The Monday Minute: Super Bowl 55 Edition - 2/8/21
Before I dive into the Super Bowl, I wanted to talk about a few newsworthy items that came across my desk in the week that has passed. Additionally, I want to put this front and center to see if anyone actually reads the intro. I will be releasing my Mock Draft 1.0 this Wednesday, since the Draft order is set. I hope everyone is excited for that. If you are, text me or leave a comment or like the tweet or something saying that you read this comment. I'm curious if I am wasting my time writing in this space above the content. Let's dive in.
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Couple of QB notes I wanted to hit off the top. There are some rumblings, as there always are, out of Raiders media that Derek Carr is available for trade. Vegas wants to acquire picks to be able to get into the Watson trade market. I don't know if this is real or not, but regardless will Carr garner that much of a market? He is an OK QB, but I think by now we know he isn't a Pro Bowl level guy.
Next, and much more importantly, is the Carson Wentz news and I have a lot of thoughts. So on Saturday, it was reported a Wentz trade was imminent in the next few days to a week. The report also said the Eagles didn't want to trade him, but they would accept a good offer. So when I read on Saturday night, that the Bears had an offer that was "reportedly accepted" of Nick Foles, Tarik Cohen and a 1st round pick... I just was beside myself. I refuse to believe this offer would be accepted for so many reasons.
1st, if you are getting rid of Carson it is because you want to get rid of his salary. Trading him doesn't help you at all in cap space in 2020, so you really can't afford to take on other contracts because the already $50M over the cap will continue to rise. Tarik Cohen has only $3M cap hit this year, and if he is cut next season the team will have a $3M dead cap hit over 2 seasons. Nick Foles is due $6M this year, and if he is cut next season the team will have a $3M dead cap hit. Why would they add all of this money to their books? AND WHY WOULD THEY WANT NICK FOLES BACK WHEN THEY HAVE JALEN HURTS???? Really it just all makes zero sense to me. They are taking more money on, getting Foles when they already have Hurts, and it's only for a single 1st. No chance, and if it does happen... Howie Roseman should be fired immediately. The Colts were also another team supposedly very much in the Wentz sweepstakes.
2 more things that have to do with Wentz. Shortly after this news came out, Miles Sanders sent out a message saying the team would be SB bound without Wentz... do people really just not remember the level that Wentz was playing on in 2017 and 2019? I don't get it. He would be a prized possession if not for the money issues and Hurts issue. Getting him a fresh start should do him wonders. Last thing, Houston is still dragging its feet on the Watson issue and is losing customers by the week. The Rams and Lions are both out and whoever acquires Wentz will be out. Houston better hope Indy gets Wentz since they were already out (being that they are in the same division) of the Watson sweepstakes.
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There was an idea floating around in the scouting community earlier last week from Bucky Brooks (former player turned scout, hosts a podcast with Daniel Jeremiah). Basically, he and a few others have the notion that the way people are approaching the QB position right now is wrong. Teams shouldn't stress about paying the rookie QB too early or too late. They should just... not pay them. Yep. Draft them in the 1st round and then not extend them. Draft another QB and start over, similar to a college program.
So the QB gets a max 4 years with the team and then the team shouldn't worry about extending them unless they are Rodgers/Mahomes/Brady level. I understand the thinking for an idea like this. His whole point is if your QB is not a "truck" (can carry/pull the team) then go find another one whenever it is possible. You have a 4-year window to evaluate and decide. Generally, I find that you can tell who a QB is after 3 years. He won't become more talented after that. He could be a better studier or a better leader, but he won't get more arm talent or you won't be able to fix his idiosyncrasies. If you have a truck QB, then you can pay him because he is worth it. But if you have a trailer QB (the QB is along for the ride), then paying him and getting out of your Super Bowl financial window makes it that much harder to compete. The Super Bowl financial window is the big key to this. The idea that teams with rookie QB deals can afford to get more talent surrounding the QB. Once the QB is paid, there is less money to go around. Oddly enough, the Super Bowl matchup this year had 2 QBs that were paid, but both are trucks.
Personally, I like this idea in theory, but it isn't that easy. There are some QBs, like Stafford or Prescott, who we think are trucks. But they have been on such bad teams that they have been able to carry them to a few more wins. Can Stafford carry a team like the Rams from playoff team to Super Bowl team? That is what will be the deciding factor to see if he is worth a top extension.
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I wanted to do a quick recap of the postseason awards that were handed out last night. And when I say postseason I don't mean playoffs, I mean the awards were handed out after the season.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers, GB - This isn't at all a surprise to me. Some people were saying Derrick Henry deserved MVP or at least a share. 2000 rushing yards is a huge accomplishment. But those people saying that because it is a passing league it makes that accomplishment better. I would say you're wrong. While it is a passing league, the Titans are a running team. Just because they go against the mold doesn't mean it is more impressive. AROD deserved it.
