Anatomy of the Dolphins' Direct Snap Play

[maverick4]

NFL Network broke down this formation on tape:
http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80b01bc4

Of course our defense and coaching staff were horribly unprepared and slow to adjust to this play, but we need to give credit to the Dolphins for what the rest of the league will discover is a very creative and potent running attack. Their formation takes advantage of having two stud running backs in Brown and Williams, and uses deception and misdirection.

This formation is as potent as the Colts' flex play, in that it is very hard for a defense to determine where the ball is going. If you don't follow Williams, Brown takes it off tackle. If you track Brown, Williams takes it for a huge gain. If Brown takes it on a sweep, he could throw it, and also Pennington is off on the side for some more trickery out of the formation.

I don't see why this formation won't continue to give other teams fits in the future. The moment a defense starts to over-commit to one or both of the backs in order to stop the run, it leaves a huge hole on the other side of the field for a Pennington bomb.

 

[SVN]

NFL Network broke down this formation on tape:
NFL Video Galleries

Of course our defense and coaching staff were horribly unprepared and slow to adjust to this play, but we need to give credit to the Dolphins for what the rest of the league will discover is a very creative and potent running attack. Their formation takes advantage of having two stud running backs in Brown and Williams, and uses deception and misdirection.

This formation is as potent as the Colts' flex play, in that it is very hard for a defense to determine where the ball is going. If you don't follow Williams, Brown takes it off tackle. If you track Brown, Williams takes it for a huge gain. If Brown takes it on a sweep, he could throw it, and also Pennington is off on the side for some more trickery out of the formation.

I don't see why this formation won't continue to give other teams fits in the future. The moment a defense starts to over-commit to one or both of the backs in order to stop the run, it leaves a huge hole on the other side of the field for a Pennington bomb.

firstly thats a oxymoron which is what makes this more frustrating that we couldnt stop the QB who couldnt stretch the field.
secondly, if the fins try this on a different defense they may have different results. it was a good matchup against us for them but pitts/phl with their fast LB's will shut them down.
i know the trick play will get a lot of notice today but really what killed us was the proverbial 'bend dont break' defense which kept dolphins driving and eventually capitulating at the goal line.

 

[maverick4]

OK, a Pennington toss I meant =D

 

[Curtis Martin]

Thanks for the link that was a good breakdown. I can't handle ESPN and i'm sure it will be played to death by those morons.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

Did they try it out in any of their offensive series in the first two games?

 

[JSn]

According to BB's presser today, the Jets lined up like that also.

Q: When have you seen the formation of Ronnie Brown before?
A: We worked against it last week. That’s the formation the Jets used last week with Leon Washington and he’s thrown out of it and run out of it. We worked on it a week ago.

 

[Mark Morse]

I think they were in an Unbalanced line as well. At least that is what Ty Warren said this afternoon on WEEI.

 

[SoCal Pmen]

So the big question is - Can it be done again and with the same effectiveness? I have not seen anyone diagram a way to stop it.

 

[LuthierJr]

I think the Fins developed and practiced these plays just for the Pats. They knew they needed it, and they executed it just right. BB was slow to adjust, and we were made to look foolish. I seriously doubt moving forward that any team will be caught off guard and that these plays will continue to work. This is a college style offense, and there is a reason why all the teams don't use it in the pros. If it worked that well when the opposition knew it was coming it would be employed a lot around the league.

 

[BradyIsaYankeeFan]

How does any team run a college play 4 times in one game without any adjustment from the defense on the other team? That's like being successful on 4 fake punts in a game. Okay, maybe more like running 4 reverse runs and having it work every time. Defensive players are taught to stay in their lanes and not overcommit. BB outcoached by a wiseguy.

 

[unoriginal]

Defensive players are taught to stay in their lanes and not overcommit. BB outcoached by a wiseguy.

That's kind of the problem, at least on the first two plays. They're motioning to the strong side and the Pats aren't shifting over, giving the Dolphins a man advantage on a side.

On the goalline play two Dolphins kicked the playside OLB out while the backside OLB and slot corner stood on the backside watching.

On the 2nd play Vrabel set a soft edge against David Martin and the ILB got reached inside by the guard.

The 3rd play looked like O'Neal playing run first instead of pass. They

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

How does any team run a college play 4 times in one game without any adjustment from the defense on the other team?

Maybe they were told exactly what to do, but each time it was run again somebody (at least one person) inexplicably failed to "do their job" for whatever reason. Those people should expect an earful, at the least.

 

[Zeke_Mowatt]

I thought I saw this mentioned before, and it looked that way on 2 of the replays they were going over on Countdown - but did they go unbalanced O-line on all 6 times they ran the formation as well?

That's kind of the problem, at least on the first two plays. They're motioning to the strong side and the Pats aren't shifting over, giving the Dolphins a man advantage on a side.

On the goalline play two Dolphins kicked the playside OLB out while the backside OLB and slot corner stood on the backside watching.

On the 2nd play Vrabel set a soft edge against David Martin and the ILB got reached inside by the guard.

The 3rd play looked like O'Neal playing run first instead of pass. They

 

[maverick4]

Dolphins still using this direct snap play for devastating results.

It is as potent as the Colts' flex play where you don't know if the Colts are running a sweep or doing play action.

The Dolphins are using their two stud backs to perfection.

 

[maverick4]

Today out of this formation they toss it back to Pennington who then hits a wide open receiver for an easy TD.

This is a really great formation, very entertaining to watch