The year has just begun but I’m starting to get that sinking feeling. Another Jewball Season is 3 quarters done. All 3 Bowl Games behind us. So much to look forward to, but even more to look back on. These recaps get harder and harder to write. Not just because keeping it fresh this late in the year becomes challenging, but because…well…it’s depressing that a Jewball season – like all good things – is finite. So be it. Week 14 was very much needed. It sets the stage for the final lap of this 2021-2022 season. My hope is that our best football is ahead of us. 
While there are plenty of races still up for grabs and storylines to be written…Who will win the League Championship? Rookie of the Year? Most Improved? TD Leader? One question seems to be answered on a weekly basis – each time with emphasis added. Change the formula, the motivation, the role, the narrative, the players, the pieces, the field position, the weather…Change it all! And yet no one has been able to knock Gronk off his firm position of dominance atop Mount Jewball. For those gunning to do it – 6 Weeks Left. Clock is ticking. 
You may be saying….this is supposed to be the recap. Not an Ode to Gronk. Not a ballad of praise for one player when there are so many players having big seasons. Well, you must be right – let’s get to the recaps so I can stop talking about Gronk.

Gronk had a hell of a Week 14. He was slotted in for a both doing double duty as receiver for Pray in Game 1 and QB v. Yaron in Game 2. Yaron, meanwhile, took the ball and manned the huddle in both the early and late game.
No question, Yaron has been on a bad run. He’s not exactly throwing badly, but he’s been stuck in a very Rabin of the Renaissance period category: Just Enough To Lose. You can break down certain things he does well and conclude that he should win the games he starts. No one is more engaged. His arm is brilliant. His will is undeniable. His play-calling is….um…..it’s….y’know….it’s….creative! But you take these pieces – and it’s confounding because they don’t translate into wins as much as you would think. I’m sure Daveo can tell you what his W-L record is as a Jewball starting QB….and…I’m gonna guess it’s hovering around .500. And that shouldn’t be the case for how good he is. 
He did just enough to lose both Games on Sunday.
Game 1 it was two egregious picks early in the game that Pray converted into TDs with Gronk to put Yaron in a 2-0 hole before he could catch his breath. Pray to Gronk just looked too easy. That being said, both early TDs came as a result of non-calls (which we like) where Yaron’s squad for sure could have benefitted from calling a pick play on one and a hold on the other. We play through. Back to Pray and Gronk. Pray would basically throw it up in the air and unless Gronk decided to straight drop it (which happened twice), he’d just post up and come down with the ball. I told Mighty – who was in on those plays – there was a time when Mighty would definitely make you think twice about catching a ball over him. You may catch it, but it would be a very violent encounter. May those days return!
While Pray was scoring with relative ease (he looked really good and poised and had an excellent synergy with both Gronk (2 TDs) and Singer (3TDs), Yaron was just unable to find the answers on offense. The final is 6-4 but it was 6-1 for most of the game. Pray had the game won at the half. This week’s TBI guest had a special game with a TD and a sack and a very good showing considering he was up against Munch. Munch got his stats by the end of the game (3 sacks) but I don’t think he had any (or maybe just had 1) while Pray put up his 6 TDs. Too little too late.
Jewball without doubt to the injured Pray for looking uninjured and inspired. Crazy line – 5 TDs thrown, 2 Picks, and a sack! Heal up bro!!! BOP needs you to repeat!
Game 2 was the better game by all accounts, but a tough one to swallow personally as I lined up with Yaron and once again it was a JETL game. Proud to say I was part of it, even on the losing end. It was the first close game that didn’t result in a tie since Week 8. Even better, the score was kept low. Both teams prioritized defense and TDs were hard to come by. As they should be! 
In this game, as mentioned, Gronk was throwing for his team and if there ever was a game that shows you why he is in the driver’s seat for season MVP…
I guess we need to start from the end. Tom is getting the Jewball. Why? He scored 2 of his teams 3TDs. He didn’t miss flags on defense. He blocked. And he picked up a bunch of big 1st downs. 
I know Tom has gotten Jewballs before, but it is a testament to Gronk’s greatness as a QB this season that he makes everyone look good. Attention Jewball QBs: Gronk gets in the huddle and doesn’t start with a.) who are my best receivers and b.) how can I expose the defense to get those guys the ball. He gets into the huddle and starts with a.) Holy S***! there is huge mismatch here and b.) There is a huge hole in the defense there. He starts with: I’m throwing to the receiver with the mismatch. It’s his job to catch it. I’m throwing to the space in the defense desperate to be exploited. I’m throwing where there is ALREADY an opening.
I feel like some QBs (Yaron, for example) calls plays as if all things are equal. Jordan run a pump and go is a neutral play call. It’s just a thing. It’s words. If Jordan is matched up with someone who will bite (I know who you are)…hell yeah. It’s guaranteed. If Jordan is matched up with Logan…it’s the same play call but it’s just not gonna work. A QB needs to see that it’s Logan out there and either send Jordan to the other side or….do something else.
Same concept, different angle: It’s easy to see which side of the defense is stronger. So how about this…never run a screen to the stronger side. Never. Not once. Make the defense adjust. I feel like some of our QBs do the defense too many favors in the name of “mixing it up.” It’s a good recipe for going home frustrated with an L around your neck.
I’m saying this with no offense to Yaron or anyone, but really as a compliment to Gronk. Tom is tall. Klink is not as tall. Throw it up to Tom. That’s how Gronk’s first TD was scored. By him seeing something and knowing it was virtually a sure thing. I encourage our other QBs to stop making their lives so difficult. If you are play-calling without actually taking into account the defenders – who they are where they are – you are hopelessly spinning your wheels.
Unlike in Game 1, the score was not run up on Yaron. In fact, Gronk was a bit stymied. The fierce combo rush of Legs and Kut produced 7 sacks! Yaron was sticking around, eventually cashing in with a remarkably awesome 4th and long laser beam to Kut in the back of the end zone. And even more fairness to Yaron, his players let him down on a number of occasions. Legs and Rook had almost TDs that a little extra effort and focus would have brought to actualization. Indeed, Prime seemed to have a TD but his world famous stiff arm was called a flag guard by Irv. The same Irv that extends his TD Leader status by scoring on an out, beating Jordan in man coverage easily and putting his team up by 1. Prime would not be denied the next time he got his hands on the ball. Like all of the players in Game 2, Prime was locked in. It felt like a warzone out there. Bodies were flying. Pants were coming down. Yaron, ankle tackle on Logan. Logan, collision with Rook saving a huge game changing gain. Gronk taking a Yaron bullet pass to the face from a yard away and shaking it off.
In the end, it was Tom who made the difference Getting open. Keeping it simple. See the ball. Catch the ball. Gronk will find you. Tom scored on a catch and run to put Gronk up 3-2 and the defense did the rest. Excellent game that stings still for all the best reasons. 
Week 15 coming up next. Gronk is out. Who will step up?

