All Ball Sports: Brandon Staley Must Go
By Paul Teetor
Somebody please stop Brandon Staley before he completely destroys the Los Angeles Chargers season — for the third year in a row.
The Chargers Head Coach did his level best to cost his team a victory in Sunday’s must-win game against the Minnesota Vikings, but he was saved when the Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins proved even more inept in his decision making.
Both teams came into the game with 0-2 records, and were desperate for a win. Only three times in NFL history has a team started 0-3 and made the playoffs, so the stakes for both teams were as high as they could possibly be this early in the season
Here’s the situation that Staley faced: The Chargers had the ball with fourth down and one yard to go on their own 24-yard line with 1:57 to play while clinging to a 28-24 lead.
Common football sense called for him to punt the ball to the other end of the field and force the Vikings to march 75 yards – or more – with little time left and only one timeout. Since the Vikings needed four points, not three, only a touchdown could hurt the Chargers. A field goal would still leave them with a one-point lead.
So it’s a no-brainer, right? Kick the damn ball and force the Vikings to march 75 yards or more against a pretty good Chargers defense – Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Derwin James are all great players — with little time left in the game.
But noooooo… Staley had a better plan: run for the first down and effectively end the game right there.
Only one problem: the run failed – Staley gave the ball to Joshua Kelly, a guy who gained exactly 12 yards on 11 carries for the day – and now the Vikings had the ball on the Chargers 24-yard line instead of their own 24-yard line.
And their quarterback, Kirk Cousins, while in the bottom half of the second tier of NFL QB’s, was competent enough to be a serious threat to get the touchdown. After all, he only needed 24 yards.
Cousins drove them to the five-yard line and had a touchdown pass lined up on the last play of the game. But his pass in the end zone was slightly behind his receiver, who knocked it into the air. Chargers linebacker Kenneth Murray saved the day when he caught the ball for an interception to end the game.
Staley has a history of making crazy decisions under pressure, and this was far from his worst. That had to be his decision to call a timeout in the last game of the season two years ago. The Chargers were playing the Raiders, and according to the convoluted playoff math, if the game ended up tied both teams would go to the playoffs.
The Raiders had the ball at midfield with the game tied 31-31, and appeared to be content to run out the clock. Until Staley, out of nowhere, suddenly called a timeout. That bizarre decision motivated them to drive deeper and kick a field goal, which eliminated the Chargers from the playoffs before they could get started.
Then last year, in the first round of the playoffs, quarterback Justin Herbert was so good that he drove the Chargers to a 27-0 lead. What followed was a Chargers meltdown powered by bad Staley decision after bad Staley decision – until they finally lost 31-30 on the last play of the game when Jacksonville kicked a field goal.
The truth is Staley should have been fired right then. NFL coaches have been fired for far less. But General Manager Tom Telesco didn’t want to do it because he would have to admit he made a mistake in hiring Staley after he spent exactly one season as the Rams defensive coordinator.
Staley was hailed as a defensive genius when he was hired, but the truth is the Chargers defense has been among the worst in the league since Staley arrived. Only the greatness of Justin Herbert has kept them in games, and that was the pattern again Sunday against the Vikings.
Herbert connected on an incredible 40 out of 47 passes for 405 yards, and this time it was enough to overcome Staley’s incompetent coaching. But at some point, the Chargers are going to need to win because of their coach, not in spite of him.
That’s why Staley should be fired. Herbert is a great quarterback, but in the NFL not even a great quarterback can overcome a lousy coach week after week.
Redondo Finds a Quarterback
Niko London had big shoes to fill this year while trying to replace 6-foot-6 Christian Hunt, Redondo’s star quarterback for the last three years.
After four games, in which he took a back seat to the running game, London took a giant step towards filling those big shoes by passing for four touchdowns in Redondo’s 43-20 thrashing of West Torrance Friday night.
The convincing nonleague win pushed the Sea Hawks record to 4-1, and established them as one of the favorites, along with traditional powerhouse Palos Verdes, for the Bay League title as they begin league play next week at Culver City.
London threw touchdown passes to Bo Ausmus, his brother Max Ausmus, star wide receiver Nate Stiveson, and Cadence Turner. On the ground, Sea Hawks running back Ethan Maleman chipped in with two touchdown runs.
