Patriots anticipate seeing Andy Reid and Kansas City lean on RPOs Sunday night

FOXBOROUGH — Defending the run-pass option is a point of emphasis for every defense this year, and the Patriots are no exception. Over the course of training camp this summer, we saw multiple periods where the New England defense spent time fine-tuning its approach when it comes to slowing the latest offensive trend.

The mad scientist approach favored by Kansas City’s Andy Reid — a coach who loves to throw multiple looks at opposing defenses — is likely to be on full display Sunday night. That includes a dash of Reid’s traditional West Coast offense and making it mesh with some college concepts like the RPO. The numbers provide you with a good look at the success — the Chiefs are at or near the top of the league in many major offensive categories, including 35 points per game (second in the league), 413.0 total yards per game (fifth) and 115.6 rush yards per game (11th).

“Andy's a very creative, innovative coach, and I think he does a great job of taking concepts and being able to apply them into his system,” Bill Belichick explained Tuesday.

“The West Coast offense is still built around speed, space and balance – catch and run plays, yards after catch, balance between the running game and the passing game and getting the ball to skill players so they can make yards with it with the ball in their hands,” he added. “The RPO certainly fits into that category. But he’s done a great job incorporating that, probably as much as any team we’ve seen – probably more than any team we’ve seen.”

We went deep into RPOs here in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, but it fundamentally hinges on a split-second decision on the part of the quarterback, who has to decide whether he wants to run or pass based on what the defense decides to do. Earlier in the year, the Texans and Jaguars used some RPO concepts in games against the Patriots. Belichick told WEEI on Monday Reid and the Chiefs run RPOs about 10 times a game.

When it comes to slowing the scheme, the levels of responsibility vary, but there are a few broad-brush concepts to keep in mind.

“Just watching the film, a lot of their offense runs through (wideout) Tyreek Hill, so I think being mindful of where he’s at all the time,” defensive lineman Adam Butler told BostonSportsJournal.com. “That’s where it’s going to start for us. The second thing is just being able to feel what’s going on. Really understand what you’re facing situationally — down and distance, that sort of thing. Finally, most RPOs take a few seconds on unfold, so you just gave to be a little more patient than usual and trust the rules and trust the coaching. If you do that, it’ll work out.”

“Just play disciplined,” defensive lineman Trey Flowers said to me Tuesday afternoon. “Everybody has to focus on their job. As a defensive line, you just have to play what’s in front of you, play what the offense presents, hammer your keys and stay disciplined.”

Basically, the overriding philosophy when it comes to slowing an offense powered by the run-pass option is an extension of the coach’s bottom-line approach to the game.

“I can’t go too heavy into (hoot stop it) without spilling some beans,” said linebacker Dont'a Hightower. “But it’s literally a ‘Do Your Job’ assignment. It’s real important for everyone to be where they need to be. Let alone with the RPOs, but all these guys are dynamic in what they do — from (Pat) Mahomes to Kareem Hunt to Hill to (Travis) Kelce to everybody. The take advantage of one guy misaligned or doing the wrong thing (like with fullback Anthony) Sherman catching that 31-yarder last week. All those guys on that team, they have big-play ability. Everybody just has to be in their spot.”