We miss you, J-Cutty.

We’re going to get into this more in-depth tomorrow in the With Leather Fantasy Football Support Group, but it’s just remarkable to me how many high profile players were injured in the past two weeks. Tonight’s a perfect example, too, as both the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers will face off on Monday Night Football without their starting quarterbacks. Obviously, that’s bad news for the Bears, as Jay Cutler had been just Dilferesque enough to support the Bears’ amazing defense.

But it might be good news for the 49ers. Nothing against the equally Dilferian Alex Smith, but I’m sure there are some fist-pumping San Fran fans out there. You don’t have to celebrate your QB’s injury, but it’s okay if you say something like, “Hey, at least we’re not stuck with Jason Campbell.”

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For all the times that we’ve talked about how likable Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers seems, this sure hasn’t been his best week. It started off playfully enough, with Rodgers and Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men making a bet that if the Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers last weekend, Rodgers would have to wear an Alex Smith jersey. The Packers, of course, lost and a man even wrote erotic fan fiction as a result to hold up his end of a bet that he made.

So Rodgers wore the Smith jersey then, right? Wrong.

But earlier today, Rodgers addressed the media — and when he was asked about the wager, he sounded like a man trying to get out of donning his rival’s jersey. “There’s nothing to that,” Rodgers said … adding, “That got blown way out of proportion.” Still, Rodgers DID acknowledge a bet was made … saying, “It was at best a joke between friends, and, unfortunately, the great reporting of TMZ blew another one.” (Via TMZ)

Wow, Rodgers just took the masters of random CAPS LOCK and ellipses to the wood shed. Hopefully they have a killer response.

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"So, uh, you wanna, like, grab a brew and then make out?"

Yesterday, my best friend and bass player in my Nelson cover band, Danger Guerrero, brought us the terrific story of the bet between Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the classic 90s R&B group Boyz II Men. How DG didn’t ask me to photoshop Rodgers photobombing a Boyz II Men album cover, I’ll never know, but it was an exciting story nonetheless, as Rodgers and the Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers and Mr. Discount Double Check now has to wear an Alex Smith 49ers jersey this week.

The reason I recapped yesterday’s news is because there are good, fun and playful bets, and we like those because they don’t require me to read man-on-man erotic fan fiction. Instead, I had to do that because a Reddit user and presumed Gaslight fan named “americanslang59” also lost a bet, and the result was indeed erotic fan fiction that involves Rodgers and Smith. I didn’t think it was possible but the Internet became a much stranger place yesterday.

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Here are the things you need to know for this story to make sense:

• Aaron Rodgers is friends with Boyz II Men.
• The Packers lost to the 49ers yesterday.
• Wait, did I just say “Aaron Rodgers is friends with Boyz II Men”?

Jesus. I really need to become an NFL quarterback. Anyway, here goes:

According to TMZ, Rodgers asked Boyz II Men to sing the national anthem before the opener at Lambeau Field. Nathan Morris of the group laid a bet on the table. If the Packers lost the game, Morris proposed, Rodgers would have to wear a 49ers jersey through this entire week. Morris would have had to wear a Packers jersey through this week had Green Bay won, but he’s not a professional football player — he doesn’t have to go to team meetings and film room and all other game-prep functions wearing the colors of the opposing team. [Shutdown Corner]

As a fan of Boyz II Men, football, and stupid shenanigans that result in someone famous being forced to do something embarrassing, I should love this story. And yet, here I sit, in a living room located squarely in Eastern Pennsylvania, FURIOUS that Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men is a 49ers fan. Philadelphia’s own Nathan Morris of Boyz II Men, who sang a song called “Motownphilly,” cheers for a team from literally across the country. A team that he probably only started liking because they were good back when he was a kid. This simply will not do. I mean, what am I supposed to do with this information? Next you’ll tell me DJ Jazzy Jeff likes the Mets, or Hall & Oates root for the Cowboys.

The whole thing makes me so angry I could huck a battery at a toddler.

The New Orleans Saints were under investigation for running an alleged bounty program after they won the Super Bowl in 2009. The NFL was told by anonymous players that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was urging players to injure opponents for money and the Saints knew, because they were being investigated. So maybe it was the relief of the NFL concluding its investigation with no penalty or maybe it was just extreme arrogance, but Williams kept running his bounty program, and he apparently did it while a camera was pointed at him the entire time.

According to Yahoo!, documentary filmmaker Sean Pamphilon (Run Ricky Run) was with the Saints at the team’s hotel the night before they played the San Francisco 49ers in their divisional playoff game. The Saints went on to lose that game 36-32, possibly because Williams wasn’t clear enough with his innuendos and hand signals.

Hold on, I think I have an artist’s rendering of Williams’ reaction to this…

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After taking a year off because none of the teams that he wanted to play for wanted to sign him, 35-year old wide receiver Randy Moss is back in the NFL thanks to a 1-year contract he signed with the San Francisco 49ers yesterday. Moss was immediately eager to speak about anything and everything, especially all of the things that the terrible, unfair media has blown up over his 13-season career, including… hey man, he’s just here to play this game that he loves and, good lord willing, help this team win.

More than anything, he looks forward to helping the 49ers young receivers get better, which Vernon Davis would probably appreciate so he can take a breather here and there.

“I think, not just Crabtree, but it’s a young group of guys. And there’s a saying I have: ‘I like what I can do for the NFL. I don’t like what the NFL can do for me.’ I’ve loved the game of football. For me to be able to start at a young age and play Pop Warner football and have my dreams come true to become a professional football player. I like what I’m able to give back to football and the NFL. If those guys are willing to accept me as a teammate, come here and make this thing happen, then I’m ready to give back anything I have: my knowledge, my work ethic and all of the above. I look forward to going out and working with these young guys, and coaches included.” (Via 49ers Talk)

I would have loved to see the chorus of eyebrows raising in the room when he mentioned work ethic, but I’m willing to give a guy a 4th chance, especially when he’s just so damned entertaining. But a lot of people don’t share that outlook on the man they call the Real Otis, so of course people are going to keep calling his reputation into question.

Harbaugh has made so much about the team concept and blue-collar mentality with the 49ers. How much did he talk to you about coming into the locker room and fit in and be another one of the guys?

Moss: “Well, the thing about me being here is they’ve done their research on me. And I think when it comes to the world-wide sports media, I’ve gotten a bad rap. They’ve done their homework on me or they wouldn’t have brought me in here.”

Why do you say you’ve gotten a bad rap?

Moss: “I’m just saying, more of not being a team player and things like that. I really don’t want to get into that because that’s not what I’m here for. I think that one thing I’d like the sports world to understand is the love and the passion I have for the game of football. I think every player wants to win and every organization wants to win.”

And maybe he’s right. After all, Jeff Fisher had nothing but high praises for Moss, even after he was completely worthless in the Tennessee Titans’ offense in 2010. Or maybe teams are just content with giving the guy a chance to come in and score touchdowns. Either way, it could be much worse for Moss.

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