Remember When The Miami Dolphins Still Had Hope And The Wildcat? [Video]

Here is a highlight video of the Miami Dolphins Week 5 victory over the New York Jets during the 2009-2010 season.

I thought you guys would enjoy this video, because after that win things were looking good for the Dolphins. There was a lot of hope in Chad Henne and the Wildcat was still going strong.

I hope you guys enjoy the video:



One other thing I enjoyed about this video was Ted Ginn's TD catch. He broke away from his defenders and caught the ball. That was a rarity for Ginn with Miami, so I thought you guys would enjoy watching it.

Thanks for watching. I apologize to anyone who doesn't want to watch videos, but it is the offseason and there isn't anything to write about.

Will This Be Ronnie Brown's Last Year With The Miami Dolphins?

Will We See Ronnie Brown In A Dolphins Jersey Next Season?

Let me start by saying that Ronnie Brown has been able to do a lot of great things for the Miami Dolphins in his six years with the franchise. He is Mr. Wildcat, and he won a lot of games for the Dolphins in his time here. He was able to carry a lot of the burden when Chad Henne first came in as a starter, and he is a big reason the Dolphins made the playoffs two years ago.

Sadly, though, I think this will be his last season with the Miami Dolphins. He is averaging a career low 3.9 yards per carry, and he has lacked the playmaking ability that he had in years past. He is technically a veteran player, and running backs have a short shelf life in the NFL nowadays. Six years as a running back in the NFL is like 12 years as a receiver. Running backs really take a beating, and they begin to wear down after years of playing.

I am afraid that Ronnie Brown can no longer be the premier running back for the Dolphins. He just doesn't have good enough numbers to be one. He wasn't able to reach 100 rushing yards off of 24 carries against the Raiders, He has only had four games all season where he averaged over 4 yards per carry, and he only has three touchdowns after 11 games.

His running style no longer seems to work with the Miami Dolphins offense. His main strength was running the wildcat, and now he doesn't really run it very effectively. That may be partly Dan Henning's fault because he is too predictable when he calls it, but Ronnie still can't make much of anything happen.

He just doesn't seem like an explosive player anymore, and we need an explosive back to work with Chad Henne. Henne can be really good, but he needs to have a running back carrying part of the load because he can't handle it himself.

I know that Dan Henning has been largely to blame for the running game, and consequently Ronnie Brown's, performance this year, but I just get the feeling that Ronnie's time in Miami will be limited. His contract expires at the end of this year, and I am not sure that the Dolphins will be willing to give him a new one that he would accept.

He had said earlier this year that he hadn't had any talks with Miami Dolphins officials about a new contract yet, so that tells me there is a good chance Miami won't keep him. The Dolphins organization doesn't show loyalty to players who have been in Miami (just look at Jason Taylor), so, I have a feeling that Ronnie will be another player added to the list of career-long Dolphins that end up going to another team.

We will see what happens, but don't be surprised if he ends up going to another team this offseason. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if he does go to another team and ends up bouncing back and playing like LaDainian Tomlinson has played this year. He may not do as well as LT has done, but I have a feeling that if he is put in the correct offense he can still make things happen.

Thanks for reading, and please be sure to leave a comment on what you think. I would be surprised if every Miami Dolphins fan that reads this doesn't have a strong opinion one way or the other about Brown.

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I Have A Hunch About What The Miami Dolphins Will Do This Sunday Against Baltimore

Remember That?

I have a good feeling about this Sunday's game against Baltimore. I believe that the Dolphins offense will be able to start back the running game and put points up on the board. Yes, the Ravens have a top-caliber defense, but what you may not realize is that they have a weakness to the running game.

They are 10th or better in the NFL in every major defensive statistic except for rushing yards allowed, in which they are 17th, and they have allowed an average of just over 109 yards on the ground. That is where the Miami Dolphins need to capitalize, and capitalize they will.

My hunch for this week is that the Dolphins are going to bring back the wildcat and be successful with it. I have no quotes by players or hints from any insiders telling me Miami is going to reintroduce it. Nobody has told me that they would introduce it. I am just making a guess based on the fact that the Ravens are weakest against the running game and I don't think the Dolphins (and especially Dan Henning) are not willing to give up the wildcat fully.

I just have a feeling that the Dolphins will run the wildcat, and that they will run it successfully.

The Dolphins woes with the running game this year have to do with poor run blocking. Miami's offensive line has become really good at pass blocking, but that has come at the cost of blocking for the run game. Don't get me wrong, I love how well the Dolphins offensive line blocks for the pass. I would rather them be better at pass blocking than run blocking, but it is important for an offensive line to do both well.

