On the heals of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominating performance in the Super Bowl, questions are being asked if Tampa Bay has the makings of a dynasty. Until Sunday, that was not even a thought. It was being spoken that the Kansas City Chiefs had the makings of a dynasty, especially if the Chiefs repeated.
My answer to the Tampa Bay question is – why not?
After all, they got Tom Brady and he has already been involved in a dynasty. You do remember the New England Patriots? Right?
Tampa Bay has a young team around the 43 year old Brady. And it is getting harder and harder to count Brady out based on his play and his statistics. He is actually coming off one of his best years in terms of productivity. And we shouldn’t we have learned by now that betting against Brady is a losing proposition?
Tom Brady
I already mentioned that the Bucs are a young team. And wouldn’t you think that Brady will be better next season in his second year with head coach Bruce Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich? And we should keep in mind that the guy has won four of the last seven Super Bowls. And that Tampa has a defense that held the high-scoring Chiefs to nine points.
If you think about it, all this team needed was a quarterback. Jameis Winston, who quarterbacked the Bucs last season, threw 30 interceptions in 2020. Brady threw 12 this season.
Brady will be 44 years old when next season begins. What we are seeing from him has never been seen before. Can Brady do it yet again?
NCAA Hoop Powers Struggling
In case you have missed it, there are a number of perennial powers about to miss out on making the March Madness field.
Duke is currently 7-8 (5-5 in the ACC) and looks like it will be sitting out March Madness. Despite being loaded with talent, including four five-star freshmen, the Blue Devils still have not gotten going yet. You know Coach K is frustrated at losing close game after close game.
Kentucky, which boasted the top recruiting class in the country in 2020 has been awful. The Wildcats are 5-13 (4-7 in the SEC) and are in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013.
Like the before-mentioned two, Michigan State has issues. The Spartans sit at 10-7 (4-7 in the Big Ten) and are firmly out of tournament projections. Despite a number of talented players like Aaron Henry and Josh Langford, the Spartans haven’t been able to replace Cassius Winston this season. The guard play has been a mess for Tom Izzo’s squad.
Kansas is struggling and outside the top 25, the 12-7 (6-5 in the Big 12) but the Jayhawks are likely going to be in the tournament. All seven of their losses have come against Quad 1 competition.
North Carolina is 12-6 (7-4 in the ACC) and is likely tournament bound but some projections have the program as a double-digit seed right now. A lack of impressive wins could be what keeps Roy Williams’ squad out come March.
Finally, Indiana has been a mess all season. Archie Miller’s team is currently 10-8 (5-6 in the Big Ten). Two big wins over Iowa are helping bolster the Hoosiers’ case and they are likely among the last teams in at this point.
Personally, I find it refreshing to see some new programs atop the national rankings.
