Hey, Coach Belichick: Rest Brady against Chiefs
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
Dear Bill Belichick:
Hey, Coach! Jason Whitlock here. I’m one of your biggest fans. You’re one of the few people who understands the game of football at the level that I do. Like John McCain and Sarah Palin, even though we don’t really know each other, we’re gridiron soul mates.
I’m writing to offer you some advice for this Sunday. Go ahead and keep Tom Brady on the bench. Trust me, you don’t need him to beat these Chiefs. You probably don’t need Randy Moss, either.
The Patriots could beat the Chiefs at Gillette Stadium with Lenny Dawson suited up at quarterback. You know what? Let me take it a step further: New England could beat Kansas City with Brodie Croyle suited up for the Patriots.
Coach, you should treat Sunday’s season opener like a fifth exhibition. Rest your starters, particularly Tom Brady.
You kept Brady and his ailing foot on the sideline during the entire preseason. It was a wise move. Who cares about the preseason? No one is concerned that the mighty Patriots lost all four of their exhibition games.
It doesn’t even matter that Matt Cassel, Brady’s backup, never led the Patriots to a touchdown in 17 exhibition offensive series.
These Chiefs, Carl Peterson’s 20th rendition, are the ultimate slump-busters. They’re a more reliable booty call than the girls found in Eliot Spitzer’s rolodex. In fact, we’re thinking of dropping the K in KC Chiefs and going with a B, the Booty Call Chiefs.
Why not let Matt Cassel have some?
Brady has all the records. He shattered damn near every conceivable passing record last season. He threw 50 TD passes. The Patriots set a new scoring record. Randy Moss broke Jerry Rice’s touchdown receiving record.
Records are nice, but you didn’t win the Super Bowl. Brady doesn’t need to play on Sunday. You want him fresh and unscathed next week when you travel to New York and face Eric Mangini, the Jets and Brett Favre.
That’s the important game. If you stick Brady out there on Sunday, one of the Chiefs’ defensive linemen could get pancake-blocked into the back of Brady’s legs. Seriously, these guys stick to offensive linemen like Velcro.
The other thing you have to worry about is fatigue. It’s early in the season, so it’s going to be hot. Brady hasn’t played during the preseason. You don’t want Brady cramping up after leading multiple 15-play drives.
Look, let’s say Kansas City’s defense lucks out and stops your offense. You know Brady won’t have time to catch his breath before he’s right back out there. You’ve watched the tape of our simplistic offense. We run four plays, and they’re not hard to stop considering our personnel.
Sunday is the perfect opportunity to build Matt Cassel’s confidence. He’ll be under no pressure to produce touchdowns. As long as he can move the ball between the 30s and post two or three field goals, you guys will be in great shape. You put four field goals on the board and you can toss your rookie quarterback on the field for a few series in the second half.
OK, I know you probably think I’m sandbagging you or trying reverse psychology to fire up my Chiefs. I’m not.
I want the Chiefs to stink this year and get another high draft pick, so we’ll be in position to grab the best quarterback in the draft (Ball State’s Nate Davis).
It’s no fun watching a team rebuild when it doesn’t have its QB of the future. I had high hopes for this season in terms of monitoring the rebuilding process. But when there’s no viable quarterback, it feels like the Chiefs are building the bridge to nowhere.
I digress. I know you haven’t announced what you’re going to do with Brady this weekend. Tom keeps saying he’s ready to play. I know it’s in the back of your mind to sit him, play your reserves and be fresh for the Jets next week.
It’s the right thing to do, Bill. Again, consider this week a fifth exhibition or an additional bye week. You’ve been handed an excuse to rest. Take advantage of it.
Sincerely,
Jason Whitlock
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
