Week 10 Summary: Another lopsided score that should've been closer. Yellow definitely played better and likely would have won the game anyway but Red's miscues simply did them in. Red started poorly with lousy protection and turned the ball over twice to Jason Brecht. By the time the protection improved, Red found other ways to lose despite getting open regularly. Dropped passes were a favorite (did anyone not drop at least one?) but when we weren't dropping them, the QB was misfiring. It was just an ugly game for Red. I think Yellow ended up with like 5 picks.

Yellow won 5-2 but two plays could have made it 4-3. The first was horrible Yellow pass (came in like a punt) that I should have picked but which I bounced off my knee right into Zieser's hands and which he took in for a score. The second was a beautiful long pass that Kris put right into Shay's hands in stride in the endzone that he caught and then lost when his feet got caught up. So take one score away from Yellow and give Red one and you get 4-3. But would've/could've/should've doesn't mean much.

I think I need to talk about the origin of the MVP award in our game. In 11+ years we almost never talked about such things. Then last year, Alex came out and had a career day. He had 4 picks, (2 returned for touchdowns), a couple of sacks, and I think he had an offensive touchdown as well. It was without question, the most dominating performance we'd seen by a player in years. Now flashforward to this year. While this year's MVP winners have had nice games, we haven't yet had one quite as dominating as Alex's last year. That's the standard to shoot for guys.

This week's candidates were Cain, who did a terrific job QBing for Red and who played some nice defense, Brecht who had the 2 aforementioned picks and nearly had a long catch and run TD (called back by an offensive pass interference call), and Zieser who had 2 picks (or was it three) and made the catch of the season when he grabbed the tipped/missed pick that I made and took it in for the TD. That play put Zieser over the top this week. He caught it while running straight at me with the expectation of getting a flag since I should have caught the ball and then it suddenly was bouncing low and fast right at him. He was about 6 feet away when I bounced it. It was really a hell of a catch and run. I had nightmares about it Saturday night.

Week 11 Preview: Well we had 7 on 7 on a holiday weekend so lets hope that bodes well for the next several weeks. I know that people have familial obligations and need to spend money to keep retailers in business but remember, stores are open in the afternoon and absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Link of the Week: http://b2.is/?sida=tengill&id=198446

Week 9 Summary - Yellow got untracked putting in a solid effort and winning 5 to 3.5. In fairness to Red, the game was actually closer than the score would suggest. Two of Yellows scores occurred on huge 1 play drives. The first was a deep, deep pass thrown into double coverage that Jeremy pulled down by reaching over the defenders from behind them to snag it. The second was a run up the middle that some how ended up going outside (despite a huge hole opening up in the middle) and then down the field 65 yards for the TD - welcome back Mark.

One of the more exciting aspects of the game was watching Cain and Jeremy dualing through the game. Each made spectacular plays but Jeremy came out ahead and it this week's MVP on the strength of a 2 TD, 2 pick (one for a TD), and several catch and batted balls performance.

Week 10 Preview - Week 10's game falls on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, we are having a game. What is Thanksgiving without football? Nothing to give much thanks for, that's for sure. So unless your holiday plans involve a flight, I expect you out there.

Link of the Week - http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Week 8 Game Summary: Sadly another skunking. 6-1 Red over Yellow and it wasn't that close because Yellow only had 3 or 4 first downs all game (one was a really long touchdown that passed 2 first down cones and thus really weren't first downs per se). Kudos to Red who really stepped up and played a great game.

Thinking about this game, I think it was the week of the newbie. Chi had several sacks (two in a row), some nice receptions and put good pressure on Red's QB which forced the QB into other the other rushers at times. John (playing for his first time) had a number of clutch catches - they were either tough, in coverage, or importantly timed (like for 1st downs) and scored more than once I believe. But then Ty really opened it up. He had a number of running plays that showcased his speed and ability to change direction and it turns out he's a terror on the pass rush for the same reasons - Red ocassionally would only rush him and he'd get pressure on Yellow.

The MVP was really a tough one and because pretty much everyone on Red had a very good game. I'm going to have to award a tie this week for the first time. Tie being the operative word because Ty is one of the winners. When you're 5 foot nothing, a hundred and nothing and still have a game like that, its a big deal - we put Leo on him, that's how much we respected his running. The other winner is Brian. What did he do? Well aside from drawing up play after play that worked and getting his team to a 5 point win, he simply picked Yellow apart. This after only playing 2 series at QB all year and hardly playing QB at all last year. My congrats to the winners. As I mentioned, this was a tough week for making a selection. John was a strong candidate too. I'm thinking about bringing out a tiny voice recorder so I can take notes.

Week 9 Preview: Yellow gets untracked. 'Nuff said.

Link of the Week: http://www.videosift.com/story.php?id=17334

Week 7 Summary - A great game. One of the best of the season - close but great play on both teams. Final score was 4-3 Red over Yellow but Yellow was in it right up until the end. There were a number of players who could have been named MVP. Barry made his first appearance of the year and had a number of defensed passes (at least one of which would have been a TD), good coverage in general and a descent offensive performance for Red as well. Jimmy also making his season debut and had two nifty TD catches but had to leave after about 40 minutes. Had he stuck around, he might well have gotten the award (given the way he was playing).

On Yellow, Travis had all three of of the team's TDs. One was a nifty 15 yard run up the middle and another was a huge 60 yarder that involved an extra 25 yards of running across the field and then a neat shift at the end that caused the final defenders to miss him. It was a very, very strong performance. While a player on the losing team can be MVP, in this case I think that the award needs to go to another player.

Nick had one of his best games in a very long time. Its not that he's been playing badly, its that this week he really was on the money. He was getting rid of the ball quickly and accurately, short, long, medium - it didn't matter. His two TDs to Jimmy were beautiful touch passes placed perfectly.

Week 8 Preview - The weather has finally changed and Fall has arrived. Its a bit early to get a forecast but so far it looks like we'll have cool, dry weather again. More importantly, I believe Week 8 will be our first week on the real fields. McNeil's last game is this week and they will not be in the playoffs so we should be clear to use the full-sized practice field. I'm thinking the running game should open up a bit with a wider field. The little field we have to use early in the year is too small to allow an effective running game for the number players we have.

Link of the Week - http://www.videosift.com/story.php?id=17334