ClutchPoints
Going into a highly anticipated AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills must find a way to stop Travis Kelce. While his regular-season impact was lesser than many are used to, Kelce reminded many that he’s still the same legendary tight end with his 117-yard performance against the Houston Texans in the divisional round. However, with the Bills looking to claim their first playoff win against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Ryan Clark and Dan Orlovsky of NFL on ESPN had some sound advice for Sean McDermott.
The biggest piece of advice Orlovsky had for McDermott’s Bills is to ensure they’re aware of where Kelce is at all times, giving it a rather silly — yet effective — name.
“Yeah, I’d treat him as a ‘Where’s Waldo’ situation defensively — or I’d expect it,” Orlovsky said. “Offensively, we often have a ‘Where Waldo’ where teams that have a chess piece defensively, where is that guy? Sometimes, end-man on the line of scrimmage, inside, off of a rotation. So, we’re always having our eyes on him. I think Buffalo, defensively, should deploy something like that: Where is he? Someone is constantly designated on either side of the ball to hit him at the line of scrimmage — to throw some of that timing off — because then you take advantage of the interior with Caliendo or the opposite tackle with Jawaan Taylor. If you can throw off that timing and get to [Patrick Mahomes], it minimizes — as much as you can — his big-time impact.”
While many remember him for his infamous decision to run out of bounds in the end zone — and rightfully so — Orlovsky played in the NFL for seven years. So, he does add some valuable insight to the position, having actually played in the NFL, that not many people can replicate.
Having come from an NFL building that discussed strategies like this, it could be a good idea to implement something like that if there isn’t something in place already.
Now, as a defensive-minded head coach, McDermott likely has a plan in place to stop Kelce, but a plan doesn’t mean much without the proper execution.
Along with Orlovsky, Clark — who played defensive back for 13 years in the NFL — also gave his advice on how the Bills should stop Kelce in the AFC Championship Game.
“I think you have to mix up the looks against him, but also use different coverage guys,” Clark said. “I believe it starts with Taron Johnson, but when you have Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano available, they can be on [Travis Kelce], too, in some man situations. But, if they major in zone — which we’ve seen from Sean McDermott’s defense in the two-high — I believe Travis Kelce will find his spots.”
"I would treat him like a 'Where's Waldo' situation defensively."
@RealClark25 and @DanOrlovsky7 discuss how Travis Kelce could pose problems for the Buffalo Bills' defense. pic.twitter.com/1SXHAv47bw ...
