================

Hacksaw’s Monday PODCAST”
You Tube Channel-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton-Sports

Look-Listen-Share-Subscribe

 

===================
“AFC-West–Worst?”
===================

It’s not what we expected to see, the disarray in the AFC-West.  Hop-scotching around the division.

CHIEFS…Not a perfect start to the season, for lots of reasons.  Andy Reid laments the turnovers on offense.  The fans and media should lament the constant changes in the roster that for the first time seem not to be working.  The free agent loss of LT-Orlando Brown to Cincinnati, has put more protection problems on the shoulders of Patrick Mahomes.

The wide receiver group is young and inconsistent.  You’d expect more from a younger veteran like Kadarius Toney, but he has not delivered with any consistency.  Dropped  passes, sloppy routes, unable to shed DBs, are all part of the equation.  The same for 2nd year wideout Skyy Moore.  They just have not done the job, yet.

Travis Kelce cannot do it by himself and this team does seem to miss departed free agents like Ju Ju Smith and Mecole Hardman, who were key contributors a year ago.  There is no Tyreek Hill on the roster anymore.

And there is no Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator, who not only was strong as an X-O guy but who coached those receivers hard in practice.  This year’s group sure does not look like, nor act like, nor run the routes, the Chiefs have in the past.

CHARGERS…On paper, they look so dangerous, on offense.  So much expected from incoming offensive coordinator Kellen Moore linking with QB-Justin Herbert.  They are completing alot of passes, but the big chunk plays have yet to surface.

The season ending knee injury for WR-Mike Williams hurts.  TE-Gerald Everett has not caught as many balls as expected.  And Austin Eckeler’s high ankle sprain has taken away the run game and the outlet passes to him.

On paper there were questions about the defense.  On the field the questions are still there, stopping the run, defending the pass.  And the expulsion of high priced CB-JC Jackson has hurt the team’s depth. The record is an unimpressive (2-2).

And don’t look now what’s next on the schedule, an angry two loss Cowboys team, two games to come with the Chiefs, plus Detroit, Buffalo, and Baltimore.

RAIDERS…I am so impressed with QB-Jim Garoppolo.  He manages games so well, can win some for you, and is (41-19) as a starter, from New England to San Francisco and now in Las Vegas.

We know about the greatness of Davante Adams, isn’t it about time to unveil top tight end Mike Mayers?  And will Josh Jacobs become a force running the ball like he was a year ago.  So far he has been MIA.

So many unanswered questions though about this team.  Any pass rush help coming for Maxx Crosby?  Can the secondary actually cover anyone?  Who in the world will surface as trustworthy pass blockers to protect the QB.

And a bigger question, about Josh McDaniels.  Not much of a record when he got fired in Denver.  Now an unimpressive-spotty  record again, this time with the Raiders.  As a head coach-he might be a good offensive coordinator.

BRONCOS…Haven’t won a home game yet this season.  There was the (70-20) Miami oss.  The Jets ran for (242Y) on Sunday against what used to be a good Denver defense.

Russell Wilson is playing better this year, but there is no run game, and 4-top receivers have been hurt from the start of camp on.

Sean Payton has his hands full.  Many thought he would hit the floor running with success.  It’s been nothing but problems, blowouts, injury lists and hurt players so far.

Lots of games left, but the AFC-West has been the worst so far.

=================================

“TOPICS ON TABLE-THOUGHTS”

==========
PADRES..So nothing happened this year with the Padres, according to the world of GM-AJ Preller.  Nothing wrong with an (82-80) record?  Nothing subpar from 4-of your top 5-paid stars having substandard seasons?  No worry that two top pitchers, Darvish-Musgrove, are coming off arm problems?  Not to be concerned with what your staff looks like next year if you let Blake Snell-Josh Hader depart as free agents?  Not sure what the bigger problem that exists upstairs at Petco Park, the dysfunction we saw, the degrading of the talent level, or the denial from the General Manager?

DODGERS..First though I had watching Clayton Kershaw’s first inning meltdown against Arizona, more shoulder issues.  Worst start of his Hall of Fame career, all one-third of an inning of it, that resulted in a 6-run opening inning.  All this infront of fans at Chavez Ravine, and now the reality you need Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn to win their next two starts. And in the shadows, you wonder if pitching ace Julio Urias has any guilt for getting himself thrown off the roster-out of the clubhouse in the alledged domestic abuse case.

ANGELS..They need leadership, they need experience in the dugout.  They need to take a close look right now at proven star manager Buck Showalter, and then begin the process of fixing an oft-injured roster. And of-course, find a way to stay in the bidding for Shohei Ohtani.   Firing Phil Nevin as manager, least of the what’s wrong issues in Anaheim.

