WEEK 1
Maybe it was just me, but lacing up the cleats and pulling on the football jersey
somehow made me feel ...ummm... faster and stronger, but I might have set the bar
pretty low after a relatively inactive off season. It was great football weather
to kick off the GEFNFL season, although the dew was getting pretty heavy on the
grass by the time we called for last touchdown around 8:45. Long game. We had a
great turn out of 14 players, for 7 on 7, all veteran players. Fan count of 4,
who were really playing tennis, and 2 drive by honkings.
Red started off strong on defense, with a couple quick Dubberstein interceptions.
However, Blue dominated most of the game, as Red seemed unable to punch it in,
particularly whenever they were in the red zone. Blue methodically drove down and
scored, stopped only by Red's 6 interceptions. Blue was in command all of the game
and finished it with a rather decisive 6 to 3 score.
Both teams did a pretty good job of spreading the ball around. However, three stat
benchmarks for single game performances this season are already set. Dale Hauser
with 3 TD passes thrown. Andy Saugstad with three INTs (despite Dave Dubberstein's
2 INTs in a row on his first two defensive plays). And, Tracy Brown's dominating
2 Sack performance, as the designated rusher on 2 dropped hikes. These marks are
likely to stand for a while.
Play of the Day: Tom and I discussed this at length, at the bar after the game without
much of a decision. Rich Kelnhofer's interception that was returned 30 yards, could
have made it, if it had gone another 15 yards. Wayne Schott's 49 yard return of an
INT at the 50 would have got it, if it had gone another foot. Dave Dubberstein's 50
yard deep post catch could have got it, if the grass hadn't been so slippery, and it
dropped him at the 2 yard line. He bounced back up in time to get tagged short of the
TD. Maybe, Tyler Jones' nifty run after a catch in heavy traffic avoiding several Red
jerseys for 30+ yards or so, could have been it, but the lineman rushing the quarterback
caught him. Or, possibly, Todd Polczyski's catch of the game ending TD, despite the
fist that tried to punch it out of his hands in, the end zone, but it was a fairly
short pass. I'm sure there are other nominations, but I'll leave it as undecided.
Stat Leaders: Dale Hauser with 3 Passing TD, and Todd Polczyski with 1 Passing TD, and
2 Receiving TDs. (Andy had more marks on the stat-sheet, but 3 were INTs and that doesn't
put any points on the score board. TDs count for more, but Andy still gets a mention here.)
Official Bartender 2006: Claudia! The first 2 time winner, is once again the GEFNFL
Official Bartender by unanimous voting of all players present. She even cooked us the
Deluxe pizza we ordered last year, much to the disappointment of the other Mickey G's
patrons, that didn't get any.
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
BROWN, TRACY 1 2
HAUSER, DALE 3
JONES, TYLER 1 1
KELNHOFER, RICH 1 1 1
KIECKHAFER, JAY 1
SWEINBERG, TOM 1 1 1
POLCZYSKI, TODD 1 2
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 1 2
DUBBERSTEIN, STEVE
PANELLI, MATT 1
AUGSTAD, ANDY 1 3
SCHOTT, WAYNE 1 1
SIMA, GARY 1 1
WESTCOT, ETHAN
WEEK 2
Despite early morning and late evening rains, it turned out to be great football
weather with the field only slightly damp. We only had 11 players this week, so
we played 5 on 6, with Red rotating the extra man. Fan count was nil, but there
were some families were doing an event with Prairie School competing for our parking
spots.
This game saw the historic return of Kyle Hecker (Bill Ray Jr.'s old buddy) to the
Player's Ranks, after an 8 year contract dispute over his salary. (He last played
in the TLP challenge game in Week 10 of 1998, with 3 TD receptions and 2 INTs) He
settled for doubling his signing bonus (of $0), doubling his base salary (of $0) and
agreeing to pay the Game Fee of $5 per game (up from $3, when he last played in 1998).
Kyle showed he can still play in this league, catching 2 nice TDs over his shoulders,
even if it took longer to catch his breath than it used to. All those comparisons
to Terrell Owens were greatly exaggerated. He didn't even practice a Touchdown Dance
prior to the playing!
