First off, for those of you who are wondering what does DSGB mean???? Exit out of my blow now! Down South Georgia Boys. The Atlanta Falcons have been on a roar as of late with their offense firing on all cylinders. We face our number 1 rival in the New Orleans Saints and we have to come into their dome of crazy fans. The one thing I do have to gripe about is the new name of their dome....the Mercedes Benz Superdome??? Please, get outta here! The Jacksonville Jaguars game was one that we needed very bad and it showed that we can put together a complete game of offensive power along with our opportunisitc defense. Before we get to this week I want to send a big shoutout to my orange homie Walerski down in St. Pete, Floria! I am trying out a new color scheme with a little bigger font, let me know how it looks. C1 for life big dog!
Food:
For this weeks game we are going to be preparing my brothers version of chilli. Let me just go ahead and let you know that it is incredible, well worth trying out. Like all of my recipes it is very easy to prepare and relatively inexpensive. Here is a list of items you would need to prepare it:
-1 lb. ground beef
-1 can sucotash
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 can tomato paste
-5 cans tomato sauce
-1 packet chilli seasoning
-3 tbsp. cayenne pepper
-2 tbsp. cinnamon
- 3 sauteed garlic cloves
-1 can corn
-1 can kidney beans
As with any type of chilli you can prepare it in a mixing pot on the stove or let it cook in a crock pot. Mix together everything and let cook for however many hours, preferrably 4-5 hours. Stir occasionally and you can add tabasco or whatever type of hot sauce you prefer to taste throughout the process. Enjoy!
Falcons game:
- We are on Monday Night Football the day after Christmas and personally there is nothing better than that. With the program that Arthur Blank has set up we have been able to be on nationally televised games, primetime, and able to show off our team as an up and coming ballclub. Tonight we face our biggest rival in the Saints and what I believe has become the best/most heated rivalry in the NFL. Name a better rivalry in the NFL right now, maybe the Ravens/Steelers. But none of the other rivalries have come down to the end of the game with so many important last minute possessions as ours. I will be willing to bet that wherever it is that you watch this game, the amount of trash talk will be more than any other. No matter what the venue it is always a great atmostphere. Here are a couple of things I am looking for in the game tonight:
-Our passing game is beginning to take shape with some spectacular games by Julio, Roddy, and Tony G. If we are able to continue that against the Aints D then I like our chances. Especially Rowdy Roddy White, he is very aware of this rivalry and knows how to go down to New Orleans with a nasty attitude. Every analyst keeps saying that it will be a shootout, but if you look back at our past games they are close games usually with each team scoring 28 points or so. As long as our running game gets going and we are able to incorporate Jaquizz with Turner I think our passing offense will be just fine.
-The Aints were known for their opportunisitic D win they won it all, but our Falcons D as of late has been excelling at that very aspect. The one thing that always seems to be our demise in these matchups is the lack of pressure we get on Brees. We often try to blitz too much leaving our secondary in man on man with their ample amount of recievers. With the improved play of our defensive line I believe that VanGorder will be able to dial up pressure from the line and leave our linebackers, D-BLOCK, to do their thing. If you haven't noticed the D-Block is the swag of our D. As always I am looking for my main man SPOOON to get real nasty this game.
If you are not amped about this game or looking forward to it at all....something is seriously wrong with. Go to your doctor and get yourself checked out! I am in DC for the holidays and my brother and I will be going all out for this game. Hitting up many hot spots for food and beer, eventually finishing at a great sports bar where we will get extra rowdy for our dirty birds. I can't even put into words how much this game means to me, thats why I have to end here. I hope you enjoy the food, game, and atmosphere! Rise Up!!!!!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Monday, December 26, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Falcons vs. Jacksonville: Bowling Ball Brawl
Last Sunday was a complete whirlwind to say the least. There was so much misery going on in my living room during that horrible first half that I was completely confused as to what exactly the Falcons players were playing for. If they were playing for anything at all. Whatever was said during halftime was beneficial and they came out with the type of offense that us fans have been waiting to see click for the whole season. The second half was filled with complete bro-mance with the amount of defensive turnovers and passing efficiency taking place. A lot of journalists are writing that the Falcons shouldn't have put themselves in the place where they were forced to come back with an incredible second half against the Carolina Panthers. I say that this is the type of win that can get a season rolling and get some confidence brewing in the entire team. Look back at the Packers when they lost to the Lions, I repeat the Lions, 7-3 and then went on a hot streak through the Dome and the playoffs to a championship. We have a short week ahead of us with a Thursday night game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is a game that we need to win and get through in order to keep building some momentum towards the playoffs.
Food:
This week we are preparing a simple recipe that I gathered from a Jaguars fan. I figured since we are playing them and in good sportsmanship that I would show some love. They are beef hot dogs slathered with potatoes, green peppers, and some sweet onions. This is another easy recipe that can feed a ton of people depending on how many dogs you buy. Here is a list of items you would need to make this recipe:
-2 packages of all beef hot dogs
-4 baking potatoes, cut into ½ inch dice
-3 green peppers, sliced into ¼ strips
2 sweet onions, sliced into ¼ inch thick
-Hoagie rolls
You’re going to heat up the oil to about 350 degrees and end up frying your potatoes, peppers, and sweet onions. Also the hot dog is going to be fried, but before you fry it slice it down the middle almost like you are making pigs in a blanket. Once everything is fried put the hot dog on the hoagie roll and top with everything. This is a very hot food item and crunchy, but your fellow tailgaters should be pleased because it definitely fills you up! Enjoy!
Falcons game:
For this game against the Jaguars I am hoping that we can put together a full 60 minutes of efficient Falcons football. We still have yet to play a full game at the top of our level and the Jaguars are a good opponent to begin with. I am not taking the Jags lightly one bit. They are just coming off a thrashing of our divisional foes the Buccaneers, the same Bucs that we lost to in week 3. The Jags however have had the worst offense in all of football this season along with a rookie quarterback at the helm of everything. The extra advantage that we have with this Thursday night game in the Dome against the Jags is that it gives us a much needed extended week to prepare for the huge Monday night game against the Saints. A day after Christmas, yea I'm pumped. Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to in the game:
- The title of this weeks blog is what I am viewing as the main attraction in this weeks showdown. We have MJD going up against our very own Michael 'The Burner" Turner. These two backs are two of the biggest backs in the league and easily have the biggest legs between the two of them. Not to mention they are number 1 and 3 in the NFL in rushing yards. The Jaguars already feature MJD as their main focus of the offense, because he's that good and they really have nobody else. The Falcons feature Turner because he gets everything rolling with his pounding style of running. Also after last weeks performance I am hoping Mularkey features Jaquizz a little more than usual. I am looking for two huge games from the both of them, mainly from Turner with the Falcons looking to get the running game in rhythm for the playoffs.
-Ever since the Mike Smith/Dimitroff Era began I will give them credit with bringing back excitement for the Atlanta Falcons organization. The Georgia Dome went from a clunker of a stadium to THE DOME. While I will admit that our stadium definitely is not the loudest or the scariest to come play a game, for a rookie quarterback like Gabbert it is intimidating. I am looking forward to our newly swaggered up D, mainly my boys on the D-Block to stop the run early and force Gabbert to make some important throws early. As opportunistic as our defense looked last Sunday, I am looking forward to the Dome making some noise and forcing the Jags into some early turnovers. Get the momentum in our favor and shut them down asap!!! D-Block!!!
-Our receivers have been showing their big play potential of late and I am looking for that to continue against our next 3 opponents who don't have the best pass defenses around. Roddy is rounding into shape with his typical 12-15 yard receptions, Julio with the acrobatic catches that made him look so potent in college, and HD/TG making the necessary receptions for first downs. If our offense is going to be something of a force in the playoffs then we need to be able to get these guys going early and often.
This Thursday we have a chance to be on primetime tv against the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am looking for the Falcons as a team to come out and show that they can play with the same type of tenacity they showed in the second half against the Panthers for a full 60 minutes. With the home crowd playing a part and the fact that everyone knows we are playing for a playoff spot, I do not doubt that emotions will be running very high in this matchup. The running backs are obviously what have attracted me to the game and I am hoping for some run domination, especially on the part of the Falcons. I hope everybody enjoys the food, game, and atmosphere. As the NFL Network loves to say….Thank God It’s Thursday!!!!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Food:
This week we are preparing a simple recipe that I gathered from a Jaguars fan. I figured since we are playing them and in good sportsmanship that I would show some love. They are beef hot dogs slathered with potatoes, green peppers, and some sweet onions. This is another easy recipe that can feed a ton of people depending on how many dogs you buy. Here is a list of items you would need to make this recipe:
-2 packages of all beef hot dogs
-4 baking potatoes, cut into ½ inch dice
-3 green peppers, sliced into ¼ strips
2 sweet onions, sliced into ¼ inch thick
-Hoagie rolls
You’re going to heat up the oil to about 350 degrees and end up frying your potatoes, peppers, and sweet onions. Also the hot dog is going to be fried, but before you fry it slice it down the middle almost like you are making pigs in a blanket. Once everything is fried put the hot dog on the hoagie roll and top with everything. This is a very hot food item and crunchy, but your fellow tailgaters should be pleased because it definitely fills you up! Enjoy!
Falcons game:
For this game against the Jaguars I am hoping that we can put together a full 60 minutes of efficient Falcons football. We still have yet to play a full game at the top of our level and the Jaguars are a good opponent to begin with. I am not taking the Jags lightly one bit. They are just coming off a thrashing of our divisional foes the Buccaneers, the same Bucs that we lost to in week 3. The Jags however have had the worst offense in all of football this season along with a rookie quarterback at the helm of everything. The extra advantage that we have with this Thursday night game in the Dome against the Jags is that it gives us a much needed extended week to prepare for the huge Monday night game against the Saints. A day after Christmas, yea I'm pumped. Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to in the game:
- The title of this weeks blog is what I am viewing as the main attraction in this weeks showdown. We have MJD going up against our very own Michael 'The Burner" Turner. These two backs are two of the biggest backs in the league and easily have the biggest legs between the two of them. Not to mention they are number 1 and 3 in the NFL in rushing yards. The Jaguars already feature MJD as their main focus of the offense, because he's that good and they really have nobody else. The Falcons feature Turner because he gets everything rolling with his pounding style of running. Also after last weeks performance I am hoping Mularkey features Jaquizz a little more than usual. I am looking for two huge games from the both of them, mainly from Turner with the Falcons looking to get the running game in rhythm for the playoffs.
-Ever since the Mike Smith/Dimitroff Era began I will give them credit with bringing back excitement for the Atlanta Falcons organization. The Georgia Dome went from a clunker of a stadium to THE DOME. While I will admit that our stadium definitely is not the loudest or the scariest to come play a game, for a rookie quarterback like Gabbert it is intimidating. I am looking forward to our newly swaggered up D, mainly my boys on the D-Block to stop the run early and force Gabbert to make some important throws early. As opportunistic as our defense looked last Sunday, I am looking forward to the Dome making some noise and forcing the Jags into some early turnovers. Get the momentum in our favor and shut them down asap!!! D-Block!!!
-Our receivers have been showing their big play potential of late and I am looking for that to continue against our next 3 opponents who don't have the best pass defenses around. Roddy is rounding into shape with his typical 12-15 yard receptions, Julio with the acrobatic catches that made him look so potent in college, and HD/TG making the necessary receptions for first downs. If our offense is going to be something of a force in the playoffs then we need to be able to get these guys going early and often.
This Thursday we have a chance to be on primetime tv against the Jacksonville Jaguars. I am looking for the Falcons as a team to come out and show that they can play with the same type of tenacity they showed in the second half against the Panthers for a full 60 minutes. With the home crowd playing a part and the fact that everyone knows we are playing for a playoff spot, I do not doubt that emotions will be running very high in this matchup. The running backs are obviously what have attracted me to the game and I am hoping for some run domination, especially on the part of the Falcons. I hope everybody enjoys the food, game, and atmosphere. As the NFL Network loves to say….Thank God It’s Thursday!!!!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Atlanta @ Carolina: Cam Newton Experience II
Let's just get it out of the way and admit that the Falcons played awful last week. Every aspect of their game was lacking in some form. I will say that I liked how our defense kept us in the game until the very end, despite playing uncharacteristically on run defense. On to this Sundays game against the Carolina Panthers. Man do I love this rivalry!! I have been fortunate enough to go to these games the past 3 years, but this year I was unable to make the trip. I love the Panthers stadium, I am a big fan of the entire football organization that they are beginning with the Ron Rivera era just beginning. That being said, I still like my beloved dirtybirds chances haha. In our first meeting with Cam Newton we held him to a season low passer rating and intercepted him 3 times. I am looking for our team as a whole to bounce back from that horrid performance last week and come out with the run game in full effect!! Hope you are as excited as me.
Food:
We are going to be grilling flank steak today with a mama Koppelman marinade that is to die for. The flank steak isn't the sexiest cut of meat, but damn is it good when prepared with this marinade and sliced perfectly. If I am cooking for a party or a group of buddies for the game I usually end up buying 2 flank steaks. The best part about these is that all you have to do is marinate them for a while and then throw em on the grill until they look ready. Not too hard, right? Here is a list of items you would need:
-1 cup soy sauce
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 vinegar
-1/4 cup lemon juice
-1/2 cup pineapple juice
-2 tsp. salt
-t tsp. garlic
Mix together the soy, brown sugar, vinegar, juices, salt, and garlic in a saucepan. Bring that to a boil. Then pour over your flank steaks, store in the fridge overnight or 6-8 hours. Them suckers will be quite tasty once you take em out of the container. Don't eat them yet though, they are still raw. You might want to make some extra little dishes along with the flank steak like some wings or something. Either way, once they are sliced and prepared on the serving dish, it is quite the feast. Two steaks yields a lot of food for everybody. If preparing this food has an effect on the outcome of Falcons games has not been tested before, but we will see today! Enjoy.
