The New England Patriots are notorious for doing whatever it takes to win on Sunday. It was part of what made their dynasty during the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick days so hated, and while the team appears to be on the rise again, that trend has carried over to head coach Mike Vrabel and his new regime.
However, in recent weeks, one of the Pats’ unique tactics that dates back to Belichick’s time in charge of the team has been unearthed in a viral social media post. Unsurprisingly, the post made its way to the league offices, and ahead of Week 2, it has resulted in the NFL informing all 32 teams of a new rule change.
Patriots’ Unique Tactic Forces Another NFL Rule Change
Throughout his time with the Patriots, Belichick was known for bending the rules as far as the NFL would allow him. The most prevalent example of that is “Spygate,” but there are hundreds of little stories of Belichick simply going the extra mile to give himself and his players a leg up on the competition.
One of those examples appeared to be unearthed by Ryan Paganetti, a former analytics coach who spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Las Vegas Raiders, in a post on X. After reviewing decades of Patriots’ broadcasts from games that took place at Gillette Stadium, Paganetti found an unusual trend.
When opposing kickers were lining up for field goal attempts, Paganetti noticed that the video board that they were looking at behind the uprights was displaying a reverse All-22 image of the field, which included a second set of uprights, creating an optical illusion for the kicker in an attempt to make their life more difficult. In response to this discovery, the league announced that it is making changes to what teams can and can’t show on their respective video boards during field goal attempts.
“The NFL recently informed teams that the league has modified what can be shown on video boards during field goal and extra-point attempts, an alteration coming in the wake of a viral social-media post from a former analytics coach,” Mike Reiss and Adam Schefter of ESPN reported. “The league is requiring clubs to use the same All-22 angle or static image for both kicking teams.”
Patriots Once Again Force the NFL to Change its Rules
If you are a fan of any of the other 31 teams in the NFL, you are left scratching your head at how anyone could even think of turning their stadium’s video board into a tactical advantage. If you are a Patriots fan, though, you know that this is classic Belichick, and while the team has denied knowingly doing this to interfere with their opponents’ kicks, the league isn’t taking any chances.
Even if it wanted to continue using this tactic, New England will no longer be able to do so, meaning it will have to find a new way to rattle opposing kickers. Gillette Stadium can be a pretty rowdy environment, though, especially when the Patriots are playing good football, so look for the fans to step up on Sunday when the team makes its home debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
NFL Announces Rule Change in Response to Latest Patriots Controversy