Breaking Down the
New England Offense
Part I
Alex Kirby
Copyright 2015 Alex Kirby
All rights reserved.
1
A LEGEND IS BORN:
TOM BRADYS FINAL DRIVE AGAINST THE RAMS IN THE SUPER BOWL
Just moments before the Patriots offense took the field, Rams receiver Ricky Proehl completed the St. Louis
comeback to tie the game at 17 with less than two minutes to go.
Far above the field in the Superdome press box, sports writers began typing up their stories about the
inevitable Rams victory in overtime that was sure to come. In no time at all, the upstart Patriots would be
headed back to the locker room, with the phrase moral victory echoing around the country throughout
the entire offseason as consolation for their efforts against the big bad Rams.
The Greatest Show on Turf, having experienced a couple of speed bumps on their way to a 2nd
championship in 3 years, seemed like the team of destiny.
As it turned out however, the actual team of destiny was standing on the opposite sideline, and instead of
running out the clock and playing for overtime like everyone expected them to do, the young quarterback
from Michigan made all the right moves to get his team in position to pull off one of the biggest upsets in
pro football history.
ALEX KIRBY
Play #1 - 1st & 10 / -17 / LH / 1:21 / 4Q
Brady and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis are wary of taking shots down the field right away, especially
given sudden resurgence of the St. Louis pass rush late in the 4th quarter, as well as the particular situation
they find themselves in. Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith is not taking any chances on this play, and
this end-of-game situation with the score tied and New England on the ropes gives him a chance to put the
Tampa-2 philosophy hes so fond of to work, with the goal of keeping everything in front of the defense,
forcing the play into the short middle where the defense can make the tackle for a minimal gain and keep
the clock moving.
In this case thats exactly what happens, but not without a good amount of drama first.
Brady is eyeing the quick out to the far side of the field, and the route by the X receiver almost creates a rub
on the outside. The in-breaking stem by the X receiver isnt necessarily by design, but his job is to get
vertical by whatever means necessary, or at least get out of the path of the out route from the slot receiver.
At the very least, this creates an opening for the receiver to get out of bounds in a hurry, but the idea is that
he catches the ball and turn the corner, getting up the sideline.
The in-breaking stem from the receiver puts the X on a path to get inside leverage on the FS to create an
alley, then all of a sudden its off to the races.
Instead what happens is that Bradys protection starts to break down, and hes not sure about the throw, so
hes going to eat the ball if he has to.
Its important to realize that at this point neither team has any timeouts, but the score is tied, so if Brady
takes a sack here, its not ideal, but Belichick can run the football and run the clock out to go to overtime.
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
However just as the pass rush is closing in, Brady spots JR Redmond sitting down underneath running the
checkdown route. Redmond picks up four yards, but the clock is ticking as hes tackled inbounds, so Brady
hurries up to the line of scrimmage and gets everyone lined up once again.
ALEX KIRBY
Play #2 - 2nd & 5 / -22 / LH / 0:57 / 4Q
The corners are playing so aggressive on the outside to re-route receivers away from the sidelines and into
the middle of the field where Brady in forced to throw underneath to another checkdown (inbounds mind
you) this time to Redmond again.
This particular route is not the check-release that we saw on the last play, but instead its a free-release,
where he was planning to run into the middle of the defense no matter what.
The play they run here is a great concept to run in no-huddle situations after a gain like New England just
had.
The reason why so many teams, including the Patriots, love this play in this situation is because with the
corners playing so aggressively in the flat, and the Mike linebacker dropping to take away the deep middle of
the field, the slot receivers end up on an island working against a linebacker/ nickel corner who has a
noticeable disadvantage against them, whether its in the size or speed department.
In this situation, the receivers assignment is all about leverage and working off of the alignment of the
defender, so as long as the receiver/ tight end is disciplined, and knows how to read the drop of the
defender across from him, its very tough for him to be wrong.
