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By Lucas Kochevar The Lions travel to San Francisco for a chance to clinch their first ever Super Bowl berth. It’ll be the biggest game in Lions history. They take on the 49ers, who squeaked by the Packers last week. San Francisco’s defense is very talented, but it’ll be the Lions defense that has to step up and slow down Brock Purdy and co. The Lions defense has been privy to collapsing this season, but now is the time they need to step up. They face one of the hardest tests of their season in facing the 49ers, but is this the same 49ers team that’s been surging all season long? It’s up in the air with Deebo Samuel’s status for Sunday. He’s likely going to play through injury, but it’s clear that he's a key cog in the 49ers offense. The 49ers are uber talented across the board with Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and, of course, Christian McCaffery. There’s still a difference in this team without Samuel. He’s a human joystick and plays the role of both wide receiver and running back as good as anyone in the league. If he’s compromised in any way, the Lions will be thankful. The Lions defense is a team that lives and dies with Aidan Hutchinson. The former second overall pick has been a culture changer for the defense with his attitude and play style. Although he’s the star, the rest of the defensive line will be key in slowing down the 49ers front. John Cominsky and Benito Jones will have to do their job in run support to force Purdy to throw the ball. Purdy is a good quarterback, but he’s far from perfect. It makes sense given he’s a second year starter still, but people have the expectation for him to be the perfect distributor in the Shannahan system. If you watched his last game, it’s clear he’s not at the level he needs to be. The Lions can take advantage of this inexperience and force him to beat them. Now fired-DC Joe Barry mixed up looks against the 49ers and it forced Purdy to make his best throws at the end. He made those throws and the 49ers won the game, but there could be a blueprint. The bend-don’t break attitude of this Lions defense will be key on third down. The 49ers rank third in third down offense (48.72% conversion rate) while the Lions rank 12th in third down defense (37.1%). The Lions biggest struggles will be holding the 49ers in the red zone as they allow over 60% success rate. The Lions will need everyone rowing the boat in the same direction in order to win on the road. The NFC title is a win away from the underdog Lions, but they'll get the 49ers best shot as the 49ers are looking to prove they should've made it last season, before they lost all their quarterbacks due to injury. This will be a battle of wills between two teams with a lot to prove.
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The Packers have been spoiled throughout their storied franchise when it comes to quarterbacks. They had the first super star quarterback in the Super Bowl era with Bart Starr. After Starr there was a drought of winning, but they still had a long-term starter in Lynn Dickey. Around a decade later they traded for a kid from Mississippi named Brett Favre. They won a couple more Super Bowls and a lot of games, but they were progressive and drafted a kid in 2005 to sit a couple years from Cal named Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers took over and had his success that included a Super Bowl in 2010, but the Packers were progressive again in 2019 when they drafted a kid from Utah State named Jordan Love. Love was undoubtedly a raw prospect coming from a Mountain West school in Utah State, but he ran a pro style scheme and showed mobility with an arm that fits in the modern day NFL. Fans criticized the move as Rodgers needed help badly at receiver. Those same fans are rejoicing as the Packers look to have their franchise guy once again. Love had a rocky start to the season as he led the Packers to a 3-6 record that included a four game skid. He threw bad interceptions and couldn’t lead the young Packers to wins. Something snapped in the young quarterback after a 23-19 loss to Pittsburgh. Love would go on to beat the Lions and Chiefs in back-to-back weeks, two teams that are playing conference championship weekend. He finished the season throwing 18 touchdowns to one interception. After this hot finish to the season, Love had the task of taking on a Cowboys team that had dominated the regular season. He answered the call and ripped the Cowboys heart out. Nearly a perfect game with 272 yards and three touchdowns, but the biggest number is zero interceptions. A stat line that reads zero interceptions is something Rodgers mastered in Green Bay as he threw single-digit interceptions over a ten-year span. Love could be the next Rodgers that famously takes care of the ball, but he reminded us against the 49ers that he’s not quite there yet. He threw two interceptions in the loss to San Francisco, including the back breaking interception on his final drive. That interception was one of the worst throws ever as he broke the cardinal rule of not throwing across your body while scrambling to the left. It’s funny that was also the throw that Favre made in his final season as a member of the Vikings in the NFC championship game against the Saints. The difference between these two: Favre was in his forties and Love has an entire career ahead of him. Love is very young in his playing experience, but he’s already showing the promise that the Packers saw in him during the draft. He’s showing the skills that he picked up from the future hall of famer he sat behind. He has immense talent and could be a nightmare for the NFC North for years to come, similar to his predecessors. Image via Matt Durisko, Associated Press
