4-0: A Good Start

• It felt like it was harder than it should have been, but the Green Bay Packers stayed perfect by beating the San Francisco 49ers 17-3. It was nice to fiiiinally beat those darn Niners!

• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again -- what happened to Colin Kaepernick?! 13-of-25, 160 yards, 0 touchdowns, one interception, six sacks.

• I know California is hot, but Jim Tomsula was pouring sweat before the game even started. I wondered if his players had given him the celebratory Gatorade bath pre-game?

• Nope. He looks like that even when he’s inside.

• Green Bay’s offense wasn’t clicking as fans are used to, particularly on third-down conversions. The Pack started a dismal 1-for-7, went 3-for-3 on the John Kuhn touchdown drive, then went 1-for-5. That wouldn’t have happened if Jordy had been there.

• Joe Buck referred to Jordy Nelson as Green Bay’s “Sideline Catchmaster.” Hmm, I appreciate the love for Jordy, but it doesn’t have quite the same ring as “Sideline Ninja.”

• Aaron Rodgers has thrown 170 touchdowns in the red zone to just six interceptions. ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY TO SIX.

• It’s just unfair what Mr. Rodgers can do to defenses. I mean, look at this! The defensive backs have no chance!

• Hmm, this is a new tune from our old friend JMike.

• Let’s see what he had to say a few weeks ago.

The 2 league MVPs, Super Bowl MVP, and highest
passer rating in NFL history weren't enough to convince you ?

• It sounded like a home game for the Packers in Levi’s Stadium. Check out the audio. That’s gotta be salt in the many, many wounds of Niners fans.

• The offensive line has me worried. Right tackle Bryan Bulaga is progressing from his knee injury, but next week would be rather early for him to return. His replacement, Don Barclay, as well as left tackle David Bakhtiari, have struggled. Next week will be a big challenge against the St. Louis Rams’ fierce front seven. Eek.

• Let’s play a little game I like to call “Green Bay Head Coach Mike McCarthy or Olympic Champion Figure Skater Dorothy Hamill?”

Use your context clues.

• The Packers defense has 17 sacks on the season, tied with the St. Louis Rams, and just one fewer than the Denver Broncos. Speaking of Denver’s awesome defense, they already have 11 players with at least one sack four weeks in!

• I have to stifle a laugh when the New York Giants are trying out receivers who are out of the league a few weeks after cutting James Jones. Bet this would come in handy for the Giants right about now:

• Julius Peppers, talking about taking Aaron Rodgers’ greatness for granted: “Trust me, I don’t. I played on some teams where I wish I had a guy like him.”

Whomever could he be talking about??

• WAIT! I WAS RIGHT! Seattle Seahawks linebacker KJ Wright intentionally -- and therefore illegally -- batted the ball out of the end zone after Calvin Johnson fumbled it on Monday Night Football! I knew I had seen games where that was indeed a penalty! (I believe the Bears were penalized for that in a game against the Packers three or four seasons ago.) What the heck?!?! Why is Johnson always being screwed over by the referees?! It's not bad enough that he has the most maligned NFL rule named after him?? The Seahawks sure get awfully lucky when playing in Seattle on Monday night games.

• How do NONE of the commenters -- most of whom are former players! -- not know this rule? I understand that it doesn't come up that much, but it's not that obscure if I know about it! The NFL VP of Officiating acknowledged the missed call, but said that it was a "judgment call," and the back judge didn't feel that the illegal bat was "overt." "That's why he didn't call it on the field." Either that or he didn't know the rules. I'm going to bet on the latter.

• Seahawks' defender Michael Bennett has always been a little crazy, but he upped the ante with this post-game quote:

• Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, whom no one had heard of a few weeks ago, is leading the (albeit very early!) race for best defensive player. Norman has four interceptions -- including two pick-sixes -- and a forced fumble in four games.

• Is anyone able to tell the difference between Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett and Houston Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer? Coach Bill O’Brien keeps going back and forth on who his starting QB is, but maybe we should let him in on the secret that everyone knows: they’re both backup quarterbacks.

• People talk about offensive linemen "keeping their quarterback upright," but usually they don't mean so literally.

• The San Diego Chargers, tied at 27-27 with two seconds left, were kicking for the win, but missed it. Too bad; on to overtime, right? Nope, because they were playing the Cleveland Browns, and the Browns committed an offsides penalty. San Diego re-kicked, made it, won the game. So very Cleveland.

