The American Sports World centered its focus on the SUPER BOWL this past weekend. What a terrific game! It was the Start of a REALLY SUPER WEEK!

…without question, Patrick Mahomes is the premier QB in the NFL right now. Not only does he own a rocket of an arm with a variety of release points but has tremendous football “sense”. I’ve always felt that a QB must be football “smart”. When I coached at a far, far lower level, that FB IQ was very important to me. Highly talented QB’s are absolutely essential (even if it’s only a 1-year wonder) to reach the SUPER BOWL.

…in college & the NFL, an aspect that seems to be grossly overlooked is defensive corner backs. They are absolutely vital to a team’s success! The evolution of the NFL offenses to, generally, relying on a solid, strong, consistent passing game demands that defenses are solid against the pass-game.Good Cornerbacks are the lifeblood of a defense in the 2020’s.  The better they are, the better your team D has to be of you want to reach the SUPER BOWL. KC’s corner Trent McDuffie (an All-pro) was terrific! He was targeted as the pass defender 7x but allowed only 9 yards, no 1st downs or TD’s. He had a game high of 3 passes defensed including a key pass toward Deebo Samuel in the end zone on 3rd down. Of course, a D-line that holds the running game to a modest amount of yards AND pressures the QB is a right behind the cornerbacks in building towards success.

…sometimes overlooked is the Head Coach-Andy Reid. It’s been a long, long haul for Reid to reach the top of the Coaching profession. He joined the BYU coaching staff for 1 year after graduating @ BYU. Then he bounced around for 9 years @ 4 different colleges (including Mizzou). He was a Green Bay Ast Coach for 7 more years before being named HC for Phil Eagles in’99. Philly had gone 3-14 the year before his hiring and posted a 5-11 record in his 1st year. In 2000, Reid took the Eagles to an 11-5 record & the playoffs. In his 14 years @ Philly as HC, Reid’s team finished 1st in his conference 6x. He made it once the Super Bowl (lost to New Eng) while posting a 130-93 record. Moving to KC in 2013, he’s won 3 SUPER Bowls, lost a 4th Super Bowl and has only posted a sub .500 record three years in 25 years as HC! He’s a clear HOF Coach He’s been to the Super Bowl FIVE times only Bill Belichick(9x) & Don Shula(6x) have more. Those are a pair of very elite coaches in NFL annals. But, Andy Reid is still on the sidelines coaching—he may yet catch these icons of coaching excellence!

…on the other side of the field of the SUPER BOWL, the SF 49’ers fired their Defensive Coordinator, Steve Wilks, just a couple days after the brutal loss.  HC Kyle Shanahan indicated that “He was not the right fit for what San Francisco wanted to do on defense”. My suspicions are that he “stayed” in the same defense too long…maybe long enough for the Chiefs to adjust & move to the winning TD. Of course, Shanahan was on the head sets and heard the defensive calls as they were made by Wilks. As HC, he could have changed them. But, Because Shanahan is the Head Coach, he needed a scapegoat!

…Some other SUPER BOWL thoughts on & off the field….While Travis Kelce may be the best TE of this generation & maybe the best ever, this Super Bowl wasn’t his finest moment. The Travis Kelce tirade of getting right in Andy Reid’s face, and almost knocking him over, was all about him NOT having enough balls thrown his way. It seemed sour, very sour, to me. Reid’s post-game VERY gracious response about the incident swept that ugly moment away for most fans. Nonetheless, Kelce’s demeanor has changed his appearance to many fans—including me. But….from my view, Kelce was “way , way out of line” putting his stats above the teams goals. If KC had NOT won the Super Bowl, would there have a reaction by KC? Or would the Taylor Swift sensation have drowned out the negativity?

