Reader Mailbag: Miami vs. the Wildcat

With the Dolphins set to play the Raiders tomorrow, I'd like to field an interesting question I was emailed:

How well do you think the Dolphins defense will do when they face a team that will use the "wildcat"? Say either New England or the Raiders.

Good question.

Ever since Miami obliterated New England in week 3 with the Wildcat formation, up to half the teams in the league have experimented with their own version of it. I believe Oakland may have even used it as early as week one. The Raiders certainly weren't copycatting the Dolphins when they used the Wildcat. It was simply a matter of having and utilizing the key cog (Darren McFadden) who ran it so well at Arkansas.

So if any team other than Miami knows how to run this offense well, it's Oakland. Of course, McFadden has been hampered by injured toes for much of this season, so the Wildcat has yet to take off for them. But all reports are that McFadden will play tomorrow.

So what are Miami's chances of stopping this formation?

Well, I think the most important factor will be their familiarity with it. This defense sees the Wildcat, in all its variations, every day at practice. They should know how to react to it without being caught off guard. That being said, even knowing all of the options beforehand still does not guarantee that the defenders will know which exact one to defend.

The major key will be to maintain gap integrity, to ensure that the running backs do not have any cutback lanes.

The Ravens completely shut down Miami's use of the Wildcat by subbing out safety Ed Reed and putting in an extra linebacker on some downs. This will be an option for Miami, but I don't think they necessarily have the personnel to do it with the same effectiveness. Another option will be to run blitz the formation heavily. This way, even in the event of a pass, the running back will be forced to make a throw under pressure - something most running backs will really struggle with.

Make no mistake, defending against the Wildcat from other teams will surely be a challenge, but I have to believe that Miami has a slight advantage having seen it every day in practice.

McChesney to IR; Ninkovich called up

G Matt McChesney was called up from the practice squad less than a week ago following Evan Mathis' release. It turns out the game action he saw against the Seahawks will be his last this season, as he was placed on Injured Reserve with a knee injury.

To take his spot on the roster, LB Rob Ninkovich was called up from the practice squad. Ninkovich played in four games for Miami last season, primarily on special teams, where he recorded two tackles.

Miami now has an open spot on its practice squad, which should be filled early next week.

Wildcat By The Numbers Week 10

Here's my latest tables for tracking the success of the Wildcat formation.

I wrote last week that the Wildcat looked to be dying, and if it couldn't rebound against Seattle it may be time to pull the plug for a while. Well, thankfully that shouldn't be necessary anymore.

New life was breathed into the Wildcat this week, as it had its best performance of the season since its debut against the Patriots in Week 3.

I've previously characterized the Wildcat formation as Miami's home-run potential which comes with the possibility of striking out a lot. Well, that continues to be the case, as the plays are essentially feast or famine, with long runs and touchdown plays mixed in with lots of 1 and 2 yard runs. But as long as the formation can keep up its gaudy 18% TD rate, it needs to continue to be used week in and week out.

	Plays	Run	Pass	Yards	Yds/Play	FDs	TDs
Week 3, @NE	6	5	1	119	19.8	1	4
Week 5, SD	10	9	1	48	4.8	3	1
Week 6, @HOU	7	6	1	77	11.0	0	1
Week 7, BAL	5	5	0	4	0.8	0	0
Week 8, BUF	7	7	0	34	4.9	3	0
Week 9, @ DEN	4	3	1	-5	-1.3	0	0
Week 10, SEA	6	6	0	80	13.3	0	2
Total	45	41	4	357	7.9	7	8
Avg./Game	6.4	5.9	0.6	51	-	1	1.1

	Plays	FDs (non-penalty)	FD%	TDs	TD%	Run Avg
Non-WC Plays	499	161	32%	13	3%	3.4 yds
WC Plays	45	7	16%	8	18%	7.1 yds

	Runs	Yards	Avg	FDs	TDs
Ronnie Brown	26	169	6.5	5	5
Ricky Williams	14	121	8.6	2	1
Patrick Cobbs	1	3	3.0	0	0

Todd Lowber, Kirk Barton added to practice squad

Anyone who watched this summer's edition of HBO's Hard Knocks will recognize WR Todd Lowber, the player Miami signed to its practice squad on Monday.

Lowber has very little football experience, having never played in college, but his immense athletic ability got him an opportunity in the NFL with the Vikings in 2007. He was cut by the Vikings before the season began and spent the rest of the year on the Giants' practice squad. He then went to camp with the Cowboy this year but was cut in August.

As the HBO series showed, Lowber is still incredibly raw. His mind is still adjusting to a wide receiver's mindset and he struggles with some of the basic fundamentals of the position. But his physical attributes are rare. He has great size (6'3", 205 lbs.), he's fast, and he can jump.

I love stashing guys like this on the practice squad to see if the team can strike gold. Remember, this guy has only been playing football for a year. If the team can be patient with him on the practice squad, they may be able to turn him into a productive player down the road.

