If PFT had a research staff, I'd ask them to check if the Miami Dolphins have the best running attack for a 2-4 team in NFL history.
The Dolphins are second in football in rushing yards per game despite the losing record. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams are both on pace for more than 1,400 yards from scrimmage.
While the Wildcat formation is only one part of the attack's success, the Dolphins were averaging 7.1 yards per play on 47 Wildcat snaps before Week Seven. Then they faced the Saints.
New Orleans stuffed the formation to the tune of 27 yards on 14 plays. Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune says the Saints did it by being the aggressors. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams blitzed cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter everytime Ronnie Brown went in shotgun. Safety Roman Harper also attacked often. The result was four tackles for losses and Miami's best gain from the formation was eight yards.
The Dolphins tried to combat the move by having Ronnie Brown throw once, and he looked pretty good doing it until tight end Anthony Fasano dropped his pass.
Either way, you can be sure Rex Ryan and Bill Belichick, Miami's next two opposing coaches, will take a hard look at what the Saints accomplished. Both men have flexible defenses to work with and the Dolphins will need to show they can adjust.
(I think Miami will run well enough out of their base offense to beat the Jets again in our PFT picks. I'm also expecting to make a weekly habit of beating Florio.)
Saints give league blueprint for stopping Wildcat
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on October 29, 2009 1:15 PM ET
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Yeah they stopped it.. That's why the dolphins scored twice in that formation.. Eveyone always goes to stats the real stat is points on the board....
of course ryan has to be flexible for the rest of the year.
he doesnt have a nose tackle now.
i dont expect the jets will do that well against the run from now on.
I really really hope the jets mimic the saints and play aggressive. Long as the fins are smart it should make it easy pickings.
Ronnie can throw, could do a reverse, put henne in motion and make it a handoff to henne possibilities are endless.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Ricky Williams have a 60 yard plus TD run?
You, Sir, are a moron.
The numbers don't show what really took place - that is that the Dolphins went away from their regular Wildcat to having Henne in there as a receiver - that formation doesn't work because it essentially takes the extra man out (Henne is not going to be a receiver), and Pat White in there as an RB. Keep it as Ricky and Ronnie and you've got something. The other thing that hurt was not having Patrick Cobbs to threaten the D and at least take one more man out of the equation. Hopefully Sheets will do that this week.
The Jets did exactly the same thing as the Saints two weeks before and look where it got them.
If anything the Wildcat didn't fair well because of a. the different Wildcat formations used and b. Dan Henning panicked (while the Fins were still ahead, mind you) and went to a pass-happy offense. Now, that may have worked, if Ginn and Fasano could actually catch.
Please, at least try to think these articles through before you publish them?
I thought it was Jock Sutherland who figured out how to stop the Wildcat.
The one and only time the Dolphins used it effectively was the first time they used it to destroy Patriots and Belichick couldn't make an in-game adjustment to save his soul.
Once Belichick was able to research his humongous personal football library (as if he would have any other kind of books in it) he was able to see how coaches have been stopping it ever since the FDR administration.
You mean the Falcons did it in week one. Looks to me like the Wildcat was pretty effective until the 4th quarter in NO.
No Defense was as effective this year against it as the Falcons. Give credit where it is due.
As someone who lives in DC, I remain very very sad that The Owner of the local football team couldn't get over his bad self and hire Gregg "The Guy Who Stopped The Wildcat" Williams.
Falcons did it Week One. Held them to 1 TD in the 4th. Saints look like they had a hard time with them until the 4th.
2 Things:
1) Vince Drooley is correct. Next time watch the game instead of just reading stats.
2) Never take Cornflorio's advice on games. You've predicted the Eagles to beat the Giants based on erroneous information. The Giants DO NOT have a 4 game losing streak to Philly in Philly........I repeat, DO NOT.
Although, I do like the pick though!!
wait.....didnt Rex Ryan already give us the formula to stop the wild cat? How'd that work out? You dont think the phins are going to throw in a wrinkle or two to account for a blitzing DB? Pat White anyone?
Ranoversquarells says:
October 29, 2009 1:31 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Ricky Williams have a 60 yard plus TD run?
That wasn't out of the Wildcat formation
Hey Greg? Are you aware that bringing all of your DBs on the blitz leaves TEs and WRs open?
Just curious...cause if teams use that as a 'blueprint' some DCs are gonna get fired. Ask the Jets, they tried the same thing.
This article should have been written about the 'blueprint' that Miami's D used to shut down New Orleans high powered offense for the first half...cause without all the help the Saints got from the officials the Phins win that game.
