Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on the entire NFL.
For the second game in a row, Miami's single-wing offense took flight and knocked out a league powerhouse. And somewhere, Pop Warner is smiling.
Warner, who invented the formation in 1907, created the single-wing to trick the defense rather than overpower it. Yes, he did have a pretty good Ronnie Brown of his own named Jim Thorpe.
The formation has been seen in high schools and colleges, but was almost extinct in the NFL until the Dolphins decided to make a feast of it. After running the "Wildcat" formation six times against New England, which resulted in four touchdowns, Miami was back at it against San Diego.
Were the Chargers ready? You be the judge.
Could the Wildcat have the same impact, now that everyone was aware of Brown lining up at quarterback and taking the direct snap? Some thought the Dolphins wouldn't even use it at all. But against San Diego, starting with the second play of the game, the Dolphins ran it 11 times for 49 yards, including five first downs and a touchdown. The Dolphins won 17-10.
"They did a good job of defending some of the Wildcat," Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said. "We're not using it for a 60-yard play; a 4-yard play in our league is very efficient."
After the Patriots were bewitched, bothered and bewildered by the Wildcat, the Dolphins threw in more brain-teasers against San Diego. They ran plays out of the no-huddle, had receiver Davone Bess running an end-around and even called for a halfback option from Ricky Williams to Chad Pennington, which broke down.
"They knew we were going to run it," guard Justin Smiley said. "There wasn't any sorcery -- we just make it work."
For those who haven't seen it, the play looks like this -- Williams is flanked left, Patrick Cobbs is slotted right, Pennington is split right and Brown is under center. Williams goes in motion left to right, the ball is snapped and Brown often reaches the end zone.
After the victory against San Diego, the players were celebrating the Wildcat -- Brown with his trademark Cheshire grin, Williams with his quiet glow and Pennington, who looked at it ironically.
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| What will Ronnie Brown do? Miami's Wildcat formation is giving opponents a lot more to think about. (AP) |
The halfback option is nothing new -- it experienced a rebirth a few years back with LaDainian Tomlinson. The first touchdown of Tomlinson's career was a 21-yard toss to quarterback Drew Brees in 2003. It gained wide popularity in the 1950s when Giants offensive coordinator Vince Lombardi put it in for the legendary Frank Gifford.
This year's single-wing was concocted in the Dolphins chemistry lab by quarterback coach David Lee -- who used it at Arkansas with Darren McFadden -- and offensive coordinator Dan Henning, who used it occasionally in his 40 years of coaching.
"There isn't much that hasn't been tried before," Henning said. "It's not just about the formation; it's about the execution. You have to have the right people, and we needed to get Ronnie and Ricky on the field together."
After the game, San Diego linebacker Matt Wilhelm said eventually defenses would "wipe the single-wing off the map."
Quite possibly, but there might be a few more turkeys before Thanksgiving.
