One of the secrets to the Patriots’ success over the years? An arcane method of charting opponents’ plays, done with a No. 2 pencil, a pair of scissors and some Scotch tape. This is ‘padding.’
As the son of a coach, and a lifelong football devotee, Brian Ferentz figured he could handle every possible expectation that came with his new job as a low-level offensive assistant in New England. He would live the Patriots’ infamous 20/20 coaching existence, working up to 20 hours a day, for about $20,000 a year. He knew he would become an anonymous cog in a high-functioning machine, spending his days—and most nights—swamped in grunt work while receiving little credit for his toiling.