Try NFL Sport Channel Seach:
Selected searches:
NFL Football Players Draft Injuries Rookies Season Superbowl
Items by
White To Add Wrinkles To Wildcat
Published: May 29, 2009
No Comments
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
The Dolphins stood pat this offseason in adding to its offense through free agency. So expect to see Miami’s usual suspects – Chad Pennington, Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Ted Ginn, Jr. and Anthony Fasano – coming this fall to a stadium near you.
Also expect to see them pull the Wildcat offense from its bag of tricks a little more often than the nine or so plays a game Miami employed it in 2009. In fact, expect to see it continue to transform from gadgetry to a standard part of the Dolphins’ playbook.
When Miami unveiled the Wildcat against the Patriots in the third game of the season last year, it was met with equal parts curiosity and skepticism. Though many teams soon instituted versions of it in their own playbooks, NFL Network commentator Warren Sapp scoffed at the Wildcat, calling it “disrespectful.” He was not alone.
What it actually proved to be for Miami was effective. The Dolphins averaged more than seven yards each time they lined up in the Wildcat.
Under the guidance of offensive coordinator Dan Henning and quarterbacks coach David Lee, who used the Wildcat to great effect while at Arkansas with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in the backfield, Miami was able to compensate for a less-than-stellar passing attack by confusing defenses.
This season will see the emerging of the Wildcat 2.0. Critical to the formation’s development was the drafting of West Virginia quarterback Pat White in the second round.
Miami had more pressing needs at wide receiver and nose tackle than it did at quarterback when it came time to make its second round selection. In fact, with the veteran Pennington and promising Chad Henne already in the fold, Miami had no need at all for a quarterback in the draft.
If anything, the Dolphins would seemingly have best been served by signing an experienced quarterback in free agency as insurance if Pennington were to suffer an injury and Henne proved too green to assume the reigns.
Instead, Miami went for White, the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher for a quarterback.
Before training camp has even started, there’s already speculation that White could leapfrog Henne and start the season as Miami’s No. 2. Considering White’s particular talents, it’s not a ridiculous notion.
He would be more effective coming in for a few plays each game as part of a Wildcat package. And because NFL’s rules stipulate that if a No. 3 quarterback plays before the fourth quarter, the first two quarterbacks on the depth chart are ineligible for the rest of the game.
It’s obvious Miami’s coaching staff sees White’s skill set adding a delicious dimension to the Wildcat. With Lee as his position coach and the formation’s most creative practitioner, White should pick up the Wildcat’s nuances quickly.
Actually, it’s not a hard offense to grasp. Despite all its supposed trickery, the Wildcat, as employed last season, has only four options, with all of them looking the same. The presence of White, with his passing and running abilities could add a few new wrinkles.
When the Dolphins ran the Wildcat last season, Brown lined up at quarterback in the shotgun with Williams in the slot to the left. Pennington usually lined up as a receiver.
Generally, one of four things happened, Brown kept the ball and went up the middle on a halfback dive, or they faked the dive and went with a sweep, with Williams in motion to the right crossing in front of Brown for the handoff.
There were also two play action pass options, one a seam and the other a half back pass with Brown throwing to a tight end. Picture White lined up at quarterback and Brown in the slot or at receiver. The defense, though familiar with the options, really wouldn’t know which one to defend.
And with White, who completed 65 percent of his passes in college, at quarterback and more dangerous at throwing downfield than Brown, that adds at least a fifth option and another potential mismatch the Dolphins could exploit.
White could also line up as a receiver and, being of far greater concern than Pennington at that position, could create an advantageous millisecond of uncertainty in the defense.
“This will take our team to another level,” wide receiver Davone Bess was quoted as saying about White’s involvement in the Wildcat
No doubt, opposing defenses can expect to see more of the Wildcat formation from the Dolphins this season. But with White in the mix, it’ll be harder for them to expect what they’ll see once the ball is snapped.
