2021 NFL predictions

[sluggermatt15]

I'm having a hard time getting a read on Bengals/Titans.

I feel Green Bay will beat San Francisco.

I think the Rams will beat Tampa Bay. Too much to overcome on offense for the Bucs. Tom Brady is good, but this Rams defense is pretty solid. The way to beat Brady is to get a rush on him and put him on the ground.

I like Buffalo over KC. It is going to be a wild, back-and-forth game. If the Steelers can hang with the Chiefs for a half, Buffalo's offense is way better, should be able to outpace KC.

[racepug]

TEN vs. CIN - Each team has had its ups and downs this season. I'm a fan of Joe Burrow's but I just feel like CIN is a little too "green" to navigate this game successfully. Plus, Derrick Henry is back for the Titans in this one which I think gives them an edge.

G.B. vs. SFO - Despite Green Bay's less-than-stellar home playoff record (7 - 6) since 2001, Jimmy G. is a little banged up and I think that he'll make one too many mistakes in Green Bay this evening for SFO to survive this one.

T.B. vs. the LAR - The Rams won the teams' regular season meeting early on. Can Matthew Stafford get the better of Tom Brady again? My guess - no.

K.C. vs. BUF - On paper the best playoff game of the weekend. I see the Chiefs surviving against BUF. . .just barely

[Brian wolf]

If Rodgers and the Packers lose today or next week ... The Packers move on from Rodgers ?
With a great record to start his career, would Lafleur be on board with that ?

[Jay Z]

If Rodgers and the Packers lose today or next week ... The Packers move on from Rodgers ?
With a great record to start his career, would Lafleur be on board with that ?

I don't think that's the plan on either side right now. Both sides have done a lot of making up during the season.

Jordan Love has not shown enough yet to have any optimism in that direction. It would be effectively a rebuild if Rodgers leaves.

[Brian wolf]

We will see if the Packers still want to keep Rodgers but he could leave anway. So far, possibly the greatest one time champion QB ever ...

[Jay Z]

I thought the CIN-TEN game was tremendously entertaining from start to finish. Kind of figured when they went for two and missed it would bite them in the butt, and it sure did.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

If Rodgers and the Packers lose today or next week ... The Packers move on from Rodgers ?
With a great record to start his career, would Lafleur be on board with that ?

Historically, it's very rare for a new head coach to stay with a legendary QB. I've brought this up before. Shula stayed with Unitas. Tomlin stayed with a young Big Ben. Usually, new coaches and GMs want their own qbs for their own "era". I predicted Rodgers would be traded in 2-3 years when they hired Lafleur.

I won't repeat the details I've posted before, but I do think the Packers problems are mostly coaching/front office problems. Yet, somehow, Rodgers gets blamed.

[Jay Z]

If Rodgers and the Packers lose today or next week ... The Packers move on from Rodgers ?
With a great record to start his career, would Lafleur be on board with that ?

Historically, it's very rare for a new head coach to stay with a legendary QB. I've brought this up before. Shula stayed with Unitas. Tomlin stayed with a young Big Ben. Usually, new coaches and GMs want their own qbs for their own "era". I predicted Rodgers would be traded in 2-3 years when they hired Lafleur.

Do you have examples?

If the QB is 30 it's going to be like Unitas. The QB stays and the coach deals with him. Different story with a veteran QB with only a few years left. Usually there is a clear, good option or the team is clearly rebuilding. 49ers traded Tittle, but they had Brodie. Rams traded Gabriel, and they didn't have a good in-house option, but Gabriel had never won anything. Packers traded Favre, but they had Rodgers, and Favre wasn't traded during the Rhodes/Sherman eras. They dealt with him, not very well, but if you have a 30 year old QB the QB is going to call the shots. Like Elway did in Denver. Montana-Young and Manning-Luck were other situations where the star gets hurt and you've got another Pro Bowl type. Patriots let go of Brady, and that doesn't go with your theory because there was no coaching change. It was a salary cap decision, no backup plan, they tanked for a year and brought in someone else.

Packers will be tanking 2022 if Rodgers goes. Love isn't good enough at this point. It will be because of cap and it will be a teardown. I don't see the coach "wanting to have his own guy" playing into it.

[sluggermatt15]

I was wrong on GB. But wow to SFO. They are playing some kind of football. I have a feeling they are going to the Big Game.

[JohnH19]

I was wrong on GB. But wow to SFO. They are playing some kind of football. I have a feeling they are going to the Big Game.

I hope the 49ers have something left for next week. I’m glad they have the extra day between games.

I lost a lot of respect for Rodgers last offseason, and the rest of it after Immunizationgate, but I watched his postgame press conference and he couldn’t have been classier. He praised the defence, diplomatically called out the special teams, and heaped plenty of blame on himself for only putting 10 points on the board. He was very cool and composed while also being visibly shaken by the loss. He also discussed his relationship with the organization and his uncertain future very articulately. I was impressed.