Patriots’ offense struggling, but Tom Brady offers familiar challenge for Chiefs’ defense

Just two weeks after he was forced to prepare for one sure-fire, future Hall-of-Fame quarterback in Denver’s Peyton Manning, Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton has gone through the same drill to get ready for another in New England’s Tom Brady.

Sutton said you’re never going to believe this, but there are similarities between the two. Manning might use more no-huddle, but when it comes to knowledge of the game, both are on point.

“They’re similar in this (way) — they know, when they see a coverage, who they’re going to go to,” Sutton said. “That’s where they’re really good … if you do anything exotic to take away a player, they’re off it and (go somewhere else).”

But unlike week two, when he was preparing for a Denver offense that was already firing on all cylinders, Sutton and the Chiefs enter their prime-time, Monday-night showdown against a Patriots offense that has not been its usual, efficient self under the direction of Brady and coach Bill Belichick.

Through three weeks, New England, 2-1, ranks 28th out of 32 teams in total offense, ahead only of such cellar-dwellers as Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Oakland and Jacksonville.

The Patriots rank 18th in points per game, but they’ve had plenty of difficulty protecting Brady. Though they are tied for 14th in sacks allowed, with seven, they’ve also allowed 30 quarterback hurries, fourth-most in the league behind the Chiefs, Chargers and Titans.

To counteract this, the Patriots could opt to test the Chiefs’ sometimes leaky run defense, which gave up 141 yards in only 20 carries to the Dolphins last week and ranks 23rd in the league. But that’s not a fool-proof plan for protecting Brady and an offensive line that will likely be called on to make a big play at some point.

“You’re going to have to throw the ball sooner or later,” Belichick said. “I don’t think you’re going to go in there and run the ball 70 times. You’re going to have to throw the ball at some point. Communication is obviously important.”

Particularly when it comes to containing Chiefs outside linebackers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, who have combined for five of the Chiefs’ nine sacks, which are seventh-most in the league.

“I think the most important thing is just being able to get off on the snap count — that’s where those guys do a great job,” Belichick said. “(Tamba) Hali and (Justin) Houston and even Dee Ford … they can just jump the count — and not be offside.

“We have to do a better job of keeping those guys off-balance so they can’t get that kind of anticipation and jump on the count.”

Belichick particularly seems to understand the threat posed by Hali, who has two sacks and will rush Brady’s blind side.

“This isn’t like a guy who only has one move,” Belichick said. “He’s got probably eight, nine, 10 good pitches in addition to being strong, explosive, athletic and a guy who plays hard on every snap. He’s really an impressive football player. There are so many things to like about the way he plays and the productivity he has.”

Sutton and the Chiefs are offering a similar amount of respect for the Patriots’ offense, despite an offensive line that has yet to find its rhythm. Much of that has to do with Brady, whose prolific past — like Manning’s — suggests that he is someone you should never take lightly.

“The Bradys, the Mannings, they’re so in tune to what’s happening on the field,” Sutton said. “I always felt like Tom Brady really understood the personnel on the other side of the ball. Not just the scheme, but who the players were and what those players did good. He’s really good at that and it helps them.”

The Patriots could look to get star tight end Rob Gronkowski matched up on the Chiefs’ two inside linebackers, Josh Mauga and James-Michael Johnson. Both are backups who have started the last two games for the Chiefs because of injuries to starters Derrick Johnson and Joe Mays.

Sutton, who has shown a penchant for having smaller safeties cover tight ends in subpackages — see Eric Berry and Husain Abdullah last season — said the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Gronkowski is a tough draw for a defense.

“He and Tom Brady know how to use his size to their advantage,” Sutton said. “He gets on you and he’ll leverage you like a basketball player. You can’t get away from him. You’re on his back hip and that’s all he needs (to catch it) because he’s so big and his hands are gigantic.”

Gronkowski, however, might not be 100 percent Monday night. He has been working back into the mix since undergoing knee surgery in January. After logging an average of 43 percent of the snaps in the Patriots’ first two games, he logged a season-high 59 percent against Oakland last week.

So far this season, he has 11 catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Sutton knows that if Gronkowski is open, Brady will likely find him. The problem for the Chiefs is that if they take him away, there’s a good chance Brady will find another guy who is open or in single coverage.

Manning completed 21 of 26 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns against the Chiefs in week two, but the Chiefs kept it close in a 24-17 loss thanks to a ball-control offense and a secondary that made some timely, disciplined plays in the second half to get off the field.

That, plus a dialed-up pass rush, could be the Chiefs’ formula for success Monday night in another go-round against one of the league’s smartest quarterbacks.

“Tom Brady has seen every coverage,” Sutton said. “We’re not going to stun him with a new coverage concept or something, so we’ve got to play the coverage really well and understand where your help is. If he finds the place that’s the easiest to hit, he finds it. Then you’ve just got to move on and change it up and don’t give him the same thing all the time.

“But you definitely want to affect the quarterback, you don’t want him to be sitting there. If he wants to throw it as fast as he can, there’s probably nothing we can do about that. But that doesn’t always kill you.”

This story was originally published September 28, 2014 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Patriots’ offense struggling, but Tom Brady offers familiar challenge for Chiefs’ defense."