tv: Glee returned last night for its fourth season. After the end of last year, there was a lot of work to do. The third season ended at an emotional apex, with a significant portion of the original cast saying goodbye after graduation, not to return to McKinley High. Santana was seemingly foregoing college to move to New York (although we found out last night she did go to college with her cheerleading scholarship), Mercedes moved to L.A. to pursue a career in pop music, Mike Chang moved to Chicago to join the Joffrey Ballet, Puck moved to L.A. to start a more lucrative pool cleaning business, Finn joined the army, and Rachel moved to New York. With all of these main characters set to leave the show and Kurt's future after graduation uncertain, the shows future was equally uncertain.
Season four picked up with Rachel in New York struggling to deal with her mean as hell dance instructor, played by a bitchy as ever Kate Hudson. Over the course of the episode we find that Rachel is quite lonely. Her roommate is isolating her through her slutiness, and her dance teacher, Hudson's Cassandra July, is making her doubt her ability to succeed. Through this Rachel finds a new friend, Brody, played by Dean Geyer, who helps her realize she is not as alone as she thinks. Given nothing else than Brody's good looks, this seems to be set up as a possible New York post-Finn love interest. But Personally (and I hate saying that, I don't want to be too personal) I think she could just use a friend to help her find her way. And one way or the other they seem to have something good to work with between the two of them in terms of chemistry.
Meanwhile, at McKinley, the glee club is dealing with their new-found popularity and stardom rather poorly. They have fallen in with the "popular" kids after the win at nationals at the end of season three and it doesn't seem to have done them any good. Mean girl Kitty, who unfortunately at first glance seems to have zero character besides the word bitch, an inadequate replacement for season one Quinn, has all but stripped their sweetness by playing on their desire to remain at the top of the popularity food chain. The members of the club who have remained in high school have all but lost all of their sweetness while enjoying their stay at the top, being mean and being ashamed of new outcast types looking to join New Directions. During all of this there are two desperate searches that collide. One is the search for new members and the other is the search for their new star. As the club bickers for the position as the "new Rachel", resulting in a hyserically bad version of Call Me Maybe, auditions reveal that a new member, Marley Rose, played by Melissa Benoist, maybe be the person to fill that role. They use her under privileged upbringing to bring the club back to their roots and getting them out of their mean girl spirit while letting her show her true star power by the end of the episode.
All that plot not withstanding (and maybe because of how much there was), the first episode of season four was choppy at best. There was a lot to cover in a limited amount of time. And that could be the hardest thing for the show to deal with moving forward. The continuing story of Rachel in New York added on to the required, by the show choir rule book, minimum of twelve students and built in faculty members, could be too much to cover. Even in this story coming back, it really took all of that storytelling, not to mention the arrival of Puck's younger half brother, till the final minutes of the episode to register emotionally. This was done largely by settling Kurt's story by moving him to New York to chase his dreams. It gave Rachel the friend and roommate she had been lacking. It resolved the one story line from last year that needed to be finished. And maybe most importantly it allowed a (possibly final) return of Mike O'Malley, as Burt Hummel, to say goodbye to Kurt as he bid his son farewell. All that can be said is that that Burt is the best TV dad, besides coach Taylor, since the Cosby show. It was awesome and moving and so sad and hopeful. With that having been resolved I can only hope that Glee turns its focus back to the club. After all that is where the show's foundation, not to mention title, lie. It will condense the story and the foundation of what we are watching while not splitting loyalties between the old favorites and new characters we need to learn to love.
But it won't be easy. Sure there are about ten built in characters, the returning glee club members and various faculty members. But our new and future stars, namely Marley and Jake (the young Puckerman), did not resonate in their first episode. Jake's story is only beginning, so that has room to grow. Marley on the other hand seems to be the new star of the glee club. And by the end of the episode she brought everyone back to where they needed to be, but it wasn't because of who she is, like the leaders that Rachel and Finn once were, it was because of what she is, the girl who's mom got made fun of with the great voice out to teach a cheesy morality lesson. I can't say it is impossible to learn to care about these characters. But in their introductions, they just didn't resonate like those we have said goodbye to.
I feel like I might be a little harsh coming down on the episode this way. Glee tends to start its seasons with their worse feet forward and only improve from their. They also have this weird thing going where when the club sucks the show seems like it sucks too. Almost a syndrome of their ability to make what they write come true. If being a part of something special made them special, the show sucks when they aren't speical. The show, and the club, have a lot of work to do to get themselves back to where they once were. But as long as they stick to their formula of some funny mixed with some drama and their star belting ballads at the end of the episode, they might be ok. The jury is definitely out on the post-original cast era. I guess they will just keep on chasing pavement.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
nfl preview part 2, the afc
sports: Welcome to part two of what became after a lot of words last night something of an NFL extravaganza, and my first ever two part post. Last night I discussed the NFC and made my picks for who would go where in the conference. Tonight it is the AFC. So Lets get started.
The AFC South seems to be the easiest division to figure out. The Houston Texans are the runaway favorites. Despite losing Pro Bowl defensive end Mario Williams, the Texans defense should remain solid. And with Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson returning after seasons full of injuries, not to mention the contract extension given to Arian Foster, the offense should be one of the best in the entire league. Assuming everyone can stay healthy, this could be one of the top teams in the entire conference. Even if some of their best players get injured, the division should be easily within their grasp. The Tennessee Titans should come in second at or just below .500. Their defense has lost its star player, Courtland Finnegan, to the Rams, but they should remain decent. The offense will have to rely heavily on Chris Johnson with first time starter and second year quarterback Jake Locker taking the reigns. Despite the fact that Locker looked shaky last year in his few opportunities, his time holding the clipboard, despite modern the modern wisdom of starting rookie quarterbacks, could help him adjust with a better understanding of his offense. But really it comes down to Johnson and if he can rebound from his more or less bad year last year. If he can be even close to what he was in 2010, this team could get to 8-8. The Colts will be in a rebuilding mode this year. Andrew Luck should be able to step in and show why he was so highly regarded in the draft process. But with a bunch of either really young or really old players around him on offense, this year is still a transition. Not to mention they did nothing in the off season to improve their defense, instead focusing on getting young players around Luck(which by the way was the right thing to do). The Jaguars round out the South as a team that is still looking for a lot of improvement. Blaine Gabbert showed very few signs in his rookie season last year as a starter that he is capable of being successful at the NFL level. The addition of Justin Blackmon should make his job easier. But with Maurice Jones Drew holding out till only days before the start of the season, and not getting the deal he wanted, and given the short shelf life of the modern day back, it is hard to believe that he will have a true impact on this teams success. This is possibly the team in the AFC playing for a great spot in the draft to continue to build for tomorrow. The Texans come out of this division seemingly by default, but also as a real threat.
The AFC East is probably the other easiest division to handicap. With a weak schedule, the AFC South and the NFC West, as well as home games against those divisions toughest opponents, the Texans and 49ers, the Patriots have pretty smooth sailing. Not mention they have added deep threat Brandon Lloyd to the dynamic passing game that includes two of the top five tight ends in the league and pass catching machine Wes Welker. The Pats have also seemingly improved their defense through the draft. Landing Alabama standout Donta Hightower and physically and genetically gifted, Chandler Jones (he is the brother of Ravens defensive linemen Arthur Jones and UFC Light Heavyweight champ Jon Jones). The Jets seem to be a total mess. They have not scored a single touchdown in the preseason on either side of the ball. Their best wide receiver is cornerback Antonio Cromartie. And their best quarterback is third stringer Greg Mcelroy. Not to mention with Tebow, a marginal signal caller and all time great media guy, Sanchez, a fragile media guy with equally marginal talent, and the big mouth of their coach Rex Ryan, the media distraction for this team alone could be enough to bring them below .500. The Buffalo Bills could be a team on the rise in the East. If Ryan Fitzpatrick and dynamic, yet sometimes crazy, Stevie Jackson can play together healthy for a full season, the passing game should be good. And running back duo Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller should take enough pressure off Fitzpatrick to keep him effecient while providing a great running game in the brutal Buffalo winter. The Dolphins are another team to throw in with Jacksonville as a play-for-next-year team. They got rid of their best play maker, Brandon Marshall. They are relying on Reggie Bush to be their feature back. Bush can make plays sure, but I am not sure he is a 25 to 30 carries a game back. He certainly never has been. To make matters worse, the Dolphins are sending out rookie first round quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill someday could turn into a very good player, but he is an eighth over pick that should have gone in the third round and held a clipboard and learned for two years, if not for Miami's desperation. New England should make a joke of this division, not to mention the rest of their schedule, with Buffalo stealing a wild card spot and ending their playoff draught that dates back to the music city miracle.
