Friday Night Lights - Tale of the Tape

Just a few different things I was considering while catching up on Friday Night Lights over the last couple of nights:

Who's your QB? Saracen or Voodoo?
Well, on one hand you have a QB who appears to have no talent. It's like when Jason Street went down, you're left with a ragarm who has never played organized football before. Considering that they have mentioned multiple times that Dillon is the top ranked team in Texas, you'd think that they'd have a serviceable backup. Then you have Voodoo, the Katrina import. First of all, the name "Voodoo" should be enough in and of itself to get him the starting job. What opposing team wouldn't be afraid of the kid? But then I watched the end of the show, where it actually showed Voodoo playing. Unbelievable. He started changing play calls and did a Dennis Rodman impression at halftime.

The Pick: Saracen

Hotter jailbait? Lilah Garrity or Tyra, the town skank?
I went back and forth on this one several times during the course of the last episode. If you go just on looks alone, I think Lilah is the obvious choice. Just overall a more attractive package. But if you start to dig a little deeper, about 20 minutes into the show, I was convinced she'd never even seen a penis. I figured she had a relationship with Jason Street that was one of those weird, make-out-only, high school relationships. Considering she had sex with Riggins, I guess that theory is out the window. Tyra, on the other hand, has never seen a penis she didn't like. I was almost convinced at one point that she was just really misunderstood, not the town skank. That theory was also blown out of the water when she slept with the 15 year old oil executive from LA. Seriously, couldn't they have gotten a guy older than me to play this role?

The pick: Lilah Garrity. You're probably less likely to end up with an STD if you sleep with her. But then again, since they've both slept with Riggins, all bets are off.

Bigger Headcase: Voodoo or Riggins?
Both of these guys clearly have issues. Voodoo is definitely just out for himself. He plainly told Coach Taylor that his goal is to get a scholarship to LSU. Fair enough. But his behavior during the game was completely unacceptable. He totally ignored playcalls and almost ended up costing his team the game. Riggins, by all accounts, is drunk nearly 100% of the time. They have sort of stopped showing him with beer bottles all the time, so maybe he's in rehab. He apparently even played pretty well on Dillon's last drive during the rivalry week game. He opened up some nice holes for Smash.

The Pick: Riggins. He's in a much less important role (fullback). That, and Voodoo is probably off the team, so it's a no-brainer.

Most Interesting Running Subplot: Saracen possibly hooking up with Coach Taylor's daughter

I can't even analyze this. This subplot is entertaining on a number of levels. The scene with Coach Taylor telling Saracen to loosen up, ask a girl out, and fool around in the backseat of his car with her was priceless. Of course, at the time, he didn't know that Saracen had eyes for his daughter. The kid is just so awkward socially, that it's nearly impossible to believe that a girl as hot as Coach Taylor's daughter could ever fall for him. It's almost like Rain Man is the backup QB. I guess it just gives us all hope. I'm definitely rooting for the kid.

Biggest Looming Question: Does Coach Taylor teach at this school or is he just a football coach?

Every high school coach I've ever seen also taught classes in addition to being the head coach. High school coaching is not a full time gig. At least it's not if your wife is the school counselor. Maybe if she was a high powered lawyer, or a neurosurgeon, but not as a counselor. Coach Taylor sits in his office all day watching film and handling the media. Ridiculous for a high school coach. I also couldn't help but notice that the "film" he was watching was zoomed in super close. I think he needs to fire his film guy. No wonder they're struggling to beat some of the teams they're playing.

Best Game Footage: The ridiculous, over the top tackles and blocks vs. Dillon's last drive during the rivalry week game.

What the heck happened on that last drive for Dillon? All game long, we're shown clips of them just getting their butts handed to them play after play. Then all of a sudden, they go 85 yards on a pass, a couple toss plays, and a reverse? It's like somebody turned the difficulty down to rookie after setting it on All-Madden to start the game. Stretching the imagination a little bit there.

The Pick: The ridiculous, over the top tackles and blocks. At least that's cool to watch. Dillon's last drive was kind of anticlimactic.

The Verdict
I like this show more and more every time I watch it. I'm not sure where this can possibly go with Jason Street. Either he needs to have a miraculous comeback or they just need to write him out. After he finds out that Lilah is sleeping with Riggins, he really has no other purpose for the show. Overall, I give this show a solid 8 out of 10.