Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo knows a thing or two about taking down Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. As DC of the New York Giants, he helped ruin the perfect season of the New England Patriots back in 2007. On Sunday, he’ll be tasked with calling the defensive effort to keep Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense in check in Super Bowl LV.
Spagnuolo is known for his in-game adjustments. At Tuesday’s media availability, he was asked about the importance of adjusting to what Brady is doing, and what that chess match is like. “He’s a step ahead of everything,” he said. It’s not like he’s going to tip his hand to the media the week of the Super Bowl, but I was impressed by how much Spags was willing to dive into the Xs and Os of Sunday’s match-up.
As far as the game plan for slowing down Brady and that potent Bucs offense, Spagnuolo said, “we have to be good on the back end.” The Chiefs have to be careful with how they line up and what they show Brady, because he’s very “good at gathering information” on the field. That ‘back end’ for the Chiefs defense has proven capable in recent weeks.
Defensive back – and yes, that’s a distinction…the Chiefs DBs don’t refer to themselves as cornerbacks or safeties…they’re all DBs – Juan Thornhill talked about the secondary stepping up and how Spagnuolo’s scheme allows them to do that. Everyone in the secondary can play multiple positions, and that affords them the opportunity to disguise what they’re going to do. No matter who is back there, they’re comfortable in their ability to both press the Bucs receivers and change things up in coverage. Thornhill also noted that the aggressive play-calling helps. If you can disrupt the passing game with a solid pass rush, you can create turnovers, something that’s always a focus for this defense.
Another hallmark of the Spagnuolo defense is that aggressive mindset that Thornhill alluded to. Brady’s struggles against pressure are well-documented. If you can make him uncomfortable in the pocket, you can throw him off his game. Spagnuolo acknowledged that, saying “we gotta dial up pressure.” As far as how he would approach generating that pass rush, he added, “we’re going to see what we can get with a four-man rush.” Simple enough – there’s no need to change things up too much if you can effect Brady without having to send extra guys.
Spagnuolo has developed a reputation as one of the greatest defensive game planners and play callers in NFL history. If the Chiefs win on Sunday, he’ll get his third Super Bowl ring as a DC. You don’t get to that level of success without being relentlessly studious, and that’s Spags. He mentioned keeping notebooks on various offensive coordinators, offensive systems, and players – including Brady – with information going back as far as 1999. Laughing, he points out that that information is “probably useless” today.
When asked if he’d like to make a run as a head coach in the NFL again, he noted he would “love that challenge,” adding “there’s value in experience.” That’s a clear reference to how he learned from his experience as the head coach of the St. Louis Rams from 2009-2011.
There’s no doubt that Spagnuolo will have his work cut out for him on Sunday, but there are few men as capable in their roles as he is. What he’s been able to do in Kansas City is nothing short of spectacular.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