TAMPA BAY..99-win season, knocked out two straight  in the wildcard round, infront of two home crowds of 20-and-19,000, the two worst playoff attendances since 1919-the Reds-White Sox Black Sox Scandal series.

CHARGERS..Nice decision made by Brandon Staley, John Spanos, Tom Telesco, giving a (5Y-82M) free agent deal to secure Patriots CB-JC Jackson, only to find out he could not play press coverage, wasn’t a student of the game, and never took responsibility for bad play.  So the Bolts, who paid him 31M-to play 9-games, shipped him back to New England, paid virtually his entire salary, and got just a 6th round pick back.

RAMS…Don’t know how long Matthew Stafford can stay upright but his gunslinging has made LA a team to worry about.  RB-Kyron Williams, the ex-Notre Dame star, has had some impact, as has rookie Puka Nacua.  So far so good, but it is a 17-game season.

NEW ENGLAND..We looking at the end of the era of Bill Belichick, another blowout loss in a losing season in a (1-5) start.  Belichick is now (25-30) since Tom Brady left.  QB-Mac Jones has regressed, and there are no offensive playmakers that side of the ball.

STEELERS…Offense not producing at all.  Defense being asked to do too much.  Matt Canada under fire.  Best offensive coordinator out on the street, anyone have Greg Roman’s phone number?

HOT WATER WASHINGTON…Ron Rivera under fire for poor play.  QB-Sam Howell sacked 29-times already this year.

GIANTS GROUNDED..They snuck up on people last year-but have not done much since the mid season start.  QB-Daniel Jones took 11-sacks last week.  RB-Saquon Barkley is out again with injuries.  They have no WR-group.

RAIDERS..What to make of Coach Josh McDaniels.  Failed in Denver.  Looks like he is failing in Las Vegas.  Constant roster churn yearly, failed draft picks.  Do you think McDaniels is the right guy?  Has he ever done anything as a head coach?  Does Mark Davis know what he is doing-sure does not look like he inherited football genes from Al Davis.

CHIEFS…Not what they used to be in terms of explosiveness and Patrick Mahomes is carrying more of a workload.  They won’t say it, but maybe they miss Eric Bieniemy more than they let on, not just XOs, but how hard he coached the receivers in practices.  Sloppy routes, dropped passes are part of this year’s Chiefs offense.

EAGLES-NINERS..The two most complete teams in the NFL, offense-defense, personalities-coaches.  Don’t think you want to argue that.

TROJANS..Caleb Williams running for his life all night, made enough chunk plays to give USC a triple OT win over Arizona.  May be unbeaten but won’t finish this way and won’t survive the playoffs.  The offensive line leaks oil.  The defense cannot stop anyone, on the round or thru the air.  They gave up (506Y) to the Arizona Wildcasts.

BRUINS..Chip Kelly’s rep is offense, but his defense is carrying this team, as witnessed by the big win against Washington State.  Dante Moore continues to grow as a QB, but the Bruins defense is a big difference maker.

PAC 12…All these ranked teams in the polls, the Year of the QB in this league, and the terrible sadness this is the final fall of league play.  What a farewell tour we are watching from Oregon-to Washington-the Trojans-Bruins -Beavers-Cougars and all things Coach Prime in Boulder.

MOUNTAIN WEST…What a year, Air Force’s brand of tough guy football, Fresno State extending a 14-game winning streak, and the special season Wyoming is putting together in  Laramie.  More things to think about that the troubled Aztecs or the up and down season Boise State is having.

 

Hacksaw on Bye Week

Back next Monday

 

Thanks for following

Lee Hamilton

“BIG STORIES–BIG OPINIONS”

———————–
PADRES POW-WOW….The falling out between AJ Preller and Bob Melvin seems a really deep chasm…I don’t know how you feel the same about the guy you work for after what we saw and heard this year.  If I am king, Peter Seidler is, I re-define Preller’s role and restructure Melvin’s responsibility.

Preller gets the players and works the contract.  Melvin runs the clubhouse and the  dugout and the games.  Given them the 2024-season to rally this team.

The Padres finished (82-80)-but so what.  They won 13-of-15-but so what.  They won 11-of those games against the worst in baseball.  So they underachieved.

Here’s my game plan for the Friars:

..Bump up Blake Snell from 16M to 20M-with incentives that could get him to 25M and club options for 2025-26.  They rallied his career.  Out of loyalty-he should stay
..Juan Soto should get 30M in arbitration and the challenge to repeat what he did this year,next year.  You can always offer him a mega extension or trade hin in 2024 if need be.
..Josh Hader should go to 20M-state of the art relievers get that..no more-no less
..Michael Wacha is worth 10M a year, no more than that because of injury history.
..Seth Lugo deserves a minor bump to 10M-no more than that
..Gary Sanchez should earn 5M on a 1-year extension but Luis Campusano is the future.
..Nick Martinez is worth a pay bump from 5M-to-8M for his diverse rolls.

