Headaches all around
Rivals cringe as Pats load up
PHOENIX — After seeing the Patriots had landed Brandin Cooks, giving Tom Brady a speed weapon he hasn’t had since Randy Moss, Raiders coach Jack Del Rio reacted much like every team chasing the Patriots.
He cringed.
“Yeah, I (did) cringe. They added a real special talent in Cooks,” Del Rio said, speaking at the AFC coaches breakfast yesterday. “He can really do some things. He can really create some separation.”
Del Rio never had much luck with Brady when he was the defensive coordinator with the Broncos or Jaguars. He’s 0-7 lifetime against Brady. Now this twist, as he prepares to face the legend and defending Super Bowl champions when the Raiders host the Patriots in Mexico City next season.
The reaction of new Broncos coach Vance Joseph, who was the defensive coordinator in Miami last season, was much the same. He basically sees a great offense now hitting warp drive.
“It’s scary,” Joseph said. “It’s explosive.”
Teams had a hard enough time putting the clamps on Brady and the Patriots offense last season.
As the world witnessed during the playoffs, and the Super Bowl in particular, defenses could hold Brady and his cast of wideouts and pass catchers for just so long before they became impossible to stop. And that was without tight end Rob Gronkowski.
But now, with Gronk chomping at the bit to return after rehabbing from back surgery and the Pats swapping out Martellus Bennett for Dwayne Allen and adding Cooks, the offense figures to be so much more dynamic and, as Joseph said, explosive. Cooks, who can spread a defense, will be a nightmare for defensive coordinators just because of his speed alone.
With Cooks taking the top off defenses, that will open up the short-to-intermediate routes Brady is so effective hitting, whether it’s Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola, Malcolm Mitchell, or one of his backfield options (Dion Lewis, James White).
And even if Gronk happens to get injured again, teams can’t just focus on taking out Edelman. If they do, Cooks will burn them.
The Texans, thanks to their man coverage and effective pass rush up the middle, proved to be one team that came close to stifling Brady and the Patriots offense. Ditto the Falcons. But Houston coach Bill O’Brien knows all too well Bill Belichick usually sees what’s needed to remedy a problem and come out 10 times better. Cooks just makes the Patriots so much harder to defend.
“The Patriots always do a great job (of improving their team). Everyone understands that,” said O’Brien, a former Belichick disciple. “Cooks is a good player. Having studied Brandin in college, pros, he’s going to be hard for any team to deal with. He’s a really good player.”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t expecting the Pats to sit still and rest on their fifth Super Bowl win. He expected them to pile on, particularly on offense. Cooks is merely exhibit A.
“They’ve always done a good job of supplementing (Brady) with talent,” Tomlin said. “I didn’t expect that to change.”
Joseph, meanwhile, also talked about the intelligence of Brady and the offense — both among the veterans and newcomers — and how it’s so important that his defense not be beaten before they step on the field.
“When you play the Patriots, you can’t lose the game before the game,” said the Broncos coach. “They’re so good with their scheme. You have to match their football IQ before the game. We have to spend a lot of time with our players to make sure they’re up to par with the football IQ of the game, before any snaps are played.”
Then there’s Jets coach Todd Bowles. He can’t even begin to consider the obvious, given how much work needs to be done in his own house. The Jets went from competing for a playoff spot to being the worst team in the AFC East last season. Bowles just rolled his eyes when asked about Brady and his new toy on offense.
“They were tough anyway, (before Cooks),” Bowles said of the Patriots, who had the fourth-best passing offense last season, even with Brady missing the first four games. “But I can’t worry about the Patriots in March. That’s not in my lifespan right now. When we play them the week before, we’ll deal with them. Right now, I’m more worried about our guys.”
Bowles will be worried in September or October or whenever that first meeting comes with the Patriots. At that point, he’ll be cringing like the rest.