In what promises to be a very good game this weekend, SD plays NE. SD is -5 over visiting NE. My favorite story within the story is Schottenheimer (playoffs 5-12) with the better team vs Belichick (12-2 playoffs). I just finished reading “The Education of a Coach” by David Halberstam, a book about Bill Belichick. There are many nuggets within the book that make it great reading; one item is valuable imo for understanding Sunday’s matchup- the lesson of his first Super Bowl victory over the Rams. The Reader’s Digest version is like this- stop Marshall Faulk, not Kurt Warner. So in practice, he kept on drilling it into his defense: “Where is he? WHERE IS HE?” before each scout team’s snap. Where is he? Where is Marshall Faulk? The defense spent all week focused on stopping Marshall Faulk. I expect the same playoff mentality and maniacal preparation to be drilled into his defense once again to find out where LaDanian Tomlinson is and to stop him at all costs. Will Rivers and Gates et al beat the Patriots on Sunday? Perhaps. If the Patriots win it will be because Schottenheimer did NOT read Belichick’s book.
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