5-at-10: Who won the weekend, who lost the weekend and Rushmore of Aaron Rodgers

Well, that was interesting.

From the "Talks too much studios" will someone turn the heat on?

photo Football tile

Who won the weekend

New England Patriots. We left the Pats for dead after the drubbing they took against Kansas City. We wake up this morning looking at an it's-anybody's-guess NFL with the knowledge of simply two things. First the Patriots are so solid front to back that the AFC playoffs almost assuredly will go through Foxboro. And secondly...

Green Bay. When Aaron Rodgers is healthy he is the biggest difference-maker in the NFL. Dude has turned a white dude from Kansas State named Jordy into the biggest big-play option in the NFL. Jordy.

Florida State. We have been tough on FSU all year. And rightly so. They are arguable the least law-abiding program since Paul Crewe and the boys lit up the guards. Last week, we were dumbfounded when the College Football Selection committee dropped the Seminoles in the rankings. After a win. Well, whatcha got this week after the Seminoles again rallied and snatched victory from the abyss of defeat? Some times, you have to appreciate perfection, even when it's an imperfect perfection, you know?

423-area code college football fans. Tennessee rolls. UTC rolls. Alabama rolls. Georgia rolls. Man, it was Nedlove's - a whole lot of Rolls - for the majority of the college football fans in this area. Well, unless you are a graduate from a certain school about three hours South...

---

Who lost the weekend

Auburn. Man it was what like 10 days ago that Auburn was in control of its destiny in the race for the college football playoff. A heartbreaker against a mediocre Texas A&M team and an old-fashioned butt-whippin' in Athens have left Auburn looking like a contender for the Music City Bowl. Worse than the results, it looks like there are some internal issues with this bunch, considering the consistent inconsistencies, the missed chances and the river of penalties.

photo Georgia junior tailback Todd Gurley rushed 29 times for 138 yards in Saturday night's win over Auburn but was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Todd Gurley. Dude is a great football player. In his first game back from the four-game NCAA suspension, Gurley runs all over Auburn for 138 yards on 29 carries - and dude had a 100-yard kickoff return called back - before tearing his ACL. What a roller coaster filled year - Gurley was the Heisman front-runner until the suspension - that ends with a sad and serious injury that could cost Gurley millions.

Broncos. What was that? Yes, Denver had a slew of injuries to the receiving corps happen Sunday, but a 22-7 loss to the Rams is hard to explain. The combination of injuries, record and the Patriots' ascent make things look dicey for the pro-Payton people among us.

photo Will Muschamp

Florida. Talk about a roller coaster, Will Muschamp was the Scream Machine for crying out loud. Two years ago, dude wins 11 games and, if the playoff had existed then, the Gators would have been playing for it. Last year was an injury-ravaged debacle that included a loss to Georgia Southern in the Swamp. This year, the swings include a pantsing at Alabama, a rallying 10-9 win in Knoxville (with a little trash-talk on the way out), then three consecutive losses - a war against LSU, an implosion against Missouri and an inexplicable meltdown Saturday against South Carolina - in the Swamp sandwiched around a monster win against Georgia. Muschamp went from hot seat to dead coaching walking to likely saving his gig to being done with the Gators within 24 hours of two special-team blunders turning a 20-13 win over South Carolina into a 26-23 overtime loss. Crazy. We believe it was the right decision, but with an offense lacking playmakers and a recruiting class that is near the bottom of the SEC, the Gators will have to rebuild before they reload, and doing that in the SEC is a dicey proposition.

Practice. Man, not since Allen Iverson has anyone made practice look as irrelevant as UT quarterback Josh Dobbs.

---

NASCAR

OK, the sprint to the finish was fun.

Four drivers going full speed. Seriously. The guy that finished best among the four was going to be the champ.

Everything on the line. Huge crowd. We image the ratings, especially for the last 20 or so laps, will be pretty nice.

photo Kevin Harvick celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship series auto race, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, in Homestead, Fla.

Kevin Harvick raced to the line first - among the four and the field - to win the race and the points title. He was easily the most accomplished of the four during the season and would have been in the mix for the title under almost any and all of the hybrid systems NASCAR has used in the last decade. (Side question: Is there any other sport around that could up and change its rules more than NASCAR has? Seriously, this would paramount of making the NCAA tournament double-elimination or making a 3-pointer worth 6.)

Still, NASCAR's moment raises serious questions about whether the changes were good overall.

Was the excitement as much about the newness as the tension?

Maybe it's the made-for-TV movement that sports has become, but a season's worth of excellence obviously means nothing in today's NASCAR. Sure, a dominant season - like the ones Jeff Gordon had - can mean a very boring conclusion, which means drivers spinning laps with a champ determined.

So maybe it's a better finish. But is it the best one?

---

This and that

- Wow. Did you see the DEA pulled surprise investigations on a few NFL teams to make sure they were complying with proposer standards in regard to painkillers? Representatives of the 49ers, Bucs and Seahawks acknowledged the DEA reviewed their medical procedures Sunday. Not sure if this is a swing at Roger Goodell's power (that the Feds are looking into the NFL) or a testament to it (if they found nothing, this could be the Feds galvanizing the NFL against future 10-figure lawsuits that the NFL blindly gives players painkillers so they can play).

photo Kobe Bryant

- Kobe scored 44. Lakers still lost. (FE to the C, sorry, but...) The Raiders are the modern face of an-old school power we still have a tough time with them stinking. Knowing that the Lakers are junk - and are significantly worse and will be for the foreseeable future than say the Clippers, Warriors and Suns - is tough for our generation.

- How about this guy who stole the football from a female Sunday in the Saints-Bengals game? You stay classy New Orleans.

---

Today's question

We always want your feedback on the winners and losers of the weekend.

We were awed watching Aaron Rodgers spin the football Sunday. It was poetry.

Yes, Manning is a football savant and Brady is a warrior poet.

But physically, Rodgers may be the best and most complete package we've ever seen. (Right there with Elway, any way, and it's a group that Luck may someday join.)

So in honor of Aaron Rodgers - and the discount double check - we offer the split Rushmore. What's our Rushmore of Aarons and our Rushmore of Rodgers (and spelling is flexible in each)?

Upcoming Events