Rex Ryan's love affair with the Wildcat has reached dangerous new levels.
While teams league-wide are experimenting with core read-option concepts, the New York Jets reportedly spent the offseason wedded to the subpackage that caught fire in the NFL half a decade ago.
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Ryan told reporters Wednesday that Gang Green plans to use more Wildcat, not less, in 2013.
"I would say we probably would," Ryan said, "because, like you guys say, we never used it (in 2012). So I would say, yeah. I would think that's part of what we do."
Ryan went on to announce that the Wildcat is "here to stay, for the simple fact that guys are getting these quarterbacks now -- these mobile quarterbacks -- and the size, speed and all of that kind of stuff, so I do think it's here to stay."
Ryan went on: "It does give you the numbers back," he said. "Sometimes on defense you're playing with plus-one, but it's the great equalizer and that's what I was saying when we were putting it in with Brad (Smith), and Leon Washington and (Tim) Tebow or whoever. But the other thing is you're seeing different guys do it. We've had Jeremy Kerley do it, we've had Brad do it. It doesn't have to be the quarterback."
Outside of the Jaguars going Wildcattin' down in Florida with Denard Robinson, the scheme (largely solved by defenses years ago) will not keep New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick up at night. Last year's rise of the read option promises to cause further headaches for NFL defenses this season, but the Jets widely floundered in their attempt to revive the Wildcat in 2012. Why go there again?
Chris Wesseling summed it up best: "The rest of the league is playing chess, and Rex is over in the corner with his Lincoln Logs."
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