I did in college. I'm used to it. You got to know when to do it and when not to do it because it takes a toll on your body if you don't use it correctly."
It appears now he won't get the chance -- at least not with the Steelers.
The Carolina Panthers are generally regarded as the first NFL team to use the Wildcat package on a consistent basis, using the formation for the first 12 plays of the opening drive in a December 2006 game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers' offensive coordinator at the time was Dan Henning.
When Henning became the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins last season, he used the same package in a September game against the New England Patriots, and it gained instant popularity. Using running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the shotgun, the Dolphins scored five touchdowns on six plays from the Wildcat formation (four rushing, one passing) and befuddled the Patriots in a 38-13 upset victory.
The Dolphins quarterback coach is David Lee, who ran the scheme when he was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas. The Wildcat package features no quarterback and two running backs, and the back has the option of handing off, running or throwing after taking a direct snap.
"Unless the guy is a legit thrower, it's not as effective," Arians said. "The only team doing it is Miami with Ronnie Brown, and he's really good. Ronnie can throw a little.
"The people who made it successful were at Arkansas with [Darren] McFadden. McFadden could throw a little bit and they had a lot of success. But there were two or three teams that just shut them flat down. If they were in the NFL, these teams aren't stupid. They'll look at the teams that [shut them down] and copy the defense.
"Ronnie Brown is the only one successful enough. There's not a team in this league that can do it -- I take that back, six games from now, there will be one."
Arians was referring to the Philadelphia Eagles, who signed quarterback Michael Vick last week and plan to use him in a Wildcat package once he serves a six-game suspension.
All those rumors about Vick coming to the Steelers to run the Wildcat?
They wouldn't have had a package to use him.
Read more: [url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/992068-66.stm#ixzz0OhH1bXC0"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/99 ... z0OhH1bXC0[/url]
Steelers Training Camp
Thursday, August 20, 2009
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
[url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/992068-66.stm"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/992068-66.stm[/url]
It doesn't matter that they have a quarterback who is an ideal fit for the package, a player who can run as well as he can throw.
It doesn't matter that they used the package last season after borrowing the scheme from the University of Arkansas.
It doesn't even matter that former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said on national television that the package will revolutionize the National Football League this season.
There is only one NFL team in the state of Pennsylvania that might be running the Wildcat package this season, but it's not the Steelers.
"I've seen what people are going to do to it," said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. "Once our defense saw it enough times, they devised something to stop it. Defenses are catching on real quick."
Then he added: "Plus, I'm not taking a $100 million quarterback and playing him at wide receiver. Or on the bench."
The reference was to Ben Roethlisberger, who would line at wide receiver in the package and pretend to be a wide receiver when the ball was directly snapped to the running back. The other option would have been to remove Roethlisberger and replace him with Dennis Dixon.
The Steelers though, did not put in the Wildcat package because they drafted Dixon, who had 6,337 yards total offense at Oregon. They had already added the formation to their playbook as a way to further feature Pro Bowl running back Willie Parker.
But after using the Wildcat package for four plays in the preseason, the Steelers never used the formation again until they pulled it out for one play in the Super Bowl. And Parker was stopped for no gain.
"I'd love to do it," said Dixon, a fifth-round pick in 2008. "That's something I did in college. I'm used to it. You got to know when to do it and when not to do it because it takes a toll on your body if you don't use it correctly."
It appears now he won't get the chance -- at least not with the Steelers.
The Carolina Panthers are generally regarded as the first NFL team to use the Wildcat package on a consistent basis, using the formation for the first 12 plays of the opening drive in a December 2006 game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers' offensive coordinator at the time was Dan Henning.
When Henning became the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins last season, he used the same package in a September game against the New England Patriots, and it gained instant popularity. Using running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the shotgun, the Dolphins scored five touchdowns on six plays from the Wildcat formation (four rushing, one passing) and befuddled the Patriots in a 38-13 upset victory.
The Dolphins quarterback coach is David Lee, who ran the scheme when he was the offensive coordinator at Arkansas. The Wildcat package features no quarterback and two running backs, and the back has the option of handing off, running or throwing after taking a direct snap.
"Unless the guy is a legit thrower, it's not as effective," Arians said. "The only team doing it is Miami with Ronnie Brown, and he's really good. Ronnie can throw a little.
"The people who made it successful were at Arkansas with [Darren] McFadden. McFadden could throw a little bit and they had a lot of success. But there were two or three teams that just shut them flat down. If they were in the NFL, these teams aren't stupid. They'll look at the teams that [shut them down] and copy the defense.
"Ronnie Brown is the only one successful enough. There's not a team in this league that can do it -- I take that back, six games from now, there will be one."
Arians was referring to the Philadelphia Eagles, who signed quarterback Michael Vick last week and plan to use him in a Wildcat package once he serves a six-game suspension.
All those rumors about Vick coming to the Steelers to run the Wildcat?
They wouldn't have had a package to use him.
Read more: [url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/992068-66.stm#ixzz0OhH1bXC0"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09232/99 ... z0OhH1bXC0[/url]
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