CFFL40 Week 8

 Finally through the dreaded home and home portion of the schedule.  Well dreaded for some (me) but not for others (Ferrets).  These two weeks really shape the race for division champs and playoff contenders.  

Here is what happened last week...

NORTH - Two sweeps in the North and not the way that was expected.  The Ferrets, who typically hate these two weeks, had little trouble with a banged up Crew team.  This week they hammered them 49-30 behind 12 points from Goff and 12 from Pitts.  The Animals handed the Chislers their 3rd loss in a row and have taken sole possession of first place in the North.   The Chislers led the game 38-31 late in the game with only one player left for the Animals.  This player was Cee Dee  Lamb who would score twice for the win!

Goff leading the Ferrets back in the playoff hunt

SOUTH - Sweeps in the South as well, however these WERE expected.  First the Titans remain winless after their loss to the Dragons.  The Dragons won 35-24 thanks to 8 points from Lamar Jackson and TDs from Downs and Kittle.  They are now alone in first place in the South.  The rumors of the Bees as Fugazi were true as they got swept by the Warbirds.  Warbirds survived 14 points from Bees QB Lawrence, beating the Bees 34-26.  Warbird kicker Seibert kicked 4 FGs in the win.

Jackson leading the Dragons to first place

EAST - The Krauts continued their dominance in the Eastern Bloc, sweeping the Juggernauts, taking a one game lead over the Cocktails.  The Krauts' 42-26 win was led by their rolling ground force of Henry and Robinson who combined for 12 points.  Henry has 11 TDs already through only 8 weeks!  Cocktails drop a close one to the Sinistars 29-26.  Brock Purdy's 10 points late on Sunday night was the difference in the game for the Sinistars.

Purdy celebrates his game winning TD!

WEST - No sweeps in the West.  The Whales got revenge from the prior week loss to the Legion, beating them 45-26.  Whales QB Jalen Hurts had a league high 22 points, including a 10 point connection to DeVonta Smith in the win.  After a tie last week, the Killers were able to get the win against the Crush 32-27 behind 14 points from RB Rhamondre Stevenson.  They are only 2 games back and not out of it yet.

Stevenson helping Killers stay in it

Player of the Week:  Jalen Hurts, QB, Whales - 22 points

Quick look at the playoff hunt with 6 weeks to go in regular season:

Division                        Wild Card                               In the hunt 

1. Krauts 7-1                5. Cocktails 6-2                      Wrecking Crew 4-4

2. Whales 5-3               6. Legion 5-3                          Bees 4-4

3. Dragons 5-3             7. Chislers 4-4                        Bunch at 3-5

4. Animals 5-3              8. Warbirds 4-4

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

CFFL40 Week 7

 Well things are getting interesting after the first set of the home and home series as we move past the half way point of the season.  Here is what happened...

NORTH:  Things got real tight in the North as both the Chislers and Crew lose.  There is now a 3 way tie for first with the Animals joining the leaders at 4-3 after getting a late 44 yard TD run by Kyler Murray to beat the Chislers 40-34.  The Ferrets have new life after the Bills signing of Amari Cooper and went on to beat the very flat Crew 36-27.  The game was not as close as the score indicates as the Crew got 15 points from Cameron Dicker "The Kicker" late.  

Murray wins it for the Animals!

SOUTH:  Dragons get back in the hunt tying the Bees for first both at 4-3.  Not a big surprise in both games.  The Dragons send their brother the Titans to 0-7 but it wasn't easy.  They needed a 20 point performance late Monday from Lamar Jackson to beat the Titans 33-30.  Bees were fugazi as predicted as the Warbirds got 22 points from their special teams and defense (Kicker Siebert 16 points and Washington D 6 points).  

Jackson racks up 20 points for Dragons!

EAST:  This division is certainly shaping up to be a two horse race as both the top teams won their games.  The Sinistars got 12 from Purdy and 18 points from their RBs but still couldn't beat the Cocktails.  Jordan love had 12 points and the Cocktails rolled again 51-40.  Krauts won in dramatic fashion getting a late TD catch by Derrick Henry to beat the Juggs 18-13.  Both teams now are 6-1.

