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EA.com Sports Column: Garbage Time with Gabe Leon!
Should I Stay or Should I Go (For It)
Okay, so I'm a little late to the hoodie party. No biggie. They're still talking about it. Everywhere. Many days later. Still talking. In fact, the NFL Network replayed this instant classic in its entirety three days later.
And why shouldn't they? It was the biggest game of the NFL season in a contest that showcased the decade's greatest rivalry, a 'love him or hate him' coach, and this generation's two greatest quarterbacks playing on the biggest 'regular season' stage under the lights during Sunday Night Football.
As if they were playing out an action-packed script written for Hollywood, the score was close. Time was winding down. And the game had 'fourth-quarter comeback' written all over it. In other words, it was the typical New England-Indianapolis matchup we've come to expect. This time it all came down to two short yards.
Which brings us to the question of the week: If you were in Bill Belichick's situation, what would you have done?
Now before I throw in my two cents, which I guarantee is worth a lot less than that, let's go back to Sunday night ...
Late in the fourth quarter the Patriots were holding onto a slim 34-28 lead. In football speak, that's a touchdown and extra point away from a bitter defeat. With momentum clearly in favor of Indianapolis, New England found itself with the ball on the wrong side of the field facing a 4th-and-2 from its own 28-yard line. Just a few ticks north of the two-minute warning, Belichick and the Patriots had a decision to make.
Many assumed it would be the obvious choice: Punt the ball and pray to the football gods that Peyton Manning wouldn't play like Peyton Manning on the game's final drive.
Many assumed wrong.
Belichick decided to put the ball in Tom Brady's hands and go for it.
The plan fell short by a yard.
And the Colts made them pay.
Playing with a short field, Manning commanded a 'you knew it was coming' game-winning drive in less than two minutes, capped by a 1-yard touchdown strike to Reggie Wayne with :13 seconds left on the clock.
Ball game. Just like that.
Now the last time I checked I wasn't coaching the New England Patriots. In fact, I don't even own a hoodie, nor anything with cutoff sleeves. Still, I asked myself a simple question shortly after the now infamous play: what would I have done if I were wearing the headset during that particular situation?
After pondering the question a few times, I couldn't answer in the time allowed. I sat there frozen on a 'to punt or not to punt' fence. So much so, I needed a second opinion. Luckily my wife missed the play due to plumbing issues. Luckily we'll end the rest of that story right here.
After rewinding the action on the DVR and resetting the situation, I parked my lovely bride in front of the TV and asked her the same question: "What do you think about this move?"
Lovely Bride: "What do you mean?"
Awesome Husband: "The Patriots are walking up to the line of scrimmage on 4th down. They're going to run a play."
Lovely Bride: "And?"
Awesome Husband: "They're not trying to draw them offsides. They're actually going to run a play."
Lovely Bride: "Yeah. Okay. And?"
Awesome Husband: "Look at the arrows on the field." [I then literally point my finger inches from the chalked-white "30" (as in yard line) screaming out on the screen]
Lovely Bride: [blank stare]
Awesome Husband: "Look closer at the arrow on the field."
Lovely Bride: [blank stare]
Awesome Husband: "It's pointing the other way. They're inside their own 30!"
Lovely Bride: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING?!?"
(Note - if my keyboard allowed the option to 'all cap' the ALL CAPS type style I would because that's how shocked she was ... after she got it.)
Okay, so I got her answer. And it seemed to echo what most were saying on Monday.
Me, well, even days after the game, I'm still not 100% sure what to think. I can see both sides of the argument.
My gut reaction says punt for the simple reason of giving the Colts more opportunities to make a mistake. Sure they marched down the field on two different occasions earlier in the game. But can they do it a third time? With pressure? As time ticks away?
Second, with the ball inside the 30, it's safe to assume the Colts would probably only need to run 3-5 plays. With a timeout in their back pocket, and less field to conquer, they could take their time and even call a running play or two to keep the New England defense honest. More importantly, the chances for a botched QB-center exchange, Joseph Addai fumble, or a Manning interception decrease dramatically.
