8am – Early Game:
Team Color:
Yaron, Bid O, Kut, Tabak, Mighty, Zada, Tom
vs.
Team Dark:
Prager, Munch, Johnnystorm, Prime, Singer, MK, Rabin
945am – Late Game:
Team Color:
Yaron, Ari, Eddie, Prime, Johnnystorm, Jacob, Salem
vs.
Team Dark:
Rabin, Frohlinger, Tom, Mo, Tabak, Zada, Brody
As we drive from Tel Aviv to the Negev….with a lot of distractions so apologies to all those who want an epic recap.
Week 4 was a mixed bag. A legit early game with a storm followed by a stop and go Game 2 that ended in a tie.
Game 1 started in wet weather and for the first 20 minutes of the game we had a real downpour. Made for an intense opening and set the tone. I’ll be honest it’s going to be hard for me to write a recap where I was such a detriment to my team. I left Week 4 bummed. One of those weeks. The reason? In my mind I am 25 and can run with anyone….but in reality I’m 41 and could not stay with my first assignment, Josh, or my second, Singer….at all. And Prager was throwing the ball well. I’m gonna pull of the bandaid with this one and just say it (as opposed to creating any drama or suspense in the narrative): Prager beat Yaron 4-3 with all 4 scores coming off Jordan blown man coverage. First 2 from Josh and second 2 from Singer. Yaron was sharp as well. It wasnt so much his arm that let down his team. Maybe play calling could have more effective but with the weapons Prager had and as locked in as he was, Yaron and his team had to be perfect – and they weren’t. They were good. Needed to be great. John dropped one sure TD. Jordan dropped 2 that would have kept drives alive. Yes, it was slick out there, but you gotta make plays to win games. Was a fun and competitive game in some wet conditions and felt gritty out there. I know Same had a sack and Beast was working hard competing in man coverage. Zada was his usual relentless self at middle LB. Tom played through pain and battled as he always does making plays from the TE spot. Full team effort by Prager. Yaron put up points with Prime and John. John also had a really nice day pulling flags. Congrats again to Vegh for the
. Jewball is to Prager for the 4 TDs thrown.
Game 2 wouldn’t deserve a recap since it ended in a tie, but I have to mention the MOST PHENOMENAL TD HOOKUP TO OPEN A GAME IN JEWBALL HISTORY! Pants to Beast on a post for 95 yards reception and score! A perfect pass over the coverage and Beast takes it to the house. Pants has quite an arm. Look forward to seeing what he can be down the line. We all be zocheh to celebrate with him at his upcoming bar mitzvah. After a trade
of Brody for Prime the game moved well. A back and forth affair with Rabin also throwing well. Zip on the ball – very few ducks and gophers. A beauty to Zada – who someone said couldn’t even catch – tied it up for the first time. Would have been interesting to see how this one ended, but we got booted for futbol. Apparently the soccer crew was one and done. Anyway, Rabin looked good at QB and I’m rooting for him at the Turkey Bowl today. Cant wait to see the pics.
Happy thanksgiving to the jewball family !!
Turkey Bowl Tourney- starting 845am at LHS:
Have fun, don’t fight, break bread and take pictures.
FIRE (RED ORANGE OR YELLOW)
Frohlinger – QB
Socks
Mighty
Salem
Tabak
Dechter
WATER (BLUE OR GREEN)
Rabin – QB
BD
Mo
Sig
Steveo
Tucker
DARK
MK – QB
Eddie
BK
Ari
Eichler
Horwitz
WHITE
Tom – QB
Schrier
PJs
Kut
Effie
Kaz
Wishing a HUGE MAZAL TOV to Vegh and fam on the birth of his new baby girl!!! He gets a 1 week excuse pass. Keep growing the jewball family kid!
Early Game – 8am:
Team Dark:
Yaron, Kut, Jordan, Rabin, Goldberg, Vegh, Munch
vs.
Team Color:
Prager, Zada, Tom, Sam, Josh, Singer, Beast
Late Game – 945am:
Team Dark:
Rabin, Yaron, Vegh, Ari, Prime, Mo, Tom
vs.
