September 2009 News

Broncos and Fans Buying Into McDaniels’ System: They’re Lovin’ It

Published: September 28, 2009

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If the 2009 Denver Broncos were fast food, I would call them a “Happy Meal” thus far into the campaign. Pleasant. Satisfying. Fun. Making their fans, you know, happy.

Oh, and yes I did mean those Denver Broncos.

Six months ago the Broncos were a franchise in turmoil. The team had fired its stalwart head coach, Mike Shanahan, who led to the franchise to its two Super Bowl titles. Then Denver replaced him with a 33-year-old offensive whiz kid, Josh McDaniels, who had never been a head coach at any level.

To make matters worse, franchise quarterback Jay Cutler was trying force his way out of town after hearing McDaniels and the team listened to offers for another quarterback, presumably sending Cutler to another team.

Once Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Brandon Marshall suddenly demanded a trade, saying he didn’t trust the Broncos. McDaniels had no choice but to suspend Marshall for a good chunk of the preseason for conduct detrimental to the team.

What a way for McDaniels to start his NFL head coaching career.

He had more pressure on him than anyone, and he had not even coached a single game. People were calling for his head before the season started and others thought he’d be one (year) and done.

It’s amazing what a 3-0 start can do for your image, isn’t it?

During all this drama, McDaniels kept saying his players were ignoring the potential distractions and focusing on doing their jobs and making sure everyone was putting forth a “team first” attitude. The suspension of Marshall proved McDaniels meant that.

However, many fans and media types blew that off as McDaniels saying what any coach would say—regardless of what was really going on in the background. Thanks to these distractions, said the critics, the Broncos would be lucky to win five games.

Well, we’re not even a quarter of the way through the season and the Broncos are already past the halfway point to five wins and many people are in shock.

Why?

Because the players actually are buying into McDaniels’ system. Everyone is focusing on doing their jobs and trusting their teammates to do theirs. McDaniels’ a system that has paid off in the form of three Super Bowl rings for the Patriots and it’s one that has the Broncos starting fast out of the gate.

The players believe. They’re smiling on the sidelines, and McDaniels even got a Gatorade shower after Denver’s victory over the Browns last week.

See, the players notice the little things. McDaniels let the top participants in offseason workouts to create a playlist on an iPod to be played during practices in training camp. Instead of simulating crowd noise, the players heard all kind of music from country to the late Michael Jackson. It was a touch the players definitely appreciated.

Now, what about the fans?

Those who were calling for McDaniels’ job from the onset of the Cutler situation have been mysteriously silent as Cutler leads the NFL in interceptions and Orton has yet to throw a pick after three solid games. Fans are jumping on the Broncos bandwagon by the bunches.

That saying that “winning cures everything”? True, in this case. Very true.

Now, we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. The Broncos face a killer schedule the next few weeks, starting this weekend with a battered but potent Cowboys team coming to Invesco.

However, if the Broncos remain as tight knit as they seem to be right now, they will weather this storm. They enter this tough stretch as a team, and they will emerge from it as a team.

Buckle up, Broncos fans. It’s going to be a fun ride.

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Sam Bradford: The Next Player The Cleveland Browns Ruin

Published: September 28, 2009

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Since their return to the league, the Cleveland Browns have lacked something that every team needs, stability at the quarterback position.

If you go through the list from Tim Couch all the way through Brady Quinn, one thing can be noticed, the teams inability to let a young player develop.

We have seen numerous instances when the coach pulled one guy in favor of another.

Butch Davis chose Kelly Holcomb over Tim Couch, Romeo benched Charlie Frye for Derek Anderson and then benched Anderson for Quinn. Now, after merely five and a half starts for Quinn, he was pulled in Sunday’s game against Baltimore for a less then spectacular Derek Anderson.

The question now is what’s next?

Playing Quinn Sunday would look idiotic on Mangini’s behalf because what would have been the point in pulling him Sunday?

So it only makes sense, that Anderson starts just to see what he can offer to the worst team in the NFL.

The fact of the matter is that Mangini had no justification in pulling Quinn.

As stated earlier, we just run through quarterbacks like a hot knife through butter. When are we going to suck it up and let someone develop? With our future number one overall pick in 2010, are we going to draft Sam Bradford and potentially ruin his career? Probably.

