You have to learn this offense, not by studying alone. You have to perform correctly in multiple situations until you can be trusted to make the same decision the QB makes.
What do Troy Brown, David Patten, David Givens and Deion Branch have in common? Smarter, quicker than other NFL receivers? Middle of the pack, at best probably.
Could it be they knew (the diminutive Branch being on the cusp of the third round, far and away the best prospect) that they had one chance to make this team, or to move from a special teamer, third down receiver to a permanent starter, in the case of Brown, and that was to stick like glue to Tom Brady, until they could always make the same read as he would?
Part of it is
focus (85). Part of it is intense and disciplined practice and persistence, as if one's life (in the NFL) depended on it. There's one ticket to success for a WR in New England and that is riding the Tom Brady train. Period.
As a recent devotee of Napoleon Hill, I can see it in David Patten's words and, of course, Troy Brown is the poster child for achieving anything that can be achieved.
"What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve." Total dedication until the rapport and trust with your quarterback is achieved is what it takes in this offense. If you're where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed to be there (or the correct adjustment when knocked off or blocked) according to the defenses play, you will get the ball.
Whether you're religious, or not (I'm not), it's faith and persistence and repetition. Trust will develop.
Tom Brady called former teammate and free agent David Patten this offseason to say he wanted Patten to return to the New England Patriots.
Given the way the Patriots stocked up on receiving talent this past summer, Brady's call might seem like an odd audible. But even though Patten had only 23 catches in the two previous seasons with the Washington Redskins, Brady still valued the veteran.
"For Tom to want me back after all I had been through in Washington was truly a great honor," said Patten, who collected three rings and a Super Bowl touchdown pass in a four-year run with Brady. "Tom said to me, 'When I received my first opportunity, it was you who was on the other end of my passes. I know you. I trust you.'"
Patten, 33, credits his Christian faith for overcoming immense odds several times on his NFL journey. Between ending his playing career at Western Carolina and trying to impress at an NFL free-agent tryout, Patten loaded 75-pound coffee bean bags for 12 hours a day to make a buck...
But just when you think Patten is down and out, he emerges. Ask the Seattle Seahawks. On Oct. 14, he burned them for eight catches and 113 yards in leading the Saints to their first victory of the season.
He entered that game with just five catches.
"We have a problem trying to get David to slow down," Saints wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson said. "He is always trying to do something. He sets a great example for our young receivers. He is almost like an extended coach. After our 0-4 start, he told the team that the Patriots started 1-3 in 2001 and won the Super Bowl. It was just what we needed."
As optimistic as he is, Patten has had his faith tested several times in his five-team NFL career that began in 1997.
"My first five years in the league, I never felt like I was a guarantee to make the team," Patten said. "I always felt that I needed to prove myself all over again, but that is what drives me. I never go into an offseason thinking I have it made."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3099276