Teams: Maciej, Jordan D., Patrick, Taylor, James and Matt P. vs. Robbie, Peter, Matthew S., Neil, Tommy, Ezra, and Graham.
Score: a 5-4 to scoreline in favor of Mac's purps.
Game Rating (out of 10): 10 - The introduction of offensive and defensive linemen made for one hell of a game.
Notable absentees: Matthew C., Dylan, Josh, Jordan T., Luke.
Offensive Player of the Game: Jordan D. - Played botth QB and WR with class.
Defensive Player of the Game: Matt P. - Fought his way through linemen for 4 sacks.
Special Teams Player of the Game: Matt P. - Recovered numerous fumbles.
Summaryr: The FFL introducted blitzing rules into the league for the first time in its existence, and to say that it was successful would be the understatement of the century. With players both blockng and blitzing, and steamboats no longer a viable option, QB's had (max) 2 to 3 seconds to decide what the hell to do. Receivers ran short routs, I-formations were set, players ran in the backfield, flea flickers developed, and fullbacks broke through for key yards. The game was close right up the end, with the majority of the scores coming early on on defensive gambles. Ezra ran in two TD's, showing his prowess on snow to continue on, whilst the purps answered with the Jordan/Mac combo who ran the QB/WR spots equally.
Pitch and Weather: Snow. And lots of it. For serious too. Players had to adjust to both the blitzing rules as well as the knee deep snow drifts and wind gusts. Great atmosphere, and very few slips resulted.
Bogus Moment of the Day - The blitzing. James and Matt P. were dynamite on one side, whilst Peter and Neil answered on the other. At times, Robbie just had to exclaim after being sacked, "Why were there 5 people rushing at me?!"
Player Ratings (out of 10, 4 being the lowest):
Robbie - 8; Scrambled out of the pocket well and bought himself time. Looked more confident.
Maciej - 8; Dropped a few too many snaps, and shred his receivers near the end. Still good enough.
Patrick - 8; Very poor start once again, but he has those moments that make up for all his mistakes.
Neil - 8; Ran the gauntlet once again. May have found his niche as a defensive lineman.
Tommy - 8; Nice catch in the endzone for the first touchdown of the game. Defensively solid.
Matthew S - 7; Cannot find his game at the moment. Needs to get more service from his QB.
Jordan - 8.5; Worked hard at both receiving and throwing. Audibles were pretty damn effective.
Taylor - 8.5; Defensively shut down Matthew S. for the second straight game. Loves to block.
Peter - 8.5; Pretty much the best player on the losing side. Heart and soul translate into great blocking.
Graham - 6.5; Threw a few blocks here and there, but looked to be distracted once again.
Matthew P. - 9.5; Wow. This guy was about the biggest steal ever. Great intangibles, a game breaker.
Ezra - 8; Started off strong but faded as fatigue set in. Better suited as a secondary option.
James - 8.5; BFF loves to rush the QB and he put Robbie under pressure all night long.