Prologue: Sometimes procrastination pays off. For example, this recap. I sit here writing on a 2022 Bowl Friday, feeling higher than those who partook in stimulating conversation and stimulants after the game. Why so high? I mean….how much nachas can one guy ask for! Seeing this family come together on the eve of the eve of the New Year. Glasses raised in circle of mutual respect and pure devotion to the fellowship. Coming out to play the game we love in the way we love; for the love of the game and the love of the way. Coming out to just connect for the sake of passes and for the past’s sake. The game is the game and it was a good one (Pray over Yaron in a nail-biter. See the vids for the story). But on the sideline was another world of good. Singer, Daveo, Kut, Klink, Mighty, Snow, Steveo and the crew….drawn to the source – pulled in with a force as eternal and irresistible as gravity. As irrepressible as the sunshine that flooded down today. And I am zocheh to see it. And Spira, who welcomed me in as I welcomed you in – is there to see it. And participate in it. Beyond a dream. It’s a f***ing peleh.
January. Another year. One more link in our chain. It’s here and we show no signs of a letdown. Just so blessed. Wishing us all a New Year that advances us in every way – toward our righteous goals – health, fulfillment, security, peace….all that good stuff that Jewball promotes. Let’s get it. And even better – Lets get it together.
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The Revolution has never seen a throwback game quite like Week 13. Let me count the ways.
To begin with, due to Covid and midseason healing, Jewball could only muster up a single game a la 2012. A first for the season. Perhaps a first for a non-tackle game in a number of seasons. Then we have Zezzy gunslinging like its 2010 and hobbling around like its 2015. All that was missing was his kids blowing away on the periphery like 2009. Add to this that it was classic 2008 scrambling to deal with cancelations and lateness and what field? and what time? and swapping players around to make it work. And to top it all off it was 2006 ugly-ass football. Bunch a mangy Jewballers bumbling around as if they were just learning what the game was all about.
Daveo said it best when asked to talk about the game on TBI. “I don’t want to,” the former Commish said in that lifeless monotone he must have picked up in broadcasting school.
The hour is late so….really what is there to say about this game? There is a final score on the website that represents a fallacy. Something that happened after Zez and I left the field. QBs were switched…scores happened. Think it says final was 6-4 with Gronk on top. Well, if this were Torah, that would be the drash and the recap is the pshat. This game wasn’t close. Zez rolled in a bit late, which didn’t help, but something was so off from jump. Sorry Bert, but I have to. I think one of the first things that went horribly wrong for Dark was on Zez’s first full drive from the 5, he throws a screen to Bert and – granted Zez whips it in and his receivers were all struggling to handle his heat – Bert bobbles it into the hands of Salem for a P6 that made it 3-0. That play represented the entire day. In that Zez and his receivers were not in rhythm. In that Zez made a curious play call having Bert not being a blocker for a screen pass, but instead receiving it. And finally…in that Zez threw a pick. A few – like that one – were not on him, but I think there were 7 on the day (5 to Mighty). Rabin had thrown a few as well. I believe Colors intercepted Dark 9 times on the day. Cue Principal Edward Rooney noting how many days Ferris Bueler missed school.
On the other side….well…we know Gronk loves to take advantage of a discombobulated team. No one exposes weakness like our most powerful ranker. And Dark was exposing itself all day – and not in the way PJs encourages. Munch and Salem had Zez on the run and throwing those picks….and that’s really the story. Think it was 5-1 when the switch was made. And Gronk won after the switch as well. Jewball to Gronk? Nah, he was very good, but Dark made everything so easy for him. We were just a mess. Mighty gets it by default for the crazy number of picks plus the TD.

