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Shutdown Corner on the Dolphins

  • Sunday Spotlight: How do the Ravens stop Peyton Manning?

    It's been an impossible question for defenses facing the Colts all season -- what do we do about Peyton Manning(notes)? If you blitz him, he puts up his best numbers (54 of 78 for 719 yards and four touchdown passes and a quarterback rating of 109.9). If you back off to cover Reggie Wayne(notes), he'll kill you with bubble screens at the line and short seam routes to Dallas Clark(notes). If you give your linebackers too much help with Clark, he'll mess you up with deep inside routes to guys like Pierre Garcon(notes) and Austin Collie(notes). And if you drop eight to deal with everyone, he'll just hand off to Joseph Addai(notes) and Donald Brown(notes). The Miami Dolphins held the ball for over 45 minutes when they played the Colts in Week 2, and Manning still torched them for 303 yards and two touchdowns.

    Today, this test is in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, whose defense is not what it used to be. Edge-rusher Terrell Suggs(notes) could miss up to a month with a knee injury suffered after Browns quarterback Brady Quinn(notes) went into him with a low block last Monday night. Nose tackle Haloti Ngata(notes) will be playing on a sprained ankle if he plays at all. And cornerbacks Fabian Washington(notes) and Domonique Foxworth(notes) have not performed as expected, struggling in man coverage and allowing 7.0 yards per passing attempt, a decidedly mediocre number. The worst thing that can happen to an injured defense is to face a quarterback as conversant with the no-huddle as Manning is -- he will take Baltimore's substitution packages out of the game and limit their ability to switch from base coverage to nickel. This is one of Manning's real gifts: because the Colts go single-back, three-wide so often, and the success of his offense is based more on execution than formation diversity, he's able to bulldoze down the field with his arsenal of calls.

    For the Ravens, the best strategy might be the lesser of several evils. When the Colts narrowly beat the Texans on November 8, the Texans bracketed the outside with coverage and let Clark catch stuff over the middle with stud rookie linebacker Brian Cushing(notes) in coverage. It was a mismatch in Clark's favor, but he averaged only 8.5 yards per catch on his fourteen catches and his longest play was for 17 yards. The Ravens have the inside linebackers to stop the dink-and-dunk short, and the offense to keep the game close.

  • Thursday Night Spotlight: Whither the Wildcat?

    It's defined the Miami Dolphins since they unleashed it in Week 3 of their miracle 2008 season. It's started a run of read-option plays and direct snaps around the NFL ranging from extremely effective to completely embarrassing. And it's now an endangered species.

    When Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown(notes) was put on injured reserve this week with a foot injury, the Wildcat formation went out the window to a degree. Brown has been the formation's pointman for the most part -- it's generally Brown who takes the direct shotgun snaps from center and either runs over right guard, hands to the sweeping Ricky Williams(notes), heads outside right himself, or runs a counter option that's occasionally good for a touchdown pass. With Brown out for the season and the Dolphins at 4-5 coming into tonight's game against the Carolina Panthers, it's tough to know how the team's offensive identity will change. Second-year quarterback Chad Henne(notes) isn't ready to lead the offense, Williams isn't as familiar with direct snaps or passes, and Miami's receiver corps lacks an elite target.

    What may save the Dolphins in the short term is the ability of rookie quarterback/wild card Pat White(notes) to run more read-option plays as he did against the Patriots two weeks ago in a 27-17 loss. In that game, White ran left from a shotgun snap for 33 yards and pitched outside to Williams for a 15-yard touchdown. The Dolphins were having trouble getting White acclimated to the timing of the Wildcat formations, but the simpler read-option was completely in his wheelhouse. White ran six times for 45 yards in that game, compared to Brown's 48 yards on 15 carries. With Williams taking snaps, there isn't a sweep threat. If White takes the ball, there are more options available to the Dolphins as they try to fool the Panthers' defense. With fullback Lousaka Polite(notes) blocking as well as anyone playing his position, Miami may want to go with more two- or three-back sets, as they did with an option handoff from a "full house" (inverted wishbone) formation last Sunday against the Buccaneers.

    There's still some mileage to be gained out of odd formations for the Dolphins, even with Ronnie Brown out of the picture. It's just a matter of doing what good coaching staffs have to do all the time -- adjust to current circumstances and make the best of what you've got.

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