DAVIE, Fla. — Chad Pennington isn't sure what plays the Dolphins will run from their new Wildcat formation Sunday, but he knows the coaches have been hard at work on them in the staff's upstairs offices at team headquarters.
"It's like a chemistry lab up there," Miami's quarterback said. "You get the smoke drifting down."
San Diego's coaches have no doubt been just as busy trying to devise a way to stop the Wildcat, which produced 135 yards and four touchdowns in just six plays in Miami's 38-13 trouncing of New England.
"Anything they might do off that we have to prepare for and anticipate and expect," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "It's going to be a real challenge for our guys."
The teams that lined up against the University of Arkansas and its Wild Hog last season can attest to that.
By either name, the exotic formation calls for a direct snap to the running back — Ronnie Brown in the case of the Dolphins — with the other running back (Ricky Williams for Miami) lining up as a slot receiver. The quarterback lines up as a wideout. The back taking the snap can run, hand off or even pass.
With running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in the Wild Hog at Arkansas, the Razorbacks last season averaged an SEC-best 286.5 yards rushing, topping out with 542 yards against South Carolina.
Former Dolphins coach Nick Saban, now at Alabama, said he's not surprised that the formation — which has its roots in the single wing created by Pop Warner in 1917 — has found its way to the NFL.
"I was waiting for somebody to do this," Saban said. "It's very difficult to defend. And they have the right personnel in Miami, with the two backs they have."
Arkansas and offensive coordinator David Lee — now Miami's quarterbacks coach — unveiled the formation in their opener last season against Troy University. The Hogs rushed for 350 yards and won 46-26.
"It's not what you're used to lining up and facing," Troy defensive coordinator Jeremy Rollins said. "It presents a lot of misdirection. They can run two or three options off the same play."
It's not something every team can do. But just as Brown and Williams give the Dolphins something special, so did McFadden and Jones at Arkansas. McFadden would take the direct snap; Jones was in the slot.
"Those are the two best backs I've ever seen play together in college," said Kentucky's Rich Brooks, whose own Wildcats gave up 338 yards in a 42-29 loss.
Those who have played (or practiced) against the formation said it's more than talent that makes it difficult to defend.
"There's a lot of deception to it," said LSU's Les Miles, whose Tigers yielded 385 yards to the Wild Hog but held on for a 50-48 victory. "As much success as they had against us, I don't know if any (NFL) defensive coordinators are going to be calling us."
Florida International played Arkansas in late October, giving coach Mario Cristobal and his staff a lot of game tape to study before facing the Wild Hog. The Golden Panthers did a decent job against the running game, holding McFadden to 62 yards and the Hogs to 249, but still lost 58-10.
"We decided we were going to stop the run first," Cristobal said. "We weren't going to let McFadden beat us. We stressed accountability to the highest level. No matter how tempting it is to deviate from your responsibility to go to another guy, you can't leave your man."
Dolphins safety Renaldo Hill said that's pretty much the approach the Miami defense has been taking when it has lined up against the Wildcat over the past two weeks.
"You have to rely on the idea that everybody is in their place and has their assignment," Hill said. "If that's your man, that's your man."
Sounds straightforward enough. The problem comes when, for example, the linebacker assigned to Brown or McFadden misses a tackle in the open field. Big plays are frequently the result.
"There's so many ways they can go," Troy's Rollins said. "Generally (a lineman) will be pulling, guys will be coming in motion, and they can hand it to that guy or fake it and go to the other side. It makes it a little nasty."
The one Arkansas opponent that had success against the formation last season was Auburn, whose defense was considered among the best in the country. Coach Tommy Tuberville stressed keeping McFadden and Jones inside the tackles and held the Hogs to 67 yards on 25 carries in a 9-7 victory.
"There's a way to stop everything," Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder said. "It'll be a trend for a while. The NFL is so fast, they'll find a way to defend it."
Brian Biggane writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: bbiggane AT pbpost.com