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“Chargers–Holdout Over–Damage Done”

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Melvin Gordon, the Chargers holdout running back is reportedly checking back into camp, ending his holdout that began in July.

He comes in with his team having lost 2-games already this season, with the teeth of the schedule ahead of them, and a raft of injuries hanging around their neck just 3-weeks into the season.

Gordon comes back into camp with plenty of football ahead for his team.  But his ability to contribute will probably take a couple of weeks  to find his rhythm.

Nothing was accomplished during his 9-week holdout.

His team lost games he would have made a difference in, losing to Detroit and then Houston.

Nothing was accomplished by his holdout., financially.  It cost him 2.3M in game checks, the four preseason games and the 3-regular season games he missed.

He will not get a contract extension in season, at least that is what GM-Tom Telesco said when the season opened.

It means he plays out the season for the 3.3M remaining on his contract.  He risks injury, he risks negotiating leverage by going back on the field.

But he will finish out his contract, and then become a free agent next February.  Of course the Chargers can retain his services.

They can give him an extension once the season is over.  They could franchise tag him next year on a one year deal that would get him 14M for 2020, on another just one year deal.

Of course, there is no signing bonus and he would then again play 2020 with the injury risk hanging over his head.

It should have never come to this.

Gordon, who has piled up (5,005) yards in all purpose offense in four seasons, makes the offense go, and makes things easier for superstar QB-Philip Rivers.

He outplayed his original contract, but he overplayed his hand by going AWOL.

The Chargers should have taken care of him this past off season, with at least upgrading the last year of his contract, taking it from 5.6M to 10M for the final season, and using that 10M figure as the jumping off point for next year.

But no, everybody had to play hardball in football.  The Bolts offered him a 5-year extension, but the average salary of the deal would have taken him to just 8M a year, and the five years was not guaranteed, and guaranteed money was limited.  Of course he would turn it down.

His demands were just as stupid.  No one gets a pay raise from the 5.6M he was making to 14M, the top money the top backs were getting this season.  He built a barrier in the talks by the demands.

And just as stupid, the ‘trade me’ demand.

The Chargers wanted a 1st round pick for him.  No NFL team would trade a #1 pick to rent a player for one year, unless they could reach an agreement on an extension.  And no one was going to give him that big pay bump from the 5.6 to 14M level.  And no one would trade for him, at the the price of a #1, because once traded, the team that got him could not ‘franchise tag’ him next offseason, per the CBA rules.

It’s typical Team Spanos.  Mis-play the hand.  Treat the star player poorly.  Lose games in the process.  Any number of top Chargers players have always had problems with the team getting deals done.  The team always got hurt,, from recent 1st round pick Joey Bosa, going back years and players before that..  And the team always lost games during holdouts.

So Gordon comes back, four weeks into the season.  Long term damage?  We find out.  Short term damage, on a team that could have been (3-0), not (1-2) with a very tough schedule still to come.

Holdout over…but damage likely to linger.  No one won in this one.  Not the Bolts, not Gordon, surely the fans of the team.

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“Aztecs-Bye Week–Week To Fix Problems”

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San Diego State has gotten to its first bye week of the season..

The record says (3-1), but it has been marred by a shoddy opening night winnower Weber State of the 1-AA Big Sky Conference, then last Saturday’s beatdown, where they fell behind big time, and never caught up to Utah State.

A month into the college season, it has been a season of surprises for the Mountain West Conference, with all these wins against teams from the Power 5-Coknferences.

Highlighted by the Aztecs win over UCLA, Boise State’s huge win at Florida State, the Air Force win at Colorado, the Hawaii wins over Arizona and Oregon State, Wyoming’s win over Missouri, and then last week, lowly San Jose State winning at Arkansas.

Coach Rocky Long knows there’s lots of football ahead, but now knows there are some pretty good teams in his conference, and he has to play a lot of them still.

Bye week on the schedule, but a lot of work ahead up at Montezuma Mesa.  Long’s comments at his weekly press conference.

Rock Long quotes:

..We can use this to our advantage…get healthy….get fresh again…get young guys some snaps.
..Would rather be playing this week, especially after a loss, and want to build a rhythm.
..We keep practices the same, but spend more time on technique, work on speed of game.

..Utah State loss was a 1-play difference, almost same number of snaps, yards.  They had 2-explosive plays so did we.  Only difference in the game they had a pick six for TD-we did not.

..Not surprised with ups and downs on offense-it takes awhile to get it going.
..Offense very inconsistent, throwing it, and running it.
..We’re not getting explosive plays we’re used too.
..We used to have 70-80 yard runs and kickoffs for TD-we haven’t seen that yet.

..We’re not changing anything-keep working at it.  USU made 1-more big play than us.
..Losing close is harder to take-getting blown out is different.

..I hope we can get Juwan Washington 100% healthy-he’s still not.
..Bye week helps coaches evaluate our younger players and give them lots of snaps.
..Kids get to go full speed, and it’s like a mini camp.

