Question Mark
‘Wildcat’ may be named for Washington school
Q uestion: Is it true the term Wildcat was taken from the West Genesee High School Wildcats near Syracuse? A Dolphins assistant coached West Genesee. — Boris Lundgren, Bolingbrook, Ill.
Answer: I asked Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano about it Wednesday. His answer: “I don’t know if that’s true or not. I would say probably not.”
It’s true that Dolphins quality control coach Steve Bush was West Genesee’s head coach from 2005 to 2007. But Dolphins quarterbacks coach David Lee came to Miami this year from Arkansas, where he was offensive coordinator. Arkansas ran what was called the Wildcat formation with backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. (Arkansas fans then dubbed it the WildHog.) The Dolphins adopted some of the Arkansas plays.
Lee worked with Sparano in Dallas from 2003 to ’06. Before that, he was QB coach with Arkansas.
Why did Arkansas call it the Wildcat? Some attribute it to a longtime coach in the state of Washington, Hugh Wyatt, who ran it for the La
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You can question Mark Gaughan live every Friday around 11 a. m. on the BillBoard blog at www.buffalonews.com/blogs
Center High Wildcats.
As a side note, this formation is not even new to the “modern” NFL. Marv Levy ran a variation of the Wildcat — the Wing-T— with Kansas City as the Chiefs’ primary formation in 1978. It was used out of necessity. The Chiefs’ defense was horrible, and Levy simply wanted to keep it off the field.
Q: Do the Bills seem like they’re throwing in the towel at this stage of the season, or are they willing to fight to the end? — Roger Henderson Jr., South Redondo Beach, Calif.
A: That’s something we’ll have to watch closely the last four weeks, but so far I cannot attribute their struggles to a lack of effort or motivation. Anybody who watched the Cleveland game could see they played their butts off. They left everything they had on the field. The defense held the Niners to the lowest yardage total by a Bills opponent in 59 games. Certainly, that was a strong effort. We’ll see how well Jauron & Co. can keep them fired up the last month.
Q: I was just wondering why a pass interference call can’t be called on a tipped pass, even if the ball is a catchable one? — Pat Stanziano, St. Catharines, Ont.
A: It would just not be fair to the defense. A cornerback makes a great play on a ball to bat it in the air. A safety had a bead on the receiver and was going to make a tackle after the ball reached him. Now the ball is in the air and the safety makes the hit. That shouldn’t be interference. The defense should be rewarded for getting a hand on the ball, whether it’s in the secondary or at the line.
Q: If Toronto fails to sell out future games, does that mean blackout restrictions apply in Buffalo? — Michael Tramposch, Chevy Chase, Md.
A: For the record, the games in Toronto must sell out for the blackout in Buffalo to be lifted. No one is expecting this to be an issue for the four regular- season games to be played in the Rogers Centre the next four years. The commitment of Rogers Communications to making the series a success seems like it will ensure a sellout even if it falls a few thousand short of the mark, as it surely did this year. For preseason games, it could be an issue, just like it is with preseason games in Orchard Park, which usually are shown on tape delay on Channel 7.
Bills beat reporter Mark Gaughan answers your football questions every Friday in the paper and online in a weekly chat at 11 a. m. Send your e-mails to mgaughan@-buffnews.com or mail to Question Mark, The Buffalo News Sports Department, One News Plaza, P. O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240. Please include name and hometown.
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