Citizen Strange; Jock Sutherland! ROTFLMAO! Best post of the year! Wiping the tears from my eyes, didn't teams last year figure out that attacking the line of scrimmage was the way to stop the Mildcat? In high school we played a team that still ran the old Single Wing. It was like a wave of bodies coming at you and if you stood up to find the ballcarrier you were dead. Get low, rush the line and penetrate and you had them beat every time.
Not to toot my own horn or come off like someone who knows everything from a video game but I found this my strategy against people who use the Wildcat offense in Madden Football 10.
If anyone plays Maddeon 10 here its the strategy you should use against those pesky opponenents who like to take advantage in thegame. Put a fast LB as a spy back and blitz corners while having your D-lineman doing their normal thing. Gotta find a mix between over pursuit and under pursuit...
Stupid article. Rex Ryan had the blueprint to stop them last year and the Ravens stopped it twice. However, this year Rex Ryan was unable to do it with the Jets. What does that tell you? It all comes down to personel. Even if you have a good scheme, you are not going to beat it if the Dolphins players are better than the defenders.
They Stopped It????!!! What? Did Florio watch the game? Correct me if I am wrong, but you cant consider it a success when your team gives up over 30 points in a game. No matter how you cut it the wild cat worked. Any team can load the box to stop the run, but when you do that you are vulnerable in other areas. Its the same as using a decoy reciever to get other players open. Fact is, it was effective in more than 1 way, first off they scored off of it 2 times, second when they did stop it, they gave up some major yards in the passing game. If Ted Ginn could catch the ball they would have put up 40 on the saints, I would say they didnt stop a damn thing.
Week 12, 2008. Patriots 48, Dolphins 28. Fins went three-and-out several times with the Wildcat, ended up having to go old-school (i.e. short passes from Pennington to Ginn). The gimmick was pretty much done at that point, though apparently not everybody has seen the film from that one yet.
Ranoversquarells says: Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Ricky Williams have a 60 yard plus TD run?
It was a 68 yard TD out of the base offense, not the wildcat. Two of his three TD's were direct snaps out of the wildcat formation, but they both were inside the 5. It wasn't the wildcat that got them inside the 5 yard line, it was the defense and Hartline. First TD was set up by an INT to the NO 4 yard line. The other one was set up by a short pass to Hartline and great RAC for 67 yards to the NO 4.
The premise of the article is that the Saints kept Miami from making big plays and putting up huge rushing yards out of the wildcat, not that they stopped it completely.
i wouldn't say the saints stopped the wildcat. the dolphins really were forced to run it in situations they probably shouldn't have called it, plus you have several people dropping balls, missing blocking assignments, etc...
the team was shite for execution last week, part of the reason they lost.
if the dolphins are executing it properly, no team yet has been able to really stop it outside of the ravens last year. of course, a bigger question mark is will the dolphins rebound from that demoralizing loss last week.
The Dolphins ran the Wildcat one time for 4 yards against Atlanta. The Falcons didn't stop it because they didn't face it.
Ronnie and Ricky averaged a combined 4.8 ypc against Atlanta. Atlanta was 'easily' the worst game of the season for Miami's offensive line. They were a mess all preseason and it carried over. And yet we got 4.8 per from R&R.
Atlanta legitimately won that game. But for some reason their fans continue prancing around the internet saying they stopped the run. You beat us in every facet of the game. But you didn't stop the run.
Also, I hope teams continue to look at last year's film as the blueprint to stopping Miami's running game. They'll be looking at a different (and inferior) offensive line.
Rex Ryan saw it in person twice last year. He employed the same gameplan three weeks ago and left with tire tracks across his chest.
"John from Concord says:
October 29, 2009 2:34 PM
Week 12, 2008. Patriots 48, Dolphins 28. Fins went three-and-out several times with the Wildcat, ended up having to go old-school (i.e. short passes from Pennington to Ginn). The gimmick was pretty much done at that point, though apparently not everybody has seen the film from that one yet.
"
Wow, that's pretty ignorant. If it was done at that point, then everyone else would have stopped them this year. The Pats D isn't stellar or anything like that.
Ravens did a great job stopping it last year. Changes were made this year to make it better. What hurts them now is the loss of Patrik Cobbs. He was an integral part of the Wildcat who could block well, run the ball and also catch it.
Wilcat only needs to yield 4-5 yards a carry for it to be considered successful. Eventually, there is a chance for a big play off of a pass or mistackle.
"TrojanMAAAAAN says:
October 29, 2009 2:02 PM
This article should have been written about the 'blueprint' that Miami's D used to shut down New Orleans high powered offense for the first half..."
He has a point.
