“It Pays to Win-Then You Pay Up”

 
-0-

 
Oh to be John Elway these days, the General Manager and VP of Football Operations of the Denver Broncos.

 
When last seen, he was raising the Super Bowl-Lombardi Trophy, amidst the Orange and Blue tinsel floating thru the air, his quarterback Peyton Manning on one side of him, coach Gary Kubiak on the other.

 
Oh to be John Elway today, facing the NFL salary cap, and this time likely to take some type of quarterback sack.

 
He committed 15M dollars of his salary cap yesterday afternoon, franchise tagging LB-Von Miller, not having been able to work out a salary cap friendly deal with a signing bonus. By tagging him at 15M-base salary, every contract discussion from this morning on with Miller, will revolve around ‘he got 15M in 2016, so we negotiate from that level up.” Ouch.

 
The Broncos now have an issue with their bright young defensive tackle Malik Jackson, who had a monster Super Bowl on top of a very good regular season. His pricetag would have gone up to about 10M for next year based on performance. He’s asking 14M, for a salary, and that does not include signing bonus money on a multi-year deal. Look what Miami gave Ndomakong Suh (23M) per year, and Jackson seems a better player. Ouch.

 
Unresolved too is the dollar value attached to QB-Brock Osweiler, who came off the bench and helped win four games the back half of the season, after Peyton Manning was shelved with that foot injury. Denver might not have gotten to the Super Bowl without the late season wins from Osweiler, but the NFL defensive coordinators did catch up with him late in the year. He wound up getting benched.

 
But Osweiler knows what’s going on around him. The Redskins just gave Kirk Cousins the 20M franchise tag yesterday, and he has had just one good season of football and has never won a playoff game. Sam Bradford just got 18M a year on a two year deal to stay with the Eagles, and no one compares him with the elite in the league, even ahead of Philip Rivers 17M a season San Diego deal.

 
So here’s Osweiler, with 4-key starts on his resume, asking for 10-to-15M per year and with a signing bonus on top of that. Ouch.

 
And Elway must deal with the 9M-contract of left tackle Ryan Clady, who has now missed two years in a row with 2-knee injuries, and the 10.4M-deal owed DE-DeMarcus Ware-who has back issues and was hurt last year and has lots of miles on those tires.

 
And if Elway doesn’t have enough on his plate, there’s the extra serving of the Peyton Manning story, heading towards age 39, with the surgery history, lack of arm strength, and a 19M-guarantee due next season, if there is a next season.

 
Elway must decide by next Monday, stay or leave for the future Hall of Famer. And it’s complicated, because now Manning’s super-agent, Tom Condon says his client wants to play next year.

 
Oh to be John Elway right now. Denver spent lots in free agency two years ago, but now has contracts coming due next week with big money dollar signs attached to them.

 
In the NFL it pays to win, but then you have to pay up when you do win. It will be fun to watch how Denver’s dollars are spent beginning next week.

–0–

“The Toronto Problem- Hex-and-Hurts”

-0-

 
I don’t know how you explain this, what has happened in Toronto, and how all these guys wind up in San Diego as Padres free agents.

You have to fell sorry for veteran pitcher Brandon Morrow, setback after setback, after having put up some good numbers in Toronto. One wonders if he’ll ever get the chance to put up a bunch of wins in a Padres jersey.

The veteran right-hander was a winner with the Blue Jays early on his career, quite a feat for a pitcher who is a lifetime diabetic. But injuries caught up to him, and he was finally shutdown with the Jays electing to let him have forearm surgery, then letting him go as a free agent.

He started (2-0) with a (2.73ERA) in five games in San Diego last year, but was battling shoulder woes all spring. They finally put him on the DL in late spring, and surgery soon followed, after setback after setback in his rehab. It was a minor process, cleaning up debris in the right shoulder.

But as in all things with Morrow, more health issues, then came off season illnesses, first pneumonia during his winter rehab, then a case of valley fever. He is really behind the curve now, and likely won’t be ready to start the season in San Diego. He has to prove he can pitch post-surgery, and prove he can stay healthy. All this from a guy who made 77-starts and won 31-games over a 3-year span north of the border.

Oddly, he used to locker next door to Josh Johnson, another ex-Blue Jay and Florida Marlin, who put together 3-dominant years before elbow surgery took him out of the majors. At one point, he was (36-13) over a near 3-year span, then was struck down with Tommy John surgery, twice.

