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The 2021 NFL season kicks off tomorrow night (which is awesome) when Tom Brady and the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s going to be a big night with two very juicy storylines – the return of Dak and how he’s going to look after missing most of last season with a gruesome ankle injury and 44-year-old Tom Brady beginning yet another season that could end with the GOAT lifting a Super Bowl trophy into the air yet again.
There are plenty of other juicy storylines going into the season as well. Here are just three of many:
– Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs looking to rebound from last year’s Super Bowl loss to the Bucs.
– Bill Belichick and the Patriots turning to rookie Mac Jones to hopefully lead them back to their winning ways after a down season.
– The Cleveland Browns could actually be the real deal.
But with all the chatter about those things, one thought keeps popping back into my head – this is totally the year that Aaron Rodgers will win his second Super Bowl title, isn’t it? I mean, it would be perfect after the offseason he had, right?
Rodgers had one of the coolest offseasons ever. He got away from football and crushed it as a guest host on Jeopardy. He had a blast in Hawaii with his new fiancee and some friends. He wore a “Turd Ferguson” tag to the Kentucky Derby.
And he did all that while keeping the town of Green Bay on edge with constant rumors that he didn’t want to play there anymore.
He also went on a diet where he lost a bunch of weight that I didn’t think he had to lose and let his hair grow out even more as if he didn’t even care about how he looked.
And Rodgers played some pretty good golf on national TV in the middle of Montana with Phil Mickelson, Tom Brady and Bryson DeChambeau.
I mean, what an offseason. What a summer. What a life!
Then Rodgers showed up for work on time dressed like a kid either walking into a music festival or the first day of senior year of high school. Just cool vibes all around.
Oh, and then he very calmly and openly explained to the media all the problems he had with the Packers front office and why that almost led to him retiring.
Rodgers didn’t retire, though. Last year’s MVP is back and he could be at his best this season because I feel like he doesn’t give any you-know-what’s anymore, which should make one of the best QBs to ever play the game even better than he was last year and the years before that, which would be scary for opposing defenses.
The Packers, who have been to two straight NFC Championship Games, have the pieces once again to make a deep run in the playoffs. Their odds of making the Super Bowl are pretty good. This thought of them winning it isn’t the most controversial thought I’ve ever had.
But there’s just something about the coolness of Rodgers that has me thinking this is his year.
Because it’s been his year so far.
Well, except for that game against Tampa last January at Lambeau.
Quick hits: Cinnamon Toast Crunch nightmare in Miami… Paul Pierce’s spicy comments about ESPN… Why MLB teams are balking in extra innings… And more.
– For some reason there was a a giant Cinnamon Toast Crunch mascot behind home plate at last night’s Marlins game and it was the stuff of nightmares for many MLB fans.
– Paul Pierce opened up about the video that led to his exit from ESPN and he held nothing back.
– Charles Curtis explains why many MLB teams are intentionally balking in extra innings and why it’s a smart thing to do.
– This behind-the-plate view of Max Scherzer’s nasty slider is so pretty/ridiculous.
– Max Kellerman’s debut on his new ESPN radio show got off to a perfectly awkward start.
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