The Wildcat: turning weakness into strength by changing the game.

A few Sunday mornings ago, I was out early, driving Number 2 to see some friends. We began to talk about the day's upcoming football games. This was the first week that Mark Sanchez was sidelined as the Jets' quarterback, turning the role over to his back-up.  Number 2 expressed a degree of pessimism regarding the outcome. I told him that I thought it opened up a lot of opportunity to play unconventionally. To use the Wildcat.

If you are unfamiliar, you can read about the wildcat in the link above. Essentially it bypasses the quarterback and snaps the ball directly to the running back, effectively confusing the defense. Miami has used it extensively and effectively after the potential career ending injury sustained by their QB, former Jet, Chad Pennington. It works best against a truly disciplined and precision coached team like the Patriots. It completely befuddles them. As a digression, in my opinion, that is how the NY Giants beat the Patriots in Superbowl XLII: Eli Manning seemed a bit unsure what plays he was going to call, this instability actually worked for them against the highly prepared and mechanically precise Patriots.

Back to the car. As our conversation continued, I told him that he could apply the Wildcat to anything. He could change the game inside the game, turning disadvantages into advantages. The spirit of the Wildcat is to not just think bigger and broader, but to think differently. To unconventionally apply what is available right now in order to break through the status quo. The Wildcat is the leap of faith. It is the spark of invention. It is the path of the most resourceful and unconventional. And it truly does change the game.

When you hit a wall, encounter a problem or come upon a challenge which may seem too formidable to attempt, turn the situation into an opportunity. Become a game changer. Become the Wildcat.