Week 30 Summary: Going into this week's game, I was worried. We only had 11 yeses on the Evite and it was Draft Weekend - plus it rained hard Friday night. Then I got to the field and found they'd aerated it and the rain had filled in all the holes. Fortunately the freshman field was actually in pretty good shape. No lines, but plenty of grass to keep us from turning it into a mudpit. Not only that but we got 7 on 7. As to the game itself, if you take out Alex, it was pretty close. But Alex had 4 drive stopping Picks (2 returned for touchdowns and the other 2 very close to the endzone) and 4 or 5 sacks (I can't remember which). Basically, we crowned him MVP before we'd even had our first water break.

Week 31 Preview: Likely a bit warmer this week but hopefully we'll get another good turnout. We've only got a month or so left before the off-season so it's time to make it count.

Link of the Week: http://videosift.com/story.php?id=1983

Week 29 Summary - Week 29 was a bit of a good news/bad news game. The good news was that we had 7 on 7 despite only having 11 on RSVPing yes and despite 2 of those 11 not showing up. The bad news was that it was humid as hell which killed me and Matt wasn't recovered from a 72 mile bike trip a week earlier. So Yellow was hurting (along with my wrist). The game started pretty close and was 2-2 when Chenault had to leave Red and Jesse arrived to take his place. Then Red pulled away - ultimately winning 7-2 or 7-3 depending one the final call which I never quite got. Mike Valdez had a career day with three really big catches - all of them worth applauding. Josh also had a big game but that's not surprising since he brought his own fans. I think I need an odd number of players next week so I can sit out and rest occassionally. The heat is killing me and with my wrist problem, I can't rest up on the offensive line like I normally can : )

Week 30 Preview - Last week of April. Should be a lot like Week 29 in terms of weather. Hopefully not though. I may bring oxygen.

Link of the Week - http://videosift.com/story.php?id=1250

Week 28 Game Summary - Well this week was a little bit disappointing. Only 5 on 5. But we picked up another new player and the reason it was such a small game was the holiday, not injuries or lack of interest. So I'm sure next week will a more normal-sized game. Now if I told you that Nick was the only regular QB we had playing, and the other team used 3 different QBs, you'd probably guess that Nick's team would win, right? There's an expression that defense wins championships. In this case, I think defense lost the game because our's didn't get it done. I managed to let Josh get wide open on the first two drives when I got screwed up on the "stick or switch" question on one play and when I got tangled up with Dan (also on my team). That put us down 2-0 and we never recovered - finishing 7-4 . Still it was a fun game.

Week 29 Preview - Matt back from Egypt, everyone else back from visiting with families, and an offensive line back in our game.

Link of the Week - http://videosift.com/story.php?id=1172

Week 27 Summary: Tight game this week. We had a couple of lead changes which are nice. Some big plays too. I think we made 8 on 8 for a while but then dropped to 7 on 7. These smaller games we've had the past couple weeks have been really good. Still looking forward to a bigger game since its going to be getting hotter.

Week 28 Preview: Think we may be having a few more new guys this week. Spoke to someone last week who said he was going to try to make it out with a couple guys this week.


Link of the week: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/lego/lego-goes-counterstrike-165854.php

Week 26 Game Summary: Its funny. We've had such big games over the last few weeks and they'd been so good that I had developed a distaste for small games. 2-man lines generally don't protect the QB very well which has typically made 6 on 6 games less enjoyable. But just when you think you've got it pegged, we have a game like last Saturday. 6 on 6 and just a ton of fun. High scoring but not because of bad defense. There were picks, punts, and stops. But some of those offensive plays were amazing. Brian and Nick each had a beautiful pass that dropped perfectly into their receivers hands in stride where no one but the receivers could get them.

Week 27 Preview: I guess it doesn't matter. Big game, small game. It's all good. See you there.

Link of the Week: http://www.sillywalksgenerator.com/

Week 25 Summary - Well I guess you can have nice weather in March in Austin. Dry, light breeze, soft but not mushy field - if it had only been overcast (Yellow lost several great throws in the sun) and cooler (you know me, I like highs below 55 for game play) it would have been perfect. Well my nit picks aside, we did have a good game. Got up to 10 on 10 for a while and had quite a game. Unfortunately Yellow didn't score except for 2 safeties, but it was still a good game. I define a good game where nearly everyone has at least one great play and I think that this game had that. Even plays that ended with drops (like the aforementioned sun blinding passes) were great when you consider the throws. It doesn't have to be a touchdown to be great - sometimes is a sack or a key block - a defensed pass or fighting for a catch - the kind of play when even members of the other team congratulate you.

Week 26 Preview - Games like the last week really make me hungry to play again. I simply can't wait until Saturday and hate that its still 5 days away (well 4 by the time most of you will read this in the Evite). See you Saturday.

Link of the Week WARNING THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK - http://gprime.net/video/iwanttopoopbackandforth/

Week 24 Summary: A wet game. 6 on 6 with a final score of 3-1 Red over Yellow. One of the few decent wet games we've had. Lots of picks from slippery balls but a couple of them were due to solid defense. There were also a couple of nice running plays.

