Stanback and Felix -- future "wildcat" duo?
by VAfan on Nov 19, 2008 4:33 PM CST
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PrintLet me start this post off by saying I have no idea how to draw up the "wildcat" plays that many teams, starting with the Dolpins, have been running this year.
But, don't we have two players on the Cowboys who would be absolutely perfect running that formation a couple of times a game? I'm talking about Isaiah Stanback and Felix Jones.
I know Stanback's shoulder is hurt, but is it his left or right shoulder? If it's his left, there should be no reason he can't throw the ball out of a wildcat formation. And if anyone has seen that You Tube video of his 70-yard heave while at Washington, he can probably throw it farther than Tony Romo. Plus, he was always a running QB at Washington, and he has speed to burn. Not all that unlike Pat White of West Virginia, who I've watched a lot.
Then you have Felix Jones, who ran this formation a lot while at Arkansas, correct? So it's totally natural for him.
This strikes me as a far superior "trick" play to the unproductive end-arounds that seem to be all Jason Garrett can think up. Indeed, given the speed of both Stanback and Jones, you could run this play anywhere on the field and threaten to break it for a TD. Plus, with Stanback, it would have a passing option that none of the other teams running it have really exploited.
I want to see us run this play! More than once!!
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Sure
I think we will see this play against 49ers. If Garrett know better, he might save it for “the day” if it turns out to be an easy struggle (mind you, I am not discounting 49ers :-) on Sunday.
by letsgogetonefellas on Nov 19, 2008 4:49 PM CST reply actions
It was Darren McFadden
who threw the passes in the Wildcat at Arkansas, not Felix. He was in the backfield with DM in the Wildcat, but he was not the one making the passes.
I don’t really like running the Wildcat when Romo is healthy. Our offense is potent enough.
i hope vujacic gets hit by a truck hauling stray cats that claw his eyes out before using his skull as a brood den.--kalone
I agree
without Romo, it would be useful and help, but with Romo under center, our offense is so explosive, that formation is not needed and is only used by offensively challenged teams.
In Romo we Trust
Jets aren't offensively challenged....and they've used the formation..
A true diehard Cowboys fan since 1975.
"If you don’t take him off the field as a coach, he will just about die out there," Jerry Jones said. "That impacted my decision. It’s a Michael Irvin-type work ethic. That’s what we are talking about with Felix Jones."
- Owner/G.M of the Dallas Cowboys , Jerry Jones
ummm...they are second in the league in scoring average, .3 points a game off leading the league in scoring average
c’ mon guy….i could care less about the “wild hog” garbage…..but let’s be real….Farve and Pennington are no slouches at QB…….and if we were to implement this formation, we have much better personel to pull it off and succeed with it……not saying we need to do it…but if we did….it would be a great addition to our play package………and like Wmillion sez….creatively is never a bad thing…Garrett FINALLY used some of it in the Washington game….now if he’d pull a few more plays out to keep the defenses guessing….we’d be an unstoppable machine…
A true diehard Cowboys fan since 1975.
"If you don’t take him off the field as a coach, he will just about die out there," Jerry Jones said. "That impacted my decision. It’s a Michael Irvin-type work ethic. That’s what we are talking about with Felix Jones."
- Owner/G.M of the Dallas Cowboys , Jerry Jones
unstoppable machine already?
i think thats the mentality that is holding this team back… they should be practicing the wildcat with stan and cat and practice it a lot… for when the time comes, like say… the tough and physical steelers team… we can gash them for big yards with something they have never seen us run… bc every knows romo is going to get hit in that game… this we, it could be like 8-12 more plays he is NOT GETTING HIT
by CowboysFan4Life on Nov 20, 2008 9:41 AM CST up reply actions
lol!!
just like the widcat would never work on a defense as good as the patriots? cmon… the wildcat is here, and if you have the personel to run it, then why the F not… but its pretty mucha mute point now, as felix is hurt and i feel we can’t succeed without him in that formation
by CowboysFan4Life on Nov 21, 2008 11:18 AM CST up reply actions
I see both sides
Not sure, I am 100% behind taking the ball out of Top 5 Qb’s hands.. I just think we need to be more creative with our offensive formations..
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
I agree....with Romo on the field...there is no sense in trickery...We can just throttle it down their throats anyways....
Although I like the formation, especially if we had 2 TE 2WR sets….Have Romo slide out to the weak side (out of harms way). Have TO or RW lined out wide to the strong side, with Witten at the line, and then have Bennett come over in motion….pull Kosier and Columbo…..then let it rip……….Stanback options around with Felix….with 5 angry blockers coming off tackle against what would be a few DB’s and a LB…..pay dirt baby…
A true diehard Cowboys fan since 1975.
"If you don’t take him off the field as a coach, he will just about die out there," Jerry Jones said. "That impacted my decision. It’s a Michael Irvin-type work ethic. That’s what we are talking about with Felix Jones."
- Owner/G.M of the Dallas Cowboys , Jerry Jones
Tashard Choice
I beleive he played in a wildcat formation in college.
I love me some T.O....I ain't skeerd!!!!!
Not so sure
I think GaTech ran the option offense, not really necessary to employ the Wildcat because the QB was a good runner to begin with. There may be some commonalities with what he saw to what he’d do in the Wildcat but he’s not going to be your ball handler. Felix is the obvious choice for the player not receiving the snap because he has the speed to get around the edge if given the ball on the zone read. Its the ball handler that is hard to fill and former QBs are the best option there (said with the understanding that Ronnie Brown was not a QB at Auburn and I’m not sure about the other players employing the Wildcat around the league).
by Kansas Cowboy on Nov 19, 2008 6:31 PM CST up reply actions
Don't get me wrong
I am not saying the Choice would be the “choice” player (no pun intended). I was refering to something I saw on espn the other day that showed him scoring a touchdown from the wildcat formation.
Just an interesting observation.
I love me some T.O....I ain't skeerd!!!!!
Definitely
Teams that run it often, have a crappy passing game.
It’s just a gadet play.
I’d rather see the Cowboys continue to use the flea flicker occasionally instead.
T-New, shutting down WR's for Dallas since 2003
by APerfectStar on Nov 19, 2008 5:56 PM CST up reply actions
Gadget, I meant...
T-New, shutting down WR's for Dallas since 2003
by APerfectStar on Nov 19, 2008 5:57 PM CST up reply actions
I understand
but give me Tim Tebow in the 3rd round ..
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
lol...I want Tebow too...but I actually think he's going to come back for his senior season...
Tebow is more about education…He’s going med school, and doesn’t project to be a first rounder in this years class…….so why come out early ?
A true diehard Cowboys fan since 1975.
"If you don’t take him off the field as a coach, he will just about die out there," Jerry Jones said. "That impacted my decision. It’s a Michael Irvin-type work ethic. That’s what we are talking about with Felix Jones."
- Owner/G.M of the Dallas Cowboys , Jerry Jones
nothing left to prove
After they win the national championship.??.
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
I really don't think football is foremost on his mind..I can actually see him walking away from football after college to become a doctor...
He actually has a shot of winning the Heisman again this year, and coming back to win a 3rd Heisman would be something to keep him around as well…He is a very humbling, warm hearted individual, a devoted christian that would rather make a difference in someones life over fame and fortune ………Once again….He is not a projected 1st round franchise NFL QB….it would be completely foolish for him to come out early, when he still needs to work on his throwing mechanics, and has less competition for 1st round consideration for the 2010 draft. ..This is a very lean year for NFL teams needing a franchise QB…Kansas City really being the only team in need one (you can mention Chicago, San Fran, and Minny, but they’d prefer to go with an established vet that can put them over the top)…….but IF Tebow does come out early…and is there when our first pick comes up, Jerry would be a damn fool not to select him….He’s a gamer and an ideal long term dependable back up QB….which you can’t go without in this league……There will be several very decent QB prospects available for us in the first 3 rounds……I can only hope and pray we select one…
A true diehard Cowboys fan since 1975.
