GREAT SPORTS WEEKEND…NOT REALLY’

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My ‘Great Sports Weekend’ turned into a ‘Lost Sports Weekend’.

Shocking football to say the least in most of the games we pay attention to.

CHARGERS-CHIEFS…Kansas City’s offense won the first half…and the Chiefs defense won the 2nd half in the Sunday lopsided (31-17) KC win at Arrowhead Stadium….It was like going to a restaurant and looking at a good menu with lots of good things on it.  That’s what the opening half was.  Big passing plays and big turnovers too.

There were 5-TDs in a 7-minute span in the second quarter.  Then in the second half, 1-TD late that cemented the game as it became a battle of field position.

But in the end it was the Chiefs defense that changed the chemistry of the game keeping the Chargers out of the end zone 6-straight times and picking off two passes as KC won its 6th game in a row, and the Bolts plunged deeper into the playoff abyss.

Same old-same old for Brandon Staley.  His defense gave up tons of chunk plays again.  Mahomes was (20-of-23)  for (321Y-3TD) in the first half.  Travis Kelce had (9R-143) before halftime.

Justin Herbert tried to match KC bullet for bullet then misfired the entire 2nd half, gettng shutout over the final 6-possesions  Herbert threw two picks, was sacked 5-times as the game got away from his team, whose playoff hopes are eroding away.

Josh Palmer had a breakout game (5R-133Y), but Keenan Allen had a lid put on him.  Punter JK Scott pinned KC back to the 3-4 and 7-yard lines with booming punts.

But then again this is Mahomes, the Chiefs, and all that firepower, that went 96-yards for a tD drive.  KC also had a critcal 50-yard punt return setting up the insurance TD in the win.

For Staley, just another Sunday of disastrous play in the Bolts secondary, the one that gave up 16-more plays of plus 10-yards including big chunk plays of 47-48 and 54-yards plus the 50-yard kick return.

A recurring nightmare of breakdowns from your best players, and not much of a pss rush either.  This sure looks hopeless and you wonder how much longer the Chargers front office can maintain confidence in this head coach.

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RAMS-STEELERS…The Steelers upset the Rams in LA.  Think about this, with one of the most anemic offenses in the NFL, Pittsburgh is in first place in the AFC-orth, with a (4-2) record.

The Rams defense wilted as the Steelers mounted 3-scoring drives in the second half and Pittsburgh scored 3TDs on the ground in that second half.

Matthews Stafford and Puka Nacua were dazzling but there was not much else for the Rams to hang their hat on. So the Rams got beat again and those playoff hopes are starting to look shaky  also.

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USC-UTAH…So much for Lincoln Riley’s status as an offensive guru.  So much for NIL-king Caleb Williams, on my TV everytime I look up doing commercials.  Goodbye playoff hopes.  Goodbye Heisman Trophy votes.

The shine is surely off Riley’s status, knocked off, punched off, sand-blasted off by Utah Utes coach Kyle Whittingham, who does more with less, while Riley has more than anyone and done less the last two seasons.

Can’t imagine the big money Trojan Club wants to hear about Riley’s theories any longer.  What they want to know is why his star studded quarterback is chased out of the pocket into the parking lot each Saturday because of horrific pass protection.  The big studs upfront have become the big stiffs, getting their Heisman Trophy QB killed.

Riley’s best friend, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, saw the Trojans defense buried by a 3rd string quarterback, a Utes team winning with a backup running back and without its top wide receiver.

Quite a Saturday night, as Whittingham’s X-and-Os and the Utes muscle mauled USC, a week after Notre Dame nailed them in South Bend.  And by the way, the Trojans still have to play Oregon-Washington-UCLA before we get to December.

Overhyped?  Maybe.  Undercoached? Definitely.

UCLA-STANFORD…Chip Kelly has never met a lie he wouldn’t tell.  Quarterback change, sitting the overwhelmed freshman Dante Moore and going to lifetime backup Chase Garbers, who led the Bruins to a win against Stanford.  Of course Kelly wouldn’t talk about his quarterbacks all week.

Guess it’s his right to hide the facts.  We’re all used to that, and you can ask the Holiday Bowl backers about Kelly’s honesty-dishonesty dating back to the cancelled bowl game just hours before it was to be played and the catastrophic financial damages it caused here in San Diego

The Bruins got a win, the defense played well.  Moore will be back as the starter soon, and just has to work thru the growing pains of 6-turnovers and 3-pick sixes in the last three starts he made.  Don’t know if Kelly will ever regain his credibility.

AZTECS-NEVADA…There have been some galling SDSU losses over the last couple of coaching staffs.  Ted Tollner, trying to win a conference title, lost to an (0-10) UNLV team that began a spiral down that ended his career at SDSU.

There was horrific low point loss to TCU in the Chuck Long era of errors in his 15-minutes stay at SDSU.  That 76-3 loss says it all about that hire.

This Saturday night showing infront of a ton of empty seats, the (6-0) loss to winless Nevada ranks right up there with other disgraceful setbacks.  Yes they lost to the Wolfpack, who had an (0-6) record this year, with a 119th ranked defense, and a team that walked into the stadium with a 16-game losing streak.

SDSU shutout by those guys.  They had 74-yards at halftime.  They turned the ball over on another Jaylen Maden fumble, trying to drive for the game winning TD.  They were (0-10) on third downs and finished with all of (204Y) in offense.  They were booed by the fans and the empty seats.

All this at midseason with Ryan Lindley’s new system obviously regressing.  I don’t think Hoke’s job is in jeopardy, but his credibility as the Aztecs head coach has to be questioned.

I see similar comparisons to his final days at Michigan, when the Michigan man got fired.  He lost quarterbacks in Ann Arbor, and then fired his offensive coordinator Al Borges.  Carbon copy of what has happened on Montezuma Mesa.

5-past quarterbacks gone, and so was his offensive coordinator mid season last year.  This is pretty messy.  This is the best he has to offer and it’s (3-5).

USD-DRAKE…Pick and choose what is disturbing about what’s going on at Alcala Park.  A (1-6) season with a new coach.  The dismissal of pretty successful old school head coach Dale Lindsey at the end of last season.

The ugliness of the hazing scandal in the football program.  The administration’s lack of transparency with the media about the probe and suspensions and reinstatements.  Do you know they have not made the coach available to the media since mid summer and it is almost November?  No player interviews either.

Athletic Director Bill McGillis refuses to talk to the media.  This is on his watch.  The season, the coaching change, the scandale probe.  The lack of accountability and honesty.

Really unfair to a bunch of good kids at a Catholic school.  They are almost treating the program like it is now ‘club status’.  Next they will be playing flag football after this sorry season up on the hill.

Great Sports Weekend?  No.  Lost Sports Weekend.

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“NFL NOTES”
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Here-there-everywhere around the NFL:

CHARGERS-CHIEFS….Alot of heat on Bolts QB-Justin Herbert for not being able to win games in the 4th quarter.  Hard to believe Herbert is (27-28) as a starter, but  his teams have been flawed by injuries, lack of a power run game, and a porous defense.  And then there is Patrick Mahomes, who has a staggering (80-20) record as a starter, and an (11-3) postseason record.  Sunday’s matchup pits Andy Reid’s dynamic offense vs Brandon Staley’s problem filled defense.

EAGLES-MIAMI…And you thought the Bills-Dolphins game could not be topped.  Jalen Hurts and his guys averaging (395YPG).  Odd though, the Philly defense is giving up (298YPG), does not have alot of takeovers and is allowing (42%) conversion on third down.  But that all pales to the Miami neon light numbers (498YPG) when Tua and offense are on the field.  But they are averaging a red light district (393YPG).  This will be wild.

