Sparano's Expanding Spread Shrouded in Secrecy
Determined to revolutionize the NFL (or just survive the schedule), Fins go full throttle with secret offense
By JANIE CAMPBELL
Updated 12:15 PM EST, Fri, May 29, 2009
We're going to tell you about this, but then we'll have to kill you: after introducing the wildcat to the NFL last year armed with just three plays, the Dolphins are spending a "stunning" amount of time in OTAs expanding their spread playbook under a shroud of secrecy.
Miami spent nearly half of yesterday's sessions on various incarnations of the wildcat/spread. And it's not just for newly aquired spread expert (spreaxpert?) Pat White - Chad Henne ran it, too, and even Chad Pennington had a few "empty" formations thrown his way (Jason Allen couldn't intercept those, either). Looks like Tony Sparano wasn't just tooting his own horn when he said the Dolphins had barely scratched the surface of possibilities last season.
What's unusual is that before unleashing the Wildcat Limited last year against New England, the Dolphins hadn't tipped their hand to anyone -- and they're likely banking on the ability to surprise defenses as they attempt to survive their horribly tough upcoming schedule. Now they're blatanty ramping it up in front of the media? What gives?
Apparently, Sparano doesn't mind letting opponents know they should be very, very afraid, but he's sufficiently intimidated everyone from letting any actual information leak out. We suspect Omar Kelly from the Sun-Sentinel was only partly joking when he wrote, "I dare not describe some of the plays I witnessed today because I'm confident a sniper would get me when exiting the team's Davie facility."
Sniper? Probably not. But we've heard Bill Parcells is a biter.
The Dolphins didn't even give White a public workout prior to the draft, lest they give any clues away. Says offensive coordinator Dan Henning, who's received calls from coaches across the NFL intrigued by the Dolphins' shiny new playbook: "Tony has a rule. It's that information comes in but doesn't go out."
Oooh! Intrigue! Mystery! Hemming and hawwing to peers on the phone!
We can't wait to see what the Fins unveil when it all goes public.
First Published: May 28, 2009 3:29 PM EST
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