Blue jumped out to a 4 to 1 lead on Red taking advantage of a slight edge in speed.
Red was unwilling to let the game slip out of reach, fought it back to a 4 to 4 tie,
before we called for last touchdown. The final TD was a Dale Hauser to Kyle Hecker
pass from about 30 yards out.
Play of the Day: With 5 on 5, (or anything less than that) there is very little room
for miscommunications. On one play, during Red's comeback, Blue had worked out a rushing
scheme that covered the center, who is eligible to catch a pass, and provided a man to
rush the QB from the side. Unfortunately the 3 remaining defensive backs were unaware
of the arrangement and thought Dave Dubberstein was man to man on Ethan Westcot. So
even though Dave rushed unblocked (after the 3 count), Red's QB, Tracy Brown immediately
read the defensive error that left Ethan all alone. He exploited it with a quick throw
out on the right flat to Ethan for about a 50 yard unchallenged touchdown.
Stat Leaders: Dale Hauser with 3 Passing TD, 1 Receiving TD and a Sack.
Official Bartender 2006: Claudia was somewhat humbled by winning her second time as
the GEFNFL Official Bartender. We had to assure her that it was decided by an overwhelming
majority of players.
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 1 1 2
DUBBERSTEIN, STEVE
HAUSER, DALE 3 1 1
HECKER, KYLE 2
SCHOTT, WAYNE 1 1
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
BROWN, TRACY 2 1
RHODE, DAN 1 1
KELNHOFER, RICH 1
KIECKHAFER, JAY
SWEINBERG, TOM 2
WESTCOT, ETHAN 1 1
WEEK 3
We had 12 players this week, for a 6 on 6 game. The Operation Football helicopter
missed us completely in favor of hovering over the Waukesha West football game,
probably a good idea. Fan count was nil, again.
Waukesha Park & Rec. called to remind us a few things. They don't want us to use the
field when it's too wet, because we aren't the primary users, not a problem so far.
To make sure we turn off the lights, because of the "The Incident" last year, we are
still okay. And, that the next payment for the field and lights is due. I think we
have it all under control.
Blue scored on their first play, which was the Play of the Day. Despite the great
start, Blue then proceeded to watch Red score 7 unanswered touchdowns. Everyone on
the field put out a lot of great effort but Blue couldn't catch a break (and for several
long stretches couldn't catch a ball.) Three Blue quarterbacks in a row failed to
complete a pass until the second pass was finally caught, setting Blues pass completion
percentage at something well below 20%. Red's consistency in moving the ball deserves
a commendation. The final TD was a Dale Hauser to Ethan Westcot pass from about 5-10
yards out, for a final score of 7 to 1.
Maybe, I have to do something different when dividing the teams, perhaps I need to
separate the "Guardians of Data - Power House Duo" from Norlight? Actually when I
reviewed the sides, it didn't look like the sides were all that uneven. I'd probably
do it, close to the same way, again.
Play of the Day: As I said, it was on the first play of the game. Blue set up a
screen about 10 yards short of the mid-field marker. Tyler Jones threw a quick screen
to left side to Andy Saugstad. The downfield blocking was set up well, forming a wall
that took Andy to the right crossing the field at speeds only Andy reach. He weaved
though the remaining players, scoring on the far right side of the endzone. It was a
thing of beauty.
Stat Leaders: Ethan Westcot with 1 Passing TD, 2 Receiving TD and 2 INTs.
GEFNFL Official Bartender 2006: Sadly, Claudia will not be present to greet the GEFNFL
players for the Week 4 post-game festivities. She needs to do a personal appearance
in Chicago next week. As the Official Bartender of the GEFNFL, her work is never done...
Speaking engagements, autograph signings, personal appearances, it just never ends.
