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As is tradition around here, we like to interview the blog of the team that the Ravens will inevitably lose to each week. This week's monologue brought me to Bolts From the Blue, their editor, John Gennaro, was kind enough to answer my questions.
1.) The Melvin Gordon project obviously hasn't gone to plan yet. While Gordon is still a very talented back, can you tell us what has been holding this first-round pick so far?
Depends on who you ask. Lots of people will tell you that the healthy of the offensive line, which has been a major issue, is what is holding him back. However, most of the experts agree that he's too hesitant in choosing which hole to run through.
2.) When I look at the Chargers' game logs for this year, I see a ton of close losses. What has held back your team from winning these tight contests?
It's actually the other way around, really. The team has a penchant for getting behind big early in games (double-digit deficits in the first quarter are the norm around here), and by time they get things going it's too late in the game to do anything but make it seem kinda close. For instance, they lost to the Raiders by 8, but Oakland went into prevent defense when they were up 34 points in the 3rd quarter.
The only game this isn't true for was the Chargers' last road game, against the Packers, where San Diego played very well and came just a few yards away from sending the game to overtime. What held them back in that game is what dooms them in all of their other games: a lack of talent.
3.) The Chargers' special teams unit is ranked 31st in the league. Jacoby Jones has -2 punt return yards on the year. What gives?
The unit, outside of the punter and FG kicker, is a trainwreck. The coverage units stink and the return units are worse. Jacoby Jones looks like he's perfectly happy cashing his paycheck and calling for a faircatch each time, and that's not a terrible thing because when he does catch the ball he usually goes backwards instead of forward. From a coaching standpoint, this unit is embarrassing.
4.) For those of us out of the loop, can we get just a quick idea about what's going on with relocation? Are the Chargers leaving or staying in San Diego?
It's about 50/50 right now. The biggest stumbling block is that the team and the city don't want to build at the same location, and so negotiations between the two have broken off. The NFL is now working in their place, as a proxy of sorts, but they won't for the Chargers to accept a location that they don't want.
5.) Obligatory score prediction.
33-30 Ravens.