But let’s focus on the present; Quinn needs to start, plain and simple.

We need to develop a quarterback for more then six games before we decide they are too inept to play.

When will a coach in Cleveland understand that QB instability is what has wrecked us thus far? When will we have a coach WHO is more concerned with longevity than instant gratification?

The Browns are going no where in 2009, and the Quinn era has ended as soon as it started. Was Quinn spectacular in his starts? No. Was he even good in his starts? No, not really; but how can we judge him so soon? We can’t.

Before the season started, Mangini chose Quinn as his starter. He said he would stay with him through good and bad; he obviously lied.

We are the joke of the NFL year in and out for a reason, and this year is no different.

A coach fining someone $1,700 over a bottle of water. A coach who plays his former players even though they have no business starting. A coach who if he makes it to next season, will blame 2009 on not have “his guy” under center, and thus making my article come full circle.

And to the Browns fans across the world, don’t whine because your guy isn’t taking the snaps Sunday; rather, support the guy and hope he does his best.

This division among the ranks is turning us against one another. We can’t allow that to occur.

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The Verdict: It’s Not The Defense

Published: September 28, 2009

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I keep hearing that the defense is the primary culprit in the Steelers’ two losses. The claim is that the defense isn’t playing as well as it should or could, and isn’t making the plays it needs to make.

Not so, says I.

Granted, the defense faced mediocre offenses in the first two games, and a potentially powerful yet still inconsistent Bengals offense in the third game. So maybe the defensive performance looks better on paper than in reality.

Yet, the Steelers defense has steadily improved, and is still in the top ten in the NFL. My thinking is that the defense played so very well last season that now we are all spoiled.

In 2008, the Steelers defense was about 0.4 yards per game rushing away from being the best defense in NFL history. That’s 6.4 yards for the entire season, or basically two rushes stopped for no gain.

It is unrealistic to expect the Steelers defense to perform at that level every game indefinitely. The offense must step up its play if the Steelers expect to contend for another Super Bowl championship.

Not convinced? Well, then, for a few moments, let me be the Steeler Nation version of NFL.com writer/analyst Pat Kirwan, and throw some numbers at you to prove the point:

2009 Defense

                   Net Yds Allowed
    Opponent      Pass  Rush  Total  # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
    --------      ----  ----  -----  -------  --------  -----

    Tennessee      234    86    320     61      5.2     23:49      
    Chicago        231    44    275     57      4.8     29:34
    Cincinnati     173   100    273     58      4.7     25:18


2009 Offense

                        Net Yds 
    Opponent      Pass  Rush  Total  # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
    --------      ----  ----  -----  -------  --------  -----

    Tennessee      321    36    357     70      5.1     36:11     
    Chicago        203   105    308     59      5.2     30:26
    Cincinnati     271   102    373     60      6.2     34:32

The same numbers per game for the 2008 regular season:

2008 Defense

                    Net Yds Allowed
                  Pass    Rush    Total   # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
                  ----    ----    -----   -------  --------  -----

    Avg./game     156.9   80.3    237.2      61      3.9     28:41

    
2008 Offense

                        Net Yds 
                  Pass    Rush    Total   # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
                  ----    ----    -----   -------  --------  -----

    Avg./game     206.3   105.6   311.9      63      4.9     31:41

So, we see that it appears that the offense is performing better than last year, but the defense is performing worse. This is misleading, I think, because last season’s schedule was significantly more difficult than this season’s.

Scoring per game tells a different story:

                 Offense        Defense
              (Pts scored)    (Pts Allowed)
              ------------    -------------
    2008          21.7            13.9       
    2009          15.7            16.6

All of these numbers tell me that this year, while the defense is performing worse than last season’s defense (duh!), the defense is stepping up its game. As the opponents’ offense has improved, the Steelers defense has improved.

The Steelers’ offense, however, looks inconsistent. As the opponents’ defense has declined, the Steelers’ offense hasn’t improved proportionately. The offense is running fewer plays, although the yards per play is increasing, but the decrease in offensive points scored is greater than the increase in defensive points allowed.

This tells me that, for whatever reason, the Steelers’ offense is less efficient, and therefore less effective, than it needs to be. The offense is moving the ball all over, spinning its wheels, getting nowhere fast, but missing opportunities to score (especially touchdowns).