Miami, New England To Vie for AFC East Title Again in 2009
Published: May 28, 2009
No Comments
The AFC East garnered a lot of headlines this offseason: Tom Brady’s return, Brett Favre’s departure, and T.O. now the show in Buffalo, while Miami, which welcomed back pass rusher Jason Taylor, remained pretty much the same.
But even with all the fanfare, including the Jets getting a new coach in the quotable Rex Ryan, it will be Miami and New England vying for AFC East supremacy in 2009.
Last season, the Dolphins took the AFC East title with an 11-5 record. The Patriots finished with the same record but stayed home for the post-season. The Jets, initially looking like the class of the division after Brady went down minutes into the season, crashed in the last five games, petering out at 9-7. The Bills started 5-1 then went 2-10 the rest of the way.
This being the NFL, what 2009 holds in store for the teams of the AFC East is anyone’s guess. After all, who foresaw the Dolphins’ 10-game turnaround this time last year? This much is known, based on last season’s records, the teams in the AFC East have four of the seven hardest schedules this year.
The Dolphins 2009 opponents had a combined 152-104 record with a .594 winning percentage last season, whereas in 2008 Miami had one of the league’s easiest schedules. The Patriots face a schedule with a combined .594 winning percentage, the fourth highest of all 30 teams.
The Bills and Jets follow in the sixth and seventh slots, opposing teams that won 146 and 145 games respectively, last year.
Though the AFC East had two teams, Miami and New England, with 11-5 records, only the Dolphins made the playoffs where they failed to get by Baltimore in the Wild Card round.
With Brady back under center, New England is an improved team. Period. Matt Cassel did a terrific job filling in for Brady last year, but Brady, love him or hate him, is a master, and his knee shouldn’t be an issue.
With him taking most snaps in the shotgun anyway, and with the implementation of the “Brady Rule,” No. 12 will be well protected and expect him to pick up where he left off in 2007.
Besides Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Laurence Maroney and Ben Watson, New England, as is its trademark, have added old-but-effective veterans running back Fred Taylor and wide receiver Joey Galloway, who is still running 4.4’s.
Despite the addition of Owens in Buffalo and linebacker Bart Scott in New York, those teams failed to markedly improve in the offseason. It can be argued the Jets got worse.
New York has no proven quarterback on its roster. It’ll be between Kellen Clemens and draft-day darling Mark Sanchez for the starting position. And though Atlanta and Baltimorehad success last year with rookies Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco taking the snaps, that was more exception than the rule.
Don’t expect the same from Sanchez, especially since New Yorklost its best receiver in Laverneous Coles and 30-something running back Thomas Jones is a year older.
The Bills finished 25th in total offense last year. At 35 years old, don’t expect Owens to improve that ranking dramatically. The only thing Buffalo really knows about 25-year-old QB Trent Edwards is that he’s not J.P. Losman, not a particularly encouraging fact.
Last year, Edwards threw just 11 touchdowns (against 10 interceptions). Owens had nearly that many touchdowns himself with 10. T.O.’s abysmal track record with quarterbacks, especially young ones, is well documented. Things could go bad fast for the Bills if Edwards starts erratically.
Though it has the hardest schedule, Miami will do well because they play solid, Bill Parcells football: tough running, tough defense, ball control, and minimal turnovers. Those tried and true aspects are a staple of any team the Tuna has been associated with and have proven again and again to be a successful formula.
There is one stat, above all, that is a direct predictor of any team’s success—takeaways/giveaways. With parity in the league, turnovers are the name of the game. The teams that create the most and commit the least are the team’s that win. It’s an immutable law.
Last year the Dolphins led the league in the category with a +17 ratio. They were followed by the Ravens, Titans, Colts, and Giants—all playoff teams.
With Tony Sparano at the helm finding turnovers unacceptable and the influence of Parcells backing him up, expect the Dolphins to be at the top of the takeaway/giveaway category again—and with New England at the top of the AFC East.
