Trick plays lead Patriots past Ravens, and there’s more to come

The smarter guy doesn’t always win in the NFL, but if all the other factors are equal, he certainly has a big advantage.

Trick plays were vital for the New England Patriots as they advanced to the AFC Championship Game against the surprising Indianapolis Colts in their 35-31 divisional playoff victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

When Julian Edelman took a backwards pass from Tom Brady, drifted to his left and threw the ball over the top of the Baltimore defense to Danny Amendola, the Patriots had shocked the visitors with perhaps the most famous non-quarterback TD pass since the 1967 Ice Bowl.

Much has been made of Edelman’s background as a college quarterback at Kent State before becoming an NFL player. However, head coach Bill Belichick had kept Edelman’s passing ability under wraps until his team needed it most. The 51-yard TD pass to Amendola tied the score in the fourth quarter and gave the Patriots the momentum they needed to survive Joe Flacco’s strafing.

Edelman tried to deflect the credit to Amendola, saying he thought he had overthrown the receiver when the ball left his hand, but it was basically a perfect pass. Edelman sold the original backwards pass to the Ravens’ defense, and that’s why Amendola was able to get so wide open.

Forty-seven plus years ago, Dallas Cowboys running back Dan Reeves did the same thing in the NFL Championship Game against Green Bay in that frozen classic. After taking a pitchout from quarterback Don Meredith, Reeves continued to run to his left and the Green Bay defensive backs charged at Reeves.

However, Reeves had been a quarterback throughout his three-year college football career at South Carolina, and he was able to make his difficult throw downfield under incredibly challenging conditions – minus-16 degrees F . Wide open Lance Rentzel made a quick adjustment to the throw, brought it in and skated into the endzone. The Cowboys had a lead that they would hold on to until Jerry Kramer made his famous block and Bart Starr followed him into the endzone for the winning touchdown.

We will give the Reeves-Rentzel catch the edge over Edelman-Amendola because it came in the NFL Championship Game under the most brutal conditions any NFL game has ever been played.

But the Patriots are the current masters of the trick play. Their clever four-man offensive line left Ravens head coach John Harbaugh flummoxed and frustrated because he had never seen or thought of such a play himself.

When the Pats had Shane Vereen line up as an ineligible receiver and then sprint backwards after the ball was snapped, the Ravens were confused because tight end Rob Gronkowski was positioned at left tackle yet he was allowed to be a legal receiver as he ran his pass pattern.

Why was that legal? Because the Patriots had pulled guard Josh Kline out of the game. They still had the required number of players who were ineligible to catch a forward pass, even though they were not lined up in consecutive fashion.

What made it even more confusing to the Ravens was that Brady could have lateraled the ball to Vereen or backup tight end Michael Hoomanawanui when either player lined up as an ineligible receiver. As long as the pass is backwards (or parallel) to the line of scrimmage, any offensive player is eligible to make a play with the ball.

What’s next for the Patriots in the trick play category? Based on their first meeting with the Indianapolis Colts, they really don’t need to pull anything out of their collective hats since they sledgehammered their opponents with a power-running game in the first meeting.

Jonas Gray, who did not even dress against the Ravens, rushed for 201 yards in Week 11 against Indianapolis. Since that game, the Pats have added veteran LeGarrette Blount, so Belichick can choose to pound the Colts with either one of his power backs.

But Belichick will leave nothing to chance, and he is likely to put in a formation or a play or both that leaves Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano scratching his head. Belichick may have spilled his bucket against the Ravens, but further inspection reveals that he did not empty it completely. There are still two games left to play.

The Patriots don’t have to limit their trick plays to the offensive side of the ball. They can do something dramatic with their special teams, which may be the best in the league.

Perhaps the best trick play in recent memory came in Super Bowl XLIV, when New Orleans head coach Sean Payton opened the second half of that game against Indianapolis with an onside kick. The Saints recovered the ball after that gutsy maneuver, and that play is credited with giving New Orleans the spark it needed to win its only Super Bowl.

Trick plays can be habit forming. Coaches come up with plays and formations that fool their opponents, and they want to do it again.

Belichick may come to the conclusion that Brady, Gronkowski, Gray and Blount can hammer the Colts without trick plays, but you can rest assured that he is working on something that may help his team get the advantage two weeks later against Seattle or Green Bay.

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