The Future is Here: The NFL and the Pistol Offense

[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?

[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.

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by Lotus

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.

Where is the wildcat still used (effectively)?

I believe Miami initially used the wildcat roughly as often as we use the pistol. Regardless of the definition of "centerpiece" the question remains whether defensive gurus adjust their scheme over the coming seasons to minimize the pistol's effectiveness.

I think it's a tough call. With the right QB (RG, Wilson, etc) it certainly puts the defense on its heals right now. What's it gonna do next year, and the year after? I have nowhere near the football IQ to make an educated guess.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Where is the wildcat still used (effectively)?

I believe Miami initially used the wildcat roughly as often as we use the pistol. Regardless of the definition of "centerpiece" the question remains whether defensive gurus adjust their scheme over the coming seasons to minimize the pistol's effectiveness.

I think it's a tough call. With the right QB (RG, Wilson, etc) it certainly puts the defense on its heals right now. What's it gonna do next year, and the year after? I have nowhere near the football IQ to make an educated guess.

1) Several teams still use the wildcat from time to time. You may have read a story this week about Tebow refusing to wildcat for the Jets last weekend.

2) Miami NEVER used the wildcat the way we use the pistol. In its greatest heyday the Fins wildcatted about 4 plays a game at most. On the other hand, we have used the pistol as our standard formation for the entirety of several games.

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by Lotus

1) Several teams still use the wildcat from time to time. You may have read a story this week about Tebow refusing to wildcat for the Jets last weekend.

2) Miami NEVER used the wildcat the way we use the pistol. In its greatest heyday the Fins wildcatted about 4 plays a game at most. On the other hand, we have used the pistol as our standard formation for the entirety of several games.

Miami Dolphins are successful running Wildcat offense - Dave Hyde - SI.com

See link: Dolphins used it about 10 times per game, though I'm not sure if that was the peak because I remember Williams/Brown doing it nearly every other play for awhile.

And again, where is it effective today? I don't care what the Jets do, but are teams winning with it?

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Miami Dolphins are successful running Wildcat offense - Dave Hyde - SI.com

See link: Dolphins used it about 10 times per game, though I'm not sure if that was the peak because I remember Williams/Brown doing it nearly every other play for awhile.

And again, where is it effective today? I don't care what the Jets do, but are teams winning with it?

You continue to COMPLETELY miss my point. Let me try one last time:

1) Using the wildcat for a handful of plays is not the same as running the pistol virtually all game long. The Dolphins offense was never designed around the wildcat. Even at its fullest use the wildcat was still a Dolphin accessory. Even your own link shows this: if teams typically run 60 plays a game, and at its most the wildcat was used for 10 plays, what do you think was happening for the other 50 plays? 10/60 is a sidebar, not a centerpiece.

In contrast, our offense is built around the pistol - or at least it has been for several games. We sometimes have been in the pistol almost all game long. This makes the pistol a centerpiece.

This point is not difficult to grasp.

2) Where did the words "success" and "effective" get smuggled into things? I never even hinted at those words. My argument remains, whether the offensive schemes are successful or not.

[NC_Skins]

Very good read, but I disagree with his assessment that the pistol or read option will be the future of the NFL. This one portion of article sums up why it will never be a mainstay as a offense.

Critics argue that these attacks create an increased risk of injury to quarterbacks. That is a real concern, and if anything can short circuit these changes to the NFL game, it is this.

It's not that defenses will catch up to this, but the fact the read option opens up your QB to be hit on every play. If teams can get a free shot in on your franchise QB, they will and I don't blame them.

I do however think this will be used from time to time during games as a change of pace, or to catch a defense off guard.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

Very good read, but I disagree with his assessment that the pistol or read option will be the future of the NFL. This one portion of article sums up why it will never be a mainstay as a offense.





It's not that defenses will catch up to this, but the fact the read option opens up your QB to be hit on every play. If teams can get a free shot in on your franchise QB, they will and I don't blame them.

I do however think this will be used from time to time during games as a change of pace, or to catch a defense off guard.

Yeah but the article also points out that pocket passers aren't immune to injuries or big hits. That's football.

[NC_Skins]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Yeah but the article also points out that pocket passers aren't immune to injuries or big hits. That's football.

Nobody is saying that pocket passers are immune to injuries.

Of course they aren't immune to injuries, but they are also untouchable (for the most part) once they release that ball. Not in the read option. The QB is still fair game because he's a runner. We saw this in the Bengals game. They lit him up at every chance, and quite frankly they should have.

It's one thing to incur injuries in the normal flow of the game, it's another to put your most important person in a position to get hurt even more. Much like that ill advised pass to RGIII? Same thing with option plays. Sure he can get hurt in the pocket, but it's much smarter not to even subject him to those unnecessary hits when you don't have to.