Team Color:
Pants, Jordan, Brody, Eddie, Daveo, Dobs, Zada/Beast
Week 3 had everything you want and need early on in a season that started on rocky footing. Talented players, competative games, full teams on time, and decent weather. In a word: stability. Week 1 was postponed and wound up in some tournament style chaos. Week 2 was equally chaotic in a failed bid at simultaneous games. But Week 3 was about right. 2 games, one early one late, stacked with talent. QBs who can handle the role and are adept signal callers. Yes, some cancels, but people stepped up (GOLDBERG! You can have come a long way, homes!) and….I think….b’a’h…..no injuries. Stability. Its important in Week 3 to find that footing. And it was definitely needed and now we can build off the model.
Game 1 looks like we can lock in Sholom v. Yaron as battle that will go back and forth the entire season. Flip a coin as to how the Ws and Ls will shake out at the end of the year. What I love so far about that matchup is that their skills will force the other to bring it on every set. Yaron cannot take it easy and assume the comeback if he gets down. He needs to throw his best because Sholom has a real skill set. Last week, Yaron was not “on” and he took the loss. This week, he was sharp and the win was his for the taking. On a cold(ish) and windy(ish) morning, Yaron took the ball and commanded a dark squad of Zada, Effie, DK, Steveo, Tom, and Beast. Sholom and colors started in a zone that was beyond their grasp. Sam and Goldberg were rushing. Jordan and Skully played the sides. Sholom and Evan played back. MK manned the middle. But it was chaotic. And Yaron is too smart for a zone defense to work. Especially a poorly strategized one. Darks opening drive march to the 7 yard line was effortless. Patient mid range passes mixed in with QB runs. Eventually, Steveo sneaks behind the zone and Yaron hits him the endzone for a 1-0 lead. Truth be told, Sholom did not have the zip or accuracy he displayed in Week 2. The wind seemed to affect him. Certainly less than it affected Yaron. Also, the QB runs and elusiveness that allowed him to break open big plays in Week 2 were snuffed out by a collective swarming effort by Zada, Yaron and DK. Tom and Effie and Beast brought a lot of pressure. Sacks abounded. Yaron got the ball back and drove quite easily against the zone one again. Zada was the beneficiary this time and scored. 2-0 Dark. Colors switched to a zone and it did slow down Yaron’s barrage of scoring. With a Skully pick being the only early highlight for Colors, it did not translate to points. At the half it was still 2-0. But straight out of halftime Sholom and Jordan finally hooked up and exploited Steveo’s cheating close off the line on man coverage. Deep post, caught and down at the 5. Fake sweep and shovel to the TE Skully in the opposite direction. Easy score for Colors and we have ourselves a ball game. 2-1. But damn if Yaron doesnt take that personally. And Steveo and Jordan have been going mano a mano for a loooong time. Always an honor. And Yaron started finding him deep. Although one drop by Steveo in a cluster and a sure TD drop by Beast kept the score close, Yaron eventually zipped a beauty into Zada in the back of the endzone. After a bobble a secure and a toe tap, Zada’s grab was ruled a score. 3-1 Dark with a half hour to play. Soon enough, Sholom punched back again. Its Jordan and that post this time caught and manages to avoid the Steveo tackle, stays in bounds on the sideline and 40 yard run to pay dirt. 3-2. Yaron is all about pride and says to Steveo….whatever they can do we can do better. And he unleashes a massive bomb to Steveo down the left sideline. Jordan is with him. Even thinks the pick is possible. But instead of thinking like a reciever, he thinks like a defender – jumps, gets a finger tip on the ball – slowing it down just enough to make the catch easy for Steveo
. TD for Dark. 4-2 with 20 minutes to go. Turning point of the game coming up. Sholom tries to go back to Jordan on that post and the ball is under thrown just enough that a Zada leap brings it down one handed and back breaker for Colors. To drive the point home, Yaron gets a 20 yard pass to fall into the awaiting arms of Effie (who is developing into quite the player) and just like that – without much time left on the clock – Dark is up 5-2. Sholom runs one in for Colors late, but not a difference maker at that point. MVP is Yaron for the 5 thrown and generally giving his team every opportunity to win – which is what everyone wants from their QB.