LIONS-RAVENS…Lamar Jackson meet Dan Campbell’s defense. This will be rock’em-sock’em football.  Here’s a stat for you.  QB-Jared Goff, who the Rams gave up on, is (13-4) since last October as a starter, and this year has (11TD-3 Int) and a 105-rating.

RAIDERS-BEARS…The battle of backup QBs since the starters, Fields-Garoppolo are hurt.  Does Vegas start rookie Aiden O’Connell, who had 5-turnovers in his first game?  Chicago starts a Division II-free agent from Shepard State-West Virginia.

BROWNS-COLTS…Deshaun Watson admitting to a partial tear of his rotator cuff is not good.  Gardner Minshew, gun slinger and folk hero, starts for the Colts since Anthony Richardson is done for the year-shoulder surgery.

BILLS-PATRIOTS…Think Buffalo wants to run up a big score on Bill Belichick after all the years of suffering when New England had Tom Brady?  The Pats will be (1-6) by Sunday night and you wonder if Robert Kraft has reached the end of the line with his once Super Bowl winning coach.

WASHINGTON-GIANTS…Woe is New York.  QB out with neck injury again, they lost 4-offensive lineman in a week, Brian Daboll is under fire for his poor play-calls.  Lucky they play an anemic Commanders team, whose coach Ron Rivera is in trouble.

FALCONS-TAMPA BAY…Interesting matchup of hot-cold QBs, Desmond Ridder-vs-Baker Mayfield.

STEELERS-RAMS…LA loses two running backs in one game.  Pittsburgh’s wide receivers have been so suspect.  Can Matthew Stafford tear apart the Pittsburgh secondary?  Can Stafford stay upright against the pass rush?  Has Ken Pickett ever faces Aaron Donald? Think a few people wearing Black & Gold will show up at So Fi on Sunday?

SEATTLE-ARIZONA…Geno Smith is not playing this year, like last year, and that’s not good for Pete Carroll.  There is no Kyler Murray so that is really bad for new Arizona coach Jonathon Gannon.

PACKERS-BRONCOS…Football woes in Denver (1-5) and where people are bashing QB-Russell Wilson.  The Broncos has problems everywhere.  Green Bay’s QB-Jordan Love has shown some explosiveness but his running backs are banged up.  Sean Payton has to be stunned to be this bad.

49ers-VIKINGS…Pick your poison Minnesota.  Who do you think you can control, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Ayiuk, George Kittle or QB-Brock Purdy? Bad season probably gets worse in Minnesota.

Off week…Bengals-Cowboys-Titans-Jets-Carolina-Houston
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“DODGERS BLUE PRINT”
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Two years in a row…111-wins, then 100-wins, then ousted from the playoffs in their opening round of action.

The Dodgers cleaned out a chunk of their roster last off season, letting 11-veterans go.  Then their starting rotation was wiped out by injuries and an ugly suspension.

Things complicated too by the continued criticism of Manager Dave Roberts, for mistakes made in handling the pitching staff.

Despite two years of success in season and two falls of post season failure, President Andrew Friedman says the decision makers stay in place, in the dugout and in the front office

Hilites of Friedman’s end of season press conference, courtesy of MLB trade rumors.
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Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman met with the media (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) on Tuesday afternoon, alongside GM Brandon Gomes. The two executives discussed the disappointing conclusion to another Dodgers season, potential changes to the major league coaching staff, and the team’s offseason plans.

Speaking on his ballclub’s unceremonious exit from the playoffs, Friedman could not deny that the words “organizational failure” ring true once again (he used the same phrase last season). Putting it bluntly, he said, “Our goal was to win 11 games in October, and we didn’t win one.” Indeed, Diamondbacks hitters trounced the Dodgers pitching staff in Game 1 of the NLDS, and L.A.’s own powerful offense rarely came through. Notably, Friedman also used the term “organizational failure” to avoid blaming any specific people or groups of people for his team’s poor performance. “Organizational failure means it’s on all of us,” he explained.

On that note, Friedman left no doubt that manager Dave Roberts and his entire coaching staff would be back in 2024, confirming that there won’t be any changes in the clubhouse. “I think [Dave Roberts] and our coaching staff did an incredible job this year,” he said, “And none of us did an incredible job in those three games versus Arizona.”

Unsurprisingly, Friedman says his top priority this offseason will be starting pitching. That means assessing internal options as well as considering potential trades and free agent signings. Dodgers’ starters struggled in 2023, posting an uncharacteristic 4.57 ERA and 4.37 SIERA. Things became especially bleak toward the end of the year; ten different pitchers started a game for the Dodgers in September, combining for a 4.87 ERA. The team had no shortage of depth, but too few reliable options.

Clayton Kershaw and Julio Urías will be free agents after the season, as will Lance Lynn – presuming the Dodgers decline his $18MM club option in favor of a $1MM buyout. On top of that, Tony Gonsolin will be out for most, if not all, of the 2024 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery. Dustin May’s status for next season is also up in the air, after the righty underwent flexor tendon surgery in July.

That leaves Bobby Miller, who just completed his rookie season, and Walker Buehler, who hasn’t pitched since June 2022, as the only healthy, established starters remaining in the Dodgers rotation. The team has several young starting pitchers on the roster, including Ryan Pepiot, Emmet Sheehan, Michael Grove, and Gavin Stone, but none with more than 100 innings of big league experience. Friedman expressed confidence in Miller and Buehler during his press conference, but he understands the need to augment the rotation.

As for Kershaw, Friedman made it clear that the Dodgers are “absolutely” interested in bringing the superstar pitcher back for another season. However, the ten-time All-Star hasn’t yet told the team if he plans to return. “I think he and [his wife] Ellen are going to take some time right now and assess,” the team president said (relayed by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). “The ball’s squarely in their court.”

In addition to starting pitching, Friedman will also look to address position player needs during the offseason. The Dodgers had an excellent offense in 2023, finishing second in baseball in OPS and runs scored. That said, designated hitter J.D. Martinez, utility man Enrique Hernández, and outfielders Jason Heyward and David Peralta will all be free agents after the conclusion of the World Series. The team will need to replace Martinez and Heyward’s production in particular. In addition, the Dodgers might look to add a new infielder so Mookie Betts can return to a regular role in right field.

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“CHARGERS = DISAPPOINTMENT”

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This has been such a struggle, watching Chargers football, as it ventures into the 3rd season of Bandon Staley’s leadership.

The NFL standings show the Bolts with a (2-3) record, a far cry from what we thought we would see from a roster constructed in the image and likness of head coach Brandon Staley.

A gifted QB-like Justin Herbert, making plays down he field, hanging in there against a wave of blitzes, surviving painful injuries for the second year in a row.

It’s easy to blame the QB for not putting together a better win loss record.  He threw a tough interception in crunch time in the 4th quarter loss to the Cowboys.

But like Cowboys QB-Dak Prescott, Herbert has pressure in his face, people at his legs, helmet hits, blows to his shoulder all night.

The stats showed only 1-sack, but it did not show he was pressured on 47% of his throws, an all time worst high in NFL games this season.  But he was pressured 12-times and took 7-hits.  That’s brutal.

His running game is negligible, some of that because RB-Austin Ekeler was out with a high ankle sprain.  Josh Kelly and Isaiah Spiller’s work has been spotty.

The team lost big play receiver Mike Williams with a season ending knee injury.
1st round pick Quinton Johnston has hardly been targeted.

Josh Palmer, the most trustworthy receiver not named Keenan Allen, has put together good back to back games, but it’s not enough.

The real issue with the Bolts offense, is not so much Staley and Kellen Moore’s playcalling, it’s the people on the field, the offensive line.

In what was supposed to be a good group of studs upfront, they seem to be failing.  The cardiac arrhythmia issue with OC-Corey Linseley, has been a problem.  He is the only veteran in that front.

But LT-Rashawn Slater, LG-Zion Johnson, and RT-Trey Pipkens have not anywhere near the complete games you would expect from all of them.

In the Dallas loss, the offensive line took 7-penalties, from holding calls to procedure calls.  Herbert was chased and battered in the pocket, because #70=77-79 played really poorly against a brutal Cowboys pass rush.

Staley’s play calls on 4th down have accomplished little in years two and three
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Moore’s efforts to go ‘down the field’ have gone away because the stud’s upfront can’t protect.

No run game when there are no holes to run thru.

The Bolts (2-4) smacks of underachievement.  There are problems everywhere, and we haven’t mentioned the substandard play of a secondary, prone to giving up big yardage hits.

Oh that secondary, 5-games into this season, that secondary group has allowed 76-plays of plus 10-yards already.  Add in 25-plays of plus 20-yards.  And this defense has already allowed 8-plays of plus 40-yards, yes 40-yards this season.  Trouble points.  You better believe it..

Way too much finger pointing at this point of the Chargers season.  The Bolts least of their problems in Justin Herbert.

The bulk of the problem is the rest of the roster, and the front office that put the players on the roster, and a head coach who hasn’t learned how to win all the close games Justn Herbert keeps them in.
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“MONDAY NITE AS UGLY AS SUNDAY”
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It was only fitting the Chargers-Cowboys game on Monday night was as ugly as Sunday games across the NFL.

Actually, it was worse because the Chargers lost to the Cowboys (20-17), and drops their record to (2-3) with the knowledge there’s a trip to Arrowhead Stadium next weekend to meet the Chiefs.

Take any segment of the game, and you can find something black to talk about.
20-penalties in all, wiping out big yardage plays.

Strange play calls all night from both coaches, trying to run the ball when neither team could run the ball.

Failed 4th down play calls down on the goal line for both teams.

Dallas’ defense had 7-flags on its defense.  Not to be out done, the Chargers offensive line had 7-penalties too.

CD Lamb, who has done nothing all year, went off on the Bolts secondary for 7-catches for 117 yards.  Keenan Allen had a huge start but disappeared as the game wore on.

The Chargers aided a couple of drives, with Derwin James taking a late hit penalty on the quarterback, then got flagged for bad helmet hit, on critical 3rd round plays none the less.

Pay respect to the quarterbacks.  The pressure, the hits, the sacks on Justin Herbert and Dak Prescott was enormous.  And yet they stayed in the pocket, scrambled to run, and made pass plays on the move.  That was the only impressive part of the game, the courage of the QBs.

Prescott took 4-sacks and 6-pressures and 4-hits.  Herbert wound up with the critical last minute sack, but faced 12-pressures and took on 10-hits.

The guys on the back end had a tough night.  Kenneth Murray checked off alot of boxes, gave up 3-pass plays but recorded 3-tackles for losses.

Michael Davis gave up 4-passes, took a penalty and then failed to make a tackle that became a 60-yard catch and run.

Morgan Fox had 2-sacks and a tackle for loss, but did not get much help from Joey Bosa nor Khalil Mack

Everyone of the OL had either penalties or gave up big hits on the QB.

The heavy arrival of Cowboys fans made it like it was a Dallas home game on the road.  It’s just the way life is in LA for the Chargers..

But the setback has far reaching effects on both teams.  It improves Dallas’ hope to remain in  a playoff race, though Mike McCarthy’s team sure does not look like a playoff team, with the lack of a power run game, not much from their tight ends, and really inconsistent wide receiver production.

For the Chargers, they cannot run the ball and you just don’t get the sense there is a deep passing game on any of Kellen Moore’s playbook pages.

A big setback for the Chargers. A sign of hope in Dallas.

And Monday night, was like the games on Sunday, really ugly football.

Assume we will have good games next weekend.  Maybe it was the eclipse that caused all the poor play.  I have no explanation how so many games could be so bad.

The sun comes up Tuesday morning…the Chargers not what we thought they might be.  The Cowboys still trying to be what they used to be.

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