"If you don’t take him off the field as a coach, he will just about die out there," Jerry Jones said. "That impacted my decision. It’s a Michael Irvin-type work ethic. That’s what we are talking about with Felix Jones."
- Owner/G.M of the Dallas Cowboys , Jerry Jones
I agree
we should have the Wildcat as an option. It doesn’t mean your QB isn’t trusted. It just changes up the looks for blocking. When a QB hands the ball to the RB its 10 on 11 because the QB is a wasted player. In the Wildcat the QB is wide consuming a DB and the player receiving the snap is live, making it 10 on 10 (assuming the QB and DB stand on the edge and don’t do anything). If Stanback is injured then use Crayton; he too was a collegiate running QB who can handle the ball. Felix is the natural counterpart in the backfield as he will be in the exact same role he was in at Arkansas with McFadden. I am hopeful that we have it in our arsenal and are just waiting until the right time to unveil it. Maybe against the Steelers where matchups in the running game could be difficult at times.
Why doesn't the QB just get off the field?
With a running/passing QB like Pat White, it’s always 11 on 11. So why not just yank Romo a couple plays a game and use Stanback at QB? If it’s a running play, you’ve gained the extra player. And if it’s a passing play, you’ve got a guy who can heave the ball a mile. Teams would crowd the line at their own peril.
I think the only reason we haven’t run this is that Jason Garrett is stubborn.
Stanbeck isn't a factor...
till he can make the active roster. That’s all there is to it. I guess I’m watching a different team because, besides the Redskins game, this team has not had problems scoring points when Romo’s in the game. Most teams are useless without their starting QB. Heck, if QBs were easy to come by, then every team would have a few. Seems to me that most teams are LUCKY to have one good one. Sure, we can have some crazy plays where Felix and Stanbeck use their speed to throw a curve on the defense. But, I’d hate to see turnovers increase because we don’t have confidence in the offense and need to do, as Parcells would say, “Jap Plays.” To me, what was so great about the Redskins victory was the fact that they basically punched Washington in the mouth with out anything too fancy, besides a few reverses. Till Stanbeck can get healthy, he doesn’t really mean much to this team.
Stanback is "healthy" again. Why not use his skills? O, even with Romo, hasn't always scored
Stanback is back on the roster again this week. And even with Romo, the team scored 14 against Washington, 24 against them in our loss (only because of a late score; for much of that game our offense was moribund), and it took a miracle play by Barber to notch 24 against Arizona. We had 14 points in that game until late. We’ve cracked 30 only once this year.
This kind of mix-it-up play could score a TD or rip off big yardage. It seems far more likely to succeed than the reverses and end-arounds we have run many times without success. The worst that can happen is that it’s a failed running play.
I’d say go with Stanback and Choice until Felix returns, because that might not be for a while. There is no downside here.
Too Late For Us To Start Using It Now...
Most defenses throughout the league have caught up with this formation.
~Texas Massacre 08~
not with us running it..
but, I think if JG was going to run it he would have run it by now..
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
when he should have (past month), he didn't....don't expect it anytime soon..
A true diehard Cowboys fan since 1975.
"If you don’t take him off the field as a coach, he will just about die out there," Jerry Jones said. "That impacted my decision. It’s a Michael Irvin-type work ethic. That’s what we are talking about with Felix Jones."
- Owner/G.M of the Dallas Cowboys , Jerry Jones
I'm not expecting it, I'm just arguing for it
Garrett hasn’t done a lot of things with this offense that could improve it. Against Washington we started to see some movement. Slants, short drops, more power running, tons of sweeps, etc. He should add this as a change-of-pace. He’s tried several end-arounds or reverses (faked and real). This is no more difficult and far more likely to actually gain yards.
my sarcastic enthusiam...
yea. let’s run trick (crap) formations a lot! but why stop at the wild-hog/jet/cat/fin? bring back the swinging gate. bring back the batwing. or how about tackle and end overload? maybe a little oopty-oop? or hook and lateral? maybe the barking dog or the spinning center?
I commented. You're welcome.
another transplant from The Blue & Silver Report
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