Its simple really. The two outside receivers go deep and clear out space not only vertically but horizontally
as well, because as soon as they clear the corners who were working so hard to keep them away from the
sideline.
Once they get back on their assigned path, it opens up space in the seams for the inside receivers on the
option routes. Their job is to get open against the overhang defender, by working and getting leverage on
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
the defender dropping into that space. Its similar to the way an offensive player who posts up on a defender
down low in basketball.
Theres another reason why coaches love this play against Tampa 2 or other similar prevent schemes, and
its because the slot receivers occupy the intermediate defenders in the seams, usually the back is completely
undefended underneath, and New England takes advantage of it by releasing him quickly underneath.
The routes are run at an eight yard depth past the chains, which in turn opens up the coverage underneath
for the throw to Redmond.
ALEX KIRBY
Play #3 - 2nd & 10 / -30 / MH / 0:41 4Q
(The ball was spiked on the previous down, but we will still refer to this play as Play #3)
JR Redmond picks up the first down by stretching out his arms and driving outstretched and touching the
football to the sidelines to just barely be able to stop the clock.
This is a great adjustment by the St. Louis defense to drop the nose tackle into the passing lane since New
England lined up with that two-man grouping, almost like a bunch or a stacked receiver set except for the
fact that no one is lined up on the line of scrimmage. The close proximity to the tackle box indicates that
some kind of shallow in-breaking route packaged with some kind of vertical route is very likely.
The nose dropper is in perfect position to out off any route coming across the middle, and his main job is to
disrupt the route rather than cover it all the way across the field.
The vertical route is designed to clear out the defense in the middle of the field, especially given the amount
of Tampa coverage that the defense has been playing so far on this drive, with the middle linebacker
dropping deep to take away any kind of route designed to find the vacancy between the two safeties.
For the third play in a row now, JR Redmond makes the play out of the backfield. After Brady sees the
coverage to the strong side of the formation, he flips it to Redman, widening on the flare route, and finding
a lot of open space in the alley initially. After the corner drops into the flat, Redmond makes him miss,
before finally being forced to the sideline and making the play talked about earlier.
This drive is quickly becoming a how-to guide on the subject of understanding the situation and staying
patient in the pocket.
BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
Play #4 - 1st & 10 / +41 / LH / 0:33 4Q
At this point, Lovie Smith is tired of sitting back and allowing Brady time to find an open receiver
underneath, so now that New England spikes the football, it allows the St. Louis defense time to regroup
and send in a new blitz call.
Remember that this is still a few years before the no-huddle and fast-paced offensive attacks became
commonplace in the NFL, so defenses mostly stayed simple on the back end and lacked much of the
sophisticated adjustments against the no-huddle that they have in the modern NFL.
Even as the Rams tore up defenses across the league, they still made a habit of huddling on a regular basis,
and certainly never approached the tempo that teams like Peyton Mannings Colts or Bradys later teams
were known for.
Possible screw up here by the left tackle on the play. With so much potential pressure being signaled up at
the line of scrimmage, with both the FS and the Will linebacker up near the line of scrimmage to the weak
side, the left tackle shouldve expected some kind of pressure coming into the B gap and squeezed to close
the space to give Brady more time. At the same time, this is a dropback pass, and the protection is designed
accordingly. Brady needs to be cognizant of not allowing an easy path for the defensive end.
This is just as much about JR Redmonds failure to scan the entire defense and be aware of the entire
picture. Since the backer to his side dropped off into coverage, his eyes should at least peak to the left
before he decides to run off into the route.
Brady is chased out of the pocket and throws the football away, keeping the drive alive and stopping the
clock.
ALEX KIRBY
Play #5 - 3rd and 10 / -41 / LH / 0:29 4Q
Brady has been waiting for his chance, and he finally got it.
New England lines up and runs a very similar play to the one they called on the previous down, this time
switching JR Redmond to the opposite side to protect Bradys blindside in care St Louis is feeling aggressive
two plays in a row.
