Bill Barnwell, writing for ESPN:

One good way to measure offensive dominance is down set
conversion rate, which looks at every time a team took the ball
on first down and sees whether it turned that series into a first
down or a touchdown. The Chiefs converted 93.8% of their first
downs into another first down or a touchdown in the second half,
and the only reason they didn’t hit 100% is because Jerick
McKinnon slid down on the 1-yard line to set up the
title-winning field goal. ESPN has data going back through 2000,
and no team has ever done that in the second half of a Super
Bowl before. Just three teams have done it in the second
half of any playoff game.

There’s a lot to get to with this Super Bowl, but let’s start
there. How did the Chiefs pull off a flawless second half on
offense? After watching this game live and again a second time,
there are a few things that stood out.

Fantastic recap/breakdown of yesterday’s game. Long story short: the Chiefs spooked the Eagles with motion that convinced the Eagles to commit to busting up would-be jet sweeps, and instead threw the ball to players in now-uncovered zones. The Chiefs were literally perfect in the second half and needed to be to win the game.

 ★ 

Bill Barnwell, writing for ESPN:

One good way to measure offensive dominance is down set
conversion rate, which looks at every time a team took the ball
on first down and sees whether it turned that series into a first
down or a touchdown. The Chiefs converted 93.8% of their first
downs into another first down or a touchdown in the second half,
and the only reason they didn’t hit 100% is because Jerick
McKinnon slid down on the 1-yard line to set up the
title-winning field goal. ESPN has data going back through 2000,
and no team has ever done that in the second half of a Super
Bowl before. Just three teams have done it in the second
half of any playoff game.

There’s a lot to get to with this Super Bowl, but let’s start
there. How did the Chiefs pull off a flawless second half on
offense? After watching this game live and again a second time,
there are a few things that stood out.

Fantastic recap/breakdown of yesterday’s game. Long story short: the Chiefs spooked the Eagles with motion that convinced the Eagles to commit to busting up would-be jet sweeps, and instead threw the ball to players in now-uncovered zones. The Chiefs were literally perfect in the second half and needed to be to win the game.

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Ken Belson and Jenny Vrentas, reporting for The New York Times:

“When I’m in heaven, I’ll be looking at your beautiful field,” said [George] Toma, who this week is preparing the field for the Super Bowl for the 57th straight year, “or I’ll be in hell looking up what kind of root system you have.”

He is 94 now, but among groundskeepers he is immortal: The God of Sod, they call him, or the Sodfather, or the Nitty Gritty Dirt Man. Toma — who is planted so deeply in the N.F.L.’s root system that he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — has never missed a Super Bowl. He has worked in outdoor stadiums from Miami to San Diego and domes in Detroit, New Orleans and beyond. He has persevered through torrential downpours, droughts and, most vexingly, increasingly elaborate halftime shows that befoul his beloved turf.

How have I never heard of this guy before? What a story.

 ★ 

Ken Belson and Jenny Vrentas, reporting for The New York Times:

“When I’m in heaven, I’ll be looking at your beautiful field,” said [George] Toma, who this week is preparing the field for the Super Bowl for the 57th straight year, “or I’ll be in hell looking up what kind of root system you have.”

He is 94 now, but among groundskeepers he is immortal: The God of Sod, they call him, or the Sodfather, or the Nitty Gritty Dirt Man. Toma — who is planted so deeply in the N.F.L.’s root system that he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame — has never missed a Super Bowl. He has worked in outdoor stadiums from Miami to San Diego and domes in Detroit, New Orleans and beyond. He has persevered through torrential downpours, droughts and, most vexingly, increasingly elaborate halftime shows that befoul his beloved turf.

How have I never heard of this guy before? What a story.

Read More