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
BROWN, TRACY 1 1
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 1 2
HAUSER, DALE 1 1 2
KELNHOFER, RICH 1
SWEINBERG, TOM 2 1 1
WESTCOT, ETHAN 1 2 2
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
JONES, TYLER 1 2
KIECKHAFER, JAY
POLCZYNSKI, TODD
RHODE, DAN
SAUGSTAD, ANDY 1 1
SCHOTT, WAYNE
WEEK 4
I was cringing at the possibility, of having only 6 players, on such a great night
for football. But instead, we had a great turn out, of 12 players this week, for a
6 on 6 game, initially. We even had to shoo-off the "Farm Team" of about 20 teenagers
from our field. (I was initially thinking I might try to recruit some of them.) The
Fan count was 2 (not counting the Farm Team) as Todd Polcynski's family (well, his
wife & god-child) checked in to make sure he was really playing football on Friday
nights.
We didn't hear much from the "Farm Team" while they played in the adjacent field.
Except when someone tagged one of the girls, and a guy would yell, "Don't touch my
girlfriend!" It was much funnier, when we started yelling the same thing.
I can take some solace in the fact that I didn't really divide the teams up this week.
The "Guardians of Data" brought a complement of 5 players. Since the Norlight Guys
wanted to play together, I just added Dale Hauser (Two time, 2006 Stat Leader, after
only 3 games) to their team. Essentially Red was the Norlight guys plus one non-Norlight
guy, and Blue was the GE Guys plus one non-GE guy. (Apparently there is no need to
separate that "Norlight Power House Duo")
With 12 guys on the field it wasn't going to be the big scoring night that I expected.
TDs were hard to come by with only 6 scored all night. Blue was having much better
success at it, than Red. Despite several good defensive stands by Red, Blue managed
to get 4 TDs before losing Tom Sweinberg to injury. Red in the mean time, seemed to
be struggling with timing problems. Several great passes went unnoticed by the intended
receivers and a few that were just plain dropped. Nothing, that more playing time
wouldn't fix, and as we often say, "That's what happens when you miss training camp."
Dorian McFarlane was the first Norlight guy to score, but it didn't happen until he
crossed over to the Blue team to cover Blue's loss of Tom Sweinberg(injury) & Matt
Panelli (who left early). Red did score the final TD, preventing a shut-out. Blue had
the lead at the gun with a final score of 5 to 1.
Play of the Day: I'm having a hard time with this category this year. We are starting
to make scoring TDs look sort of pedestrian, with no outstanding plays, even though I
know how hard it can be. For example, there was the Tyler Jones to the center (Wayne
Schott) slant out pass from about the 20 yardline that was so open at the 10 yardline,
that it was a "Walk-in-TD". But if you want a tough catch, you would have to go with
the game ending, Tracy Brown to Dale Hauser pass from about 5-10 yards out. Dale was
laid out horizontal, about 2 feet off the ground, parallel to the back of the endzone,
catching it off the shoulder that was away from the QB!
Stat Leader: Tyler Jones with 2 Passing TD, 2 Receiving TD and Sack.
Injury Report: About the 3rd quarter, Tom Sweinberg went down, untouched from the QB
position, with a severely strained upper quad muscle, and actually completed the pass
to Todd Polczynski in the process. (No, Rich Kelnhofer didn't really "Break my quarterback.")
Tom has placed himself on Injured Reserve for at least 3-4 weeks. Therapy at Mickey G's
seemed to help.
GEFNFL Official Bartender 2006: Claudia was putting in her personal appearance in Chicago
this week, so the Official Bartender of the GEFNFL (who is on our Fan List) e-mailed us a
drink recipe:
Chocolate Lovers Martini recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz vodka
1 1/2 oz Bailey's(r) Irish cream
1 1/2 oz white creme de cacao
1 tbsp chocolate syrup
Directions:
Take a martini glass and squeeze in chocolate syrup. Mix all alcohol ingredients in a shaker
and pour into glass. Drop a Hershey's Kiss on top.
