Jedi Football

Does Darth Hoodie have one more Jedi mind trick left to play?

Remember, back in the early days, when the Patriots would win with a linebacker named Smoke and a running back named Mirrors? When New England was the setting for the hit CBS show Pigskin Survivor? Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. That was how the Men of Belichick won football games: any way and every way possible. Trick plays. Turnovers. Intentional safeties. Blocked kicks. Ineligible eligibles. Every game was a master class in the sub-paragraphs of the NFL rule book.

Has Bill Belichick found another loophole in the rulebook he can use to ensnare Tom Brady this Sunday night in Foxborough? (Or has the student become the master?) Has Belichick come up with a defensive strategy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that will match the SB XXV game plan enshrined in Canton?

Can the Patriots defense, through personnel and alignment, force the Buccaneers and Tom Brady to run the football and limit the chunk plays in the passing game that make Bruce Arians "no risk it/no biscuit" offensive scheme so dangerous? It might limit the damage - and allow us all to get to bed at a decent hour - but given New England's suboptimal run defense, that damage might be sufficient to deal the Patriots their third L at home, even if they will be facing the 31st ranked rushing attack in the NFL. That's right, Tampa Bay averages just 56.3 yards a game running the football. Forcing them to run the ball fits the very definition of "making them play left handed."

And it just might make for a close game, and given the injury decimated Buccaneers defensive secondary, keep the Patriots and Mac Jones within "just one big play" striking distance for the W. 

It would also help the cause if the Patriots could run the football effectively. Of course, the offensive line and the rushing attack hasn't exactly been a bright spot for the 2021 Patriots. New England currently ranks 24th in rushing. (Not as bad as Tampa Bay but still objectively bad.) The running backs have as many fumbles as touchdowns. I think that's what they refer to as unsustainable.

Maybe the difference in talent between the Buccaneers and the Patriots is too much to overcome, even for one of the greatest minds in the history of all things football.

Maybe the Patriots' September to not remember has New England fans rightly fearing our pigskin heroes have yet to hit rock bottom but fear the current trajectory will take us to that destination this cold dark autumn Sunday night.

Maybe all of this isn't just merely obvious, it's incredibly obvious.

But I can't help but remember that during that first Belichick-Brady championship season, the Patriots played the Rams - the defending champs - in a regular season game. They lost 20-17, but came away from that game believing they were good enough to hang with anyone in the league. 

Maybe it's 100 to 1 the Patriots win Sunday night. Maybe it's closer to 1 in 1,000,000. But yeah, I'm saying it.

I'm saying there's a chance.