1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Friday “NFL-Kid Quarterbacks-Learning Curve”

Posted by on September 14th, 2018  •  0 Comments  • 

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“Kid Quarterbacks-Growing Up on the Job”

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We’re headed to the second weekend of the NFL season, and so much is expected of all these new quarterbacks in the league, and so little ready to show it.

Much was made of last weekends new head coaches, who debuted. None of them won, not Jon Gruden in Oakland, or Matt Patricia in Detroit, the two biggest names hired in the off season.

In fact, the new coaches went a combined (0-7) in their debut games.

And the failure rate of the quarterbacks was fairly high also.

Baker Mayfield, the 1st pick in the draft, never got off the bench in the Cleveland Browns tie with the Steelers. Maybe he was lucky, because starter Tyrod Taylor took a fierce beating.

Lamar Jackson may be the future of the Baltimore Ravens, but he’s not the starter yet, and playing in certain packages on offense when both he and Joe Flacco are in the formation at the same time.

The best start came from Sam Darnold, who threw a pick-six on his first NFL pass, but did not make a mistake the rest of the way on a 194-yard passing day for the Jets.

Arizona lost badly in its debut game with veteran QB-Sam Bradford getting shutout out of the end zone. Rookie QB-Josh Rosen did not get off the bench because of a thumb injury suffered two weeks ago.

In Buffalo, it was as unprofessional a start to a season as you could imagine, the frightful 47-3 beating the Bills suffered in Baltimore. Their high first round pick Josh Allen did not start, but did play, after the benching starter of Nathan Perryman. It wasn’t pretty, a 17-quarterback rating, 6-sacks, 0-TDs. And now Allen is being pushed into the starting job this weekend against the Chargers.

Not pretty at all, but then again, that’s what happens. Quarterbacks go at the top of the draft board, and usually to just terrible teams.

Of course thee are exceptions to the rules, the years Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III arrived, or even last year’s dynamic performance of DeShaun Watson in Houston before he got hurt.

Don’t expect much more positive news this weekend. Those kid quarterbacks will be under siege, and that means good stats and wins will hardly follow..

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1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Thursday “NFL-What I Saw-What I Think”

Posted by on September 13th, 2018  •  0 Comments  • 

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“NFL Notes-Talents & Troubles”

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Here-There-Everywhere….Observations about the NFL

CHARGERS….18M people live in the 5-county area around Los Angeles, and the Chargers still cannot sellout the Stub-Hub Center, with what is supposed to be a good football team. Empty seats, lots of Chiefs red in the stands last Sunday, as well tarps over the stadium’s upper deck. The embarrassment of the Spanos family operation never ceases. Wonder if NFL-Park Avenue notices?

RAIDERS….They played on boil over emotion for the first half and then the Rams talent level took over and the second half was a ghastly setback for Jon Gruen’s team. They seem in scramble mode for talent, and the tidal wave of criticism over the Khalil Mack trade is not going to go away. And neither is the city of Oakland threat of an anti-trust lawsuit against Mark Davis.

CHIEFS….Andy Reid’s defense gave up 550-yards plus to Philip Rivers, and yet they won. But Kansas City needs to be worried about the overhaul of that defense, and who they’ve replaced them with. This Eric Berry injury issue is not resolved, and if he’s gone for an extended time, they might not have enough defense to hold up.

BRONCOS….Pretty good coming out party for new QB-Case Keenum (339Y), but the real story might be the arrival of the rookie running back combo of Royce Freeman-Phil Lindsey (129Y) rushing on the ground. And what a day for Von Miller. Did you see the stats, 3-sacks, 4-QB hits, 3-tackle for losses, 2-forced fumbles, 1-recovered fumble. Wow !

JETS…It only counts as one game, but that was quite a start for Sam Darnold. He did not look like some star-struck rookie quarterback, of course it’s just one game, and the Jets don’t have a juggernaut around him.

LIONS….Lots of coaches have come off the Bill Belicheck tree, and yes, most of them have done poorly. Nasty gash of a start for Matt Patricia, his quarterback throwing four picks, and the gobs of big plays his team gave up all night long.

MINNESOTA….So that’s what a team looks like with a great defense augmented by a dynamic quarterback throwing down the field. Kirk Cousins and Vikings defense looks like a great combo.

