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Cardinals: Tom Brady Was Tipping His Plays

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was tipping his plays, according to Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton.

Sep 16, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacts during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE
Sep 16, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacts during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE
Sep 16, 2012; Foxboro, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) reacts during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was tipping his hand during Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals, according to Cards defensive coordinator Ray Horton.

Horton went on the “Doug and Wolf Show” on Arizona Sports 620 AM on Tuesday, noting that the defense could tell what was coming by what Brady and the Patriots would do before the snap:

We knew that whenever [Aaron] Hernandez was in tight, it was going to be a run, so we had a run check. But when he got hurt, it screwed that up because they went to three wide receivers. What they did, and we figured out real quick was, whenever Tom Brady was under the center, they were going to run the ball and whenever he was in the shotgun, they were going to pass the ball. We told our players 'Hey, make the run check if Tom Brady's under the center. If he's in the gun, go to the pass check."

If that seems rather simple, it kind of was. According to the game summary, the Patriots had 47 plays in shotgun formation, 39 of which were pass plays. It wasn’t an exact science for the Cardinals, but it was good enough to hand New England its first home-opening loss at Gillette Stadium.

For more on the Cardinals, head to Revenge of the Birds. For the Patriots side of things check out Pats Pulpit. For more on the league in general, head over to SB Nation’s dedicated NFL hub.

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