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
JONES, TYLER 2 2 1
PANELLI, MATT 1 1
POLCZYNSKI, TODD 1 1 1
SCHOTT, WAYNE 1 1
SWEINBERG, TOM
WESTCOT, ETHAN
MCFARLANE, DORIAN 1
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
BROOKS, RICK
BROWN, TRACY 1
HAUSER, DALE 1
KELNHOFER, RICH
MCFARLANE, DORIAN
NEUMANN, PAUL
WEEK 5 Rainout
WEEK 6
On Wednesday, I called the game ON with only 8 players, by Friday morning, I had 10,
and by game time we were up to 12. Not sure how it was cool, damp & warm all at the
same time, but it was. The shallow holes that our grounds keeper filled in last game,
seemed to have been dug out again. It looked like the field had been repainted with
fresh white lines, probably for the last time this year. The Fan count was 1, not
counting all the little ghosts & ghouls from Prairie School. That one fan happened
to be Tom Sweinberg who showed up in time for liquid refreshments.
Ahh, finally, a reasonable amount of scoring on both sides of the ball. (It would
have been even higher without the 9 interceptions.) After accounting for all the
people that wanted to be on the same teams (brothers, relatives & co-workers), using
all the past knowledge of everyone's stats and calculating in a rookie, Bill Zang,
I finally came up with some pretty even sides.
We started out with a couple of scores back and forth, as Red slowly started getting
ahead on the exchanges. Much of the game was played on Red's end of the field.
There was even serious talk about actually punting on 4th down as Red was trying to
change their field position. (It's been many years since anyone punted rather than
go for it on 4th down.) However critical interceptions made by Red and drives,
turned over on downs, by Blue, still gave Red the edge. As we approached 8:20 (and
we have used the lights longer than our contract states) Red was ahead by a score
of 5 to 3. This is where Blue's brilliant catch-up strategy was hatched. Calling
for last touchdown, as we typically end the game, Red knew that they had the lead
by 2 and had a sure win. This allowed Red to relax a little, not much, but enough
for Blue to quickly moved downfield and score. There was some grumblings from players
on both sides, that it was too quick, and they still wanted more playing time. Yes,
Red had fallen Blue's carefully laid trap! Blue's defense forced Red to turn it over
on downs and then turned around and scored the "second final TD". Ending the game
with a Red-Blue tie, final score, 5 to 5. (The conspiracy theory was compliments
of Dave Dubberstein.)
Play of the Day: I didn't have a good vantage point for the play where Andy Saugstad
caught the pass coming back between his Uncle Dan and the defender, then hooked around
to get into the end zone to score. I was sort of partial to Rich Kelnhofer's interception
at the 20 yard line, returned like a freight train from his left side of the field at
a diagonal to the far right side of the field, only a foot short of the goal line. Both
plays qualify.
Stat Leaders: Tyler Jones with 2 Passing TD, 1 Receiving TD and an INT. (He even
passed on a sure INT to get better field position.) And, Bill Zang, with 1 Passing TD,
2 Receiving TDs and an INT.
Injury Report: Tom Sweinberg is still out. With only 4 games left and deer season
coming up, odds are it's a season ending injury. At least his elbow still works and
can tip beers.
GEFNFL Official Bartender 2006: Claudia's return to the GEFNFL homefield was celebrated
in spectacular fashion at Mickey G's by the free performance of a local rock band. She
was so busy behind the bar, at her own homecoming, that we didn't get to speak to her
as much as usual...
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
BROWN, TRACY 2
JONES, TYLER 2 1 1
KELNHOFER, RICH 1 1 1
KIECKHAFER, JAY 1 2 1
SCHOTT, WAYNE 2 1
WESTCOT, ETHAN 2
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 2 1
DUBBERSTEIN, STEVE 1
PANELLI, MATT 1 1
RHODE, DAN 1
SAUGSTAD, ANDY 2 2
ZANG, BILL 1 2 1
WEEK 7
With a little struggle to get players, I called the game ON with only 8 players, by
late Friday morning. Unfortunatly, only 7 showed up, making for a version of 4 on 3.
The field was quite squishy, and especially muddy up the middle. Oddly enough, it
looked like the field had been repainted with fresh white lines, yet again. The Fan
count was 6, five of them were kids that climbed the Prairie School tennis court
fence to either watch the game or to see if, by some mishap they could get on
America's Funniest Home Videos. The other guy was walking his dog.
