Ken,
Glad you brought up last night's game - and its usefulness in discussing the topic at hand. You'd mentioned the Giant's coach coming up with a plan to neutralize Brady - then of course being able to implement it. What is interesting to me is when we (whoever is thinking about it) starts trying to attribute how much of Brady's ineffectiveness can be ascribed to how well the NYG covered Moss (and other receivers) and how well they rushed against Brady vs. how well (or not so well) Brady's Offensive Line protected him - Bill P tried to change things up - he brought in a couple of Def Lineman to protect Brady in the 2nd Half - but it really did not change things much. Lay that out against the time needed to identify an open receiver (or one who is going to be open) then do the battlefield geometry to synchronize time & space and you come with some difficulty making a call as to exactly what happened. Now - add in 100 fans (or more) on the field to every player, each doing his own thing, and stretch it out over time - and you have a good set of conditions to better understanding the difficulty in considering cause and effect. Not to mention the Pat defense losing control of Manning in a sea of Dark Blue, then Manning looking up and seeing an open receiver and maiking the connection!
In the end, it may not matter - the NYGs went home the winner - The Giants not only had a plan, but had the where-withall to take advantage of the conditions as they emerged. So back to your point about military theory - the moment you step onto the field the theroist has to be put in the cheap seats (he is still there, but he's not on the field) so you can focus on the game as it is, not as it was thought about - the dead Prussian said roughly the same thing.
Best, Rob
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