Well, its not just thinking outside the box. You have to have a run game the opponent is afraid of otherwise they won't adjust and your advantage depends entirely on running at a player you have just obviously put in the game for that expressed purpose.

The reason Vrabel and Jimbo Elliot were open was because people expected them to block and block well.

If you can't run, they treat him like a TE. Belichick hasn't used that play since his running game has gone into the toilet a few years ago.

Kevin Barry and U71 was something the opponent feared because the Packers could and did run under most circumstances. What Sherman was never able to do was pass well out of that formation. So it becomes predictable and slowly got less effective.