On Sunday, just like the rest of us, current Los Angeles Rams/former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will be glued to the television watching the Super Bowl.
“I’d rather be on the sideline than watching it, but we did that last year,” Phillips told Gil Whiteley and Arran Anderson on Mile High Sports Radio on Tuesday.
With 40 years of NFL coaching experience, Phillips has seen it all on the gridiron. As such, he offered his expert opinion on the reason why the New England Patriots have been able to be so good for so long.
“I think it’s called Tom Brady,” he said. “He’s had so many different guys through the years, and all of the sudden, they’re top receivers because he can get the ball accurately to them, and quickly.”
Still, in the last two seasons with the Broncos, Phillips has shown an ability to create an effective gameplan against the Patriots. He was nice enough to let the people in on his secret.
“You have to have coverage and a rush with him [Brady],” he said. “You have to try to make him hold it, and that’s not easy to do. Especially with Atlanta, because they play a lot of zone defense. If it’s a zone, he knows where to throw it and how to throw it quickly. If you play zone, he’s gonna tear you up.”
The Broncos also played the Atlanta Falcons last season. Phillips also opened up on the difficulties they faced when trying to stop the NFC champions.
“What we didn’t realize going into the game, [is] that [Tevin] Coleman, he’s a wide receiver playing running back,” he said. “He’s the guy that really hurt us. You have to realize that guy is a double threat. It’s hard to game plan, take away Julio, and then take away the other receivers, and then all of the sudden, the back’s out there one-on-one with a linebacker or even a safety, there’s where the problems are.”
Listen to the full interview with Wade Phillips, including his Super Bowl pick and who he thinks is the greatest quarterback of all-time, in the podcast below.
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