Brady's pooch punt as strategy

[Deus Irae]

Teams don't have a lot of plays drawn up for 3rd and 30+, and the Patriots are as well coached as any team in the NFL. Given that, I had no problem with the play.

 

[nabwong]

Bb has mentioned before that punting on 3rd down is a way to reduce injuries on special teams where everyone is going at it at full speed. Can't remember where I read or heard it.

 

[patchick]

I thought it was exactly the right call. The chance of a 30+yard 1st down in a driving rain was minimal, and the early punt minimized the chance of all kinds of bad stuff -- an interception return, ST injuries, a blocked punt, or even a returned punt --while maximizing the chance that an unprepared defensive player would muff the catch of a slippery ball.

Leonhard just made an excellent play. It happens, even on the Bills.

 

[Kontradiction]

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.

That and the fact that Slater was on the field.

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

I thought it was exactly the right call. The chance of a 30+yard 1st down in a driving rain was minimal, and the early punt minimized the chance of all kinds of bad stuff -- an interception return, ST injuries, a blocked punt, or even a returned punt --while maximizing the chance that an unprepared defensive player would muff the catch of a slippery ball.

Leonhard just made an excellent play. It happens, even on the Bills.

When you factor in the score it seems like a no-brainer if you're smart enough to think of it.

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

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.

I agreed.

But, my message to brady would be, "Don't quit your day job"

 

[primetime]

It could have been a better punt, but I don't disagree with the strategy. With the ball and field as slick as it was, there's the very real possibility that someone trying to catch it muffs it or it hits someone like in the Denver game and it turns into a live ball and essentially just a long completion. The Bills got lucky because they had Jim Leonhard playing center field, who's an accomplished punt returner with good hands. If it had been, say, Da'Norris Searcy back instead, it very well could have turned into a live ball. With Slater's speed and instincts, the Patriots stand a very good chance of coming up with a live ball. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that well, but it wasn't awful either.

I don't think you do that in a dome or sunny weather, though.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Bill was reaching in his bag of tricks yesterday

 

[slam]

Next time they're in this situation, they can split Slater out wide and have Brady line up deep to get the defense thinking punt, then run a bubble screen to see what happens.

 

[BradyBranch39]

I didn't like it, for a couple reasons:
1. Leonhard had been playing way back like that a lot yesterday
2. I see 3rd and 35 as an easy 12 yard gain, with the right play call. Then, Allen punts from 12 yards closer.
3. and now that someone pointed out the thing about Slater, I have a third reason