With only 7 players, choosing sides proved to be tricky. We resorted to the
simplistic approach of 3 man core teams, with Ryan August as a floater on offense
only. With the extra man on offense, it was passing only, so there was no rushing
and no blocking.
The 8th man was supposed to be Matt Panelli, but he didn't show. The 8th man turned
out to be the muddy center area of the field, which often dictated where pass patterns
would be going, where the snap was coming from and the offensive formations. Later
in the game it also determined which muscles were going to be sore. As Ethan pointed
out, it was all the smaller stablizer muscles, that were working harder as we tried to
stay on our feet, in the slick conditions. Which was something that Ryan August
didn't seem very concerned about doing. Ryan slide across the middle, underneath a
hot pass that almost took the surprised defender, Dave Dubberstein's head off. Ryan's
slide left a shinny landmark in the field. Ryan later caught a couple of them in the
mud to make up for the spectacular miss.
Red got off to a hot start and never relinguished the lead. Three receivers verses
three defenders often leaves much of the field open for big plays and little time for
the defense to react. If the first defender couldn't make the play, it was very tough
for a second defender chasing a different reciever to be much help. For example, Red
ran the Bananna Play, (Tip a hat to the play designer, Bill Ray, this is one almost
every GEFNFL player knows.) which once again worked for a TD. Blue wasn't going to
let Red just walk away with it, and managed to pace Red, TD for TD, for about half of
the game. The game ended with a Red on top, 8 to 4.
Play of the Day: A few nominations: Wayne Schott's one handed INT at the 50 yard line,
just a few inches off of the turf, or Ryan August's catch of Tracy Brown's bullet pass,
on a fast slant into the end zone. You pick'um.
Hit of the Day: Dave Dubberstein's collision with Tracy Brown. This cost Dave all the
air he had in his lungs, the ability to breath for about 15 seconds, and some
discomfort over the weekend.
Stat Leader: Todd thought 4 TDs would be enough. Wayne thought 4 TDs & and INT would
be enough. Ryan, playing only on offense all night, thought 5 TDs was enough, but
there are no INTs on offense. So it was no, no and nope. Dave Dubberstein took stat
leader with 2 Passing TDs, 3 receiving TDs and 1 INT!
Injury Report: Tom Sweinberg is still out, but is contemplating a comeback. I think
he is trying to channel Reggie White on Halloween.
GEFNFL Official Bartender 2006: Despite Claudia's day job in international marketing,
her night job as our official bartender, she has taken on yet another rewarding career
in crime fighting! As Batgirl, she fended off an unrulely bar patron with deadly
accuracy using a selzter hose, she did one "Super Hero Lap" around the bar, and
knocked Tom Sweinberg out for smoking a cigar in the no smoking section. (See the
picture after the stats.)
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
BROWN, TRACY 3
KELNHOFER, RICH 1
WESTCOT, ETHAN 3
AUGUST, RYAN 1 1
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 2 3 1
SCHOTT, WAYNE 2 2 1
POLCYNSKI, TODD 3 1
AUGUST, RYAN 1 2
WEEK 8
With 8 YES and 4 MAYBE votes, I ended up with 13 players. Making it 6 on 6 with a
Blue rotating the extra guy. The field had dried up, since last week. I think it
actually started out in freezing temperatures, and then slowly started to warm up.
The Fan count was limited whom ever was in the car, parked across the soccer field
that was starting up and shutting down most of the game. We can only imagine how many
were in the car or what they were really doing there.
The teams seemed to strike a pretty good balance this time. This game, saw the return
of David Southgate to the player ranks, his first as non-GE player, and maybe for the
only time this season. (Somebody missed snacktime this season…) Rich Kelnhofer didn't
make this one, and won't make the rest of the season because he is starting a new roll
as the "White Shadow" for his son's basketball team. (Basketball should never overlap
football season… but that is just my opinion.) Todd Polczynski said this was his last
Friday night game this season due to other commitments. I say this all because, we
will be looking for more players to fill out the roster the next 2 weeks… These are
your last chances everyone!