Falcons game:
I read something in the AJC this week that was both interesting but at the same time a little depressing....the Falcons have not played a game outside since week 3 at Tampa Bay. Oh dear Lord, this is the reason why I am one of the biggest supporters of Arthur Blank building a new outdoor stadium, no not a dome with a fancy retractable roof!! A classic football stadium like real men used to play in. Being inside like that for too long almost weakens us as a football team. With the Packers having home field throughout the playoffs, you expect us to come out and perform at Lambeau Field during winter after being in domes all season??? Yea, didn't think so. Back to the Panthers. I always have liked this divisional rivalry and it is one that is on the rise with the resurgence of the Carolina Panthers organization. I will be the first to tell you that I was a huge Cam Newton hater in college, but now that he has donned an NFL uniform I am a big fan. I know what you guys are thinking....Why is Chris loving on the Panthers right now...not sure really. I just have respect for where they are heading, especially after the Falcons having their own taste of the doldrums of the NFL a few years back. Here are some things I am looking for in this game:
-Our defense played well last game with a couple of sacks and the pass defense playing better than expected without the presence of Grimes. Even with those sacks I could tell that we had to get more pressure! I mean C'mon MAN!!!! We have Ray Edwards, who is a freakin boxer in his spare time, Abraham, and a gaggle of defensive tackles that can put pressure on the quarterback. This is absurd that we do not get more sacks. Hopefully we can force Newton to scramble around and run into some of our guys. Along with the defense, I am always looking for and giving shout outs to my man SPOOOOOON!!! New face of the defense, bringing that much needed swagger to every game baby.
-The Panthers announced that they placed their 2 starting defensive tackles on IR earlier this week. That news immediately caused Jon Clayton to tweet that the Falcons were planning to run Turner all day long. Your damn right, we gotta tire that defense out as early as possible so their rushing tandem on the edges don't effect Ryan. One connection on a deep ball would be nice for me, as long as we can have some sort of momentum with those deep throws. If we can get our typical Falcons offense rolling early we could put up 30 plus on the Panthers.
-Lastly.....let's build a big lead and not let up in the second half. That is all.
I am so excited for this game today. Hoping for a sunny day in Charlotte with the dirty birds just soaring through the air haha. Hopefully we can bounce back from last week and come out to make a statement about our playoff chances. I wish I was in Charlotte to be at this game talking mad stuff to Panthers faithful, but as my dad said to me earlier "Unfortunately you have to watch it on your 50" flat screen, so suck it up". Agreed. Since I went to school up there, I was forced to watch Panthers games for 4 long years. I want to give some shout outs to all my friends in the North Carolina area that root for the Panthers and are actual fans. My boys Randy, Marshall, Nicky P, Steele, Easonian, godfather(Joey), Yao, and Andy. I wish y'all a good game, but unfortunately Atlanta has to come into your town and whoop up on ya!!! Hopefully everybody enjoys the food, game, and of course the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat.
Food:
We are going to be grilling flank steak today with a mama Koppelman marinade that is to die for. The flank steak isn't the sexiest cut of meat, but damn is it good when prepared with this marinade and sliced perfectly. If I am cooking for a party or a group of buddies for the game I usually end up buying 2 flank steaks. The best part about these is that all you have to do is marinate them for a while and then throw em on the grill until they look ready. Not too hard, right? Here is a list of items you would need:
-1 cup soy sauce
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/4 vinegar
-1/4 cup lemon juice
-1/2 cup pineapple juice
-2 tsp. salt
-t tsp. garlic
Mix together the soy, brown sugar, vinegar, juices, salt, and garlic in a saucepan. Bring that to a boil. Then pour over your flank steaks, store in the fridge overnight or 6-8 hours. Them suckers will be quite tasty once you take em out of the container. Don't eat them yet though, they are still raw. You might want to make some extra little dishes along with the flank steak like some wings or something. Either way, once they are sliced and prepared on the serving dish, it is quite the feast. Two steaks yields a lot of food for everybody. If preparing this food has an effect on the outcome of Falcons games has not been tested before, but we will see today! Enjoy.
Falcons game:
I read something in the AJC this week that was both interesting but at the same time a little depressing....the Falcons have not played a game outside since week 3 at Tampa Bay. Oh dear Lord, this is the reason why I am one of the biggest supporters of Arthur Blank building a new outdoor stadium, no not a dome with a fancy retractable roof!! A classic football stadium like real men used to play in. Being inside like that for too long almost weakens us as a football team. With the Packers having home field throughout the playoffs, you expect us to come out and perform at Lambeau Field during winter after being in domes all season??? Yea, didn't think so. Back to the Panthers. I always have liked this divisional rivalry and it is one that is on the rise with the resurgence of the Carolina Panthers organization. I will be the first to tell you that I was a huge Cam Newton hater in college, but now that he has donned an NFL uniform I am a big fan. I know what you guys are thinking....Why is Chris loving on the Panthers right now...not sure really. I just have respect for where they are heading, especially after the Falcons having their own taste of the doldrums of the NFL a few years back. Here are some things I am looking for in this game:
-Our defense played well last game with a couple of sacks and the pass defense playing better than expected without the presence of Grimes. Even with those sacks I could tell that we had to get more pressure! I mean C'mon MAN!!!! We have Ray Edwards, who is a freakin boxer in his spare time, Abraham, and a gaggle of defensive tackles that can put pressure on the quarterback. This is absurd that we do not get more sacks. Hopefully we can force Newton to scramble around and run into some of our guys. Along with the defense, I am always looking for and giving shout outs to my man SPOOOOOON!!! New face of the defense, bringing that much needed swagger to every game baby.
-The Panthers announced that they placed their 2 starting defensive tackles on IR earlier this week. That news immediately caused Jon Clayton to tweet that the Falcons were planning to run Turner all day long. Your damn right, we gotta tire that defense out as early as possible so their rushing tandem on the edges don't effect Ryan. One connection on a deep ball would be nice for me, as long as we can have some sort of momentum with those deep throws. If we can get our typical Falcons offense rolling early we could put up 30 plus on the Panthers.
-Lastly.....let's build a big lead and not let up in the second half. That is all.
I am so excited for this game today. Hoping for a sunny day in Charlotte with the dirty birds just soaring through the air haha. Hopefully we can bounce back from last week and come out to make a statement about our playoff chances. I wish I was in Charlotte to be at this game talking mad stuff to Panthers faithful, but as my dad said to me earlier "Unfortunately you have to watch it on your 50" flat screen, so suck it up". Agreed. Since I went to school up there, I was forced to watch Panthers games for 4 long years. I want to give some shout outs to all my friends in the North Carolina area that root for the Panthers and are actual fans. My boys Randy, Marshall, Nicky P, Steele, Easonian, godfather(Joey), Yao, and Andy. I wish y'all a good game, but unfortunately Atlanta has to come into your town and whoop up on ya!!! Hopefully everybody enjoys the food, game, and of course the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Falcons @ Houston: Gotta Stuff the Run!!!
Last week was another week where I feel like we should have definitely won by a large margin. That 4th down touchdown pass was pretty absurd to start off. However, I did like how the Falcons showed up and took care of business. Those are the type of games that winning programs must win and we went ahead and finished out our homestand 2-1. Today was one of the matchups that I am sure Fox was so amped to air until Matt Schaub got injured. Without all of the injuries this game has great backstory to it, but now that rookie T.J. Yates is starting it is almost a backburner to what is going on in the NFL today. Do I need to even say that I am pumped about the game, or is that becoming routine for you readers??? If not..........then you need to get it together because I am jacked to see my Dirtybirds dominate all over the field today.
Food:
For today I am going to go ahead and prepare a similar dish to what I have cooked before. My brother is in town so I figured I would cook a ton of buffalo wings. Last time that I prepared buffalo wings they came out perfect, Calgary Hot Wings, but today I am also going to fix some tangy wings as well. I have already put up a list of the items needed for the hot wings, but here is a list of the items you would need for the tangy wings:
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-2 tablespoons ketchup
-1 cup honey
-1 clove garlic
-salt & pepper to taste
The best part about these wings is that they are cooked in the oven rather than the stove. I will be dominating our new grill at the apartment while at the same time dominating these bad boys in the oven!! These wings are very easy to prepare. Once you have made the sauce to pour over them, you put them in the oven at 375 degrees for about an hour.
Falcons game:
-The game today is one that I honestly worried about on the schedule, but once Schaub got injured and then Leinart was also injured I began to view it as a must win. We have never traveled to Houston in order to dominate them like today, but we must put in a good showing today in order to continue to prove that we are worthy of that wildcard spot. The Falcons are sitting at 7-4 and must get another win to solidify themselves as a dominant team that is looking to make some noise in the playoffs. Here is what I am looking for during the game:
-Well I watched numerous episodes of D-Block on the Atlanta Falcons website a couple of days ago and I was immediately hooked. This show pumps me up and honestly shows me how awesome my boy Sean Weatherspoon is!! I am looking for my boys on the D-Block to make a statement today and shut down the Texans running offense. The Texans are very prone to making the defense look silly, but the Falcons are coming in with a very highly touted running defense that is coming in to prove a point. With the absence of Brent Grime I am looking for our fellow cornerbacks to step up and most importantly Dunta Robinson to show that he is the #1 cornerback that we paid him to be.
-Our offense has been hitting on all cylinders the past couple weeks, but we have been unable to put away teams when need be. The Texans, with their top 2 quarterbacks, are one of those teams that we need to come out and shut down! The impact that Tony G is having on our team is remarkable and I feel like his veteran attitude is rubbing off on many of the wide receivers. Harry Douglas is a beast at the slot wide receiver and making it look easy. Wes Welker style in the slot! I am looking for Julio Jones to come back and have a statement game along with Rowdy Roddy White. The receivers will get attention, but we all know that Mike Smith is going to come out and run Turner down their throats!!!
Can I say anything to get you more pumped up for this game?!?!?! Yea, I didn't think so. Today is about a Dirtybird day filled with numerous highlights. Even though both quarterbacks are down that does not mean that we need to take the Texans lightly. Their running game is for real and we need to make sure to stop that at the beginning of the game in order to make a statement. I will be at my new place breaking in the grill with my brother who also has a blog. Check his out.....its about restaurant reviews in the DC area. http://districtfoodguide.blogspot.com/ Check it out, you will not be dissapointed!!! Lets get hype and watch our Dirtybirds dominate some Texans!!! You all enjoy the Falcons, food, and of course the atmosphere!
-Bon Appetit, Long May You Eat
Food:
For today I am going to go ahead and prepare a similar dish to what I have cooked before. My brother is in town so I figured I would cook a ton of buffalo wings. Last time that I prepared buffalo wings they came out perfect, Calgary Hot Wings, but today I am also going to fix some tangy wings as well. I have already put up a list of the items needed for the hot wings, but here is a list of the items you would need for the tangy wings:
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-2 tablespoons ketchup
-1 cup honey
-1 clove garlic
-salt & pepper to taste
The best part about these wings is that they are cooked in the oven rather than the stove. I will be dominating our new grill at the apartment while at the same time dominating these bad boys in the oven!! These wings are very easy to prepare. Once you have made the sauce to pour over them, you put them in the oven at 375 degrees for about an hour.
Falcons game:
-The game today is one that I honestly worried about on the schedule, but once Schaub got injured and then Leinart was also injured I began to view it as a must win. We have never traveled to Houston in order to dominate them like today, but we must put in a good showing today in order to continue to prove that we are worthy of that wildcard spot. The Falcons are sitting at 7-4 and must get another win to solidify themselves as a dominant team that is looking to make some noise in the playoffs. Here is what I am looking for during the game:
-Well I watched numerous episodes of D-Block on the Atlanta Falcons website a couple of days ago and I was immediately hooked. This show pumps me up and honestly shows me how awesome my boy Sean Weatherspoon is!! I am looking for my boys on the D-Block to make a statement today and shut down the Texans running offense. The Texans are very prone to making the defense look silly, but the Falcons are coming in with a very highly touted running defense that is coming in to prove a point. With the absence of Brent Grime I am looking for our fellow cornerbacks to step up and most importantly Dunta Robinson to show that he is the #1 cornerback that we paid him to be.
-Our offense has been hitting on all cylinders the past couple weeks, but we have been unable to put away teams when need be. The Texans, with their top 2 quarterbacks, are one of those teams that we need to come out and shut down! The impact that Tony G is having on our team is remarkable and I feel like his veteran attitude is rubbing off on many of the wide receivers. Harry Douglas is a beast at the slot wide receiver and making it look easy. Wes Welker style in the slot! I am looking for Julio Jones to come back and have a statement game along with Rowdy Roddy White. The receivers will get attention, but we all know that Mike Smith is going to come out and run Turner down their throats!!!
Can I say anything to get you more pumped up for this game?!?!?! Yea, I didn't think so. Today is about a Dirtybird day filled with numerous highlights. Even though both quarterbacks are down that does not mean that we need to take the Texans lightly. Their running game is for real and we need to make sure to stop that at the beginning of the game in order to make a statement. I will be at my new place breaking in the grill with my brother who also has a blog. Check his out.....its about restaurant reviews in the DC area. http://districtfoodguide.blogspot.com/ Check it out, you will not be dissapointed!!! Lets get hype and watch our Dirtybirds dominate some Texans!!! You all enjoy the Falcons, food, and of course the atmosphere!
-Bon Appetit, Long May You Eat
Friday, December 2, 2011
Lockout Over: Bring back the Atlanta Hawks in the Highlight Factory
I decided that now that the NBA and the players have decided to not cancel the entire season it is time to give the Atlanta Hawks a little love. I can't begin to explain how excited I am that the NBA has returned. Many people hate the NBA and say there is no competition, but I however am a fan that can watch literally every Hawks game with the same amount of enthusiasm throughout the season. I decided that I would give you all a couple updates on the current Hawks roster and when the season starts to update you guys every 10 games or so with how the team is looking. I won't be preparing any food for these blogs, but rather just shedding a little light on how the Hawks are faring during the upcoming 66 game season. Of course I would say this, but I truly believe the Hawks have a legitimate chance with this lockout shortened season and of course with the last couple of seasons we as fans will have plenty to be excited about. Let's go HAWKS FAITHFUL.