I have a feeling that Miami has been working on pass blocking for the wildcat during practice since they stopped using it. My hope is that they have worked on it enough that they will be prepared to block when Ronnie Brown lines up to take the snap. It worked well before, and I think it can work well again with enough practice and preparation.

It hasn't exactly been that long since Miami last ran the wildcat, but I still feel like Dan Henning won't be willing to keep it on the shelf any longer.

We will see if I am right, though. Thanks for reading, and please leave a comment if you feel so inclined.

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Should The Miami Dolphins Scrap The Wildcat?

This Cat Needs To Go Away For A Little While

The Wildcat has been great for the Miami Dolphins since they brought it in two years ago, but recently is has been a hindrance more than a help for the Dolphins offense.

No other team has been able to successfully run the wildcat with any consistency like Miami has, and a large part of that has been because Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have put a lot of time and effort into learning and running it well. It has also been able to work so well because of the Miami Dolphins commitment to staying with and continuing to develop it.

But, even after all the work that the Miami Dolphins had put in it, it has only seemed to get in the way this season. More than anything else, the wildcat has just interrupted the momentum that we gained from the passing offense.

Every time the offense has been in a rhythm and able to get the ball moving the Dolphins would run the wildcat and instantly kill all of their momentum.

It has become an unwelcome visitor to many people like me who want to see the Dolphins develop into a passing team, and many fans have already called for its permanent removal from the offense.

So, here is my proposal for a different idea that would probably work out the best for Miami's offense:

The Miami Dolphins need to put the wildcat away for at least a few, and maybe as many as 10, weeks.

Our passing offense has finally become what we were hoping it could be, so why would we bother keeping the wildcat in? Putting the wildcat away will give the passing offense more opportunities.

I don't know if people realize it, but we have a lot of incredible receivers. Brandon Marshall is a beast, but we also have a great supporting cast with him. Davone Bess doesn't drop anything, and Brian Hartline can be a threat deep at almost any time.

You may or may not remember, but the Dolphins offense opened up on the first play against New York on Sunday night with a bomb from Chad Henne to Brian Hartline, and Hartline would have had a huge catch for a gain if Henne had not overthrown him by a couple of inches.

Another benefit of putting it away is that we could bring it out in a crucial game when our opponent doesn't prepare for it because they believe it is gone for good. What helped the wildcat when it first came out against New England was the Patriots were not prepared at all for it.

Now teams are prepared for it, so it doesn't work as well.

I understand why the Dolphins coaches want to continue to run it, but there has to be a point where you realize that it is not working as well as you planned and it is time to leave it for a while.

It isn't like Miami won't be running the ball, either. They can still hand it off to Ronnie and Ricky, but it would be out of a normal offense when the defense still has to worry about the threat of a pass. Whenever they lined up at the wildcat defenses weren't as concerned with covering the pass because it was not a huge threat. The main threat was the run, and defenses are starting to really stop it.


That is just what I believe the Miami Dolphins should do. I don't honestly think they would be willing to drop the wildcat for any long period of time, but we will see.

Thanks for reading, and I apologize that I did not get this post up sooner. I had an extremely painful migraine last night, and I didn't feel well enough to sit up, let alone get on my computer.

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Miami Dolphins Secondary Falls Short In Close Loss To The New York Jets



The Running Game Did Not Fare Well Sunday Night



Oh, the highs and lows of professional football.

The Miami secondary and rushing offense was pretty unimpressive in the Miami Dolphins 23-31 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday Night.



Just one week removed from Jason Allen's breakout 2 interception performance against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings he gave up a couple of big plays that could have ended the Jets drive late in the game.

It is a shame he couldn't make the big play because we probably would have won the game if he was able to.

I'm not concerned about the Dolphins defense just yet, though. It is only one game, and they were able to do pretty well if you exclude the Jets first two drives.

My concern is more for the offense, and especially the offensive playcalling. I understand the fact that you do not want to become one-dimensional in a game, but if the passing game is working why would the Miami Dolphins bother trying to run the Wildcat or another trick play?

Chad Henne was having a great night, so it puzzled me whenever Miami had momentum after a big pass and they would try and run the wildcat against a great run defense.

The wildcat is a great play, don't get me wrong, but it should not be what the Dolphins always try and run when they have some momentum. They ran it twice in a row last week in Minnesota right after a bomb to Brandon Marshall, and it seemed to me like they did it again a few times this week, too.

The passing game was working great, and I don't understand why they would try and switch to the run in the middle a successful drive throwing through the air.

