So where does one start when dissecting the Patriots-Chargers matchup?
Examining the offenses seems like the right place; that's where the majority of the star power resides. Smith sees both teams as explosive, but in different ways.
"In terms of the New England offense, they're multi-faceted," he said. "You have a number of issues, the first being their passing game. They have two outstanding receivers in [Randy] Moss and [Wes] Welker and you have to give attention to both those guys.
"When you do that, then it opens up the running game, and they have a very good running back in [Laurence] Maroney. So if you commit to double-cover the wide receivers or give guys help or roll to them, you're basically looking at a seven-man box and you have to be able to defend the run with seven guys. Sometimes that's a tough situation."
And, of course, it all starts with the decisiveness of Tom Brady.
"They're always going to go as the quarterback goes, and he's a guy that is operating extremely efficiently right now," said Smith, whose defensive scheme last Saturday against New England focused on taking away deep routes to Moss (one catch) by playing two safeties deep over the top.
"He sees the blitzes when they're coming and can strike quickly. But he's also patient enough that if you're going to play coverage and force him to check the ball down, he's going to check the ball down and throw it underneath, allowing his receivers to make some yardage on their own, which forces the opponent to be crisp in their tackling. He can get you into short and manageable third downs by continuing to dump the ball underneath.
"And when they bring their third-down back in, Kevin Faulk, he creates a mismatch problem as well. So if you're double-covering the wideouts, you're going to have a one-on-one situation with Kevin, and he's a guy that can cause a bunch of matchup problems as well.
"They really have about as efficient an offense as you're going to face. It's tough."
As for the Chargers, it's a different approach, but they can strike just as quickly.