Week 14 Teams to follow…

League Week 4 was supposed to fix the year-long trend of blow-outs and ties, so of course we had one blow out and one tie. Though we did answer one question resoundingly: simply in terms of quality of game-experience – the tie is well –superior to the blow out. Sure, there is no W to put in your pocket and shine up over the course of the week, but there is a viable game to be proud of. With the blow-out, most of the time – and was the case on the Sunday – the losing team leaves miserable and the winning team leaves happy but unsatisfied.  
I think I’ve said this before, but now I really mean it: Week 12 was the first truly bonafide old school cold weather game of this season. The kind where you can only see Courtney’s eyes peeking through her coat. That cold. Was windy too. Not an easy game to be on the field, let alone on the sidelines. The old men so far are 0-2 in showing up on the cold weather days. This may mean we have the field to ourselves the rest of the way. Would be sweet.


Game 1 was the sexy matchup last Sunday with the two star-power teams going head to head. Yaron v. Pray. PJs v. Pray. PJs v. Yaron. PJs v. Daveo. Dobs v. the neglect of his parents. Legs v. the non-neglect of his parents. PJs v. E. Sam v. Prime. Singer v. Mighty (who didn’t show up to the fight – no excuse). And of course the battle everyone saw coming from a mile away: ZADA V. DAVEO!  
There were some last minute Bird droppings. Mighty and Tom checked out and Ernie checked in. There was a time when Mighty would have been replaced by two Veterans and it still wouldn’t be fair. Now, he plus Tom are replaced by a rookie whose Jewball name is based entirely on the existence of another rookie. Eichah! 
I know BOP was flying after this game and PJs and Daveo came into TBI higher than Solo after 3amedibles, but – as someone standing in the cold watching the game unfold – it was rather uneventful for much of the running time. I will admit that playing in the game and watching it are naturally two very different experiences. Playing is a physical, visceral experience. The action feel intense and monumental. Visually speaking, the best play of the game was the one that got the scoring started. A wicked over the top grab by Dobs on a vintage Yaron cannonball while in full gallop. The ball sailed perfectly over the defenders and stuck to Dobs’ mitts as if his gloves were covered in……I guess….I’m gonna say….glue. Sure, glue. That was the best play of the game. Between that and the last play of the game, the moments in between were less momentous – with few exceptions. Once again, Legs is becoming an absolute menace on the line. If that terminator ever learns a few basic tricks – he will be Munch. There, I said it. Legs + technique = Munch. Book it. 
He had a lot of almosts. A lot. As did Daveo. And as pointed in various contexts over the past few days, IF BOP did not score on that final play – Daveo would have been the most glaring reason. We’ve seen plenty of almosts, but Daveo was all almost. Was tough to watch. He closed in fast on everything he pursued and his prey always got past him unscathed. Every time. So it was good for him what happened at the very end.  
During the middle hour or so of the game, many opportunities were squandered. I will say this – Pray needs to figure out  his red zone offense. Again, outside of that final play – which felt very exceptiony and not at all ruley – Pray could not get his team points in the traditional way. The only score they managed was the classic – though jaw droppingly awesome – Pray charging down the sideline like a lightning bolt for 73 yards and running one in. The TD a tad marred by the did or didn’t he call the flag guard by Singer. It is our hope that the new non-verbal “call” rule will clean some of this up. We will remind everyone of it on the field.  
Yaron wasn’t helping his cause much either. He threw two rough picks (that I recall). One to Pray in Pray’s endzone and the other to Ernie from Yaron’s endzone. Not pretty. 
Just as the game was about to be most faded, Yaron and Beast came up with a nice score on a TE rollout with Beast making a throwback catch with his signature hard running style in the open field. Between that catch and a really nice game at the line, the man I once called Ademar by accident was poised for a Jewball. Alas, it was not meant to be. Pray orchestrates a drive that really should have been the recipe throughout the game. As he said on TBI – and we will not FORGET it – the drive’s tone was set by a pass for big yardage caught by Salem. Then, and it truly looked like Pray should have gone to this well more often – Prime angry running just picking up all kinds of yards. And yes….that final play – Daveo across the back of the endzone. An almost drop (well, really a tip to himself) but he hangs on – a heroic play to give BOP a tie and to take a Jewball away from Beast. 
Game 2 was unpleasant. If it wasn’t for Munch’s historical performance, I wouldn’t mind just posting the score. Feit is still out. We know that. I know he will defend himself, but I’m not going to here: Feit, you are out, but you are Captain. Do a better job leading your team. If you don’t know what it takes to lead, ask Gronk. Just kidding – he is worse than you at it. Ask Pray – the guy whose entire team wanted to be traded. Okay 0-2. Ask Yaron! If you want a really formal answer that is nearly impossible to understand and said in a voice that will make you want to hang yourself. I get it. Leadership is not easy. That said, you gotta find a way. You; Gotta. Find. A. Way. Abdicating responsibility is NEVER the option. Even if others get away with it – it’s not right. Lead your team both on and off the field – and good things will happen.  
I’m not gonna say anything bad about Flash. I really like and respect that guy. He wasn’t the right man for the FC QB position on Sunday, clearly – but he is just the most solid dude. Love to see him whenever he comes out. We need to just get him back into the rotation as a WR where he belongs.  
Munch sacked him 10 times. The birthday boy Solo came out and he deserves a medal for it, but Munch gets one of the most deserved Jewballs we have ever awarded. Congrats, Munch on a banner day. You are the gold standard of Jewball excellence and have been for many many years.

