RFL 2010, Week 9 - Deadline 3/25 (Wednesday) at 11 pm EST
 

Pumpy and I had an old-fashioned shootout. We had a lead pretty much all of the game, but Pumpy kept it close. Every time we tried to pull away, they rallied. Their receiver Bower had over 200 yards and 3 TDs for the Gophers, but Zach Longshore had a big day of his own, and we got a 45-31 win. Good game, Pumpy. Glad to see that Bowers will be graduating!

Longshore is just too much for my team to handle. I have a young front seven, and they just aren't good enough for him. Bowers had the game of his life. If I had known he was this good, I would've used him more the last two years!

My losses have gone from painful to excruciating. We head to No. 25 Nebraska without both our starting QB and HB. So we got that going for us.

Surprisingly, we open up the game with a nice drive that stalls out in the redzone and settle for a field goal. Nebraska finally breaks through near the end of the first quarter to make it 7-3. We respond with a TD and retake a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. Nebraska drives and scores with 1:37 left to take a 14-7 lead.

That's when disaster strikes for the first time. Attempting to semi-run the clock out while trying to see about maybe making a play, we run an ill-advised option. It's worked to perfection. My QB faked a pitch, kept the ball and tucked it in. Suddenly the backup HB is wide open with no one in front of him. Royal pitches it ... and the ball gets deflected and this the turf. Nebraska picks up and runs it in for a TD, it's 21-10 at the half.

Nebraska gets the opening kick of the second half and a demoralized Tigers defense botches a screen play. 61 yards later it's 28-10. Game over.

Or maybe not. We quickly score and decided to go for two to cut the lead to 10. The conversion is good and we're down 28-18. we force Nebraska to settle for a field goal and get the ball back down 13.

We drive down and score a TD to make it 31-24. I don't feel like I can stop Nebraska completely and they will score again, but I gamble that I can hold them to a field goal. If I go for two I can pull within 5 which means if Nebraska kicks a field goal I'll get the ball back where a TD and 2-point conversion sends it to OT. We get ready to snap and get called for illegal motion. I call a pass play and everyone is covered. Royal scrambes and takes it inside the one but the Huskers stop him, no good.

We force Nebraska to settle for the field goal and now we're down 34-24 with 5 minutes to go. No problem. We drive down in 2 minutes and score to make it 34-31. Miraculously, we stop Nebraska at midfield and we're getting the ball back. I try to call a punt block formation but my fingers took too long to call up the play and a regular defense trots out. I try to call timeout but can't get it called. Nebraska punts it away. The ball is headed toward the end zone for a touchback ... and dies on the goal line. First and goal Missouri from inside the one.

I put Royal in the shotgun and he manages to race out for a first down. We're almost out of jail. With a minue to go, I roll Royal left and have a receiver wide open at about the 30. I fire a pass ... and a linebacker comes out of nowhere and leaps seemingly six feet in the air to pick off the pass. My stud offense can't stop him and he takes it in for a pick-6, we're down 41-31.

The Tigers didn't quit. We drove down and scored on the final play of the game. The two-point conversion makes it 41-39. If we hadn't been stopped on the two-point conversion earlier at the one, we'd be headed to OT.

We have to win three of four to make a bowl game and still have to play Clemson in week 14, which makes next week's home game against No. 24 K-State, home game vs. KU and at Iowa State must win games. We've dropped four of our last five, three to ranked teams and one to a rank team (Baylor). Our only win is at home versus 1-6 Oklahoma State. Ugh.

D'oh! I woke up all excited to play my game, only to realize once I got on the dynasty that the Trojans have a bye this week.

At least, I got some good news, we signed 4 more this week including another 5 star OLB. We have now signed the 2nd and 7th best OLB's in this class. We also got the #2 CB, a big coverage guy. Rounding out the week, we got the #1 center and #5 FB. That last get was huge with Havili leaving after this year and the FB being a significant part of the USC playbook.

Well...the Illinois Fighting Illini came into Happy Valley today hoping to pull off an upset. Both teams are rated exactly the same accross the board, so it wasn't far fetched at all. The Illini made it a game in the first half...scoring on almost every single drive, and going into halftime only down by a touchdown. In the second half we pulled away though, and wound up winning by 4 or 5 TD's. Mark Castillo won player of the game, going 30/43, completing passes to 11 different receivers, throwing for 582 yards, and 8 TD's with only 1 INT. Leading Heisman candidate Zach Wright caught 13 passes for 408 yards and 3 TD's, and turned what seemed to be every single catch into a long gain. Our defense fell asleep in this game, allowing a staggering 54 points. Thankfully we racked up 80 points of our own and seemed to score at will pretty much all game long. Once again we knocked their starting QB out of the game, which makes 6 out of 7 games that we have accomplished this feat.