Game 2….I did not stay for, but thrilled Yaron lost. Thrilled Gronk is looking like an all star caliber QB. Thrilled my neighbor Mo is Jewball winner and put up great numbers.
Who wants WEEK 4? Early, Late or Both (if both must say preference or I give you what works better for us. Also, preference does not guarantee preferred time. Both means I can put you in either game but will try to accomodate preference).
Game 1 – 8AM
Team Dark:
Yaron, Steveo, Tom, Katz+1, Beast, Effie, Zada
vs.
Team Color:
Prager, Sam, Katz, Evan, Jordan, Skully, Kut
Game 2 – 945AM
Team Dark:
Gronk, Effie, Katz, Katz+1, Mo, Beast, Vegh
vs.
Team Color:
Yaron, Prime, Zada, Brody, Goldberg, Dobby, Ari
Evan called it greedy. I said I was trying to be generous. For sure it was both. Greedy in that I was trying to keep as many people in the loop as possible so that when we start losing numbers in the cold and wet, there are enough ballers left to take us through the winter months coming up. I have learned to be greedy, because when you can’t get 10 guys for a game of 5s for a few years….u never forget. The lean years always stay with you. And so you learn to get greedy to survive. But I was also being generous. I see the hunger out there for games and no one knows that hunger more than me. I get it. And how could I turn away someone who just wants to play a game? So we pushed things to their limits. Which brings us to the right word – Week 2’s experiment was presumptuous. It did not work – and we learn from it. We presumed a lot. Too much. Having 26 guys on the field from 8-11:15 presumes a lot (everyone shows, no injuries, no lateness). And we arent there yet. And a part of me – and I think a lot of the vets agree – doesnt want to get there. As much as we love growth and stats and success….we dont want to lose our heart – the flavor of the game. We dont want to sell out. Go corporate. Become a monster. Like I said, it’s a tough balance. But, luckily – in that regard – last week did not work, so the reality on the ground dictated our path. We will go back to a regular doubleheader to try and accommodate as many guys as possible. At the same time, I am going to have to make tough decisions in who gets in to the games (if that many are interested). For example, I cant give u a spot if you come late, or dont show, or leave early, or generally are not reliable. I have to show deference to the Vets who have seen us through the years where we weren’t the popular choice. I have to show deference to talent because I want the games to be as competitive as possible. In other words, for the good of the games, I need to start being the bad guy. Stop being greedy. Stop being generous. And stop being presumptuous. Dont get me wrong – there were awesome things about last week – Game 2 was a classic – the fact there was a moment where 26 guys were playing Jewball – but the double doubleheader thing did not work. So we will go back to 8am and 945. Everyone gets at least one game. That’s enough. QBs can play both if we need them to. And the rest of the both spots (if any) will be on a rotation so that they are evenly distributed throughout the season. Recap and Sign Up to follow at around 5pm.
<Later that day….>
It’s cold, dark, and I already wrote today. I am really in no mood to recap. However, the show must go on. My bigger reservation is now that we are a stat based league, the recaps dont matter. But let’s keep it short and sweet. The Warm Up starter late as Prime had car trouble. He made it, but not right away. So was 5s for a while. Then 6s. I was told the teams I made were $#!& because @Joshua Friedman is “the best player ever ever” so it was all him or something. I know he is very good. I heard he scored 4 TDs….so let’s give him a Jewball right there. I also apparently gave one team all the height. So just unfair. Anyway, the warm up game happened…and thanks for trying eveyone.
. That’s the bugle they play at military funerals.
