Posted on 09/09/2020 9:02:46 AM PDT by Kaslin
If the Chiefs can blitzkrieg opponents as they did in the playoffs last year, they may find themselves on their way to changing the game of football.
A new National Football League season kicks off this week, after a turbulent and eventful offseason. During the last seven months, two national stories dominated the football headlines: The coronavirus outbreak and its effects, and the summers protests over race and policing. Both will affect the season, with fan-less stadia and player protests likely to continue.
On the field, however, two stories will resonate. Tom Bradys offseason decision to leave the New England Patriots placed a spotlight on his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The improved roster of the Buccaneers, including Bradys New England teammate Rob Gronkowski, has garnered media attention and speculation about the revamped roster reaching the Super Bowl set to take place in Tampa Bays home stadium.
The intense offseason focus on Brady and the Buccaneers has allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to remain under the radar, as they attempt to defend their first league title in half a century. In February, the Chiefs managed a come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, capturing their first NFL crown since they won the Super Bowls fourth edition back in 1970.
How the Chiefs managed comeback wins en route to their championship they trailed by 10 or more points in all three playoff games speaks to another dominant champion of recent years: Basketballs Golden State Warriors. Just as the Warriors revolutionized NBA play with their high-powered offense, burying teams in a blizzard of buckets, so Kansas Citys point-scoring potential could change football strategy in the years ahead.
Consider how Kansas City won its title, by turning deficits into leads during each of its playoff victories last season:
Basketballs Warriors used a similar approach during that teams run of five straight NBA Finals appearances. Golden States heavy emphasis on three-point shooting meant that, while the team could go through dry spells, once shots started to fall as they almost inevitably would they could overcome just about any deficit, no matter how large, by overwhelming the competition. Basketball writers have spent much time in recent years analyzing the power of the spurts the Warriors produced, which normally (but not always) came during the third quarter of games.
Like the Warriors, Kansas City plays an up-tempo style that lends itself to quick, potent bursts of offense. While the Warriors have stretched basketball defenses with an emphasis on long-range jumpers making the three-point shot the hallmark of their offense the Chiefs stretch the field with the threat of deep passes to speedster wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins.
Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback and MVP of last years Super Bowl, bears a passing resemblance to Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. More importantly, the two stars similarly play their respective games, leading fast-break offenses and using their athletic abilities to distribute the ball to their teammates in such a dizzying manner that opposing defenses often dont know what hit them.
At the end of the first half of the Super Bowl, San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan used an unorthodox clock-management strategy. Rather than stopping the clock to give his offense enough time to march down the field and score, Shanahan let the clock keep running until mere seconds remaining in the half.
The Super Bowl broadcast showed that even John Lynch, GM of the 49ers, questioned Shanahans strategy; Lynch instinctively made the time out signal after the teams defense stopped Kansas Citys offense but Shanahan would not call one. The reason for Shanahans decision to let the clock run?
While he didnt give his offense much time to try to score, Shanahan said the goal was to make sure that Patrick Mahomes and his quick-scoring offense would not have a chance to get the ball back before halftime.
Of course, by preventing Kansas City from getting the ball back at the end of the first half, Shanahan also gave his team less of a chance to score points on its last possession of the half. It speaks to how the foreboding offensive potential of the Chiefs forced Shanahan to make a decision that ultimately cost his team.
While Kansas Citys run through the 2019-20 NFL playoffs showed hints of the Warriors dynasty, only time will tell if the Chiefs can create a dynasty of their own. While Golden State won three titles amid five straight trips to the leagues championship series, this eras version of the Chiefs holds only one title as of yet.
But if the Chiefs can blitzkrieg opponents as they did in the playoffs last year, they may find themselves on their way to a status akin to the Warriors and change the game of football in the process. Its one key story to watch as this NFL season unfolds.
I didn't choose to turn football into a political weapon against America. The spoiled, overpaid players did.
Mods please ban all NFBLM references
Won’t be watching!
And don’t forget about f’n Goodell.
In related news:
BLM is trying out some new looting techniques.
Antifa fine-tuning its Molotov cocktail recipes.
They need to fast break out of the USA. Today.
If a former fan falls in front of their television set, do they make a sound?
#NFL-Dead-2-Me...
F the NFL , here is one lifelong football fan who wont be watching. I understand they wont be playing the national anthem, lets hope there are no flyovers.
Theres only one real reason for a flyover now!!!
Those Oilers were great at scoring lots of points on offense, but they are remembered mostly for blowing a 35-3 third quarter lead in the 1992 wild card playoff game against Buffalo.
What is this football thing?
After the Kaepernick thing, I was reduced to a casual observer of my team only. After the most recent announcements, the NFL has been reduced to an American pastime in my household.
I dont even like to see articles about the NFL posted here. The league is dead to me.
What a waste of a life, watching and writing about professional sports, flying around the country, expending valuable natural resources, trying to come up with a shocking headline, arguing over knee jerk reactions, trying to out sensationalize the next loser.
Professional sports are all just about the gambling these days anyway, and taking into account the character of many of the players, you could say that the whole system just fosters vice.
Get rid of professional sports entirely. Keep the Olympics, I guess, since that builds community among nations. Keep scholastic sports to build physical health and character.
With you on that 100% 50% felons anyway.
I’m amazed that there are freepers that still post NFL drivel. That’s what I call untreatable addiction.
Hardly anything new. The Buffalo Bills came back from 32 points down to beat the Houston Oilers in the 1993 playoffs. They also often ran a no huddle offense in those years. And this was before all the pass-happy, you cant hit anyone rules were passed.
History, what is it?
Yeah. NFL? Nobody cares. What a waste of time that a person can never get back.
What’s USAA doing? Thet have had the best rates that I could find. But after a hailstorm, they fought me tooth and nail to cover my house and shed. I am sick of them at this point. Therefore, I am curious as to what you mean? Need to make an informed decision.
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