Happy New Year, everybody!  Hope you all have a happy and healthy 2009!

But there's business to tend to now.  Like Tony Sparano, holidays don't ruin our focus here, either.  So let's get right to the burning questions for this Sunday's Wild Card game between the Dolphins and Ravens.

How effective can the 'Wildcat' and the Dolphins' ground game be?
This is one of the key questions for Sunday's game.  Back in week 17, Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, and Patrick Cobbs combined for just 46 yards rushing on 18 carries.  That's not acceptable.  This was also the first game that really saw the Wildcat formation get shut down - gaining just 4 yards on 5 attempts.  So on Miami's 13 other running plays, the Fins gained 42 yards - 3.2 yards per carry.

The problem last time, though, was that the Dolphins were trying to run - especially with the Wildcat - to the outside of Baltimore's defense.  That's not how you attack this Baltimore defense - a smart, aggressive, and most importantly, fast defense.  They can cover track down ball carriers sideline to sideline as good as or better than any defense I've watched in the last 10 years.  So running those Wildcat handoffs to Ricky Williams and having him run "east and west" rather than "north and south" is a bad idea.

Instead, the Dolphins need to use a power running game.  They need to pound Ronnie, Ricky, Patrick, and Lousaka between the tackles.  Yes, this Raven defense is damn good against the run.  But you can't abandon the run altogether.  Keep it simple and run right at them.  Challenge them.  Don't play to their strength and try to get the edge on the outside.  That won't work.

Also - it'll be interesting to see if the Wildcat gets used at all.  I think using it as a way to get Ronnie the ball quicker and find a hole between the tackles is not a bad idea.  If nothing else, it'll force the Ravens to respect the run up the middle out of that Wildcat - possibly setting them up for some trickery out of the formation.  After all, they could be susceptible to biting and falling for a pass out of the Wildcat.  The Ravens are fast and aggressive and could get caught out of position if they over-pursue.

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