The Patriots (3-1) are early 3-point favorites, but Belichick seemed to concede the edge to McDaniels, especially given his intimate knowledge of the Patriots.
“He’s coached with and against these guys out on the practice field since most of them have been here,’’ Belichick said. “I think that’s an advantage in knowledge that they have.’’
However, Belichick had no sooner said that when he added, “But it’s not like we haven’t played Denver.’’
“We know their players and they have some new players,’’ Belichick said, no doubt referring to wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, running back LaMont Jordan, tight end Daniel Graham, guard Russ Hochstein, long snapper Lonie Paxton, and defensive tackle Le Kevin Smith, all former Patriots.
“We have some new players,’’ Belichick said. “That’ll all even out. What it comes down to is that’s probably going to be overrated, overhyped, and overtalked about. In the end, it’s going to come down to who blocks who, who can get open, who can cover who, who can tackle, who can break tackles, who can throw the ball, who catches the ball, who drops it.
“That’s what it’s like every game. That’s what it really comes down to.’’
As much as Belichick would like to downplay his teacher-pupil matchup with McDaniels, it will be a dominant story line and a hot topic in the locker room.
“It’s not a big secret, obviously, they know a lot our plays and we know a lot of theirs,’’ said running back Sammy Morris. “So again, we’ll find out Wednesday how we’re going to approach that.’’
Asked if the Patriots might incorporate some exotic plays in this week’s game plan, Morris joked, “We might just run the Wildcat, I don’t know.’’
Belichick is no stranger to such games against former assistants. There were games against the Browns when Romeo Crennel was their head coach. And there were those oft-contentious meetings against the Jets, who were formerly coached by Eric Mangini, now coach of 0-4 Cleveland.
