The Return of Five Great Men (playoffs)

[stkelly52]

The rest of the dynasty is here, but I knew that you guys are wondering what is going on for the playoffs.

Click here to see the regular season.

Wild Card Round:
Al Coble RB Cincinnati 11-5 vs. Denver 9-6-1
The Bengals have the second best record in the AFC, but they will still be force to play in the wild card round against the Denver Broncos. The Bengals have relied on Al Coble’s legs to get them this far. They are the #2 rushing team in the country. They have a solid passing game as well though that nicely compliments Coble. Denver used a mix of both the run and the pass to work their way into the post season. The big weakness for the broncos will be their total lack of a pass defense.

Coble put together an excellent game, running for 93 yards on 18 carries, and pulling in 5 receptions for 79 yards. This was enough to lead the Bengals on to the next round, 25-10. Al was named MVP in the game. The win came at a price though. The #1 and #2 QBs are injured in the game, and both look questionable for next week.


Marty Gage RB/Carlton Gomez DE Hartford 9-7 @ New Orleans 10-6
This will be the third match up of the year for these two teams, and both times the Saints have come out on top. If Hartford is going to have any chance of winning they will need plenty of help from their chief weapon, Marty Gage. New Orleans has plenty of weaknesses, but they have a great passing game that has kept them in so many games this year.

Having seen Gage run twice this season, the Saints felt like they could keep him contained, and they actually did a good job of that. Marty was held to just 85 yards rushing in the game. The first half was completely controlled by the Saints. They held Marty to just 25 yard in the first half, and held a 17-0 lead. At half time though the Muskrats were visited by the FOFC’s own Grid Iron. It is not known what he said to Connecticut’s team, but they came out with a fire lit under their butts. The defense picked off the first pass of the second half setting up a TD pass. After trading a few punts Marty was able to find the end zone on a run from 12 yards out. A couple of field goals later and the Muskrats had taken a 20-17 lead, which would be the final score.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Carlton Gomez was credited with 2 tackles and 2 sacks. Sorry Carlton, you were a big part of this win as well.

[Peregrine]

Woohoo! Go Muskrats!

[stkelly52]

Divisional Playoffs
Al Coble RB Cincinnati 11-5 @ Jacksonville 15-1
Jacksonville only lost one game this year, and that was to Al Coble’s Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals proved that they can top Jacksonville, however, the Jags also topped Cincy, although that was a much closer game. Who will win the rubber match between these two? One problem for the Bengals though is that both the #1 and #2 QBs
Jacksonville scored three field goals in the first half for the only scoring of the half. In the second the Bengals were able to put up 10 points to take a small 1 point lead. In the fourth they extended that lead to 11 with another TD and field goal. Jacksonville cut that lead to 3 with a 27 yard TD pass & 2 point conversion, but there was only 42 second left in the game. When the Bengals recovered the onside kick Jacksonville knew they were finished. Cincinnati comes up with the big upset. Final 20-17. Al however had a forgettable game. 20 carries for 1 yard (that is not a type-o, just one yard). He did catch 5 passes for 50 yards though to salvage some respect. The rest of the teams in the playoffs celebrate this win by the Bengals as it now opens it up for more teams to win it all.

Marty Gage RB/Carlton Gomez DE Hartford 10-7 @ Huntsville 13-3
The favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl is the Huntsville Packers, who look like they are at the beginning of a dynasty. The Pack has scored more than any other team, and they have allowed fewer points than any other team. With the Jags out of the running they see the Super Bowl championship as theirs, and no team that barley snuck into the playoffs would stop them.
No one expected Hartford to have any chance, but going into the 4th quarter, the game was tied at 10. It was anyone game, and the Muskrats were playing up to the Packers’ level. But it was not to be. 2 4th quarter TDs gave the Pack a 24-10 lead that would end Hartford’s season. Marty finished with 124 yards and a TD on 29 carries. A respectable game, but it wasn’t enough. Sorry Grid Iron. Carlton Gomez recorded 6 tackles and 2 assists in the loss. It would have been a good night if only they had won. Marty was named offensive player of the week, a lot of good that does him.


