Tony Romo revealed how Tom Brady pretends to tap a teammate on the butt to fool defenses
- Tony Romo revealed one of Tom Brady's tricks at the offensive line.
- Romo caught Brady pretending to tap his center on the butt, which usually tells the center to snap the ball.
- By fake-tapping the center, Brady was attempting to draw the opposing defense off-sides.
Snapping a football and calling plays at the line is an art unto itself for quarterbacks in the NFL. Quarterbacks will change their voice inflections and give physical cues, all in the name of trying to organize their offense and throw off a defense.
On Sunday, Tony Romo caught one of Tom Brady's tricks before a snap against the Buffalo Bills - and it involved pretending to pat his center on the butt.
With the Patriots at the Bills' goal line, Brady pretended to pat his center on the butt several times before receiving the snap. He then handed it off to running back Rex Burkhead, who was stopped short of the touchdown.
"Everyone's watching his hands right there," Romo said of Brady. "So, his hand, you'll see, he tapped it about 10 times. He never actually touches the center.
"So what happens - he taps the center to tell him to go ... If the d-lineman are looking, he's trying to get them to draw them off-sides. So he fakes like he's tapping, so if the d-lineman are watching his hands, they're gonna try to time it up."
Here was the play:
It wasn't successful for Brady and the Patriots in this instance, but it's just one trick of Brady's to try to gain an edge on opponents.
Meanwhile, Romo's insight continues to be valuable in the booth. Earlier this season, Romo revealed how the Patriots will change their play calls just to make it more difficult for opponents to scout them. Come playoff time, Romo should be able to provide even more insight into the nuances of the game.