Another NFL Gimmick – The Forward Pass

An article by Doc    3 Comments

As many of us in the NFL community (Can we pretend we are in the NFL community just because we play fantasy football? Thanks) learned yesterday, Ronnie Brown is out for the rest of the season. Brown has been successfully running the wildcat offense for the Miami Dolphins for approximately two seasons to the tune of 4.8 yards per attempt in 2009. The “Wildcat”, also known as the Wild Rebel, Wild Hog, Wild (your teams mascot here), is not the first gimmick offensive strategy to come to the NFL though.

We all know how one Monday Night Football, 1975 shark movie nicknamed commentator feels about the “wildcat,” but I am here to tell you that the forward pass, which he utilized his whole career, was once a gimmick as well. Many sources, but not all trust me, credit Eddie Cochem, coach of Saint Louis University, with the first use of the forward pass in 1906. That means that football had been played for decades with no forward passing. That’s correct, and it also had no tackling below the waist. (Which is basically making a comeback with all the protect the quarterback rules, but I digress.) The NFL did not legalize the forward pass until 1933. Ever wonder what would have been written at the time the NFL decided to legalize passing in 1933 if blogs and Twitter were around back then? That being the case, the wildcat has actually been around longer then the forward pass.

What baffles me is the number of people who believe that the wildcat is a gimmick. It may not be an offense’s total playbook like the west coast offense includes, but it is hardly a “gimmick.” The ability to successfully utilize wildcat formations is the difference between the Dolphins and the rest of the league right now. For them it is not a gimmick but a true way to gain yards and have options on every play behind an above average offensive line.

With Ronnie Brown out, Pat White will more than likely see most of those snaps behind center with Ricky Williams mixed in as well. Dolphin fans have seen glimpses of what White can do running the same plays and Williams is on pace for a great season. The loss of Brown for a team that is on the bubble is an incredible loss and will only further magnify people asking; Who are the Dolphins without Brown and his gimmick? Great, hope Jaws isn’t working for the NFL Network for tonight’s Dolphins at Panthers game.