Super Bowl LV discussion

[JohnH19]

It never ends .. why are so many so intent on rationalizing Brady's successes? He cheated, the refs were paid off, it was the defense, he got lucky ... You don't win seven championships on luck or cheating. If Joe Montana hadn't had Jerry Rice ... if Terry Bradshaw hadn't had the Steel Curtain ... if John Unitas didn't have Weeb Ewbank ... Brady's greatness is no longer refutable (and this is coming from a Bills fan, a team that has more reason than any other to hate the guy!), but I am sure some will continue to find a way.

As I posted on a previous page, Brady has separated himself from all others. Baugh, Graham, Unitas, Montana and Manning are now tied for No. 2.

[TanksAndSpartans]

...Baugh, Graham, Unitas, Montana and Manning are now tied for No. 2.

I'm guessing no one had a headline today that read something like, Brady ties Graham as QB on 7 championship teams. Well, maybe in Cleveland

[SixtiesFan]

It never ends .. why are so many so intent on rationalizing Brady's successes? He cheated, the refs were paid off, it was the defense, he got lucky ... You don't win seven championships on luck or cheating. If Joe Montana hadn't had Jerry Rice ... if Terry Bradshaw hadn't had the Steel Curtain ... if John Unitas didn't have Weeb Ewbank ... Brady's greatness is no longer refutable (and this is coming from a Bills fan, a team that has more reason than any other to hate the guy!), but I am sure some will continue to find a way.

Thanks for your comment. Why do so many want to play down Tom Brady's accomplishments?

[Jay Z]

...Baugh, Graham, Unitas, Montana and Manning are now tied for No. 2.

I'm guessing no one had a headline today that read something like, Brady ties Graham as QB on 7 championship teams. Well, maybe in Cleveland

Yeah, there's that. Did it in fewer years too.

I don't really get into the greatest of all time deal. But even a Super Bowl win is just a game. They all count, regular season, getting to the playoffs, winning other playoff games. My point being you could probably call Brady the greatest before this Super Bowl. He's competitive in stats, done more in the post season than the others. There you go.

No, I do not think it is "so amazing" that Brady went to another team and won the Super Bowl. Because Peyton Manning did the exact same thing not too long ago!!! Remember the Broncos getting there twice, winning once? Huh? It's the exact same thing that Brady did. Peyton's is maybe more amazing because he could barely play any more. Isn't that amazing? Pretty much the same deal as the Bucs, the defense throttles the other team. Yes, I think Bronco Peyton Manning gets another ring last night. Score wouldn't be as lopsided, but they would have won. Buccaneer Brady is a better QB than Bronco Manning, that's for sure. But they both got a ring somewhere else.

Brady lost the Super Bowl where his team scored the most points. Or should I say choked, because he fumbled when he got sacked on the only defensive play by either team. Then he won one where his team scored 13 points. Then he won last night, where he played a fine game, but with no real pressure on his performance because the team's defense took care of everything. No one predicted the Chiefs scoring 9, I didn't... and yet the story is the amazing Tom Brady.

It's comparable to Mariano Rivera in baseball. Even if he was the greatest closer ever, he was still overrated, because people started pretending he was perfect and ignored the times in the playoffs where he did blow the game. The 2001 World Series somehow didn't count. You can be the greatest of all time and still be overrated.

[Brian wolf]

The Bucs defense played great, especially in the second half but Brady should have had four TD passes in the first half, with one dropped by his lineman ... he put the pressure on Mahomes to keep pace but for once, a team hit Kelce within the first 5 - 10 yards of scrimmage and played smart with Hill, who many times didnt even run patterns. Once those two were neutralized, Barrett and Pierre-Paul could keep flip flopping sides and putting edge pressure on Mahomes.

[JohnR]

Anyone else creeped out by the rubber-mask faced Lombardi in the NFL spot? Didn't even sound like him. In the age of deepfake, this fell woefully short.

[Brian wolf]

When GB won the SB in 1997, they had a victory parade where a guy took a photo not too far away from Lambeau Field and spookily, there was a guy/bystander that looked and dressed like Lombardi. I dont believe the photo was faked but the guy really looked liked him, like a realistic ghost ...

