It’s been a while since I’ve written about football, whether it be college or professional, but this topic was brewing my belly and I had to get it out. The Miami Dolphins surprised everyone yesterday as they trounced the New England Patriots, 38 – 13. One of the big topics around the New England Patriots has been their lack of Tom Brady, but this story has very little to do with that in my opinion. Yesterday, Ronnie Brown, the Dolphins Running Back, managed to score 4 touchdowns and throw another one. The surprising part is not that he was able to score so many, but he scored them all from the same formation!

In college football, it is common to see a speedy wide receiver or running back take a direct snap from the center and run the ball. Darren McFadden did it at Arkansas, while Percy Harvin did it a few times last year for the Florida Gators. I’ve seen it so many times and I can’t name all the teams who have done it, but those two stood out. This particular formation where a running back or receiver takes the snap, fakes a hand-off to an in-motion receiver/running back is what killed New England yesterday. Sure, New England’s offense was less than stellar as Matt Cassel tries to fill Tom Brady’s shoes, but the obvious flaw yesterday was New England’s defense. Was it the coaching or the players? Why couldn’t New England adjust to such a common formation in football? Granted, I haven’t seen it done in the NFL that often, but I’m sure these coaches have seen it before somewhere. Right? Right?

Ronnie Brown had his way with New England’s defense and as a Dolphin fan, I was perplexed more than excited. It made no sense. How can a modern day NFL team give up that many yards, that many touchdowns, by the same player in the same formation. Not to mention, throw a touchdown with it. Randy Moss told reporters the Patriots “have a lot of work to do” during their bye week. I think that’s an understatement.

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