Fate Is The Punter

Yeah. That's right. They still call it football.

So both #1 seeds have already fallen, both to walk off field goals ,and the division weekend is only half over. The Packers failed to understand the game they play involves successfully hitting the ball with the foot (I mean, it's right there in the name). The Packers lost to the 49ers, thanks in large part to suffering a blocked FGA and a blocked punt (returned for a touchdown), prior to watching San Francisco's kicker, Robbie "Solid" Gould, putting foot to ball and hitting the game-winner.

And with that, just like Tommy and Gina, we're halfway there. 

What Mike Has Learned So Far

It's time to pass the crown of Greatest Regular Season QB from Peyton Manning to Aaron Rodgers.

We're going to find out the Packers' punter was vaccinated later this week, aren't we? And that the government has been hiding one of the key side effects of the vaccine: Sudden Onset Leg Jelly. 

Okay, the failures by the Green Bay special teams units wound up being the difference in this game but that, in and of itself, is something of an indictment. 

The Packers were playing at home. They were the #1 seed. They have Aaron Rodgers, the preemptive favorite to win back-to-back MVP trophies, with his gaudy 37:4 TD to interceptions ratio, as well as his league-leading QBR (68.9) and passer rating (111.9). 

The Packers D held the 49ers offense to just 6 points. 

I guess this is a good time for Aaron Rodgers to do his own research on the conspiracy theory that "QB Wins" are not a real stat because that would mean "QB Losses" aren't real, either.

I'm Feeling Even Better About Mac Jones

And I'd feel even more better if the Patriots had a Ja'Marr Chase or a Deebo Samuel on the roster in 2022.

Could anyone who watched Ryan Tannehill on Saturday not feel better about Mac Jones? And despite picking up the W (and that final drive for the game-winning field goal) Jimmy Garoppolo didn't look much better. As far as tepid takes go, I probably shouldn't forget that the rookie Pats QB actually outplayed Tannehill (if you believe in stats) in the regular season. Look, I feel badly for Ryan Tannehill. It will be a while before the bruises from this one fade and certainly the Titans tossing their #1 seed in the trash wasn't all his fault. But forcing a pass into triple coverage to a guy who hadn't even been targeted in the game before that fateful pass attempt - with under two minutes to go! - was, um, (How do I put this nicely?) probably a bad decision. 

Yeah. 

Definitely. 

Bad decision.

I know the glass half empty crowd will be saying that I'm damning Mac Jones by faint praise; that being better than Ryan Tannehill isn't on the list of qualifications for Canton. They will be conveniently forgetting that Mac Jones just completed his rookie season while Tannehill is a 9-year veteran. 

Tom Brady vs. That Motherf#@!er Could Happen

The 49ers upset win in Lambeau means we could see Jimmy "That MFer" Garoppolo vs. Tom "Yeah, I Said It" Brady in the NFC Championship Game and if you don't want to see that, I just don't want to know you (or you live in Los Angeles and I don't know you, anyway).

I would never bet against Tom Brady but I do wonder if the Buccaneers have enough healthy bodies to compete with a Rams team that has enough stars to finally justify their move to La La Land five years ago. Their roster reads like the cast of an old style Hollywood blockbuster, like a "The Towering Inferno," with Steve McQueen and Paul Newman and William Holden and Faye Dunaway and, well, you get the picture (pun intended). 

Still, this is Tom Freakin' Brady we're talking about here. 

And if we've learned nothing else so far, it's that anything can happen. 

Yeah. It will be hard for Sunday to top Saturday but I'm ready to give it a shot.

Postscript

H/T to "Fate is the Hunter" for the title. It's a good movie, and it stars my wife's childhood crush, Rod Taylor, whose character's name is Captain Jack Savage! How cool is that?