The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo – 10
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Atmosphere
b. Plot
c. Chemistry
I walked out of this and said “now that’s a movie!” Make no mistake - this is a dark, brutal, graphic movie that is not for the squeamish or prudish. I want to also disclose that I was unburdened by the book, or the previous Swedish movie version. I walked into this movie knowing little and was rewarded with the best movie I’ve seen this year - finally, on December 30th.
David Fincher, who directed last year’s masterpiece The Social Network, starts with an incredible title sequence and never lets up. When a movie has the guts to start with an amped up cover of Led Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song" you know you're in for a ride. Daniel Craig superbly plays a disgraced journalist who is called upon to solve a 40 year old murder. There’s no way he can unravel this, it’s too old and too complicated. Then his daughter unwittingly solves a clue, and he realizes he’s dealing with a serial killer. He takes on the bizarre title character as a research assistant. She’s a computer hacker and that’s not her only skill. Rooney Mara is incredible as Lisbeth and their chemistry is one of those magical mysteries that couldn’t have been predicted. They roll through the maze of clues and keep us riveted. I can’t think of a scene that wasn’t perfect.
I’ve watched the first 10 minutes of The Social Network several times because the “breakup” scene that launches Mark Zuckerberg is a classic. Rooney Mara is the girl he’s breaking up with and who would’ve guessed she could pull this role off? She won’t win an Oscar because this character is so far out there, but she gives my favorite performance of the year. The movie is long and winding, but I can't think of a dead moment. Awesome cinema.
Be warned, this is a hard R rated movie. With graphic rape and sex scenes and brutal violence, I’d have rated this NC-17 if I’d been doing the rating – but that doesn’t diminish its greatness.
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol – 8
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Tom Cruise in action
b. Crisp special effects
c. Amazing stunts
Tom Cruise’s versions of the old Mission Impossible TV series have always been missing an essential part of that series – the teamwork part. It felt like a one-man band, a starring vehicle for the ever photogenic Cruise. That shortcoming is unexpectedly remedied in this fourth installment as the IMF team is formed on the fly starting with the rescue of Ethan Hunt (a maturing Cruise) from a Russian prison.
What will make this movie famous is the scene where Cruise climbs, jumps, and repels on the outside of the Dubai skyscraper. If you're afraid of heights, you may want to look away. Probably, you won’t be able to. The scene is shot so effectively that it’s one of the most exciting action pieces ever done in a movie. I don’t know how they did it, but it’s terrific.
Surprisingly, the movie keeps up its momentum after that. There’s one ridiculous stunt after another, but isn’t that what we expect? They’re done with a light-hearted believability and they set up the next installment nicely. The resultant IMF team, played by Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg, are all set. How long do we have to wait for the next installment?
J. Edgar – 7
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. The History Channel
b. The FBI
c. Leonardo DiCaprio
Clint Eastwood directs this chronicle of the life of J Edgar Hoover, FBI Director for most of our lives. Maybe this is a factual story of his life, but it’s drier than a bone. While the set pieces are perfect and every detail appears to be correct in the public side of the things, it just seems that the speculated upon private life of the never-married Hoover is just guessing. It’s like a historical National Inquirer version as Eastwood lightly touches on rumored cross-dressing and homosexuality
Eastwood jumps back in forth in time at a frantic pace and using what used to be a nice touch in a movie of a few flashbacks, he vaults around like on a pogo stick. It’s 50 vignettes back to back, as Hoover tells his story to a bureau biographer, one of many unnecessary plot devices.
Leonardo DiCaprio is earnest and intense in the title role, and he may even get some award citations. But let’s be honest – This was a role that should have been played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He would've been great. DiCaprio just doesn’t have the pudge factor. Nevertheless, it’s a nice examination of power in the cold war era.
Margin Call – 8
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Financial drama
b. Kevin Spacey
c. Bail-out debates
it used to be that high drama and suspense took place in the wild, wild west, or maybe in a crime drama. Today, in light of financial collapses, bank failures, and government bailouts, there is no better setting for high drama than a financial firm on the brink. Wall Street never sleeps, and the walls keep tumbling down.