What is causing this? Some possibilities:

— Play-calling and offensive sets in critical situations, especially third-down and
     short yardage situations, is still too predictable. This gives the opposing defense
     fewer possibilities to account for, thus allowing the defense to read and react
     more quickly and have a higher probability of stopping Steelers drives.

— The offense is taking bigger risks, going for bigger chunks of yards instead of
     concentrating on lower-risk, better ball-control tactics when prudent to do so.

— Lack of killer instinct. In their last two games, the offense blasted off like
     a rocket and quickly took control of the game, only to go on vacation in the
     second half. This is the Bill Cowher Syndrome: Get a lead, then play not to lose
     instead of going for the kill. In the end, it only gives the opponents a better
     chance of catching up.

— And somebody, anybody, PLEASE, tell Limas Sweed that the pointed, elongated,
     rapidly rotating dark brown object that traverses the air with a ballistic trajectory
     in his direction a few times a game is called a “Football”, named after the game
     that he is supposedly getting paid to play, and that he is supposed to CATCH THE FOOTBALL and not REJECT THE FOOTBALL.

On the bright side, however, the running game seems to be improving. It looks like Bruce Arians is FINALLY calling a lot more of the running plays that have been working consistently (off-tackle, wide and quick-developing plays), and is calling a lot less of the running plays that have never worked in his offense (anything up the middle).

So, Steeler Nation, don’t panic just yet. The defense could be better, should be better, and will be better (especially when Troy returns) as the season progresses. And don’t be too quick to criticize, because

It’s Not The Defense

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The Verdict: It’s Not The Defense

Published: September 28, 2009

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Not so, says I.

Yet, the Steelers defense has steadily improved, and is still in the top ten in the NFL. My thinking is that the defense played so very well last season that now we are all spoiled.

Not convinced? Well, then, for a few moments, let me be the Steeler Nation version of NFL.com writer/analyst Pat Kirwan, and throw some numbers at you to prove the point:

2009 Defense

                   Net Yds Allowed
    Opponent      Pass  Rush  Total  # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
    --------      ----  ----  -----  -------  --------  -----

    Tennessee      234    86    320     61      5.2     23:49      
    Chicago        231    44    275     57      4.8     29:34
    Cincinnati     173   100    273     58      4.7     25:18


2009 Offense

                        Net Yds 
    Opponent      Pass  Rush  Total  # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
    --------      ----  ----  -----  -------  --------  -----

    Tennessee      321    36    357     70      5.1     36:11     
    Chicago        203   105    308     59      5.2     30:26
    Cincinnati     271   102    373     60      6.2     34:32

The same numbers per game for the 2008 regular season:

2008 Defense

                    Net Yds Allowed
                  Pass    Rush    Total   # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
                  ----    ----    -----   -------  --------  -----

    Avg./game     156.9   80.3    237.2      61      3.9     28:41

    
2008 Offense

                        Net Yds 
                  Pass    Rush    Total   # Plays  Yds/play   TOP
                  ----    ----    -----   -------  --------  -----

    Avg./game     206.3   105.6   311.9      63      4.9     31:41

                 Offense        Defense
              (Pts scored)    (Pts Allowed)
              ------------    -------------
    2008          21.7            13.9       
    2009          15.7            16.6

What is causing this? Some possibilities:

It’s Not The Defense

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Pittsburgh Steelers Continue Troubling Trends

Published: September 28, 2009

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In two losses, the defending Super Bowl champs have given up a total of a single yard in the first quarter, which, coincidentally, is the same amount of yards they gained in the first quarter of their lone victory.

Contrast this with the number of yards the defense has yielded in the past two fourth quarters (268) and it’s no wonder the 2009 Steelers have the same record as—dare I say it—the 2006 Steelers after three games: 1-2.

On Sunday, the game early on looked like just another day in Cincinnati as the Steelers made the Bengals look like the Bengals for most of the first half.

For my money, Cincinnati made five egregious mistakes that the Steelers turned into a relatively flimsy 13-3 lead that on some days could have been something like 33-0.

