Blitz Screen

In light of the Patriots Spy Games Scandal, it's interesting to read this Boston Globe account of the Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl and the "adjustments" the Pats' offense made to counter the Eagles' blitzes. Was this good play-calling, or did Charlie Weis and Tom Brady know what defense the Eagles would be in and when they were blitzing cause they had taped Jim Johnson's defensive play calls. Even more interesting, the story notes that through the first and much of the second quarter, the Eagles defense had rattled Brady and the Patriots. And then? All of the sudden the Pats' offense regained its composure was able to handle the Eagles' blitzes for the rest of the game. Almost like they deciphered the Eagles' defensive schemes...or calls.

The NFL and Goodell need to realize that this Patriot Spy Scandal is bigger than just a regular season game against the Jets. They need to start looking at a lot more of the Patriots' games. They can start with the Super Bowls. And Goodell can interview Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennell about what they know about the use of cameras on the Patriots' sideline to tape opposing teams' signals.


Excerpts from the story:

"Any time you blitz a lot, you start to think you're running free at the quarterback," Brady said. "We got some good yardage with those screens because they thought the scheme got them free on those plays. When we gashed them, it helped slow them down."

"After adjusting their defensive game plan, Brady had just enough breathing room to begin the steady process of dissecting the Eagles' defense and destroying their Super Bowl dreams."

"On the first drive of the second half, the Eagles tried to go back to their blitz but Branch destroyed the Eagles, catching four passes for 71 yards. One reception beat the Eagles' blitz for a 27-yard gain and another did the same for a 21-yard catch that put the ball on the 2-yard line."

"Although Philadelphia blitzed more later in the game, the Eagles never returned to the all-out attack they had been using."