Sez Me …
Tis the season to be … ah, stupid? Ignorant? Clueless? Rug puller?
There actually are people out there carrying a silver platter _ fool’s silver, I’d bet _ who would like to see Jim Harbaugh’s head on it for Thanksgiving.
I realize these numbskulls are not legion, that the head coach of the NFL Team That Used To Be Here _ you know, the Judases, L.A. Lodgers _ could be 11-0 as he manages his way through a bye week, and a few would still bitch.
And yet there are people out there who want Harbaugh canned and run out of town on the Wolverine he came in on.
But that’s the way of Unsocial Media, an unchecked paradise for morons, who always were out there in the weeds, except now they not only have a forum, but there are jackasses who believe them.
Anyway, for this I have one word: What?
The Judases are 7-4, 3-0 in the AFC West. And I have to consider it a secular miracle. But Jim has won everywhere he’s tried, and he is the greatest team resurrector since Marty Schottenheimer.
Last year, after winning the national title at Michigan, he took over a moribund Judases team that had gone 5-12 the season before, and coached the 2024 J’s to an 11-6 record and into the playoffs.
This year was going to be better, and it started off that way, despite Pro Bowl tackle Rashawn Slater being lost for the year with a patella tear in training camp. They got by, with their right tackle Joe Alt filling in brilliantly for Slater on the left, but then Alt went down with an ankle in late September, returned, then had surgery on that ankle.
Now the offensive line is a mare’s nest. It is graded the lowest in The League, and has to be among the worst in history. They’re getting by on their fourth-string running back. Elite QB Justin Herbert has been battered.
Has Harbaugh been perfect? Hardly. Just a few games back his J’s absolutely John Wayned the physical Steelers 25-10. It had to be one of Harbaugh’s best efforts as a coach. Then last week the J’s went to play a mediocre Jacksonville team and got slapped around in every phase. Jax held the ball for a quarter longer. It may have been Harbaugh’s worst coaching job.
I guess the angry villagers don’t understand how hard it is to win with the worst O line in football. The J’s shouldn’t even be in games. And yet they have been. Despite player blunders and, yes, coaching mistakes.
But I know one thing. Jim Harbaugh can coach. And if, by some luck, they make the right moves and stay healthy, next year they’re going to be a force.
Luck. It’s all about luck. And in the NFL, luck means healthy. …
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Randy Jones has passed at 75.
Let me say this. Tony Gwynn is undeniably Mr. Padre, but Randy put people in the seats when nobody was going to games. When he pitched during his brief prime, throwing 70-mph pitches that were beaten into the ground, it was the World Series. He was their all-time draw.
I was assigned to cover what was to be his 20th win during his 1976 Cy Young season. What kind of pitcher was he? His first two outs were line drives to the center fielder. Those were the only two outs recorded by an outfielder.
He was brilliant, he was loyal, he was a Padre through and through. …
If you didn’t read Bill Center’s great piece on Randy in our Thursday paper, please try. …
Sean Payton before the Chiefs: “The team we’re playing is more of a first half team.” Everyone Denver plays at home is a first half team. People just don’t get the Broncos’ tremendous advantage at altitude, especially in the latter stages. It’s unfair. Period. …
We’re in an era where great football players aren’t getting the ball enough. And not just diva receivers. Why did the Raiders draft Ashton Jeanty? Surely not to block. …
Those who don’t run the ball enough are not winning Super Bowls. Mark my words. …
Andy Reid sure seems to be blaming Patrick Mahomes for audibilizing out of run calls. Andy, I realize you don’t have O.J. back there to carry the ball, but aren’t you the head coach? …
Why do you think distance runners train at altitude? There’s also an advantage when they come down to sea level. …
Geno Smith, on who’s to blame for the Raiders’ offensive ineptitude: “If your car breaks down going to work, blame it on me.” At least he doesn’t blame Joe Biden. …
Chip Kelly? The Raiders are paying the O coordinator $6 million per. That’s a million for every time he called Jeanty’s number vs. Dallas Monday night. …
Among the 65 most viewed TV shows of 2025, 60 of them have been NFL programs. Yeah, The League is dying. “My Mother The Car” would be No.1 in ratings if the automobile had an NFL logo on it. …
The Bills had more players go into the tent Thursday night than a Sultan’s bachelor party. …
Shedeur Sanders has a 13.5 passer rating, lowest in NFL history, lower than lobster crap. According to MLFootball, if he had just spiked the ball on every pass attempt, it would have been 39.5. …
You know, there is such a thing as picking up a flag — that’s you, officials doing Philly-Detroit. …
Football can go on for a 100,000 more years, and the zebras never — that’s never — will know how to call pass interference. They all should be reviewable. …
Tulane coach John Sumrall on his football team making the top 25: “Must be a lot of bad football being played.” An honest man.
Just think if Lane Kiffin had won something. LSU is offering him the French Quarter. …
Nothing more refreshing than seeing a kicker (Alabama’s Conor Talty) cussing out a long snapper because of a high snap. Make the damn kick. The hold was good. It was available. Kickers. …
Over the past two weeks, San Diego State has suffered two of the most improbable losses I can remember. Hawaii and Troy? Please. …
SDSU isn’t the first football team to go to Hawaii and stink it out. But the Aztecs’ men’s basketball team, at home, missing all those free throws and turning it over, was simply awful. Even for November. …
Intentional grounding penalties are too severe. Why is the down taken away? …
Look for the NFL to plant “Do Not Hug” signs on the goal posts. As my friend Zeke might say, some players were born with a clue, but it died of loneliness. …
Name your boy Gunner and he’d better be a quarterback, shooting guard or Marine sergeant. …
RIP, Kenny Easley. My choice for the best safety who ever lived. A truly great football player. …
University of Arizona’s stadium has a new, $60 million-plus naming rights partner. It now will be known as Casino Del Sol Stadium. Student/athletes are forbidden to gamble on sports. Fans can. …
The NBA is playing at such a fast pace it’s causing injuries, they say. Maybe if they started dribbling and stopped running.