How About Those Playoff Games!!

Last weekend's NFL games certainly couldn't have been any more entertaining than they turned out to be.

All four games going down to the wire, three determined by field goals as time expired, the fourth with overtime.

And let's get into that OT game, shall we? Buffalo calls heads, it's tails and never sees the ball again as Kansas City and their uber-great quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, go down to score a touchdown and win the game.

Doesn't seem fair that Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who had nearly as many playoff touchdowns (nine) as pass incompletions (12), misses out on a chance to tie the game. But that's the current rule: if a team scores a TD on the first possession, game over.

And if you want your guy to have a chance, Buffalo, get a defensive stop.

Granted, it's on the defense to make a play. But maybe this needs to be tweaked. I suggest taking a page from college football, but instead of starting at the 25-yard-line, let's take each team back to their own 20. That puts the offense 80 yards from a TD (and maybe 40 from field goal territory).

Despite Green Bay's inability to muster more than 10 points in the Packers' 13-10 playoff loss to San Francisco, I still count a 13-4 season a success.

Did the Not-So-Special Teams suck last weekend? To be sure. Lack of consistent play all season is on the position coach, and he had better be packing his bags as we speak. Blocked field goal? Blocked punt? Inexcusable.

This loss was not on the defense, but on special teams, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Head Coach Matt Lafleur.

Speaking of the Packers, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, leaves the team to become head coach of the Denver Broncos. We'll see if this has an impact on the where-will-Aaron-play merry-go-round.

And what will the team do with 1) a lack of salary cap room and 2) beaucoup free agents to sign? Some of those, like Kevin "Injury List" King should be allowed to walk away. But the team needs to find a way to keep guys like Rasul Douglas and De'Vondre Campbell on the defensive side, as well as making nice with Davante Adams and Rodgers, among others.

Glad I'm not trying to put together that fiscal puzzle!

Washington's going to announce  it's team name next week. Swampers might be a good suggestion, along with Poorly Run Franchise.

'Bout time that "Redskins" was put to rest, for sure.

Bring On The 49ers!

The Road To Super Bowl LVI (56 for those who aren't up on their Roman numerals) runs through historic Lambeau Field, thanks to the home field advantage that the Green Bay Packers grabbed with their 13-4 record.

We welcome the San Francisco 49ers to "toasty" Lambeau Field on Saturday night. Temperatures should be down in the teens, wind chills near zero...and it will only get colder as the game goes on.

Green Bay's roster is healthy for the first time in weeks, while San Francisco comes in dinged up at key positions. I like the Packers' chances A LOT as I don't think Jimmy Garoppolo has it in him to pull off an upset.

My keys to the game:

• Limit Deebo Samuel's impact on the 49er offense
• Keep Rodgers clean against that tough pass rush
• Don't let Special Teams be a factor

The key player to the game not named Aaron Rodgers? That would be AJ Dillon. Healthy doses of the 250-pound running back will help punish San Francisco defenders.

Speaking of Green Bay, saw where Tampa Bay Coach Bruce Arians thinks his quarterback, Tom Brady, deserves the MVP trophy due to his statistics. All TommyBoy did was attempt 719 passes (second all-time to Matt Stafford's 727 in 2012, which resulted in 4,967 yards) and complete 485 (breaking the 2016 mark of 471 set by Drew Brees).

Granted, Brady did well leading Tampa Bay to a 13-4 record. But I don't think (as noted in an earlier cheeseheadrants) that those numbers alone should be the criteria. Aaron Rodgers of the Packers attempted 188 less passes, had 119 less completions but eight LESS interceptions.

And where would the Packers be without Aaron? No doubt sitting home.

So give him his fourth MVP trophy and let's move on!

Can't let the college football season pass without saluting the Wisconsin Badger defense. Coach Jim Leonard (the head coaching in waiting, perhaps?) led a group that was just lights-out against the run, breaking a 50-year-old record .

This 2021 group allowed just 64.8 yards per game on the ground, breaking the mark set by a 1951 squad (in nine games) that gave up 66.8. The program's record for teams that played double-digit games had been 88.2 yards per game, set in 2009 -- like this year, a 13-game season.

Show of hands needed. Who saw Greg Gard's Wisconsin Badger basketball team getting off to a 15-2 start? None of us, right? For a very young squad, this team just keeps getting better.

Random Thoughts To Welcome 2022

There's been a lot of debate about which NFL player deserves the MVP for this season. Is it Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers? Tom Brady of Tampa Bay? Outside favorite Jonathan Taylor, the talented running back of the Indianapolis Colts?

Brady gets love for having the numbers (for for being Tom Brady), but let's compare him with Rogers:

• Brady's team is 11-4. He's thrown for 4580 yards , 422 of  632 passes (66.8%) with 37 TDs,  11 INTs and a passer rating of 100.2.
• Rodgers is 12-2 (while the team is an NFL-best 12-3). He's thrown for 3689 yards, completing 323 of 475 (68%) with 33 TDs and only 4 INTs, a passer rating of 110.8.

For Brady, that's 157 more attempts, 99 more completions, 891 more yards but only 4 more TDs and 7 more INTs.

To be fair, former Wisconsin Badger running back Taylor has had a monster year for Indianapolis. Going into this week, he's rushed 297 times for 1,626 yards (5.5 average) and 17 touchdowns. He's added another 336 on pass receptions for 1,967 yards from scrimmage and 19 scores.

Should Rodgers stay hot in the final two games, he's certainly deserving of the MVP. As is Taylor.

Wouldn't mind seeing co-MVPs this year, which would be a win-win for Wisconsin fans!

We lost Betty White this week (and John Madden, Boston Celtic great Sam Jones and Dan Reeves as well; seems like celebrities always go in bunches). Betty, weeks away from turning 100, had a strong Midwest connection. Not only was she from Oak Park, IL but her late husband, Allen Ludden, had a Wisconsin connection I wasn't aware of -- born in Mineral Point and buried there after his death from stomach cancer at the age of 63.

A show of hands needed here: How many stayed up to the bitter end and watched the Wisconsin Badgers knock off Arizona State, 20-13, in the Las Vegas Bowl this past week? 

What an epic way to end the game, controlling the ball for nearly 10 minutes to "run out the clock." And I thought it was classy of Coach Paul Chryst to not stick in one more meaningless score when the club was inside the five with just over two minutes to play.

A lot of college coaches would have gone for the score. Glad we have a better mindset at Wisconsin.

Speaking of Chryst, after taking the Badgers to a 9-4 record this year (this after the team started 1-3), he is now 6-1 in bowl game appearances and has a Badger record of 65-23 (73.86%). Still, he and the Badgers are going to need better quarterbacking if they are to challenge for a national championship.

In it's run of 20 straight bowl games, Wisconsin is 11-9.

So, it's a pair of SEC teams (Alabama, Georgia) playing for another national championship in college football. Again.

Yawn. ('nough said)