More football awaits
author: Ethan butterfield| Arts and culture editor
Fans rejoice as the No Fun League returns / Pixabay
Our NFL enthusiast is back with his predictions!
Hey everyone! I hope the semester is treating you well. I must say, it’s good to be back (at least for one issue) in the sports section where I can talk about all things athletic. Not actually, I’m just back to talk about football! More specifically, the beginning of the NFL season and what to expect from it in the weeks to come. I’ll be looking at overpriced salaries, initial match-ups, and if Aaron Rodgers head can get any bigger. Let’s dive into it, shall we?
Where to start, where to start? Oh, I know, how about we kick things off with Mr. Aaron Rodgers (as you can see I’m quite passionate about this). If you haven’t already heard, the Green Bay Packers decided to go ahead and do something that I thought was not in the cards for their organization. Long story short, they extended and doubled up on their star QB’s contract. As it sits now, Aaron Rodgers is making $134 million (with $100 million being guaranteed) over the next 4 years. This is a man, mind you, who has less Super Bowl rings then Brock Osweiler, someone who hasn’t even played in the big game! Plus, he’s 34 years old and seems to be degrading every season. I honestly don’t know where the Packers’ headspace was when making this deal, but it must have been where the Bears headspace was. (editor’s note: Rodgers makes how much?!!!)
You heard me right. Chicago was the second team to do a big deal during the preseason. Yes, I’m talking about the other contract negotiation that had everyone freaking out – Khalil Mack and his downright historic singing. Over the next 6 years, he’ll be making $143 million with $90 million in guarantees. Ummmm, quick question. What is wrong with Chicago? I don’t mind the team, honestly, but with the whole Jay Cutler singing fiasco last time should have really put some things into perspective for this team. But no, it’s Mack this time around with a big bonus from the Bears. One must imagine that this coaching staff is playing a bit fast and loose with the change jar, if you know what I mean. Still a terrible deal that the Raiders made trading Mack to the Bears in the first place.
Regardless, despite the absolute ludicrous contracts that were negotiated during the preseason, it appears the start if this NFL season has kicked off rather nicely. The defending Super Bowl champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, managed to pick up the win against the Atlanta Falcons last Thursday. Actually, in regard to the Eagles, I was really impressed with how sharp Nick Foles still looks. Sure, there were some minor errors here and there, but it still seems like he’s in fighting form. I hope he stays healthy throughout the season, because I’d love to see what this guy can do.
Moving on to this Sunday (it being this Sunday while I write.), let’s look at the results of a couple of matchups. First and foremost, the Cleveland Browns tying the Pittsburgh Steelers in OT? Look, if you try to tell me that you saw that coming, or that the Browns were going to be even remotely close to defeating the Steelers, you’re a filthy liar. That, or you’re just really good with stats. Be that as it may, it’s the Browns?! Yeah, I understand that made a lot of good offseason acquisitions like Jarvis Landry and Tyrod Taylor, but come on, this team is supposed to be cursed. My ramblings aside, it seems like the team has found a spark somewhere, and that should be a nice little boost heading into next week’s matchup.
The other matchup worth drawing attention to is the…*sigh*, the Packers and the Bears which, at the time of writing, is currently 17 to 0 for the Bears. I guess its opposite day today or something. Well, I’m nothing if not a believer in the underdogs stories, so you can trust I’m going to be rooting for the Bears all the way in this one. Also, it’ll be interesting to see how Rodgers and Mack perform now that they have all that money tied to their names. I trust there won’t be any performance issues (Is that a bad joke? That feels like a bad joke).
So, with all that being said (it mostly being me ragging on the Packers and the Bears for most of this article), I think we all, as football fans, can look forward to the interesting start of the season. Whether it be the Browns’ shocking tie game result, Nick Foles continued surprise performances, or the heated money-off between Mack and Rodgers. It looks like we already have more drama than we could have asked for. Oh, and before I forget, the NFL is still trash for not accepting Colin Kaepernick back into their ranks. But hey, at least he’s got another gig.
