“Chargers NFL Schedule–Brutal”-0-

The NFL schedule is out, and to quote the old line in the movie ‘Animal House’ during pledge week…the Chargers may have to grit their teeth and say ‘Thank You sir may I have another’.

This is awful.  This is hopeless.  This is brutal.

You may have a bright young quarterback in Justin Herbert, but the Bolts will have a rookie left tackle…and at least four new starters upfront of Herbert.

They may have the youngest defense in the NFL, aside from pass rusher Joey Bosa and oft-injured safety Derwin James.

The Bolts open in Washington on September 12th against Ron Rivera’s WFT-a team that will have a new quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and a very rugged defense, in Rivera fashion.

Look at weeks two-thru-seven.  The season will be over before they get into November.

Week 2-Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, in a So-Fi Stadium overrun by Cowboys fans.

Week 3-Patrick Mahomes-the Chiefs-Andy Reid at Arrowhead Stadium.  Alot of bad history in that yard over the years.

Week 4-a Monday Night Football game with Jon Gruden and the Raiders.  Think there will be a few people wearing Silver & Black in the Chargers stadium?  Some message for the fans across America to see about how LA feels about the Spanos owned team.

Week 5-same old story.  Cleveland comes in.  Marquee popular team coming to LA to face the Bolts, and the stadium swamped by people wearing Brown-Orange and dog collars.  And yes, Baker Mayfield, the running backs, the receivers, Myles Garrett and that Dog Pound defense.

Week 6-at Baltimore.  Lamar Jackson and all the things John Harbaugh ramps up for his perennially tough Ravens.

Week 7-New England…Justin Herbert meet Bill Belichick.  Who knows if Cam Newton will be starting or the rookie Mac Jones, but we know the Pats will be different after signing 12-free agents, and spending the most money of anyone in the NFL off season.

The second half of the season features Black & Gold clad Steelers fans making the trip to LA to face the Chargers.

Kansas City comes in late in December, as do the Vikings in October.

3-road games late, at Denver, at Cincinnati with Joe Burrow, and the season finale in Las Vegas with the Raiders.

It’s a great home schedule, if you had a good team.  It’s going to be an impossible early schedule to play considering what John Spanos and Tom Telesco did in the offseason.

So you do have Justin Herbert, but you let go 14-veteran players that almost dragged your team to the playoffs.  Goodbye star tight end, goodbye 5-offensive lineman.  Exit Casey Hayward-Melvin Ingram-Denzel Perryman among others.

The Chargers signed only 7-free agents, fixing the offensive line, they hope, but doing little else, unless you think Jared Cook is an upgrade over Hunter Henry.

So you scope it out.  New coaching staff.  Very young team around a second year quarterback.  And a brutal meatgrinder schedule in September and October.

Can’t see anything better than (1-6) out of the gate and playoff hopes will be gone by the time the calendar turns to November.  Your view?

-0-

WEEK
DATE
OPPONENT
TIME (PT)
TELEVISION
1
Sun., Sept. 12
at Washington Football Team
10:00 a.m.
CBS
2
Sun., Sept. 19
Dallas Cowboys
1:25 p.m.
CBS
3
Sun., Sept. 26
at Kansas City Chiefs
10:00 a.m.
CBS
4
Mon., Oct. 4
Las Vegas Raiders
5:15 p.m.
ESPN
5
Sun., Oct. 10
Cleveland Browns
1:05 p.m.
CBS
6
Sun., Oct. 17
at Baltimore Ravens
10:00 a.m.
CBS
7
Sun., Oct. 24
BYE
—
—
8
Sun., Oct. 31
New England Patriots
1:05 p.m.
CBS
9
Sun., Nov. 7
at Philadelphia Eagles
1:05 p.m.
CBS
10
Sun., Nov. 14
Minnesota Vikings
1:05 p.m.
FOX
11
Sun., Nov. 21
Pittsburgh Steelers
5:20 p.m.
NBC*
12
Sun., Nov. 28
at Denver Broncos
1:05 p.m.
CBS
13
Sun., Dec. 5
at Cincinnati Bengals
10:00 a.m.
FOX
14
Sun., Dec. 12
New York Giants
1:05 p.m.
FOX
15
Thurs., Dec. 16
Kansas City Chiefs
5:20 p.m.
FOX/NFLN/Amazon†
16
Sun., Dec. 26
at Houston Texans
10:00 a.m.
CBS
17
Sun., Jan. 2
Denver Broncos
1:05 p.m.
CBS
18
Sun., Jan. 9
at Las Vegas Raiders
1:25 p.m.
CBS

-0-“Dodgers-Bandwagon”
-0-

What have you done for Dodgers fans lately?
That’s what people are asking right now.

