The Seahawks win last night in St. Louis was a gift. If Rams placekicker Greg Zuerlein is successful on his 50-yard fourth quarter field goal attempt, St. Louis wins the game. Instead of having to punch the ball in at the Seahawks goal line in the waning seconds of the game all the Rams would have needed to do was trot out Zuerlein for an automatic three points.
As it was the Seahawks defense, despite giving up two-hundred rushing yards, held strong, allowing Seattle to return home with another road win against a divisional opponent.
This marks the third game in a row -- Titans, Cardinals, Rams -- that defenses have basically shut down Russell Wilson. The only game of the three that wasn't close was the win against the Cardinals, and that was due to Marshawn Lynch's dominant running.
Teams are blitzing the Seahawks quarterback. They're loading the box and overwhelming the offensive line. Until Seattle finds a way to consistently beat that kind of pressure expect teams to continue to come with the heat. Percy Harvin's return should help, as would finding ways to connect on short passes to Lynch coming out the backfield.
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Question: How much longer do you stick with Mike Vick? His bum hamstring took him out of the game against the the suddenly resurgent Giants. An Eagles loss combined with the Cowboys collapse in Detroit means the NFC East remains the Keystone Cops division.
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Vick. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Coffee Grinder
Why is that certain memories recur? What is it that makes a memory so memorable? Last night when I was grinding coffee for this morning I thought once again of the Saturday night in January of 2005 when Michael Vick demolished the St. Louis Rams in the divisional playoff round and my Braun coffee grinder stopped working.
I've had the same coffee grinder since I was an undergraduate living with my girlfriend in a Berkeley railroad apartment. It has followed me throughout my adult life from West Coast to East Coast to the Lone Star and then back to the West. But that winter's night in January eight years ago it was on the fritz. I had the game on. Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn (a favorite of mine from when he carried the ball in the same Tampa Bay backfield with Mike Alstott) were running wild on the Georgia Dome turf (both ended up with more than a hundred yards). The game was a blow out. So I retired to the kitchen to repair the Braun.
I took the old coffee grinder apart beneath the bright light of a 100-watt incandescent bulb. I saw that a metal contact point had snapped and that's why nothing happened when I plugged it in. I probably broke it by repeatedly for the last twenty years slapping the side of the grinder with my palm to release the oily coffee grounds inside. I folded one contact under the other so they were constantly touching. This meant that the grinder blades would spin as long as the grinder was plugged in; the on-off button on the grinder lid no longer worked. I've used the grinder this way ever since. When I want to grind beans I fill the grinder, close the lid, plug it into the wall, and then unplug it when the beans are ground.
Now whenever I'm in the kitchen at night grinding coffee I always think of Michael Vick and that Atlanta playoff game against the Rams; Marc Bulger, too -- the quarterback who reached 1,000 completions faster than any other in NFL history -- filling consciousness from coast to coast for a moment in time and then forever after a memory recurring.
I've had the same coffee grinder since I was an undergraduate living with my girlfriend in a Berkeley railroad apartment. It has followed me throughout my adult life from West Coast to East Coast to the Lone Star and then back to the West. But that winter's night in January eight years ago it was on the fritz. I had the game on. Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn (a favorite of mine from when he carried the ball in the same Tampa Bay backfield with Mike Alstott) were running wild on the Georgia Dome turf (both ended up with more than a hundred yards). The game was a blow out. So I retired to the kitchen to repair the Braun.
I took the old coffee grinder apart beneath the bright light of a 100-watt incandescent bulb. I saw that a metal contact point had snapped and that's why nothing happened when I plugged it in. I probably broke it by repeatedly for the last twenty years slapping the side of the grinder with my palm to release the oily coffee grounds inside. I folded one contact under the other so they were constantly touching. This meant that the grinder blades would spin as long as the grinder was plugged in; the on-off button on the grinder lid no longer worked. I've used the grinder this way ever since. When I want to grind beans I fill the grinder, close the lid, plug it into the wall, and then unplug it when the beans are ground.
Now whenever I'm in the kitchen at night grinding coffee I always think of Michael Vick and that Atlanta playoff game against the Rams; Marc Bulger, too -- the quarterback who reached 1,000 completions faster than any other in NFL history -- filling consciousness from coast to coast for a moment in time and then forever after a memory recurring.
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