Wednesday Morning QB (Week 14)
The NFL season is coming to a close with only three weeks left for teams to find their way to the playoffs.
For three teams though it could very well be three weeks before they receive a new name in the 2016 season.
All because this could be the beginning of the end of having an NFL without a team located in one of the biggest markets in the country.
Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in North America and has some of the biggest sports franchises in every league.
More often than not they are the centre of the western part of a league with teams like the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Galaxy, and Dodgers all playing within the city limits, the LA Angels play in Anaheim.
They are essential parts to every league so it is only more surprising that the biggest league in North America still has not established themselves in the city.
The history of the NFL in L.A. is a long and complicated one as there have been multiple teams in the city and all have left for different reasons.
The one main reason was always that the LA Coliseum was outdated and there was no commitment from the county to build a new stadium or improve the Coliseum.
Since the Raiders moved to Oakland in 1995 there has never been an NFL team in Los Angeles but the talk of a return has never gone away.
They gained more steam when part owner of the Los Angeles Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers, Edward Roski proposed a new 75,000-seat stadium close to the Staples Center.
The rumours only increased when Stan Kroenke, owner of the St. Louis Rams, and Dean Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers, met in Los Angeles. They were there to discuss a partnership in moving both teams to a site in the city.
The problem was that Kroenke wanted to move to a piece of land in Inglewood while Spanos did not like the site.
The partnership seems to have fallen apart with both owners not seeming to get along in the last few years.
With that partnership gone the Chargers entered into a new partnership with the Oakland Raiders and in May signed a land deal with the Mark Davis, the Raiders’ owner, in Carson to build a new stadium.
That has now created two different plans that the NFL has debated throughout the summer and into December.
On one end is the Rams who want to move to Inglewood where a new state-of-the-art domed stadium has been proposed.
On the other side is the joint venture by the Raiders and the Chargers to go to a new stadium in Carson.
Only one can be approved and for the NFL it is a complicated question as they would prefer a sort of combination of the two proposals.
They want the Rams and the Chargers to come together and move rather than the Raiders who do not have as stable ownership.
Instead they need to decide on one or the other and if they don’t do it soon there is no chance for the NFL to travel to Los Angeles next season.
After owners meetings and constant debates the league is set to vote on the move in January and although it seems as though the owners are leaning towards the Carson plan the inclusion of the Raiders may cancel that plan and no team might move to the city.
If that happens it will be the latest in a long line of teams moving to LA only to stay where they are.
The city has been a bargaining chip for years as teams have used it as a way to get a stadium built in their current cities.
The same might be said here as all three teams are looking for new stadiums and have had issues in getting funding.
This time around none of the teams seem to be bluffing as all have gone far in trying to get new stadiums and none have been successful.
It seems certain that a team is moving to L.A. but the complications with both plans might make it tougher.
In the next few weeks the Raiders, Rams, and Chargers will all be playing what could be their last games in their current cities as the season closes.
For the fans it will be a rough few weeks as they wonder if they might never see their team again and if they might be moving to the west coast with the answer coming early next year.
Fifth Quarter:
(Thoughts on Week 14 in the NFL)
Caught in the Act
Washington has been fighting the demand for their name to be changed for the last two years but nobody knew just how much as it was revealed that they might be behind a Twitter that has been defending the name since the controversy began
Mallett Back under Centre
Ryan Mallett began the year in competition for the starting job in Houston but after missing team meetings he was cut from the team remaining out of football until the Baltimore Ravens signed him to fill in for the injured Joe Flacco
Bengals take a hit
The Bengals were having the best season in a long time as many thought that it could be the year that they win in the playoffs but that hope took a big hit when Andy Dalton went for a hit and broke his thumb in an injury that will keep him out potentially for the playoffs
Key Scores:
Arizona Cardinals 23 – 20 Minnesota Vikings
– The Cardinals continued their strong season on Thursday night when they beat the Vikings to clinch a playoff spot while the Vikings took a loss in what was an important game for their divisional title hopes
Philadelphia Eagles 23 – 20 Buffalo Bills
– LeSean McCoy had some extra motivation for this game as his split with the Eagles was less than friendly but he couldn’t get the revenge he was hoping for as the Eagles took the win in a tight battle that kept them in the division fight
Cleveland Browns 24 – 10 San Francisco 49ers
– The Browns began the end of their season with Johnny Manziel under centre and the young QB looked to make the best of his opportunity helping the Browns to a win over the Niners and helping his case for next year
Jacksonville Jaguars 51 – 16 Indianapolis Colts
– The Jaguars are still a team that most consider to be near the bottom of the league but they showed some signs of life against a pretty good Colts team when Blake Bortles helped to put up 51 points against a team that leads their division
Next Week:
New York Jets vs. Dallas Cowboys (Saturday December 19th; 8:25 pm ET)
– The Cowboys are somehow still in the hunt for the playoffs as the NFC East is wide open but they need to get back to winning if they want to stay in the hunt while they take on the Jets who are trying to hold onto a wild card spot
Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts (Sunday December 20th; 1:00 pm ET)
– The race for the AFC South is only getting better as the Colts try to hold onto their lead but they are fending off the Texans who are coming on at the right time and have a chance to take a very important win in Week 15
Cincinnati Bengals vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sunday December 20th; 4:25 pm ET)
– The Bengals begin life without Andy Dalton as they look to seal their playoff spot without their best player in the hopes that they get another shot at the playoffs and take their first win in the playoffs in years
Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday December 20th; 8:30 pm ET)
– The Cardinals are in the playoffs but are still looking to solidify their division title as they take on the Eagles who are looking to take the wide open East as it will likely be their only way into the playoffs this year
The Sport Addiction 