You know the Dodgers-winners of 8-straight NL West divisional titles.
The Dodgers-finally winning a World Series ring last year.
The Blue, who had a (13-2) start that turned into a (5-15) swoon.
Curses, the LA teams trailing the first place Giants by 3-games.

Depending on whom you listen too, all will be okay, or the sky is falling.

Clayton Kershaw demanding a sense of urgency in the clubhouse, charging that all games count even in a 162-game schedule.

Trevor Bauer saying he is pissed at losing so many well pitched games.

Corey Seager refusing to answer questions about all his errors and substandard batting average.

Dave Roberts, pleading patience from his manager’s chair in the dugout.

The horrors of this losing streak.  The shame of losing 4-of-7 so far to the uppity Padres.

There’s probably nothing more than the Dodgers need to get healthy for them to retain their status in the National League.  That is quite a list of players they have on the disabled list right now.

..Cody Bellinger-slow to heal from fractured leg.
..Dustin May-torn elbow ligament-sidelining the pitching phenom 1-year.
..David Price-hamstring injury-knocking him out 4-weeks after sitting out last year.
..Joe Kelly-surgery for cyst issues on his shoulder.
..Cory Knebel-lat shoulder damage-out 2-months
..Tony Gonsolin-shoulder inflammation
..Brusdar Graterol-forearm strain
..Brandon Morrow-comeback stopped by elbow issues
..Zach McKinstry-oblique injury.

They had 11-on the Disabled list-including 7-pitchers at one point last week.

At one point-Mookie Betts had back and wrist problems and was hitting 50-points below last season.

Max Muncy was drawing walks but not hitting homeruns.
Joe Pederson was in the Cubs outfield-not the Dodgers.
Keke Hernandez was in a Red Sox uniform.
Pedro Baez was pitching in Houston.

The bullpen had 12-blown saves in the first 5-weeks of the season.
They have allowed 27-unearned runs to score on errors.

Alot of things happening at Dodgers Stadium right now, but last I checked, still 4/5ths of the National League schedule to play out.

Getting healthy will help.  Getting focused again might help.  Taking off the World Series rings they got and getting back to business will definitely help.

What have you done for me lately?  Not much.  But plenty of time to fix all this.

Dodgers fans, acting like the sky is falling.

Jumping off the bandwagon a bit early?

You should be a Detroit Tigers fan and tell us how bad things really are.

======================

-0-“Soccer’s Global Crisis”
-0-

In a country that loves watching the World Cup, the USA, this soccer story out of Europe is hard to grasp, what happened with 9-top teams who tried to break away to form the Euro Super League.

Let me put this in plain English for fans stateside.

What would happen if the Yankees-Dodgers-Mets-Red Sox-Cubs-Cardinals and Giants, among a few others, attempted to leave the American and National League to form their own league to play?

What would happen if the Cowboys-Patriots-Rams-Chiefs-Saints-Packers-Giants-Jets-Miami all packed up and left the NFL, to form their own pro football league?

That is what happened for a 48-hour span in Europe two weeks ago.

The creme-de-la-creme of European football, formed a cartel to break away from their leagues.

It included English powers Manchester City-Manchester United-Chelsea-Hot Spur-Arsenal and Liverpool, announcing they would be founders in the Euro Super League.

They then lured Juventus-AC Milan and Inter-Milan from Italy, plus Atletico-Real Madrid and FC-Barcelona from Spain, plus Paris St-Germain of France.

All the big powers walking away from nearly 100-years affiliations with their leagues, to take part in a 6B-financed league to play each other in season long games.

The deal comes with massive TV rights, guaranteed ticket sales, and international marketing rights to play games abroad.

Each of the teams is legendary.  They drive the financial pool that funds all the other smaller teams in the leagues they play in.  In essence they were tired of paying the bills for all those who cannot; don’t compete well; don’t draw big crowds; nor TV ratings.

It was met with a monstrous response, all negative within 48-hours.

Legendary coaches condemned saying it would destroy the Champions League, the international competition for each of those powers.

It would financially kill off the leagues that were left behind.  it would have a devastating effect of every feeder league in each country.

Fans rioted, storming the gates at Chelsea’s practice facility, doing damage to the building.  Fans rioted cancelling a Manchester United-Liverpool EPL-games.

The TV networks renounced the teams and threatened to cancel their contracts.

The EPL, and UEFA responded quickly.  Threatening to ban the teams from revenue sharing, ban them from the Champions League, and possibly ban the players who left, from playing for their countries in the every 4th year World Cup, the global event of the sport.

The 6-teams in England caved in, renouncing their deal.  So did some of the other global powers.

But there are sanctions.  The EPL and UEFA just fined each of the 6-teams in England 15M apiece for breaching their current contracts with the attempted breakaway.  They will forefeit 5% of their shared revenue next season.  The executives of each of the six franchises were removed from influential spots on key EPL committees.

And they were forced to agree to new documents that could lead to 50-to-100M fines for future conduct violations.

Juventus, Barcelona and Madrid have yet to agree to the penalties, and are still holding out hope a new league can be formed.

It’s bitter, it’s far from over, but the Yankees and Cowboys of pro soccer in Europe won’t be leaving anytime soon.

Pro soccer fans in England, who have spent the last years railing against the invasion of Malcom Glazer (Tampa)..Stan Kroenke (Rams)..Shad Khan (Jaguars)…and John Henry (Red Sox) as owners of EPL teams, set that anger aside to create two weeks of universal hate against all the super powers for their money grab the teams attempted to pull off.

Silly me to spend time worrying about Lionel Messi…Paul Pogboa or Coach Jose Mourinho, people always under the spotlight.

This was quite a story for 48-hours…soccer’s catastrophe on the brink.

A real global crisis, averted, for the time being.

=========================

-0-

“Baseball & Media”

-0-

What I think after what I see and what I read.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion about the Padres-Dodgers-Angels. So am I especially about the guys in the media covering these teams.

The Padres have spent 3-days in first place…have had the joy of a no hitter…and beat the Dodgers 4-times early in the season’s first month.

They seem to have issues everywhere, from Fernando Tatis’ scary shoulder injury, to Manny Machado’s poor start, to big money players like Tommy Pham and Ha Kim earning big money with little production.

That plus the injury issues to a ravaged pitching staff, be it the scares to Dinelson Lamet..Ryan Weathers, the devastating injury to Adrian Morejon, and the fact that 18-Padres pitchers have had surgeries dating back the last three years.

The Padres beat writers and columnists just don’t seem to want to view things thru a critical lens.  No heat on the pitching injury scoreboard.  No demands of better play from the highest paid players.  No critique of the disappointments in some others.  The UT sometimes needs to show its teeth rather than cheerlead with an avalanche of statistics in their stories.

The Dodgers (13-2) start has been washed away by this (5-15) month of baseball.

Their columnists say the team stinks, the season is apparently over.  Might this be ‘piling on’?

Mookie Betts has had two significant injuries, is still in the lineup, though hitting 50-points below average.  Little criticism of Corey Seager-in a contract year, hitting below average, and playing sloppy defense at short.

No mention of the roster full of players on the Dodgers injured list.  7-pitchers gone, including Dustin May and David Price, plus former MVP-Cody Bellinger.  No mention of the toll that has taken on Dave Roberts lineups.  Not an excuse but an explanation?

The LA Times seems to be ignoring how many hurt, hindering the chance to compete.  They stink for a legitimate reason.

The Angels have slid into last place, with pitching problems, and erratic production around superstar Mike Trout.

The columnist spent the weekend bashing the exiting Albert Pujols, rather rude treatment of an aging star, headed for Cooperstown when his career is done.

Not hammering of Arte Moreno for investing (240M) in an aging Pujols..this after wasting (150M) on drug troubled Josh Hamilton..and before that (80M) on oft injured Mo Vaughn.

The Times made Pujols out to be a bum-which is wrong, considering all his accomplishments in St Louis, and what he has done in the communities in St-Louis and Anaheim.  He deserved a better farewell than making him the destination point for criticism of the bad years the franchise has had.

Oh there’s lots of baseball to be played, but each of these teams has issues for which they need to be held accountable.

But not so much by the beat writers or columnists of the major papers.

Too much cheerleading in San Diego?

Too much jumping off the bandwagon in LA?

Blaming the wrong guy in Anaheim?

Are they looking at the same games I am looking at?
You tell me what you want from your print reporters. Accountability…responsibility…or cheerleading?

You’ll have to tell me, via my Email address on my website, what you want to read from the guys covering the teams via hacksaw5555@gmail.com.

Because games, teams, organizations they write about, don’t seem to match what we see on the field.

==========================

“NFL Draft Recap…Winners–Losers”

-0-

The Chargers got lucky…the Chargers hit the jackpot in the NFL draft.  The Chargers filled big needs after teams above them in the draft-either traded out or took other players.

They needed a left tackle and a cornerback, and they got each in the first two rounds of the draft.

Rashawn Slater, son of an NBA power forward-Reggie Slater, was the most technically sound of all the offensive lineman on the board.  He is a sub 5.0 guy in the 40…bench pressed 26 times…has great feet…is a smart football student..and played both right tackle and left tackle.  He plays immediately.

Asante Samuel comes from fine blood lines, his dad is a former NFL cornerback, and he has been groomed as an outside corner and an inside slot corner at Florida State.  A student of the game.

How did other clubs do?  Who won the draft?  Who lost?  A look via CBS Sports:
—————————–

Winners
Baltimore Ravens
Most notable picks:

WR Rashod Bateman (1)
OLB Odafe Oweh (1)
OG Ben Cleveland (3)
CB Brandon Stephens (3)
CB Shaun Wade (5)
Lamar Jackson should be happy, because Bateman has the makings of a Day One starter out wide. Oweh and Cleveland, meanwhile, are physical freaks who could fill spots in the trenches sooner rather than later. And the Stephens-Wade duo gives them a couple well-built developmental prospects behind Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey at corner.

Carolina Panthers
Most notable picks:

CB Jaycee Horn (1)
WR Terrace Marshall Jr. (2)
OT Brady Christensen (3)
TE Tommy Tremble (3)
They may regret passing on Justin Fields in the first, but Horn brings a fighter’s mentality to a position of need. And at least Sam Darnold will have a legitimate supporting cast. If Marshall Jr. stays healthy, he can be a reliable No. 3 behind D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson. And both Christensen and Tremble offer loads of athleticism.

Chicago Bears
Most notable picks:

QB Justin Fields (1)
OT Teven Jenkins (2)
It feels premature to crown Chicago, of all teams, for its blockbuster move up, mainly because it’s badly misread or managed the QB spot before. But let’s face it: Fields was a top-five talent in this class, and he injects all kinds of play-making ability to a Bears QB room temporarily “headlined” by Andy Dalton. Jenkins is underrated, too, as a likely plug-and-play right tackle.

Cleveland Browns
Most notable picks:

CB Greg Newsome II (1st round)
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (2)
WR Anthony Schwartz (3)
If you’re hesitant to call the Browns front-runners in the AFC North, don’t be. Cleveland added to a rock-solid roster with each of its first three picks. Newsome brings premium insurance to a CB spot often hampered by injury. Owusu-Koramoah can be a hybrid play-maker at the heart of the defense. And Schwartz offers even more juice to a receiving corps with three other high-end starters.

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Minnesota Vikings
Most notable picks:

OT Christian Darrisaw (1)
QB Kellen Mond (3)
LB Chazz Surratt (3)
Darrisaw would’ve been totally acceptable at No. 14 overall, but the Vikings got him at No. 23 after a move down. That’s a starting left tackle right there, with more long-term upside than the departed Riley Reiff. Surratt is an athletic specimen for a LB corps that lost Eric Wilson. And Mond is the most intriguing of them all: A confident, rocket-armed project who can push or challenge Kirk Cousins.