STEELERS…..Is Pittsburgh a fractured team? Sure looks that way as the L’Veon Bell holdout continues and players are sounding off. When teammates start using words like ‘selfish’…..’F’d us” and more you have a problem within that lockeroom And then Ben Roethlisberger throws interceptions in the rain, and they wind up in a tie with lowly Cleveland.

COLTS….Didn’t win their opener, but got their quarterback thru the game. Still think Andrew Luck runs too much, and took too many hits-sacks in their opening loss vs the Bengals.

BUFFALO….So much for last year’s exciting turnaround season. So they trade away Tyrod Taylor, trade for, then deal away quarterback AJ Mccarran before the season starts. Then the awful (11-33) performance of Nathan Peterman-Josh Allen. Ever see an NFL team have a quarterback rating of (17). That’s what Bills fans got this past weekend. What a mess, and just 15-weeks left in their season.

BROWNS….They really played hard, though Tyrod Taylor had to carry the load and took a lot of hits, but they could get better on offense. The defense looks loaded, and Myles Garrett seems like th real deal.

COWBOYS…..It’s been awhile since the Cowboys were real good, and based on this past weekend, they don’t look very good on offense. It is amazing no one in Dallas, fans nor media, ever wants to hold Jerry Jones accountable for what this team has become.

SEATTLE….Pete Carroll is trying to circle the wagons. The very unflattering Sports Illustrated story about the coach ripping up his roster, after his roster criticized the coach for his handling of QB-Russell Wilson. Carroll doesn’t have a good team on he field right now, and he’s got a lot of credibility issues spilling over as the Legion of Boom era ends.

NEW ENGLAND….Guess as long as hey keep winning, and Tom Brady is still standing, the Patriots will win, bu tif you look at the amazing weekly roster turnover with Bill Belicheck’s team, you wonder if he has lost his touch on analyzing player talent. Running back and wide receiver has been a turnstile on a weekly basis.

SAN FRANCISCO….Yes Jimmy Garoppolo was unbeaten at the tail end of last season after coming over from the Pats in that trade, but he had an erratic preseason, going (8-18) and (9-19) in August, and then started the season poorly in their opening loss. Has the league caught up to him?

GREEN BAY….Did Aaron Rodgers give us a Brett Favre type performance, hurt and a helluva passing display? Sure looks that way. Will have to see how long his injury factor with this knee lingers on.

TAMPA BAY….No Jameis Winston, with that suspension from the issue with an Uber driver, but no problem with his backup, Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw for over 400 and 4-TDs in the Bucs opening win. We’ll see if Fitzpatrick can continue this type of output the next 3-Sundays.

NEW ORLEANS….They played defense last year at the Superdome, and had a good season. They didn’t do it on opening day Sunday, allowing 48-pints, so now it appears that Drew Brees may have to throw for 5,000-yards this year for the Saints to win a bunch of games..

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1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Wednesday “Aztecs-Big Game-Big Injury Problems”

Posted by on September 12th, 2018  •  0 Comments  • 

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Aztecs Football…Big Game…Big Problems..

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San Diego State has upgraded its non-conference schedules. They are loading cup with PAC-12 teams in home and home series.

They beat Stanford a year ago, then lost opening day to them this season.

SDSU beat Arizona State last year, and have to play the Sun Devils, and their new head coach Herman Edwards this weekend. ASU is led by dynamiting quarterback Manny Wilkins, who threw for 308-yards last week in a Devils win over Michigan State.

Rocky Long has to play this game, and then face the start of the Mountain West Conference schedule, without his starting quarterback Christian Chapman, out with a sprained knee, and without top defensive tackle Nobel Hall, out with a dislocated wrist.

A really tough chore, as Long stood on the firing line on Tuesday to talk about his (1-1) team…

.We asked for this when we set these schedules up
.Biggest concerns I have is that ASU knows our signal system
.Denny Gonzales going there as Def Coordinator gives them inside information
.I would not allow our other assistants to go to ASU, but they took two other young coaches.
.Herman Edwards has them playing at higher emotional level this year
.His message to his team is about enthusiasm and ASU is showing it.

.Ryan Agnew been around along time in program..prepared himself to be starter-now he gets his chance
.Good athlete-different being starter-vs-coming off the bench
.He believes he will play well-has played well off the bench
.He’s prepared-he’s been here for 3-years.
.Christian Chapman could play in 4-to-6 week

.Manny Wilkens-good athlete-very strong arm
.Wilkens moves around well..gets out of trouble…makes plays with feet
.Our offensive line will be under a lot of pressure
.ASU threw for 380-against Michigan State defense
.Everybody runs spread in college ball..they have guys who catch the ball
.They will spread us sideline to sideline…they will isolate our corners
.We need to disrupt timing of QB..push people back into QB..
.Sun Devils offense equal to what Cal-Davis Webb had 2-years ago when we played them.