…There were other “SUPER” events or surprises this week outside of the Football game. Thus far, the Biggest Surprise Spender category in the AL of MLB? It’s the KC Royals! They have spent nearly $400m (2nd only to Dodgers)! They signed SS Bobby Witt to 11 year-$288+m contract, $109+m on starters Seth Lugo & Michael Wacha (can you believe Wacha getting big $$$???) and relievers Will smith, Chris Stratton & Nick Anderson. Position players (Hunter Renfro, Garrett Hampson & Adam Frazier) also receive “healthy” contracts. Who can fathom that KC outspent this winter—NYY, Mets, & Red Sox! It may be to a new voice @KC! In as part owner is Patrick Mahomes who was raving about Witt’s signing!

….It won’t be long, from my view, that the SUPER BOWL, will be a Pay-per-view. Racking up around 100m viewers for several years now, fans are hooked. It’ll be too easy for a company to “cash in” on that SUPER CHECK!

….After the calendar turns to January, the players, coaches, fans  of NCAA-M basketball begin to sneak peek towards the post-season situation. Some teams had a SUPER MONTH of January. Some, you  expected… others surprised you. After all, Selection Sunday is only 5 weeks away! Soooo..let’s start at the top and take a quick peek at the Big Boys with a SUPER JANUARY !! Currently, UConn is ranked #1 with a 22-2 record. The Huskies are led by 6th-year HC Dan Hurley who is in his 4th season since their return to the Big East Conference. Another team to watch is Purdue. The Boilermakers (22-2)own a 12 game winning streak after an 89-64 thrashing of Georgetown in their last game and sit atop Big 10 with 11-2 record.

…As some players move on to the NFL, the NCAA-Football Teams have to replace/rebuild by signing good-great talent. Some had SUPER SIGNINGS IN 2024. According to ESPN, at #1 was Georgia. The Bulldogs top prize was Cornerback Ellis Robinson IV. He’s the second No. 1-ranked recruit for the Bulldogs in the ESPN 300 era. Georgia inked 21 of the ESPN Top 300 recruits—that was the best in the nation. Mizzou was ranked #23 overall in USA but #12 in the SEC in the signings this year.

…Top Signees for the Tigers were: DE Williams Nwaneri, ranked No. 1 @ defensive end this year in many ratings systems-possibly No. 2 overall; WR Courtney Crutchfield, No. 24 wide receiver, No. 143 overall; RB Kewan Lacy, No. 18 running back, No. 239 overall. These evaluation companies awarded Mizzou with an A-minus ! It’s Missouri’s third top-30 class in four cycles under Eli Drinkwitz, and this one boasts the top defensive prospect in the nation. It was a SUPER SIGNING YEAR for Coach Drink!! Keep in mind though, that some…maybe many… of those elite recruits will come & go in 1 or 2 years. The 4 year players are seldom the “real” stars of the draft in these days. The best stars are gone after 1or 2 years to play for the big money of the NFL! To win College games in Sept-Dec, you MUST win in the recruiting battles of Jan & February EVERY year!

…Then taking the next SUPER STEP into the NFL requires only the most elite players. Some have their roots in St. Louis. Let’s take a look at these StL players as the NFL earlier this week released its list of players invited to the league’s scouting combine which begins later this month in Indianapolis. Take a look @ these StL natives who are auditioning for that SUPER STEP to the NFL–Dominick Puni, OL–College: Kansas; Hometown: St. Charles played at Francis Howell Central. Projected to go as high as 3^rd round. Keith Randolph Jr., DL—Illinois; From –Belleville (Belleville West). He was in the Top 5 in USA in tackles/game for def Tackles! Some projections have him being drafted in 3^rd round while most have him chosen in the 5^th or 6^th round; RB-Mizzou-Cody Schrader, Missouri from StL (Luth South). Projected 5^th round; Mekhi Wingo(DeSmet), DL- started @ Mizzou  then transferred to LSU. He played 2 years @ LSU-projected as a 4^th rounder. Let’s hold a SUPER BREATH for these young men who hope that the draft will open their door to the NFL. Then, performing on the field to earn a spot on the roster and hopefully to start weekly in an NFL career!

….Thanks for making the SUPER WEEK a part of your week! Btw…. I’m always looking for new readers—pass the word to a friend or relative.  I appreciate your time & read and hopefully any reactions filed as comments. Bob