Flag Recap Feb. 23 2008

PHOTOS: David sticks out his tongue after making a catch. Check out this and 29 others taken by Brent.

WEATHER: Our first “wet” game in about three years (and I don't mean the lube). It started dry, then rained enough to wet the field and the balls, then sort of cleared up again. High of 60.

GAME: We had so much fun, we played for more than three hours. White jumped out early and it looked like a blowout at 32-12. Then Dark rallied and forged a 32-32 tie. Dark pulled ahead before White scored once on defense and once on offense to pull it out, 50-40.

SLICKERS: The rain certainly made for some interesting plays and made throwing and catching an adventure. My nice white football shirt needed hot water and extra bleach to get all the dirt out (I had no towel, so used my shirt).

I did like the sly way some defenders made sure the ball stayed slick. I saw Uhrlacher roll the ball about 10 yards at the end of one play, ensuring it would pick up about 2 pounds of water. Brent on White nicely let the ball kind of slide into a small mud patch on another possession. Well done! Balls slipped from hands and players slid all over the place.

One weird play came when I hit Mike in the hands and it skimmed off. I assumed the defender would have equally slick hands, but Peter got both mitts on them and got the pick.

Fumble of the game occurred when Brent told me to take his camera and cover it with a plastic bag. Of course, I dropped it into the mud when he handed it to me. Oops!

GAME CHANGER: The key play in the game was Gilbert’s interception and great runback where he weaved and reversed field to score to put White up for good.

GOAL-LINE STANDS: Each side had two terrific one. First, White stopped Dark on the four tries from the 3. Key play was Jeff’s catch where we could not determine if he kept possession or was down before he crossed the goal line; we had players from each team on the sideline watching and we could not determine what happened so we ruled ball down short. Dark returned the favor when they stopped White from the 3. Key play was Jermaine and Eugene literally seeing eye to eye, when they collided breaking up a pass.

HISTORIC: With his great sliding deep catch, Duffy became the first player to wear a turban to catch a pass. After the play, he went turban-less the rest of the game (see photos). And it was his birthday to boot!

BALL HAWKS: I counted six picks, three on each side – Gilbert and Peter, Jermaine (which he returned all the way on a great return), Mat (on a gimme, but the hardest often to catch), Duffy and Bobby.

BIZARRE PLAY OF THE DAY: Rich, in his first game, certainly made it interesting on a key fourth down. He dropped the snap, then picked it up and started running. He lost his flag, but White basically stood there (Rich was down if he was touched), so Rich kept running untouched for a long TD.

BIGGEST WASTE OF ENERGY: Dark picked off a conversion attempt (the ball is dead), but the interceptor kept running, as did two teammates to block and two White players chasing him. They ran more than 80 yards each for nothing, so at least got their cardio in.

QUITE A RUSH: The pass rush all day on a slick field helped their defenses. The two Mikes (one on White, one on Dark) were terrific and frequently caused passes to be thrown a split second early. Mike (White team) also had a nice yell when he got a sack.

HIGHLIGHTS: Brent made a great catch and run on a center screen that he took down the sideline for a long TD that iced the game. Kudos to Jay for a nice block. … Miguel showed great speed and skills on several catches, the best being a fourth-down TD grab where he caught the ball on a rebound. … Gilbert had a superb run for a score when he played QB; he had a burst that blew by everyone. … Best long pass was me to Gilbert on White’s first play (before it got wet) for a long score. …

Jay had several nice grabs, the best being a long deep slant where he didn’t score and I yelled at him since he is on my Fantasy team and cost me points (insert joke here about “Jay” and “Fantasy” being an oxymoron). … Christophe had a beautiful catch where he went up high in the rain and snagged it. …

Best flag grab was David on Miguel, getting a loss on what could be been a long gainer. … Josh had two nice grabs in the end zone from Gilbert, the second where he just managed to get his feet in. … Angel was key to White as a swingback, with several nice catches and runs. Just hope his neck is OK after he was accidentally drilled by Bobby. … I had a nice catch and spin move that set White up for a score (and also ran for three first downs). …

Flag recap Feb. 16, 2008

PHOTOS: Zach (wearing Brent's cleats) goes high for a pass in the end zone. More photos from Brent can be found here.

