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The official NFL thread

Factinista said:
Hopefully the Chargers are back to being the Chargers now.
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It really is amazing how every preseason contender in the AFC has had some major setbacks this year, coupled with some exposed weaknesses.

Chargers - Can they go through a whole year playing good defense without their leader on defense, Merriman ? The Chargers have given up a lot of points this year.. No doubt their offense is explosive, although LT has only averaged 3.3 a carry.. But he was a slow starter last year as well.

Monday night was one of those early in the season desperation wins while at home.. Is it just temporary ? Or can they get a real streak going ? The Chargers do play in a VERY weak division defensively and their running game has thrived against bad run defenses in Denver, Oakland and KC in the past ( nice to play each of those defenses twice a year with the offense the Chargers have).

Patriots - Lost Brady. enough said.

Steelers - Their offensive line was exposed bigtime against the Eagles Jim Johnson led attacking defensive front.. Will teams now study that tape and use it against the Steelers ?

Jacksonville - Losing their entire interior of the offensive line (both guards and center) has put them at 1-2. although they rebounded last week for their first win. Can they continue winning being so shorthanded up front?

Colts - Same as above.

Denver - Despite being 3-0 that defense of theirs leaves a lot to be desired. Swiss cheese defense.

Tennessee - I mentioned earlier in the thread after week 1 that Tennessee has a fantastic defense and a tough strong O-line. That back they drafted (Chris Johnson) is magnificent.. He is close to 300 yards already at a nice 5.5 yards per carry average.... He looks like the real deal to me.... Only question is QB.. But if they get that settled, watch out. They have a nice start at 3-0 and when a good team gains some confidence early in the season good things sometimes happen.

Buffalo - Despite their early success I am not a believer just yet.. I may change my mind at around the midpoint of the season if they can somehow not lose two in a row until that point in time.

NY Jets - Meh, they're the Jets. Nuff said.
 
Chargers seem to start off slowly every year. Not ideal, but I'm not really worried about them either. Losing Merriman really stings but if Rivers can use this year to fully flesh out his game it will be a minor success IMO. Problem is next year LT will be 1 year older and he has already showed signs of slowing down. Wish we still had Burner Turner back there.
 
Jason Taylor just had surgery to relieve blood mass in his calf.. He could have lost his foot if he waited a little longer for surgery.. Taylor could be out for months.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/re...on_taylor_could_have_died_f.html?nav=rss_blog

I guess that's what happens when you are too busy in Hollywood dancing with the stars and not training with the rest of your teammates in the summer..

Thanks for the 2nd round pick Washington Foreskins... :)
 
The Jags are on the way back up. Meester, the starting centre, was back practicing in some capacity and should be ready to go earlier than expected, hopefully in time for the game at home against Pitts. Uche Nwaneri is filling in at left guard, and should be decent there. Manuwai was close to being a perennial pro-bowler, so it is a downgrade, but not a huge one. At right guard we should have Chris Naeole back soon. He was our starter last year until he injured his knee and got cut in the offseason. If he can return to his pre-injury form last season than I'm not worried about the offensive line.

The biggest issue for the Jags right now is wide receiver. They desperately need Porter to be the guy who can make teams pay for putting eight or nine men in the box. The Colts frequently had nine men up in the box against us this weekend, and while we still ran over them, that won't happen with teams who can actually stop the run, so unless the Jags can make teams pay for going with single coverage on the outside, they're not going anywhere.
 
Speaking of Jags WR's, what is your opinion on Wilford ? I heard last year that he started out slow and then came on later and was good on 3rd downs.. He was a chain mover.. So far he has been a disappointment this season, one of the very few acquisitions that haven't panned out thus far.

I also saw that Garrard had the best 3rd down QB rating of any QB in the NFL last season.. Now that's impressive. and very clutch.

