Modern Kicks

to hell with making it interesting

Well, that turned out to be a bit harder than it needed to be.  For the first time in a long while (since the end of 2003, maybe?), I was enjoying the prospect of a game that didn't go down to the last few plays and have me screaming at the tv.  But we couldn't have that, could we?  Bob Ryan gets it mostly right, anyway.  I'd note that, while they have some talent and aren't among the worst teams out there, no one expects big things from the Jets.  It's not clear what a win over them, even on the road, really means (though on a separate note, Buffalo may be better than people thought, or more likely Dante Daunte Culpepper and Miami are just far worse.)  Concerns about the Patriots defensive linemen and linebackers don't seem to be panning out--how about that Junior Seau?  Vince Wilfork's personal foul was one of the few errors they made.  The other big one was really a coaching decision: blitzing on third and nine when it was obvious that the Jets were going to try to put the ball in the hands of Laveranues Coles.  Yes, the secondary still should have tackled him, but a situation was created in which the Jets' best receiver, a guy with good speed and moves, had an open field, a blocker, and most of the Pats' defense behind him.

The other major tackling error getting the secondary in trouble this morning involves the Jerricho Cotchery touchdown.  Again, no excuse for not wrapping him up and making sure he was down--and smart thinking on his part to get up and go as fast as he could.  But that was a fluke of a play, even if it did remind me of a similar one by Ricky Williams several years back.  Given the way they collided and went down, there was almost no way the defenders could have grabbed Cotchery before he was off, even if they realized what had happened.  In any event, after last year, I'm not inclined to complain about a secondary of Harrison, Hobbs, Samuel, and Wilson.  That's a more dependable, consistent group than the Patriots have had in two years, and several of them have now played together for a while.  I'm not missing Hank Poteat,  and anyone who doubts Harrison or Wilson when it comes to hitting hasn't been paying attention.

The single biggest difference on the defense seems to me that this year's Pats don't quite seem to have the killer instinct for the ball they had in their Superbowl years.  Samuel's got it, and there was Bruschi's late INT (though made in heavy coverage), but you don't see the defense scoring or creating opportunities they way they did in the past.  On offense, what to say?  Meet Troy Brown, your number one reciever!  OK, maybe not, but it's a distinct relief to know that New England can run the ball.  The tight end attack has yet to really materialize, and the other receivers remain--even with Jackson's touchdown--largely unknown and unproven.  As for kicking, well, "Gostkowski" just doesn't have the same ring as "Vinatieri."

season's end

Unless you count the Pro Bowl, that is.  And if you do, you need to get a life.  Nothing much to say about last night that hasn't already been said.  Atrocious calls, terrible play, still the Seahawks could have won - but Pittsburgh made enough plays and they didn't.  No, it wasn't fair that the refs seemed to want Seattle to make their plays twice to count, but still:  compare the dropped passes by Seattle players (not just the much-maligned Jerramy Stevens, either) and other incompletions with the tough grabs Hines Ward made.  Beyond everything else, that was the difference.

I was ok with this Super Bowl, really.  I did want Seattle to win, but the emotional appeal of Pittsburgh didn't escape me.  I remember watching Lynn Swann as a kid, I like their style of football, and the team is a different one from a few years back when they were really annoying.  I didn't mind that the Steelers fans in Detroit booed Tom Brady in the MVP parade  - he's still an active player, after all - though doing the same to Roger Staubach at this late date lacked class.   The Bettis storyline was way, way overplayed, but the fact of his accepting a lesser role on the team in order to keep going and win was sort of thing one doesn't see too often.  Knowing how much the city of Pittsburgh would get out of a win, and how devastating it would feel a loss, it was hard to root against them - like kicking a hurt dog.

Could someone bring me a hurt dog, please?  Because I'd really like to kick one now.  I can't pick the exact moment I realized this, but this one will suffice: Troy Polamalu interviewed after the game, talking about this victory shows that the Steelers are the best team in football.  Okay, fine - they won the Super Bowl, bragging rights are theirs, and we all have to live with it.  Then he went on to adduce as evidence of their greatness the fact that they beat the Patriots.

Please.

"One for the thumb" is for the fans; Palamalu has one for the ring finger and that's it.  He's a fine player, but what exactly did he do yesterday?  Not much, as far as I could tell.  And - let us not forget this - the Steelers last beat the Patriots in 2004, October 31st to be precise.  Last season.  For the Steelers, that campaign ended with the AFC Championship game - which they lost to the Patriots.  As they would lose again, when the two teams met most recently in 2005.  You remember that time - a depleted New England team was being given up for dead in the midst of brutal first-half schedule.  They beat the Steelers then, and despite the Broncos game, I'd like their chances in a rematch.

