Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022?

It’s tough to count on anything these days but this August there should be a Hall of Fame induction celebration like no other. An incredible 28 new members will be inducted. Over two days, the number of busts in Canton will jump from 326 to 354. So, naturally, instead of continuing to celebrate the Pro Football Hall of Fame Classes of 2020 and 2021, I look toward the Class of 2022. When it comes to Hall of Fame debates, it’s always about the next Class.

The Hall of Fame voters have shown a terrifying tendency to rush players into the Hall on their first ballot. Making it in the first year has to mean something so much more than it currently does. The very best of the very best. These are the players for which there is no debate. If there’s a debate, they wait. Hey, that has a nice ring to it. I wonder if it’s been used before. Probably. It seemed to easy. Anyway, the rush to induct players on the first ballot that aren’t quite first ballot Hall of Famers must stop. Next year, DeMarcus Ware, Robert Mathis, Anquan Boldin, Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, Tony Romo, and Vince Wilfork will join the voting fun. All were terrific players. Some will be in Canton. Some day. I’m particularly partial to Steve Smith. I loved his receiving game. I loved watching him play football. He was one of the best receivers of his era. There might’ve been a year or two in which he was the game’s best receiver. As much as I enjoyed his football career, I don’t think that he quite tilted the field enough, quite changed the game enough to make the Hall in his first year of eligibility. Besides, should he jump Reggie Wayne and Torry Holt in the receiver queue? That same queue question should apply to DeMarcus Ware, Robert Mathis, and even Vince Wilfork. Should they jump Richard Seymour and Jared Allen in the defensive line queue? In my opinion, they shouldn’t. In my opinion, all of the next year’s first-year eligibles should wait. 

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022 should be a class made up of players that have been waiting. Some have been waiting for far too long. Next year should be the year that Tony Boselli finally makes it to Canton. He’s been a finalist each of the past five years. The Hall of Fame is supposed to recognize the quality of a player’s career. Boselli has always had that. For much of his career he was the best left tackle in the league. This was during an era that included Jonathan Ogden, Gary Zimmerman, Willie Roaf, Walter Jones, and Orlando Pace. Four of those five only waited two years for their Hall of Fame selection. Zimmerman waited six years. Boselli has been waiting 15 years. His career was Hall of Fame quality. He just didn’t have the quantity. He only played in 91 games. That isn’t a teaser of an NFL career. That’s a legitimate NFL career. At some point quality must tip that scale. That point is long past with Boselli. In my opinion, he’s at the top of the list of deserving candidates in 2022. 

If we go by the players that came close in the most recent voting, the following could/should join Tony Boselli in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022. 

Tony Boselli

Richard Seymour

LeRoy Butler

Reggie Wayne

Perhaps I’m a bit biased but I’d round out the Class with Jared Allen. 

As for a Senior Candidate, can we finally see the induction of Lavvie Dilweg? It’s getting ridiculous. There are deserving players that played before 1970 that are still waiting. Dilweg has been waiting the longest. 

First Flea Flicker Mock Draft

Super Bowl LV is in the books. It’s time for my first mock draft of the mock draft season. 

1.   Jacksonville Jaguars-Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

2.   New York Jets-Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU

3.   Miami Dolphins-Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon

4.   Atlanta Falcons-Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

5.   Cincinnati Bengals-Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern 

6.   Philadelphia Eagles-Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama

7.   Detroit Lions-Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

8.   Carolina Panthers-Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

9.   Denver Broncos-Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech

10. Dallas Cowboys-Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida

11. New York Giants-DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

12. San Francisco 49ers-Patrick Surtain II, CB

13. Los Angeles Chargers-Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL, USC

14. Minnesota Vikings-Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama

15. New England Patriots-Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State

16. Arizona Cardinals-Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina

17. Las Vegas Raiders-Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, LB, Notre Dame

18. Miami Dolphins-Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa

19. Washington Football Team-Mac Jones, QB, Alabama

20. Chicago Bears-Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech

21. Indianapolis Colts-Gregory Rousseau, Edge, Miami

22. Tennessee Titans-Kwity Paye, Edge, Michigan

23. New York Jets-Najee Harris, RB, Alabama 

24. Pittsburgh Steelers-Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan

25. Jacksonville Jaguars-Levi Onwuzurike, DT, Washington

26. Cleveland Browns-Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri

27. Baltimore Ravens-Azeez Ojulari, Edge, Georgia

28. New Orleans Saints-Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida

29. Green Bay Packers-Rashod Batemen, WR, Minnesota 

30. Buffalo Bills-Carlos Basham Jr., Edge, Wake Forest

31. Kansas City Chiefs-Wyatt Davis, IOL, Ohio State

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Joseph Ossai, Edge, Texas

It’s a start...

