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Hacksaw’s Super Bowl Preview Podcast
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“SUPER BOWL SUNDAY STORYLINES”
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Where do you start with the surprise stories heading into the Seahawks-Patriots showdown on Sunday afternoon.

How about New England going from (8-26) over two years of failure to flip this into a red hot (16-1) streak at the end of the year?  Or maybe it is Seattle arriving with a 9-game win streak and a (13-1) surge themselves.

How about the coaches, what Mike Vrabel and Mike McDonald have accomplished?

Vrabel brings in 9-veteran free agents and builds his defense around them.  It’s Vrabel’s culture, his focus, a team staying free of injuries, a team with no divas on it.

It’s McDonald’s relentless game plans, use of formations and motions, creating a diverse-dangerous offense.  It’s a sales pitch and belief, everything he draws up works, and it has, including the Legion of Doom (2.0) defense.

The matchup of GMs is fascinating.  Eli Wolfe getting the players the new coach wanted in New England, importing key components on defense..Milt Williams..Harold Landry..Robert Spillane..Carlton Davis plus Moses Morgan at RT.

John Schnieder has now rebuilt the Seahawks twice under different coaches and rosters to get to the Super Bowl.  13-Seattle starters on the top 22-came in the draft.  And when it came to veterans, you be the judge of the acquisitions, Cooper Kupp..Rashid Shaheed..DeMarcus Lawrence..Leonard Williams..Earnest Jones..Uchenna Nwosu..Julian Love.

Then there is the QB-history.  Force fed, Drake Maye has exploded in his second year under Josh McDaniel’s patient teaching.  Find a way to get it done.  Don’t worry about a bad series or a bad sack.  Get them next time.  Run the ball, throw it deep, and have the QB run (141Y) rushing in the playoffs when things break down.  And that defense makes it so tough on other teams, the Pats get the ball back quickly.

Sam Darnold, on his fifth team, has flourished under the ‘Let It Rip’ style that Klint Kubiak, the coordinator, has brought in.  Aided by great pass protection and a cross section of playmakers and running backs, this is such a dangerous offense, coupled with a fierce defense.

There will be a million questions about matchups on Sunday-take a look.

Can the Patriots run the ball on the Seattle front?
Can Seattle break off a few chunk runs vs the Pats front?
How will New England cover Jaxson Smith-Njiba-double coverage?
Can the Patriots wideouts get open against the speed group of Seattle DBs?
Will Drake Maye stay upright against a strong Seattle rush?
Will Sam Darnold not get fooled by pre-snap reads and the Pats designs?
Can New England’s young OT-OG pass block better?
Will the Seattle brick wall offensive front-stone wall the Pats?
Will it be a field goal kickers game?
Will it be a field position game?

Going to be fun come Sunday.
That’s what I am looking for.
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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Super Bowl Podcast..Thursday..1:30pm
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“AZTECS FOOTBALL-NEW YEAR-NEW CHALLENGE”
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An awful first year.  A very good second year.
Sean Lewis is about to embark on Year 3-of Aztec Fast football.

He still has search parties out there to find an electric offense.
He still believes he needs continuity to build the program, ‘finish the climb’ he says.

The year he replaced Brady Hoke, some 35-players jumped ship into the transfer portal.  His (3-9) season was a rebuild on the run and it was painful.

Year two saw many players stay within the program, thanks to an NIL influx of money, and the end result was an impressive (9-3) finish and a bowl game.

But this off season was marred by 25-more defections into the transfer portal, including his key defensive stars.  Add in those who are graduating, and Lewis is looking at putting another expansion type team on the field.

He has brought in 27-more transfers, and the revolving door at QB-seems to be continuing, a problem that plagued Rocky Long, Brady Hoke, both defensive whiz guys, but now has become an issue for the architect of Aztec Fast.

National Letter of Intent day has come and gone.  More quarterbacks are in the mix.  Last year’s starter is recovering from shoulder surgery, as are two top receivers.

