We waited until February 9 to see that?

First, football should not be played in February. They just barely beat pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training. That is almost as stupid as playing baseball in November or hockey in June. But, I digress.

No three-peat. No superhuman performance from Patrick Mahomes. No coaching genius from Andy Reid.

The Eagles never gave the Chiefs a chance. The Eagles have the best front seven in football, and they made sure Patrick Mahomes knew. They made sure he knew early and often. For most of the game, Mahomes looked like a guy that was coached by Tommy Tubberville. 

The coaching mismatch wasn’t quite the way I explained it last week. Andy Reid and his staff had no answer…for anything. Instead, it was Nick Sirianni and staff that went no huddle to keep the Chiefs base defense on the field. It became a huge advantage for the Eagles offense. And every time the Eagles needed a big third down play Jalen Hurts was up to the task. As for Mahomes, he was either throwing it to the wrong team or being tossed around like a rag doll.

I picked the Chiefs to win. I should have listened to my analysis from throughout the season right here in this column and on my Wall2WallFootball podcast. The NFC was far superior to the AFC. I noted often how lucky the Chiefs got in several games. For two thirds of the season, it looked like the Steelers may be the best team in the AFC. We all know how that turned out. The Ravens rode two players(Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry) while the Bills rode one player(Josh Allen). Neither was good enough to overtake the Chiefs.

Meanwhile, the Eagles were joined by Detroit, Minnesota, Green Bay, LA, and Washington as good to very good teams. The Eagles had the most complete roster, particularly after Detroit suffered 8,000 injuries on defense. The Eagles roster was far superior to the Chiefs or any other AFC team. It turned out even Nick Sirianni couldn’t screw that up.

The Eagles going out and getting Saquon Barkley was the final piece to their puzzle. Barkley probably should have won the MVP, but alas he doesn’t play quarterback. The Super Bowl was such a mismatch, I could have played running back and the Eagles still would have won by a ton. Okay, so I doubt the Chiefs would have committed that many defenders if I was in the backfield, but you get the point.

Despite being a bit anticlimactic, the guy that deserves tons of credit is this guy.

 

Hurts is proof that Lincoln Riley is a quarterback whisperer. He took an Alabama cast off in Hurts and turned him into a Heisman finalist at Oklahoma and an NFL draftable player.

Jalen Hurts >>> Patrick Mahomes

Eagles front seven >>>>>>>> Chiefs OL

Nick Sirianni (gulp) >>> Andy Reid

To quote Dick Vitale, it was “a total M&M’er”.

What about the rest of the show?

As if the game wasn’t bad enough, I had to endure Tom Brady announcing the game.

It was the first halftime show that made me officially feel old. I had no idea what I was listening to, nor did I know what I was seeing. Apparently the entire thing was to diss Drake, right down to having Drake’s ex, Serena Williams, come out and dance. I like rap music, but I clearly am not up to speed on the new stuff.

The President showed up and then left at halftime. Seems like a solid use of millions of taxpayer dollars. Eh, I’m sure he will fire enough people to make up the cost.

What needs fixed?

Now that the season is over, what are some things that would improve the game?

The first thing on my mind is using the quick replay to review some penalty calls. The officials just aren’t very good these days. There are too many flags thrown for bogus reasons. If not quick replay, then give coaches another challenge that can be used for questioning a bad call.

Could we have two less TV timeouts? They could eliminate one per half. Surely the NFL would survive with just slightly less ad revenue.

Stop playing all these games in other countries. It is idiotic. This is American football. Cater to your real fans.

Those are three things that come to mind right now. I am sure as much as I complain I could come up with more.

What about 2025?

The NFL draft is just over two months away. In the interim, we will start hearing about free agent signings. Until we see what teams do in those two areas, next year is hard to predict. Let’s at least speculate.

