If They Go Wantonly Wacky With This...

[Shep]

... well, it could be fun:

Browns not afraid to show their Wildcat variations
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on May 30, 2010 10:15 AM ET

The Browns have Wildcat fever. As MDS wrote about earlier this week, the team is planning to use Seneca Wallace and Josh Cribbs on the field at the same time in an effort to confuse opponents.

Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the media has seen many plays where Wallace throws to Cribbs and vice versa. Long snaps are liable to go to either player. Cribbs says it "will be nearly impossible" for any team to prepare for all the variety the Browns have planned.

And that's part of the idea. Even if Wallace and Cribbs aren't huge parts of the offense, opponents will be planning for them. For an interesting look -- with diagrams -- at how the Wallace/Cribbs Wildcat may look, check out this piece on Yahoo! Sports by Doug Farrar.

Time will tell if this is just a summer fad for the Browns or a huge part of the offense. The answer to that question may center around how well Jake Delhomme handles the "normal" snaps of the game.

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I'd consider making it a pretty big element of the offense, putting both Cribbs and Wallace on the field.

[Inspecta]

Well I think this is the season that defenses really start to catch up with the wildcat in the traditional Miami sense, so it makes sense that they are looking to take it to the next step. Wallace adds a dimension to the wildcat that makes it so defenses can't really just stack the box and key on Cribbs.

We shall see though....

[Enigmatic Evil]

I think it will all depend on the chemistry that Wallace and Cribbs can exhibit in the wildcat. They both have interesting skill sets and it will obviously be a clear sign to the defense of what's coming when both of them line up on the field. I think it will be key to the offensive coordinator to use the Wildcat as a formation not just to keep the D on their toes and add versatility to our offense but also as a possible fake out to a more traditional offensive set up. It could be a very dangerous weapon but the key will be not using it so often that it becomes telegraphic.

[DeadWombat]

Originally Posted by Shep

. For an interesting look -- with diagrams -- at how the Wallace/Cribbs Wildcat may look, check out this piece on Yahoo! Sports by Doug Farrar.

Wallace, Cribbs can spice up bland offense - NFL - Yahoo! Sports



Biggest problem in 2009: An offense that scared nobody

Seneca Wallace(notes)



In 2009, the Cleveland Browns scored 245 points – 29th in the NFL. Their point differential of minus-130 ranked 27th in the league, and they stood at 1-11 before winning their final four games. Brady Quinn(notes) and Derek Anderson(notes), last year’s starting quarterbacks, are gone to other teams. New team president Mike Holmgren, perhaps the most astute quarterback evaluator of his generation, had people scratching heads when he signed off on a two-year, $12.4 million contract for ex-Panthers QB Jake Delhomme(notes). The former Super Bowl passer had a horrifying 2009, starting and ending his season with four-interception performances. Holmgren may believe that Delhomme will be better than we expect, but like any good general, he came armed with a Plan B in the person of Seneca Wallace, a ridiculously athletic quarterback who was in Seattle with Holmgren for six years.

Figure 1


Josh Cribbs


Of course, the Browns already had a ridiculously athletic quarterback on their roster, in a manner of speaking. Josh Cribbs, the former Kent State signal caller who’s on pace to break every conceivable return record, has been used quite often in what the Browns have called a “Flash” package. Often misidentified as the “Wildcat” series of plays made famous by the Dolphins and copied by virtually every other NFL team with wildly varying degrees of success, the Flash series is more a bunch of simple college-style option plays, where the man taking the snap either runs the ball or hands it off depending on the activities of the defensive front. In 2009, Cribbs ran the ball 55 times for 381 yards, a career-high 6.9 yards per carry average and one touchdown. He will more infrequently throw the ball out of the option, but it’s not a bread-and-butter play. The Browns also liked to use Cribbs (16) as a sweep threat in more standard formations (Fig. 1) with the expectation that the defense would be thrown off; that’s how effective Cribbs can be when he’s got the ball in his hands. Of course, the sweep threat has people thinking Wildcat, and that’s where Wallace comes in.
The 2010 solution: Get Wild(cat) with Wallace and Cribbs

Figure 2


The Dolphins have expended their Wildcat repertoire since quarterbacks coach David Lee imported it from his Arkansas days, when he ran an offense with Darren McFadden(notes) and Felix Jones(notes) in the backfield, but there are three basic concepts. The “Steeler” call is a sweep where the player coming across the backfield takes the ball from the quarterback and plows into the right side of the line behind a pulling left guard and a two-tackle overload. The “Power” call is a fake sweep in which the quarterback runs right into what is hopefully a confused front seven. And the “Counter” call has the quarterback faking the sweep and breaking to the left side after faking the defense out to the right.
The Browns now have the personnel to make these plays, but one Dolphins prototype play might fit them best. Miami will have running back Ronnie Brown(notes) taking the snaps, and their quarterback du jour split wide right (Fig. 2). In a hypothetical Browns version, Cribbs would take the sweep handoff from Wallace (15) and hand the ball to Delhomme (7). With the defense completely befuddled, Delhomme should be able to hit someone deep as the front seven cheats up to stop the run look. Miami has embarrassed more than one team with this, and they’ll also throw to the tight end from the “Counter” call.

