Super Bowl LV Chatter Thread | Bucs/Chiefs

Cotton

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Super Bowl 2021: Chiefs vs. Bucs news, matchup, odds updates, full coverage of the NFL championship game


By The Athletic NFL Staff 10m ago

On Sunday, February 7, Super Bowl LV between the Chiefs and the Bucs will air on CBS at 6:30 p.m. ET. It’s the first time in Super Bowl history that a team will play the game in its own home stadium. Tom Brady is playing in his 10th(!) Super Bowl, and going for his seventh win, while Patrick Mahomes‘ Chiefs are trying to win back-to-back Super Bowls for the first time since … Brady’s Patriots did it in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX. Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will be calling the game.

Below is a rundown of all of The Athletic’s content leading up to the game. This file will be updated throughout the week, so make sure you check back.

• Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski have been essential to the success of their star QBs and they’ll play huge roles in determining the Super Bowl winner. Vic Tafur on how the two are bringing “sexy” back to the tight end position.

• “There’s a saying that good things happen to good people,” said former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. “Well great things happen to great people, and Chris Godwin is a great, great person. He deserves everything that he gets.” Robert Mays on the inevitability of Chris Godwin.

•. Seth Keysor gives his Super Bowl LV analysis, including what each team needs to do to win. And, one disclaimer, he writes: “The Chiefs are the one team with a virtually guaranteed-win scenario, and it’s this: If quarterback Patrick Mahomes has an A+ game, there’s virtually no way the Chiefs lose. There just isn’t.”

• How did the Bucs turn into the Super Bowl team they are today? Greg Auman looks at how things all came together, from the future Hall of Famers to the least experienced rookies on the squad.

• Can the Bucs do enough to slow down the Chiefs’ offense? Vic Tafur thinks they can — he’s picking Tampa. He explains why here, along with some of his favorite prop bets.

• The Chiefs were successful in the AFL and NFL for several reasons, one of which was unquestionably the talent of a scout named Lloyd Wells. Rustin Dodd on how a bold scout, HBCU talent elevated the Chiefs — and football.

• Amid a group of Tampa Bay pass catchers touting a combined 16 Pro Bowl appearances and eight All-Pro nods, Scotty Miller has slid his way into Tom Brady’s circle. His average of 15.2 yards per catch has been topped by only Josh Gordon (2018), Brandin Cooks (2017) and Chris Hogan (2016) among Brady receivers who caught 20 or more passes since 2011

• “He hated kickers,” said Jake Arians about his dad Bruce. That was until Jake became one. Turns out kickers are all right. Bruce entrusts Jake to be his agent and run the Arians Family Foundation. Jake considers Bruce his best friend. They’ve spent decades together at football fields across the country. Tim Graham talks to Jake about his dad, and his own career in the NFL.

• “Every time I’ve played against Tom Brady, it’s been a four-quarter game, all the way down to the last possession,” says Tyrann Mathieu, a key part of one of the biggest subplots of Sunday’s game: The Chiefs’ defense. Nate Taylor writes about how the unit is eager to blend new and old tactics in a rematch against Tom Brady.

• Who wins Super Bowl LV, and how? Four veteran coaches with Super Bowl experience make their picks here while revealing what they consider pivotal for the matchup.

• Tom Brady and Michael Jordan each have six championships. They stand together as conquerors, and apart from the rest. At least until Sunday. Can Brady eclipse Jordan as the greatest GOAT of all time?

• Bucs WR Antonio Brown met with reporters via Zoom today for the first time this week. He evaded most questions about his past issues off the field, the incidents that led to his 8-game suspension, or about his future with the Bucs. “We all have a story, we’ve all been through some things that’s allowed us to grow for the betterment of ourselves,” he said. Important to note re: Antonio Brown: The NFL’s investigation into sexual assault allegations levied by Brown’s former trainer remains open. He could face future discipline if the NFL determines he violated the personal conduct policy. The 8-game suspension he served earlier this year stemmed from other incidents in 2019. —Lindsay Jones. (For more on Antonio Brown, Dan Kaplan writes on how the woman accusing Antonio Brown of rape wants to subpoena Bucs, three other clubs.)

• ‘Sky is not the limit’: How L’Jarius Sneed became the best rookie CB in the NFL

• Controlling the time of possession is not the way to beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Nate Taylor, Joshua Brisco and Seth Keysor discuss that on the latest episode of the Time’s Ours podcast.