But there's no need for me to go on.  Somewhere, I am sure, Rodney Harrison is out there, training.  I picture him on the bike, or lifting weights.  When he is tired, he walks over to his tv.  He has TiVo.  He watches a few 2006 Super Bowl highlights; he watches Troy Palamalu's comments.  And he goes back to work . . . inspired.

schadenfreude is second best

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! He chortled in his joy.  Oh yes.  I'm not sure which to be happier about.  No, wait; although vengeance against Denver was sweet, seeing John Fox deflate on national television, while Steve Smith sulked on the bench, was far sweeter.  The Carolina bandwagon had grown deep and wide over the past week, but that, my friends, was an old-fashioned asskicking that Seattle delivered.  The Steelers, too, though they let Denver play its own offense too much for my taste.  Fortunately Jake returned to form, and Broncos fans will be left to wonder if they can ever really depend on him when it matters.

So who to pick?  I'll admit to being sentimential enough to feel the attraction of Pittsburgh.  It's a scrappy town with not much besides football to lift its spirits.  The Bettis storyline will be beaten into the ground before we get to the game, but that doesn't mean it's not a good or genuine one.  The obvious angle is blue collar industrial town vs. effete, Starbucks sipping, security impaired operating system designing, high tech white collar town  If you have to ask where your sympathy lies in that case, you shouldn't be a football fan.  But still; Seattle is a freebie.  It's like, if they win, the Patriots are still sort of the champs.  We can pretend, at least.  And hey - I like salmon.  Pittsburgh may feel like a team of destiny, but Seattle seemed more complete yesterday.  I'm gonna wait and see.  Now, can I get a venti latte?

ashes and dust

Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard:
    I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass,
    He hath stripped me of my glory,
and taken the crown from my head.
He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone:
    and mine hope hath he removed like a tree.
He hath also kindled his wrath against me,
    and he counteth me unto him as one of his enemies.
His troops come together, and raise up their way against me,
    and encamp round about my tabernacle.
He hath put my brethren far from me,
    and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.
My kinsfolk have failed,
    and my familiar friends have forgotten me.
They that dwell in mine house, and my maids,
    count me for a stranger:
    I am an alien in their sight.
I called my servant, and he gave me no answer;
    I entreated him with my mouth.
My breath is strange to my wife,
    though I entreated for the children's sake of mine own body.
Yea, young children despised me;
    I arose, and they spake against me.
All my inward friends abhorred me:
    and they whom I loved are turned against me.
My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh,
    and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.
Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends;
    for the hand of God hath touched me.

Go Bears.

UPDATE: Ack.  Will no one rid me of these meddlesome Panthers?  Go Seattle, dammit.  And Pittsburgh, for that matter.  I didn't expect to see the Manning face again this season, I'll admit it.  I just hope the Steelers and the Seahawks aren't too banged up to prevent a Superbowl of pure evil.

for your pleasure

Some links:

- I may not have gotten around to saying much about the Bellini exhibit, but WBUR has.  Lots of pictures, too.

- Big, Red, & Shiny offers the best and worst around Boston in the past year.  Mathew Nash takes a look at the best and worst aspects of the MFA and it's relationship to contemporary art.  I may have a few comments on the issue later.

- You know, I didn't actually have the heart to read this, but for those who like to hit themselves in the head with a board, Lee Siegel on Iron Chef.

- ARTNews writes that most art theft today is done by the "Balkan Bandits".  Could be, could be.

- Show some respect.  You know, there could be a silver lining to a Patriots loss: it might mean that those awful commercials with them and the Pepsi machine go away faster.  Probably not, as we're still suffering through the downward spiral of Donovan McNabb and Chunky Soap.  But one can hope.

chicago hope

I sacrified viewing today's early game in order to take in the Gardner's Gentile Bellini and the East, which in retrospect was a very good decision.  More on the exhibition and other sights at the museum later; now I must note that it is up to the Bears to end the season of the NFL's most annoying team, the Carolina Panthers.  Certainly there's a little satisfaction at seeing young Eli get so thoroughly humiliated, but really, it was not a difficult task for what is (I admit) a very talented defensive front.  Take away Tiki and see if the boy can do anything - the obvious game plan.  The Panthers did it well, but now it's time to put this to an end.  I know Chicago is offensively challenged, but c'mon - you don't have a defense like that and let yourself get smacked around by a bunch of punks from Carolina.  A man named Lovie has to be tougher than that.

Elsewhere around the league: I hate to say it, but just as too much shouldn't be read into Carolina's victory, the same goes for the Pats.  Both are the sort of one-sided wildcard victories that make too many people think that the team in question is going to roll through the playoffs.  I hope the Pats do, but I'm giving these games about the same weight as Indy's victories over Denver and Kansas City in the past couple of year's playoffs, i.e., not much.  New England is capable of beating Denver, and the Colts for that matter, but doing so will be a much tougher task.  What I really want to know, though, is how psyched is Seattle?  I can't even imagine what the line will be on that game.  Seattle's defense isn't as tough as the Bucs, but it won't have to be.  The Redskins are a shadow of a team at this point, victors of a game that was two great defensive plays away from being a 10-3 loss.  They could do nothing.  Nothing!  Just think of Brunell huffing toward the sideline, only to turn and throw against his body to the middle of the field; I don't follow them, but lord, Patrick Ramsey must have really been awful for Gibbs to want that in the game.