In the NFC, there is no reason to think the Eagles won’t be really good again. Maybe they will start their own dynasty. Howe Roseman puts together a roster better than anyone. The Lions will be healthy, which means they will be good again. I have two reservations about the Lions. First, I don’t know if Jared Goff is good enough and I don’t know how you replace offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The Rams, Vikings, and Packers could all be good depending on the quarterback position. Washington could be building something very special.

The AFC is clearly ripe for the taking. Let’s face it, the Chiefs won’t go away. However, the Super Bowl proved they are quite susceptible. The Ravens have to get Lamar to stop choking in the playoffs. The Bills have to give Josh Allen more help. The Bengals, Chargers, and Broncos will continue to get better. The Bengals, arguably, have the best quarterback in the conference.

And what about my Pittsburgh Steelers?

Already this offseason, the Steelers have proven they aren’t serious about winning. The Rooneys are more concerned with being frugal and loyal. The Steelers currently don’t seem to have a plan at quarterback. Russell Wilson is out. Justin Fields may be back, but it doesn’t sound like they are high on that option either. Aaron Rodgers and his noodle arm are available. Sam Darnold? Worse? They may draft a quarterback in the later rounds. They did that with Mason Rudolph, and we know that worked out well.

Would the Steelers be willing to go full blown overhaul and dangle TJ Watt? What they would get in return would be far more valuable going forward than more wasted years from a slightly overrated player.

The AFC is up for grabs but Steelers fans shouldn’t expect to be in contention. Tanking for a season would be the best thing the Steelers could do.

Sirianni goes from the outhouse to the penthouse

The season started with Philly talk radio spending the summer discussing the rift between the quarterback and head coach. Many were suggesting that the head coach should be fired before the season started. Caller after caller wanted Sirianni gone. Even during the season, Sirianni would yell at fans after games. Yet when the lights were turned out on the 2024 season, Nick Sirianni got the last laugh raising the Lombardi Trophy.

Hey, it’s Philly. The fans will be booing him by week three next year.

Two Cent Takes

NFL

~Booing Taylor Swift is just one more bizarre thing in this divided country. By every account I’ve ever seen, Swift is generous, kind, and wholesome. Shouldn’t we applaud people like that?

~Even in the Super Bowl the referees allowed themselves to become part of the discussion. Luckily the Eagles made it a blowout so the poor officiating didn’t matter.

~Aaron Rodgers won’t be playing in New York next season. Please tell me he won’t be playing in Pittsburgh either.

~I am curious to see where Sam Darnold ends up. Until the last two games of the season he was playing at an elite level.

NBA

~The NBA is struggling with perception. Even when they rearrange the TV schedule to show Luka Doncic’s LA debut, it fails because Doncic wasn’t ready to return from injury. It is painful watching this league flounder like it is right now.

~Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are playing nice…for now. Wait for a losing streak and get back to me.

NHL

~The Pens lost to the Flyers and now the teams are tied for last in the Metropolitan Division. I am not sure which fan base should be more disappointed.

~The Four Nations Faceoff seems silly to me, but the players love this stuff. From a fan’s perspective it just drags out the season. Maybe it’s just me.

Golf

~People were complaining about Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas getting in the Waste Management Phoenix Open last week. All Spieth and Thomas did was shoot -16 and -15 respectively for top five finishes. Give me these two over a guy ranked 125 that I could care less about.

~With a Ryder Cup coming up at the end of this year, American golfers better get it going. The foreign players are coming fast and furious. Sepp Straka, Rory McIlroy, and Thomas Detry this week. Plus, the leaderboard was littered with foreign players. Only one American —Harris English at Torrey Pines— has won so far this year.

College Hoops

~Penn State basketball has completely gone in the tank. Mike Rhodes looks marginally disinterested and his veterans are playing that way. It is a disappointing turn for a season that showed promise just a month ago.

~Mike Woodson will resign at the end of the season as Indiana head coach. The pursuit of Bobby Knight’s replacement continues.

~It was nice to have Dick Vitale back on the call Saturday night. Vitale has endured three rounds of cancer, while never slowing down on raising money for children’s cancer research. And as a bonus, Vitale brought bad luck to Duke. The Blue Devils suffered their first ACC loss of the season at Clemson.