One thing that the lockout did give the Hawks and every other team in the league an upper hand on is rest. Every player in the league will tell you that they enjoyed the longer break, it gave them a chance to rest their bodies and switch up their regular routines during the off-season. The Hawks have made the playoffs four consecutive years and have advanced past the first-round the last three years. That amount of play after the regular season will take a toll on a player and with the lockout it gave everybody a chance to re-charge their batteries. After the much needed rest a lot of the players started working out on their own without the luxury of team facilities and trainers. It has to be hard for a player to stay in shape when they have no real light at the end of the tunnel. After watching the video of Josh Smith getting some shots up at the Hawks facility, a video you MUST check out on the Hawks website, I was assured that our players have been taken their workouts seriously. The word on the street is that our main core of Smith, Johnson, and Horford have all slimmed down noticeably and look as fit as I have seen them in a long long time. One side note of Smith slimming down and looking much more agile and athletic is I am thinking he is taking his switch to small forward as a permanent one. Hopefully that will lead to the Hawks signing some kind of inside presence so we can slide Horford over to the 4 where we saw him excel at some points last year. Just the thought of the Hawks getting out and running their fast break offense with a faster Smith, Horford, Johnson at the 3 point line, and Teague turning on the jets gets me crunk!!!
A topic of interest to Hawks fans is the injury status updates of a couple of key Hawks. The AJC revealed today that Kirk Hinrich had shoulder surgery to repair some damage that he had from early season with the Washington Wizards. Hinrich is not supposed to be out too long with the hopes of coming back towards the end of December/early January. With the season not even starting until Christmas Day I am imagining Hinrich missing two weeks of the regular season and taking probably another two to get into a rhythm with his teammates. Marvin Williams had back surgery to relieve his constant back problems that have seem to plagued him over the past two seasons or so. With a chance to fully heal I am hoping this gives Marvin extra incentive to get back to full strength and provide some much needed punch off the bench in what seems to be his new role.
The Hawks have a potent returning core of players and are in need of adding some depth. Especially some scoring off the bench with the likely departure of Jamal Crawford and also some veteran toughness to beat some ass in the paint. My man Zaza needs a bash brother to elbow people and start fights with. With the shortened season and teams probably not playing their best basketball for a while, I imagine the Hawks having a good regular season with hopes of positioning themselves for the playoffs. A year of Larry Drew's offense under their belts should hopefully give them the opportunity to play more on their instincts rather than thinking about where the coach wants them. I am probably a little more excited than the average fan is because I love my Atlanta sports teams, but I think this is a year that the Atlanta Hawks can get over that 2nd round hump. The Highlight Factory is back BABY and is going to be bumping on opening night. I'll be there FOR SURE.
One thing that the lockout did give the Hawks and every other team in the league an upper hand on is rest. Every player in the league will tell you that they enjoyed the longer break, it gave them a chance to rest their bodies and switch up their regular routines during the off-season. The Hawks have made the playoffs four consecutive years and have advanced past the first-round the last three years. That amount of play after the regular season will take a toll on a player and with the lockout it gave everybody a chance to re-charge their batteries. After the much needed rest a lot of the players started working out on their own without the luxury of team facilities and trainers. It has to be hard for a player to stay in shape when they have no real light at the end of the tunnel. After watching the video of Josh Smith getting some shots up at the Hawks facility, a video you MUST check out on the Hawks website, I was assured that our players have been taken their workouts seriously. The word on the street is that our main core of Smith, Johnson, and Horford have all slimmed down noticeably and look as fit as I have seen them in a long long time. One side note of Smith slimming down and looking much more agile and athletic is I am thinking he is taking his switch to small forward as a permanent one. Hopefully that will lead to the Hawks signing some kind of inside presence so we can slide Horford over to the 4 where we saw him excel at some points last year. Just the thought of the Hawks getting out and running their fast break offense with a faster Smith, Horford, Johnson at the 3 point line, and Teague turning on the jets gets me crunk!!!
A topic of interest to Hawks fans is the injury status updates of a couple of key Hawks. The AJC revealed today that Kirk Hinrich had shoulder surgery to repair some damage that he had from early season with the Washington Wizards. Hinrich is not supposed to be out too long with the hopes of coming back towards the end of December/early January. With the season not even starting until Christmas Day I am imagining Hinrich missing two weeks of the regular season and taking probably another two to get into a rhythm with his teammates. Marvin Williams had back surgery to relieve his constant back problems that have seem to plagued him over the past two seasons or so. With a chance to fully heal I am hoping this gives Marvin extra incentive to get back to full strength and provide some much needed punch off the bench in what seems to be his new role.
The Hawks have a potent returning core of players and are in need of adding some depth. Especially some scoring off the bench with the likely departure of Jamal Crawford and also some veteran toughness to beat some ass in the paint. My man Zaza needs a bash brother to elbow people and start fights with. With the shortened season and teams probably not playing their best basketball for a while, I imagine the Hawks having a good regular season with hopes of positioning themselves for the playoffs. A year of Larry Drew's offense under their belts should hopefully give them the opportunity to play more on their instincts rather than thinking about where the coach wants them. I am probably a little more excited than the average fan is because I love my Atlanta sports teams, but I think this is a year that the Atlanta Hawks can get over that 2nd round hump. The Highlight Factory is back BABY and is going to be bumping on opening night. I'll be there FOR SURE.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Falcons vs. Tennessee: Fly Dirty Birds, FLY!!
To say I was dissapointed in last week's loss to New Orleans is a huge understatement. I felt that it was a good chance for us to take the division lead and get a little respect around the league. However, we were unable to capitalize and we came away with the loss. Lets not harp too much on the negatives and go ahead and look forward to this Sunday's matchup with the suprisingly 5-4 Tennessee Titans. The Titans were one of those teams that were supposed to stuggle all season with a whole new system, head coach, quarterback, and no time to put everything together with the lockout. They have come out this season with a couple of impressive wins and are now holding the same record as our precious Falcons. I still like our chances haha.
Food:
This week we are preparing some delectable treats that are sure to make your tailgate better. I found this recipe from Mr. Tailgate himself, seriously the guy has his own website and visits games across the whole nation. Dude is on top of his game, makes me look like a little scrub. The name alone makes you curious and hungry, tenderloin bites. Here is a list of all the items you would need:
-1 tenderloin (I prefer the ones that are not pre-seasoned)
-Jalapenos
-Package of bacon
-Whatever seasoning you want to throw on.
You want to start off by slicing the tenderloin into slices a little less than an inch thick. This should yield about 12-15 bites depending on how large of a tenderloin you purchase. With each tenderloin place a jalapeno or two in the middle and fold over to create a little sandwich. Now wrap that with a piece of bacon and place a toothpick through to secure it. Along with these tenderloin bites I would prepare another small dish to add some variety, I'm going to do the jalapeno poppers. You can get the recipe from my Seattle Seahawks blog if need be. These bites are very easy to prepare on the grill. Just use a basic charcoal setup and throw them on for about 10-15 minutes. Don't under estimate these tenderloin bites. They sound easy to prepare, but the finished product is purely delicious. I hope this improves your tailgate and most importantly leads the Falcons to a big W!!
Falcons game:
This is game 2 of our three game home stand in the Dome. We have to get a victory today and get this thing rolling again. The Tennessee Titans have easily one of the best running backs in the league despite all the haters out there. Chris Johnson has under performed all year due to some unknow reason, but last week he had a breakout game with 130 rushing yards. I don't care if he has been playing inconsistent all year and the Titans have the worst ranked rushing offense in the league, you don't give this guy daylight. He is one running back that can take break every rushing attempt for a highlight TD run. Along with Johnson the Titans signed veteran Matt Hasselback in the offseason to bridge the gap between now and the Jake Locker era. So far he has impressed beyond everyones expectations. Without Kenny Britt their receiving group took a big hit but there have been people to step up. The Dirty D has to step up in this one and play huge!! The Falcons need to build on their play late in the game on offense when they were able to move the ball with ease, but also need to keep Turner in the game by consistently getting him touches. Here are some things I am looking for in today's game:
-The Falcons D has to keep coming up with turnovers. I feel that if we get some early turnovers and punch them in for touchdowns we can put them away early. Our pressure on Hasselback has to be increased. I mean seriously, Brees didn't even get a whiff of our D line last week. That was embarassing! Ray Edwars has to step up, Peters (aka Bernie), and Babineaux have to come away with good games. And as always I am looking for my man Sean Weatherspoon to have a HUGE game. SPOOOOOOON!!!!
-It looks like we will be without Julio Jones again with the tweak of his hamstring, but Harry Douglas stepped up big last week. Tony Gonzalez continues to shock the world with his play at his age. He is a terminator, I love it when we throw over the middle to him. Thirdly, Roddy White has to have a Rowdy Roddy White type game. He just has not looked the same this year. I don't care as much about the statistical drop off, but when he has had chances to greatly impact the game he has not come down with the ball. I know he is aware of this and I expect him to come out extra Rowdy today. Let's GO!
We have another opportunity this week to come out and prove to the NFL that we are for real, we just have to capitalize. I want a game that is dominated with Dirty Bird jerseys everywhere. I know for a fact all the players and Mike Smith are eager to get on the field today and get last weeks monkey off their back. Oh yea, did I mention I'm going to the game!!!! Look for me on the tv getting crunk with the best of em!! I've got that Dirty Bird fever and I can't wait to spread it all around the Dome!!!! Let's come out and dominate everybody and get the Dome crowd jumping. Hope you enjoy the food, game, and the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Food:
This week we are preparing some delectable treats that are sure to make your tailgate better. I found this recipe from Mr. Tailgate himself, seriously the guy has his own website and visits games across the whole nation. Dude is on top of his game, makes me look like a little scrub. The name alone makes you curious and hungry, tenderloin bites. Here is a list of all the items you would need:
-1 tenderloin (I prefer the ones that are not pre-seasoned)
-Jalapenos
-Package of bacon
-Whatever seasoning you want to throw on.
You want to start off by slicing the tenderloin into slices a little less than an inch thick. This should yield about 12-15 bites depending on how large of a tenderloin you purchase. With each tenderloin place a jalapeno or two in the middle and fold over to create a little sandwich. Now wrap that with a piece of bacon and place a toothpick through to secure it. Along with these tenderloin bites I would prepare another small dish to add some variety, I'm going to do the jalapeno poppers. You can get the recipe from my Seattle Seahawks blog if need be. These bites are very easy to prepare on the grill. Just use a basic charcoal setup and throw them on for about 10-15 minutes. Don't under estimate these tenderloin bites. They sound easy to prepare, but the finished product is purely delicious. I hope this improves your tailgate and most importantly leads the Falcons to a big W!!
Falcons game:
This is game 2 of our three game home stand in the Dome. We have to get a victory today and get this thing rolling again. The Tennessee Titans have easily one of the best running backs in the league despite all the haters out there. Chris Johnson has under performed all year due to some unknow reason, but last week he had a breakout game with 130 rushing yards. I don't care if he has been playing inconsistent all year and the Titans have the worst ranked rushing offense in the league, you don't give this guy daylight. He is one running back that can take break every rushing attempt for a highlight TD run. Along with Johnson the Titans signed veteran Matt Hasselback in the offseason to bridge the gap between now and the Jake Locker era. So far he has impressed beyond everyones expectations. Without Kenny Britt their receiving group took a big hit but there have been people to step up. The Dirty D has to step up in this one and play huge!! The Falcons need to build on their play late in the game on offense when they were able to move the ball with ease, but also need to keep Turner in the game by consistently getting him touches. Here are some things I am looking for in today's game:
-The Falcons D has to keep coming up with turnovers. I feel that if we get some early turnovers and punch them in for touchdowns we can put them away early. Our pressure on Hasselback has to be increased. I mean seriously, Brees didn't even get a whiff of our D line last week. That was embarassing! Ray Edwars has to step up, Peters (aka Bernie), and Babineaux have to come away with good games. And as always I am looking for my man Sean Weatherspoon to have a HUGE game. SPOOOOOOON!!!!
-It looks like we will be without Julio Jones again with the tweak of his hamstring, but Harry Douglas stepped up big last week. Tony Gonzalez continues to shock the world with his play at his age. He is a terminator, I love it when we throw over the middle to him. Thirdly, Roddy White has to have a Rowdy Roddy White type game. He just has not looked the same this year. I don't care as much about the statistical drop off, but when he has had chances to greatly impact the game he has not come down with the ball. I know he is aware of this and I expect him to come out extra Rowdy today. Let's GO!
We have another opportunity this week to come out and prove to the NFL that we are for real, we just have to capitalize. I want a game that is dominated with Dirty Bird jerseys everywhere. I know for a fact all the players and Mike Smith are eager to get on the field today and get last weeks monkey off their back. Oh yea, did I mention I'm going to the game!!!! Look for me on the tv getting crunk with the best of em!! I've got that Dirty Bird fever and I can't wait to spread it all around the Dome!!!! Let's come out and dominate everybody and get the Dome crowd jumping. Hope you enjoy the food, game, and the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Falcons @ Indianapolis: With or without Peyton
All us Falcons fans had a nice little vacation last weekend because of the bye week, but I personally was craving some dirty bird. I like how our schedule is set up this year with a very tough beginning but in the second half of the schedule we have a handful of games that can put us in position to head to the postseason. Falcons players had a good week to get rested up for this second half surge. Moving on to this week we face the Indianapolis Colts who are currently without a win this season, but still a very talented team. The fact that they are without Peyton Manning is huge however their defense is still talented with two of the best defensive ends in the league and they still have a talented group of receivers. I am looking for everyone to come out hyped and ready to take care of some business in Indy!!!
