by Alex Marvez

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NFL defenses will no longer be caught off-guard should opponents deploy the Wildcat offense in 2009. After the success teams like the Miami Dolphins enjoyed with the formation last year, defensive coordinators have spent this offseason scheming and coaching ways to stop it.

"We've watched a bunch of that film," St. Louis head coach Steve Spagnuolo said.

He'll probably have to watch plenty more as this season unfolds.

While there are no signs it will be used on a full-time basis, the Wildcat seems more likely to become an NFL staple than other gimmick offenses like the run-and-shoot. In fact, the Wildcat may be just unsheathing its claws.

Direct shotgun snaps to a running back with a run/pass option were generally effective in 2008 thanks to the element of surprise and unfamiliarity in defending that attack. Those defensive flaws can be fixed, as evidenced by Miami's late-season slump in Wildcat production with running back Ronnie Brown handling those duties. But the Wildcat will be even tougher to neuter if a mobile quarterback with better throwing accuracy runs the show.

That was Miami's thinking in using a 2009 second-round draft pick on West Virginia quarterback Pat White. Despite his lofty collegiate accomplishments, White's height — he's six-feet tall — was enough of a concern that some teams thought he would struggle at the NFL level. Others believed he was better suited as a wide receiver.

Not the Dolphins. Miami's coaching staff is salivating at the chance to put an NCAA record-setting dual run/pass threat in an expanded Wildcat package.

"I think they want to see what effect it will have on defenses and whether it will be effective," White said Tuesday from the NFL's Rookie Symposium in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. "I've got to do my job and get things done on my part. We'll see what happens from there."

The Wildcat also might help Michael Vick salvage his NFL career if the disgraced quarterback is reinstated by league commissioner Roger Goodell. In 2006, a form of the Wildcat offense helped Vick become the first quarterback in NFL history to post a 1,000-yard rushing season. The Falcons were expected to expand the package in 2007 under then-coach Bobby Petrino until Vick was indefinitely suspended for his role in a dog-fighting ring.

"(Vick) was the perfect guy," said St. Louis general manager Billy Devaney, who worked in Atlanta's front office from 2006 to 2008. "No matter what people say, Mike could throw a little bit. He's not a classic thrower. But he's the epitome of the Wildcat guy."

Even some squads that lack a prototype Wildcat quarterback have experimented with the formation during offseason practices. San Diego has used running back LaDainian Tomlinson — who has seven career touchdown passes in eight NFL seasons — at quarterback. Wide receivers Josh Morgan (San Francisco) and Percy Harvin (Minnesota) also have gotten into the act this spring.

"I suspect that every team has some version of it," New England coach Bill Belichick said. "Even if they don't, you don't know that. You've got to be prepared for it."

Belichick learned that the hard way. The Dolphins — whose quarterbacks coach David Lee was steeped in Wildcat knowledge from his days at the University of Arkansas — unveiled their package last season in Week 3 at New England.

The result: A stunning 38-13 Dolphins rout highlighted by Brown galloping for 113 yards and four touchdowns.

"Our run fits obviously weren't as good as they should have been," Belichick said. "We didn't do a very good job of coaching or adjusting to it and we missed some tackles, which always adds to the problem. It was a combination of things."

Reminded that his team rebounded by allowing just 66 rushing yards in a 48-28 victory over Miami later that season, Belichick deadpanned, "We defended it better, but it couldn't have been any worse."

The Wildcat's success stems largely from forcing teams to worry about the quarterback as a rusher.

"You look at all the option and single-wing teams going all the way back and the offensive advantage in the running game is that defenses have one more gap they have to defend," said Belichick, who is considered one of the NFL's greatest all-time defensive masterminds. "With the quarterback handing the ball off, you can outnumber the offense by playing an eight-man front against a seven-man (offensive) look or a seven-man front against a six-man look. But once you put in that extra guy offensively, you're always a gap short. It puts pressure on your gap-control."

Spagnuolo said defensive recognition of Wildcat formations creates another headache.

"The most important thing initially is identifying it in time to do whatever you've decided to do to defend it," said Spagnuolo, one of the NFL's top defensive coordinators the past two seasons with the New York Giants. "It's easy when you're out at practice and say you're going to work on the Wildcat and everybody gets lined up. In the heat of the game, it's more of a surprise because it's not used every play."

The Wildcat was nothing but a college gimmick until Ronnie Brown rocked the Patriots for four TDs in a game last September. (Jim Rogash / Getty Images)

The fact that no team is expected to run the Wildcat offense on a full-time basis makes Devaney bullish on its shelf life, especially for a player like White.

"How many plays of the Wildcat are they going to run a game? Maybe 15?" Devaney said. "Half are going to be runs and half throws. He might be hit five, six, seven times a game. He can survive that. You can't survive a steady diet of that."

The Wildcat, though, isn't for everyone. Teams with star drop-back style quarterbacks will likely be reticent to take the football out of their hands or risk injury by aligning them at wide receiver while another player takes the snap. The Wildcat also becomes more one-dimensional and predictable when lacking a quality thrower or dangerous receiving threats.

Spagnuolo and Belichick believe some coaches may get burned by trying to run the Wildcat with ill-fitting personnel.

"Offensively, you can't be good at everything," Belichick said. "Whatever you decide to work on — whether it's drop-back passes, play-action, Wildcat, the spread running game — you just run out of (practice) time. You kind of have to pick your spots."

Even so, there's one cat in South Florida who can't wait to see what Dolphins coaches have in store for this season.

"I feel like we're just scratching the surface as far as what we've installed and the plays we're capable of running," White said. "I'm excited and ready to get to work."