If you (not Munch) are wondering why you are playing mediocre Jewball…the answer is because we have guys like Munch who are setting the standard for us. Perhaps in another league you would shine, but until you are willing to put in the work and effort of a Munch, you will simply be mediocre by comparison. 
Feit Club scored none. Barely made plays. They need and will get a reset next League Game. Gronk moved the ball very easily. Threw zero picks. 1 score was enough but Cronies put up 5.  
See you guys, Friday for some Friday Jesus Bowl action. 

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I checked and rechecked the calendar before putting pen to paper for this recap. And it is confirmed: Last Sunday was not Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Years. It was just a plain old Week 11 in this 2021-2022 season. So why did it feel so much like a Bowl Game? Why didn’t it seem to matter?

Could it be that the schedule got the better of us? A Week 11 sandwiched between the intensity and pageantry of League Game 3 and League Game 4. Did our players decide to hold back while looking forward?

It’s tough otherwise to explain another Week of Jewball that was just competitively imbalanced.

It was cold, sure, but this is football. It was a gray morning, but see above. We had good players show up. Many of our stars and power rankers checked in. No reason not to have two close games with the vitcor going home feeling accomplished. Yet, once again it was a one sided affair. Make that three one sided affairs. And to be a-fair to the players that showed, this was an example of a day where QB play determined the outcomes. Absolutely, individuals could have tried harder or fought fiercer, but Week 11 showed the unpredictability of Jewball and sports in general. Our power rankings would have you believe that Yaron and Gronk are unstoppable forces. Gronk, all the way at the top! Yaron, not far behind!

And yet….the same Gronk can’t put up a single point in Game 1 or Game 2 and throws picks galore. And yet again, the same Gronk ravages Yaron in Game 3. The same Gronk who got shut out just minutes earlier goes for 9 scores. The same Yaron who has been ascending to the status he deems himself worthy (as do most of us) looks befuddled from the first snap.

Legs tries to call in sick. Then he tries to play GM with 25 minutes to go before kickoff. He ends up coming a bit late but Game 1 is already in tatters. Pray runs for 88 yards to start the game and Gronk throws a P6 to Ernie on his first possession. By the time Legs checks in, the Game feels very much out of hand. Once Pray scored again, and due to the rough “inequitable” start, we run this one back. Everyone gets a reset and a chance to make right. But there was no right to be made by Gronk and co. The QB with the heretofore golden touch looked rusty and tarnished. He couldn’t score a single point. And – prognosticators be damned – there was Pray on the other side living his best life, pumping his fist and celebrating pinpoint hookups with Singer and OBJ receptions by Klink on his way to 4 scores. One of them being a throwback P6 by Klink where he looked as spry and fleet footed as back in 2007 when the Chipmunk could cover anyone. So that’s Game 1 in an acorn shell. Klinky gets the honorable mention for the aforementioned, but Jewball to Pray. He had the numbers. Check the website. You’ll see.

