Steelers @ Ravens – SNF Semi-Live Blog
Hark! The Dennis Dixon era is upon us!
OK, there may never be an actual Dennis Dixon era, but at the very least, tonight's game against the Ravens presents an opportunity for Dixon to audition for the Steelers backup QB job next year.
As for the expectations this evening, well, they're not exactly stratospheric. Injuries happen, and no excuses will be made, but playing without your best player on both sides of the ball isn't usually a recipe for success in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Tomlin had to do some extra lab work this week.
But in some strange way, the unknown curiosity at QB has me more excited than usual.
(The Steelers are going to get killed, aren't they?)
Anyway, here's my semi-live blog for the game. I'm going to write it during the game, but I won't post it until later.
I've never done this before, and I'm usually too nervous during games to even attempt such a thing, but I've always wanted to try it. Tonight? Why not?
First Quarter
8:30 p.m.: Steelers receive the kick, so the first play of the game won't net a touchdown.
8:32 p.m.: 3-and-out. Dixon's first pass is almost picked. Get those jitters out early.
8:35 p.m.: Tyrone Carter's too late to read a Flacco pass. First down. No surprises so far.
8:39 p.m.: If the Steelers want to make this a game, the defense has to be top-notch. Not the case so far. A 3rd-and-goal run by McGahee is too easy, as Harrison is buried and the D-line is MIA. 7-0 Ravens.
8:45 p.m.: Mendenhall picks up a first down, after a Dixon completed pass. Take a breath.
8:48 p.m.: Dixon breaks off a big run, but we've got holding. Drat.
8:54 p.m.: The teams trade punts. Jay Leno is getting applause in a commercial. NBC is trying too hard.
8:58 p.m.: Parker picks up a first down on a 3rd-and-short. I'd like to see some read option with Dixon at some point. We'll see if Arians works any of that in. A short pass to Holmes ends the first quarter.
Second Quarter
9:02 p.m.: Dixon completes a pass of moderate distance to Ward. He follows that up with a rollout and a nice toss to a wide-open Holmes, who gets to the pylon. Eric Mangini is trying to figure out how to trade for Double D. 7-7. The Baltimore crowd is very quiet.
9:07 p.m.: A refreshingly uneventful kickoff return, buoyed by a Ravens holding call. NBC points out this week's changes on the kickoff coverage unit. Nice touch.
9:08 p.m.: Sorry, Best Buy. I'm not spending $299 on headphones.
9:13 p.m.: Ravens punt. Dixon time.
9:15 p.m.: But first, a Ray Lewis-Phil Collins montage. I know Ray-Ray loves "In the Air Tonight," but "I Can't Dance" by Genesis would have been much funnier.
9:19 p.m.: Haloti Ngata is a beast. Timeout, Stillers.
9:23 p.m.: Haloti Ngata gets called for defensive holding. Always a strange call, but it's gone against the Steelers more than a few times each year. First down.
9:25 p.m.: The Steelers do some holding, too. The crowd is getting amped. A two-yard screen pass does little to quell this. Another Steeler timeout. Arians saw something he didn't like.
9:27 p.m.: An amazing catch and run by Holmes is negated by a desperate hold, courtesy of Mewelde Moore on Ray Lewis. Punt.
9:32 p.m.: More talk about "The Blind Side." I haven't seen the movie, but I would recommend the book. I know that one critic called Sandra Bullock's performance the "best of her career," but what is that saying, really?
9:36 p.m.: All kinds of formation problems are followed by a bomb to Mark Clayton. William Gay isn't there, and Ryan Clark is, but he doesn't make the play. The Ravens are in the red zone. Oh dear. You can't let that big play happen so late in the half.
9:40 p.m.: Ike Taylor is late to react on a fade to Derrick Mason. He usually defends that pattern fairly well. Not this time. 14-7 Ravens. We're told that's Derrick Mason's first career touchdown against the Steelers. That seems odd.