The Bengals…

1. Failed to take advantage of a 50-yard opening kickoff return that fired up the crowd and set up a short field, going three-and-out quickly and brutally;

2. Gave up a 41-yard pass play on a second-and-20 on Pittsburgh’s first possession, which led to a touchdown.

3. Didn’t challenge a 51-yard pass play to Mike Wallace, who may or may not have gotten two feet inbounds.

4. Gave up four plays of 20 or more yards and were whistled for two false start penalties in a first quarter in which they gained minus-10 yards of offense, and finally;

5. Botched a two-minute drill at the end of the half in which James Harrison bailed them out by getting a paw on Carson Palmer’s short pass, stopping the clock.

By the way, the Bengals won this game. It was their first win at home against Pittsburgh since 2001, and it was Pittsburgh’s first division loss since 2007.

For all of the Bengals first-half incompetence, there was an acute case of role reversal in the second half, as the Bengals made the Steelers look like, well, the Bengals.

The trouble began when Ben Roethlisberger threw a perfect TD strike to Jeremy Jacobs early in the third. It was the ugliest play of the day on Sunday that didn’t involve the Seahawks teal-green uniforms.

Later in the third, Limas Sweed dropped a sure touchdown on a perfectly thrown deep ball. Sound familiar?

A couple of things may come back to haunt the Steelers.

They elected to kick a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the one-foot line early in the game when Willie Parker was finding huge holes. (Later on, faced with second-and-goal from the one-yard line, Roethlisberger scored easily by falling down forward.)

The decision was likely made to give Jeff Reed some confidence back, and, given the way the game was going at that point, it looked like a good call.

The call on fourth-and-4 late in the second quarter was not a good call, however, as Gene Collier pointed out in the Post-Gazette today. A punt would’ve almost guaranteed a first half shutout. Instead it gave the Bengals new life, and they drove 49 yards for a field goal.

When it was over, it was clear that there are some recurring tribulations that, after three games, need to be addressed. Or there could be trouble in Steel City.

1. Tired defense

The normally stout defense has given up three long touchdown drives and 268 total yards in the past two fourth quarters. They haven’t forced a fourth quarter punt since Week One, the same week they last forced a turnover.

I know they are missing their best and most important player in Troy Polamalu, but they must perform better.

For a little perspective here, the defense has five sacks this season, the same number Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom had last week against Green Bay. By the end of the day Sunday, an exasperated Dick LeBeau was throwing out Ryan Mundy (who I think should be playing more) and Keiwan Ratliff (who hasn’t played much at all so far).

Could age be playing a role? Many key defenders are now in their early-to-mid 30’s, including James Harrison, Deshea Townsend, James Farrior, Tyrone Carter, and the entire defensive line.

Much like in the Chicago game, the front seven had trouble getting pressure on the quarterback as the game wore on. Watch that fourth-and-10 play with under a minute left: Harrison could barely muster anything resembling a pass rush, and Farrior was a step slow in getting to running back Brian Leonard.

2. Lack of production from role players

Tomlin stresses this all the time, how the second-year and third-year guys need to step up and be ready to play. Only Keyaron Fox and Mike Wallace, so far, have excelled in their roles.

William Gay made some good plays on Sunday, but cancelled those out with some equally bad ones. He took an awful inside angle on Cedric Benson’s 23-yard touchdown run, and Palmer was repeatedly throwing to his side in the second half.

Elsewhere on defense, Carter has been exploited at times and doesn’t seem fully healthy. And as much as I like Lamar Woodley, he has no sacks and just three tackles in three games, by far the lowest number of any of the starters. Heath Miller has just as many tackles as Woodley.

On the other side of the ball, it’s the same story. Rashard Mendenhall must have done something last week to disappoint the coaching staff, because he spent most of the afternoon on the sidelines. His biggest play of the day came when he broke up a fight between Jacobs and Hines Ward.

As for Sweed, his drop in the end zone will surely be discussed in the next couple weeks and may quite possibly be a career killer. Wallace is certain to be the No. 3 receiver from here on out, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of Shaun McDonald.

3. No killer instinct

Much like in the Chicago game, Pittsburgh dominated for a big stretch but failed to either a) protect the lead, or b) put the game out of reach.

In Chicago, they outgained the Bears 144 to 11 in the first quarter; in Cincy, they outgained the Bengals 143 to minus-10. And they lost both of those games on dramatic final drives.

