First Down
The Chargers are……a mess.
They’re 2-4 and they’ve lost each game by 7 points or less. The most frustrating part? Each loss plays out the same way; a groundhog day effect if you will.
The Charges dig themselves into a massive hole, the Chargers amass a spectacular comeback and almost pull it off.
Until they don’t.
Kennan Allen knows.
Shit sad https://t.co/ZmxEUKPQJb
— Keenan Allen (@Keenan13Allen) October 14, 2019
The Chargers have many problems. Their offense is middle of the pack yardage wise and they can’t stop the AT ALL. They rank 22nd overall in that category. The only bright spot for this team is their secondary. Even without stud safety Derwin James the Chargers still rank 5th in passing defense.
On top of that Philip Rivers is 37 years old and the Chargers don’t seem to have a successor for the NC State legend. Tyrod Taylor is his backup and has shown he can start in the NFL but he just turned 30.
Speaking of Rivers; he went off the rails and got into it with Steelers corner Mike Hilton.
Philip rivers treating this DB like one of his 13 kids 😂 pic.twitter.com/Zsmxu5gYty
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— Tony X (@soIoucity) October 14, 2019
Rivers is known for being spicy but c’mon bruh; he’s lucky Hilton didn’t drop him for that. Better yet, he’s lucky James Harrison isn’t still in black and gold or we’d be talking about his retirement. It’d be irresponsible to that if Cam Newton behaved in that manner ESPN, FS1, CNN, NPR, Fox News, New York Times, Charlotte Observer, and the your local small town quarterly newspaper would be asking about his childhood with every racist dog whistle attached.
So, where do the Chargers go from here? They’re too good to tank but not good enough to make the playoffs. They’re essentially in sports purgatory.
With that comes bad news, Chargers. You’re going to have to play this out like the Giants. This team won’t win with Rivers at the helm. You’re always going to be between 7-9 wins and all that gets you is a pick outside of the top 10. Is it possible to get lucky and “fall” into a Deshaun Watson? Sure but highly unlikely. It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
Unfortunately, with a new shared stadium opening up in 2020, losing just isn’t in the cards.
P.S.
Chargers fans, can you at least make an attempt to attend games? I know the Rams are the hot ticket right now but there’s better attendance at high school games.
Yesterday, we tweeted that we had landed in Los Angeles.
We are starting to question that tweet. pic.twitter.com/BXBZ9Eoag0
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 14, 2019
Second Down
All the Saints had to do was take their L and move on.
Yes, the refs missed the obvious PI call in the NFC championship but how quickly they forget that Drew Brees got the ball first in overtime and THREW AN INTERCEPTION that sealed their fate.
Since then the Saints, and their fans, whined and complained about pass interference and the NFL obliged by creating this rule that pass interference calls can be challenged.
That’s working out well.
Not only are referees not overturning obvious pass interference calls it seems that the overall officiating has been horrid all season.
Conspiracy theory Twitter suggests that the league isn’t nudging as a middle finger to the Saints and that hopefully coaches will stop challenging pass interference. I tend not to believe in this foolishness but it’s hard not to agree with it. Seriously, look at this.
Yet another bad call by the refs that goes against the Detroit Lions. No PI here, right @nfl ? pic.twitter.com/aCwK9nOgtR
— CFBBlueprint (@CFBBluePrint) October 15, 2019
And this
NFL refs called this a blindside block 🤔 https://t.co/OGr70Xi5rB
— Zach Fleer (@ZachFleer270) October 13, 2019
Wait, there’s more.
NFL Officiating in 2019, y'all 😅https://t.co/wUcYu5FpQ1
— NFL on ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsNFL) October 15, 2019
Maybe, just maybe, if the NFL hired officials as full time employees the fans will get a better product. Just a guess, though.
Third Down
Cam Newton has been injured and his backup, Kyle Allen, has done a good job as a replacement. So good that the conversation of trading Cam is actually gaining traction.
An AFC GM tells @mikefreemanNFL the trade market for Cam Newton would be "robust” and as many as 10 teams would be interested if Panthers choose to stick with Kyle Allen.https://t.co/EL3hUKPnYB pic.twitter.com/ihWv3NA1Mi
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 14, 2019
So let’s spell this out; you want to trade a former MVP that led you to a Super Bowl for a rookie. Stop it. A healthy Newton is leaps and bounds better than Kyle Allen on his best day playing against college competition.
Scratch that, even a Cam Newton that has lost a step is exponentially better. Have y’all really forgotten just how good he is?
Fourth Down
Time for picks!
Last week I broke even with a 7-7 record. That’s 24-17 for the year. Let’s keep this train rolling. Winner are in red.
Thursday Night Football
KC @ Denver
Sunday Afternoon
Oakland @ Green Bay
Los Angeles Rams @ Atlanta
San Francisco @ Washington
Houston @ Indianapolis
Minnesota @ Detroit
Jacksonville @ Cincinnati
Arizona @ New York Giants
Miami @ Buffalo
Los Angeles Chargers @ Tennessee
Baltimore @ Seattle
New Orleans @ Chicago
Sunday Night
Philadelphia @ Dallas
Monday Night
New England @ New York Jets
Extra Points
Eagles fans unite.
Me making fun of the Cowboys when the Eagles lost by 18 todaypic.twitter.com/qzoxl6ne2p
— Lacey (@phillysown_) October 14, 2019
This is accurate.
No one:
Patrick Mahomes: pic.twitter.com/ywpIatEfQo
— Trey🌽 (@PlayoffDalvin) October 8, 2019
As always, thanks for reading.
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