9:43 p.m.: The read option appears, sort of. It looked like Dixon had his mind made up to hand the ball to Moore before the snap, but it's hard to tell. Another run. Another one gets a first down. Yep, that's Carey Davis. Any notions that the Steelers wouldn't play this as conservatively as possible are swept away, as the final timeout is left on the board. Why not take your final timeout and run that read option again, at least one more time? Half time.
Third Quarter
10:02 p.m.: William Gay makes a play! He punches the ball out of Clayton's hand, and Tyrone Carter gets the fumble recovery. Exactly what this team needed.
10:04 p.m.: 3-and-out. Never mind. Now we're going to play "In the Air Tonight" when Ray Lewis bats down a pass? A bit of a stretch.
10:07 p.m.: Jeep owners don't watch TV! They're too busy off-roading in their unreliable vehicles! Does that make Jeep owners elitist?
10:08 p.m.: Woodley collapses the pocket and it's a sacco on Flacco. Ironically, since Oher is playing RT and Flacco is right-handed, Oher no longer protects the blind side. Since Flacco is looking at the rusher, we should call it "The Brow Side."
10:10 p.m.: Stefan Logan with a somewhat nifty return to midfield. Big drive here.
10:12 p.m.: Mendenhall breaks a tackle and picks up 20 on a screen. Beastly.
10:13 p.m.: Mike Wallace can't reel in a nice Dixon throw to the back of the end zone. After a run, Dixon throws a bit high. Reed FG. 14-10 Ravens.
10:21 p.m.: Lawrence Timmons comes clean on for one of the most beautiful Steeler sacks I've seen all year. Woodley follows that up by splitting a double team for another sacco of Flacco. Can you feel it?
10:25 p.m.: Hines Ward catches the ball and pushes Ed Reed down the field. A 22-yard gain.
10:27 p.m.: A 3rd-and-10. At some point, Dixon has to make a play with his legs. Not here. A punt forthcoming.
10:32 p.m.: Notice how often the Ravens are running right? (And with a fair amount of success?) We miss you, Aaron Smith.
10:36 p.m.: The Steelers miss two or three tackles and Ray Rice picks up 19 yards. Unacceptable, and something that didn't happen very often last season. Hold up four fingers to show everyone that you know how many quarters there are in a football game.
Fourth Quarter
10:40 p.m.: Ike Taylor looks confused before the snap and Mason beats him down the sideline. Ike grabs his arm as the ball drifts past Mason. Defensive PI isn't called. 4th down. If that pass is a yard or two closer to Mason, I think the Ravens get the call.
10:46 p.m.: Collinsworth makes a good point about Foster not pulling quickly enough to make a block for Mendenhall. Kemoeatu, you are also missed.
10:47 p.m.: Big punt return for the Ravens. What can you say?
10:50 p.m.: Lawrence Timmons, also missed. Wait, he's here! And he gets to Flacco for a fumble. C'mon, offense.
10:58 p.m.: And there it is. What I've been waiting for. Dixon gets some running room and he's gone. First true spring-off-the-sofa moment of the game. 17-14 Steelers.
11:08 p.m.: Did John Harbaugh just let the crowd sway him? He looked pretty set on calling for a punt, but shortly after he heard the boos, he called timeout to think it over. He probably won't say the crowd swayed him, but here they go...
11:09 p.m.: Not only that, Ray Rice breaks a million tackles. 1st and goal. Another late defensive breakdown. Rice is good at breaking tackles, granted, but come on. Polamalu, you are missed. And Farrior can't cover Rice. Father Time and all.
11:14 p.m.: 3rd and goal. We should have expected another close game. Fade for Heap...incomplete. The D gave up a big play, but give 'em credit for making a big stop. Field goal. 17-17.
11:17 p.m.: Jeff Reed said his FG range is 55 yards here?
11:18 p.m.: A near INT. Bad, late pass. 3rd down...