The cold reality is that this team is a couple of Rod Bironas missed field goals away from being 0-3.

Of course, like in any road loss where the home fans are booing throughout much of the game, there were some positives to take out of it all.

Willie Parker had his best game in awhile, although he wore down and failed to pick up some key yards in the second half. Ike Taylor played a brilliant game, shadowing Chad Johnson-Cinco most of the time and making a couple of sensational pass-breakups on the final drive that nearly saved the day.

Roethlisberger had another sharp game and would have had much better numbers if his receivers didn’t let him down on multiple occasions. (Sweed and Santonio Holmes combined for four drops, Ward had two costly penalties, and Holmes clearly ran the wrong route on the pick-six.)

So a long winning streak in Cincinnati was snapped, and Big Ben lost in Ohio for the first time since college. The Steelers lost back-to-back games for just the second time under Tomlin, and first time since 2007.

Whether this signals a changing of the guard remains to be seen. The Steelers need to play a complete game before we can properly evaluate them. And they better do it soon, because Sunday night’s game in San Diego is about as close to a must-win as you can have in Week Four.

Otherwise, they could be facing the possibility of a 1-3 start.

I think we all remember the last Steelers team to start the season that way.

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Breaking News: Tampa Bay Bucs Demote QB Byron Leftwich

Published: September 28, 2009

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Various media outlets are reporting that the Tampa Bay Bucs are making a change under center.

Byron Leftwich, who was named the starter by Coach Raheem Morris in the pre-season, has been demoted from starter to third string; with third string quarterback Josh Johnson ascending to the top of the depth chart. Rookie Josh Freeman will remain the second string quarterback.

The move comes a day after the New York Giants destroyed the Bucs, shutting them out and holding their offense to just five first downs and 86 total yards.

By moving Leftwich to third string, though, there will undoubtedly be questions raised regarding his future with the organization.

The new starting QB, Johnson, is in just his second year in the NFL, and Freeman was a high draft pick this year. One of those players are the future of the team, and by making this change now, the Bucs might be taking steps toward blending that future with the present.

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Coach Raheem Morris Waffles, Sends Buccaneers QB Byron Leftwich to the Bench

Published: September 28, 2009

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Raheem Morris said after the 24-0 loss to the Giants on Sunday that if he was to consider replacing Byron Leftwich as the starting quarterback, he might as well replace everyone.

Everyone won’t be replaced, but Leftwich will.

In an abrupt about-face, Morris has changed his mind and will start backup Josh Johnson next Sunday against the Redskins.

Leftwich wasn’t even demoted to backup; he went all the way to the third, inactive position. Rookie Josh Freeman will move into the backup role against the Redskins.

“We made that decision today (Monday),” Morris said at his afternoon press conference at One Buccaneer Place. “He (Johnson) provides some more options. I hate to make this about Byron. I looked Byron in the eye and he told me, ‘Hey, I knew I had to get some wins early.'”

Morris went on with his usual dogma: “We’re in constant evaluation. We don’t make knee-jerk decisions.”

“I haven’t told Josh Freeman yet (that he’ll be the backup).”

“It’s not all Leftwich’s fault,” Morris said. “Yesterday (Sunday) we took a step back.”

“He’s gotta go out there see if he can get it done,” Morris said of the shakeup.

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Streaking Detroit Lions Win First Straight Game

Published: September 28, 2009

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Every dog really does have his day.

Every blind squirrel really does find a nut.

The longshot came in. The House lost.

It was “any given Sunday,” finally. The dice came up snake eyes.

Someone had to be the victims of the Lions’ losing streak ending, and it happened to be the team with some of the most ravenous, venomous fans in the NFL.

The Washington Redskins are today’s NFL patsies. They will now officially spend the longest week of their football lives.

The Redskins have lost to the Detroit Lions. No team in the league has been able to lay claim to such a distinction since December 23, 2007.

Oh, what a week they’ll have in Washington, with all their radio shows and TV shows and chat rooms.

These aren’t the Houston Texans the Lions beat. Not the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not some team that plays in a city where you can hear a pin drop.

These are the Redskins, and their followers were scared to death of this matchup with the Lions.

Worst fears, realized.

