Bottom line, “I don’t think any defense likes a no-huddle,’’ Wilfork said.
Everything a defense hates is what an offense loves about going to a no-huddle attack, and the Patriots’ offense has used it to its advantage this season. After the offense sputtered in the first half against the Jets last Sunday, the Patriots saw an opening in the second half and looked to the no-huddle to jolt the offense into a rhythm.
On two drives, the Patriots shifted to no-huddle, each resulting in a touchdown. The first was an eight-play drive in the third quarter that ended with Tom Brady completing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots were in no-huddle for six consecutive plays covering 36 yards in 64 seconds.
On their next possession, the Patriots waited three plays before shifting to the no-huddle, again for six consecutive plays, on a drive that ended with Brady completing an 8-yard pass to Deion Branch for a touchdown.
Last week, the uptempo approach produced points, but success is determined by execution, which hasn’t been perfect this season.
“I think the times that we’ve done it well, we’ve strung together a bunch of plays which has really allowed us to get the ball into the scoring area,’’ Brady said. “It’s hard to overcome penalties in those situations and we have opportunities to complete passes and we don’t hit them. There are definitely things that are good about it and there are things that haven’t been so good. We’re trying to do the things that we’ve done well and try to do those more often.’’
This season, 23 percent (137 of 603) of the Patriots’ offensive plays have been run out of a no-huddle. The element of surprise is not only there for a defense, but for members of the offense who never know when they will be called upon to change the pace.
