One of the greatest pieces of advice anyone ever gave me was to “never buy your own hype.” Basically, if you think you’re awesome, then that’s all well and good, but don’t walk around acting like you are. You’ll eventually trip over your own ego, and prior to that you’ll probably make everyone else think you’re a massive jerk.
Oh, you think you know where I’m going with this? Might I be gearing up to talk about a certain QB whose name begins with “T” and ends with “om Brady”?
Well calm your jets, everyone who isn’t a Bucs fan. I was more referring to the Playoffs as a whole.
This year’s NFL postseason has been absolutely full of fantastic matchups. The league has just put on great games, no muss, no fuss. Aside from the still-semi-embarrassing marketing gimmick that was SUUUUUUUUUUPER!!!!!! Wild Card Weekend, the NFL has relied on its teams to just deliver excellent ball that speaks for itself.
And what’s the result? One of the best Super Bowl matchups in years.
I’m gonna break it down and give you my preview and pick. First, I’d encourage you to follow me on Twitter @WatchingFB. After this week, I’ll be your source for FCS college football news (as best I can).
Yes, you heard me right. Just like last year, we have spring football. But right now we have Super Bowl Sunday!
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5:30p, CBS)
Everyone is thinking about this game as a matchup of two QBs. They fail to realize that the QBs never actually match up against each other.
No, this is almost certainly a game where one good defensive stop will make a difference.
You want to know something real interesting? The Bucs are 28th in the league in rushing yards per game. Now sure, you don’t need to be a good running team per se when you have the best football player of all time (yes, I mean that) slinging the ball to your receivers. But all that passing also cuts down on your time of possession, meaning your D is on the field more.
And what a D. The Bucs are probably the best overall squad Chiefs gunslinger Patrick Mahomes has faced all year. They’re big up front, they bottle up the run, they pressure your line.
Thing is, the Chiefs seem tailor made to beat the Bucs D, which is a good deal weaker in the secondary. KC is very efficient too, converting just about half of their 3rd downs (that’s really good, by the way). They may not need to run.
This game seems tailor made for an offensive shootout. Originally, I thought that favored the stingier Bucs D and slower-paced Bucs offense, especially with a few Chiefs injuries. In fact, I was going to pick the Bucs.
But then the Chiefs said a few crucial cogs would be back in full form, and I was right back on the fence.
“Never count out Touchdown Tom,” I know. But what about a Tom who has to be perfect against a hungry D because he has no run game? Sure, he can do it. He’s Tom Brady.
On the other hand, the Chiefs’ offense is meant to punish Ds like Tampa Bay’s. And I just plain want Mahomes to win. (Okay, I want Tom to lose.)
This is the time for a very public torch-passing from Brady (however reluctantly) to the new breed of team leader that is Mahomes. And I think it’ll happen.
PICK: Kansas City (-3)
O/U: OVER (55.5)