Bill Belichick incredibly drew up a FG block after noticing his former punter Jake Bailey’s pre-snap exhale

No other coach thinks of that.

The New England Patriots haven’t been the same caliber of team since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay (and has since retired), but Bill Belichick still manages to show why he’s a Hall of Fame coach.

That was on display on Sunday night … even in a losing effort.

With just under four minutes to go in the third quarter, the Patriots had themselves a momentum-swinging play when Brenden Schooler came sprinting from out wide to block a Dolphins field goal attempt. Everything about that play was unique: from where Schooler lined up to his pinpoint timing ahead of the snap.

But that play was all about preparation in a way that few coaches would even think of. It came down to Dolphins punter (and holder) Jake Bailey who spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Patriots. Over the course of that time, Belichick must have noticed that Bailey had a deep exhale just before the snap on field goal tries.

That kind of familiarity with Bailey allowed Belichick to draw up the ideal play to time up the snap, and Schooler executed the play to perfection. ESPN’s Pat McAfee — a former NFL punter — noticed this tell from Bailey and broke down how the Patriots were able to pull off the blocked kick.

It was almost like an opposing baseball team seeing that a pitcher tipped his pitches. Those kinds of tells just make the game easier for an opponent. It’s also wild that Belichick didn’t correct that issue during Bailey’s time in New England. Belichick saw that other teams weren’t noticing it, so he decided to play the long game. And … it worked.

Fans were justifiably impressed with how Belichick used that knowledge to his advantage on Sunday.