Now, having to travel 70 yards or so down the field, odds are that the Colts will need seven or so plays to get into the end zone. With time running down, the playcalling becomes more predictable.
'Punt' I say. Yeah. Punt.
On the flip side, with destiny in your own hands all you need to do is gain a measly two yards against a defense that's not the '85 Bears, with Tom Brady at the helm. Two short yards with Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker as your weapons and the game is pretty much over.
Damn, now my gut says to go for it.
No wait.
After further review maybe it's best I'm not the coach of the Patriots after all. If that were the case, I'd still be on the sidelines sitting on my pretty little fence ... with a wardrobe a tad more sleeveless than before.
-Gabe Leon, not coach of the New England Patriots
***
We'd like to hear from you. Send us your reasons on why you would or wouldn't go for it to podcast@ea.com, put "Garbage Time" in the header, and we'll post the most interesting answers in the next post. Good luck, (temporary) Coach Hoodie. You're going to need it.
Jeff's Mailbag #2: Mass Effect 2, Herman Munster, and more!
Hey gang! I'm back! That's two weeks in a row I've kept this going, which is a lot longer than some EA games stay on the bestseller chart! So I think we have a hit here! And really, I owe it all to you, The People. Without you, I'm nothing. I'm less than nothing. I'm like a grease stain on the bottom of a bum's old shoe. Really, I should be dividing my astonishingly large salary up amongst the lot of you, since, morally, it's your money more than mine. But, no. That's just how low I am. I'm keeping it all for myself. Frankly, there's just a lot of music and books and skin care products I need to buy. That doesn't mean I don't love you though. I do. A lot. So much that I'm going to answer all your questions again, right now! And if you want your question answered next week, send email to podcast@ea.com. Put "Mailbag" in the header, and sign it how you want to appear, or if it's a really stupid question, with one of your friend's names.
Happy Friday, everyone. And be sure to blow as much spare time as you can this weekend on videogames. It's the healthy choice!
Do you think it would be smart to price new IP (Brütal Legend, Dead Space, Mirror's Edge) at $40 to encourage sales?
--Kiggle (continue reading…)
SHIFT'ing into music
As we showed you yesterday with a lo
ok at a Japanese promotional video for Need for Speed SHIFT, there are plenty of creative ways to show how cool this game is.
Australian rock band Regular John are one of 25 acts featured on the SHIFT soundtrack, and they made a very cool music video for their song "Transmitter" that features some action from the game.
Need For Speed Shift OST : Regular John - Transmitter
The SHIFT soundtrack was released September 15 and features many of the most popular artists in music today, including Kanye West, Eagles of Death Metal and Kasabian.
EA Podcast Episode 11 is Here, Finally!
Hello gang! We are back! Once again it took us longer than expected to get this posted, but I am like so done apologizing for that stuff, you don't even know. The cool thing is that the EA Podcast now has a real home, at last. So, please, make yourself at home on our very own EA Podcast Page! Just wipe your feet before entering please. Oh, and, next time, you may want to bathe first before coming over. I'm just sayin'. (continue reading…)
Skeleton Dance by Aussie band Children Collide!
Calling all FIFA-soundtrack fans!
Check out this awesome Ladytron remix of Skeleton Dance by Children Collide!
Jeff's Mailbag: Jeff Green Answers Reader Mail
Hello and welcome to my mailbag! I spent a couple days trying to come up with a clever name for this thing, but, sadly, The Muse has eluded me, probably because I forgot to feed her last week. I then tried soliciting ideas from you, The People, and got quite a few great suggestions. "Jeff's Bag of Green" was one of my faves, as was "Male on Mail" and "Post Apocalypse." One of my kid's smart-aleck friends suggested "Dear Flabby," which made me laugh, I admit, though I have since banned her from my house, for life.
In the end, I realized that simple is best, as my great-grandmother used to say. Okay, I didn't even know my great-grandmother, so that was a total lie. But I promise that that will be the last time I ever lie to you in this column, at least until the end of this sentence. This here mailbag is going to be a weekly thing, by the way, and there are no topics off-limits. So fire away! Send your questions to podcast@ea.com, put "Mailbag" in the header, and then sign it the way you want to appear here. If you don't, I'm going to make up something really stupid sounding, or publish your real name, whichever sounds worse.
