Brady's pooch punt as strategy

[Fencer]

Brady pooch-punted 32 yards to the 22, where it was fair caught. He expressed disappointment at how far it traveled.

It seems to me that Ryan Allen could reasonably have been expected to punt well within the 20 even in bad weather, and of course there was a chance of gaining some yardage on third down. So I'm not sure I'm loving the the strategy of the play.

I saw Randall Cunningham's famous 91-yard punt on TV as it happened, but that was a different situation in 2-3 ways:

1. (Definitely) Cunningham punted from his own end zone; there was much more field position to be gained.

2. (Definitely) Cunningham was an All-American punter in college. I didn't know that until just now, actually.

3. (Maybe) More of a surprise. It definitely seemed like more of a surprise in practice, but I don't know whether that was luck or a consequence of the coaching era.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I didn't mind it at all. It was just unfortunate that Jim Leonhard was back there at the time. As Brady mentioned, he's a former punt returner so had no problem with it.

If it had been Bird back there instead, there's a possibility of a muff, plus the ball is slick so that could have caused a fumble too, or if it went a different direction and hit the ground, could have rolled inside the 20 as well.

It wasn't a bad idea, just didn't execute correctly or just bad luck/good play by Leonhard.

 

[Tunescribe]

I didn't mind it at all. It was just unfortunate that Jim Leonhard was back there at the time. As Brady mentioned, he's a former punt returner so had no problem with it.

If it had been Bird back there instead, there's a possibility of a muff, plus the ball is slick so that could have caused a fumble too, or if it went a different direction and hit the ground, could have rolled inside the 20 as well.

It wasn't a bad idea, just didn't execute correctly or just bad luck/good play by Leonhard.

It was just poorly executed by Brady. The intention is to surprise the defense to where the ball is not fielded at all and downed deep in the opponent's territory. They should've run a play (who knows, they might've gotten into field goal range), then punted if necessary.

 

[varjao]

Last time against the Broncos it worked very well. It's a play you can use once in a while.

 

[Whorod]

It's funny, before the snap I turned to my buddy (at the game) and noted how deep Brady was in shotgun. Sure enough, it was because he was punting. I wonder if that tipped off the Bills too.

 

[brdmaverick]

The odds of getting a first down in that situation in that weather was extremely minimal. I had no problem with them trying to sneak a punt that would potentially have rolled into the ten yard line.

The Bills were just onto the plan, too. Kudos to them.

 

[hambone1818]

I didn't like it at all, I thought they were getting too cute with it and it could have cost them against a better team. They were at mid-field, if you wanna 'play it safe' then throw a hail mary, worst case it gets intercepted but those are almost never returned when there's a crowd of receivers going jump-ball style. And even then you're looking at the Bills getting it inside their 20, whereas the pooch only got them down to the 22. Somewhat unfortunate that Leonard was back there but why send the play in with him in the game?

I don't know, I wasn't a fan of it at the time and regardless of results I still would have rather seen a hail mary than a pooch punt.

 

[chasa]

All i'll say is it sounded like it hurt.

Punting a water logged ball is not a fun time.

 

[Skree]

It's funny, before the snap I turned to my buddy (at the game) and noted how deep Brady was in shotgun. Sure enough, it was because he was punting. I wonder if that tipped off the Bills too.

It looked like he was so far back just because the down distance was so far (wasn't it like 20 yards?). The punt catch was just a happy accident for Buffalo.

 

[Fencer]

BB's Monday transcript suggests he thought the Brady punt was less likely to be blocked than a conventional one. Makes sense; the "blitz" is always on vs. a punting formation. On the other hand -- how many Patriots punts get blocked?

 

[DarrylS]

This was done solely to get free rent in the brain of defensive coordinators who they will play in the next couple of weeks... on long third downs, watch out for the punt!!!