By the way, this is for you Montana and leafman , couldn't resist ;)

Jest.jpg
 
Just to show I wasn't nuts before the season started when I said that Miami has the potential to have the best "young" O-line in the NFL, and that in a couple years can be one of the best O-lines in the league-

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/09/24/entire-miami-line-nominated-for-offensive-pow-award/

ENTIRE MIAMI LINE NOMINATED FOR OFFENSIVE POW AWARD

To little surprise, Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown won the AFC offensive player of the week award for his five-touchdown performance in New England.

To great surprise, the list of 11 nominees included each of the five members of the Dolphins’ offensive line.

Jake Long, Justin Smiley, Samson Satele, Ikechuku Nduwe, and Vernon Carey each were nominated for the prize
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Not only that, but my boy Phillip Merling (who I was touting earlier in the thread) was one of 5 nominees for the rookie of the week award..... He had a sack and was directly involved in causing two turnovers. And was very stout against the run driving Patriots O-linemen backwards giving space for linebackers and safeties to make positive plays.

http://www.nfl.com/partner?partnerType=rookies
 
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LeafNation said:
By the way, this is for you Montana and leafman , couldn't resist ;)

Jest.jpg
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Man, I saw that on TV the other night, and it just slayed me.........if ever there was a move that is typical Jets........that'd be it.


Doesn't matter what we do, we'll always be the league's laughing stock.


(seriously, why was I so intent on torturing myself as a child.......deciding to be both a Leaf and Jet's fan.....:nono)
 
I will post some AFC EAST notes for today since there are a lot of Bills fans in Toronto, a contingent of Jets fans, and a contingent of Miami fans here... BTW, look at all the crappy cornerbacks and safeties New England is working out this week, they look desperate.. I told you guys a couple of weeks ago how their secondary is a big weakness on that team.

Buffalo Bills
WR Roscoe Parrish underwent thumb surgery Tuesday, Sept. 23, and will be out four to six weeks.

CB Leodis McKelvin is expected to be the team's punt returner while WR Roscoe Parrish (thumb) is out of the lineup.

WR James Hardy will see more playing time because of the injury to WR Roscoe Parrish.

FB Darian Barnes recieved a foot injury week 3 against the Raiders and was limited in practice Wednesday.

Offensive Guard Jason Whittle was working with the running backs in individual position drills during practice Wednesday, Sept. 24. Whittle could be used as a fullback Week 4.

TE Derek Schouman may see double duty as a fullback and a tight end while FB Darian Barnes(foot) is out of the lineup.

TE Derek Fine did not participate in practice Wednesday, Sept. 24. He will not play Week 4.

The Buffalo Bills defense leads the NFL in third down conversion, only allowing opponents to convert on 17.9 percent of their third downs.

DL Aaron Schobel's 53 sacks since 2003 are the most of any player in the AFC during that span.

Miami Dolphins
RB Ronnie Brown was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Brown ran for 113 yards on 17 carries and scored four touchdowns in Week 3. He also threw one touchdown pass.

RB Ricky Williams also had 98 yards rushing on 16 carries with 119 total yards against New England.

Rookie DE Phillip Merling is one of five nominations for NFL rookie of the week with his performance against the Patriots Sunday.

RB Ronnie Brown set a franchise record for most rushing touchdowns in a game with four. He also tied the franchise individual single-game mark for most total touchdowns in a game with five.

RB Ronnie Brown started the team's Week 3 game and will likely remain the starting tailback.

CB Michael Lehan (hamstring) suffered a hamstring during the second half of the team's Week 3 game. He will likely be limited this week.

The Miami Dolphins have waived RB Jalen Parmele who afterwards cleared waivers.

CB Will Billingsley was waived from the practice squad in order to sign Jalen Parmele onto the practice squad

The Miami Dolphins have claimed TE Joey Haynos(Packers) off waivers.

NY Jets
NY Jets head coach Eric Mangini said he anticipates that QB Brett Favre (ankle) will start Week 4. Favre underwent tests and will doing rehab in his ankle.

WR David Clowney (collarbone) has been ruled out for Week 4.

PK Mike Nugent (thigh) has been ruled out for Week 4.

DT Kris Jenkins (back) missed the team's practice Wednesday, Sept. 24.

WR Laveranues Coles (hamstring) was limited in practice Wednesday, Sept. 24.

QB Brett Favre (ankle) was limited in practice Wednesday, Sept. 24.

P Reggie Hodges (thigh) was limited in practice Wednesday, Sept. 24.

CB Justin Miller (toe) was limited in practice Wednesday, Sept. 24.

WR Brad Smith (knee) practiced in full Wednesday, Sept. 24.

WR Paul Raymond (Jets). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

NE Patriots
FB Kyle Eckel has been released from the team.

CB Jason Craft (Saints) worked out for the Pats Monday, Sept. 22.

CB AJ Davis (Browns) worked out for the Pats Monday,

CB Andre Dyson (Jets) worked out for the Pats Monday, Sept. 22.

CB David Pittman (Ravens) worked out for the Pats Monday, Sept. 22.

S Terrence Holt (Panthers) worked out for the Pats Monday, Sept. 22.

S Vernon Fox (Redskins) worked out for the Pats Monday, Sept. 22.

The Pats have signed WR Maurice Price (Chiefs) to their 53-man roster.

CB Ellis Hobbs said he was amazed by the fans negative reaction during the team's Week 3 loss. "It amazes me — it amazes me — how people react. You would think this organization hasn't won as much as they have and been successful in the years that they have. It's a testament to how spoiled they are. Expectations are that high that we're not allowed a bad game?" Hobbs said.
 
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i read a story the other day about the 1995 draft that i thought would be interesting to share.

as i'm sure all long-time nfl followers will remember, the 1995 draft represents one of the most memorable in a long line of draft day blunders by the cincinnati bengals--that was the year that the bengals, holding the 5th (1st round) and 36th overall (2nd round) selections, dealt those picks for the 1st pick in the draft. the reason for doing so? to draft the consensus top pick, sure-fire star running back ki-jana carter. now, as the story goes, in his first pre-season game (3rd carry) carter busted up his knee, tearing the ligaments and knocking him out for a year. he returned but never had the same jump in his step, lost the lateral mobility that made him a truly special ncaa back, and never became more than a third down back. after a six or seven year, largely unheralded, injury-plagued and strikingly average career, carter hung up the cleats.

in the process, he became public enemy number one in cincinnati, drawing the ire of fans who were upset that he never realized the potential he once displayed; and, fairly not, became the poster boy for the organization's ineptness throughout the 1990s (and some might argue throughout the 2000s as well).

in hindsight, you have to feel for carter, who came into the league with such high expectations which even if he had panned, probably wouldn't have met. neither the expectations, his draft slot nor the injuries were his fault, so he was in a losing position from day one.

with the background out of the way, here is where the story gets interesting.

typically, when a team trades a draft pick or makes a poor selection as fans we tend to point a finger at that team and, in arguing without any real basis, no access to scouting reports and most importantly, with the benefit of hindsight declare who should have been picked. of course, that carter was a dud would likely lead one to argue that the bengals should have taken somebody else with the top pick (keep in mind, though, that carter was a consensus top pick--and highly sought after), or that they would have been better served holding onto the 5th and 36th picks (which is true).

for context's sake, let's relate this back to the leafs and discussions we have had on this board. for years, the leafs were battered by their fanbase for the decision to pick nik antropov 10th overall instead of simon gagne (22nd) or alex tanguay (12th). while tanguay or gagne might well have been better picks (that's certainly up for debate right now), we still don't know other factors--first, how those players were ranked by the maple leafs, second why those players fell as far as they did in the first place (if we re-drafted1998, that pair would both be selected in the top 10). ultimately, though, we have no way of knowing that the leafs would have taken tanguay or gagne if antropov was off the board. for all we know they might have taken henrich, or biron, or skoula. in other words, such criticisms, while they might have validity and could raise questions about the quality of a team's scouting staff, are not necessarily fair to make because they are based on hindsight and assumption.

