When Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was asked this week about Tom Brady in general in the leadup to Super Bowl LV, he had some interesting things to say.
“He’s a step ahead of everything,” the coach said. “Every film clip that you put on, he’s putting their guys in the right [position]. That’s always the challenge when you go against what I call a ‘cerebral quarterback,’ and we all know Tom is like that. He has total control. He gets them out there in time to change things. We’re going to have to be really good on the back end not to show him things, or as we say, don’t let him read our mail. Because if he can read our mail, he knows exactly what to do.”
When it comes to reading Brady’s mail, Spagnuolo is the NFL’s Postmaster General. You may have heard a few stories about two Super Bowls the Patriots lost to the Giants — XLII and XLVI — in which Spagnuolo, in his capacity as Big Blue’s defensive coordinator, made Brady’s life all kinds of hell with wicked combinations of interior pressure and coverage. It has been my belief all along that defensive lineman Justin Tuck should have been MVP in both of those game, and the Chiefs have an excellent Tuck-style disruptor in Chris Jones — but this time around, Spagnuolo might not be focusing on inside disruption.
This time around, Spagnuolo has different ways to put Brady in a vise, and it’s more about what happens before and after the snap in some really twisted ways. We are simply not talking enough about Kansas City’s secondary, and how Spagnuolo’s using them.
Well, some of us are. As Football Outsiders pointed out in its awesome Super Bowl preview, the Chiefs’ passing defense has moved from average to OH MY GOD in a very big hurry. In Weeks 1-9, the Chiefs ranked sixth in pass defense DVOA. In Weeks 10-16, they ranked 23rd.
In the postseason? First, by a mile.
There are several reasons for this.