Coach of the Year: Kevin Stefanski, CLE - Again, I think they were spot on here. Sean McDermott got 2nd with 7 votes and Flores got 3rd with 6. I don't understand why Matt Lafluer didn't even make the podium though. If MIA makes the playoffs, I think Sean takes it home. These votes were cast before the playoffs started so techincally the playoff results didn't affect anything here.
Offensive Player of the year: Derrick Henry, TEN - This is the consolation prize that Henry gets. Kelce had a ridiculous year and I thought he deserved some mention, but whatever.
Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Donald, LAR - This is the one where everyone is up in arms. Listen, Aaron Donald is the best defensive player in the NFL. There is no doubt about that. HOWEVER, he did not deserve the award this year. Aaron won this award because his team had the #1 ranked defense. Aaron had an amazing year as he always does, but let's look at some stats.
Aaron Donald 2020: 4FF, 1 PD (pass defenced), 13.5 Sacks, 45 Tackles, 14 TFL, 0 INTs
Aaron Donald 2019: 2 FF, 2 PD, 12.5 Sacks, 48 Tackles, 20 TFL, 0 INTs
TJ Watt 2020: 2 FF, 7 PD, 15 Sacks, 53 Tackles, 23 TFL, 1 INT
Stephon Gilmore 2019: 0 FF, 20 PD, 6 INTs, 2 TD, 41 Passer Rating Allowed, 50% Completion %
Xavien Howard 2020: 1 FF, 20 PD, 10 INTs, 53 Passer Rating Allowed, 51% Completion %
35 Players in the NFL's history have gotten 15 or more sacks in a single season. 23 TFLs are tied for 10th all-time in a single season.
39 Players in the NFL's history have gotten 10 or more INTs in a single season. 20 PD are tied for 70th all-time in a single season.
Stephon Gilmore won the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year award with 21 votes. Aaron Donald, in 2019, got 1 vote. Donald got 1 more sack, 6 less TFLs, 2 more FF and got 27 votes in 2020. How do his numbers make up a 26 vote difference year to year when Xavien Howard put up a better season than Gilmore did in 2019? That doesn't even get into the TJ Watt conversation which he very much deserves one. But if Gilmore won in 2019, Xavien Howard should have won in 2020 with better numbers. TJ Watt also deserved it over Donald.
Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Smith, WFT - 49 out of 50 votes because some person deemed BIG BEN to be worthy of this award. That person needs to be fired.
HOF Class: Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson, Charles Woodson, Alan Faneca, John Lynch - Good for John that he finally made it in. He deserved it and only had 2 more years after this one to get in. I do think Ronde deserved it more than him if we are talking about more important player between the two, but there is politics with this. Peyton and Charles were world-class and obvious first-ballot players. Calvin was interesting to me because while he was no doubt the best WR in the game when he played, he only played for 9 years. That being said, he revolutionized the game by changing the typical prototype of a WR. Finally, Faneca is very deserving of the Hall but I am still surprised Tony Boselli didn't make it in ahead of him. Zach Thomas' year is coming. Next year's first ballot class is a little light so I think it might be next year.
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Bucs 31, Chiefs 9. Domination. Period. Honestly, I think Domination sums it up pretty well. This game was disappointing (for all but Bucs fans) because of how well the Bucs played as a group. No stupid (meaningful) penalties. No drops. No special teams errors. No blown coverages. It was a clinic in all 3 phases. For me as a football fan, the game was disappointing, but the Bucs were not.
For the Chiefs it was a different story. They were outplayed, outwilled, and outgunned in terms of talent. And there were very few times, outside of penalties which I will address, that the Chiefs actually shot themselves in the foot. They had 3 punting mistakes, 1 touchback, 1 shorter punt, and 1 very short punt, and they had 2 catchable drops (Hill in the EZ early on which was a tough catch and another 3rd down drop). But those gaffes weren't anything to lose them the game. The Bucs just had an answer for what KC was doing offensively and defensively.
I want to go over some plays and instances that stood out to me during the game that could've been or were tide turning plays.
The 1st play happened on 3rd down in the 1st quarter at the TB 30 yd line. TB brought a DOUBLE CORNER BLITZ (crazy play call against KC) and Mahomes did a juke in the pocket and moved right out of the way of one of them. Insane pocket control. Once escaped, he throws on the run into the End Zone where Kelce and Hill are covered by 3 defenders. Hill drops what would've been an amazing catch, but still a play I'm sure he would like to have back.
How many times I have seen a Tom Brady sneak on 3rd or 4th & 1 is far too many. So I was shocked when the Bucs decided not to even try it when they had the chance twice. Instead, on 4th & goal they gave it to Rojo (would prefer Fournette to have it there) to run behind Vita Vea who motioned from FB to TE. Everyone knows that is where the ball is going and the LB Damien Wilson had a great play to get the turnover on downs.