I was worried about Game 2 because  Yaron was loaded with all the players close to his heart and he had been on a winning a streak, looking extremely sharp. He was poised to shine in every way and make the day as memorable as he has had on the Jewball field. He was joined by all the players he had brought to Jewball, including the return of showstopper Flash, plus Rabin whom he uses incredibly effectively out of the TE position. And Gronk was picking himself up off the ground.

But, like Daveo while the cameras are rolling, Yaron was mucho distracted. Jordan picks him on the second pass of the game. Jordan gets stopped at the 1. Gronk to Ivry for the score. On the day, Yaron got picked 4 times, Jordan got stopped at the 1 yard line 4 times, and Gronk threw a TD to Ivry 4 times. This is how it went. It was tough to watch Yaron have such a miserable day with all his very talented players from back in the day surrounding him. Storm had two TDs late to keep his stat train moving, but the game was never close. Gronk wins 9-3. Normally a 4 TD game would get u a Jewball, but all of Irv’s TDs were the same. Crosses from the 6 yard line. He made the plays. He leads the league in TDs and he is definitely an MVP candidate. But Jewball to Gronk for the equally gaudy numbers and the lesson to all of us out here about bouncing back. He had 3 games on Sunday. Fail, Fail, and Great Success. A less mentally tough person would have given up on themselves and the day. A lesson for all our League QBs. In the end. There can be only one.

Jewball could have used a good week of football. The Turkey Bowl was a really nice and special day. The Chanukah party was a really nice and special night. But this isn’t a league about the trimmings. It’s about the roast. And that’s the Sunday morning football experience. And over the past few weeks, it felt damn near vegan up in here. The anomaly and joy of a Rabin win aside – let’s be honest – we have been struggling to feast on good football. We have instead found ourselves in a mid-season famine. Starving for quality games. We wander and stumble through wastelands of blowouts and ties. For a while, I thought it was me. Maybe you thought it was me as well. Surely, it was the team making. It was the imbalance of the squads. The randomizer was busted and in desperate need of a reset. Thank God for League Week 3, right? That’s gonna fix all that ails us. Because the Commish can’t blow this one. The teams are set. They are fair. The competitive balance of the League Weeks has been its defining characteristic. So many great players. So evenly distributed. Bring it, League Week 3! Cure us! FEED US!!!

And here I am, writing a Week 10 recap and there is good news and bad news. The good news is only for me…..the problem wasn’t me. It wasn’t my team making. So I feel better. The bad news is…it’s you. Well, it’s us. It’s our players. The problem with Jewball right now is that the Jewballers are letting us down. To be clear: only on the field of course. 

What do I mean by that? Quite simply…..we aren’t playing to the best of our abilities. We aren’t playing smart enough. Or tough enough. Or hard enough. And bad play has lead to bad habits. Only one thing to do about it. Week 11 the f*** out of it!

It was our first December game. It was Chanukah. It wasn’t exactly cold. You’d call it football weather outside. Low 40s to start Game 1, but the sun was rising and about to make it beautiful. Yaron and the Lionhearts had not won a League Game. And that’s odd looking at their team preparing. Irv, Singer, Ross, Zada, Dobs, Beast, Yaron. Those were the 7 Lionhearts that showed on Sunday. That’s a team without a flaw. They had lost to BOP in a game without Singer. They had lost to the Cronies in a game without Singer (playing like Singer). Unfortunately for Feit Club, Singer had taken about 2 weeks off and was ready to tear someone’s head off on Sunday. Feit Club actually played like that proverbial chicken who has been decapitated and runs around dying for a while before realizing it is dead.

