New England Patriots: 5 observations from win over Dolphins

Over-Inflated Balls?

Patriots players can’t wear skinny jeans because they can’t fit their cojones into them. They showed that this Sunday with a fake punt call just 1 minute into the first quarter.

When the Patriots lined up to complete their 3-and-out on the first drive of the game, Nate Ebner saw something that he recognized on film. A chink in the armor. A vulnerability that can only be noticed after hours and hours of film analysis.

Ebner audibled to a fake punt, and the rest is history. The play caught everyone off guard, including the Dolphins. Ebner took the snap and ran around the right side, picking up 14 yards and the first down. It was a ballsy play to say the least.

This play set the tone for the entire game. The Patriots were not going to give anything to the Dolphins. If Miami was seriously trying to win this game, they’d have to truly earn their points.

The irony is that the Patriots handed them points on the bad snap by Ted Karras, but that’s neither here nor there.

This fake punt was the first fake punt the Patriots have run since 2004. They’re awfully picky about when they run their trick plays, but when they do, they work.

Nothing fires me up like a fake punt. I run it almost every 4th down on Madden. But hey, that’s why I’m not an NFL coach.