NFL Football in Los Angeles – Deja Vu all over again or something better?


October 25th, 2012

From 1946 to 1980, the Los Angeles Rams roamed LA’s Colleseum with players like Rosey Grier, Merlin Olsen, and Deacon Jones stalking opposing quarterbacks. The Ram’s Eric Dickerson rushed for a then NFL record 2,105 yards in the 1984 season. The Rams appeared in the 1980 Super Bowl XIV, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Rams remained close by in Anaheim from 1980-1994. In 1982 the Raiders joined the Rams in LA. The Raiders won the 1984 Super Bowl XVIII as the Los Angeles Raiders.

But by 1995 both teams were out of Los Angeles. The Rams relocated to St. Louis, and the Raiders moved back to Oakland. Now football is on the cusp of being back in L.A. The questions is, will it work this time?

Recently significant progress in building a privately financed football stadium in L.A. has been made. The city counsel approved a plan to build Farmer’s Field, a $1.5 billion dollar stadium. The new project will connect to and expand the Los Angeles Convention Center. Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a statement, “We are a giant step closer to bringing NFL football back to Los Angeles.”

The NFL Network reported that NFL league offices sent letters to all 32 franchises advising teams of the potential time-line for moving a team into Los Angeles. The NFL advised teams to apply for relocation by February 15th, 2013. It’s been rumored that the San Diego Chargers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the St. Louis Rams, among others are in the mix relocate to Los Angeles.

The St. Louis Rams are unhappy with their stadium and would consider a move back to Los Angeles. Presumably, the Rams already have a fan base in Los Angeles leftover from the Ram’s long stint in the city. However, bitterness from the Ram’s relocation to St. Louis remains among some fans.

Perhaps more importantly, Los Angeles is a notoriously fickle city when it comes to supporting its sports franchises. There are underlying reasons that both the Rams and the Raiders left Los Angeles that go beyond the stadium facility issues. Gaining and keeping fan interest has proven difficult in the past. Hollywood is a unique and formidable competitor that no other sports city must face. The lure of Hollywood attracts a large population from all over the country that is either uninterested in sports or maintains loyalties to other sports teams outside L.A. Additionally, Los Angeles is far from a blue collar town which typically supports sports franchises as in Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

The L.A. Lakers have a rabid following and are considered by many to be the only game in town. The L.A. Dodgers have long standing tradition and have made gains in previous years. U.S.C. is very popular among southern California sports fans. Competition and general apathy towards sports in L.A. raises attendance concerns for the NFL and potential owners. T.V. blackouts were a problem in the past.

Why is the NFL desirous of moving not only one, but potentially two franchises back to Los Angeles? The question is likely answered by the $3.1 billion dollar average annual television rights the league receives annually. That’s more than enough to withstand some poor attendance issues. The NFL is king of the hill when it comes to television. Unlike other sports leagues that are more dependent on attendance for revenues, the NFL makes the majority of its revenue from television. Having a presence in the second largest television market not only makes sense, but increase the value of the NFL’s TV package for the next round of negotiations with broadcast networks.

Despite the troubled past history of Los Angeles football, look for at least one NFL franchise to reappear in L.A. as soon as the 2012 season.

Mike Knapp
Knappernation.com

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By Chris Cabrera
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Week 5 for the San Diego Chargers


October 5th, 2012

Norv Turner and the San Diego Chargers head in to week 5 sitting atop the AFC West with a three and one record. The Chargers head to New Orleans to take on the Saints in a game that has a lot more on the line for the Saints then the Chargers. So the Chargers will need to play a balanced game while looking for a big game out of Philip Rivers.

The Chargers have gotten off to a great start with two of the three wins coming against division rivals the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs. In order for a team to win the division they have to take care of the teams in that division. That is exactly what the Chargers has done this season. In week 1 Philip Rivers threw for 231and 1 touchdown while Nate Kaeding added 5 field goals to beat the Raiders 22-14. After taking care of the Tennessee Titans in week 2 38-10 the Chargers would find themselves in a tough match-up against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons would be to much and the Chargers would fall 27-3. The team would rebound in week 4 defeating the Chiefs as Rivers threw for 209 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception while the running game added 104 yards and a touchdown. The Chargers would benefit from 3 interceptions from Matt Cassel and 3 loss fumbles in the running game. The Chargers beat the Chiefs 37-20 to move to 3-1 on the season.

