Now I want to know about the Indy game and how many times we ran Shotgun by comparison of halves in that game.
The Indy game:
First Half
- Opening drive: 3 and out with a punt. One Maroney run for 2 yards. Brady 1/2 out of the shotgun for 8 yards, missing on 3rd and 2.
- 2nd series: 73 yards in 6 plays for a TD in 3:32. 5 runs for 8 yards, including 2 Faulk runs out of the shotgun formation for 9 yards. One playaction pass to Moss for 55 yards.
- 3rd series: 58 yards in 11 plays for a FG in 4:52. 3 Kevin Faulk runs out of the shotgun formation for 30 yards. Brady completed 1/3 passes for 15 yards. 5 of 11 plays were run out of the shotgun - 3 Faulk runs, a 20 yard completion to Moss and a Brady sack by Mathis which stalled the drive in the red zone and forced a FG.
- 4th series: 75 yards in 2 plays for a TD in 0:51. Brady 2/2 with passes of 12 yards to Welker and 63 yards to Moss (play action). No shotgun was used.
- 5th series: 57 yards in 5 plays for a TD in 2:12. 4/5 plays were passing (one Maroney 5 yard run), with Brady 2/2 out of the shotgun, including a 36 yard completion to Watson and a 9 yard TD pass to Edelman.
- 6th series: Pats 3 and out (0 yards gained) in 0:15. 3 incomplete passes out of the shotgun.
- 7th series: Brady kneel down to end the half.
Second Half
- Opening drive: Pats drive 59 yards in 5 plays, turning the ball over on a TB interception (play #6). Brady passed on 5/6 plays, and the last 4 were out of the shotgun, including the interception.
- 2nd series: Pats go 86 yards on 12 plays in 7:51 to the Indy 1, ending the drive on a Laurence Maroney fumble. Brady completed 5/5 passes out of the shotgun for 39 yards. Kevin Faulk also run 3 times out of the shotgun for 23 yards. Brady completed 1 pass under center to Moss for 13 yards. The other 3 plays were Maroney runs, including the fumble at the goal line.
- 3rd series: After a 69 yard Wes Welker punt return to the Indy 9, the Pats go 7 yards in 2 plays: a 2 yard Kevin Faulk run out of the shotgun, and a 5 yard Brady to Moss TD out of the shotgun.
- 4th series: NE goes 27 yards in 7 plays in 4:12, ending in a Hanson punt. 2 plays were Maroney runs. The other 5 were pass attempts out of the shotgun, with Brady 3/4 for 25 yards but the drive ending on a Mathis sack of Brady for 5 yards and an incomplete pass, both out of the shotgun.
- 5th series: Following an interception to the Indy 31, Pats go 13 yards in 7 plays in 3:32, settling for a FG. 3 runs (1 out of the shotgun) result in 1 total yard. Brady is 1/2 passing out of the shotgun for 8 yards. The biggest play is a 16 yard pass completion with Brady under center in run formation. Drives ends with an incomplete pass out of the shotgun on 3rd and 6.
A TD would have put the game out of reach.
- 6th series: Pats go 4 and out in 0:23, gaining 9 yards and turning the ball over on downs.
A first down would have put the game out of reach. Pats run once out of the shotgun and then throw 3 passes out of the shotgun formation, using up almost no time.
- 7th series: Brady is 1/1 out of the shotgun to Wes Welker for 9 yards with 0:13 left. Game over.
Again, I see the following pattern:
1. Better mixing up of plays earlier in the game, with more play action and running plays.
2. In this game, the Pats ran effectively out of the shotgun formation (vs. not at all in the Saints game). But their use of the run from the shotgun tailed off significantly in the 2nd half.
3. A lot of drives stalled when Brady went to a predominately shotgun approach - the interception in the 3rd quarter, the sack and incompletion forcing a FG in the 4th quarter when we started on the Indy 41, the 3 consecutive passes out of the shotgun when we needed one 1st down to ice the game.
Again, I conclude that we become more predictable in our play calling over the course of the game, that we abandon the running game and play action, and that the shotgun racks up passing yards but also leads to a lot of drive killing plays.