ESPN thinks stealing audibles in the NFL may be cheating...

Seriously, go to ESPN and see the latest feature. That's just moronic. It was also the a major part of the feature article for today's ESPN.com site. If your audible don't change from game to game at least, and hopefully from half to half, you shouldn't have audibles for your team in the NFL.

If a defensive player isn't smart enough to listen to an audible, I'm not sure they belong in the NFL unless they are so physically gifted, it doesn't matter what the 11 well compensated professionals try to make them look silly are about to do. Parcells was famous for signing guys from other AFC East coaches who were to seemed to be too old or too stupid to change audibles. Why do you think Keith Byers kept finding a job in the AFC East? That was a decade ago.

The simple solution would be to call and audible that is a delayed hand off up the middle a couple of times in the game and let the defense stop it. Yell the audible so loud the safeties can hear it. By the third or fourth time you call the audible, they will be in your backfield at the had off. Then yell the same exact play on the next offensive series, only throw a screen.

There are so many ways to beat people who think they are stealing audibles, it's silly to even try to steal audibles these days. Zach Thomas brags about stealing the Patriots audibles when the Dolphins whipped us 21-zip last year. Here's what really happened, the offensive line simply played like the revolving doors and Jason Taylor, a great player, whipped his man consistently on the pass rush when the Patriots fell behind and had to pass. Maybe he just couldn't give his ex-brother-in-law the credit he deserved because Taylor's sister had dragged him through divorce court, or maybe he's not as smart as people give him credit for.

If the other team is down by three touchdowns late in the game, they are probably throwing the ball and trying to get more than ten yards a play if they can. It's common football sense. They need a big play, so when audible, and you are the middle linebacker, drop back into coverage where you know your teammates won't be, or just bull rush and try to submarine under or jump through the offensive line, and if the offensive line runs right or left, it's a screen. Instead, he has to talk about how he personally solved the Patriots offense. If it were that simple, why does his team almost never make the playoffs?

These days, there are audibles at every level of the offense and defense and gimmicks within gimmicks. Centers will audible blocks for the line and quarterbacks will let the wide outs and runners know their assignments. The middle linebackers coordinate the front six or seven, and the safety usually call out the adjustments in the secondary. You start trying to guess plays and stray from your responsibilities, and you won't make the playoffs (like the Dolphins).

There are some pretty good plays to score quickly against a team that's convinced it knows your adibles. The Patriots run a play that looks like an end around and 11 guys are moving like it's an end around, but the ball can end up in any of three positions on the field. Four if you count Brady bootlegging out without the ball into the flat and becoming a receiver.

I watched a few collegiate rugby games and even though the team didn't practice everyday together, they still had plenty of fake audibles for each situation. These guys weren't paid to figure out someone was going to try to steal audibles, it was just that patently obvious to everyone who watched, even the parents who were watching the game for the first time.

God I'm fired up for football season.
Go Pats.