The NFL opener set the game back, well, a hundred years.
To launch the 100th season of the National Football League, two legendary franchises played like they were being coached by Curly Lambeau and George Halas. If you haven’t heard of those two old-timers, then you get my point.
Aaron Rogers and Mitch Trubisky locked into a duel that was supposed to be a shootout at the OK corral. It was more like a game between two guys who couldn’t shoot straight or very far. And their running attacks were both anemic as can be with 47 and 46 yards respectively. I hung in there to root for former Tar Heel Trubisky and see what kind of magic his elder rival Rogers would create.
It was a snoozer all the same.
Yes, both defenses were very good and when the starting quarterbacks don’t get a sniff during four preseason games, you are going to wind up with an average offensive effort. It was worse than that; one touchdown between them, and it was jump ball pass from Rogers to former basketball player Jimmy Graham.
I wanted to call ESPN loud mouth Max Kellerman, who the other day insisted that Rogers was the BOAT, best of all time, while admitting Tom Brady was the G-O-A-T. But what’s that about besides Kellerman being from New York and, of course, hating the Patriots. Rogers has one Super bowl ring, Brady has 6. Case closed, Slapsy Maxie.
The third-down ratio in this game was atrocious, a combined 5 of 27, with Rogers getting the better of Midway Mitch in passing accuracy and quarterback ratings. But neither of them could avoid rushes and blitzes by the defenses that, as they say, looked far ahead of the offenses.
Both QBs got sacked five times, and even Al Michaels and Chris Collingsworth could not make it sound more than it was, boring after it was billed the match-up for the NFC North. After watching them slog to a 10-3 Packers win, I’ll take the Vikings in that division.
The best thing about it was watching Commissioner Roger Goodell get his ears jabbered off in one of the suites. Maybe he won’t be able to hear the boos when he gets to New England Sunday night for the AFC prime time headliner between the Patriots and Steelers. Guarantee the 79-year-old Ben and Brady will put on a far better show than this one wasn’t.
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