Henry scores game winner for the Krauts

WEST:  Advantage to The Legion.  They beat the Whales in their first game by one point, 26-25.  The Whales got 22 of their 25 points from their Eagles in the loss (Hurts, Barkely).  Fittingly the two teams in the bottom of the West, Killers and Crush finished in a 17-17 tie.  Or maybe the Crush won.  Killers had no back up points.  The Crush got 0 points from their first two back ups.  However they did get 6 points from Aaron Jones.  So I will let the commish make final ruling.  

Jefferson and Darnold hooked up for a 10 point play

Player of the Week:  Lamar Jackson, QB, Dragons - 20 points

CFFL40 Week 6

 This week we take a look at Week 6 action and do a quick preview of the Home and Home series coming up the next two weeks.  Hard to believe we are already at the halfway point of the regular CFFL season!

Week 6:

Wrecking Crew 35  Crush 26

The Crew were able to hang on against the Crush, despite leaving "I wanna be called" Gabe Davis on the bench.  Crew QB Stroud led the way with 12 points along with a TD catch from "Joker Face" London.  The win ties them for first place in the North.

Stroud scored 12 points for the Crew

Iron Legion 37  Ferrets 17

Goff had 12 points for the Ferrets, but they couldn't muster up any other production.  Iron Legion QB Baker Mayfield had a great day throwing 4 TD passes in the win.  Tony Pollard and Courtland Sutton got TDs for the Legion as well.  The Legion keep pace with the Whales in the West.

Mayfield fires 4 TD passes in the win!

Killers 59  Animals 39

The Killers finally woke up and almost dropped 60 points on the defending champ Animals!  They got scoring from everywhere, including 12 points each from Chris Godwin and McLaurin plus a fumble return by their D, the Buccaneers.

Godwin scoring his second TD for the Killers!

Whales 37  Chislers 36

The Whale hung on for dear life and were able to beat the Chislers by one point.  They built their lead getting 8 points from Hurts and then blocking FG for a TD but then had to sustain a late attack from Chislers' Chase, Allen and Cook.  Chase didn't score.  Cook was ruled out.  So it was up to Allen.  He did all he could scoring 14 points!  Just one more TD pass or a 2pt conversion and the Chislers would be alone in first place in the North.  

Hurts throws 2 TD passes for the Whales

Krauts 46  Dragons 36

It was a good start for the Dragons getting 12 points from Kittle on Thursday Night.  However the Kraut blitzkrieg rained down points on the Dragons.  The running attack of Henry and Bijan Robinson resulted in 24 points!  That is an impressive backfield.  

Robinson, part of a dangerous Kraut backfield

Killer Bees 38  Juggernauts 29

Story of this game was the kickers.  Killer Bee kicker Justin "Mother" Tucker finally showed some consistency and kicked 12 points.  Jugg kicker, Jake "Master" Bates did him 5 better with 17 points!  A late game time decision by the Colts, stating Flacco was going to get the start instead of Richardson, was missed by the Juggs.  Perhaps he was at church.  Or hung over, or sleeping in...whatever the case was Flacco sat on the bench with 8 points.  Still wouldn't have been enough but would have made it real interesting!

Lawrence scores twice for Bees

Cocktails 38  Warbirds 35

The Krauts and the Cocktails keep trucking along at 5-1.  The Cocktails are a very dangerous team and have a mission to capture their first CFFL Fantasy Bowl.  Jordan Love led the way with 16 points plus 12 more from RB Montgomery.  AJ Brown is back and promptly scored a TD.  

Love had 16 points in the Cocktail win!

Sinistars 29  Titans 20

Brock Purdy might be the most underrated player in the CFFL.  He doesn't dazzle you at all but he consistently scores week after week.  This week he tossed 3 TD passes in the win against the hapless Titans.  Let's hope, even at 0-6, the Titans continue to participate and make sure to make line up changes....

Purdy helps Sinistars to victory

Player of the Week:  Jordan Love, QB, Cocktails - 16 points

Now let's take a look at the next two weeks of the dreaded Home and Home series...

Wrecking Crew (4-2) vs. Ferrets (1-5) - Crew could officially end the Ferrets season with a sweep.  The Ferrets could gain a little hope with a sweep, plus take great pleasure in beating the hated Crew.

Chislers (4-2) vs. Animals (3-3) - This could be a tight two games.  Sweep by the Chislers puts them in command in the North.  Animals need to at least split to keep pace with the Chislers and Crew.

