Ben Hawkins |
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
TUESDAY TIDBITS: "You Play to Win the Game"
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Playoff Judgments III
Patrick Mahomes Credit: NFL Game Pass |
It tells us to beware.
First, let’s deal with the common sense. The Eagles are
loaded -- offense, defense, special teams, coaching, you name it. Everywhere
you look, they’re stacked with talent … and the results speak for themselves.
They won a franchise-record 14 games this season, were the NFC’s top playoff
seed and just shredded two playoff opponents by a combined score of 69-14.
According to ESPN
Stats & Info, that last item is significant. Only four other teams in
NFL playoff history won division and conference championship games in the same
season by at least 21 points each … and all four won Super Bowls. Moreover, the
last time the Eagles allowed seven or fewer points in consecutive postseason
games was 1948 and 1949.
They won league titles both years.
But wait a minute. Kansas City has Mahomes, Kelce and a
quick-strike offense, right? Correct. In fact, they’re the fourth team in the
past 10 years to lead the league in total offense and reach the Super Bowl. The
others were Denver in 2013, New England in 2017 and the Chiefs in 2020 … and
quick now, tell me what those three have in common?
Uh-huh, all of them lost.
That covers the history portion of today’s lesson. Now for
the common sense. I’ve said this before and it’s apparent now more than ever:
Philadelphia is the most complete football team anywhere. Entering this season,
the one question mark about the Eagles involved their quarterback, but all Jalen
Hurts has done is win 16 of his 17 starts, including the playoffs, and evolve
into an MVP candidate.
That award almost certainly will go to Mahomes, and it
should. But one individual won’t determine the outcome of Super Bowl LVII. One
team will, and the Eagles have the defense, the offense, an MVP-worthy
quarterback and a head coach who’s taken them to the playoffs twice in two
years.
In short, they’re covered everywhere.
Defense wins championships, we’re constantly reminded, and
Philadelphia this season led the league in pass defense and led it in sacks --
setting a franchise record with 78, including the playoffs. That’s why I didn’t
think it mattered who won Sunday’s AFC championship game. The Eagles would beat
either team.
Then why did oddsmakers make Kansas City an early one-point
favorite? Good question. My guess: It’s all about Mahomes and Reid and their
Big Game experience. It’s their third Super Bowl in four years. But I don’t
trust the odds. I trust history. And history tells us that defense will prevail
… just as it did the last time Mahomes and Kansas City reached the Super Bowl
vs. Tampa Bay.
Super Bowl LVII may be the Andy Reid Bowl, but my guess is
that when it’s over, it will read more like that T-shirt that former Eagles’
star Brian Dawkins wore Sunday.
It said: “It’s a Philly Thing.”
SUNDAY SCHOOL: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Arrowhead is not “Burrowhead.” Prior to
Sunday, Joe Burrow was so successful in Kansas City (3-0) that his teammates
called the Chiefs’ stadium “Burrowhead.” Big mistake. That didn’t go down well
with the Chiefs, who last week vowed to set the record straight when the two teams
met Sunday. They did with a 23-20 victory.
2. Burrow- Mahomes is this decade’s
Brady-Manning. They’ve gone mano-a-mano four times, with each game decided
by three points. Mahomes is 27, Burrow is 26. Do the math. You have at least another
decade of head-on collisions with these two.
3. Kyle Shanahan is not a genius. If he
were, the 49ers’ head coach never would have left a backup tight end to pass
block Haason Reddick. “That injury (to Brock Purdy) is on Kyle,” said former
Bay Area columnist Lowell Cohn. Bingo.
4. The NFL should dress three quarterbacks for
games. It did until 2011. It should again. The 49ers-Eagles game demonstrated
why. “Not having three bona fide quarterbacks available for each team is a
terrible look for the sport,” said former Jets’ GM Mike Tannenbaum.
5. Andy Reid is Hall of Fame worthy. He has
more playoff victories (21) than everyone not named Bill Belichick (31) and just
advanced to his third Super Bowl in four years. That puts him in rarified air.
Throw in 10 conference championship game appearances (five in each conference),
and he’s a slam dunk for Canton. But now it’s all about the legacy. With
another Super Bowl victory, he takes a giant step forward and starts to be
compared with some of the all-time greats.
THIRD AND 20
1. So
much for Mahomes being impaired by playing on one leg. He accounted for 323 of
the Chiefs’ 357 yards.
2. Not
sure who had a worse day in Philadelphia: Brock Purdy or the refs.
3. I
guess Joe Cool is not Joe Cold. Until Sunday, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow was 8-0
in games where the temperature at kickoff was below 40 degrees. It was 22 in
Kansas City when the game started, and 23-20, Chiefs, when it was over.
4. Good
to see Reid call out a “phenomenal” job by Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. Mahomes
will get the headlines for his courageous performance, but it was the Kansas
City defense that kept Burrow and the Bengals at bay. It produced five sacks
(including four in the first half), two turnovers and forced a punt on
Cincinnati’s last meaningful possession.
5. And
while we’re on the subject … welcome back, Chris Jones. Hard to believe, but
he’d gone 13 playoff games without a sack. Then he terrorized Burrow, with two
sacks, five quarterback hits and three tackles for losses. In fact, it was
Jones who dropped Burrow with 41 seconds left to force that Cincinnati’s punt.
6. Love
this take from Darin Gantt: “Let this be a lesson for NFL teams looking to
replicate the Eagles’ formula: If you want to make a Super Bowl, what you
really need to do is make sure your opponents run out of quarterbacks.”
7. Now
we know there’s one thing that Jalen Hurts can’t do. Sing.
8. Miami
just hired Vic Fangio as its defensive coordinator. Smart move.
