Chiefs D-backs Coach Sam Madison Has This Unique Advantage vs. Tom Brady
Chiefs defensive backs coach Sam Madison has a unique distinction that none of his peers on both the Chiefs or the Bucs have going into this weekend's Super Bowl matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Madison is a former NFL cornerback with the Dolphins (1997-2005) who faced Bucs quarterback Tom Brady twice a year when Brady entered the league with the Patriots in 2000.
But it wasn't until 2007 when Madison, who had signed with the Giants as a free agent in 2006, got to upset Brady's quest for perfection on the game's biggest stage.
That Giants defense, which put Brady on his back nine times, including five sacks, was coordinated by none other than Madison's current boss, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Spagnuolo had first developed and tested a plan to slow down Brady in the Giants' regular-season finale against the Patriots, a game in which the Giants lost 38-35 but in which the defensive managed to hit Brady eight times while sacking him once.
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Although that game was over ten years ago, Madison remembers much of what Spagnuolo did and said it all boils down to one key component.
"In 2007, the undefeated season, we had opportunity in that last game of the season to have a shot at (spoiling it), but we came up a little bit short," Madison said.
"The takeaways were, you can't just let him sit back there and get very comfortable in the pocket because he still has a strong arm. He still has the smarts to be able to see exactly what you're doing. So you have to get him off the spot. Since that game, that's what a lot of people have been trying to do, but it's hard."
Madison obviously wasn't going to tip the Chiefs' hand as to how they were planning to get after Brady, but he did stress the importance of everyone on the defense being in tune with one another.
"You have to go out there and you have to do a lot of different things to (Brady). It takes the players on the defensive side to be able to understand the game plan that the coaches implement," Madison said, adding, "He's one of the best to ever do it, so you have to be at your very best when you're going up against him."
Check out the video above to hear how San Madison's relationship with Steve Spagnuolo led to the former cornerback pursuing a coaching career.
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