By Carl Kotala
Florida Today

DAVIE, Fla. - Morlon Greenwood has barely had time to take off his helmet, sit on the bench and grab a sip of Gatorade when they arrive - hot off the press, so to speak:

A series of photos which show the Miami Dolphins' defensive alignment against their opponent before the snap and moments afterward.

In those few frames, the linebacker can see if he did the right thing - or the wrong thing - on a particular play and get a better handle on what to do the next time if he sees the offense lined up in the same formation.

"I'm just looking at my position as far as linebackers and defensive line, see how they're blocking - if they're changing their blocking schemes or if they have a certain play that we didn't see on film that they put in that week," Greenwood said. "Those are the little things I'm looking for, because when a team runs a certain play in a game and they have success with it, normally they're going to come back with it later."

It's those kinds of adjustments that can make the difference between winning and losing in the NFL. And while most people will talk about the changes teams make at halftime, the fact is they go on just about every series.

The proof is in the black-and-white, often-blurry photos that can be available on the sideline, or in the coaching booth only moments after the plays take place.

"Adjustments is kind of a funny term because it's like you're fixing something that's not working - and that will happen," Dolphins running backs coach Joe Collier said. "But a lot of times, it's more finding what they're doing and attacking what you think their game plan is going in. That's what those photos give you - a chance to say, 'OK, I've got a visual representation of what they've done on five of these particular plays.' "

While standing on the sidelines for most of the first three quarters of Miami's game against Washington three weeks ago, Dolphins quarterback Jay Fiedler could see the Redskins were blitzing. But by looking at the photos, he was able to get an idea of where to attack it - a nugget of information he was able to put to use when he replaced Brian Griese and rallied the Dolphins from a 13-point deficit.

"Every time we come off the field, no matter who is in there, we kind of look at the pictures," Fiedler said. "From the sidelines, it's a lot easier to see what's going on. Obviously, you get to see the whole field. You don't have to focus on one area of the field when you have the ball. I could see what they were doing.

"They were bringing the blitz. They were bringing the blitz from the weak side. They did a lot more zone blitzes than they showed on film and I was able to see that in the game."

Changing on the fly

Game plans, of course, are fluid at best. Just because a team did something one week, or even the week before, doesn't mean they'll do it against you. So teams have to be able to adjust - sometimes on the fly - to something new.

The changes are usually subtle, like the offensive tackles lining up a little wider, or the defensive tackles pinching in a little closer.

Miami defensive backs coach Mel Phillips played in the NFL from 1966-77, when players and coaches had to rely on what they saw on the field instead of what they saw on film.

But in those days, Phillips said, most teams ran simple coverages compared to today's complex schemes. Still, most of the adjustments the Dolphins make have to do with the distance a defensive back gives a receiver, or whether or not he's playing him too far inside or outside.

"We do make a lot of adjustments, and the great thing about it is we have very smart players and a couple of players who have been in this scheme for a while, and they probably know it as well as I do," Phillips said. "So when we discuss something, it's not like you're discussing it with somebody who hasn't been there. They know exactly what you're talking about. And a lot of times, they can make the adjustments themselves on the field."

Terrell Buckley, for example, recalled a series of plays from Miami's Oct. 19 game against New England, when he saw Tom Brady roll to his side and complete a 7-yard pass play on him. After going to the sideline and studying the pictures, Buckley was ready for the play when the Patriots tried to run it again in the fourth quarter. This time, he knocked the ball away.

Collier said it was his father, Joe, a former defensive coordinator in Denver and head coach in Buffalo, who helped bring the idea of using the photos to NFL sidelines during the '70s.

"The guy up in the booth actually had a Polaroid camera and they pulled (the photos) out, developed it, stuck it on a piece of cardboard in the sequence of the series of the plays and then they had a runner who ran them down to the field every time," Collier said.

The photos are now standard in all NFL stadiums. The pictures come off the feed used by each team's videographer - the same film the team will use to study and review the next day. The shots can be provided in two angles: the sideline and the end zone.

And while the runners don't have to race down from the coaching booth to bring the photos to the sideline, the amount of time it takes for them to arrive can vary, depending on the stadium and location of the photo processing equipment.

"It depends on where the place is," Collier said. "Like in our place, it's in the Marlins' dugout, so it's pretty quick. Some places, the outlet and feed that they have, you have to go from a tunnel. Like last week, because of the weather and the snow (in New England) ... there's an outlet behind the Patriots' bench, but we couldn't use it. There was an auxiliary one in the tunnel, so our guys had to run all the way to the tunnel."

Chess match

Not everyone uses the technology.

Dolphins tight end Randy McMichael, for instance, said he just goes where the coaches tell him to go.

And Miami defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said he only looks at them on certain occasions - usually to see what went wrong.

Still, it has become one of the most common sights on any NFL sideline - a group of players gathered around a coach, or each other, looking at a series of pictures to see if they can gain an edge.

Like Greenwood said, if a team does something successfully once, it's going to do it again. One team adjusts, the other does, too. It's an ongoing chess match.

"You know pretty much what they're doing going in, and you know what you want to do," Phillips said. "But a lot of times, different teams - as they study you - might come in with a different game plan than what they did the week before.

"You want to be aware that they're not doing anything differently than what you've seen the last three ballgames, and if they are, have a way to adjust to it."

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