Food:
This week we are going to prepare some of the most classic tailgate food you can think of.....HOT WINGS! Calgary hot wings to be exact. This recipe will feed probably 2-3 people for good eats during the game. Oh yea and if you do not like hot wings, first off you stink and second off you probably should stay away from these bad boys. Here is a list of the items you would need:
-2 pounds of chicken wings
-2 cups of beer (It doesn't really matter what kind, I ended up going with Sam Adams winter lager)
-2 teaspoons kosher salt
-1 teaspoon black pepper
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon celery seed
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-4 tablespoons butter (melted)
-1/4 cup siracha (the GREATEST sauce ever by the way)
-1/2 cup Crystal hot sauce
-2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
-1-1/2 cups wood chips
What you want to do first is rinse off the chicken wings and throw them in a container with the beer and let marinate. I let my wings marinate for 24 hours just to soak up the beer. The next step will be to make the rub so add all the salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and celery seed into a mixing bowl. Once you have drained the beer and blotted the wings dry you throw the wings in the rub and add some olive oil. Mix well until all wings are evenly coated with the rub. By this point everything will be smelling damn delicious, but don't eat yet! Make sure your grill is set up for indirect heating and you have soaked your wood chips for about an hour or so. Since we are grilling wings you want to make sure that you clean your grill thoroughly and wipe some oil on the grill so the wings do not stick. The wings can be thrown on now and will take about 30-40 minutes, flipping occasionally. Once the wings are done the best part is coming up. Throw the wings in another bowl and add the Crystal hot sauce, siracha, melted butter, and cilantro. Mix all of this up so the wings are evenly coated with the sauce and the sheer presentation of this meal will have you and your guests drooling immediately. Serve with either ranch or bleu cheese, whichever your preference is and BAM you have a crowd pleaser that will for sure be a repeat recipe. Enjoy dem HOT thangs baby!!
Falcons game:
-A lot of people are saying the Falcons will slip up in this game...a la Saints last week against the Rams hahaha. I honestly thing Mike Smith runs too good of a football program to let his players come into this game with that kind of attitude. Mike Smith has brought an approach to every Sunday that they are going to come out and just take care of business. I love it. Here is what I am looking for in this game:
-The Falcons D has been coming every Sunday with a purpose these past couple of games. The pressure they have been getting on quarterbacks is tremendous and it's not just the D line. Everyone is involved and that is a very encouraging sign of things to come. We have a team that can bring the heat from every level of defense. I am looking for my boy Weatherspoon to have another huge game that we are beginning to become accustom to. He is a certified beast out there!!
-Even without Peyton Manning the Colts still have receivers very capable of breaking out some big games. Curtis Painter certainly is no Peyton but he does have a very good connection with Garcon. They like to run the play action with Garcon streaking down the middle so we need to be aware of that. Along with their receivers is Dallas Clark and if you take him lightly then your just plain stu stu stupid! Beware of the security blanket Clark.
-Finally, our offense needs to come out a make a statement in this game. It would be great to get a win obviously, but we need to put some points on the board. I want at least 30 plus points, but hey thats just me. Turner has been running with such effectiveness and Matty Ice has almost been taking a back seat to his games. This afternoon I am hoping that both get on track early and keep it coming all day long. It is time for the dirty birds to come out flying and be streaking all over the opposing field!
I am very excited about this game and looking forward to our performance. This is the beginning of the second half push that we must get on to get the season going. We are set up to make a nice little run of victories and now that we are coming off the bye everyone seems to be rested up! I know all the veterans on the team are letting everyone know how important this second half is and how crucial it is for our playoff chances. Lets get this thing going with a W and get out of Indy with so more respect. Dirty Bird fever is running rampant through my body haha. I hope you all enjoy the food, the game, and the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Food:
This week we are going to prepare some of the most classic tailgate food you can think of.....HOT WINGS! Calgary hot wings to be exact. This recipe will feed probably 2-3 people for good eats during the game. Oh yea and if you do not like hot wings, first off you stink and second off you probably should stay away from these bad boys. Here is a list of the items you would need:
-2 pounds of chicken wings
-2 cups of beer (It doesn't really matter what kind, I ended up going with Sam Adams winter lager)
-2 teaspoons kosher salt
-1 teaspoon black pepper
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1 teaspoon chili powder
-1/2 teaspoon celery seed
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-4 tablespoons butter (melted)
-1/4 cup siracha (the GREATEST sauce ever by the way)
-1/2 cup Crystal hot sauce
-2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
-1-1/2 cups wood chips
What you want to do first is rinse off the chicken wings and throw them in a container with the beer and let marinate. I let my wings marinate for 24 hours just to soak up the beer. The next step will be to make the rub so add all the salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, and celery seed into a mixing bowl. Once you have drained the beer and blotted the wings dry you throw the wings in the rub and add some olive oil. Mix well until all wings are evenly coated with the rub. By this point everything will be smelling damn delicious, but don't eat yet! Make sure your grill is set up for indirect heating and you have soaked your wood chips for about an hour or so. Since we are grilling wings you want to make sure that you clean your grill thoroughly and wipe some oil on the grill so the wings do not stick. The wings can be thrown on now and will take about 30-40 minutes, flipping occasionally. Once the wings are done the best part is coming up. Throw the wings in another bowl and add the Crystal hot sauce, siracha, melted butter, and cilantro. Mix all of this up so the wings are evenly coated with the sauce and the sheer presentation of this meal will have you and your guests drooling immediately. Serve with either ranch or bleu cheese, whichever your preference is and BAM you have a crowd pleaser that will for sure be a repeat recipe. Enjoy dem HOT thangs baby!!
Falcons game:
-A lot of people are saying the Falcons will slip up in this game...a la Saints last week against the Rams hahaha. I honestly thing Mike Smith runs too good of a football program to let his players come into this game with that kind of attitude. Mike Smith has brought an approach to every Sunday that they are going to come out and just take care of business. I love it. Here is what I am looking for in this game:
-The Falcons D has been coming every Sunday with a purpose these past couple of games. The pressure they have been getting on quarterbacks is tremendous and it's not just the D line. Everyone is involved and that is a very encouraging sign of things to come. We have a team that can bring the heat from every level of defense. I am looking for my boy Weatherspoon to have another huge game that we are beginning to become accustom to. He is a certified beast out there!!
-Even without Peyton Manning the Colts still have receivers very capable of breaking out some big games. Curtis Painter certainly is no Peyton but he does have a very good connection with Garcon. They like to run the play action with Garcon streaking down the middle so we need to be aware of that. Along with their receivers is Dallas Clark and if you take him lightly then your just plain stu stu stupid! Beware of the security blanket Clark.
-Finally, our offense needs to come out a make a statement in this game. It would be great to get a win obviously, but we need to put some points on the board. I want at least 30 plus points, but hey thats just me. Turner has been running with such effectiveness and Matty Ice has almost been taking a back seat to his games. This afternoon I am hoping that both get on track early and keep it coming all day long. It is time for the dirty birds to come out flying and be streaking all over the opposing field!
I am very excited about this game and looking forward to our performance. This is the beginning of the second half push that we must get on to get the season going. We are set up to make a nice little run of victories and now that we are coming off the bye everyone seems to be rested up! I know all the veterans on the team are letting everyone know how important this second half is and how crucial it is for our playoff chances. Lets get this thing going with a W and get out of Indy with so more respect. Dirty Bird fever is running rampant through my body haha. I hope you all enjoy the food, the game, and the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Falcons @ Detroit:
Hey folks, sorry I did not post anything last week I was out of town. I wonder if anyone noticed?? HA. Last weeks win againt the Carolina Panthers was a much needed win after that performance againt the Packers. I really liked our overall gameplan against the Panthers. Sticking to the run game and what has been our key cog over the last couple of successful seasons. The Burner Turner turned in one of his best efforts of the season, but honestly he probably could have had numerous games like that had we not gotten down so early in games this year. Despite their poor record Carolina has a very talented team that is on the come up in terms of learning how to win in the NFL. That being said it was still another victory against a losing team which is becoming a trend for this seasons Falcons. NOT a good trend to have. This Sunday against the upstart Detroit Lions will be a whole different affair!!
Food:
This week I am going with a recipe that I think would be more popular with a warm weather game, but I was craving it! One of the things that made my man Forrest Gump oh so popular, SKRIMP. Beer boiled shrimp is something that is not hard to prepare at all and is good for a tailgate because it can feed a lot of people. Here is a quick list of the items that you would need to prepare the shrimp:
-6 pack of good beer (NOT busch light)
-2 lbs. of large shrimp (Don't shell them)
-2 to 3 bay leaves
-1 tbsp. of coriander seeds
-Salt & pepper
-You can either buy some cocktail sauce or make your own depending on how much horseradish you like
Start by washing the shrimp in cold water. This recipe can be done at home but also very easily at your tailgate spot. Over the grill you would just need to bring a pot big enough to fit on the grill. In the large pot you can go ahead and pour in your 6 pack of beer along with the coriander seeds, bay leaves, and salt/pepper. Once it is brought to a boil you can turn down the heat and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes or so. Dump those delicious jumbo shrimp in there and crank the heat back up to a boil. Shrimp do not take very long to cook, roughly 2 to 3 minutes, and you can tell that they are cooked by them turning pink. After they are done it is up to you if you want to serve them hot or cold. It does not really matter because they are good any way, but I prefer them cold. One display I liked was throwing over some ice for everyone to start picking at them with your cocktail sauce already set up. I hope this is an easy recipe for you and it should be a hit with all of your fellow tailgaters. Plus its SKRIMP, damn delicious!!
Falcons game:
Reviewing our schedule before the season and I saw the Detroit game, at Ford Field, befor the bye week and honestly did not really know what to make of it. I didn't know if I was scared of it or already marking it down as a loss given their recent terrible history. Detroit had its share of struggles last season but any football fan could see that they were definitely improving under the system that coach Schwartz had implemented. With the return of both a healthy Stafford and the mammoth beast they call Suh it is a scary team. Their torrid start has been all the talk this season. Consider their win list (Bucs, Chiefs, Vikings, Cowboys, & Bears) compared to the Falcons (Philadelphia, Seattle, Carolina). Not too shabby of a start for the Motor City. Of course I respect the Detroit Lions and I know the players take them seriously now, but does all this mean that I don't think the Falcons can come into their dome and beat the hell out of them. NO!!!! I expect the Falcons to do exactly that and I think the whole Atlanta Falcons organization would greatly prefer to be heading into this bye week with a victory that puts them over the .500 mark. Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to in the game:
- The Lions defense is an emerging one, but they still have some improvements. Their pass defense is a stunning 6th in the league, but their run defense is something like 26th in the league. I am looking for the Falcons to play a similar gameplan to the Panthers game. The Lions run a similar to the defense ran in Philly and I expect Turner to turn in another stellar performance. Once you get that human bowling ball on a full steam coming around the edges it is very hard for a player to WANT to tackle that beast. Hopefully we can dial up some nice passing plays as well, because we need our receivers and Tony G. to turn in huge games as well.
- Trying to slow down the Detroit offense seems like a scary task. I think our defense has the capability to do so however. I know all everyone is thinking about is Megatron going against Grimes and laughing at the sheer difference in their height. Don't forget the fact that Grimes could be Megatron jr. with that ridiculous vertical leap he has. The Lions run game is a huge concern for them because they are not only without Best, Lashore, but now Harrison is obviously out with a brain tumor. If we can stuff their run game early that puts a lot of pressure on Stafford and his receivers. Detroit is not a good 3rd down team, hopefully our defense can change their trend of allowing offenses to stay on the field on 3rd downs.
- The Falcons pressure on qb's has been improving every week so far. This will be a huge factor in todays game. We have to rattle Stafford and get him feeling uneasy. I think we will be able to do that with not only our front 4, but our back 7 has been turning in great games as far as pressure is concerned. My man Weatherspoon is literally turning the corning right in front of our eyes. I know VanGorder will be dialing up blitz packages and bringing heat with all different types of people. If you look at our defense we have the payers necessary to get that pressure. William Moore should be a feared blitzing safety in the league, Weatherspoon, and Dunta Robinson are both good blitzers as well. I think this might be the biggest factor in todays game. Sack dat pretty boy Stafford and break dem legs D!!!!
Not many people would have thought that this afternoons game against the Detroit Lions would be so critical to the Falcons season. We have come to a point the season where we have to beat a winning team and get that Falcons swag rolling for a win streak! I expect everyone to be hyped for this game and I am surely confident that we have it in ourselves to knock off these early season wonders. Heading into the Motor City its time to put our hard hats on and go to work. Lets come out early and show them we are ready to get our season started and their is only one DOME in the NFL, the GA DOME!!!!Dirty Bird Pride!!! Hope everyone enjoys the game, food, and the atmosphere!!!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Food:
This week I am going with a recipe that I think would be more popular with a warm weather game, but I was craving it! One of the things that made my man Forrest Gump oh so popular, SKRIMP. Beer boiled shrimp is something that is not hard to prepare at all and is good for a tailgate because it can feed a lot of people. Here is a quick list of the items that you would need to prepare the shrimp:
-6 pack of good beer (NOT busch light)
-2 lbs. of large shrimp (Don't shell them)
-2 to 3 bay leaves
-1 tbsp. of coriander seeds
-Salt & pepper
-You can either buy some cocktail sauce or make your own depending on how much horseradish you like
Start by washing the shrimp in cold water. This recipe can be done at home but also very easily at your tailgate spot. Over the grill you would just need to bring a pot big enough to fit on the grill. In the large pot you can go ahead and pour in your 6 pack of beer along with the coriander seeds, bay leaves, and salt/pepper. Once it is brought to a boil you can turn down the heat and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes or so. Dump those delicious jumbo shrimp in there and crank the heat back up to a boil. Shrimp do not take very long to cook, roughly 2 to 3 minutes, and you can tell that they are cooked by them turning pink. After they are done it is up to you if you want to serve them hot or cold. It does not really matter because they are good any way, but I prefer them cold. One display I liked was throwing over some ice for everyone to start picking at them with your cocktail sauce already set up. I hope this is an easy recipe for you and it should be a hit with all of your fellow tailgaters. Plus its SKRIMP, damn delicious!!