I third what Vince Drooley said, there is also another factor involved. It was the play calling of the wildcat itself that was the problem. While watching the game I noticed the Phins were trying to trick the Saints. If you go back and watch the Jets game most of the runs that were successful by Ronnie were ran straight up the gut. Power running is the key with the wild cat.
Anyone who thinks the Wildcat was effective vs the Saints didn't watch the game and just assumes that Miami's entire offense is the Wildcat.
27 yards on 14 plays. Not much else really needs to be said. The two TDs were from a few yards out. Ricky's 68 yard run was from base formation, not the wildcat.
And of Miami's 34 points, 17 of those points came on a combined 23 yards of total offense because of turnovers by the Saints. Basically every time Miami ran the wildcat in the second half, they gained negative yardage.
As for Atlanta shutting this down in the first game... the Dolphins hardly used it, and the few times they did they gained 4 or 5 yards each time.
@Citizen Strange & John from Concord:
Why do some of you guys call it stopped when the Fins have 7 yds per carry out of the formation for the season? Are you blind, illiterate or stupid?
Agreed - if the opposing defense has the personnel and the Fins don't execute their base offense well, the Wildcat will not work. Two "ifs" that must come together for it to be stopped.
The premise of the article is that the Saints found a way to limit the effectiveness of the Wildcat to 1.9 yards per play when it had been averaging 7.1 yards per play. The Dolphins scored 2 TD's out of the Wildcat, but they were both from very short yardage. The Saints were able to limit the Wildcat because they blitzed both corners when Ronnie Brown was taking the snap out of the shotgun. This worked for two reason, Ronnie Brown is not a QB (but he has a good arm for a RB) and the Miami receivers and TE's cannot catch. So.....the Saints were successful in limiting the Wildcat.
And enough of the, if so and so had just caught the ball we would have won whining..... The Saints had some drops too and Brees threw 3 INT's - that is NOT normal! And enough about the bad calls. There were bad calls on both sides, just like all games. And wasn't it really amazing that the replay system was "fixed" when it became time to overturn a call on the field that was in favor of the Saints?
The facts are that Miami played a near perfect game in the first half. Built a lead that looked to be insurmountable. And lost the game to what looks to be one of the two best teams in football. Fact is that the better team wound up winning the game. Miami is a very good 2-4 team and if they get their heads out of their rear ends and focus on the next game, and not the last game, they can still make a run at the playoffs.
The Wildcat! Child please! You take your franchise player off the field, or worse, put him out on the flank so you only have ten men, or have him block or catch a pass and risk him getting his head taken off? Running the Wildcat is another way of saying "Our quarterback sucks, we need a gimmick." First time a QB playing wide receiver goes down to a season ender and it will be "Honey, have you seen the Cat?"
Miami will add a new wrinkle, just like they did after the Ravens slowed things down last year, And Rex (Chris farley but older)Ryan will do worse against it because he will be missing Jenkins.
didn't the Ravens give us the blueprint last year?
SF Saints Fan, amen brother.
Everyone else - when you keep talking about a finding a "formula" to stop a "gimmick" offense you just make yourself look stupid.
I don't know how many times I have to say this... The wildcat is a power running formation. You stop it, by being more physical at the point of attack, plain and simple. The Saints and Falcons were able to slow it down this year, no one else. And they did it because they executed better, not because they came up with some diabolical, fool-proof scheme that will stop the wildcat cold. Idiots.
When I play Madden 10 in my parent's basement I always beat the wildcat.
???
This is profootballtalk.com not videogamelosertalk.com.
The Saints proved that you can stop the wildcat...while not stopping the running game. Miami could score when they were in the redzone (wildcat or not) by running the ball, and they got enough big plays to put up a lot of points.
I'll trade allowing the Dolphins to get 6-7 yards in the wildcat for not allowing the 68 yard touchdown run and the 67 yard catch by Hartline any day of the week.
Red zone defense and Drew Brees interceptions were the reason the Saints were losing the game
@Citizen Strange & John from Concord:
Why do some of you guys call it stopped when the Fins have 7 yds per carry out of the formation for the season? Are you blind, illiterate or stupid?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little from Column A and a little from Column B ... but usually when something can't be stopped it means the team is winning and that something is worth stopping.
It's like averaging 45 yards a punt by always punting on third down and losing every game.
Last year the Dolphins barely won a division that included the Brady-less Patriots, the Mangini-led Jets and the ... well, the Bills.
This year the Dolphins will not make the playoffs. In what world does that make the Wildcat unstoppable?
They didn't stop the wildcat, but they did slow it down and they did it by doing what they do best scoring touchdowns instead of field goals and forcing the dolphins to pass the ball and Ted Ginn made some key drops, one caused an interception for a touchdown.
