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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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Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast…1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table..Stay for Fans Forum
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“NFL OWNERS…LOOKING FOR COACHES”
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A most interesting time in the NFL, as these 10-job openings begin to fill up.

An interesting time looking at one trait across the board in some of the cities, bad ownership.  Not in every case, but in many cases.  A team-by-team look:

RAVENS…Greatness in Steve Bisciotti, who has guided Baltimore in a near two decade run, but he felt the messenger and the message had gotten old.  Star QB, tremendous RB, young defense, good draft record.  We see if he makes the right hire.

STEELERS..The Rooney family has owned this franchise since the 1930s.  A foundation of stability, values, integrity and trust.  But they need a ‘reset’ in what they do on offense, in the draft, and what they run.  Will the next hire be an offensive mind or come off a defensive tree.  As great as they are, they are not what they were.

GIANTS…Iconic Mara-Tish ownership fabric, but have lost their way with GM-hires and in turn coaching hires.  The sweep to get a proven winner, John Harbaugh, signals a new approach.  Had to considering they are (44-104-1) since Tom Coughlin left a decade back

TITANS..Huge-huge issue with leadership decisions, front office feuds, coaching mistakes.  The late Bud Adams must be turning over in his grave.  Just because you are from a football family does not mean who can be what your dad used to be.

ATLANTA..A great civic minded owner in Arthur Blank, a brilliant business man, but mistakes in his football business.  We see if Kevin Stefanski can bring this franchise back quickly.

CLEVELAND…Dysfunction junction-owner, interference and it goes on and on for team Haslam.  They have problems everywhere.

MIAMI..Steven Ross may be rich, but this Dolphin run is nowhere near the legacy that Don Shula left behind decades ago.  If you screw up at quarterback, it takes years to recover.

BUFFALO…They rebuilt it under Marv Levy, then did it again under Sean McDermott, but Terry Pegula seems impulsive and out of touch.  The talent base is superb and they hope the right hire takes them over the top before the clock runs out on Josh Allen.  Should have stayed the course.

ARIZONA..A nightmare for a long time, even if they won under Bruce Arians, who vacated.  If you want to track something, figure out how many head coaches have failed there, and how many front office lawsuits Michael Bidwill is involved in.  Searching for stability, won’t get it there.

RAIDERS..Mark Davis, you are not Al Davis.  Maybe Tom Brady can make a difference.  But the first set of choices, the Pete Carroll hire, was disastrous.  All you need to know about Raiders football is this:  since 2002-their last playoff win, the Mark Davis led franchise is (131-242).  The scoreboard does not lie.

Rate Em…some good gone off track.  Alot of bad out there in the ownership ranks.

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“BIG STORIES–BIG REACTIONS”
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Stories you are following, I have opinions on.

NY GIANTS..Pretty snazzy opening press conference for new coach John Harbaugh..about wanting to be on the biggest stage (NY)..biggest sport (NFL) for the biggest challenge (Super Bowl).  Right guy for right situation.  Walks in the door with Jaxson Dart, Cam Skateboo, Malik Nabers, a young OL and a young defense that needs guidance.  Win-Win.

BUFFALO…Still stunned over the firing of Sean McDermott and the promotion of Brandon Beane, who made all the roster decisions.  Here’s the big story behind the story, since the drafting of Josh Allen, Beane has drafted just 2-Pro Bowl players out of his last 56-draft picks and whiffed on a number of free agents.  But there are those around the NFL who told me, all coaches have ‘shelf life’ and McDermott’s expired at 9-years.  Brian Daboll returning there, Joe Brady staying there might make sense.  Calling Mike Tomlin would make more sense.

PITTSBURGH…If all they are doing is interviewing guys with defense stamped all over their resume, how does that fix the glaring problem there?  You know, no QB since the Roethlisberger era, no skill players with deep threat speed?  No creativity on offense?

TENNESSEE..1-meeting-surprise hire in Robert Saleh.  He does inherit Cam Ward, does inherit a rugged defensive front, but also has holes on offense to fill.  And it’s been a front office filled with chaos.

ATLANTA…Connect the dots, Kevin Stefanski to Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins, and this makes sense.  Right leader to make a decision on Michael Penix at QB, and add on to the skill people they have, the Falcons could be fixed sooner than later.

MIAMI..A surprise hire in Jeff Hafley from Green Bay.  Did think they would go offense.  Have to solve the QB-Tua, and WR-Tyreek situations, so they have not solved everything yet.

RAIDERS..Tom Brady-Mike McDaniel-that would be an interesting hire with QB-Fernando Mendoza coming in as the 1st round pick.  Raiders always go after the shiny object-how about a legitimate hire?

RAVENS..Waiting to see when-who they hire, but these 2nd interviews with Jesse Minter-Chargers and now Joe Brady-Bills makes me believe they are ready to move.

