Football with Craig Finn

I was a bit distracted during the Vikings first win of the season. About five minutes into the first quarter The Hold Steady's Craig Finn walked into the bar and started looking for the screen carrying Minnesota's game. I directed him to my table, which was otherwise empty, and we proceded to talk Minneapolis, Twins baseball, and Drive-By Truckers while watching the Vikings defense completely dominate the Panthers.

The most obvious story of the day, at least in the national media's eyes, is that of Gus Frerotte bringing life to the Vikings previously awful offense. But, ultimately, this was one hell of a defensive performance. Carolina finished with 204 yards, including a measly 47 on the ground. After watching the game, my initial impression was that 47 seemed high- it felt like they didn't gain any rushing yards. Jake Delhomme did manage a couple big plays through the air, but for the most part Carolina struggled to sustain any drive. The Vikings helped Carolina out with a turnover, poor special teams coverage, and some horrific penalties, but the Panthers couldn't capitalize.

They couldn't. Minnesota wouldn't let them. Although Delhomme stayed on his feet some, the Vikings defensive line was incredibly active. They were scattering the Panthers offensive line and disrupting passing lanes. They register five sacks, including two exclamation points in the 4th quarter, when Jared Allen and Kevin Williams each nabbed Delhomme once on Carolina's last real chance to get back in the game. Still, the Panthers could not take advantage of the Vikings' aggressive rush; draw plays were not netting Carolina runners much. The Vikings linebackers are among the league's best, and aside from being quick in every direction, they almost never miss a tackle.

On top of the all-around team effort, Antoine Winfield threw in one of the best individual plays that a footballer can make. Winfield blitzed Delhomme from the left side, and in one fell swoop registered a sack and forced fumble, and then picked up the ball and scampered into the end zone for a touchdown. In retrospect, this play pretty much sealed the game. The second half was almost boring; Minnesota dominated every facet of the game, and held the ball for 11:34 before taking a 20-10 lead on a Ryan Longwell field goal.

Frerotte looked sharp, especially relative to Tarvaris Jackson. The playbook opened up a bit, and he slung the ball all over, spreading it between eight receivers. Bernard Berrian finally got involved, and Visanthe Shiancoe finally held onto a ball, and the offense held its own.

Craig seemed happy about the win, although he was more relieved to see that the Twins had beaten the Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays 4-1. Things I learned (or reaffirmed) today: The Vikings are a playoff team with Gus Frerotte; Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL; Washington Redskins cheerleaders love The Hold Steady.

Carolina at Minnesota

The NFL is the one professional sport where a team's season can end after the third game. 0-3 is a hole that no team has ever dug themselves out of. Even with a win in their next game, a team is still 1-3 and already a quarter of the way through the season. There's not much time to catch-up, especially if any of those losses came to division rivals.

The Minnesota Vikings find themselves facing this very possibility; an off season full of hope and expectations close to being drubbed out before they even get their star safety and veteran left tackle on the field. If they allow Carolina to beat them at home, there will be no coming back. The 2008 Vikings will be playing for a draft pick.

Brad Childress responded to the enormity of this game by benching Tarvaris Jackson. Gus Frerotte will start. (Ever notice that everybody says "Ta-var-iss" and "Fer-ott"? Where did those extra R's go?) The only reason, and a valid one, is that the Vikings are 0-2. It is actually a much more complicated situation. Jackson is still the only real option the Viking have for the future. This team is built to win in the next couple years, and drafting another QB will be a waste of the veteran talent on the team. Free-agency is rarely the answer for NFL teams at the quarterback position. 

And Jackson is being benched for the team's record more than for his play. His failures have been blown out of proportion after both games. Everybody who claims that he has digressed clearly did not watch Jackson in 2006 or 2007. More accurately, Jackson seems to be playing at the same level as he was in Weeks 16 and 17 last season; which is to say, he isn't throwing the ball very accurately. 

Jackson has been the victim of the incompetence of teammates and coaches alike. Visanthe Shiancoe has dropped at least two critical passes, on of them a touchdown that almost certainly would have giving the team a large enough cushion to beat Indianapolis last Sunday. Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell have produced some of the most conservation and predictable game plans that this spectator has ever seen. To say that they were trying to protect Jackson goes beyond understatement. Jackson has not been allowed to do anything other than hand the ball off and throw slants. Since the defense knows this, there are usually about four defenders on Bernard Berrian or Bobby Wade.

Jackson could have produced these exact same performances, and still be the starter had the Vikings won either game. But, Childress is under pressure to win, and win now, so Frerotte is the man. 