Next up is Kodos :)

I'm wondering how Zach Wright is a leading Heisman candidate, considering he ain't even that good ;)

It is surprising what some of these guys can do with inferior players.

Yeah, if guys have good ratings in specific areas, and you know how to use their strengths, and you've got some decent talent around them, it's not super difficult to blow things up with them. He doesn't have blazing speed, but he is fast enough to create some distance between him and the average DB with or without the ball. He's the kind of guy where 1 broken tackle will more than likely turn into a TD. The season before last in the NOFL, Kingsneb had a Wideout who was 76 OVR or something who won the Heisman with just absolutely rediculous numbers. The OVR rating in this game isn't always the determining factor in who you need to look out for, and how effective a player can be in game.

First off, we destroyed a 5-2 Pittsburgh team 43-14 this morning. We are now 7-1 and hopefully we can get some votes and break into the Top 25 (Pitt was a team that got votes, but not a Top 25 team). We'll have a chance to play a top 25 team next week at Virginia (provided they don't drop the ball this week to their crappy opponent).

As for the Heisman race, our senior halfback Brett Thomas is now sitting second in the race. He's fast and shifty who is a multi-purpose threat out of the backfield. We can mix it up with all the talent on offense, so teams will have to pick their battles.

Radii, when do you want to play our game? I'm available all day today, and monday after 6:30 your time.

We beat MSU 52-20. It was 45-6 to start the 4th but our second teamers gave up two quick scores so we pull them and get a pick 6 on a WR Screen to crack 50.

Now we have a bye, then Northwestern.

I should be available anytime today after 8pm my time.

This is meant to be a compliment so I hope it's taken this way, but the numbers Kingsneb puts up has have nothing to do with his talent and everything to do with his button-mashing ability. He could have a team of one-star losers and still beat me and a team of five-star studs because he can make some moves I simply can't do.

In the title game last season he picked off two pass I threw by being able to switch to the player covering a receiver and jump the out route. I can't do that. Give me a 100 CB against a 1 WR and I still won't be able to do that. I do that and I miss the interception and usually fall down trying to make the tackle. He can also throw a pass downfield and take control of his guy to make the spectacular grab. I suck at that too. :)

Not saying that certain ratings don't matter -- they absolutely do. But somethings guys can do stuff that have nothing to do with ratings.

Exactly. Nothing against anyone else, but I think Sun Tzu, KingNeb and probably 1 or 2 other people I'm forgetting are simply in a different league than the rest of us as far as stick skills go.

It's hard to compete when you're pushing 40... :)

Sometimes I feel 40 is pushing me harder than I'm pushing it. :)

If this were an online Galaga or Strat-o-Matic dynasty, we'd be kicking their asses.

And as I approach 40, and disturbingly larger number of things I type appear to be English translated into Japanese translated back into English. Macho business donkey wrestler indeed.

Wow. Karlifornia made an iced FG from 47 yards out on the right hash mark with 1 second left on the clock to beat me 24-21. Extremely impressive kick. If that were me kicking there my chances of making it would have been exactly 0%.


I was very lucky to even be in this one at all. The first pitch on the option for a long TD I made too late. The TD pass near the goal line I just pressed a button for he guy in the middle to avoid the sack/grounding call, it looked like there was decent space there for it to sail through the middle, I dunno how the hell he caught it. And the option fumble i *thought* i was pitching it earlier than I need to but your guy closed quick and I was insanely lucky to have my lineman get there first.

Great game!

Wow, indeed. That was one hard fought game with a lot of momentum changes. You completely shut down my run game, so I tried to get it going with my speedy backup QB, but to no avail.

I can't believe I made that kick. The play before the FG, I saw you had three timeouts and I was like "Oh, no an iced 47-yarder...maybe he'll forget to ice me". I just tried to remember how far I aim the arrow when I'm at the hashmark. I lucked out and got the W.

BTW, in the last two games, we're tied. Great game, Radii!

I've told Radii this through private message before, but I feel the need to harp on it publicly.

Radii is a lot of fun to play against. Last year, he beat me by a field goal, which was my only loss on the whole season with the Tigers. The thing about it is that I didn't feel even a fraction of the disappointment I usually feel after a loss, because Radii plays the game the right way, and win or lose, he is a joy to play against.

I think you left some cum on your lips.

Who's left?

Not I

Dola

It looks like Bigsmooth and SirFozzie are the only ones left. They have both recruiting and their games against the CPU.

Mine will be in before the deadline.

Sir Fozzie is on a temporary break while he catches up on some hours at work. So we're ready to roll when Bigsmooth is done.

Been done for awhile. Lost to fuggin Cal.

Final results for Week 9: