Game Notables:

Chris Polanco coming in midseason and doing a great job!

Kevin Straker: With an excellent catch. Suprised he could even see it with his rocky balboa shiner.

Defense coming up strong again, Man up all day!!

Sean, great job spreading the ball around and getting everyone organized and involved. Definately a difference maker!!

Injury Report:

Eddie Palleschi – Groin lasted 20 Seconds- Cause of injury: Big Brother Pat not getting there in time!! Nothing better than an early morning family squabble

Kevin Straker- Black eye

Frankie D: Aking achilles heal

John Addona: Missing quadricep

Next game against the Cougars (3-4 record, they beat the Hustlers on Sun.)

10:30 Game

“What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.  Wendell Phillips (1811 – 1884)”

While one would think the earlier games are more advantageous, I am going to have to disagree. As a team, we came out as flat as we have all year!! At the game onset, we were scrambling to get personnel on the field and our first few plays were a complete debacle. We had just one (1) first half completion to Vaughn and outside of that, we did a horrendous job offensively.

From a defensive perspective, we were solid, however there were some missed opportunities to make some big plays. Lets face it, when two (2) teams match up well, the teams’ that come out on top are the one’s that make more plays (i.e. sacks, interceptions, TD’s etc.)….Period!! I think we had plenty of opportunities for interceptions as Rob Blount (Tornadoes QB) was reluctant to scramble and put the ball up for grabs on a variety of occasions. A bad call on a pass interference penalty right before the half put them on the 5-yd line with very little time remaining in the half. They score on a 3-yd slant and now we are down by two (2) scores going into the half.

We came out strong in the second half with a defensive stop and ten a TD drive ending with Kevins TD reception off of the play action run making it a one (1) score game. This was closest we were going to get for the remainder of the game as they went down and scored on a long pass play on the following series. If you’re down by two (2) scores and not very efficient offensively, its fair to say its a WRAP!! I am certain that if we were to tally up our total play count, other teams are calling/running twice as many plays as we are. When you are down late in the second half, it is imperative that you get in and out of the huddle quickly and execute plays. We did not do that, nor did we make plays when we needed to.

THE POSITIVE: Nobody’s pointing fingers and we have an opportunity this week to beat the #1 team in the league…THE HUSTLERS!! Lets face it….the pancakes at the diner taste way better after a win!!

Alert!! Defensive guys….we are going to play a lot of man coverage this week and force some interceptions….get a few running days in and be ready to go!!Words from Bill Parcells: “When the offense isn’t clicking, the defense needs to pick up the slack and when the defense is giving up easy scores…the offense needs to pick it up!”

Right now, we know our offense isn’t clicking, so we need to pick it up defensively!! Here is the challenge I pose to the “Flashbacks”….THE HUSTLERS don’t score next week …..PERIOD!!

See you at the field!! One

Quote of the week: “I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out!” Rodney Dangerfield (1921 – 2004)

Nice win this week boys!! It was nice to see that we could rebound after a tough loss the week prior.  We definitely need to keep improving offensively as we have yet to play the Hustlers or the Tornadoes who are both solid ball clubs. Lets keep getting better!!

Offensive Line did a great job as Sean only had to scramble a few times and was only sacked once (1) which I think was a result of his flag falling off.

Defensively, we continued to play tough only giving up one (1) score late in the second half.  Keep up the good work D!

NOTABLES: 

-Kevin Straker – 10 yd TD Reception

-Vaughn Sanders – 25 yd TD Reception

-Pat Palleschi set the tone for the day on DEFENSE with a pass deflection on the first play of the series. Nice Going!!

-Sean Lyons rebounded nicely with two (2) touchdown passes and a few nice scrambles. Great job Sean!!

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES:

-Interception drop by Frank D’Agostino; come on homey, go to make those plays!! During a post game interview, Frank Stated “It would have been the play to seal the win; it was unfortunate because I would have taken it right to the house!!” Frank did note that while he dropped the interception, “he has not given up a touchdown all year!!” Keep up the good work Frank!!

- On a long pass play to Joe Mazzitelli, it appeared that a catch was in was in the cards. While the pass wasn’t dropped, it seemed that Joe was decelerating once the ball was in the air and his legs became almost jelly like!! Coming off the field Joe stated “Yo  Bro, that was a badly thrown ball bro!!” I am pretty sure that the field turf was not kind to the knees (see injury report below). Joe, has been a standout as a “Flashback” in his first two (2) weeks, so I am allowed to rip into him a little.

INJURY REPORT:

-RB Vaughn Sanders; Groin Pull/Status for next week: Questionable - Play in question: Unavailable

-WR Eddie Palleschi; Groin Pull; Status for next week; Questionable-Play in question: Unavailable

-WR Joe Mazzitelli; Knee Scrapes; Status for next week; Questionable-Play in question: 40  yd Post Route -Play Result: Incomplete

A win is a win so we’ll take it any way we can get it. We didn’t dominate and blow the team off the field, but we are certainly back on track and it feels good. Til next week, know your routes!! Oh and by the way, Carl got the new flags and we should have them on Sat. Thanks CD!!

P.S. Did anyone see that 6′ 5″ 253 lb guy on the sideline with the small dog??? Who was that guy?? He should play with us, but I heard he’s a little scared. If anyone knows him, see if you can get him to suit up next week!!