Falcons game:
Reviewing our schedule before the season and I saw the Detroit game, at Ford Field, befor the bye week and honestly did not really know what to make of it. I didn't know if I was scared of it or already marking it down as a loss given their recent terrible history. Detroit had its share of struggles last season but any football fan could see that they were definitely improving under the system that coach Schwartz had implemented. With the return of both a healthy Stafford and the mammoth beast they call Suh it is a scary team. Their torrid start has been all the talk this season. Consider their win list (Bucs, Chiefs, Vikings, Cowboys, & Bears) compared to the Falcons (Philadelphia, Seattle, Carolina). Not too shabby of a start for the Motor City. Of course I respect the Detroit Lions and I know the players take them seriously now, but does all this mean that I don't think the Falcons can come into their dome and beat the hell out of them. NO!!!! I expect the Falcons to do exactly that and I think the whole Atlanta Falcons organization would greatly prefer to be heading into this bye week with a victory that puts them over the .500 mark. Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to in the game:
- The Lions defense is an emerging one, but they still have some improvements. Their pass defense is a stunning 6th in the league, but their run defense is something like 26th in the league. I am looking for the Falcons to play a similar gameplan to the Panthers game. The Lions run a similar to the defense ran in Philly and I expect Turner to turn in another stellar performance. Once you get that human bowling ball on a full steam coming around the edges it is very hard for a player to WANT to tackle that beast. Hopefully we can dial up some nice passing plays as well, because we need our receivers and Tony G. to turn in huge games as well.
- Trying to slow down the Detroit offense seems like a scary task. I think our defense has the capability to do so however. I know all everyone is thinking about is Megatron going against Grimes and laughing at the sheer difference in their height. Don't forget the fact that Grimes could be Megatron jr. with that ridiculous vertical leap he has. The Lions run game is a huge concern for them because they are not only without Best, Lashore, but now Harrison is obviously out with a brain tumor. If we can stuff their run game early that puts a lot of pressure on Stafford and his receivers. Detroit is not a good 3rd down team, hopefully our defense can change their trend of allowing offenses to stay on the field on 3rd downs.
- The Falcons pressure on qb's has been improving every week so far. This will be a huge factor in todays game. We have to rattle Stafford and get him feeling uneasy. I think we will be able to do that with not only our front 4, but our back 7 has been turning in great games as far as pressure is concerned. My man Weatherspoon is literally turning the corning right in front of our eyes. I know VanGorder will be dialing up blitz packages and bringing heat with all different types of people. If you look at our defense we have the payers necessary to get that pressure. William Moore should be a feared blitzing safety in the league, Weatherspoon, and Dunta Robinson are both good blitzers as well. I think this might be the biggest factor in todays game. Sack dat pretty boy Stafford and break dem legs D!!!!
Not many people would have thought that this afternoons game against the Detroit Lions would be so critical to the Falcons season. We have come to a point the season where we have to beat a winning team and get that Falcons swag rolling for a win streak! I expect everyone to be hyped for this game and I am surely confident that we have it in ourselves to knock off these early season wonders. Heading into the Motor City its time to put our hard hats on and go to work. Lets come out early and show them we are ready to get our season started and their is only one DOME in the NFL, the GA DOME!!!!Dirty Bird Pride!!! Hope everyone enjoys the game, food, and the atmosphere!!!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Falcons vs. Green Bay: One Word, Revenge.
Reapply your deodorant and wipe the sweat off your brow. We escaped the Seahawks and the Pacific Northwest with a much needed victory. In a game that looked as if the Atlanta Falcons that we are used to in the Mike Smith era had returned. They were running the ball with efficiency, eating up clock, and playing mistake free football. We were afforded that luxury for about the first half and then we seemed to go completely flat after halftime. Our pass defense once again made the opposing qb look like an All-Pro. Tavaris Jackson, really?? When is the last time you saw him throw for 300 plus yards and multiple TD's. In the words of Keyshawn Johnson, C'mon Man!!!! With that being said we did still win the game and it put us at 2-2 heading back home to Dome for a very anticipated rematch with the Green Bay Packers. Let's Go!!!!!!!
Food:
For this weeks meal I decided to go with an item that you may not think of as tailgate food, taco soup. As with all of the items I put up here it easy to make, relatively cheap, and can feed a pretty big group of fans watching their Dirty Birds. Here is a list of items you would need to buy:
-Yellow rice
-1 or 2 cans of black beans
-1 Rotisserie chicken
-Shredded cheese
-Chicken broth
-Diced tomatoes
The preparation is easy because it is all on the stove. Start by combining the chicken broth and diced tomatoes in a pot, you can add any other items you want to make it a little spicier. Tear apart the chicken and cut into decent sized pieces. After you have prepared the yellow rice, black beans, and the broth your ready to put together your meal. Scoop some rice into your bowl and secondly add on some black beans. Next comes the chicken and shredded cheese. Once that cheese gets on top of the hot chicken it will start to melt and ooooo weeee it looks good! Lastly, add some of your broth to turn it into a soup. If you are like me add some hot sauce or some salsa verde and you have got yourself a very tasty/spicy soup that will surely please everyone watching the game!
Falcons game:
Now lets get to the showdown of Sunday Night!!!! The Green Bay Packers return to the Georgia Dome where made such a statement last year to both the Atlanta Falcons and the rest of the NFL in the march to a Super Bowl victory. Last years game in the playoffs effected both franchises so much and is still having a lasting effect. For the Falcons it made a 13-3 season seem like a very flawed team. There was so much emphasis put on explosiveness during the off-season and as the media likes to remind us everyday, we traded a boat load of picks in order to grab Julio Jones. For the Packers it was one of many victories that they had in what turned out to be a remarkable journey to a championship. Fast forward to this year. The Packers are off to a hot start with Rodgers looking unstoppable and flashing the champioship belt celebration nearly every second. The Falcons have gotten off to a stumble of a start and are definitely looking to make a big statement in tonights nationally televised game. Everything about the Packers is respectable, but don't mistake that respect for fear. There is no way that every Falcons player hasn't been dreaming of a chance to get some revenge for the showing they had at home last year. If you need anything more to get you hyped about this game, something is terribly wrong with you!! Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to seeing tonight:
- Emotions are going to play a huge part in this game. There is a lot of built up anger towards these Packers and whether the Falcons players will let you know it, they definitely want to prove to the whole world that Falcons deserve to be in the small group of championship contenders. Look for veterans like Roddy White and Abraham to set the tone early for this game. We need big nights from everybody, but I am counting on these two to go HAM tonight at the Dome!!!
- The Packers defense is very good, but I still feel like Matt Ryan can impose his will on their secondary. Yes they have Charles Woodson and he is playing superb for his age, but with the amount of talent that we have in the receiving corps we have to capitalize. I am looking for this game to be the game that our offense fully comes together and starts firing on all cylinders. Gonzalez, White, Jones, Douglas, all have to win their matchups. Like all of our games the running game will be crucial, but in this game especially Mularkey has to have some plays dialed up to show off all the talent they accumulated over the years. Our potential is too good to not be able to come out tonight and shock the world with a very spirited display of the Atlanta Falcons talent.
- The pass rush has to be huge in this game. Giving Rodgers time to sit back in the pocket and dissect our defense just is not going to cut it tonight. The defensive line has to win their battles up front and create some opportunities for turnovers. It is not on just the defensive line though, our linebackers and secondary have to put some pressure on Rodgers as well. He is too talented!! This is a very good test for our defense as a whole and I am looking for our unit to come out and prove they aren't as inconsistent as the media makes them out to be. Let the Dirty Birds fly baby!!
This is our second prime time game and I hope it turns the outcome is the exact same, a victory. There couldn't be any more hype surrounding this game, I am getting excited just typing about it. Something that we have not done yet is bust out the throwbacks this year. If there is a game to do it, its tonight. Those beautiful throwbacks with those glorious red helmets. I would wear that uniform to work everyday if it was allowed!! Along with the Chargers powder blue uni's, they are the best throwbacks in the league. Tonight we have an opportunity to jump start our season and get some much needed revenge for last years disapointing home loss in the playoffs. Get crunk Birds, let's run chamionship belt boy outta Atlanta and prove to the world how much we love our Falcons down here in the A!!! Enjoy the food, game, and the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Food:
For this weeks meal I decided to go with an item that you may not think of as tailgate food, taco soup. As with all of the items I put up here it easy to make, relatively cheap, and can feed a pretty big group of fans watching their Dirty Birds. Here is a list of items you would need to buy:
-Yellow rice
-1 or 2 cans of black beans
-1 Rotisserie chicken
-Shredded cheese
-Chicken broth
-Diced tomatoes
The preparation is easy because it is all on the stove. Start by combining the chicken broth and diced tomatoes in a pot, you can add any other items you want to make it a little spicier. Tear apart the chicken and cut into decent sized pieces. After you have prepared the yellow rice, black beans, and the broth your ready to put together your meal. Scoop some rice into your bowl and secondly add on some black beans. Next comes the chicken and shredded cheese. Once that cheese gets on top of the hot chicken it will start to melt and ooooo weeee it looks good! Lastly, add some of your broth to turn it into a soup. If you are like me add some hot sauce or some salsa verde and you have got yourself a very tasty/spicy soup that will surely please everyone watching the game!
Falcons game:
Now lets get to the showdown of Sunday Night!!!! The Green Bay Packers return to the Georgia Dome where made such a statement last year to both the Atlanta Falcons and the rest of the NFL in the march to a Super Bowl victory. Last years game in the playoffs effected both franchises so much and is still having a lasting effect. For the Falcons it made a 13-3 season seem like a very flawed team. There was so much emphasis put on explosiveness during the off-season and as the media likes to remind us everyday, we traded a boat load of picks in order to grab Julio Jones. For the Packers it was one of many victories that they had in what turned out to be a remarkable journey to a championship. Fast forward to this year. The Packers are off to a hot start with Rodgers looking unstoppable and flashing the champioship belt celebration nearly every second. The Falcons have gotten off to a stumble of a start and are definitely looking to make a big statement in tonights nationally televised game. Everything about the Packers is respectable, but don't mistake that respect for fear. There is no way that every Falcons player hasn't been dreaming of a chance to get some revenge for the showing they had at home last year. If you need anything more to get you hyped about this game, something is terribly wrong with you!! Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to seeing tonight:
- Emotions are going to play a huge part in this game. There is a lot of built up anger towards these Packers and whether the Falcons players will let you know it, they definitely want to prove to the whole world that Falcons deserve to be in the small group of championship contenders. Look for veterans like Roddy White and Abraham to set the tone early for this game. We need big nights from everybody, but I am counting on these two to go HAM tonight at the Dome!!!
- The Packers defense is very good, but I still feel like Matt Ryan can impose his will on their secondary. Yes they have Charles Woodson and he is playing superb for his age, but with the amount of talent that we have in the receiving corps we have to capitalize. I am looking for this game to be the game that our offense fully comes together and starts firing on all cylinders. Gonzalez, White, Jones, Douglas, all have to win their matchups. Like all of our games the running game will be crucial, but in this game especially Mularkey has to have some plays dialed up to show off all the talent they accumulated over the years. Our potential is too good to not be able to come out tonight and shock the world with a very spirited display of the Atlanta Falcons talent.
- The pass rush has to be huge in this game. Giving Rodgers time to sit back in the pocket and dissect our defense just is not going to cut it tonight. The defensive line has to win their battles up front and create some opportunities for turnovers. It is not on just the defensive line though, our linebackers and secondary have to put some pressure on Rodgers as well. He is too talented!! This is a very good test for our defense as a whole and I am looking for our unit to come out and prove they aren't as inconsistent as the media makes them out to be. Let the Dirty Birds fly baby!!
This is our second prime time game and I hope it turns the outcome is the exact same, a victory. There couldn't be any more hype surrounding this game, I am getting excited just typing about it. Something that we have not done yet is bust out the throwbacks this year. If there is a game to do it, its tonight. Those beautiful throwbacks with those glorious red helmets. I would wear that uniform to work everyday if it was allowed!! Along with the Chargers powder blue uni's, they are the best throwbacks in the league. Tonight we have an opportunity to jump start our season and get some much needed revenge for last years disapointing home loss in the playoffs. Get crunk Birds, let's run chamionship belt boy outta Atlanta and prove to the world how much we love our Falcons down here in the A!!! Enjoy the food, game, and the atmosphere.
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Falcons @ Seattle: Battle of the Birds
To say last weeks loss was a disappointment is a huge understatement. A lot of people, including myself, were angered at the last play of scrimmage where Corey Peters jumped off-sides. Yes it was a huge penalty and even bigger mental lapse, but the game should not have even come down to that. The Falcons put themselves in that situation with the amount of stupid penalties, inability to even run, and our new found appreciation for getting Matt Ryan destroyed. With all that being said it was another early season loss to a formidable divisional opponent that may end up coming back to bite us at the end of the season. Let us look to this weeks optimism and our opponent, the Seattle Seahawks. Stay the course Falcons Faithful!
Food:
In the spirit of the weather changing to more of what I consider 'football weather' I figured I would get back outside to ole Bessy (the grill). There is no greater feeling than grilling outside when it is a little chilly and you know for a fact that the food you are preparing is going to warm ya up! For this weeks game I am preparing buffalo chicken sandwhiches and with the help of one of my good friends personal recipe, cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers wrapped in bacon. Let the drooling begin. Here is a list of items you would need for the meal:
-Package of chicken cutlets
-Hamburger buns
-Buffalo sauce (I am trying out Crystals' buffalo sauce this week, but would also recommend Budweiser buffalo sauce)
-Bleu cheese
-Lettuce & tomato
-Jalapeno peppers
-Cream cheese
-Bacon
Start with sprinkling your chicken cutlets with some light salt & pepper. Pour your buffalo sauce in a medium sized bowl and place each cutlet into the bowl. Make sure and cover the cutlets completely in buffalo sauce and let them marinate in the fridge for about a half hour. You can keep the extra buffalo sauce for basting during and after the grilling. It won't take long to cook these sandwiches and of course go ahead and toast them buns! The jalapeno peppers take a little more preparation than the sandwiches do. Slice the top of the pepper off and clean out the inside of the pepper. Stuff the cream cheese in the pepper and wrap it in bacon using a toothpick to secure the bacon. The grilling will not be the time consuming part. So once you are done pile on whatever toppings you choose for your sandwich(lettuce, tomato, bleu cheese). Enjoy the kick and spice that is added to your cold Sunday, hopefully it brings your team a W!
