As if the fake punt the Colts attempted to run Sunday night against the Patriots wasn't bad enough, on Tuesday Indianapolis punter Pat McAfee revealed additional details that make the Colts and head coach Chuck Pagano seem even more foolish.
Colts punter said Griff Whalen had never practiced horrible fake punt before
Whalen wasn’t originally supposed to be the center on the infamous play.
McAfee was a guest on Indianapolis' Q95's Bob and Tom Show, where he was asked about the play. In the interview McAfee revealed that Griff Whalen, the player who fielded the snap, hadn't been the one who practiced the fake punt the week before.
"The gunner who became the center all week was (safety) Clayton Geathers," McAfee said via the Colts' official website. "Clayton Geathers gets injured in the second quarter. Insert Griff Whalen who had never done it before. So, Griff Whalen is now the new center in a play he's never practiced before."
After the game Sunday night, which the Colts lost 34-27, Pagano explained the play by saying the ball was never supposed to be snapped if the Patriots didn’t respond to the Colts’ strange formation the way Indianapolis hoped.
"The whole idea there was on fourth-and-3 or less, we shift to an alignment to where we could catch them misaligned," he said. "They tried to sub some people in. Catch them with more men on the field -- 12 men on the field. And if you get a certain look, you have 3 (or) 2 yards to make a play."
This explanation came after NBC’s cameras caught him mouthing, “Why’d you snap that?” following the play:
Never once did Pagano mention that the player lining up under center during the play was one who had never practiced it before.
McAfee’s also elaborated on how the Colts expected to fool the Patriots.
“So, you’re trying to manipulate the (receiving team) into thinking they have to sub their defense back on,” he said. “We are sprinting to the sideline in hopes to make the other team think we are subbing our offense back onto the field. So, when they think the offense is coming back on the field, your hope is that they think their defense has to come back on the field. As soon as their defense comes back on the field, we snap it, steal 5 yards and we get a first down.”
McAfee pointed out that the Colts even had their offense stand on the sideline as if they were about to run back onto the field. This image, via Colts.com, backs that up:
The problem, according to McAfee, is that Whalen was never informed of what to do if the Patriots decided not to substitute.
“We added something to try and draw them offsides if they don’t do their substitution,” he said. “Griff never got the heads up this was happening, because it’s not in the playbook. Stanford guy, reads the playbook, knows everything he has to do, but if he’s not there for an audible that’s added, he can’t know.”
All any of this does is make the play even more baffling. No one looks good here. Not Whalen, not the Colts and certainly not Pagano.
* * *
See More:
