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“Chargers-Padres-Aztecs-Trojans-Bruins-Gulls”

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Some random thoughts of things from my notebook.

CHARGERS…Final home game in the futbol stadium they use to play football in.  Think there will be a few fans wearing Silver & Black in Carson on Sunday, even thought Jon Gruden’s arrival hasn’t done much for the Raiders?  The Bolts are (11-10) in home games as they wrap up year three in Carson.  Any sentimentality heading to the final game there on Sunday?

..RB-Melvin Gordon..No good memories in Carson-cannot wait get out
..WR-Keenan Allen..We play 16-road games a year.
..Coach Anthony Lynn…Reminds me of a Texas high school stadium.

PADRES….AJ Preller, the once famous Rock’N’Roll GM, is like a kid in a candy store in the offseason.  Likes the Good & Plenty, likes the Hershey’s chocolate, likes the M&Ms, likes the Chuckles.  Wants to acquire every player on the trade block, wants to sign every free agent.  Lots of talk-few deals, just don’t know that his team is better now than last year, but at least it will be different.

AZTECS….They say all the right things about going to the New  Mexico Bowl, but the reality is, this is a rinky dink bowl, in a city that does not support its own team, the New Mexico Lobos.  So what is there to get excited about, playing infront of 11,000 fans in Albuquerque.  This team deserved to be in a bigger bowl against a named opponent they could send their nationally ranked defense out against.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE….Not sure how, why Craig Thompson keeps his job as Commissioner of a conference that is off the radar.  Quality teams like Boise and SDSU, a great season from Air Force, all these upset wins over Power 5-teams, and they wind up in second tier bowls against second tier teams.  Add in this TV contract they are about to sign with FS1-CBS, rather than ESPN, that means schools will get just 3M each.  For comparisons, from the SEC to the Big 10-Big 12-ACC-PAC 12, those schools get anywhere from 21M (Pac 12) to 61M-SEC.  Can you say rinky-dink again.

HOLIDAY BOWL…Will be a good matchup, USC-vs-Iowa, with the matchup of all that Trojans offense vs the Hawkeyes street tough defense.

USC…All the negativity directed at coach Clay Helton, has now hurt the USC recruiting drive.  Wednesday’s national letter of intent signing day was more about defections that five star recruits.  The fans, the alumns, and to some degree the media all have blood on their hands on this one.  USC did sign 6-offensive lineman.

UCLA…Chip Kelly went (7-17) over two years, and his defense was ranked 112th out of 130-Division 1-teams, but he had a good recruiting run.  He signed 10-on defense to start fixing all that is wrong in Westwood.  He better start winning soon, after being crowds at the Rose Bowl plunge to all time lows.

SDSU…The picked up a USC transfer QB via the graduate transfer route, and watch to see in spring ball if Jack Sears wins the starting job away from the hot redshirt freshman Cam Baker.  Also watch to see how many of the young backups start to transfer out.

AZTECS….Another Rocky Long assistant leaves for a head coaching job.  Blane Morgan, the QB-coach, with good credentials, goes home to Texas to take over the Lamar job.  And former Defensive Coordinator Danny Gonzalez is going back to be the new head coach at New Mexico.  And off the Long-tree, congrats to Bobby Hauck for fixing the Montana Grizzlies, and getting them to the 1AA playoffs and winning an opening round game.

AZTECS….They start playing Big Boy basketball this weekend, with Utah, then the move into the conference schedule shortly after that.  This is not a strong MWC league, and if Brian Dutcher can keep this team healthy, they have every component to have a tremendous season.  Shooters, rebounders, rim defenders, and a mean street defense.  Might this be a 30-win team considering how substandard the conference is?  Stay tuned.

USD….This has been a better start than I thought possible, but still ahead are all the landmines that are the West Coast Conference schedule, Gonzaga, St Mary’s and the like.  But Sam School has the transfers playing hard, playing together, so maybe they are a player somewhere in the middle of the WCC.

GULLS…A struggle, a lousy start, a hot streak, and now the bulk of their young players have been taken up by NHL Anaheim Ducks.  Neither team can score goals.  Maybe we should have expected this, the bane of being a minor league team, but this looks more like a team of AHL-journeyman than a team of NHL prospects.  Might be a very disappointing hockey season.

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“Aztecs-New Mexico Bowl”

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San Diego State leaves on Wednesday for its 10th Bowl game in a row, facing Central Michigan, in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque.

SDSU is coming off a (9-3) season,  and Long has taken the team to 9-straight bowl games.  Long is now (80-38) at SDSU-second most wins to Don Coryell.

Central Michigan went from (1-11)-to-(8-5) and playing in the Mid American Conference championship game….Led by former Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain.
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Coach Rocky Long’s comments:

..Bowl game important-but signing day is important

..Sign majority of class tomorrow…19-scholarships available
..Sign 9-to-12 in early period after 2-weekend recruiting visit
..Player can sign as early as 7am local time
..We try to educate…sign with us early
..Early signing help tremendously…talent wise-last year most talent had in 10-years.
..If kids waited till February…. we would have kids poached.

..NCAA transfer portal-we don’t get a lot of contacts
..Players pretty thorough where they want to go-how quickly they can start.

..Bowl game…high 40s…sunny…windy in Albuquerque-pretty nice.
..CMU really balanced…run and throw
..Use 2-QBs…they throw some in controlled passing game

..They have had 2-weeks to prepare for our 3-3-5 defense
..Some QBs study film to see a ‘key or two’ we may show
..Some QBs buy time with athletic ability
..Teams have spotters upstairs who call plays in against our defense

..Teaching 3-3-5…we were unique when we started it
..Most versatile defense-do a lot of things out there
..Be careful you give players so many assignments they can’t handle it
..If you have safeties who can play LB…LBs play defensive end..it works

..Luq Barcoo….amazing year-cool stuff…1st DB here make Walter Camp Foundation team….there have been pretty good DBs here.

..Will have had 8-total practices leading into the game
..We have had 1-day worked young guys-so it was all game prep
..Advantage for us-kids will be home for Christmas
..Hard on players to prepare…and they have to take finals too
..This is harder for us because we are playing early bowl game

..Viewed all films of games..broke down the last 4-games
..CMU gives you lots formations…
..They count at line of scrimmage…decide run or pass based on what see

..This is most productive defense in the last 10-years…
..Points given up…yards given up…takeaways…tackles losses
..Kids play so hard..so fast…they have made have the season.

..Bye week leading into bowl helps
..Ryan Agnew not 100%-but he will play..can move pocket

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NFL–QBs Get to the Finish Line”

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This 2019 season is almost over.

And for four quarterbacks, who pretty much started their careers together, they are all headed to the waning days of record setting careers.

From the sunshine to the twilight, some still stars, others finishing in the dim light.

Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Philip Rivers have all rewritten the record books.  They are all about to exit the NFL within the next couple of years.

Success has come at different layers for the four big guns.  Most of them, maybe all of them, could be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

But yet, if you read the NFL columnists, listen to the talkshows, see how the fans react, the signal callers star power has faded.

Rivers quality of play has started to erode.  The last couple of years have been marred by turnovers, losses, and poor play. And for the first time ever, he openly spoke that he might be playing his final home game next weekend before he becomes a free agent.

Rivers has a (123-99) career record.  He has a (395TD-196Int) ratio, but the last group of years have been cruel to Rivers.  He has gotten to 1-AFC Championship game, and never a Super Bowl.

He’s gone thru head coaching changes, terrible injuries,  a raft of coordinators, and a franchise shift..  As the fans booed him this weekend, you need to analyze how this organization has let down the quarterback, by not drafting better or signing free agents to put around him.

Eli Manning, benched most of the season, is finishing up his career with the lowly NY Giants.  Benched most of the season so first round draft pick Daniel Jones could play in the beginning of a rebuilding drive, Manning has likely played his final home game at the Meadowlands.

Manning has a (117-117) career record, 366-TDs and 244-interceptions.  Turnovers have always been part of his career with the Blue.  But he won 2-Super Bowl rings in the glory years under Coach Tom Coughlin.

He seems destined to exit New York beloved recently for how he handled his demotion, but under appreciated for what he did in his long career.  Fans memories seem to be short.
Much like Rivers, the Giants have miserably failed at rebuilding, blowing out coaches, GMs, and star players in questionable trades.,

Drew Brees is still going strong, though New Orleans Saints football is different now.  They no longer ask him to throw for 400-yards every Sunday and hope they can win.  Now they run the ball, they play defense, and he guides them to wins.

Brees is (161-111) as a starter.  He is nearly atop the all time record book with (540TD) and (237Int).  He has had the benefit of greatness on the sidelines, a brilliant mad-scientist coach Sean Payton.  His Monday Night outing vs the Colts was beyond belief, the (29-for-30) passing performance, a 96% completion rate, stamping his greatness going forward.

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“Chargers Football–Typical Sunday at Home”

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You could view it as a comedy errors if it weren’t so tragic what the Chargers have become.

Losers on the field…losers in the Stadium.

It was a typical Sunday home game.  A stadium awash in the other teams colors, this time Minnesota Viking purple.  A sea of turnovers by the Philip Rivers led offense.  Chants of ‘defense-defense’, those Viking fans drinking and shouting and wearing their jerseys when this version of Purple People Eaters kept taking the ball away.

It was horrid, the 7-turnovers in all committed by the Bolts.  For those keeping score at home, it was the worst turnover game for the team dating back to 1986 when they did the same against the NY Giants, some 33-seasons ago..  .

An enraged Coach Anthony Lynn opened his post game press conference..”we got our ass kicked in all phases” any questions.

He went on to call his top running back ‘careless’ and his quarterback ‘struggling’, furious after watching an afternoon full of mistakes.