As Troy Brown gets vertical and cuts across the field, he manages to get underneath the deep-dropping Sam
linebacker and behind the Will linebacker. By the time he gets to the opposite hash, hes about 15 yards
deep and thats where Brady gets him the football.
This is what Weis was hoping for on the previous play before Brady was flushed out of the pocket and
forced to throw the ball away.
For their part, St. Louis goes back to the exact same scheme on defense, Tampa 2 with the corners playing
incredibly aggressive and the middle linebacker dropping to take away the gap between the two deep shell.
The deepest dig route by the Z receiver is taken away by the strong safety, the next deepest route is
undercut by the Sam (The Tampa player), leaving a giant hole in the middle of the St. Louis zone coverage.
Thats where Brown catches the ball, and after hes forced out of bounds, the Patriots are just barely within
Adam Vinatieris field goal range.
BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
Play #6 - 1st and 10 / +36 / LH / 0:21 4Q
Leonard Little, the strong defensive end, plays man coverage away from the blitz because St. Louis wants to
take away any quick, in-breaking route, a hot route, with another blitz coming. The idea is that he takes away
the first guy who breaks inside, whether thats the tight end Wiggins, or the next receiver out wider, Little
isnt being put in a spot where he needs to carry out a complicated coverage, since hes already got the
correct leverage, and with so much pressure coming, its likely that the football is going to come out quickly.
The tight end Jermaine Wiggins is lined up off the line of scrimmage while flexed out wide enough from the
tackle box, and the play call by offensive coordinator Charlie Weis is designed to take advantage of exactly
what St. Louis is thinking here.
The reality is that new England is just on the edge of Adam Vinatieris field goal range. At this spot, it would
be a 53-yard field goal, with Vinatieris career long being 55 yards. So is it impossible? No. Is it ideal? No.
The Patriots dont need a big gain here, but they would like another five yards at least to get the hiding
length under 50 yards. The problem is that New England has no timeouts left, so theyll have to get the ball
out quickly, and if its a throw tackled inbounds, theyll need to get up to the line quickly to snap the ball and
spike it to stop the clock and set up for a game-winning field goal.
Thats exactly what this play is designed to do.
With a pair of snag routes by the two outside receivers to either side, and the shallow whip route by
Wiggins, Brady is set up for an easy throw underneath to pick up some quick yardage and do exactly what
we just talked about.
With the variation of the smash concept that New England is running, the corner route clears out the space
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ALEX KIRBY
in the alley underneath, and because of the amount of cushion the corner to that side is given, and the
peculiar alignment of the linebackers and safety to the weak side of the formation, there arent really any
defenders to get in the way underneath.
Wiggins makes the catch and picks up a gain of six yards up to the 30 yard line. Vinatieri comes onto the
field for the kick, and the rest is history.
.
10
2
THE GRONK ATTACK
When run correctly, the 12 personnel package can be more dangerous than the many different kinds of
three-receiver sets that dominate the playbooks of so many offenses throughout the league.
When youre a defensive coordinator, attempting to maximize personnel matchups, as well as trying to stay
sound against a team who has the ability to go up-tempo at any moment.
So how do defensive coaches approach such a challenge as this?
On the surface, having two tight ends on the field presents the opposing coach with a simple solution: put
your base defensive personnel on the field and let them fight it out.
With such an increased emphasis on the passing game, even now compared to about a decade ago,
combined with the type of versatile athletes who seem to be showing up on the roster to play the tight end
position, the challenge is finding enough sound and varied strategies to contain the pass and run threats.
Gronkowski
A case can be made that for all intents and purposes, Gronkowski should be treated as a receiver when the
defense is trying to determine the type of offensive personnel on the field (12 vs 11).
In fact, thats what a couple of teams did, including the Bengals, deciding to leave a defensive back on the
field and line him up across from Gronk when hes flexed out wide in the formation, even on run downs.
