It’s kinda hard saying Baltimore, Indianapolis, or the New York Jets concern me considering the results from the regular season games. The Pats throttled the Jets in the second go-round. I don’t take any team led by QB Peyton Manning lightly, but the Colts have a lot of injuries and needed a furious comeback to make that game close. And the Ravens, with their suspect secondary, hasn’t seen this version of the Patriots.
The only playoff team the Patriots hadn’t faced this season is Kansas City, arguably the weakest team in the AFC bracket. The Chiefs have a 10-6 record built on losing teams. They beat one playoff team all season – the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks. The combined winning percentage of KC’s victims is .381.
That doesn’t mean that the Patriots shouldn’t be concerned if the Chiefs come to Gillette Stadium. Hell, out of the four Wild Card teams, Kansas City worries me most. It’s not about the unknown or the matchups, but the two men behind the game plans.
We all remember Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, right? The former offensive and defensive coordinators for the Patriots when they won three Super Bowls? Yeah, those guys. They hold the same jobs for KC. We know what they’re capable of when designing game plans. The could turn the tables on the Pats.
If anyone knows how to diagnose the Patriots, it would be Weis and Crennel. They spent so much time working with Bill Belichick they know how he thinks. They ran the offense and defense Belichick wanted. They have the kind of insider information stock traders get arrested for on Wall Street.
Don’t under-estimate knowledge. That kind of in-depth information got Eric Mangini three wins over the Patriots. It was enough for Josh McDaniels when he coached Denver. Belichick is 5-4 against his protégés.
If you wanna make excuses, go ahead. Every time the Patriots lost to a fruit off the Belichick tree, New England finished with a better record. Gonna say QB Tom Brady didn’t play in 2008? Brady is 4-3 not counting those results to the Jets.
Weekly teams try to understand what their opponent wants to do, anticipate their tendencies, and find weaknesses. Mangini and McDaniels understood these about Belichick and Brady when game planning against them. They were familiar with the playbooks and which calls to make in the right situations.
Mangini worked under Belichick for six years, McDaniels for eight. Spend enough time working so close with someone and you know what each other is thinking. Imagine how well Weis and Crennel can read Belichick and Brady.
For Charlie, he taught Brady the pro game to Tom first six years. That’s the foundation of Brady’s knowledge. All those keys to look out for, the tips to look off the free safety, and where to look first when the blitz is coming, Weis taught Brady that.
What could Crennel do with the details Weis tells him about Brady? Plenty. It worked for McDaniels when he spilled his secrets to then D-coordinator when Denver shut out the Patriots in the second half.
On paper, a Patriots-Chiefs game is no contest. Matt Cassel vs. Brady? Come on. KC’s secondary doesn’t stand a chance against the Patriots receivers. And as good as the Chiefs’ running game is, I’m sure the D-line/ILBs combination can keep Thomas Jones and Jamal Charles under control.
It’s what Weis and Crennel can design on paper that worries me.
Question? Comments? Send to talktome@randolphc.com.
