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Stopping the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, was the priority for the New England Patriots and head coach Jerod Mayo in Week 10. Mayo explained how the Pats did it by giving a special teams ace extended work on defense in a creative package.
Speaking to reporters after the 19-3 win at Soldier Field, Mayo explained how safety Brenden Schooler was the inspiration for the “Longhorn Package,” per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. The latter noted Schooner, who is a fixture in football’s third phase, but hadn’t seen a snap on defense this season, played his collegiate football for Texas.
Schooler is ostensibly a safety, and his speed and range made him the ideal spy for dual-threat rookie Williams. Having Schooler track Williams’ movement helped the Patriots sack the signal-caller nine times and limit him to just 120 yards passing.
The strategy also had shades of the inventive way the Pats used personnel and changed defensive structures under Mayo’s decorated predecessor Bill Belichick.
Patriots Had Brilliant Plan for Caleb Williams
Schooler had played “just two defensive snaps in his career (both last season),” according to Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall. That didn’t stop Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington from trusting the 27-year-old to handle a key responsibility against Williams.
The latter had been averaging 5.8 yards per rushing attempt before this week. Williams had also rushed for 12 first downs, usually by catching defenses off guard, evidenced by his 170 yards before contact, per Pro Football Reference.
Mayo knew the Patriots couldn’t afford to let Williams break contain or have him throw on the run too often. Schooler got the job of being Williams’ shadow, usually in multiple-defensive back packages, and it worked a treat.
A good early example of the strategy’s success involved Schooler closing on Williams and forcing him to throw the ball out of bounds on 3rd-and-3. This “was one of the better schemes the #Patriots defense has run all year. Third down drop-eight with Schooler as the spy on Williams in a man coverage structure,” according to Patriots.com Staff Writer Evan Lazar.
It made sense to have Schooler play spy against Williams. Mostly because Schooler is used to tracking elusive runners from deep and attacking downhill, thanks to his experience covering kicks.
Those qualities came in handy when Schooler got to Williams for a career-first sack, highlighted by Ben Brown of The QB List.
Notice how No. 41 stayed patient early and kept eyes on Williams. Once the QB stepped up, Schooner closed downhill in a hurry.
Pressure, patience and disguise gave Williams trouble all day, but it wasn’t the only schematic magic the Patriots used to dominate defensively. There was something throwback about the way Mayo and his staff approached this game.
Jerod Mayo Took a Page from Bill Belichick
Putting players from other units into different positions was common for the Patriots on the watch of six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Belichick. He liked to mix and match most when it came to flooding the field with defensive backs.
Belichick notably played gifted wideout Troy Brown as a cornerback during the 2004 season. Brown responded by snatching three interceptions. Years later, Julian Edelman made the same switch in the 2011 AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Mayo played in that game and obviously took noted. The man who spent eight seasons as a middle linebacker for Belichick also studied his old boss’s use of sub-package defenses.
The Pats often used seven defensive backs against Williams and the Bears. It reminded the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan of when Belichick deployed multiple DBs to help upset the then-St.Louis Rams in Super Bowl 36.
Mayo and Covington using seven and eight defensive backs in obvious passing situations not only flooded Williams’ passing lanes. It also allowed the Pats to blanket talented Bears wide receivers D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze.
That trio combined for just 11 catches and 91 yards. The modest stat line was the exclamation point for a brilliant defensive effort on the road, made possible by smart coaching and an unlikely star.
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