A few football musings while I contemplate that either Travis Kelce or Jimmy Garoppolo is going to win the Lombardi Trophy in two weeks...
Brady for Tannehill?
It was a great run by the Titans, no doubt, but when Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson return to Nashville and start on their offseason plans, the first order of business will be the quarterback position where both Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota are free agents. Are they really going to leave those discussions thinking, "Yeah, we should really give Ryan a contract extension off of this season for him to be our starter for the next five years?"
I have serious doubts about that, considering that sensational RB Derrick Henry is also a free agent. Not that I think Tannehill is a bad quarterback — he may be starting his Rich Gannon-like backside of his career that I thought was always going to come because of his athletic ability and toughness — but Tannehill threw for less than 100 yards in the first two playoff wins and then wasn't good enough on Sunday.
Vrabel watched last year's AFC Championship Game and knows the Patriots and the Titans had basically carbon copy blueprints on how they took 17-7 leads at Kansas City. But only one team answered the Chiefs' comeback, and that was the team that had Brady.
If Brady was on the Titans, you have to think they could have won that game.
Vrabel and Robinson will be having those same discussions.
The Titans have over $60 million in cap space. RT Jack Conklin (replaceable) and CB Logan Ryan are the only other notable free agents. If you're the Titans' braintrust, how do you not come back to the thought that Brady would be the team's best option — who knows how long this contender window will last? — while this team is good, and he can buy the team time to find the next, cheaper guy.
The Titans would have a chance to time this up better than the Patriots did. New England left itself going into Brady's free-agent offseason without the heir apparent in house, and the Titans are better than the Patriots right now — they did just whip them in their own house. And, also, in general, if you're Brady.
Whose roster is better right now? Titans.
Whose weapons are better right now? Titans.
Who has the better RB if Henry returns? Titans.
Better offensive line? Titans in a close one.
More cap space? Titans.
Weather? Titans.
Quality of family life? Titans.
Don't discount the fact that Vrabel may want to pay back Belichick and the Patriots for how things ended for him in New England — the Patriots Place comment and then trade with Matt Cassel to the Chiefs. Vrabel certainly respects Belichick, but he also loves knocking off the Patriots.
The question is, would Brady want to be a Titan?
I've been told Brady wants a major market. But considering what the Titans just did, Brady's relationship with Vrabel, the slower pace of life in Nashville, I could see Brady being swayed on a visit to the Titans. I'm not saying he would totally buy-in, but I think he would seriously consider it — and wouldn't that be a better option than the Dolphins, Chargers, or Raiders?
Other NFL thoughts:
- Happy that Andy Reid has another shot at the Super Bowl. I've certainly had my criticisms of him over the years — totally justified — but he is a really good coach. He needs that Super Bowl title to put him over the top — I don't subscribe that coaches, especially those with personnel control, should be grouped with great players who were Hall of Famers without titles. The fact he hasn't won one yet is on Reid, not circumstances. He has a really good staff now, but I don't like him managing a tight game.
- That's part of the reason I'll likely take the 49ers in this game. I just think Kyle Shanahan is so smart and will have terrific gameplans on both sides of the ball. Plus, the Niners will have advantages on both sides of the line ... and you know how I feel about the Big Uglies.
- I still can't believe that's how Mike Pettine decided to defend the 49ers' run game when you knew the only option they had to win was to force Jimmy Garoppolo to throw the ball 30 times. I understand they were shorthanded at linebacker, but there had to be a better option than an Eagle front and few linebackers. Go as big as you can and dare them to throw. I think the world of Pettine as a coordinator against passing games, but his plan against the ground game was disappointing.
- I didn't think this would ever be possible — certainly not this soon — but George Kittle is at least the two-way player Rob Gronkowski was in his prime, and could end up being slightly better. But injuries are going to be a factor, just like they were with Gronk.
- If the Chiefs keep making stupid penalties, they're not going to beat the Niners. It's mind-numbing how dumb they are at times and they can't afford that against a team as talented as San Francisco.
- Aaron Rodgers is terrific and doesn't have much around him, but I couldn't help but think he was thinking of his "career NFCCG statistics" when deciding whether or not to push the envelope in the pass game. We all knew he had to be a hero in this game for the Packers to have a chance. Rodgers has played his career being the anti-Brett Favre, but these Packers needed that kind of reckless risk-taking to have a chance. Rodgers just isn't programmed to do that unless it's a do-or-die situation late. That game needed Rodgers to make plays in the second quarter, not second half.