Minnesota Vikings 2021 Coaches

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer has assembled his 2021 Coaching Staff. Every offseason brings some coaching staff juggles. This year’s juggles included the nearly annual decision on a new Offensive Coordinator. Gary Kubiak decided soon after the season that it was time to end his long NFL career. The Vikings needed a new offensive play-caller. Again. It wasn’t the only coaching need. 

Coaches not returning in 2021:

Offensive Coordinator: Gary Kubiak

Special Teams Coordinator: Marwan Maalouf

Strength and Conditioning Coordinator: Mark Uyeyama

Defensive Back Coach: Daronte Jones

Assistant Linebackers/Defensive Quality Control: Nick Rallis

Senior Defensive Assistant: Dom Capers

Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Chaz Mahle

Gary Kubiak-retired

Marwan Maalouf-didn’t have his contract renewed

Mark Uyeyama-didn’t have his contract renewed

Daronte Jones-plucked by LSU to be defensive coordinator 

Nick Rallis-plucked by Eagles to be linebackers coach

Dom Capers-didn’t have his contract renewed

Chaz Mahle-his name and profile just vanished from the team’s website

New Coaches/Coaches in New Places:

Offensive Coordinator: Klint Kubiak

Special Teams Coordinator: Ryan Ficken

Strength and Conditioning Coordinator: Josh Hingst

Quarterbacks Coach: Andrew Janocko

Receivers Coach: Keenan McCardell

Defensive Backs Coach: Karl Scott

Defensive Quality Control Coach: Sam Siefkes

Senior Defensive Assistant: Paul Guenther

Assistant Special Teams Coach: ?

Mike Zimmer has unfortunately grown accustomed to hiring a new offensive coordinator. This will be his eighth season in Minnesota. Klint Kubiak will be his sixth offensive coordinator. He follows Norv Turner, Pat Shurmur, John DeFilippo, Kevin Stefanski, and Gary Kubiak. Some slappies in the media have landed on the conclusion that Zimmer can’t get along with his offensive coordinators. In reality, Zimmer has gotten along famously with Shurmur, Stefanski, and the Kubiaks. His relationship with Turner was fine for two years. It went south during their third season together when deep drops behind a terrible offensive line put Sam Bradford’s life in danger. Zimmer seemed to have a problem with that. Turner didn’t. The DeFilippo experiment became a mistake when the play caller seemed more invested in his next job than the offense that he was hired to run. Anyway, none of that offensive coordinator history matters now. Zimmer is gambling that 33-year old Klint Kubiak is ready to direct an NFL offense. Seeing as he’s been around the NFL for all of his life he’s probably advanced for his 33 years. Football-wise. Maintaining Kubiak Senior’s offense was very important to Zimmer. He gets that with Junior. I’m looking forward to seeing a young coach’s spin on the old offense. 

As with offensive coordinator, Zimmer promoted from within to find his new special teams coordinator. When Stefanski left last offseason to be the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Ryan Ficken became the Vikings’ most tenured coach. Brad Childress brought him to Minnesota. Leslie Frazier kept him. As did Zimmer. Ficken has done his NFL-coaching time. He’s earned the opportunity to run the team’s special teams. He probably should’ve been given the opportunity two years ago. He gets it now. 

Zimmer went outside the building to find a new strength and conditioning coordinator. Josh Hingst comes from Doug Pederson’s coaching staff in Philadelphia. Hingst became available when Peterson was fired. The strength and conditioning coaching is so behind-the-scenes that it’s tough to judge the changes/impact. Hingst has experience and comes from a team that recently won a Super Bowl. 

