Week 8 vs Fins - notes

• It's amazing to listen to the announcers flog this UK thing as if anyone cares. "It's like a playoff game, or the Superbowl" - um, no. No, it's not. Right before they said that, as the camera panned across the players' faces, I thought, "They look tired." I guess it isn't that much further than California but it feels further. And 50% of football is 60% mental. Or something like that.
  
• Osi, a native Londoner (something nobody cared about until last week), looked like he was trying to sing along with 'God Save The Queen.' It sounded to me like the crowd booed at the beginning of the song, but maybe I was wrong or it was for the singer. It also didn't sound like they were singing the same words, but again, what the hell do I know? Those people have make a mockery of American English.
  
• With Ronnie Brown out, it's not clear that the Dolphins can do much here. That said, Cleon Lemon (what a name!) played well last week and managed to score 28 points against the Patriots, who are a teensy bit better than this Giants team. So maybe something can happen.
  
• Apparently Jesse Chatman "ate his way out of football." I thought that was LenDale White's problem.
  
• Why are the Dolphins marching down the field? Well, not marching exactly... actually, it is kind of like marching. Slow, methodical, but effective.
  
• According to Mike Francesca on WFAN you had to dig 15 pages deep into the London newspapers to find any coverage of this game. Kenny Mayne had a rare funny piece on ESPN this morning where he spoke to the locals and they generally looked like he didn't give a crap.
  
• Um, hello? Defense? Worst team in the league here? Stop them? Please?
• Nice run by Lemon, and a couple of nice blocks from Chatman, leading to a first down.
• Chatman was the big pickup in fantasy football this week. Anyone who had Ronnie Brown on their team is wicked pissed since the guy (Brown) had been putting up incredible numbers.
• Oooo, Jay Feely tries a 48 yard field goal. He hasn't missed one all year, and... now he has. Ha ha. I still think the Giants should've kept him.
  
• What kind of song choice is "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung?
• Manning to Burress. Practice? Fuck practice. I'm just gonna catch the ball. I know how to catch the ball. Eli knows how to throw the ball. So fuck practice.
• They are not running the ball well here. Be interesting to see if that continues. I like Jacobs but he hasn't been a world beater.
• Burress drops a catch that looks a lot like one that Randy Moss caught last week. Except that Moss caught it between two defenders, as opposed to
  
• One of the Dolphins gets a little too into this whole London thing and seems to be trying to "bugger" Brandon Jacobs. What does he think this is, baseball?
• OK, let's see if he they can convert on first and goal here. The "he" was a slip; I'm thinking I meant Jacobs or Eli.
• Eli throws it over Toomer's head, but at least he seems to know it. Coughlin looks like he got punched in the gut.
• Tynes... makes the field goal!
• Priest Holmes was originally a backup. Interesting.
• Fight! Fight! Now the crowd gets into it.
• Fumble? What happened? OK, short snap to Marty Booker, attempting a QB sneak, and they muff it. Shocking. Truly, truly shocking.
  
• Lots of almost pass interference going on here.
• The crowd really looks like they'd be somewhere else if they had anything better to do.
• The 'fins really are stopping NY here, especially Jacobs. Not good. They should still win the game but good teams beat the crap out of bad teams.
• Careless penalty on the kickoff.
  
• Hey, the Brits can do the wave! Very exciting.
• By moving this game to London, I actually think that the league made it feel less important somehow. Maybe its because it feels so forced. Certainly no one in this country, you know, the one where the league makes a dumptruck full of money every single week,
• "You gotta see the excitement around this giant Jason Taylor!" It shows something that they have a giant thing in London, and it's not one of the Giants. Discuss.
• It seems early to bring Droughns in but maybe they think the 'fins have Jacobs' number today. And at least this time, it works, Reuben gets the first down.
• The three RB system is going to become popular, you watch. This will really fuck with fantasy football players.
• Shit, look at that slide. It's like baseball. This field is so muddy.
• Eli, where the hell are you throwing? Trying to reach the airport?
• That's sort of interesting, they're swapping out the spikes on a pair of cleats. That's easier than changing shoes, I suppose.
• "The Yellow Line is Not Official." Thank you, Fox.
• While we're measuring, let's just say that Fox starting the World Series games at almost 9pm (yeah, officially 8pm but with the pre-game bullshit it's 8:45pm) makes it so that only those who don't have anything to do in the morning can watch the whole game. Not a good demographic, guys. (I know, West Coast, but they don't count.)
  
• Hey, the crowd knows that that's not a first down. OK.
• Hey now! Droughns punches out a first on 4th and inches. Good sign. The score wouldn't indicate that as being the right move, but it's good to take a chance every now and then.
• Nice little spin by Droughns. He seems like a guy who should've had a better career, maybe this is his chance.
• Snow Rain. Hard snow rain. Oh wait, no it's not. What was that? OK, I guess there's a roof. Thom Brennaman has to work his way up to boring.
  
• Tony Siragusa needs to talk to Mike Golic about Nutrisystem.
• OK, Burress made that catch, which he did. Good use of replay.
• Come on, guys, put this game away before halftime.
• Eli! Runs! It! In! For! A! T! D! Whoo! Hoo!
• What's Chatman doing? He was down. But was he touched? He was definitely down, in the literal sense. What's going on here? Everyone seems to be a little confused today. Jet lag, probably.
• Chatman is pretty good, I think. Nice little juggle (the term "circus catch" I don't like) and he gets a first down. The Giants are supposed to have this amazing defense, but they can't seem to stop this guy. Still, it's 10-0. No wait, 13-0. Tynes is 100% today, Feely missed his one shot. Go figure.
• Halftime. Go getcher fish 'n' chips.