LA goes from none to two (bad) teams
The Rams are soon to be joined by the Chargers but both have suffered losing records this season
>> LOS ANGELES: After 21 years without an NFL team, Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city, will soon have two. The Rams moved to town for this season, and on Thursday, the San Diego Chargers announced that they would join them next season. Here’s what we know about football in LA, 2017.
WHAT IS LOS ANGELES GETTING?
A second bad football team. After consecutive 9-7 seasons, the San Diego Chargers sank to 4-12 and 5-11 the last two years. Particularly disappointing, after a decent 5-6 start, were the last five games, all losses. The team fired Coach Mike McCoy after four seasons and is hunting for someone new who likes sunny weather.
The Chargers’ chief problem was on the defensive side; they allowed 423 points, the fourth highest total in the league.
Still, the Chargers are not as bad as the Rams. That franchise has endured 10-straight losing seasons, including an abysmal 4-12 record this season, their first in Los Angeles. The Rams also just fired their coach, Jeff Fisher, and are said to be talking with some of the same coordinators and assistants that the Chargers are looking at.
The Rams were 32nd and last in yards per play, and also 32nd in yards per pass. The good news is that they were 31st in yards per rush. Those numbers mean they scored only 224 points, an average of 14 a game, the lowest in the NFL. Hardly a way to take the town by storm.
BUT THERE ARE SOME BIG STARS COMING TO TINSELTOWN, RIGHT?
Not exactly. The Rams somehow managed two Pro Bowl players, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and a punter, Johnny Hekker. (The Rams punted 98 times, second most in the league.) The Chargers will not help the star power: Their only selection was a cornerback, Casey Hayward, as a backup.
At the marquee position of quarterback, the Chargers’ Philip Rivers churned out another so-so season. The Rams’ anaemic offence was led first by the journeyman Case Keenum and later by the rookie Jared Goff, who has not yet lived up to being the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Are you seeing any strong contenders for cameos on “Family Guy” or “Code Black” in there?
IS THIS SOMETHING NEW FOR LOS ANGELES?
Most people remember that the Rams played in the Los Angeles area for decades before heading to St Louis and playing there from 1995 to 2015. But the Chargers are also coming home again.
In 1960, the first year of the American Football League, the Los Angeles Chargers played in the Coliseum. The team was actually good, with a 10-4 record and a trip to the championship game. But owner Barron Hilton shipped the team to San Diego after just one year.
“Chargers” was selected in a name-the-team contest and stuck around for all those years in San Diego.
Two teams, though. That makes Los Angeles pretty important, right?
Los Angeles joins East Rutherford, New Jersey, (Giants and Jets) as locales with two NFL teams.
ARE THERE HUGE ECONOMIC BENEFITS COMING?
The consensus of modern economists is that the benefits of a major sports franchise are dubious. Money spent on games would probably be spent on other forms of entertainment anyway, they say.
Any small financial gains may be negated by municipal subsidies and givebacks to teams.
Most of the benefits to a city are psychic. Pro teams can make a city feel “major league,” although an inferiority complex is not something Los Angeles has generally been afflicted with (unless the topic is competing with New York for cultural relevance).
ISN’T THERE ANYONE FOR LOS ANGELES FANS TO LOOK DOWN ON?
Sure. San Diego and St Louis for starters.
Discounting Riverside, California, which could be considered part of the Los Angeles region, the biggest metropolitan area without an NFL team is now San Diego, ranked 17th. St Louis, the 20th biggest area, is next.
The biggest metropolitan area that has never had an NFL team is 23rdranked Portland, Oregon.
And Los Angeles remains a huge television market. Ultimately, broadcasting contracts are where the NFL makes its money.