Falcons game:
We played Seattle last year in Seattle and came up with a victory. The score made it look like we handled them with ease but we weren't able to gain some real separation from them until the 4th quarter. They are a very young team that has a respectable defense, but this year they do not have the same consistent offense that they had for so many years under Matt Hasselback. Out with Hasselback and in with Tavaris Jackson. A little tid bit that I found interesting was Seattle had not possessed a lead until late in last weeks game against the Arizona Cardinals! Really?? Marshawn Lynch is highly inconsistent, but as all of us that watched their playoff debut against the Aints he certainly has the ability to break off a highlight run. Sidney Rice is back from an injury and Mike Williams is a beast of a man. The stats may not show it, but Seattle does have a potent offense. Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to seeing:
- The crowd is ALWAYS a factor when traveling to Seattle. Their stadium is probably the coolest in the league and I will give mad props to the Seahwaks fans. It is easily the loudest stadium in the league and the weather out in Seattle is not something to be desired, especially for players who just flew across the entire country. That being said the Falcons have been successful in situations like this. They are one of the best teams at communicating, as can be seen in the success we have with our no huddle offense.
- As is the case with every Falcons game plan I am looking for the running game to get things going. Last week we finally saw how effective Julio and Roddy can be, but it was too little too late. With the issues that have been plaguing our offensive line I am looking for the Falcons to be looking at quicker routes in order to give Ryan some breathing room. Maybe throw in a little screen action (hint, hint, nudge, nudge Mularkey!!) If our running game does have early success that leads to a more effective play action fake and deeper passes. Also, Snelling is likely out so Rodgers will have more of a role this week.
- Lastly, our defense has shown the ability to force turnovers each game. Dating back to last season we have forced a turnover in something like 22 straight games! With Jackson at quarterback and his inability to sometimes get the ball out of his hands quickly I am looking for both our D line to get some good pressure and our D backs to take advantage of a pressured Jackson. Points from our defense never hurts!!
This game is a chance for the Falcons to get back to an even record and return to the Dome with some confidence at the end of the first quarter of the season. Seattle is always a good opponent and it will give us a good chance to go into another hostile environment and prove that we can win in these types of situations. Let's hope the Dirty Birds are the only birds flying high today, Down with the Seahawks!!! Enjoy the food, the game, and the atmosphere!
-Bon appetit, Long may you eat!
Food:
In the spirit of the weather changing to more of what I consider 'football weather' I figured I would get back outside to ole Bessy (the grill). There is no greater feeling than grilling outside when it is a little chilly and you know for a fact that the food you are preparing is going to warm ya up! For this weeks game I am preparing buffalo chicken sandwhiches and with the help of one of my good friends personal recipe, cream cheese stuffed jalapeno peppers wrapped in bacon. Let the drooling begin. Here is a list of items you would need for the meal:
-Package of chicken cutlets
-Hamburger buns
-Buffalo sauce (I am trying out Crystals' buffalo sauce this week, but would also recommend Budweiser buffalo sauce)
-Bleu cheese
-Lettuce & tomato
-Jalapeno peppers
-Cream cheese
-Bacon
Start with sprinkling your chicken cutlets with some light salt & pepper. Pour your buffalo sauce in a medium sized bowl and place each cutlet into the bowl. Make sure and cover the cutlets completely in buffalo sauce and let them marinate in the fridge for about a half hour. You can keep the extra buffalo sauce for basting during and after the grilling. It won't take long to cook these sandwiches and of course go ahead and toast them buns! The jalapeno peppers take a little more preparation than the sandwiches do. Slice the top of the pepper off and clean out the inside of the pepper. Stuff the cream cheese in the pepper and wrap it in bacon using a toothpick to secure the bacon. The grilling will not be the time consuming part. So once you are done pile on whatever toppings you choose for your sandwich(lettuce, tomato, bleu cheese). Enjoy the kick and spice that is added to your cold Sunday, hopefully it brings your team a W!
Falcons game:
We played Seattle last year in Seattle and came up with a victory. The score made it look like we handled them with ease but we weren't able to gain some real separation from them until the 4th quarter. They are a very young team that has a respectable defense, but this year they do not have the same consistent offense that they had for so many years under Matt Hasselback. Out with Hasselback and in with Tavaris Jackson. A little tid bit that I found interesting was Seattle had not possessed a lead until late in last weeks game against the Arizona Cardinals! Really?? Marshawn Lynch is highly inconsistent, but as all of us that watched their playoff debut against the Aints he certainly has the ability to break off a highlight run. Sidney Rice is back from an injury and Mike Williams is a beast of a man. The stats may not show it, but Seattle does have a potent offense. Here are a couple of things I am looking forward to seeing:
- The crowd is ALWAYS a factor when traveling to Seattle. Their stadium is probably the coolest in the league and I will give mad props to the Seahwaks fans. It is easily the loudest stadium in the league and the weather out in Seattle is not something to be desired, especially for players who just flew across the entire country. That being said the Falcons have been successful in situations like this. They are one of the best teams at communicating, as can be seen in the success we have with our no huddle offense.
- As is the case with every Falcons game plan I am looking for the running game to get things going. Last week we finally saw how effective Julio and Roddy can be, but it was too little too late. With the issues that have been plaguing our offensive line I am looking for the Falcons to be looking at quicker routes in order to give Ryan some breathing room. Maybe throw in a little screen action (hint, hint, nudge, nudge Mularkey!!) If our running game does have early success that leads to a more effective play action fake and deeper passes. Also, Snelling is likely out so Rodgers will have more of a role this week.
- Lastly, our defense has shown the ability to force turnovers each game. Dating back to last season we have forced a turnover in something like 22 straight games! With Jackson at quarterback and his inability to sometimes get the ball out of his hands quickly I am looking for both our D line to get some good pressure and our D backs to take advantage of a pressured Jackson. Points from our defense never hurts!!
This game is a chance for the Falcons to get back to an even record and return to the Dome with some confidence at the end of the first quarter of the season. Seattle is always a good opponent and it will give us a good chance to go into another hostile environment and prove that we can win in these types of situations. Let's hope the Dirty Birds are the only birds flying high today, Down with the Seahawks!!! Enjoy the food, the game, and the atmosphere!
-Bon appetit, Long may you eat!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Falcons @ Tampa Bay: Toughest division in football.
Oh man, how bout that game last week?!? Primetime coverage and our Atlanta Falcons responded exactly how everyone had hoped. Resilient and tough. In a game that took so many twists and turns the Falcons eventually prevailed with two 80 yard drives in the 4th quarter to seal the deal on a 35-31 victory over Vick and the Eagles. Oh yea and by the way...turns out that pointing to the scoreboard crap when you left after we dominated you in the pocket did not turn out so well for your team. Does it remind any other Falcon fan of some other "finger-pointing" he did after a loss to the New Orleans Saints a couple years back?? Obviously our defense did not look that much improved from the outside looking in, but we continued to get pressure on the quarterback which will eventually help out our struggling secondary. Who would of thought that the Falcons D had some big plays in them afterall? The forced fumble by Jerry, the scoop and run by Edwards, the many hits on Vick by EVERYbody, and the Hayden interception. All very welcomed plays for a defense that may give up a ton of yards through the air, but can cancel that out with game changing plays like we saw last Sunday night. Something similar to New Orleans defense during their superbowl run, nothing too intimidating but they were a group that were very opportunisitc when it came to game changers. Overall, a very special early season win and one that definitely got a lot of people around Atlanta excited for the season to come. One last thing, thank you to the fans at the Dome for bringing their A game!!
Food:
For this weeks game I figured I'd post a recipe for a home-made pizza. Something that you can probably make down at a tailgate, but is probably better if you are going to be watching the game at home. The reason I like this so much is of course it is easy to prepare, but also Publix has everything that you would need. Publix can give you enough dough for you to make your own crust and then you can just walk around the store and pick out various ingredients to pile on! Here is a list of items needed.
-Hand tossed dough from Publix (amount depends on how many pizzas you plan to cook)
-1 rotisserie chicken or a couple of chicken fingers
-Tomato sauce
-Mozarella cheese
-Capers
-Fresh avocado
-Oregano
-Olive oil
-Pepperoni
-Diced peppers
-And whatever else you can think of to make that pizza more scrumptious!
Start with spreading the dough out with some flour and using a roller to spread it out to the size desired. After this is done I usually like to pour a little olive oil over the crust and then spread your tomato sauce and cheese around. Start piling on all your toppings and evenly spreading them around the pizza. Take the chicken or chicken fingers and simply pull off pretty decent sized chunks and throw em on. Again, you don't necessarily have to use chicken. Shrimp, bacon, oysters, remember its your pizza do what you want! After all of your topping are on don't forget to put on your seasonings. Oregano, fresh basil, etc. I usually apply another coating of the olive oil to the remaining outside crust of the pizza so it will rize to a nice level and decrease the chances of it blackening. Throw it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes and wahla you have your very own pizza to enjoy for the game.
Falcons game:
Every year the new NFL schedules come out and fans wonder who their favorite teams will be facing in the upcoming season. For us Falcons fans we always know that our Dirty Birds will be battling against the Panthers, Saints, and Bucs each twice a year. This always seems very daunting to me because I feel like and will always stand by my assumption that the NFC South is the toughest division in football. A lot of people clammer about the NFC East, give it up Tony Romo loves to choke and Eli Manning does the worst commercials ever! (How is Peyton so much better in commercials?) Anyway, these Bucs that we face today are an up and coming team just like we were a couple seasons back. The entire organization has taken a new step in building through the draft and sticking with the method of developing those players by giving them an unprecedented amount of playing time. Normally this method would not work, but the players that have been drafted are showing their no slouches. The last couple of years, mainly in the Mike Smith Era, these battles have been extremely hard fought and gruesome. They are always close games, very exciting but for me they are very intense. I am what you would call a very in depth fan that takes every play about as serious as possible....seriously. A couple of things I am looking forward to and am interested to see in this afternoons game:
- The battle between two former first rounders. Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman are both extremely talented quarterbacks who both have the ability to amaze their teams. They have both shown the ability to bring their teams back when it matters (4th quarter) but neither have necessarily played very well in their matchups. As good as these two are and have began their careers, the only time that they have played any semblance of themselves is when it matters. I'll take that. I look for more of the same thing in todays game, but with a slighter edge to Ryan, because of his new found fondness of Tony G. down the middle. Gotta love last weeks performance!
- Michael Turner has looked his normal self for the first two games of the season with a little more explosiveness after recovering from that groin injury he had for nearly all of last season. Everybody was hating on him last season, but he only had 1,300 yards rushing..C'mon MAN!! On the otherside of the ball is the equivalent of Turner, Blount. A mammoth of a beast that once he gets going is almost impossible to stop. The image of Grime attempting to stop Blount in the open field always gives me the goose bumps when we face the Bucs. Scary stuff. I think both running backs will have impactful games.
- Lastly I look for the afore mentioned Brent Grimes to play a very good game. He always seems to step up in these battles with a couple of "how in the hell did he jump that high?" interceptions. Any type of turnover or momentum play on defense is a win for us, because it gives our guys the ability to block out all the nay sayers and go out there and play some football. If we are able to get them into some 3rd and long situations Look Out, becuase our defense has been showing the ability to get some good pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Im looking at you Spoon, Jerry, Abraham, Edwards, and da whiteboy BIERMANN!!!
Should be a battle this afternoon, especially in that horrible Tampa heat. You can't underestimate the impact of that heat down there. I am expecting a nice Falcons victory, hopefully our passing offense will look a little more synced up for the duration of the game today. I hope y'all enjoy the game, the food, and always the atmosphere. Got another case of that ole Dirty Bird Fever!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat!
Food:
For this weeks game I figured I'd post a recipe for a home-made pizza. Something that you can probably make down at a tailgate, but is probably better if you are going to be watching the game at home. The reason I like this so much is of course it is easy to prepare, but also Publix has everything that you would need. Publix can give you enough dough for you to make your own crust and then you can just walk around the store and pick out various ingredients to pile on! Here is a list of items needed.
-Hand tossed dough from Publix (amount depends on how many pizzas you plan to cook)
-1 rotisserie chicken or a couple of chicken fingers
-Tomato sauce
-Mozarella cheese
-Capers
-Fresh avocado
-Oregano
-Olive oil
-Pepperoni
-Diced peppers
-And whatever else you can think of to make that pizza more scrumptious!
Start with spreading the dough out with some flour and using a roller to spread it out to the size desired. After this is done I usually like to pour a little olive oil over the crust and then spread your tomato sauce and cheese around. Start piling on all your toppings and evenly spreading them around the pizza. Take the chicken or chicken fingers and simply pull off pretty decent sized chunks and throw em on. Again, you don't necessarily have to use chicken. Shrimp, bacon, oysters, remember its your pizza do what you want! After all of your topping are on don't forget to put on your seasonings. Oregano, fresh basil, etc. I usually apply another coating of the olive oil to the remaining outside crust of the pizza so it will rize to a nice level and decrease the chances of it blackening. Throw it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes and wahla you have your very own pizza to enjoy for the game.
Falcons game:
Every year the new NFL schedules come out and fans wonder who their favorite teams will be facing in the upcoming season. For us Falcons fans we always know that our Dirty Birds will be battling against the Panthers, Saints, and Bucs each twice a year. This always seems very daunting to me because I feel like and will always stand by my assumption that the NFC South is the toughest division in football. A lot of people clammer about the NFC East, give it up Tony Romo loves to choke and Eli Manning does the worst commercials ever! (How is Peyton so much better in commercials?) Anyway, these Bucs that we face today are an up and coming team just like we were a couple seasons back. The entire organization has taken a new step in building through the draft and sticking with the method of developing those players by giving them an unprecedented amount of playing time. Normally this method would not work, but the players that have been drafted are showing their no slouches. The last couple of years, mainly in the Mike Smith Era, these battles have been extremely hard fought and gruesome. They are always close games, very exciting but for me they are very intense. I am what you would call a very in depth fan that takes every play about as serious as possible....seriously. A couple of things I am looking forward to and am interested to see in this afternoons game:
- The battle between two former first rounders. Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman are both extremely talented quarterbacks who both have the ability to amaze their teams. They have both shown the ability to bring their teams back when it matters (4th quarter) but neither have necessarily played very well in their matchups. As good as these two are and have began their careers, the only time that they have played any semblance of themselves is when it matters. I'll take that. I look for more of the same thing in todays game, but with a slighter edge to Ryan, because of his new found fondness of Tony G. down the middle. Gotta love last weeks performance!
