Breaking down the Miami Dolphins new offensive scheme

The WCO Passing Attack-

Playing quarterback in the WCO takes an accurate and smart player to execute efficiently. Most of the routes are ran within 15 yards, which means 3-step, and 5-step drops are common. Longer drops have become more popular over the years due to faster players entering the league, but are mainly used to keep the defense honest with deep passes. With the reliance on short step drops, it means the quarterback doesn’t have all day to hold on to the ball, they must be able to identify the open receiver quickly.

Most of the time, all the quarterback needs to do is execute the play exactly how it was planned by the coaching staff. Since most of the routes develop within a couple of seconds, it doesn’t take a lot of improvisation to run this offense. The WCO is very rhythm and time based, which incentivizes taking care of the ball. Since most passes are considered “short”, higher completion percentages and lower turnovers are expected.

The final big component of the WCO passing attack is play-action. The Packers, Rams, and 49ers are all very good at setting up the play-action. Playing an offense that features the play design of short passes and a lot of zone runs, defenses tend to crowd the box to disrupt the timing of plays. That’s when play-action comes into play. It moves the pocket and usually allows for an easy throw because the defense is caught off guard. If you have a mobile quarterback this is even more effective. It adds the threat of your QB running which can be back-breaking for defenses.