WEATHER: It might have been frightful elsewhere but the weather was delightful in Venice – sunny, calm and 70.

SCHEDULE: We are back Saturday Feb. 23, 12:30 p.m. Penmar.

GAME: A real thriller. White jumped out early and led by 10. Within three plays, Dark had grabbed the lead. White then reasserted itself and pulled ahead again, only to see Dark rally. White held on, 58-56, when Dark failed on a 2-point conversion on the game’s final play. Congrats to whoever bet the over.

BIZARRE PLAY OF THE DAY: In a day of strange plays, hard to top Mat’s. He played DB and the pass was thrown right to him. He had the ball for a millisecond, then bobbled it and sort of flung it forward, into the waiting arms of Patrick, who gladly took the gift and ran it in for the score. Mat made up for it with a great interception two series later where he stole the ball from the receiver.

BOMBS AWAY: We had a ton of long plays. Gilbert got into the act on two great deep routes and catches from Christophe and Drew. He has terrific body control… Zach ran a terrific post-corner that got him behind the defense for a score. … Mat went deep twice early for long TDs. … Patrick made most of his big catches on seemingly tipped passes, then he spiked it the ball to mock Brent, who said he would only get going when the clock hit double zero. … Jeff ran two superb post routes for long scores.

FANCY FOOTWORK: There were several really nice grabs by players who not only had to get the ball but also keep their feet inbounds. JT had one that helped set up a TD. Jay had several where he managed to make key first downs. ZS had a great grab where he went high over the always tough Gilbert and managed to get it and reach over the pylon.

GREAT D: Hard to say there was a ton of D in a 58-56 game, but there were terrific plays. David made a great read at MLB that resulted in him getting a pick. … Mike had several awesome pass rushes, including on the last play that forced a throw and preserved White’s win. … Brent also made a great read and react at LB that got him a pick. … Mr. Heads Up was Christophe, who was in position on a pass that ricocheted off a White player and into his hands for an easy pick six.

WEIRD PLAY CALLS: Still not sure why Dark tried a direct snap that resulted in a 1-yard QB run on 4th and goal from the 15. The videotape Belichick gave White totally tipped them off! … Honorable mention goes to the two White option plays that resulted in a 5-yard loss and a 3-yard gain.

GREAT MOVES: T.O. was great all day starting in the backfield and finding gaps. He made a great move and spin on a short pass he took for what turned out to be the clinching TD. On a couple of shovel passes he turned nothing into something both times for nice gains.

FASHION NOTE: Zach borrowed Brent’s cleats and promptly drove home with them on. Brent is holding Zach’s sneakers as ransom.

HIGHLIGHTS: Great pass by Christophe to Jeff from about 6 yards; White had good coverage and he really fired it in. … TO made a great leaping grab for a 2-pointer where he kept the ball despite getting hit by the DB. …

Brent made several key catches as center. The best was where he snagged the ball, and in the surprised words of TO, “showed some athleticism” by avoiding the flag grab and racing for the TD. “You know, Gilbert, I’m old enough to be your grandfather!” Brent said to the guy who missed his flag. … Zach mirrored Brent by doing something similar on a short pass that he took 55 yards for a score. …

Drew did a great job avoiding the rush most of the game and stepping up to make big throws. … Nice heads up play by ZS to keep running his route when I was in trouble on a blitz. He kept moving and wound up breaking free for a 2-pointer. … Props to Gilbert for sacking me after I taunted him that there was no way he would sack me.

