Rich Hofmann: What's not to like about the Wildcat?

THE DEBATE takes place in coaches' offices and front offices all over the National Football League, and on "Monday Night Football" as well. It is now headed here, though, this debate about the so-called Wildcat offense. As Michael Vick prepares to return this weekend, Philadelphia is about to become ground zero.

On ESPN, analysts Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden have set themselves up for a seasonlong argument - one highlighted on Monday night, when the Miami Dolphins (who brought the Wildcat to the NFL in a significant way last season) played the Indianapolis Colts. The Wildcat - a spread offense that usually features a direct snap to a running back - worked great for the Dolphins, and they ran for a million yards, but Peyton Manning still carved them up in the end. Yes, the passing game is still king.

But the real story was this ongoing conversation between Jaworski and Gruden, a quarterback and a coach, Old School and New School.

"I've been from Oregon to Appalachian State studying the spread offense and the Wildcat formation," Gruden said at one point. "The only guy I can't get to is that guy, David Lee [the Dolphins' quarterbacks coach]. They won't let me near him. This guy has brought a whole new package to pro football, whether you agree with me or not, Ron. The Colts are having a very hard time dealing with it."

A minute later came the reply.

"I don't think it'll ever be a staple in the NFL," Jaworski said. "I think it's a gimmick, it's a gadget, and it has its place in the game. If you really look at the big picture of the Wildcat a year ago for the Miami Dolphins, they ran it 8.4 percent of the time, it gained 10.5 percent of the yards. That's 2 percent more than your normal offense would give. Are you really worried about that 2 percent more, coach? I think it does give some problems for the defense. It will give you some plays in the red zone. But gimmicks and gadgets don't work consistently in the NFL."

There are statistics and there are statistics, though. The Dolphins ran the ball out of the Wildcat 55 times last season, for an average of 6.5 yards per carry. They ran the ball 393 times out of more conventional sets for an average of 3.9 yards per carry. It's a no-brainer. Why do people not see this?