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NFL Billionaire’s Los Angeles nightmare

IT WAS supposed to be this NFL billionaire’s big day but it turned into an expensive disaster that has made his team a laughing stock.

Coliseum Stadium looking empty on Opening Day
Coliseum Stadium looking empty on Opening Day

The NFL is back and boy are we glad that it is. It had been a whopping 215 days since we last saw professional football players take the field in a competitive manner and there have been plenty of standouts and disasters during the opening week.

ANYBODY THERE?

Matt Longacre and teammate Connor Barwin celebrate.
Matt Longacre and teammate Connor Barwin celebrate.

AFTER moving the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles, billionaire Stan Korenke would have to be second guessing his investment despite the Rams opening their 2017 NFL season with a comprehensive 46-9 win over the Indianopolis Colts.

After bringing in a new coach and impressive displays during the pre-season, Jared Goff led the offensive onslaught while the defensive unit continually harassed the Colts QBs.

You would have thought that with the signs from the pre-season and a new coach, the fans would have flocked to catch their team in action; think again.

Luckily for the Rams it wasn’t the only game that fans seemingly forgot, or didn’t care, about. The 49ers welcomed the Carolina Panthers and one of the games most exciting quarterbacks in Cam Newton into Levi’s Stadium, but after a dismal few seasons fans don’t seem to have the want to head out and see their team in action.

MORE PROTESTS MAKE NOISE ON OPENING DAY

Marshawn Lynch takes a seat during the National Anthem.
Marshawn Lynch takes a seat during the National Anthem.

PROTESTS during the national anthem became a major talking point last season after Colin Kaepernick kneeled during every game, that trend has continued into the new season as several players took a knee or sat during the national anthems in week 1.

After video emerged of Seattle Seahawks defensive linesman Michael Bennett being held on the ground by Las Vegas police, the Seahawks player sat during the anthem while his brother, Martellus, stood on the other sideline with his fist in the air.

In his return to the NFL, Marshawn Lynch again sat on the bench while his teammates stood.

IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS

PLAYING your first game can be a daunting and nerve racking moment for any player but it seems that this season there are more standouts than in years gone by. In the opening weekend a bunch of records were re-written on both sides of the ball.

It looked like the first game nerves may have gotten to Kareem Hunt as he fumbled the ball on his first run against the New England Patriots, luckily for the Kansas City Chiefs he bounced back in a big way. Finishing the game with 246 yards from scrimmage and claiming the record of most ever had by a rookie in Week 1.

Being the younger brother of a champion player can be a tough act to follow, just look at Gold Coast AFL star Gary Ablett’s brother Nathan Ablett. T.J Watt entered his first game with the Steelers and did something JJ has never managed to accomplish on the field. Becoming only the third player in NFL history to have two sacks and an intercept on debut.

While still a long way to go to catch his older brother, he can lay claim to family bragging rights for this week.

STARS FAIL TO FIRE

Terrell Suggs sacks Andy Dalton.
Terrell Suggs sacks Andy Dalton.

THE opening games of an NFL season can be a trying time for players, adjusting to new schemes and players around them. While pre-season action is good to blow out a few cobwebs, nothing prepares you for the intensity of an actual game day and it caught quite a few players off guard.

Injury ravaged the Bengals offensive unit last season but with a host of players back in the lineup, Andy Dalton was expected to be able to put major points on the board. Things didn’t go according to plan as Dalton threw four intercepts while also being sacked five times against the Baltimore Ravens.

Luckily for Dalton he wasn’t the only big name player who had a week to forget, Carson Palmer threw three intercepts while being sacked once and Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell had his poorest scrimmage performance in four years with a total of 47 yards.

Originally published as NFL Billionaire’s Los Angeles nightmare

Original URL: https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/american-sports/nfl-billionaires-los-angeles-nightmare/news-story/de0dbddde50c31dcd99dc6e003ef81ea