Jewball needed a charge going into the final stretch of the season and Week 15 was supposed to be that. First, because it was going to be a League Game. Then, because it was going to be a tackle game. In the end, it was neither, but I think it still found a way to wake us up from our long mid-season slumber. Because just like that we are looking down the barrel of another Jewball season being laid to rest. Just like that. The Draft Party feels like yesterday. How young and naïve we were. Feit taking Kut no. 2 overall. Yaron still expecting to be the top QB in league. Rabin hadn’t penetrated me or anyone in my family. Laura Curran had a job. And then….in a flash, everything changed. In a Flash, Feit needed a backup QB. Yaron lost a lot. Curran lost a lock. And Rabin took my ass all the way to the bank.
This isn’t to say we haven’t had our moments. We have. Great ones. A few of them were even on the field and related to playing the sport of football. But I’m not gonna kid myself. We have not had many great games of late. The motor got going a bit in Week 14 when Game 2 proved to be a hard fought battle between Yaron and Gronk that Yaron managed to just squeak out the loss. A week later in another wild contest in Game 2, the result was the opposite versus Pray.
Hard not to begin with the tackle game that wasn’t. There was snow. It came down midweek and it was the right amount. Just the right amount. Two very cold but sunny days followed and, though a tackle game was called for, it became a race against time. Would the snow stick around or would it melt under pressure like Yaron in a big game. We looked good for tackle. Singer transformed into Snow Pup and went to the groomer and everything. He was buffed and fluffed and ready to take on the world. Your commissioner checked the field on Saturday night. Still plenty of snow and forecast called for freezing temps until game time. Forecast was wrong. Snow melted over night and by the time PJs and Yaron checked the grass on Sunday morning, we had a windy but bright day and the grass could be seen on the field. The good news was, the turf was deemed playable and we adjusted on the fly as Jewball is adept enough to do. Some parts move around. Tom to early for Effie. Jack and Waldo to late for Storm and Legs. And play ball.
I didn’t see all of Game 1, but I did see enough to know that Pray has made adjustments that are suiting him well. Sam’s excellent defensive play a few weeks ago injuring Pray’s throwing arm may just be the turning point of the BOP season. We shall see this Sunday. A Pray that is forced to think more about the short game than the long game is a dangerous Pray. His playbook has not completely eliminated the forward pass, but he’s certainly embraced the virtues of the run/screen game. They may make for boring football, but they certainly can engender consistently winning football.
It was cold out there for Game 1. Windy and bitingly cold. I couldn’t hang around the whole time. I had seen Pray take off and run one through Yaron’s defense for a score, but I had to go. Before I left I had the opportunity to see Big E stop Yaron on a 4th and short. The dude has quick hands. He may not catch up to you, but if you cross his path, he will pull your flag. I’ve seen him do it every time. What I also saw was Pray miss him for a TD. E is not quick of course, but he runs routes like a receiver. They are direct and his head is on that swivel eyeing the QB ready for the pass. On a 3rd and goal, E slanted underneath looking for the pass. He was open at the 1. Maybe Pray thought Zada would show up and stop Bigs, so he elected to throw elsewhere incomplete.
When I returned to the game a few minutes before the start of Game 2, I was told Pray was up 3-1 and that E and O were having themselves a game. Later that week Munch would talk about I, but that’s a vowel for another day. Pray was running O out from the TE spot and picking up all kinds of yards. And E had caught a TD pass! Had blocked a ball! Had earned a Jewball.
A little history. I met E in Israel. He was not my roommate, but by chance we were neighbors in the dorm. Like he said on TBI, we became closer in YU because he was an out-of-towner (Seattle) and my parents were very hospitable. My friends would go to my parents even (and perhaps purposely) when I wasn’t around. Fast forward 20 years and we get a chat going for my Israel year crew. E and I are reunited. He says he’ll play football. I humor him. It’s a miracle that I can still get out there and I’ve been doing it straight for 21 years. He came down, but I thought he’d break something in his first game and that would be that. Well, he has proven me wrong. And last week he proved himself as a player in this game. He’s not young and he’s not in the best shape. But he is a tough angry bitter son of a bitch. And he grits his way through shit. Jewball to you, old friend.
Yaron lost that game 3-1. I was told his play calling was bizarre and self defeating. Sounds about right. How would he do in Game 2?
Game 2 was madness. Back and forth until the final buzzer in OT. It was once again Pray v. Yaron and Pray was happy to continue to do what worked in Game 1. His first score was a screen to Prime that Prime took down the sideline for 63 yards, thrashing people along the way. Prime protects that sideline like its made of weed. If you are a defender intimidated by his bark and his bite….you have no chance. And Yaron’s crew looked intimidated. It helped that Prime had the metallic purple fangs mouth guard going.