..Little surprised at how good our league is, with these Power 5-wins..
..We have 3-or-4 teams that dominated our league, now it’s different.
..San Jose can go to Arkansas and win…Air Force can win at Colorado…Wyoming beats Mizzou…USU almost wins at Wake Forest…all games can be competitive.
..I was surprised San Jose won in Fayetteville-good for their program.

..New stadium in San Diego,when it opens,  it helps recruiting, helps program.
..There will be a home field advantage for our home team
..This will be a rally point for the community
..Fans will enjoy being in that stadium
..Lots more  fun than playing in 70,000-seat stadium that is half empty

..UCLA-Washington State (67-63) game with 1600-yards, …with the rules the way they are, it’s a real challenge to defend people..
..Rules changes, you can’t hit guys anymore…WRs don’t get hit across the middle
..Can’t hit QBs-so they have no fear making throws.
..Offenses of today  lead to open field 1-on-1 tackles, now you make guys miss and 10-yard play goes 80-yard.
..As old coach, that’s not my style, but I’d enjoy watching it, not coaching it, but it is good for football.

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“Questions–I Have Questions?”

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PADRES SEARCH….San Diego might be the plum job that is opening this off baseball season….the question can they lure the right manager to Petco Park.  They have a loaded farm system..some established players..a ton of pitching.  The Padres job is one crying to emotional leadership, some fire, and a strong willed individual.  A look at my candidates list..

..BRUCE BOCHY…This is old school at its very best.  The issue, does he want to manage, how is his health coming off heart issues in San Francisco, and is he willing to work with a young front office that lives by metrics every minute of every day?.  Hall of Fame credentials-how do you not make the call?

..JOE GIRARDI…Strong willed baseball man, who may be waiting to see what transpires with the Cubs.  Again the same issue, if he were to be the guy, would it be his team or AJ Preller’s team?

BUCK SHOWALTER…Did good jobs a bunch of places, but maybe his control-freak personna wears out his welcome at those places too.  Wants back in-would you try?

..MIKE SCOSCIA….Solid-strong-consistent-demanding…alot of things that are missing in the Padres clubhouse.  He demands alot of his players, but his ability to work with catchers and directly with pitchers might be worth a look.  After 19-years with the Angels, is the new era of baseball a good fit for him?

..RON WASHINGTON…Good years in Texas, past relationship with the GM, but if he were so good, how come he never got another chance?  Lots of attributes but the off field problems may hurt him.

..DUSTY BAKER…Wants to work..has every baseball credential there is..could he handle a very young team after being out of it for a number of years…Worth an interview despite all the miles, don’t you think?

..JOHN FARRELL….Did a great job in the ever impossible Boston market and with his pitching background, a possible strong addition with all the young arms they have.  Will get a job somewhere..why not here? .

..MOISES ALOU….An organizational man, who has managed in the Latin market in the off season…very highly regarded, is he ready for the next step?

..DAVID ROSS..Strong baseball intellect, as long time catcher, then scout, then front office assistant and TV analyst.  Name starting to surface as someone to look at, even with no managerial credentials.

..MARK KOTSAY…Done alot in the game, as player, scout..assistant to executives…known commodity upstairs at Petco Park.  Is it his time?

..MARK LORETTA….Seems to have been on this track the last five years, now coaching with Cubs…also served as Preller assistant..but no experience as a manager.

..PHIL NEVIN..Has paid his dues, player, coach with Giants, Tigers…Managed in minor leagues in Tigers system with success…Did interview for Tigers job among others-but did not get hired…Fire in the gut…Lots of experience of ups and downs as a player…strong willed..too strong a personality for front office?

..ERIC CHAVEZ….Learned alot from Billy Beane in Oakland…now managing in farm system…Youngest of group of candidates with strong baseball academic credentials.

..JAY BELL…The real darkhorse…After 18-year career as player-dove into coaching in majors..then managing in minors in Yankees system.  Keep waiting to see who gives him a chance.

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“Padres-Andy Green Firing…The Blame Game”

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You win as a team…you lose as a team.

At least that’s what they want you to believe in sports.

The Padres have fired Manager Andy Green in the wake of his 4th straight losing season, and a likely 4th straight 90-loss season for the franchise.  Green exits with a (274-366) record…a (.428) winning percentage, the second poorest in modern day Padres history.

They underachieved in his first full year, the Matt Kemp-Justin Upton-James Shields era.
They underachieved in his final year, the learning curve season with the youngest pitching staff in baseball.

In Green’s four years, there were lots of bad decisions about the makeup of the roster.
He made lots of bad decisions about his everyday batting orders.
So-called star players had bad seasons yearly too.

There never was any continuity in a constantly changing batting order, and the use of players.  Of course no one would say whether he made out the lineup’s, or they came down from the analytic guys upstairs at Petco Park.

This was a fractured clubhouse, void of vocal veteran leadership.

The four years featured big money veteran players coming off more as independent contractors, rather than good teammates.

Green’s team either featured a pitching staff made up of virtually all rookies (this year) or seasons dotted by Rule 5-refugees, guys coming off rehab, or aging journeyman like Clayton Richard-Edwin Jackson.

The upheaval among his coaching staff was staggering.  7-coaches left in his first three years.  No one ever answered whether the coaches were his hires, or dictates from the front office.  I must be the only one wondering why that was happening.

