Aaron Rodgers on Cancer Patient: "I Didn't See Her, I Didn't Sign For Her"

 Everyone seems to be jumping on Aaron Rodgers for the following incident,



that "diss" started a firestorm of negative publicity that painted Rodgers as just the type of villain most fans have no problem rooting against.

The sentiments raged from the mild, "How dare he just brush past her like that" to the not-so-mild, "He's a jerk!" But the overwhelming opinion was the same, 'Aaron Rodgers is not a nice man'.

Well, today on The Dan Patrick Show, Aaron Rodgers explained what really happened in that moment that he was seen walking past Jan—that's the name of the woman dressed in the all-pink Green Bay Packers gear. In short, he said the following, "I've met Jan on previous occasions...as the video shows, I didn't see her. I didn't sign for her. It turned into something I didn't really expect."

Jan, has also come out in defense of Rodgers and stated that he has signed a number of items for her on multiple occasions and she's unhappy that she has been made a pawn in this negative media slant.

So, it seems to be much ado about nothing according to both parties.

Related articles

• Two-second video clip doesn't at all capture Rodgers (cbssports.com)
• Is Aaron Rodgers An Epic A**hole? (withleather.uproxx.com)
• Aaron Rodgers' Snubee Comes To His Recsue (sbnation.com)

Brett Favre Leaves Game With Apparent Shoulder Injury

During the first quarter of the Minnesota Vikings game against the Buffalo Bills, Brett Favre has  exited with an apparent injury. The nature of the injury is not yet known, but speculation is that it could be a shoulder injury.

Arthur Moats, a first-year linebacker out of James Madison University, hit Favre hard as he was going through his throwing motion—resulting in an interception by Drayton Florence and the injury to Favre.  

His return is questionable and there are no further details at this time and his backup, Tarvaris Jackson has already thrown both an interception and a touchdown on his first two series of the football game. The touchdown play, by Sidney Rice, was initially ruled incomplete but later overturned upon further review.

NFL Thoughts: Brett Favre Needs To Hang It Up...Seriously

Listen, no one here will profess to know what an NFL level hit feels like—don't want to know—but it seems that Brett Favre may need to rethink his decision to keep bringing his "41-year old man" body out on the football field.

After all, like the announcer says in the clip above, the defense is gunning for him on a weekly basis, they don't give a damn how old he is. He's got the ball, he's the quarterback, and they want to lay his pass-throwing backside out as much as possible.

At last check, that's how the game of football is played. No one should feel any obligation to keep Favre upright just because he's the oldest man on the football field—he made the choice to be out there so it's open-season.
  
It's high time that Brett took a longer look at how he wants to spend the remainder of his young days because, if this is the kind of hit that's going to require him to be carted off like a man who just had his jock strap set on fire, then he's beyond the iron man stage—he's just a man—and it won't be long before someone really knocks his butt out.

Randy Moss to New England Patriots: "I Love You, Man..."

Randy Moss...wow...this guy is a laugh a minute, eh? After his new team, the Minnesota Vikings, lost to his old team, the New England Patriots, Moss decided to let the love flow—literally.

He seemed, at times, troubled, and at others incoherent as he rambled and tripped his way through a soliloquy at the post-game press conference.

The entire transcript of everything he said is offered here, but here are just a few excerpts:

"... I'm not going to answer any more questions for the rest of this year. If it's going to be an interview, I'm going to conduct it. So, I'll answer my own questions, ask myself the questions and then give you all the answers. So, from here on out, I'm not answering any more questions for the rest of this season..."

Moss was fined $25,000 earlier in the week for "failing to cooperate with the news media". He, apparently, took offense to that and hence the above decision to not speak to the media anymore this season. Well, that's all fine and good, Randy, but you look like a bit of a head case saying you'll conduct your own interviews and ask yourself the questions—seriously, dude, get a grip.


"Man, I miss them guys, man. I miss the team. It was hard for me to come here and play. Been an up-and-down rollercoaster emotionally all week. And then to be able to come in here and see those guys running plays that I know what they're doing, and the success they had on the field, the running game -- so, I kind of know what kind of feeling they have in their locker room, man, and I just want to be able to tell the guys that I miss the hell out of them. Every last helmet in that locker room, man."

Wasn't this the same guy who felt unappreciated in New England a few weeks ago? Jeez, you'd think he'd forgotten why he's back in Minnesota in the first place—you talk too much, Randy.


"I tried to prepare. Tried to talk to the players and coaches about how this game was going to be played and a couple tendencies here, couple tendencies here...It hurts as a player that you put a lot of hard work in all week, and toward the end of the week, Sunday, when you get on the field, that's when they acknowledge about the hard work you put in throughout the week. That's actually a disappointment."

Hmmm, now where have we heard this "I feel unappreciated" song before...*thinking*...oh yeah:





Randy, Randy, Randy...when will you ever learn?

Here was the best part of the tirade:


"I don't know how many more times I'm going to be up here in New England, but I'm going to leave the New England Patriots, Coach Belichick, man, with a salute, man. I love you guys, I miss you, I'm out."