to get off that tangent and get relate this back to the carter story--in this case, we know exactly who the bengals would have selected with both the 5th and 36th picks had they not made that fateful trade. and we know it because the bengals president at the time (mike brown) is still the president of the organization and recently talked about the team's initial plan.

order to tell this story properly, some background is needed about how the trade for the first overall pick went down: it was held by the expansion carolina panthers, who turned down repeated offers to trade the top pick. in fact, the trade with the bengals was made at the 11th hour and with a great deal of secrecy--even carter was unaware that a team other than the panthers would be selecting him until a few hours prior to the draft. so, obviously, this trade was a bit of a bombshell and took the league by surprise. even for the bengals, until that 11th hour, they had a plan in action, two players who they targeted with the 5th and 36th picks, and a pair of players who they suspected would be available with those picks.

so who did mike brown have his eye on, with that pair of picks? given the trade, the bengals were obviously looking for help at running back, so they were clearly eying a different back on draft day. they were also looking to shore up their defensive line.

with the 5th overall pick, the plan was to select kevin carter, a highly ranked defensive end out of florida. carter has since recorded over 100 sacks, anchored the defensive line of a superbowl winning team, played in two pro bowls and was a 1999 all pro selection. he was picked 6th overall by the st. louis rams and thus would have been available for the bengals to pick at 5.

and with the 36th pick? this is where it really stings for brown, the bengals and their fans. looking for a long term fix at the running back position, they had their eye on an overlooked product out of pittsburgh. a player who wasn't selected until the new england patriots picked him with the 74th pick in the 3rd round. a player who would be named offensive rookie of the year, who would be a 5-time all pro and pro bowler and a player who will soon have his name enshrined in the pro football hall of fame.

that's right, the bengals decided against drafting kevin carter and curtis martin, in order to deal those picks to draft ki-jana carter.

some teams simply don't have any luck.
 
The Bucs got Sapp and Brooks in that same draft, players who would ultimately play major roles in winning the Super Bowl in 02.
 
Volcanologist said:
The Bucs got Sapp and Brooks in that same draft, players who would ultimately play major roles in winning the Super Bowl in 02.
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Speaking of teams & draft blunders. How about the Jets in that draft, and ALL their fans chanting "SAPP SAPP SAPP!!" as the call is being made.. Check out 1:20 of the video-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZxNeFLuY98

Of course they selected crap instead, not Sapp. A huge reach. And yet ANOTHER tight end in the first round. LOL. Who in their right mind selects tight end after tight end after tight end IN THE FIRST round ? It's not even a major position on a team.

I remember that draft well. a shocking draft.. I was living in South Florida at the time and saw Sapp and Brooks first hand in college playing for the University of Miami and Florida State respectively...

Boy, couldn't believe they dropped.

Sapp in particular was absolutely dominant against top competition. You just knew he'd be SICK in the NFL. Same for Brooks to a certain extent. I wanted my team to maneuver to get one of those two as Miami needed D at the time... Miami made a reach for tackle Billy Milner 3 picks before Brooks was selected.. I was pissed.. And Milner, of course, turned out to be a total bust.
 
If you think that last NY Jets video was funny, take a look at this guys face when he finds out Miami picked Ginn.. And take a look at that womans face afterwards. They look like they just arrived home with their house on fire. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaYgGSHJ5hM

Oh man, there are so many good draft videos like that, for all the teams, but that one is good.
 
I want to ask if Miami has possibly created a revolutionary thing here with the Wildcat formation they threw on the Patriots this past sunday.. Will it catch on ?

