2009 is going to be the year of the Wildcat offense. Even the Super Bowl-favorite Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick with the hopes of implementing some form of the Wildcat into their offensive scheme. So, why is this offense so popular? Well, it’s a gimmick. It’s not anything new. In fact, it’s used in college football all the time. The NFL had abandoned any offense of this type decades ago because defenses were too good for it and it left key position players, namely the quarterback, vulnerable to a big hit.

The Dolphins brought back the Wildcat on about 12% of their plays last season, and it worked to great success. It caught defenses off-guard because they weren’t used to option type plays and running backs throwing the ball to quarterbacks. Of course, not all defenses were caught sitting on their thumbs. The Ravens stopped the Dolphins in week 7, holding them to 13 points and under 60 yards rushing. This was the lowest point total the Dolphins were held to at home all season.

The Ravens demonstrated last season that the Wildcat can be defeated by a fast defense that is disciplined enough to avoid over-pursuing the ball. The Ravens won’t be playing the Dolphins this season, but you can be sure a lot of teams are going to be looking at tapes from that game last season where the Wildcat offense was put back in its place.

Tags: baltimore ravens, defense, miami dolphins, offense, wildcat