MILE HIGH MONDAY

Vic Fangio didn’t help against the Chiefs, as a “dynasty” is blooming in KC

Feb 13, 2023, 6:33 AM

The Super Bowl was a sight to behold on Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 38-35 to win their third overall championship, and their second ring in the Patrick Mahomes/Andy Reid era.

I like when the season is wrapped up. We are no longer in the postseason, and we are officially in the draft season. As of today, every team is 0-0 and I love the fresh start.

I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ! The following is a result of those trips during the week.

Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.

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Super (?) Bowl

I must admit, I wasn’t thrilled about this matchup between the Eagles and the Chiefs. Yes, both no.1 seeds from their respective conferences made the Super Bowl, but I didn’t have much rooting interest for either team. Instead, I just wanted a good game.

We got that for almost four quarters.

With the game tied and time running down, the Chiefs were driving for the winning score with a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Things were contested out there, and it was a great game with a good back-and-forth. Then, a defensive holding penalty gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs inside the red zone.

Eagles defensive back James Bradberry did hold his man – barely – and he thought the refs would let it slide. Instead, the penalty was called, and it was moments later that the Chiefs put the game-winning field goal through the uprights with less than 10 seconds remaining. The Eagles had no shot in a Hail Mary attempt that might have been the poorest attempt at such a play that I’ve ever seen in a professional football game.

This is a call that is going to be talked about for a long time. The game was amazing, and the third-highest scoring contest in Super Bowl history. Eagles’ fans may not get over that call for a long time. It was a penalty, but usually in that instance the refs let teams play and extra physicality that can be called just is not. It’s like that in most every game, and I could easily make the argument they should have let it slide. Instead of seeing if the Eagles could have made a comeback to win in the final moments, we’ll instead have to forever think what might have been.

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Defining a Dynasty

I’ve always called the Chiefs a “dynasty of one” because they only had one Super Bowl championship. Well, now they have two rings in the Mahomes’ era, and many are firmly calling them a dynasty. I’m not so sure that’s an apt statement.

First off, nobody is going to ever repeat what Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did with six Super Bowl championships between the 2001 and 2018 seasons. We must define what a dynasty is without holding teams to what the Patriots did – which was unprecedented and not repeatable. Second, everyone is quick to rush saying something is the “greatest of all time” rather than having patience or looking through the lens of league history. I won’t be a prisoner for the moment.

Instead, I truly believe it takes three championships in an era to make a dynasty. In the 70s, the Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowl titles in six years. That’s a dynasty. In the 80s, the San Francisco 49ers won four Super Bowls between 1981-1988. That’s a dynasty. In the 90s, the Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four seasons. That’s a dynasty.

Using those examples, the Chiefs do not yet have a dynasty. I know it’s not a 1-for-1 example, but nobody calls what the Steelers did with QB Ben Roethlisberger a dynasty. With Big Ben running the show, the Steelers won two Super Bowls in four seasons. That’s a great feat, but it’s not a dynasty – and it was during the Patriots amazing streak.

I’m not sure if two or three championships in an era define a dynasty in today’s NFL. I don’t want to trigger Chiefs fans (you’ll be alright), but I don’t think they’re yet a dynasty. Yes, they’re likely to get another ring with Mahomes – thus, cementing them forever as a dynasty – but nothing in the NFL is guaranteed. I want to see what plays out before I start declaring every team with two rings in a small window a dynasty.

***

Vic Didn’t Help

Before the Super Bowl, it was revealed the Eagles hired former Broncos head coach Vic Fangio to be a consultant for the game. He quietly signed a two-week contract with the Eagles to prepare for Mahomes and the Chiefs. The Fangio defense had been known to slow down the Chiefs’ high-powered offense, but adjustments (especially in the second half) to get the Cheifs over the top in a way Fangio did not have the Eagles prepared for.

Yes, Mahomes only had 182 yards passing but he was incredibly effective. He went 21-of-27 passing on Sunday, with one of those being a throw away. Mahomes did not have a single attempt that was incomplete in the second half except for that pass that was thrown away. He worked all levels of the field, and Mahomes was even working on a bum ankle. A high-ankle sprain suffered a couple of weeks ago in the playoffs still bothered Mahomes, and he got even more injured in the second quarter. Mahomes came out in the second half, and he used his legs and his arm to attack the Eagles.

The key for the Chiefs? They used a balanced attack to win the game. Mahomes had 27 passing attempts, but as a team the Chiefs ran the ball 26 times. The Eagles were the better rushing team during the year, but in the Super Bowl it was the Chiefs who won the ground game. They were also able to do that by staying patient as the Eagles had dominated the time of possession in the first half of the game.

I give the Eagles credit for trying something like this, but it clearly didn’t work. Fangio has already agreed to be the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2023, and he’ll need to go back to the drawing board if his team faces the Chiefs again.

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Bittersweet Flashpoint

During the Super Bowl, we get to see all sorts of commercials and trailers for upcoming movies and streaming shows. The commercials were okay, some great, some not so great, but there was one trailer for an upcoming movie that made me feel great – and bittersweet – all at the same time.

“The Flash” is an upcoming movie for the now defunct DCEU. It’s basically a story that takes some of the elements from one of the greatest DC Comics runs of all time (Flashpoint) and brings it to the silver screen. Basically, the Flash is traveling to different dimensions and messes up the timeline for all multiverses. During his hijinks, Barry Allen runs into the “89 Batman” universe where Michael Keaton is playing the Dark Knight.

Keaton is an older Batman, and we get to see what he’s been up to since he was last seen in 1992’s “Batman Returns.” When he said, “I’m Batman.” I almost lost my mind. I loved the 1989 Batman movie, and Keaton is my favorite Caped Crusader in cinematic history. It was great to see him in the cowl again, and I love that they’re going back to his universe. However, it makes me sad because the DCEU has been wiped out by new DCU executive James Gunn. There are a few movies left in the DCEU, and then it will be wiped from the continuity. I know DC won’t be as successful as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I did like most of their interconnected movies.

What did you think of the trailer for “The Flash” movie? Hit me up on social networking and let me know!

***

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