Hey Jeff & Co., here's a question for you:
I don't really know how to wrap my head around EA. When I was a young 'un, it was thought of as a sweat shop in my neck of the woods. These days, I know it as a company that does Sims stuff and...well, I dunno. Other stuff. I can think fondly of the Xbox team, because I have a nice Xbox sitting here to associate with them. I feel a relationship with Bioware because I can associate them with a very specific set of games. But even though I probably have many EA-funded games, nothing says "EA" to me. What should?
--Deadron (continue reading…)
The music of NITRO
Ex-CART and Formula 1 driver Jacques Villeneuve once (jokingly) said that his favorite part of piloting open-wheel racers was listening to the radio while he burned around corners at 200 mph. You'll get the same thrill in Need from Speed NITRO.
NITRO was released Tuesday for Nintendo Wii and DS and one of the coolest parts of blowing past your opponents is hearing music from 26 different artists on its bumping soundtrack.
Several different types of music are on the NITRO tracklist, from Canadian hip-hop mogul k-os to the riffs of British alt-rock kings Placebo. You're going to find something you like with NITRO's soundtrack. For an audio sample of what to expect, click here.
|
Artist |
Song |
|
Alex Metric |
What Now |
|
Bloody Beetroots feat. Cool Kids |
Awesome |
|
Crookers feat. Wiley and Thomas Jules |
Business Man |
|
Crystal Method feat. LMFAO |
Sine Language |
|
Danko Jones |
Code Of The Road |
|
Dizzee Rascal and Armand Van Helden |
Bonkers |
|
Drumagik |
Make It Rock |
|
Earl Greyhound |
Oye Vaya |
|
edIT feat. Wale and Tre’ |
Freaxxx |
|
Evil 9 |
All The Cash (Alex Metric Remix) Feat. El-P |
|
Hollywood Holt |
Can't Stop |
|
k-os |
FUN! |
|
Lady Sovereign |
I Got You Dancing |
|
Major Lazer feat. Mr.Lex & Santigold |
Hold The Line |
|
Matt & Kim |
Daylight (Troublemaker Remix) |
|
Mickey Factz |
Yeah Yeah |
|
Pint Shot Riot |
Not Thinking Straight |
|
Placebo |
Breathe Under Water |
|
Rise Against |
Kotov Syndrome |
|
Roots Manuva |
Buff Nuff |
|
Rye Rye |
Hardcore Girls |
|
Street Sweeper Social Club |
Fight! Smash! Win! |
|
Taking Back Sunday |
Lonely Lonely |
|
The Enemy UK |
No Time For Tears |
|
The Gay Blades |
O Shot (Dmerit Remix) |
|
Two Fingers feat. Sway |
Jewels And Gems |
NFS Scavenger Hunt on Twitter
We're starting a new contest for Need for Speed fans on Twitter this week, the NFS Scavenger Hunt. Every morning on our Twitter account (www.twitter.com/needforspeed) I will be asking you, our loyal followers to Twitpic something car related, so follow us on Twitter and keep your camera ready for a chance to win!
The first NFS Scavenger Hunt was a success, with 14 people Twitpic’ing a Ford Mustang, but you’ve got to be quick, so keep your camera phone locked and loaded. Each scavenger hunt will end at 5pm PST and the winner will be announced the morning after. Winners will receive Need for Speed swag.
Keep your browser locked on our Twitter page every morning, because random instructions will be sent out bright and early.
-NFS Kev
Need for Speed NITRO is out!
It's a great day for Nintendo fans as the first Need for Speed game developed-specifically for the Wii and DS finally reaches the stores. After a long development schedule the team at EA Montreal are able to experience the pleasure of heading down to their local game store and seeing their endeavours proudly sitting on the shelves.
Need for Speed Nitro puts the gamer firmly back into street racing as you visit five of the most interesting cities in the world - Dubai, Singapore, Cairo, Madrid and Rio - to take on the local racers and find out if you're good enough to take their pink slips.
