FMQB: Brady = GOAT

I can’t believe I’m ending the season saying this yet again, but Brady is going out on top. To go to a brand new team and skip the rebuilding phase and go straight to a Super Bowl title is rare if not non-existent as it is, but for a 43 year old QB to do it is insane. It’s safe to say that Brady wasn’t just a system QB in NE, that it was due to him and his leadership that brought in 6 (and now 7) Championships. I’m done fighting it, it’s true. Brady is the Greatest of All Time.

Super Bowl LV:

The game wasn’t even close, the Bucs defense held Mahomes’ offense without a TD. That had never happened in his entire high school, college or pro career. That stat alone tells you why the Bucs won, but here are a few key observations.

• The Chiefs goal line stand in 2^nd was insane, that seemed like the turning point in the game to me where momentum could shift. Instead of 14-3 or 10-3, it was still a 4 point game.
• In the 2^nd quarter again, momentum shifted. Brady was picked off but it came back due to a flag on a non-involved player. Then they settled for a FG, but KC lined up offsides so TB got a 3^rd chance and ended up scoring a TD. There’s another 7 point swing that could have changed th tide if the original pick had stayed.
• Like in the Packer game, Brady led the Bucs to a last second first half TD. The Chiefs calling timeouts in anticipation of getting the ball back with time. Ending up punting, the Bucs went 71 yards in 55 seconds. 2 Huge Pass Interference calls helped, one in the endzone to put the ball at the 1.
• The game really came down to something as simple as the Chiefs’ offensive line injuries and issues. Mahomes was running for his life the entire game
• Gronk really didn’t seem to do a lot this season, but turned it on in this game for 2 TD’s. His first, where he slipped on his side of the line of scrimmage for an open TD was interesting, that’s a Run blocking move. He said he’s done that move a thousand times in his career, and never for a pass play.
• The game proved that no matter how good a player is, he needs a team to carry him. The 4^th down play where he scrambled and threw while horizontal to the ground hit his receiver in the endzone in the hands! It was one of the best throws I’ve ever seen, and all for nought.
• As Tyreek Hill torched Tampa in the first game and threw up the peace sign and then backflipped in front of Antione Winfield Jr., it’s hard to get mad at Winfield returning the favor and taking the penalty.

Stats of the Week:

• Mahomes ran for 496 yards before throwing or being sacked
• For the 1^st time in his 10 Super Bowl appearances, Brady scored a TD in the 1^st
• Gronk became the 1^st player with a Reception in at least 5 Super Bowls
• 14 of the last 20 Super Bowls have had either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, and Manning has been retired for 5 years
• Tom Brady has 21 TD’s and over 3000 yards passing. In his Super Bowl career!!!
• Jason Pierre Paul is 8-0 in the playoffs
• Tom Brady has more Super Bowls than any franchise, more than the Pats and the Steelers. He also has more Super Bowls than 18 Franchises combined
• In the Super Bowl, Tom Brady is 1-0 against the AFC, 3-0 against the NFC West, 2-0 against the NFC South, and 1-3 against the NFC East.
• Only 3 QB’s have ever thrown 50 passing TD’s in a season, and all 3 were in the stadium Sunday. Brady and Mahomes were on the field, and Manning in the stands.
• LeSean McCoy has more Super Bowl rings than Rodgers and Brees, and has never played a snap in either game
  
  
  

For the Record:

• Say what you want about Brady, but he went through Brees, Rodgers and Mahomes to win the Super Bowl this year. Hardly a fluke
• Budweiser “we’re not going to advertise in the Super Bowl this year and donate that money to vaccine awareness.” Also Budweiser “Have you tried these 17 versions of our fruity seltzer, or our light beer?”
• That might have been the first time we’ve seen Brady drunk. The first time I saw the video of him throwing the Lombardi trophy from one boat to the other I held my breath, that thing would have sunk like an anchor!
• Not saying it means anything, but for the record, female ref Sarah Thomas does have a son named Brady…
  
  

Memes:

The day is finally here! In such a weird season and a weird year, we’ve actually made it to a normal day, Super Bowl Sunday, with hardly any issues.

The matchup is huge, Mahomes vs. Brady! If you have an argument that the NFL isn’t rigged, you might have to sit this year out! Mahomes is seen as the heir apparent to Brady. This game could either be a handing of the torch, or Brady making a statement that he’ll always be the best. You get the feeling that this game will be looked back on as a deciding factor on who will be the best of all time. You look at Jordan vs. LeBron, and the debate that is there. The issue is that they never got a chance to suit up against each other. Now we’ll have a chance to see if Brady can go for his 7^th Super Bowl, or end up 6-3. If he wins, that makes it awful tough for Mahomes to have a chance at catching him, but if he loses, Mahomes is 25 years old and only needs 4 more to catch him.

