Monday Morning Coffee

October 4, 2021

I don’t even know where to begin in this disappointing weekend. Let’s start with the Dodgers. I’m completely sick over Clayton Kershaw’s injury, and the fact he might be done for the season, let alone maybe done as a Dodger. As for the division, the Dodgers had their chances to overtake the Giants. They blew it in multiple head-to-head games that could have made up the one game difference. Since acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner though, the Dodgers have gone 43-13, yet they only gained one game on the Giants. Only six teams have had a stretch like that over the last decade. That’s how good the Giants have been this season, and also how good the Dodgers have been despite all the injuries. The Cardinals have been so hot, I’m nervous as hell for Wednesdays game. Even if the Dodgers are lucky enough to survive, I can’t say I feel great about a 5-game series against the Giants without home field advantage. Not to mention, they probably will be without Max Muncy for all that as well. Dodger fans can’t possibly tell you that they are confident going into this week. If they are, they are lying like a politician.

Before I get to football, I’ve gotta mention the Angels. Arte Moreno has been put on notice by Joe Maddon and Shohei Ohtani. First Maddon said he needs reinforcements, and then Ohtani suggested he would go elsewhere when he’s a free agent unless the team improves. Given that the team’s minor league operations have not significantly improved since the reports have come out criticizing Moreno, I can’t say I’m all that confident he’s going to respond to the criticism by improving the team. There might be plenty of pitching available this off-season, but I don’t see the Halos outbidding their competitors for it. I’m not sure how embarrassed Arte has to be to take action, but nothing has seem to make him change his behavior so far. I have no reason to believe yet that this will be any different.

To the NFL, where the Rams just got dismantled by the Cardinals yesterday at Sofi Stadium. I think we better slam the brakes on all that talk of the Rams being the best team in football, because they aren’t even the best team in their division anymore. Matthew Stafford looked completely average, Sean McVay was out-coached, and the defense got completely dominated by Kyler Murray. I’m not sure what to make of the Rams yet, but we don’t have much time to think about it because they play Seattle on Thursday night on the road. Hopefully Stafford and the Rams can turn it around quickly, or else they’ll have an uphill battle in the NFC West very quickly.

The Chargers and Raiders are going at it tonight at Sofi Stadium. I have the privilege of being able to attend the game tonight, but I’m sure we’re all thinking the same thing. How many Raider fans are going to be in attendance compared to the Charger fans? We already know more Raider fans are in LA, than any other place, so we can only assume tonight is going to be ridiculous with Raider Nation. Are there actually any Charger fans in LA? I doubt it, but I’m sure all 5 of them will be in attendance tonight.

Elsewhere around week 4 of the NFL, the Jets have actually won a football game. Please find a bomb shelter immediately. This is not a drill. The world is about to end. Tom Brady didn’t cook the Patriots like I thought he would, but he still played well enough to beat his former team. The real story though was Bill Belichick actually using a pencil as a toothpick on the sideline. The Colts destroyed the Dolphins, while Jacoby Brissett was busy destroying IPads on the sidelines. Even the Bears couldn’t even lose to the Lions, as pathetic as both teams are. Patrick Mahomes was playing PlayStation out there with 5 TD’s in the Chiefs win over the Eagles. And the Seahawks let Russ Cook and and that’s exactly what he did to the 49ers in Seattle’s win over San Francisco.

So USC obliterated Colorado over the weekend, but that’s really not the story. It’s the latest buzz around the coaching search. Luke Fickell’s name has been hot, but now rumors are he won’t want to move to the west coast. If USC can find a way to land him, or James Franklin, they should be ecstatic. However, neither seem like a slam dunk to make the move west, especially given the success they are having with their current programs. Cincinnati may very well end up in the CFB Playoff this year. Penn State has built themselves a hell of a program. Living in LA may be not as glamorous as it used to. We’ll find out soon enough. On the field, let’s be honest…..none of this really matters. The team will only go so far without a real caoch.

Finally, what the hell happened to UCLA on Saturday against ASU? There’s a level of consistency that this team just hasn’t been able to achieve under Chip Kelly. They were consistent for about 2 weeks. Then they looked like the same Bruins we’ve seen for the last few years under Kelly. This time the defense let them down. They were lifeless in the 2nd half, and that tells me Kelly is just not making adjustments. So much for thinking this team might be one of the better ones in the Pac-12.

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