The Arizona Cardinals knew what kind of plays the New England Patriots were running on Sunday because the Patriots offense were tipping plays, according to Arizona defensive coordinator Ray Horton.
In an interview with Arizona Sports 620, Horton explained that when tight end Aaron Hernandez lined up in tight the Patriots were going to run the ball; if he was out wide they were going to pass. Even after Hernandez was injured and left the game, the defense quickly picked up on another offensive queue that allowed them to anticipate whether a run or pass was coming.
When quarterback Tom Brady lined up under center, the Cardinals anticipated that New England was going to run the ball. When Brady lined up in shotgun, the team was going to pass. This allowed the Cardinals to call a run or pass check depending upon where Brady positioned himself.
According to the boxscore, New England ran 47 plays out of the shotgun formation on Sunday with 39 of them involving a pass.
Via WEEI.com:
"They handled it beautifully, and so we had dual calls that basically what we were telling them is we know when they're going to run and pass. So our players put us in the best position to win the game and they did a flawless job of managing the game of getting inside New England's head."
Brady blamed the New England offense for the loss and stated that the Cardinals defense was able to disguise their coverages, which disrupted the Patriots tempo.