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Miami Dolphins refreshing, not retiring, the Wildcat offense . . . .

Discussion in 'Miami Dolphins Forum' started by cobrajet, May 9, 2011.

  1. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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  2. alen1

    alen1 New Member

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    Merge.
     
  3. muscle979

    muscle979 Season Ticket Holder

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    I wonder how they plan on refreshing something that has been steadily getting less and less productive since it was started.
     
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  4. Tone_E

    Tone_E Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Pass the ball.
     
  5. cdz12250

    cdz12250 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    ^
    This.

    It's the reason Pat White was drafted.
     
  6. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    Ay caramba.
     
  7. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    If we rythmically drive the ball 60-70 yards, then kill the drive with this crap again, I'm gonna pull my ****ing skin off.
     
  8. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    yup, better to kill the drive with 3 incompletions
     
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  9. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Either way it's 3 points, might as well try something we've never seen before :shifty:
     
  10. jason8er

    jason8er Luxury Box Luxury Box

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    That too. With play action on 3rd and long.
     
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  11. CitizenSnips

    CitizenSnips hmm.

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    Daniel Thomas was recruited as a quarterback and switched to running back during his college career, so it doesn't make sense to scrap the wildcat entirely.

    He may even be able to run it better than Brown ever could. If he actually is a legitimate passing threat, it'd be pretty scary. But if defenses arent afraid of him passing at all. like they werent of Brown, then it will fall apart.

    I dont see the wildcat becoming a focal point to offense again, but you never want the defense to get too comfortable.
     
  12. Rocky Raccoon

    Rocky Raccoon Greasepaint Ghost Staff Member

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    Exactly.

    The Wildcat is fine as long as it's used properly. Henning kept using it last year at the worst times and kept doing so even though it wasn't working. I have faith that Daboll will use it correctly.
     
  13. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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    I think you could do it with new weapons and a fresh offensive coordinator because there were a hundred things that could have been done that were not. Pulling guards, audibles, reverses, flea flickers, and even quick kicks, yup, kicks. (I remember Shula back in the 70's did an "onside punt" that worked really well.) If they can focus on it there a ton of things that could be done.
     
  14. DHPVW

    DHPVW DuB addict

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    If we sign Brown and have Thomas and Brown in the wildcat package it suddenly becomes much more difficult to cover. Both Brown and Thomas are capable of throwing the ball and receiving the snap. This adds more depth to the formation imo
     
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  15. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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    Also add to the mix Charles Clay FB / TE that they just drafted because he adds a multitude of variables. I think the trick is to do four things well rather than to try and do eight things poorly. Right now we have so many issues with regular football fundamentals maybe we shouldn't distract from solving them first.
     
  16. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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  17. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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  18. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    It has a time and place, but you need the right pieces. At this point, the team that probably does this formation best is the Jests with Smith at the helm. The key is not to run the same exact wildcat play every single damn time.
     
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  19. slickj101

    slickj101 Is Water

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    I'd give up every WC play in our book just to have a running game that can consistently produce 5-7 yard runs a pop.
     
  20. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    Just curious, do you have any idea how many drives (or a %) last year we had end due to 3 consecutive incompletions?
     
  21. Stitches

    Stitches ThePhin's Biggest Killjoy Luxury Box

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    I'd give up Jake Long if we could consistently produce 5-7 yd runs. :lol:
     
  22. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    I am sure it is much higher during the second half of the season when Miami abandoned the run
     
  23. finagain

    finagain New Member

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    If they really want the wildcat, why don't they just sign Vince Young? Then defenses don't even know when it's coming..pretty much just the zone read from the college game
     
  24. Samphin

    Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει

    If they want to kepe the Wildcat, I would suggest TWO things. First, line Jake Long up on the far right hand side like they did in 2008. I never understood why they quit lining up the linemen in the off blanaced attack. No one has ever been able to answer that for me.

    And two, integrate Henne INTO the Wildcat. We have all been frustrated with Henne getting into a groove, only to be put on the sidelines while Ronnie and Ricky ran for two yards. Why not make Henne the triggerman while Daniel Thomas is in the Wildcat (the man in motion), or better yet, put HENNE in the Wildcat and have Daniel Thomas be the triggerman, that way if Henne is handed the ball in motion, you have a legit passing threat while the defense has taken a step in to thwart the running game. Just a thought.
     
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  25. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    I haven't been frustrated because I do not believe that. The coaches do not believe that and Chad Henne does not believe that.

    If quarterback groove was so important teams would call time outs more when the quarterbacks are playing well. I haven't see that happen once.
     