 

~This week on my Musings of a Sports Fanatic podcast I did a deep dive on the Big East. Here is how I see the Big East.

  • Final 4 possible: St. John’s, Marquette

Despite three losses in a row, Marquette and stud Kam Jones could make a run. St. John’s has the best coach in the business, Rick Pitino, and has the team to make a long run.

  • Sweet Sixteen possible: Creighton, UConn

After back to back national titles, I wouldn’t sleep on UConn. I love Creighton. They have shooters and a big man. I am sure Sweet Sixteen will be their floor as they enter the tournament.

  • Anyone else getting in: I don’t think so. Villanova and Xavier would have the best chance. Georgetown is trending in the right direction but won’t be close. It will take a conference tournament victory for these teams.

The Big East has some of the best coaches in college basketball. Rick Pitino, Bobby Hurley, Shaka Smart, and Greg McDermott are elite. Sean Miller and Ed Cooley aren’t chopped liver either.

MLB

~Dave Parker made the correct decision to go in the Hall of Fame wearing a Pirates cap.

 

It was with the Pirates that Parker was the dominant force in the game during the mid to late 70’s.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

Bills quarterback Josh Allen won the MVP award, and the coolest gift he got was a video of kids from the children’s hospital he frequents sending him their congratulations. This is the best.

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow.

Bradenton will be bustling with current and future Pittsburgh Pirates. The promise of spring will be in the air, and the hope of winning baseball will be felt with every crack of the catchers mitt.

Okay, so that last part was a joke on my part. A joke similar to the offseason the Pirates have just completed.

Paul Skenes will anchor a pitching staff that has the potential to be one of the best in baseball. In addition to the Cy Young hopeful Skenes, the Pirates will have Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, rookie Bubba Chandler, Bailey Falter, and Johan Oviedo who returns from injury. That is pretty good stuff.

Unfortunately, the Pirates cheapskate owner and inept general manager chose to do next to nothing to supplement that pitching with little to no offense.

The Pirates traded a bag of balls for alleged first baseman Spencer Horowitz. Horowitz seems like a platoon guy at best. He is 27 years old and really hasn’t played a full season. He got 381 at bats in Toronto a year ago and hit 12 home runs. Not exactly the,power bat the Pirates should have been trying to acquire.

From there the Pirates signed four free agents. Four. The best? 38 year old Andrew McCutchen. The rest of the list includes Caleb Ferguson, Tim Mayza, and soon to be 37 years old Tommy Pham. The Pirates will mark Pham’s tenth team. Good players don’t play for ten teams.

That is the offseason.

 

It takes a special kind of incompetence and disinterest to pull off an offseason like this one. Again, they have Paul Skenes on the roster. He will be here for four more years. This is your chance to win. Bob Nutting doesn’t see it that way. He never does. He is running the longest and biggest con in sports. Pretending to want to win while showing year after year after year that he won’t do what is necessary to actually get that winning done.

The last time the Pirates signed a free agent to a multi year contract?

 

My god, I was just a boy back then.

That is embarrassing.

That is the Pirates.

Bob Nutting doesn’t even like baseball. He cares about one thing. Making a profit. He does that without trying to win. His investment continues to grow. Whenever he turns the team over to his daughter she will inherit a team worth approximately 1500% more than what her daddy paid for it.

Nutting has no incentive to spend.

Nutting doesn’t have the lure or intelligence to hire competent people.

Thus, you are in year six of GM Ben Cherington’s tenure and no growth can be found. The farm system is ranked 20 and no prominent trades or free agent signings can be found.

The Pirates actually had the audacity to raise ticket prices then send out a survey to see if fans thought they were trying to win. Tone deaf or trolling? Either way it is typical Nutting. First class douchebaggery.

If the Pirates tried to pitch their offseason to TV executives I think we know what they would lead with.

Welcome to another year of Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, where hope springs a leak.

Just my two cents…