Why Brady is so good at what he does

[PP2]

Two excellent articles that break down why Brady is so deadly when he has time to stand in the pocket, and why the only way to really stop him has been to win the battle of the trenches and collapse his pocket as quickly as possible.

Film review: How the Patriots set up WR Chris Hogan’s big touchdown

Ex-Patriots QB Zac Robinson explains how Tom Brady reads a defense in the red zone

From the first:

On the very first play, the Patriots set up with TE Martellus Bennett and Hogan on the far side and WR Julian Edelman and Gronkowski on the nearside. Brady motioned Bennett to the nearside to create a 3x1 formation with Hogan isolated on the far side.

The Bills appear to rotate their coverage as CB Stephon Gilmore, who was originally covering Bennett on the outside, slides to cover Hogan in the slot. The defensive back originally covering Hogan changes his coverage to watch RB James White out of the backfield.

For Brady, this reveals a lot of information. I wouldn’t be surprised if the goal of this play is to isolate Bennett on a linebacker as Gronkowski, Edelman, and Hogan draw coverage to the far side of the field, or to see how the safety reacts to the three receivers on one side of the formation.

The pass falls incomplete, but the wheels are in motion. On the very next play, the Patriots set up with Edelman and Bennett on one side, and Gronkowski and Hogan on the other. Brady motions Edelman to the opposite side to create another 3x1 formation. Brady hits Edelman for a first down, but more importantly Brady has seen how the Bills coverage reacts.

Brady knows the linebackers will shift towards the three receivers to take away the quick slants underneath, and that the deep safety will react to Gronkowski’s route. The safety will bite if Gronkowski sits down in the middle of the field, he will drop back if Gronkowski goes deep. The deep safety is watching Gronk’s every move.

On the Patriots third passing play- this is now three straight- the Patriots open up with the same Gronkowski/Hogan and Bennett/Edelman pairings before motioning Hogan to the far side with Bennett and Edelman. Gronkowski stays in to block while Bennett gets a one on one with a linebacker for five yards.

On the next play- four straight passing plays!- the Patriots have Gronkowski and Edelman on the far side with Hogan and WR Danny Amendola on the nearside. Edelman motions to the nearside to create yet another 3x1 with Gronkowski isolated. Brady knows that the safety is watching Gronkowski, which means that RB James White will have an easy one-on-one against a linebacker- who we know has shifted towards the trips formation. First down.

On the fifth passing play, the Patriots don’t use the 3x1 formation, although Gronkowski fakes the motion to the other side, and Brady just misses his tight end on a one handed grab out of bounds.

But it’s the sixth play that really sets up the future touchdown.

The Patriots have another 3x1 formation and all of the information we have collected through this first drive holds true. The deep safety will cheat over to defend Gronkowski. The linebacker will defend the running back in the flat. If Gronkowski is on the trips side, then the isolated receiver should have one-on-one coverage every time.

The second:

They have their staple stuff, but they’re constantly looking ‘how can we attack this defense?’ Very game plan specific on how they think the defense is going to play them. But overall just his preparation, knowledge. The biggest thing was he’s been such a good zone quarterback. Probably the best to ever play, so good at identifying zones. And when they play man to man, they’ll formation you, get motion stacks, get free release.”

“Over the last two years, when the Patriots have used a motion or a shift, they use it more than any other team,” Palazzolo notes, “but when they’ve used it, Brady’s grade is through the roof. It’s so much better than when they don’t use a motion or a shift. I think that’s fascinating and speaks to his ability to diagnose coverage when he just gets that little bit of a tip.”

“They do such a good job of using that to just identify what the defense is in,” Robinson says. “You can put a receiver in a spot and if a guy is trailing him, it’s man-to-man, you put him in motion it gives him a little bit of relief and it can clear everything up for the QB. They do such a good job of that. Better than anyone in the NFL. Just really knowing how you use the motions, how you play shifts or stacks, and how our match-ups are going to work according to that.”

Palazzolo and Robinson talk about how Brady and the receivers get on the same page in the passing game with option routes, and how Brady waits to see if his receiver read the defense the same way as the quarterback before throwing the football.

“They work so much on all those different route combinations and it’s all based on leverage,” Robinson explains. This is the reason why less physically gifted receivers can see more time in the Patriots offense- if Brady can trust that the receiver will read the defense in the same way, then Brady will be a little faster at getting rid of the ball.

 

[nabwong]

For those who are in a hurry. TL;DR - Patriots out prepare everyone else.

 

[DarrylS]

After having to watch other teams play football yesterday... I appreciate #12 and BB even more, the whole day was marked with crappy coaching decisions, poor time management and lousy QB play..

