For Weis, creativity does the trick

By Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff, 2/1/2002

EW ORLEANS - Charlie Weis 'fessed up.

''My son, Charlie, he's 8, and he's mad at me because he said I stole his play and used it in the game,'' said the Patriots offensive coordinator.

What play?

It was the one in the Dec. 22 game against the Miami Dolphins on which Kevin Faulk took a direct snap, ran toward the right, then stopped and threw back across the field to quarterback Tom Brady, who gained 23 yards down the left sideline to set up New England's first touchdown.

Oh, now it makes sense. That's a play that we all worked on in the backyard with our friends when we were 8 years old.

Professional coaches tend to look at plays like that as nothing but childhood memories, but Weis thinks differently. Football doesn't always have to be by the book, so structured, so inhibited. Why not try something different?

Weis, in his second season at the helm of the New England offense after two years calling the plays for the New York Jets, has long been known to throw in a wrinkle or two to catch the opponent off guard. He sees trick plays as a way to ''go for the jugular,'' but they also do something else: They make the game fun for his players.

''I think we look forward to practice to see what Charlie is gonna come up with next,'' said receiver David Patten, one of the Patriots' top tricksters. ''I think it helps guys stay focused, I really do. It's not the same old stuff. It keeps guys perked up.''

Weis, holding his blue playbook at yesterday's media conference at the Fairmont Hotel, was asked how many gadget plays he has. He responded, ''Plenty.''

So there could be more to come, folks.

''We've been working on a few in practice,'' said center Damien Woody, ''but we do most weeks.''

Added tight end Rod Rutledge, coyly, ''Do you think people would like to see a few trick plays this week?''

Other than stealing ideas from Little Charlie - ''I know he'll be reading, so I wanted to make sure he got the credit'' - how does Weis come up with this stuff?

''We draw them up in the dirt just like you do,'' he said. ''Bill [Belichick] and I get together and say, `this guy does this and this guy does that.' You have to know your personnel and if you have a guy who can pull off whatever part of the play needs to be done. If you feel you have the people, then you practice it. If it works successfully in practice, you think about a situation in the game where you can pull it off.

''What people don't understand is, we study what the other team's defense is doing and analyze what situation we feel we might best be able to utilize [the trick play]. It's not just, `throw it out there and see what happens.'''

There are plays in Weis's repertoire that we have yet to see, and may never see. But he has them ready for that point in a game where he wants to make a statement - whether it's to put the final nail in the coffin of an opponent, or to get something going with the offense, or to show an opponent that it needs to worry about more than just short passes and Antowain Smith running a toss.

A jolt for the Colts

Weis's creativity began to show itself in the second meeting of the season with the Colts, Oct. 21 at Indianapolis. The Patriots were 2-3 but had routed the Colts, 44-13, in the first meeting. Often, when a team blows out a divisional rival the first time, their next game is quite different. But not this time. It was another New England rout, 38-17, and Weis was a big part of it.

''We had thrown 20 tosses in the first game, so what am I going to do, repeat that?'' he said. ''We had to do something different.''

Different, as in making Patten a three-way threat.

In the first quarter, Smith took a handoff from Tom Brady and ran left. Here came Patten, heading right, taking a handoff from Smith on a reverse, and going 29 yards down the right side for New England's first touchdown.

The next time Patten touched the ball, he made a more conventional play for a wide receiver, catching a TD pass - though it was noteworthy for being a 91-yarder, the longest play from scrimmage in team history.

Then it was back to the tricks. In the second quarter, Brady took a snap and threw a lateral to Patten on the left side. It appeared to be just another wide receiver screen pass, but Patten shocked the Colts by heaving the ball downfield to Troy Brown, who took it 60 yards for the score.

''That was one of those plays we practiced on Thursday and Friday and we did on Sunday,'' recalled Weis. ''At first, we had Terry [Glenn] throwing it and then we had Troy, and then David Patten looked up at me and said, `What about me? I can throw it.' He kept bugging me about throwing, so finally I let him do it. When we knew Terry wasn't going to be able to play in the game, we decided Patten was going to throw to Troy.''

Brady remembers thinking, ''Geez, Charlie's going crazy again.''

`Reverse' psychology

Not all trick plays work, however. Weis has called a few that haven't gone as planned. In the Denver game Oct. 28, Patten threw an interception, one of five for the Patriots in a 31-20 loss.

For the most part, though, Weis is pleased with the results. Even if it's just a boost for the team. In the Oct. 14 game against San Diego, he even got Bryan Cox, a team leader on defense, involved in the offense. The veteran linebacker lined up at fullback in a short-yardage situation, and he caught a 7-yard pass for a first down during the 29-26 OT win.

Most of the trick plays have been reverses. In the Week 3 win over the Colts at Foxboro Stadium, Patten ran one (for 11 yards) and Brown two (7 yards, 4 yards). Brown ran another reverse for 9 yards in the second Indianapolis game, and he broke one for 31 yards against Denver, and one for 17 yards against the Bills. Reverses have become a staple of the offense, just like wide receiver screens.

Weis also has tried fake reverses, including one against Pittsburgh last week on which Brady got sacked.

''That was a shame,'' said Weis, ''because we had David 10 yards ahead of the defender down the field.''

It would be hard to think of an NFL offensive coordinator who has done more with the talent he has than Weis.

''He's given us some plays that if they work can go the distance in a hurry,'' said Woody. ''That's what happened in Indy. We know that we can pound the ball and make tough plays when we have to. We can line it up and play. But when you get these trick plays and you hit them, it really saves your team from the pounding.''

Sometimes Woody is so excited about a trick play called in the huddle that he has to remember not to tip his hand when he gets to the line of scrimmage.

''My job is pretty much always the same - block, you know - but I know what's coming,'' said Woody. ''Sometimes you feel like smiling or something, but you get through it.''

Added Smith, who is in his first season in New England after playing with the Bills, ''We never ran this many trick plays in Buffalo. It was smashmouth, pretty much. So this makes it fun, something different. I think it helps the team really focus on getting the play right.''

Sunday's game is shaping up as an exciting show. The Rams also like their trickery. But Weis certainly wouldn't want Mike Martz to outdo him, would he?

''You try to win the game,'' said Weis. ''You do whatever it takes.''

Perhaps he should call young Charlie. He must have a play or two saved for the Super Bowl.