But why?
For one thing, Gronk just isnt the force in the run game that might think. His impressive size and frame
aside, Gronk doesnt make his living as a run-blocker. Its not one of his strengths, and as a result hes not
asked to do a whole lot of it.
The little bit he is asked to do involves a lot of getting in the way of the guy across from him just long
enough so that the guy in the backfield carrying the football can make a decision in a hurry get vertical.
Gronk isnt a run-first tight end, but then again New England isnt a run-first offense, so the partnership
works pretty well.
In order to stay on the field as New Englands primary tight end, he needs versatility.
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Put another way, Gronk doesnt need to be a great run blocker, he doesnt need to be a good run blocker,
he just needs to be good enough at the limited number of things hes asked to do in that department.
Is he a liability in the run game? In some ways yes, but in whatever ways having a guy like Gronk on the
field limits the Patriots in the run game, he adds so much of a threat in the pass game that the words net
benefit come to mind when describing what he brings to the table.
As for the rest of the tight ends on the roster, they all have their parts to play as well, and in this article well
go into detail about how the New England coaching staff makes sure to put them all in places to be
successful.
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
Play #1 - 12:51 1Q @ Indy 2015
#84 Brian Tyms runs the deep curl from a tight split, breaking in slightly at 20 yards, but finally coming
back to the QB at 25 yards.
In this scenario, the left corner gives Tyms a free release off the line of scrimmage, since hes originally
playing outside leverage on the stacked formation with Edelman before he goes in motion.
By lining up in a stacked alignment away from the run strength, then running a playaction fake to Jonas
Gray to the right, they limit the resistance the defense can give Tyms off the line of scrimmage.
The wing alignment and play fake are also there to influence the strong safety and keep that passing lane
open, since in theory at least, the safety should have to play out on the edge against the run in the alley.
However the strong safety does a great job of sniffing out the pass, and sits underneath the deep out route
as Edelman cuts to the sideline right at the chains, which takes away the throw.
Edelman is the first read in the progression, and his split coming across the formation when he settles with a
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medium split from Gronkowski, in order to give himself plenty of room to run the route.
Since Brady is looking to his right to Edelman out route right away as hes coming out of the play fake, but
since Indys strong safety is sitting right in the passing window, Brady has to wait for Tyms to break open
on his deep curl route, which actually doesnt take as long as you might think.
By coming off the throw to Edelman, re-establishing himself and resetting his body in the pocket, Brady just
needs to take a single hitch step, and firing the football to Tyms in anticipation of Tyms breaking out of his
route at his assigned depth.
The only issue on this play is that Brady puts the football a little too far to the outside for Tyms to react in
time as hes coming out of his break at the top of the route. Brady was trying to get the football away from
the grasp of the free safety, who was in a great position to take away the throw if it was too far to the inside.
While the defensive front seven sells out against the run, the defenders on the back end are playing quarters
coverage, which in this case allows them to play aggressively against the run while doubling both receivers
that are attacking deep down the field, as the Patriots offense loves to do so often.
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
2:24 1Q vs Baltimore (Playoffs)
Here we have a conscious effort by the New England offense to force the defense into a decision as to how
theyre going to align to such an unorthodox formation. Part of the reason is because, no matter what you
want to call it, either man or zone coverage, at the start of the play, youre going to have a guy the size of
Rob Gronkowski lined up across from a corner half his size. The wide splits of the receivers assure the
offense that theyll get the look they want.
Not only is this kind of matchup advantageous for the guys lined up on the outside, its also great for the
two guys, Edelman and LaFell, lined up much closer to the inside of the formation. Conversely, theyll end
up having a defender lined up across from them that is likely less athletic than they are, and wont have the
ability to run with them across the field or make a tackle in space.
