Malik (1/3/08)

I'm back from a nicely earned vacation. It's not that I went anywhere (not counting changing where I was in terms of work and all of that), but I just needed a nice break from all the hassles of work and all of that.

So, to re-cap what I didn't post about on Monday (since I was AWOL); The Seahawks game against the Falcons was horrible. There are only two parts, however, that really stuck out in my mind.

The first is that Brown (the Seattle kicker) is going to have his career shortened if he doesn't get some good defense on the kicking team. He stopped two returns in a row from kick offs. The first saw Brown force the returner out of bounds, and the second saw Brown made a full fledged tackle. That is cool, on one hand, since it shows that Brown is there for the long run. However, it's not a good sign that the entire lineup of people bent on making tackles could not do so and left it up to the kicker (the one guy on the kicking team who should not be there to make tackles) to do the entire job of the kicking team.

The other thing that really stood out to my mind is that the game could have gone for the 'Hawks. It was a close game only because the Seahawk starters really didn't seem to be there for a purpose. If Holmgren was going to put his starters in for a game that meant nothing (afterall, it was the final regular game of the season and the two teams had nothing to gain or lose from the outcome), then he should have done his job; coaching. The plays were called horribly. There were so many instances that it looked like Holmgren called it quits early on and still left his starters out there to face potential injury. If the players are to go all out, then the team needs it's coach in there with the same mentality.

The one play that was not mishandled by the coach, but rather by a player, was the final kick of the game. The Seahawks should have received a nice on-side kick...but Burleson jumped the gun. The game could have easily been tied with a recovered on-side kick (like the Seahawks did; recover). However, Burleson had to jump the gun for an off-sides call that cost the game. I do like Burleson...he's a great returner and a consistent receiver, but he also has his off moments. Unfortunately, his off moments seem to be as common as his great moments and this has to end.

The playoffs are just a couple days away, and it's time for the constant examples of Seahawk mistakes to end. It's time for the coach and players to all come together into a fully functioning unit. The running backs need to be consistent, the coaching needs to be solid, and the o-line needs to give both Hasselbeck and Morris (and that other running back...) some protection. While the game can be won while Hasselbeck is being pressed at every play, it can be won far more easily if he has some coverage and something can be made of the running game.

At least the opponent will be Washington. This will be a hard game, but with how the Seahawks have done on defending against the rush, it's better to face a more balanced team (like the Redskins) than Adrian Peterson and his running skills.

On a different and final note for the day, the new songs from New Years for Rock Band are great. While I don't exactly go for most Rush (I think Lee has one of the worst voices to ever be on the radio; right up there with Yoko Ono), the guitar line is fun and easy to get in to. It also helps the song that the lyrics and singing are not exactly taking front stage on this song. Most of all, Gimme Three Steps is an awesome song. Considering it's roots in Southern Rock (which is a great genre to turn off the masses), there are very few songs that would be able to hit this genre with such a great level of fun. Rounding things out with the Black Crowes only makes for a perfect set list.

I hope that Harmonix keeps up the good surprises with their no longer announced weekly releases. Now we just need some Social Distortion and maybe some Avenged Sevenfold and I'll be one happy fake-guitarist.

Malik

Malik (1/4/08)

Since the NFL playoffs start tomorrow with the first two wild card games (the following day has the other two...in case you needed a reminder), it seems appropriate to share this link; Tecmo Super Bowl forecasting the winners of round one (thanks for the link, Bastich).

While I can't agree with the outcome of the Seattle game, it is still a blast to watch how a game from last decade is predicting the outcome when tweaked with some hacking. It's like looking back in time, but in so many right ways...all to look forward in time.

The main two factors that don't sit right with me cannot be taken into account by the game; the 12th man and Morris. That is to say that with the home field advantage, Seattle will have a nice little boost in performance by watching the countless false starts against the other Washington. Plus, if anything is going to happen that's a guarantee, it's that the 12th man will be even more impressive tomorrow than any other day this season (nothing like a post season game to enhance the noise).

As for Morris...well, as long as Alexander is running like a wounded wildebeest, Morris will get his share of carries. When that happens, anything Tecmo Super Bowl is predicting is going to be off since the game was only hacked with Alexander's stats...not the rotating Alexander/Morris tandem.

Anyway, I imagine the game will be a bit more impressive on the Seahawk's offense than those staggering seven lonely points. I see something closer to a 21-24 outcome...with, hopefully, Seattle getting the 24 on a last second field goal by Josh Brown to clinch the game.

On a different note that is near and dear to my weekend...Rock Band.

I am still finding it hilarious that as new content is released that people online cannot stop bitching about how Harmonix has it "wrong". If it's not the not perfect covers of songs (you can't blame them for making a cover version when they either cannot license the original or the original was so mixed apart that one instrument would be eliminated in sound), then it's the selection. That's the one that really gets to me; how people complain about the selection of DLC.

The way I see it is simple; on one hand, there is no way that Harmonix can please everyone. Do you like Rush? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. However, I know I sure don't (ok...I don't like Rush songs that have vocals). Am I complaining? No. Do you like All American Rejects? Once again, you may like it or you may not. I am not a fan, but I downloaded it because it was cheap.

What am I getting at? Well, mainly that there is a lot of music out there that would work on Rock Band...even some rap could work in this game about "rock". With a new selection of at least three songs (so far) coming our way each week, and with a pretty good price of $1-$2 per track, there is plenty for almost anyone. If you like the game, then there has almost definitely been at least some DLC worth it in your eyes. It's cheap and there's variety. If you don't like a song, you also have the power to not purchase it (like with any other DLC)...and best of all, this is bonus stuff and not just something that was left out of the final release of the game to make some extra money (unlike the Oblivion horse armor...).

Also, to make this better, you can even go on the Rock Band web site and join the forums there...and then suggest what songs you'd like on a venue more likely to be visited by Harmonix employees. Then, with DLC scheduled to be released every damned week between now and who-the-hell-knows, you can keep having a good selection and maybe be fortunate enough to see the songs you've requested (if they're good and not impossible to license). It's no promise that you recommend a song over there and it would come along, but you at least have a voice that may be able to be constructive.

Definitely that's a better scenario than just bitching on any and every random most-likely-Harmonix-skipped message board on the net. I just needed to say all that since I'm getting tired of the fact that Rock Band and music should be bringing people together and not just being a source of material for any anonymous ass on the net to use to start random flame war crap. Plus, the other main thing, in my eyes, about the Rock Band DLC is simple; it allows some people to experience music they have never tried before and to maybe (and I know this sounds amazing and hard to believe) expand one's musical tastes to new genres and bands.

Blah...

Malik

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