Unpacking the Super Bowl + Offseason Questions
Tom Brady and Patriots got the ball back with 2:21 left in the forth quarter down by 5 points. It seemed like another last second comeback was inevitable. But then the unfortunate fate that seems to befall everyone other than New England finally caught up with the Patriots. Two plays later Brady would drop back and fumble for his first turnover of the game. The Eagles recovered and kicked a field goal to extend their lead to 8 points with just over a minute remaining.
Enter Tom Brady again, this time with 91 yards and a two point conversion in between him and another Lombardi Trophy. But this time it was too much even for football’s premiere dynasty. Brady ended the game by throwing a prayer towards the end zone that even super-human Gronk couldn’t come down with.
On the back of a nearly flawless performance from Eagles backup quarterback Nick Foles, Philadelphia won it’s first Super Bowl. Foles needed to be nearly perfect to win and he was. Philadelphia’s defensive front only got to Brady once but that one time was the difference. The Patriots are really good and the Eagles are really good and that game was fantastic.
The Eagles will have their Championship parade Thursday in the City of Brotherly love but already the attention of the never satisfied NFL fan has transferred to lure of the offseason where hope springs eternal, anything could happen and questions abound.
Who is the Viking’s Quarterback next year?
Case Keenum. Sam Bradford. Teddy Bridgewater. Two’s a crowd but three is company when it comes to Minnesota’s backfield. To recap the road here — Teddy Bridgewater had a horrific knee injury that caused the Vikings to trade for Sam Bradford. Sam then went ahead and got injured which lead to Keenum playing a majority of this past season. Now all three quarterbacks are free agents so the team has their pick of who to move forward with. Teddy was the franchise QB until he went down and the one pass he has thrown since September of 2016 was an interception, Sam Bradford is on his third team in four seasons and carries an injury history that can’t hide underneath his comically long sleeves, and we may have seen a peak Keenum performance this year that is going to come crashing back to earth. Based solely on recency basis I’d say the Vikings are destined to drastically overpay Keenum for mediocre results.
Does Adam Vinatieri hang up the cleats?
The 45 year old kicking legend just finished the last year in his current contract with the Indianapolis Colts but his future remains up in the air. While the oldest player in the league has hinted at wanting to play another season, nothing has been confirmed and a new coach is headed into town. Whether this is the end of the line or not, the four time Super Bowl Champion already has more than a career’s worth of highlights and accomplishments.
Who wins(?) the Kirk Cousins lottery?
Alex Smith was traded to the Washington Redskins effectively ending the Kirk Cousins era which most saw coming after Washington was unwilling to sign Cousins to a long term deal. The question now becomes where will the seasoned quarterback land? There are a variety of teams that desperately need an upgrade at the position but who will be willing to shell out the money Kirk will be looking for? Some likely candidates include the Broncos and Cardinals who have superior defenses but lackluster offenses. This move will also help (or hurt) Kirk’s legacy — has he been a good quarterback on an average team? An average quarterback on an above-average team? Either way some General Manager will get talked into offering a $100+ Million dollar contract.
Who goes #1?
With the Super Bowl behind us it is officially draft time. The NFL Draft begins on April 26th but with the combine starting before February is even over there is no rest for the weary when it comes to the onslaught of NFL storylines. Through the relentless waves of mock drafts that are coming our way the majority of the discussion will revolve around who the Cleveland Browns will take with their first pick. Some early candidates include Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, and Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen. Good news for Browns fans is that it literally can’t get any worse than 0–16.
How much does Le’Veon Bell get paid?
Similar to Cousin’s situation, Bell received a franchise tag this past year meaning the Pittsburgh Steelers payed their star Running Back a larger sum for one year as opposed to locking him into a multi-year deal. Now with another contract negotiation looming Bell has threatened to retire or hold out until the two parties can get a multi-year deal done. The good news for Steeler fans is that Bell wants to come back to Pittsburgh. The bad news is that it is looking like it’s going to cost them…. a lot.
So long NFL … see ya in a few weeks.
