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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now"It turned out to be one of the most failed fakes, probably, of all time."
That opinion is ratified, by unanimous vote.
McAfee again: “It was just a complete cluster.’’ No wonder he does radio.
Well, it wasn’t yet another New England rout, anyway. But then, Andrew Luck, back in the lineup, was asked if he was interested in moral victories.
“No.’’
But the question remains. Two, actually. What happened? And why?
Are the Patriots so embedded in the Colts head that trickery is now believed to be the only way to stop them? Was that the reason for the onside kick in the second quarter? Was that the reason for . . . well, whatever it was on that punt?
“We didn’t want to leave any bullets in the gun.’’ Pagano said.
OK, fair enough. A guy has to try something when a team has lost six in a row—no, make that seven—to an opponent.
But still. Could anyone in the Colts locker room explain that play?
Except the Colts didn’t. The Patriots were legal with 11 men,and they were in place to stop the play. The ball was snapped, anyway. Damn all those defenders in white uniforms, full fake ahead.
Now McAfee. “We started working on that play last year and then we put it back in this week. … The look was not there that we normally have in practice when it’s a go. There must have been some miscommunication.’’
“It was just a miscommunication, guys. That’s all it was. I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we do the right thing.’’
Back to Pagano. Guess what he called it? “A communication breakdown between the quarterback (who is really a safety) and the snapper (who is really a wide receiver). And that’s all on me. I take full responsibility on that, and I didn’t do a good enough job of getting that communicated to the guys. … It’s not on those players.’’
Finally, Whalen, an hour after the fact, in a near-empty Colts locker room.
“There’s a couple of options there, so we can try and draw them offsides or snap it and run a fake.’’
So it’s the snapper’s call to run the play?
“It’s not really up to me. Colt has a couple of decisions to make. We’ll take a look at it, the film tomorrow, and get it figured out. It was just a miscommunication between us and the coaches.’’
“I don’t know. Like I said, there was some miscommunication. I think we all should have done a better job of being on the same page.’’
Now what could be clearer than that? A fake punt with a snap called by nobody-would-say-for-sure. And we thought the New England ball air pressure was a mystery.
If only it had worked. But it didn’t have the chance of a snowball in Bill Belichick’s microwave.
Actually, for clarity, we turn to Dwayne Allen. One more time, what was supposed to happen on that play?
“Not a snap.’’
So now the Colts are 3-3, and the brutal portion of the schedule continues. If this season slips away, one play will be used as the signature moment
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