[Update] The team also brought back rookie T Kirk Barton to be on the practice squad. DT Anthony Toribio was released to make room. [/End Update]

Here is what the team's practice squad looks like now:

1. RB Lex Hilliard
2. WR Anthony Armstrong
3. LB Rob Ninkovich
4. RB Jalen Parmele
5. LB Will Kershaw
6. CB Will Billingsley
7. WR Todd Lowber
8. T Kirk Barton
   

Thoughts on Seahawks Game

Could they have made that game any more tense in the fourth quarter?

Nevertheless, I think Ethan Skolnick, from the Sun-Sentinel, summed up this win perfectly:

When does your team matter again?

Not when it starts winning a few games.

Rather, when people start whining about the way it wins them.

So true.

And yes, that means that the Miami Dolphins truly matter again. I held off talking about Miami and the playoffs until now, because it doesn't feel right to me to talk about a .500 team going to the playoffs. But now this team has gone over the .500 mark and their late season schedule is setting up as well as one could hope for if this team is to make a push for the playoffs.

There's no reason to hold back any more. This team has a legitimate shot to play in the postseason this season. Even so, I'll wait until after this week's Oakland game before getting too gung-ho about it.

The Dolphins proved as much as to the viewers as to themselves that they can beat teams they are expected to beat. That will be put on display once again against the Raiders. If they can take care of business, they will head into a crucial game at home against the Patriots. The remaining three AFC East games will have the biggest effect on Miami's playoff chances so let's wait until we face those games before taking stock of our chances.

Just like the players should not think past the next game on the schedule, in this case, neither should we, the fans.

Here are some thoughts I have about the Seattle game:

• The special teams coverage units continue to play as poorly as can be. This shouldn't completely surprise anyone since special teams are predicated on roster depth, something which Miami sorely lacks. Many of the special teams players brought in over the offseason were also cut before the season began, so this shouldn't be a complete shock. Even so, coach Bonamego better figure out a way to mask the deficencies of his schemes or the special teams phase will ultimately cost this team a win or two down the stretch.
• Lousaka Polite = clutch. Seriously, this guy has four carries since joining the team - all for first downs, and in some pretty tight situations. Perhaps Polite could be a longer-term answer at fullback than any of us originally believed.
• How did Ted Ginn make that catch at the back of the endzone with two defenders draped all over him? Simply amazing catch. (Pennington has to see the wide-open Camarillo on that play, though.)
• Don't worry about Will Allen being targeted slightly more than usual this game. The guys at FootballOutsiders brought up a good point. Seneca Wallace routinely ignores a complete half of the field, regardless of who is matched up on whom.
• The Wildcat found its second wind. I'll have a little more info on that later this week, when I compile its weekly statistical performance.
  

Condren released; Bryan brought back

There's no other way to say this, but Miami's special teams play this season, particularly its coverage units, have been horrible, among the very worst in the league.

In an effort to find some sort of solutions to the problem, the team released S Brannon Condren and signed S Courtney Bryan.

Bryan was with Miami all of last season as an undrafted rookie. He played in 12 games, collecting ten tackles and a fumble recovery. He also added one special teams tackle. And that is the area that Bryan will be asked to immediately contribute to.

Bryan was with the Dolphins throughout the entire offseason before being released in August, so he is familiar with the coaching staff.

There has been some talk about using starters on special teams to try to improve the units' effectiveness, but that option should be thrown out in my opinion. The Dolphins are doing so well this year in large part because of their relatively impeccable health. Putting starters, who are already on the field for upwards of 60 plays a game, on the special teams units is unnecessarily jeopardizing them. This team has very little depth at most positions, so it can ill afford that risk.

Wildcat By The Numbers Week 9

Here's my latest tables for tracking the success of the Wildcat formation.

This past week was easily the Wildcat's worst performance of the season. Ronnie Brown ran three times from the formation and gained only 1 yard each time. The coaches tried to set up a pass play from the formation, but Ronnie was sacked for an 8 yard loss. This was all coming against Denver's defense which is one of the worst in the league.

The Wildcat has now been in play for six weeks, and the difference between the first three weeks of its use and the last three are stark. The Wildcat is on life-support at this point, and it may be circling the drain.

I don't think the team should give up on it yet, especially since running from the base formation has been so impotent, but something clearly needs to happen to breathe new life into it. Hopefully, it can get back on track against Seattle; if not, it may be time to shelve it for a while.

	Plays	Run	Pass	Yards	Yds/Play	FDs	TDs
Week 3, @NE	6	5	1	119	19.8	1	4
Week 5, SD	10	9	1	48	4.8	3	1
Week 6, @HOU	7	6	1	77	11.0	0	1
Week 7, BAL	5	5	0	4	0.8	0	0
Week 8, BUF	7	7	0	34	4.9	3	0
Week 9, @ DEN	4	3	1	-5	-1.3	0	0
Total	39	35	4	277	7.1	7	6
Avg./Game	6.5	5.8	0.7	46.2	-	1.2	1

	Plays	FDs (non-penalty)	FD%	TDs	TD%	Run Avg
Non-WC Plays	441	141	32%	12	3%	3.4 yds
WC Plays	39	7	18%	6	15%	6.1 yds

	Runs	Yards	Avg	FDs	TDs
Ronnie Brown	23	144	6.3	5	4
Ricky Williams	11	66	6.0	2	0
Patrick Cobbs	1	3	3.0	0	0