McAfee: Griff Whalen hadn't practiced trick play

The Colts will have to do something special in the next three months to not have their season defined by perhaps the most doomed trick play in NFL history.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano said Monday he had no regrets about the play call, his only real issues resting with the team's preparedness and lack of execution. On Tuesday, Colts punter Pat McAfee explained that a critical breakdown in communication led to the game-turning gaffe against the Patriots.

"The gunner who became the center all week was (safety) Clayton Geathers. Clayton Geathers gets injured in the second quarter," McAfee explained on WFBQ-FM (via Colts.com). "Insert Griff Whalen, who had never done it before. So Griff Whalen is now the new center in a play he's never practiced before."

McAfee said the "point of the play is a deception play," with the goal to get the opposing team to sub their defense back onto the field. In a perfect world, the Patriots scramble and the ball is snapped, drawing a five-yard penalty for too many men on the field.

The Patriots did not sub, however, triggering the second intent of the play, in which the Colts attempted to draw their opponent offsides. The problem: Whalen wasn't made aware of this new option when it was added to the playbook in the week leading up to the game.

"Griff goes ... 'If I feel him right now, I'm supposed to snap it.' So this is a 100 percent miscommunication," said McAfee. "It's literally a miscommunication."

Yikes. None of this makes the Colts look any better, but it does provide some clarity on Swinging Gate, um, gate. Indy players are probably better off dropping a "We're on to New Orleans" going forward.