  26. Samphin

    Samphin Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει

    Meh, its not a scientific fact by any means. But there is somethign ot be said about a player being in a "zone," or getting into a groove. Same goes for a running game. The more carries they get, typically the YPA go up as the defense wears down.

    There wer eplenty of drives where Henne's passing helped move the chains, only to be stalled out running a tepid Wildcat play on first and second down, creating an obvious 3rd and long passing down.

    That isn't to say that that wouldn't have happened with Henne in, but at least the defense would have to still respect a pass given the personell on the field. Once we go Wildcat, defense can sell out with little to no fear of having an aerial component. Having Henne take on some sort of role, other than observer during a Wildcat formation would help negate that.

    And I doubt coaches WOULD take timeouts as QB's got into a groove. They guard timeouts like they are gold bars, tyring to use them to stop play late.

    But feel free to believe whatever you want, no skin off my back.
     
  27. Dol-Fan Dupree

    Dol-Fan Dupree Tank? Who is Tank? I am Guy Incognito.

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    What about the 2 minute warning? Even though it would give the offense more time to prepare, however if the quarterback is on fire, a time out there would take them out of the groove. Also you would think that coaches would then be wary about calling timeouts in the situation where their quarterback is hot, as to not get them out of their groove.

    Coaches also call timeouts to "freeze" the kicker.

    Football is a game of stops and starts. There are many points to get out of a rhythm.

    There awere also plenty of drives that were stalled by a sack or a penalty. Both of those situation Henne is taking the snap from the center and would still be in this imaginary groove.

    Also anytime a play stalls out on first and second down and causes a 3rd and long situation. I would make a bet that there were more drives that were 3rd and longs caused by two passing plays than by two wildcat plays.

    In fact I would argue that the wildcat plays that are success where Henne is taken out of the entire game are actually beneficial to Henne because then he could talk to his coaches and get an extra feel for what is going on in the game.

    Of course, you too can believe what you want.
     
  28. jw3102

    jw3102 season ticket holder

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    While I have certainly grown tired of the Wildcat, just as many other Dolphin fans have. The truth of the matter is that as long as Henne is the starting QB for the Dolphins, the Wildcat will remind a large part of the offensive package. This coaching staff just does not have the confidence in Henne to let the entire offense rest on him. The reason they want to become a stronger running offense, while the best teams in the NFL are passing offenses, is because the coaching staff understands that Henne is not a very productive passer. The more Henne is forced to pass the ball in a game, the more he is apt to turn the ball over. Until Henne is finally demoted or cut, the Dolphins will remain a run team first, with strong reliance on the Wildcat, if for no other reason than to take the ball out of Heene's hands as often as possible.
     
  29. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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  30. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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    I have always been stumped by this as well. Why ditch something that worked so well?? To expand on that, they stopped running pulling guards and trap blocks on the O line. I'm totally stumped as to why you stop doing this if it was working so well. Either this fell out of favor when they changed offensive line coaches, or the NFL really and truly is fixed after all.
     
  31. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    That doesn't make any sense at all. It's a run play. That's it. It doesn't take the ball out of Henne's hands in any meaningful sense more than any other run play does, and if you think the Dolphins run a disproportionate amount you should probably look at the percentages.
     
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  32. Disgustipate

    Disgustipate Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Because you've got no ability to run to the weak side of the formation. The defense didn't have to respect the entire back side of the formation, and seemed mostly to keep an eye on Fasano because he was eligible, and try to put someone through the hole Smiley pulling left. You could just overload the weak side.

    The "balanced" Wildcat worked really well before Ronnie Brown went down in '09 and the Jet Sweep got shelved and it turned into a goal-line only formation. They used it to chew up the Jets defense where Rex Ryan supposedly understood how to "solve" it the year before. It didn't work in '10, but I don't think it was a balanced vs. unbalanced issue.

    Chad Henne isn't any sort of threat at all to beat anyone to the corner on a Jet Sweep.
     
  33. smahtaz

    smahtaz Pimpin Ain't Easy

    I really like the version of the WC where:

    The guy taking the snap is a threat to run between the tackles or bounce it outside.
    The O-line is unbalanced.
    There is always a guy in motion (to and from the strong side) that is a threat to take it to the house.

    The next progression would be a tailback that can toss the rock effectively.

    Ireland, Sparano and Daboll really don’t have anything to lose at this point and they drafted a replacement for Grove, a guy recruited as a QB who became a solid RB in the Big 12 and a couple of real matchup problems.

    Why not make it the base offense and bring in Henne as a change of pace?
     
  34. cobrajet

    cobrajet Mr. Ross - sell the team!

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    I think it's a sad commentary on our offense when other teams who have adapted the wildcat can run it better than we can. Are we in agreement on this?
     
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