Column-So, let's just have a quick conversation - OK , monologue - about the actual game and game of football
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
So, thank God, the girlfriend made it, which we’ll hear about for three hours.
How about some football talk about this here little game? Nothing about bets, suites, celebrities, costs, blown leads, teevee people loving nothing more than other teevee people and giggling at everything they say, no bad puns or stretches for bad “jokes” (see teevee people), or weak Las Vegas/gambling weak one-liners.
And no absurd five-minute intro to a damn game.
The best thing about big events starting is the end of staggeringly mind-numbing and clueless and redundant “analysis” by broadcast bozos.
See, the the vast majority of football games come down to the same things, the same simple things. Funda-freakin-mentals.
Who tackles properly.
Who manages the clock.
Who covers their man.
Who PUTS THE BALL IN THE OUTSIDE ARM.
Who blocks properly.
Who runs the correct and crisp route.
Who doesn’t move until the ball is snapped, who lines up behind the line.
That’s it. That’s really it. Well, it all comes after who does better on the line of scrimmage.
Of course, each game has nuances.
For one, San Francisco simply needs to tread water for a quarter or so. Just play it cool, see what Kansas City is doing.
Unfortunately, since teevee people will be near microphones – and exhausting teevee people at that – we’ll hear a lot abut the idiocy that is the accusation that Brock Purdy is “just a game manager.”
Know what? GAME MANAGERS WIN DAMN GAMES, AND THEY WIN THE BIG GAMES.
The reality – sorry – is that every good player at every position is something of a game manager. Make the right calls and stick to your assignments (98 percent of the time). Don’t try to do too much.
Tom Brady? Game manager.
The silliness about arm strength is just that, silly. About 25 percent of everybody on a team can throw the ball 70 yards. Lots of baseball players can throw 90 miles an hour.
Doesn’t make ‘em a pitcher. Throwing deep doesn’t make you a quarterback.
Purdy will need to run a little more, like he did in the conference final, and keep KC’s defense a little honest. I do love when quarterbacks become football players.
And speaking of Patrick Mahomes …
San Fran does need to have somebody shadow him, but the line’s rush needs to keep a pocket formed, especially covering up gaps in the middle. Forcing him outside to scramble cuts down on how much room he has and in his decision-making to throw or run.
And if the 49ers can try something unique on defense and, ahem, NOT LET KELCE RUN OPEN AND UNCOVERED SO MUCH, that’ll help.
Clearly, too much analysis has been done the last two weeks, and damn sure for six hours or so on Sunday.
We’ll see some funky playcalls, which is glorious. Neither Kyle Shanahan nor Andy Reid are nearly as clenched as 97 percent of their brethren on all levels, from high school varsity to the NFL. They’ll try a few things to unsettle the other side.
Which defense stays the most settled is very, very likely the one to hop up on the podium.
Folks want to dog Kansas City because of braindead teevee people’s love and the loss of standards and a clue from so much “media.”
Can’t do it. KC is a very likable team with likable players, playing a very entertaining game of football that’s absurdly successful.
Same goes for San Francisco, and the coach and QB and tight end and defenders.
It’s a difficult pick for those without an agenda, and the only one from this seat is this: I’d love to see Brock Purdy win and make so many people – from numnuts on message boards and podcasts to talking bozos in front of mics – look as dumb and uninformed and simple-minded as they really are.
If he loses, they’re not right. Because he’s a Super Bowl quarterback.
But it’s like with Alabama. You can’t bet against the best team until they lose some. Sure, either team can win by two scores, which is a lot in gambling but nothing in the actual game.
They’re mighty even, but Kansas City is atop the mountain until knocked off.