Now we move on to the AFC North, one of the two divisions with a little more room for error. There are three teams in the division that could seem like they could fight for the top spot. The Ravens are mostly in the same spot they seem to be in every season since about fifteen years ago. They have a tough defense and a great running back, and that will get them to the top of their division. This year will be different though. The Ravens have vowed to open up their passing game and really let quarterback Joe Flacco take the reigns of the offense. With Ray Rice, maybe the second best running back in the league, in the backfield, this could prove both exciting and problematic. Rice's skills could only help a passing game by forcing a defense to account for him. But Flacco has not shown much besides being adequate that would lead one to believe that one of the most consistant teams in recent years should revamp their offense to make him the focal point. So not relying on Rice like usual could be their demise in the end. On defense this could very well be the year the Ravens start to show their age. This is not because of some sort of tipping point that has clearly occurred, but more because it has to happen sometime. And what better time than when their all world outside linebacker, Terrell Suggs, is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Pittsburgh Steelers are another model of consistancy facing potential problems this year. Their questions seem to be coming almost entirely on offense. Yes Mike Wallace is back after his holdout, but it may take him a few weeks to get into game shape. More importantly though, the Steelers have a new offensive coordinator, Todd Haley. Haley seems to be the lynch pin of the Steelers season. After playing in the same system for years, it is unclear how Ben Roethlisberger will acclimate to a new system. That new system could also be what is the their undoing. Haley wants to implement a new pass happy offense. This will take the focus off of running back Rashard Mendenhall, who has been a rock in the Pittsburgh back field. With a suspect offensive line, and putting Roethlisberger in a place where he is consistently looking to pass will only force him to take more hits. This could be horrible for a guy who thanks to his toughness already takes too many. The Cincinatti Bengals would be the third team in contention in this division this year. Everything about this team is just plain old solid. They have starless and yet remarkably good defense. And their offense is lead by the potentially damn good A.J. Green at wide receiver and the not flashy but efficient, Andy Dalton, at quarterback. People seem to be expecting Dalton to take a step back and have the sophomore slump, but with his no frills style of pocket passing and the growth of report between him and Green, I find it hard to believe. The Cleveland Browns are our third and final AFC play for next year team. Regardless of how good rookie starter Brandon Weedon will play, they just don't have enough talent to make any headway. And if Weedon doesn't work out then they are still at square one, instead of at best square two.
And finally we come to the final division to cover, the AFC West. This is a division with no great teams and no terrible ones. Everyone should finish in the middle of the pack, and thus the mix. The Denver Broncos are certainly the most intriguing team with Peyton Manning coming off of four neck surgeries. I am going with superstition on the Broncos. Someone with that much going on in their neck in a game where the goal is to hit someone as hard as they can can't end well. Not to mention trading Tebow should make God mad at them. I hope Manning makes it through the season, but I just can't believe it. The Raiders are looking to build on last years first sign of improvement since their Super Bowl appearance against the Bucs. This team may just have too much working against them though. The roll over in the front office after the death of Al Davis, and the changes on the coaching staff seem to be heading the franchise in the right direction, just not immediately. The offense will need Darren Mcfadden to be healthy for the whole season, especially after losing his replacement, Michael Bush, to the Bears in free agency. Carson Palmer is the really wild card though. If he can be the player he was before things in Cincinatti go so bad he retired, he can give the Raiders a real chance to win. The Kansas City Chiefs seem to be the team with the most upside in the division. After an injury riddled 2011, they are returning a lot of players, most notably running back Jamal Charles, that could have enough talent to cancel out the resume of Romeo Crennel. Then again, this team seems to like Crennel. The last team in this division is the San Diego Chargers. I love Phillip Rivers. I love his game. I love his swagger and trash talk. But he lost his go to receiver Vincent Jackson. And he is still saddled with Norv Turner who seems to roll out such remarkably mediocre teams year after year. There is no team in this division that will have more than nine wins or less than six. Look for a new look, thanks to health, Chiefs to take it.
In the playoffs, a healthy Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson will lead the Texans to the AFC championship after beating a few teams not quite there yet and one or two that have been there too many times. In that game they will face the Patriots in a shootout between the conferences best team of the past ten years and its best team of the next ten years. Brady, Gronk, experience, and a slightly improved defense will prove too much for the Texans to handle as they continue to make their climb towards the top of the league. Their, as stated in last nights post, the Patriots will meet the Packers in what should be the highest scoring game in playoff history and the game everyone wanted last year. With the two most unstoppable quarterbacks in the game going head to head the game ends at a staggering 63-58. I wish I didn't have to pick a winner and just could marvel at the beauty that game could create, but here we go. Brady gets his fourth in six trips and cements himself as the best ever. Meanwhile Aaron Rodgers doesn't feel too bad because he knows that he will someday have a chance to take down all of Brady's records.
So there we go. I have now spat out what I see to be the NFL season we are about to watch. Now I just need the players not to prove me wrong, especially on the final score of the Super Bowl.
The AFC South seems to be the easiest division to figure out. The Houston Texans are the runaway favorites. Despite losing Pro Bowl defensive end Mario Williams, the Texans defense should remain solid. And with Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson returning after seasons full of injuries, not to mention the contract extension given to Arian Foster, the offense should be one of the best in the entire league. Assuming everyone can stay healthy, this could be one of the top teams in the entire conference. Even if some of their best players get injured, the division should be easily within their grasp. The Tennessee Titans should come in second at or just below .500. Their defense has lost its star player, Courtland Finnegan, to the Rams, but they should remain decent. The offense will have to rely heavily on Chris Johnson with first time starter and second year quarterback Jake Locker taking the reigns. Despite the fact that Locker looked shaky last year in his few opportunities, his time holding the clipboard, despite modern the modern wisdom of starting rookie quarterbacks, could help him adjust with a better understanding of his offense. But really it comes down to Johnson and if he can rebound from his more or less bad year last year. If he can be even close to what he was in 2010, this team could get to 8-8. The Colts will be in a rebuilding mode this year. Andrew Luck should be able to step in and show why he was so highly regarded in the draft process. But with a bunch of either really young or really old players around him on offense, this year is still a transition. Not to mention they did nothing in the off season to improve their defense, instead focusing on getting young players around Luck(which by the way was the right thing to do). The Jaguars round out the South as a team that is still looking for a lot of improvement. Blaine Gabbert showed very few signs in his rookie season last year as a starter that he is capable of being successful at the NFL level. The addition of Justin Blackmon should make his job easier. But with Maurice Jones Drew holding out till only days before the start of the season, and not getting the deal he wanted, and given the short shelf life of the modern day back, it is hard to believe that he will have a true impact on this teams success. This is possibly the team in the AFC playing for a great spot in the draft to continue to build for tomorrow. The Texans come out of this division seemingly by default, but also as a real threat.
The AFC East is probably the other easiest division to handicap. With a weak schedule, the AFC South and the NFC West, as well as home games against those divisions toughest opponents, the Texans and 49ers, the Patriots have pretty smooth sailing. Not mention they have added deep threat Brandon Lloyd to the dynamic passing game that includes two of the top five tight ends in the league and pass catching machine Wes Welker. The Pats have also seemingly improved their defense through the draft. Landing Alabama standout Donta Hightower and physically and genetically gifted, Chandler Jones (he is the brother of Ravens defensive linemen Arthur Jones and UFC Light Heavyweight champ Jon Jones). The Jets seem to be a total mess. They have not scored a single touchdown in the preseason on either side of the ball. Their best wide receiver is cornerback Antonio Cromartie. And their best quarterback is third stringer Greg Mcelroy. Not to mention with Tebow, a marginal signal caller and all time great media guy, Sanchez, a fragile media guy with equally marginal talent, and the big mouth of their coach Rex Ryan, the media distraction for this team alone could be enough to bring them below .500. The Buffalo Bills could be a team on the rise in the East. If Ryan Fitzpatrick and dynamic, yet sometimes crazy, Stevie Jackson can play together healthy for a full season, the passing game should be good. And running back duo Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller should take enough pressure off Fitzpatrick to keep him effecient while providing a great running game in the brutal Buffalo winter. The Dolphins are another team to throw in with Jacksonville as a play-for-next-year team. They got rid of their best play maker, Brandon Marshall. They are relying on Reggie Bush to be their feature back. Bush can make plays sure, but I am not sure he is a 25 to 30 carries a game back. He certainly never has been. To make matters worse, the Dolphins are sending out rookie first round quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill someday could turn into a very good player, but he is an eighth over pick that should have gone in the third round and held a clipboard and learned for two years, if not for Miami's desperation. New England should make a joke of this division, not to mention the rest of their schedule, with Buffalo stealing a wild card spot and ending their playoff draught that dates back to the music city miracle.
Now we move on to the AFC North, one of the two divisions with a little more room for error. There are three teams in the division that could seem like they could fight for the top spot. The Ravens are mostly in the same spot they seem to be in every season since about fifteen years ago. They have a tough defense and a great running back, and that will get them to the top of their division. This year will be different though. The Ravens have vowed to open up their passing game and really let quarterback Joe Flacco take the reigns of the offense. With Ray Rice, maybe the second best running back in the league, in the backfield, this could prove both exciting and problematic. Rice's skills could only help a passing game by forcing a defense to account for him. But Flacco has not shown much besides being adequate that would lead one to believe that one of the most consistant teams in recent years should revamp their offense to make him the focal point. So not relying on Rice like usual could be their demise in the end. On defense this could very well be the year the Ravens start to show their age. This is not because of some sort of tipping point that has clearly occurred, but more because it has to happen sometime. And what better time than when their all world outside linebacker, Terrell Suggs, is out for the season with a torn ACL. The Pittsburgh Steelers are another model of consistancy facing potential problems this year. Their questions seem to be coming almost entirely on offense. Yes Mike Wallace is back after his holdout, but it may take him a few weeks to get into game shape. More importantly though, the Steelers have a new offensive coordinator, Todd Haley. Haley seems to be the lynch pin of the Steelers season. After playing in the same system for years, it is unclear how Ben Roethlisberger will acclimate to a new system. That new system could also be what is the their undoing. Haley wants to implement a new pass happy offense. This will take the focus off of running back Rashard Mendenhall, who has been a rock in the Pittsburgh back field. With a suspect offensive line, and putting Roethlisberger in a place where he is consistently looking to pass will only force him to take more hits. This could be horrible for a guy who thanks to his toughness already takes too many. The Cincinatti Bengals would be the third team in contention in this division this year. Everything about this team is just plain old solid. They have starless and yet remarkably good defense. And their offense is lead by the potentially damn good A.J. Green at wide receiver and the not flashy but efficient, Andy Dalton, at quarterback. People seem to be expecting Dalton to take a step back and have the sophomore slump, but with his no frills style of pocket passing and the growth of report between him and Green, I find it hard to believe. The Cleveland Browns are our third and final AFC play for next year team. Regardless of how good rookie starter Brandon Weedon will play, they just don't have enough talent to make any headway. And if Weedon doesn't work out then they are still at square one, instead of at best square two.