Week 25 Preview: Wouldn't it be great if it was dry and cool and maybe a little overcast? Little much to ask in March in Austin, I guess.


Link of the week: http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1142502611/Cops_and_Star_Wars_Parody

Week 23 Summary - A HUGE game. 11 on 11 with a total of 5 extra players subbing in. We played with a full width field and had an awesome game. I can't remember the final score but I think there was a .5 or 1.5 point margin - Red over Yellow.

Week 24 Preview - Probably not quite as many guys this week but hopefully we'll get 9 on 9.

Week 22 Summary: Okay this was an odd week. In Week 21, it was raining and yet we had 9 on 9. So flash forward one week to Week 22. It warm, sunny, light wind and we get 7 on 7. What happened?

Well, despite the low turnout we still had a good game and it marked the long awaited return of Nick. It was quite game. The game included quite a few trick plays, in addition to the now standard Hook and Ladder to a lineman that Yellow ran several times, Red ran a reverse that somehow managed to come up with a nice gain. A lot of nice defense at times. Couple picks per side. The score was 1.5 to 0 for quite a while, Yellow over Red. Then it was 3.5 to 1 Yellow over Red. Then Red found the endzone and pulled together 4 scores to end it 5 to 3.5.

Week 23 Preview: Who can tell? I'm surprised by the low turnout in Week 22 but hopefully that was an abberation.

Week 21 Summary: Well it was a bit of an odd week. It was raining pretty good when we started and the school asked us to leave because they were concerned we would tear up the fields. Good news is that they said it was only when it was raining that they were worried.

So we ended up moving up to Round Rock HS and had a better game there. It stopped raining and the field was in better shape. We had nine on nine for 2/3rds of the time and decided to try allowing the QB to run in really big games like that. It worked great. Both teams experimented with it but it didn't turn out to be the game killer that it would be in small games. So I've updated the rules to allow the QB to run when we are in 9 on 9 games or bigger.

Week 22 Preview: We may have a problem on rainy weekends. The other field is fine for a backup but it is a pain in the ass to switch fields so we'll need to see how this plays out. Everyone should write down my cell phone number from the Evite in case there is an issue. I don't anticipate one next week but you never know.

Week 20 Summary: Well my prediction for this week didn't come true. We had 15 people on the Evite and 15 showed up (of course, some of those who showed had not RSVP'd and some who did RSVP did not show up so . . .) In any case, it was the coldest game in a couple years. I doubt it got above 37 the whole game. Fortunately, it was dry.

So we had the smallest game in weeks - 7 on 7 which was a pretty good game and then 6 on 6 when a couple people had to leave early (which was less fun). Hopefully this week will pick up a bit.

Week 21 Preview: Who can say?

Week 19 Summary: We're starting to get much better at the big games. We had 10 on 10 again this week and it was another really good one. I think the final score was 2 or 3 to 1, Red over Yellow. I saw some new plays that took advantage of the larger game (5 eligibles). Unfortunately the wind was really an extra defender this week no matter whether the offense was playing with or against the wind. So that made it hard to take advantage of the new play ideas. Perhaps next week.

Week 20 Preview: Lets see, I'm guessing 10 - 12 people will RSVP as yes and then 20-24 will show up.

Week 18 Summary: Super Bowl weekend, Super Game. 11 on 11 and it actually worked. It was a no-score game until the last 30 minutes but it wasn't "all-defense" or "no offense". Each team was able to move the ball, its just that as the field got smaller, defense had less to cover so "more defenders per square foot," essentially. Also each team did a good job substituting players to play on the line so everyone got the chance to be a receiver. There were picks on both teams, some very nice catches, and running plays of 8 yards were greeted with real enthusiasm (there were so few).

Week 19 Preview: Hard to know what to expect. Often when we have a huge game like this, we end up having a let down week in follow-up. I hope not, this we really a great game.

Week 17 Summary - A classic - its raining hard and we have 9 on 9 - that's dedication (or insanity . . . hard to tell). In any case, it was our 2nd wettest games ever (we had a game about 7 years ago when it poured hard the entire game). Still, it was mighty wet - even after it stopped raining. Final score of 3 to 2 Yellow over Red.

Couple things came up that I wanted to talk about. First, for the past few months Leo's teams have been running a hook and ladder play once or twice a game that involves Leo throwing to a receiver on the line and then coming behind for a pitch. After it was run twice in a row this week, a question was asked as to whether or not that was pushing the "QB can't run rule." This is a good question but I don't think that it does. This play is not like having a player hand the ball to the "real QB" so he could run or throw on every play (which a couple of guys tried doing last year) for two reasons: 1) because it involves a forward pass and a pitch back. The QB doesn't have the option to throw or run. He threw and then took the pitch to run. We do hook and ladder plays to other players, including linemen (who are otherwise ineligble to advance the ball) 2) The pass could be dropped by the WR or intercepted by a really alert defender OR the WR could be flagged before the pitch OR the pitch could be dropped or intercepted by a really alert defender. So there is a higher element of risk in this play than in simply handing the ball to a stud Vince Young style runner/QB. I think the risk of little to no gain makes it more legitimate. So running it once or twice a week doesn't seem unreasonable any more than running half-back options or running Hook and Ladders to a lineman once or twice a week. They are fun plays and as long as they are not the staple of the offense, I don't see them violating the spirit of the rules by having otherwise ineligible players running the ball. Thoughts?