The story is told here of one such brokerage firm. It starts on layoff day, as the firm is downsizing. One of the downsizees, Eric Dane played by Stanley Tucci, is a risk analyst who’s been studying the risk models of his firm’s financial bets. He can’t quite figure out how bad it is, but before taking his exit, flips a flash drive to his protégé,Peter(Zachary Quinto). Unfortunately, Peter has no such problem, and over the course of one long overnight sequence, gets to explain the math to all the firms’ succession of bosses. It’s riveting stuff. Some critics have called this the best movie ever made about Wall Street.
It’s excellent for sure, with standout performances by Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons. Spacey plays the middle manager who must pull off the impossible task of dumping the toxic assets before the buyers catch on. His conflicted soul is the moral center of the movie, and Spacey gives one of his best performances. Jeremy Irons is equally riveting as the salesman who runs the firm while never sure of exactly what he’s selling, just that it has made him rich.
Watching the mass survival instinct of a company in trouble, and the lengths they will go to is interesting. The problem is that the story is so dryly told it feels methodical. The emotional detachment that most of the brokers feel permeates the movie. It’s their love of money that they put first, but it’s a love with no passion.
Tree of Life – 4
You’ll like this movie if you
a. Are a movie critic
b. Like stunning visuals
c. Hate dialogue
Wow. I’m not sure where to begin. This is the consensus best picture of the year per the film critics. (See metacritic.com) It’s visually stunning – that’s true. Apparently director Terrance Malick is telling the story of the creation of the earth, counterpointing it with the story of a repressed family in Texas in the 1950’s. Brad Pitt plays the strict father of 3 sons, and he’s perfect, as is Jessica Chastain as his wife. The oldest son Jack grows up to be played by Sean Penn who is apparently still suffering from his upbringing. Most of the abuse is shown, as there is probably less dialogue per minute than any movie since talkies began.
Malick’s Days of Heaven is one of my favorite movies, so I don’t consider myself a dolt on his style. This movie has been compared to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and that’s an apt comparison, as in the wildly artistic scenes, I just could not figure out what he was getting at. The pacing is so slow I’m sure it will try the patience of the typical movie-goer. I’m probably wasting my breath here anyway. The movie never made it to Mississippi, you probably won’t see it, and I couldn’t sit through it again if you paid me.
Scanning the Satellite
Cedar Rapids – 6
This 2011 feature did nothing at the box office and it’s easy to see why. It doesn’t know if it’s a comedy or a drama, and I certainly didn’t either. It starts out as “country bumpkin goes to the city,” and there are some funny bits there, as John C. Reilly, Ann Heche, and Ed Helms put on quite a raunchy show. Then the movie turns serious and Capraesque and I thought it lost steam, but maybe you won’t.
Jolene – 5
I watched this movie just to check out the debut 2008 performance by this year’s breakout star Jessica Chastain who plays the title role. Her stunning work in 6 movies released in 2011 has earned her accolades and recognition by several critics groups. That amazing charisma is on display in an otherwise average movie that has no idea what it wants to be. Is it soft porn, is it soap opera, is it a lifetime movie? Hard to figure, but worth watching to see the sparkle of an actress we’ll be watching for a long time to come. She gives way more than the movie deserves.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Saints Report # 15 - December 26, 2011
If it turns out that Drew Brees only holds the NFL single-season yardage record for one week, it won’t matter to the who-dat nation. Monday night he gave them another in a series of thrills as he led a thrashing of the Atlanta Falcons 45-16. Usually a blow-out like this will result in early exits, but in the midst of the growing euphoria not a creature was stirring in that direction as Brees closed in on Marino’s record.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend a lot of great events at the Superdome. That first Monday night game where Steve Gleason blocked the punt. Michael Jordan’s Final Four. The NFC Championship over the Vikings. About 15 Sugar Bowls (before the BCS Bullshit began) including Michael Vick running all over the carpet against Florida State, Tennessee’s upset of the Miami Hurricanes, and Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, and several National Championship games. Pete Maravich and the New Orleans Jazz. Ali-Spinks in 1978. Two Super Bowls, both involving the New England Patriots, one starring Brett Favre, and one Tom Brady. The Saints first playoff victory over the Rams, and too many Saints games to count.
What made this one just as special? It was a culmination of sorts. The game it came closest to for me was the Cal Ripken record breaker, which I was lucky enought to attend. It wasn’t so much about winning and losing – that was decided early. It was a new pinnacle. It was Drew Brees saying thank you to a special sports nation and the nation thanking him right back. The magical hold he has on this fan base is earned. It’s earned in his hard work, his amazing preparation and his strict discipline. It’s in his community service and his accessible personality. He’s made all the right moves, living in uptown instead of Ormond or Mandeville and participating in the uniquely orleanian rituals from Mardi Gras to restaurant exploration. Drew Brees has done more than help win a Super Bowl. He’s become a part of the fabric of a region the way only a few stars do. Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Walter Payton, Roger Staubach, Joe Montana. Icons. It’s when the stars align – the stars of talent, preparation, and execution and a man becomes iconic for a whole community. It’s been an amazing journey that every Saints fan should feel lucky to have participated in. That we would expect nothing less than the locker room speech that followed the game, captured by ESPN, is just another example of his class and commitment to victory in it's many forms.
Practically it was a climax of offensive excellence. Mickey Loomis is the provider, Sean Payton is the mastermind and Drew Brees is the executioner behind a perfect storm of an offense. It is an incredible collection of talent that Brees utilizes to this amazing point – we the nation, and Brees the quarterback, truly believe that every drive will result in a touchdown. We are drinking this in. We are the beneficiaries, the spoiled nation. But mostly, we are surprised – shocked when a defense slows the Saints offense down. Punting? An aberration.
Unfortunately there are minor technicalities ahead in the last week of the NFL season. Brees has broken the record, but not SET it. The setting will only occur at the end of play Sunday. Tom Brady is nipping at the heels of Marino and Brees, only 190 yards back. Brees and Brady both have baggage here. While they have playoff seeding to play for, they also have bad Game 16 injury-memories that they share with their coaches. Wes Welker, Jimmy Graham, Pierre Thomas, Malcolm Jenkins all went down in less than urgent games.
So this soap opera of record-making will unfold Sunday with team-by-team subplots.
The playoffs are looming. The remote chance of a first-round bye should be enough to send the Saints into a full battle mode this coming weekend. The opportunity the Patriots have to secure the first seed will certainly send them. The rapidly improving Panthers and probable rookie of the year Cam Newton will be another test for the also improved Saints defense. The defense, while still not getting the Sharperesque turnovers is bending a lot, but breaking a little. They are definitely playing well enough to support the offense deep into the playoffs, and the Saints have a chance to equal the 13-3 record of their Super Bowl run.
I have to tell you I don’t look forward to a third meeting with the Falcons. If the playoffs don’t motivate them, they can watch film of the record breaking to get them stoked up. Even worse, the Lions are just plain scary. In fact, here’s my personal fear meter in the trek to the Super Bowl:
1. Detroit
2. Green Bay
3. Atlanta
4. San Francisco
A very good Saints team will be looking to elevate to greatness for a month and as usual it will largely rest on the shoulders of their iconic #9.
January football – gotta love it. Here we go.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend a lot of great events at the Superdome. That first Monday night game where Steve Gleason blocked the punt. Michael Jordan’s Final Four. The NFC Championship over the Vikings. About 15 Sugar Bowls (before the BCS Bullshit began) including Michael Vick running all over the carpet against Florida State, Tennessee’s upset of the Miami Hurricanes, and Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Herschel Walker, and several National Championship games. Pete Maravich and the New Orleans Jazz. Ali-Spinks in 1978. Two Super Bowls, both involving the New England Patriots, one starring Brett Favre, and one Tom Brady. The Saints first playoff victory over the Rams, and too many Saints games to count.