Warbirds (2-4) vs. Killer Bees (4-2) - The Bees are fugazi.  They have the second worse scoring offense but yet are 4-2.  This is a great chance for the Warbirds to get back on track.  

Dragons (3-3) vs. Titans (0-6) - Will the Titans roll over for their brother to allow them to sweep?  Let's hope not but Dragons certainly can win both games and get in the race for first in the South.

Sinistars (2-4) vs. Cocktails (5-1) - Sinistars must be careful not to get swept in this match up or their playoff hopes will be dismal.  The  Cocktails could solidify their strength in the East with a sweep.  And might have to to keep up with the Krauts.

Juggernauts (3-3) vs Krauts (5-1).  Same goes with the Krauts.  The race for the East seems to be between Cocktails and Krauts.  So Krauts better not fall asleep at the wheel against a team they have made their bitch over the years. 

Killers (2-4) vs. Crush (2-4) - Whichever team can sweep the other gets right back in the playoff race.  The team that gets swept will face an uphill challenge to make the playoffs at 2-6.

Legion (4-2) vs. Whales (4-2) - This is definitely the marquee Home and Home matchup.  Both teams are 2-0 in the division as well.  A split means nothing, but a sweep means everything in the Wild Wild West race!

CFFL40 Week 5

 

Week 5 in the CFFL...

Wrecking Crew 44  Killers 12

The Crew easily dispensed the struggling Killers.  Ever since Tua went down the Killers have been shuffling their line up each week trying to get something going.  This week the only player to score for them was their kicker McLaughlin.  Tee "Mrs. Sue" Higgins finally showed some flashes catching two TDs for the Crew.

Higgins scores twice for the Crew

Crush 29  Ferrets 22

Ferrets have spread the word that the Annual Ferret Fire Sale is now on.  Any player is up for trade after their loss to the Crush.  Justin Fields got the nod over Rodgers and scored 8 points for the Crush, while Garrett Wilson and Freiermuth "Firemouth!" both caught TD passes in the win.

Fields throws 2 TDs for the Crush

Chislers 52  Iron Legion 32

The Chislers dropped a fifty-burger on the Legion but not thanks to Josh Allen who only had 4 points.  Brian Robinson and Ja'Marr Chase both scored 2 TDs for the Chislers.  It was such a Chislers day of scoring that we didn't even notice Smith-Njigba scored too!

Chase getting things done for the Chislers

Animals 15  Whales 10

Well if you are going to play the Whales, this was the week to do it.  On bye for the Whales: Hurts, Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert.  Guess that's what happens when you all your eggs in one basket.   Animals only needed 15 points to win.  Caleb Williams led the Animals with 8 points.

Animals get 8 points from Williams

Dragons 37  Sinistars 21

Lamar Jackson posted his third straight week in double digits helping guide the Dragons to victory over the Sinistars.  Plus Kyren Williams scored in his 5th straight week.  Some nice consistency building over there  with the Dragons.  After scoring three weeks in a row, Breece Hall for the Sinistars has basically disappeared the past two weeks.

Jackson scores 16 points for Dragons!

Cocktails 58  Titans 18

Cocktails rolled to a 40 point win over the Titans.  They started Tucker Kraft to go along with Jordan Love and Love's 2 TD passes went to Kraft for a quick 20 points!  Mooney "Money, Money" scored twice too.  Plus the defense.  And Chuba "Chewbacca" Hubbard scampered for a 38 yard TD.  Pretty impressive, even if it was against the Titans.

Impressive move starting Tucker Kraft!

Juggernauts 41 Warbirds 20

Joe Flacco not only still has what it takes to help NFL teams win, but he has what it takes to help CFFL teams win.  This week he scored 12 points for the Juggs to help them defeat the Warbirds 41-20.  Juggs also got 12 points from D.J. "T.C." Moore "Bookkeeping".  Warbirds lineup woes continue as Burrow scored 20 points on his bench...

The next Johnny Unitas??

Killer Bees 25  Krauts 24

How in the hell did the Krauts not win this game?  After the Bees returned a blocked field goal for a TD, the Krauts trailed 25-18 with Mahomes, Worthy, and Kelce all going Monday night.  Seemed like a sure thing the Krauts would win this game with all those guys playing.  Worthy would score on a run of all things making the score 25-24.  Kelce would get a shovel pass from Mahomes only to get stuffed at the goal line.  Mahomes and Kelce would both end with zero points and the Bees would hand the Krauts their first loss of the season!

