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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“SHOWDOWN SUNDAY”
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Sunday will be fun, to see who survives, who punches their ticket to the Super Bowl.
There is no Kansas City, no Eagles, no Ravens.
There is an LA Rams team seeking its 3rd Super Bowl berth in 10-years. There is upstart New England, from worst to first. There is a great Denver defense without its quarterback. And there is the reincarnation of the Seattle Seahawks.
A quick look with storylines to pay attention to:
RAMS…Matthew Stafford is back, with 49-TDs on his ledger this year, complimented by big play WRs Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, two power backs, and a suddenly healthy defense. Big question, does Stafford get the ball out before Seattle’s defense gets to him? Second big question, does all of Stafford’s playoff history allow him to survive what is coming from Seattle’s schemes?
SEATTLE..Sam Darnold has an oblique injury and the Hawks are without one of their running backs. The defense is almost equal to the Legion of Doom fame. Darnold has to prove he can hold up against the Rams. His history, turnovers, getting sacked 9-times last year in the playoffs by LA, and throwing 6-picks this year. Who is the real Darnold? Will the Seahawks massive defensive front stuff the Rams run? Can the blitz knock Stafford out of sync? Who wins the WR-CB matchups?
NEW ENGLAND..How impressive is Drake Maye, after he rallied his team to go get touchdowns against the vaunted Chargers defense and the overwhelming Houston defense? How dominant is this Patriots defense, physical upfront, and cohesive on the back end in their coverage packages? What surprises will Mike Vrabel unveil against the Broncos backup QB?
BRONCOS..A myriad of problems now with the offense. Jarret Stidham has not started a game in three years. He will be asked to manage the game, not lose it. But Bo Nix was the catalyst off which everything happened with that offense. How does Denver run the ball, when that is not part of their makeup? And how does the WR-group, somewhat erratic, get open against Christian Gonzalez and his posse in the Patriots secondary? And of course the biggest issue, can Stidham cope with what the Patriots did to Justin Herbert-CJ Stroud the last two weekends?
WHO WINS…Taking the Patriots and the Rams to go to the Super Bowl.
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