By Lucas Kochevar The scene in Kansas City on Jan. 20, 2019 was a somber one as the Patriots celebrated at Arrowhead Stadium in front of the Chiefs faithful. Patrick Mahomes and co. suffered a 37-31 defeat in the AFC championship after Mahomes’ magical first season as the starting quarterback. As Tom Brady would go on to win his sixth Super Bowl over the Rams, the Chiefs went home and wondered if they would ever get this opportunity again. Six straight AFC championship appearances later, the Chiefs are on the brink of their fourth Super Bowl berth with Mahomes at the helm. The term dynasty is thrown around very loosely after a team wins a championship. The Patriots are the modern age dynasty in football and there hasn’t been a team in the history of the sports that’s had the success New England saw throughout the 2000s, but there’s a chance we’re in the middle of witnessing a team reach those heights. The Chiefs have been the definition of greatness since Mahomes took over the starting position. With their dramatic win at Buffalo, there’s no denying that the Chiefs at this point. Every time someone tries to knock them and claim that their run is over, they answer and win. Even with a roster that could be Mahomes’ worst, the Chiefs handled business on the road in Buffalo. Now, Kansas City travels to Baltimore to take on the MVP favorite and best team in the league. The Ravens should have every advantage in this matchup. They’ve steamrolled teams with Jackson’s heroics and suffocated teams with their boa constrictor defense. Although Mahomes faced one of his biggest tests on Sunday, he’ll face an even harder test in this road game. The Chiefs have taken the old New England Patriots role in the AFC as they’ve undergone metamorphosis in each of their last couple playoff runs. With Tyreek Hill, they were this fast-paced, run-and-shoot type offense. After Tyreek, they found help through more possession receivers and relied on Travis Kelce. With Kelce getting older, the Chiefs are in their current form. They’re still Mahomes centric, but he’s surrounded by violent runner Isiah Pacheco and a defense that features legitimate Pro Bowl talent on all three levels. The ability to maintain this level of dominance and adapt is what great teams do and no team has done it like the Kansas City Chiefs. Of course, it all leads back to their two leaders: Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. These two are already heading to Canton with their resumes, but it’s what they do to achieve these accomplishments that make them special. The way this current form of the Chiefs play football could play to the Ravens weaknesses and make a competitive game on Sunday in Baltimore. The Chiefs rank in the top ten in yards per rush with 4.4 yards and that’s the one place the Ravens defense isn’t great at as they allow that exact number. Pacheco’s impact on this offense has been huge as he adds a level of toughness and, as I said, he’s a violent runner. It’s an edge I haven’t seen this Kansas City team have under Mahomes. Pacheco could be the deciding factor in the game against Baltimore. The collisions between Pacheco and Baltimore All-Pro Roquan Smith could shake the stadium. This chapter in Mahomes' and Jackson's career could be a great one as we look forward to this game on Sunday. Image via Jay Biggerstaff, USA TODAY Sports
By Lucas Kochevar The Buffalo Bills offense has been among the league’s most threatening with Josh Allen at the helm. Dating back to Brian Daboll leaving, the Bills have had a bumpy road in creating consistent production on a down-to-down basis. They hired former quarterback Ken Dorsey to run the offense and he did so with limited success. The success was few and far between this season as he was fired after week 10 when the Bills fell to 5-5. Notable coordinator Joe Brady took over the offense and hasn’t looked back. Josh Allen shares part of the blame with his blatant turnover problems in the early part of the season, but since Brady took over, He’s scaled back his turnover-worthy plays. He’s still chaotic and out of control, but this controlled chaos is what makes Josh Allen, Josh Allen. Another key piece of the Bills rejuvenation is the involvement of running back James Cook. Cook is being used exactly as I thought he should coming out of Georgia. He can handle the workload running the ball and he’s a weapon in the passing game. He’s been paramount in changing how the Bills