Miami Dolphins assistant coach David Lee developed this formation while he was the offensive co-ordinator at Arkansas with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones abusing opposing defenses (both running backs were 1st round picks this year btw)... David Lee transferred it over this week with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the backfield.. The dolphins have been working on the Wildcat all through training camp, secretly.. Miami wanted to try it earlier in the season starting with the first game against the Jets, but Ronnie Brown had a sprained thumb and he wouldn't have been effective throwing the ball out of the formation.. His thumb is healed, hence they unveiled the Wildcat on the Patriots, much to their chagrin.

With that said, I am loving all the national attention Miami is getting with this offense.. Everyone in the football world is talking about it.... Here is a Seattle newspaper story regarding the Wildcat, and how it exposed New England's slow linebackers and their defense for almost 500 yards- will other teams follow suit when playing the Patriots ? And put the Pats to pasture ?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/380452_kolloen25.html

A Miami-like strategy could make NFL more fun to watch

BILL BELICHICK DESIGNS defenses to outsmart opposing teams. As Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles said before last year's matchup between Belichick and his former assistant, Eric Mangini: "(Coaches) basically use us as chess pieces. How they position us to play this game, that's the main thing."

Yeah, but chess pieces don't have 40-yard-dash times.

It would seem to be a basic tenet of football that if one team's players are old and slow, and the other team's are young and fast, positioning won't make a heck of a lot of difference. It's a basic tenet that every NFL coach but Miami's Tony Sparano apparently forgot.

If you haven't seen extended highlights of the Dolphins' 38-13 win at New England on Sunday, I urge you to get to NFL.com and check them out. Essentially, the Dolphins employed a version of the single wing, precursor to the popular spread-option offense, with running back Ronnie Brown getting direct snaps from center, and embarrassed the Patriots' defense.

It's a brilliant strategy: Belichick has picked defensive players based on their experience and intelligence, the better to disguise coverages and confuse quarterbacks. Athletic ability has been a secondary factor. The obvious counterpunch was Brown (who ran a 4.48 40 at the 2005 draft combine, third-fastest among running backs) slicing past thirtysomething linebackers Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel and Adalius Thomas. Brown ran for three touchdowns out of the direct-snap formation, and, in a tantalizing moment, passed for one. I'll get back to that in a moment.

The overly intellectual strategy that led Belichick to start three 30-year-olds at linebacker is a response to a tactic based on brains over brawn, Bill Walsh's West Coast offense. The West Coast offense relies on quarterbacks who can "read" a defense -- who can identify open receivers based on a split-second calculation of the defense's alignment. In today's NFL -- or at least the NFL we knew before Sunday -- quarterbacks who succeed at this high-pressure intellectual exercise are far more effective than those who possess much greater physical gifts. That's why you've seen such seemingly ridiculous scenarios as Gus Frerotte starting ahead of Tarvaris Jackson, Kerry Collins starting ahead of Vince Young, and, last year, 44-year-old Vinny Testaverde starting ahead of David Carr.

Think about that. If you were going to rank people in the United States based on athletic ability, I'd guess that Testaverde would be about 400,000th. There are probably 5,000 high school quarterbacks who could outrun and outjump him. Yet in today's complicated world of zone blitzes and Cover 2's, Testaverde's ability to read defenses was more valuable than speed, arm strength or practically any other physical metric.

If the guy holding the ball 90 percent of the time probably couldn't outrun half the coaching staff, who needs fast linebackers? Belichick's answer: You don't. Sparano's counter: Ronnie Brown.

College coaches have been succeeding with athletic quarterbacks for years, and the practice has seen a resurgence with the spread offense. These quarterbacks are redefining the position. Take Jake Locker. When the Huskies really want to move the ball, Locker's legs carry them down the field, not his arm.

Perhaps the next evolution of the spread offense will see less delineation between "running back" and "quarterback" and instead a backfield stuffed with players who can both run and throw. And perhaps it could start here in Seattle.

