Excellent Article On The Patriots And Erhardt-Perkins

[Off The Grid]

I couldn't agree more: Smart FootBall is one of the very finest reads around ~ arguably the best.

The name itself could be seen as a bit Arrogant...

But if so, it's a rare case of Arrogance fully and completely warranted.

 

[Mike the Brit]

I couldn't agree more: Smart FootBall is one of the very finest reads around ~ arguably the best.

The name itself could be seen as a bit Arrogant...

But if so, it's a rare case of Arrogance fully and completely warranted.

Maybe we should just label the other sites Dumb Football ...

 

[captain stone]

Dumb Football: aka the ESPN & NFLN pre-game shows.

 

[DarrylS]

Every time I think I "get" this game another wrinkle is thrown in.. well written article.

Also think that few quarterbacks are as intelligent and as quick thinking as Brady... Alabama.. Joe Montana

 

[1960Pats]

Dumb Football: aka the ESPN & NFLN pre-game shows.

It's too bad because those shows are loaded with ex-NFLers who could give us some great insights into the game.

One of my favorites that has deteriorated since the days of Len Dawson and Nick Buonoconti is Inside The NFL. Not only did they almost ignore the Pats Houston game this week, they replaced the segment with Jets talk. Really. They did. The only good part was seeing Bart Scott cry in public about how much he hates the Pats.

 

[unoriginal]

What I didn't get from that article, though, is how do they know where to line up on any given play? "Ghost/tosser," for example, tells them what routes—but there were four different patterns they should, with differing groupings of who is on which side of the QB. How does Brady direct that part of the system?

There can still a formation part of the call, but yes, the article sort of glossed over that aspect. Once they're in a formation, the play can be one or two words to convey the concepts for each side, such as "Ghost/Tosser" in the article.

Quite right. Additionally, it is the receivers job to make spacing adjustments in their line-of-scrimmage positions to accomodate the route combinations they are being asked to run on the play (e.g. being five yards inside the outermost receiver if they're running double slants, the outermost receiver being well away from the sideline if he's running an out, etc.).

In the plays Chirs Brown excerpted, the play formation is given by an initial number and/or code words. For example, "3 Out Slot Hat" is a complete formation call. "3" is a general formation call that also sets the strong side of the formation (odd numbers are strong left, so "2" would be the same formation strong right). "Out" modifies where the "F" back (the fullback/"move" tight end) will line up: he is now the outermost receiver on the strong side (outside on the left). "Slot" modifies where the "Z" receiver (flanker) goes, as now he aligns on the same side as the "X" receiver (split end, usually weak side in a base formation), i.e. as a slot receiver. Finally, "Hat" tells the "H" back (halfback) to motion across the formation from the basic "3" position past the strong-side tackle ("AT" motion, i.e. towards the left tackle, as this is strong left). The only receivers not modified from base 3 formation are X and Y (tight end).

Finally, the number you see before the route combo calls (the "73" or "72" of "73 Ghost/Tosser") denotes the "series" the play is part of. "73" and "72" are both "70 series" plays. The quarterback and the line go through the same blocking rules and footwork on all plays of a certain series, and there is a matching series (usually "80", in the case of 70) where all the line blocking rules are mirrored. FYI, 70/80 are usually 5-step-drop (QB takes five drop steps from under center) passing plays.