Pray scored again while Yaron was still figuring his shite out. On the ground again, but with Pray running it’s less about intimidation and more about reflexes. How quickly can your brain react to the fact that the QB is….and he’s passed you – flying down the opposite sideline and gone into the distance. 2-0 Pray. It was looking like another stress-free win for Pray and demoralizing loss for Yaron (his 6th in a row). I wish I could say what happened next that turned the tides. From the box score, it seems that Yaron’s squad contributed on defense (despite the numerous missed flags which lead to half of Pray’s points on the day) and Pray’s team did not. Pray was picked twice (both by Jack). Pray was sacked three times (Daveo 2 and Beast 1). Yaron threw zero picks and was sacked zero times. And he started to find his receivers in tight spots. The scoring was kicked off when Yaron found his safety blanket Jack on a cross to make it a one score game. Shortly thereafter, he slings a well-placed ball to Zada on the out from the 6 and we have a ball game.
Bron was on the comeback trail and soon, with the score knotted, the game took on a different dynamic. Although there was an expectation Yaron would eventually do his thing and lose, Pray was forced to make something happen and dig a little deeper. Prime and O were still reliable for the screen/TE roll out combo and – with Yaron’s team missing flags in the first half – drives were easy. From Yaron’s 15, Pray runs right and zings one cross body to a counter-cutting Waldo. What’s Wrong With to Where’s for the score! The giant from Pitt makes a nifty catch using his big frame and mitts and gives his team the lead once again.
Yaron punched right back with an incredibly timed 20 yard pass thrown before MK turned his head but settling into his arms at the precise moment when Waldo had nice coverage but imperfect field awareness. Yaron became really excited and confident. You can tell he’s feeling it when he rushes his team down the field in a way that signals a hurry up offense, but once they get to the spot he calls his players into a 4 minute huddle.
Game tied again which is prime time for Prime time. I wish I could say it took anything more than Prime being Prime. A screen and hardnosed dash to the end zone. The first half ends. Pray takes a lead into the locker room.
The second half starts with a big play by Daveo – who had himself a hell of a game from TE slot. Both teams had made a defensive adjustment. For Pray, they went to a man, with Jordan covering the TE. For Yaron, they stopped missing flags. Jordan watching Daveo worked very well to limit his touches….except for the one time. Daveo springs from the TE slot as if he has the ball, which had been a running joke for a while…except this time he stops and cuts back. Precisely on the cut back Yaron feeds him the ball and the kid takes off. Jordan is still recovering from the cut. Now it is Pray’s team’s turn to miss flags. They oblige and Daveo is through. He has one man to beat. Jordan has tracked him down and MK is blocking some ghost at midfield while Daveo and Jordan size each other up down the sideline. When Jordan is about to close in, Daveo jams on the brakes and – for the second time in the same play – Jordan flies past him. Daveo scores. Game knotted again.
Yaron was really pumped. Pray was confident these scores were mild setbacks. He seemed right. With ease, he put up two quick TDs. One to Tom. One to Jordan. With a half hour to go in the game, chances seemed good Yaron would suffer another almost W. Pray would not score or really do much on offense for the rest of the game. Yaron did a lot.
He starts with a TD to Jack. Routine stuff. No big deal. But it took a while and the clock was not his friend, having been chasing two scores with only fifteen minutes left. Pray was also guaranteed ball last because of….well….yknow….because Jewball. So, on his final possession – Yaron reads the defense and maybe realizes that it’s man coverage and nobody is taking him. Or maybe he just panicked. But, either way….in a big spot and with everything on the line – the man who is broken both emotionally and physically……SPRINTS to the right sideline and gets the edge. He flies down that sideline like his life depended on it and he silences the crowd and his critics and most importantly the millions of voices in his head. Wait…..wait…no….they are still there. Like I said, Pray didn’t do much on offense the rest of the way so the best ending we can come up with here for Pray is a tie.
In OT – which was agreed to be a one and one – Yaron throws a really sloppy bad idea of a pass to…probably Jack…that Waldo picks off at the 20. Yaron hangs his head and starts muttering to himself. He wonders where he left his favorite noose. Pray will surely punch it in from the 20 and another loss will be hung on him before he hangs himself. BUT WAIT! Waldo had it….and then he didn’t. Yaron’s favorite linemen BEAST to the rescue. As heady play as you will ever see….On the catch Beast wraps his arms around Waldo from behind and the ball comes out and hits the floor. No Catch! No Pick! Yaron lives!
And MK lives as well. One thing you can say about Yaron. He never gets scared off by failure. He will keep going back to the long ball. He believes in himself and his receivers. MK on a deep route and the hook up is consummated. Catch and run. 7-6 Yaron. Pray’s final gasp is a pick by Jack. That’s your shoot out of a ball game. Second week in a row I go home with an L but feeling like there was a reason to show up regardless. Jewball to…..I guess Yaron, even though Daveo played very well and Jack had a nice stat line. Yaron gets it because he lead his team. Never more-so than on that final do or die drive when he took off down that sideline with six guys on his back.