And finally we come to the final division to cover, the AFC West. This is a division with no great teams and no terrible ones. Everyone should finish in the middle of the pack, and thus the mix. The Denver Broncos are certainly the most intriguing team with Peyton Manning coming off of four neck surgeries. I am going with superstition on the Broncos. Someone with that much going on in their neck in a game where the goal is to hit someone as hard as they can can't end well. Not to mention trading Tebow should make God mad at them. I hope Manning makes it through the season, but I just can't believe it. The Raiders are looking to build on last years first sign of improvement since their Super Bowl appearance against the Bucs. This team may just have too much working against them though. The roll over in the front office after the death of Al Davis, and the changes on the coaching staff seem to be heading the franchise in the right direction, just not immediately. The offense will need Darren Mcfadden to be healthy for the whole season, especially after losing his replacement, Michael Bush, to the Bears in free agency. Carson Palmer is the really wild card though. If he can be the player he was before things in Cincinatti go so bad he retired, he can give the Raiders a real chance to win. The Kansas City Chiefs seem to be the team with the most upside in the division. After an injury riddled 2011, they are returning a lot of players, most notably running back Jamal Charles, that could have enough talent to cancel out the resume of Romeo Crennel. Then again, this team seems to like Crennel. The last team in this division is the San Diego Chargers. I love Phillip Rivers. I love his game. I love his swagger and trash talk. But he lost his go to receiver Vincent Jackson. And he is still saddled with Norv Turner who seems to roll out such remarkably mediocre teams year after year. There is no team in this division that will have more than nine wins or less than six. Look for a new look, thanks to health, Chiefs to take it.
In the playoffs, a healthy Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson will lead the Texans to the AFC championship after beating a few teams not quite there yet and one or two that have been there too many times. In that game they will face the Patriots in a shootout between the conferences best team of the past ten years and its best team of the next ten years. Brady, Gronk, experience, and a slightly improved defense will prove too much for the Texans to handle as they continue to make their climb towards the top of the league. Their, as stated in last nights post, the Patriots will meet the Packers in what should be the highest scoring game in playoff history and the game everyone wanted last year. With the two most unstoppable quarterbacks in the game going head to head the game ends at a staggering 63-58. I wish I didn't have to pick a winner and just could marvel at the beauty that game could create, but here we go. Brady gets his fourth in six trips and cements himself as the best ever. Meanwhile Aaron Rodgers doesn't feel too bad because he knows that he will someday have a chance to take down all of Brady's records.
So there we go. I have now spat out what I see to be the NFL season we are about to watch. Now I just need the players not to prove me wrong, especially on the final score of the Super Bowl.
nfl preview part 1, the nfc
sports: Welcome to what is part one of the first two part post I have ever done. I have been thinking all day about starting my NFL preview on the eve of the first game of the season and realized that to cover all the teams in all eight divisions was just more than I could put myself through in one night without my head exploding. The decision to do the NFC first was made simply by the fact that I wanted that out before the Giants and Cowboys play tomorrow night since they are both in that conference and then I can hit the AFC before they start their games on Sunday. I really wish there was a more entertaining way to go at this, but this will be more or less a division by division breakdown with a few predictions thrown in there. So here we go.
We start with the NFC East since they kickoff the season. The Super Bowl defending New York Giants seem to be the most complete team in the division. With Eli Manning coming off of a career year and that defense, particularly the pass rush, looking as tough as usual, there is no reason to believe that success won't come their way. They still have Jason Pierre-Paul causing havoc on their defensive line rushing opposite Osi Umenyiora, which makes them the typically solid defense they are. On offense, despite losing Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham, Manning still has his top two recievers in Hakim Nicks and Victor Cruz. Their running game may struggle a bit after losing the thunder in Brandon Jacobs to Ahmad Bradshaw's lightening, but the run game should remain solid enough to allow for the passing game to get off. Not to mention that despite winning two Super Bowls in the past five years, the Giants have yet to have a truly great regular season, and with Tebow and the Jets eating up the New York press, maybe they have the incentive to prove they are still New Yorks best team. The Eagles, probably the Giants closest competition, have a lot to prove. Having come off a year where spectacular offseason signings were followed by inconsistancy and chemistry issues, they also have a lot to prove, but with them it is about meeting expectation, instead of reminding everyone that those expectations should be higher. Jeremy Maclin should prove to be the Eagles most consistant offensive weapon at running back. The defense should be improved having had a full year and camp to integrate its new players. The biggest questions should be whether or not Michael Vick can keep himself from getting hurt and play a full season. If he can't, this team has little chance to make waves. The other question is how the entire organization will respond to the death of head coach Andy Reid's son. Suffice to say, that is something that is impossible to go through without having ramifications on anyone near that situation. Everyone knows that Reid is a great coach and his players love him, but that is difficult situation. And how the team responds to it will be the difference. The Dallas Cowboys enter the season seemingly in the same place they have been for a few years now. People look at the talent of Tony Romo and Miles Austin and Dez Bryant (I'm not even getting into the insane rules he has to follow to keep himself out of trouble) and DeMarcus Ware on defense and believe that on paper they should be great. Then they underachieve. While that talent still remains, it is hard to believe after years of let downs that this year would be anything more than the same; a team knocking on the door and not knocking it down. Then there are the Redskins, having leveraged their future for RGIII (once again, not getting into it. I addressed this in an earlier post, if you want to know see here: http://robpoppost.blogspot.com/2012/03/rgiii-and-skins.html). Griffin should be thrilling, but ultimately shouldn't be enough to get this team to the top of its division, not on his own as a rookie. In the end there should be a lot of what has come to be expected from the NFC East. These highly competitive yet not dominant teams should beat each other up till a 10-6 or 9-7 team wins the division. That team should be the Giants.
Next we move to the South. Like in the East, this division should be led by a consistant yet not overpowering team, the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have a solid, if not potentially great, passing attack with Matt Ryan getting to throw to Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez, along with Jacquizz Rogers as a swing back. The always solid Michael Turner should provide enough as a straight ahead runner and goal line threat to balance the offense, giving Atlanta, as always, a chance to be very good. New Orleans, who has been the power in the South for a few years, have a lot working against them. Yes Drew Brees is electric with the football in his hands and probably good enough to run the offense even without Sean Peyton there. Yes the defense should be better under Steve Spagnuolo than it was under Greg Williams. But the personnel losses could be too much to take. Despite a better coach on defense, the Saints will be without there captain, Jonathan Vilma for the whole season due to the bountygate scandal. On offense they lost arguably Brees's most reliable weapon, Robert Meecham, as well as his all pro offensive lineman, Carl Nicks, to free agency. Nicks no less went to division rival Tampa Bay. Those personnel losses, combined with all the bounty drama may be too much for them to overcome. The sleeper in this division may be the Bucaneers. Tampa Bay has rid themselves of Raheem Morris, maybe the worst coach in football last year. Quarterback Josh Freeman comes into camp in much better shape than last year and with a few fun new additions to his offense. Carl Nicks protection should no doubt help Freeman have time in the pocket to make better decisions. The addition of Vincent Jackson as a receiver gives Freeman a go to pass catcher, and rookie running back Doug Martin should only make their running game, spearheaded by tough downhill runner LeGarrette Blount, more formidable. The Carolina Panthers will be looking to take steps forward with second year quarterback and record setter Cam Newton. While the Panthers should improve. The popular notion that they should compete for a playoff spot, however, should not ring true. Their defense just isn't that good. And quite frankly neither is Newton. In the fourteen games following his fantasy explosion, (over 800 yards passing in his first two weeks in the NFL) he averaged less than 250 yards per game. While the Panthers should be a team on the rise, this is not the year that they make that leap. The rock solid Falcons have the best chance to win the division. The revamped, bounce back team of the year, the Bucs, I think will take second and a wild card spot. The Saints will have trouble overcoming the loss of good players along with their bad mojo. And in New Orleans, you know mojo matters. As for Carolina, a team of the future, that future is not now.
The NFC West shall be our next division. They are lead by the San Fransisco 49ers. This team seems to be a popular pick to not follow up on their success from last season. I think I see it differently. Jim Harbaugh will have his first full off season to work with a team that was as solid and mistake free as anyone in the league last year.The defense astoundingly returns all eleven starters from what was the top defense in the league last year. And their offense should be comparable if not better. With addition of Randy Moss as a potential deep threat to compliment Vernon Davis and the aforementioned Giants loss, Mario Manningham, as a reliable receiver should improve the passing attack, which under Alex Smith was one of the most conservative in the NFL last year. The 49ers have lost feature back Frank Gore and have replaced him with situational back Brandon Jacobs. As long as the revamped passing attack works out the way Harbaugh is hoping, Jacobs should compliment the offense nicely with his power game. The Seahawks appear to be the only other competitive team in the west. With them things seem to be pretty simple. Their defense is solid. They seem to have the best home field advantage in football with their deafening stadium. The only questions are whether or not Pete Carroll is as good a pro coach as he was in college. And if Russell Wilson, as a rookie, is the right choice to be the starter for a team with playoff hopes. And by the way, I am rooting for Wilson. After a year watching him at Wisconsin, I just like the way he plays. The Rams and Cardinals will in all likelihood be playing for high draft picks. Under Jeff Fischer, and hopefully with a healthy Sam Bradford, the Rams should be better than last year. But not anywhere near contention. Under Fischer, and given time, they will get there. But not yet. And the Cardinals find themselves in the unenviable position of having the most talented wide receiver in football in Larry Fitzgerald and a quarterback battle in which they like neither of their choices. Until they find someone who can get the ball in the air and take advantage of having Fitzgerald, the best we can say is that Patrick Peterson should be exciting again in coverage and returning kicks. Look for the 49ers to more or less repeat their success from last year.