call an offense. The Bills offense has been known for their lack of run game in the past. They’ve had an unwillingness to run the ball for years and they would fall into a pass-happy attack that would put so much pressure on Allen and the passing attack. The Bills rank fifth in rushing yards and it’s been a product of their willingness to run that ball, even when it isn’t super successful. The Bills have incorporated more under center plays and different looks other than just shotgun runs. I was watching the film when Buffalo played the Chiefs, where Buffalo won after the crazy offsides lateral play. Something I noticed was Buffalo’s ability to draw the eyes of the Kansas City linebackers. The Bills ran the ball into multiple big boxes for a couple yards, but each time was to keep the Chiefs honest. The Bills draw these looks from Kansas City and this is when Cook will leak out of the backfield and either catch the ball or throw off the linebackers for an open tight end over the middle. The Bills ability to really throw different looks at the defense really adds the dimension that has held back the team. Although they’ll always be pass-first with Allen, the run game is critical to their success heading into the playoff matchup against the Chiefs. These two teams have met so many times already over the years. It feels like the new era Brady-Manning rivalry between Mahomes-Allen. The unique part about this meeting is it’s the first time Mahomes has traveled to Buffalo with fans in the stands and it's also his first road playoff game. Mahomes played at Buffalo during the pandemic season and it’ll be interesting to see how the crowd plays a factor. The offense is the focus in the game, but the defenses are more than likely the key to winning. The Chiefs defense won the game last week by shutting down the Dolphins. The Buffalo defense has been great in their own right as the defensive line and secondary have been great. The Bills linebacker group will have to pull together as they keep losing players due to injury. They’ll be key in slowing down Isiah Pacheco, who didn’t play in their first matchup. The deciding factor of this game will be whether or not Josh Allen turns the ball over. The Bills can’t afford to give Mahomes easy opportunities to score as he’s started to find that chemistry with Rashee Rice. Buffalo has been the better team since these two teams last met and if they maintain this style of football on offense, I think they can keep pressure on Mahomes to keep up with them. I really like this version of Buffalo and they have a chance at the Super Bowl if they overcome their biggest obstacle, Mahomes. Image via NBC Sports
By Lucas Kochevar The NFL draft is still months away, but the buzz will continue in a draft that sees multiple intriguing quarterbacks. The draft runs through Chicago, who also has a quarterback situation on their own roster. The big question will come back to whether or not two years of Fields and an extension looming is better than a fresh slate with star USC QB Caleb Williams. If they trade out, who will jump up? There’s countless questions with the teams that are searching for the guy, but who are the guys? The first one is the name I mentioned already, Caleb Williams. The Heisman winner from two years ago is finally making his way to the NFL and he’s quickly becoming a polarizing prospect. People have labeled him the best prospect since Andrew Luck and I’m not sure I’m there with him. In his defense, I think any of the rumors that he wants ownership in a team or that he’ll pull an Eli Manning are complete BS. He’s still a really great prospect that holds everything you need in a guy. He’s a mobile, improviser that can make magic happen. He’s got a great arm and his ability to keep his eyes down field at all times is special. With that being said, I think we could see him slow down at the next level in a similar way that Bryce Young slowed down. The game speeds up for young quarterbacks and guys that hold the ball forever end up paying the price in the NFL. That’s my only real concern for Caleb at the next level. The guy after Williams is someone that I’ve been looking forward to seeing at the next level. North Carolina’s Drake Maye is another strong candidate for a top five pick and although people have reservations about him. He’s statistically not the best, but his anticipation and timing in spots is spot on. If he can put it together consistently, he can ascend to one of the better quarterbacks in the league. Throws like this at unique angles are a big reason I think he has serious potential. After Williams and Maye, there’s this season's Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels. Daniels is a little older at 23, but he’s still younger than the quarterbacks I’ll mention after him. It’s funny he played Justin Herbert in college. Daniels is a unique prospect with a quick release that goes 60-plus yards and the legs to make defenders look silly. My fear for him is durability because he’s got a smaller frame than typical quarterbacks. He’ll still find his place in the league because of his unique skill set and where the league is heading. I think he’ll be a top ten pick, but not one of the top two guys. I have no idea where the next couple of older guys will go in the draft. Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix have been in college for a long time. Penix Jr. had injury issues that held him back early, but an incredible last season has put him in position to get drafted in the first couple rounds of the draft. Although he was subpar in the national championship, Penix has shown his unique ball placement and ability to evade sacks throughout this season. He’ll also have the chance to show off for scouts at the Senior Bowl. Another guy that could raise his status at the Senior Bowl is Oregon’s Bo Nix. Nix is an interesting prospect with the fact he’s accumulated so many stats at Oregon over his last couple seasons and there have been a lot of great flashes, but can he put it together at the next level? I’m not so sure. I definitely see the appeal in Nix with his arm talent, but I think he projects more as a Sam Howell type. Good player at times looks like the best quarterback on the field, but week-to-week you never know. The last notable prospect that could be taken in the draft is the recent national champion, J.J. McCarthy. The Michigan QB scares me more than any other prospect. McCarthy’s numbers aren’t flashy, his arm isn’t otherworldly and his athleticism is just solid. McCarthy’s status stands with his potential and record in college. He holds one of the best records all-time as a starter in college with 27-1. McCarthy is a true project for any coach that takes him on and there’s a good chance whoever drafts him as a GM could get fired if he's not good. That's true for most GMs that draft quarterbacks, but McCarthy is so shaky to me. I’m open to McCarthy, but I would approach him with extreme caution. Other guys that’ll be notable in this draft are Spencer Rattler, Sam Hartman and Michael Pratt. The NFL draft is the most important part of most team’s offseason and this crop of quarterbacks feels like the most volatile group in years. The 2020 NFL draft is probably the most similar draft to this year’s group, except I don’t think five guys will go in the first round. As the draft process goes on and I watch more film, I’ll have more thoughts on where these players might go. Image via Julio Cortez, Associated Press
By Lucas Kochevar The Cowboys are one of the few disappointing teams walking away from wild card weekend with a foul taste in their mouths, however, they have to be the most disappointed out of the losing teams. To clean that nasty taste out of their mouth they’ll be having their fair share of blame pie. The question I want to look at is, who is getting the biggest slice? The Cowboys have won double digit games for the last three seasons, they haven’t advanced to conference championship weekend in any of those playoff runs. The common denominators for each of these runs comes down to three guys: Dak Prescott, Mike McCarthy and Stephen Jones. There are other players that have stayed with the team, obviously, but none of them hold the same status as the franchise quarterback. Prescott has to be mentioned as a key player in the losses because he’s thrown picks during every playoff run he’s been a part of. He holds a 2-5 record in the playoffs. Prescott has fought through his fair share of criticisms through the years, but with another contract year approaching, Prescott’s playoff performances will be held against him. The Cowboys weren’t able to make plays when they needed to and a pick six in the first half essentially ended the season for Dallas as they were down 27-0. The Cowboys signal caller was in a nightmare as Dallas’ high-scoring offense couldn’t do anything against the Green Bay defense until the game was already over. While Prescott struggled on the field, head coach Mike McCarthy looked dumbfounded on the sideline. His rear end is feeling the heat as any day now, McCarthy could find himself out of a job. The head coach for the Cowboys has won countless regular season games, but when the lights are the brightest, his team looks unprepared. It’s a common indictment on the longtime head coach, who has had great playoff rosters but little success. Even with this reputation McCarthy has built up, I’m not sure he deserves most of the blame. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was dreadful. The last guy I want to mention is the architect of this Cowboys team, Stephen Jones. Jerry Jones’ son has built a hell of a team. The offensive line is terrific, the defense has serious talent at each level and there are weapons on offense. The issues come from a couple moves that look rough in hindsight. Trading away Amari Cooper years back, while turning around and paying Michael Gallup looks like a clear error. Cooper has been arguably a top ten receiver for the Browns and his presence would’ve made this Cowboys offense even more dangerous. There’s the discussion that he could have set back CeeDee Lamb’s development as a WR1, but I doubt that would’ve mattered because Lamb already had more targets