Pees on Facing Brady: Keep It Simple

Titans' scheme worked well last season, much better than when veteran coordinator was with Baltimore

NASHVILLE – Dean Pees does not think his defense’s performance against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots last season means he has their attack figured out.

In fact, the veteran Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator believes the best thing to do when it comes to Brady and the Patriots is to not think too much.

“One of the things about them on offense is they … have a lot of stuff but they make it simple,” Pees said this week. “So, therefore, you can’t overcomplicate yourself on defense because you’ll probably catch yourself in a really bad position. They way I’ve always looked at it – Tom’s got the chalk last.

“I’ve seen too many guys try to really overscheme them and do that kind of stuff and get themselves out of position.”

Pees has seen it from both sides. He was New England’s linebackers coach for two seasons (2004-05) and then defensive coordinator for four more after that (2006-09). During that time the Patriots finished in the top 10 in scoring offense every year and the top 10 in total offense every year but one, the exception was when they finished 11 in 2006.

For the past eight years he has been a defensive coordinator elsewhere, the last two years in Tennessee, and he has schemed against the Patriots four times in the regular season and once in the playoffs.

When the Titans beat the Patriots 34-10 in 2018, Brady completed just 21 of 41 passes for 254 yards. It was his lowest completion percentage of the season (51.2) and one of just two regular-season games in which he did not throw a touchdown pass. Tennessee also sacked Brady three times, which was the most any team got to him.

“We just played well,” Pees deadpanned. “We played well.”

When he was with Baltimore, Pees’ last encounter with Brady and the Patriots was in 2016. In that one, Brady was 25-38 for 406 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. That performance matched his high for passing yards that season and New England won 30-23.

Overall, Pees is 2-3 as a defensive coordinator against Brady and the Patriots, who have averaged 29.2 points against him. Each time he faced them when he was in Baltimore, his unit allowed 30 or more points.

“You’ve just got to be able to play yourself very, very well, be very disciplined in what you do,” Pees said. “It doesn’t mean you’re not going to try to disguise or something like that. But the point of it is, you can’t get yourself out of position or they’ll really make you pay for it.

“… You can’t reinvent the wheel right now. We’ve got to play good, fundamental defense.”