A Washington team averaging just 17 points per game is obviously in need of some offensive creativity. Since everyone agrees that Locker has an almost unheard-of athletic skill set, why not let him create his own unheard-of offensive position. I've even got a catchy name for it: "Throwback." Stick quarterback Ronnie Fouch in the backfield with him to minimize the number of hits each get and let the two terrify opposing defenses with a completely new ground/air attack. The Dolphins have shown the way.

Let's go back to that Dolphins game for a minute. The touchdown that clinched the game for Miami, giving them a 27-6 lead, came on a throw by Brown -- who, as New England defenders were probably surprised to discover, is a lefty. Because Brown threw the pass and not Chad Pennington, it goes down as a trick play. But there was nothing particularly tricky about it. It was your typical rollout pass play, not notable except for the fact that a guy listed as a running back ended up making the throw. Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, who focused on Brown's running ability, lost track of Dolphins tight end Anthony Fasano, who was wide open.

You know you'll see more speed on the field against Belichick-style defenses the rest of the season -- the Dolphins exposed their weakness, and every smart NFL team will rush to exploit it (I expect the Patriots may see a heavy dose of Seneca Wallace on Dec. 7). And if run/throw hybrids become the wave of the future, Washington coaches won't be hurting Locker by trying to turn him into a drop-back passer, they'll be helping his NFL prospects.

Fans get a nice bonus as well. Ever since the intellectual race between offenses and defenses accelerated, you stand a better chance of understanding Washington Mutual's investment portfolio than you do figuring out an NFL playbook.

A backfield of hybrid players would turn the focus away from the all-knowing quarterback and make football more fun to watch.

The Dolphins' strategic surprise is certainly a step in the right direction
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This is a recent post I found, which is very interesting.. I love the X's and O's in football, it's part of what makes it such a fantastic game, to me.

Anyway this post is based on a recent article by respected NFL columnist Pat Kirwan talking about the Widcat.. Interesting stuff, and interesting questions raised (and points made) on David Lee's Wildcat offense.

I was as stunned and delighted by the Dolphins' game this Sunday as any of you. I wore a grin the entire day that wouldn't come off.

But as a football fan, and not just a Miami fan, I think we may have witnessed something that makes a real impact in the NFL.

As I go over the X's and O's of this thing, the Wildcat, the formation and it's derivations might actually be something. And, not just for the Dolphins, but for the NFL.

Pat Kirwan has an excellent article out there tying the Wildcat to the "Pony" backfield...which is a dual-halfback backfield.

The dual-halfback look has become increasingly popular over the last several years. Teams have poked and prodded, using it to see if they can come up with creative mismatches. IMO, the unqualified success of the Wildcat may have broken it loose.

The idea behind the Pony (Miami called it Hippo, back in 2005), is that you can try and get a mismatch in the passing game if you're facing a "regular" defensive personnel package. The Brian Westbrooks and Reggie Bush's of the world are supposed to be nigh on "uncoverable" by a linebacker. You pull one of those guys out to the wings, bringing a LB with him, good deal. The front six (which becomes a front six now because the seventh has pulled out to cover the halfback) can't take for granted that the play is going to be a pass, because the offense has six blockers and so they are evenly matched for running, just like a 3-WR package running the ball against a Nickel defense. Does anyone remember the Falcons game in 2005, when Gus Frerotte threw a pick at the end of the game as we're trying to win? After the game the Falcons players were crowing about how when they saw the dual-halfback backfield, they knew the Dolphins would pass out of it like 80 percent of the time.

The problem, as Dick Vermeil once pointed out, is unless one of those two halfbacks can lead block (and how many halfbacks are there out there that can lead block?), the defense is going to treat the Pony as a speed/pass personnel and they're going to go light. If you march out 2 TEs and 2 HBs, the D will go "regular" where they normally would have gone "heavy" if you brought in a FB instead of 2nd HB. If you march out 2 WRs and 2 HBs, the D will go "nickel" or "stack" where they normally should go "regular". If they don't fear the lead blocking of one of your backs, they'll match up their front six against your front six, or front seven against your front seven, and that should be run-neutral. However, with their 5 DBs against your 2 WRs and 1 HB, or their 4 DBs against your 1 WR and 1 HB, that's a mismatch in favor of the defense.