And finally we get to what might be the best division in the conference, the NFC North. The Packers, well there really isn't much to say. The Packers bring back a devastatingly great offense lead by Aaron Rodgers, who might be the best quarterback in the league. He also still have more weapons to throw to than possibly anyone in the league. If their defense can limit the yards they gave up last year (as the worst in the league in that category, ever) even a little and get back to their ball hawking ways, they should be the Super Bowl front runners. The Bears look to be the Packers biggest competition. They return with a stout defense, a trademark in Chicago. Jay Cutler is healthy. He has more comfort at wide receiver. Along with former college roommate Earl Bennett, Cutler will also be throwing to his former go to stud in Denver, Brandon Marshall. Matt Forte is back after an injury and contract dispute to gain as many all purpose yards as he can as the best pass catching back in the NFL, and with Michael Bush added to the running game, the load on Forte should lighten, keeping him both fresh and healthy. The question for the Bears is all about health. Can Cutler stay healthy. Can Matt Forte return and play a full season. And can a defense, that has been great throughout the years, stay healthy for yet another year as they only get older. Last years beneficiaries of the Bears injury problems, the Detroit Lions, are looking to keep the good times rolling. After being the doormat of the league for basically its entire existence, the Lions looked like the next big thing last year. They should not be expected to revert to form. But with basically no running game putting all the pressure to produce on Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, and Titus Young, along with a growing list of both injuries and arrests on defense, it is hard to believe that the Detroit can recreate the success they had last year. They will continue to build on that success, assuming Stafford can stay healthy, just not when there are so many factors working against them in such a tough division. And the Vikings.... Oh I think it is only fair to say that with a still developing Christian Ponder, and Adrian Peterson trying to do his best Superman immitation by coming back for week one after a torn ACL and MCL, not to mention the brutally tough group of teams in their division, it will be another year to look at the draft and look forward to rebuilding to a brighter future. The Pack are runaway favorites to win. The Bears get that other wild card spot.
Preseason predictions in the NFL are always tough being that they are mostly built on the assumption that no one gets hurt, but here it goes for the NFC. You have my division and wild card winners. Packers and 49ers get the buy weeks. The Bears and Giants come out of wild card weekend to face the 49ers and Packers respectively (the Bears get that seed based on their better regular season record despite not winning the division.) Then we get the apocalypse. Bears vs. Packers for the NFC. While the Packers are clearly the better team, a confident Cutler and rough and tough defense could be the difference, but in a rivalry game it is too hard to tell. All bets will be off, but in the end the best QB in the game comes through. Packers are in. To find out how the AFC will do and what my final predictions will be (since they are of course right), check it out tomorrow when I round out the league.
We start with the NFC East since they kickoff the season. The Super Bowl defending New York Giants seem to be the most complete team in the division. With Eli Manning coming off of a career year and that defense, particularly the pass rush, looking as tough as usual, there is no reason to believe that success won't come their way. They still have Jason Pierre-Paul causing havoc on their defensive line rushing opposite Osi Umenyiora, which makes them the typically solid defense they are. On offense, despite losing Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham, Manning still has his top two recievers in Hakim Nicks and Victor Cruz. Their running game may struggle a bit after losing the thunder in Brandon Jacobs to Ahmad Bradshaw's lightening, but the run game should remain solid enough to allow for the passing game to get off. Not to mention that despite winning two Super Bowls in the past five years, the Giants have yet to have a truly great regular season, and with Tebow and the Jets eating up the New York press, maybe they have the incentive to prove they are still New Yorks best team. The Eagles, probably the Giants closest competition, have a lot to prove. Having come off a year where spectacular offseason signings were followed by inconsistancy and chemistry issues, they also have a lot to prove, but with them it is about meeting expectation, instead of reminding everyone that those expectations should be higher. Jeremy Maclin should prove to be the Eagles most consistant offensive weapon at running back. The defense should be improved having had a full year and camp to integrate its new players. The biggest questions should be whether or not Michael Vick can keep himself from getting hurt and play a full season. If he can't, this team has little chance to make waves. The other question is how the entire organization will respond to the death of head coach Andy Reid's son. Suffice to say, that is something that is impossible to go through without having ramifications on anyone near that situation. Everyone knows that Reid is a great coach and his players love him, but that is difficult situation. And how the team responds to it will be the difference. The Dallas Cowboys enter the season seemingly in the same place they have been for a few years now. People look at the talent of Tony Romo and Miles Austin and Dez Bryant (I'm not even getting into the insane rules he has to follow to keep himself out of trouble) and DeMarcus Ware on defense and believe that on paper they should be great. Then they underachieve. While that talent still remains, it is hard to believe after years of let downs that this year would be anything more than the same; a team knocking on the door and not knocking it down. Then there are the Redskins, having leveraged their future for RGIII (once again, not getting into it. I addressed this in an earlier post, if you want to know see here: http://robpoppost.blogspot.com/2012/03/rgiii-and-skins.html). Griffin should be thrilling, but ultimately shouldn't be enough to get this team to the top of its division, not on his own as a rookie. In the end there should be a lot of what has come to be expected from the NFC East. These highly competitive yet not dominant teams should beat each other up till a 10-6 or 9-7 team wins the division. That team should be the Giants.
Next we move to the South. Like in the East, this division should be led by a consistant yet not overpowering team, the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have a solid, if not potentially great, passing attack with Matt Ryan getting to throw to Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez, along with Jacquizz Rogers as a swing back. The always solid Michael Turner should provide enough as a straight ahead runner and goal line threat to balance the offense, giving Atlanta, as always, a chance to be very good. New Orleans, who has been the power in the South for a few years, have a lot working against them. Yes Drew Brees is electric with the football in his hands and probably good enough to run the offense even without Sean Peyton there. Yes the defense should be better under Steve Spagnuolo than it was under Greg Williams. But the personnel losses could be too much to take. Despite a better coach on defense, the Saints will be without there captain, Jonathan Vilma for the whole season due to the bountygate scandal. On offense they lost arguably Brees's most reliable weapon, Robert Meecham, as well as his all pro offensive lineman, Carl Nicks, to free agency. Nicks no less went to division rival Tampa Bay. Those personnel losses, combined with all the bounty drama may be too much for them to overcome. The sleeper in this division may be the Bucaneers. Tampa Bay has rid themselves of Raheem Morris, maybe the worst coach in football last year. Quarterback Josh Freeman comes into camp in much better shape than last year and with a few fun new additions to his offense. Carl Nicks protection should no doubt help Freeman have time in the pocket to make better decisions. The addition of Vincent Jackson as a receiver gives Freeman a go to pass catcher, and rookie running back Doug Martin should only make their running game, spearheaded by tough downhill runner LeGarrette Blount, more formidable. The Carolina Panthers will be looking to take steps forward with second year quarterback and record setter Cam Newton. While the Panthers should improve. The popular notion that they should compete for a playoff spot, however, should not ring true. Their defense just isn't that good. And quite frankly neither is Newton. In the fourteen games following his fantasy explosion, (over 800 yards passing in his first two weeks in the NFL) he averaged less than 250 yards per game. While the Panthers should be a team on the rise, this is not the year that they make that leap. The rock solid Falcons have the best chance to win the division. The revamped, bounce back team of the year, the Bucs, I think will take second and a wild card spot. The Saints will have trouble overcoming the loss of good players along with their bad mojo. And in New Orleans, you know mojo matters. As for Carolina, a team of the future, that future is not now.
The NFC West shall be our next division. They are lead by the San Fransisco 49ers. This team seems to be a popular pick to not follow up on their success from last season. I think I see it differently. Jim Harbaugh will have his first full off season to work with a team that was as solid and mistake free as anyone in the league last year.The defense astoundingly returns all eleven starters from what was the top defense in the league last year. And their offense should be comparable if not better. With addition of Randy Moss as a potential deep threat to compliment Vernon Davis and the aforementioned Giants loss, Mario Manningham, as a reliable receiver should improve the passing attack, which under Alex Smith was one of the most conservative in the NFL last year. The 49ers have lost feature back Frank Gore and have replaced him with situational back Brandon Jacobs. As long as the revamped passing attack works out the way Harbaugh is hoping, Jacobs should compliment the offense nicely with his power game. The Seahawks appear to be the only other competitive team in the west. With them things seem to be pretty simple. Their defense is solid. They seem to have the best home field advantage in football with their deafening stadium. The only questions are whether or not Pete Carroll is as good a pro coach as he was in college. And if Russell Wilson, as a rookie, is the right choice to be the starter for a team with playoff hopes. And by the way, I am rooting for Wilson. After a year watching him at Wisconsin, I just like the way he plays. The Rams and Cardinals will in all likelihood be playing for high draft picks. Under Jeff Fischer, and hopefully with a healthy Sam Bradford, the Rams should be better than last year. But not anywhere near contention. Under Fischer, and given time, they will get there. But not yet. And the Cardinals find themselves in the unenviable position of having the most talented wide receiver in football in Larry Fitzgerald and a quarterback battle in which they like neither of their choices. Until they find someone who can get the ball in the air and take advantage of having Fitzgerald, the best we can say is that Patrick Peterson should be exciting again in coverage and returning kicks. Look for the 49ers to more or less repeat their success from last year.
