Posted by Chris on Oct 26, 2008 in
Football is Life 
Not Live from The Aluminum Jungle
BLUE HEAVEN, NC - After an inauspicious start, the UNC Tar Heels shook off the bad play that began in the last two minutes of last week’s game against Virginia and layed a big smack-down on 23rd-ranked Boston College.
I was in Kenan Stadium the last time these two foes met there. Matt Ryan, now the starting QB for the Atlanta Falcons, had a wonderful day. Sadly, the Heels, did not. Things would be different this time.
In BC’s opening drive, they methodically moved down the field and kicked a short field goal. The drive took almost half of the first quarter, and you could sort of get the sense that this was going to be a long day. Two offensive plays later, BC’s prolific pass rush stampeded over the Carolina offensive line, whacked the ball out of Cameron Sexton’s hand, and then returned the fumblerooski 13 yards for a TD. Oh no, here we go again.
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Tags: football, smackdown, Tar Heels
Posted by Chris on Oct 22, 2008 in
Football is Life Adam Schein, I am calling you out! Last Sunday, on my way to the Panthers game with my daughter, you boldly announced on your Sunday morning show on Sirius NFL Radio that the Saints were going to march in the Charlotte and knock off the Panthers. After the way Carolina performed the week before in Tampa, I couldn’t blame you. Of course, Haley could; you received a fair amount of boos from her as you expounded on all of the reasons why you thought the Ain’ts had a shot. Obviously, you were mistaken.
I have no beef there. I was frankly a little concerned about the game myself. But after that performance, how could you doubt them again? Especially at home? Come on, big daddy! What’re you thinkin’? Arizona?
ARIZONA? Are you kidding me? I know they look good, and nobody beats the Wiz, and he is your guy and all - I get it. But Arizona?
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Tags: football, nfl radio, smack talk
Posted by Chris on Oct 20, 2008 in
Football is Life,
The Fam I love Autumn. The cool weather, beautiful colors, leaves flying around. All that crap. But what I most like, is the soothing sound of the lumber being laid on some unsuspecting wide receiver just as he thought he was going to be catching a pass over the middle. WHAP! No sir, you are not holding onto that ball in my house!
The Carolina Panthers awoke from the awful dreams of yesterweek with really bad attitude. The number two rated offense in the league was coming into their den. To make matters worse, it was the Saints. The same group who came into their stadium and kept them out of the playoffs two years ago. We forgive, we don’t forget.
The Cats’ number three ranked defense was up to the challenge. After allowing N’awlins to score easily on their second offensive series, the Panthers battened-down the hatches and put the Saints in their rightful place - in the cellar of the NFC South.
Carolina’s defense was NASTY. They harrassed MVP-candidate Drew Brees all day long. Led by Julius Peppers’ sack, forced fumble, batted pass and multiple tackles, the Panthers D locked the highly vaunted Saints O in a little box and threw away the key. This defense brings back memories of the past; when Carolina was a place opposing teams did not want to play because you just knew it was going to be a fight. Foxy and company have the smash-mouth attitude working again, and it is a joy to watch.
I won’t neglect the offense, though. One of the reasons the Panthers D is having such good fortune this year is because it is not all on them. The offense can actually hold the ball, move the chains, then hit you deep. They lead the league in big plays. Really. I’m serious. Go look it up. And with the terrible two in the backfield, the best receiver on the planet on one side and old-man winter on the other, they can hit you six ways to Sunday.
So, you may have guessed by now, the Panthers beat that Louisiana butt. It was great. I went to the game with Haley, then later I watched the Tivo’d version again just for kicks. It was just as good the second time around. I love a good rout - if my team is the one doing the routing.
Haley is ready for action!
Haley had a great time too. She was really into the action, even though her own football knowledge is admittedly weak. But by the end of the game, she was screaming “First Down!” with the rest of us every time the Panthers got a new set of downs. She was waving her Growl Towel. She was talking junk back to the obnoxious N.O. fans seated two rows behind us. Ok, maybe that was me. Either way, we had a ball out there.