The tight ends on either side of the formation have a lot of leeway when it comes to their route, since on
this play, the outside routes are really just designed to open up space in the middle of the field for Edelman
and LaFell. Depending on the cushion (or lack thereof) from the corner, the tight ends can either run a fade
route against a pressed corner, or if theres a big cushion over the receiver, he can
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4:00 1Q vs Detroit
New England has a pretty good idea of how Detroit will be playing this particular formation, going four
deep in their zone coverage in an attempt to double the inside vertical receivers, since the Patriot offense
has already established a tendency in this game to throw a lot of seam routes from their empty sets. In
response, the Lions have aligned themselves in such a way that their defensive backs can collapse on any
kind of deep vertical routes coming from the slot, and let the underneath coverage guys collapse on
anything else at a lower depth.
By lining up in an empty set, the Patriots give a great example of a why having guys like Rob Gronkowski
and Tim Wright on the field at the same time can be so dangerous for opponent defenses.
By having that flexibility to come out with two tight ends and a tailback (Vereen) in the backfield, yet still
line up in an empty formation and challenge the defense with a vertical passing game, it becomes incredibly
difficult for an opposing defensive coordinator to get a handle on what to expect when the offense is
substituting new personnel into the game.
In this scenario, the offense is trying to attack the middle of the field, which explains why theyve got
everyone so spread out in their alignment. This play is designed to go to either Edelman or Gronkowski,
and their routes complement one another well, since Gronk has a little bit of room to work to get open
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
against the defender to his side, but for the most part he cant afford to move too far to the inside off of his
break, since Edelman is assigned to break in at the same depth coming from the other side.
Edelman and LaFell are running a miniaturized version of what some would call a levels concept, which
usually involves three receivers with two running underneath routes, and a third coming over the top of
both of them with a dig route. The Patriots often pair this concept up with others in their passing attack,
especially when aligned in a spread out look like this.
At the snap, Brady reads the middle of the field, and watches the Will linebacker, originally lined up over the
top of the nose, flying out to help bracket Gronkowski as he drives vertically up the field. Since now the
Will has cleared out, the only other underneath defender he needs to be concerned with is the nickelback
covering the Edelman.
As his eyes go to the nickel corner, Brady watches him drop off of Edelmans route once he sees LaFell
coming underneath him. The nickel defender essentially hands of Edelmans route to the deep safety to that
side, since thats why the coverage was called in the first place. However the free safety is nowhere near
close enough to make a play on the football, since his drop has taken him so deep in anticipation of the
route hitting much deeper.
As Brady slings the football into Edelman, there is all kinds of room for him to turn up the field and pick up
some serious yards after the catch.
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11:46 2Q vs Seattle (Super Bowl)
Tim Wright #81 comes into the game as the 2nd TE and hes matched up on Maxwell. He goes in motion
from left to right taking Maxwell with him. After surveying the defense now that Wright ends up in his final
spot, Brady brings the next man in motion, and once again its Edelman.
The look from the Patriots is a familiar one, putting the TEs to one side of the formation, and both
receivers to the other side in order to force the defense to declare their intentions and to maximize any
matchup advantages the offense may have should Seattle decide to go with a more balanced alignment with
the guys in the secondary.
The Patriots are most likely thinking that this is 4-down territory, which makes Brady more comfortable
with throwing the underneath route and letting Edelman do what he does best. From the current line of
scrimmage, its a 53-yard field goal, and its a little too close to punt, so if the Patriots can pick up a few
yards, they may be able to set up a more manageable 4th down situation.
The stacked receiver alignment forces #27 the nickel Tharold Simon will have to give ground and line up 34 yards deep behind Sherman in the stacked alignment. This creates the space to run the shallow crossing
route over the middle. This read and throw also has a lot to do with leverage and numbers to the TE side.
Brady is wary of the alignment to Vereens side of the formation. Since both the Sam linebacker and
Chancellor are aligned far outside against the flat route, so he knows the middle is going to be wide open
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
with the aggressive stance the defensive front is taking.