As if racing against these guys wasn't tough enough you'll have to contend against the local police forces as they bid to clean their streets of illegal racers. When they were developing the game the team were keen to make this stand apart from other Need for Speed games so used their car list as one way to distinguish themselves as the game features a debut for the Telsa Roadster and some very unusual NFS cars from Renault and VW to name just a couple.
Last week we sat down with the producers of the game and quizzed them about Nitro. You can listen to the podcast on iTunes or check out our RSS feed here
The game is out now for all North American gamers. If you're reading this from Europe the game will be released in a couple of days on November 6th. Until then here are some new screens direct from the game team.
NITRO Track Guide: Madrid
The only European city to be featured in Need for Speed NITRO, Madrid is the capital of Spain and the third-largest metropolitan area on the continent.
When you venture over to Madrid, you'll meet a street racer named Luis, whose hot pink Audi R8 and flashy cape leads one to wonder if his street racing career is a cover for his true yearning, the life of a matador.
In this video, the importance of keeping your car in tip-top shape is emphasized, because if you start taking damage, you lose your ability to gain nitro.
Need for Speed NITRO drops in less than 24 hours. Get your copy November 3 for the Nintendo Wii and DS systems. Click here to see the NITRO Madrid video.
The cities of Need for Speed NITRO
Need for Speed NITRO drops tomorrow (November 3) for Nintendo Wii and DS and in that spirit, we're going NITRO on needforspeed.com this week.
In NITRO, you'll be driving through some of the world's most beautiful and creative cities on the planet, from the sexy charm of Rio de Janeiro to the towering skyscrapers and dizzying opulence of Dubai.
We've taken a few screenshots of the cities here so you'll know what's whizzing by your supercharged dream machine while you tear up the streets of NITRO.
Framed by the towering Plaza de Castilla, Madrid is the capital of Spain and one of five cities you'll race at in NITRO.
With a growing economy and burgeoning industry, Singapore is one of the most scenic tracks you'll encounter in NITRO.
Featured in last week's track guide, Cairo is the largest city - with nearly ten million people in the city and surrounding area - in the Arab World and capital of Egypt.
It was recently announced that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will host the 2016 Summer Olympics. While that may pale in comparison to being one of the five cities featured in NITRO, it's an exciting achievement nonetheless. Rio was featured in our first NITRO track guide.
With the world's second-tallest hotel, the Burj Al Arab, staring down upon racers from its mighty 1,050-foot peak as well as dozens of concrete towers creating much-needed shade over parts of the city, Dubai can be an intimidating place to race.
Strap in and swallow your nerves, because in NITRO there's no time to waste. Tear up the pavement in Dubai and you'll be well on your way to becoming a NITRO king.
Need for Speed NITRO is in stores tomorrow. Check needforspeed.com for the most up-to-date information about NITRO and other NFS games.
The EA Podcast Episode 10 is live!
Hi kidz! Well, it took us awhile to get this one up, but we have a great excuse! The hamsters that power our mixing board came down with a rare case of hamster flu, which made them incapable of running fast enough to keep the gears moving. We had to nurse them awhile and read them stories, but now they're feeling fine again, thank goodness. It was a scary couple days there.
Anyway, look, we're on Episode 10 already! What a milestone! Why, it seems like it was only two weeks ago when we weren't even in double digits yet!
To help us celebrate this big occasion, we brought in Sims senior producer and Jeff's former boss Rachel Bernstein, who just finished up MySims Agents, but has lots more interesting stuff to talk about besides that. Not that that part isn't interesting. It is! Also, the game is pretty rockin' too, which I say with all the credibility I can bring as a former games journalist who also happened to work on the game. I'm particularly fond of the parts that I did.
Okay, so, here it is. Podcast 10. Bask in the glory!
NBA Live 10 Update now live (for Xbox 360)!
Like the title says. What's interesting to me is that NBA Live 10 is actually out, cuz I totally missed that. But hey, that's my fault, not the game's! I have two--no, wait, three!-- good excuses for why I missed this:
1) I've been busy trying to sort out my new gig here at EA.com
2) I live in the Bay Area, so my home team is the Golden State Warriors, which means that the NBA season, for me, is now synonymous with pathetic loserdom
3) I've been playing ANOTHER EA game, Brutal Legend, in stores now!