Like my friend Big Al wrote over at The Wayne Fontes Experience, let another team’s fan base pull its hair out this week. Let another city’s radio airwaves be filled with hate and frustration.

The Lions walked off the field winners Sunday, a homely 19-14 win over Washington, but it was the Lions’ homely win and they’ll take it.

Linebacker Larry Foote, the Detroit native and U-M grad, was caught by the candid cameras in the locker room after the game, pouring champagne over head coach Jim Schwartz’s head. Not sure where Larry got the bubbly from, but someone obviously was holding it for just such an occasion.

The Lions won a football game. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to hold their 26-game losing streak longer in purgatory. But here come the St. Louis Rams, who are halfway there with 13 straight losses.

Let the Rams’ fans wring their hands now.

It’s off now, that King Kong the Lions were lugging on their backs for 19 games. But ole King wasn’t easy to pry off.

You just knew it couldn’t end with QB Matthew Stafford taking a knee as the time ticked away. You knew the Lions wouldn’t be able to be streak busters that easily.

No, it had to come down to a heart-stopping final drive by the Redskins, who managed to get to the Lions’ 35 in the waning seconds.

But this wasn’t Brett Favre, it was Jason Campbell. And this wasn’t 31 of the 32 coaches in the NFL, it was Jim Zorn.

Zorn ought to know better. He was a gunslinging QB when he played for the Seattle Seahawks, bombing away to Steve Largent et al.

But he stared down the barrel of a franchise-shaking loss and shook like a leaf.

Instead of chucking the ball into the end zone—for who knows what can happen when you do that, especially when the other team wears Honolulu Blue and Silver—Zorn had Campbell try one of those goofy hook-and-lateral plays after a measly 12-yard toss. The ‘Skins didn’t even sniff the 20 yard line, much less the end zone.

Ever since Cal beat Stanford in 1982, football teams have been trying to recapture that miracle. Hardly any have been successful.

Zorn would have been better off with a Hail Mary, but that’s the other guys’ deal to worry about today.

Zorn also made a questionable move to accept a penalty against the Lions, turning a 4th-and-four and a long FGA into a 3rd-and-14, which the Lions converted, enabling them to score a TD later in the drive.

They say you should never take points off the scoreboard, if you’re on offense. And you should probably not take fourth downs off the board, either, if you’re on defense. But Zorn did—more fuel for the fire that will engulf Washington and Redskin Nation this week.

They’ll be talking about this one for years in D.C. The Lions—a team the Redskins have dominated (never having lost to them at home in over 75 years)—mustered their first win in 20 games against Dan Snyder’s bunch.

The fun thing is, you don’t have to be relegated to wishing you were the proverbial fly on the wall in order to see what they’re saying in Washington. Thanks to Internet chat rooms, you can get a very nice picture indeed.

The Redskins fans want Zorn fired. Immediately. Some wanted him canned somewhere between Ford Field and Metro Airport. No joke.

The Lions are on the outside looking in again, but this time the view is just fine. This time the Lions can peer through the glass and watch debauchery and barroom brawls take place. The subject is still them, but in an entirely different way.

The Lions can watch as Redskins fans hurl empty beer mugs at Snyder and Zorn and Campbell and the like. They can press their noses against the glass and see a football team’s entire fan base bust up the joint, beside themselves.

All over the little Lions.

The 1-2 Lions—same record as the Redskins.

Stafford was pretty good—21-for-36, 241 yards, a TD and NO interceptions. He played smart. He “left some plays on the field”—his words—but he made a veteran move by slinging the ball downfield when he saw Bryant Johnson in single coverage at the goal line in the fourth quarter, drawing a pass interference penalty.

There’s the smattering of a connection developing now between the kid QB and the star receiver, Calvin Johnson. Stafford was also allowed to pass the ball on first down, when offensive coordinator Scott Linehan sensed a momentum shift.

The Lions will still likely only win two or three games this season. The Redskins are hardly a barometer against which to judge your team’s development. But a win is a win as they say, and though it was no Mona Lisa, it’s the Lions’ and they’ll take it.

The million-to-one shot came in. The tortoise won a race. William Hung came away with “Best Singer.” The Italian Army won a war.

The Lions are 1-0 in their last one game.

But keep the champagne chilled. No more bubbly in September. Never again, right?