And finally we get to what might be the best division in the conference, the NFC North. The Packers, well there really isn't much to say. The Packers bring back a devastatingly great offense lead by Aaron Rodgers, who might be the best quarterback in the league. He also still have more weapons to throw to than possibly anyone in the league. If their defense can limit the yards they gave up last year (as the worst in the league in that category, ever) even a little and get back to their ball hawking ways, they should be the Super Bowl front runners. The Bears look to be the Packers biggest competition. They return with a stout defense, a trademark in Chicago. Jay Cutler is healthy. He has more comfort at wide receiver. Along with former college roommate Earl Bennett, Cutler will also be throwing to his former go to stud in Denver, Brandon Marshall. Matt Forte is back after an injury and contract dispute to gain as many all purpose yards as he can as the best pass catching back in the NFL, and with Michael Bush added to the running game, the load on Forte should lighten, keeping him both fresh and healthy. The question for the Bears is all about health. Can Cutler stay healthy. Can Matt Forte return and play a full season. And can a defense, that has been great throughout the years, stay healthy for yet another year as they only get older. Last years beneficiaries of the Bears injury problems, the Detroit Lions, are looking to keep the good times rolling. After being the doormat of the league for basically its entire existence, the Lions looked like the next big thing last year. They should not be expected to revert to form. But with basically no running game putting all the pressure to produce on Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, and Titus Young, along with a growing list of both injuries and arrests on defense, it is hard to believe that the Detroit can recreate the success they had last year. They will continue to build on that success, assuming Stafford can stay healthy, just not when there are so many factors working against them in such a tough division. And the Vikings.... Oh I think it is only fair to say that with a still developing Christian Ponder, and Adrian Peterson trying to do his best Superman immitation by coming back for week one after a torn ACL and MCL, not to mention the brutally tough group of teams in their division, it will be another year to look at the draft and look forward to rebuilding to a brighter future. The Pack are runaway favorites to win. The Bears get that other wild card spot.
Preseason predictions in the NFL are always tough being that they are mostly built on the assumption that no one gets hurt, but here it goes for the NFC. You have my division and wild card winners. Packers and 49ers get the buy weeks. The Bears and Giants come out of wild card weekend to face the 49ers and Packers respectively (the Bears get that seed based on their better regular season record despite not winning the division.) Then we get the apocalypse. Bears vs. Packers for the NFC. While the Packers are clearly the better team, a confident Cutler and rough and tough defense could be the difference, but in a rivalry game it is too hard to tell. All bets will be off, but in the end the best QB in the game comes through. Packers are in. To find out how the AFC will do and what my final predictions will be (since they are of course right), check it out tomorrow when I round out the league.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
breaking bad finale
tv: Last night the Breaking Bad mid-season finale, Gliding Over All, aired. The creators decided to air the fifth and final season in two installments of eight episodes broken up over this summer and next. This news probably comes as no shock to fans of the show. And with only eight episodes remaining now, and seven episodes that didn't lead to a direct climax like the war with Gus did last year, the show had to find a way to lead into the coming end. That lead in came with a thud as this installment came to an end.
Gliding Over All picked up right where the previous episode left off. Like Buyout, starting with the disposal of the witness to the train heist, this one picked up with the disposal of yet another body. This time it was Mike's. The tension built when Jesse showed up to talk to Walt about the list of names that could be there undoing as Walt tried to hide the body of Jesse's friend (as much as this trio could have been friends). This opening scene set the tone for the episode beautifully, not just because of the growing tension between Walt and Jesse, but to show the viewer that every single scene could be that moment where everything comes crashing down. Which is what everyone is waiting for.
From there Walt heads to see Lydia, one of the season new and best characters, to obtain the list he could not get from Mike. Lydia show's not only why she is a riveting character but, for the first time, why she was involved in the business begun by Gus Fring. She continues her usefulness by giving yet another thrilling and dangerous plan, this time to traffic overseas, while playing Walt beautifully. She pitches not just to him, but to his only weak points: his desire to build his empire, and his ego, stating that no one in the Czech Republic has ever seen anything like what he's making. How can Walt not buy into what she is selling. After all she is selling his drug: power. (I would love to see her pitch this same idea to Gus, which she says she did. I want to see her play Gus and find out what his weakness was. I am sure she found it and that is how she got him to sign off on Prague.)
From there Walt heads out to take care of the problem of the now ten people in prison who could bring about his demise. All there is to say about that sequence is that Walt standing at the window watching the clock tick down(the clock ticking down to the end of it all) on his perfectly executed plan, looking like the kingpin of Albuquerque, while the montage of death plays, is one of the most awesome and chilling things anyone could hope to see.
News of Walt's hit reaches Hank quickly, though he of course has no idea who could have pulled off such a bold move. Hank comes home to find Walt in the living room playing with his baby daughter. It is hard to believe this is at all genuine. To think that Walt cares for anyone, even his baby girl, is almost absurd at this point, not to mention the fact that we have seen him use his family to get close to Hank in previous episodes. Walt is simply there to gloat and enjoy his victory and let the unending appetite of his ego be fed. Hank comes in, pours them both a drink. Then he pours himself a second very quickly and starts talking of better, simpler times when he didn't have to chase monsters. And in that moment staring into the face of the very monster he is chasing, he becomes first person to truly alert Walt to what he has become. Skylar knew it but was too afraid. Mike knew it but only described it. Hank looked him in the eye and told Walt the truth. And in that moment not only did Walt possibly have to accept himself, but he saw his adversary. A man that if he only knew, would hate him and do anything to stop him.
In the wake of all of that comes a "life is good in the drug game montage" that puts Walt in a position where he can cut ties with Jesse, by giving him his five million he was owed from Buyout, and just walk away with untold millions. Aaron Paul gives a chilling performance in this scene as their seemingly awkward friendship and reminiscing is underscored by the fact that when Walt leaves he collapses on the floor and pulls a gun out his pocket in relief of not having to use it against what he thought was coming, showing that he is also aware of the monster in his presence. Walt decides to take the option to walk away and rebuild his family. The kids move home, he has a cookout. And then in the final seconds everything changes. Hank goes to the bathroom and is given his proof of who Heisenberg really is.
For a show that seems to have such an inevitable end, the question of how they would get there has remained as long as possible. But now that Hank knows, and Walt has gone to a frighteningly dark place, the showdown between these two brothers is on. I have no idea how exactly this is going to play out over the final eight episodes but I do know one thing. Nothing will end well for anyone. Breaking Bad has shown time and time again that all of the actions of its main character have horrifying consequences, not just for him but for everyone involved in the world around him. And as this investigation plays itself out, the movies referenced in the earlier episodes of this season, Heat and Scarface, come to mind. Can Walt walk away once that heat comes around the corner? And believe me it will. And if not, will that blaze of glory with the weapon in the back of his Volvo in the flash forward of Live Free Or Die be his little friend. I would have to bet on the latter. And when Walt makes that terrible decision, as is always the case, everyone in his life will suffer for it. No one is getting out alive.
Gliding Over All picked up right where the previous episode left off. Like Buyout, starting with the disposal of the witness to the train heist, this one picked up with the disposal of yet another body. This time it was Mike's. The tension built when Jesse showed up to talk to Walt about the list of names that could be there undoing as Walt tried to hide the body of Jesse's friend (as much as this trio could have been friends). This opening scene set the tone for the episode beautifully, not just because of the growing tension between Walt and Jesse, but to show the viewer that every single scene could be that moment where everything comes crashing down. Which is what everyone is waiting for.
From there Walt heads to see Lydia, one of the season new and best characters, to obtain the list he could not get from Mike. Lydia show's not only why she is a riveting character but, for the first time, why she was involved in the business begun by Gus Fring. She continues her usefulness by giving yet another thrilling and dangerous plan, this time to traffic overseas, while playing Walt beautifully. She pitches not just to him, but to his only weak points: his desire to build his empire, and his ego, stating that no one in the Czech Republic has ever seen anything like what he's making. How can Walt not buy into what she is selling. After all she is selling his drug: power. (I would love to see her pitch this same idea to Gus, which she says she did. I want to see her play Gus and find out what his weakness was. I am sure she found it and that is how she got him to sign off on Prague.)
From there Walt heads out to take care of the problem of the now ten people in prison who could bring about his demise. All there is to say about that sequence is that Walt standing at the window watching the clock tick down(the clock ticking down to the end of it all) on his perfectly executed plan, looking like the kingpin of Albuquerque, while the montage of death plays, is one of the most awesome and chilling things anyone could hope to see.
News of Walt's hit reaches Hank quickly, though he of course has no idea who could have pulled off such a bold move. Hank comes home to find Walt in the living room playing with his baby daughter. It is hard to believe this is at all genuine. To think that Walt cares for anyone, even his baby girl, is almost absurd at this point, not to mention the fact that we have seen him use his family to get close to Hank in previous episodes. Walt is simply there to gloat and enjoy his victory and let the unending appetite of his ego be fed. Hank comes in, pours them both a drink. Then he pours himself a second very quickly and starts talking of better, simpler times when he didn't have to chase monsters. And in that moment staring into the face of the very monster he is chasing, he becomes first person to truly alert Walt to what he has become. Skylar knew it but was too afraid. Mike knew it but only described it. Hank looked him in the eye and told Walt the truth. And in that moment not only did Walt possibly have to accept himself, but he saw his adversary. A man that if he only knew, would hate him and do anything to stop him.