• It was the week of missed field goals -- three teams essentially lost on missed kicks (Steelers, Jaguars, Eagles), and two more almost lost (Chargers, Saints). There were 14 missed field goals, four missed PATs, and two kickers fired (Buccaneers, Steelers). Yikes.

• There’s a report that has Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been struggling in practice against the scout team -- getting easily rattled, throwing interceptions. How does Tannehill, a professional athlete who’s supposed to be the leader of his team, handle this? With motivational, inspirational words like, “Enjoy your practice squad paycheck.”

He kinda totally looks like a guy who would say that.

• That whole Dolphins team has got issues. The team signed Ndamukong Suh to $114 million contract, yet the defensive line has struggled. Here’s King Kong half-heartedly jogging after the running back who beat him:

• And then there was Suh’s post-game conference, in which he answered multiple queries, by just repeating, "Next question." When asked about his embattled head coach Joe Philbin being on the hot seat, Suh told reporters they should ask other players because he’s “not an emotional guy.” (Thanks for that support, Ndamukong!) Philbin, who was on the hot seat all of last season as well, was fired Monday.

• The Arizona Cardinals were handed their first loss of the season by the Rams, but it was Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer’s  first loss since December 2013.

• I know Nick Foles had a lot of success in Philadelphia last year, but it’s hard to be afraid of someone who looks just like Napoleon Dynamite.

If it weren't for the field goal posts, I honestly don't know
if I could tell who is who.

• I was super tired and about to go to bed on Sunday night, but decided to stay up for overtime on Sunday night. It was very much worth it.

• Fun way to get your 400th touchdown: throw the game-winning pass in overtime! New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees joined the 400 club on Sunday night, and was the fastest in NFL history to that mark.

• Regarding the loss, Jerry Jones said, “It’s not quite apples and oranges when the guy on the other side of the deal is Brees and you’re dealing with a guy as limited as Weeden.” Ouch. So much for Weeden being the most “gifted passer” Jones had ever seen just a week earlier.

"Can you believe he said that about me?!"
"Umm, yep. Uh-huh. Sounds about right."

• Retired linebacker London Fletcher was highly amused by Jerry Jones’ panegyric on Weeden. Recalling playing against Weeden, Fletcher said intercepting the quarterback was like “playing catch with [his] kids.” Double ouch.

• I hate to say it, but I’m starting to feel bad for the Dallas Cowboys. They're already without their starting quarterback, star receiver, and starting corner, now they’ve lost running back Lance Dunbar, who had 100 receiving yards last week, to a torn ACL and MCL.

At least Cowboys' fans won't have to try so hard to make excuses this year.

• Aww, Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris actually sounds like a good guy. He has a tradition of hanging out with the stadium ushers and security guards before every game.

• Jay Cutler wins one game and all of a sudden he thinks he’s the Fonz.

Smokin'JayCutler needs to get on this right now.

• Ugh, somehow the Chicago Bears managed their first win of the season on a last-minute field goal over the Oakland Raiders. Tight game, down to the wire, season on the line -- how do the Bears not choke that away? I’m shocked.

• A reporter asked Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett if quarterback Jay Cutler is criticized too much. Bennett responded, “They threw rocks at Jesus, and Jesus was an excellent guy who did a lot of awesome stuff."

AND THEY HAVE THE SAME INITIALS!

• You have to admire the Oakland Raiders’ effort on this last-ditch, lateral-filled (well, fumble-filled) final play.

• Charles Woodson moved into top 10 in career interceptions! Woo hoo! Yay, Charles! I’ll give you one guess who threw him the ball.

• Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck sat Sunday with a shoulder injury, meaning that 40-year-old Matt Hasselbeck took the helm and led the Colts to victory! “I am playing with guys closer in age to my kids than they are to me,” said the well-loved Hasselbeck. Seriously, everybody who has played with this guy adores him. Awww, look how happy they all are for him!

• The Buffalo Bills had 17 penalties on Sunday, and Rex Ryan sorta doesn’t think that’s a problem but also promises to fix it??

• JJ Watt is obviously just trolling the women of the world.

I kid you not, the other JJ headline that day
was about him visiting some kid in the hospital.

• Jordy’s still my One True though.