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.