Defensively, outside linebacker/defensive back Theron Sutton and defensive back Collin Kelly both helped the offense by coming up with interceptions against West Torrance quarterback Eli Brandt.
Redondo coach Keith Ellison said his team’s quick 16-0 start was helpful when penalties became an issue later in the game.
“We just had a good focus to start the game,” Ellison said. “So, yeah, I’m kind of happy with how we started, not really happy with the middle of the game. Got a little sloppy, a little undisciplined.”
West Torrance (0-5) was unable to take advantage of an opportunity deep in Redondo territory on its first drive and never recovered. The Sea Hawks’ defensive line made it tough for the Warriors to generate much yardage in the running game.
Redondo needed just four plays, capped by a 30-yard TD pass from London to Stiveson, to jump out to a 7-0 lead.
When they got the ball back the Warriors, who were facing a defense that has posted two shutouts, squandered an opportunity at the Redondo 21-yard line. A botched snap, delay of game penalty and a missed 39-yard field goal try left them scoreless.
Leading 10-0 after one quarter, the Sea Hawks pushed the lead to 16-0 on London’s 55-yard connection to wide receiver Bo Ausmus.
“We came out with a lot of energy and I think that really put us ahead,” London said
Torrance later took advantage of a shanked 8-yard Redondo punt to start on the Redondo 22. They cut the deficit to 16-6 with 4:38 left in the first half.
But with less than a minute left in the first half, Maleman tacked on a 7-yard TD run to give the Sea Hawks a 22-6 lead at the break
London gave all the credit to his receivers and his offensive linemen for his outstanding day. He completed a very efficient 13 of 18 pass attempts for 227 yards.
“We just want to give the ball to the players that’ll give us the best opportunity to score and we’ve got a lot of guys that can do that,” he said. “It’s good to have momentum, but all that really matters now is league play. We’re just going to put this in the rearview mirror as we go ahead and get ready for Peninsula next week.”
It was just a couple of years ago that Redondo football hit rock bottom and led to a change in coaches. Now the Keith Ellison era is off to a flying start for the second year in a row.
Brutal non-league schedule leads to a brutal record for Mira Costa
The nightmare season continued for Mira Costa Friday night.
Costa lost to undefeated Villa Park 28-13, a loss that sent the Mustangs spiraling to a shocking record of 0-5 on the season. The only good news: Mira Costa has a chance for a much-needed re-set as it begins league play next week.
“At some point, you just want to have a successful outcome,” Mira Costa coach Don Morrow said. “These guys have put in so much hard work, but do not have much to show for it.”
Not to make excuses, but Costa has played the toughest non-league schedule in recent Bay League memory. Its five opponents – St. Francis, Mayfair, Damien, San Juan Hills and Villa Park – entered Friday’s games with a combined record of 23-2. Damien, San Juan Hills and Villa Park were all undefeated when they played Costa and remained that way after they played Costa.
Indeed, all three teams are ranked in the LA Times top 25 prep teams in the area. Villa Park is ranked 19th; Damien is ranked 20th and San Juan Hills is ranked 21st.
Costa is hoping its brutal non league schedule has taught it some lessons that will come in handy once league play starts at Culver City Friday night.
“I like the fight they are showing,” Morrow said. “We are in it at times, just like tonight, but we just have not been able to get over that proverbial hill.”
Costa generated little offense in the first half, only scoring six points on two field goals by Nico De Sisto of 25 and 29 yards. They trailed 14-6 at halftime.
Mira Costa kept it close through the fourth quarter. Costa quarterback Nico De La Cruz connected with Charlie O’Connor for a 19-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to pull within 21-13 with 8:13 left.
But Villa Park put the game away with a 1-yard scoring run by Dominic Ancich with 6:43 left for a 28-13 lead.
Without much of a running game, it was left to De La Cruz to produce most of the offense. He completed 16 of 36 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown and had one interception.
Star wide receiver Reese Leonard turned in his usual strong performance with seven catches for 87 yards, and O’Connor finished with eight catches for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Nate Lewis led Villa Park by completing 7 of 11 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns – including an 81-yard bomb to Spencer Jarrell on the second play from scrimmage that set the tone for the whole game.
This disappointing loss sets up a crucial game for the Mustangs Friday night. If they can’t produce a win at Culver City, which is not projected as one of the stronger Bay League teams, the whole season could be in peril with an 0-6 record.
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com. Follow: @paulteetor. ER