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A day-by-day look at game-planning in the NFL

Tom Brady and Bryan Hoyer head to the field prior to the Patriots’ playoff game vs. the Titans.Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

Here’s a day-by-day look at how an NFL team installs its game plan over the course of a a week.

Monday — Corrections

Position coaches grade the game film for their players overnight. Players arrive in the morning, go over the film with their position coaches. Mistakes from the game are reviewed, either on film or on the field in a walk-through. Players get treatment, leave for the day in the early afternoon. Coaches flip the page to the next opponent in the afternoon, and start game-planning on their own.

Tuesday — Game-Planning

After each coach has done his own research and planning, the staffs meet in the morning to compile the information and create the game plan (offense and defense usually have separate meetings). Maybe a quarter of the players will come into the building for treatment, do some film work. Tom Brady collaborates with Josh McDaniels on some ideas. Most of the players take the day off but study film and research the opponent at home on their tablets. Coaches can send them game plans, video cut-ups, and all kinds of information with the click of a button.

Wednesday — First and Second Down

The entire team reconvenes early Wednesday morning. (In Colorado, rookies were required to watch film at 6:15 a.m., and their first meeting was at 6:45 a.m.) Bill Belichick will address the entire team, going over the plan for the week, putting players on the spot with his famous questions (“Who is the Eagles’ slot cornerback? Where did he go to college?”). After the full team meeting are the offense/defense meetings, in which McDaniels and Matt Patricia get into more detail about the game plan and what they want to accomplish for the week. Then there are positional meetings, in which the position coaches get into specifics of what they want their players to do. At practice, the focus is on first- and second-down plays. Some plays get repped four times, some only once. Special teams are practiced every day. After practice, there are offense/defense meetings to review the practice film.

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Thursday — Third Down

Usually the same drill as Wednesday — a full team meeting with Belichick to start the day, then offense/defense meetings, then positional meetings, with a focus on how the Patriots will approach various third-down situations on both sides of the ball. Then practice, then film review of practice.

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Friday — Red Zone/Special situations

Again, full team meeting, offense/defense meetings, positional meetings, practice, film review. Friday is a lighter day, as players often leave the facility in mid-afternoon.

Saturday — Walk-Through and Final Tweaks

“The hay is never in the barn,” as they say. There are meetings throughout the day, and a walk-through practice to reinforce key teaching points from the week of practice. Brady collaborates with McDaniels and Belichick about things that need to be adjusted, added, or removed from the game plan.

Sunday — Game time

The Patriots and Broncos met at midfield for the coin toss prior to their game in Denver in November.Jack Dempsey/AP

The game plan is tweaked throughout the morning, if necessary. But at 1 p.m., it’s time for kickoff.