This same wayward chicken, only a few short weeks ago was a proud strutting red crested rooster. The cockiest of cocks, crowing on TBI about a team that has bought in. I remember that golden hued time. I remember the game that precipitated it. Oren and Kut turning back the clock and in relentless pursuit of Pray. Storm, everywhere. MK, everywhere. Feit….so bouncy and confident. Efer-effing-vescent! Like I said on the field, it was the 7th day of Chanukah, and FC looked like it had been binging on donuts and latkas for a week. Their reactions were slow and heavy. Weighed down by an anchor of malcontent. Oren brought the Big O inflatable helmet and it was a great touch. It added flair to the affair, but the player that was a joy to watch against BOP was not the same. Beast and Dobs manhadlndled Kut and O…pretty much on both sides of the ball. Vegh did not have the game that he needed to show FCFT that they made a huge mistake ignoring him. Feit was doing his best to rally his team in the huddles and from the sideline, but his actual play was uninspiring. To the contrary; it was demoralizing. In the prior game he was sure of everything. Now he was sure of nothing. Perhaps nothing but that he wasn’t himself. He was uncomfortable. Hurt. He was once the QB who couldn’t stop bouncing around with exuberance; now the QB who can’t stop pump faking with indecision. He pump fakes his way to another shut out loss. Back to back soul crushing shut outs is not easy to do, but that’s where the early season MVP candidate finds himself. Week 8 he was top of the Power Rankings. Where will he be after Week 10? And this is why you play the game? Because if we didn’t play the games, well, Yaron might still have the reputation of a perennial loser whose receivers love nothing more than to drop his passes. But how does he look on December 7th? After that win? Short answer: He looks pretty darn awesome. His team looks pretty darn unbeatable. Dobs and Beast looked as formidable against Feit as O and Kut did against Pray. All motor and determination. Every receiver is sure handed. Yaron was always accurate. The difference now is the passes are being caught. Singer was getting the butterfinger treatment on Chanukah….maybe he took that personally. Maybe. Good work, Dobs. Brilliant, actually. Singer was grabbing everything. High throws. Low throws. Flags. He pulled a flag on Oren when he was in the air and upside down. By choice! He was also bringing the pressure. He was basically the difference maker. It was Snow Pup without a flake to be found. We call that in Jewball recaps the honorable mention. It’s like a Jewball but doesn’t get you a stat. Singer would have had an actual Jewball but he dropped a late TD. So it’s Yaron who gets it of course. Just like the one Storm got that lifetime ago in a League Game victory, Yaron was perfect. Did he throw a pick? I don’t know. I’m not checking. He was perfect. 6 TDs thrown to 4 different receivers. Heady play from the start. Leadership, arm strength, all the intangibles. And he did it all while dressed like Madonna from the Like a Virgin era. Lionhearts are back. Look out, rest of League.

And after Game 2, maybe look out, Lionhearts. The Cronies looked for real. Feit Club got shut out on Sunday, the BOP did not, but they did have something in common. They weren’t trying their best. Birds of Pray is a star studded team. Sure, that sometimes comes with drama. BOP is carrying baggage stuffed with drama right now. And they need to dig deep and fix it. They need to unpack that shit. They each need to buy in to the team mentality or this train is going off the rails. 3 more games to figure it out.

The game played is more recap worthy than Game 1 since it had some elements of competition, although not many. I believe Cronies scored at will for the first 45 minutes of the game. Goldberg, who has himself a hell of agame on offense and defense, scored the first Crony TD. Gronk has a lot of time and plenty of clear field vision on Sunday. We have to mention that he threw 4 ugly picks, but that seems to be the necessary evil of a Gronk performance. Like a slugger who is good for one home run per game, but is gonna strike out 3 times while getting there. Pray was kinda back to the What’s Wrong With Pray era following a few games where he seemed to reclaim that winning edge. Needless to say, none of those games involved a pass rush of Solo and Munch, with Gronk playing spy. No QB in the league can be their best in that situation. That said, good teams do find a way to make adjustments. BOP made the adjustment – just with twenty minutes left in the game and when it was already surrendered to their opponents. Why surrender? Because the Cronies came to play Sunday. I’m in a tough spot here as I do want to be the objective recapper. This isn’t a PJ’s Perspective. I also don’t want to do a disservice to my team that played so well. I’ll try to be complimentary, but subtle: The Cronies played as if their cosmic bond had been elevated to the dynamic synergy of other wordly supreme beings. Okay…..you know what? They all played very well. Honorable Mention to Goldberg and Munch for the flag grabbing expertise. Logan had a run back of a pick that if I think about for just long enough I will cry because I know what he was battling physically and he’s just the most f***ing inspiring teammate a kid could ask for. Steveo, who scored a TD, is Logan, but even better for me because I’ve actually seen him become Logan. So it’s special and personal. I met Logan and he was already Logan. Less exciting. Klink, I know even longer than Steveo and he’s just pure Klinkness. Did you see how he wears his ski cap?? Pushing down his ears! You can’t fake that purity!! Thrilled he is back in the fold and catching TDs over Tom like a boss. And as for this old commish, all praise to the Jewball Gods for giving me a day like Sunday. With the next generation present, I make a circus catch and throw in a pick and a TD. Jack keeps describing to me when and how he will start dominating Jewball. And of course, he says I suck. Who did I miss? Oh yeah….the man who brought it all together. Sure, he needed a wake up call, but once awake….he brought the house. Solo….how did this man not go first Round?? Between the demeanor that is entirely fierce and entirely placid, he is the ultimate game changer. Just ask Pray. And just as Gronk who outletted to Solo numerous times to evade a sack and to gain yards that lead to scores. Solo gets the Jewball for being the one Crony who actually did it all on Sunday.