• A couple Chiefs injury updates to watch this week: -Patrick Mahomes said his big toe injury is close to 100%. The bye week has been good for healing, he said. -WR Sammy Watkins missed the AFC championship game w/ a calf injury said he believes he’ll be able to play. -CB L’Jarius Sneed has cleared the concussion protocol. —Lindsay Jones

For most of her career, Laura Okmin has stuck to the rule that reporters should never be the story. But with Jason Pierre-Paul, she found that revealing a bit of herself could lead to a story that could inspire others. Lindsay Jones writes about the two have bonded over shared trauma — and now have a secret handshake.

• “Since their beloved team became champions, many Kansas City Chiefs fans have been fascinated by one diagram, one play they can reference with one word: Wasp.” Nate Taylor talks to seven diehard Chiefs fans about how they have commemorated the Wasp play, the turning point of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV victory.

What steps did the Buccaneers and Chiefs take in 2020 to help them reach the Super Bowl? Nate Taylor and Greg Auman talk to Robert Mays about how each team was built.

Writers on the five teams that beat the Bucs and Chiefs in the regular season explain how it happened.

• Wait, Tom Brady wants to play beyond the age of 45?! ““Yeah, definitely,” Brady said. “I would definitely consider that.”

The Chiefs’ Mike Remmers prepares for Bucs’ pass rush, hoping to avoid infamy. As Greg Auman writes: “Remmers has started at least 10 games in six straight seasons but has done that with four different teams, bouncing from the Panthers to the Vikings to the Giants to the Chiefs. It’s hard to move that often and play that much, and with the beard, he’s like an O-line version of Ryan Fitzpatrick, good enough to play wherever he’s at but rarely staying there long.”

How amazing are the Chiefs? FS1’s Nick Wright, a KC native, wants to tell you.

Kansas City has won 25 of its last 27 games. Needless to say, the Bucs’ margin for error against the Chiefs is small — but it’s not impossible. Michael Lombardi on how the Bucs need to approach this game if they want to win their first title since 2003.

Is the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce having the best tight end season in NFL history? Mike Sando and Ethan Douglas turn to the data to add some context to Kelce’s historic run.
Yes, the Bucs have 43-year-old Tom Brady at quarterback and 68-year-old Bruce Arians as coach, but the real ageless wonder on the Tampa Bay sidelines is Tom Moore, 82, who won his first Super Bowl as a Steelers assistant in 1979 and goes for another Sunday.

What will it take for the Chiefs to repeat as champions? Ted Nguyen and Sheil Kapadia dive into the film and analytics to provide a full preview of Super Bowl LV.
Brady is now playing a Super Bowl during a fourth Presidential administration. When Brady made his NFL debut in 2000, the Seahawks played in the AFC. Usher’s “U Got It Bad” and Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” were the top two songs in the U.S. the week of Tom Brady’s first Super Bowl in 2002. We gathered up 21 of our favorite facts to show just how long Tom Brady has been winning for (and to make us all feel old, too).

The NFL reached the Super Bowl during a pandemic without having to delay the season. How did they do it? Lindsay Jones writes about how the NFL navigated this strange season, and how “getting here wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t without a cost.”

Betting updates

The Chiefs are currently 3.5-point favorites against the Bucs.

• Here’s a Super Bowl 2021 party props sheet for you to download, which includes 20 questions, from Bruce Arians’ hat to The Weeknd’s set list
• In anticipation of the Super Bowl, we assembled a panel of experts to help us sort through predictions, expectations and matchups for one last time for the NFL season.
Sheil Kapadia, Bo Wulf, Jake Ciely and Vic Tafur make their picks for MVP odds and more.

Another prop to consider on Sunday: Which do you think will be higher: the total touchdowns Tom Brady throws against the Chiefs or the points Alex Ovechkin registers against the Flyers?

• Need some help figuring out which bets to make for the Super Bowl? Sheil Kapadia’s got you covered: in his Super Bowl gambling guide he goes over his pick for Chiefs vs. Bucs, as well as prop bets to consider, like whether to take the over on Patrick Mahomes interceptions, or if you should go for the long shot MVP pick of Tyrann Mathieu (+3500) or Shaq Barrett (+5000).