Jake Delhomme


In the team’s first 2010 OTAs, the Browns were already experimenting with different Wildcat possibilities. “It could be deadly,” Wallace told the media. “[Cribbs is] a heck of a runner and a great athlete. He can make plays, and having both of us on the field, it can be a deadly weapon.”
“[Wallace] and I being in the game at the same time is going to open up a lot of things,” Cribbs agreed. “It’s already evolved tremendously. The first day brought so many changes. We’re going be a tough offense to stop.”
That’s a lot to expect following an anemic 2009, but the Dolphins used the Wildcat to turn around a similarly problematic offense in 2008. The two keys to making the Wildcat work are to A.) understand the power-blocking nature of the plays; and B.) have the right personnel to execute everything in sequence. With their surprising offensive line and new dual-playmaker system, the Browns are in a good spot to make it all go.


For all those who were too lazy to go find it themselves.

[Shep]

With both guys able to throw, it isn't your big brother's Wildcat. I think it could really change a game, throw a wrench in a defensive gameplan. You have to account for a "vanilla" offense, run-based with play-action... and also for a fairly complex Wildcat featuring two guys who can throw AND run.

I'm at least intrigued. But I think you need to have the balls for it. You can't run it five times a game.

Even more, makes me wonder when Wallace becomes the full-time starter. He can run the normal offense and seamlessly switch to a Wildcat with Cribbs.

[Shep]

I asked this question on OBR:

If the Browns are working up a pretty full set of Wildcat plays that could put both Wallace and Cribbs on the field... why not start and play Wallace full-time for seamless transitions between "vanilla" (run-based with play-action) and Wildcat or Cyclone or Flash?

Hell, Wallace has more arm than Delhomme anyway... and he's young enough that he could be the Godfather of our newfangled North Coast offense, run it for five years and then hand off to just the right young gun.

We'd be recruiting a different kind of QB than anyone else, which would be another advantage.

How 'bout it? You guys in? Let's revolutionize the game!

[Alo]

Wallace throws harder than Delhomme, but I don't think he's better at stretching the field vertically. In fact, Seneca's career YPA (6.38) is nearly a yard lower than Jake's (7.22).

There are varying explanations for why Seneca struggles with the deep ball: Sobo over at TheOBR has suggested that he struggles to get the proper trajectory on his deep throws because of his lack of height; others have suggested that Wallace's lack of elite touch - when he first got to Seattle, he threw everything too hard - becomes more and more of a problem the further out his target range is extended.

So while Seneca gives you more in terms of mobility and misdirection plays, he isn't as natural a passer and will have defenses crowding the line of scrimmage even more when he's in the game. It's a tradeoff that may make sense if Delhomme struggles early on, but I don't think it's something you want to accept without giving the more conventional QB a shot.

[YtownBacker]

The more the Browns show "Flash and cyclone" packages to other teams the more they have to prepare for and the better the basic system will work.

It is smart to show what you can do and make teams respect your versitility. The more time they spend looking at film and using scout teams to stop these exotic offenses the less time they get to spend working on stopping the run. Also, it allows the Browns to work on other wrinkles that will be game specific.

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by Shep

Time will tell if this is just a summer fad for the Browns or a huge part of the offense. The answer to that question may center around how well Jake Delhomme handles the "normal" snaps of the game.

Time will tell. But having gimicks as part of the offense, especially a "huge part of the offense" sets our plan to develop RB's and WR's and TE's back a year. But this is a Win Now league, so who knows. I don't know what Jake has in him this season, but if things do unfold unfavorably for Jake, might as well go the Miami route and win 9-10-11 games. Why not?

How do you hide Cribbs and Wallace in a game if neither starts? If Chansi is 3rd to Robo and Momass, then Cribbs in there is a tipoff. Need to rotate him in with Chansi, but still then you need to run plays with Chansi and Cribbs in there. This whole deception centers around WR's, IMO. If every time Cribbs takes the field his role is either no receptions, or a direct snap, no good team is fooled.

I think rotating Chansi out of the 3rd spot to give reps to Cribbs, or Vice Versa, also defeats the purpose.

I don't know how the rotation shakes out yet. These guys might make it work. Complicated though it is developing reps and consistency with WR and RB positions, I can't see this all shaking out bad or good for the future. I mean if we want to win now, then 10-20% of the plays have Jake out, Wallace in, and Cribbs in for the majority of the #3 spot.

If Chansi lags behind in the slot for Cribbs, I hope it is because Cribbs is better, which contrary to most opinions here I think he could develop some mad slot skills.

Man I would love to be a fly on Berea's wall.

[Vegasdogg]

And to the OP's point, if this shit works, along with some WCO/Widlcat/Convential plays - hopefully some mixtures of genius - hell yeah! Lets win some games and get to the dance, man. Lets get "wantonly wacky." Why not, we deserve it.

[NW Ohio Brownie]

I like it and I don't like it.

I like it because last year Cribbs handled the ball on every play and this year we can use Wallace to make plays out of it which will only put the defense on its heels.

I don't like it (in certain situations) because I'm afraid we might outsmart ourselves. What I mean to say is that I think it can be effective between the 20's, but let's remember that we can run the ball and run it well out of our traditional formations. Don't get me wrong. I love Cribbs with the ball, but I also saw our running game just maul people around the goal line the last four games of the season, too.

But either way, the "Cyclone" on 3rd and 4 will be a lot more fun to watch than DA throwing a ground ball on an out pattern.

[Sez.EJ]

I would prefer work on the BASIC offense.. You know the kind that consistently gets first downs and scores points than work on gaget stuff... Seriously..this team can barely do the basics and people want gimic plays..give me a break.. No one's winning any championships until you can do the basic stuff well first..