We can talk all we want about fire-zone blitzes, man-under, Cover 0 through 1,000, over and under fronts and "snotblowers."
All that defensive jargon spouted with puffed chests and knowing smirks -- the LOL, LMFAO and BRB of the leatherhead set -- is fascinating. But in the end, successful offensive football boils down to this synopsis Tom Brady offered Wednesday.
"Whatever they're not covering, that's what we have to be able to focus our play-calling on and certainly our execution," Brady said to an earnest media throng, the Lamar Hunt Trophy on a table within two feet of his left hand.
"They cover us deep, throw it short. They cover us short, throw it deep. They're playing the pass, we run it. Playing the run, we throw it. It's part of the chess game," said Brady. "That's what we're all in here trying to figure out what to do for this game. You play a good team like this that's able to adjust because of their personnel and because they do a lot of things schematically, there's a lot of 'what ifs' in preparation throughout the course of this week so that's really what we're trying to hone in on this week."
The "what ifs" though, center on simply numbers and matchups. If the Ravens -- who played a nickel defense for almost the entire game against the Broncos -- stick in the same alignment all day and Ray Lewis is on the field? They'll make Ray Lewis cart his 37-year-old carcass around the middle of the field all day with speed mismatches.
Get Lewis out and go to a smaller linebacker? The Patriots will likely hit with Stevan Ridley until Baltimore adjusts again.
And if the Ravens bring up safeties like Bernard Pollard figuring a kill-shot on Wes Welker and the ensuing fine is a good trade-off for getting him out of the game, the Patriots can work the edges. Because in this matchup, not only will they have Aaron Hernandez (they didn't in Week 3), they also have Brandon Lloyd, who ate up corner Cary Williams in the first matchup to the tune of 9 catches and 108 yards.
New England Patriots
"Brandon's had a very good season," Brady said when asked about the outside-the-numbers advantage. "He's been very consistent even when he hasn't had production in games, he's been open on plenty of routes. He's done a great job all season being able to get open in tight coverage against a bunch of different types of corners. The guys this week -- Cary Williams, Corey Graham, Chykie Brown -- they're very good players too and they have a lot of help from the inside part of the defense . . . I think they have talent everywhere and their coaches put them in a great position to be successful."
No doubt that's what Dean Pees' intentions will be. The Ravens DC will put them in position over the middle at times, on the back end at times and up front at other times. But once they're in position and Brady's figured out who is where?
That's when the Patriots will attempt to hit 'em where they ain't.