The Aztecs coach brought in a unique mix of players, an SEC-QB…3-OL from the Big 10..some speed specialists from Oregon…and a cross section of players from 1AA-Division II and the JUCO ranks that they can coach up.

The surprise to me, of the 51-names on their recruiting list, only two from the hotbed of high school football in San Diego.  Hard to believe no one in this once football made city was impressed by Lewis’ past track record of building programs, or last year’s hot season. Of course the so-called Aztecs-4-Life Alums must not be impressed either-they still don’t come to the home games at what has become ‘Soccer City Stadium’.

Alot more work to be done for sure.

Lewis had plenty to say on Signing Day:
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Coach Sean Lewis:

This staff did great job in December with high school signings
We retained a key group of players retention wise
We retained 21-of-25 key players
Bringing in 27-via transfer portal
8-from Power 4-conferences
6-from 1AA conferences
Group quality JUCO players
Added 22-high school recruits
We are in top 10-in retention rate nationwide
QB from Kentucky…OT from Indiana
Group from Oregon
We believe #2 in Portal Class in the new Pac 12

Interesting puzzle to come together…can they fit..can we afford them
We know where we have the most success..kids we can develop
New faces-new places-now make them fit

What we learned from year one was not enough quality-quantity
Our haul in transfer portal helped us alot

Continuity..No one has a handle on this chaos…it is changing so rapidly
We do some things well but we cannot keep them all
Cost of doing business is developing players-who move on
It is a win-win
Direction we are all going is really messy-monumental moment
Alot of things going on are good for the players
We navigate it well…doing it better than most
Players we developed made 3M-transferring.
I believe in the process and the people doing the job in the building

No spring portal so we have 9-weeks in a row with our players
This will be strong spring
QB-Jaden Denegal will be ready for spring-coming off shoulder surgery
WR-Jordan Napier will be a bit further behind rehab
WR-Donovan Brown coming back is huge
RB-Lucky Sutton-Christian Washington back is huge

First time since 2021 I am not breaking in a new QB

Jaden Denegal is a warrior-core culture is toughness-that is special..He was banged up..yet prepared to play as well as he could…Lost two of his top receivers halfway thru the season

Our needs, rebuild trenches and add to the secondary
Getting some kids to return from the portal..trusted us for last year of journey

We have alot of new coaches in this building..add more manpower-more wisdom…OL-LB-DE-bring alot of experience

Stone Saunders-QB-Kentucky..knew him from recruiting him in high school..he visited us at Colorado..came here by virtual of UK coaching change…Live arm..comes from coaching background…wired the right day…More throw than run

WR-Justius Lowe-Oregon…has more muscle mass about him
WR-Aldrich Doe-Bryant…Physical-caught alot of balls
WR-Marshall Sanders…Sequoias-accomplished alot at smaller level
OT-Evan Lawrence-Indiana..Played in 7-games

Our schedule-adding James Madison and UCLA will be fun
Alot turnover in Pac 12-new staffs at Oregon State-Washington State
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“NFL-VS-MONEY-VS-UNION”
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Time out from all the conversation about the Patriots-Seahawks game

Time in for talks about what’s going on off the field in the NFL, and big topic of discussion.

More games to be played, more games for the fans to watch, more money for the owners.

It’s called the ‘March to the 18-Game schedule’.

An interesting essay from Front Office Sports..about the discussion, pros-cons and the bottom line.
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SAN FRANCISCO — The NFL’s push for an 18-game regular season is gathering steam, despite more tempered comments from commissioner Roger Goodell. The NFL Players Association is well aware of that, but the union insists there is still “no appetite” among its membership for an expanded schedule.

Citing a wide range of concerns regarding player health and safety, and a potential degradation of overall career and earnings opportunities, the union insisted that adding to the regular season was not inevitable.

“The 18th game is not casual for us,” NFLPA interim executive director David White said Tuesday. “It’s a very serious issue. It’s something that comes out of negotiation, and nothing will move forward until players have the opportunity to account for all of [the] factors, take that into consideration, and then through negotiation, agree—or not—to the 18th game. But as it stands right now, players have been very clear. They don’t have any appetite for it.”