Homefield?

Interesting that the first Super Bowl in NFL History where a team gets to play on their homefield, is the year of COVID where Bucs fans can’t necessarily pack the stands to give them an edge. Perhaps only the travel helps here.

Stat of the Week:

Tom Brady has 33 playoff victories, which is more than double Joe Montana in 2^nd place, with 16

Stat of the Week #2:

Brady has appeared in 6 of the last 7 Super Bowls.

Super Bowl Factoids:

• Reid and Arians make up the oldest coaching duo to meet in a Super Bowl
• Brady is the oldest player ever (not just QB) in a Super Bowl
• Mahomes is the youngest QB to start in his 2^nd Super Bowl
• This is the 14^th Super Bowl matchup where the 2 teams met previously in the season. The record of the winning team in the big game? 6-7
• The Super Bowl series is actually tied! 27 AFC, 27 NFC. That’s impressive since the NFC won 13 in a row in the 80’s and 90’s, and 15 of 16 in that timeframe.
• The Bucs are the 4^th team in the past 5 years who will appear in the Super Bowl after missing the playoffs the season before
• This Super Bowl features the winning QB’s of the past 2 Super Bowls

Memes

FMQB: Playoff Recap

I have been so bad about keeping this up during the most exciting time of the year for football fans! But it has been a fun playoff year, couple upsets, a  5 seed winning 3 road games to make the Super Bowl, and a Brady vs. Mahomes matchup. We’ll talk Super Bowl next week, but let’s do our best to discuss an exciting 3 weeks knowing that it won’t do it justice.

Wild Card Round:

• The Bills beat the Colts for their first playoff win in 25 years! Phillip Rivers decided to retire after 1 year as a Colt.
• The Rams shocked the Seahawks with an upset on the road. Backup QB went out in the 1^st quarter, and Jared Goff was able to secure a win with a broken thumb.
• The 7-9 Washington Redtails hung in with the Buccaneers but not enough to win
• Ravens downed the Titans for Lamar Jackson’s first playoff win. He’s now 1-3 in playoff games
• The Saints took down the Bears in a snoozefest, showing why an 8-8 team shouldn’t make the playoffs. However the broadcast on Nickelodeon was awesome! Splashy, slimy, and hopefully worked to get a new generation of football fans in. They also did a really good job of explaining the rules of football without making it cheesy.
• The Browns took down the mighty Steelers on the road by scoring 28 unanswered points in the 1^st quarter.

Record of the Week:

The Buccaneers won their first playoff game in 18 years, the Bills won their first playoff game in 25 years, and the Browns their first playoff win in 26 years! The Browns win was also their first Road playoff victory in 54 years.

Divisional Round:

• The Rams #1 defense was no match for the Packers top Offense which goes against playoff norms.
• The Bills Ravens matchup was a weather game that the Bills easily dominated
• Chiefs Browns ended up being the most exciting game of the weekend. Mahomes went down early, the Browns had an awful fumble-touchback that was the game changer. And Andy Reid running a 4^th down play with Chad Henne to win the game was insane!
• Bucs and Saints was a 3^rd meeting between the 2 teams. Game between the #1 and #2 most Passing TD’s in NFL history will probably never happen again! Brady was barely 50% in the game but still pulled off the win. Also seeing Jameis Winston throw a TD against his old team was pretty hilarious to watch!

Point of the Week:

• We witnessed Drew Brees’ last game. He was emotional on the sidelines, he appeared to tell Jameis “It’s your team now.” He looked back at the crowd on the way into the tunnel, and he and Brady had a moment on the field after the game. End of an era.

Championship Week:

Packers vs Bucs:

Why didn’t Rodgers run the ball in on that 3^rd down play?!?! I think at a minimum he gets to the 1 yard line, better than 50-50 he makes it in. I hate the FG call on 4^th down. They have to score a TD somewhere. Might as well go for the tie there. Worst case scenario, you have the Bucs backed up at their own 5, which forces them to run. They punt and you get the ball at midfield with more shots at the endzone.

You have to ask yourself looking back, when GB drafted Jordan Love in the 1^st round. Does an Antoine Winfield Jr, or Clyde Edwards-Elaire end up pushing them over the top in some way?

Chiefs vs Bills:

Will say I was shocked by the end of 1 to have the Bills up 9-0 against the Chiefs, and seemingly dominating per se on defense. However, we’ve all watched the Chiefs lead playoff comebacks in dramatic fashion last year. And after rattling off 3 straight TD drives and going up by 12, the game almost seemed over at halftime.

Missed Memes