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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast…1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table..Stay for Fans Forum
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“LOST WEEKEND OF FOOTBALL”
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It was a holiday of expectation, that wound up being a disappointment.
Christmas was great.
Saturday for the Chargers..Sunday for the Aztecs was not.
Despite what the coaches had to say, something akin to Moral Victories, the losses were bad for the Bolts and SDSU.
CHARGERS…Everyone around QB-Justin Herbert failed him, regardless of what the 4th quarter scoreboard finally read.
The Texans recorded 9-quarterback sacks, five that counted, and four that were voided by stupid Houston penalties. The same old problems existed. Faltering play by the offensive line from nearly start to finish. The protection never got better.
The stunning development was the inability of Keenan Allen and Ladd McConkey to get open. They each caught 1-pass as the Bolts tried to come from behind all afternoon long. This is the same group that in some games had a combined 15-catches.
The run game went MIA, after a strong finish to the season. Omarion Hampton, the power ball running back got nowhere. In fact the run game had 15-carries for all of 30-yards.
The defense failed early, allowing 75-and-43 TD passes.
The pass rush went AWOL too, no sacks of CJ Stroud, 1-QB hit. Yes there were two picks, one on an errant throw, the other on a deflection.
And Dicker-the-Kicker, star kicker Cam Dicker, did what he has never done, missed a 32-yard field goal and a point after attempt.
It was a huge setback, in that it ends the Chargers hopes of winning the AFC-West, and giving them home games in the playoffs. It also has the potential to drop them down in the wildcard race, depending what happens next weekend
And next weekend is in Denver, and the Broncos will be playing Bo Nix and the boys, because they are still in the chase for overall home field advantage for the AFC playoffs. And where would you rather play in January in the postseason, Buffalo, New England, or at home in Denver infront of those raging maniac Orange Crush fans?
For the Chargers, once the playoffs begin, some cold weather trips, or maybe games at Jacksonville-Houston-Pittsburgh, where they have not done very well.
AZTECS…A fun season burned to the ground in one half in the New Mexico Bowl, and that (49-47) North Texas win over SDSU was pretty misleading too. Three times, Sean Lewis’ team was down 15-in the game. Another time they trailed by 22-in the game.
His quarterback Bert Emanual had the electric 72Y-TD run and got hurt. He hardly ever threw the football. And State did not have two top receivers, a prerequisite if you are going to be in a shootout. Lifetime backup Kyle Crum did everything possible in his two plus quarters of play.
Add in the defensive mess, as the Big Green piled up (618Y) in offense, including (368Y) on the ground thanks to chunk play after chunk plays by Caleb Hawkins (198R) and Ashton Gray (152R). Mix in young QB Drew Mestmaker’s 250Y-3TD day, and it was a mess.
A thrilling comeback for sure, but too little, too late, and a big disappointment. The nationally ranked defense got torched. The loss of their coordinator and their edge rush coach hurt. So did a number of players who opted out. Maybe Sean Lewis has to mandate, ‘you get NIL money here-you play all the games here from opening day thru the bowl game’.
But for SDSU, losing back to back games to end the season really stings. And Lewis has no more games to plan for. Now he needs to try and hold his roster together, barricade the door so more don’t run to the transfer portal. And figure out what to do at QB, with big question marks surrounding Jayden Denegal, and the defection of last year’s top QB recruit. Owen Chambliss-star LB leaving…DE-Tre White next likely to the NFL
And remember, the progress made on the field in a (9-4) season cannot wash away the fact the town and the alumni still don’t seem to care, AKA, terrible home attendance of just over 17,000 per game-turnstile count.
So Harbaugh and Lewis need to stop heaping praise on ‘how my team competes’ or ‘next man up’, because the expectation going in was wiped out by the declaration ‘they played really poorly’.
Christmas was great. Football right after Christmas was not great. And it makes you ache.
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