The Best Tendency-Breaking Blitz Ever?

Setting up tendencies and then breaking them at just the right time - it’s the NFL equivalent of 4D Chess.

Teams study their opponents for countless hours to try and understand their tendencies as best as possible so they can either take away the things they do best or attack their weaknesses. But when a team unexpectedly breaks that tendency, it can lead to chaos and big plays.

In the New York Giants’ Super Bowl XLII upset win over the Patriots, their defense held New England’s record-setting offense to just 14 points. How did they do it? By getting constant pressure on Tom Brady. They did this with a front-4 that dominated New England’s offensive line and an assortment of creative blitzes designed by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

The blitz that led to New York’s first sack set the tone for the game and left the Patriots confused and searching for answers all night. Given the circumstances of the game, this may have been the greatest tendency-breaking blitz of all time. Let’s dive in below.

This was a 2nd-and-10 on New England’s third possession. First, here’s the play in full:

Now let’s take a look at this from the end zone angle. Pre-snap, you can see that the Giants were threatening to blitz with Antonio Pierce in the B-gap to the right and Kawika Mitchell in the A-gap to the left:

New York would end up bringing cornerback Aaron Ross from the slot to the right, with Pierce and Mitchell appearing to drop out at the snap:

I’ll pause right here to say that the best offenses don’t just get stuck throwing hot against blitzes all the time. They don’t allow the defense to dictate their throws. Instead, they try to set the protection at the line to pick up the blitz and eliminate free rushers, allowing the normal timing, rhythm, and routes of the play to happen.

To do this, it takes a smart and savvy quarterback at the line of scrimmage. Tom Brady is the epitome of this type of quarterback, with one of his many calling cards being his ability to recognize the defense and set the protection in a way that negates even the best pressure schemes.

Here, he was not looking to throw hot. He wanted to take a shot with Randy Moss streaking down the right sideline.

This is all important to note because according to linebacker Kawika Mitchell during an interview with The Giants Guys, the Giants ran this very blitz throughout the 2007 season and he dropped out into coverage 100% of the time.

It appeared that Brady and the Patriots were aware of that as well.