Those comments followed those of Goodell on Monday during his Super Bowl press conference, where he insisted that “we have not had any formal discussions about it and, frankly, very little, if any, informal conversations. … It is not a given that we will do that.”

That measured stance contrasts somewhat from the commissioner’s own remarks at the NFL annual meeting last spring, but dramatically from those of Patriots owner Robert Kraft just last week. Speaking on a Boston radio station, Kraft talked about an 18-game season as if it were a foregone conclusion.

“Every team will go to 18 [regular-season games] and two [preseason games] and eliminate one of the preseason games, and every team every year will play one game overseas,” Kraft said on WBZ-FM.

The latter portion of that comment also leans directly in to the NFL’s fast-growing global ambitions, furthered with Monday’s reveal of three additional international games in the 2026 season to create a record total of nine. Kraft’s remark also roughly matches another Goodell comment from the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, where he said on The Pat McAfee Show that he would “rather replace a preseason game with a regular-season [game] any day, that’s just picking quality. If we got to 18 and two, that’s not an unreasonable thing.”

Player Concerns
Beyond the issues cited by union leadership around adding an 18th game to the regular season, individual NFL players continue to point out the need for greater compensation. Already, the NFL salary cap for 2026 is projected to be between $301 million and $306 million—more than $20 million greater than this season, and about 50% higher than the level of just four years ago. But there could be a push for even more in return for the elongated schedule.

“If the 18th game is on the table, there’s going to have to be some talks about what makes that worth it to the players,” said Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp. “And we’ll get to that point. We’ll cross that bridge.”

The current labor deal between NFL owners and players expires in 2030, but the rising discussion surrounding the 18th game continues to suggest the potential for an implementation earlier than that. That, too, would require players agreeing to reopen the current deal.

“The league has been more proactive in stating their wishes and their desires,” said NFLPA president and Bears linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin. “But there hasn’t been any true negotiation about that happening.”

What is generally agreed on, though, is that the question of an 18th game is a far more complex matter than just changing a preseason game to a regular-season one. Instead, the potential move raises many questions about scheduling, competitive balance, a potential second bye week for each team, and the overall league calendar.

Further complicating the issue is the union’s ongoing leadership transition amid several overlapping scandals. White took over as interim director after Lloyd Howell quit over questions about his spending and various conflicts of interest; the organization is now searching for a permanent leader.

“As [the NFLPA] determines their priorities, we are doing the same at the ownership level so that when we get together, we can address these issues together,” Goodell said.

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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast
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“NFL STORY LINES”
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Big stories before we get to the Big game on Sunday.

Questions for Commissioner Roger Goodell:

TV DEAL…As NFL ratings explode and the world leans more and more towards streaming, is the NFL going to take a big payday and put the Super Bowl on Pay TV-streaming?

EPSTIEN REPORT…So how do you determine the truth of fact-fiction, lies, half-truths, name dropping in the 433-Emails between the Sexual predator and New York Giants owner Steve Tisch?  This falls under the Personal Conduct Policy Code for owners-does it not?  And what if other NFL owners names show up in future documents?

18-GAME SCHEDULE…It s always about the money, so therefore you go forward with an 18-game schedule, players health be damned.  What price do you attach to the players health?  What do you give the Union?  2-bye weeks for each team?  An increase roster from 53-to-65 players?

INTERNATIONAL PLAY…9-games abroad this year, again to sell the game globally and to generate more global revenue.  But what kind of impact does it have on quality of play and the travel impact on teams?

ROONEY RULE…A near record 10-openings and only one minority hired, despite demands each team interview 2-minority candidates for head coach, and all coordinator jobs.  How do you protect that these are nothing more than ‘Check the box’ interviews, like what led to the ugly Brian Flores-Discrimination Lawsuit that is going to trial?

