Dolphins vs. Patriots - Offensive Rundown

-Early on, though it was a free play, Ted Ginn dropped a catchable ball. Free play or not, he has got to do a better job or the coaches will never develop confidence in him.

-Great drive to put that first touchdown on the board. Fasano and Camarillo are coming on as real weapons for this team who figure to be around for the long haul, and it appears that Henning and Co. are figuring out how to use them. If Fasano keeps showing this ability to get open, teams are going to have to devote more attention from linebackers or safeties on him. That could open things up for the running game a bit, as it appeared to against the Patriots, but I suspect that more teams will try to handle him with the secondary, challenging the Dolphin receivers to step up.

-As for the play to punch it in, this was our first of many experiences with the Wildcat formation. I noted at the time that it was a nice bit of creativity, and Ronnie Brown said after the game that the Patriots had no idea what to do against it. It must have been a welcome sight for everybody in the NFL to see Rodney Harrison and the Patriots scratching their heads and running around in circles. I enjoyed seeing Mr. Cheapshot getting destroyed all day, whether it was in the Wildcat, base, or any other package the Dolphins through at him.

-Early in the 2nd quarter, Pennington was 5/7 for 100 yards. For a guy who has struggled to keep his yards per attempt high this year, especially early in games, this kind of statistical efficiency is very encouraging.

-The Dolphins officially started to look like a football team this year when they scored their 2nd touchdown of the day. Ronnie took the 3rd down carry for a 1st down and way more behind great blocks by Jake Long and David Martin. Long had a coming out party, consistently blocking the stellar Patriots defensive linemen in one-on-one situations all day, and Martin is making the two tight end set for the Fins awfully hard to ignore.

-TD #3 for RB the RB! Even before halftime, my thoughts were clear about the Wildcat, as I had written in my notebook, "I like the design, but the real story is that we are beating the hell out of the Pats up front."

-One thing that the Dolphins did against the Patriots, including on the plays from the Wildcat formation, was use an unbalanced offensive line very effectively. They took Jake Long and moved him across the line next to Vernon Carey, giving the Dolphins a lot of beef on that right side. I've already mentioned how great Jake Long executed all day, but you've got to give a lot of credit to the coaching staff on this one. They put the players into a perfect position to play to their strengths and be successful, and those guys really dominated out of that formation. Instead of putting their heads down after Donald Thomas' injury, the coaches put their heads together, and special things happen when creativity meets execution.

-It cannot be overstated enough, especially because of the amount of attention that the media put on the Wildcat, that everything the Dolphins did against the Patriots worked. Everything. Screens, two running back sets with Brown and Williams in the game together, two tight end sets, Pennington played well, position players played well, Jake Long was a monster, and the list goes on. Even Ikechuku Ndukwe, who had a rough first day filling in for Donald Thomas, but worked his butt off including staying up the entire Sunday night after the Arizona game with Tony Sparano, was much improved. It was a dominating team effort, no matter the formation.

-That said, I give an A+++ to Dan Henning, and as it turned out, David Lee, who suggested using the Wildcat, as he did with Darren McFadden at Arkansas. Four total touchdowns out of the Wildcat package, and I loved Ronnie's left throw on the third. Here is a video where David Lee discusses the basics of the package. It seems that we have merely scratched the surface.



-Back to the game commentary, and I fear I am being redundant, but the Dolphins really didn't do a whole lot against the Patriots. They just did it very well. Although the Wildcat was a new wrinkle, with the exception of that the Dolphins actually simplified things a great deal. The team responded to it, and it payed off.

-By the end of the 3rd quarter, the Dolphins were really running at will against the Patriots. They knew exactly what was coming, but we were still getting huge gains on 1st down. Long was spectacular.

-Another great run, this time for 62 yards and a score, and Ronnie Brown had himself one hell of a day. The Patriots had to be embarrassed at this point by the way the Dolphins couldn't help but score more. It was like an outmatched high school game.

To sum up on O, it was the incredible execution out of a simplified attack, with a little added sparkle from the Wildcat, that got things done against the Pats. I always say that it all starts up front, and I can confidently say that each individual offensive lineman had their best day of the young season. The line won man-on-man battles against a great defensive line, and as they continue to jell, Jake Long and company look scary.

Chad Pennington was a stellar 17-20 for 226 yards in one of the best performances by a Dolphins QB since the days of Dan, Ronnie Brown is back in a big way, and Ricky Williams quietly (you get a feeling he likes it that way) approached 100 yards off the bench. Fasano is looking like a budding star, David Martin is making it tough to keep him off the field, and the offensive coaches all did a terrific job. Camarillo is filling the shoes of another 83 quite well, and the only real question mark after this game remained that of Ted Ginn, but I get the feeling that as the team gets better, it will be easier to develop a role for him in the offense. You need to get it done up front before you can on the edges, and though he isn't the guy to make a bad offense good, maybe he'll be able to put a good offense over the edge in some games.