TORONTO - It's a formation that's helped bring the Miami Dolphins back to respectability and taken the NFL by storm the past year.
But the Wildcat hasn't taken root in the CFL despite the league changing its rules to make it easier for teams to implement it in Canada.
And there is a number of reasons for that.
First, CFL coaches have their players for 4 1/2 hours daily during the season. They've got to cram meetings and practices into that span and simply can't devote time coaching up a formation they'll use a handful of times in a game.
"In order to have success, that type of thing takes a commitment time-wise," said Jim Barker, the Calgary Stampeders' senior vice-president, football operations who is also a former CFL head coach and offensive co-ordinator.
Time isn't so much an issue in the NFL as players are at their team's facilities for about eight hours most days during the season. That gives coaches much more opportunity to implement the Wildcat as an offensive wrinkle.
"There's a number of things," said Wally Buono, the B.C. Lions head coach and GM. "One is personnel, two is the number of downs, three is 4 1/2 hours.
"All the things that the NFL has, we don't. The extra down makes it doable, they have the players longer than 4 1/2 hours, they have bigger rosters so you can have a specialist kind of guy who can do all that.
"You might run it five plays in 60 (during a game), which is maybe eight per cent. But how much practice time do you have to give? If it's five different plays they have to be practised against a multitude of defences you might see. Is it worth it? Not necessarily."
In the Wildcat, the quarterback lines up as a receiver and a halfback moves about five yards behind centre and takes a direct snap. From there, the back has a myriad of options: run the ball himself up the gut or to the outside; hand it off to another player who is in motion; or roll out and possibly throw a pass.
The formation can be confusing to a defence on many different levels. At first glance, it's an alignment the unit rarely sees and therefore prepares precious little to play against. Secondly, once the ball is snapped it could literally be headed anywhere, making it tough to react quickly to.
Miami unveiled the Wildcat last year with running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams -- a former Toronto Argonaut. Both have shone in the new formation, which has allowed the Dolphins to have each player on the field at the same time. In fact, Williams ran nine times for 80 yards and three TDs on Sunday in a 46-34 loss to unbeaten New Orleans (6-0).
In March, the CFL's board of governors voted allow its teams to implement the Wildcat. Coaches were allowed to move their quarterbacks throughout the offensive formation rather than just keeping them under centre.
But the Wildcat hasn't taken off in the CFL. Some teams used it sporadically early in the season however none have adopted it as a part of their offensive gameplan.
And that includes the Montreal Alouettes, who have a league-best 13-3 record and their head coach, Marc Trestman, is a former longtime NFL assistant coach and regarded as a offensive deep thinker. Trestman has said while the Wildcat remains in the club's playbook, he believes putting the ball in quarterback Anthony Calvillo's hands gives his team its best chance to win.
Bart Andrus, the Toronto Argonauts first-year head coach, used the Wildcat earlier this summer with tailback Jamal Robertson taking the snaps. But with the Argos (league-worst 3-13 record) often trailing, they've had to go to the air more, with Robertson (1,023 yards rushing) getting his touches out of the conventional offence.
Still, Andrus says there's plenty to like about the Wildcat.
"What it does is spread the defence out and makes them account for a thrower out where they're not used to having a thrower," he said. Then it puts the running back into the line of scrimmage faster."
Andrus said once a team uses the Wildcat, it forces future opponents to take that into account in its pre-game preparation. Toronto still runs the formation in practice, with receiver Reggie McNeal -- a former NCAA quarterback -- behind centre before he was injured. Of late, receiver Jason Carter has replaced McNeal in the formation but hasn't taken a snap in a game.
Buono, the dean of CFL head coaches with 235 career wins in his 20th season on the sidelines, says for the Wildcat to be successful in Canada the running back must be able to throw. If he can't, defences know they're in a run situation and can counter by simply putting eight players up or near the line of scrimmage and blitz once the ball is snapped.
"The Wildcat formation isn't a big deal if you can load up the box," Buono said. "If he (running back) has no throwing skills, the defences say fine, try to run but you're not going to be able to.
"Do it (run the Wildcat) just to do it? It's not worth it. Do it to try to get the quarterback to come on a reverse and throw downfield? That's a trick play that's going to happen once or twice.
"If the Wildcat person can't throw, he doesn't present as big a threat. There's also the fact of how many downs can you waste? Down there (NFL) . . . if you do it on first and second down and you get nothing you still have third down to get it done. Here, if you take first or second down and get nothing you're punting."
Another factor is most CFL teams already employ mobile quarterbacks who are a threat to pass or run in more traditional offensive sets.
Still, Barker believes the Wildcat could be effective in the CFL.
"With the proper commitment, understanding and personnel it could be very good," he said.
Buono would agree, that is, if the player behind centre was a second quarterback.
There are CFL teams with transplanted quarterbacks -- McNeal and Edmonton fullback Mathieu Bertrand, to name two. But there are questions whether they'd be good Wildcat options because they've not thrown regularly in the pro ranks.
"I mean Vince Danielsen (former slotback who played for Buono at Calgary) played quarterback at UBC," Buono said. "Now, was he a guy you'd line up there and let throw the football four, five or six times a game?
"Probably not so now the defences don't care. They say, 'Throw the football and we're going to come at you.' That's hard enough for quarterbacks that do it every day to stand in there and throw. How's a guy who's never done it going to do?"
However, most CFL clubs have young, athletic third quarterbacks whose passing ability could add a new dynamic to the Canadian game. That is, if the league let them.
Currently, CFL rules prohibit teams from having two quarterbacks on the field at the same time. If one comes into a game, he can only replace the player who was under centre.
"That option would be a bit more interesting if you could have two quarterbacks so your Wildcat wouldn't be based on no quarterbacks, it would be based on two quarterbacks," Buono said. "Say you had a third guy who's very athletic and you could put him in situations where he could be a receiver or a running back but on a sweep could be a guy who'd throw?
"There aren't many (Reggie McNeals) around but there are a lot of third quarterbacks who are athletic and could be used as a running back with all these motions that you use. It's a different concept but right now our rules prohibit that."
Still, the absence of the Wildcat hasn't stopped the 2009 season from being the year of the running back in the CFL.
A record-tying six running backs have surpassed 1,000-yards rushing, with Hamilton's DeAndra' Cobb (981 yards) and Saskatchewan's Wes Cates (858 yards) both also closing in. And while the league's offensive statistics are traditionally dominated by receivers, the CFL's top three offensive threats this season have been tailbacks Joffrey Reynolds of Calgary (1,287 yards), Winnipeg's Fred Reid (1,257 yards) and B.C. rookie Martell Mallett (1,171 yards).
By comparison, Edmonton's Fred Stamps is the CFL's receiving leader with 72 catches for 1,161 yards.