Tom Brady (No. 12) of the New England Patriots hikes the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during their AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 22, 2012, in Foxborough, Mass.
Football, with good reason, is often described as a chess match. A lot more time is spent thinking and strategizing than actually running plays, and one crafty move can set off a series of countermoves that changes the course of the game. But you don't have to be some kind of Grand Master to understand — or at least pretend to understand — the sport.
So even if you're indifferent to the whole NFL spectacle, you don't have to be a wallflower at your Super Bowl party because everyone else is enraptured by the game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants. Sure, you could make some obvious points — Giants quarterback Eli Manning's amazing playoff performance so far, for instance, or Patriots coach Bill Belichick's evil genius — but you won't be the first to do so at your party.
No, to look really in the know, just watch out for a few key but subtle developments on the television screen, and pontificate about the football secrets you're unveiling. You'll fool your audience into believing you're some kind of pigskin professional and leave the party with a satisfied smile — no matter how bad the food is.
1. Brady's Barking
On the television broadcasts of NFL games, the microphones usually pick up the coded commands that quarterbacks bark at the line of scrimmage, before the ball is snapped. You know, stuff like "Blue 52, Red 48, Omaha, Omaha, hut, hut, hike!" Listen closely to Tom Brady, says Ross Tucker, a former NFL offensive lineman, and current analyst for Sirius XM radio. What he's saying isn't just gibberish.
Tucker says that when Brady yells "reload," that's a cue for the offense to change formations. He'll follow up that command by calling out the number of a defensive player, and labeling that person the "mike," a code word typically used for middle linebacker, a player on defense who either rushes the quarterback or drops back into pass coverage. So against the Giants, for example, Brady may scream, "Reload! 59 is the mike," referring to Michael Boley, a linebacker who lines up on the outside. The mike's actual spot on the field is irrelevant: Brady is telling his teammates to pay more attention to that player, and adjust the blocking plan accordingly.
Sounds easy, right? Well Belichick isn't stupid, and he's not about to let some layman eating Lays crack the Patriots code. But just know that when you hear reload and mike, the Pats are thinking on the fly. And when you share this observation with the fantasy-football snob sitting next to you, he'll have to give you credit for doing the same.
2. Double Tight-End Trouble
On offense, teams usually employ a single tight end — the player positioned at the edge of the offensive line. He's called upon to block on a running or passing play, or run a route downfield to get open for a pass. New England, however, has often employed two tight ends in their formations this year, with great success.
The Patriots drafted Rob Gronkowski — No. 87 on your television screen — and Aaron Hernandez, No. 81, in the second and fourth rounds, respectively, of the 2010 draft. At the time, Belichick just saw them as a couple of solid players who could complement his team, not a double threat who have propelled the Pats to the Super Bowl. "That's something that developed once we got here," says Belichick of the tandem. "It's not something we saw in advance."
Two tight ends give defenses fits. "The matchups make it difficult," says New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. "Even though they are called tight ends, they have wide-receiver skill sets, but they can block." The problem, Fewell says, is that these talented tight ends keep defenses guessing. Is Gronkowski going to block on this possession or try to catch a ball? Is Hernandez going out for a pass, or even going to receive a handoff? Against the Denver Broncos in the divisional playoff round, for example, the Pats put Hernandez in the backfield, and he rushed five times for 61 yards. The guesswork takes its toll. Any athlete will tell you: on the field, you don't want to think too much.