Wildcat Coming?

facebooktwitterreddit

Now that we have Percy Harvin in the fold – pending any activity that might cause him to be suspended before his career even gets off the ground – the next logical question is:  does this mean the Vikings plan on mixing in the Wildcat?  On the surface, at least, Harvin would seem an ideal Wildcat player: he’s speedy and shifty, and showed in college that he can split wide and line up in the backfield.  Some might say it would be a waste of his talent not to use him in the Wildcat.  And indeed, at least one guy on the Vikings staff, receivers coach George Stewart, has gone on record saying Harvin and the Wildcat seem made for each other.  The Star-Trib reports:

"“[Harvin] does some things that we haven’t had here,” Stewart said. “From an explosive standpoint, you talk about the ‘Wildcat’ situation. So many things you can do with Percy Harvin athletically that we don’t have here. You talk about what Randy Moss brought to this football team years ago. True speed, an ability to make plays. This kid is going to make plays for us.”So can Stewart foresee the Wildcat being worked into the Vikings offense? “I would sure hope so,” he said. “With his flexibility. … There are some options we can do with this young man that gives us a chance to be successful.”"

Unfortunately, George Stewart is not the offensive coordinator nor the head coach.  Whether the Wildcat sees the light of day in Minnesota is up to Brad Childress and Darrell Bevell – in other words, Childress – and we know how stubborn that particular offensive brain-trust has been in the past.  Then again, why gamble on Harvin at all if you don’t mean to make use of his special talents?  You don’t draft Randy Moss and then not bomb it down the field.