11:19 p.m.: They run a draw. I don't care if Dixon looked shaky. I don't like that call. Run a read option, a bootleg, something that gives you a chance.
11:20 p.m.: There has to be a block in the back, right? I swear I saw it. Holy moly.
11:21 p.m.: Cover Ray Rice.
11:23 p.m.: Ike Taylor gets his PI call. Not his best game, needless to say.
11:24 p.m.: A clear pick play gets called on Mark Clayton. Helpful.
11:26 p.m.: Fumble! No timeouts! They've got to run out and kick it...short! My word.
Overtime
11:31 p.m.: Steelers get the ball, but as we saw last week, that guarantees nothing.
11:32 p.m.: Great pickup by Al Michaels. Flacco's forward fumble should have been spotted near the 44 or so, not the 38.
11:34 p.m.: First down on a QB sneak.
11:35 p.m.: Dixon's bomb to Wallace is too far out of bounds. 3rd down.
11:36 p.m.: High throw. Punt.
11:37 p.m.: Need one more big defensive play.
11:39 p.m.: Flacco almost throws one to Townsend. Punt. Steelers on their own 45. How many yards needed here? 20?
11:42 p.m.: Sigh. INT. Dixon stares down his man and Paul Kruger, a DE, gets the pick. The Ravens are already in FG range. Should be game over.
11:44 p.m.: FG is good. 20-17 Ravens win. Tomlin chooses not to ice the kicker, but it shouldn't matter from that distance, anyway. I'm not a big ice-the-kicker guy myself.
Another brutal, close loss. But the season still isn't over, because of the wild card mess in the AFC. Call me crazy, but I think the AFC North could get three teams in this year. We'll see.
As for now? The Steelers need a win. Any win will do.
The “Street” and Sitcom Life
A couple recent Night & Day TV columns.
Ever feel that your life resembles a sitcom? I'm here to help. The newest column introduces the sitcom scale.
The other column is a nostalgic little somethin'-somethin' about growing up with "Sesame Street."
My Top 100 Albums of the Decade (70-61)
70. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan (2005)
"And I get lonely, but I ain't that lonely yet."
Elephant made the Stripes stars, so what did they do next? A curio of a rock album, filled with piano, a little marimba and a lot of ghosts. Yes, ghosts. There's a "Little Ghost" and the ghost of Rita Heyworth, more than once.
Only the most honest and respectable rock stars can reach new commercial heights and respond with playful experiments and bold leaps of faith. This was more of the former, but if you can't jam to "My Doorbell" and "The Denial Twist," it's time to retire, no matter what it is that you do.
The White Stripes - "My Doorbell"
69. Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's Block (2007)
"All we care about is talking; talking only me and you"
They're Swedish, and the language can be a little clunky at times. But it's hard to care when the songs are this good. "Young Folks" became somewhat of a minor hit, and for that, we should all be grateful, because it's one of those few, precious things: A melody that sounds timeless the first time you hear it. The soaring "Objects of my Affection" is almost as good.
Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks"
68. Brian Wilson - Smile (2004)
"I threw away my candy bar and I ate the wrapper, and when they told me what I did, I burst into laughter"
The story of this album is long and fascinating. Its eventual existence can be described in the same way. Sure, you've heard versions of these songs before, but that would be the only reason why Smile wouldn't live up to the hype. It's not much of a reason.
Brian Wilson - "Heroes and Villains" (live)
67. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (2000)
"I'm told the eventual downfall is just a bill from the restaurant; you told me I could order the moon, babe, just as long as as I shoot what I want"
This is how you make an entrance. Mass Romantic comes equipped with so many boisterous, energetic, finely-tuned pop songs, you'd think it was the greatest hits collection of a band you've never heard of before. And in a way, it was.