The Padres paid him 10M in 2014 and he never got on the mound. He signed for just 1M last season on a make good contract, and had more surgery at the end of the season. And he stopped rehabbing at the Peoria facility this winter, his career now very much in jeopardy. And this from a guy who was so dominant for a short stretch of time. He hasn’t pitched since mid-summer 2013, and you wonder if he ever will again.

And this year’s edition of the walking wounded is former front line closer Casey Janssen, out on the street corner till a week ago. He too had strong seasons, working out of the Toronto bullpen, and he too, his career went off-track, with the same old-same old, arm miseries. Shoulder woes, not the surgery-kind, but the type that robbed him of his roster spot. He tried to get back on the mound in Washington last year, but they cut him loose too.

Janssen was impressive coming out of the bullpen at the Skydome, accounting for 81-Blue Jays saves in a 3-year span before he started to hurt.

Pitchers are such a fragile commodity. Johnson was a fire and ice competitor on the mound, 97mph fastballs, shutouts, strikeouts, a 1-hitter. Morrow is quiet and intellectual and easy to talk to. Janssen just likes to play baseball.

All 3-had something special, now they are trying to reclaim something in hopes of salvaging careers.

 
Baseball can be so lucrative and so much fun. Baseball can also be pretty cruel too. JJ, Brandon and Casey can attest to that.

-0-

“NFL Draft-Chargers-Fluid”

 
-0-

 
They have the chance to hit the jackpot in April, they being the Chargers, the jackpot being the NFL draft.

 
The Bolts brass and its coaches come home tonight after a long week at the NFL combine. Watching workouts, meeting amongst each others, and interviewing some 63-players.

 
The San Diego needs are everywhere, most of them on defense, and defense is the strength of this draft. Their needs also involve offensive linemen, and that is the second most important of the draft.

 
Everyone will spread rumors between now and the late April draft day.

 
The Bolts will take defense, likely upfront, to patch a woeful run stop group, and add to a group that has not had alot of quarterback sacks over the last four seasons.

 
San Diego may take an offensive lineman, because of the siege of injuries virtually everyone of Philip Rivers’ blockers has had. They used 11-different guys upfront. Five players had concussions, there were knees, shoulders and ankle injuries too.

 
When they finish tonite at Lucas Oil Field, the Chargers will have seen closeup the top three defensive lineman, all who could be on the board with the third choice in that opening round.

 
Ohio State’s Joey Bosa comes with credentials, sacks and tackles for losses. Someone has to project whether he is really a 3-4 defensive lineman, or better served as a rush linebacker. He ran a disappointing (4.89) in the 40.

 
There was nothing negative though about Oregon’s monster defensive end, DeForest Buckner, all (6’7-290) of him who clocked an amazing (5.0) in his 40.

 
And then Ole Miss inside tackle Robert Nkemdiche motored to a (4.87) time, pretty good for a near 300-pounder inside.

 
The Chargers won’t likely get a shot at OT-Laremy Tunsil, who seems earmarked for the lst pick and Tennessee. That’s okay because there are a wheelbarrow full of OL who could be there early in the second round.

 
The most intriguing comes with little awards, just four years of conistent play. Indiana Hoosier left tackle Jason Spriggs, not only ran well for a (6’6-299), at (4.9) but benched press the house, doing 225-31-times. Add to that a center from Notre Dame, and 2-Stanford tackles, and there will be choices.

 
Next up will be on campus visits and pro days, and more meetings. 1-weekend workout will not influence the Chargers decision makers. Game tape, visits and coaching interviews will carry the day.

 
As bad as it has been for the Bolts on the field, 1-postseason win in 7-years, and this (4-12) fiasco of a season just completed, this team can get help immediately at the top of those draft rounds.

 
Fluid is the key word, because you never know if someone will trade up to grab players ahead of them in the lst or 2nd round. The quality at the top of the board should dictate, ‘don’t trade too far back’ if you deal out of the 3rd spot.

 
This will be a fun march and April, with free agency just ahead of the draft too.

 
Injuries and bad free agent signings-wasted bonus money, have hurt this team. Now they have a chance to fix it drafting 3-35-66.

 
Based on what we saw at the NFL combine, hitting the jackpot is not out of the question. It better be so we don’t have a repeat of last year

—0–

Inviting you the loyal followers of our website to answer these questions about the on-going Chargers Stadium issue. Fill out the Comment Box below with your responses .