Percy Buchanan QB Washington 11-5 vs. Detroit 11-6
Washington is looking to defend their Super Bowl title and the first step in that process it to get past the Lions. With one of the highest scoring teams in the NFL, Percy should have little trouble scoring against the lions. But the defense has been the Redskins’ weakness this year.
The defense played poorly again giving up 27 points, and bowing a 23-17 lead in the final 3 minutes of the fourth quarter. But with 42 seconds left in the game, Percy felt like that was plenty of time to march down the field and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. 69 yards in just 2 plays and 21 seconds. Washington wins 30-27. Percy completed 22 of 39 for 287 yards and 2 TDs.


Conference Championships
Al Coble RB Cincinnati 11-5 @ Seattle 11-6
Seattle had a great start to the season, and then fell apart in the middle. They were able to salvage the season by winning 5 of their final 7 games though and they were able to win the AFC west. Last week Seattle won just their first ever playoff game.
But Seattle’s magic ends here. There is no way to write this up to make it look exciting. The Bengals dominate the entire game. The final score is 31-9. Al is given 19 carries for 76 yards and a TD


Percy Buchanan QB Washington 11-5 @ Huntsville 14-3
Huntsville is the team to beat, and if Percy wants to return to the big game, the road is through Alabama
The first half looked beautiful for the Redskins. Percy threw three TDs to give the Redskins a 21-0 lead, and it looked like the Packers had fallen apart. But the second half was a completely different story. The Washington defense didn’t do much to stop the Packers as they scored on every possession. Washington gave up 38 second half points. Percy was able to get Washington into the end zone 2 more times, but they came just short, losing 38-35. Percy had a fabulous day that will be forgotten. 31 of 38 for 376 yards and 3 TDs. For the second week in a row a player from a losing team is named offensive player of the week.

Next week, the Super Bowl: Cincinnati @ Huntsville

[Grid Iron]

I guess my speech was only enough to get them through one game.

Go Muskrats!!!

[stkelly52]

The Super Bowl
One of the most important things to have going into the Super Bowl is experience, and for that, Cincinnati can turn to Al Coble. This will be Al’s 6th trip to the Super Bowl in his career, and his second trip with the Bengals. Al has proven himself to be simply the best player in NFL history. He may have slowed a step or two with age, he is still consistently picking up 1800 yards per season, and upwards of 20 TDs a year. If the Bengals want to win today they will need to be led by Al Coble. Last week the Packers showed some real weaknesses early in the game against the pass. The Bengals are hoping that they will be able to find a similar advantage.

“Al, Tanya Lewis here from CBS Sports, could you tell us please if there is any truth to the rumor that you plan to retire if you win this game?”
“Right now, Ms. Lewis, I am just focused on winning this game. It is hard work getting to the Super Bowl and you don’t want to get here and get distracted by other matters that take your mind an concentration off o the game”
“To what do you attribute your great success over the past decade?”
“Well first I have been blessed with a God given talent, and I do that God for that every time I step onto the field. But you know, a lot of people are blessed with talent, but they never discover what they could have done with that talent. I need to thank my Daddy raising me to respect hard work. I also need to thank my beautiful bride. During that first year that I was in the league it was so frustrating sitting on the bench, and before we were ever married there she was encouraging me and helping me get through that struggle.”
“For all intents and purposes, you are the best player in this generation, how does it feel to be the best?”
“I am always hearing that I am the best player in the league, but I just don’t understand how anyone can say that. How do you compare a running back with a left tackle, or a defensive back, or a quarterback? I guess you could say that I am the best running back, though you might get some strong arguments from Marty Gage fans, but you can’t compare me to the other positions.”
“You bring up Marty Gage, the two of you came out of the same draft class, and there was a lot of speculation as to who was the better RB. Even today there is Questions as to who has had the better career. You are headed to your 6th super bowl, Marty’s been to 5. Marty has won 4 Super Bowls, you have just 2. You have 230 TDs, 16,500 rushing yards and 5000 receiving yards. Marty has the all time record for most rushing yards, and the most 2000 yard seasons. Marty has a much higher yards per carry average. You have 5 MVPs, Marty has 3 (assuming he wins this year as everyone predicts). Who has been the better RB?”
“It is an interesting question, and you know good and well that I can’t answer that. The problem is that we have completely different styles of play. Marty is this spectacular RB who consistently picks up huge chunks of yards on the ground. I on the other hand have multiple threats, that, while not as good as Marty at running, throw off the defense because they are never sure what to expect from me. Certainly over the past 5 seasons Marty has been superior to me. What also hurts it that during Marty’s first 3 seasons with the Colts Indy just didn’t give him the ball as much as they could have. He lost about 100 carries each year on that, but it is hard to argue with success, they went to three Super Bowls those years.”
“How do you respond to comments like those of RB Horace Samuel who says ‘Coble is a washed up has been, he needs to retire and let the young guys have the league’?”
“I don’t. Horace is a young kid with an abundance of talent. You will continue to see him succeed and as he grow older, he will grow wiser and learn to hold there tongue. Basically, comments like that are made by cocky kids and that is fine. Kids love to trash talk and it gets them pumped up for the game. But we will just have to see how he does on the field.
“Well thanks for taking the time for this interview. For CBS Sports, this is Tanya Lewis”