- Michael Turner has looked his normal self for the first two games of the season with a little more explosiveness after recovering from that groin injury he had for nearly all of last season. Everybody was hating on him last season, but he only had 1,300 yards rushing..C'mon MAN!! On the otherside of the ball is the equivalent of Turner, Blount. A mammoth of a beast that once he gets going is almost impossible to stop. The image of Grime attempting to stop Blount in the open field always gives me the goose bumps when we face the Bucs. Scary stuff. I think both running backs will have impactful games.
- Lastly I look for the afore mentioned Brent Grimes to play a very good game. He always seems to step up in these battles with a couple of "how in the hell did he jump that high?" interceptions. Any type of turnover or momentum play on defense is a win for us, because it gives our guys the ability to block out all the nay sayers and go out there and play some football. If we are able to get them into some 3rd and long situations Look Out, becuase our defense has been showing the ability to get some good pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Im looking at you Spoon, Jerry, Abraham, Edwards, and da whiteboy BIERMANN!!!
Should be a battle this afternoon, especially in that horrible Tampa heat. You can't underestimate the impact of that heat down there. I am expecting a nice Falcons victory, hopefully our passing offense will look a little more synced up for the duration of the game today. I hope y'all enjoy the game, the food, and always the atmosphere. Got another case of that ole Dirty Bird Fever!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Falcons vs. Eagle: The return of #7 to the Dome
Let's just go ahead and get it out of the way, the Falcons played very poorly last week against the Bears. The running game looked to be the only thing that we could hang our hat on, and that was pretty obsolete after we got down. That being said, I think the Falcons player have already gotten it out of their head and I am pretty confident in tonights performance. It was one game out of a 16 game season, all you bandwaggon fans shut your trap. The Dirty Birds will Rise UP!!
Food:
For tonights game I thought I would make a favorite of mine, the self titled "Chris' Chicken Sandwich". Pretty clever, eh? I developed this bad boy in Hawaii and have introduced many people to it with great fan fare. As is the key in most tailgating situations it is a pretty easy meal to prepare. Here is a list of the items you would need.
-4 boneless chicken breasts
-1 onion
-1 pack of mushrooms
-Pepperjack cheese
-Large buns (the sandwich can get quite large)
-Marinade of your choice
Go ahead wash off the chicken breasts and poke some holes in them with a fork to make sure your delicious marinade gets all up in that chicken. I usually season the breasts with salt, pepper, paprika, and maybe some cayenne pepper. Put the chicken into a big ziplock bag with your marinade and let marinate for maybe an hour or so. Before you toss the chicken onto the grill, slice and dice the onions/mushrooms and put them into a skillet a little olive oil in it. I usually throw on the same seasonings that I used on the chicken breasts. While the chicken is cooking on the grill start sauteing and add some teriyaki to the skillet. Your going to want to finish sauteing the mushrooms/onions before you finish the chicken so you can put them on top of the chicken breasts when they look done. Put a layer of pepperjack cheese on top of the mushrooms and let the cheese melt while on the grill. Toast your buns if you want (who doesnt like a toasty bun ha?) and ger ready to chow down!!
Falcons game:
The Falcons are in a position that so many teams and players relish, National television coverage. Sunday Night Football baby, if your not watching Sunday Night Football every weekend go ahead and take a long look at yourself in the mirror and wonder "what am I doing with my life?" Of course being a fan and not a player I enjoy the 'Dream Team' Eagles coming into town for another early season test. It is definitely going to be a hard fought game and I like the Falcons chances against what everybody knows is a stacked team. The media attention has not been on the actual game as much as it has on the return of Mr. Michael Vick to Atlanta. A city that he basically single handedly ran for a number of years. When the Falcons decided to trade up in the draft to select Mike Vick he immediately increased the energy surrounding the Falcons from day 1. I remember watching the early years with Vick with my dad and brother and laughing to myself dreaming about how many championships we were going to win for the next decade or so. Then we all know what happened and he has since re-emerged with the Philadelphia Eagles. While I used to be bitter towards him for the way that he left the Atlanta Falcons in pretty much complete shambles, I have gotten over it and am happy for his success both on and off the field. That being said, I agree with what Rowdy Roddy White had to say this week..."Yea I like Mike, but I hope he throws 4 INT's in the game". Agreed Roddy, agreed. Some things I am excited and interested about for the game:
- Our bread and butter for the entire Mike Smith era has been our running game. And with Turner, Snelling, and our new rookie Rodgers we have a very formidable combination of talent. The Eagles linebacker unit is not that impressive along with the defensive line, even with the addition of Babin. I am looking for the offense to definitely take some chances deep down field, but I am hoping that success comes from the effectiveness of our play action off the run. Also, Mularkey please slip in some screens tonight. Rodgers was born to be a 3rd down back, get him some open space to churn those tiny legs!!
- The DOME. It is our Dome Opener and I am expecting all of our fans to be extra rowdy and get that place going!! If I were there the players would know it, because I would be the rowdiest guy in the Dome: RISE UP!!! The combination of Mike Vick return, the home opener, and the national tv coverage should be enough to get all our players extra hyped for this early test.
- One last thing I am interested in seeing is the play of our defense. I thought our defensive line had a very good day against the Bears, but the secondary obviously looked utterly confused out there. I like our chances in being able to somewhat "contain" Vick. Hopefully get some early sacks and get the D off to a good start.
Well the Dirty Bird fever is definitely in the air and I got a big ole case of it!! I hope yall enjoy the meal, save the applause for after a Falcons victory please. No matter the outcome of this game, being an Atlanta sports fan I am excited that the Falcons organization has put themselves in a position to be on national tv and show the world why we get so crunk down here our Falcons. And once again, to all the fans who are going to the game: I better not see one person sitting down at the game or I will be forced to inflict pain upon you. Go Dirty Birds, yall enjoy the night and atmosphere and ofcourse the tasty treats!!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat!
For tonights game I thought I would make a favorite of mine, the self titled "Chris' Chicken Sandwich". Pretty clever, eh? I developed this bad boy in Hawaii and have introduced many people to it with great fan fare. As is the key in most tailgating situations it is a pretty easy meal to prepare. Here is a list of the items you would need.
-4 boneless chicken breasts
-1 onion
-1 pack of mushrooms
-Pepperjack cheese
-Large buns (the sandwich can get quite large)
-Marinade of your choice
Go ahead wash off the chicken breasts and poke some holes in them with a fork to make sure your delicious marinade gets all up in that chicken. I usually season the breasts with salt, pepper, paprika, and maybe some cayenne pepper. Put the chicken into a big ziplock bag with your marinade and let marinate for maybe an hour or so. Before you toss the chicken onto the grill, slice and dice the onions/mushrooms and put them into a skillet a little olive oil in it. I usually throw on the same seasonings that I used on the chicken breasts. While the chicken is cooking on the grill start sauteing and add some teriyaki to the skillet. Your going to want to finish sauteing the mushrooms/onions before you finish the chicken so you can put them on top of the chicken breasts when they look done. Put a layer of pepperjack cheese on top of the mushrooms and let the cheese melt while on the grill. Toast your buns if you want (who doesnt like a toasty bun ha?) and ger ready to chow down!!
Falcons game:
The Falcons are in a position that so many teams and players relish, National television coverage. Sunday Night Football baby, if your not watching Sunday Night Football every weekend go ahead and take a long look at yourself in the mirror and wonder "what am I doing with my life?" Of course being a fan and not a player I enjoy the 'Dream Team' Eagles coming into town for another early season test. It is definitely going to be a hard fought game and I like the Falcons chances against what everybody knows is a stacked team. The media attention has not been on the actual game as much as it has on the return of Mr. Michael Vick to Atlanta. A city that he basically single handedly ran for a number of years. When the Falcons decided to trade up in the draft to select Mike Vick he immediately increased the energy surrounding the Falcons from day 1. I remember watching the early years with Vick with my dad and brother and laughing to myself dreaming about how many championships we were going to win for the next decade or so. Then we all know what happened and he has since re-emerged with the Philadelphia Eagles. While I used to be bitter towards him for the way that he left the Atlanta Falcons in pretty much complete shambles, I have gotten over it and am happy for his success both on and off the field. That being said, I agree with what Rowdy Roddy White had to say this week..."Yea I like Mike, but I hope he throws 4 INT's in the game". Agreed Roddy, agreed. Some things I am excited and interested about for the game:
- Our bread and butter for the entire Mike Smith era has been our running game. And with Turner, Snelling, and our new rookie Rodgers we have a very formidable combination of talent. The Eagles linebacker unit is not that impressive along with the defensive line, even with the addition of Babin. I am looking for the offense to definitely take some chances deep down field, but I am hoping that success comes from the effectiveness of our play action off the run. Also, Mularkey please slip in some screens tonight. Rodgers was born to be a 3rd down back, get him some open space to churn those tiny legs!!
- The DOME. It is our Dome Opener and I am expecting all of our fans to be extra rowdy and get that place going!! If I were there the players would know it, because I would be the rowdiest guy in the Dome: RISE UP!!! The combination of Mike Vick return, the home opener, and the national tv coverage should be enough to get all our players extra hyped for this early test.
- One last thing I am interested in seeing is the play of our defense. I thought our defensive line had a very good day against the Bears, but the secondary obviously looked utterly confused out there. I like our chances in being able to somewhat "contain" Vick. Hopefully get some early sacks and get the D off to a good start.
Well the Dirty Bird fever is definitely in the air and I got a big ole case of it!! I hope yall enjoy the meal, save the applause for after a Falcons victory please. No matter the outcome of this game, being an Atlanta sports fan I am excited that the Falcons organization has put themselves in a position to be on national tv and show the world why we get so crunk down here our Falcons. And once again, to all the fans who are going to the game: I better not see one person sitting down at the game or I will be forced to inflict pain upon you. Go Dirty Birds, yall enjoy the night and atmosphere and ofcourse the tasty treats!!
-Bon Appetit, Long may you eat!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Falcons at Soldier Field: A day of remembrance & excitement
Ladies & gentleman, boys & girls, children of all ages IT is back. Three letters that have such a resounding effect on the ear when heard, NFL. Grown men running around a field in front of thousands of fans who have been constantly preparing for this moment for soooo long. The greatest game our country has. Who would have thought that 4 months ago when the only NFL news was being forced to watch Roger Goodells double chin and Demaurice Smiths' ridiculous fedora hats that we would be at this moment about to watch NFL week one?? I can't begin to explain how excited and pumped I am to be getting ready to watch our Atlanta Falcons take on the Chicago Bears on such a beautiful Sunday and such a important day in our history. Behind all of the excitement of the NFL opening is the rememberance of September 11, 2001. One of the main reasons that I have such respect for NFL football is that it brings everyone together and in a special case like today it is an opportunity for players, coaches, and whole organizations to express their gratitude to those heroes who fell on that day. Every NFL stadium this Sunday will honor those people affected by this tragedy in their own way. One of the best things that I have read all week about this upcoming Sunday of football was not players talking trash about their upcoming opponent or the X's and O's about their opponent, rather how they all seem to be embracing this Sunday as way for them to honor everyone affected by the tragedy of 9/11. Until the NFL announced that they would not be enforcing fines on those players who decided to wear specially designed gloves and cleats that honor those heroes, players were fully prepared to pay them and said it would be the single greatest amount of money they have ever spent. So on this exciting Sunday there is also a much more important aspect of rememberance and it is an honor to do anything, no matter the size, that helps people remember the heroic acts on that very memorable day 10 years ago.
Food
- For the opening game of the 2011 Atlanta Falcons season I was going to prepare two racks of ribs, but my dad and I fixed some last week so I figured I would switch it up a little. I decided on a homemade brunswick stew, jalapeno cornbread, and some nachos for a little pregame snack. The preparation for these items is really not that hard either. Here is a list of the items needed for the brunswick stew:
1. 1 can diced tomatoes
2. 1 can tomato paste
3. 3 cups chicken, cooked & cubed
4. 1 1/2 cups of frozen okra
5. 1 cup corn kernels
6. 1 cup chopped onion
7. 1 bay leaf
8. 1 teaspoon salt
9. 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
10. 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
11. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
12. 1 dash ground cloves
13. 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
I added a cup of some of the cooked rib meat that I had left over, a teaspoon of my own personal BBQ rub, and also a couple splashes of the classic Tabasco hot sauce just to give it my own little touch. You basically mix all the ingredients in the crockpot mixing in the chicken and onions. Once all ingredients are in, stir and make sure to get all the tomato paste and diced tomatoes from the bottom. Take a big whiff of all that in the crockpot and you can just smell the excitement pouring out, and if your like me take a picture of it on your phone just to add to the collection!! Next, your going to want to cover the crockpot with the lid and cook it on LOW for 6 hours. And as always when you are preparing any food in the crockpot, remember DO NOT take the lid off at any time!!!!! I repeat DO NOT, big mistake. 6 hours later remove the lid and take another big whiff and get ready for greatness! For the cornbread you just simply buy some cornbread mix and put in the jalapenos, follow directions. Pretty simple.
Falcons Game
- This might be the only time that I am excited to be going into another city and having an away game. Usually I and the players do not like the travel that is involved and obviously going into the very hostile environment that is Soldier Field is never a walk in the park. However, I feel that this will be a very good test for the Falcons who are dealing with a lot of question marks (according to the media.....). The draft day trade to acquire Julio Jones, mixed with the lack of an offseason, going winless in the preseason, and of course everybody will always remember the complete dismantling that the Packers inflicted on us in our Dome. Another reason I enjoy playing Da Bears at Soldier Field is that it is an outdoor stadium and thats always a plus. For the Falcons to be able to shake some of the nay-sayers I think they need this game. It gives them a chance to play in a colder environment and very hostile stadium, against an always respected defense, and most importantly the Bears made it to the NFC Championship game last year. While I am not a big fan of the new kickoff rules, I do like it in this game because hopefully it reduces the impact that Devin Hester can have on the game, hopefully.
