how about we get some definitions....
oh and the RPO plays the Texans implement from time to time are
additions to our "EP offense" (and I salute O'Brien and the offensive brain trust for putting those in.). You won't see TB12 running those plays so those didn't come from NE. LoL
New England Patriots strategy
link (it's not a bad read, actually)
The Patriots run a modified "
Ron Erhardt-
Ray Perkins" offensive system
[1] first installed by
Charlie Weis under
Bill Belichick. Both Ron Erhardt and Ray Perkins served as offensive assistant coaches under the defensive-minded
Chuck Fairbanks while he was head coach of the Patriots in the 1970s.
[1] This system is noted for its multiple formation and personnel grouping variations on a core number of base plays. Under this system, each formation and each play are separately numbered. Additional word descriptions further modify each play.
The Erhardt-Perkins system traditionally had a reputation[
citation needed] of being a smash-mouth offense that maximizes a team's time of possession and does not frequently call upon its
running backs to serve as receivers.
[2] Erhardt often said, "throw to score, run to win."
[3] This may have been especially true during the years
Bill Parcells ran this system as the head coach of the
New York Giants.
[4] This system was thought[
by whom?] to be particularly well suited for teams playing in harsh outdoor weather conditions of the northeast of the United States.[
citation needed]
An example of a running play under this system is
Zero, Ride Thirty-six. Zero sets the formation. Thirty indicates who will be the ball carrier running with the ball. Six indicates which hole between the
offensive linemen the ball carrier will attempt to run through (see
Offensive Nomenclature).[
citation needed]
Passing game
This offense traditionally used the run to set up the pass via
play-action passing, faking the run in order to throw deep downfield when the defense is least expecting it. Despite its earlier reputation, this system is no longer a run first offense. Erhardt commonly ran the system in his later years spread wide open with multiple receivers (earning the moniker "Air Erhardt"), as NFL rules evolved to benefit the passing game. As a result of this influence, the Patriots will frequently run this offense with five potential receivers and an empty backfield should a favorable matchup present itself or as a function of available personnel. With the addition of
Randy Moss and
Wes Welker to the Patriots offense in
2007, the Patriots placed an emphasis on a wide open passing attack (with record setting results).
[5] As rules of the NFL have loosened to favor the offense, the Patriots have increasingly adopted a wide open approach, to the point that they are often now thought of as a short pass first team. The Patriots have also made good extensive use of the non huddle offense to tire out defensive personnel and to disallow substitutions.
Weis states in his autobiography "No Excuses" that the first play that he called in
Super Bowl XXXVI was:
Zero Flood Slot Hat, Seventy-eight Shout Tosser. Zero is the base formation: quarterback
Tom Brady under center, running back
Antowain Smith directly behind Brady, 7 yards in the backfield, and two tight ends,
Jermaine Wiggins and
Marc Edwards (normally the starting
fullback). Flood Slot Hat further modifies this formation to line two wide receivers up to the left (
David Patten wide and
Troy Brown in the slot), to stack both tight ends on the right side of the formation, and to send running back Smith out to the right wide receiver spot in pre-snap motion. Thus the play began as a run-heavy look, yet at the time of the snap the Patriots had five receivers running pass patterns with an empty backfield. Seventy-eight is the base play number, a three-step drop play. Shout tells the three potential receivers on one side of the quarterback what routes they should run, while Tosser tells the other two potential receivers their patterns. On the actual play, Brady threw a quick slant to Brown for a 21-yard gain, 17 of it after the catch.