9. It’s
one thing to lose. It’s another to lose discipline and poise. The 49ers did
both.
10. Get
ready to hear plenty from Donna and Ed Kelce the next two weeks. Their sons,
Travis and Jason, are the first two brothers to oppose each other in a Super
Bowl.
11. Memo
to Andy Reid: Reserve two game balls for Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor and defensive
lineman Joseph Ossai. Taylor took an unnecessary timeout with 48 seconds left
that wound up costing him, while Ossai outdid his head coach with an
out-of-bounds hit on Mahomes that drew a flag and set up the game-winning field
goal. “Stupid is as stupid does,” that esteemed philosopher, Forrest Gump, once
reminded us. Someone pass the word to the Bengals.
12. Great
note per Rick Gosselin: Since the Cowboys’ last appearance in a conference
championship game (January, 1996), 26 of the other 31 teams have been there. Carolina
and Jacksonville are expansion franchises that date back to 1995, yet they’ve
been to seven combined.
13. Tell
me again how Carolina let Haason Reddick and Christian McCaffrey go.
14. Coming
soon to Pay Per View: Trent Williams vs. K’Von Wallace.
15. San
Francisco’s DeMeco Ryans was on a lot of short lists of teams seeking new head
coaches, and he should have been. But what about Jonathan Gannon? He’s the
Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and that’s the unit that knocked two
quarterbacks out of Sunday’s game … forced three turnovers … and put the 49ers
in a fetal position the entire second half. In two playoff games, Gannon’s
defense surrendered just 14 points, and, yeah, I think that merits a call.
16. Memo
to Kyle Shanahan: When a receiver bounces up from a “catch” and calls for a
quick snap, you might want to think about calling for a review. Just sayin.’
17. The
Super Bowl will be a challenge for referee Carl Cheffers. His crew was the only
one this season to call more than 200 penalties, the ninth straight season it topped
200. The NFL likes to cut back on flags in the playoffs. Cheffers doesn’t like
to cut down on flags, period.
18. Miami
GM Chris Grier believes Tua Tagovailoa is no more prone to concussions than
anyone else, but how would he know? Miami is the team that kept pushing Tua on
to the field after he was first hurt.
19. Mahomes
called Tom Brady last week for advice, and whatever he said must have worked.
But what can Brady tell him about the Eagles? When he faced them in Super Bowl
LII, he threw for 505 yards and three TDs. He also lost, 41-33.
20. Is
it me, or did Philadelphia’s Lane Johnson commit numerous false starts Sunday
that weren’t flagged? Nope, it wasn’t me. Not a good weekend for officials.
SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET STATS
n
Jalen Hurts now has 15 rushing touchdowns this
season, including the playoffs. That’s an NFL record for quarterbacks.
n
Kansas City is 12-0 when scoring first.
n
With 13 playoff TDs, Patrick Mahomes and Travis
Kelce rank second all-time in quarterback-receiver duos. Only the Tom Brady-Rob
Gronkowski combination has more with 15.
n
At 27 years, 134 days, Mahomes is the youngest
quarterback to reach 10 playoff victories.
n
Philadelphia’s 39 rushing touchdowns are the
most ever in one season, including the playoffs. The previous record of 37 was
set by the 1962 Green Bay Packers. They won the NFL championship.
n
The Eagles’ 78 sacks are the third most in
league history. Only the 1984-85 Bears had more, with 82 in 1984 and 80 the
following season.
SUNDAY’S GOLD JACKET QUOTES
n
“Losing feels awful. But, yeah, this one was
worse.” – San Francisco coach Kyle
Shanahan.
n
“My arm just feels like it stretched out. It
felt like a lot of shocks all over from my elbow down to my wrist.” – San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy.
n
“My joy comes in winning. I know the job isn’t
done.” – Philadelphia quarterback Jalen
Hurts.
n
“This is the most physical defense in this
league.” – Philadelphia coach Nick
Sirianni.
n
“He has nothing to be sad about. He’s the reason
we got to this game.” – San Francisco
linebacker Fred Warner on Brock Purdy.
n
“I got some words for that Cincinnati mayor.
Know your role and shut your mouth.” – Kansas
City tight end Travis Kelce.
n
“We expect to be back there, and I think they
do, too.” - Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow on losing to the Chiefs.
n
There were plenty of plays that we left on the
field that could’ve put us in better position.” – Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor.
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Darren Woodson—Taking His Place in the Hall of Fame Queue
That skill set matched with his rings and his post-season honors vaulted him in front of some other safeties that have been on the semifinalist list with him the past few years but have not advanced.
Friday, January 27, 2023
Ken Riley's Imminent Hall of Fame Induction May Bode Well for Jim Marshall's Chances
Riley's induction will change that a good deal. Dick LeBeau's career was similar to Riley's but his candidacy was considered to be a combination of his playing career and his coaching career. Riley's induction will be solely as a player.
Those two things are the bulk of Marshall's case for the Hall of Fame. Recently, sack totals have been published by Pro Football Reference and they show that marshall had 130.5 in his 20-year career.
We shall see if Riley's induction changes the dynamics of what a Hall of Fame player is. It just might.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
G.O.A.T. Return Specialist Devin Hester Gaining or Losing Momentum?
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
TUESDAY TIDBITS: "On the One Side, Truth Towers Like a Cliff"
Al Wistert |
Steve Van Buren |
Hugh Taylor |
Monday, January 23, 2023
Jared Allen—The Next Edge Rusher in Line?
He played from 2004-15 and during that span no one in the NFL had more sacks or QB hits and that includes DeMarcus Ware. During his peak years from 2005-13 (which eliminates his rookie year and his wind-down years) he also had the most sacks and QB hits.