Patriots-Ravens Mic'd Up: Belichick, Edelman, Suggs Wired For Sound
BOSTON (CBS) -- If there's one thing the NFL does much better than any competing sports league, it would be mic'd up segments.
And considering the Ravens and Patriots played a classic for the history books on Saturday night, it's no surprise that the mic'd up segment that followed did not disappoint.
Patriots receiver Julian Edelman and Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs were the key players wearing microphones for the segment, which aired on "Inside The NFL."
Among the highlights:
--Julian Edelman's full 100-plus-yard sprint out of the tunnel before the game. He looks like Usain Bolt, and he nearly got clipped by a military member at about the 45-yard line.
--Tom Brady trying to pump up Edelman with positivity when the Patriots trailed 14-0, and Edelman replying be saying, "I'm good, bro. I'm good."
--A prescient note from Suggs, when the Ravens led 14-0: "Keep our resolve. These people -- that defense -- they're expecting 12 [Brady] to bail them out. Let's not do it."
--Remember the play when Brady was sacked and then got kneed in the head by Pernell McPhee, after which Brady got up and into the faces of the Ravens as well as referee Bill Vinovich? Well the segment provided some insight into what was being said.
"He punched me in the face!" Brady screamed at Vinovich. "He just punched me in the face!"
"Nobody punched him, ref," Suggs said from behind Vinovich. "Nobody punched him."
Later, Suggs approached Vinovich: "Please don't fall for the flop. My guys have been coached, you see what I'm saying?"
--After Brady hit Rob Gronkowski on back-to-back passes to pick up 62 yards in a matter of seconds, Suggs rallied the defense on the sideline: "Is anybody surprised on that last drive, who they was going to go to? Look, let's get on the same page. Don't panic. Don't get panicked. You all gotta talk back there."
--Suggs also implored the defensive backs that they need to wrap up and tackle. Yet Danny Amendola notably broke Matt Elam's tackle for a touchdown to tie the game, after which Suggs said to Elam: "What'd I just tell you? Listen ... it's OK ... just take the ... the sideline ain't never missed a tackle!"
--After the Patriots fell behind 28-14, their second 14-point deficit of the night, Bill Belichick got down on his knee and tried to simplify things for his defense.
"Look, fellas, it's just about doing our job. Just cover your man. Do what you're supposed to do," Belichick said. "We're trying to make too many plays, and we're not doing what we're supposed to do: Playing the underthrown ball, tackling, jamming the receivers. All right? Just play the defense! That's all we gotta do. They're not giving us anything we haven't seen before. There's no scheme plays. It's just disciplined football."
He then began clapping: "Come on, fellas, we got 25 minutes left, we gotta get that play."
--The microphones proved particularly valuable during the drive when the Patriots used four offensive lineman and twice declared Shane Vereen an ineligible receiver and once did the same with Michael Hoomanawanui.
A confused Terrell Suggs asked the official: "What's the call? Illegal? Yeah, they're illegal."
While the officials huddled to try to figure out what the heck was going on, Edelman got in their ears, telling him that his place on the line of scrimmage covered the ineligible receiver: "He's ineligible. I covered him up."
Afterward, Edelman approached referee Bill Vinovich: "You guys are getting your money's worth with them formations."
Vinovich's response -- just a bewildered facial expression with no words -- was perfect:
--After the Patriots capped off that drive with a touchdown, the Ravens sideline was none too pleased.
Secondary/assistant head coach Steve Spagnuolo: "They gotta trick us. Keep playing ball."
Head coach John Harbaugh: "They're taking a lineman out and got an extra elgibile player in, right? So they're going to say 47, 34, you gotta stand over the ball. Don't cover the guy if he's not eligible."
Suggs: "They trickery, you know what I mean? They want Tom Brady, you know, they want him to do everything, he's just gotta be comfortable."
--On Edelman's perfect touchdown pass to Amendola, radio play-by-play man Bob Socci worked this line in: "A golden flash from the former Kent State quarterback."
--After that trick play, Suggs, told his defense: "This mother [expletive] is tied now! This mother [expletive] is tied!"
Sure was.
Suggs then had a delayed reaction while sitting on the sideline: "Oh my God! Now the offense gotta go save our ass again!"
--The offense nearly did, as an end zone camera showed just how close Owen Daniels came to catching a touchdown in the back of the end zone.
Had he caught it, the Ravens would have taken a 35-28 lead in the fourth quarter. Instead they had to settle for a field goal. The Patriots then drove for the game-winning touchdown.
--Before that drive, Edelman paced the sideline, telling every offensive skill player: "Hey, I'm telling you, get ready. Your time could come right now."
--When the Ravens got the ball back, needing a touchdown to score, Edelman pleaded from the sideline: "Hey, Flacco, throw us one. ... Throw us one."
--Flacco obliged, throwing an interception to Duron Harmon in the end zone.
--Before leaving the field, Suggs approached Brady. The two have had a bit of a feud going for a number of years, but their exchange was uneventful.
"Congratulations," Suggs said.
"You're a great player," Brady said.
Watch the video on NFL.com by clicking here:
Listen below as Toucher & Rich play the best audio from the segment:
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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