Tom Brady says ‘it’s pretty rare’ for defenses to fool him pre-snap
“52’s the mike,’’ Tom Brady says, identifying the middle linebacker.
Then the New England Patriots quarterback gesticulates at the defense, yells protections at his offensive linemen, sends tight end Rob Gronkowski in motion, and confers with running back Dion Lewis.
He yells, “Alpha, alpha!’’
And finally, the center snaps the ball.
Brady’s pre-snap rhythm is often complicated because he’s diagnosing defenses. He’s confirming offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’s play will be effective against the defensive front that’s opposing him. And he does this around 70 times a game.
Brady explained in an interview on The Dennis & Callahan Morning Show that those rearrangements are a product of hours of meetings every week, meetings in which he studies to become fluent in reading the opposing defense.
His obsession with preparing the offense before the snap seems to equal his perfectionist approach in executing the play. Defenses’ pre-snap looks don’t fool him often.
“Well, at this point in my career, I would say, it’s pretty rare,’’ Brady said on Dennis & Callahan. “I’ve been around for a pretty long time. Not that they can’t fool me, but I know where all my vulnerabilities are with my protections in the run game. I know who’s unblocked. I don’t really ever want to snap the ball into a bad play.’’
Patriots offensive players must be ready for pre-snap changes, as Brady’s adjustments happen while 70,000 fans are roaring, and the play clock is ticking.
“Part of it is playing with a lot of really smart players that are able to adjust on the fly, and fortunately that’s where I’m at with my teammates and my coaches,’’ Brady said. “When a play’s called and you make an adjustment, everyone can communicate it, everyone can understand it, and everyone can go execute it. I wouldn’t say that’s an easy thing to do. I think a lot of teams — more than not — just call plays at the huddle, and no matter what, whatever happens, happens. And you’re just going to have to live with the result.
“Maybe that happens 15 times in a game, where other teams may snap the ball into a bad defense, and I don’t ever want to have one of those plays,’’ he said. “We talk about that, practice that, and I think [McDaniels] and I have such a great relationship because we’ve worked together so long together over the years. Hey, if we call this play or we get this look, this is what we’ll get to.’’
The result, Brady said, is a “bigger margin of error’’ for the Patriots. But the signal-caller admitted he has a weakness on play- action passes.
“The hard part is when players are unpredictable,’’ he said.
After Brady turns his back to the defense to fake the handoff, he said he’d find outstanding players — like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Darrelle Revis — not fufilling their schematic duties. Instead, they’re freelancing.
“And you throw it and you wonder, ‘Well, why is he there? That’s not even his responsiblity.’ He saw it, he read it, and he pulled the trigger and went for it,’’ Brady said.
Brady has started the 2015 season completing 63 of his 91 passes for 754 yards and seven touchdowns. His pre-snap prowess has the Patriots’ passing offense atop the league.
Bill Belichick’s best Patriots draft picks
[bdc-gallery id=”139049″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com