Brady delivers the ball and Edelman breaks a tackle for a long gain on 3rd and long to pick up the 1st down.
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5:48 2Q @ Packers 2014
As Tim Wright crosses in front of the strong safety, he takes advantage of the open space in the middle of
the field, as well as the fact that the underneath defenders come on the blitz that opens up the passing lane
to Wright on the dig route.
For all intents and purposes, the offense has put Edelman and Wright in a dual bunch that allows the two of
them to work in conjunction with one another. Its a formation and an alignment that New England has
used for a while as part of their base offense, and now the defense comes with an interesting adjustment.
The dual bunch is aligned so tight to the offensive line, just a few feet split out from the right tackle, since
the inside receiver goes vertical but Edelman hitches up at five yards underneath. One of two defenders
rushes and the other walls off the underneath route.
If the middle of the field is occupied by the linebackers and the safety, Brady can wait for the deep dig by
LaFell at the Z receiver position to come open as hes working against the man defender to his side.
Gronkowskis alignment wide to the left, when hes splitting the difference between the numbers and the
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
sideline, is primarily to get a look from the defense, and see how theyll react or align to such a dangerous
playmaker all by his lonesome to that side.
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Cincinnati - 3:16 1Q
SS
C
C
W
5 yds
M
N
S
T
81
47
5 yds
FS
87
19
12
22
Here we see New Englands offense inside the red zone against Cincy trying to build on their early 7-0 lead.
One of the questions defensive coordinators must answer when game planning for New England is how
they will match up with tight end Rob Gronkowski, not just with regard to scheme, but also when it comes
to personnel.
A large part of New Englands offense involves putting two tight ends on the football field along with two
receivers and a single running back (12 personnel). This allows the Patriot offense to do several things.
First of all, like was mentioned earlier, it forces defenses to decide between playing their base defensive
personnel, which gives them a better chance to stop the run, or playing a nickel defense, which would get an
extra defensive back on the field to help against the pass.
The quandary that comes for most defensive coaches is that the two tight ends, while both talented, each
have a unique set of skills that complement one another.
For all of his size and strength (and hes got a lot of it) Rob Gronkowski is primarily a receiving tight end.
Hes definitely a big, intimidating guy, but the surprising reality is that hes actually a little bit of a liability in
the run game because of his lack of leverage and the fact that he tends to rely a bit too much on his physical
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
talents to beat the man across from him.
In the passing game, however, its a totally different story.
Gronkowski possesses a combination of size and speed that is unmatched anywhere else at his position in
the league. With his quick feet and explosiveness off the snap, he has the ability to turn a short pass into a
long gain by bowling over smaller guys in the secondary. He also has a surprising amount of quickness,
which allows him to run a lot of precision routes over the middle of the field and can wreak havoc on an
over-matched linebacking corps who struggle to match up against bigger or faster receivers that come into
their area of the field.
Meanwhile, the other tight end on the field is there as more of a run specialist. This doesnt mean that has
supposed to play the role of a glorified offensive tackle, just lining up as a run blocker only, but it does mean
that out of the two of them or the field, the 2nd tight end is definitely more adept at run blocking.
Notice how I said the 2nd tight end and didnt mention anyone specifically by name. The reason is simply
because on the New England roster, there is Gronk, and then there is everyone else.
In the Patriots 12 personnel package, Gronk is the constant, the guy who stays on the field for the majority
of the time. There are a couple of interchangeable guys who can fill that 2nd spot in the formation for the
Patriot offense, and who can be relied on to create movement at the line of scrimmage in the run game.
In 2014 it was either Tim Wright or Michael Hoomanawanui (Wright was released by New England
following the 2014 season). During the 2015 free agent period, New England signed journeyman tight end
Scott Chandler with the hope that he could fill that role as well. Before he ran into his many legal troubles,
Aaron Hernandez served as a dangerous counterpunch at the tight end position for New England, and
during that time it was widely agreed that the Patriots had the best 1-2 punch at tight ends in the league.