I returned home and watched a chunk of the Steelers-Bengals.  Awful luck with Carson Palmer, but I kept with it until nearly the end of the third quarter, when Jon Kitna started to do his rodeo clown routine.  Sad, sad, sad.  I had the Bengals in as a sentimental second choice, in case things didn't work out for the Pats.  It was a long shot given Cincinnati's defense, but I didn't figure their run would end so quickly.  Am I a believer in the Steelers?  Not really.  Nice pass rush, but a healthy Bengals team or any one with a defense that didn't bite so bad on trick plays probably wouldn't have lost the game.

My hope: a Patriot Super Bowl, of course, but if not that, a loss with dignity and anyone but Carolina as the ultimate victor.  Even the Colts, though if possible, not them either.  My advice: if you are in the greater Boston area, get yourself to the Gardner early and often to see the Bellini exhibit.  It's small, but special.

don't call it a comeback

So I hear there was a football game last night.  I find it hard to get too excited about college ball, partly because I have no one to root for - Boston College is the only program of note around here, and that doesn't do much for me.  It's also that the overall quality of play is so poor by comparison to the NFL.  Watching last night, I couldn't help but think that Vince Young, despite his obvious talents, will have a lot to learn when he turns pro - especially if he thinks he's gonna run like that.  In fact, if my favored team were the Texans, I would work hard to resist the desire for them to draft the local hero.  Last night aside, Reggie Bush still offers the best package for professional play.  Anyway, I wanted Texas to win and am happy they did so.  Now the cognitive dissonance caused by Pete Carroll being associated with football dominance has ceased, and we're all thankful for that.

Meanwhile, in real football news, the Comeback Players of the Year have been announced.  That's right, players: Steve Smith tied with Tedy Bruschi in the voting.  That's nice.  Knee injuries A broken leg, which Smith suffered, is bad.  It can end a player's career.  On the other hand, may I remind you that Bruschi was recovering from a stroke.  And heart surgery.  Things that don't just mean you start doing color commentary for the local sports radio now that your playing days are over.  Because you are too busy relearning how to walk and talk.  Granted, it was a minor stroke.  Tedy was lucky.  But the fact that eighteen voters looked it over and thought to themselves, "well, playing after a stroke - just because no one's done it before means it's that impressive.  I'm going with the knee injury broken leg!"  I know Smith is a receiver, and getting his speed back is impressive - and he's had a good year.  Still, I don't know how you rank that not-unprecedented achievement with what Bruschi accomplished - especially given the style of linebacker he is and the impact his return had on the team.

The guy who voted for Rickie Williams, though - he's the one that's beyond hope.  What the heck is Williams supposed to be coming back from - the munchies?  Pathetic.

UPDATE: the Sports Illustrated version of the AP's story on Smith and Bruschi seems to be an early, inaccurate version - he had a broken leg, as revised.  Obviously the rehabbing is somewhat different, but my points stands.  Since I'm revisiting this post, I'm raising the below from comments.  Kriston reminded me that Bill Simmons would provide all the mockery of Pete Carroll that anyone could wish, and he was right.  Plus this gem:

8:17 -- Highlight of the game so far: LeAnn Rimes belting out the National Anthem, followed by a cut to Matt Leinart with a pensive, "Have I had her yet?" look on his face. He's the best. We need to figure out a way to get him on the Jets next year.

Perfect.

oof

The thing I dislike about Monday Night Football is the 9 PM start, which guarantees a post-midnight bedtime if you want to see the whole game.  Not a problem last night.  As a wise man used to say, you are what your record says you are.  Right now that means the Pats are looking at mediocrity, with occasional flashes of what might have been.  Those moments aside, one shudders to think how little separates New England from, say, the Browns.  The revenge of parity, I suppose.  On the other hand, think of how lucky we are compared to Cleveland: even with all that's happened, the Patriots are still likely to win their division and make the postseason.  To some degree that only delays what seems inevitable, but it's better than missing the playoffs as Philadelphia seems likely to do.  And one can always hope . . .

bring it

As much as I'd like to bring it this week, it's going to be hard to do so.  I'm destined to spend the next several days in hotel conference rooms, subsisting on stale mini-bagels and trying to take notes.  I'll check in when I can, but computer access will be limited.  Think of me sometime.

However: if you would like to bring some flavor to a weeknight macaroni and cheese, substitute a couple ounces of Sugarbush Farms Hickory and Maple Smoked Cheese for the same amount of the usual.  A bit pricey, but hard to find more flavor for the ounce.  Also good: some diced roasted red pepper, and a generous hand with the thyme.

Otherwise, wait until Monday.  For they will be bringing it to Foxboro for sure (Bugmenot.)  It is so on.

Yes. Yes, it would.

Asked if he saw strippers or sex on his boat, Moore said, "Sex? What are you talking about? That's crazy. Look man, I'm engaged. That would put me in trouble."

(Bugmenot)