The best seat in the house is the view from the couch

Live Blog - Pats-Chargers Divisional Round - First Half

6:26 I think I need to start a new post for the second half and any overtime that may occur. And I'm really starting to wish I had spoken up and grabbed a six-pack of Miller Lites. Damnit. Water for me...

6:22 Halftime. I need to take a breath. 14-10 Chargers, Patriots get the 2nd half kick. I'd say that after the way New England played the first 28 minutes of that half, this is as good a position as they could have hoped to be in. Also, my boss just woke up from his power nap and watched the two-minute drill laying on the couch. His analysis of the drive and score? "Interesting." Yeah - he's not much of a sports fan (as evidenced at lunch today when he said "Now, who is Ted Williams again?").

6:19 TOUCHDOWN. Nice! I've been sitting here for the past ten minutes saying "They need seven... they need the end zone... they need a touchdown... Why are they running?" Yeah, ignore that last one. I should know better than to doubt Bill Belichick by now. Stupid, stupid...

6:11 Correct me if I'm wrong, but in a twominute drill, don't you try to run as many plays as possible, without letting the clock run out? Why, then, have the Patriots run five plays on this drive - four of them runs? The clock keeps ticking, and they still aren't across the 50 yard line. It vexxes me... I am extremely vexxed.

6:04 It's fairly disgusting how good LdT is. But just remember, he's a dirty player. So no more accolades for him. Just faint praise. But that screen was a thing of beauty to watch, even if it was painful as a Pats fan. Luckily, the Patriots allowed Michael Turner to walk in to the end zone on the next play, so LdT wouldn't get the touchdown on his stats...

6:01 Sadly, the only positive I can come up with right now is that Todd Sauerbrun is having a very nice game. He's already got two punts over fifty yards. Of course, with the ineptitude of New England's offense today, he's getting plenty of practice.

5:56 Artrell Hawkins just came free on a blitz and slammed Philip Rivers. I have no idea how Rivers held onto the ball there - he had his arm completely cocked to throw, and managed to hold the ball with only one hand all the way to the ground. Also, on the replay CBS showed, LdT clearly took a dive right at Tedy Bruschi's knees while an offensive lineman was holding Bruschi up. So LdT has lost all respect from me. He's a dirty player - he just doesn't get caught.

5:53 OK, that was funny. The Chargers kicked off to the Patriots. There was a flag (the first of the game at 7:14 in the second quarter...) for a facemask on the Chargers. But as the ref was announcing it, the Chargers defense was milling around in the background, walking towards the ball... until they heard the call. All you could see was seven sets of legs walking left and stopping on a dime, turning around and walking to the right. And naturally, as I type all of this, Brady thrown a terrible interception. Looked like Donnie Edwards was the receiver. This does not inspire confidence in me.

5:48 Hmm... 2nd Down and 1 from the two-yard line. Gee, I can't imagine what play the Chargers could run here. How about, oh, I don't know... maybe a run to LaDanian Tomlinson? I mean, could it be more obvious? It's like a penalty kick in soccer - you know it's coming, you just have to try and guess which side to run to.

5:45 Incomplete pass. Bullshit. Whatever. 2nd and 10 from the 42 yard line for the Chargers, instead of 1st and ten from the three for the Patriots. I can't even get worked up about this. By the way - it's almost unfair to ask the 5'9" Hobbs to cover the 6'4" Gates. He's giving up seven inches, for Christ's Sake!

5:42 No way this Gates "catch/fumble" at the one-yard-line holds up under the inevitable review challenge... I think it's a fumble, but it's close.

5:40 Martyball is dead! going for it on fourth and one twice in the first half? Well, this one proved to be the right decision, as fourth and one netted about twenty yards on a simple off-tackle left run. By the way - I'm removing the "PM" from these posts. I think we all know which half of the day it is.

5:38PM OK, here's my question. If Todd Sauerbraun was available earlier this season, why the hell did the Patriots ever bring back Ken Walter? The guy has like a 26-yards-per-punt average! I prefer my punters to be juiced up anyway - maybe they'll even throw a block or make a tackle...

5:27PM After the first quarter, LdT has 52 yards on seven carries. Just under 8-yards-per-freakin'-carry! But, the Pats still lead. I'll give Tomlinson 350 yards rushing, just as long as the Pats win the game. By the way - nine posts in the first quarter and twelve since the pre-game show ended. There's no way I can keep this pace up. My fingers will explode at some point.

