I’m watching the game. The Pats were in the situation described above, and they pulled a QB sneak to try to get the first down. On second down. Why, oh why, were they in such a hurry? I mean, it’s only second down. If they had succeeded they’d have gained only a foot in the process, and almost certainly not a TD (remember it was a QB sneak, with a good 5 more yards to the goal line).
Without going for the first so soon, they’d have at least one, maybe two, “free” plays to screw around with, attempting a TD before having to really worry about getting that first down – which would only be a foot away anyway. What the heck was the rush? What was to be gained? I can’t imagine a stupider play in the whole playbook. Am I wrong?
Okay, but why would you want a first down in such a situation? You lose one, maybe two, cracks at the endzone, and gain 12 inches. It’s counterproductive IMO.
Sometimes when the Pats see the defense in particular alignments, they’ll call the quick QB sneak, and it’s designed to pick up 4-6 yards.
A lot of times, you’ll see the D line up, shade the linebackers to the outside, line up the nose tackle OUTSIDE of (or in line with) one of the offensive guards. If you can call a QB “sneak” in that situation, you just need to follow your center, and you’re 3 yards downfield before you get touched.
He wasn’t going for a 12 inch play. That might have been all they got, but that’s not what they were going for.
(actually, I can’t even recall this specific play, but I’ve seen the Pats do it a lot).
Yeah, Brady runs this play about 20 times a year, and they generally come closer to five yards than to one. That was literally the only time this year that particular play has been stopped to that degree, which says something to the Colts’ scouting and readiness.
You’re not wrong; the Pats committed a couple tactical blunders in that game, and this was one of them.
The best down in all of football is 2nd & 1. The worst play to call on a 2nd & 1 is a QB sneak, especially when a successful conversion will leave you with 1st & goal.
While the Pats did run the hurry-up QB sneak countless times this season, it wasn’t usually on 2nd & 1 unless they were on the 1 yard line.
To clarify, they should have huddled up and run a real play on 2nd down, and if it failed they could then do the hurry-up sneak to convert on 3rd and get another three cracks at the endzone.
But I believe that a lot of the surprise element of the play is in doing it after a 9 yard gain when the defense is on their heels a little bit, often substituting to a more goal-line oriented formation, so not everyone is set. It would be far less effective on a 3rd and 1 following a no gain/incomplete on 2nd and 1. I think Brady was thinking there was a good chance he could walk into the end zone. Also, there’s no way you can tell me that getting a first down is ever a bad thing. Sure, it’s not perfect, but I promise you the Pats would much rather be looking at 1st and goal than 3rd and 1.