CFFL Week 12

As we enter the final two weeks of the regular season there are 12 teams still alive in the playoff race for the 8 spots available.  Lot will be decided in these next two weeks, but let's take a look at what happened in this past weeks action...in the Special Robert Di Niro Edition

Mafia 45 Animals 43

Amazing!

This game was a thriller with comebacks by both teams.  First the Animals came back to take the lead with 2 TDs by "Bend it like" Beckham, including one amazing one handed catch for TD.  It looked like this would be game, if the Animals could keep Steve "Hood Rat" Smith out of the endzone.  Unfortunately that would not be the case as he caught a game winning TD for the Mafia.  The win keeps the Mafia a top of the West by one game over the rest of the teams in the West, all 7-5.

Mafia prevail...got a problem with that?

Cocktails 53 Dragons 46

Romo Girlfriend wins!

This was quite a shoot out and a QB battle between Romo and Tannehill.  Romo had 16 and Tannehill had 18.  For once the Dragons' homer players were huge scoring 34 of the Dragons' 46 (Tannehill, Landry, Sturgis).  The game was 40-31 at one point for the Dragons going into Sunday Nights game and per usual the Dragons had to try to fight off another comeback, but Romo and Witten would combine for 22 points.  Dragons would get a blocked punt for a TD late in the game but wasn't enough.  The Cocktails now have the third ranked offense but the leagues worst defense giving up the most points in the CFFL.  At 5-7 they still have a shot at the playoffs.

Krauts 30 Mayhem 25
Krauts continue to goosestep their way to the best record in the league and the number 2 offense.  This week they outlasted the Mayhem as Rodgers threw 2 TDs and Steven "Stiff" Jackson and Alfred "Mo Mo" Morris both scored TDs.  Krauts hold a one game lead now in the Eastern Bloc and Der Fuhrer is happy.

"You Mo Mo!"

Roulette 42  Killer Bees 15
The Russian Roulette handed the bees the gun to spin the chamber and they lost their 3rd in a row.  Manning was back being Manning throwing for 17 points and got the best of the younger Luck who only scored 4 points.  This was suppose to be the game of the week but the Bees have not been the same team.  Luck hasn't been the same and Bradshaw was lost for the season last week.  Roulette kept pace with the Krauts and are still one game back.

Apparently De Niro is a Roulette Fan...

Players of the Week: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Dragons, and Demaryius Thomas, WR, Animals - 18 points.  Tannehill had 18 in a loss and Thomas caught 3 TDs in the Animals loss to the Mafia.

...or maybe he's a Bums Fan!

Around the League...In the Who Gives a Fuck game the Juggernauts hammered the Titans 48-12 led by their dynamic duo backfield of Crowell and Forset (24 points combined), wait what?...Bums beat the Ferrets 21-11 as Ferrets only points came from QB and Kicker.  This marked the 9th time in 12 weeks they Ferrets scored less than 20 points and truly has been one of the roughest years in recent Ferret history...The Crush hang on against the Wrecking Crew 31-25 behind 12 points from Drew Brees, even though 2 of his TD passes went to Jimmy Graham...Chislers roll on 42-15 over the Sinistars and seem to be peaking at the right time with Lacy and Dez Bryant, along with Nelson, now if only Rivers can get back on track.

Power Rankings:

1. Krauts  9-3  Now winners of 6 in a row and the 2nd ranked offense and scored 50, 47, 39, 40, 30 past 5 weeks

2. Mafia 8-4  After knocking off the Animals, positioned themselves to take the West

3. Animals 8-4  Will need to rely on WRs of Thomas and Beckham since QBs won't be much help (Dalton or Orton)

4. Roulette 8-4  Manning led team always has a shot. 











5. Wrecking Crew 8-4  Future of the Crew depends on Chicago, and the future doesn't look too bright.











Honorable Mention:  Chislers seem to be peaking and have scored 65, 39, 42 past three weeks but stand at 6-6. Cocktails at 5-7 have 3rd ranked offense.

Crash and Burn:  Killer bees past three weeks scoring:  12, 14, 15 but still have top ranked offense.  Injuries have hurt them, Can Luck keep them in the playoff race?

CFHL is Back!

The CFHL is back!  Teams have taken to the ice and the Cherry's Checkers go after their 4th consecutive Cherry Cup.  This year 4 franchises folded: The Enforcers, SLVB, Heisenberg's Ice, and Fluffy Bunnies....lame.  But hey, we still have 8 teams and will have a great season non the less.  And of course our weekly look into the girlfriends of the CFHL...