Red scored first but that was the last time they were in the lead. Blue followed with
2 touchdowns and made Red chase them the rest of the night. At one point Red had
evened the score, at 5 to 5, before falling behind again. With 12 players on the
field, you can expect some things. Things like 10 INTs, because there is so much
going on for a QB to watch. Or, 6 Sacks, for pretty much the same reason. (Yes, if
you get tagged on the hand, and still have possession, you are sacked.) Surprisingly,
some things happened that aren't very common. There were 4 rushing touchdowns scored
(2 on each side), and 2 INTs that were returned for touchdowns by Blue. (Yep, that
would be Andy.) The 2 INTs for touchdowns ended up being the difference makers in
the final score. The game ended with a Blue winning, with a final score of 8 to 6.
Plays of the Day: I'm giving two of them to Andy Saugstad, for not one, but two INTs
returned for TDs. One was returned for 50 yards, the other returned for about 40
yards. The kid is hard to chase. I had to look, this ties a single game record set
by David P. Becker back in 1997.
Stat Leader: 4 way tie! Andy Saugstad with 1 Rushing TD, 2 INTs and 2 INTs for TDs.
David Southgate with 3 receiving TDs, 1 Rushing TD, and a Sack. Ryan August with 2
Passing TDs, 1 Receiving TD and 2 Sacks. Tyler Jones with 1 Passing TDs, 1 Rushing TD,
2 INTs and a Sack. I'd probably give a slight edge to Southgate for most TDs, but
it's not neccesary.
Injury Report: Tom Sweinberg is still out. Wayne Schott bruised a right thumb while
throwing hard into a Dave Southgate rush, their arms hit so hard, they were both
knocked to the ground. But, so far, it doesn't seem to be a lingering problem.
GEFNFL Official Bartender 2006: Tom Sweinberg was waiting for us at Mickey G's. Todd
Polczynski, Dave Southgate, and I made it, just missing Batgirl by just seconds.
Claudia was back, and helped me a bunch, by allowing me to ice down my bruised thumb.
Batgirl was reported lurking the the shadows. Apparently I had guessed wrong about
Batgirl's secret identity.
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 2 1 1
PANELLI, MATT 1 1
POLCYNSKI, TODD 1
RHODE, DAN 1
SAUGSTAD, ANDY 1 2 2
SOUTHGATE, DAVE 3 1 1
WESTCOT, ETHAN 1 1
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
AUGUST, RYAN 2 1 2
BROWN, TRACY 1
HAUSER, DALE 1 1 1
JONES, TYLER 1 1 2 1
KIECKHAFER, JAY 1 1
SCHOTT, WAYNE 1
WEEK 9 - Rainout
WEEK 10 - Super Bowl
I had 6 on YES votes, was hoping for 8 players, but only got 5. This made for a
weird 3 on 2 game, where we kept 3 on offense by doing something we called "Super
Rotation". The weather was cool but otherwise a great night for football. The Fan
count was 1, a guy that apparently could only afford one end zone seat to the GEFNFL
Super Bowl.
No real choosing of sides required, we did have to set up a system we called "Super
Rotation", that placed the QB from the last team on offense, to rotate to the next
team on offense. (The alternate was to have one guy who was always on offense, but
didn't seem fair to give one guy continuous scoring opportunities.) This way, everyone
ended up playing on both Red & Blue Teams, several times before the night was through.
There was no center, no running plays, and the QB was required to throw in a 3-4 count,
which was never a problem. We also decided to start each offensive series on the 25
yard line, rather than doing 2 on 2 kick-offs. All of this worked fine, until the
defense started scoring on interceptions, confusing the rotation cycles.
Rumors of a hunt for All Time Sack Leader were all the buzz in the pre-Super Bowl
Press conferences. The two front runners from last year were Tom Sweinberg & Wayne
Schott, both with 18.5 Sacks going into this season. The unofficial stats for the
2006 season, placed Tom in the lead with 1 Sack (believed to be on a muffed snap) in
2006 (at 19.5 Sacks All Time) and none for Wayne Schott (at 18.5 Sacks All Time). Far
be it from me to compare any of us to Brett Favre but Ethan Westcot might get the nod.