So, in short – The Cronies whupped the Birds. Final was 5-2, but it wasn’t close. Birds had some highlight plays. The Rat got his stats. Tom made a splendid one handed pick. But, the team seemed to sag watching Pray struggle. Instead of redoubling their efforts, they appeared at times openly despondent. I give Legs credit for calling people out for it. We gotta train ourselves to motor the whole way through. It’s not easy. At all. But we gotta train ourselves to do it.

And speaking of training, let’s take it upon ourselves right here and right now – to get fit…not for ourselves…F that….for Jewball! To make the games as epic as possible. I usually make this request at the end of the season, but after the let down we’ve had recently, something needs to change. We need to bring IT to the games on Sundays, whatever IT may be. No chat or party or event can make up for football that we are not proud of. Let’s get back to being proud of our football. Week 11…bring IT.

Mark your calendars…

There was some snow dust falling on Sunday morning. Week 9 followed a pretty festive Turkey Bowl which saw Pray beating Gronk in OT and Rabin doing just enough to lose to the return of Frog. The young QB was not the only Jewballer of yesteryear to make an appearance on Thanksgiving. Jesus, Spira, and Socks – each an unbelievably cool resurrection – returned to the family to get a game in and reset their clocks.
Maybe it’s the football overload between the Bowl and the Sunday game, but there was something missing Week 9. And I don’t just some usual suspect players, which allowed a both or 2.
Game 1 was the classic Pray v. Feit matchup. Not a particularly well played game from the part I saw. Feit continued to regress and Pray was there to take advantage and grind out his second win in four days. Feit threw a bunch of picks and couldn’t score a thing. Jewball to….I don’t know…..Maor looked good? Pray won? Dobs…who gets it?
I heard Oren walked off the field upset. I guess he was…..upset. Shouldn’t walk off the field until game is over. But his point was valid. We rotate O line unless someone volunteers to play dead line or take your spot in the rotation.
I didn’t see any Game 2 action, but I know Rabin got mercied and the game was restarted. I have Rabin a loaded squad and he couldn’t make it work. A bad look for him after a W last week and a a decent showing on Thanksgiving. Definitely a step backward. Jewball in Game 2a to Yaron since he beat Rabin when I made that very difficult for him. Game 2b….Jewball to Gronk or Mighty? What say you, Yaron?
Some big losses on Sunday, but huge win on Tuesday as we had our first ever Chanukah party. Once again thanks to Legs for hosting and Daveo for the donuts. Thanks on the DL to those who co-sponsored….I know who some of you are. Was a great time and appreciate everyone who came out. The bottom line is….we say we are a family – and then we actualize it. That makes all the difference.
League Week 3 up next. Happy Chanukah, Jewball.

late entry

Turkey Bowl brought back a lot of vets, return of the frog, and overall gave us brilliant weather. Happy Thanksgiving, players!

