For two weeks we heard nothing but Mahomes vs Brady. New kid vs GOAT. New legacies vs old legacies. But what we soon discovered, and were not all that surprised by, is that it was more than just the quarterbacks who made an impact on the field. In the crazy world of Super Bowl mania, no matter how the media spins it, it’s still a team sport.
It’s not like I don’t understand the reason for the hype. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is, almost without question, the greatest QB to play the game versus Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the fantastically talented, young superstar of the league. A possible changing of the guard right before our eyes.
With the conclusion of the AFC Championship Game, we now know who will play in Super Bowl LV: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFC) and the Kansas City Chiefs (AFC).
As the defending champion, it shouldn’t have surprised me that the Chiefs moved on again, and yet, it very much did. The Buffalo Bills are a young, up-and-coming team that, frankly, may have been the biggest winner in the “Tom Brady leaves the AFC East” game.
Let’s take a look back at how the Chiefs defeated the Bills to punch their ticket to the Big Game and a chance for a repeat championship…
To say that Senior Bowl Executive director Jim Nagy pulled this year’s Reese’s Senior Bowl off is amazing would be an understatement. With all the covid-19 restrictions and adversities we have all had to face, it was a near miracle.
A great amount of gratitude has to be given to the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers who had to put their entire staff through Covid testing and strict quarantine rules. Many of the coaches were telling me days on the field was the first time anyone had left the team hotel.
As we wrap up the senior bowl practice, there is one question that is always asked. Which player took the most of this opportunity to showcase their talents?
As I am wrapping up the final day of the senior bowls practices, some NFL news broke which included the Miami Dolphins.
Rumors have been circulating for weeks about Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s unhappiness with the Texans front office and possibly wanting out. He’s named the Miami Dolphins team as one of the teams he would like to play for.
No big surprise there. Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores is very well respected around the league. And Dolphins GM Chris Grier has started to build a solid future for this team.
The NFC Championship game was a couple of days ago, as we all know. It was riddled with bad calls, bad plays, but also some great plays.
But no invention has made football games (well, sports really) more fun, than Twitter.
So, for today’s article, I’m going to see how you guys reacted to the game. Because football Twitter has some amazing takes and an even better sense of humor!
Here are some of my favorite tweets from the game!!
As the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl got underway, Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores and his coaching staff got things started.
After a week of testing and quarantine coach Flores and the National team finally got to see some daylight. Due to strict covid protocols, all regular Senior Bowl activities had been canceled prior to both team arrivals.
Day one did however get off to a rocky start. Due to inclement weather, the Senior Bowl staff sent out a mass email that day 1 practice had been moved inside, so no media attendance was to be expected.
Soon after, the skies parted and the weather pattern changed.
The staff quickly reversed the inside order and moved the practice back out on the field. Clearing the way for media to converge back to Handcock Whitney Stadium.
Once we got inside and settled, the team had just taken the field. As teams split into groups, I noticed that Alabama’s top wide receiver and projected first-round pick, DeVonta Smith, was sporting a finger brace on his right hand. Smith has taken part in all team meetings.
When asked by the South Florida media about Smith and his smaller thinner body frame, Coach Flores was pretty quick to snap back that Smith is a tough player. The staff didn’t seem to be bothered by his size, they just wanted it to be known that he had some great college performances, especially in big games. Coach Flores also spoke to the fact that he thought Smith was a good kid.
It’s no secret that the Miami Dolphins are in need of a true #1 receiver. And if you watched any of Smith’s highlights, he is no doubt on the Dolphins draft board.
Another player that Coach Flores and this staff will have an opportunity to take a look at, is Alabama running back Najee Harris. Harris put on a show during the College National Championship game. He showed great athleticism in the running back spot.
As I watched him today, I noticed that he was an attentive young man. He was talking to coaches while seemly taking everything in. Looks like he would be a great fit in the Dolphins’ backfield. Just putting that out there!
With one day of practice in the books, Coach Flores and this Dolphins team have a great opportunity to get an edge up on the 2021 NFL draft class. Scouting is something that Coach Flores knows all too well. Before starting his rise into the coaching field, Coach Flores was an assistant in scouting.
I also got the chance to speak to Reese’s Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy. Nagy told me how Flores excelled in the scouting world. He would even write up Nagy’s scouting reports for him. So according to Nagy, if there is one thing Coach Flores knows, it’s evaluating talent.
So not only is Coach Flores evaluating talent, he is coaching in it. Seems to have come full circle.
Last weekend brought a little heartbreak to Cleveland and a huge sigh of relief to Kansas City!
The Chiefs were able to hold off the up-and-coming Browns to win their AFC Divisional Round match-up. Next up, the AFC Championship game, hosting the Buffalo Bills this Sunday at 6:40pm EST.
If the Chiefs can win this weekend then they’ll head back to the Super Bowl and a chance to repeat their success from last year. But the victory over the Browns came at a cost. Will quarterback Patrick Mahomes be healthy and ready to play this week?
It was dubbed the “Old Man Battle”. Two quarterbacks, both over 40, both first-ballot Hall of Famers. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs the New Orleans Saints game was about more than just aging QBs, it was about two teams with something to prove. A chip on their shoulders. Two teams that had been written off and came back swinging.
I’m not going to go over these men’s careers. As I said, Buccaneers QB Tom Brady and Saints QB Drew Brees are first-ballot Hall of Famers, we all know the impact they have made on the league. However this was more about the impact they could make in this particular game, and Brady came out on top.
During the regular season, it was New Orleans that had the upper hand in this matchup, winning 34-23 and 38-3. However, that was prior to Brees breaking 11 ribs and puncturing his lung. While his return to the field was miraculous and insanely fast, Sunday’s game showed that he wasn’t at full strength. He seemed to struggle during the game, definitely not the Brees we have gotten used to seeing.
The Chicago Bears limped into the playoff with an 8-8 record, mostly due to back to back losses by the Arizona Cardinals. The Bears drew quarterback Drew Brees and the NFC South division champion New Orleans Saints.
Let’s face it, not many people had the Bears coming out on top in this week’s wildcard round. However, the Bears stayed around to make this a very winnable game for them going into the 3rd quarter, where they only trailed the Saints by 4 points.
The Bears failed to take advantage after receiving the ball in the second half. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the Bears offense could only muster up 27 total yards during their first drive of the second half, ultimately punting the ball back to the Saints.
The NFL playoffs are underway and what a wild weekend it was! With the expanded playoff field, there were two full days of football, with three games on both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday featured two games for the AFC, bringing together two teams that are becoming rivals and a quarterback who may be playing his last season in the league.
Sunday started with the Baltimore Ravens visiting the Tennessee Titans in a game that came right down to the end. And the day ended with the third meeting this season between the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was great to see the AFC North highlighted in these two games as the only division that sent three teams to the playoffs! Let’s take a look at what went down.