Klint Kubiak’s promotion created rolling changes through the Vikings’ offensive coaching staff. 2020 receivers coach Andrew Janocko replaced Kubiak as the quarterbacks coach. Since coming to Minnesota in 2015, Janocko has coached nearly every offensive position group. Most of his time with the Vikings has been with the offensive line. In his playing days he played quarterback. He was a backup at Pitt. He coached quarterbacks at Division II Mercyhurst during the 2014 season. He got his NFL coaching start on Greg Schiano’s Tampa Bay staff during the 2012-13 seasons. Keenan McCardell was hired to replace Janocko as the receivers coach. This is an outstanding coaching addition. McCardell was one of the league’s best receivers in the 1990s. He first appeared on my coaching radar while coaching receivers at Maryland. There he coached Stefon Diggs. McCardell has had NFL coaching stints with Washington and Jacksonville. Everywhere he’s been as a coach, his receivers got better. I look forward to the impact he’ll have on Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, and the rest of the Vikings’ receivers. 

Most of the Vikings’ coaching churn took place on the offensive side. The defensive side also had a few changes. Last year, Zimmer brought in Dom Capers as a senior defensive assistant. I have no idea if he had an impact on the team, scheme, or players. Whether he did or not, he won’t be back. I wasn’t sure if Zimmer was going to hire another senior defensive assistant. That question was answered when Paul Guenther was hired for the role this week. It’s an intriguing hire but hardly surprising. Guenther was Zimmer’s top assistant while he was the defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals. The two defensive coaches are close. Close enough that I thought that Guenther might come to Minnesota as the defensive coordinator when Zimmer was hired as the Vikings’ head coach in 2014. Instead, Zimmer didn’t rob Marvin Lewis of his coaches and Guenther was named the Bengals’ defensive coordinator. From there, Guenther became Jon Gruden’s defensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders in 2018. His defense struggled last season and it cost him his job in December. Dom Capers brought some different defensive ideas last year. Zimmer and Guenther worked together for six years in Cincinnati. They share much of the same defensive ideas. Zimmer seems to like having additional eyes and opinions in the building and on the football field. While the impact of those additional eyes and opinions is tough to judge from a distance, it seems like a sound philosophy. 

After an impressive first season in Minnesota, defensive backs coach Daronte Jones jumped to the college game to take the defensive coordinator job at LSU. Mike Zimmer went to the college ranks for his replacement. Karl Scott has been Alabama’s defensive backs coach since 2018. The Crimson Tide has had a strong tradition of sending defensive backs to the NFL. Scott’s been a big part of the recent tradition. After working for Nick Saban for a few seasons, he’ll be well prepared to work for Zimmer. Both are defensive-minded head coaches with a particularly hands-on approach to coaching defensive backs. Both favor man techniques within a zone defense. Scott appears to be a terrific addition to the Vikings’ defense. My biggest concern is that he might have a similar career path as Daronte Jones. A college team might soon come calling to hire him as their defensive coordinator. Scott received some interest this offseason from Mike Locksley to be his DC at Maryland. The other addition to the Vikings’ defensive coaching staff is interesting. Zimmer looked to the college game to find a replacement for Nick Rallis. The Vikings are hiring Wofford defensive coordinator Sam Siefkes as a defensive quality control coach. With a few years as a college defensive coordinator, even at an FCS school, Siefkes seems more experienced than most quality control coaches. He also coached inside linebackers at Wofford. Perhaps he’ll assist Adam Zimmer with the linebackers. I found a report from last week that LSU hired Siefkes to be part of Daronte Jones’ defensive coaching staff. If true, the Vikings plucked a coach from the coach that just left them. 

I’ve yet to see any news of the Vikings hiring a coach to assist Ficken with the special teams. I doubt that he’ll be forced to coach the special teams alone.