My point was -- and is -- that the Wildcat only managed to be a magic unstoppable formation for a couple of games last season. People know how to defend against it and have for awhile. The Saints didn't come up with some magic this past week.
"The one and only time the Dolphins used it effectively was the first time they used it to destroy Patriots..." - Citizen Strange
You're an idiot.
They didn't stop the Wildcat as they are dramatizing it.
I watch every single game, they did better with the Wildcat against the Saints than any other game.
Miami screwed up with their infamous defense breaking down in the second half once again.
Miami CAN put points up, but if the other team is also putting them up, then there is the weak link....Defense sucks!
wilson needs to sit the F down.
Fasano better step it up
Ginn needs to have an all out game to redeem himself.
Jets and Pats are beatable for Miami, they just need to do just that!!!
wow, I will never understand how someone that knows nothing about football ends up writing about it. First off the wildcat is not a "fad" or a "gimmick" its a power running formation , that is all. If a team stops you from running the I, does that mean that is the blueprint to stop them?? Tom brady has had 4 games of throwing under 100 yards, all against Miami, does that mean the NE passing attack is dead? its a bad game, and great coaching and gameplan, that is it.
Secondly, watch the game, not just look at stats. Ronnie threw out of the wildcat to a WIDE open anthony fasano that would of resulted in a huge gain, and fasano dropped it. (did the saints stop that? or was it fasano's butter fingers?)
Thirdly lets look at the actual game play by play
1st series
#1 wildcat 5 yards
#2 wildcat 4 yards
2nd series
#3 wildcat 4 yard td (miami got the ball at the 4 yard line after INT)
3rd series
no wildcat, williams td run
4th series
#4 wildcat 7 yards
#5 wildcat 1 yard
#6 wildcat 2 yards (short yardage, 1st down result)
#7 wildcat -3 yards (in redzone, duh easy)
#8 wildcat -1 yards (again redzone)
5th series
after int got the ball at 19 yard line (lol)
#9 wildcat 8 yards
#10 wildpat 8 yard td (hell yeah thats the blue print lol)
6th series
3 and out, no wildcat ran (get used to this, its a theme)
7th series
no wildcat ran, bess fumble
halftime
8th series
no wildcat ran, darren sharper int pick 6
9th series
no wildcat ran, 3 and out
10th series
wildcat #11 2 yards (2nd and short)
wildcat #12 1 yard (3rd and short)
11th series
(fumble got ball at no 15)
wildcat #13 -4 yards (redzone, again duh)
12th series
wildcat #14 4 yard td run
13th series
3 and out, no wildcat
14th series
3 and out,
wildcat #14 brown incomplete pass to fasano. (WIDE OPEN for HUGE PLAY)
15th series
no wildcat
16th series
no wildcat
so basically, they didnt stop it, there were two really bad negative plays, but alot more positive plays out of it. What stopped miami was field position and coaching (they had the lead and didnt run the wildcat to wear them down)
adrian peterson vs gb 25 carries 55 yards 2.2 per carry, uh no thats the blueprint to stopping AP. His running game is now proclaimed dead. lol see how stupid that sounds. god you guys are so ignorant.
bottom line is this stat line
30 carries 137 yards 4.6 per carry. they stopped what?
and another thing, blatimore did no have a blueprint on stopping the wildcat, miami ran the wildcat 5 times in that whole entire game , twice from inside the 5. They played behind the whole game and threw the ball.
and to comment on this
"My point was -- and is -- that the Wildcat only managed to be a magic unstoppable formation for a couple of games last season. People know how to defend against it and have for awhile. "
last year average per play using wildcat
vs ne 19.8
vs sd 4.8
vs hou 12.5
vs buff 4.9
vs bal .8 per carry (played from behind, ran it 5 times, twice inside the 5)
vs denver -1.0 per carry(they had a loss of 8 on a sack when ronnie tried to throw it, ran it 6 times, lost -6 yards, Miami won the game, denver did better than baltimore against it, media never said a thing)
vs sea 13.3
vs oak 5.2
vs ne 3.8 (didnt run much played from behind)
vs stl 9.4
vs buff .83 (they stopped it, ran it 6 times miami won the game)
vs kc 11.2
vs jets 6.1 (would have been more ricky dropped a 40 yard something pass right in his hands)
vs ravens 4.67 (playoff game ran it 3 times, played behind (ravens have the formula though right?lol)
now lets look at this season
atlanta 4.o (did someone really say atlanta stopped the wildcat? lol they ran it 1 time for 4 yards, count it!! 1 time!! haha)
colts 8.7 (13 times 113 yards, domination)
i dont feel like doing the rest but you get the point. Miami has been very successful with this formation, dotn let the media pump you up with fakes stats, and hear say.