Dear friends and teamates…..as in typical weekly fashion, it is time for me to write the weekly blog. After losing by a point this past week to a team that we should have easily dominated, this loss (or any loss if you call yourself a competitor) has to leave a pit in the stomach.  

While I struggled to come up with offensive highlights, there were some brightspots. 

I definitely take some accountability and bear some of the blame for our lack of preparation and organization. I know this is only flag football, but as competitors, we have to look ourselves in the mirror and say….”did we give it our all and play our best”????

The Positive:

• We stuck together and never pointed figures or began to bicker; which is very common amongst undisciplined and immature flag football clubs or any team for that matter.  This is a true sign of maturity and good chemistry amongst teammates. Great job sticking together guys.  As we face more adversity in the weeks to come, our chemistry and brotherhood will most definitely be tested. I  am betting that this will not be a problem for this group!! As in the Inwood Buccaneers mantra…..”One team….One Family!!!”. Vaughn, that one was for you!! (Nice TD Run)
• We had a chance to win the game with under 2 minutes to go. All you can ever ask for is a chance!! We should hope all our games are that competitive and come down to the wire. The tight ones are just a lot more fun and definitely more memorable. Play to win!! Not, not to lose. Given that chance again, I bet that we score and win the game with no time remaining.
• Turnovers!! We won the turnover battle w/ three interceptions. Frank (w/ 2 in 2 games), Carl D (nice return) and Joey Mazz (Nice coverage on #4 in the flats). 80% of the time, if you win the turnover battle, you win the game. Great job!!
• Defense!! The defense was definitely one of the bright spots of the day. Giving up only one (1) score and making the necessary adjustments mid-game which gave the offense more possessions & ample scoring opportunities. 

The Negative:

• This blog is all about the positive. Please refer to above

In summation, I think all we need to do here is make a few minor adjustments offensively and get our play calling in order . Outside of that, I am very bullish on the “Flashbacks” and would bet the house on us’!!! What I will say is, until the offense gets going, special teams and defense need to be more than stellar. PLAYMAKERS MAKE PLAYS!! If you get an opportunity to make a play on defense or special teams, MAKE A PLAY!!

 See you next week. BTW, I encourage feedback and commentary on this blog. You can contribute and post comments below. Thanks, Louie D

Quote of the Day: “Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is somebody like Norman Einstein.” Joe Theismann, Former quarterback 

Good morning to my fellow teammates and comrades….lets get a cheers to a job well done this week!! While there is definitely room for improvement, we dominated when we needed to and put the game away when necessary. Not bad for a group called the ”Flashback’s”. Let the social security and retirement jokes rain…. we can play the role of the underdog all year and smack everyone right in the mouth Lets also give Carl D a special thanks for putting the squad together. Aside from the Carpel Tunnel diagnosis (which is what happens when you send out 1000 emails in a months time), I think it was well worth it!! 

OFFENSIVELY

I think the only surprise of yesterday is that we didn’t beat that team by a few more touchdowns given the talent level and physical strength of our group.

I mean lets face it… when we go into the overload, power formation, I really don’t think there is a team in the league (including A Division) that can stop the surge. Not to mention, the other team didn’t make a single defensive adjustment. I believe after another week or two, we will certainly have better chemistry and be able to capitalize on team’s weaknesses. Kudos to the o-line protecting Sean….(Sammy G, Nicky, Pat & Chris) Sean was forced to scramble 2x and for the most part had time to throw the rock down field. Sean did a great job spreading the rock around and leading the team on scoring drives when needed.

DEFENSIVELY

After giving up the first touchdown and switching from a two (2) deep zone to Cover three (3) we settled in nicely. With two (2) INT’s (Kudos to Pat Palleschi and Frank “aka Roadrunner” D’Ag), two (2) dropped INT’s (one by myself and Mr. Addona) a few sacks and a ton of pressures, I am certain that we will continue to give offensives in the division a lot of trouble.  Very impressive effort by the D-Line (Palleschi, Polanco, Straker & Pasquala) – Mondo, #32 just called me and asked for his spleen back. Nice tackle!!!

NOTABLES

Most impressive: Joe Mazzitelli! For a guy who has never been seen without a cigarette in his mouth, the guy didn’t come out for one (1) play on defense. Imagine if he didn’t smoke??? Nice Job!!

Fastest Feet:Frank D’Agostino!! Nice interception. The first guy ever to run 100 yds to gain two (2). If there’s  ever a time that the bad knee was going to give, it was during that interception return. Way to go Frank!!

Most aggressive:Kevin Straker! While we don’t have film (hopefully that changes after this week), the rumor mill was buzzing that Kevin Straker was an animal on offense and defense. We do however, have proof of how tenacious he is in the DINER. The next blog will be on how to quiet a Wedding MC…..2 cups of hot chocolate w/extra whip cream!! Nice job Kevin!!

Until next time, study your route tree.

See you next week.  Louie D

Whats up all?? Lou D’Ag here. Use this blog throughout the football season in order to communicate with each other. You can post video, pics or just comments.

Great job during the scrimmage this past weekend. I think we have a very strong team that will compete with the best that the B division has to offer this spring. While I am sure everyone studied their route tree, I  put all the plays on laminated cards in order to make it easy for everyone. Carl, once you have a copy of the schedule can you please send it out?

I look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.