• In terms of sports gambling content, CBS says do not expect any during the Super Bowl broadcast of the Chiefs-Bucs. CBS is going very slowly as a company in terms of said content being shown within games. Same with the Super Bowl pregame show. —Richard Deitsch

Super Bowl odds and stats: An analytical deep dive on all the numbers that matter

Super Bowl sucker bets: The 4 prop bets you should avoid

Super Bowl prop bets: Expert picks for Gatorade color, coin flip, first to score and more

Super Bowl prop bets: A professional gambler says the best values lie in … punting

Super Bowl 2021 odds: Running the numbers on the first player to score a TD wager

A bettor in Nevada will collect a $2 million payout if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cover the 3.5-point spread against the favored Kansas City Chiefs in next week’s Super Bowl.

Media/Broadcast/Halftime show updates

• CBS says there will be a Joe Biden interview on Super Bowl Sunday. Scheduled in the 4:00 PM ET hour. Other pregame features include: an examination of Kenny Washington’s re-integration of the NFL in the 1940s; Whitney Houston’s memorable National Anthem; a look at the ascension of Black quarterbacks in the modern NFL and honoring COVID-19 frontline and essential workers. —Richard Deitsch

• If you plan on listening to Super Bowl LV via audio: Kevin Harlan will handle play-by-play duties for Westwood One for the eleventh straight Super Bowl, with Kurt Warner returning for the third consecutive year as the lead analyst. The sideline reporters are Tony Boselli and Laura Okmin. Jim Gray will anchor the pregame and halftime coverage. —Richard Deitsch

• Last year’s Shakira-Jennifer Lopez performance was a huge success, but it’s still hard to ignore that over the years, the halftime show, which first originated on January 15th 1967, has largely lost its must-see mojo. Keith Murphy asks: Is the Super Bowl Halftime Show still special? The Weeknd hopes to revive the spectacle.

• With COVID-19 altering the world, will the likes of ESPN, FS1, NFL Network, and Radio Row scale down their on-site live programming during the week? Richard Deitsch takes your questions on this unusual Super Bowl in his media mailbag. Plus, listen to Deitsch on a new episode of The Lead, where he talks about how this will be a Super Bowl unlike any other.

Tony Romo on legacy Super Bowl for Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. “Could you imagine if Michael Jordan got his team to the NBA Finals in 1998 or when he was older against a young LeBron James, who’s the face of the league? It would be the greatest thing in the history of sports. I think we might actually have that Super Bowl.”

Tony Romo on the Super Bowl, his future at CBS, Jim Nantz and being his best self. Says Romo: “My wife is always like, ‘quit tapping me when you talk’ (laughs). But I’m like, “Look at this play!” She’s like, “I get it! You don’t have to tap me!” It’s just something I do constantly. I want you to feel it. I want you to like it.”

• Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will not see each other in Tampa prior to the Super Bowl until they arrive at the booth prior to kickoff. They have to follow social distancing and COVID protocols during their stay in Tampa and they take separate cars to the stadium. — Richard Deitsch
 

p1_

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im not sure why, but Im pulling for Brady.
 

data

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So, what’s the gametime activity de jour?

Bingo?
Pick a player and drink?
 

Cotton

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Cotton

One-armed Knife Sharpener
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So, what’s the gametime activity de jour?

Bingo?
Pick a player and drink?
The bingo is always fun.
 

boozeman

28 Years And Counting...
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This will be the first time in forever that I will not be at a party or have family around for the game.

Just me. I guess I can scale down the food and shit.
 

boozeman

28 Years And Counting...
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I think he other kid had substance abuse issues.
 
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Cotton

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If Andy Reid decides he can't coach, then yeah, it goes to Bieniemy.

Reid might opt out...he is a stand up guy.
Why would he not coach? It was just a car accident.
 

boozeman

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Why would he not coach? It was just a car accident.
With a kid in critical condition that pretty much your kid's fault? Reid is an emotional guy.

You never know.

And again, you need to consider it was Clarence Hill, who probably is a card carrying member of the "Bieniemy was shafted" fan club.
 

Cotton

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And again, you need to consider it was Clarence Hill, who probably is a card carrying member of the "Bieniemy was shafted" fan club.
This is exactly why I questioned it to begin with.
 

jsmith6919

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If Andy Reid decides he can't coach, then yeah, it goes to Bieniemy.

Reid might opt out...he is a stand up guy.
I don't see it happening but if by some weird way it does we need to start a Hire Reid Now campaign, I'd ditch MM in a second for him
 

Chocolate Lab

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And again, you need to consider it was Clarence Hill, who probably is a card carrying member of the "Bieniemy was shafted" fan club.
"Probably?"
 
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