FRANCHISE SALES…With the Seattle Seahawks going on the block, after the Washington Commanders record (6B) price tag, are owners willing to mandate that teams up for sale, must consider selling to minority groups?

REPLAY BOOTH…You have the technology, should the mandate be ‘get every call right’ and therefore you adopt the ‘Throw the Flag’ booth review?  You know, if the booth replay shows a face mask, and helmet hit, and late roughing call, and egregious hits away from the play, you can call down and tell the ref ‘throw the flag-you missed a key call’.  It should be about getting all the plays right-right?

Questions worth asking the Commissioner.

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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast…(1:30pm)
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“AZTECS BASKETBALL..NOT WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE”
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Part of me expected more from San Diego State basketball this winter
Part of me understands teams and players are never the same year to year

We have become so used to wins-not losses, dominance not downturns, we are spoiled.

SDSU is (15-6)..in second place in the conference, have half a season to get healthy and get ready for the MWC tourney.

What a waste of time fretting over Quad 1-wins, strange losses, crybaby criticism of refs, trips to altitude.  Just play and get better.

And SDSU has, at least till the trip to Utah State on Saturday in  that 10am body time start.

Knew it would be hard.  The Aggies are (17-3), play really well at home, have a mixture of veterans, transfers, athletes and grinders.

They are built differently than SDSU with bluechip recruits, an electric blend of young athletes, and some select veterans.

Searching for consistency is still a big story for the Red & Black.

Looking for outside shooting to become part of their DNA.  Hoping the rebounding gets better.

For Miles Byrd, wondering where his game has gone, for someone who spent the summer working with NBA players, I expected more and his team needs more.  No consistency from Wednesday to Saturday.  For every 23-point game, there are clinkers.  Byrd 1-basket one game; 3-hoops the next.  Long stretches where he does. not touch the ball.  Some days he strokes it, other days he disappears.  Saturday he was (3-of-12) shooting

Magoon Gwath’s physical issues continue to be a problem, and who knows what his conditioning is like now with the hip injury, and where his real confidence is all the months after the knee surgery.  Not the same player for sure.

As we move thru the halfway point of the winter schedule, looking for BJ Davis to bounce back to form.

Really pleased with the grit of Reese Dixon-Waters; the growth of Pharow Cooper; the flashes of Elzie Harrington; the overall improvement-toughness of Miles Heide.

The emergence of Tae Simmons and Taj DeGourville has been impressive and they pile up more and more minutes each night in conference play.

But Saturday was an example of why SDSU is not where we thought they would be.

Defense was fierce for chunks of time.  Other times they got beat down the floor.  They got blasted (46-21) on the boards.  SDSU had 1-basket in a (7:25) stretch, then went scoreless for nearly (4:00) in another.

Gone quickly were 11-point leads and 7-point leads.  USU had spurts of (11-2) and (9-0) vs the Dutcher-led defense.

Leading scorer MJ Collins was (0-10) shooting, then buzzed off back to back threes.
SDSU let the Aggies bigs, Karson Templer-Ad Elamin combine for (35P-15R) and dominate in all the traffic.  Somehow the Utags won despite 18-turnovers and 10-missed free throws.  Somehow USU survived (6-26) on 3s.

Not the end of the season, for there is still time left on the clock.  Still time to get guys back, further define roles.  Hope Byrd can be what he was a year ago.  Still time to come together.

But it is obvious, SDSU is not a national power this year, despite the blend of really good young athletes playing lots of minutes.  Very evident too, they are Public Enemy #1 in every road game they play, target on their back, getting the best effort other teams have when you go into their building.

The USU loss felt like SDSU got a dose of its own medicine.  Beaten by a rugged defense; creamed on the rebound stat sheet.  Saw the other guy hit 3’s to incite a raging crowd. Hit critical free throws at crunch time too.

We have seen alot of great basketball in the Steve Fisher-Brian Dutcher era, but this team is not one of those type teams.

Not who we thought they might be, not yet, but still time to get better, hopefully.

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