Bill Belichick’s ‘diabolically clever’ Patriots trick to mess with opposing kickers revealed

A newly uncovered piece of Patriots gamesmanship has offered another glimpse into just how far Bill Belichick ’s New England teams were willing to go in search of a competitive edge.

Former NFL analytics staffer Ryan Paganetti says he spent weeks reviewing more than a decade of Patriots broadcasts and found repeated examples of Gillette Stadium’s video board displaying a reverse-angle image behind visiting kickers.

The result, he argues, was an optical illusion that made it appear as though there were four yellow uprights instead of two.

“I went through more than a decade of TV broadcasts and uncovered a diabolically clever piece of Patriots gamesmanship,” Paganetti wrote while presenting his findings.

The tactic, if deliberate, would fit neatly with the reputation Belichick built during a 24-year run in New England that produced six Super Bowl titles and became synonymous with obsessive attention to detail.

How Patriots reportedly created the illusion

Paganetti said the effect was particularly noticeable at one end of Gillette Stadium, where the large video board sat directly behind the goalposts.

“When opposing kickers lined up at Gillette Stadium, the video board displayed a reverse view of the kick, placing a second, offset set of yellow uprights directly behind the real ones,” he explained.

He said windy conditions could make the visual even stranger because the orange wind streamers shown on the screen sometimes appeared to point in a different direction from those attached to the physical uprights.

“I found dozens of examples,” Paganetti said.

His review covered kicks from roughly 2012 through 2020, and he said the setup appeared with remarkable consistency when visiting teams were attempting field goals.

“They legitimately did it every single chance that they could,” Paganetti said on the Paganetti and Underhill podcast. “They consistently did this over and over again… It legitimately looked like there were four uprights across.”

He added: “If you quickly looked at it as a kicker, it would almost certainly cause some level of hesitation because it looked so weird.”

New England’s own kickers avoided trick

The most intriguing part of Paganetti ’s research was what happened when the Patriots were kicking. He said he reviewed 52 New England field-goal attempts and didn't find the same duplicated-upright effect displayed behind the home kicker.

“It is the perfect encapsulation of the Patriots dynasty,” Paganetti wrote. “No detail was too small, and no possible edge was left unexplored.”

Paganetti also revealed that Philadelphia tried to copy the concept while he worked for the Eagles , but Lincoln Financial Field’s video-board placement made the effect far less convincing.

One example he highlighted came from the 2012 AFC Championship Game, when Baltimore Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard attempt late against New England.

Paganetti ’s discovery adds another fascinating chapter to the mythology surrounding a Patriots dynasty that constantly seemed to find advantages others hadn't considered.