New England Patriots Vs Cleveland Browns: Belichick and Mangini Meet Again

The NFL Week 9 matchup between the 6-1 New England Patriots and 2-5 Cleveland Browns may be lopsided on paper, but there's one matchup that may warrant more attention than others.

The history between Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini dates back to the time the two shared together on the New England Patriots as members of the coaching staff from 2000 to 2005.

Mangini got his start as a defensive backs coach with New England and eventually moved up to defensive coordinator in 2005 before taking the reins of the division rival New York Jets the next offseason.

Since then, these two have had some highly-publicized conflict.

Both are talented head coaches in their own right and match up in interesting ways.

Let's take a look at the relationship between these two individuals historically, personally and professionally.

From Friends...

Belichick and Mangini won three Super Bowls together. Mangini wasn't a coordinator for those dominant defenses, though, serving as the defensive backs coach for the first five years of his coaching career.

When he was finally handed the keys in 2005 to the prior year's second-ranked scoring defense, he could only lead them to the 17th ranking in points and the 26th ranking in yards.

Belichick seemed to be taking Mangini under his wing, though. But when Mangini became a free agent coach the next offseason, he joined the one team Belichick warned him not to join.

...To Enemies

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FOXBORO, MA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Eric Mangini of the New York Jets shakes hand with head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots after their AFC Wild Card Playoff Game at Gillette Stadium on January 7, 2007 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Pa

Ever since Mangini shed his Patriots blue for Jet green, he and Belichick have had some highly-publicized awkward handshakes (see left).

It only got more awkward after Mangini exposed the Spygate scandal.

Does time heal all wounds? The hard feelings may have subsided since their dramatic rivalry in the AFC East died almost two years ago, but make no mistake—neither has forgotten about the other. The memories will stay even if the resentment fades.

Belichick Leads the Series 4-2

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FOXBORO, MA - SEPTEMBER 12: Coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots watches the action against the Cincinnati Bengals during during the NFL season opener at Gillette Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/G

The Padawan has beaten the Jedi Master on two occasions, but the hoodie holds the advantage in their matchups.

Of course, Mangini's wins came with the Jets on teams much more talented than the Cleveland Browns, but after pulling off the epic upset of the New Orleans Saints in Week 7, the Browns are no longer to be taken lightly.

One of Mangini's triumphs came in a game in which the Jets defense reached Tom Brady four times and forced an interception.

Tom Brady Vs. Eric Mangini Defense

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FOXBORO, MA - NOVEMBER 12: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots stands on the field during against the New York Jets on November 12, 2006 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Jets defeated the Patriots 17-14. (Photo by Elsa

In four career games against Eric Mangini's defense, Tom Brady is 75-of-120 for 910 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. Those are pretty modest numbers seeing as Brady is considered one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.

The Browns defense has shown the ability to play Mangini-ball by getting after the quarterback and forcing quick throws and bad decisions. In Mangini's matchups against Brady, the Jets' defenses reached him a combined six times in those four meetings, with four of those sacks coming in one game, a Jets win by a score of 17-14.

How Will Patriots Attack Browns Defense?

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SAN DIEGO - OCTOBER 24: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots lines up at scrimmage against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium on October 24, 2010 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The Browns did a respectable job of containing the Saints offense in New Orleans in Week 7, but the Patriots offense is a lot quicker than the Saints offense (sans Reggie Bush, of course) and could pose matchup problems for Cleveland across the board.

Whatever the Browns had been doing this season before that game hasn't been working. Despite what some may call an up-and-coming defense, they still rank 26th in the league against the pass.

Tom Brady will have to pick apart what could be a blitz-oriented attack from the Browns, as Mangini could try to replicate his past success against the Patriots in his time with the Jets.

How Will Browns Attack Patriots Offense?

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NEW ORLEANS - OCTOBER 24: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints in action during the game against the Cleveland Browns at the Louisiana Superdome on October 24, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

On the ground or through the air, the Browns defense gives up yards in bunches. They average 5.6 yards allowed per offensive play, ranking 22nd in the league. They've only held three teams under 20 points.

