Strange Pigskins

Apparently, the more things change, the more things change.

It appears it's going to be a lot harder for Patrick Mahomes to become the next Tom Brady than pigskin pundits and bobbleheads thought it would be. I'm pretty sure Mahomes and the Chiefs were supposed to win their third consecutive AFC Championship on Sunday. Dynasty, baby! The Bengals were a nice story but this isn't Hollywood, where underdogs routinely win the big game. 

Just ask any 49ers fan. 

But I do not come here to praise or to bury Jimmy Garoppolo. The line for that is ridiculously long. And sadly, without a 49ers-Bengals Super Bowl, we won't be hearing that "Joe Montana sees John Candy in the stands" story again, after all. That's disappointing.

On the other hand, I am so looking forward to all the stories over the next two weeks about the star-powered Rams pushing all their chips, and how Joe Burrow could be the third Joe to win a CFB National Championship and a Super Bowl. So, there's that, I suppose. 

I'm admittedly a lot more concerned with how Dave Ziegler's and Josh McDaniel's departures for Vegas, Baby will impact (respectively) this year's Patriot's draft and the continued development of QB Mac Jones. Maybe bringing the Alabama offense to Foxborough wouldn't be such a bad thing. Jones did have a pretty good senior season in Tuscaloosa. Whatever the case, things will be different at One Patriot Place next year.

Pigskin things could be significantly different next year if the Tom Brady retirement rumors prove to be true. Brady has stood astride the NFL like a colossus for the last two decades. His curriculum vitae is a litany of success but if there's one metric for Brady's GOAT status that stands out for me it's the fact that in his 20 seasons as a full-time starter, he took his team to 10 Super Bowls. It feels unbelievable saying it. Across both dimensions: longevity and success. (And for all the Mahomes' honks out there, yes, he's still on pace for appearances - 2 Super Bowls in 4 years as a full-time starter - while lagging in winning percentage.) Maybe that's why something just feels different about Super Bowl LV-426. (SoFi Stadium does look like a spaceship.) No Brady. And no New Age  Brady.

Then again, Bill Belichick would be the first one to tell you that every year is different.

You just have to turn and face the strange. P-P-Pigskins.

Postscript

Bonus Bowie. You're welcome.