BROWNS..Questions everywhere at this hour-hire someone to fix the offense, or continue the growth on defense, which makes me think elevating Jim Schwartz is the right deal.  But it does not solve the Bermuda Triangle situation at QB, Deshauh Watson-Dillon Gabriel-Shedeur Sanders.

ARIZONA…Anybody really want to work for Michael Bidwell and the front office fiasco’s that have plagued the team?  Raheem Morris brings stability.  But you still have to sort out the Kyler Murray mess.

CHARGERS…A critical hire a week after the firing of the Off Coor-Greg Roman..the Tuesday night job offer…impressive convincing Mike McDaniel to bypass potential head coaching offers to take the Bolts job…The hire comes on what McDaniel did for the first two years with Tua Tagovailoa before all the injuries set in…Assume he will be in LA for a year or two-add to his resume-then leave for a head coaching job…Step one to help Justin Herbert.  Now about the offensive line?

Random thoughts about all the stories everyone is talking about.
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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
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“INDIANA-MIAMI…HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT”
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Indiana, with a lifetime chip on their shoulder, dropped the hammer and anvil on Miami on Monday night, and power balled their way to the National Championship title.

It was football-but it resembled a 12-round heavyweight fight.

A Hoosier start you’d come to expect, at one time, outgaining  the Canes (151-26)….10-to-1 on first downs…and 32-14 snaps for an early lead.

But there was no quit from the Coral Gables crew, with halftime adjustments, they powered themselves back into the game, with big runs, and bigger pass plays.

Heisman hero Fernando Mendoza survived 3-brutal hits in the first half, should have been flags, but were not thrown, but kept in there making plays.  His tough guy 12-yard TD run was exquisite-important.

And Charley Becker made game saving catches, one on 4th down, another on 3rd down that broke the Canes spirit.

Then the blocked punt for a TD by Mik Kamara gave the Hoosies breathing room in the 2nd half.

Carson Beck unveiled some big time pass plays in the 2nd half rally too, thanks to the dynamics of his freshman wideout Malachi Toney.

His RB-Mark Fletcher lugged his team back into the game twice with a 57Y-TD run to stop the bleeding.

And as they got to the final minute, the Hoosier sledgehammer defense made enough plays to put a lid on Beck and the Canes.

Both teams spent their timeouts so it came down to big play QB vs big physical defense.  It was great theatre…and it ended with an interception at the 10-yard line for the IU win.

What an ending, or maybe a beginning for Curt Cignetti.  Get the trophy.  Get a (27-2) record over two years following thru a promise…’all things are possible’.

Indiana Hoosiers, once upon a time a basketball kingpin, now a college football king too.

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Hacksaw’s Monday Bonus Podcast…1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on the Table-Stay for Fans Forum
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“NFL PLAYOFFS…WINNING GREAT…LOSING HURTS”
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RAMS-BEARS..Bitter cold weather….Stone cold Chicago defense that got heated up…Rams started hot and then Matthew Stafford could not complete passes-went (8-18) in one stretch…Caleb Williams struggled early and then started hitting passes…Rams defense came up big with an overtime interception in at 22…Had prior 4th down stops of Bears drives at the 1-2-and-30….Chicago tied game on desperation 45-yard TD heave with (:18) left in game to tie it…but failed to get into scoring position to win in OT…Gut check win for Rams…Gut wrenching loss for young Bears team.

SEAHAWKS-SAN FRANCISCO…Seattle showed it was a complete team…the Niners showed they were living on borrowed time with all the injuries…It was awful at the start, the Seattle 95Y-TD return of the opening kickoff and it got worse…Then it became 17-0 and then 31-6 and finally 41-6…Seattle slam-bammed their way to the win behind RB-Kennent Walker..and the defense rough-housed the Niners from start to finish with 3-takeaways and 3-fourth down stops..The season long run from all the injuries finally caught up with the Niners…The message in the Pacific Northwest-a warrior type Seahawks team.

BRONCOS-BILLS…A game that was a winner to watch but everyone came out a loser…Gut wrenching for the Broncos to lose QB-Bo Nix on a meaningless kneel down play in the 4th quarter…Heart breaking to see Josh Allen do what he did, lead the 17-point comeback but then see his team self destruct in an avalanche of 5-turnovers..And of course the raging argument..catch-no catch-interception costing Buffalo the chance at a game winning OT field goal…The Bills outgunned the Orange Crush defense, putting up (494Y) in the loss…Denver now has to find a way to win with journeyman backup QB-Jarret Stidham.

PATRIOTS-TEXANS…Headline should read QBs under siege…Somehow Drake Maye survived…CJ Stroud self destructed…Phenomenal TD catches by Boutte-Diggs…Horrific 4-interception first half by the Texans QB…Heroic defensive effort by Will Anderson and the Houston defense (5-sacks..9-tackles for losses…holding the Pats 3-for-14 on third downs)..but all they got was a loss…So much for the Houston 10-game win streak…Another Sunday to play for the (16-3) Pats.

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