QUICK OVERVIEW

When it comes to super bowls, the MaxRepps team usually has a clear-cut favorite. This year was different. We were totally stuck. Being from Southern California and being fans of offensive innovators like McVay, we wanted nothing more than a Rams win. On the other hand, we’re quarterback purists who idolize Tom Brady and his god-like ability to diagnose and dissect defenses. Our prediction was 20-17, with the Rams coming out on top. We expected a low-scoring, defensive battle (which turned out to be spot-on). What we didn’t expect was THAT much of a defensive standoff.

THE RAMS’ DEFENSIVE GAMEPLAN

Both defensive coordinators came out with outstanding game plans, but Wade Phillips knew he would have to disguise coverages and confuse Brady. The idea was to make him hold on to the ball for another half-a-second (just long enough for the elite D-line of the Rams to get to Brady). Early on, it worked to perfection. On Brady’s first pass attempt, the Rams lined up as if they were playing a man coverage scheme. At the snap, they FLEW to their respective cover 3 zones. Brady thought he had an easy completion to a quick hitch on the outside, but Robey-Coleman undercut the route, tipping the ball up in the air and enabling a teammate to intercept the ball.

THE P ATRIOTS’ COUNTER

In the second half, the Patriots began using empty formations. With 5 receivers at the line of scrimmage, the Rams defense was forced to spread out and declare its coverage (man vs. zone) in a way that was really outside of the Rams’ gameplan coming in. The Patriots, on the only touchdown scoring drive of the game, ran the same play three times in a row, resulting in 3 completions and a touchdown. The play is called Hoss Y- Juke. The two outside-most receivers run quick hitches. The slot receivers run verticals, while the remaining receiver runs the “juke” route, which is really just a choice route (run vs. man, sit vs. zone).