.Juwan Washington proved good running back even when OL not block for him
.Noble Hall-dislocated wrist-out 3-to-6 weeks.
.He’s been a difference maker since moving inside to DT-this is a big loss.

.Herman Edwards-not surprised he got back into coaching….
.When you are a coach-the lifestyle is addictive-tough to give it up
.He liked our program-our defense-called to take Danny Gonzales as Def Coor

1-Man’s Opinion on Sports–Tuesday “Chargers-Opinions About Everything”

Posted by on September 11th, 2018  •  0 Comments  • 

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“NFL-Looking Back”

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Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books. Randon thoughts from here-there-everywhere.

THE STADIUM…Empty seats, 6-tarps on different parts of the stadium, lots of fans weaqring Chiefs red in the yard-doesn’t look like Team Spanos, so called ‘1st Family of Football’ has made much progress in battle for LA.

NOT SO SPECIAL…..Bolts special teams-same old disaster. Someone needs to explain to me why George Stewart is held in such high regard as the special teams coach. A mess all last year, and more of same opening day this year, responsible for another loss. Pick one…missed field goal….fumbled punt at 7-yard line…..2-kickoffs from out of end zone that never got beyond the 10-yard line…and Travis Benjamin giving ground on a punt and losing yardage.

D-FENSE…No pass rush, no Joey Bosa-Corey Liuget vs Chiefs, so this will be a challenge for a couple of more weeks. Thank goodness they play the Bills in Buffalo, where the infamous kid QB-Nathan Peterman awaits, the high pick who has thrown 7-interceptions in 4-quarters of starts in his brief career. The alternative is Wyoming rookie high draft pick Josh Allen, who struggled all preseason.

GARBAGE TIME….Yes Philip Rivers threw for (424Y) but much of that was in catch-up heave the blal down the field mode. The stats don’t mean much if you cannot win.

DROPS-DROPS…More of the same. 3rd year wide out Tyrell Williams drops a 34-yard wide open TD pass. Benjamin has two, both wide open, go off his fingers. Same old-same old like last year.

ALL EVERYTHING…Melvin Gordon is so good. A (166-yard) all purpose day catch and run. He might wind up with Le’Veon Bell type numbers, some 300-plus touches this year.

DO EVERYTHING…Adam Ekeler is pretty dynamic. Run tough inside…catch balls and make lots of yards. A bigger version of Danny Woodhead, a tougher version on Ronnie Harmon. What a find.

MIA OFFENSE…Antonio Gates caught a couple of passes, but not for much yardage. The down the field dynamic they had a year ago, with Hunter Henry and Gates is gone, which means those 75-receptions from last fall, will have to be caught by someone else. Mike Williams and the tandem at running back.

BIG MIKE….We know what Keenan Allen can do, but was suprised not more targets for last year’s first round pick Mike Williams. He has to become the strong number 2-guy on the Rivers pass route tree.

TOP PICK-FINE PLAYER….Derwin James was lots of places making plays in his first game. Size-speed-toughness. Got beat once, came back and made up space in a big pass deflection in the end zone, and a cross the field sprint to go get a ball carrier.

WAITING…Uchenna Nwosu, the ex-USC Trojan, had a good preseason, really active, but disappeared in the KC opener-no big plays. The guy he’s trying to take a job from, LB-Kyle Emanuel, was seen out there on the field, as fullback Mike Cox leaked out an caught a huge back-breaking touchdown pass in the game.

DINGED UP…Joe Barksdale didn’t get thru the 2nd quarter, leaving with a knee injury. The teaqm will have to rush to get Forrest Lamp ready to play at guard, so journeyman Mike Schofield, can move to right tackle in emergency. Always wondered if they would miss veteran warrior Matt Slauson or former starter Spencer Pulley, both let go in the offseason. Guess we’ll find out soon enough if anyone else gets hurt.

