What Lessons Can New York Giants Take from Both Super Bowl Teams?

Another year has gone by, and the New York Giants have failed to mount a Super Bowl contender. The last decade hasn’t been kind to the Giants. Since the remarkable 2011 Super Bowl run, the Giants have gone 57-87 with three coaching changes, one disappointing playoff appearance (38-13 Wildcard loss in Green Bay), no division titles, and two seasons above a .500 or more winning percentage (2012 and 2016).

In 2020, New York fell just short of winning the NFC East. Ultimately the Washington Football Team secured the home playoff game after now-fired Eagles’ head coach Doug Pederson benched his rookie quarterback for Nate Sudfeld in a competitive fourth-quarter battle.

Although it’s disappointing that the Giants failed to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year, there does seem to be a different outlook and direction with head coach Joe Judge--an outlook that inspires hope demands excellence, and seems to be consistent.

This week, 30 teams get to sit back and watch the ultimate game--Super Bowl LV--be played on Sunday. Twenty-five-year-old quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be playing in his second consecutive Super Bowl for the Chiefs, and 43-year-old Tom Brady will be playing in his tenth big game, but first with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The quarterback matchup is certainly captivating, but there’s so much that goes into both of these teams and why they have had so much success. Let’s look at each team and see how they have done things in ways that perhaps the Giants can replicate as they continue to rebuild their franchise into a contender.

Kansas City Chiefs

To be frank (although I’m usually Nick), it may be difficult to replicate the Kansas City model of success. Teams will try, but there are key elements of this squad, especially with the offense, that are just rare.

For example, the Raiders tried to find their Tyreek Hill in Henry Ruggs III--that hasn’t yielded success in Year 1--and many other teams will take risks on more unconventional quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes.

The NFL is a copycat league, and I applaud teams for trying. However, the Chiefs have copious elements that lead to their success.

It starts with head coach Andy Reid, hired in 2013. Reid is 238-144-1 (.623 winning percentage) as a head coach, including playoffs.

Quarterback Alex Smith was brought over to the Chiefs from the 49ers in that same year Reid was hired, and despite playing in an NFC Championship game, Smith was viewed as a reclamation project for Reid, a one-time NFC Champion with the Eagles.

Reid and Smith found success together, but Reid saw something special in a wildcard quarterback named Patrick Mahomes, whom he traded up from No. 27 to No. 10 to draft.

Reid then made Mahomes the heir apparent to Smith, and the Bills, their trade partner, received a lot of draft capital that ended up turning into Tre’Davious White, Dion Dawkins, Tremaine Edmunds, and Siren Neal.

Jan 24, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) on field in the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

This pick was widely criticized by many, but Reid knew what he saw, and he gave Mahomes a year to sit behind Smith. Once Smith was gone, it was the Mahomes show, and he earned the MVP in that 2018 season, the first as a full-time starter.

Players like Mahomes are rarer than an uncooked steak. However, Reid stuck to his convictions and saw a player he knew would transform and defy common perceptions--that is a lesson the Giants can take.

Even more importantly, the Chiefs roster was already suited up to make championship runs. When Mahomes took over, the Chiefs had a Pro Bowl tight end in Travis Kelce, a speedy developing receiver capable of taking the top off of defenses in Tyreek Hill, more fast receivers, a first overall pick starting at left tackle, and a defense that needed some work, but could rush the passer. The foundation of the team was in place, and the identity was offensive firepower.

Mahomes had the arm strength to stretch the field at an elite level compounded by having the fastest receiver the game has ever seen and one of the best receiving tight ends capable of being a constant mismatch nightmare.

With the coach, quarterback, and personnel all set--and no team will get clones of what the Chiefs have, though the concepts and talent types can be found if one looks hard enough--now let’s look at the scheme.

Giants’ offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is not known for maximizing pre-snap motion, but that is something the Chiefs do a lot. Pre-snap motion helps to identify the defense, changes defensive assignments that could result in miscommunications, and can also create mismatches, not only in the passing attack but also in the running game.

There is a lot of upside with utilizing pre-snap motion, and the Chiefs maximize their talent and personnel with a scheme that consistently keeps defense guessing while forcing them to worry about everything Kansas City has to offer. It’s something the Giants should improve on going forward.

The Chiefs also love to spread teams out in 3x1 sets, with Kelce on the backside given free access. The No. 3 receiver (innermost to the field side) is Tyreek Hill. Putting a speedster in this position creates unfavorable matchups for the defense and forces the defense’s best corner inside in man coverage or brings a bracket situation to the middle of the field, leaving 1-on-1s to the outside.

Reid took advantage of the Buccaneers in Week 12 when Hill had over 200 yards receiving in the first quarter. Not all of that was from the No. 3 position, but big plays were from that area.

Reid’s overall ability to keep defenses guessing, and disguise his intentions, really help put all of these incredibly effective pieces into optimal places.

Final Chiefs Thoughts

The success of the Kansas City Chiefs is a confluence of things. Takeaways for the Giants to weave into their game include more pre-snap motion, more 11 personnel 3x1 sets with tight end Evan Engram on the backside, and an aggressive nature in terms of finding difference makers at the quarterback position.

(I don’t fully advocate for the latter point just yet, but it’s a mindset that the Giants should adopt moving forward if they can't bring it out of Daniel Jones.)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 2019 Buccaneers went 7-9 with a quarterback that threw 30 interceptions. As great and excellent as Tom Brady is, I think it’s very fair to say there was a good foundation in place when Brady arrived from New England.

There are lessons to be learned from the Buccaneers journey as well. Firstly, general manager Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians were aggressive in getting Brady in free agency. Granted, it’s an anomalous situation, and it converged perfectly with the Buccaneers current status of not having a quarterback, but I still want to applaud the aggressive nature.

Arians is an older coach who is portrayed, at times, as someone who is a bit set in his ways. He wants to push the ball vertically, and Brady, who has done that job well, made a living in New England by dinking and dunking his way down the football field. It took Arians and Brady some time to adjust to each other.

It’s remarkable to think that Brady didn’t get a full offseason with his new teammates, and here he is representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, but that’s the product of greatness, which don't grow on trees, unfortunately.

The Buccaneers coaching staff has been criticized throughout the season. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich would abandon the run and short passing game too often, putting Brady into precarious situations.

And defensive coordinator Todd Bowels had a horrendous game plan against the Chiefs back in Week 12, playing way too much single high and leaving cornerback Carlton Davis alone against Hill.

To the credit of the coaching staff and Brady, they all adjusted and found success. It wasn’t always pretty, but adjustments were made for the betterment of the team. That’s something I feel Judge will do with this Giants team, but still a takeaway to highlight about the Buccaneers.

Protecting Tom Brady is another huge part of the success. When Brady has been hit this season, he hasn’t been great. The Saints (two times) and the Bears were able to put pressure on Brady and force turnovers. Tampa Bay was dealing with injuries along their offensive line but are now healthy and ready to protect Brady, and while this goes without saying, protect your quarterback, and you’ll have better success winning games.

It seems like Giants general manager Dave Gettleman is aware of this fact, as evident by his drafting three offensive linemen in last year's draft. However, it will still be interesting to see how he handles the Kevin Zeitler contract and what he does with Will Hernandez, who is entering the last year of his rookie contract.

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Another big takeaway about the Buccaneers' success is their skilled position players and ability to effectively operate out of multiple personnel packages. The Buccaneers had receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and tight end Cameron Brate on their roster in 2019. After adding Brady, they brought tight end Rob Gronkowski out of retirement and took a risk on receiver Antonio Brown.

The 2020 Buccaneers were a fantasy team within a football team. With three of the better receivers in the league, they were still able to line up in 12-personnel and punch teams in the mouth with their running game while leveraging their play-action attack with two receivers and Brate operating in the middle of the field.

Gronkowski helped out tackle Donovan Smith and rookie tackle Tristan Wirfs while also putting up solid receiving numbers throughout the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) is chased tackled Sullivan (39) during the NFC championship game on Sunday, January 24, 2021, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) is chased tackled Sullivan (39) during the NFC championship game on Sunday, January 24, 2021, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis :: Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-W via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Running backs Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette were both capable enough, despite their many mistakes, and Brady could have a lot of success with all these weapons on play-action passes.

Not being one-dimensional is a key sticking point with me in the NFL. The Giants’ 2020 11-personnel package was lackluster at best. They had an aging Golden Tate in the slot and used undrafted free agent receiver Austin Mack down the stretch as well. They need an upgrade with these skilled position players, and there's little doubt that Gettleman is aware of this.

The biggest takeaway about the Buccaneers where the Giants are concerned isn’t on the offense. It's on the defense, and that is this team needs to find ways to generate a reliable pass rush, and, as such, they need to find EDGE players.

The Buccaneers have Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett as their starting edge rushers. Pierre-Paul and Barrett combined for 17.5 sacks this season, and the Buccaneers defense ranked fourth in the NFL with 48 sacks.

Their ability to generate pressure, and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles' aggressive blitzing packages, really stressed offenses and helped lead Tampa Bay to the secure eighth place in the league in terms of fewest average points per game allowed (22.2).

Having two premier pass rushers who can win one on one matchups is incredibly important, and the Giants haven’t had this in quite some time. They thought Oliver Vernon and Pierre-Paul could become that long-term, but it never materialized.

With both Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines recovering from season-ending injuries, it’s hard to know what exactly is going on with the Giants EDGE position as of right now, especially with Kyler Fackrell set to be a free agent.

Final Buccaneers Thoughts

The Buccaneers and Tom Brady was a perfectly timed merge between a talented roster and one of the best quarterbacks ever to grace a football field. It’s not an everyday event.

However, the Giants can still look at the Buccaneers and recognize the importance of a few different aspects of their team. For starters, having reliable EDGE players that can win one on one matchups gives the defense a necessary edge over offensive opponents.

There’s also been a huge importance on protecting the quarterback, which every team must put a high precedent on. I also feel the Buccaneers coaching staff adjusting and figuring things out during the season is a lesson a lot of teams should evaluate and acknowledge, especially in this COVID-19 era we're in.

I like how the Buccaneers were able to play multiple different styles from several personnel groupings effectively. They already had great receiving pieces in place, two quality tight ends, and drafted Tyler Johnson on Day 3, but they still went out and signed Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown.

The presence of all these weapons allowed Tampa Bay to play from 11- and 12-personnel while also staying balanced and working the play-action game well in heavier sets.

The Buccaneers will also use both personnel packages but employ bunch and stack sets to give free releases and manipulate coverages. Combine that with a quarterback who diagnosis at a high rate, and you can find a recipe for success.

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