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Really good link, thanks for sharing. Amazing how Josh is playing chess while others are playing checkers, calling some plays to probe the D and also set up other plays down the road.

It also reminds me of some past material about how BB talks to Tom about the principles of defense to help him understand what teams are trying to achieve out there against him. He's not just executing a play called in by the sideline and hoping one of his 3 guys gets open. He's trying to understand how the D is setting up so he can find the bets way to counter that.

 

[nabwong]

Really good link, thanks for sharing. Amazing how Josh is playing chess while others are playing checkers, calling some plays to probe the D and also set up other plays down the road.

It also reminds me of some past material about how BB talks to Tom about the principles of defense to help him understand what teams are trying to achieve out there against him. He's not just executing a play called in by the sideline and hoping one of his 3 guys gets open. He's trying to understand how the D is setting up so he can find the bets way to counter that.

I think every OC and DC do this but at different levels. They almost always script the first drive to see what the other team is doing. But at the NFL level, the ability to adjust is super high. You almost never see the same play run twice. The best teams are those who are able to adjust midway through the game; strategy wise and also personnel wise.

 

[luuked]

I wish I could upvote this a lot more often. Unfortunately, the majority of the panicky live game apes will miss this article and once again won't be able to appreciate "the game behind the game" that's going on on every snap. It is truly breathtaking how much goes on throughout a game and it should make everyone take step back before judging playcalls solely on their outcome. Many plays are used for probing or setting up other plays in the future even if they fail (sometimes spectacularly).

Articles like this one (or the DYJ documentary) just further strengthen my thoughts of always giving the coaching the benefit of the doubt. They know what they are doing..

 

[IllegalContact]

he's so good at it because he in a zen-like state

Reggie Wayne calls him a cheater, and he basically says 'namaste'

Tom Brady laughs off 'cheating' comment by Reggie Wayne


and in order to avoid the 'click':

On Monday morning, Brady was asked about Wayne’s comments during an appearance on sports radio WEEI’s “Kirk and Callahan Show.”

“I don’t know what Reggie said or anything, but I liked being with Reggie. I actually had a lot of great conversations with him. Played against him for a long time; he’s a Hall of Famer. I always wish Reggie the best. He was a great player,” Brady said.

When informed that Wayne called him a cheater, Brady laughed.

“Well, I still think he’s a great player, and it doesn’t change the experience I had with him when he was here,” he said.

When hosts Kirk Minihane and Gerry Callahan told Brady he has no “hate in his heart,” Brady explained how he tries to live his life in that regard.

“I think there have been a lot of people who have said things over the years that I disagree with, but I try to get up every day and do the best I can do,” Brady said, seemingly in reference to a chapter from “The Four Agreements,” a book Brady said has helped him get through difficult times in his life, including Deflategate.

“You give everyone else your power when you start reacting to everything they say. I wouldn’t change places with anybody.”

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Reading that first article, it'd be interesting to see the breakdown of pre-snap motion for Garoppolo v. Brissett v. Brady.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I think every OC and DC do this but at different levels. They almost always script the first drive to see what the other team is doing. But at the NFL level, the ability to adjust is super high. You almost never see the same play run twice. The best teams are those who are able to adjust midway through the game; strategy wise and also personnel wise.

Every OC and DC may do this, but how many quarterbacks do it?

BB has always talked about how difficult it is to coach Tom because he's so prepared and studies so hard. It wouldn't surprise me to find out he was more prepared than most coordinators, and could even design and prepare game plans better than most.

 

[ChessToCheckers]

Excellent article on the subtleties and nuances of the game! For me, it's like a microscope, where you get a closer look at something and see that so much more is really there. Stuff like this is why I love this game!

 

[PP2]

Excellent article on the subtleties and nuances of the game! For me, it's like a microscope, where you get a closer look at something and see that so much more is really there. Stuff like this is why I love this game!

Here's another good one, albeit another quarterback, but it should illustrate by comparison how lucky we are to have Brady in that he doesn't have those types of problems (think Tannehill). In fact, IMO, he is the best at throwing the ball before the play happens, or before the player gets there:

How Matt Ryan, finally unburdened, sparked a breakthrough

 

[deroc5050]

After having to watch other teams play football yesterday... I appreciate #12 and BB even more, the whole day was marked with crappy coaching decisions, poor time management and lousy QB play..

I thought the Denver Vs Raiders game was a good game. I thought Seattle Buffalo was a good game. But I agree with your over all point. New England for the most part and more specifically referring to their passing attack is a joy to watch.