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“Burning Bridges–Lots of Places”

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They booed and they booed and they booed more in Milwaukee this week.

In Los Angeles, they’d be booing their guy to, if he showed now to play.

Such the life of Padres 3rd baseman Manny Machado.

And possibly what could happen if Melvin Gordon ever shows up to play the final year of his Chargers contract.

The Brewers are in the midst of a fight for a wildcard spot in the National League playoffs.  The fans are intense, they are backing their team.  And they haven’t forgotten last October.

I’ve seen lots of villains come into visiting stadiums, maybe the most recent being Alex Rodriguez, at the height of his steroid filled, lie-filled career filled  with the Yankees.  Everyone hated him at the end.

You remember the nicknames, A-Roid, A-Fraud, A-Rod.

They don’t like Manny Machado lots of places in baseball.  They really dislike him in Brew-town, the aftermath of dirty play last yearn the Brewers playoff series with the Dodgers last fall.

Manny stomping the foot of Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar, running the bases, the incident seen by everyone, time and time again.  The same Machado, who also flicked out his leg to hit a shortstop on anther close play during the playoffs.  True interference with intent to injure.

The booing was relentless, every pitch, every at-batduring the firs three games of the series,and it will continue.

Meanwhile it’s week nine of the holdout for Gordon, the big play Chargers running back, and now it’s gotten ugly.

He has lost 1.98M in game checks so far.

He wants to be traded, but the team hasn’t found a buyer willing to give up a 1st round pick, to rent a player for 1-year before he becomes a free agent.

Gordon has shown no willingness to end the holdout.  The team has dug in its heels, not coming to camp means no further contract talks.

And now Gordon has gone on social media saying he expects to play ‘somewhere’ before the end of the season.  That’s means the Bolts would have to give in and deal him.  Doubtful.

And Gordon followed up with a direct shot at the LA market, something along the lines ‘we went (12-4) last year and no one cares in LA.’

That’s a slap in the face of the fans in LA, and indirectly a slap at owner Dean Spanos for vacating the San Diego market in the chase for the almighty dollars in LA, which he isn’t getting.

Machado doesn’t seem to care what anyone thinks of him.  He’s been laid back most of the year, whether he’s had good games (30HRs) this season, or hitting just (.199) since August 1st as the team faded away.

Who knows if Gordon ever returns, how he will be viewed, but he’s created quite a furor for himself.  He may find out, if he ever shows up here, he crossed too many people..

They haven’t booed many favorites in this town in a long time.

That might change because how Manny Machado acted, and what Melvin Gordon is doing now.

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“Aztecs-vs-Conference Showdowns”

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San Diego State, on the road to redemption after last year’s awful finish to the season, begins the march back to conference respectability on Saturday when Utah State comes to town.

The Aztecs are (3-0) with the impressive win over UCLA as their calling card this season. Utah State, which has become a good program, nearly won at Wake Forest and then blasted a 1-AA team, so they come in at (1-1)….but they are also coming off a bye week to prepared for the Aztecs.

An interesting matchup. An improving SDSU offense matched against a USU defense that returns 7-starters from last year’s bowl team. State’s rugged defense, which has 7-takeaways, 10-sacks and is holding opponents to 33%-on 3rd downs, will be challenged by the Aggies 3rd year starting QB-Jordan Love ((5,908-44TD-15 Int) in a very good career. USU is averaging (656YPG) thru 2-weeks.

Coach Rocky Long had plenty to say:.

..USU one of better teams in league
..QB is NFL type guy-lots of skills
..Statistics are eye-popping-awful good football team
..I think he will be a future NFL star

..Jordan Love-big strong (6’4) guy-can do things with his feet…flicks ball..strong arm-very talented player-makes everything happen.
..Watch on film-he can score points fast..could be out of a game before it’s started.
..He is similar to Josh Allen-Wyoming-can throw the ball and can run the ball
..He’s on target…move the pocket…strong-strong arm

..They have two fast WRs…2RBs and QB making plays happen. They have tremendous skill position.

..Bye week-you get healthier-so that helps them…refreshed-quicker-faster…Coaches have extra wee to prepaqre
..Film vs Wake Forest-surprised they did not win…Wake Forest did move ball on offense-but could not stop USU tempo.
..USU is tempo team-no huddle..try to tire you out…they try to go fast to limit our defense.

..Juwan Washington nearing 100%-hope to play him.
..RB is our deepest position..thank goodness..we have 3-hurt…have 3-more healthy…
..Want to run ball-control clock-keep Jordan Love off the field.

..Defensive numbers getting better.

