Rodgers more likely to win Super Bowl than Rivers?

Daniel Jeremiah, the excellent former scout for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, offers a very informative Web site at http://www.movethesticks.com/.

Recently, he asked five NFL executives, scouts and coaches the following question: “Which QB will be the next to win his first Super Bowl, Rivers or Rodgers?”

The result may surprise you.

All five people picked Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers to win a Super Bowl before Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers.

Quite interesting, especially since the Chargers are picked second behind the Indianapolis Colts in (very early) odds to win next year’s Super Bowl.

Perhaps this is a sign of the times.

The Packers are seen as a team on the rise with such stars as Rodgers, RB Ryan Grant, WR Greg Jennings and WR Donald Driver leading a very potent offense.

Perhaps the Chargers are seen as a team on the demise because of the certain departure of RB LaDainian Tomlinson, maybe the departure of CB Antonio Cromartie, weak offensive and defensive lines and the stigma that coach Norv Turner can’t win a big game.

Jeremiah’s question opens up an interesting discussion of the future possibilities for the Packers and Chargers.

Yes, Jeremiah is a former QB at Appalachian State University and the son of David Jeremiah … the dynamic pastor at Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., best-selling author and leader of Turning Point Ministry.

Here’s hoping and praying that Daniel Jeremiah soon gets another job that he so richly deserves in the NFL.

Pro Bowl is fine before the Super Bowl

You won’t see Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Philip Rivers playing for the AFC “all stars” in this Sunday’s Pro Bowl at Miami.

Ditto for Drew Brees and Brett Favre for the NFC.

The Pro Bowl – being played for the first time before the Super Bowl – seems like a good idea for some and a bad idea for others.

It’s a bad idea in that you won’t see any Super Bowl players from the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts. But some like me believe it’s a good idea since football season should end with the Super Bowl.

No matter when you play it, the Pro Bowl is anticlimactic.

The argument against this week’s game certainly is based on Super Bowl participants being excluded. But when you think about it, a high percentage of Super Bowl players in the past decided to skip the game for various reasons. (Why play in a meaningless game after being involved in the ultimate championship game?)

Even this year, players are skipping the Pro Bowl. Ones such as Brady and Favre are healing from injuries; Rivers’ wife is due to have their fifth child near game time.

So the AFC is left with the likes of Matt Schaub, Vince Young and David Garrard at QB. The NFC will go with a more formidable group of Aaron Rodgers, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo.

It may seem too bad that you won’t see any 2010 Super Bowl players in this game. But would you really have wanted to watch them anyhow if the Pro Bowl was played after the Super Bowl?

Prediction:
NFC 31, AFC 27

In Green Bay, is the Pack back?

The Pack is back!

Some 43 years after winning the first two Super Bowls, the Green Bay Packers may indeed be back.

Certainly, they are not mentioned among the consensus most-feared teams going into the playoffs. Lately, that distinction seems to belong to the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers.

The Packers?

They may be the wild card team nobody wants to play; the team capable of winning three straight road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl.

The Packers are the first team in history for two straight seasons to have the same quarterback who passed for 4,000 yards, the same running back surpass 1,200 yards and the same two receivers go beyond at least 1,000 yards.

Welcome to the worlds of QB Aaron Rodgers, running back Ryan Grant and receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver.

With apologies to the Arizona Cardinals, whom the Packers travel to meet this Sunday, Green Bay may well have the most potent offense in the wild card round of the playoffs.

The Packers come in with seven wins in eight games; their only loss being at Pittsburgh on a last-second miracle by Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Wallace and the Steelers.

But is the Pack all the way back? We’ll start finding out this weekend.

Predictions:
Cincinnati 24, New York Jets 13
Dallas 24, Philadelphia 20
New England 21, Baltimore 17
Green Bay 33, Arizona 31

NFL season is more bizarre than ever

Have you ever witnessed such a topsy-turvy season in the NFL?

It seems like more teams than ever have gone from bad to good – or good to bad – within the course of a season.

The good:

How about the Tennessee Titans going from 0-6 to 6-7 (and possible playoff contention) behind the play of QB Vince Young?

What about the Miami Dolphins going from 0-3 to 7-6 with second-stringer Chad Henne at QB?

And how about the San Diego Chargers going from a 2-3 start to 10-3 behind the MVP-type play of QB Philip Rivers?

Then there are the Green Bay Packers recovering from a 4-4 start to be 9-4 with QB Aaron Rodgers suddenly receiving some protection.

The bad:

Who could have imagined the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and QB Ben Roethlisberger going from 6-2 to 6-7 … and losing to the Cleveland Browns!

How about that 3-0 start of the New York Jets turning into a 7-6 season?

And don’t forget the suddenly-crippled Atlanta Falcons going from 4-1 to 6-7.

The indifferent:

Who would have thought the Denver Broncos would be sitting at 8-5 after winning their first six games?

And how about those supposedly invincible New York Giants slipping to 7-6 after a 5-0 start?

Indeed, there has probably never been a season quite like this in the NFL.

Favre needs to shut 'em up; hang 'em up

Let’s just hope all of this Brett Favre retirement/non-retirement talk ends soon.

Two years ago, he was a certain Pro Football Hall of Famer with a spotless reputation.

He’s still going to be in the Hall of Fame … but his reputation has gone from spotless to drama queen.

Who could blame the Green Bay Packers for moving on to Aaron Rodgers after Favre announced his “retirement” in the 2007-08 offseason?

Who could blame the New York Jets for being done with Favre after one year; especially after the reported dissension caused in the locker room via Favre living by a different set of rules than others?

As the “will he or won’t he” talk of Favre becoming a Minnesota Viking goes through its peaks and valleys, consider one letter to cbssports.com:

Favre has backed himself in a corner over and over when it comes to his "retirement." If he wouldn't have kept retiring in the first place he may have still been a Packer. The Green Bay organization and GM Ted Thompson were tired of all the drama and wanted to move on. Brett couldn't handle it and now he wants revenge on Ted Thompson, but he's got to consider that in the process of getting revenge on Thompson he would also be spitting in the face of all the Green Bay fans who supported him all those years through all the good and bad times. The last thing any Packer fan wants to see is #4 in purple and gold. Is getting revenge on Thompson for getting rid of him really worth turning your back on the fans and the city that embraced you for all those years? Is it worth risking his god-like status in Green Bay?

Well said. Well said!