Those pay bumps will cost this team 46M-additional money next year.

You clear money away by letting go of Drew Pomeranz 10M deal; you do not offer Trent Grisham 9M; you do not bring back Ji Man Choi-Rich Hill-Luis Garcia-Tim Hill-Austin Nola.  You re-do the Matt Carpenter deal so it frees up some of the 8M-he is owed that final year.  That gets you to about 25M in cuts.

You have Wil Myers-Eric Hosmer’s dollar figures now off the books for 2024 and that should push you to nearly 45M there.

The calculus is complex.  I bring the group back with a new set of rules and regulations for the GM-Manager, and reintroduce the words ‘Accountability-Leadership’ at 1-Tony Gwynn Way.

The bottom of the roster must be retrofitted for better contributions, more chemistry additions than raw talent.

It all starts today at Petco Park.  They need to fix it because this was a wasted season, a ripoff of the fans, and a year’s erosion for an older baseball team that has the clock working against them.

===================================
..

=================
“A FOOTBALL WEEKEND”
==================

Random thoughts about interesting games this weekend.

CHARGERS-RAIDERS…So here’s the most interesting question as the Silver & Bleak invade So Fi Stadium on Sunday afternoon.  The loser goes to (1-3), so this is a big game this early in the season.

The Chargers pass defense remains awful, as in ranked #32 in the NFL.  The Chargers overall defense is ranked #31.  So is this the weekend Josh Jacobs runs wild, after ending his holdout and having little impact on the Raiders offense since he returned?  If there is no Jim Garoppolo at QB, does lifetime journeyman backup Brian Hoyer put up some big numbers with WR-Davante Adams?  Is this a breakout weekend for the Raiders offense?

Or is it a  blowout weekend for the Chargers offense, considering how bad the Raiders defense is.  Raider fan can cheer all he wants, but his defense is giving up (347YPG)…quarterbacks are completing 74% of their passes and on 3rd down, teams are converting 46% of the time vs Las Vegas.

Interesting to see who survives Sunday.  Somebody’s season could be over by end of the game.

RAMS-COLTS….Part of me expects LA-QB-Matthew Stafford to go crazy against the undermanned Colts.  Part of me expects Anthony Richardson, back off concussion protocol, to have his hands full with Rams DT-Aaron Donald and an LA blitz package.  But part of me also understands the Rams gave up a ton of sacks last week, they have injury issues already along the offensive front and the run game is negligible.  Anything possible including an Indy upset

MIAMI-BUFFALO…Biggest game of the year and why not.  Tua Tagovailoa-Tyreek Hill-Jaylen Waddle are torching everyone when the Dolphins have the ball.  But this is Buffalo’s defense we are talking about-and they make it tough on everyone to move the ball.

So we have a real showdown here.  Tua has a (122QBR), (1,024Y) passing and 8 TDs.  The receivers are averaging 20-and-16 yards a catch

But the Bills are giving up just (253YPG)…and that gang already has 12-sacks and 9-takeaways, and they are allowing the other team just (31%) on 3rd down conversion rates.  Oh by the way, Josh Allen and that offense are averaging (383YPG) when the Bills snap the ball.

JAGUARS-FALCONS…Hard to believe the Jags lost last weekend.  They take it out on Atlanta

DENVER-CHICAGO…Can’t get any worse for the Broncos after last weekend’s (70-20) beating in Miami?  Sure it could if you lose to the talentless Bears.

RAVENS-CLEVELAND…Jim Schwartz defense vs Lamar Jackson’s skills at quarterback.

BENGALS-TITANS..Joe Burrow looks limited with that calf injury.  Ryan Tannehill looks old and no longer adequate at QB.

BUCS-SAINTS…No Derek Carr (shoulder)..that means Jameis Winston against his old Tampa team, which has a pretty good defense.

EAGLES-WASHINGTON..Sam Howell was sacked 9-times and threw 4-picks last weekend, and now he has to face the fierce Philadelphia defense

VIKINGS-CAROLINA…Young-vs-Old..Bryce Young-vs-Kirk Cousins.  Both teams need a win badly

STEELERS-HOUSTON…CJ Stroud meet JJ Watt.

PATRIOTS-COWBOYS…Dallas comes off a bad loss.  New England’s defense playing better than offense.

49ERS-ARIZONA..By any metric, offense-defense, the Niners look like the most complete team in the NFL.  Pity Josh Dobbs-the Cardinals QB

CHIEFS-JETS…Cannot get much worse for struggling QB-Zach Wilson.  Sure it can-here comes KC.

SEATTLE-GIANTS…Two teams that play like Jekyyl-Hyde.  You never quite know which team shows up
==================================.