Week 1 - Titanics 26 at Griefs 10

I picked a bad week to give up sniffing glue.

Hey, the Royals beat the Yankees on Derek Jeter Day! I guess I am forced to talk about the Chiefs here, aren't I? This game was as putrid as a bag of gym socks stuffed with rotting potatoes, left in the car trunk for a week in 100º heat. Given that this was a home game against one of the weakest teams the Chiefs will face all year, this could mean the return of....

Don't tempt me.

Offensive: The $68 Million Man - Alias Smith - put up a whopping 19 of 35 for 202, four sacks and three interceptions. This is a guy who threw just seven picks in the entire season last year. Of course, he was running for his life at times, but nobody was ever open. And, granted, a couple of the INTs were because Donnie Avery is a tiny little slacker, who makes up for being short by not finishing plays. I know that Dipstick Dwayne was serving a suspension, so they had to plug someone into the flanker slot. But how about anyone over 5 feet tall - and maybe a guy who completes his routes? Did they give Jamaal the day off, too? He had 7 carries for 19 yards, and only 11 touches for 34 yards. There were third and three or four situations when they had Cyrus Gray on the field, and Jamaal on the bench. Seriously? Reid's mustache is apparently growing into his brain. And don't even get me started on how offensive the line was. Eric Sandcastle was washed out by waves of Titans. This O-line is as porous as a worn out fishnet. If there was a bright spot, they did FINALLY get the tight ends involved in the passing game, and they avoided the stupid penalties that plagued them in the preseason.... And Dexter McCluster had a pretty good day.... Oh, wait.

Defenseless: Well, you're down one corner coming in, on a unit that is already a weak link, and you don't have one of your starters at linebacker, and then your best defensive player goes down with an apparent achilles injury that may cost him the season. And then another defensive starter goes down with an apparent achilles injury. They did manage four sacks against a very highly touted and expensive offensive line, but ZERO turnovers, none, nada, zilch, got nuthin. The defensive backfield remains a huge problem. There simply aren't any guys on that unit who can cover good receivers. And teams like Denver - our next opponent - are loaded with good receivers. They might as well play without a secondary and blitz every play, because if the QB has time to find a target, they're going to get torched anyway. Years ago, when I did this report, the corners were held down by William Bartee and Eric Warfield - whom I affectionately dubbed "Chrispy" and "Toasty". I think we may see a reprise of those monikers.

Special Ed: Wow, that whole, "cut Succop and keep Santos" thing looked like a stroke of genius yesterday. And by that I mean that some genius must have had a stroke. In the absence of D'Anthony "Mamba" Thomas, Frankie "Fall Down" Hammond and Knile "Knee Down" Davis didn't exactly electrify the crowds. And, I'm sorry, but YOU NEVER FIELD A PUNT INSIDE THE FIVE! Maybe it goes out of bounds anyway, but footballs are shaped funny and they bounce funny. Maybe it has a little English on it, and backflips into the endzone. Let it hit the frickin' ground and take your chances. Cairo Santos will now be known as "The Duke of Doink", after finding both uprights on consecutive kicks. Even the one he made he played off the bumper. The good news is, we still have maybe the best punter in the NFL. It's a good thing. It looks like we're going to need him.

Awards:
Throw him a bone: Justin Houston with two sacks means at least we get the consolation prize this week - a free Big Mac. Woo-Hoo!

Doggity Dog: Donnie Avery. Yes, I know he led the team with 7 catches for 84 yards, but even on the one or two good plays, he didn't look very good making them. He bobbles the ball on nearly every catch. He takes plays off. He doesn't finish plays - case in point, the interception where he just laid on the ground and didn't make any effort to ensure the player was down by contact. The Chiefs got a huge break on that one from the refs. On both picks when he was targeted, he made no effort at all to fight for the ball or break up the pick.

Next up - The Donkeys at "Generic Corporate Sponsor Stadium at Mile High (and I mean HIGH, baby...)"
Remember to adjust your DVRs - this one is a 3:25 CT start!

Tailgating Recipe:

SO….
Now that cooler weather is upon us. All the more reason to BBQ! Not that we ever have much in the way of leftovers when I get out the smoker, here's an idea for any ribs that don't get eaten the first day.

BBQ Rib Chili:

Stock:

Put 2 pounds (5 - 6 bones) smoked BBQ spare ribs (you can use baby-backs, too) in a stock pot, pour a 46 oz can/jar of tomato juice, adding just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hrs, or until the meat falls off the bone, cleanly. Set aside to cool. Remove bones and gristle. Chop any large pieces of meat into bite-size chunks and return to stock.

Chili:

In a separate stockpot or Dutch oven, heat 2-3 Tablespoons of good olive oil. Add 1/4 cup each, finely chopped yellow onion, bell pepper and celery. Sauté until translucent over medium heat. Add 2 cloves minced garlic, 2-3 finely chopped hot chili peppers (jalapeno, Serrano, etc. - more or less to taste) and stir. Muddle 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, 2 teaspoons oregano (Mexican, if you can find it), 1 teaspoon cumin seed, 1/2 teaspoon coriander seed, and then stir into pot. Deglaze with 1/2 cup beer (anything you don't mind drinking the rest of!), add in a 20oz can of whole tomatoes with the liquid, crushing them as you add, then add the stock and meat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cook for at least 30 minutes.

At this point, adjust the heat and seasonings. If you are so inclined, you can also add a can of beans (sorry Texans, some people like it that way!), when you add your other liquid ingredients.

Your Faithful Scribe -
Mr Doggity.