and yards in Cooper’s last year in Dallas. Another key issue was cutting franchise running back, Ezekiel Elliot, this past offseason. I understood this at the time and I thought Tony Pollard would come back and become the workhorse back. Pollard had a fine year, but it was clear that he was more of a change of pace guy and complemented Elliot well. On top of that, Elliot went on to have a very solid season. His numbers aren’t that far off from his last season in Dallas and he had less touches in New England. These two moves aren’t the reason the Cowboys got blown out by the Packers, but I think these two decisions are minor pieces in what could have made the Cowboys a more well-rounded team and bigger threat. Jones has the smallest share in the blame pie, but he has a slice still. The Cowboys have a lot of soul-searching to do, but ultimately, I don’t know what they can do to make this team any better. There aren’t any quarterbacks that are better than Dak on the market and the options outside of McCarthy are big risks. Bill Belichick likely doesn’t want Jerry Jones over his shoulder and any other option would be a first year head coach. There will be tough discussions in big D for Jerry Jones. Image via Kim Klement Neitzel/USA TODAY Sports
By Lucas Kochevar The Tampa Buccaneers are moving on in the playoffs after a convincing win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles did their best tribute to the NFC South by getting outplayed from the first drive and on. Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers took advantage and never trailed in one of the multiple playoff game blowouts. How did they get here? The Buccaneers went through massive changes in the offseason with the greatest quarterback of all-time hanging it up in Tom Brady. Multiple players are older and it looked like the Buccaneers were going to be bottom feeders again with Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask competing at quarterback. The Buccaneers have never been really close to competing for multiple seasons so no one paid any mind to them. A 5-1 stretch at the end of the season propelled the Buccaneers into the playoffs as no one truly wanted to win the NFC South. Although they boast a 9-8 record, the Buccaneers tried their hardest to not make the playoffs after losing at home to the Saints in week 17, but someone had to rise to the top in the worst division in football, the NFC South. The Buccaneers are in the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, but there was a very real chance the Falcons or Saints could’ve been in their spot. The Panthers were never close to this as they’re a two-win team that doesn’t have their first round pick, which is also the first overall pick. The Panthers are a good place to start when looking at this cluster of incompetent teams. Bryce Young was the first overall pick in the draft for Carolina and he was coming into a staff that was heavily rumored to want the quarterback taken after him, C.J. Stroud. Alas, Young came in and won the starting job and maybe he’d show those flashes for why he was the first quarterback taken. Not so fast, my friend! Young struggled and just never hit his stride. I watched the Panthers game against the Packers, statistically Young’s best game. Although he made a number of throws that were good, I noticed things missing from his game that he had coming out of Alabama. Throwing outside the numbers was a real struggle accuracy wise. He couldn’t drive the ball and it’s a product of choppy footwork and a messed up internal clock. It’s clear that Young’s confidence was shot by this point in the season. Losing those fundamentals that made him so dangerous in college brought him down to looking like a real amateur in the NFL. Although he could bounce back in his second season with a new head coach, Young will have to overcome incompetent ownership. David Tepper, who bought the team in 2018, has already seen three head coaches come through Carolina. Another wrong choice at head coach could see Young become a bust. The Panthers aren’t the only NFC South team looking down the barrel of a critical head coaching hire. The Falcons' woes have been well-reported and they fired Arthur Smith. He took a gamble on Desmond Ridder being the guy and, my god, he wasn’t close to being the guy. The Falcons were hilariously bad and good at the same time. They beat three of the teams that advanced during wild card weekend, including the Bucs. They lost to three of the teams that pick ahead of them in the draft, including the Panthers. Now, Arthur Blank and shadow GM Rich McKay face the biggest hire of their tenure in Atlanta. If they don’t nail it, “sell the team” chants could break out at Falcons games in the future. They’ll have to find a new franchise guy at quarterback too, whether it’s through free agency or the draft. We’ll see what their franchise-changing move is in the near future. Lastly, there’s the Saints. They’re holding on to one of the worst head coaches in the league and they’re $70 million in the hole with their salary cap. The Saints could be stuck in this ever-ending loop of mediocrity. It’s a brutal place to be, but I can’t see the Saints coming close to being a legitimate playoff contender with head coach Dennis Allen and aging-quarterback Derek Carr. This entire division doesn’t know what their future holds. They each face a unique challenging heading into next season, but right now the Buccaneers are in the moment playing with house money heading to Detroit. If Baker Mayfield can play like he did against Philadelphia, the Bucs could play spoiler on Detroit’s party. Image via AP Photo