Okay on to the main stage. First things first. @Sholom Prager looked very good. Love that we have a new legit QB. Welcome and hope to see a ton of you. You v. Yaron was a battle. Too bad Yaron was off….well, his whole team was off. Something was just wrong. One of those days where if the player was open the pass was either not in the right spot or if the pass was on it was dropped. Just ugly. Evan, Kut, Jordan…all with drops. Munch did his thing. Blocked and schemed and the defensive effort was generally competitive, but nothing to show for it. Was the kind of game where @Eli and Jordan had a momentum swinging picks, but the momentum lead nowhere. On the other side of the ball, Sholom is colors was throwing some beauties. His team was doing him no favors either with a few drops of scoring chances. But, unlike Yaron and Dark, Colors used their momentum to put up a point. It was Singer with 2 picks and a TD. It was 1-0 for about an hour and 15 minutes. Crazy low score for that long. With a minute left @Sholom Prager iced the game for his squad with a QB keeper and made it down the sideline and gone. 2-0 win…Colors over Dark.
Sholom may deserve an MVP but Singer gets it. Why? The stat line plus the play at Safety. One reason Yaron may have been off is that Singer made him feel squeezed. There seemed to be no window in which to place the ball. Well done, @Meyer Singer Football. Great to have u back. Expect big things.
I’ll recap Game 2 later. Was a shoot out! Dinner time in the Hiller home. Who wants WEEK 3? Early? Late? Both? (If both say a preference).
Game 2 happened on the main stage. It was the only game featured at 945. The After Party never materialized for various reasons. The good news was, the 945 needed spare parts from the After Party including a starting QB. Yaron stepped in and within a few minutes hooked up with Ari on a BOMB TD that may have just made up for all their failures in Week 1. May have. Malik came about 10 minute into the game and was off and running from there. Meanwhile Al and Jimmie split at line (with a rotation of Danny, Kito, Tomaz, and Josh to take over for John) so the 7s became a robust 8s. One very annoying thing about playing simultaneous games is that the lines are all messed up….so happy that is over. We widened and adjusted the field so this game could get the normalcy it soon deserved. Gronk looked super sharp and poised, making good decisions, when to run and when to throw. His passes were crisp and Brody was giving him a reliable target. Daveo was just a terror on both sides of the ball, but mainly getting his on defense. Malik was feeling it with Vegh on some nice crosses and comebacks but otherwise was having trouble in the passing game. Lucky for him, his running game is out of its mind. Basically, if u haven’t seen it, the closest I can compare it to is Mighty circa 2009. Virtually impossible to catch. Between the jukes, speed, escapability, and sheer brilliance….once he takes off, it’s only a matter of time that his legs will find the endzone. Between Veghs receptions and Flash’s running, Gronk and co were down 3 scores at the half. But what looked like a blow out soon turned into a duel. Daveo went next gear and became the hardest working man on the field. Once he made a catch, no one could lay on hand on him. He put up two scores in short order. Malik answered with a bomb TD of his own to Vegh and the lead was comfortable again. Gronk stayed calm and once again found a way to claw back. He actually was let down a few times by the usually reliable Danny. Maybe could have pulled this one out if a few things swung his way. We had a tie game with only a few minutes left. But Malik decided it was time to go home. Like in the first game, we end on a QB keeper. If Gronk and co won, would have been a more difficult call at MVP. Gronk threw and called as good a game as I’ve seen. Daveo was a force. Brody is a very welcome addition to our game. Those 3 came to work. But, Malik gets the MVP. The 3 scores and the the throwing TD did it. Also commendable work on keeping the rotation moving so the guys who got screwed by the After Party fail could get some ball in. TOP PLAYS: Dobby’s shirt. And Gronk telling him to go back to Staten Island for really no good reason. But it was all funny. WEEK 3 is currently locked out.*
*Just need a QB for Game 2.
Game 1 – A – Early Game Main Stage:
Team Dark:
Yaron, Evan, Munch, Jordan, Rabin, Kut, Skully
vs.
Team Color:
Prager, All Man, O, Singer, Zada, Tabak, Sam
Game 1 – Early Game B:
Team Dark:
Gronk, Vegh, Goldberg, Tom, Ari, Josh
vs.
Team Color:
Pants, Eddie, Brody, MK, Primetime, Mo
Game 2 – A – Late Game Main Stage:
Team Dark:
Flash, Eddie, Ari, Primetime, Vegh, Goldberg, Kut
vs.