Another complaint I have with the offense has to do with Chad Henne staring down who he is going to throw the ball to. I know I am not the only person who has noticed it. As soon as he hikes the ball you can tell who he is going to throw to immediately because he stares right at the receiver the entire play.

It actually worked out pretty well against the Jets, but I am not so sure it will always work. Let's just count on him developing out of that because it is not the greatest habit to keep as a quarterback.

Henne did have a great game, though. I like that type of offense a whole lot more than them running the ball a lot.

Now all we need the coaches to do is put the team in a mentality that they need to keep scoring and scoring and not just try and hold the other team off with defensive plays.

The Dolphins have too many close games, and it seems like they always play to the same level of whoever they are playing. I would like them to play at a higher level than some teams because they are capable of it. In close games all it takes is one mistake to lose it all, so why keep it close?

Miami fans need to give their team a break every once in a while and just blow a team out.

The Dolphins are going to lose all their fans from heart attacks late in the fourth quarter, and then they won't have enough fans to stay in business and root for them.

All in all, though, it was a pretty good game. Even though we lost we are still tied atop the division at 2-1. This season is far from over, and we will still have a chance to beat the Jets later this season.

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Pat White's Impact On The Miami Dolphins Was Minimal, So His Release Is Not A Bad Move

News has surfaced that Pat White is not going to play Friday against the Falcons, which most likely means that he will not make the team.

I was one of the people that supported Pat White and said that the Miami Dolphins should give him another year, and I still think he can do some pretty good things. But, it looks like that is not going to happen so I have to analyze what his release would mean.

Though I don't think that we should release him yet, his release is still helpful. It opens up a spot for one of the Dolphins players with a lot of upside. It can give the Dolphins more depth at a position of weakness instead of a fourth quarterback. White would probably only play during trick plays, so we do not need him as much as another position.

The thing I was thinking Miami could do with him was that he could run the wildcat if Ronnie Brown ever leaves and Ricky Williams retires. I know he may not be the best at running the play, but he could get really good if he works at it a few years with the team that brought the play to the NFL.

They did it with Ronnie Brown, so why wouldn't they be able to with White?

Oh well, it probably isn't going to happen. So, now we will be able to just focus on getting a new player. I know he isn't gone yet, but the writing is on the wall. He will be.

That's all for now. Let me know what you think about White. Is Miami better off with or without him?

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Good Kitty, Bad Kitty: Will The Miami Dolphins Run The Wildcat Offense Next Year?

Please check out my blog. It has a video of the Dolphins-Jets Week 5 match-up when the Wildcat won the game. Go here please: Miami Dolphins Blog

Everyone knows about the wildcat offense that the Miami Dolphins revealed two seasons ago and have been using effectively ever since. What I'm wondering is will the Dolphins run the wildcat next year?

I pose the question because, while it was a very successful offensive formation for the Dolphins, a lot of the time Miami had to run it because they didn't have much of a passing offense. Well, now that they have Brandon Marshall and a more valid passing offense I'm not sure whether the wildcat will be necessary next year.

Think about it, the Dolphins unveiled the wildcat offense in the 2008-2009 season against the New England Patriots when Chad Pennington was the quarterback. Pennington never had a strong arm, so the Dolphins could not rely on him to carry the team. So, why not put more of the load on Miami's capable running backs.

Now, the Dolphins have Chad Henne who has a much stronger arm. Yes, the Dolphins ran the wildcat a lot last year, but that was to help Henne by not forcing him to take on a huge amount of responsibility when Pennington was injured. Now, Henne is a more experienced and capable QB with a star WR at his disposal. If the Dolphins fail to utilize him as much as possible and continue to run the wildcat a lot then they are just wasting talent and the record amount of money they are using to pay Brandon Marshall.

I would not be surprised if we see the wildcat run a little bit during the season just to mix things up and keep defenses on their toes, but the Dolphins need to start passing more. The NFL is becoming a pass first league and the Dolphins need to keep up with that.

Running the football is like using a pick-axe on a mountain, where passing the football is like using a machine drill to drill through a mountain. Both will work, but one works a lot faster.

I know some fans may not support taking the ball away from one of the best running games in the NFL, but it will be worth it when we have one of the best passing offenses next year.

Be thankful that we were able to squeeze all we could out of the wildcat offense in the two years we could use it. It was able to bring us some great memories and big wins. Think New York Jets Week 5 with :10 seconds left.

So, it has given us great memories but it is time to move on.

Trust me, you will like the new offense.

Thanks for reading and please check out my blog. I have posted a video of the Dolphins-Jets Week 5 game on my blog so please check it out here: Dolphins Blog

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