Monkey See, Monkey Do

 Football is a copycat sport. Monkey see, monkey do. If one team has great success with a specific thing, you better believe that if not the rest of the league, a significant amount of teams will attempt to emulate that style, or strategy. This applies not only to the NFL, but at the collegiate level as well. A good example is the Wildcat formation. The Miami Dolphins started a new trend that swept the league, and unsuspecting Dolphins opponents, by storm. The Wildcat formation, is designed to mess with a defense, keep them on their heels, because they do not know what will happen, they just have to read and react, and try to make a play. It is a trick play. First, the ball is not snapped to the Quarterback. In most cases, the quarterback is not even on the field, there is a special personnel for the formation. The ball is snapped directly to a Running back, who then, may proceed to one: run the ball in himself, in any direction, two: hand the ball off to a pitchman, who is either lined up alongside him, or comes in motion and at the snap of the ball may take a hand off, or run with the Running back awaiting a pitch, then three: the Running back can opt out and attempt a pass. The offense line can also be unbalanced, lining up all over the field, while still respecting the rule book, which causes a bunch of confusion for the opposing teams defense. Now the Dolphins ran wild with the Wildcat formation in their 2008 season. Confusing defenses and making a mockery of defenders. Most notable in the Dolphins 38-13 upset victory of their divisional rival, the New England Patriots. The Dolphins used the Wildcat offense on six drives. Those six drives produced five touchdowns. After that, many teams tried to imitate the Wildcat, some having success, and others failing. Teams began to catch on a devised schemes to stop the Wildcat. It is still a potent threat though, if forgotten.