By Lucas Kochevar The NFL is doing something that’ll get a ton of flack on Saturday when the casual fan tunes in for a playoff game between Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa. The Swifties will be in shambles. The Chiefs and Dolphins will be exclusively on Peacock, the NBC streaming service. The NFL has been flexing on their competition a bit with how they’ve handled the scheduling and streaming of their games. The NFL owned Christmas over the NBA and they’re putting games behind paywalls. They know they can do this because they’re numbers are absolutely massive. The NFL owns 93 out of the top 100 most watched programs on TV in 2023. College football’s biggest game of the season, the national championship, was Monday on ESPN. It averaged around 25 million viewers. The Cowboys versus Commanders, a mostly meaningless game during week 18, saw around 21 million viewers. The NFL owns the TV ratings and they can do whatever they want. That’s what the NFL is telling you by putting this wild-card game behind a paywall. They’re right too. I’m sure this game will do great numbers and Peacock will see an insane boost in revenue. I won’t say how I’ll watch the game, but let's just say I’ll find it in a similar way that I find UFC fights. Sadly, most of the general public won’t figure this out and they’ll give money to the machine. It’s a tough reality, but it’s likely what will happen. For those that won’t pay for it, I have a good idea for how this game will go. The Dolphins have been running on fumes. They’ve lost three of the last five games and the two wins were a nasty win over the Cowboys and a win over the anemic Jets. The Dolphins haven’t played well in the winter and Saturday’s game is slated to be the coldest game in HISTORY. The temperature at kickoff could be zero degrees. The Chiefs haven’t played much better than the Dolphins down the stretch. They won more games, but it was ugly. There’s a hitch in how the Chiefs are running their offense and I think it comes back to all of their receiving options being subpar, even Kelce this season. This is a rare season from the Mahomes’ Chiefs as they likely won’t flip the switch. Great teams that win often will sleep walk through the regular season and it’s easy to see. The Chiefs are not one of those teams. They’ve had legitimate growing pains and it hasn’t looked any better at any point throughout the season. The Chiefs will have to win this game through smash mouth football and defense. Their defense has been strong this season and Isiah Pacheco runs the ball with bad intentions. I think the Chiefs will play bully ball and the Dolphins won’t get that momentum going that’s made them successful this year. The game within the game runs through the rushing attack for either team, but give me the Chiefs because of the defense. Image via AP
By Lucas Kochevar The standard of the NFL for the past two decades has been the Patriots and Bill Belichick. The Patriot way was often described as the culture teams wanted to instill in order to be a winner. Countless attempts have been made, but nothing replicated the real thing. How could it? Six Super Bowls won and countless regular season wins is something teams dream of, but all dreams come to an end eventually. Once Tom Brady left, Bill Belichick was forced to prove that his way could last, even without the greatest quarterback of all-time. It didn't work and Belichick is now out of New England, four years after Brady’s departure. It’s the end of an era in New England and football as a whole. Not only is Belichick gone from New England, Nick Saban is retired and Pete Caroll was, effectively, retired by the Seahawks. These coaches are in the top one percent of winning coaches to ever grace the sideline. Saban and Belichick are considered the greatest of all-time. We have to come to terms with the fact that the league and football is changing. College is easy to describe as NIL and the transfer portal can be linked to Saban’s departure. The NFL is a different story. It’s the changing of the guard for coaches in the NFL as the young, offensive guru is the wave in the NFL. Two coaches, however, will likely maintain their old school approach to the game. Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh are now the longest tenured coaches with their one team. Both of them aren’t your traditional Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan, but they’ve won games their own way. Hard-nosed defenses that find effective offenses when they need it. Although the Steelers have struggled with that recently, Tomlin has never seen a losing season. The old way works, as evidenced by these two coaches and Andy Reid, but the new generation is coming up and it’ll be intriguing to see the innovations brought to the game. The west coast offense, that often shows receivers going in motion like the CFL, is taking over the league. The Dolphins have seen great success using motions and fakes to fool the defense. The Rams have seen their offensive resurgence with under center run plays and play-action. The 49ers offense is uber talented, but it clearly comes back to the mastermind running the show in Shanahan. If you can’t tell, I can’t sing the praises of these coaches enough. This offensive system is something I fell in love with watching with the 2016 Falcons, a coaching staff that is similar to the 2012 Washington staff that featured numerous current NFL head coaches. This system puts an unrelenting pressure on defense to play perfect, while the offense runs their fundamentals to perfection. The system flourishes and elevates talent as long as you do your job. Numerous coaches will enter their first NFL job and they’ll run this system. The Texans OC Bobby Slowik could find a job after elevating C.J. Stroud and the Texans. Bengals OC Brian Callahan has been interviewed several times and he’s a grandson on the coaching tree of Sean McVay. Looking at coaching trees is a fascinating exercise and most of them come from either Bill Walsh or Bill Parcells. Back to Bill Belichick, a product of the Parcells coaching tree, he’s now in an interesting position. He could choose almost any team that reaches out to him and it’s no secret the Falcons are putting their chips in for Belichick. We’ll see whether or not he accepts a job again this season, but with the other legendary coaches I mentioned retiring, it could be possible that Belichick follows suit at age 71. Image via Chaz Palla/Tribune Review
By Lucas Kochevar The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the playoffs, but they’re 9.5-point underdogs against the Bills. T.J. Watt is missing the game with an MCL sprain, but I don’t think he’s the reason for the big spread. The issues this Steelers team has faced come back to the most important position: the quarterback. It’s been a bumpy season for the Steelers offense was historically bad. A November matchup against the Bengals told you everything you needed to know about the inefficiencies the team had under offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Pittsburgh finally relieved Canada of his duties. The Steelers won the game in Cincinnati 16-10, but the jarring stat involves their yards gained. The Steelers eclipsed over 400 yards for the first time in 58(!) games They did this and still only scored 16 points. It was a massive step forward, but the bar was in hell. The Steelers have a plethora of weapons. George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Jaylin Warren and Najee Harris. They have invested in the offensive line through the draft and free agency. Both the skill positions and linemen have had their inconsistencies, but it leads back to the most important position in all of sports: the quarterback. I was watching the week one game between the 49ers and Steelers (Be on the lookout for some 49ers-related content with Koch’s Corner). I started to wonder, is it time for the Steelers to give up on Kenny Pickett already? Pickett suffered an ankle injury that has kept him out for a month now and, even though he’s healthy, they’re rolling with Mason Rudolph. Rudolph is the hot hand for the Steelers so it makes sense, but if Pickett is the guy, he should be starting. The writing is on the wall and I think it’s more than likely Pickett isn’t Pittsburgh’s quarterback next season. It would be a different story if Pickett was having a good season prior to his injury, but that really wasn’t the case. The 2022 first round pick completed 62% of his passes with 2,070 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. The worrisome part of this is the fact it was through 12 games. In his last six full games, he only had one touchdown. Going back to that game I referenced earlier between the 49ers and Steelers, I noticed that Pickett’s accuracy was just abysmal on any passes past 20 yards. They needed to hit those passes to beat the 49ers and Pickett couldn’t deliver them. It was a one game sample size for my eyes, but it’s been a consistent criticism from many that follow the Steelers. The chemistry was off for every throw that Pickett made to push the ball downfield. Once again, I don’t know if this was a scheme issue or a Pickett issue. What I do know is that if the Steelers think Pickett is the guy and can hit the throws they need, he would be starting on Sunday against the Bills, not the third string quarterback. It’ll be an intriguing offseason for one of the most consistent franchises in league history. They appear to be a team that could be one of the quarterback-needy teams for 2024. |
Lucas KochevarI love sports and I'm a local fan of the Falcons, Hawks, and Braves. You can find my quick thoughts and more on my twitter @lucaswkochevar |