The Future is Here: The NFL and the Pistol Offense

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by The Goat

I think it's way too early to tell whether the pistol will endure at the pro level or fizzle out like the wildcat. If memory serves the wildcat produced something like 10 yards per play at first, anybody know what the pistol is yielding? With its pass option the pistol seems more likely to endure, but for how long is still the question. And there's still the issue of increased contact/injury to the QB, which the author should have just left alone (as TBD) because the attempted answer was pretty weak.

For my own take, an offense using the pistol must win the Lombardi before it moves beyond the gimmick phase (I thought the same about the wildcat). The dolphins looked unstoppable for a couple years, but where'd it go?

You are comparing apples and oranges by comparing the wildcat to the pistol. The wildcat (which has not disappeared, as you intimate) has always been a change of pace, not the centerpiece of offensive strategy. The pistol, on the other hand, has for several games been the centerpiece around which Kyle's offense is designed. It is much harder for the fulcrum of an offense to disappear than it is for a frill to be set aside.