In comes the Wildcat. The great thing about it is, the D doesn't know you're going Wildcat until they've already got their personnel package on the field. All they saw was that the offensive huddle brought a Pony personnel package. By bringing the QB to the fringe of the field and drawing an extra D Player out of the action, and unbalancing one side of the field, the offense has turned the Pony from pass-oriented attack, to a POWER RUNNING attack. Running the ball not only becomes possible, if the Defense is stuck in a lighter package, it becomes desirable.

What I saw against the Patriots was, when we used the Wildcat in the middle of the field, the Patriots did indeed go light on their personnel. We had 2 TEs and 2 RBs in with only 1 WR but instead of the Pats going "heavy" (which would be appropriate if one of the RBs was a lead blocker), they went "regular". The result? Ricky had a 28 yard run, and Ronnie had a 62 yard touchdown run.

Some of these defensive coordinators are out there trying to figure out a way to cover the Wildcat from a light personnel package. But, my guess...is most won't have the horses to do so. What they will have to do, instead, is just treat a 2nd HB like a FB. And, what does this do? It creates a benefit for guys like Westbrook, Bush, maybe Jerious Norwood...

...and perhaps, Ronnie Brown.

This is like tossing a bowling ball into a bath tub, unless defensive coordinators can figure out how to effectively defend the Wildcat using a light personnel package.

Remember when Tony Sparano said that they originally designed all this stuff with different personnel in mind?

He could have meant Ted Ginn. He could have.

But, I think he meant Josh McCown. You see, Josh McCown played WR up in Detroit under Mike Martz. He only caught 2 passes for 15 yards, of course...but that wasn't his role as a WR. He sure as heck knows how to block out there on the fringe of the field, and that's a big positive for getting the Wildcat to work. On the 28 yard run by Ricky Williams, if Chad Pennington doesn't effectively tie up Deltha O'Neal, the play gets stopped.

So where does Ted Ginn fit? Well, Miami certainly put some fireworks out there to where every defensive coordinator facing them is going to know exactly what they are doing if they see a Pony package. They know Miami could go Wildcat formation out of that package, and the ones that think they can stop it from a light package will continue to do that, but other ones will put out a regular package as if the 2nd HB was a FB. That gives Ronnie mismatch opportunities in the passing game. What will a defense do, if they can't trust Ronnie to be covered by a LB out of the Pony?

They'll bring a safety up. What does that mean for Ted Ginn?

Single coverage on the outside with not much deep help.

You see what I mean about the bowling ball in the bath tub? The right offensive development usually sends off a cascade of developments that make a lot of things easier as a defense adjusts to your strength.


By no means should the Dolphins be confident they've got everything figured out on this. As Tony Sparano said...who knows, the Wildcat may be dead. All it takes is one D-Coord to develop one reliable technique and if our personnel can't be relied upon to neutralize it...dead in the water.

But it'll sure be fun to watch. As per Kirwan, he's seen several teams installing these packages this off season. The Saints have it. The Raiders have it. The Falcons have it. I would think only a matter of time before Andy Reid takes hold of it.

I tell you one thing, I'm a heck of a lot more confident in the team now than I was a week ago. If Ronnie Brown is back in 2007 mode, and by all means he appears to be, that's a huge boost for this team. If Merling and Langford, Porter, Holliday, Starks and Ferguson can continue to punish QBs like they did Cassel...that secondary starts to look a LOT better.

I do hope Paul Pasqualoni himself has an answer for the questions brought up by his own team, with respect to the Wildcat and what it means for personnel matching on the Pony.

Exciting stuff.
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This opens the door for a ton of teams now to make the BCS bowl. Penn St. in particluar, if they can beat Illinois at home big they'll move up thge rankings big time
 
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