The interns didn’t know what “The Tuck Rule” was.
Some were hardly a year or two old when that play – perhaps the most influential “sliding doors” moment in NFL history – happened, NFL Films executive Ken Rodgers realized. He and Nick Mascolo, a senior producer at NFL Films, began asking younger employees (under age 30) about their recollections of “The Tuck Rule.” The answers, or lack thereof, surprised them.
“Their first question,” Rodgers said, “was, ‘What’s that?'”
Twenty years is a long time.
“They might know what the play is. They might, maybe understand the role,” Rodgers told USA TODAY Sports by phone Tuesday. “But they can’t really explore the depths of it.”
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On Jan. 19, 2002, Charles Woodson of the Oakland Raiders sacked New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady late in the fourth quarter. The ball was loose. Oakland recovered, sealing its victory in the AFC divisional round epic played in blizzard-like conditions.
Except that’s not how it unfolded.
The play was overturned, due to the dubious “tuck rule” – the quarterback’s arm was coming forward, so a replay review deemed the play incomplete. Brady and the Patriots pulled off the comeback. They won their first Super Bowl three weeks later, and now Brady himself is a seven-time Super Bowl champion.
ESPN released a full-length trailer Wednesday for its latest “30 for 30” documentary, “The Tuck Rule.” It will air Sunday, Feb. 6, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Rodgers and Mascolo, both producers on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” are the co-directors.
There are interviews with several stakeholders from that fateful night. But the crux of the 50-minute film hinges on Woodson and Brady watching it from the living room couch of Brady’s Tampa Bay mansion in May 2021. In a way, the former college teammates at Michigan are interviewing each other. The sit-down doubles as a joint therapy session.
“Our tact was, ‘It’s not really about the tuck itself,’” said Rodgers. “It starts and ends with the two men involved. So our very first request, our very first idea, our core of the film was, ‘This film has to be based around Tom Brady and Charles Woodson reliving that moment together,’ which we knew they had never done.”
Brady and Woodson spent about 75 minutes rewatching the play together. (Filming from the Brady compound, where Brady and Woodson did separate interviews, took about four hours.) Everything was unscripted, unprompted. Rodgers and Mascolo hardly direct.
“It was amazing to watch,” Rodgers said.
At one point, someone on set tossed Woodson a football to demonstrate in “super-slow-mo” his version of events. Later, they do a full reenactment of it.
“Every time they saw a new angle, they saw something new,” Mascolo said. “We couldn’t believe how they kept going.”
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The range of emotions, from both, was palpable. Woodson’s regret. Brady’s culpability for not recognizing the blitz. “They really do love each other and enjoy each other’s company,” said Rodgers, who has directed six “30 for 30” films now. “And they really, really disagree about this play and have a bit of contempt for the other’s viewpoint when it comes to it.”
Rodgers said a goal of the documentary is to reveal aspects of the play people had largely forgotten about or had been lost to history. The importance of Woodson’s fellow defensive back Eric Allen is one example of this. Another is that Patriots receiver Troy Brown fumbled — and the Patriots recovered the ball — on the punt return beforehand, something Woodson and Brady both marvel at not fully remembering.
“We built a whole culture off ‘The Tuck Rule,’” Brown said in the film, “and it’s called ‘The Patriot Way.’”
Referee Walt Coleman and Patriots coach Bill Belichick were interviewed. Both were confused as to why the play lives as a fulcrum of drama. Belichick, with a flicker in his eye and maybe even a restrained smile, repeated the line, “Much ado about nothing.”
Coleman said for the play to be ruled a fumble, Brady had to tuck the entire ball – not just his arm – back into his body. The ball never made it there, because Woodson knocked the ball out, while Brady’s hand continued moving forward.
And Coleman was also clear that “intent,” despite what Brady said in the movie, has no bearing on the situation. “It either did, or it didn’t,” Coleman said.
Eventually, Woodson and Brady sort of reach an understanding. If the hit took place in today’s game, a referee could have whistled for an illegal swipe to the quarterback’s head, Brady argued.
The film ends with a game of pool on Brady’s patio that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. Brady asks Woodson how his career would have been different if it were a fumble. Woodson returns the inquiry. The paths they describe are earth-shattering to consider, and the film has some fun exploring that alternate reality.
“Everyone has a tuck rule in their life. Maybe several tuck rules,” Rodgers said. “This may be the biggest turning point in the history of the NFL because it leads to so much history.”
Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ESPN ‘Tuck Rule’ doc features Tom Brady, Charles Woodson reliving play