Light Whitening (This Changes Everything, Maybe)

There's hope. At least, there seems to be hope.

Immediately after the draft I worried that Pat White, while a seeming perfect fit for Miami’s go-go-gadget Wildcat formation, might be relegated to gimmick duty for the balance of his career.

See, Bill Parcells is a guy that's great at winning the battle, but not necessarily the war, unlike his former pupil Bill Belichick who excels at the inverse. It's amazing how quickly Parcells reverses the fortunes of moribund franchises... but his record of diminishing returns since his days with the Giants is a testament to his powers of being able to work a formula incredibly well yet still being constrained by it.

I don't mean that as a slam at all. He's a great coach. A great football mind. A great personnel guy. But not an innovator.

Anyway, back to Pat White.

But this piece comes down from Omar Kelly at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via the Fanhouse):

"[White's] no gimmick. He's dynamic. He's a little bit raw as a [quarterback] but has a good foundation. He's going to get better," one player personnel director said, admitting White was rated among the top-50 players on his team's draft board. "He wasn't going to be there in the third round."

One front-office official believes the Miami Dolphins are trying to revolutionize pro football by bringing the spread to the NFL, and he said the right player to do it in White.

There's been a hell of a lot of spread looking formations and plays creeping into NFL offenses of late. But coaches and players have resisted the "s" word... "spread," that is.

The defenses are too fast in the NFL, spread quarterbacks would be ground into dust... so the refrain runs why the spread won't work in the NFL.

To me, it's all excuses for NFL coaches to play in on the safe side. I don't have any particular love of the spread offense. What I do love is a system that highlights great football talents. And there is a place on the field for a Pat White and a Tim Tebow. At quarterback. It's not about running a pure system. It's about meeting considerable talents halfway.

I was planning a big ol' post about it... but you know what? I really don't have anything to say besides, "Please, oh please, oh please, let it be true."