The Crew open the season with 3-1-2 victory over the USSR, Ashbusters bust Assassins 4-2, Checkers pick up where they left off defeating the Mayhem 4-2, and Who Gives a Puck takes down the Krampus Carols 3-1-2.

Seguin waste no time celebrating the first win of the season

Crew vs. USSR 3-1-2
Crew hang on in goals 8-7, surviving Sunday's game which saw Kesler and Pacioretty take the ice for the Red Army.  Tyler Seguin led all players with goals with 3, while 5 other teammates each tallied goals.  Amazingly the goalie stats remained tied at 2 wins each and .929 SV%.  It would remain tied on Sunday as Elliot and Price were on rest as their teams played.  Crew were behind the entire week until Saturday when the tables turned.

AshBusters vs. Assassins 4-2
In a game with lack luster goal scoring the AshBusters busted the Assassins 4-2 as the teams finished with 4 and 3 goals respectively.  The battle came down to assists and PIM as  the AshBusters won assists 16-14 and Assassins won PIM 15-12.  Leading all players in Assists was one half of the Ginger Twins Daniel Sedin, who was dissapointed that he didn't get a chance to play against is Ginger Twin Henrik.  Goalies Bishop and Miller for the AshBusters had a good start to season combining for 4 wins.

Sedin sisters 

Good to have Toews back
and his girl Lindsey

Checkers vs. Mayhem on Ice 4-2
The Checkers who take the ice with a lot of familiar faces put down the Mayhem 4-2.  I mean you would think at some time going all in with King Players would eventually bite him in the ass, but when you win 3 straight Cherry Cups you don't mess with success.  Kopitar, Gaborik, Doughty, and Quick from the Kings and back in at the blue line is Kronwall.  Quick got them 2 wins, and the Kings combined for 6 assists.  Add in Nash, Toews, and St. Louis  this team is primed for another Cherry Cup run.

Who Gives a Puck vs. Krampus Carols 3-1-2
The Stamkos led Who Gives a Puck outlasted the Krampus 3-1-2 as he tallied 3 goals, 2 assists a +2 and 4 PIM.  Not to be outdone was Krampus' Jamie Benn who scored 3 goals, 3 assists +5 and 2 PIM.  Both teams were banged up after the first week with several players on IR or day to day.  Goalies didn't fair much better as each team could only manage 1 win each between their 4 goalies.

Stamkos leading the Puck to victory

So Week 1 is in the book of a long season.  Who will finally knock off the Checkers and prevent them from winning their 4th Cup in a row and remain the only name on the Cup???

CFFL Week 11

Take a look at two games that went down to the very wire on Monday Night Football, who came out on top, and who is in the power rankings this week?

Animals 28 Sinistars 23

Brown catches game winning TD!

After a full day of Sunday play the Animals held a 22-14 lead going into Monday night over the Sinistars who once again got a 10 point connection from Brady/Gronkowski.  The Animals stuck with Dalton, who took a hefty dump last week, and it paid off as Dalton threw for 3 TDs.  Monday night would start with the Sinistars kicker Suisham chipping away the Animals lead until it was all tied up at 22 a piece.  That's when Animals MVP Antonio Brown would catch a game winning TD to hold off the Sinistars and remain tied for first in the North with the Crew.  Sinistars are still in first in the West tied with Mafia.  On a side note these two teams left 25 and 24 points on the bench, including Jonas Gray's 24 points on bench for Sinistars!

Cocktails 24 Titans 23

Bell stretches for the game winning TD!!

Rarely do these teams get a top billing write up but was a good thrilling win for the Cocktails.  Josh McCown actually played and threw for 2 TDs for the hapless Titans as they held on to a 23-18 lead going into Monday Night with Lance Moore vs. Cocktail Labia Bell.  It would turn out that the combination of COCKtail and Labia works well as Bell scored late in the game Monday Night stretching for the end zone to score the game winning TD and keep the Cocktails alive in the playoff hunt.



Player of the Week:  Greg Zuerline, Kicker, Krauts - 16 points
Hey!  Are kickers allowed to have Player of the Week honors??  When you score 16 points, plus your a Ram you do!

Greg the Leg kicked 16 points!

Lacy says "FACE!"

Around the league...Chislers keep their playoff hopes alive moving to 5-6 beating the Bums 39-30 after getting 18 points from his Green Bay Chislers Lacy (12) and Nelson (6).  The Bums' Jamaal Charles had 2 TDs but need another 5 TD performance like he did when they played the Chislers in the playoffs last year to pull it off...

Crew win another one beating the Mafia 29-24 as the Chicago Crew finally connected for two 10 point connections as Cutler hit Marshall for 2 TDs.  Not much else for the Crew.  Mafia got 2 TDs from Mike Evans who has come on over the past few weeks...