That said, it's still my job to inform you that a patch is now out for the Xbox 360. And from the looks of it, it's a big one! You PS3 people, don't worry: Your patch is coming on the 29th. I don't know why there's a three-day delay, but hey, don't complain. At least you get the patch. PC gamers like me? We don't even get the game! *Sad trombone*
Anyway, there are far too many fixes and enhancements to go into here, so if this is of interest to you, I encourage you to click the link above. I will note one bug fix that is NOT yet in the game, which makes me sad: The one that would let you permanently erase the Warriors from the game, or at least reverse time back to the day before Latrell Sprewell choked coach PJ Carlesimo in 1997 and started the 12-year-and-counting curse this "team" is on. And no I'm not bitter.
Also! Hey! Tomorrow brings the very exciting start of NBA Live 10's Dynamic Season mode for both 360 and PS3 players (yay!), which will dynamically update game rosters, stats, shooting percentages, and more on a DAILY BASIS. I put that in bold and caps on purpose, because for an old dude like me, this is like some kind of insane voodoo magic. Why, back in my day (the early 1800s) we had to manually input all the updated information ourselves, if the game even let us do that! Now EA Sports does it all for you, automatically. Why? Because we care. Because we're awesome. Because we love you.
Okay, so go get the patch! Me, I'm gonna run over to the store, in shame, and get the game.
GO WARRIORS!
Battlefield Heroes Fashion Victim Awards
Hey there, fashion victims! Yes, I'm talking to you. You with the smelly gaming t-shirt and cargo shorts! Oh wait, no--that's me. You may actually be quite the fashion diva. Nevertheless, we are gathered here today to announce the arrival of the first ever FASHION VICTIMS AWARDS for Battlefield Heroes, the free-browser based Battlefield game that, if you haven't played yet, you should probably do right now, even if you're at school or work. The heck with your boss and teachers. 1) It's Friday, 2) You've earned this kind of break, and 3) If they yell at you, just tell them "Jeff Green said it was okay." That should shut 'em up.
So, anyway, the Battlefield folks, being the festive, holiday-oriented types they are, are going to release a Halloween clothing bundle in their store, revolving around the zombie and skeleton outfits. I don't remember reading about those outfits in my World War II books, but okay. It's not my game. So here's the awesomely cool part: They want your input. Yeah, you! They want your suggestions on outfit combinations to use in the bundle. It's almost like you're on Project Runway--minus the TV show, models, prizes, and Heidi Klum. In fact, I don't even know if there ARE prizes for winning. Maybe? Or maybe it's just the bragging rights to your friends that you are the Ra'mon of gaming. And that should be good enough for anybody.
So go here for more info. And if you haven't played Battlefield Heroes yet, go here. And happy Friday!
love,
Jeff
The EA Podcast Episode 9. Guest: Harmonix's Chris Foster
I was sitting here trying to come up with some clever way to introduce this blog with Beatles lyrics, but, sadly, the Muse has failed me today.
Here's a few sample attempts:
1) Would what you think if I blogged out of tune, would you listen to this podcast anyway?
2) I am he as you are he as you are me and we just recorded this podcast.
3) Let me take you down cuz I'm going to Podcast Episode 9.
See? Pathetic. On the plus side, you still get a podcast about The Beatles: Rock Band! Woot! Chris Foster, the lead designer of the game at Harmonix, graciously sat in with us (via the magic of that newfangled "telephone" contraption) and weathered all the questions we could throw at him, about the game, the Beatles, the Rock Band franchise in general, and more. On a sadder note, this podcast was recorded on the last day of Intern Extraordinaire Dan "Husky Hog" Lingen, who sat in with us one last time to go out all blaze of glory style. But who knows? Maybe if we all protest loudly enough, and, say, storm the EA offices with torches and pitchforks (just kidding, you psychos!) we can get Husky Hog back in the game.
Anyway, stop reading this drivel! Listen to the podcast! You know you will be glad!
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