In the wake of all of that comes a "life is good in the drug game montage" that puts Walt in a position where he can cut ties with Jesse, by giving him his five million he was owed from Buyout, and just walk away with untold millions. Aaron Paul gives a chilling performance in this scene as their seemingly awkward friendship and reminiscing is underscored by the fact that when Walt leaves he collapses on the floor and pulls a gun out his pocket in relief of not having to use it against what he thought was coming, showing that he is also aware of the monster in his presence. Walt decides to take the option to walk away and rebuild his family. The kids move home, he has a cookout. And then in the final seconds everything changes. Hank goes to the bathroom and is given his proof of who Heisenberg really is.
For a show that seems to have such an inevitable end, the question of how they would get there has remained as long as possible. But now that Hank knows, and Walt has gone to a frighteningly dark place, the showdown between these two brothers is on. I have no idea how exactly this is going to play out over the final eight episodes but I do know one thing. Nothing will end well for anyone. Breaking Bad has shown time and time again that all of the actions of its main character have horrifying consequences, not just for him but for everyone involved in the world around him. And as this investigation plays itself out, the movies referenced in the earlier episodes of this season, Heat and Scarface, come to mind. Can Walt walk away once that heat comes around the corner? And believe me it will. And if not, will that blaze of glory with the weapon in the back of his Volvo in the flash forward of Live Free Or Die be his little friend. I would have to bet on the latter. And when Walt makes that terrible decision, as is always the case, everyone in his life will suffer for it. No one is getting out alive.
Friday, August 31, 2012
college football preview
sports: As I am writing this the first couple of college football games of the year have already come and gone on Thursday night. It is time to look forward to the rest of the season and what it should have to offer us. It is totally insane to think that anyone could cover all of college football in one article, and I have no intention of trying. So I am going to just stick to some of what I think are the most exciting, interesting, and important points.
And what better place to start than some of the marquee match-ups of opening weekend. Probably the two biggest games of the first weekend of college football are Michigan vs. Alabama at the billion dollar funhouse in Dallas and Boise St. on the road playing Michigan St. The Michigan Alabama game is the bigger of the two match-ups, with two top ten non-conference teams playing each other to start the season. Alabama comes into the game as a perennial National Championship contender. Though they would still be considered one of the best teams in the country, their tough opening week game will show if that is going to remain true this year. Alabama lost a lot of their dominant defense from last year to the draft as well as their Heisman finalist running back Trent Richardson. For the first time under Nick Saban the question of whether their defense will be good or great does exist. Also for the first time under Saban their best offensive player will be their quarterback, pocket passing A.J. McCarron. How the Crimson Tide will do without a dominant runner will be something to watch. As far as their opponent goes. Michigan is coming into this game, and the season, on a mission to restore the program to prominence. Coach Brady Hoke has turned the program around admirably from the debacle of the Rich Rodriguez era. The defense is tough, and they arguably have the most dynamic player in college football in Denard Robinson. For Michigan to take that next step from top ten team to title contender, Robinson will have to prove that his dual threat game is more than just excitement, that it is also a winning game. In this opening week game we should see just how much both teams have to offer. Michigan has not faced a team in the past couple of years with the pedigree of an Alabama. And Alabama has never faced someone as dynamic as Robinson. Whoever handles who better should tell us who is a true contender going forward.
The other big game of the opening weekend, Boise St. vs Michigan St. is the story of two teams looking to prove they still belong. The Broncos have now graduated most of the players that are part of the winningest class of college football. They are going to be looking to prove that they still belong amongst the elite programs in college football and weren't just a byproduct of getting some great players. Michigan St. is looking to do the same after having lost their career passing leader, Kirk Cousins, to the NFL draft. While the Spartan's defense should be as tough and physical as ever, that everlasting chip on the Bronco's shoulders will be tough to deal with. This game ultimately comes down to finding out who belongs. In a tough Big Ten where teams are sure to beat each other from time to time the Spartans are looking to show that they are still among the conferences best. And if they win they will have shown they can be that. If the Broncos win, they will have all but solidified themselves as a true program and the only true chaos team, now that TCU has moved to the Big 12.
Having more or less microscoped these two games as part of the bigger picture it is now time to take a look around the country in a broader sense. Lets start with a conference hilighted in one of these two match-ups, and certainly the best in the country recently, the SEC. Although conventional wisdom hasn't served well in the SEC, I am going to go their. Alabama's flaws, or at least questions, have already been pointed out. LSU has lost its star defensive player and emotional leader in Tyrann Mathieu due to off the field problems. To think that they can simply overcome this by plugging some freshman stud, as some have conjectured, is insane. Mathieu's production, both on defense and special teams, was just outrageous, and his way of turning momentum in LSU's favor can't be quantified with stats. Arkansas has easily the best offense in the SEC, led by future first round pick, quarterback Tyler Wilson. But their defense has had problems keeping top shelf oppenents like LSU from putting up enough points to keep up with them in the conference title race. If the Razorback defense can make even a slight improvement while dealing with the coaching and administrative upheaval from coaching scandal over the summer(we'll call this the F you attitude factor), they could be the cream rising to the top of the best conference in football. On the other side of the SEC, Georgia seems to be the heavy favorites. They have most of their starters returning from a top twenty defense, not to mention Heisman hopeful Aaron Murray at quarterback, who is looking to for his third 3000 yard season. If he can limit the mental errors, those killer fantasy stats should turn them into one of the more scary teams facing the rest of the country. As these teams play each other, someone has to lose. And that is where my conventional wisdom that seems to fail every year stands. When great teams face each other someone still has to lose.
The Big Ten, also featured in this weekends big games, looks like a slightly less powerful SEC. There are a ton of good teams but not one that should runaway with the conference. The reason they are less powerful than the SEC is that unless someone does runaway with the conference no one appears to be a legit national title contender, whereas the SEC winner will more or less automatically be considered. Michigan and Michigan St. clearly look to be in the mix for the conference title. Wisconsin has its Heisman finalist running back from last year, Monte Ball, back and is hoping for another transfer quarterback, this time Danny O'Brien, to be the difference maker. And despite their ineligibility for bowl games and a conference title, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Urban Meyer should bring massive improvement to Ohio State, where disappointment is the word that described their season last year. With the Buckeyes out of the picture though, it should be all about Michigan's defense and Robinson, potentially ascending from exciting to great, as the Wolverines prove to be the Big Ten's best team. The Big Ten teams should not only hand each other losses as the season rolls on but should prove to be good but not quite the nations best.
The Big 12 is next, and they only have a few points to address. Oklahoma is in the top five again. And while their defense is going to be as fierce as ever, Landry Jones has yet to prove himself as more than a fantasy quarterback. Sure he is the schools all time leading passer, but in crucial games and big moments, he has come up short. He may be able to grow into that, but until he delivers all year, instead of most of the year, it is hard to get behind the Sooners. The other big note in the Big 12 is that TCU is now there. It is great for the Horned Frogs as they try to prove, like Boise St., that they belong in the discussion of the country's top teams. For anyone out there who love chaos, it is terrible because there is one less legitimate non-power-conference team out there to muck up the works as other teams lose games. But hopefully TCU will not only get the chance that they seem to deserve, but thrive in their new situation. The other Big 12 contender could be new comer West Virginia. Led by the hugely (and physically huge) talented Geno Smith, the West Virginia will be tough to stop no matter what conference they are in. While stiffened competition should be a wake up call to this team, they should be able to out gun enough teams to put themselves in any discussion that involves the best of the best
Now onto the Pac 12. This conference appears to be more or less a two teams race. In the post-Andrew Luck era, Stanford should finish a very respectable third. But this one should really come down to USC and Oregon. The Trojans will be running out an offense with enough talent that every starting player should be in the NFL someday. What they need is a defense that it is merely better than last year. Not great but good, and able to stop the run, so that the offense can out score every other team in the nation, literally. I know I said this about Arkansas, but it holds even more true for the Trojan offense led by Matt Barkley, who is not only the Heisman favorite but the projected top pick in the upcoming NFL draft. For Oregon it is a little more simple. Their fast as hell offense just needs to keep every single team they play on their heals until they totally run out of breath and give up. The conundrum in this conference is that along with a regular season USC vs. Oregon game, they will have to play each other in the conference title game now that the conference is split into divisions. To think that either team could win two games against the other is almost unimaginable considering their quality.
The conference with the best chance to produce an undefeated team may be the ACC. Florida St. had the eighth ranked defense last year and should have a much improved offense led by quarterback E.J. Manuel. With an offense that should catch up to their defense, and a conference where top tier teams shouldn't cancel each other out, the Seminoles have a great chance to get into the mix by the end of the season. Their greatest resistance should be met from Clemson, though their defense, which allowed 70 in a bowl game last year, needs some some massive improvements in order to allow for their high flying offense to win more games for them.
If I had to make predictions before the season has really gotten started, I would probably go more or less chalk. I would take USC and some SEC team in the title game and Matt Barkley edging out Marcus Lattimore, the running back from South Carolina, for the Heisman with Geno Smith making it interesting. But we all know that upsets will happen and some player we hadn't really considered will come about, like Cam Newton and RGIII. As I have looked up and down the conferences and teams their does certainly seem to be more questions than certainties. Who comes out on top will be answered by which team answer those questions. This year its not just about playing to your strengths but dealing with your weaknesses.
