Dolphins Studying Audio of Tom Brady's Cadence

[footstepsfrom#27]

Steve Young made an interesting point this morning. He said that a quarterback can change his snap count but not his cadence at this point in the season. He gave props to Miami and suggested more NFL teams will do this. Not suprisingly, Sean Salisbury comes up with another idiotic take.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/16226012.htm

NFL says Dolphins broke no rules with video

The NFL said the Dolphins broke no rules after a published report said Miami bought a video that helped it learn Tom Brady's cadences.

BY JEFF DARLINGTON
jdarlington@MiamiHerald.com

They didn't break any rules. They didn't cheat or steal or lie. And they didn't do anything that will prompt a futile investigation by the United States Senate.

No, the Dolphins did something much simpler to learn the presnap jargon of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during Sunday's 21-0 win: They watched TV.

Nonetheless, the strategy turned into a made-for-ESPN debate Tuesday without the Dolphins knowing it. The mini-controversy stemmed from a published report in The Palm Beach Post on Monday that credited the Dolphins' ability to frustrate Brady with the team's ability to learn his cadences earlier in the week.

The Post's article referenced that the Dolphins were able to purchase video of Brady's previous games to learn his auditory calls at the line of scrimmage caused a stir on talk radio and television.

The NFL said Tuesday there is no rule that would prohibit the Dolphins from practicing such a strategy -- even if they ''purchased'' the videos. Saban said Monday the Dolphins watched TV clips of Brady to get the calls, a strategy he admitted to helping his team.

''It's on TV,'' Saban said. ``You always try to get the other team's cadence. I'm sure they try to get ours, so when you know when a guy's checking off, when he isn't checking off. When a team does as much presnap stuff as they do, you're always trying to find out exactly why they're doing it.''

Saban said it is especially important with a player such as Brady because he is highly skilled at giving new assignments to his offensive linemen once he sees the defense line up.

''He likes to redirect the protection if he sees a blitz coming,'' Saban said. ``Understanding the cadence and knowing what's going on is really important. Sometimes you end up pressuring and you run right into their protection then you have pressure on the cover guys down the field.''

Still, Saban's explanation Monday didn't stop the national media from taking off with the story. Shows such as Around the Horn, Pardon the Interruption and SportsCenter debated whether the Dolphins did anything wrong.

Only one analyst -- former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury -- thought the league should look into the matter if indeed the Dolphins purchased the videos.

''If it was that easy to get the audio, everyone would be doing it,'' Salisbury said on SportsCenter. ``The NFL needs to look into it. If [the Dolphins] went out and bought a tape in order to get advantage, that's cheating. The NFL would have to step in. If you're going to purchase bootleg videos, it's cheating.''

Replied ESPN reporter John Clayton: ``That's just good coaching on the part of the Dolphins.''

[Paladin]

Can this be what is happening to the Dolts, too?

Somewhat off topic, but I believe Mannings' antics at the LOS ought to be limited. It is clear that he is engaging in some tactics designed to try to draw the D offsides. I think the rule ought to be that once the QB has set his feet, that further movement would be enticement to draw an off sides. Last year, I thought Porter had a point.

[BigBad]

I agree everyone on offense has to be set but the QB can wail around like a nut case.

[watermock]

Manning and his headless chicken routine is quite annoying tho. Teams used to change the defense to just what he wanted, but the play never changed. Payaton wouldn't change the play usually. Teams have started to figure out he's just flapping his wings most of the time.

If a team wants to purchase an enhanced audio of games, that's their right. Now if they had a spy at practices where crowd noise wasn't a factor, it would be a different thing.

Why do you think coaches put their play board over their mouths when they make calls. Shanny pulled that stunt. Ha! Lip reader with a radio or something like that.

The most amusing to my knowledge was how the Faiders didn't change audible calls in the rare SB in this era.

[BigBad]

I just cant beleive no one has used a scanner to pick up the communication to the QB's. I would think that would come in handy for scouting purposes.