The Super Bowl Match-up: Is It Really Any Surprise?

The Super Bowl Match-up:

Is Really It Any Surprise?

Laddie Morse

The two teams are set for this year’s Super Bowl and… the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t one of those teams and… after watching the two NFC and the AFC championships I’m not surprised at all and… neither are you. The Green Bay Packers might as well have been shut out by the Atlanta Falcons because they were in the first half 24-0 and that was plenty to finish them off. The mighty Pittsburgh Steelers offense looked more like the Browns offense and the New England Patriots QB, slash Zeus, who throws lightning bolts, will be playing in his 7th Super Bowl. It didn’t hurt the Patriots that the Steelers own Greek God, Le’Veon Bell was out with groin issues but I’m not sure it would have mattered.

The Super Bowl with ultimately pit the two teams that deserve to be there and boast the two best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Yes, Aaron Rodgers is incredibly gifted but, this season Matt Ryan had an MVP year and Tom Brady is still having an MVP career. The Atlanta Falcons vs. the New England Patriots is a full circle event as general manager Thomas Dimitroff and his old buddy Scott — remember him — Pioli are bringing their Patriot roots to the pinnacle game against their old mentor Bil Belichick.

This game will be about more than the homecoming for Dimitroff and Pioli, it pits two of the league’s most dynamic and consistent offenses. However, it also offers a contrast in defense: New England was #1 in total points allowed while the Atlanta Falcons defense ranked 27th in the league in total points allowed. Although, the Falcons didn’t look like they had any holes in the defense when they shut down the Packers and Aaron Rodgers in the first half of their divisional championship game.

Looking back at the teams who have already exited the AFC playoffs including the Kansas City Chiefs, the Houston Texans, the Oakland Raiders, the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers, it apparent that those teams have flaws which would keep them out of the Super Bowl. For the Chiefs, it’s their overall inconsistencies. Offensively, the Chiefs never could establish a rhythm and I personally found myself saying repeatedly, “I guess we’ll find out about that in the future” but the future never came and the production never materialized. While the Chiefs defense had some success and was one of the best team in the takeaway department, they have their share of questions beginning with two of their star players needing to be re-signed.

Some believe a band-aid approach is in order and should get the team to the next level — the Super Bowl — but others are tired of the same old tired methods and are calling for a clean sweep of offensive plans and changing of the guard with coaches needing to be replaced. Which ever persuasion you have a predilection for, it’s clear these Chiefs are not yet ready for the Super Bowl and it’s probably a good thing they didn’t get there this year because it’s likely the result would have been embarrassing. Although, if the Atlantic Falcons win the Super Bowl this year, the Chiefs will have beaten every champion for the past four years, every year of the Andy Reid era. Too little too late with the solace.