BEST IN THE BUSINESS…Impressed with the power display at center from Mike Pouncey, the ex-Miami Dophins. Passed blocked well, ran block some, but you could tell what a diference in demeanour in that offensive front. :

NEW LOOK…The Chargers went back to their first ever logo, from their AFL-season in Los Angeles, using a shield, a Charger horse, and a lightning bolt as the logo at midfield. Looked good, but it was an AFL like crowd too, just (25,000) or so they had for opening day.

DID YOU KNOW…Chargers have only 7-home games this year at Stub Hub Center. 1-home game becomes the international game in London. And they’ve lost a critical home game they could have won with the Chiefs loss.

DID YOU ALSO KNOW….Charges have now lost 9-times in a row to Kansas City?

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1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Monday “A Road Trip-A Memory of Life-In Death”

Posted by on September 10th, 2018  •  0 Comments  • 

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“A Road Trip-Memory of a Life-In Death”

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The baseball pennant races were in high gear.

It was the opening weekend of the college football season.

It was NFL roster cutdown week and the start of the NFL season.

I couldn’t stay here, I had to go.

It was not really a vacation I took this past week from my website, and my freelance interviews with various stations I do.

It was a pilgrimage I had considered taking for more than a year, and it came about very quickly.

I owed it to myself, to my family, to my loved ones lost in military service.

I went to France, to visit Normandie, walk the D-Day Beaches at Omaha and Utah, reflect on life, my deceased father, and my uncles, who all served in World War II.

it was tearful, emotional, reflective. It was a salute to the courage they all showed during that entire 5-year war, and most especially those who landed June 6th 1944 and fought to free Europe and the world from tyranny over the final months of a terrible global conflict.

Below is the letter I wrote to my two sons, the night I came off a nearly 10-hour stay at that historic sight.

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Spent the entire day at Normandie….

Most emotional-moving experience of my life…thought about my Dad in New Caledonia-Wake-Neumaier-Fiji…Vincent-paratrooper…Nick at Anzio…..Joe as a medic in Philippines…Phil in the Pacific…Jack in a foxhole in the Pacific…Smitty in B-17s over Germany…Vito in North Africa tank corps….Lawson as a communications specialist on a ship……our other uncles who died on Bataan…Regensburg…Battle of Bulge.

1-woman in our group, from North Carolina, her uncle died on Omaha Beach….they accompanied her to his graveside at the Beach….so classy.

We were also taken to the headstones of the ‘Bedford Boys’….if you remember 18-soldiers from Bedford, Virginia, died in the first hour of the Omaha beach landing…all from the same home town…Bedford is where the D-Day memorial was built just outside Roanoke, Virginia

They do a ceremony at 12-noon each day…played ‘Taps’…very moving…Each cross with the soldiers name-home state-day they died. We wept.

The hard to believe story of how they had just a 4-hour window to land troops at low tide-secure the beach and then begin the drive to move inland and unload the ships, build the mulberry bridges, sink the cement kasons…survive the gun shellings, and then the horrific weather that followed later that week.

The soldiers got to the bluffs, after landing at 6-30am…they got atop by 11am….at Point-du-Hoc, they took 90% casualties, but climbed the cliffs in 25-minutes to secure and knock out the gun sights shelliing Omaha and Utah.

The dichotomy….on this site….3,200 casualties just on D-Day……can you imagine the shore batteries attacking the beach….the smoke….the carnage….the bodies…the blood….the chaos…..that was the sound that day.

Then imagine today…ultimate silence-reverence-respect…no one talked…no one laughed….just complete silence with all of us looking at the 3500-crosses in the cemetery…

The American Cemetery cloaked in reverence. The German cemetary with 8,000-buried…no white crosses, just a black stone on each gravesite-with no identification.. ..Almost a symbol of good-vs-bad.

Being here flashes into your mind.

‘Freedom is not Free’….and you think of he courage of all those men to fight their way across the 450-yards of beaches under withering fire from the bluffs and hillsides, those who made their way up the draws, thru the hedgerows, to scale Point-du-Hoc, to put out the 88’s who were shelling the beaches and the landing crafts.

Indeed the Greatest Generation. I walked that beach-what an amazing symbol of courage.

What an experience.

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I am back, and am posting all things sports on my website for your viewing now.

Lots to cover with the opening of the NFL season, college football, the baseball pennant races, and everything else..

Sports is important, always has been in my life and career. But what I experienced in France has made me feel different.

What an honor to be part of the next generation, brought into this world by the ‘Greatest Generation’, all those courageous men buried at the US-Cemetary at Normandie..

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