FOXBOROUGH — Among the compliments Vikings coach Mike Zimmer tossed the Patriots’ way this past week was, “They’re the best play-action team in the NFL.’’
They sure looked like it in their Week 12 win over the Jets.
Effective play-action involves not just sleight of hand by the quarterback but rather all 11 guys selling the run. A key component to selling the run is having the ability to run.
That’s what happened last Sunday when the Patriots’ ground game kept the Gang Green defense looking green around the gills as it was constantly guessing what Tom Brady was going to pull next.
The desired balance was achieved as the Patriots ran the ball 36 times (for 215 yards) and Brady attempted 31 passes (for 283 yards).
It starts with Brady (“The guy pulling the trigger is one of the best of all time,’’ gushed Zimmer) acting as though he’s going to hand off, and filters to the running backs, the offensive line, and even the receivers lulling defenders into thinking a run is coming.
“It’s a combination of all. A lot of teams run play-actions that they don’t really run the runs out of,’’ said Zimmer. “But [the Patriots’] play-actions look exactly like the runs. The offensive line does an outstanding job, Brady is really good with the play-actions, and the receivers do a good job of getting to the spots where the linebackers or the safeties are getting sucked into.’’
The Patriots’ blocking schemes have a lot to do with their success. New England likes to pull guards across the line on power runs and play-actions alike. It’s a concept that goes back to the old Wing-T.
“If you go back to the Wing-T offenses, most of those play-actions came with some kind of — with a puller to simulate the running games as opposed to bootlegs,’’ said Bill Belichick. “The bootlegs, those plays again, were part of the Wing-T offense too, usually the pullers went with the quarterback to protect him as opposed to pulling away from the quarterback, which kind of sells the running game.’’
The Patriots would love to duplicate the success they had in the Meadowlands when Brady completed 10 of 11 passes for 123 yards on play-action.
“You have to make it look exactly like the run if you want it to be successful,’’ said running back James White. “It takes hard work.’’
In perspective
Brady, a California native, said he was affected by the wildfires that have ravaged the state recently. He was particularly touched by a fan named Christian, who had posted that the only item he grabbed as his house was poised to be engulfed by the Camp Fire was his Brady jersey.
“You just feel the pain,’’ said Brady, who said he will be sending something to Christian. “I can’t imagine losing my house and everything I own. That would be very difficult.’’
Brady said events such as the wildfires allow him to take stock and reflect on how lucky he is.
“These natural disasters . . . I think it puts a lot of stuff in perspective in your life,’’ he said. “You lose a game and you feel like, ‘Man, the whole world’s caving in,’ but it’s really — keeping things in perspective, you realize there are a lot of people dealing with a lot of things that are very tough.’’
Grand theft
While Zimmer acknowledged it’s a “compliment’’ when other teams steal his plays, he also said, “I don’t really like it. I’d rather keep our own stuff. Everybody steals in the NFL. Way back when, we would steal stuff from other people, too, so it happens a lot.’’ . . . Brady is 4-0 against the Vikings, one of five teams he’s never lost to, including the Falcons (5-0), Bears (5-0), Cowboys (4-0), and Buccaneers (4-0) . . . Deatrich Wise was fined $20,054 for roughing the quarterback, and Cordarrelle Patterson was fined $13,369 for unsportsmanlike conduct for grabbing the groin area of an opponent during last Sunday’s win over the Jets.
