So with backup linemen like Connolly and Mark LeVoir getting extensive time, and the Jets walking linebackers all over the defensive front on third down and bringing defensive backs tight to the line of scrimmage, the Patriots did not fall under the spell of Rex Ryan’s defensive voodoo.
How did they avoid being fooled, even with stalwarts like Matt Light and Stephen Neal on the shelf?
It starts after the huddle is broken, with Brady looking at the defense, identifying what’s happening from front to back, and then pointing and yelling something like, “52’s the Mike!’’ And that’s on every down, not just when coaches like Ryan are cooking up confusion.
“Mike’’ is football jargon for the middle linebacker, and that is where the process of sorting things out begins, on both run plays and pass plays. Sometimes it’s actually the middle linebacker. Other times it’s not.
“In a regular defense, non-sub, it’s the ‘Mike’ linebacker, but in sub, it can be different,’’ Brady said. “We play Miami, for example, and they play their dime with [safety Yeremiah] Bell at a linebacker spot, so it changes. It’s how you treat those guys, how you set up your blocking, what’s more likely to happen.
“If the safety’s involved, which side is he coming to? There are only so many guys you can block, so it’s important being able to distribute your blockers.’’
The idea is that once the Mike is identified, the defensive front is established. And the offensive players can make assignments based on that.
“From the Mike, everyone else is declared - the Will [weak-side linebacker], the Sam [strong-side linebacker], the safeties,’’ said center Dan Koppen, who is responsible for line calls. “Everyone knows who each person has to get. It’s not necessarily splitting the defense in half, as much as it is making sure everyone’s on the same page.’’
In the run game, former Patriots quarterback Jim Miller explained, the Mike is almost always the middle linebacker. In the passing game, there’s far more variation.