5:25PM And the Pats are on the board first. Personally, I would have gone for it on fourth down, but Belichick proved me wrong, sending in Stephen Gostkowski for a 50-yard field goal. 3-0 Pats. Funny - New England went for it on fourth down roughly 372 during the regular season, leading many to believe they didn't trust their rookie kicker. But they gave him three opportunities last week against the Jets and once from long distance today, and he's delivered.

5:20PM I never want to hear Phil Simms say "Tom Brady can stick it in some tight spots, you know..." again. Oh wait, he's still talking... "Tom can do it long, and soft, or he can push it hard..." I feel dirty just typing this. Of course, some jackass in the Eagles/Saints game yesterday said that Jeff Garcia "took a hit in the backside". That would be funny enough by itself, but he went on to say how Garcia probably "preferred it in the backside, because no one likes taking it in the front." I can't even keep typing.

5:16PM I've got to remember to tone down my yelling at the TV right now - my boss is taking a "power nap" upstairs after flying four times and working three 8-hour shifts in the past four days. It's probably OK, since I've got a screaming sore throat... HOLY SHIT! Great push by Mike Vrabel around the end, strips the ball, and the Pats recover - all on 4th and 11. It's almost like Marty Schottenheimer went for it there just to disprove his "conservative" critics. Works for me...

5:13PM I've got a real bad feeling that the Chargers are the first team this year to realize that Ellis Hobbs is a terrible cover cornerback. I've got an even worse feeling that if LdT keeps turning five-yard losses into 12-yard gains, it's going to be a long day for the Pats.

5:08PM Two drives, two three-and-outs for the Patriots. Hmm. Pretty inauspicious start to the game here on offense. By the way - I don't know why everyone was so surprised over the Shawne Merriman steroids scandal. The guy always looks like he's jacked up to the n-th degree. Plus, that little sack dance seems kind of "twitchy" to me, like he's got excess energy and needs a way to get it out. maybe it's just me.

5:01PM I like what I see so far out of the Chargers' offense - that is to say, I like the fact that they seem to be completely incompetant without LdT running like crazy. Simms keeps saying that Rivers doesn't look rattled by the pressure, but he's already made a couple bad choices, not to mention that he's only completed two passes for about 11 yards. Now if the Patriots could get a first down or two and get out of the shadow of their own goalline, they might be in business.

4:56PM Clinton Hart... welcome to infamy. That might have been the easiest pick not thrown by someone named Grossman, Plummer or Bledsoe. That's what you get for trying to make a hot-dog basket catch - just put your hands up and grab the ball. By the way - there's about a 98% chance that The MightyMJD and I are writing the same thing at the same time right now...

4:49PM Oh, apparantely the game started. Oops. I was in story-telling mode. Gee, no surprise - LdT has a couple big plays already. Nice. Damn, what if I was right when I said the Pats would give LdT his yards, but force Rivers to beat them...

4:45PM Something else I should mention. Since I'm in Orlando for a work conference, five other people from my company are also in town (though only two other have arrived as of right now - my two bosses...) Anyway, one of my bosses landed a few hours ago, and I picked him up at the airport (I'm the only person with a rental car). We went out to lunch, and he decided to go to a supermarket for food, just in case he gets hungry. We're walking through the aisles, and the store sells alcohol (not something I see everyday, living in Massachusetts). So he looks at me and asks "Oh, do you want something to drink for the football game?" Now, I enjoy my job, so I'd prefer not to down a fifth of Jack watching the Pats and end up looking like a total lush in front of my boss, so I simply respond "Yeah, I could go for a drink or something." I should have clarified the "something" - he bought a six pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade. And I can't even complain.

4:41PM Thank God - it looks like I get Jim Nantz & Phil Simms on the broadcast. I'm not exactly thrilled, but at least I don't have to listen to Dick Enberg referring to "Terry Bruschi" and "Todd Brady". No, I'm not making either of those up.

4:35PM Yup, here it is - the new post. By the way, CBS is running one of those "let's look back at the season" montage packages... first of all, isn't this they type of thing that you run during your final broadcast of the season? Doesn't CBS have the AFC Title game next week too? Also, they showed multiple clips from games that were broadcast on other networks... I thought that was against some type of archane NFL broadcasting rule... whatever. I'm getting a drink before the game starts.

posted by Big D @ 4:38 PM