Broncos vs. Patriots: 4 Ways Bill Belichick Coached Circles Around John Fox

There is no way to sugarcoat it: John Fox was completely out-coached in last night's debacle. The team simply was not prepared for anything the Patriots threw at them on both sides of the ball.

The Broncos knew they had to play this game a certain way, a "close to the vest" kind of game,  if they were going to pull off the massive upset. But they had no answers for Brady all night, who undressed the Broncos defense in the first half. 

Here are the ways in which Belichick out-coached John Fox.

Made Broncos Reactionary on Defense

On the first drive of the game, the Broncos played mostly man to man to ensure that they would get the matchups they wanted. 

So what does New England do?

They put their tight end, Aaron Hernandez, at running back, who takes a carry down to about the 10-yard line to set up the first Patriots touchdown of the game.

This was effective because it totally threw off the coverage concepts of the Broncos. If you are a corner and your man goes into the backfield and takes a handoff, what do you do?

Denver was immediately on their heels and spent more time thinking than reacting, and Brady had his way with them for the rest of the game. 

Did Not Let Tebow Sit in the Pocket

A week ago, the Steelers did not take Tebow seriously enough as a quarterback, and it cost them their season. 

Belichick was not going to make the same mistake.

He played Tebow like he was any other quarterback. He did not give up the big play and put plenty of safety help deep.  

He was not afraid to rush Tebow, rather than just contain him and force him to make a throw. 

You would think that Tebow would make them pay with his legs, but he only had one "big" run for a first down.

Tebow was rattled and was not up to the task of standing in the pocket and delivering the football. 

Got Gronkowski, Hernandez Involved Early and Often

After shredding the Broncos in their first meeting, you would think Denver would make a clear effort to force the Patriots to beat them in another way, right?

However, just like their first meeting, the Broncos simply could not cover the Patriots tight ends.

The only difference between this game and the last one was this one featured a little more Gronk and a little less Hernandez. 

Gronkowski and Hernandez are tough to cover for every team, but Denver did not make adjustments nearly as quickly as they needed to. 

Drafting Nate Solder

For Belichick, this game was won back in April's draft when he selected Nate Solder from Colorado in the first round. 

At the time, it left a lot of us scratching our heads, as the Patriots already had their two starting tackle position set.

But an injury to Sebestian Vollmer sent Solder into the starting lineup against fellow rookie stud Von Miller, and Solder delivered an awesome performance. 

The only way Denver was going to slow down the Patriots offense was with their ferocious pass-rush, but Solder and the rest of the Patriots offensive line were up to the task.

Brady had a ton of time to throw all night and picked apart the average secondary of the Broncos with ease.