Good grief, you'd think the Patriots birthed Moss' children. Wonder how the Minnesota fans will react to his Patriot love fest? 

Related articles

• Minnesota Vikings' Randy Moss nonfactor, declares media silence (sports.espn.go.com)

NFL Outlook 2010: 10 Bold, Slightly Insane, Predictions For The Coming Season

I'm into making the most of what I say. Sometimes, the words that roll out onto the screen can be interpreted as complete idiocy—but mostly it's just a rant gone wrong.

So, in the spirit of being completely off-the-cuff and minus a censor, it seemed fitting to start spouting off some bold predictions for the 2010 football season.

Why not?

At this point, no one can say for certain that any of these predictions will be proved wrong and, honestly, if I get called to the carpet, I can just plead insanity...right?


1. San Francisco will win the NFC West.

There, I said it. I'm not taking it back and, seriously, looking at the NFC West this season, I don't see a reason to.
Forget the chatter about not having a quarterback and all that, have you seen the Niners defense? If not, it's that unit on the field that was near the top of the league in points allowed per game last season (17.8). They have a ton of talent and a whole lot of attitude when they step on the field—with a player like Patrick Willis to call your own, why not?

That said, the Niners were also first in penalties received. They need to play a lot smarter on Sunday's if they expect to parlay that 8-8 season into the 11-5 one I easily see them achieving in 2010.

2. Speaking of the NFC West, look for the Cardinals to fall flat without Kurt Warner. 

Here's the thing, with both Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin on the field in 2009, the Cardinals went 10-6—better than the year before when they rode a 9-7 record to the Super Bowl. However, that was in a weak division where their best competition was offered by San Francisco (a team that beat them twice).

This year they not only don't have Kurt Warner to lend both his veteran preference and his big arm to the equation, but they lost Anquan Boldin too—a key compliment to Larry Fitzgerald. Some might say that there is plenty of talent left in both Steve Breaston and Early Doucet, but, did I mention they no longer have Kurt Warner?

I'm not buying that the defense in 'Zona will be the difference and I am not a believer in Tim Hightower or Beanie Wells' ability to carry the offense on the ground. The Cardinals are about to do some slipping—7-9 will be the end result (if they're lucky).

3. The Green Bay Packers will win the NFC North.

Brett Favre may or may not change his mind and decide to take up residence in Minnesota—it won't matter if he does. Whether it be Brett Favre, Tarvaris Jackson, or Fran Tarkenton, the Vikings aren't going to win the north this season.

Green Bay got accustomed to the 3-4 rather quickly in 2009, and ended up fielding one of the best defensive units in the league. Aaron Rodgers showed that he is more than capable of filling the tremendously big shoes that Brett Favre left behind—despite the woodshed beat down that Favre put him through in both their meetings.

The one question mark was/is the offensive line. They had a tendency to let too many guys get through and that resulted in Rodgers seeing the turf a bit more than he should have—Bryan Bulaga will hopefully offer a cure for that problem.

If he can, the Pack should be one of the most well-rounded teams in the north and they should be the early favorite to win their division.

4. Terrell Owens won't make a difference in Cincinnati.

My feelings about Terrell Owens aside, the move to bring him into the Bengals organization won't make much difference as far as the production of Carson Palmer is concerned. Owens, along with Ochocinco, will make a lovely sideshow but the offensive line troubles me—they seemed to be off during the HOF Game on Sunday and, considering Carson Palmer's injury history, that's not a good thing.

The defense had some bright spots but, for the most part, there is still work to be done and that means the Bengals will likely lose more than they'd like and the T.O./Ochocinco Show will largely be a publicity stunt with little gas left by mid-season.

9-7 is believable, 10-6 is probable, but this team isn't going to the Super Bowl—not this season.

5. Chris Johnson will return to earth in 2010 and be happy to settle for a reasonable contract by season's end. 

Johnson is feeling himself right now. He thinks he's the most explosive offensive player in the league and he figures he's due a pretty big payday in the near-future. The Titans, obviously, don't share that same opinion and declined to offer him the big money deal he was looking for—much to his chagrin.

So, now he will play on a one-year contract and hope to blow the doors off the league yet again. Once he does, he will likely be looking to put himself on the market so he can get what's coming to him.

In my opinion, Johnson won't come close to the 2,000 yard mark. He'll top out at 1,300 yards and he'll get the contract that befits a guy of that caliber. 2009 was impressive but this is a new year and Johnson's day in the sun is about to see some cloud cover.

6. The Pittsburgh Steelers will miss the playoffs.

I like the Steelers. No, check that, I LOVE the Steelers, but I think all of the issues surrounding their slightly immature quarterback will be their undoing this season. Neither Byron Leftwich nor Dennis Dixon are going to be the answer for an absentee Ben this year (who will serve a four-to-six game suspension), and Charlie Batch is long overdue for his pension check.

