SAN DIEGO — As we sit through a bye week, it's become clear much of the smoke aimed at The NFL Team That Used To Be Here was blown away by Ravens flapping their wings in Baltimore.
True, it was but one game (the other loss, to Dallas, in which they had two TDs called back, was a win gone bad). However this time, the Judases, aka L.A. Lodgers, went to Baltimore and were frightened into submission, totally Edgar Allan Poed.
They scored six points. Again, I never tire of bending the Smokey Gaines quote: "Six more than a dead man."
After that pathetic performance, it became obvious the J's are not going to the Super Bowl, they will have trouble winning a division not as strong as so many thought, and may even need help from a team of sherpas to climb to the playoffs.
At least in their present form.
They have to get a whole lot better in the butcher shop, the meat department, up front — on the offensive line/defensive front seven — where games are won, and, six games into the season, it's a bit late to correct.
With the trade deadline coming up Nov. 2, Mean Joe Greene and Anthony Muñoz aren't walking through the door.
The O line had promise thanks to free agency, but right guard Oday Aboushi is out for the year and right tackle Bryan Bulaga is just out, as usual, and may be back for the holidays. Their replacements aren't as good, which is why they aren't starters.
Left tackle Rashawn Slater is one of the best players from the April draft, a Rookie of the Year candidate. And free agent All-Pro center Corey Linsley plays the part.
The front seven never figured to be the Steel Curtain, but injuries to tackle Daniel Jones and inside linebackers Kenneth Murray Jr. and Drue Tranquil have weakened the weak. The Browns exposed them on the ground, and the Ravens followed.
Remember, it's a copycat league.
The six points probably were an aberration. Herbert was just off. But it doesn't seem possible for this team to go far without a defense.
Why did the Bucs win the Super Bowl? It wasn't just Tom Brady. They had the best front seven that got after the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, who was without his starting offensive tackles, that's why. Can't win that way.
The J's special teams have been terrible for a decade (almost impossible). Their kicker, Tristan Vizcaino, is awful and yet he's still there (five missed extra points?). They have posed no threat, but at least they seem to be trying, having signed receiver Andre Roberts, a kick returner of Pro Bowl caliber.
They have a few things going for them. Head coach Brandon Staley has a spine, but as a so-called defensive genius, he has to find a tourniquet for the running game bleeding. And, oh, the special teams.
The schedule is not unfavorable: Patriots at home, at Eagles, Vikings home, Steelers home, at Broncos, at Bengals, Giants home, Chiefs (beaten) home, at Texans, Broncos home, at Vegas (also beaten).
They can take all these guys. Thing is, they really have no home. A drawback.
And they have Herbert, one of the very best young quarterbacks. But he has to be on. They're going to have to outscore people, as the 2020 Chiefs had to do, but the 2019 Chiefs didn't.
Smokey Gaines gives us all we need to know about six points.