Minnesota Vikings 2021 Coaches

Head Coach: Mike Zimmer

Offensive Coaches:

Offensive Coordinator: Klint Kubiak

Quarterbacks Coach: Andrew Janocko

Running Backs Coach: Kennedy Polamalu

Receivers Coach: Keenan McCardell

Tight Ends Coach: Brian Pariani

Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator: Rick Dennison

Assistant Offensive Line Coach: Phil Rauscher

Offensive Quality Control: Christian Jones

Offensive Quality Control: AC Patterson

Defensive Coaches:

Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach: Andre Patterson

Defensive Coordinator/ Linebackers Coach: Adam Zimmer

Assistant Defensive Line Coach: Imarjaye Albury

Defensive Backs Coach: Karl Scott

Assistant Defensive Backs Coach: Roy Anderson

Defensive Quality Control: Sam Siefkes

Senior Defensive Assistant: Paul Guenther

Special Teams Coaches:

Special Teams Coordinator: Ryan Ficken

Assistant Special Teams Coach:

Strength and Conditioning Coaches:

Strength and Conditioning Coordinator: Josh Hingst

Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Derik Keyes

Throwback Thursday: All-Time Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff

 The Flicker was originally posted on January 25, 2020. 

The recent additions to and subtractions from the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff got me thinking about the best coaches that have done some time with the team. From those thoughts, I couldn't stop myself from piecing together an All-Time Minnesota Vikings Coaching Staff.

Head Coach
Bud Grant

Offense

Offensive Coordinator
Jerry Burns

Quarterbacks

Norm Van Brocklin

Running Backs
Eric Bienemy

Receivers
Chip Myers

Tight Ends
Brian Billick

Offensive Line
John Michels

Assistant Offensive Line
Mike Tice

Defense

Defensive Coordinator
Mike Zimmer

Defensive Line
Buddy Ryan

Assistant Defensive Line
Andre Patterson

Linebackers
Monte Kiffin

Defensive Backs
Tony Dungy

Assistant Defensive Backs
Pete Carroll

Special Teams

Special Teams Coordinator
Bud Grant

Assistant Special Teams
Gary Zauner

I tried to place each of the coaches in positions that they held with the Vikings. Mike Zimmer doesn't hold the title of defensive coordinator but there's no doubt that he coordinates the defense as the head coach. I also demoted the Vikings first head coach to quarterback coach. Norm Van Brocklin never spent a day as an assistant coach. He went straight from NFL MVP to head coach of an expansion team. Fran Tarkenton said that Van Brocklin had a brilliant mind for offensive football. That's good enough for me. Perhaps he'd be better suited as the team's offensive coordinator but I really want Jerry Burns in that position. The emotional range of Van Brocklin and Burns together would be a riot to see. Tony Dungy coordinated the defense for Dennis Green. He was never the Vikings defensive back coach but he gets that job for this team. Picking a special teams coordinator was an issue. The Vikings' special teams during their Super Bowl years were factors in so many games. I've never seen a team block as many kicks and punts as those teams did. I wanted the special teams coach of those teams to be the All-Time coordinator. The problem is that no Vikings coach had that specific title. Entire NFL coaching staffs of that era could fit into the office of one of today’s head coaches. Assistant coaches often had to work with more than a single position group. Bud Grant stressed the importance of special teams. Because the special teams of his teams were so damn special he gets to be the head coach and coordinate the special teams.

From a Vikings perspective, I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing that former assistants Pete Carroll, Tony Dungy, Brian Billick, and Mike Tomlin went on to be Super Bowl-winning head coaches for other teams. Buddy Ryan wasn't the head coach of a Super Bowl-winning but he played a significant role in winning one as a defensive coordinator.

The Vikings offensive explosion in 1998 propelled Brian Billick into a head coaching opportunity with the Baltimore Ravens. Chip Myers coached the receivers from 1994-97 and quarterbacks in 1998. His work with the receivers and juggling of Brad Johnson and Randall Cunningham during the explosive 1998 season made him an easy choice to replace Billick as the Vikings offensive coordinator. About a month after being promoted, Myers died suddenly at the age of 53 of a heart attack. In a sad case of what might have been, I've often wondered what a Chip Myers-led Vikings offense might have looked like. Playmakers like Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Jake Reed, and Robert Smith can make coaching look easy. I thought that the Vikings offense could build on what they did in 1998. Instead, that was their peak. The sad, sudden loss of Myers left a hole on the coaching staff that Dennis Green never could fill.