Cutler and Marshall happy again

Crush had little trouble with the Ferrets who failed to score their customary 14 or so points and only scored 7.  Whats even stranger those 7 points came from 3 players (Kaepernick, Forbath and Dolphin D).  Crush Matt Bryant had enough to beat the Ferrets on his own with 13...

In a snoozer the Juggs managed to outlast the Mayhem 15-11.  Not much else to say about that game between a couple of brutal teams....

Ryan Tannehill's wife Lauren...
Might be writing more about Ryan...

What has happened to the Bees??  They dropped their second in a row and over the past two weeks only scored 12 and 14 respectively.   The Krauts had no problem beating up on the Bees, hammering them 40-14 led by Zuerline's 16 and Aaron "Jolly" Rodger's 12...

The Dragons took an early 16-0 lead as Tannehill and Sturgis both had 8 points, and held on all through Sunday, Sunday night and Monday night. It did get interesting as the Roulette Steeler D scored an early TD to make it 16-12 but couldn't manage a second TD...

Should be a great finish to the regular season with only 3 weeks to go as most of the Division have tight races for first.  The North has the Animals and Crew tied at 8-3 and will face off in final game.  The Roulette are only a game behind the Krauts for first in the East.  After a 2 game skid the Bees now only hold a 1 game lead over the Dragons.  And in the West the entire division is up for grabs as Sinistars and Mafia hold a one game lead over the Crush and Bums.  In the CFFL anything can happen!!

Power Rankings
No new names yet in the power rankings but some definite shifting of positions

1. Krauts 8-3  - Aaron Rodgers, #2 Offense and winners of 5 in a row, need I say more?












2.  Wrecking Crew 8-3 - Crew goes as the Chicago Crew goes, but helps to have Graham and Gates. Running game weak though

3.  Sinistars 7-4 - Brady and Gronk consistent 10 points and now Jonas Gray. Gray probably won't score again.










4. Animals 8-3 - Animals just find ways to win and have solid WRs

5. Roulette 7-4 - Hard to believe they have the 11th ranked offense with Manning at the helm.  

Why Starters are Starters and Back Ups are Back Ups

Being a Rams fan this year has been tough seeing Sam Bradford get injured and out for the season for the second year in a row.  Knowing the season is over.  While some may say that, at the time before the season started, Shaun Hill was good enough or when Austin Davis replaced Hill that this Davis kid had skills and would be something special.  Let's not kid ourselves.

Back up Quarterbacks are exactly that...A BACK UP!  Please Rams let's not decide that one of these back ups will be the one that gets the Rams back to respectability in the NFC West.  Its just a fact.  Some QBs are drafted as starters and some as back ups.  Those that are back ups are exactly that.  Don't ever think it may be something different.

Now some of you might say, wait a minute!  What about Tom Brady!?  What about Kurt Warner!?  That's what we call "Lightening in a Bottle"  and is not the norm.  Let's take a look...

Flynn after his 6 TD performance

There was Matt Flynn.  Drafted to be a back up in Green Bay to back up Aaron Rodgers.  Flynn played in 2011's last game against the Detroit Lions where the Packers sat Rodgers.  Flynn threw for over 500 yards and 6 TDs!  Looks like he should start for someone, right!?  I mean one game is all we need to see that!! Well the Seahawks thought so, at least at first.  But he's a back up.  Drafted as a back up.  Will always be a back up.  The Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson who won the starting job (and won a Super Bowl), while Matt Flynn went to Buffalo, then to Oakland and now back to his rightful job of backing up Rodgers.

Flynn as back up as he should be

How about Matt Schaub?  Wait he was good in Houston....right?  Well he was a back up in Atlanta to Vick.  A back up.  Houston thought he would be the starter that would take them to the Super Bowl.  Well in Houston he was 46-42.  2009 was his best year throwing for over 4,000 yards and 29 TDs.  But each year after would get a little worse and now he is backing up Carr in Oakland....A back up!

Maybe one of the most famous was Scott Mitchell a back up to Dan Marino...a back up.  1993 Marino went down with an injury and Scott Mitchell stepped in and threw 12 TDs to 8 INTs and went 3-4.  Apparently that warranted a starting job in Detroit.  Wait, what?  He had one good year.  1995 when he threw for over 4,000 yards and 32 TDs.  After that he barley threw more TDs then INTs.  Eventually he would gain like 300 lbs and end up on the biggest loser...a back up!