Flag recap Feb. 9, 2008

PHOTOS: Eight posted so far here, including a great three-photo sequence showing Ty catching a tipped pass. All photos by Brent. Photo above shows Gilbert catching a pass that was perfectly laid in there by his QB. :-)

WEATHER: Perfect. Sunny, 75, calm.

WELCOME: Ty is one of those guys who’s been on the e-mail list for a while and he finally ventured out. Once Brent got him some cleats he was just fine.

SCHEDULE: We are back Feb. 16 at Penmar Park, 12:30 p.m.

GAME: White pulled away in Game 1, we retooled and White held on for a 6-point win. Both games featured some terrific performances.

BIZARRO WORLD: I have been playing a long time (insert joke about me schooling Knute Rockne once) and saw three plays I never have witnessed before. First was this: Dan throws to Chris, ball hits him in the hands, Brent immediately grabs flag. Chris bobbles the ball and gains control minus his flag but untouched. He runs into the end zone. We debated whether or not it was a TD and gave them a first down instead.

Our national rules say that you can't grab a flag until a runner has possession of the ball, so I have changed my mind and now think Chris was live until touched. No matter, Dark scored the next play.

Play 2 came when Brent and Gilbert rushed Chris at QB. Brent batted the pass into the air and Gilbert snagged it and ran it back for a TD. I have never seen that happen in a flag game. But, amazingly, a few series later, ZS did it one better, knocking Gilbert’s pass into the air as a rusher, then grabbing it and running it back.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Great having Demond back and he shined all game with multiple TDs. His best came on a short out that I was trying to complete for a short gain. I thought I had overthrown him, but he put it into another gear, made the catch, then high-wired it down the sidelines for a score.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Along with Demond, Gilbert came to play. He had four interceptions and at least four TDs. On his most amazing pick, he pulled a David Tyree and outwrestled the receiver for the ball on the way down. His best catch came when I was rolling out and threw it up hoping; Gilbert went high snagged the ball and pulled it down for a first down. After Gilbert had another pick playing deep safety down the middle, ZS (on the other side) said, “Maybe we ought to stop doing that.”

GAMER: Brent is still recovering from a nasty bout of pneumonia, but you wouldn’t know it from the intensity he showed and how hard he played. He had no trouble barking out defensive calls and managed to get his usual zingers in.

PRETTIEST PLAY OF THE DAY: A beautiful pass from Dan to Christophe who ran a great go route. The ball was laid in there perfectly and Christophe caught it in stride and ran it in.

TRICKERY: We ran one fun play from the Dark 1. Demond was in the backfield and I was at QB. I then walked sideways to tell Gilbert something. The plan was for Brent to hike it immediately to Demond, but Brent waited until I basically walked to the Santa Monica Airport and the snap to Demond didn’t fool anyone. He still managed to get in anyway.

RUMBLING, BUMBLING: Loved the catch, spin and run David made, where about three guys missed his flags and he gained 20 yards. He had several grabs during the game even though he was kept back to block.

BALL HAWKS: Gilbert led the parade with four and Jay had two (including one for a TD). Dan (playing Game 1 for White) wound up with three, including a great one where Brent shifted him from DB to LB and he read the play perfectly.

COLLISION COURSE: Roughest play (though not intentionally) came on a long pass down the middle to Angel. Gilbert went up and managed to time it so he batted the pass away. Both came down awkwardly but both bounced up and got back up.

QUITE A RUSH: The key to White’s defense was the great pass rushing by Mike, Brent, Demond and Gilbert. On at least two picks, the rushed pass was caused by pressure. Gilbert also had the quickest sack ever, but it does help when you line up on the line of scrimmage and not 5 yards back!

TOUGH GUYS: Gilbert also plays tackle football Sunday with friends and he invited anyone. The only ones who appeared interested were Christophe and ZS. “We have health insurance now,” Christophe said.

