/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62874341/usa_today_11999178.0.jpg)
The Kansas City Chiefs take on the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game Sunday — a battle that will see two of the greatest quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, as well as two of the greatest football minds in Andy Reid and Bill Belichick.
Here’s what Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had to say this week he prepares to lead his team to their eighth straight AFC Championship game:
On Damien Williams’ impact since taking over at running back:
“He’s done a real good job and has been very productive running the ball,” Belichick said. “We know he’s a good receiver and I played against him when he was at Miami and he’s a very talented player that can play on all three downs, he has good skill.”
On the parallels between Mahomes and Brady:
“Their styles are different, but they’re both very good passers and, I mean, Mahomes is a dynamic player and is probably the most valuable player in the league this year — you can certainly put him up there with anyone else you want to talk about,” Belichick said of the young quarterback. “He’s had tremendous production, executes plays as they’re designed, but also at times is improvising and making great plays and great decisions on his own. He’s been a terrific player for Kansas City this year.”
On what Sammy Watkins brings to the Chiefs’ offense
“Again, very explosive player, big and fast — he’s a tough guy to handle,” Belichick said matter-of-factly. “Always gonna be a high yards per catch guy and when he’s covered, he’s not really covered because of his size. Then when he gets the ball, tackling is definitely an issue because of his size, speed and his stiff arm to knock tacklers off of him.”
On Andy Reid’s dangerous offense:
“They have so many good skill players on offense they can’t get them all on the field at the same time,” Belichick said. “Andy [Reid] does a great job of making you defend all of them and putting the defense in a lot of compromising positions. He’s a great play-caller, game planner and he’s got some skill players to work with at all positions. Very tough offense to solve.”
On relationship with Andy Reid:
“I’ve never had the opportunity to coach with Andy, but we’ve competed many times and I’ve played him in a lot in preseason games — and that’s even going back to when we were coordinators prior to becoming head coaches,” Belichick said. “I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for the way he does things and we’ve gotten to know each other through the years — through those relationships and all of the trades that we made there for a period of time. I think does as good of a job as anyone in the NFL, gets the most out of his players and puts them in great positions. They play very competitively always, but in a very respectful way — the way the game should be played. They play hard, they play clean, they’re a good football team and they’re always well-prepared, always tough. They make you beat them. You have to go out there and perform. So it’s always a tough matchup against Andy.”