Wildcat Gets the Press but conventional offense will be key

by shula13 on Nov 19, 2008 2:02 PM EST

The Wildcat formation gets the most press, but as the season progresses, the success of the formation has dwindled somewhat. Miami may introduce new plays to get extra yards, like the inside run featured by Patrick Cobbs last week, but we will only win this game if our base offense plays well. Here are my keys to the game:

Offensive Line - we need to control the trenches. I'm particularly concerned about the interior, with Samson Satele and Ndukwe going against Vince Wilfork. This will be a big test.

Tight Ends - With Rodney Harrison out, look for Miami to try and take advantage with the matchup problems that Fasano and David Martin can give New England. Look for those seam passes that have worked so well in the past.

Most of our success has come with Miami throwing on 1st down, getting the 6-7 yards and setting up short distance on 2nd and 3rd Down. Every team this year has stacked the box on 1st down against us, allowing Pennington to pick apart the secondary. This has played into Chad's hands, since he's great when his receivers have one on one coverage. I see New England putting more people in coverage on early downs, forcing us to prove we can run the rock. If we win the 1st down battle, I foresee good, long, sustainable drives. Otherwise, if the Pats force us into 2nd or 3rd and long, we may have a long day.

As for Defense:

We need to double team Moss with Jason Allen (a bigger corner) and a safety over the top. That will allow Will Allen to guard the receiver who is likely to get most of the throws, like Jabbar Gaffney last week. If we defend the run like we have in the past couple of weeks and force Cassel to be one-dimensional, this can likely work in our favor.

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Great breakdown..

I like what you say about first downs.. I think Play Action early will set up a big play.. because they may set up a coverage look, but they will be expecting a run to counter their pass-look.

"I throw better than anybody in college and I can throw with anybody in the pros. There, that's what I think."
"I've been a Dolphin for 17 years, and I'll be a Dolphin for the rest of my life. That will never change."
- Dan Marino aka Quarterback God

by Little Nicky 21 on Nov 19, 2008 2:10 PM EST reply actions

thanks

Play Action will be huge. I’m still not sold on our running game from the base offense. While we do create nice runs, there are too many instances where we get held at the line of scrimmage or tackled in the backfield.
New England, with the exception of Jerrod Mayo, has an old, veteran, LB corps that might not possess great speed. I’d try to exploit the toss and have Ronnie-Ricky beat the defense to the outside. The play I like is the fake inside run, and then Chad shuffles it to the outside to Ricky. Denver made this play famous.

by shula13 on Nov 19, 2008 3:03 PM EST reply actions

Nice job!!

I also think we need to mix in man coverage on with Goodman on Welker and bring the Heat on Cassel at times during the game. We have to keep two on Moss, my guess they will test us early with the deep ball to open the field up. Cassel is a better QB this time around and we will have our hands full.

by jvw on Nov 19, 2008 5:26 PM EST reply actions