What made this one just as special? It was a culmination of sorts. The game it came closest to for me was the Cal Ripken record breaker, which I was lucky enought to attend. It wasn’t so much about winning and losing – that was decided early. It was a new pinnacle. It was Drew Brees saying thank you to a special sports nation and the nation thanking him right back. The magical hold he has on this fan base is earned. It’s earned in his hard work, his amazing preparation and his strict discipline. It’s in his community service and his accessible personality. He’s made all the right moves, living in uptown instead of Ormond or Mandeville and participating in the uniquely orleanian rituals from Mardi Gras to restaurant exploration. Drew Brees has done more than help win a Super Bowl. He’s become a part of the fabric of a region the way only a few stars do. Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Walter Payton, Roger Staubach, Joe Montana. Icons. It’s when the stars align – the stars of talent, preparation, and execution and a man becomes iconic for a whole community. It’s been an amazing journey that every Saints fan should feel lucky to have participated in. That we would expect nothing less than the locker room speech that followed the game, captured by ESPN, is just another example of his class and commitment to victory in it's many forms.
Practically it was a climax of offensive excellence. Mickey Loomis is the provider, Sean Payton is the mastermind and Drew Brees is the executioner behind a perfect storm of an offense. It is an incredible collection of talent that Brees utilizes to this amazing point – we the nation, and Brees the quarterback, truly believe that every drive will result in a touchdown. We are drinking this in. We are the beneficiaries, the spoiled nation. But mostly, we are surprised – shocked when a defense slows the Saints offense down. Punting? An aberration.
Unfortunately there are minor technicalities ahead in the last week of the NFL season. Brees has broken the record, but not SET it. The setting will only occur at the end of play Sunday. Tom Brady is nipping at the heels of Marino and Brees, only 190 yards back. Brees and Brady both have baggage here. While they have playoff seeding to play for, they also have bad Game 16 injury-memories that they share with their coaches. Wes Welker, Jimmy Graham, Pierre Thomas, Malcolm Jenkins all went down in less than urgent games.
So this soap opera of record-making will unfold Sunday with team-by-team subplots.
The playoffs are looming. The remote chance of a first-round bye should be enough to send the Saints into a full battle mode this coming weekend. The opportunity the Patriots have to secure the first seed will certainly send them. The rapidly improving Panthers and probable rookie of the year Cam Newton will be another test for the also improved Saints defense. The defense, while still not getting the Sharperesque turnovers is bending a lot, but breaking a little. They are definitely playing well enough to support the offense deep into the playoffs, and the Saints have a chance to equal the 13-3 record of their Super Bowl run.
I have to tell you I don’t look forward to a third meeting with the Falcons. If the playoffs don’t motivate them, they can watch film of the record breaking to get them stoked up. Even worse, the Lions are just plain scary. In fact, here’s my personal fear meter in the trek to the Super Bowl:
1. Detroit
2. Green Bay
3. Atlanta
4. San Francisco
A very good Saints team will be looking to elevate to greatness for a month and as usual it will largely rest on the shoulders of their iconic #9.
January football – gotta love it. Here we go.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saints Report # 14 - December 18, 2011
Living the Dream.
Despite some early hiccups, the Saints disposed of the hapless Minnesota Vikings 42-20 Sunday. Saints fans are living the dream. Their quarterback is having a record season. Yesterday he threw for over 400 yards and 5 touchdowns and made it look easy. It looks like Drew Brees will break Dan Marino’s single season yardage record, which has stood for 27 years, and he may do it Monday night with one game still left on the schedule. Raise your hand if you ever thought that record would reside in New Orleans. Only in your dreams .
Here is the conclusion after Sunday’s beat down . The Saints are at this moment the best football team on the planet. They could probably even beat LSU.
