A Tad Concerning: Week 6 Overreactions Around The NFL

Week 6 Overreactions Deflated Football
Deflated Football. Photo Credit: Frankieleon - Under Creative Commons License

So this week went the way everyone planned it right? Giants beating the Broncos, Chiefs falling to a struggling Steelers squad and the Dolphins beating the Falcons were all easily predictable, right? No? Well, that’s the NFL for you. Now I know Packers fans are terrified their season is done and Jets fans are thinking they’re a year away from the Super Bowl after losing a close one to the Patriots and I’m here to tell you, those are perfectly rational takes. So let’s take a look at some more very calm and rational thoughts from this week.

The Packers Will Never See Peak Aaron Rodgers Again

It’s done. Packers season. The peak of Rodgers’ career. Probably Mike McCarthy’s job down the road. It’s all over.

There has been growing chatter around the Packers fandom in recent years that the current management of Green Bay has essentially wasted Rodgers’ golden years by not surrounding him with enough talent, particularly on the offensive line.

At the beginning of the season, I thought that was a little extreme given how close the Packers have been to reaching Rodgers’ second Super Bowl but now, I think that take is perfectly valid.

Rodgers is already 33 years-old and having any type of season-ending surgery, particularly on your throwing shoulder, is bad news. So I think while Rodgers will still be good when he bounces back next season (the battle between him and Watt for Comeback Player of the Year is going to be amazing), there will be a marked difference between the Rodgers that is compared to the one that was.

Rodgers was good enough to lead lower-quality teams above the rest and take them close to or even winning a Super Bowl but I think we will look back at this moment and recognize it as the beginning of the end.

The 49ers Are The New Chargers

You know the term, “there’s a special place in hell for you?” Well, one of those special places in hell has been inhabited by Philip Rivers and the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. You know, the place where no matter how well or badly they’d play they somehow would also come back in the fourth quarter. A place so bad that Rivers was constantly down by less than a touchdown with a minute left and 80 yards to go?

Well if you don’t know what I’m talking about, because, the 49ers have slapped the eviction notice on the gates of Hell and not heeding Tom Petty’s advice, the Chargers are very much backing down.

The 49ers currently sit at a lowly 0-6 but it doesn’t feel like they’re as bad as the record shows. I mean c’mon, clearly the Browns are the real winless team in the NFL, they’ve earned sucking. The Niners have just kind of lucked into it.

Ignoring their blowout loss to start the season, San Fran has lost by three points three times and two points twice. Now you could say it was just Hoyer but the 49ers switched to C.J. Beathard against Washington and it freaking happened again!

So clearly it’s not the quarterback but it’s this weird paradoxical, supernatural place where you’re always in the game and hope is just within your reach and it’s yanked away at the last minute like a cat chasing a laser pointer.

Have fun San Francisco!

The Bears Have Found Their QB…And It’s Not Trubisky

So if you watched the entirety of the Bears and Ravens game let me first off say, I’m sorry. You’re either a really dedicated fan, new to football and don’t know what makes a good game, or flat out blind. Either way, congrats for sticking with it I guess.

There was one bright side to the game for the Bears though. You saw the future of the team at the quarterback position throw a beautiful touchdown pass. Tarik Cohen.

That’s right because if you watched the game, Trubisky didn’t necessarily struggle but he didn’t play that well either. Cohen, on the other hand, had one perfect pass and I think that’s enough to give him a shot at quarterback.

Think about it, Chicago would instantly have the epitome of a dual-threat quarterback which opens up the offense in so many ways that it would near-impossible to game plan against them.

Remember how successful the Dolphins were that one year they constantly ran the wildcat? And that’s a great example of how this decision can have long-lasting success for Chicago. So the Bears know what they have to do, the only question is how long before they make the call?

The Patriots Are Cheating Again

They secretly videotape practices, they deflate footballs, was bribery anything but the next logical step here? The Patriots have made it clear they’ll cheat in any way they can to get the win and this weekend made that hugely obvious.

In case you’re unaware, Austin Seferian-Jenkins had a catch on a shallow out route and ran it a few yards for the touchdown. Except it wasn’t…apparently. After reviewing the score, the refs decided he had, in fact, fumbled it and since he was at the pylon, it was a fumble out of the end zone and Pats got the ball at the 20.

It was widely regarded as the worst call of the weekend and probably one of the worst ones ever. How does a fumble go out of the end zone if it was never in the end zone?

Earlier in the game, Brady ran into the refs’ huddle and was there for roughly ten seconds before leaving. How much do you want to bet he was figuring out their price to rig the game?

There is no better explanation for such a horrendous call and Jets fans, you have every right to feel robbed because you were.