New York Giants
Most notable picks:

WR Kadarius Toney (1)
OLB Azeez Ojulari (2)
CB Aaron Robinson (3)
Dave Gettleman, take a bow. Toney was a bit too injury-prone to justify the No. 20 overall pick, but coupled with Ojulari, a consensus first-rounder who fell to the second, his addition looks even better. The Giants addressed almost every need (except the O-line) in this draft, and as an added bonus, they picked up a first, fourth and fifth in the 2022 draft thanks to Gettleman’s dealing.

Philadelphia Eagles
Most notable picks:

WR DeVonta Smith (1)
OL Landon Dickerson (2)
CB Zech McPhearson (4)
RB Kenny Gainwell (5)
Don’t look now, but Howie Roseman may have unearthed a handful of game-changers for his stripped-down Eagles. Smith instantly becomes the team’s No. 1 receiver and a surefire top target for QB Jalen Hurts. Dickerson has an injury history but looks like a potential Opening Day guard and future Jason Kelce successor. McPhearson and Gainwell both offer big-play upside.

San Francisco 49ers
Most notable picks:

QB Trey Lance (1)
RB Trey Sermon (3)
CB Ambry Thomas (3)
It starts and ends with the QB, and the 49ers made the right choice after moving all the way up to No. 3. Lance may be raw, but he offers maybe the highest ceiling of any rookie signal-caller this side of Trevor Lawrence. And he’s a perfect fit for Kyle Shanahan with his running ability. Sermon, meanwhile, is a luxury addition who’ll pack some punch in a good backfield.

Washington Football Team
Most notable picks:

LB Jamin Davis (1)
OT Samuel Cosmi (2)
WR Dyami Brown (3)
Man, Ron Rivera is really assembling a tough squad, isn’t he? Davis should step in right away as a leader on defense, Cosmi offers long-term support where Trent Williams once stood, and Brown gives them yet another chess piece on offense. These moves help them in 2021, with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm, but also bode well for the distant future.

Losers
Denver Broncos
Most notable picks:

CB Patrick Surtain II (1)
RB Javonte Williams (2)
Surtain gives them a premium plug-and-play corner at a spot already touting Ronald Darby and Kyle Fuller. And Williams may be a fun bruiser for the backfield. But unless they have an Aaron Rodgers mega-deal up their sleeve, passing on Justin Fields forces them to hope for a Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater breakout. Also, why trade up for a RB when you’re already paying Melvin Gordon?

Green Bay Packers
Most notable picks:

CB Eric Stokes (1)
C Josh Myers (2)
WR Amari Rodgers (3)
They added some dynamism at CB and WR, with Rodgers in particular bringing some long-awaited juice to the slot spot, but Myers — a traditional center — was arguably a reach in the second, even if Corey Linsley’s departure rang loud and clear. More importantly, they entered and left the draft without anything close to a resolution with Aaron Rodgers, who appears set on leaving town.

Indianapolis Colts
Most notable picks:

DE Kwity Paye (1)

DE Dayo Odeyingbo (2)
S Shawn Davis (5)
QB Sam Ehlinger (6)
Paye was an underrated find in the back half of the first, and he feels like the kind of guy to quietly log 10 sacks as a rookie. Davis could similarly take early reps at safety, and Ehlinger brings scrappy competition behind Carson Wentz. But goodness, they really needed some tackle help. Two straight pass rushers, with one all but a lock to miss most of 2021? Aren’t they in win-now mode?

Las Vegas Raiders
Most notable picks:

OT Alex Leatherwood (1)
S Trevon Moehrig (2)
Always good for a first-round reach, they spent No. 17 on Leatherwood despite clearer starting-caliber linemen like Darrisaw and Jenkins still sitting on the board. Moehrig, on the other hand, is an enticing free safety to pair with the feisty Johnathan Abram, but his addition would’ve made more sense had the Raiders not proceeded to draft two more safeties (!) later on.

New Orleans Saints
Most notable picks:

DE Payton Turner (1)
LB Pete Werner (2)
CB Paulson Adebo (3)
QB Ian Book (4)
Adebo has drawn high marks as a Day Two addition at corner, where they lost Janoris Jenkins, and Book could be an underrated piece of the QB competition. But they might’ve been able to snag him later. After a quiet free agency because of their own cap constraints, the Saints also felt shortchanged in the draft, leaving without a single surefire impact starter.