So can the Vikings climb out of this hole and become the contender they were predicted to be? At least for one week, yes, they can. Frerotte will bring some balance and some confidence to the offense, and they should be able to put up more than 20 points between Frerotte and the running game. The desperation factor cannot be overlooked in this game either. The Vikings have to win this game, and they have enough veterans who know it. Add to that that the game is at the Metrodome, and the Vikings should have an emotional edge on Sunday. 

Vikings 24, Panthers 16

NeatSeats

"Please leave the restroom as you found it."

Anybody who works in an office has seen this message on the toilet stall door. Whenever I read it, the smart-ass in me wants to know which other path I would take to exit the room? Have people been tunneling out of the bathrooms? Was I going to dive into the pipes and swim to another floor? 

Needless to say, today I was taking a shit at work, and my mind wandered off a little. After I considered a few exit strategies, I decided that in reality, something had happened to prompt these signs. I stopped short of imagining exactly what messes might have led the administrative assistants to print these off. In a professional work place you'd think people would have the decency, the common sense, the competence, to clean up after themselves.

Eventually, I began to hope that instead of some fecal mess being the cause of these messages, that people were really fucking with the restrooms; maybe the mailroom guy was removing toilet seats, or the intern had rearranged the partitions so he had more space. Redecortating, remodeling.

Give a hoot, keep your local restrooms clean.

Weak 1

The Vikings let one slip away. Sure, the Packers outplayed them for the most part. Rodgers was the more consistent quarterback. The Packers made the plays that were there for them, and the Vikings did not. But in the end, 24-19 was not a closer score than the game really was.

Although the Packers' offensive numbers look pretty good, or at least efficient, take away three explosive plays, and they really were not effective. The Vikings held the run game in check and forced tough third down conversions. No, you cannot take those three plays back. But it points to the fact that the Vikings were in position through the game to take over, and let it slip away.

Adrian Peterson could have been used better. Chester Taylor definitely could have seen more carries. The Vikings are a team that is going to struggle on third downs. That's just the way it is for a team with a mediocre (at best) quarterback and wide receivers who don't always get open. But why pass your way into third in long? If there is one thing we can say for sure about this team, it is that Peterson is capable of scoring every time he touches the ball. So why waste a first down on a 4-yard pass to Garrett Mills? The odds of Peterson breaking out are much better if you run on the majority of first and second downs. If he is stuffed, you end up with a 3rd and 8. Is that so terrible? Instead of passing into a 3rd and 8, and running the risk of Jackson turning it over?

And if Peterson could catch a ball in the flat or as the last resort on a dump-off, how dangerous would he be? No more play-action roll-outs where Tapeh is the number one option. Let Rice and Berrian run free a little more, and let Peterson and Taylor get out in the flats.

Most important to note about this game, though, is the defense. There is no doubt that this team's success rides on the defensive line. Jared Allen was brought in to solidify this unit as the best in the league. The only way they can be better-than-average is if the d-line makes plays and forces mistakes. That is asking a lot, but it is reality. They played well. Not a lot of d-lines can play like that on an off-night. But they did not make an big plays, and they did not force Rodgers into any mistakes. 

Tyrell Johnson struggled at the safety position. He gave up the long one to Jennings, and was generally out of place. Overall, the defense is still a strong point for this team, and to give up only 17 points is not the end of the world. Cut out some penalties and they may have given up one or two less scores.

Losing in Week 1 is not the end of the world, even against a division rival. The Vikings still have three home division games, and still can take the reigns. It has to start this week against Indianapolis though.

Brief, poorly constructed argument for the Minnesota Vikings winning the NFC North in 2008

Reason #1:

Adrian Peterson. Although there were times last season when Peterson was bottled up, even shut down, the fact that he is capable of setting a single-game rushing record is enough. Peterson should benefit from his first off-season as a pro, and if he stays healthy, should be better equipped for a 16-game season.  Although he is playing a tough defensive division (even the Lions have a formidable defensive-line), he could be looking at a 1,500-yard year. 

Reason #2:

Chester Taylor. These first two reasons actually work well together; if one goes down, the other is more than capable of taking over full-time. Taylor is the kind of running back that falls forward. The one that pushes the pile and spins off of hits for a couple more yards. Even when Peterson struggled last season, Taylor managed to keep defenses on their toes and pick up yardage. It will be interesting to see if the Vikings can get both on the field more often. Though neither would be an exceptional blocker for his partner, one of them (Peterson) will draw plenty of attention away from the other.