Now what's up with Tampa Bay?  How in the world did they think Josh McCown would be their starter?  He has been a back up in Arizona, Detroit, Oakland, Carolina, Chicago and now in TB they think he should be their starter.  HOW??  He hadn't started more than 9 games except for 2004 in Arizona where he started 13.  His career record as QB is 16-26.  How do these general managers and front office people get paid as much as do??

Eh, yeah sure I'm a starter!

I could go on and on, but I think I have made my point...wait, what about Aaron Rodgers?  Well I put Rodgers in the same category as Steve Young.  Both were drafted, or traded to be the starter, when their stars, Favre and Montana, were ready to move on or the franchise was ready to move on.  They were never drafted as just a back up.  They were always slated to become the starter.








Manning - Starter.  Romo - Starter. Wilson - Starter. Stafford - Starter.  Gradkowski - back up. McCown - back up! Flynn - back up!

So let's just admit back up QBs are exactly what they are.  A back up!  And stop kidding our selves that for some reason this QB that was drafted as a back up, that had an okay college career with a mediocre team is suddenly a hall of fame QB.

One last note...Shaun Hill back up in Minnesota, San Francisco, and Detroit...not a Starter.  So Rams...let's go look for a real STARTER, not a back up!

4 weeks to go

Rodgers throws 6 TD passes and gets to go home to
Olivia Munn too...come on man!

Well there is only 4 weeks to go.  2 more non division games and then the final 2 division games.  Time to make that run to the playoffs because we all know, once you get into the playoffs you never know what can happen!

Incredible comeback by Krauts
The Krauts completed an almost impossible comeback over the Dragons winning 39-38.  They were down 38-15 after the Dragons got a monster game from Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch who scored 24 points!  Well Sunday night Kraut QB Aaron Rodgers said I will see your 24 and threw for 6 TD passes to bring the Krauts all the way back leading the Dragons by one.  This game wasn't over yet as on Monday Night the Krauts had Maclin and Dragons had Ertz so there was still a chance for Dragons to regain the lead or have the Krauts continue to lead.  As it turns out neither of them scored and the Krauts prevailed 39-38.

Matthews had a break out game this week!

Juggernauts pull off the upset over the Killer Bees
The Juggs who traded all of their best players have done a pretty nice job filling up their roster with cast offs and scored 50 points this week defeating the Bees 50-12.  The Juggs got 18 points from their stellar RB duo of Crowell and Forset and then 18 more points from the well known hall of fame WRs of Martavis Bryant and Jordan Matthews.  The Bees were at a disadvantage with the Colts on a bye so Luck and Bradshaw had to sit along with their number one kickers Gostkowski and Vinatieri.

Mafia win 4th in row edging the Ferrets
The Ferrets took a lead with  getting every point the Lions scored, "Chronicles of" Riddick, "Megatron" Johnson and kicker Prater.  Mafia were down 24-11 and got 6 from RB Ellington and then started to chip a way at the lead with Hauschka.  His final two XP from Seahawk TDs tied and then put the Mafia up for the win 25-24.

Riddick celebrates TD in loss to Mafia

Bums hold on to hand the Animals their 2nd loss in a row
Bums were up 27-18 and added another TD from Cobb on Sunday night to go along with TDs from Tate, Wilson and Charles "In Charge" to go up 33-18.  It looked like the Animals wouldn't have a chance, they had Kelvin "Private" Benjamin but after 3 quarters of a dumpster fire performance by the Panthers it didn't look like there was a chance in hell.  Well Benjamin finally woke up and scored twice in the 4th quarter to make it 33-30..He just needed one more to complete the comeback, but they ran out of time and the Bums held on.

Lynch and Rodgers share MVP of the Week

Players of the Week:  Aaron Rodgers, Krauts and Marshawn Lynch, Dragons - 24 points
Aaron Rodgers threw for 6 TDs while Lynch ran for 4.  Interesting enough they were playing against each other in the CFFL.

Around the League....Roulette have no problem with the Titans winning 33-9 led by Manning's 5 TD passes for 20 points...The Cocktails couldn't survive the Mayhem's 2 TD they got from their Cardinals D and finished with 18 from their dual Eagle backfield of McCoy and Sproles as the Mayhem beat Cocktails 43-33...The Sinistars struggled with their deadly 10 point connection on the bench in Brady and Gronkowski scoring only 13 points vs. the Wrecking Crew losing 30-13.  The Crew got two big TDs from Jimmy Graham while the Chicago Crew connection was practically silenced.  Thankfully they were not needed but did add a 10 point connection as Cutler  hit Marshall....The Chislers exploded smashing the Crush 65-19.  Some teams are lucky to get one player in double digits, the Chislers had 4, Dez Bryant, Jordy Nelson, Emmanuel Sanders and kicker Crosby...

