SB takeaways the Phins could learn from IMHO

A few of things I was struck by and kinda-sorta relatable to the Phins. At least IMO.

One - I was struck by the difference in the Chiefs and Dolphins -

a. The defense was outstanding... if they had just a tad more pass rush..
but the secondary played about as well as you can in today's "do not touch him" passing rules. The Phins have got to fix the secondary somehow...

b. Of course, the Oline - They had problems handling San Frans D line, but they did give Mahommes room to maneuver and escape. I will point out again, how stupendously right I was about Trey Smith! The Phins desperately need to find a "Trey Smith" themselves IMO.

c. Mahommes - I have heard him say he is not there yet when he can go to the LOS and actually recognize everything the D is trying to do to confuse and bewilder him, but if he ain't he is darn close! Off script, solo-decisions, improvisation... It's hard to judge Tua when the Olines he has been playing behind suck dead babboon-arse IMO, but he HAS TO (maybe McD?) be able to adjust to different defensive schemes and keep the wheels on the offense!
d. The Chiefs trade Tyreek and suddenly are back to back SB champs?? They lose one of the best WRs in the game and get better? Does this mean building an offense, and focusing the gameplan around, one WR is probably not a good idea? Perhaps?

d. Man for man, the 49ers are probably much more talented than the Chiefs IMO. But the 49ers lost? Why? Coaching IMHO. Kyle Shanahan may be a wonder in the regular season, but in the big games, when it matters most, he makes some surprisingly dumb calls IMO. With the new OT rules, you want the ball second, not first you dingaling!! Also, something you should have learned from the last SB OT you blew, Kyle: RUN THE D@MN BALL!! Just to point out, McD comes from this Shanhan coaching tree.

Get the HC right, get the QB right, then fix the other stuff.

If we assume McD is the HC and Tua is the QB, then all the Phins need to do is fix the other stuff. I am not
overly optimistic that Grier can get the job done. But we shall see.

I think that game was fantastic. The difference in the game was the 3rd and 4 near the goal line in overtime. Blown blocking assignment allowing the pass rush to almost get to Purdy before he had a chance to throw. That block happens and it's a 49er TD. 

Mahomes has the ability to put a team on his shoulders and carry it. He's the anti Tua in that regard.  3rd and 1, 4th and 1, game on the line Mahomes finds a way to get it done. 

Both Purdy and Mahomes spread the ball around. Tua gets fixated on getting the ball to Hill. Much easier to game plan against Tua.

1. I saw several people on a 49ers message board actually say that the only way to build a championship D these days is to throw as much money as picks on DBs as possible and scew the D-line since holding is essentially legalized now. I swear, I felt like registering just to tell them about this team throwing away a first on Iggy and following that up by wasting ANOTHER first pick in the draft on Cam Smith!

The Chiefs' own DC showed everybody that the less time a QB has to throw, the better pass coverage becomes way back in that one Super Bowl where the Pats came in 18-0 with that juggernaut offense. Remember that? Not a damn thing about that has changed in the over 15 years since.

Everyone yammered on about how "we need a CB" when Smith was drafted but obviously they DIDN'T since the Fins tied their highest win total this century, had their best point differential in almost 40 years, were playing as well as any D in the league after the first 4 games until injuries, and all with Smith contributing just slightly more than any of US! Shattering the franchise single-season sack record might've had a *little* something to do with that BTW.

2. Other than rookie Rashee Rice (taken 55th overall, right where the Fins are picking in this draft, hmmm...) no other Chiefs WR had more than 27 catches in the regular season. Marques Valdes-Scantling had 21 catches and one score. Mecole Hardman had 14 and zero scores. Yet both had a TD grab in the Super Bowl and Mahomes tied for the 3rd most completions in Super Bowl history!       You don't do that just throwing to Kelce.

https://stathead.com/tiny/8FooV

So yeah, there might be something to this strategy of building O-line first and worrying about WRs later. Or maybe Mahomes is just that unstoppable and it doesn't matter if he plays with a bunch of fans called down from the stands. I know I know, he lost that one Super Bowl but I'll put it this way: if Mahomes wins his next one he'll actually have a better Super Bowl record through five games than Brady!