There weren't enough positions on this coaching staff for all of the terrific coaches that have impacted the Vikings franchise. Here are a few of the former Vikings coaches that deserve mention:

Jack Patera
Neil Armstrong
Bus Mertes
Floyd Peters
John Teerlinck
Paul Wiggin
Mike Tomlin

Minnesota Vikings’ Four-Round Mock

I made my first venture into the Draft Network’s Mock Draft Simulator. It’s an addictive thing. I only did a four-round simulation for the Minnesota Vikings. It’s too early in the evaluation process for a full seven-rounder. The Vikings are projected to receive as many as four compensatory picks. One of those picks should be at the end of the fourth round. That gives the Vikings the following pick through four roundss:

1 (14)

3 (78)

3 (90)

4 (118)

4 (124)

4 (134)

4 (142)

Here’s what I got for the Vikings in the four-round simulation. 

14. Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern

78. Josh Myers, IOL, Ohio State

90. Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh 

118. Ar’Darius Washington, S, TCU

124. Elerson Smith, Edge, Northern Iowa

134. Shi Smith, WR, South Carolina

142. Rashad Weaver, Edge, Pittsburgh 

Slater-He’s my top pick at #14. I doubt that he’s there but I’d love it if he was.

Myers-I was hoping for a safety here. Richie Grant or Jevon Holland. Grant was taken off the board at #65. Holland went at #74. 

Twyman-He’s already become one of my draft favorites. If the Vikings don’t take a defensive tackle in the first round, Twyman is my pick whenever they can get him.

Washington-After Grant and Holland, I like Washington.

Elerson Smith-When it comes to Day 2 edge rushers, I like either one of Twyman’s Pitt defensive line mates. Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver. I grabbed Weaver later in the fourth round. I couldn’t pass on Elerson Smith and his freakish 6-7 245 lb size here. 

Shi Smith-I was hoping to draft one of Kadarius Toney, Rondale Moore, or D’Wayne Eskridge but they all came off the board in the second round. 

Fun stuff. If nothing else, this simulated mock confirmed to me that the Vikings really need to get back into the second round. They can’t afford to miss out on every player that’s selected between the 14th pick and the 78th pick. That’s too long just sitting and waiting. At a glance, I like the receivers and safeties that are projected to be taken in the second and early third rounds. Whether it’s trading back in the first and adding a second or paying what it takes to move into the second, it’d be best if the Vikings are part of the second round fun. 

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021 was revealed before and during Saturday’s NFL Honors. It’s an interesting group. 

Peyton Manning 

Charles Woodson

Calvin Johnson

Alan Faneca

John Lynch

Drew Pearson

Tom Flores

Bill Nunn

Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, and Calvin Johnson made it in their first year of eligibility. Alan Faneca had to wait a little. John Lynch waited a little longer. Drew Pearson, Tom Flores, and Bill Nunn waited decades. All are in Canton now. Congratulations.

I believe that making the Pro Football Hall of Fame has to mean something that it doesn’t currently mean. I believe that the first-year honor has to be reserved for the players for whom no debate or discussion is necessary. If there’s even the slightest discussion, the player waits a year or more. If the player had a “short” career, a few too many less than “Hall of Fame-level” seasons, whatever. If there’s a pause when asked if a player is a Hall of Fame player, he waits a year or more. With that thinking in mind, I didn’t think of Calvin Johnson as a first-year of eligibility Hall of Famer. Manning and Woodson were slam-dunks in their first year. Johnson wasn’t. 

I’m really glad that Alan Faneca finally made it. Steve Hutchinson and Faneca were the best guards of their era. I favored Hutchinson’s Hall of Fame candidacy over Faneca. I felt bad for that because I feared that my Minnesota Vikings bias influenced those feelings. I try to keep that bias at bay when I think of football’s great history. Hutchinson made it to the Hall last year. Faneca makes it this year. It feels right that both will have their days in the Canton sun on the same weekend.

As much as I hated and shed tears over a particular “catch” by Drew Pearson he should’ve been in the Pro Football Hall of Fame long ago. He was one of the best receivers of his era. There was no doubt about it then. There’s been no doubt about it during the decades that he was forced to wait. I was stunned that he wasn’t part of the Centennial Class. I was even more stunned that 1970s receiving peer Harold Carmichael was part of that Class. Pearson was one of the first team All-Decade receivers. Carmichael was a second-team choice. What changed? I hope that in his induction speech Pearson comes clean with his shove of Nate Wright. 

