Dolphins Embarrass Patriots
Perhaps the greatest mismatch of Week 3 was the Patriots versus Miami Dolphins game. The Dolphins were no match for the New England Patriots who easily won…wait. Wha? Oh yeah, that’s right. It was the other way around. The game went harshly against the grain and shocked the nation when the Dolphins thoroughly trounced the Patriots 38-13. It was an amazing offensive output by a team that nearly went completely defeated last year (1-15) and a poor defensive showing from a team that was unbeaten in its last 22 regular season games.
How did they do it? Answer: Wildcat formation. Simply put, the Wildcat formation stacks its best and biggest blockers along the right side of the line to create more running angles to that unbalanced side. Additionally, QB Chad Pennington and running backs Ricky Williams and Patrick Hobbs lined up as wide receivers as other running back Ronnie Brown became the shotgun QB for the package. Then, as the play begins, Ricky Williams starts into a violent, full speed motion that crosses in front of Brown just as the ball is snapped. This play (which is based in misdirection) has three choices at this point: Hand off to Williams, Brown runs with it through a stacked line of blocking, or Brown throws to a receiver.
The misdirection was a rousing success against the Patriots. The Dolphins ran the Wildcat package 6 times for 118 yards and 4 touchdowns. Williams ran the ball twice for 30 yards, Brown ran 3 times for 69 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Brown also threw for a 19 yard touchdown completion. Without a doubt, the Wildcat package dismantled the Patriots defense. Now it remains to be seen: Are the Dolphins to employ this tactic regularly, or was it specially designed for the Patriots game?







