Chargers and Raiders on Thursday Night Football

It's the Chargers and Raiders tonight on Thursday Night Football.  Both teams come into the game with disappointing records of 5-8.  Both teams have had a season with turmoil with their coaches and quarterbacks.  That's a horrible combination of events, by the way.

Let's start with the Chargers.  They began the season with high expectations, as usual, because of their talented quarterback Justin Herbert.  However, Herbert has battled injuries this fall and most recently suffered a broken index finger on his throwing hand.  He just had surgery on the finger and will be out for the year.  Meanwhile, coach Brandon Staley has been on the hot seat for two years and will likely be gone at the end of the season.

The Raiders already made a move at head coach and fired Josh McDaniels after eight games this season.  And the Raiders quarterback situation has not been good.  Jimmy Garoppolo and Aidan O'Connell have been inconsistent to say the least.

Somebody has to win the game tonight so let's get ready for the Chargers and Raiders with trivia on Craig Shemon and Company on ESPN Southwest Florida.

Billy Napier and the Florida Gators are at a cross roads as they enter the offseason. A late season home loss to Arkansas kept the Gators out of a bowl game. And with a difficult 2024 schedule the Gators could use all the extra practice time possible. There is little doubt the Gators will look different next season, and that might not be such a bad thing. The Florida Gators transfer portal activity is pretty one sided at this points. There are 16 players from last year's team that are at least looking at other options for their future. Look for the Florida Gators transfer portal activity to start bringing some players to Gainesville.

However one big name that announced his return early is 2023 transfer Graham Mertz. He is not the greatest quarterback in Gators history. But he should be able serve as a bridge QB until incoming Freshman Quarterback DJ Lagway is ready for the bright lights. Lagway is not the only 5-star the Gators have a verbal commitment from. Defensive lineman LJ McCray and Safety Xavier Filsaime are 4/5-star recruits depending on what service you are looking at. The Gators are still working with a top 5-10 class according to most of the recruiting outlets. But that is not going to equal wins in 2024 for Billy Napier. The Florida Gators transfer portal activity has got to start bringing some more game changing talents into the fold. Florida will need to utilize the transfer portal this offseason if Billy Napier and crew want to see the fruits of their labor that is the 2024 recruiting class.

This looks like a huge recruiting win for Billy Napier. It's always a good thing when you can beat out UGA and Tennessee for an elite prospect. Taylor should be able to fill the void left by Princley Umanmielen.

I do not know a ton about Crenshaw0Dickson, but I do know that the Gators can use all the help on the offensive line possible. As seen on the departures list, the Gators need to replace a couple of players on the offensive line of scrimmage.

Huge win in the portal for the Gators. Slackman is the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. On3 had Slackman as the #15 recruit in the portal.

Trikweze shows up in Gainesville with Power-5 experience under his belt after spending the last four seasons with the Ducks. These are the underrated types of moves in the portal. Not going to get a bunch of headlines, but it will make the Gators a better team.