Copyright © 2021 ESPN
Copyright © 2021
by Ralph F. Couey
Written Content Only
It's been almost a week, and the exquisite pain of Super Bowl LV is starting to become almost bearable. My last post was, shall we say, succinct, reflecting my stark emotional response to what could charitably be described as a total humiliation.
As in every battle, someone has to lose. And the loser has to be able to answer the inevitable questions of "why?" in response. In the Chiefs' case, it can now be said, with a fair amount of honesty that the loss to Tampa Bay involved two major failures.
First, the offensive line, a patchwork of out-of-position players, none of whom were opening day starters had been adequate during the 14-2 regular season, and for the first two games of the playoffs. But up against a ferocious defensive line, this gallant group had no chance for success. From the opening possession, Patrick Mahomes was running for his life. In past games, these sprints invariably resulted in unbelievably dynamic plays downfield. But the Buccaneers had a great scheme, which prevented the Chiefs receivers from getting open underneath, and getting behind the defenders downfield. Mahomes was heroic in his efforts to make something happen, only to see his receivers blanketed, and when he on several occasions threw perfect bullet passes saw the ball slip past their hands to doink off their facemasks. Even the Bucs, mic'd up on the sidelines were blankly astonished at the throws Mahomes made. But in the end, even Patrick was not enough to change the result.
Oh, yes; the receivers. Several analysts, most of them former NFL players, have been unanimous in their verdict that the Chiefs usually formidable group of receivers substantially let their quarterback down. It's still too painful to re-watch the game, or even to view the..<ahem>...lowlights. But still etched HD-sharp in my memory are the many times Hill, Kelce, Robinson, Watkins and the rest utterly failed in contested situations. Mahomes made vague references in his post-game interviews about people not being where he thought they would be, which has to be interpreted as poor or error-filled route running. One of the concerning incongruities at play has to be that even when the deep routes were covered, the intermediate or check-down routes were also unavailable. Up to Sunday, Mahomes and his receivers, particularly Travis Kelce, seemed almost to be able to communicate via brain waves. Not in this case.
Penalties. No team can win championship games while committing them. And there were some real doozies. But in the endless analysis since, even those who were vehemently pro-Brady spoke repeatedly of the questionable nature of several of those calls. Defensive Pass Interference called when the throw was clearly uncatchable. And the one called on Tyran Mathieu that sent him into dancing histrionics. Brady chased Mathieu across the field to deliver an angry message, but was not flagged. Mathieu, however, was. The analysts pointed out numerous times during that game when similar infractions were NOT called on the Buccaneers. Did the penalties make a difference in the final score? Possibly. The timing of many of those calls killed promising drives by the Chiefs. Since Sunday, a narrative has emerged that the history-making female, first one on a Super Bowl officiating crew, is a rabid Brady fan, even naming her dog after the Bucs QB. This could be apocryphal, but noteworthy are the very loud calls for an overhaul of the standards for NFL penalties rising around the media.