It was getting late in the game, about early 4th quarter, when Dave Dubberstein took a
shallow square out pattern with Ethan Westcot rolling right behind Dave, shadowing
him. Now Wayne (Michael Strahan) Schott followed Dave's pass pattern down the line of
scrimmage, until they were nearly to the sideline before pushing through and making
the tag on Westcot. Did Favre and his offensive line (I mean Westcot and Dubberstein)
offer up a gimme sack to keep Strahan (I mean Schott) from falling behind in the All
Time Stats? The GEFNFL Blogs will be talking about this one for years to come.
With only 5 players on the field, this game was wild open. One misstep and the play
went for a TD. Since it a was an all passing game, there was a lot of pass pattern
running and very little contact. Dave was an equal opportunity thief, at least when
it came to "INTs for a TDs" scoring one on each of the teams. Stats were scored by
all players on both teams. Even though every player, played on every team a couple
of times, for some reason the best performances favored the Blue Team. The game ended
with a Blue winning, with a final score of 7 to 4, but everyone was a winner.
Plays of the Day: I have a few to mention.
Each of Dave Dubberstein's interceptions for touch downs deserve a mention here.
One of them was caught in a yard deep in the end zone and brought back 101 yards for
the TD. I forgot get Dave's perspective on these plays, before he left town, but I
only remember chasing him the distance on each one, and being out of breath the rest
of the game.
The Play that Never Was: With 3 on 2 Dave Dubberstein did a short square out. Just
before the defender tagged him, he pitched back to Ethan Westcot (the QB), who then
took it the 50 yards or so, for the TD. Not exactly sure how to score it on the stats,
it would seem to have been a rushing TD in a game with no running, and no one to cover
the QB. I would have marked it down, but they reconsidered the play and did a "Do
Over". So it is the Play that Never Was.
The Shuffle Pass for a TD: Jay Kieckhofer usually skips his turn at QB, but the lack
of players in this game forced him to take several rotations. We were playing for the
final TD, and Jay had yet to get a passing TD. He puts together a long drive that
gets Blue down to about the 3 yard line by 4th down. He calls, two square-in patterns
for his receivers, trips left, one to the back of the end zone and Wayne Schott just
across the goal. As Schott come across the middle, he notices that Jay has the ball
close to his waist and doesn't look ready to pass the ball. Suddenly, he flips it
out, in a long armed, underhanded shuffle pass to Schott, that couldn't be defended.
Stat Leader: David Dubberstein with 1 TD Pass, 3 TDs Receiving and 5 INTs (2 for of
them TDs). You may have to check the records for the season, but there is a good
chance he'll be claiming the 2006 Single Game records for Combined TDs with 6, INTs
with 5, and ties season leader for INTs for TDs with 2. Dave's 5 INTs in a single
game, ties the All time record, currently held by Todd Miller from the year 2000. He
also is tied a again for Single INTs for TDs with 2. Career game for Dave!
Injury Report: I still can't get my ring off of my left hand, but the swelling has
gone down.
GEFNFL Official Bartender 2006: I had to make a solo stop at Mickey G's for medicinal
purposes. Claudia was an angel of mercy and bought half of my beer. (Shhh, don't tell
Mickey.) She has still promised send me the pictures she took of Batgirl, Tom and I.
Notes: This is the last of the Friday night games for this season. If there is
enough interest, we could try a weekend game. The field would be first come, first
serve, and we wouldn't need the lights…that means no charge! It's hard to do one of
these games, but sometimes we get one or two more in before the year ends.
BLUE PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
AUGUST, RYAN 1 2 2
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 3 1 1
KIECKHAFER, JAY 1
SCHOTT, WAYNE 2 1
WESTCOT, ETHAN 2 1
RED PASS REC RUSH INT
NAME TD TD TD INT TD SACK
===================== ==== === ==== === === ====
AUGUST, RYAN 1 1
DUBBERSTEIN, DAVE 1 2 1
KIECKHAFER, JAY 1
SCHOTT, WAYNE 1
WESTCOT, ETHAN 1 1 1