The New Pornographers - "Letter From an Occupant"
66. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (2009)
"They call them killer whales ... but you seem surprised when it pinned you down, to the bottom of the tank where you can't turn around, it took half your leg, and both your lungs"
One of the two albums from this year that made enough of a mark (and was released early enough) to make this list. When considering her work with the New Pornographers and her most recent solo albums, Case has entered "can do no wrong territory." It's a tough club to crack, but an easy group to depart (one lackluster album is all it takes). Having a supreme voice like Case does, however, will give her a better chance than most.
This album is like going on a safari. (I'd say it was like walking through a nice zoo, but that kind of goes against the spirit here.) Animals everywhere, plenty of awe and wonder, and some humor, too.
Neko Case - "People Got A Lotta Nerve"
65. Tenacious D - Tenacious D (2001)
"A secret to be told, a gold chest — to be bold, and blasting forth with three-part harmony, yeah!"
I only get to pick one quote?
This list is nothing if not honest. You wouldn't think a so-called "novelty" or "rock comedy" album could have staying power, but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't listen to it anymore. Because it's funny. You can quote it for days. And it rocks. The order of importance betwixt these three things is irrelevant.
Tenacious D - "Rock Your Socks Off" (live)
64. White Rabbits - Fort Nightly (2007)
"There is something you want to say, I'm not asking; just sleep your nights away while we go dancing"
An album with a very distinct sound from a band with two drummers. Fort Nightly rocks and rolls and rumbas, but never quite like you might expect. The black-and-white album cover is a good entry point to the vibe — a rock band, if such a thing existed in the 1940's. In an alternate universe, White Rabbits could have been the lead act at V-J Day in Times Square.
White Rabbits - "The Plot"
63. The National - Boxer (2007)
"We're half-awake in a fake empire"
The National is a relatively popular indie band, but I could see how a lot of folks would be turned off. Especially by Boxer, which is very slow. Very few songs jump out and grab you — rather, they take time to sink their hooks in. But once they're in, they're in. The songs and the band.
The National - "Apartment Story"
62. They Might Be Giants - The Else (2007)
"Withered Hope, I'm in love with you, want to live with you, Withered Hope; Are you going to say to me this can never be? Are you going to say to me, Withered Hope?"
Those who write off TMBG as a novelty act simply haven't heard enough of 'em. In the last 25 years, has there been a duo more outrageously inventive, endlessly melodic and prolific than the Johns? They're like an underground Lennon & McCartney. (I'm not making the comparison, but I am, kind of, if you catch my drift. Don't charge me with blasphemy. I don't have the time for it.)
Anyway, written off again, due to the group's perceived complete transformation into a kiddie band (or as some would argue, an inevitable conclusion in the band's evolution), The Else confirms nothing of the sort had ever happened. TMBG is as catchy as ever here, and surprisingly affecting at times. I'm impressed.
They Might Be Giants - "I'm Impressed"
61. Ben Kweller - Sha Sha (2002)
"I got a bad flavor, I got dirty clothes, I got a strange neighbor who doesn't have curtains on her windows"
Ben Kweller isn't the greatest lyricist, but neither is Bernie Taupin. And we still listen to Elton John songs, don't we? Sha Sha is pure power-pop fun. And it's as simple as that.
Ben Kweller - "Commerce, TX"
Rave on, NFL fans
Apparently, people who customize their NFL apparel have the same fashion sensibilities as the folks who design children's clothing. You know, like the little shirts featuring random numbers and phrases, like "Slugger 18."
"Big Red," I suppose I can understand. But "Ham Bone" seems at least vaguely racist. "Raven King" is an odd choice. Even worse is "Ray Rave" over Ray Lewis' number. Why would you put that on a jersey? What is that even supposed to mean? And a fan wearing a hoodie that reads "Pro Bowl" with the number 9 underneath ... well, that's just confusing.
So, feel free to customize your apparel, NFL fans. As long as it doesn't include one of the more than 1,100 words and phrases banned by the league for use on said apparel. I'd link to it, but I'm still trying to keep this blog mostly family-friendly, and that includes the links.