Morning Sports Update
“It made my day.”
Ernie Adams on how the Patriots defended against Peyton Manning: As one of the legendary (even mythical) figures of the Patriots’ dynasty, former New England “director of football research” Ernie Adams has occasionally shined a fascinating light on how the inner-workings of the Bill Belichick braintrust operated.
The latest historical nugget provided by Adams came during his recent appearance on Julian Edelman’s podcast, “Games With Names.”
Amid a broader conversation that was ostensibly about Super Bowl XXXVI (though it covered a wide array of topics and tangents), Adams touched on the old Patriots rivalry with Peyton Manning’s Colts.
Specifically, how the Patriots approached defending Manning, and how it differed from other teams.
“Part of that was I knew in the middle of November it was going to come down to us against the Colts,” Adams recalled. He would scout the Colts each day even as New England prepared for other games.
“It didn’t matter if we playing the Jets in a regular season game, I made a point of spending an hour a day at least studying the Colts,” he said.
The Indianapolis offense in that era was one of the best (if not the best) in the league. Manning’s Colts scored 447 points in 2003, and then topped it with 522 points in 2004, but lost to the Patriots in the playoffs both years.
As Adams studied the problem of trying to stop (or at least limit) Manning, he noticed a trend.
“The thing was, everybody was trying to play them in cover-3, and cover-1, and they killed them running up the seams,” Adams explained. “It was a slaughter. So I said, ‘We can’t do this. We need to go in and play cover-4. We cannot get chewed up in the seams.’”
He was emphatic about the Patriots’ need to commit to an unorthodox approach.
“Romeo Crennel, our defensive coordinator who is one of my favorite people, said, ‘OK, when do you want to play cover-3?’
“Never, not against this team,” Adams recalled telling him. “Just don’t do it. They will kill you.”
The result was a pair of famous playoff wins. In the 2004 AFC Championship Game, the Patriots won 24-14, intercepting Manning four times. A year later, New England again defeated Indianapolis, winning 20-3 in the Divisional Round.
Aside from the on-field results—which proved Adams’ theory had been correct—Manning confirmed it years later during an episode of the “Manningcast.”
“This is maybe two years ago, I’m watching a Monday night game on the simulcast with Eli and Peyton Manning, and somebody’s playing cover-4 and Peyton goes, ‘Yeah, cover-4, I don’t really like my in-cuts and my seams against that.
“I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Yes! That’s why we played it against you!’ It made my day.”
Adams’ genuine excitement at Manning’s admission underscored the level of detail he enjoyed grappling with during his time with the Patriots.
Still, the longtime Patriots’ assistant acknowledged that both Mannings nonetheless caused plenty of problems for New England.
“Hey listen, Eli and Peyton, they got us plenty,” Adams admitted.
Summarizing the combination of both physical and mental challenges in football, Adams updated a classic football/board game metaphor.
“This was a chess match, except those other chess pieces, they can fight back, and they run fast.”
Trivia: The Patriots, per Ernie Adams, defeated three teams in the playoffs during the Brady-Belichick dynasty that each scored over 500 points in that year’s regular season. Can you name the teams and the years in which they did this?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: Two were by the same team (though different cities), one was against a classic New England nemesis.
Scores and schedules:
The Red Sox defeated the Athletics 5-4 in 11 innings on Tuesday night. Boston will go for the sweep in Oakland today at 3:37 p.m.
The Bruins also won on Tuesday, defeating the Predators 3-0 in Nashville. The team will face the Hurricanes tomorrow at PNC Arena at 7 p.m.
The Revolution were destroyed 4-0 by Liga MX side Club América on Tuesday night in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal. New England will play the return leg in Mexico City next Tuesday (and face Charlotte FC at home this Saturday in MLS regular season action).
Tonight, the Celtics host the Hornets at 7:30 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
Tom Caron on Larry Lucchino: A look back at the life and career of the longtime Red Sox president.
On this day: In 1994, Sherman Douglas joined Larry Bird and Bob Cousy as the only players in Celtics history to record at least 20 points and 20 assists in the same game.
Douglas paced Boston to a 135-112 win over the 76ers, totaling a game-high 27 points and 22 assists. He also added eight rebounds and three steals.
Daily highlight: A great running catch from Red Sox rookie Ceddanne Rafaela.
Trivia answer: (St. Louis) Rams in 2002, Colts in 2005, (Los Angeles) Rams in 2019.
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