'Hester takes the snap ...'

n the win-at-all-costs world of professional football, conformity and uniformity tend to crush the will of the individual. The weekly grind of a season offers little time for the simple joys of life. Rarely does the thrill of creativity seize a team.

Which brings us to the bye week and the chance to reflect and tinker and maybe even have a little bit of fun. Things are going so well for the Bears -- well, for their offense, anyway -- that it might be a good time to dust off the old playbook and unleash some fun. Will the Bears work on the Wildcat offense during their bye week?

'We have played around with some of it,'' offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. ''We actually did some things last year in practice and in training camp this year that we haven't gotten to yet. You have to find ways to get your playmakers the ball. It's something we'll explore as our offense evolves.''

The Wildcat formation has taken the NFL by storm since the Dolphins unleashed it against the Patriots this season and produced four of their touchdowns in a surprise victory. If you haven't seen it yet, it's unique. The quarterback splits out wide and the ball is directly snapped to a running back, who either runs with the ball himself, hands off to another running back or begins some kind of gimmick play designed to stop a defense cold. Since the Dolphins used the formation to beat the Patriots and then the Chargers, it has found its way to Jacksonville, Cleveland, Atlanta, Oakland and most points in between. The Bucs unveiled a Wildcat play Sunday.

Ask any of the Bears' assorted playmakers about the possibility of taking a direct snap from center, and you will see their face light up.
''I would love to do that,'' said Devin Hester, the man most likely to get a direct snap in the Bears' offense. ''Oh, yeah. It's a great scheme. It seems like it is working for a lot of teams. ... I hope we get it in a game.''

Said running back Kevin Jones: ''It brings a little fun back to the game. That's some old-school stuff.''

Indeed, long before the Bears thrilled the nation with their T-formation, teams were running single-wing formations like the one the Dolphins have unveiled. The Dolphins adopted the strategy thanks to some wrangling and arm-twisting from quarterbacks coach David Lee, who came to the team from Arkansas, where Darren McFadden ran the Wildcat to much success last year. The Dolphins had Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams and figured it couldn't hurt to supercharge a moribund offense.

(chicagosuntimes.com)