Miami stays Wild in 09!

By Gayle Saunders

Whether or not you are wild about the Wildcat offense, the Miami Dolphins have had major success while using it last season and it’s made a perfect transition into 2009.

In 2008 in wake of a week 2 loss to the Cardinals the Miami Dolphins looked to change their offensive structure, they sat back and thought of different types of gameplans. They were open to a whole new approach and open to different formations and new ideas. Tony Sparano, Head coach of the Dolphins and quarterbacks coach David Lee began conversation regarding the offensive schemes Lee had run with running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, while he was offensive coordinator at Arkansas in 2007. The “Wild Hog” made its game changing debut versus the New England Patriots the following week. The Thrashing of the New England Patriots turned the “Wild Hog” into the “WildCat” as we know it today. The unproven one trick pony offense took the Dolphins from zero to hero, and inspired a league full of imitators.

If you look at the Wildcat you have to ask yourself…What is so intriguing about it, and why has it worked so well for Miami? The wildcat is an offspring of the old single-wing, and the player taking the ball from center in a shotgun set has various options. Below you will see Coach David Lee who is now with the Miami Dolphins explain the break down of the Wildcat Offense and show the three primary plays used in the system.

“Steeler,” The running back moves from left side to right side after the snap and takes a handoff from the Wildcat Quarterback. The running back then blasts off to the right behind a pulling left guard, which is an unbalanced right offensive line, and an H-back either between and behind the two right tackles or just outside the right tackle to block. There is also a Steeler option where its a handoff to the quarterback from wide right . The Dolphins used this trick play on The Texan — where they had Pennington throw to the Haflback from the slot for a big play.

“Power,” is where the fake to the running back in the “Steeler” formation leaves the quarterback to go through any one of four different holes to the right. The H-back will stay tight to block, and guard that is pulling guard is the key. (the red arrows show the secondary options for the ball carrier; dashed arrows show fakes or players running decoy routes.)

“Counter” (70 Weak), is where the running back fake leaves the defense biting on “Power,” as the back runs left through a open cutback lane. The line uses slide protection instead of a pulling offensive guard. There is also a passing option out of the Counter, as Miami running back Ronnie Brown showed against the Pats when he hit tight end Tony Fasano for a touchdown in the video below. (fast forward to :34 )

“It could be the single wing, it could be the Delaware split buck business that they used to do,” Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning said. “The Wild Cat comes from all of that.

Either way you look at it, the Miami Dolphins have showed that they know the Wildcat system inside and out, and have groomed it as if it were their own personal pet. Various teams might try to mirror their success, but Miami has the personnel to make it pop. With Ricky Williams and most importantly Ronnie Brown running the ball, they offer two solid run options in the backfield. The addition of Pat White to the mix means they foresee a future with their wildcat package. The best may be yet to come. Lets thank the Dolphins coaching staff and Tony Sparano for their dedication to their craft and the bravery to think outside the box.