During a 13-month span since introducing the Wildcat to the NFL, the Dolphins have encountered plenty of critics for the use of their unconventional offense.

Never, though, has one of the most blatant haters been a player who had been victimized earlier in the night.

Until now.

``I can't respect that stuff, all that Wildcat,'' Jets linebacker Calvin Pace told The New York Times after Miami's 31-27 victory, which included 110 yards on 16 plays out of the Wildcat. ``We're in the NFL. Don't come here with that nonsense.''

Perhaps it might seem strange for a player such as Pace to be opining about what belongs and doesn't belong in the NFL, considering he spent the first four games of the season suspended for violating the league's performance-enhancing substance policy.

But that's just a matter of subjectivity.

This much is pure fact: For whatever reason -- whether because of the head games it plays with defensive players or the lack of success it has yielded for other teams' offenses -- few still are willing to accept the Wildcat.

To those critics, running back Ronnie Brown has a message: ``We have a motto. The motto is, `It works for us!' ''

Despite a continued perception that the Wildcat is a ``gimmick,'' the Dolphins have now run the package 120 times for 791 yards (6.6 yards per play) with nine touchdowns since its introduction to the league on Sept. 21, 2008.

Since its inception, the Dolphins never have gone a game without snapping the ball directly to Brown at least once, which makes this next statistic all the more impressive: On Monday, Miami used the Wildcat more than ever before (16 times).

`MORE COMFORT'

So what does that suggest? It says the Wildcat isn't going anywhere, and the Dolphins don't seem to care what anyone else thinks.

``I think we feel better just because we have a lot more, much more work at the package right now and more comfort with our players, with the people that are handling the football,'' coach Tony Sparano said. ``I think that in critical situations, why wouldn't you want the ball in Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams' hands?

``From us, I feel comfortable with those odds.''

Adding to the strange nature of the criticism from Pace, it was actually his coach, Rex Ryan, who became one of the few people to halt the Wildcat when he served as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens last season.

Yet Monday, the Dolphins proved Ryan's answer isn't perfect, even if the coach wants to blame a lack of execution for the Wildcat's success Monday. In the wake of a perception that Miami has altered its package since Ryan stopped it twice last season, Sparano said the Dolphins gave New York a dose similar to the one they gave Baltimore in 2008.

``Not a lot different, to be honest with you, short of we didn't throw the ball against [the Ravens] and Ronnie threw the ball in this game,'' Sparano said. ``A little mix of Pat White at the end. Maybe one or two new wrinkles but not anything they hadn't seen on film.''

The Wildcat's label of a gimmick -- or ``nonsense,'' as Pace put it -- might have to do with the inability of other teams to have similar success out of the formation. Some have tried and succeeded.

Other teams have not. Considering Pace's comments, it's somewhat ironic that the Jets ran one play out of the Wildcat formation Monday -- a play that was smothered by linebacker Channing Crowder for minus-3 yards.

Sparano said the Jets actually have done a nice job at running their version of the Wildcat, adding ``they have some nice wrinkles of their own.'' But the coach believes the Dolphins' ability to make the Wildcat work might have as much to do with the personnel as the scheme itself.

``The reason it's good for us and may not be good for everyone else is the people,'' Sparano said. ``We have some good people handling the football and a strength for us is Ricky and Ronnie. I don't know if everybody has those kinds of pieces.''

`WE LIKE IT'

Much like any game plan that sometimes calls for more passing plays than running plays, or vice versa, the Dolphins' success out of the Wildcat on Monday does not guarantee they will be as effective in two weeks against the Saints.

It doesn't even mean, when the Dolphins and the Jets play again Nov. 1, that it will work again then. But as Miami has shown on several other occasions, the Wildcat's success is not necessarily dictated by whether the gimmick has been figured out, but rather whether the Dolphins properly execute it.

Is it here to stay? It seems that debate will continue. Just don't expect the Dolphins to care about anyone's opinion but their own.

``We like it,'' Brown said. ``And that's the only thing that really matters.''

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