I have two tickets to every Panthers’ home game. Have since the beginning. Each week, I take a different kid or my wife. I get to go to 10 games per year, each of them gets 2 (except Carrie who gets the other 2 preseason and any playoff game tickets). Seems reasonable to me. I offered Carrie the chance to take one of the kids herself, but she is too scared of all of the different parking lots uptown; she thinks she will never find her car again. Oh well, at least I tried (although I am secretly thrilled that I get to see all of the games, of course).
Since this is my first post about an NFL game here on this particular blog, I may as well let you know. I am a double-agent. I do love the Panthers, and have been a PSL holder since the initial push to get the team. But I have been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan since I was 5. I don’t see any real conflicts here, since the Panthers play in the NFC, like the same style of play, and were originally built to be Pittsburgh south. Their first coach was Dom Capers, fresh off his stint as the Steelers Defensive Coordinator. They signed many of the Black and Gold’s players in their initial free-agent draft. And the first defense they ran was the Blitzburgh inspired 3-4. So don’t give me any smack talk on how I am not able to be a true fan of both - this ain’t Carolina-dook here. (Editor’s note: you will likely never see dook spelled with a capital D or even correctly on this site. Sorry dookies - I went to UNC. I am sure you understand)
Well, check back next week to see my preview and review of the Panthers game against Arizona. Carrie is riding shotgun on that one - lucky her! Should be a great game. We have another top-rated QB to put in the turf!
Gratuitous picture of cheerleaders in order to boost Google rankings
Tags: football, kids!, Panthers
Posted by Chris on Oct 19, 2008 in
Football is Life Damn those Tar Heels! Just when I started believing all of the hype and getting my hopes up, there they go and show that ugly side again.
The setup: Carolina had not beaten Virginia on the road since 1981. The Heels entered the weekend 5-1, their best record since 1997 (coincidentally, my last year on campus). The Wahoos have been inconsistent this season, and looked ripe for the picking. Chapel Hill had the top defense in the country in the take-away department, and our backup QB looked like he would cause some kind of controversy when the starter returned from injury.
The result: Virginia wins in OT after picking off the ball three times and scoring the game-tying touchdown with 47 ticks left in regulation. They held the Heels to a field goal in Carolina’s only overtime possession, and quickly responded with a game-winning touchdown on their turn.
Well, I guess now I can stop lamenting how we lost by three after being up two touchdowns against Virginia Tech, when during the game T.J. Yates, our fine starting Quarterback, went down.
Since we are 5-2 and look great for a post-season bowl, I will refrain from acting like a typical Tar Heel Football Fan and peeking over at the basketball schedule. But I will not hide my disappointment. It has been a very long time since we have been respectable in football. Looks like I will have to wait just a little while longer before I make those ACC Championship Game travel plans…
Tags: football, Tar Heels
Posted by Chris on Oct 18, 2008 in
Football is Life I coach my sons’ 6-8 year-old Flag Football team, the Steelers. It has been a great experience, and I love the fact that both of my boys can play on the same team. I certainly like only having to go to one practice and one game each week and not having to further complicate an already too-busy schedule, that’s for sure!
One of the things I have been adamant about doing this year is having the kids on a schedule. Each week, a set group of 4 (it’s 4 on 4 during the game) would play offense exclusively in the first half, then switch with the other group and play defense exclusively in the second half. Furthermore, I let one child play Quarterback for his unit for the entire half they are on offense. I rotate the lineups every week, but keep the same groups of 4 together. This has been a really good system. My teams are always balanced, and the kids learn how to play with one another as a unit. Additionally, every kid gets a chance to play QB for a half every few games. I recommend this approach whole-heartedly.
This past week, our regular practice night was taken over by a make-up game we needed to play. Since this broke our regular routine, I figured, what the hay? I might as well get a little nutty with the game and try to make it as fun as possible. Instead of playing our usual rotation of kids, I thought, why not rotate kids in and out as I feel like it and give everyone a chance to do a bunch of different things all in the same game. Sounds like fun, right?
I now know why I have not done it this way before: it’s dumb. Incredibly, excruciatingly dumb.
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Tags: coaching, football, herding cats, kids!
The non-technical, somewhat silly and perhaps slightly off-beat blog of Chris Beck. Those of you who know me will know this is not a stretch. 