Giants returned blocked FG for TD for the Bees!

Player of the Week:  Lamar Jackson, QB, Dragons - 16 points

CFFL40 Week 4

 We are already through 4 weeks!?  Football season goes by so fast.  After 4 weeks we are down to just one undefeated team, the Krauts and only one winless team, the Titans.  Chislers lead the North by one game over Animals and Crew after losing in OT.  Its a log jam right now in the South with Warbirds, Dragons and Bees all tied at 2-2.  Krauts on top in the east but Cocktails only a game back.  And its already shaping up to be a two horse race in the West with Whales and Legion tied at 3-1.

Week 4 action:

Whales 44  Crew 19 - Whales rolled to an easy win over the Crew getting 10 points from Hurts and 10 points from kicker McPherson.  TDs were raining down from Kamara, Harrison Jr., and Diontae Johnson.  The Crew's Houston Texan experiment has not been working.

Hurts' 10 points led the way for the Whales

Crush 18  Chislers 14 (OT) - Chislers needed just one point from either Josh Allen or James Cook Sunday night.  If you told me he wouldn't get a single point from them I would have said you are crazy.  Crazy it was.  It was a poor performance from the Bills Sunday night and the Crush came away with the win in OT, getting 4 points from back up kicker Hopkins.

Allen couldn't score a single point for Chislers

Legion 38  Animals 26 - Resurrected Sam "Block Head" Darnold led the Legion with 12 points to get the win against the defending champion Animals.  This team was full of second chance guys scoring.  Tony Pollard got a TD and Courland Sutton finally back in the action with a score.  

Darnold scored 12 points for Legion

Killers 39  Ferrets 30 - What a wild finish to this game on Monday night.  There was very little action  Sunday as the Killers led the Ferrets 15-4 going into Monday night.  Then it got wild as both teams exchanged blow, after blow.  Gibbs would score pulling Ferrets to within 5, but then Walker would counter.  Gibbs scores again making the score 21-16.  Then the Ferrets pulled the "Philly Special" and Goff CATCHES a TD pass giving the Ferrets a 22-21 lead!  Killers again would counter with a Walker TD run making it 27-22.  Very next play Goff tosses a 70 yard TD pass making it 27-26 with one more quarter to go!  But Walker wasn't done yet as he would score his 3rd TD of the game.  QB Huntley would add another TD putting the game out of reach despite Goff getting one last TD pass.  

Walker scoring one of his 3 TDs for the Killers

Bees 11  Sinistars 10 - We go from a wild and exciting game to the lowest scoring game of the week.  Bees win by one point by getting 8 from Lawrence and 3 from their kicker.  Sinistars were dealt a blow when Rashee Rice went out with an apparent ACL injury.  

Thanks a lot Mahomes...

Cocktails 43  Dragons 38 - Cocktails and Dragons played a high scoring thriller that came down to the very end.  Down 37-24, the Dragons needed a big game from Lamar Jackson after Cocktail QB Love scored 17 points!  They did get a big game from Lamar, scoring 14 points and putting them in the lead 38-37.  Unfortunately it wasn't a big enough game as the Cocktails' RB Montgomery would score TD on Monday night to give them the win!

Love would score 17 points in his return to the field

Juggernauts 24  Titans 23 - Titans couldn't hang on for their first win losing to the Juggs.  Dak got things started scoring 8 points early for the Titans but needing only 6 points from their kicker, the Juggs were in good shape going into Monday night.  Jake "Master" Bates did just that, kicking 6 points, all XPs mind you) to get the win!

Mason scores for the Juggs

Krauts 42 Warbirds 30 - After the Sunday day games the Warbirds led 30-24.  With what the Krauts had on deck it was hardly a lead to be comfortable with.  And that was the case.  Derrick Henry ran for 87 yards on his first touch of the game for a TD tying the game.  Add another Henry TD plus a Jameson 70 yard TD and the Krauts shot down the Warbirds

His first carry goes 87 yards for TD!

Player of the Week:  Kenneth Walker III, RB, Killers - 18 points