And now it seems Reid's gotten hold of the same mysterious device Belichick used to have that causes opposing teams to do stuff like kick off out of bounds immediately after rallying from 11 down in the 4th to tie (Panthers-Pats), refuse to run the ball when the Pats had literally the league's worst short yardage D against the run (Seahawks-Pats), pick off Brady late only to obligingly fumble away the return after the opposing coach has ORDERED his defenders to go down right away after getting an INT (Chargers-Pats), blow a FOUR-score lead in less than a half (Falcons-Pats) and so on. Unless you honestly think he had his guys practice recovering their own fumbles for 2 weeks and THAT'S the reason why the Chiefs came away with 6 of 7 in the game. Or maybe you think he predicted that a punt would somehow bounce of a random 49er player's leg and told his guys to be ready for it when another 49er failed to pick it up?

Let's face it, the Chiefs are the new Pats but somehow worse because Taylor Swift.

Chris Jones managed to keep Purdy from throwing TWO TDs that I saw. One in the 1st half when Deebo (I think it was Deebo?) was wide open on a long TD Pass, and Jones, who was being held it looked like to me!! got his arm into Purdy's throwing motion, which caused the ball to sail long. And then the one late in the game when Jennings had made a terrific move on his man and was wide open for a TD, Jones was so close Purdy had to lob the ball over him and it went long.

I doubt you can stink at any one area and win the SB. As the old saying goes, you have to be "fundamentally sound in all three areas" to win the SB.

I would add to that, and the Coaching needs to be "EVEN MORE FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND" and not just terrific in the regular season and playoffs. The SB is the ultimate pressure and Kyle is getting the rep that he can't win the big one.

I guess getting there is better than not getting there, but can you imagine the Phins getting to the SB and the game being lost becasue of dubious coaching calls?!?!?

"Some" of youse guys would vapor lock for sure!!

i think ii was Don Shula who said that he rather not even go to the Super Bowl than to go and lose it.

After seeing some of those 49ers sitting disconsolately on the bench long, long minutes after the game ended...with red and yellow confetti falling on them... oblivious to everything around them... I can see what Shula was saying.

That's got to be a humongous gut punch!

finfanatic wrote:After seeing some of those 49ers sitting disconsolately on the bench long, long minutes after the game ended...with red and yellow confetti falling on them... oblivious to everything around them... I can see what Shula was saying.

That's got to be a humongous gut punch!

True, but remember, the Dolphins got a bad gut punch in their first SB with that 24-3 loss to Dallas, and that gut punch provided the motivation needed to win the next two. Might not work the same in an instant gratitification society, but it should.

The Chiefs' coaching and the overall OL play were the most impressive, and of course Mahomes. That team just runs like a well-oiled machine.

I don't think the Chiefs are all that talented aside from Mahomes, Kelce and Jones. Sure, they have other good players, but those three are clearly superstars. What sets that team apart, though, is how well-coached they are in every facet of the game. Seems like everyone knows their assignments and is always in position.

BTW, I know people love KC center Creed Humphrey, but his snaps were godawful all night...almost every snap was low. Even Connor Williams wasn't that bad with low snaps.

If You were a Niners Fan that Overtime Drive by the Chiefs was like being at the Dentist knowing that the Pain is Coming but Your being forced to Wait on the Dentist.

finskev wrote:If You were a Niners Fan that Overtime Drive by the Chiefs was like being at the Dentist knowing that the Pain is Coming but Your being forced to Wait on the Dentist.

LOL Great way to frame it!

A thing to ponder. KC has the youngest defense in the NFL. Green Bay has the youngest team in the NFL. Both built primarily through the draft. If you're a fan of one of those teams you've got to feel good right now. 

Long term success is built in the draft. How will we compete long term if Grier doesn't draft better?

finskev wrote:If You were a Niners Fan that Overtime Drive by the Chiefs was like being at the Dentist knowing that the Pain is Coming but Your being forced to Wait on the Dentist.

truth.  the pain is real.  i admit, the Dolphins piss me off, but this is next level...

https://sports.yahoo.com/next-level-tantruming-49ers-fans-174334886.html

i love that lady in the second one, "don't worry baby, i'll fix it," by wiping the TV off.  classic.  if only they were Jets fans.

