Quinn’s Quickies: Super Bowl Thoughts, Wrapping Up Picks, and . . . Did I Miss the Endorsement?

It’s been a while since I did a Quinn’s Quickies, but I had a few thoughts as we bid adieu to the NFL season.

·         Kansas City’s overtime win over San Francisco in Super Bowl LVIII put me in the black for the season on my football picks on the blog. I finished 31-52-3 for +$210.98. That total includes a $5 loss on a college basketball pick. More on picks shortly.

·         San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan has to defer (read: kick) after winning the coin flip to start overtime given the new rules. You’re giving Kansas City, which gets the ball unless they score on defense, the benefit of knowing what they need to do by getting the ball second. San Francisco kicked a field goal. Kansas City knew they had four downs to get a first down until they’re in field goal range. Need a touchdown? Keep going on fourth down, which they did. As I said last week, I’ll take Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes all day in that situation.

·         I’ve been working a lot on an article I’m excited to post later this week, so I didn’t comment on some of what’s going on with the Eagles. Let me get this straight – they fired the offensive and defensive coordinators, and kept head coach Nick Sirianni. For my money, this is Jeff Lurie trying desperately to give off the image that he’s the sage old owner of a stable franchise. He doesn’t want to be seen as running through head coaches since Andy Reid . . . who’s won how many Super Bowls now? . . . left for the Chiefs. This move makes no long-term sense. Do well, and your coordinators leave for head coaching jobs. Again. And you have to prop up Sirianni. Again.

·         While I’m on the coaching carousel . . . I read an article that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told the organization that he’d be back to coach the team. Shouldn’t someone else be making that decision? I get it. He was welcomed back (which is the problem) and he was deciding if he wanted to return. I don’t even necessarily think he should have been fired this year, but the kid gloves with which he’s treated by the organization and the media is a joke.

·         Did I miss Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce endorsing President Biden on the field last night after the game? Let me guess – it was called off because the plan got out? Get a life, people.

·         The NFL has to come up with a new way to start games. All that hype and, as usual with most games, the Super Bowl starts with a touchback? I understand that they are eliminating the play due to the number of injuries that occur during kickoffs. Fine. I don’t like it, but I give up. Eliminate it. Try the old XFL’s scrum for the ball in the middle of the field. Or modify the USFL’s version of an onside kick – one play to get a first down. Start with the receiving team getting the ball on their 20-yard line. I don’t care. Just fix it.

·         One more thought on the NFL: the Super Bowl halftime shows suck! Ok, I feel better now.

·         Back to my picks – hey, it’s my blog! Thanks to the guys who got involved by getting in the comments and giving your picks. There didn’t seem to be much interest in regular season basketball picks. I may offer an occasional pick that I really like. Please feel free to do the same. Otherwise, I expect/hope to have picks around March Madness and the NBA Playoffs. And I hope to do football picks bigger and better next year. I know I struggled a bit this year, but I think I learned a lot doing it on the blog. I actually feel worse losing picks that I put out for public consumption (even with a small audience) than I do losing on my own. I think putting picks on the blog taught me some things. My worst pick was taking a halftime line on Oklahoma; it was throwing good money after bad and no one’s watching my blog that closely. My best pick had to be taking Michigan to win it all – in November! Thanks for playing along, and please keep “gettin’ in the comments!” It’s what makes doing the blog fun!