HIGHLIGHTS: Great 2-point catch by JT in the corner of the end zone, where he lost momentary control then regained it. … Two great sideline catches for a TD and conversion by ZS, where he showed great balance. … Great routes by Gilbert on two TDs – one on a post corner where he turned the DB around, the other on a deep slant where he saw there was no safety help. … Loved Christophe yelling “Oh shit!” when Gilbert did a stop and go and Christophe, playing DB, did only a stop. …

Demond got about as wide open as a receiver could on a play where Mike played him short and was expecting DB help, but no one was playing DB and Demond basically walked in. Ty had several nice grabs on sideline route but missed the deep ball he was begging for all game. Next time. … Lamest block by me on ZS, doing my best matador imitation which caused a sack … Lamest tackling by Jay, who basically stood and watched the receiver catch the ball in front of him and then not pursue. “My legs are jelly,” he said by way of explanation. … Mike (Dark team) also had several nice catches and runs despite primarily being a blocker.

Flag Recap Feb. 2, 2008

WEATHER: The worst freezing weather China has seen in the past five decades has wreaked traffic havoc across central and southern China since mid-January. … Meanwhile, in Venice it was 60, sunny and perfect for football.

SCHEDULE: We are back Saturday, Penmar Park, 12:30 p.m. Also, plans for the league are going very well and the goal would be to start perhaps first weekend in April (I will keep you posted). If you have not already responded, please let me know if you are interested.

GAME: A wild one that seesawed back and forth, with White pulling ahead late to win it by 18.

BIG PLAYS: It was a day for a lot of long passes. I started it all with a long slant that Ruben took all the way. Dark countered with long strikes from Drew to Uhrlacher, David and Mike. T.O. and ZS later got in the act on nice passes from Dan.

ROCK ‘EM, SOCK ‘EM: It was flag football but sometimes resembled tackle. On one play, my jaw collided with some part of Uhrlacher’s anatomy and I knew what a near-knockout felt like. I was the rusher that play but found myself on my knees. After Drew had about an hour to find someone deep, T.O. wondered where the rush was. “On the ground,” I said.

On another play, Chris was basically tackled by T.O., Chris later collided with his teammate JT on another, and Hinders and Gilbert both hit the ground after catches. Bring on the ibuprofen!

MR. THIRD DOWN: Chris must have had about a dozen catches, several of them for key third downs to keep drives alive.

SHORTEST DRIVE EVER: White stopped Dark on fourth down, recording two sacks on the drive. When they took over they had first-and-goal from the half-yard line (they did score), but it was the shortest drive ever.

SACK MASTER: ZS was a pass-rushing machine, along with Brent (healthy after his bout with pneumonia). Someone on White called Brent our “Belichick” since he called the D. Or was that for his camera skills? You can expect his pics to be posted sometime around the start of the Clinton Administration … Chelsea Clinton.

TACKLE OF THE DAY: T.O. rushed Drew on one play and we had this exchange -- “You grabbed my balls!” Drew said. “I was grabbing for the flag,” T.O. said. “There are no flags in front,” Drew replied.

TRICKERY: On one play, I called a double-reverse pass. I handed it off to T.O., who gave it back the other way to Christophe, who became the QB. He threw back across his body to a wide-open T.O., who juked and jived for a whopping 1-yard gain.

HEADS UP: White caught Dark napping on one play and Dan hit me wide open along the sidelines. Knowing I did not have the wheels to score, I yelled for Ruben to slow down and lateraled him the ball and he took it in. Despite what some Dark members claimed, it was not a forward lateral.

GREAT PLAYS: Superb catch by Gilbert on a sideline pass where he battled the defender for the ball. … Two nice 2-point catches by Dan in the back of the end zone, first from me and then from Christophe. … Great spin moves by ZS on one play where he looked like a spinning top. … I had a nice flag grab when I reached out for a streaking Gilbert and wound up with the flag. I seldom make “tackles,” that felt good. … Beautiful pick by T.O. and a tremendous runback 65 yards for a score in what was the game-changing play. … Mike made a terrific catch for two points on a high, hard one from Drew.