-0-

Chargers “Fans Poll”

 
…Do you favor the Mission Valley sight or Downtown San Diego for a new stadium?

…What is most important to you in new stadium…Freeway Access, Tailgating, Parking.

…Would you vote Yes-or-No for the raising of the Hotel-Tax to help fund a Stadium downtown?

…Would you buy PSL tickets to help keep the team in San Diego?

…Do you believe Dean Spanos wants to stay in San Diego or just make the best deal for his family?

…Are you retaining your Chargers seasons tickets?

…Will you buy season tickets after what happened this past year in the Stadium crisis?

…Who do you have faith in to get a deal done, Faulconer-Roberts…..Spanos-Maas.

“Chargers-Who’s Right-Who’s Wrong-How Bad is This Going to Be?”

 
-0-

 
The Cold War has now become a Heated Battle.

 
All the nice guy comments directed at each other over the last couple of weeks have ended. And so has the City-County support to help Dean Spanos build a new football stadium for the Chargers.

 
Since the January 12th meeting in Houston, the one where Spanos’ ideas of building a stadium Carson and relocating, got shot out of the water, both the owner and the mayor have spent time preaching ‘partnership’.

 
They would work together to find a solution to funding a new stadium, and finding the right location.

 
So much for the niceties. Those conversations have ended.

 
Within hours of the Chargers announcement they were joining forces with JMI, owned by John Moores, to seek out building a stadium downtown, and to finance it with an upgrade Tourism Tax on hotel rooms, the relationships between the NFL team and the NFL owner seem to have come to an end.

 
Kevin Faulconeer has gone public saying the 350M in monies offered by the City-County coaliton is off the table. That money will not be available for any stadium package downtown.

Remember just weeks ago when Dean Spanos said he was willing ‘to do whatever it takes’ to get a Stadium built.  What it takes evidentally is more money from you.

 
County Supervisor Ron Roberts, wearing his emotions on his sleeve, revealed that Spanos asked the city-county group to throw 200M more into the pot in Mission Valley, which would have lowered the contribution the owner would have had to make.

 
And despite theories about the public vote next November, anybody who has their mail sent to City Hall, is of the opinion it would take a next to impossible 66% vote to get the JMI package approved. They say it is the law, and the law is not going to bend over for anyone, including the NFL.

 
No one seems to have a firm grasp on how the Spanos-JMI team is going to get the post-stamp parcels of land they need, adjoining the MTS sight, for construction of the hybrid-Stadium-Convention Center Annex.

 
No one on that street corner has descirbed how they can fast forward the cleanup of the MTS sights with its toxic issues, in a short time span. No one has yet proposed where the MTS facilities be relocated too, for it’s not like just parking buses in an open field.

 
Now there are hidden storylines to pay attention to though. In building Petco Park, JMI, the John Moores-Larry Lucchino team, bought up empty property before ever getting into the war with the obstructionists to get Petco built. Might those land purchases have already occurred, and we don’t know about them yet?

 
Might there be a land-swap coming, JMI property for the MTS properties as part of all this dealing? Never say never.

 
What is to be gained by the Mayor turning his back on the Chargers now? It has to be bitterness over a wasted 14-months of efforts by civic leaders in putting the Mission Valley proposal together?

 
Maybe now Faulconer and Roberts stand on the side, and wait to see if the Spanos-JMI deal falters. They can always bring their money idea back on the table, after they say to Spanos “I told you so”.

 
Fred Maas has so much experience moving around obstacles, bet your mortgage that he has already laid the groundwork to creatively find a way to make this work out.  He just hasn’t told us the game plan yet.

But you have to be concerned.  Look out your window, see the opposition lining up on the street corner;  the Convention Center Board, the Hotel Association, Comic-con, and the Padres are apparently lining against using land at Tailgate Park.

 
The wildcard in all this though is the community history of saying ‘no’ to tax money for projects, from a stadium, to firefighters. Add to that the ill-will reputation that still exists between all the things Spanos has done, since taking over control of the franchise from his father, most of them having a negative impact on his once sterling reputation.

 
This looks like only the beginning of another fight. The future of the NFL franchise hangs in the balance on one street corner. The reputation of the mayor heading towards re-election is on the street corner. There will probably be some fatalities before this is decided.

 
And isn’t it odd, the man who saved Padres baseball, John Moores, may be the man to save the Chargers franchise too. But there will be some bloodshed for sure.

 
We’re not done with this for sure, for the Cold War has now become a Heated Battle, again.

–0–