Week 8 will be remembered as the week where the luster lost by Feit and Pray was transferred to Rabin and Yaron. An undefeated QB and the reigning MVP tooks Ls from a QB with a losing record and one who squandered his starting role, respectively.  Now, of course there is more to it than that, but…this is a packed week short on time, and the recaps are many. I ask for your understanding over the Bowl Game season since….there are only so many words. And now with TBI in the mix, the themes of the day can get redundant.
I will begin with an apology. First to Feit and then to my team Sunday morning and then to Yaron’s team. I blew it. I made one sided teams. Yes, admittedly, I wanted to test Feit. I wanted to see if he could pull another W out of his ass against all odds, but I absolutely did not give him the personnel to do it. Even with Maor needing a replacement and Colors picking up a speed player in Benj, there was just not enough talent on Colors to cover or adjust to what Yaron and Dark were bringing on Sunday. This isn’t about Colors playing badly or making excuses, this is about a balance of the skillsets on the field. We have proven that when we Draft, we Draft well. The League games have been, are, and will be competitive until the end. The other weeks, I need to bring my A Game in making sure every team has a chance if they play their best. Colors did not play its best, but even if they did, they couldn’t win that game. That’s on me. And the shame is not just that Feit took an L and there goes the streak, but that Yaron and his team played an incredible game. They would have beaten a team much better than Colors. But we will never know. What we do know is they took advantage of Feit being a bit off and very much under pressure. They took advantage of a Singer injury. They took advantage of a vast disparity at line. And they took advantage of a team with 3 rooks learning the zone play. Trick plays, sure. Non trick plays, of course. Again, everyone on Dark looked really really good. I wish we could say it was surely them and not us, but I really don’t know. In the end, it was a thumping. No need to relive the details. 9-1 win. Irv gets the old gaudy stat line Jewball. 3 score, 3 picks.
As much as I deserve blame for Game 1, I got Game 2 right. With Rabin at QB, my aim is to give him what he needs to win, but without leaving the other QB’s cupboard bare. I think the teams were spot on and the game played was exciting once the scoring got going. It did take a while. Rabin and Solo did a very nice job pressuring Pray and a defense sporting guys like Dobs, MK, Zada, and Ross is handsy and formidable. That is not to say Pray didn’t have his shots. Beast did not have a beast of a game by any means and almosted his way into the early storyline of this game by getting spun around by a nice pass over the top that could have gone for points and then missed a flag on Zada which lead to Rabin’s first score. That right there is a 2 point swing. We await the return of the animal version of Beast. Zada needed bodying.
Pray got the game tied up by simplifying his play calling. Screen to Prime….welcome to Stiff Arm City. Jack is getting married in a few weeks and he doesn’t want to show up with Prime’s hand print on his eyeballs. So he didn’t go all out shoving Prime to the sideline. All good for Prime. He churns and burns 67 yards and knots this one.
Rabin then pulled out a play which was used very effectively by Yaron and Gronk in Game 1, but had actually failed for Rabin and MK earlier in the game. It did not fail this time. Swing out sideline pass to MK behind the line…..fake screen! There is Dobs cutting a post through the heart of the Pray defense, splitting the safety and the corner. MK unloads a 43 yard heat seeker that Dobs expertly hauls in (what doesn’t he do expertly?) while running full steam. Celebration for Rabin as they take the lead with a half hour to go.
The revelry was short lived. On the next possession, Pray drives the field and pulls out a miracle escape from Sacktown and finds Effie for the 23 yard strike 1st Down pass. Two plays later, Kut breaks free from the line and shows what a properly used TE can do. Catch and scramble, 45 yards to pay dirt. Game is once again evened up.
For Rabin, in a way, if the game ended in a tie, it would have been a nice showing. What really is expected of him at this stage in his career? How many times can one man be killed off and come back from the dead? Well, with Rabin, over the past 15 years, the answer seems to always be….apparently one more. With 20 minutes left, Rabin uses Zada to move the ball down field. Together they pick up 2 first downs. Now, with a 2nd and Goal and 10 minutes on the clock, the unlikeliest of occurrences transpires. The kind of thing that no betting man would bet on. The kind of moment that breaks every rule of logic and predictability. The kind of Jewball event that keeps us coming back for more, week after week, year after year, dare I say, decade after decade. It’s a simple play. If Yaron and Irv did it in the morning game 3 times, no one would have blinked or scratched their head. But there was Rabin – master of the gofer ball – ambassador of the flying duck – launching as pretty a deep ball as you will ever see. And to who? Is there anyone that had the legs and stamina this late in the game to get all the way behind the defenders to the back of the endzone to meet that ball? I mean that ball is not going to do what we have seen Rabin’s passes do a thousand times and come up short of their intended. This one is hitting someone in the back of the endzone or its flying out of bounds. Rabin happened to have done a professional job of making that the hallmark of his day. And it made all the difference. Instead of picks, we had incompletions. Harmless ones. So, does that spiraling heave land inbounds? And if so, does someone catch it? Yes and yes. Friggin Pops! Is over the top and perfectly placed behind all others to welcome that oblong leather baby into its new home. Rabin to Eddie punctuates the game! That’s almost 100 years of life experience! They get it done. Rabin and his defense hold on and Rabin gets the surprising win. Pray gets another head shaking loss. Jewball goes to someone who I didn’t mention that much but he was definitely the X Factor in the game !and did most of the heavy lifting for Rabin’s squad. Zada was slashing the defense and picking up 1st downs every time one was needed. Smothering defense as well. He added the score which gave Rabin his first lead and set the tone. Basically contributed from wire to wire and seemed to be the kind of weapon that Rabin needs to compete nowadays. A receiver with good hands that can create a lot of yards after the catch. And there you have it. Week 8 in the books, Turkey Bowl tomorrow with some incredible returns.
When some people say….life is a blessing, I totally get it when the response is….well, maybe your life is a blessing because it’s good. My life sucks, so I don’t want to hear it. I don’t know….I can’t argue with that person, but I believe – and belief is subjective – that we can also earn our blessings. And we do so by appreciating everything. Its not an exact science of course or any kind of science for that matter, but its a philosophy that pays off, even if its completely fabricated. So, on this Thanksgiving eve….let’s be sincere about our appreciation. Look at what you have – even if all you have is us! 

 – and say….damn…I am lucky, I am blessed – thank you! A lot of people don’t have a crew like this or the ability to play football or a chat to make them laugh or smile. A lot of people weren’t made with the kind of psychological components that would permit them to tolerate us and this – and I think they are missing something. It is not my job to understand why they don’t get it or convince them that they are crazy. But it is my job – without a doubt – to appreciate and say thank you that for whatever reason, I do get it. So…simple magic trick – appreciate everything you have and are…and earn blessings. Happy Thanksgiving, Jewball.