The defense is still formidable, but it's older and the loss of Troy Polamalu for the better part of last season showed some chinks in the armor of that once stellar secondary unit. If the offense sputters and the defense is forced to carry the team, things could get tight for Mike Tomlin's crew pretty quick.

It's still the Steelers, though, and you almost expect them to find a way to come out on top but I see a 2-4 start at best and an uphill battle the rest of the way.


7. The Denver Broncos will lose more games than last season.

Everyone is so in love with the Broncos right now. They have Tim Tebow! They have talent at wide receiver! They have good running backs!...uhhhh, how about these points: THEY HAVE NO O-LINE!! THEY LOST BRANDON MARSHALL!!! THEY LOST EIGHT OF THEIR LAST TEN GAMES IN 2009!!...how about that?

*scratches head*

Listen to me, the Broncos might be the second-coming of the New England Patriots in about two years, but do not get caught up in the hype that's coming from the big name sitting on their roster. Tebow will play but he isn't ready to lead a team to victory. Kyle Orton is still average and now he won't have Marshall to throw it to anymore. Moreno and Buckhalter are both good but they are nothing without a strong offensive line—which the Broncos do not have.

Don't believe the hype, you'll be disappointed.

8. Neither the Colts nor the Saints will be making a return trip to the Super Bowl.

I like the Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers to go deep into the playoffs. Baltimore is, by far, one of the most balanced teams in the AFC—they have very few holes to speak of at this point. Green Bay is solid as well, if they can keep Rodgers upright, I like their chances to get back to the big game this season. If not them, then you have to figure this is the year that Tony Romo will finally lead his team to the promised land.

Either way, the love train for both the Saints and the Colts ends in 2010—mark it!


9. C.J. Spiller will be a candidate for Rookie of The Year.

The Bills are going to run the ball, that's a given, but whether or not the man toting the rock is C.J. Spiller or Fred Jackson will be the ultimate question. Spiller was a phenom at Clemson and is as dynamic as they come where the running game is concerned—he will battle Fred Jackson for the big time carries this season.

If he wins, expect him to produce and be quite the spark plug on a Bills team that has been mired in mediocrity for far too long—now, if they could just get that quarterback spot locked down.

10. The Oakland Raiders will win eight games this season.

Did I just make myself sound crazy? Well, that's okay (see intro). I don't think much of Jason Campbell but I think a lot more of him than I did JaMarcus Russell. I expect the soft-spoken QB who was tossed away by Washington to play with a renewed vigor this season as he attempts to lead the Raiders back to AFC significance.

The pieces are in place in Oakland and the only thing missing was a decent quarterback to lead the way. Look for Zach Miller to have his best season yet and watch both Louis Murphy and Darren McFadden mature into the players they were meant to become when they were brought to Oakland.

I sound insane again, right?...(again, check the intro).

Are you ready for some football?!?...I know I am.

Brett Favre, AKA 'Mr Indecision', Is Back To Spread NFL Joy To All...NOT!

These days it simply doesn't feel like an NFL offseason if we aren't wondering what the heck Brett Favre is going to do.

He's been pulling this "I don't know what I'm going to do" act for years now and, if you aren't sick of it yet, you are either a Brett Favre apologist or just not paying attention.

In the annual "kiss my backside because my name is Brett" play, Minnesota Viking's head coach, Brad Childress reprises his role as the "lips" and he is already racking up airline miles flying to wherever Brett's backside currently resides.

The question is simple, and the same as always, "are you going to come out and play?". As usual, Brett is indecisive and uncertain if he can do it again.

He's wondering if he has the energy, the motivation, and the ability to step onto the football field again and lead the team to victory. Even more, will he be able to erase the memory of that devastating loss to the New Orleans Saints in the 2009 NFC Championship game. After all, he did throw the ill-advised and ill-timed pass that eventually led to the Vikings seeing their Super Bowl dream fade to black?

However, the more important question in all of this is...why should any of us give a flip?

This story is old and it's been heard before. I don't know about anyone else, but, I'd like to read a new book, in another library, in a different state, and I'd like it if Brett weren't a character in the tale.

Before he unleashed his inner diva, he was a likeable guy. Now, he's just a pain in the rear that no football fan, outside the state of Minnesota, really cares all that much about—hell, not even his agent can stand him at this point and he gets paid to put up with him.

Plus, can we be honest about this situation, Favre is probably just stalling the decision until training camps near an end because who wants to, voluntarily, deal with the grind and heat of all of that when you can go play catch with high school boys?

Keep chucking those balls to teenage boys, Brett. We all know exactly what you are doing and, come first snap, I expect to see you wearing that No. 4 for the Vikings again—even your backup, Tarvaris Jackson is hip to your game.

I'd be surprised if that's not the case.

He's not fooling me and I seriously doubt he's fooling anyone else with half a brain—hence the annoyance with his delayed decision tactics.

Oh Brett, you're such a kidder, I just wish your jokes were funnier.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Brad Childress of Minnesota Vikings visits with Brett Favre in Mississippi (sports.espn.go.com)