(Photo: US Presswire)
By Ryan Alfieri, Editor
Much has been made about the Jets’ secretive approach to unveiling the Wildcat, as they have made a concerted effort to keep any and all details about the offensive package close to the vest. By assumption, the Jets are waiting until the games actually count before they put any of the Wildcat details on tape for opponents to study.
However, as ProFootballTalk.com points out, the Bills (the Jets’ Week 1 opponent) hired David Lee as their quarterbacks coach this offseason. Lee worked with Tony Sparano in 2008 to develop the Wildcat and took the NFL by storm. One would assume that Lee would know enough about the intricacies of the Wildcat to help the Bills stop it.
Therefore, should the Jets hold off just one more week on their Wildcat unveiling if the Bills are going to be prepared for it anyway?
While PFT speculates that the Jets could certainly hold back the Wildcat train for an extra week, it still makes sense for the Jets to go ahead and give it a go, no matter how much David Lee knows about the package.
The Dolphins’ Wildcat system was run based, only throwing out of the formation a handful of times all season. The Jets’ version will feature a much more developed passing aspect; after all, that is why they chose Tim Tebow to run it as opposed to Brad Smith or Jeremy Kerley.
The basic forms of the Wildcat are well-known and the league already knows how to stop it. The Jets are rolling the dice on Tebow being a good enough thrower to unveil new parts of the package that not been seen by the likes of David Lee.
Even if David Lee knows how to defend it, it does not mean the rest of the Bills do. He will have to spend time teaching it to the defensive coaching staff, who will then pass it along to their players during valuable practice time.
The Jets realize that eventually, they will have put out a significant amount of tape of the package for opponents to study. But they still have to study it.
In one way or another, the Wildcat is going to have its desired effect, whether the Jets wind up using it Week 1 or not.
Tags: new york jets, Tim Tebow
