Lemon on the run

By Anthony Bialy  |   Friday, November 02, 2007  |  Comments( 4 )

Miami Dolphins
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Set Cleo Lemon loose. What could go wrong? Well, the Dolphins could be demolished down to 0 and forever, but everyone thinks that's going to happen anyway. So, why not add some fun wrinkles to the playbook by letting him keep the ball? Quarterback scrambles that evolve into rushes could be seen as logical extensions of sidestepping blitzers, something Lemon has illustrated he can do in his starts. With Jesse Chatman showing a bit of potential on his carries, maybe unleashing a simultaneous threat to run by the quarterback could confound defenders, at least a little.

The sole half-bright hope for the Dolphins in the absence of the not-much-better Trent Green is that Lemon has looked marginally serviceable when he's tucked the ball and rushed away, often when evading a splattering courtesy of opposing defensive linemen who dodged his protectors. It shouldn't surprise anyone that he's thrown better on the intermittent plays when his blocking has held up, but he also managed to be productively slippery when the need has arisen.

He is averaging a decent 4.4 yards per carry in limited attempts. Lemon gained 16 yards on the ground against New England, including a touchdown scamper. He further obtained 28 yards on five London rushes, as he sprinted for gains in a plan suggested partially by, um, some columnists who thought that leaning on default starter Chatman and mixing in some quarterback ground plays could be effective for a team that's been remarkably unproductive. Using Lemon regularly as another ground weapon could help, or at least be no worse than their current strategy, whatever that is supposed to be.

The Dolphins gained 4.8 yards per carry in their loss to the Giants and 3.6 yards per passing play factoring in sacks; the former is above average, while the throwing attempt total is simply unfortunate. Lemon frankly needs to add more to his game as much as the Dolphins need him to do the same, and this mutual void has the possibility to be filled by developing one of his latent dimensions.

Even the Lemon family would have to acknowledge that their relative is not going to make it as a pure passer, so it's in his own interest to display more facets if he wants to do more with his future NFL career than wear a headset. There are already rumblings about John Beck vaulting over Lemon on the depth list to starter, so this would definitely be in his best interests, too; desperation could help both the squad in general and the player in question personally.

It certainly wouldn't the same thing as fielding a pure running quarterback: Lemon isn't exactly Michael Vick minus the canine homicides. But persuading him to make gains on his own could reveal an extension of his sense for pass-rush avoidance, even if the total number of tries is only in the high single digits. Think more Steve Young dashing for it five or six times a game than a service academy-style triple option.

So let him scurry like an ADD kid stuffed with Halloween candy. After all, Lemon ran in two scores along with the pair he tossed in his first start this season against Cleveland, so he's done well with limited attempts. If he can elude potential sackers, encouraging him to take off downfield might be effective. Of course, it might not, too, but this season is taking on a "why not try it?" feel for Miami.

It's something else with which future opponents would have to contend, in addition to serving as an aspect about which they certainly wouldn't be concerned were the Frankenstein-style Green healthy. Lemon as a maverick runner is a wild card that might keep at least one opposing linebacker at home.

At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Lemon isn't a hulking figure, but he would be sturdy enough to add a sprint for gain to his repertoire every so often for as many Sundays as he keeps his job. At this point, anything the Dolphins could conceivably spring on their perceptibly better foes should be placed on the table.

Short of an upcoming adversary losing the key to the locker room and having to play in their street clothes, it's difficult to envision any scenario whereby the Dolphins would be favored to beat anyone between now and the season's end. Seeing if a quarterback skilled at dancing away from approaching defenders and taking occasional carries himself could utilize that ability more frequently is worth the chance.
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