The New England Patriots have been heavy users of trick plays in 2021. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and coach Bill Belichick have long used trick plays to generate a momentum shift and, occasionally, a comeback. They had previously gone to these special plays at times of need. This year, the trick play has almost been an essential part of the playbook.
New England has used double passes and receiver passes at multiple points this season. Jakobi Meyers has completed two passes and Kendrick Bourne threw a touchdown pass in Week 7. The Patriots have also used the wildcat formation, which is — in a sense — a gimmick play, too. McDaniels has an interesting philosophy about these gadget plays.
“I always tell them if your heartbeat starts going up and we call this, we probably haven’t repped it enough in practice,” he said on Tuesday. “And when we call it in the game, if we don’t miss a beat, we don’t get all wide-eyed in the huddle because we know we feel good about our execution and our ability to run it right, then just go ahead and let it rip,” he said. “I don’t really consider them tricks as long as we practice them enough.”
The Patriots rep the plays long enough to the point where they see the potential mistakes and pitfalls from the design. That way, they understand what to do — and what not to do.
“A lot of times for me, we have to see a bad look and then make a good decision in practice and not make a play, turn a play into a turnover or something like that in practice and see the reactions from the players when those things happen. Once we cross over that line and feel comfortable with the decision making, based on who’s going to be touching the ball or what have you, then I don’t really feel it like it’s a huge risk myself, because I trust the guys and trust what we’re doing and we’ve seen it on tape and we’ve got a lot of examples of it in practice.”
McDaniels has used these trick plays for matchup-specific reasons. He recognized weaknesses within an opponent’s scheme or personnel. And so the offensive coordinator dialed up a particular play with that in mind. He doesn’t simply pick out of his book of trick plays during a game. He installs the plays with a specific purpose in mind.
“So, if you have a team that you feel like you have a chance that you’re going to get that look and the look is something that would be conducive to using a play, that’s a little different and try to gain an advantage that way,” McDaniels said. “Then I feel like it’s worth dusting as we go through the week. I also like to the coaches have great input on this. I don’t go into my office and draw trick plays ad nauseam every week. They all have a say in what the game plan is. Some of them they come from everywhere, you know? And so to me, it’s just about whether the idea is sound and whether the defense that we’re playing would give us a chance based on how they play and the scheme they use to make it work.”
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