A Blueprint for the Patriots

It’s been 48 hours since the Eagles nearly came back to take the lead against the Patriots with 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter Sunday night. Because really, that’s all that happened. All I keep hearing is that the Eagles have shown us the blueprint to beat the Patriots. Really? Ok, then let’s review the blueprint.

1. Go for it on 4th and Short. Ok, I agree that going for it on 4th and 2 or less any time you are on the Patriots side of the field is the right call. You have to try to score touchdowns with them. Field Goals don’t cut it. Going on fourth and short on your own side of the field is still a mistake as, if you fail; you’re giving Brady & Co. a short field which is guaranteed points.

2. Run Slants and In-cuts to take advantage of the Patriots corners shading outside and their safeties playing to eliminate the deep ball. Ok, this worked pretty well, and any time Feeley tried to go outside or deep he threw interceptions or had the ball knocked away.

3. Sound fundamentals on defense, especially tackling are a must. Duh.

4. Play press coverage with a safety over the top against Randy Moss. This worked pretty well, but how many teams have a physical corner like Lito Sheppard, and a hard hitting safety like Brian Dawkins to throw at Randy Moss?

5. Blitz constantly and from everywhere. Jim Johnson’s defensive game plan was brilliant. Can’t hurt you to try this too.

6. Run every trick play in your playbook: Flea Flicker, Wide Receiver Pass, End Around, Reverse, etc. Ok, when you’re playing the most talented team in the league, you have to… wait for it… pull out all the stops – go for the gold – go all in – leave nothing on the field – hold nothing back - pick your cliché.

7. Recover a surprise onside kick in the first half. Now you’ve got to get lucky.

8. Get the Patriots to miss a 32 yard field goal. And we’re passing over the shark now…

9. Hope that the Patriots are missing 2 or 3 of their players who started the game on defense for significant parts of the game. Ok now we’re getting desperate.

Well there’s your blueprint. Basically have the game of your life, get really lucky, and after allowing over 300 yards passing, you might be in position to take a lead by 3 or 4 points with a few minutes left. You might even succeed in taking the lead. But remember that if you take the lead with more than 60 second on the clock, Brady & Co is probably still going to find a way to tear your heart out. Oh, and by the way, now that Belichick has seen all this he’ll probably be awake 22 hours per day figuring out how to beat it. So good luck with your blueprint…