Why are the Patriots so good? They’re running an up-tempo no-huddle offense to perfection. Brady is calling plays using the Erhardt-Perkins system that’s much simpler verbally than what other teams use, so he can make changes at the line without difficulty. Players can know their routes just by recognizing at which position they’re lined up. The team has immense versatility. They’ve got two tight ends that can serve multiple roles. Gronkowski can destroy defenders on pass plays and block the run just as well. Hernandez (until he went to jail) could catch a pass or run from the backfield. The no-huddle offense means they can all change roles, and the defense can’t substitute players.

If you’d told me any of that a month ago, my eyes would have glazed over. Now I can’t wait for Sunday.

My eyes are still glazed.

#learnnewthings schedule:

January 2016 – Water and growth in California

February – Wine

March – Game theory

April – Cryptography

May – Art history

June – The history of railroads in the U.S.

July – Oceanography

August – Football (strategy and theory)

September – Chaos theory

November – Linguistics