Returning to the situation at hand, more youve got all three tight ends on the field, and the placement of
the personnel puts an important question to defensive coaches. Since Tim Wright is the better run-blocker
of the two tight ends on the line and because following the same logic, New England makes a habit of
running away from Gronkowskis side, many teams, including Cincinnati sets their strength and their down
safety to the 2nd tight end as the extra run defender.
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FS
SS
E
81
19
M
E S
87
47
12
22
What makes this even more of an interesting case is that in this scenario, all three tight ends are on the field
together, and both Rob Gronkowski and Michael Hoomanawanui are lined up in a tight end/ wing
alignment to the right. So the question is, does Cincy want to play the tendency or to the numbers?
In this case they play the tendency, setting the down safety to Tim Wrights side, away from the wing side of
the formation.
So what does that mean for Brady and the offense? It means that they dont like the picture theyve been
given by the defense, and fortunately for Brady, hes got the ability to change it.
Normally this wouldnt be a big deal, but because the Sam linebacker is sitting on Gronks outside shoulder,
even with the wing alignment to that side the offense doesnt want to rely or Rob Gronkowski to win at the
point of attack.
It might be different if the Sam wasnt sitting on the line like he is but instead was lined up at normal
linebacker depth.
So since the alley is filled by the strong safety, the offense has to find a way to move the strong safety out of
the way and open up the seam for Tim Wright.
In response, Brady brings Brandon LaFell in motion from left to right, which flips the strength of the
formation, and forces the safeties to invert as well. All of a sudden, that strong safety who was sitting out on
the edge, just off the shoulder of Tim Wright, he ends up sitting deep in the middle of the field while the
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BREAKING DOWN THE NEW ENGLAND OFFENSE PART I
guy who had been the middle of the field player rotates down into the alley to the wing side of the
formation.
So the offense has achieved their goal of removing the strong safety from the picture on Tim Wrights side,
but now theyve exchanged one set of problems for another. Now instead of the strong safety sitting on his
outside shoulder, Wright has the corner sitting there. So theyve got to move one more person in order to
get the look they want.
The tight end set in the wing position to the right, Hoomanawanui, moves from right to left and ends up in
a receiver alignment, split far to the left, and inevitably takes the corner to that side with him. All of a
sudden the offense is lined up in a balanced set, yet now theyve got the look theyve been wanting from the
beginning.
SS
W
E
M
N
S
T
81
FS
E
87
12
47
19
22
At the snap, Brady carries out the play fake to the back Stevan Ridley, and his eyes immediately go to the
safety in the middle of the field once he comes out of the fake and sets up to throw. Without overplaying
too much to the right, the safety takes a few small shuffle steps to Gronks side as hes coming off the line
of scrimmage, and at that moment, Brady knows hes got a winner.
The nearest pass defender to Wright is the Will linebacker, who for at least a few moments has to respect
the play fake, so Wright already has the jump on him on the route. He has a pretty easy time getting off the
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line of scrimmage, and once he clears that level of the defense, his head turns to look for the football, but
with the Will so close to him and playing on his inside shoulder, Brady has to put it away from the
linebacker to his right.
SS
C
C
W
5 yds
M
N
S
T
81
47
5 yds
FS
87
19
12
22
What ends up happening is that Wright looks to his inside for the ball, sees it headed to his opposite
shoulder, and continues to turn his whole body clockwise, leaving the ground to make the catch in midair
for the score.
Still, it gets harder than that, because the corner who was playing over the top of Hoomanawanui and his
hitch route sees the vertical route developing by Wright coming to his side, so he cheats over the top and
puts a big hit on him as he makes the catch crossing the goal line.
Conclusion
As you can see, New England has the ability to move around their personnel, specifically their tight ends,
many different ways. They accomplish this by using a large number of formations, as well as giving Brady
the ability to move any players around before the snap in certain situations to give the offense the look they
want.
26