Miami Dolphins new Wide Nine could provide both big plays or big losses for opposing offenses.
The Miami Dolphins defense will be using the Wide Nine this season.
Most of us know by now that the Wide Nine, along with it’s most recent proponent Jim Washburn, has come to the Miami Dolphins to be used as a specialized component.
The Wide Nine isn’t anything revolutionary as High School teams use it all across the nation. It’s been around the NFL for decades. Washburn brought it back with the Eagles and used it to rack of 50 sacks in a season – the year after it pretty much crumbled as the foundation of a defense.
I remember watching an Eagles game and saying what *BEEP*! I was laying odds with the best sportsbooks that the D-Ends were going to take a seat on the sidelines.
The good thing is Miami Dolphins are going to use this exotic formation the way it should be used…in specific situation – obvious passing downs.
The Dolphins Wide Nine will bring both pros and cons this season.
The good side is this: Cameron Wake will fit perfectly in it and should be an equal or better than Babin; it will help contain Tyrod Taylor and stress the Bills very large tackles; Suh’s presence will be an offset to its weak underbelly; it will give opposing team another wrinkle to work on; and it will be another tool in this new, aggressive Dolphins defense.
The bad side is this: Brady, like all top QB’s, is least affected by outside pass rush; it could offer Taylor an escape hatch inside; and aggressive play like this needs a very good backer at the heart of it.
Suh credits Washburn with alot of his success. So Washburn not only brings more experience, but also will be a liaison to the Dolphins most crucial defensive player. And it’s here, at defensive tackle, that the most crucial aspect of this formation lay. The D-Ends reap the rewards, but it’s the pressure on the 0-2 gaps that the Wide Nine will thrive or die. If Miami can get a very good backer behind Suh, this new defensive wrinkle could provide some big plays for Miami in 2016. Go Fins!!!