The thinking here is that they tried to outwit the Pats Defense, That should have been a running play, not a passing one.
Trying to outwit the Patriots is a bad idea, a high level of Football knowledge and intelligence is a requirement for a contract.
The problem with running was that the Pats had their Goal line defense in with six Linemen on the field. Lynch was 1 of 5 during the regular season this year in that situation, and had been thrown for a loss or just plain stuffed several times in short yardage.
Carroll put in passing personnel, and the Pats put in a heavy front to stop a run. They then isolated the ‘Bottom of the roster rookie’ with a pick play. The problem started when Browner jammed the attempted pick and stood it up at the line, then Butler correctly diagnosed the play and went to the spot the play was designed to go.
Picking on a rookie in a complicated situation is usually a good bet.
Except they telegraphed it with a shotgun formation. Granted, you can still run from a shotgun, but it's one hell of an indicator.