[stkelly52]

Al Coble RB Cincinnati 11-5 @ Huntsville 14-3
When it is time for the Super Bowl, everyone wants to see a close exciting game. We got that this week. The Bengals starting QB is hurt, and they will instead have to turn to an 11 year journeyman Bart Phillips. Phillips was undrafted and has bounced around for his whole career, but he has never started an NFL game.
The Bengals were able to stop the #1 offence on their first drive of the game, and were then successfully able to move the ball 63 yards into the end zone. Coble finished that one off with a 7 yard TD run to give the Bengals the 7-0 lead.

However Huntsville was able to return the favor with an 62 yard drive to tie the score at 7-0.

The Bengals again put together a beautiful drive that took all but the final second off of the 1st quarter clock. They moved the ball 88 yards on 11 plays to regain the lead, 14-7 The score was Phillip’s first every TD pass. The Bengals offence is looking unstoppable.

The Packers were again forced to punt after converting just 1 first down, but the Pack defense finally stepped up and stopped the Bengals and forced them to punt.. They traded a few punts until the final 6 minutes for the half. The Packers took control of the ball at their own 7 and were able to march the ball down to inside the 5, but they took almost all of the time off of the clock, and had to settle for a 20 yard field goal. (Interestingly, the drive is listed as a 102 yard drive, I don’t get it) 14-10 Cincinnati

As the game went into the half, everyone was stunning that the Bengals were doing such a wonderful job shutting down the best offence in the game.
In the second half Phillips tosses another TD on Cincy’s first drive. 21-10 Bengals.

But the Pack wasn’t going to sit around and take losing lightly. They marched right down the field and scored, needing just 5 plays to do it.. 21-17

QB Phillips continued to throw the ball well, coupled with some key third down runs by Coble, the Bengals again extended their lead to 11. 28-17

The game moved into the fourth quarter as the Packers monster offence moved the ball at will against the Bengals. A 2 point conversion cut the lead to just 3. 28-25.

Suddenly the two defenses stepped up and forced a few punts, 3 for the Bengals and 2 for the Pack. But then the Packers took control of the ball knowing that it was now or never. 80 yards from victory, they could smell the championship glory. The drive began. 5 yards here, another 10, 3 yards occasionally. After 11 plays it was clear that the Packers were not going to be able to score the winning TD. Facing fourth down with 43 second remaining they lined up for the 54 yard kick. Their rookie kicker’s longest had been 46. Could he make the kick to send the Super Bowl into OT? The ball fell just shy of the cross bar. NO GOOD.

But the Bengals still needed to kill the clock, and the Packers had all of their timeouts. On 3 plays they were only able to pick up 3 yards and they had left 12 seconds left on the clock.

The Packers had time for one last play. All the Bengals needed to do was knock down the hail mary. He goes back to pass, evades the rush, pulls back and lets the pass go. He’s got a man who has been left open. How did this happen!?!! He’s at the 30, the 20, the 15 the…he’s grabbed from behind and pulled down at the 8 yard line, and the clock expires. The Bengals win. What an exciting conclusion to a great Super Bowl. QB Phillips is named MVP in what may end up being the only game he starts in his career.
Al Coble also had a solid game. He had several key 3rd down conversions that kept 3 different scoring drives alive. His game stats are: 19 carries for 130 yards and 1 TD, 5 receptions for 49 yards.

The Bengals pull off their second big upset of the post season to win the Super Bowl. They had to beat the two highest rated teams in the league to do so, so there is no doubt that they are the NFL Champions.