Let’s start with the defense. They have slowly improved throughout the year, particularly in stopping the run. They are not creating turnovers, but they do specialize in harassing young quarterbacks. The secondary, when healthy, is very solid. Porter, Greer, and Robinson are steady coverage guys, even though it’s really impossible to effectively cover anyone in the NFL. Roman Harper, while weak in coverage is strong in run stoppage and pressuring quarterbacks. Unfortunately he has become a flag-magnet, as referees have apparently added him to the most-wanted list. Malcolm Jenkins should be joining Harper as a pro-bowler soon, although he is in the middle of every scrum. I guess he’s the Saints enforcer. Jonathan Vilma has been slowed by injury, and while the linebacker crew has been spectacular at times, they are probably the weakest part of the defense. What’s promising is that their young linebackers appear to be more athletic than in the past. They are running sideline to sideline better than at any times in recent years.
No one has noticed that the Saints Special teams, led by Darren Sproles and Courtney Roby, have been terrific all year.
Then there’s the offense. The Saints offense may be the best assemblage of talent ever. Drew Brees is in command of a healthy arsenal that is hitting on all cylinders, and any other cliché you want to apply. There are three quarterbacks, Brees, Brady, and Rodgers, that are playing at as high a level as the NFL has ever seen. It’s video game football and Brees has reached a comfort level with this Sean Payton offense that makes them a nightmare for defenses.
So now we can enjoy this holiday season without the ghosts of Christmas past. Next Monday night the Saints will face their only nemesis – a ball control offense. Ask the no longer undefeated Packers. Keep away is the only way to derail the big three quarterbacks. Atlanta will be trying to grind, the Saints will be flinging it all over the yard, and we won’t be thinking of Christmases past.
We’re too busy living the dream.
Despite some early hiccups, the Saints disposed of the hapless Minnesota Vikings 42-20 Sunday. Saints fans are living the dream. Their quarterback is having a record season. Yesterday he threw for over 400 yards and 5 touchdowns and made it look easy. It looks like Drew Brees will break Dan Marino’s single season yardage record, which has stood for 27 years, and he may do it Monday night with one game still left on the schedule. Raise your hand if you ever thought that record would reside in New Orleans. Only in your dreams .
Here is the conclusion after Sunday’s beat down . The Saints are at this moment the best football team on the planet. They could probably even beat LSU.
Let’s start with the defense. They have slowly improved throughout the year, particularly in stopping the run. They are not creating turnovers, but they do specialize in harassing young quarterbacks. The secondary, when healthy, is very solid. Porter, Greer, and Robinson are steady coverage guys, even though it’s really impossible to effectively cover anyone in the NFL. Roman Harper, while weak in coverage is strong in run stoppage and pressuring quarterbacks. Unfortunately he has become a flag-magnet, as referees have apparently added him to the most-wanted list. Malcolm Jenkins should be joining Harper as a pro-bowler soon, although he is in the middle of every scrum. I guess he’s the Saints enforcer. Jonathan Vilma has been slowed by injury, and while the linebacker crew has been spectacular at times, they are probably the weakest part of the defense. What’s promising is that their young linebackers appear to be more athletic than in the past. They are running sideline to sideline better than at any times in recent years.
No one has noticed that the Saints Special teams, led by Darren Sproles and Courtney Roby, have been terrific all year.
Then there’s the offense. The Saints offense may be the best assemblage of talent ever. Drew Brees is in command of a healthy arsenal that is hitting on all cylinders, and any other cliché you want to apply. There are three quarterbacks, Brees, Brady, and Rodgers, that are playing at as high a level as the NFL has ever seen. It’s video game football and Brees has reached a comfort level with this Sean Payton offense that makes them a nightmare for defenses.
So now we can enjoy this holiday season without the ghosts of Christmas past. Next Monday night the Saints will face their only nemesis – a ball control offense. Ask the no longer undefeated Packers. Keep away is the only way to derail the big three quarterbacks. Atlanta will be trying to grind, the Saints will be flinging it all over the yard, and we won’t be thinking of Christmases past.
We’re too busy living the dream.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Saints Report # 13 - December 11, 2011
In a playoff clinching performance the Saints travelled to Nashville and defeated a fine Tennessee Titan defense, an opportunistic offense, and another over-zealous officiating crew in moving to 10-3 with their 5th straight win.