..We did not recruit him-he’s really grown as a player at USU since coming out of Bakersfield..

..Mountain West..not at surprised at early seasons wins…these are good teams…beating all these Power 5-teams…Air Force winning in Boulder….CSU-Wyoming-Hawaii-Boise all very impressive..

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What Do You See in AFC-West”

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So we are two weeks into the NFL season and the AFC-West seems to be in a state of chaos in 3-of the 4-cities in the division.

CHARGERS…..Another week, another key player gone, with S-Adrian Phillips headed to the IR list with a broken forearm. You just cannot survive losing a quality player per week. They are running out of players on defense, down two safeties, with 2-injured cornerbacks, and 2-linebackers cannot stay healthy on the field. This week’s crisis now swirls around CFL-kicker Ty Long, who missed two field goals in Detroit, that definitely was a difference maker. The team seems committed to staying with young LT-Trent Scott, by helping him with tight ends on that side of the line of scrimmage. Impressed with RB-Aaron Keeler’s heart and his grit and his athletic ability but you wonder about wear and tear piling up on him as the Melvin Gordon holdout goes on and on. Sadly the loss of TE-Aaron Henry further reduces the weapons that QB-Philip Rivers has to use. I don’t think they targeted WR-Mike Williams enough as he wound up with 3-pretty impressive catches. Keenan Allen was targeted 15-times and caught 8-balls. Fatigue and defenses are about to set in, and it will get tougher going forward if other guys don’t start to contribute more. Houston brings a challenge to the defense this coming weekend, and of course they also bring JJ Watt and a fierce pass rush to Carson.

CHIEFS….Patrick Mahomes just keeps piling up big plays,even without WR-Tyreek Hill, out 4-more weeks with a shoulder joint injury. The 4-TD explosion in a 10-minute span in Oakland was stunning. KC then coasted the rest of the way while the Raiders struggled against a veteran defense. Unless the Chiefs lose some skill people on offense, they will continue to roll towards a spectacular statistical season. The defense is different from a year ago, and Mahomes is so dynamic, it feels and looks like they are unstoppable.

BRONCOS….Yes they have Joe Flacco, but there seems to be nothing else to rally around or excite you about the offense. Denver has very young wide receivers trying to find consistency. 1st round draft pick Noah Fant has not contributed as we thought he would coming off his first round draft pick. The offensive line seems in disarray, and young 1st round left tackle Grant Bolles has 5-holding penalties in 2-games. Yes Von Miller is still there but the defense doesn’t seem to fit together. Vic Fangio expected to come out of the gate quick but the gate is blocked.

RAIDERS…..Derek Carr cannot do this by himself. First Antonio Brown betrays them. Then as they try to rally the roster, they lost their first round draft pick, S-Jon Abram, with a torn labrum. To boot, Abram was fined 28,000- for a helmet hit on the play that injured his shoulder. That leaves a young defense with a guy they thought might be their playmaker on that side of the ball. Jon Gruden doesn’t have either of his two starting offensive guards with injuries. His young LT-Kolten Miller is still learning on the job too.
And Carr and Gruen still have 14-weeks left in the season. This might be a longer season than anyone expected.

Here comes Weekend 3-for the best and worst in the AFC-West.

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“Chargers-Ugly-Game-Loss-Roster”

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The Chargers, a team many thought could be an AFC-championship calibre team, turned in a bad performance against a perennially bad Detroit Lions team. This, a week after they beat an Indianapolis team, they should have lost to.

It was ugly, the game, the execution, the finish, the loss, this (13-10) setback at Ford Field, to a Lions team that played just as ugly football.

Philip Rivers, the architect of so many late game comebacks, threw a terrible pass into double coverage, that led to an interception with (:63) left, killing any chance of a win. Rivers spent the entire game heaving passes to star receiver Keenan Allen. Lions safety Darius Slay picked it off, earning Detroit a victory they probably didn’t deserve.

Rivers never saw WR-Mike Williams open in the center of the field, that would have been a walk-in TD for a walkoff win.

It was a bizarre game between what was supposed to be a good team, the Bolts, and the Lions, who don’t win much. Where do you start with all the problems.

The Chargers kicker, former CFL star Ty Long, missed 2-field goals from 40-and-42 yards, a reversal from last weeks first strong showing.

Their lead DB-corner Casey Hayward gave up a TD pass. Desmond King, their top nickel back, got beaten on a TD pass. Veteran linebacker Thomas Davis, gave up a big pass play and took a facemarks penalty.

