Going Back to College: How Miami Out-Belichicked the Pats

In week 3 of the NFL Season, the Miami Dolphins tore apart the New England Patriots with six plays of magic.  Tony Sparano called on QB Coach David Lee, who spent last season with the Arkansas Razorbacks, to scheme a new offensive package that would freeze last years' regular season champs.  Much like when Darren McFadden and Felix Jones would run the shotgun spread option for the Hogs, Ronnie Brown lined up behind center, in tandem with Rickey Williams, and mystified the defense full of perennial Pro Bowlers with handoffs, keepers and a touchdown pass.

Could this gimmick offense be a successful 'option' for the Dolphins for the remainder of the season?  The Mike Vick - TJ Duckett - Warrick Dunn triple option failed miserably for Atlanta, but this is style of offense allows the QB/RB to have more vision and the offensive line has more time to get on their blocks.  NFL Defenses are too fast for the triple option, and it can be difficult for the QB to make reads against elite defensive linemen who can cover dive/ QB or QB/pitch.  The shotgun spread option approach attacks the defense with a change of pace, also instead of making reads, often times the play is predetermined, therefore the offensive line has the advantage because they are all blocking for one common goal.

As QBs continue to become more athletic, and dual-threat skill players become more abundant in the league, this style of offense could become a niche in over half the leagues playbooks.  Vince Young and Chris Johnson, Mike Bush and Darren McFadden (or viceversa), and Antwan Randle EL and Clinton Portis are just a few of the combinations in the league who could exploit the shotgun spread option.  It is a low risk running play, and makes the defense spend time during the week preparing for it.  The option was once ruled out as ever being an effective NFL offense, but this is one example of how college trends can effectively impact the professional game.