[Bryan]

The Bucs defense played great, especially in the second half but Brady should have had four TD passes in the first half, with one dropped by his lineman ... he put the pressure on Mahomes to keep pace but for once, a team hit Kelce within the first 5 - 10 yards of scrimmage and played smart with Hill, who many times didnt even run patterns. Once those two were neutralized, Barrett and Pierre-Paul could keep flip flopping sides and putting edge pressure on Mahomes.

The Bucs defense played great, but to me the story was Andy Reid reverting to "Postseason Andy Reid" mode. When he left Philly, there wasn't a great outcry from the fans because they were getting tired or Reid's postseason nonsense. The Chiefs have probably been the best team in the NFL the last 3 years, which is a credit to Reid, but perhaps last season with Reid winning the Super Bowl was the aberration.

Tampa's pass rush looked strong against GB in the NFC championship, and they could tightly (illegally?) cover the WRs, but I did not foresee a scenario where the Chiefs could only manage 9 points. If you recall earlier in the postseason, Tampa's defense was run ragged by the Redskins' replacement-level QB. It reminded me of how the Raiders completely took apart Joe Theismann's Redskin offense.

The Chiefs OL was not operating at maximum efficiency due to injury, yet for reasons unknown Andy Reid kept calling pass plays with only 5 guys in pass protection. Even when Mahomes was continually getting hit, Reid never adjusted. No TEs blocking on the line, no RBs being kept in to block, no run plays to keep TB honest. IMO it was the biggest factor in the game. I didn't understand Reid's timeout usage at the end of the first half, which put KC at a huge disadvantage going into the lockerroom.

[Brian wolf]

Alot of times, it seemed like the Bucs knew their snap counts because they got tremendous jumps and the rookie back for the Cheifs Helaire, failed to chip or hit the edge rushers. They should have ran Williams more. Some of the receivers failed to do their hot reads and I couldnt believe Hardman and Watkins werent more of a factor.

[Jay Z]

The Bucs defense played great, especially in the second half but Brady should have had four TD passes in the first half, with one dropped by his lineman ... he put the pressure on Mahomes to keep pace but for once, a team hit Kelce within the first 5 - 10 yards of scrimmage and played smart with Hill, who many times didnt even run patterns. Once those two were neutralized, Barrett and Pierre-Paul could keep flip flopping sides and putting edge pressure on Mahomes.

The Bucs defense played great, but to me the story was Andy Reid reverting to "Postseason Andy Reid" mode. When he left Philly, there wasn't a great outcry from the fans because they were getting tired or Reid's postseason nonsense. The Chiefs have probably been the best team in the NFL the last 3 years, which is a credit to Reid, but perhaps last season with Reid winning the Super Bowl was the aberration.

Tampa's pass rush looked strong against GB in the NFC championship, and they could tightly (illegally?) cover the WRs, but I did not foresee a scenario where the Chiefs could only manage 9 points. If you recall earlier in the postseason, Tampa's defense was run ragged by the Redskins' replacement-level QB. It reminded me of how the Raiders completely took apart Joe Theismann's Redskin offense.

The Chiefs OL was not operating at maximum efficiency due to injury, yet for reasons unknown Andy Reid kept calling pass plays with only 5 guys in pass protection. Even when Mahomes was continually getting hit, Reid never adjusted. No TEs blocking on the line, no RBs being kept in to block, no run plays to keep TB honest. IMO it was the biggest factor in the game. I didn't understand Reid's timeout usage at the end of the first half, which put KC at a huge disadvantage going into the lockerroom.

I think based on how the game was going, yeah let them run it out. KC wasn't going to get more than a FG if that. Go in and get settled and come up with a different game plan.

TB may have won regardless. But the Redskins, Saints, and Packers all had more success against that D than the Chiefs. They tried the screens and those were not working. Kelce seemed to be open in the middle a lot, I think they just needed to run up the middle and pass up the middle and get TB off the edges so much. TB wasn't shutting the other teams out of the end zone.