Raiders, not Chargers, should occupy L.A.
Heading into NFL Week 2:
The whole Las Vegas thing is a joke. The Raiders shouldn’t be moving anywhere — under more capable ownership, they wouldn’t be — but if it has to happen, the destination should be Los Angeles, sharing with the Rams an Inglewood stadium due to open in 2020.
Somehow, Los Angeles got the Chargers — and the residue is sickening. After a year of paltry attendance at the soccer stadium in Carson, the Chargers opened their season on Sunday to a crowd clad mostly in red, rooting hard for the visiting Kansas City Chiefs.
Stuck with the spectacularly lame Spanos family ownership, the Chargers belong in San Diego and everyone knows it. The Raiders have a huge following in L.A. and would fit the scene perfectly. Amazing how the NFL so often gets it wrong.
Every season, fans come to realize that an alarming number of NFL defensive backs are either wildly undisciplined or poorly coached, refusing to turn around to deflect or intercept a pass instead of blindly barging into the receiver and often drawing a penalty. The 49ers’ secondary was guilty several times on Sunday, and the “Monday Night Football” audience watched Raiders cornerbacks Rashaan Melvin and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie torch the fundamentals. They should all watch the tape of the Rams’ John Johnson as he made a brilliant end-zone interception in front of tight end Jared Cook in the second quarter. Scrap the preseason: The Rams’ entire starting offense sat out every minute of the exhibition games, and by the second half Monday night, the players were in excellent form. Asked if he felt the effects of so much rest, quarterback Jared Goff simply said, “No.”
Leading the Packers back from a 20-0 deficit against Chicago, Aaron Rodgers proved that, even on one leg, he’s still the best quarterback in the league.
Scariest Week 1 offense by plenty: Kansas City, with rocket-armed, second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, reigning rushing champ Kareem Hunt, elite tight end Travis Kelce and wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins. Even by the NFL’s lofty standards, Hill is clearly the fastest man in the league. As usual, the Raiders play this team twice — and it could be ugly.
In full retreat on Khalil Mack, with whom he had virtually no communication, Raiders head coach Jon Gruden actually said, “Obviously, he didn’t want to be here.” Oh, please. Who’s taking that seriously?