Despite all that, the Browns refuse to stay content with their near-last rankings on defense. Their defense let Drew Brees march up and down the field but was able to force four interceptions on their way to holding the Saints to 17 points.

One could make the argument that the Saints aren't as good as everyone thought they were, but after a performance like that, the argument could also be made that the Browns' defense isn't as bad as we thought it was.

As mentioned earlier, Mangini will probably employ the tactics he used against the Patriots in his time with the Jets by dialing up the blitz. If they are able to create consistent pressure, as they did to Brees, they have a chance at messing up Tom Brady's rhythm.

Bill Belichick Vs. Eric Mangini and Brian Daboll Offense

A name you hear very little in the talk about Mangini and Belichick is Brian Daboll. He started out as a defensive coaching assistant with the Patriots from 2000 to 2001 and changed to wide receivers coach for the next five seasons.

In '07, though, he jumped ship to join Mangini's Jets as their quarterbacks coach and has sort of stapled himself to Mangini's headset ever since.

The Browns, like the '07 and '08 Jets, are a run-based team at their core. They play a very ball-control-oriented style of offense. From '06 to '08, the Jets ran for 538 yards and two touchdowns in six games against the Patriots. In that same span, they threw for 1,264 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

I think you'll have a hard time selling Mangini or Daboll on letting Colt McCoy air it out against the Patriots defense, but you could definitely make the case that they know what they're doing against Belichick. Who knows—that could be the best plan of attack after all...

How Will Patriots Attack Browns Offense?

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

FOXBORO, MA - OCTOBER 31: Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings is injured after he was hit by defensive tackle Myron Pryor #91 of the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on October 31, 2010 i

The Patriots' defensive game plan may not be working to perfection, as their 31st ranking against the pass would suggest, but their plan is pretty obvious: Shut down the run and force the quarterback to throw. Bend, don't break.

Despite their inability to pressure the quarterback, the Patriots don't seem in any big rush to start throwing together exotic blitz packages. Expect to see the Patriots load up the box to stop the run and force the inexperienced Colt McCoy to beat them.

How Will Browns Attack Patriots Defense?

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NEW ORLEANS - OCTOBER 24: Colt McCoy #12 of the Cleveland Browns in action against the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome on October 24, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

It's clear that the Browns' best offensive weapon is Peyton Hillis. He hasn't been the home run hitter that he was in the first few games of the season, but he had an effective game against the Saints last week.

But will the Browns be willing to run the ball into the mouth of the Patriots' 11th-ranked rush defense, which has only allowed three rushing touchdowns all season?

The Patriots' biggest weakness has been against the pass. Sure, Devin McCourty is coming into his own, especially after recording his second straight game with an interception in Week 8, but the Patriots still feature a young secondary and have still given up 1,977 yards through the air, second-worst in the league.

New England can't get any pressure either, totaling 13 sacks in seven games. Colt McCoy may not be a top-end NFL passer just yet, but just about every quarterback that has faced the Patriots has enjoyed a stellar performance. If McCoy can get comfortable in the pocket, he can pick apart the Patriots' vanilla 3-4 scheme with ease.

Conclusion

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FOXBORO, MA - OCTOBER 31: Tom Brady #12 of New England Patriots reacts after a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings at Gillette Stadium on October 31, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

This game has "trap" written all over it for the current best team in the league, the New England Patriots.

The Patriots may be riding high off a five-game winning streak and a narrow home win over the Vikings, but after dominating the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints before their bye week, the Browns should have much more bravado and swagger than their 2-5 record would suggest.

But with the Patriots playing a winning brand of team-first football week in and week out, and with the Browns still piecing things together while playing inconsistent football at the same rate, you'd be hard pressed to find more than a pair of good reasons that the Browns will win this game.

Prediction: Patriots win, 20-13