 

[slam]

The worst case scenario to running a normal play was a turnover. This team got a usually safe screen pass intercepted in this same game, so a hail mary isn't really that risk free. If you can't imagine Brady getting strip sacked on a play like that, then you're not taking account all of the risks. Then you have the possible punt block play.

There was a reasonable expectation that the punt would bounce and be downed deep in Buffalo territory. Bad luck or bad execution to get it fair caught at the 22. Maybe a bit of both. We know Brady can punt even though he hasn't done it in years, so it's not a secret. Same with Roethlisberger, who I remember has done it before.

 

[yukon cornelius]

it would have been nice to down it inside the 10.....but not only did it take away the possibility of a block, it took away the possibility of buffalo setting up a return


we saw what blount's two big returns did for the game....buffalo needed a break, needed a big play, and this eliminated the option of a big return


solid call....execution is less than what they had hoped for, but they still got a great result....gave buffalo a long field in bad weather and took away a chance for a big play (block or return)

 

[Observer]

Was not pleased with that move. We have a solid punter in Allen who could have gotten us the same result anyway. For a guy that has only punted once before in his life to kick it from his own side of the field… it could have gone sideways, or worse giving the Bills great field position if not a TD.
I would be more comfortable with letting the punter punt it, he has done a good job the whole year.

 

[chasa]

Was not pleased with that move. We have a solid punter in Allen who could have gotten us the same result anyway. For a guy that has only punted once before in his life to kick it from his own side of the field… it could have gone sideways, or worse giving the Bills great field position if not a TD.
I would be more comfortable with letting the punter punt it, he has done a good job the whole year.

he practices it in practice every day.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Leonhard made a heads up play and ran back to fair catch the ball. When your QB punts, you're expecting that nobody will recognize it in time to make that adjustment, which allows the ball to roll and the Pats to down it without incident. Removes the threat of a punt return (or block) and usually results in better field position because you get the roll. That's how it worked out in 2011, and that was pretty awesome. Doubly so because Von Miller lost his mind.

It was a great play by Leonhard, and doesn't change how I feel about the playcall (I was fine with it, the chances of getting into field goal range were really small, and the chances of pinning them inside the 10 if Leonhard doesn't recognize what's happening were pretty good). There isn't a whole lot that you can do on 3rd and 35, and the Patriots were putting the ball on the ground all over the place yesterday, so I can understand not wanting to take that chance on 3rd down when the chances of converting are so small anyway.

 

[Zeus]

Not much upside in running a 3rd and 35 play, so I don't have a problem with the call.

I wonder if they telegraphed this a bit by putting Slater in the game. Leonhard knows at this point that Slater will either run a deep pattern or that the pooch punt is a possibility. Either way, he's headed to cover something deep.

 

[Observer]

he practices it in practice every day.

Maybe, but it could have gone south the same way as Chung's fake punt against the Jets; he probably practiced that a bunch too. Something good could happen but the risk is too great to take in a close game for my taste. As far as outcome of the play goes, it was neutral; as far as strategy goes, too risky.

 

[ewg_gestalt]

I didn't like it at all, I thought they were getting too cute with it and it could have cost them against a better team. They were at mid-field, if you wanna 'play it safe' then throw a hail mary, worst case it gets intercepted but those are almost never returned when there's a crowd of receivers going jump-ball style. And even then you're looking at the Bills getting it inside their 20, whereas the pooch only got them down to the 22. Somewhat unfortunate that Leonard was back there but why send the play in with him in the game?

I think the situation is similar to what happened in the playoff game against Denver two seasons ago—the issue is that it would be an obvious passing down, and could lead to a blitz. Getting a punt off would help to protect Brady—anybody seeing him punt would probably stop blitzing, knowing contact would lead to a penalty.

 

[Fencer]

I wonder if they telegraphed this a bit by putting Slater in the game. Leonhard knows at this point that Slater will either run a deep pattern or that the pooch punt is a possibility. Either way, he's headed to cover something deep.

Good thinking.