Last night we happened to see one of the most dominating games, in terms of time of possession, in a long time. The Dolphins held the ball for more than 45 minutes of the game. A ludicrous 3 quarters worth of offensive possession. Doing this to any team is remarkable, devastating and not unlike a group of Dads playing against a group of their 5 year old sons. However they didn't do this to just anyone, they did this to the Colts, a team who has owned the "Ball Control" crown during the Peyton Manning epoch.
The secret to Indy's ball control technique is that they can always run the ball. They control the line of scrimmage, they have a guy who runs up to the line with 3 plays in his head and picks one at a moment's notice at the line depending on the defensive look and they can pass the ball to no less than four receivers on any given pass play. Four receivers who can play, mind you.
So when Miami ate the clock like they were at a Chinese buffet, one would think that Colts got rolled over. Oh no, friend, they didn't. The Colts got several long TDs and their defense only let Miami in the endzone twice and they forced four FG tries in doing so. So major props to the Colts offense for that. But the defense had a pyrrhic victory at best. Yes, they won the game. But again, Miami had the ball for 75% of the game. Letting up anything more than 60% should be considered a failure by most defenses (teams who have Mike Martz on the coaching staff are excused).
So how does Miami do it? And why is it that they have success with the Wildcat when most other teams seem to use it sparingly and poorly?
Let's answer question number 2 first. Teams do not have success with it because they aren't committed to it. The Jaguars, a team whose offense could be classified as "Dick Cheney" in terms of conservativeness, have tried the Wildcat once this year. That was on a 2 point conversion against... the Colts! Maurice Jones-Drew took the snap and immediately ran into a clusterfuck of human beings and did not pop out on the other side in the endzone. Jacksonville was lined up in the wildcat, but this was clearly a gadget play that had maybe a 40-60 percent chance of working. Maybe another time, he blasts through the hole and tied the game up. That time, Mojo had his face sat on by Gary Brackett. The Jags just aren't committed to the Wildcat. So if and when they roll it out again, a team will instantly see it and destroy it because there is a huge chance that either it's a run up the middle or a run off tackle because Mojo probably can't throw the ball more than 10 feet and because the Jags have no other speed X factor backs.
Which brings us to the Dolphins. They actually do have more than one speed X factors on offense. In fact they have 3. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and Ted Ginn all take part. Also, the Fins usually have Brown or Williams running horizontally before the snap. This means that there has to be a linebacker shading him, or the linebacking corps has to shift. For the Wildcat, it is basically an 8 on 7 game. The offensive line (5 guys), the tight end (1 guy) and the Running back(s) versus the defensive front (3 or 4) and the linebackers (4 or 3). The secondary is pretty much inconsequential.
Truthfully, the 2ndary is usually inconsequential because in a normal running game, if you get to the secondary, you usually have a big run on your hands. But in the Wildcat it is completely neutralized because they have to stay there for the pass and they then have to either stay at home or shift to the direction of the play.
So in this 7 on 7 game, the linebackers then must choose, is it a handoff to the streaking horizontal RB, or a run up the middle? This is far different than the usual "run left, run right, run middle" protocol. So the LBs make their decision. The defensive line, just like in a normal running play has to either plug gaps or get penetration. So the Wildcat, if not blown up in the backfield (remember its in the shotgun), will be successful as long as blocks are made. For Miami, they have a good O-line, so they can run this offense effectively. Go watch Arkansas run it with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. They are great runners and they have a great line. That usually means a good running game. Ready to have your mind blown? David Lee, QB coach for the Fins right now, was the O-Coordinator at Arkansas. I'll wait for your head to re-form. But the added element of "being new" is huge, too, and can't be understated.
We're not as good as the guys at smartfootball.com, so instead of a chart with X's and O's, we give you hot cheerleaders. Your thanks is unnecessary.
As for devotion, the Dolphins run it several times per drive. Plus, they run misdirections, counters and reverses (yes, I know the difference between a reverse and an end around). Then on top of all of that, you give Ronnie Brown the ball directly without a handoff that usually forces a run to certain side, 5 yards deep so he can make a read in the line and a good push from the offensive line. That's where 5.7 yards per rush comes from. They dominated a very good defensive line with Indy. The only way to stop it is to force turnovers, field goals and to blitz. Atlanta wasn't afraid to blitz last week. Neither was Baltimore last year in the playoffs. Indy sat back, and they got torched. We'll just shave to see how teams in the future treat it.
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