A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

As the final season of our beloved FNL got underway, Tim was visited by Billy in jail where we learned he has but a few months left on his sentence and is up for early release with continued good behavior. The bitterness was all over Tim's face as he avoided any kind of contact with his guilt ridden brother. As happy as I was to see #33 doing well I sort of expected to see him sporting a different look, be it a shorter hair or even a beard. Tim is too pretty for for prison and a some scruff would have been a nice touch to show that he has been behind bars for some time now. That said the interaction between the two brothers was well done. Tim wasn't having any of Billy's pity party and I loved how he cut him off when he claimed that he had been a coach to Tim. "Coach was my coach."

Billy claimed he was going to take a coaching job to give something back, but it didn't seem like he was looking to work pro bono when he met with Eric. Eric mentioned that he was short on funds already, which would have been the time for Billy to mention he was just looking to help out the team for free. Couple things to note from when Billy was introduced to the team as well. The look on Eric's face following Billy's Ronnie Lott quote was vintage Coach Taylor. The other look worth worth mentioning was the one of concern on Coach "Best Buy's" face as he seemingly felt threatened by the arrival of another staff member.

This season will be full of final moments, and sadly we saw the last garage jam session of Crucifictorious. "Don't have to bee so flashy Jimmy, a little goes a long way." Landry was full of great lines of which the one about how his mom had packed his stuff up a month ago was the most classic. His final night out with Julie was indeed epic on his scale. I cringed for a second when I thought he might make a drunken pass as his best buddy's ex girlfriend but in the end he settled for Candy and showed once again what a good guy and friend he really is. His farewell to Grandma Saracen tugged at heart strings, but Lorraine kept it light as she told him she had all his band's music loaded up on her "MP Player," which we saw was actually a sphygmomanometer. (Have to admit I never knew what those things were called until I googled it this morning.)This could have been the final time we see Grandma as well which had me misty eyed. Aside from her passing away, I don't really see why she would be featured again this season. What a great and integral part of the series she has been.I couldn't help but smile when we first saw Buddy behind the mic on 1040-Am El Fuego. Buddy was in his element scouting players for Eric and doing everything he could once again for his team. He introduced Coach Taylor and the rest of us to Hastings Ruckle, "the white kid" as he noted to Coach. Grey Damon the actor is a fresh face for the female FNL fans to gush over and will surely fill the void left by Tim until his release. Loved his flare as he hung on the rim, but he needed to work on that free throw form a little more. Grey Damon is no stranger to the grid iron though as fans of Tru blood should have recognized Kitch Maynard as he hung from the rim. He's gone from "V" using meat head QB to idealist, hipster tight end. Eric looked the part as always in his trademark sunglasses and was commanding as ever as he let Hastings know "you live in Texas now, you love the game of football, you just don't know it yet." Eric seemed out of character asking the guys to recruit the hoopster to the grid iron, but he showed his coaching gift when right before he sent the rookie out onto the field he asked him "do me a favor, do the best you can."

Some may have thought his insertion into the game and catching the touchdown was a little far fetched, but the writers did well to show how green he was as you hear him ask things like "where do I stand" and reiterated by Vince when he told him to just run to the goal post. The choice to go for two after clawing to within one point in the games closing seconds was great and made even better by Vince and Luke flawlessly executing the Boise State statue of liberty play to perfection.
A wins a win and this was a great way to start the season off,, but I felt like they were a little pass heavy. I know they were trying to dig themselves out of a pretty big hole, but i was surprised Eric didn't go to "The Lion" formation. That's my only bit of Monday morning quarter backing.

There was a somber moment of the game though following Luke's crack back block on Croft's start QB Cody Pearl. Reminded me of another lauded signal called who with a promising year ahead of him took a big hit in the season opener and laid motionless on the turf.Off the field, Vince showed his maturity and huge heart as he talked to Andre. I was of course sad for Landry that Jess left him for Vince, but I can't help but love the two of them together. It was a very touching moment he shared with her little brother and I have to think Jess will be nothing but a positive influence on Vince and help keep his head in the game all season long. He is going to need a strong support net as we saw his father will be joining the show after being released from prison.

Julie looks to be headed for trouble as the season preview showed. We saw the awkward phone call she had with her room mate where she said "it was good to meet you sort of." I wonder if the married man is a teacher? Away from home and feeling lost and alone she fills the voids left by her separation from her dad and Matt with one guy. You stay golden Julie Taylor! It will be alright.After saying farewell to their first born, all Eric could say as she pulled away was "wow." I was equally emotional thinking of the day I send my own flesh and blood off to college. The entire episode was filled with tender father/daughter moments which lead up to the final goodbye. The ping pong game was great, but the most emotional scene had to be when Julie noticed her dad staring at her from the kitchen. "I'm gonna miss this," was his line to her. It reminded me that at the end of this season we too are going to be saying goodbye to something we care deeply for. With that said, this season is off to a great start and I plan on savoring the last few opportunities to write about one of the greatest shows on television.

Until this Friday, as always, C.E.F.H.C.L.!!!