Happy Monday everyone. Well, it is unless you’re a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaking of, there is some Tennessee Vols-related contest from that one-sided Super Bowl, so let’s get to it.
1) If that was Trey Smith’s swan song in Kansas City, then…….woof.
One of the keys of the game coming in was how well Kansas City’s offensive line would handle the Eagles’ pass rush. Spoiler: they did not handle the Eagles’ pass rush well.
Philly sacked Patrick Mahomes 6 times and left him scrambling darned near all game. Their pressure rate at one point was over 50% in the second half, which is absolutely ridiculous.
Unfortunately, much of that blame fell on the Chiefs’ offensive linemen, and Smith wasn’t without blame. Smith allowed three pressures and a sack, per Pro Football Focus, earning a meh grade of 63.2. Not nearly as bad as backup Mike Caliendo at right guard, who earned a 32.0 grade and was basically helpless to stop anybody. But not good enough to slow down Phladelphia’s defensive front nonetheless.
Smith had carried the banner for Tennessee football in the NFL playoffs, winning back to back Super Bowls and coming up one win short of being the first three-peat Super Bowl winners ever.
Now, he could be heading to a new opportunity. Smith should be one of the top free agents on the market this offseason and surely the top interior offensive lineman. He’ll likely command a salary north of $20 million per year, which is the top of the market for guards right now. Someone like Bears or Patriots seem like potential fits, given their cap space and needs.
We’ll see how things play out in March, when free agency begins.
2) Man, Tennessee kind of got the shaft this week in the AP poll.
The Vols beat #15 Missouri and led Oklahoma by 20+ points for much of the game in a 70-52 thrashing of OU on the road. I mean, how does that warrant a drop?
I know, I know, Florida beat Auburn, and that was one of the wins of the college basketball season so far. But that same team fell to a very shorthanded Tennessee team by 20 points just 9 days ago.
Basketball: a what have you done for me the last couple of days type of sport. C’est la vie.
3) The whole Dalton Knecht thing has been wild the last few days. And per ESPN, it really was even wilder.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka sought input from Luka Doncic on which big man to target via trade, and the former Dallas Maverick identified Mark Williams, who Knecht was originally traded for before things went south on Saturday.
I mean, the guy who just came in had say over who they were shipping you out for? That’s…really awkward. Yeah, Luka is going to be the franchise, and LeBron James has been pulling strings with his teams for years, but being in the same locker room with someone brand new who had a hand in the trade to send you out of town? Gah.
It was already going to be an awkward reunion when Knecht comes back – which still, it sounds like from McMenamin, hasn’t quite happened yet. I mean, that’s going to take some work to repair that bridge. Yeah, it’s business, but shipping out a player is a tough thing to walk back.
Don’t believe me? Search for Pat Beverley’s comments on how Knecht should take it. I’m not posting it here because it’s very not safe for work.
We’ll see soon enough how Knecht and the Lakers re-integrate. Hopefully well.
Go Vols!