Tom Flores’ coaching of the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders was Hall of Fame quality. His coaching of the Seattle Seahawks was not. If he’d retired after his time with the Raiders, I’m certain that he would’ve been inducted years ago. 

Bill Nunn’s role in building the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the most interesting in the NFL’s history. He had unparalleled access to the coaches and players of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Steelers were terrible for nearly every year of their first four decades. Nunn’s access and knowledge of the players that most teams avoided flipped things quickly. He helped build a dynasty.

Then we have John Lynch. He has a bunch of Pro Bowls. He has a couple of All-Pro nods. He was part of an elite defense that brought a Super Bowl title to Tampa Bay. On the surface, his career is one that fits in the Hall of Fame puzzle. I’m not convinced of the fit. Whenever I watched him play for the Buccaneers and Broncos I felt like I was watching a very good football player. I never felt like I was watching a Hall of Fame player. He was part of one of the best defenses in league history. He was probably the fourth best player on that defense. Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks are in Canton. Simeon Rice is waiting. I feel like Lynch should still be waiting. When thinking of Lynch I can’t help but think of Donnie Shell. Both played safety on an elite defense. Both played the position in a hard-hitting fashion. I think that Shell was the better player and he waited over 25 years before he finally made the Hall of Fame. Lynch’s wait was less than ten years. 

I hate being critical of the candidacy of a player on this side of the Hall of Fame process. If he’s in, he’s a Hall of Famer. I hate downplaying John Lynch’s NFL career. Maybe it’s a Stanford thing. I’d feel better about this Hall of Fame Class if Tony Boselli was a part of it. He’s waited longer and had a better career than Lynch. Several of Boselli’s left tackle peers are in the Hall of Fame. For a handful of years he was the best left tackle in the game. Boselli still waiting is one of the great Hall mysteries. Along with Lavvie Dilweg and Al Wistert. 

Congratulations to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021. 

Some Super Bowl Thoughts

Congratulations Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Well, Super Bowl LV was a disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high. It was an amazing feat that the NFL got completely to and through the Super Bowl during a global pandemic. This country couldn’t do what the NFL did. Not even close. Some might say that this season was a miracle. Maybe I was hoping for a similarly miraculous Super Bowl. This game had the makings of a classic. Instead, it was the ho-hum sort of game that was the Super Bowl norm of the 1980s and 1990s. It was disappointing.

Super Bowl LV was decided before the musical numbers, before Amanda Gorman’s beautiful poem, before the questionable recreation of Vince Lombardi. Injuries forced the Kansas City Chiefs to play with an offensive line better suited for a fourth preseason game. Patrick Mahomes was forced to play behind an offensive line that couldn’t protect him, that hadn’t a hope of protecting him. Playing defense becomes real easy when half of the front seven is in the quarterback’s face upon receipt of the ball. I had hoped that Andy Reid, Eric Bieniemy, Mike Kafka and the rest of the Chiefs’ offensive coaches could scheme around the offensive line deficiencies. They couldn’t or didn’t. 

Tom Brady took home the Super Bowl LV MVP award. He didn’t have to do much more than show up for the game to get it. One could argue that Mahomes was the MVP of the game. He had to do much more to lead his team to nine points than Brady did in leading his team to 31 points. 

Devin White was the game’s MVP in my book. 

The ESPN headline for the game gushed “Brady, fierce defense leads Bucs to Super Bowl victory.” Brady and the Bucs defense basically took advantage of the good fortune they were handed in the biggest game of the season. Everything looked easy, already made for the Buccaneers. 

Every year I hope for a Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl. I haven’t seen that since Super Bowl XI. If the Vikings can’t be in the Super Bowl, I just hope for a good game. As a fan of football, I just hope for a good Super Bowl. This wasn’t. This wasn’t a good Super Bowl and the outcome was decided when the Chiefs were forced to go with an offensive line of barely regular season ability. With all that the league, the teams, the coaches, the players, and the fans went through to get here, it’s just disappointing. So disappointing.