The Greatest Show on Surf and Turf
The Dolphins are proving you can have fun without passing
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MIAMI - OCTOBER 12: Running back Ronnie Brown #23 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates scoring the game winning touchdown against the New York Jets fans prior to their game at Land Shark Stadium on October 12, 2009 in Miami, Florida. Miami defeated New York 31-27. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)
The Miami Dolphins are without a doubt the most exciting 2-3 in NFL history, but the hottest ticket in town is also become the “in” thing around the country.
Who needs stars like a Peyton Manning or Brett “Drama Queen” Favre, when you’ve got the most unpredictable predictable offense since the run-and-shoot.
All our drama queens are in the boardroom, so that leaves room for real excitement on the field.
Usually, the league’s leading rushing team is synonymous with yawning, constant trips to the bathroom and an unhealthy knowledge of the offensive linemen’s season stats. Not so with these Dolphins, who just as easily could be called hip cats. Wildcats, that is.
Not that there is anything wrong with knowing how many pancake blocks your right tackle has after the third quarter, but it’s so much more fun to guess who is going to take the snap from center for the Dolphins.
Can’t you just imagine, Pat White, Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams and Chad Henne playing a double-elimination rock-paper-scissors tournament on the sideline to see who gets to play QB while the defense is on the field. Granted, it would have to be a fast tourney with all the big plays the secondary gives up.
Brown probably chooses rocks a lot because he often comes out on top, and with good reason.
And now that the Dolphins seem to have discovered the forward pass, even more people will be tuning in to watch the defending AFC East champions. We still think it's an overrated invention and would prefer to see more of the Wildcat, but diversity is good.
The Dolphins have provided riveting theater in two of the five Monday Night Football contests this year, which undoubtedly helped the team gain fans across the country, even if their teams have a tiny package of Wildcat plays (we call them the kittens). While it's a gimmick for others, the Wildcat is the life blood of this offense.
By season’s end, no fewer than five players will have attempted a pass for the Dolphins, and that’s by design and not injury.
It’s true, more often than not, Brown is going to take the snap and run straight up the middle. But it’s that heightened anticipation of what might happen, kind of like your first kiss.
Maybe Ronnie will pass it or hand it to Ted Ginn Jr.on a reverse. Maybe she will ask you for another kiss or just throw up in your mouth.
Either way, it's exciting.
Just because you know the run is coming doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. Just ask the wishbone offenses of Nebraska or Oklahoma of the 1970s and 80s.
The Dolphins are proving just because everyone knows what you are going to do, doesn’t mean it can’t be fun.
Posted Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009 - 4:47 PM EST