Now next up is the Saints where Drew Brees has a chance to pass Johnny Unitas in the all-time consecutive games throwing a touchdown record and they also look for the first win of the season. This match-up will be difficult as the NFL has allowed suspended head coach Sean Payton the chance to attend the game due to the record. This will give the Saints some inspiration and will come out ready to play.

In week 6 Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos will come to town in a divisional match-up. This game will be an intense game as both teams have goals on winning the division. This is only the first of two between the two teams as they also square off in week 11 as well. The Chargers will need to find a running game down the stretch if they want to win the division while the Broncos look for Peyton to lead them to the post-season.

After week 6 the Chargers get a bye before getting three games against teams they should beat the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These three games will be key as the next four games comes against the Broncos, Ravens, Bengals and Steelers. All four should be tough down to the wire games with the Chargers needing at least 2 wins in those 4. The match-ups against all four of the AFC North teams will be defensive battles with the team winning making the fewer mistakes. The Chargers finish up taking on the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets and the Raiders. This gives them a chance to win the last three games and lock up the division.

The Chargers will need to continue to stop the run and play good defense while Rivers needs to throw touchdowns and not turn the ball over. This is a big season for the Chargers and Turner with high expectations on the line.

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By Chris Cabrera
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2012-2013 preview for Oakland Raiders


August 29th, 2012
Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders 2012-2013 Preview

The Oakland Raiders will be a different organization beginning with the 2012 NFL season. With the passing of legendary Raider icon Al Davis, the unwavering face of the Oakland franchise since 1963, the 2012 Raiders must now fashion a new identity beyond what Al Davis had formed. The first step of that new identity began when the Raiders traded for quarterback Carson Palmer from the Cincinnati Bengals during the middle of the season last year. The Raiders ended up with a record of 8-8, resulting in a three way tie for first place among the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers, barely missing the playoffs due to tie breakers. With a tragic and tumultuous season behind them, what will the brand new Raiders look like in 2012 and beyond?

With a new beginning supporting them, the Oakland Raiders hired new general manager Reggie McKenzie during this past offseason and in return, McKenzie hired on Dennis Allen to fill the head coaching void left over by Hue Jackson. Also, new offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp has begun to implement a new offense to help supplement both Carson Palmer and Darren McFadden.

Carson Palmer was in an intense deadlock between himself and the Cincinnati Bengals around this same time last year with Palmer demanding to be traded or else he was going to “retire” from football. About half way through the season, Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell went down with a season ending injury and the Raiders made the trade for Palmer. With an entire offseason and a new offensive coordinator, Palmer looks to regain his prolific passing and playmaking ability. Palmer will have some promising young wide outs in Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford. Both these wide receivers will look to take over the passing game in the wake of departed Louis Murphy and Kevin Boss. Darren McFadden was on pace to lead the league in rushing until he was injured and sidelined for the remainder of the season. Both McFadden and Palmer essentially have not played a regular NFL game together. With the mix of both McFadden and Palmer healthy and on the same page, the 2012 Raiders offense should be leaps and bounds better than last year.

Oakland’s defense on the other hand is something that needs to be improved. The Raiders lost defensive players Kamerion Wimbley, Lito Sheppard, Stanford Routt, Jarvis Moss, Trevor Scott, John Henderson, Quentin Groves, and Darryl Blackstock this offseason. In response to this mass exodus of defensive players, the Raiders used four of its six draft picks selecting defensive players, none of them looking like an immediate impact player. Oakland did lock up All Pro safety Tyvon Branch to a multi-year deal securing the safety position for awhile. However, the remaining secondary looks to be a prime target for opposing offensive air attacks. Linebacker, Rolando McClain looks to take over the defense but off the field issues could ruin that notion. The one bright spot on the Raiders defense is its defensive line, anchored by defensive tackles Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly.

The Raiders have gone through a transformation moving from a solid organization knowing exactly who they are and where they come from however a new chapter has begun with the passing of legendary icon Al Davis. With so many changes to the franchise and roster, it is hard to tell where the Raiders will end up when the 2012 season concludes. They play in the AFC’s weakest division but the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos have also made significant improvements this offseason however they have done it with fewer turnovers within their respective organizations. The Kansas City Chiefs have a solid team but were plagued with injuries last season. With so many variables and changes to the Raiders, the outlook for this season may not be as bright as the other three teams in its division when all is said and done.

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By Chris Cabrera
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