And what better place to start than some of the marquee match-ups of opening weekend. Probably the two biggest games of the first weekend of college football are Michigan vs. Alabama at the billion dollar funhouse in Dallas and Boise St. on the road playing Michigan St. The Michigan Alabama game is the bigger of the two match-ups, with two top ten non-conference teams playing each other to start the season. Alabama comes into the game as a perennial National Championship contender. Though they would still be considered one of the best teams in the country, their tough opening week game will show if that is going to remain true this year. Alabama lost a lot of their dominant defense from last year to the draft as well as their Heisman finalist running back Trent Richardson. For the first time under Nick Saban the question of whether their defense will be good or great does exist. Also for the first time under Saban their best offensive player will be their quarterback, pocket passing A.J. McCarron. How the Crimson Tide will do without a dominant runner will be something to watch. As far as their opponent goes. Michigan is coming into this game, and the season, on a mission to restore the program to prominence. Coach Brady Hoke has turned the program around admirably from the debacle of the Rich Rodriguez era. The defense is tough, and they arguably have the most dynamic player in college football in Denard Robinson. For Michigan to take that next step from top ten team to title contender, Robinson will have to prove that his dual threat game is more than just excitement, that it is also a winning game. In this opening week game we should see just how much both teams have to offer. Michigan has not faced a team in the past couple of years with the pedigree of an Alabama. And Alabama has never faced someone as dynamic as Robinson. Whoever handles who better should tell us who is a true contender going forward.
The other big game of the opening weekend, Boise St. vs Michigan St. is the story of two teams looking to prove they still belong. The Broncos have now graduated most of the players that are part of the winningest class of college football. They are going to be looking to prove that they still belong amongst the elite programs in college football and weren't just a byproduct of getting some great players. Michigan St. is looking to do the same after having lost their career passing leader, Kirk Cousins, to the NFL draft. While the Spartan's defense should be as tough and physical as ever, that everlasting chip on the Bronco's shoulders will be tough to deal with. This game ultimately comes down to finding out who belongs. In a tough Big Ten where teams are sure to beat each other from time to time the Spartans are looking to show that they are still among the conferences best. And if they win they will have shown they can be that. If the Broncos win, they will have all but solidified themselves as a true program and the only true chaos team, now that TCU has moved to the Big 12.
Having more or less microscoped these two games as part of the bigger picture it is now time to take a look around the country in a broader sense. Lets start with a conference hilighted in one of these two match-ups, and certainly the best in the country recently, the SEC. Although conventional wisdom hasn't served well in the SEC, I am going to go their. Alabama's flaws, or at least questions, have already been pointed out. LSU has lost its star defensive player and emotional leader in Tyrann Mathieu due to off the field problems. To think that they can simply overcome this by plugging some freshman stud, as some have conjectured, is insane. Mathieu's production, both on defense and special teams, was just outrageous, and his way of turning momentum in LSU's favor can't be quantified with stats. Arkansas has easily the best offense in the SEC, led by future first round pick, quarterback Tyler Wilson. But their defense has had problems keeping top shelf oppenents like LSU from putting up enough points to keep up with them in the conference title race. If the Razorback defense can make even a slight improvement while dealing with the coaching and administrative upheaval from coaching scandal over the summer(we'll call this the F you attitude factor), they could be the cream rising to the top of the best conference in football. On the other side of the SEC, Georgia seems to be the heavy favorites. They have most of their starters returning from a top twenty defense, not to mention Heisman hopeful Aaron Murray at quarterback, who is looking to for his third 3000 yard season. If he can limit the mental errors, those killer fantasy stats should turn them into one of the more scary teams facing the rest of the country. As these teams play each other, someone has to lose. And that is where my conventional wisdom that seems to fail every year stands. When great teams face each other someone still has to lose.
The Big Ten, also featured in this weekends big games, looks like a slightly less powerful SEC. There are a ton of good teams but not one that should runaway with the conference. The reason they are less powerful than the SEC is that unless someone does runaway with the conference no one appears to be a legit national title contender, whereas the SEC winner will more or less automatically be considered. Michigan and Michigan St. clearly look to be in the mix for the conference title. Wisconsin has its Heisman finalist running back from last year, Monte Ball, back and is hoping for another transfer quarterback, this time Danny O'Brien, to be the difference maker. And despite their ineligibility for bowl games and a conference title, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Urban Meyer should bring massive improvement to Ohio State, where disappointment is the word that described their season last year. With the Buckeyes out of the picture though, it should be all about Michigan's defense and Robinson, potentially ascending from exciting to great, as the Wolverines prove to be the Big Ten's best team. The Big Ten teams should not only hand each other losses as the season rolls on but should prove to be good but not quite the nations best.
The Big 12 is next, and they only have a few points to address. Oklahoma is in the top five again. And while their defense is going to be as fierce as ever, Landry Jones has yet to prove himself as more than a fantasy quarterback. Sure he is the schools all time leading passer, but in crucial games and big moments, he has come up short. He may be able to grow into that, but until he delivers all year, instead of most of the year, it is hard to get behind the Sooners. The other big note in the Big 12 is that TCU is now there. It is great for the Horned Frogs as they try to prove, like Boise St., that they belong in the discussion of the country's top teams. For anyone out there who love chaos, it is terrible because there is one less legitimate non-power-conference team out there to muck up the works as other teams lose games. But hopefully TCU will not only get the chance that they seem to deserve, but thrive in their new situation. The other Big 12 contender could be new comer West Virginia. Led by the hugely (and physically huge) talented Geno Smith, the West Virginia will be tough to stop no matter what conference they are in. While stiffened competition should be a wake up call to this team, they should be able to out gun enough teams to put themselves in any discussion that involves the best of the best
Now onto the Pac 12. This conference appears to be more or less a two teams race. In the post-Andrew Luck era, Stanford should finish a very respectable third. But this one should really come down to USC and Oregon. The Trojans will be running out an offense with enough talent that every starting player should be in the NFL someday. What they need is a defense that it is merely better than last year. Not great but good, and able to stop the run, so that the offense can out score every other team in the nation, literally. I know I said this about Arkansas, but it holds even more true for the Trojan offense led by Matt Barkley, who is not only the Heisman favorite but the projected top pick in the upcoming NFL draft. For Oregon it is a little more simple. Their fast as hell offense just needs to keep every single team they play on their heals until they totally run out of breath and give up. The conundrum in this conference is that along with a regular season USC vs. Oregon game, they will have to play each other in the conference title game now that the conference is split into divisions. To think that either team could win two games against the other is almost unimaginable considering their quality.
The conference with the best chance to produce an undefeated team may be the ACC. Florida St. had the eighth ranked defense last year and should have a much improved offense led by quarterback E.J. Manuel. With an offense that should catch up to their defense, and a conference where top tier teams shouldn't cancel each other out, the Seminoles have a great chance to get into the mix by the end of the season. Their greatest resistance should be met from Clemson, though their defense, which allowed 70 in a bowl game last year, needs some some massive improvements in order to allow for their high flying offense to win more games for them.
If I had to make predictions before the season has really gotten started, I would probably go more or less chalk. I would take USC and some SEC team in the title game and Matt Barkley edging out Marcus Lattimore, the running back from South Carolina, for the Heisman with Geno Smith making it interesting. But we all know that upsets will happen and some player we hadn't really considered will come about, like Cam Newton and RGIII. As I have looked up and down the conferences and teams their does certainly seem to be more questions than certainties. Who comes out on top will be answered by which team answer those questions. This year its not just about playing to your strengths but dealing with your weaknesses.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
breaking bad's dead freight
tv: Very rarely, if ever, have I done a review of single episode of a series. With this not being a full time job it gets hard to write every hour of everything that I watch. This week, however, Breaking Bad aired the fifth episode of its fifth and final season, title Dead Freight. As one of the great episodes I've maybe ever seen anywhere on television, it definitely is worthy of its own moment to shine.
With all of the terror and tension that has been built over the first four episodes of the fifth season leaving viewers feeling nothing short of needing to take shower after episodes, Dead Freight offered a change of pace(relatively of course). It picks up right where the previous episode left off. Mike, Walt, and Jesse are dealing with the fact that they believe Lydia planted a tracking device on a barrel of methlamine in order to avoid doing business with this crew after her being investigated by the D.E.A. The way our three guys, that comprise this crew, deal with their suspicion of Lydia is by bringing her to a brutal and cold interrogation that, all involved, including Lydia, believe will end in her death. As the tension mounts and Lydia's life hangs in the balance, the ultra-tweaked, tense, jittery, terrified performance of Laura Fraser brings everything in the scene to a tipping point as she tries to deal with Walt and fight off Mike's urge to get revenge on the hit she put out on him only episodes ago. Her life is saved by a call made to Hank thanks to a bug Walt plants, in one of his coldest and boldest moments, as he plays on his brother-in-laws decency by coming to his office to confess the growing troubles of his marriage. Once Hank leaves the office to get a broken down Walt a drink, Walt plants the bug that proves Lydia is allowed to live yet again. This is when the real fun begins.