I much would've preferred to see the Big Man score a TD in the Super Bowl than Antonio Brown, but I will say... DAMN THAT FOOTWORK. Antonio Brown didn't even move 5 yards and had Mathieu in the dust.
The offensive difference maker for this game was Gronk. I don't think this can be argued. In their first matchup, Gronk (6ft6; 260 lbs) had 6 catches for over 100 yards. They could not cover him. The TE eraser for Kansas City is either Sorenson (6ft2; 208 lbs) or Mathieu (5ft9; 180 lbs). You aren't gonna be able to box a guy like Gronk out with players like that. Last night, Gronk had 2 TDs and 2 3rd down conversions. Whenever Brady needed a play, he looked the big man's way.
I want to address the referees really quick. First thing actually has something to do with who assigned the crew to work this game. This Super Bowl crew averaged THE MOST PENALTIES vs all other crews IN 2020 WITH AN AVERAGE OF 16 PER GAME. 16 accepted penalties a game... How did I not mention over 10.5 penalties in my Best Bets column? Serisouly though, that is an awful number to see because in the biggest event in TV every single year, you don't want to see the yellow flag on the field. You want to see these guys competing and fighting for every god damn yard. To the ref's credit, I thought the calls they made were mostly accurate within the confines of the rules. But I would prefer to see them allow the players to play and react with a little more freedom. To the Bucs' credit, they were much more disciplined than KC was and they did a good job not getting caught when they were the aggressors. KC plays a very physical style of defense that a lot of man coverage teams use, especially when you play big, strong, and physical WRs like Mike Evans, Gronk, and Chris Godwin. They weren't able to adjust until it was too late. Also, one penalty I want to single out specifically... how how how how how how do you line up offsides on a FG after you've gotten Brady on the sideline?
The biggest (and I mean fattest) X-factors of the game: The Bucs OL and DL. How many times did you hear Chris Jones' name? Let me tell you. Once. Because of a late hit flag. How many times did you hear them talk about the tackles for the Chiefs being out? I counted at least 3. They were being beat all day long on the EDGEs. Give JPP and Shaq Barrett the credit, but I really wish we could've seen Schwartz and Fisher out there to have seen a real show. Frank Clark makes one big play a year for the Chiefs and goes to the Pro Bowl. He had one sack in the Super Bowl, but he was quiet all day long. Brady had all the time in the world to wait on routes to develop or get to all of his reads. And then when it came to the run game, Fournette and Rojo were able to get going and held up all day long (except at the goal line). Kudos to those big guys who were the real difference makers.
It happens in every single game... but why do WRs try to catch/tip the ball when they are physically unable to get the ball. Like if their momentum won't allow them to jump but they still throw their arms up. When they tip that ball up, that is an advantage to the defense not the offense. There is no way that coaches teach you to do that on the offensive side of the ball. Drives me crazy.
Last thing I want to hit on. I think the Bucs may have just forged the path into slowing down Mahomes. Every single snap they had their corners playing off-man coverage or zone. If they didn't bring a blitz, their LBs would drop down to 5 yards off the LOS (line of scrimmage) and cut off any underneath passes so they weren't going to get those free yards. They had 1 deep safety lining up 20-25 yards into the middle of the field every down and the other was either roaming to help Tyreek or Kelce in coverage or was assisting the LBs. White and David BALLED OUT and were able to free up the safeties to be able to do their job over the top, which was not get beat for the long ball. If they don't stop all the underneath stuff, the LBs and safeties will start cheating up to cover it more often and then get beat over the top every time. The issue is that most other teams don't have the speed a Lavonte David and Devin White combo can offer.
Random stats that I'm sure you've seen a few times now but I thought were really interesting.
- Brady got his 1st ever Touchdown in 1st Quarter of a Super Bowl in this game. His team had never gotten a rushing or defensive touchdown in the 1st Quarter either. Only FGs.
- First Mahomes defeat by double digits since he was in college.
- First time Mahomes hasn't scored a TD in a game in the NFL.
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Top 7 Commercials
- Amazon: Alexa is Michael B Jordan
- Cheetos: It Wasnt Me Parody with Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher
- General Motors EV: Will Ferrell disliking Norway
- Fiverr: Four Seasons Landscaping Spoof
- State Farm: Stand-ins for Mahomes, Rodgers and Jake = Paul Rudd, Crazy Cheesehead, and Drake
- M&Ms: Giving a M&Ms packet every time you apologize to someone
- T-Mobile: How Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani got together
What was your favorite commercial? Let me know in the comments or at @KyleTheCommish on Twitter.
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