Manning throws 5 TDs...ho hum...

Playoff and Division Races

The North race is between the Animals and the Wrecking Crew as both are 7-3.  Crew won 3 in row and Animals have lost 2 in row.  They face off in final week of season that might decide the division.  The Chislers at 4-6 are hanging on for their playoff lives and can't afford but one more loss to keep alive.  The Ferrets at 3-7 are nearly done, but not completely out.  They will need to run the table and with games against the Animals, Chislers, and Bums yet to play that will be a tall task.

Similar to the North, the East has 2 first place teams at 7-3, the Krauts and the Roulette.  Krauts with Rodgers and Roulette with Manning.  Both combined for 11 TD passes this week.  Should be a battle to the finish between those two teams...Cocktails at 3-7 not completely out of it yet, but damn close.  Juggs who traded his team away and at 2-8 are out of the playoff race, but might play spoiler more than once as the season plays out...

The South appears to belong to the Killer Bees at 6-4 and one of the top scoring offenses in the league.  Dragons at 4-6 and  Mayhem at 3-7 have outside shots to make playoffs.  Dragons lost a heart breaker could have been only one game behind had they held on against the Krauts...the Titans, well..they are the Titans, perennial basement dwellers...

The West is living up to its title as the Wild Wild West as no team is out of the race for West Division Champs.  Sinistars and Mafia lead the way at 7-3 with the Mafia winning 4 in a row to catch the Sinistars.  Bums are only a game behind at 6-4 and even the Crush at 5-5 sitting two games back is not out of it yet.

Power Rankings

1. Kretz' Krauts 7-3  With Aaron Rodgers at the helm there may be no stopping this blitzkrieg

2. Killer Bees 6-4  Despite their loss Luck and Bradshaw and their kicker will be back for the Number One offense in the CFFL









3. Stamm's Sinistars 7-3  With Brady and Gronkowski healthy and back plus Murray makes for a potent trio













4.  Roulette 7-3  So Dangerous with Manning, Hillman and Welker and now Jeremy Hill











5.  Wrecking Crew 7-3  Going to rely on the power of the TE with Graham and Gates

6.  Alex Animals 7-3 A good record with a below average scoring offense.  Smoke and Mirrors?

Quick look at last weeks action

Here is a quick look at last weeks action in the CFFL.

Evans caught 2 TDs!

The Mafia whacked the Chislers 44-16 and have pretty much ruined any chances for the Chislers to make a run at the Playoffs at 3-6.  The Chislers were let down by Rivers who had no TD passes at all and the Mafia would get 12 from Evans and then 8 more for good measure on Monday Night from Eli.  They are now 6-3 only a game out of first....

The Crush dealt the Animals their first loss in 6 games 27-18 lead by Brees' 10 points.  Animals still lead the North by one game and the Crush now 5-4 are one of 4 teams above .500 in the West...

In the Fantasy Bowl XIX rematch between the Crew and the Bums it looked like the Bums had some revenge over the Crew, who beat them in the Fantasy Bowl.  They were up 23-17 and it looked like it was all over.  Until the Crew D Ravens returned a kick off 108 yards for a TD and the Crew stole a win from the jaws of defeat and moved to 6-3 only a game back of the Animals...

Jones returns kick off for the win!!

The Ferrets scored their customary teens and the Sinistars had no problem defeating them 35-18.  Hell Tom Brady almost defeated them on his own with 16 points.  Sinistars move to 7-2 and lead the West by one game over the Mafia...

The Roulette pounded it out on the ground getting 12 points from Hillman and 12 from Hill and defeated the Mayhem 42-25.  The Mayhem had little chance with Austin Davis leading the way.  Roulette are tied with the Krauts at 6-3....

Luck has been on fire this year!

Killer Bees continue to roll on with their high flying offense lead by Andrew Luck and defeated the Cocktails 53-23.  Luck had 16 points and leads all players with 116 points.  In fact in 9 weeks Luck has only one week under double digit points...

Dragons won a close one 43-38 over the picked over shell of a team Juggernuats.  The Juggs made it more interesting than the Dragons would have liked as Martavis Bryant scored twice Sunday night and then Fleener scored once on Monday night.  One more TD from Fleener or Ruben Randle would have given the Juggs the win...

Maclin likes playing for the Krauts!

The Krauts played the hapless Titans and won 47-31 as every skilled position for the Krauts scored except for Crabtree, including 12 from Maclin and 12 from Morris.  The Titans continue to play a QB that is not at all starting in the NFL...