New England's Wildcat Woes
Steve Rawlins
Posted on: 24 September 2008 - 10:43
American Football
OK. So last week I called the Dolphins a flat-lining team. And they were. Last season they looked like the anti-Patriots – trying to string together a chain of record losses before they won one single game against the Ravens in Week 15 to snap a 13 game slide. That would be the only game they would win in 2007, and this season started off no better with two losses to the Jets and Cardinals.
So it was with some confidence that New England fans gathered on Sunday to watch their team, holders of the best record in the NFL in the last 18 games, play against the team with the worst record in the League. True, the Patriots had no Tom Brady, out for the season with knee ligament damage, but come on, the Dolphins?
But on any given Sunday the unexpected can happen, and the Fins did something to the Patriots that has not been done in a long time. Not only did they beat the Patriots at home in New England, they pulverized them. Crushed them. The Fish beat the Pats so bad they made the Patriots defense look like amateurs, and made Bill Belichick look like Scott Linehan.
And it was the way in which the upset was conceived that was oh so sweet. Using a series of single-wing gadget plays, the Miami center made direct snap after direct snap to tailback Ronnie Brown instead of quarterback Chad Pennington, fooling the Patriots defense an unbelievable SIX times in critical situations, enabling Brown to score four touchdowns. The running back even managed to throw for a touchdown as well, hooking up with Anthony Fasano for a 19-yard major.
At the end of the game, the stunned Patriots were down 38-13 and the usual cheers in Gillette Stadium had turned to angry boos. So how on earth did the Dolphins pull it off? Basically, by completely confusing 11 people on the other team, over and over again.
The formation the Dolphins used on these misdirection plays is called “Wildcat” – which has been around for decades but is seldom used in the National Football League. The unbalanced offensive line – which has two tackles on the same side – is designed to sabotage the defense’s arrangement, and the quarterback acts as decoy by lining up as a wide receiver. As the defensive line starts scratching their heads, the tailback takes a direct shotgun snap from the center. Immediately before this, a wingback starts to sprint towards the tailback, making it look like the ball will be handed to him for a full speed takeaway. Unmarked, and with gaping holes in the front line, Ronnie Brown slips though with the football. Pure genius.
The most amazing thing about the play was the frequency with which the Patriots fell for it. Fool me once, shame on you? What’s fool me six times, Bill? After seeing the direct snap five times already, the Patriots allowed Brown to run for a massive 62 yard touchdown. You can bet that most defensive coaches in the league quickly scrambled to find their notes on single wing football. We might even see some other teams with quarterback difficulties start using it in their offence in weeks to come.
The Dolphins have a Bye next week, so it will give the San Diego Chargers plenty of time to come with an answer that the Patriots so lacked on Sunday. If you see Ronnie Brown line up behind center, watch carefully – there’s trickery afoot.