Super Bowl Picks!

[Jameis1of1]

Saints got ROBBED ... I don't really care as I didn't have a dog in the race but I think it's an absurd tragedy that we're not getting a Brady vs. Brees Super Bowl ... I can't remember a Conference Title Game being stolen from one team by the refs to the extent this one was stolen from New Orleans.

However ... once again, we didn't get a great QB performance from any of the 4 QBs ... Brees was okay, Goff was okay, Mahomes was wild as can be and Brady looked pretty bad for him ... I want to see a shootout in the Super Bowl but I doubt we will ... I'll take the Pats over the Rams and I think Goff is going to have a rough game. Mahomes looked bad in the first half against the Pats, Rivers looked bad in the first half against the Pats, and if Goff has the same type of first half I do NOT see him being able to sling the Rams back into the game in the second half.

The way I see it, if the Rams are going to win, they are going to need to run the ball down the Pats throat (which is entirely possible with Gurley and CJ) and hammer Brady early and often ... I look for Suh to do something dirty to Brady and I just hope no one gets injured.

[usafshelland]

What? Are you crazy? Brady was vintage Brady on that final drive and the drive in OT. I don't know how you can say he looked bad...if he was bad, I'm sure every NFL QB would like to play that bad and be in the Super Bowl. (and I HATE Brady...I'm ready for him to retire)

[sjw241]

Was hoping to see the Chiefs make it past the Patriots. Chiefs got screwed on the roughing passer call late in the game. Even the commentators said it was a BS call. Not to say that stole the game from them but it made a big difference. Anyway, I hope the Rams can beat the Pats.

[jwlawrence06]

I must admit, even though they lost, Patrick Mahomes is the real deal. It took 2 vintage drives from the GOAT to overcome Mahomes magic, and the Pats defensive gameplan was working great yesterday. That was pure Mahomes wizardry. Dude is unbelievable.

[jwlawrence06]

What? Are you crazy? Brady was vintage Brady on that final drive and the drive in OT. I don't know how you can say he looked bad...if he was bad, I'm sure every NFL QB would like to play that bad and be in the Super Bowl. (and I HATE Brady...I'm ready for him to retire)

Yeah I have to agree with you on this, Brady had one bad throw the entire night...that's it. Some of his throws to Edelman and White were picture perfect. I would say his performance is as good as you get in a Championship game against the best competition. Can't expect 2007 Brady or 2013 Manning performances this late in the playoffs.

[Jameis1of1]

What? Are you crazy? Brady was vintage Brady on that final drive and the drive in OT. I don't know how you can say he looked bad...if he was bad, I'm sure every NFL QB would like to play that bad and be in the Super Bowl. (and I HATE Brady...I'm ready for him to retire)

Yeah I have to agree with you on this, Brady had one bad throw the entire night...that's it. Some of his throws to Edelman and White were picture perfect. I would say his performance is as good as you get in a Championship game against the best competition. Can't expect 2007 Brady or 2013 Manning performances this late in the playoffs.

You guys took my comment as ripping Brady when it was actually a compliment ... that's why I included "for him" in the statement. However, NO, I do not think 1 TD pass with 2 INTs (should have been 3) and a lot of "misses" is as "good as you get in a Championship game", sorry. I agree with Brett Favre, who recently said Brady is "very limited in what he can do but very, very good in what he does". However, even "what he does" has regressed I believe ... Brady certainly hasn't fallen off the cliff the way Peyton Manning did in his final season (when he won a SuperBowl, primarily thanks to his team's defense and running game) but he is in decline and it seems obvious when I watch him play.

As for Brady retiring ... I don't think he has any plans to do so, BUT HE SHOULD if he wants to preserve his legacy imho.

I must admit, even though they lost, Patrick Mahomes is the real deal. It took 2 vintage drives from the GOAT to overcome Mahomes magic, and the Pats defensive gameplan was working great yesterday. That was pure Mahomes wizardry. Dude is unbelievable.

Mahomes is absolutely legit ... but he was NOT on his game yesterday. Midway through the 2nd quarter the Chiefs had NEGATIVE passing yards ... he was spraying the ball wildly all game long (51.6 comp % which is terrible), missed an easy TD throw, took terrible sacks (one that cost them 3 points), and while the comeback was awesome, throwing to wide open guys who then rumble through a non-existent defense for 20+ yards is not about any QBs wizardry.