Team Color:
Gronk, MK, Brody, Tom, Dobby, John, Danny
Game 2 – Late Game B:
Team Dark:
Yaron, Zada, Jimmy, Big Al, Justin, Tomaz
vs.
Team Color:
Pants, Jordan, All Man, Daveo, Kito, Josh
“Great football weather this Sunday morning.”
–Allan “The Oracle” Milchman
If there is ever a Week where competitive play matters the least, it is Week 1. Not that competitive games are ever unimportant. They are always the most important, but unlike every other Week of Jewball, Week 1 might just be about something else (and lucky for us since the games were not close).
Week 1 is about renewal. Week 1 is about reunions. It is about clean slates, untapped potential, untold stories, unfulfilled destinies. It is about optimism. Where anything is possible. Where a kid named Brody and a kid named Pants, who we never heard of before, can grab the first two Jewballs. Where Mo, playing in his first game, now leads the league in scores. Where these three players become an integral and unalterable part of our story. A story which goes back to the early to mid 90s. Where rookies find their way amongst veterans and by the end of the game it feels like they have been here forever. Where the family grows – long live the Jewball family.
And we had plenty of that growth in Week 1. The perfect mix of youth, age, new faces, and incredible comebacks. Me, B-sh, and Rabin coming out for our 17th or 18th opening day together….and then old school vets like Meir, Munch, O, PJs, Singer and Mighty in the mix. New school Vets like Kut, Tom, and MK. Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen. 28 in all. 28! Has to be a record. All the generations blending for the game we call Jewball. As it should be. Here is to many more Week 1s!
As foretold by The Oracle, the weather Sunday was great. Sunshine and low 50s. Hardly any wind. LHS turf was open for the taking.
(We now go to the words of our Jewball poet laureate – Kut):
After the hype, anticipation and ultimate letdown of opening day, guys were itching to get out and play. Not wanting to tempt the football gods, Commissioner Jordan decided to forego any talk of a tournament and just allowed guys to sign up for the early or the late game. (Not Both, Ademar) Within 15 minutes, the 8am game was closed out. Took about 3 days for the 9:45 game to fill up. (what used to be a lazy man’s game with a late start has turned into early risers greeting the day.)
The teams looked decently matched on paper. Getting on the field it appeared as if one team was slightly more stacked than the other. Imagine lining up against Munch, O and Meir (Stein, not singer) they are big, fast and quite skilled. Kind of like Arya going against the Whitewalkers (Rooks should remember them from last year’s game, the one where Vets won!) I would love to tell you that they combined for 6 sacks, I’d love to tell you that they forced countless interceptions, I’d even like to tell you that they gave their QB plenty of time to throw many TD’s. Sadly, this was not the case. However, that was the case for the surprisingly dominant opposing line consisting of MK, Sam and Kut. Individually they may not have been as tough, skilled or dominant, but as a team, they were a force to be reckoned with.
The game started with Rabin throwing for Dark. Quick interception and Colors go up by 1. Rabin takes it again, nice running play behind the big 3 for 25 yards. Pressure coming in, throw is out and …..Interception number 2. Yaron, throwing for Colors takes over and quickly turns in another score. Rabin takes over again, not feeling too confident, and……3 and out, passing game is just not there and the D-line is creating heavy pressure. Yaron gets the ball again, feeling pressure on a 3rd and long, he throws one up and the wrong team comes down with it. (Will it be one those games?) Gronk takes over at QB, things are looking good, until they’re not. Interception #4 for the day. Yaron gets the ball back and throws a beauty of a pass way down field to Brody. TD! Dark gets the ball, new QB, one of the legends has returned, Meir Stein, hell of an arm and lots of passion. (Called pass interference is still under review) Couple of complete passes, ball moving down the field, things are looking up. 3rd and 2, no where to throw, Meir starts running to his left, about to pass the line and Kut, chasing from behind dives and grabs the flag for a sack and turnover on downs. (if I’m writing the recap, I can put myself in it) Yaron gets the ball again and launches a rocket downfield, jump ball to Singer who easily handles the catch and gets the TD. Game didn’t change much at that point, more turnovers for Dark, including a pick by Asa, more TD’s for Color. Gronk takes over QB, again and manages to put together a very nice drive, capped off with a TD pass to Vegh, finally Dark is on the scoreboard. Icing on the game was Mighty catching a quick pass and flying past the depleted and tired defense (Hi Goldberg, wanted to get you in the recap,) to run in another TD.
