Arkansas's Wildcat formation in Madden NFL 09?

Madden NFL 09 is around the corner, and each year EA Sports adds new aspects of the game that make it even more dynamic. Often times, these new features last only one season as the vocal minority (sometimes majority) are able to influence EA to remove features. Examples of removed features include the total control that Madden 2004 gave us, the quarterback vision cone from Madden 2006, and this year the removal of the spectacular catch on offense. Many people complained that this spectacular catch was too "cheesy", and Madden 2009 reflects EA's response to this complaint with the removal of this type of animation.

The next new feature that is sure to receive scrutiny from the community is the ability to package certain players into different positions. Most notably is the ability in a handful of playbooks to package the HB in at QB. This new package likely stems from the fact that Ladainian Tomlinson has consistently thrown a couple touchdown passes per year over the course of his career. In addition to LT, rookie Darren McFadden is a player that has shown the ability to throw the football. In his collegiate career at Arkansas, McFadden regularly lined up at the quarterback position, often from Shotgun in what was called the 'Wildcat' formation.

Because of his extensive experience handling the snap, EA has given McFadden adequate throwing power and accuracy, which will potentially make him quite a threat lining up in the Shotgun set at QB. After extensive practice with this offensive technique, it is apparent that it will be popular among the hardcore gaming community. With that said, this is not a "Vick clone", as some might think. McFadden's throwing range is about 25 yards, which limits his throws. In addition, it is important to set your feet or the throw isn't going to be accurate. However, I like the potential for this package, and am quite excited to see how this plays out among the online community. There will definitely be a camp of people that call this cheese and consider it a cheat. However, it appears that EA has added this package in a way that it isn't too overpowering. I like the addition and think it adds another element of strategy to the game. Only time will tell, and it wouldn't shock me if this package is removed from the game before it launches - although I would like to see it kept in the game. Here's an example of one play where McFadden shows off his speed.

Notice how MacFadden has a 75 throwing power and 65 throwing accuracy. This isn't up to QB standards, but is adequate enough to make a handful of throws effeciently.

The Shotgun Doubles Y-Slot has a package called 'HB QB Sub', which puts the starting HB at QB, the backup HB at slot WR, and the starting FB in the backfield.

You can see that McFadden is lining up ready to take the snap. This adds another thing for the defense to think about.

Here we show the defense comes out in a standard Man Cover 2. Notice there are no QB spys. This is a mistake when facing the speed of McFadden.

Offensively, the Raiders are ready to air it out. Evaluating each of these routes, it is safe to say that Y (Fargas) and B (Curry) will never be legitimate receiving threats against a defense like this with MacFadden at QB. However, LB (Griffith), X (Walker), and A (Miller) are all running routes that McFadden can likely complete consistently. With deeper routes, the only way McFadden can complete them is when there is no safety help over the top.

After the ball is snapped, the defensive line locks down with the offensive line. As all the receivers go out, you can see that the running back to the right of the screen is wide open. McFadden can make this throw. However, we also see quite a bit of running room to the left and decide to go for the big gain.

After rolling out the left, we see lots of daylight. McFadden is going to run for several yards before anyone has a chance to make the tackle.

As you can see, this play goes for about 20+ yards. This is where the defense is forced to adjust. After the defense takes safety out of coverage to spy the quarterback, some of the other routes might become available.

Should the Wildcat formation be in the game? My feeling is that we routinely see NFL teams line up backs at QB. Randle El has done it for much of his career, and LT seems to be a threat in the red zone all the time. As long as this package isn't too dominating, I see no reason why it can't be used in Madden.