A couple things I am excited about:
- The unveiling of our entire offense. Mike Mularkey has been teaching and preparing for this in his 4th season with the Falcons. Matt Ryan has been the starting quarterback since the Falcons put together this brain trust of Dimitroff and Mike Smith. I feel that now in his 4th season Matt Ryan has a complete hold on the playbook and I look for a lot of new looks, but still sticking with our backbone the rushing attack. Many fans are alway hoping for this as well as they seem to get irritated when Mularkey runs some vanilla playcalls throughout the game.
- Our defense matching up with the Bears potent offense. I dont care how much flack Jay Cutler receives from the media and fans he still can fling the ball and fling it deep. I look for our secondary and newly acquired guys to make an impact on this game, which will hopefully let our defensive line to break free for some sacks. I think our defense will come into this year under rated and finsih the season top 10 in the league.
- Last thing I am excited for is what I like to call the "Big 2". Julio Jones and Ray Edwards were our main splashes this offseason. All offseason the Falcons and everyone in the media said they needed to get more explosive on both sides of the ball. Well folks we couldnt have done that any better! Julio is rare rookie that is used to a pro style offense and organization. I mean he played for Saban and the Tide, that whole football program is basically an NFL organization, mad respect. He is not a big talker, a very nice blocker, and strong as an ox. If Tony Gonzalez showers you with compliments and says you are the best rookie he has ever seen, Im taking his word for it. Ray Edwards on the other side of the ball is what I like to call a BEAST. He had Jared Allen in Minnesota and now he has the Predator, John Abraham. I look for our denfensive line to surprise some people with those two and also hopefully a return to form for Peria Jerry. In an article I read on AJC Edwards described his way of playing as Rugged!! Nuff Said.
Overall, the Bears are a very formidable opponent but I do believe that we can get out of Chicago with a victory. A victory that is much needed for a ton of reasons, but also to give us some momentum for the highly anticipated Sunday Night return of Michael Vick to the Georgia Dome. Todd McLure is out which is never a good thing when your starting center is injured and I think we might see some rust there. Sean Weatherspoon Im looking at you for a big game. Hopefully y'all enjoy the game as much as I will. Who else is excited for this season baby?!?!?!?!?!?! Enjoy the food, the game, the environment, and those that you are with.
-Bon appetit, Long may you eat!!
Food
- For the opening game of the 2011 Atlanta Falcons season I was going to prepare two racks of ribs, but my dad and I fixed some last week so I figured I would switch it up a little. I decided on a homemade brunswick stew, jalapeno cornbread, and some nachos for a little pregame snack. The preparation for these items is really not that hard either. Here is a list of the items needed for the brunswick stew:
1. 1 can diced tomatoes
2. 1 can tomato paste
3. 3 cups chicken, cooked & cubed
4. 1 1/2 cups of frozen okra
5. 1 cup corn kernels
6. 1 cup chopped onion
7. 1 bay leaf
8. 1 teaspoon salt
9. 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
10. 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
11. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
12. 1 dash ground cloves
13. 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
I added a cup of some of the cooked rib meat that I had left over, a teaspoon of my own personal BBQ rub, and also a couple splashes of the classic Tabasco hot sauce just to give it my own little touch. You basically mix all the ingredients in the crockpot mixing in the chicken and onions. Once all ingredients are in, stir and make sure to get all the tomato paste and diced tomatoes from the bottom. Take a big whiff of all that in the crockpot and you can just smell the excitement pouring out, and if your like me take a picture of it on your phone just to add to the collection!! Next, your going to want to cover the crockpot with the lid and cook it on LOW for 6 hours. And as always when you are preparing any food in the crockpot, remember DO NOT take the lid off at any time!!!!! I repeat DO NOT, big mistake. 6 hours later remove the lid and take another big whiff and get ready for greatness! For the cornbread you just simply buy some cornbread mix and put in the jalapenos, follow directions. Pretty simple.
Falcons Game
- This might be the only time that I am excited to be going into another city and having an away game. Usually I and the players do not like the travel that is involved and obviously going into the very hostile environment that is Soldier Field is never a walk in the park. However, I feel that this will be a very good test for the Falcons who are dealing with a lot of question marks (according to the media.....). The draft day trade to acquire Julio Jones, mixed with the lack of an offseason, going winless in the preseason, and of course everybody will always remember the complete dismantling that the Packers inflicted on us in our Dome. Another reason I enjoy playing Da Bears at Soldier Field is that it is an outdoor stadium and thats always a plus. For the Falcons to be able to shake some of the nay-sayers I think they need this game. It gives them a chance to play in a colder environment and very hostile stadium, against an always respected defense, and most importantly the Bears made it to the NFC Championship game last year. While I am not a big fan of the new kickoff rules, I do like it in this game because hopefully it reduces the impact that Devin Hester can have on the game, hopefully.
A couple things I am excited about:
- The unveiling of our entire offense. Mike Mularkey has been teaching and preparing for this in his 4th season with the Falcons. Matt Ryan has been the starting quarterback since the Falcons put together this brain trust of Dimitroff and Mike Smith. I feel that now in his 4th season Matt Ryan has a complete hold on the playbook and I look for a lot of new looks, but still sticking with our backbone the rushing attack. Many fans are alway hoping for this as well as they seem to get irritated when Mularkey runs some vanilla playcalls throughout the game.
- Our defense matching up with the Bears potent offense. I dont care how much flack Jay Cutler receives from the media and fans he still can fling the ball and fling it deep. I look for our secondary and newly acquired guys to make an impact on this game, which will hopefully let our defensive line to break free for some sacks. I think our defense will come into this year under rated and finsih the season top 10 in the league.
- Last thing I am excited for is what I like to call the "Big 2". Julio Jones and Ray Edwards were our main splashes this offseason. All offseason the Falcons and everyone in the media said they needed to get more explosive on both sides of the ball. Well folks we couldnt have done that any better! Julio is rare rookie that is used to a pro style offense and organization. I mean he played for Saban and the Tide, that whole football program is basically an NFL organization, mad respect. He is not a big talker, a very nice blocker, and strong as an ox. If Tony Gonzalez showers you with compliments and says you are the best rookie he has ever seen, Im taking his word for it. Ray Edwards on the other side of the ball is what I like to call a BEAST. He had Jared Allen in Minnesota and now he has the Predator, John Abraham. I look for our denfensive line to surprise some people with those two and also hopefully a return to form for Peria Jerry. In an article I read on AJC Edwards described his way of playing as Rugged!! Nuff Said.
Overall, the Bears are a very formidable opponent but I do believe that we can get out of Chicago with a victory. A victory that is much needed for a ton of reasons, but also to give us some momentum for the highly anticipated Sunday Night return of Michael Vick to the Georgia Dome. Todd McLure is out which is never a good thing when your starting center is injured and I think we might see some rust there. Sean Weatherspoon Im looking at you for a big game. Hopefully y'all enjoy the game as much as I will. Who else is excited for this season baby?!?!?!?!?!?! Enjoy the food, the game, the environment, and those that you are with.
-Bon appetit, Long may you eat!!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
BULLDOGS & Peppers
Well the NFL season has not technically started, we still have another week for that!! But I figured since this is the beginning of college football and I will be heading down to the Georgia Dome for the Chik-fil-A Kickoff game, I would have a "pre-season" blog with a simple start off blog for tonights game. #19 ranked Georgia takes on #5 ranked Boise State in what should be a very good match-up and also a very different outcome that it was 5 years ago when the Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders to a rout of 48-13. While I am sure many Georgia fans believe they still have it in em to repeat I think the score will be much different, but with the same outcome, a BULLDOG victory!
Food
- My buddies and I have been planning on heading down to the Dome for about a week or so just to take in the always entertaining tailgating festivities associated with a big time SEC game. Plus its only 15 minutes away and I have a 3 day weekend to recover before heading back to work! I was wondering what I was going to prepare for the game, something simple that would not take too much effort. I decided on an item that I usually prepare for Braves games on a whim, because it fills you up and is really easy to prepare and also not too expensive. Basic bratwursts with sauteed peppers & onions on a hoagie roll with an ice cold beer. This is one of the few items that I prefer a store brand item as opposed to the name brands. Publix has very good spicy bratwursts, much better than the name brands, and they do not taste as manufactured. Here is a list of the items yo would need:
1. 4-8 spicy Publix brand bratwursts (Depending on how many folks you are feeding)
2. Pack of yellow, green, and red peppers
3. Medium sized onion
4. Hoagie Rolls
The preparation is the best part. All you really have to do is saute the peppers & onions in a skillet with some olive oil or butter, whichever you prefer, until the pepper & onions are no longer stiff. Throw all them in a container to bring with you to the game. Once down there in your lot and having had a couple beers to really build up that appetite, fire up the grill. Just like any other peppers, throw em on the grill and watch to make sure they dont stay on one side too long. Throw all the peppers in aluminum foil, and put them on the grill just to heat them up. After about 15-20 minutes slice up your hoagie rolls, take off your brats and prepare them with what ever condiments you want (spicy mustard, ketchup, etc), then take off the peppers and apply. Once again this is a very easy and fast tailgate food to throw together for your friends that will be sure to make everyone happy. ENJOY!
UGA
- As far as the game is concerned I am very excited to see the whole Georgia squad. A lot of people were amazed to see them ranked at #19 after a disappointing season of 6-7. However, I think their defense is going to be stellar and their offense very under the radar. I like the continued development of Aaron Murray, who I think has the potential for a Heisman season in his upcoming Junior and Senior seasons, if he does not bolt for the NFL. The 'Dream Team' recruits will be a big role in how well we do this season and I think Crowell comes out in the first game of the season and shows the nation why everyone is so hyped about his abilities. I mean just watch 5 minutes of his highschool reel, he's never not started in football, NEVER, even peewee. One thing that I think is in our favor is the crowd, as long as all of Athens has made their way down to the Dome, plus everyone already in Atlanta, there will be a very rowdy crowd. Now to the uniforms, everyone is either excited or dissapointed in them. I could care less as long as the players think they look good and want to fly around the field hammering people. Having said all of that, Boise State is still a very formidable opponent. Their star has most definitely risen since we last faced them and have shown that they compete with the SEC, we will have to wait and see if tonight is their night. While they still have an awesome quarterback who can fling it, you have to remember he lost his 2 big receivers to the NFL last draft. I think the best thing I heard all week about the game was on ESPN, a reporter bluntly stated the starting center for Boise State is 5'9" 290lbs. while the starting nose tackle for UGA is 6'3" 350lbs. HAHAHAHA, that got me pumped!! I hope y'all enjoy the game, food, and atmosphere of tonight. I'll see you all next week for the opening of the Falcons season against the Chicago Bears in Chi-Town!!!
-Bon Appetit, Long May You Eat
Food
- My buddies and I have been planning on heading down to the Dome for about a week or so just to take in the always entertaining tailgating festivities associated with a big time SEC game. Plus its only 15 minutes away and I have a 3 day weekend to recover before heading back to work! I was wondering what I was going to prepare for the game, something simple that would not take too much effort. I decided on an item that I usually prepare for Braves games on a whim, because it fills you up and is really easy to prepare and also not too expensive. Basic bratwursts with sauteed peppers & onions on a hoagie roll with an ice cold beer. This is one of the few items that I prefer a store brand item as opposed to the name brands. Publix has very good spicy bratwursts, much better than the name brands, and they do not taste as manufactured. Here is a list of the items yo would need:
1. 4-8 spicy Publix brand bratwursts (Depending on how many folks you are feeding)
2. Pack of yellow, green, and red peppers
3. Medium sized onion
4. Hoagie Rolls
The preparation is the best part. All you really have to do is saute the peppers & onions in a skillet with some olive oil or butter, whichever you prefer, until the pepper & onions are no longer stiff. Throw all them in a container to bring with you to the game. Once down there in your lot and having had a couple beers to really build up that appetite, fire up the grill. Just like any other peppers, throw em on the grill and watch to make sure they dont stay on one side too long. Throw all the peppers in aluminum foil, and put them on the grill just to heat them up. After about 15-20 minutes slice up your hoagie rolls, take off your brats and prepare them with what ever condiments you want (spicy mustard, ketchup, etc), then take off the peppers and apply. Once again this is a very easy and fast tailgate food to throw together for your friends that will be sure to make everyone happy. ENJOY!
UGA
- As far as the game is concerned I am very excited to see the whole Georgia squad. A lot of people were amazed to see them ranked at #19 after a disappointing season of 6-7. However, I think their defense is going to be stellar and their offense very under the radar. I like the continued development of Aaron Murray, who I think has the potential for a Heisman season in his upcoming Junior and Senior seasons, if he does not bolt for the NFL. The 'Dream Team' recruits will be a big role in how well we do this season and I think Crowell comes out in the first game of the season and shows the nation why everyone is so hyped about his abilities. I mean just watch 5 minutes of his highschool reel, he's never not started in football, NEVER, even peewee. One thing that I think is in our favor is the crowd, as long as all of Athens has made their way down to the Dome, plus everyone already in Atlanta, there will be a very rowdy crowd. Now to the uniforms, everyone is either excited or dissapointed in them. I could care less as long as the players think they look good and want to fly around the field hammering people. Having said all of that, Boise State is still a very formidable opponent. Their star has most definitely risen since we last faced them and have shown that they compete with the SEC, we will have to wait and see if tonight is their night. While they still have an awesome quarterback who can fling it, you have to remember he lost his 2 big receivers to the NFL last draft. I think the best thing I heard all week about the game was on ESPN, a reporter bluntly stated the starting center for Boise State is 5'9" 290lbs. while the starting nose tackle for UGA is 6'3" 350lbs. HAHAHAHA, that got me pumped!! I hope y'all enjoy the game, food, and atmosphere of tonight. I'll see you all next week for the opening of the Falcons season against the Chicago Bears in Chi-Town!!!
-Bon Appetit, Long May You Eat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)