Tomorrow’s the preseason opener, so I have to write something. I’m just fucking with you, FAITHFUL READER. You didn’t think I’d be able to stay away forever, did you? I probably won’t watch the exhibition premiere live but will certainly suffer through it after the fact. I am happy to see that Anthony Lynn isn’t planning on playing the starters very much. Seriously, what good can come from it? I Tweeted out last year that Hunter Henry shouldn’t even be practicing even though I didn’t think in a million years he’d get hurt for the year. To his credit, he came all the way back but barely played in the game against the Patriots. It wouldn’t have mattered unless he played defense that day.
Melvin Gordon clearly wore down and people blamed Wisenhunt for calling that trick play that he got hurt on against Arizona. Now we are playing Arizona in our yearly summer game and Gordon is still in Florida. Like most Boltheads, I instantly blamed the Chargers for his holdout. All the arguments came back. “Dean is cheap,” “The Organization Is Stupid,” etc. The team has had problems with paying its talent going back to Fred Dean. With the passing of former DC Tom “Boss Hogg” Bass last week, one can’t help but wonder what might have been if Gene Klein had kept Big Hands. Fouts even had his issues with ownership as did Kellen Winslow. I read that Winslow had former Chargers on hand to support his son during his trial. I’d love to know which ones, given what he was accused of.
Anyway, this doesn’t appear to be usual Charger stupidity. Gordon wanted a new deal and the Chargers offered to make him the 4th highest paid running back in the NFL. It’s not just that Gordon refused the contract, but that he seemingly was so insulted by it. I don’t know if that’s reality or just posturing. I know this is all about leverage, etc. I’m listening to Matt “Money” Smith right now say that Gordon is getting exactly what he deserves. However, he also predicted that the Chargers aren’t budging. His agent, Bilbao, seemingly has made it so that Gordon can’t just accept the deal. Smith also gives an excellent assessment of Gordon’s flaws. He sees Gordon up front every week and mentioned that Gordon misses the easy holes in an attempt to break off a long run.
That’s a point that many fans have made before. I can’t tell you how many gifs I’ve seen of him missing a massive opening. I’ve never heard anyone say that in the media, especially from someone so close to the team. As long as they have an inkling that Bosa wants to stick around I don’t have a problem with them standing firm on their offer. This is what happens when you have good players, I guess. I don’t give a shit about the value of the running back position and if Bell set the market when he signed with the Jets. Considering the Jet GM admitted they overpaid for Bell and was promptly fired after the signing, I don’t think they feel the market is set correctly. I’m sure the Rams aren’t thrilled with the money they gave Todd Gurley, since he couldn’t play in the biggest game of the season.
Anyway, I don’t think this will resolve itself for a bit. I won’t allow myself to get too sucked into it, even though I love Gordon and want him back. There are many other stories that came out of training camp. Okung’s embolism is no joke, although I don’t understand why the Chargers don’t have more depth on the line. Okung looked like a bit of a bust after a great first year with the Bolts. Now we can’t seem to live without him. But everyone knows the team doesn’t have a great offensive line. I fear that we’ll finally discover this year that Forrest Lamp just isn’t that good. It’s crazy to say given how highly rated he was by so many “experts” coming out of college. But Feeney was too and he’s been pretty disappointing. He’s better than Joe Barksdale, but that’s not saying shit.
It will be interesting to see how the receiving corps look without Tyrell Williams. Mike Williams was everything we could have hoped for last year. Travis Benjamin has been a bust but did make arguably the biggest catch of the year. Plus, we finally have a new punter. We just don’t know who it will be yet. Lastly, Mike Badgeley has a mullet.
This is also Jerry Week, which is why I’ve posted the pic above. It’s from Woodstock, which is also celebrating an anniversary. Once the summer ends, we’ll be spending a lot more time with each other. Until then, be well. I was picking up a prescription with my daughter when a Stop and Shop employee came down from the upstairs lounge to comment on my Bolt hat. He mentioned how there aren’t too many of us because we’ve never won a Lombardi. I didn’t have it in me to give my whole backstory. Plus, there will be plenty of time for that next month.
JIC,
RLW
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