Reason #3:

Defensive line. This isn't all about Jared Allen. But he is key to the equation. With his presence the front four is suddenly about as frightening as any in the league. Although Allen is pegged as a pass rusher and Pat Williams as a run-stopper, both are above average in every aspect of their game, and with Kevin Williams in there, they will pose some ridiculous problems for opposing offensive lines. In the run game, Pat Williams must be double teamed, and even then, he is a smart enough and strong enough player that he can still disrupt plays. Allen cannot be played one-on-one in the passing game; he is too fast, too strong, and too wily for any tackle in the game. The player who stands to benefit most from all of this is Ray Edwards, who has improved with every game of his career, and will not see a double team for the next couple seasons.

Proverbs don't make sense

Mom is practically sprinting down E. 7th St.  At first it isn't clear, but she has two young children in tow, maybe nine years of age between them. They are loaded up: backpacks, jackets over one arm, lunch boxes, and the little girl somehow is clutching a half eaten apple in her left hand. The apple is mostly brown, as she and her brother are scrambling to keep up with Mom. One of them makes a comment, which is drown out by a passing truck, but ends with "...my apple!" Mom turns her head, and says only: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"

The girl gives the only reasonable response. Her nose crinkles up and she slows her pace, trying to digest, and she says: "What?"

Centro-Matic/South San Gabriel, Dual Hawks

If there is one story that never needs to be written again, it’s the “Best Band You’ve Never Heard Of” story. It’s played out, its cliché, and, well, you are about to read another one.

Unfortunately for pretty much everybody, Centro-matic is one of those important bands that you’ve probably never heard of. And it’s even less likely that you know them by their alter-ego recording name, South San Gabriel.

The two names are hardly more than a label for the packaging; the bands feature the same four core members. In the past the band has opted to release albums under one name or the other (at least 12 combined), with Centro-matic efforts usually featuring a more straight forward, alt-country influenced indie rock sound. But, on 2008’s Dual Hawks, the group produced a double album, setting aside one disc for each alias.

If Will Johnson is anything, he is an inexhaustible songwriter. The guitarist and vocalist is the driving force behind both groups (not to mention a few solo releases). While it might be established that his work does not break out of the standards held to alt-country or the contemporary indie rock world, it is clear that Johnson and his mates have not only found a signature sound, but they completely own it. Predictably, the Denton, TX native comes through on both sides of Dual Hawks.

Drive-By Truckers front man (co-front man perhaps) Patterson Hood has dropped the terms “best band” and “my favorite band” when speaking of Centro-matic many times, and coming from another of today’s most prolific and consistent songwriters, it is a mighty endorsement. That moniker’s side of Dual Hawks kicks off with “The Rat Patrol and DJs,” a mid-paced rocker that sets the tone for a set of nostalgic-tinged songs that seem to rely on each other, both in theme and pace, creating the seamless listening experience that Johnson has perfected with both bands.

The catchiest tune on either side is “Twenty-four,” a swinger filled with handclaps, shakers, and Scott Danbom’s charming piano and harmony work. Johnson is typically introspective—“Well, I never felt this way at twenty-four/ With the fiends and ghouls and darkness at my door”— but adds some salt to the narrative: “There are cowards that our public has elected/ Killers, thieves and things that I could never be/ And I never claimed perfection, but seriously.”

Both sides demonstrate what is perhaps Johnson’s great asset: like other prolific writers before him (take Springsteen or even Tom Petty as examples), Johnson has surrounded himself with talented and tasteful musicians who serve his songs wholly. Multi-instrumentalists Mark Hedman and Danbom share bass, guitar, and keyboard duties, with Danbom providing high harmonies.

Most impressive is drummer Matt Pence. Pence, who also produced and recorded Dual Hawks, provides a backbone to the music that never waivers. His erratic fills occasionally bring to mind Weezer’s Patrick Wilson—if a country-rock outfit had intercepted him before he landed with Rivers Cuomo. But the comparison ends there, as Pence keeps things fairly low-key throughout, employing a modest approach right in line with Johnson’s songs.

On the South San Gabriel side of Dual Hawks, Johnson stays in step with this projects previous two albums, both masterpieces of melancholy indie-rock. That said, don’t expect the electric guitars from the Centro-matic side to be replaced by acoustics and orchestral strings. Pence still brings out his full drum-kit, along with some programmed beats, and the amplifiers are still in place for most of this album.

Songs like the stringy and slow opener “Emma Jane” and “The Arc And The Cusp” are emblematic of the dark-yet-all-is-not-lost mood of the album. And with only a few of Johnson’s a cappella moments, Dual Hawks flows well from melancholy to near-gloom, swiping at all other emotions between around those two.

Yes, Centro-matic is a band that you should know. A foray into the back-catalogue of either of Johnson’s projects is well worth the time, but Dual Hawks is a fine place to start.