Wait – it’s not just me that thought the game was horribly ref’d:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Adventures-in-Officiating-Do-some-refs-care-mor?urn=nfl-wp13646
In the midst of the endless parade of flags, the Saints continued their balanced attack. That’s the good news. My theory is that if they make it to the NFC Championship game, almost surely at Lambeau Field, they will have to run the ball, control the clock, and still have some aerial success to beat the Packers.
The bad news is that they will have to score more than they did against the Titans.
The defense played well, coming up with enough big plays to win. Amazingly Drew Brees stretched his streak of games with a touchdown pass to 40, second only to Johnny Unitas. His two TD passes to Marques Colston in the 4th quarter brought the Saints back from a 10-9 deficit. Chris Ivory filled the Mark Ingram role (or is Ingram filling the Ivory role?) smashing the ball into the line on numerous occasions. Pierre Thomas played his usual steady game and Darren Sproles had a spectacular punt return called back by a phantom holding car.
So now they travel to Minnesota where the Vikings have lost close games all year. With the rest of their games in doors, the Saints offense should flourish.
Around the League:
The Cardinals helped the Saints out by stunning the San Francisco 49’ers who are returning to earth, and will hopefully continue to slide so the Saints can overtake them for the second seed in the NFC. The Tebow Juggernaut continues in Denver in concert with a terrific defense. My Super Bowl AFC pick, the Houston Texans, are down to their 3rd quarterback and hanging on. In Dallas Jerry Jones has figured out everything about the NFL except the head-coach-hiring part. Good news Jerry, Norv Turner should be available soon and you should scoop him up. The Bears are doing a Dallas-like implosion and the Falcons and Giants look destined for the playoffs. The Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens are sure playoff bets. In other words, not much has changed lately in the NFL, except the officiating.
Wait – it’s not just me that thought the game was horribly ref’d:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Adventures-in-Officiating-Do-some-refs-care-mor?urn=nfl-wp13646
In the midst of the endless parade of flags, the Saints continued their balanced attack. That’s the good news. My theory is that if they make it to the NFC Championship game, almost surely at Lambeau Field, they will have to run the ball, control the clock, and still have some aerial success to beat the Packers.
The bad news is that they will have to score more than they did against the Titans.
The defense played well, coming up with enough big plays to win. Amazingly Drew Brees stretched his streak of games with a touchdown pass to 40, second only to Johnny Unitas. His two TD passes to Marques Colston in the 4th quarter brought the Saints back from a 10-9 deficit. Chris Ivory filled the Mark Ingram role (or is Ingram filling the Ivory role?) smashing the ball into the line on numerous occasions. Pierre Thomas played his usual steady game and Darren Sproles had a spectacular punt return called back by a phantom holding car.
So now they travel to Minnesota where the Vikings have lost close games all year. With the rest of their games in doors, the Saints offense should flourish.
Around the League:
The Cardinals helped the Saints out by stunning the San Francisco 49’ers who are returning to earth, and will hopefully continue to slide so the Saints can overtake them for the second seed in the NFC. The Tebow Juggernaut continues in Denver in concert with a terrific defense. My Super Bowl AFC pick, the Houston Texans, are down to their 3rd quarterback and hanging on. In Dallas Jerry Jones has figured out everything about the NFL except the head-coach-hiring part. Good news Jerry, Norv Turner should be available soon and you should scoop him up. The Bears are doing a Dallas-like implosion and the Falcons and Giants look destined for the playoffs. The Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens are sure playoff bets. In other words, not much has changed lately in the NFL, except the officiating.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Saints Report # 12 - December 4, 2011
During my second trip to the Superdome in seven days, I just had to marvel at how things have changed in my lifetime of watching the Saints.
Sunday night the Saints routinely disposed of the Detroit Lions 31-17, helped along by their opponent’s determination to self-destruct play by play. Has any receiver gotten called for three offensive interferences in one game, or was Nate Burleson determined to have this record all to himself? Somehow the Lions accumulated enough yardage to go up and down the field almost 6 times, but only scored 17 points, repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. However, the Lions showed enough talent to make it ok with me if we don’t have to play them in the playoffs.
In the meantime Drew Brees continued his assault on Marino’s yardage record that seems like it will only be derailed if he sits and rests in the final game of the season. Winning their 4th straight game, a feat it will be nice to repeat at year-end, puts them on pace to duplicate the magical 13-3 record of 2009 if they don’t stumble. Wouldn’t that be something?
I confess, there was a moment after the Saints scored one of their touchdowns when I didn’t get crunk. I was crunkless. Now if you haven’t been to a Saints game in the last 3 years you don’t know what I mean by crunk, and to be honest with you I’m not sure that I know what I mean. It’s a form of 7 point Saints euphoria that just seems to fit the city that care forgot about as perfectly as gumbo. It involves a song, a lot of singing and waving of arms that I haven’t really perfected and am not sure I want to. So I didn’t stand up and get crunk. I just sat there. I just wanted to look around and marvel at the atmosphere in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
First I marveled that despite the renovations, the luxury name enhancement, and my expensive plaza ticket, I still was without a luxury cup holder. That’s all I really want now. I have a Superbowl and the wardrobe that comes with it, proclaiming that I am a world champion. I just want a cup holder so I don’t have to stand in spilled drink. For some reason the Superdome is the open-container capital of the sports world. No plastic tops, no caps allowed. I guess we could not be prevented from hurling plastic caps onto the field, although I don’t know about you but my record for hurling a plastic drink top is about 5 yards. Thus when you are required to stand up and get crunk, you set your drink on the floor and there is a 36% chance you will kick it over within 5 minutes and stand in it during subsequent crunks. If we could get Mercedes-Benz to spring for cup-holders I swear I’ll buy a Mercedes just as soon as I can afford it.
Anyway, in my state of non-crunkiness during which I chose to hold my diet coke rather than wave my arms I realized that we had experienced a real paradigm shift. The most fun I’d had was in that 13-0 start we had on the way to the Superbowl. It was completely unknown territory, like the Packers are enjoying right now. But, in the sixth year of the Payton/Brees era I remembered how Payton always wanted to emulate the Patriots organizational consistency. Well here’s what’s cool:
The Saints expect to win.
The Fans expect to win.
The commentators expect the Saints to win.
The bettors expect the Saints to win.
The Saints are much more likely to win than lose. They, like all teams throw in a stinker (Rams) from time to time, but those are pretty rare.
The paradigm has shifted. We are an elite program with elite personnel from top to bottom. We pluck the unheralded (Jimmy Graham) and the heralded (Mark Ingram) and the undervalued (Darren Sproles) and we’re officially re-loaded.
Sure, anyone that watches the Saints knows we could still use some help on defense, but there are only a few defenses in the NFL – the Ravens, year after year or until Lewis and Reed retire, the Steelers most of the time, and the 49’ers this year. And it’s impossible to play defense in the NFL anyway, when the referees have one hand in their pocket and the league office is doling out fines on their own new paradigm.
So, it’s not just that we’re spoiled. Fast forward 10 years and we’ll be saying of our quarterback, “He’s no Drew Brees,” because he won’t be. After all how often does one Hall of Fame QB follow immediately behind another? It just doesn’t happen, except in Green Bay, and I sure hope they appreciate their good fortune. But I’ve got news for the Pack, barring a “stinker” (like Seattle last year) The Saints are coming.
Next, the Saints are off to Tennessee where Chris Johnson is just wrapping up training camp and Matt Hasselback is undoubtedly having flashbacks to that playoff torching of the Saints last year. The Saints have improved at stopping the run but put so little pressure on the quarterback that 400 yard games are the norm, and Brees and the offense must score constantly. Which they do. It’s the new paradigm.
Sunday night the Saints routinely disposed of the Detroit Lions 31-17, helped along by their opponent’s determination to self-destruct play by play. Has any receiver gotten called for three offensive interferences in one game, or was Nate Burleson determined to have this record all to himself? Somehow the Lions accumulated enough yardage to go up and down the field almost 6 times, but only scored 17 points, repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. However, the Lions showed enough talent to make it ok with me if we don’t have to play them in the playoffs.
In the meantime Drew Brees continued his assault on Marino’s yardage record that seems like it will only be derailed if he sits and rests in the final game of the season. Winning their 4th straight game, a feat it will be nice to repeat at year-end, puts them on pace to duplicate the magical 13-3 record of 2009 if they don’t stumble. Wouldn’t that be something?
I confess, there was a moment after the Saints scored one of their touchdowns when I didn’t get crunk. I was crunkless. Now if you haven’t been to a Saints game in the last 3 years you don’t know what I mean by crunk, and to be honest with you I’m not sure that I know what I mean. It’s a form of 7 point Saints euphoria that just seems to fit the city that care forgot about as perfectly as gumbo. It involves a song, a lot of singing and waving of arms that I haven’t really perfected and am not sure I want to. So I didn’t stand up and get crunk. I just sat there. I just wanted to look around and marvel at the atmosphere in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
First I marveled that despite the renovations, the luxury name enhancement, and my expensive plaza ticket, I still was without a luxury cup holder. That’s all I really want now. I have a Superbowl and the wardrobe that comes with it, proclaiming that I am a world champion. I just want a cup holder so I don’t have to stand in spilled drink. For some reason the Superdome is the open-container capital of the sports world. No plastic tops, no caps allowed. I guess we could not be prevented from hurling plastic caps onto the field, although I don’t know about you but my record for hurling a plastic drink top is about 5 yards. Thus when you are required to stand up and get crunk, you set your drink on the floor and there is a 36% chance you will kick it over within 5 minutes and stand in it during subsequent crunks. If we could get Mercedes-Benz to spring for cup-holders I swear I’ll buy a Mercedes just as soon as I can afford it.
Anyway, in my state of non-crunkiness during which I chose to hold my diet coke rather than wave my arms I realized that we had experienced a real paradigm shift. The most fun I’d had was in that 13-0 start we had on the way to the Superbowl. It was completely unknown territory, like the Packers are enjoying right now. But, in the sixth year of the Payton/Brees era I remembered how Payton always wanted to emulate the Patriots organizational consistency. Well here’s what’s cool:
The Saints expect to win.
The Fans expect to win.
The commentators expect the Saints to win.
The bettors expect the Saints to win.
The Saints are much more likely to win than lose. They, like all teams throw in a stinker (Rams) from time to time, but those are pretty rare.
The paradigm has shifted. We are an elite program with elite personnel from top to bottom. We pluck the unheralded (Jimmy Graham) and the heralded (Mark Ingram) and the undervalued (Darren Sproles) and we’re officially re-loaded.
Sure, anyone that watches the Saints knows we could still use some help on defense, but there are only a few defenses in the NFL – the Ravens, year after year or until Lewis and Reed retire, the Steelers most of the time, and the 49’ers this year. And it’s impossible to play defense in the NFL anyway, when the referees have one hand in their pocket and the league office is doling out fines on their own new paradigm.
So, it’s not just that we’re spoiled. Fast forward 10 years and we’ll be saying of our quarterback, “He’s no Drew Brees,” because he won’t be. After all how often does one Hall of Fame QB follow immediately behind another? It just doesn’t happen, except in Green Bay, and I sure hope they appreciate their good fortune. But I’ve got news for the Pack, barring a “stinker” (like Seattle last year) The Saints are coming.
Next, the Saints are off to Tennessee where Chris Johnson is just wrapping up training camp and Matt Hasselback is undoubtedly having flashbacks to that playoff torching of the Saints last year. The Saints have improved at stopping the run but put so little pressure on the quarterback that 400 yard games are the norm, and Brees and the offense must score constantly. Which they do. It’s the new paradigm.
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