The New England Patriots’ formidable task, if they are going to reach their seventh Super Bowl under coach Bill Belichick, is to score enough points against the best defence in the league on Sunday.
Some would say that having Tom Brady as your quarterback, with his top receivers healthy, could do the trick against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
But they also might use a trick or two, quite literally.
If their history is any indication, the Patriots will come into the game with more than standard-issue handoffs and passes in the playbook.
So-called “gadget” plays and innovative formations, with players lining up out of their normal positions, have long been a part of Belichick’s repertoire, most noticeably in the postseason.
Last year, he sprung a new look on the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the play-offs, putting an eligible receiver in an ineligible spot, and throwing two key passes to a player who appeared to be an ineligible lineman.
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Not only did the perfectly legal plays help turn the game in the Patriots favour, it so infuriated Baltimore coach Jim Harbaugh that he led a charge in the off-season for a rule change that took some of the deception out of the alignment.
In the same game, the Pats scored a 51-yard touchdown on another seldom used play – a pass from a wide receiver, Julian Edelman, to another wide receiver, Danny Amendola.
After the New England victory, Baltimore defensive back Lardarius Webb complained, “They couldn’t drive the ball down on us regular. They had to do something tricky.”
Sorry, Lardarius, no one ever said the road to the Super Bowl had to be straight and narrow.
The following week in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts, the Pats used another odd formation.
They made an offensive lineman an eligible receiver, but had him block repeatedly as New England battered the Colts with a running game.
Then, 16 yards from the goal line, Brady threw a touchdown pass to the tackle, Nate Solder, who had lined up as a tight end.
It was Belichick, of course, who years ago turned one of his best defensive men, linebacker Mike Vrabel, into a folk hero as an occasional two-way player.
On short yardage and goal line situations, Vrabel would play offence, as a blocking back. That also made him an eligible receiver, which the Patriots exploited in back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2004 and 2005. Vrabel caught a short touchdown pass in each game.
Last week, in their victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Patriots played it straight.
But that does not mean the bag of tricks is empty. In December, against the Philadelphia Eagles, Brady caught a pass on a deception play, his first reception since 2002 and only the second of his career.
New England also used a former rugby player, Nate Ebner, to try a near-extinct drop-kick on a kick-off. The surprise on-sides kick was recovered by the Eagles.
Later in the month, against the New York Jets, there was another bit of trickery, a failed flea-flicker pass. Running back Brandon Bolden took a handoff and flipped it back to Brady, who then overthrew his downfield target.
Not all of the Patriots quirky moves work, of course. But the Denver Broncos have been warned. Be ready. For anything.
Steady and spectacular: Luke Kuechly has emerged as the heart of Carolina Panthers defence
If the Carolina Panthers drafted the face of the franchise, Cam Newton, in 2011, they drafted their heart in 2012.
Linebacker Luke Kuechly does not play the No 1 marquee position for the Panthers, nor does he possess the charisma of Newton.
But since his first year, when he won the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, Kuechly has been the rock of the Carolina defence, the unit that first transformed the Panthers into a play-off team.
It has been the defence that has waited for the multi-talented Newton to gain the experience to bring the offence up to speed, and turn Carolina into a Super Bowl contender.
Kuechly is the rare defender who is both steady and spectacular. In his four seasons, he has amassed 591 tackles, the most of anyone in that time.
At the same time, including post-season games, he has 13 interceptions, the most of any linebacker in that time. That means he also excels in short pass coverage, an extraordinary feat for a player so attuned to stopping the run.
It was Kuechly’s interception return for a touchdown early in last week’s play-off game against Seattle Seahawks that set the tone for Carolina’s victory.
Afterwards, Newton, the big personality with the self-styled “Superman” persona, said he reached for the comic books to tag Kuechly with a nickname, as well, the powerful, but wholesome “Captain America.”
“I don’t need a nickname,” Kuechly deferred. “My name is Luke.”
Nickname or no nickname, opponents have known who he is for years.
NFL talking points
- New England coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have not won either of the two previous postseason games the Patriots played in Denver, losing in 2005 and 2014.
- Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who missed six games with various injuries, has thrown for just one touchdown pass in six games at home this season, including last week’s play-off game.
- In his six years, New England’s Rob Gronkowski has caught eight touchdown passes in the post-season, the most of any tight end.
- Robert Kraft has owned the Patriots for 22 years, and watched his team reach the AFC Championship Game 11 times.
- Arizona was uncharacteristically conservative on offence last week against Green Bay Packers, a tactic coach Bruce Arians attributed to play-off jitters. He promised the usual, wide-open, deep passing attack the Cardinals are known for against Carolina: “Now we can go back to being ourselves.”
- Only one team ran for more yards than Carolina during the season, as the Panthers finished first in scoring at 31.2 points per game. Only one team passed for more yards than Arizona, as the Cardinals were second in scoring at 30.6 per game.
- Cam Newton’s evolution as an efficient passer who avoids risky downfield throws was enabled mainly by a great tight end. Greg Olsen was the Panthers leading receiver with 77 catches. His 1,104 yards receiving and 14.3 yards per catch were second only to Gronkowski.
- For the first time in the postseason, two quarterbacks who won college football’s top honour, the Heisman Trophy, will face off when Newton (2010) and Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer (2002) take the field.
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