Feisty Aaron Rodgers is my Favorite Aaron Rodgers

He's baaaaaaaaaack (even though he never went anywhere and even last year when the Packers offense was bad [bad meaning bad by Packers standards] he was still a great quarterback and this year is as dominant as anyone else so he was definitely done forever but only now that they've won a few is everyone realizing he's still just absolutely dirty so now they're saying he's baaaaaaaaaaack because we want stories with cycles in sports)!

Aaron was (insert fire emoji) yesterday against the for some reason struggling Seahawks. 18/23 for 246 yards, 3 TDs, and a 150.8 rating. The ball was zipping and evenly distributed, hitting 6 different receivers and working a Seattle D that will clearly not be the same with the loss of Earl Thomas. Jordy caught 2 beautiful TDs and suddenly the dairy market is surging (it is not actually, sorry to say. Go buy some milk and cheese tonight to support America's industry please).

Yet lots of discussion during the game went to Aaron Rodger's "injury." The Packers put the Seahawks away quite early, so it's understandable that Joe and Troy had to talk about other stuff. Russell Wilson's struggles (5 ints), Earl Thomas' leadership role (no doy), and Aaron's "injury" filled the football-left-to-play void. It's always been a part of Aaron's TV time that whenever he so much as walks weird after a play, he's "injured." To be fair Aaron did come out of the game early, but the Packers were way up, anyway. Also, it's week 14--most guys have tweaks and strains, so you could say they're technically "injured". But if they're still playing and still contributing, it's just football. It's like asking a guy during a hot dog eating contest if he's getting full. Of course he is, but he's going to keep eating because that's how the contest works. That's the name of the game. Football: keep eating those hot dogs.

After the game, lots of questions were asked about Aaron's calf "injury". Aaron wasn't super into it:

(Sick, video removed by ESPN. Good job!)

Feisty Aaron Rodgers is simply my favorite Aaron Rodgers. I also really like cocky Aaron Rodgers, both because when he's cocky it's because he's unstoppable a la 2013-2014 and because it's fun to see him taunting guys on the field in his dorky, smily, jokey Aaron way. It does genuinely make some guys angry because that's football, but Aaron's silly taunting mostly amuses most players, because it's just so... Cheesy (you can buy greek yogurt and ice cream later, too. It's all good, all dairy). Anyway, even though that cocky Aaron is fun, feisty Aaron is better. Feisty Rodgers is better because he's just so serious about football when he's like this and that seriousness carries longterm momentum through the course of weeks. He's focused and when he's focused, he's dialed in. This team HAS to win out to make the playoffs and it seems Aaron is in the feisty mood to make it happen.

Winning out is obviously a team effort, but Aaron is the half of the centerpiece of the team, so if he's feisty, focused, and ready to win, it helps the whole offense do so, too. The other centerpiece of the team is obviously Aaron Ripkowski, the best fullback in the league, but we never have to worry about Rip, because he simply Rips it up. Aaron is dialed in and so is the defense, so things are looking very, very interesting in Green Bay. They're not a playoff team yet, but if they do make it in, they're going to cause a lot of trouble for other teams.

PS you know who else is super dialed in right now? Damarious Randall, holy cows!

Interception 1 because NFL videos are impossible to embed.

Interception 2 because the NFL is such a caring, competent multi-billion dollar organization.

PPS my hot take aka hot look aka "Hot Luke" of the week is that Aaron Rodgers is no longer vegan and/or dairy-free. I think he's secretly crushing cheese and whole milk and that's why he's so focused and honed in right now. It's not just a good idea, it's the right idea.