Mahomes has HOF talent and is the brightest young star in the NFL right now and should continue to get better and better and better, so scary times are ahead for the rest of the AFC ... but ... yesterday was nowhere near the best example of how good he can play.

I'm excited to see him play in 2019 though ... and really excited to see him go against the Patriots again as I think he'll be even better and the Chiefs will smack New England next season.

[jwlawrence06]

I think the stats don't paint the whole picture though. You should restate your comment to "I didn't get a good STATISTICAL QB performance..."

Brady converted three 3rd & 10's, in overtime, on the road, in the AFC championship game. Even if he threw 4 INT's and had a QB rating of 20 prior to that, his drives at the end of that game alone warrant "good QB performance"...matter of fact that would be categorized as "ELITE QB performance". I'll give it to you that he didn't statistically have a great performance, but you can't confuse statistical performance with overall performance, especially in the playoffs.

As for Mahomes, again, the stats don't paint the whole picture. His first half had much more to do with Belichick's defensive gameplan than overall Mahomes. His second half was outstanding and thus, I would nudge him into the 'ELITE QB performance' grouping. So, from my point of view, we got 2 outstanding QB performances on the big stage.

[creasecollector]

Patriots!

[Jameis1of1]

I think the stats don't paint the whole picture though. You should restate your comment to "I didn't get a good STATISTICAL QB performance..."

I hear you but I didn't use the word "good"; I used the word "great" and I definitely do not think Brady's was a "great performance". It was "good enough to win" of course but I don't think even Brady himself would say he played "great" yesterday.

Brady converted three 3rd & 10's, in overtime, on the road, in the AFC championship game.

He also completed just 4/9 passes on that drive, for a 44.4 comp % ...however, I did say he was "clutch" so I agree with you on the 3rd down conversions.

Even if he threw 4 INT's and had a QB rating of 20 prior to that, his drives at the end of that game alone warrant "good QB performance"...matter of fact that would be categorized as "ELITE QB performance".

Again, I used the word "great" not "good" and I don't even think Brady himself would disagree with me ... no way he would say he played "great" yesterday. And, of course, the 3rd pick he threw actually would have ended the game and given it to the Chiefs ... and the penalty had nothing to do with the play ... Brady got lucky on that one and I think he'd acknowledge as much. He wasn't great and certainly not "elite" yesterday. He was merely "clutch" and "good enough to contribute to a team win".

I'll give it to you that he didn't statistically have a great performance, but you can't confuse statistical performance with overall performance, especially in the playoffs.

They generally go hand in hand though I do understand what you're saying. However, it's not like Brady simply didn't throw for a lot of yards or didn't throw a TD or something like that ... he threw 2 picks (3 really), one of which was a terrible pick in the red-zone ... he had a bad game "for him".

As for Mahomes, again, the stats don't paint the whole picture. His first half had much more to do with Belichick's defensive gameplan than overall Mahomes. His second half was outstanding and thus, I would nudge him into the 'ELITE QB performance' grouping. So, from my point of view, we got 2 outstanding QB performances on the big stage.

Mahomes "stats" were great and he had a very good "stat" game, but again he was missing passing all over the field and I don't view screen pass TDs as part of an elite performance ... Mahomes was off his game yesterday and I imagine he believes and knows if he would have played his best the Chiefs would have won by double-digits.

Your comments are interesting as you're basically saying Brady was elite even though his stats were bad and Mahomes was elite even though his stats were better than his actual play ... I don't understand that. I'm saying neither guy played anywhere near as good as he can play, and neither had a great, let alone elite, performance ... both played good enough to contribute to a team win (especially considering the Chiefs would have won had Dee Ford lined up 6" back from where he did), but I wasn't "impressed" by either performance in the least. I'm not saying it was anything like watching the immortal playoff QBs Blake Bortles and Tyrod Taylor square off last year, LOL, but, I just wasn't impressed with either QB's performance. I was incredibly impressed with the Patriots O-Line and Josh McDaniels' play-calling though!

[jwlawrence06]

I guess if you pull the numbers you can definitely argue that, statistically this wasn't a 'great' game by Brady (however I would say it was definitely a great game by Mahomes).

However, if you're not impressed with what these 2 QB's did in the second half/overtime of that game yesterday, then we can agree to disagree overall. I am, for one, very impressed with what they both did and can overlook a couple of shaky throws by Mahomes, or a bad goal line INT by Brady (his other 2 picks were off deflections, I won't place that all on Brady).