Running back Austin Ekeler fumbled at the 2-yard line trying to go over the top for a TD, killing a drive. On that drive, the Chargers had 2-touchdown runs taken off the books by holding penalties, then had Detroit give them the ball on a pass interference call in the end zone, only to have Ekeler caugh it right up.

In one stretch, there were 5-penalties in a 9-play sequence.

In that second half, Rivers and friends had 5-possessions that ended up like this: Fumble-Missed field goal-Missed Field Goal-Interception. All this from a supposed AFC-power.

Oh there were bad stretches to of the Lions, a team that blew a big lead last week and wound up in a 27-27 tie with lowly Arizona. In this game, the Lions missed a field goal and a point after, their special teams took five penalties,, and their QB-Matthew Stafford threw picks at the Bolts 15 and in the end zone too.

Even coach Matt Patricia nearly snuffed out the win, not taking a timeout,when he had the chance to get the ball back, just before halftime, letting Rivers drive his team 75-yards for a score.

Yes it only counts as one loss, but considering the teeth of the schedule ahead for the Chargers, this one was one they should have had, and didn’t get.

The Bolts are beat up physically, Joey Bosa and Adrian Phillips got hurt in the fourth quarter. They were down 2-linebackeers, 2-corners, their star safety, the big tight end, and still don’t have holdout running back Melvin Gordon.

And to add insult to injury, as they flew home to their tiny soccer stadium home field for next weeks game with Houston, the Rams cross-town were playing infront of 70-plus thousand at the Coliseum, as LA’s real team beat the New Orlean Saints in a key NFC-showdown early season matchup.

All not well for the Bolts. Everything about them seems troubled right now, the team, the game in Detroit, and the atmosphere in Los Angeles. Ugly.

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“Chargers-Winning-But Losing Players’

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They head into Detroit for a Sunday game, but things are not right with the Chargers.

They could have, or maybe should have lost to the Indianapolis Colts last weekend at home.  Were it not for 3-missed kicks by Adam Vinatierri, or a questionable instant replay call denying the Colts a TD, that win could very well have been a loss.

Now they face a Jekyll-Hyde Lions team, that could blow you out with quarterback Matthew Stafford, but could also self-destruct, as they did last weekend, when they blew a big lead and wound up in a weird (27-27) tie with lowly Arizona.

The Chargers problems are more than just facing coach Matt Patricia’s team.  The problems involve a roster that is falling apart, fast, quickly and disappointingly.

Philip Rivers will be there, but lots of key people around him won’t, and that’s the issue, he cannot do this by himself.

A Bolt offense that does not have OT-Russell Okung (blood clot) and RB-Melvin Gordon (holdout) has now lost a very good TE-Hunter Henry.  (fractured kneecap).  It’s his 3rd major injury in 3-years with the team.

And now Mike Williams, the big play capable wide receiver, has missed the entire week of practice with a bruised knee, and might not be able to play.  He is the key number two guy behind Keenan Allen.  The drop-off talent wise is huge if Williams cannot play Sunday.

On defense, this will be half a season on the IR for do-everything safety Derwin James, but the team now has holes elsewhere..  Starting CB-Mike Davis went out with a hamstring early last week, and has not practiced.  His replacement Trevor Williams is gone for the year, on IR.

And the nagging injuries that have played LBs Jatavis Brown and Denzel Perryman, have reappeared.  Ankle-hamstring issues kept them limited or out of practice this week.  The LB corps without them looks thin and very young.

Even young prospect WRs Geremy Davis and Artavis Scott won’t be available because of nagging injuries that have taken them out of practice.

Kicker Michael Badgley remains out with a groin injury that showed up the Friday before the season started, though CFL free agent Ty Law handled all the kicking duties well.

The Chargers are asking a lot of the running back by committee, and didn’t really run the ball at all last weekend vs the Colts.  So we can’t really subscribe that Austin Ekeler-Justin Jackson combo are true and equal replacements to the holdout renegade Melvin Gordon.

And no one on the roster is equal to Henry’s big play productivity so there is a drop-off there.

The replacement for Okung, second year guy LT-Trent Scott, gave up 2-sacks, got beat four other times on rushes and committed a penalty, and he wasn’t going against a premier pass rusher.  Meet the ex-Patriot Trey Flowers, now on the Lions defensive front.

So come Sunday, Rivers figures to de down a bunch of bullets in his gun.  And his defense may have their hands full with Stafford, Danny Amendola, and the two tight ends he throws too.  Stafford thew for (385) last Sunday, so he has ability.

The Bolts won one they could have lost.  They’ll need luck, not to lose this weekend.

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