Super Bowl LV

[Jesse]

Are we really up to the 55th Super Bowl already? Anyhow, don't really have a prediction yet, but here's a few observations:

-It could very easily be a Chiefs blowout. The Chiefs offense seems damn near unstoppable, especially Mahommess and Hill. When those two are in the zone, they just can't be beat. Their defense is solid enough. They don't have to stop Brady and the Bucs completely, they just have to hold them to field goals. With the Bucs offense, more often than not, taking its time to get into a groove, this game could be 21-6 in the Chiefs favor before we know it!

-All that said, The Buccaneers won 3 road games to get to the Super Bowl, two against very good, very well-coached teams with playoff-tested rosters featuring future Hall Of Fame quarterbacks. The Chiefs, in order to get to the Super Bowl, played two games at home against young inexperienced teams who were just happy to make the playoffs. Both the Browns and the Bills had opportunities to upset the Chiefs but made boneheaded mistakes that were, rather clearly, the results of inexperience at the playoff level and lack of coaching discipline. The players and coaches of both of the Chiefs playoff adversaries just plain lacked the experience of playing games in January IMO and it showed. It is possible that, if the Chiefs show the same vulnerabilities in the Super Bowl as they did in their two playoff games this year, this Buccaneers team could exploit them for the upset.

-In order for the upset to happen, the Bucs have to chew up the clock on offense with long, sustained drives. The must take their time in getting the plays off and NOT go for the quick strikes. The Bucs won't win a shootout against this Chiefs team, but if they dink and dunk their way down the field and score a touchdown per quarter with 7 or 8 minute drives, they have a chance. And they MUST score touchdowns! Field goals ain't gonna cut it, just ask the Bills.

-Defensively, the Buccaneers need to just get it in their head that the Chiefs WILL score! This Chiefs offense is going to score and score touchdowns. What the Buccaneers defense needs to do is make sure that the Chiefs take as long as possible to score those touchdowns. Don't get burned for the big, quick, 50, 60, 70 yard touchdown pass or run. Make the Chiefs offense dink and dunk their way to score. I said that the Bucs offense needs to score one TD per quarter, well, their defense needs to HOLD the Chiefs to one touchdown per quarter. If they do that, the Bucs can win.

-This game could very well come down to mistakes. Both of these teams got to the Super Bowl by capitalizing on their opponents' mistakes. Both teams made their own mistakes in the playoffs too (Brady's 3 picks in the NFC Championship game were total bonehead throws that I knew would be intercepted as soon as the ball left his hand!), but their opponents couldn't manage to use those mistakes against them. This Super Bowl may come down to a single bad play by one or the other and the other taking advantage: Fumble, pick-six, dumb penalty or whatever. Something that would set the other team up for an extra score.

-If the Bucs win, it will be close. I can see the Chiefs winning close or in blowout fashion, but I don't see the Chiefs losing by more than a field goal.

_No Predictions yet, but, obviously, I've been thinking about it

[Jesse]

I dunno, probably Chiefs again.

[Jesse]

Just a follow up (though not sure if anyone cares). I predicted the Chiefs officially, but in my initial post, I think I came close to the game plan that the Buccaneers employed to win the game. However, unlike my game plan, the Bucs did NOT allow the Chiefs to score touchdowns as they, apparently, didn't allow themselves to think that the Chiefs would score. I know the final score reads as a blowout, but I enjoyed the game. It's always amazing when a defense is able to hold an explosive offense at bay and that is precisely what happened in this year's Super Bowl. Other than Kansas City's 2 back up offensive linemen giving the old "Ole" to the Bucs pass rush and a few boneheaded penalties at the wrongest times on defense, I didn't see too many mistakes from the Chiefs. Defensively, the Bucs effectively throttled down the Chiefs offense to the point where it just wasn't a factor. Mahommes played great, but he was running for his life on every pass play. He often got away, but there was just nowhere to throw the ball as the Tampa Bay secondary had his receivers covered. Tom Brady and the Buccaneers' offense just picked away at what the Chief defense would give them, racking up yards a few at a time and chewing up the clock. All the while putting points on the board, almost, every opportunity that they had. As I said, the score was deceiving, it was a lot better game than the 31-9 final would suggest. And, considering the Chiefs were 3.5 point favorites, yet lost by 22, this has to go down as one of the biggest upsets the Super Bowl has seen. Also, how a bout Brady? Yeah, I know he didn't do it all himself and, in this case (as well as Super Bowl LIII), he owes a lot to his defense, but, shit, he always seems to find himself in these Super Bowls and holding the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game more often than not. 21 Years in the NFL, 19 seasons as starting quarterback, 14 Conference Championship games, 10 Superbowls, 7 Championships, #2 all-time in passing yards and passing TDs. Pretty impressive. Greatest of all time? Yep!

[duojett71]

Sorry for the late response Jesse....this is the first time I have logged on to the forum in almost a year. The forum has been overtaken by spam bots and I logged on just to see if you had been active.

Great analysis of the game. It was a fun game to watch because most people were counting the Bucs and Brady out. I was predicting a shootout because you had one of the best offenses in the league with the Chiefs against another top 10 offense....but you also had a pretty weak Chiefs defense against one of the best defenses in the league with the Bucs. I knew the Chiefs would give up points, but I also thought that between Mahomes, Hill and Kelce....the Chiefs offense would be hard to stop. So knowing that....I thought it was going to be a close game decided by a touchdown or field goal....and I thought it might go the Chiefs way. I just felt it was that kind of year for KC. Fortunately not.....I am a Raiders fan...lol. I also like the Pats,Brady and Gronk so I was rooting for the Bucs.

Hindsight is 20/20 as we know and when I think about it this game was kind of a mismatch. Mainly because of how good the Bucs defense was last season. Jason Pierre Paul was having an outstanding last part of the season and Devon White and the LB core of the Bucs might be the best in the league. Also you have Tom Brady....whose experience and confidence in post season and Super Bowls can not be understated. The Brady haters wanted to blame bad calls and two rookie offensive lineman on the loss....but TB also had a backup Offensive lineman in the game and I saw many holds from KC's offensive line that did not get called....among other no calls that went KC's way. The fact is KC got there asses kicked by a team that outplayed them, a coach and Offensive coordinator that outsmarted them, and a QB who just ripped apart their defense. This was an impressive win and I am curious to see what Tom Brady and the Bucs do next year. I don't think winning #8 is out of the question.

[Jesse]

" This was an impressive win and I am curious to see what Tom Brady and the Bucs do next year. I don't think winning #8 is out of the question."
Yeah, remember, the Buccaneers were a wild card team in 2020. They got off to a slow start as they added new pieces to key positions and had no preseason games to get into a groove together. If everyone comes back, they will probably be BETTER! While Brady certainly wasn't carrying the team, he was a big part of it and I don't think they even get to the Super Bowl without him. He shows no signs of slowing down to the point where he'd be holding them back. Unless he gets injured and his playing ability just goes off a cliff, should he play 3 more years, this team could be good for 2 more rings!