Thank you, Miami.
Rex Ryan, the Ravens’ defensive coordinator, made sure to let the Miami Dolphins know how much he appreciated them unveiling their unorthodox, “Wildcat” offense during a victory against New England and four weeks before his team arrived in Dolphin Stadium on Oct. 19.
It gave Ryan time to devise a strategy to stop an attack that begins with a direct snap to running back Ricky Williams or Ronnie Brown and has quarterback Chad Pennington positioned as a receiver. But the Ravens held the Dolphins to four yards in five plays out of the Wildcat, with their biggest gain in the package coming on Williams’ four-yard run, as the Ravens neutralized the Dolphins’ strength en route to a 27-13 win.
“It’s a good offense, it really is,” Ryan said. “It really makes you prepare. We’ll take 10 minutes extra after each practice and just go over Wildcat-type plays. I’m glad they ran it against New England the first day, then they did it against us.”
When: Today, 1 p.m.
Where: Dolphin Stadium, Miami
TV/Radio: WJZ-13/1090 AM, 97.9 FM
But both teams are vastly different since their first meeting. The AFC East Division champion Dolphins (11-5) went on to win nine of their last 10 games after losing to Baltimore in part because of their ability to use trickery in the single-wing formation while making the Wildcat a larger part of their base offense. The Ravens (11-5) won nine of their past 11 games en route to earning their second postseason berth in the past three years.
“They have expanded that package,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “They’ve grown it. It looks more and more like the complete package. They run every one of their runs off of it. They run a number of different passes off it, expanded the gadget plays off of it. So, it’s tougher to defend than it was earlier in the year.”
A big difference for the Dolphins since their last game against the Ravens has been their ability to utilize all of their offensive personnel, especially Pennington and Brown.
Pennington, who was released from the Jets in August, completed more than 67 percent of his passes for 3,653 yards, 19 touchdowns and a league-low seven interceptions. He was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year on Wednesday for the second time in three years. Brown leads Miami with 916 rushing yards for 10 touchdowns, and receiver Ted Ginn Jr. made significant strides in his second season, as he finished the regular season with 56 catches for 790 yards.
“We certainly hope we’ve improved on our fundamentals and just playing good, solid, fundamental football,” Pennington said. “We know that we have a huge challenge in front of us, playing probably the best defense in the league in my opinion, because they’re so aggressive. And, they have an offensive mentality when they play defense.”
The game likely will come down to which team takes better care of the ball. The Ravens, who have the second-ranked defense in the NFL, led the league with 26 interceptions and 34 forced turnovers. Since 2000, the Ravens are 61-3 when they win the turnover battle and 8-47 when they don’t. During the regular season, the Ravens produced a league-high 34 takeaways and were third in the league with a plus-13 turnover margin.
The Dolphins finished with just 13 turnovers, which tied the NFL’s 16-game record for fewest in a season. But, the Ravens came away with one of those when linebacker Terrell Suggs intercepted Pennington’s pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown in the first meeting.
“[We just have to keep] doing what we’re supposed to do and not trying to do too much and listening to what Rex [Ryan] tells us to do,” cornerback Samari Rolle said. “When they come up with things, most of the time we’re in the right position to make plays.”
