Ron Jaworski Disses Dolphins' Wildcat

The Miami Dolphins had a big game on Monday night, running wild against a very good New York Jets defense and doing it in large part with the wildcat formation. But Ron Jaworski, who called the game for ESPN, doesn't think the Dolphins' game plan is a game plan that can lead a team to a Super Bowl.

Asked on ESPN Radio Friday if a team can win a championship while relying heavily on the wildcat, Jaworski said, "No, I don't believe so -- I still believe it's a gimmick and a gadget."

Jaworski added that he thinks the Dolphins' personnel is well suited to using the wildcat occasionally, but that it should only be used occasionally, and should not be an integral part of the team's offensive game planning.

"They're very good at executing the running game. They don't run as well from traditional formations but they do very well with Ronnie Brown in the wildcat and Ricky Williams in motion. This offensive line is a very good offensive line that gets off the football and wins in the trenches. That's why the wildcat is so good in Miami, the running game, the running backs and the offensive line."

Jaworski made clear that he thinks the Dolphins run the wildcat effectively -- but he thinks that if the Dolphins are going to be an elite NFL team, they need to do it with a more prototypical NFL offense. Jaworski cited the Dolphins' 27-23 loss to the Colts in Week 2 as an example of a game in which they ran the ball well but still didn't win.

"Clearly, no one does it better than the Miami Dolphins, but I really believe that at the end of the season they're going to have to find a way to get some explosive plays out of the passing game," Jaworski said. "It was crystal clear in the Colts' game, they controlled the ball 45 minutes but when you run the football that well you're not going to score a lot of points."

I consider Jaworski the best NFL analyst on television, but I disagree with him here. I think the Dolphins have proven that the wildcat is more than just a gimmick: It can be an integral part of a winning game plan. I can't wait to see what the Dolphins throw at the Jets when the teams meet again in two weeks.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-16-2009 @ 10:32AM

nikin78 said...

Jaworski doesn't understand that the Colts loss was due to defense not offense. The Dolphins scored decently and with that type of clock control they can beat most teams in the NFL. He can call it a gimmick but that gimmick worked on one of the best blitz crazy defenses in the the NFL.

10-16-2009 @ 1:02PM

A.J. said...

I don't quite understand the issue. It's not like the Wildcat formation, as is the view here, consists of finesse and trickery - certainly not after the Miami Dolphins have been running it for well over a year. It's built around misdirection, but at the end of the day, its success, like any other scheme you can put out there, depends on what's going on in the trenches. The Dolphins can run this formation not just because their running backs and line are capable of outphysicaling the guys on the other side. I do agree with the point that, to really have the best chance of winning against the top defenses in the NFL on a consistent basis, you want some big plays in the pass game. Wildcat - or anything else involving the running game - won't be as effective with 8 or 9 in the box. However, now people have to respect Henne's arm strength as well as the speed of Ted Ginn. That's what really proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Jets - when Ginn blew past everyone for the touchdown in the long play action. An offense hits a couple of those, and you don't really know what to defend anymore.

10-16-2009 @ 2:17PM

ozfraud said...

This formation was being ran prior to the forward pass. They were running this play long before the "quarterback" was even born. Ron should know better than that to call it a gadget play. Dolphins run the football. That's no big secret! Come get some! You get the Mr.Dumbass award on this one Ron J!

10-16-2009 @ 2:44PM

deftoneslifter5 said...

I understand what Jaws is trying to say, but when he brought up the Colts game, he failed to mention the defense, and the qb, now i respect Pennington for all hes done, because without him the dolphins wouldn't have had as much success, but he wasn't able to produce in that last drive, now that we have had a glimpse of what henne can do, and not being disrupted by switching out when the "wildcat" is played, then Miami can be an elite team with the "wildcat"

10-16-2009 @ 3:07PM

Fargus said...

Shocking hot sports opinion from a former NFL QB.

10-16-2009 @ 5:15PM

Geezer said...

In the past two years, the Dolphins' Wildcat formation has led to an upset of the Patriots, an upset of the Chargers, a near-upset over the Colts, complete domination over the previously-hot Jets, an 11-5 record, a playoff berth, and a division championship just one year removed from a 1-15 disaster. Surely the Wildcat would cut the mustard against the NFC's "best" teams, which change every year and are weaker than the AFC's stalwarts.

And I'm not even a Dolphins fan.

10-17-2009 @ 2:48AM

elmerjay55 said...

What shocks me the most is that Jaworski does not realize one of the reasons for the turnaround is Chad Henne in at QB instead of Pennington. He said they need to start finding a way to get explosive plays from the passing game, Henne and his stronger arm is already helping Ted Gin jr., most notably in the last game against the Jets. How did Jaworski not mention that?

10-18-2009 @ 7:19AM

xtremewayz7 said...

He wasn`t much of a quarterback either

10-18-2009 @ 12:42PM

afn25 said...

wildcat are running plays 90% of the time bad defense on part of the jets miami got lucky last year with 11 wins its not going to happen again they will be at the bottom at week 17 !

10-18-2009 @ 10:08PM

mcgary64 said...

The Shotgun used to be called a gimmick play when it first was used. Now everyone uses it at some point in the game.

10-19-2009 @ 1:37PM

trictruss said...

The Jets are starting there downward spiral a little bit early this year.I'm a Dolphin fan since the early 70's and I think there a good team.I don't think Superbowl ready,but a good team.If they beet the Saints,then its on!