Final score of the game 7-1. Jewball goes to Brody for 2 picks and 2 TD’s.
Decent game, should’ve been better.
Shout out to Rabin who showed up to the game even though he was hosting an RCCS breakfast at 9:30. Good to see a lot of faces out there on the field, looking forward to many more.
(Back to Jordan)
Watching Game 1 come to a close was semi-depressing. If it wasn’t Week 1 and the high that goes along with it, it would have been very depressing. The losing team, lead by Rabin and Meir and Gronk was down by 6 scores and listless. After an exciting drive by Gronk (which should have been the type of game played by Dark all day) Mighty scores a late cheap one (and for those watching stats, it sucked to see!) and the Game 1 folks traipsed off the field.
The hope was that Game 2 would have more bite. And, with such a low bar, it did.
It was the reigning MVP Yaron against the 16 (SIXTEEN!) year old upstart Davy Pants, progeny of Eddie, brother of Ari. It takes a lot of guts to step into the ring with grown men and I give Pants all the credit in the world. But there is no way he could beat Yaron, who had just won 7-1 in the previous game. How could he outsling the gunslinger? But that’s why you play the game.
Pants starts his Jewball career with a 3 and out and Yaron and Colors take over, but not before a truly sad and scary moment as John goes down with a knee injury. Really tough to see. The guy is fire and explosive talent. If we all brought it like John, Jewball would be its best self. So…we wish him a speedy recovery. The 7 on 7 became a 6 on 6 with Colors rotating. Dark goes zone and it proves a tad porous. A methodical drive ends up with a Sam TD and Colors takes a 1-0 lead.
From the 5, Pants calls a reverse – Jordan to Mo. We like the gutsy call. And wouldn’t u know it….Mo breaks free…makes his way through the line, then the secondary, and then it’s a footrace. And Mo is some athlete. Tall (at least for Jewball ) and fast. Game is tied at 1s. And the Dark defense starts to lock it down, with honorable mention of MK and stellar flag pulling over the middle. Pick 6 by Pants. 90 yard screen and run to Jordan for a score. MK on the pitch and dive for more points. Before Yaron knew what hit him, he was in a 4-1 hole. Beast and Jordan started the presumptuous trash talk because, why not? Yaron is fun to beat up on and getting in his head couldn’t hurt. But Yaron is mentally tough. He and Tom start hooking up on TE roll out and eventually Danny is found in the endzone in a clever manipulation of the zone. 4-2 Dark. With some pressure, Dark goes 3 and out. And the game changes on the next drive. Maybe. Ari, who had been having a very rough game, including a dropped DIME from Yaron and a dropped easy pick that got tipped to Jordan and eventually wound up in the MK score, catches one on the sideline and does his bulldozer thing and gets in the endzone. Lead would have been cut to 1. But what’s that? A flag back at the line of scrimmage! Beast calls holding! Bring it back. Yaron regrouped and throws a TD pass to Danny but play isn’t made and the 2 score lead is maintained. Even worse, with a drive kept alive by a scrambling Pants, Jordan gets a TD thrown stat as he takes the handoff and finds Mo wide open in the endzone when the zone defender pops out to stop the run. 5-2. Yaron once again fights back and Danny busts one open for a score. At which point Yaron declares that he will win the game. But Pants stayed poised and put up 2 more scores with Beast on the TE roll out and a final hat trick to Mo. Yaron kept battling but the clock was against him. Two more points was all he could muster before the buzzer sounded. Pants gets a Jewball and a W in his debut! Jewball to Pants for the TD, Pick, and 4 thrown.