Lydia presents a new way for the guys to get enough methlamine to not need her warehouse barrels to keep their business up and running: rob a train. From their on the show becomes a full on heist thriller with small interjections to make one wonder about the future of those involved in the show. But the train job itself is one of the most exciting things maybe ever captured on television. The preparation is well displayed as we see our crew plot their crime while leaving enough unknowns that we can't wait to see the job go down. Then when it does the action goes full tilt. The train arrives at the desired destination and Walt, Jesse, Todd(from Vamonos Pest), and Mike go to work. From their we see what really becomes heist movie play out as the edge of your seat action unfolds. The methlamine flows, complications occur, and of course, Walt pushes the job to its last and most dangerous envelope as we see his recently found arrogance continue to take hold.
As with everything in the world of Breaking Bad, things don't go as smoothly as planned. Mike's foreshadowing during Lydia's interrogation about their being two kinds of jobs, ones where everyone dies and ones where you leave witnesses, comes into play despite Jesse's best efforts to keep anyone from getting killed in his plan. And with a swift bang in the final seconds that bring a halt to the howling of success, we are reminded of the show we are watching. This may have been the best heist caught on film since Heat, but this is still Breaking Bad. Everything has consequences, and because of the horrific nature of Walt's and Jesse's actions, those consequences are almost always horrific. Not only do we see Walt break bad over the course of the series, but we see every action and reaction relating to his decisions break bad as well, and despite the resounding success of the train heist, this is no different.
Dead Freight laid in some threads that could be interesting to see play out as the series continues. As the pending danger of Walt's actions envelops the White family, the pieces continue to be put in place for a brutal and messy end to this story. Skylar's continued reminder that the kids are safe at Hank and Marie's is almost certainly an indication that they are not, especially now that both Walt and Hank have had their trajectories meet at the word boss. And as Skylar coninues to chainsmoke her husband's cancer back (or so she hopes) the risen cigarette hides in their bedroom waiting for its moment of use. But what will be remembered from this portion of season five and this episode is how awesome a great heist can be. Whether it be in the great crime films or on certain TV shows we find ourselves on the edge of our seat, and despite our better judgement, rooting for the bad guys to pull it off. Dead Freight gave us that excitement and thrill in a 45 minute episode and thus became one of those rare episodes of television that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
With all of the terror and tension that has been built over the first four episodes of the fifth season leaving viewers feeling nothing short of needing to take shower after episodes, Dead Freight offered a change of pace(relatively of course). It picks up right where the previous episode left off. Mike, Walt, and Jesse are dealing with the fact that they believe Lydia planted a tracking device on a barrel of methlamine in order to avoid doing business with this crew after her being investigated by the D.E.A. The way our three guys, that comprise this crew, deal with their suspicion of Lydia is by bringing her to a brutal and cold interrogation that, all involved, including Lydia, believe will end in her death. As the tension mounts and Lydia's life hangs in the balance, the ultra-tweaked, tense, jittery, terrified performance of Laura Fraser brings everything in the scene to a tipping point as she tries to deal with Walt and fight off Mike's urge to get revenge on the hit she put out on him only episodes ago. Her life is saved by a call made to Hank thanks to a bug Walt plants, in one of his coldest and boldest moments, as he plays on his brother-in-laws decency by coming to his office to confess the growing troubles of his marriage. Once Hank leaves the office to get a broken down Walt a drink, Walt plants the bug that proves Lydia is allowed to live yet again. This is when the real fun begins.
Lydia presents a new way for the guys to get enough methlamine to not need her warehouse barrels to keep their business up and running: rob a train. From their on the show becomes a full on heist thriller with small interjections to make one wonder about the future of those involved in the show. But the train job itself is one of the most exciting things maybe ever captured on television. The preparation is well displayed as we see our crew plot their crime while leaving enough unknowns that we can't wait to see the job go down. Then when it does the action goes full tilt. The train arrives at the desired destination and Walt, Jesse, Todd(from Vamonos Pest), and Mike go to work. From their we see what really becomes heist movie play out as the edge of your seat action unfolds. The methlamine flows, complications occur, and of course, Walt pushes the job to its last and most dangerous envelope as we see his recently found arrogance continue to take hold.
As with everything in the world of Breaking Bad, things don't go as smoothly as planned. Mike's foreshadowing during Lydia's interrogation about their being two kinds of jobs, ones where everyone dies and ones where you leave witnesses, comes into play despite Jesse's best efforts to keep anyone from getting killed in his plan. And with a swift bang in the final seconds that bring a halt to the howling of success, we are reminded of the show we are watching. This may have been the best heist caught on film since Heat, but this is still Breaking Bad. Everything has consequences, and because of the horrific nature of Walt's and Jesse's actions, those consequences are almost always horrific. Not only do we see Walt break bad over the course of the series, but we see every action and reaction relating to his decisions break bad as well, and despite the resounding success of the train heist, this is no different.
Dead Freight laid in some threads that could be interesting to see play out as the series continues. As the pending danger of Walt's actions envelops the White family, the pieces continue to be put in place for a brutal and messy end to this story. Skylar's continued reminder that the kids are safe at Hank and Marie's is almost certainly an indication that they are not, especially now that both Walt and Hank have had their trajectories meet at the word boss. And as Skylar coninues to chainsmoke her husband's cancer back (or so she hopes) the risen cigarette hides in their bedroom waiting for its moment of use. But what will be remembered from this portion of season five and this episode is how awesome a great heist can be. Whether it be in the great crime films or on certain TV shows we find ourselves on the edge of our seat, and despite our better judgement, rooting for the bad guys to pull it off. Dead Freight gave us that excitement and thrill in a 45 minute episode and thus became one of those rare episodes of television that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
the killers and great american rock
music: The Killers recently released their single Runaways from their upcoming album Battle Born. It is the classic youth love story with a twist. Runaways is the story of a young American guy who falls for the classic blonde American beauty. She is in the process of running away from the life she has to start a new and the guy just can't let her go. He loves her and follows her and eventually wins her over. Despite this youthfully romantic notion, the narrative doesn't end well. After winning over the love of his life and eventually marrying her, he finds himself discontent with the life he now has. He is stumbling home late after a night trying to find his life in a bottle with home not quite feeling like home. And thus the plural of Runaways is born.
Brandon Flowers paints this story with beautiful lyrics. "Blond hair blowin' in the summer wind" as they meet. "I knew that when I met you I'm not gonna let you runaway" as he falls in love. Wishing for the past as he nostalgically talks about confessing their dreams to the summer stars in some forgotten time gone by. And finally "Stumbling like a ghost I haunt these halls.... I recognize the girl but I can't settle in these walls" as the fantasy of that blonde girl playing in the sand is not the life he now has. It is a lyrically stark presentation of a once great love gone wrong.
What makes the song great though is the sound of it. Over the straightforward acoustics that begin the song Flowers sings his nostalgic tale. As he continues through the song, every ounce of it crescendos. The verse builds to a swelling beautiful chorus. The verses gain pace to eventually meet the humongous size of that chorus. The hook isn't infectious but the scope is.
As the song soars towards its arena sized end the Killers remind of what rock once was: Big. The song is big and bigger, and then even bigger. Designed for loud radio in a car on a beautiful day. Also designed for those rock sized arenas they are sure to fill on the tour for their new album. This song is no doubt a fist pumper and crowdpleaser.
As all of this epic sense of song is being brought to life by the band, Flowers sings in a way that is also reminiscent of a day gone by. The song itself is not a throwback, nor are his vocal stylings. It is more the way he sings. He sings like the rock gods that have created the anthems that inspired Runaways. He sings as if he doesn't give his all something tragic really will happen in the world. And as he does this he finds something within himself and within the song not found since the tail of Tommy and Gina. It is a song reminiscent of great American rock anthems. I am not going to say that Runaways is as good as something like Glory Days or Born To Run or Living On A Prayer, but it is certainly in the vain of those songs. It feels like those songs. It is something that seems to no longer exist in that way. It may be the new American rock classic. Thank you Killers for going big and not going home.
Brandon Flowers paints this story with beautiful lyrics. "Blond hair blowin' in the summer wind" as they meet. "I knew that when I met you I'm not gonna let you runaway" as he falls in love. Wishing for the past as he nostalgically talks about confessing their dreams to the summer stars in some forgotten time gone by. And finally "Stumbling like a ghost I haunt these halls.... I recognize the girl but I can't settle in these walls" as the fantasy of that blonde girl playing in the sand is not the life he now has. It is a lyrically stark presentation of a once great love gone wrong.
What makes the song great though is the sound of it. Over the straightforward acoustics that begin the song Flowers sings his nostalgic tale. As he continues through the song, every ounce of it crescendos. The verse builds to a swelling beautiful chorus. The verses gain pace to eventually meet the humongous size of that chorus. The hook isn't infectious but the scope is.
As the song soars towards its arena sized end the Killers remind of what rock once was: Big. The song is big and bigger, and then even bigger. Designed for loud radio in a car on a beautiful day. Also designed for those rock sized arenas they are sure to fill on the tour for their new album. This song is no doubt a fist pumper and crowdpleaser.
As all of this epic sense of song is being brought to life by the band, Flowers sings in a way that is also reminiscent of a day gone by. The song itself is not a throwback, nor are his vocal stylings. It is more the way he sings. He sings like the rock gods that have created the anthems that inspired Runaways. He sings as if he doesn't give his all something tragic really will happen in the world. And as he does this he finds something within himself and within the song not found since the tail of Tommy and Gina. It is a song reminiscent of great American rock anthems. I am not going to say that Runaways is as good as something like Glory Days or Born To Run or Living On A Prayer, but it is certainly in the vain of those songs. It feels like those songs. It is something that seems to no longer exist in that way. It may be the new American rock classic. Thank you Killers for going big and not going home.
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