Hard to continue to have faith in Rivers when he throws 3-more picks and fumbles a ball that turned into a 56-yard TD for Minnesota’s defense.  Added on a bad grounding penalty.

That quarterback now has 10-picks in the last five games, and is looking more and more like the guy he was traded for, Eli Manning-of the Giants.  And for the first time he cast doubts about his future wearing the Lightning Bolt, indicating the next two games might be his final games for this franchise.

Hard to believe Melvin Gordon has any future now, after he was benched after two fumbles, sitting out all but one snap in the 3rd and 4th quarter as the game became an embarrassing (39-10) blowout infront of the Chargers coaching staff.

A blocked punt added salt to the wound to make it feel worse.

Hunter Henry fumbled.  Austin Ekeler put two on the ground that he recovered.  Just think about the total, 9-loose balls in this ugliest of losses

The Bolts defense finally caved after having kept Minnesota out of the end zone, forcing field goals when the Vikings got the ball as deep as 7-9-20-27-28 yard lines, but even they fell apart late in the game.

Cornerback Michael Davis, just off his drug suspension, came back on the field, took a pass interference call in the end zone, took a holding call on a 3rd down, and gave up 3-more completions.

Despite an early first half bonanza of big plays, of 15-18-18-26-38 yards, the Chargers were still in a hole (19-10) at the half, by virtue of all the giveaways.  The big plays were undone by all the mistakes.

Imagine what it must have felt like to sit in the owners booth, watching the guys wearing Purple reel off 30-points in a row, in your stadium, and hearing Minnesota’s fans roar as the game went on and on.

One more home game, with the Raiders, then the season ending game with the Chiefs in Kansas City.  Color of the day next Sunday will be Silver & Black, in the ‘battle of the basement teams’.

Could you have ever imagined the Bolts would start the season around Labor Day Weekend, and proceed to go (5-9) with that array of talent?

If you want to send a card of condolence to owner Dean Spanos, just mail it to Chargers…c/o Last Place-AFC West….Carson, California.

Chargers football, typical Sunday for them, a road game at home, a sea of Purple, and another bad loss.

It would be a comedy of errors, if it wasn’t so tragic, that owner took this team from the fans who loved it in San Diego.

Anybody feel sorry for anybody in Chargersville?

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“Baltimore–Watching History-Fearing History”

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Lamar Jackson continues to dazzle on the field.  His Baltimore Ravens continue to win too.

The Ravens quarterback  is headed to the MVP award in the NFL.  He’s hoping to take his team to the Super Bowl too.

He has just blown by Michael Vick’s single season quarterback rushing record, and continues to pile up impressive ‘double-doubles’ , throwing for over a 100-yards and rushing for 100-yards in the same game.  It’s happened a lot.

His all purpose yardage numbers are staggering and so are his touchdowns and the TDs he is responsible for in the John Harbaugh-led offense.

He’s big, he’s agile, he’s tough, he’s dynamic.

You watch the Ravens offense and you understand how impossible it is to defense Jackson as both a runner and thrower.

Then they play power-ball with their two heavy duty running backs Mark Ingram and Gus Edwards.

They have what other teams wish they had, two pass catching tight ends  Hayden Hurst  and Mark Andrews.

You watch the Ravens at the line of scrimmage, see the formations, see the shifts, see the guys in motion.

Are they throwing the ball, running the ball, is it a tailback coming at you, or is it a pass out in the flat, a pass down the sidelines, a throw over the middle.

Is it a receiver, is it a tight end, is it a running back.

Or is it your worst fear, Lamar Jackson’s play fakes,and he coming off the line of scrimmage running the ball.

Dynamic and diverse, he the quarterback, they-that offense.

You marvel at his extra gear speed running the ball.  You are fascinated by the trickery by the formations they show you.  You understand how much he has improved in just one year throwing the ball.  His accuracy has rocketed.  He throws lakers, touch passes, bullets and rainbow bombs.

In the big picture, Baltimore looks like a Super Bowl team.

But you should be concerned too, because we see a big picture  of scrambling quarterbacks and what happened to them.

Michael Vick had a good career till father time caught up with him.

The last two scrambling QBs, who caught our fancy, both got hurt, hurt badly, and have not returned to what they were.

Robert Griffin III had a spectacular first season, then suffered knee injuries with the Washington Redskins, running the football.  He never recaptured his explosiveness.

Colin Kaepeernick did tremendous things with the 49ers, but people forget all the surgeries that took him off the field, before he became embroiled in the national anthem controversies.

The same now with Cam Newton, so explosive running for Carolina, suffered shoulder injuries and surgery, then this year, a foot injury, requiring second ending surgery again.

Lamar Jackson is headed to the end zone, likely to pick up his NFL-MVP award, and maybe even a Super Bowl lTrophy.  But one must worry that Jackson puts himself at risk by running as much as he has the past two years.

We’re watching NFL quarterbacking history, but we should fear NFL history too.

Guys like Lamar Jackson can wind up like RG3-or-Cam Newton, and that’s not a good look.

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