Another thing I needed to do was apologize for getting pissed off when I ran up the middle on a draw and Matt tackled me. It was a totally legitimate play. I was running up the middle, he got in the way and grabbed me to stop me, I went down. It’s just I hit a puddle face first and the cold water gave me a jolt so I reacted without thinking. I was wrong to complain about it.

Finally, I am really sorry about my forecast. It really looked like the rain was going to pass by 9:15 or so. And it did pass . . . only it was more like 10:30 before it did.

BTW - Kudos to Leo and Ray for struggling through the worst throwing weather in years.

Week 18 Preview - Weather.com shows a sunny day for Saturday with Wednesday being the only day for the rest of the week with a chance of rain so hopefully the field will have dried out.

Week 16 Summary - What a wild week this was. Another very large game of 10 on 10 whose highlights was probably turnovers. Two in particular. After solid pressure and contact with the Yellow QB's forearm, Red intercepts the ball. On the run back someone (not sure who) yells "pitch, pitch!" and Red pitches it straight to Yellow. Bizarre play. Only seen it one other time and that was a couple years ago. So flash forward a couple plays later on Yellow's possession. Yellow has a completion and is running up the field when once again the call "pitch, pitch!" comes out and Yellow pitches the ball to Red. Unreal. Good game though.

I think we need to discuss the size issue soon. If we end up with 24 players or so in one week, we probably will need to split into two games. Any time you have more linemen than eligible backs/receivers people spend more time on the line than as eligibles. I enjoy playing the line but when it becomes more than half the time, that's getting a bit much so just planting the seed that we might need to look at splitting occasionally.

Week 17 Preview - Probably another very big week. We've been picking up new players big time lately and more new ones are expected to everyone bring nametags.

Week 15 Summary - Large game. Seriously large. We had 19 and played 9 on 9 with a substitute. This was with 6 new guys and 3 who were making their 2nd appearance. So its great to have gotten game strength back up where it needs to be. We may actually have enough people one of these weeks to have to play on two fields. I'm going to grab some more cones and belts to be sure we have enough. In any case, Week 15 was a pretty good game. Final score was like 4.5 to 2 Yellow over Red or something close to that. The only performance I'm going to highlight this week was Ray's amazing defense. He was in on probably more than half the flag grabs - simply flying all over the field. He was particularly devestating against the run.

Week 16 Preview - An on-time start. Last week we had 16 by 9:15 so everyone had time to warm up and we got right into the game.

Week 14 Summary - Another great week. We got up to 8 on 8 and what started out as a skunking (6.5 to 1 at one point) ended up much closer. I don't remember the final score but I think it was 6.5 to 5. It was definitely much closer. Oh, and Jason wanted me to mention his touchdowns - he had one straight and then pitched to Brandon on a Hook and Ladder who then lateraled back on the 1 foot line so Jason could score. Had 4 new guys out this week and Dan came back so it looks like we have a new regular.

Week 15 Preview - We've had a strong start to the spring season so I can only hope that we keep it going this week.

Week 13 Game Summary - We had 7 on 7 and a hell of a game. Possibly the best this year. We had punts, picks, sacks, turnovers on downs, running, catching, and, since this game marked Brian Dainton's return as a QB, Hooks and Ladders. All we were missing was a safety. Final score 3-3 with scores on both team's last possessions. Great game. Also, we picked up 2 new players last week and saw Paul for the first time since last year.

Week 14 Preview - More of the same? Love to have the new guys keep coming back and to have more games like last week's.

Week 11 Summary - 5 on 5 that ended up 0-0. At least we were moving the ball around and it wasn't just a bunch of 3 and outs. It was probably the most fun 0-0 game I've played in.

Week 12 Summary - No game. We only had 4 on the Evite so I cancelled it.

Week 13 Preview - Its the last game of the calendar year (not of the season : ) and most of the people who were unavailable last week indicated that they'd be around this week so hopefully we'll have a great game.

Week 10 Game Summary -
Well we only had 11 and Matt Day had to leave at 10:30 so it was a bit of a mixed bag. None of our usual quarterbacks were out but we found that the new Leo (ironically a friend of Leo's) and Brad who came out for the first time in week 9. Now we can't have two Leos so I'm thinking we should call New Leo "Neo" or if he doesn't want to sit with a vacant look on his face, "NeLo".

In any case, we found an interesting 11 person variant where we played 6 on 5 with an all time QB and a 2 man line; much more fun than 5 on 6 with an extra defender. We played that until Matt had to leave at 10:30 at which point we converted to 5 on 5. Yellow won 5 to 4 by stopping Red on the final drive.

Week 11 Preview -
Not sure what to say other than lets get folks out again. Been great to see all the new faces over the last couple weeks. If any of you have some friends who would like to play, we still need to pick up some more regulars so go ahead and invite them on the Evite.