The insinuations that Green was a control freak, who wouldn’t let his coaches coach, have not gone away.

It appears he lost the clubhouse emotionally, and that players were just going thru the motions as the losses mounted and the season’s hopes of a wildcard playoff spot drifted away.  Going from 2-games out of playoff spot to the misery of where they are now in the standings, just wore the team out.

There’s no doubt there was erosion  on the roster, or regression of the talent.

There has to be question whether there was enough teaching going on of young players, or whether the line of communication went away, because players did not buy into the constant sales pitch from Green, a journeyman .200-hitter in his career.

The young pitchers showed a competitive spirit.  There were a lot more good outings with the kid starters than there were bad innings from those pitchers.

The over-use of the bullpen likely led to more problems as Green and the front office mandated the manger had to protect the young arms in the rotation.

So many everyday payers let the manager down.  Some terrible streaks, bad seasons, but more alarmingly, the appearance the players didn’t care any longer.

Lack of pride may be worse than lack of talent and I sensed that is part of the problem in that clubhouse now.

Blame Green with not being tough enough.  Blame the front office for the roster they gave him.

Blame Manny Machado for his attitude, and hitting .193 since August 1st.  Blame Will Myers for stretches in which he hit .100 for a month. Blame Austin Hedges for being all glove, but not improving with his bat.  Blame Hunter Renfroe for not making adjustments when he hit potholes in the road.

But this look at what’s wrong with the Padres has to extend upstairs to GM-AJ Preller.
He fired Bud Black.  He hired a mistake in Pat Murphy.  He hired and now has fired Andy Green.

This is the same GM who burned thru enormous amounts of club money, making mistakes on all those first year acquisitions, Kemp-Shields-Upton-Upton and the money he had to pay to get rid of all those aging bad characters.

You can credit him for the farm system, but a closer look shows how much money he has spent to get the numbers of players into the system he has.  You can get anything you want if you are willing to overpay.

And Preller remains under MLB scrutiny, along with at least 4-other clubs, over their business dealings to get players out of Cuba and the Caribbean.  This after he was disciplined twice in the past for his dealings.

So as we go to the final week of another long-lost summer, Andy Green has been fired.

I liked him, found him intellectual, but am disappointed there never was any public accountability about the mess in the clubhouse.  It should not have been the ‘Good Ship Lollypop” as we went season to season with all these non playoff years.

Andy Green had a favorite phrase, “Own It”.  His players never did-never improved.  It cost him his job.

And now with the final 3-games of the home schedule infront of us….it’s time AJ Preller “Owned It” too.  This is his creation, his franchise, his players, and his mistakes too.

The blame game-took down the manager.  Others have to be held accountable now.  And the question, what ownership is going to do about it.

Win as a team-Lose as a team.  It should apply to more than just the Andy Green firing.

Ron Fowler-Peter Seidler need to pay more attention to how their team got to this point.

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Antonio Brown–What Do You Think Now?”

 

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So how do you like me now?

Antonio Brown plays his second game for the New England Patriots, seeking to make big plays in the Tom Brady led offense.

Things looking good on the field for the Patriots, once they get Brown and Josh Gordon up to speed in the 2019-version of the offense.

But off the field, not looking so good.

The NFL is privately continuing its probe of the allegations of rape and sexual assault filed by his former trainer.

They met for 10-hours with Britney Taylor this past Tuesday as the probe begins, and the NFL is not done for sure.

Now a second woman has come public, an artist, that she too was sexually abuse by the former Steelers star while painting portraits in his house.

But Brown’s problems are not just with those two women.

Now revelations that he is in the middle of 6-lawsuits, filed by people, who did business with him, but whom he stiffed in business deals.

Fraud allegations from a church charity.  Money owned on the purchase of properties  for business investments.

His personal chef, his personal travel agent and a secretary.

Of bigger concern, his two former girlfriends, who between them have given birth to five of his children.  They have claims and complaints too.

Child support issues in multiple cities.

Vandalism at condos he rented.

Reports that police in Pittsburgh came to his house 6-different times for domestic incidents.

And now he has lost 5-of his major endorsement companies tired of the stain from his act. Nike, Zenith, Pepsi, Pizza Hut and more have left his stable.

At Gillette Stadium, the only thing that concerns the Patriots are pass routes, yardage, touchdowns and wins.

Roger Goodall could change all that shortly by yanking him off the roster and putting him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, which is likely the forerunner to a suspension.

It’s happened before for lots of different reasons, in all types of cases.  You know the names. , Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Adrian Peterson, Ezekiel Elliott, Aldon Smith, Kareem Hunt.

Some came back to play, others never played again, some are still serving penalties.

So enjoy this weekends Pats-Miami game, for Brown might not be around much longer.

For someone who had it all, fame-fortune-friends, while in Pittsburgh, he could be about to lose much it.

He made 69M in salaries, but can’t-or-won’t pay his bills, take care of his kids, act like a human being.

The Antonio Brown story isn’t going away, not so much about he he does as a Patriots player, but what is about to happen to the person, who plays for the Patriots.

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