Even if they Lose Jones there FO will get a Pass because of what happened after Losing Hill and they are Very Good at Drafting.

Yeah, when you consider they lost Hill and then went out and won two SBs without getting a speedy WR (okay.. Skye Moore and Rice maybe, but nowhere close to Hill) it is even more amazing.

There is coaching and then there is COACHING. And the Chiefs got great big brass... COACHING... IMO.

All the talent in the world coached poorly is not going to win a SB IMO.

The 49ers were right there... they did not capitalize when they had the momentum, and the when the game got tight (after that punt fumble/miscue followed by the TD) they made a few bad decisions.

finfanatic wrote:Yeah, when you consider they lost Hill and then went out and won two SBs without getting a speedy WR (okay.. Skye Moore and Rice maybe, but nowhere close to Hill) it is even more amazing.

There is coaching and then there is COACHING. And the Chiefs got great big brass... COACHING... IMO.

All the talent in the world coached poorly is not going to win a SB IMO.

The 49ers were right there... they did not capitalize when they had the momentum, and the when the game got tight (after that punt fumble/miscue followed by the TD) they made a few bad decisions.

Well said. We're seeing next-level coaching from Reid and Spags right now. They're just in a different universe compared to everyone else. Their schemes in all phases of the game are fantastic, but even more impressive is their ability to adjust and make changes on the fly, in real-time. It's really amazing to watch.

finfanatic wrote:Yeah, when you consider they lost Hill and then went out and won two SBs without getting a speedy WR (okay.. Skye Moore and Rice maybe, but nowhere close to Hill) it is even more amazing.

There is coaching and then there is COACHING. And the Chiefs got great big brass... COACHING... IMO.

All the talent in the world coached poorly is not going to win a SB IMO.

The 49ers were right there... they did not capitalize when they had the momentum, and the when the game got tight (after that punt fumble/miscue followed by the TD) they made a few bad decisions.

Again, Reid sure did go from a coach KNOWN for choking away the big one to someone who now literally cannot lose the big one real quick. All it took was fleecing the Bills into trading down 17 spots for Mahomes. Not quite as lucky as Brady falling from the sky into Belichick's lap, but not too far off from that since the Bills not only had to agree to this in a year BEFORE Josh Allen was on the roster, but also agree to get absolutely fleeced as well!

And apparently, just like Belichick, being an elite coach means gaining the mysterious ability to make your opponent's coaches and players drink a long, tall glass of stupid juice at the worst possible time.

I will say that Reid has actually learned from his mistakes, which is something people don't do in the 2020s so he'll have a massive advantage over everyone else as long as he wants to coach.

HalCHorn wrote:True, but remember, the Dolphins got a bad gut punch in their first SB with that 24-3 loss to Dallas, and that gut punch provided the motivation needed to win the next two.  Might not work the same in an instant gratitification society, but it should.

I almost lost track of this comment, and it deserves a reply. Well, from me at least

First of all, my definition of a gut punch is losing in a way that should never have been possible, as opposed to the sound thrashing the Fins took on this occasion.

Secondly, I will always insist that this loss is the reason for the unbeaten season and thus the most beneficial defeat in franchiose history and one of the most beneficial in sports history. And had they just barely lost, or even lost by 2 scores, I don't think 17-0 in '72 happens. But there was something about being physically embarrassed and held to a measly FG that gave the '72 team extra motivation to do it.

Thirdly the most overlooked accomplishment the '72 team had was being the only team in FORTY SIX YEARS to win a Super Bowl the season after losing it. Think about that. 46 teams afterwards all lost and they all vowed to return the next year and win it, but NONE of them managed to actually pull it off. That just reinforces my point above. I'm not even sure the Pats did it out of any motivation from being embarrassed, they only did it because the rest of the AFC kept allowing them to reach a ridiculous EIGHT STRAIGHT conference title games.

Hell, the last time the 49ers lost the Super Bowl they finished 6-10 the next season