Four NFL coaches reveal the blueprint for beating Patriots
MINNEAPOLIS — Everyone is trying to figure out how to dethrone the mighty Patriots and derail their dynasty. Many have theories about how to do it. But of course, there is no singular textbook answer.
In advance of Sunday’s Super Bowl LII showdown between the Patriots and Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium, The Post spoke to four NFL coaches (two active, two not) who have coached against Bill Belichick and have intimate knowledge of how the New England coach operates.
All four had some common-denominator strategies, and in some areas, they differed. No surprise is that all four were insistent on finding a way to pressure Tom Brady.
“The first thing is if you allow Tom Brady to come up [to] the line of scrimmage and get pre-snap information, then you’re dead,” Coach No. 1 said. “The second thing is if you’re going to give him a little hitch pass, he’ll take 8 yards. He doesn’t need to throw it down the field to feel good. He doesn’t need to feed the ball to [Rob Gronkowski] to stroke his ego. If you’re giving him something, he’s going to take it.
“The other great thing they do is once they hit you on something, a lot of times they’ll go into the hurry-up and run a few more plays just like it before you have a chance to breathe. You want to have the ability on defense to be able to change a play quickly, so if you get hit and they go right back up to the line of scrimmage, you have something to default to. Philly sometimes can screw it up when it’s going quick, which New England can definitely do.
“And then, you have to have a second pitch for the second half. Maybe that seems too hard or that you’re overthinking it, but you aren’t because they’re going to figure out what type of game you’re playing. If you allow them to have pre-snap information, you’ve got no shot.”
Coach No. 2 said the most critical element to beating the Patriots is not panicking and straying from what you do best.
“Most teams lose the game before New England tries to win the game because they put so much pressure on themselves to score,” he said. “Most teams take chances and they’ll make mistakes. If you make mistakes against that team, they seem to always capitalize. They do against everybody.
“I think the Eagles have a good chance if [quarterback Nick] Foles doesn’t press and [head coach Doug] Pederson doesn’t press his guys. It’s OK to run the ball. If you start panicking, you’re in trouble.
“The Patriots are patient. When I see Belichick playing the field-position game, I know he’s waiting for you to make a mistake. The thing they always have in their back pocket if they fall behind is they have Brady, and they can always come back. They don’t need to force it.
“I always think teams should think, ‘Let’s get this game to the fourth quarter.’ Then it’s all going to be situational football and you’ve got a shot. Don’t lose the game in the first half.”
Coach No. 3 spoke of a different way of attacking the New England defense than Coach No. 2.
“Offensively, I’m going into the game thinking, ‘I have to score points, so I’m calling the game that way and we’re going to let it all go,’ ” he said. “I’ll be probably a little more aggressive than I normally would be. Then the first thing you have to talk to your team about is executing perfectly in the game because that’s what the Patriots do. They don’t make mistakes.
“From a defensive standpoint, you’ve got to somehow, some way put pressure on Brady. If he has free reign and isn’t pressured … They. Will. Win. If you can do it with four guys, great. I think with Philadelphia, like Jacksonville, they have a chance to do it. I think they have a chance to do it with four guys — they’re that good.”
Coach No. 4 emphasized beating the Patriots at their own game — in situational football.
“They’re going to take their shots on offense on first and second down,” he said. “But they spend a ton of time on their situational play, like third down, red zone, and Brady runs the show. I don’t care what they get from the 20 to the 20. All I know is when they get into the red zone, we’ve got to stop them. We’re going to try to keep them under 20 to 23 points.
“It’s a constant chess match during the course of the game. The Rex Ryans of the world have given them some trouble because they show things and blitz and do all that stuff and Brady doesn’t know what’s happening. So you’ve got to really go outside the box. But that’s hit or miss. And if you miss, it’s over.”