2021 Long Island EFL Set to Kick off 50th Year August 1

August 1, the Long Island EFL kicks off its 50th anniversary with Big $3,200 dollar Super Bowl XVII payout at stake! 

In 2020, each week we made a video featuring our beautifully painted 67' Big Men teams in addition to featuring our 2017 LIEFL Super Bowl XIII, which Billy O'C's Buffalo Bills OJ Simpson set amazing records with seven touchdowns in the game totaling 623 total all-purpose yards and 205 rushing yards in the game. Buffalo's Cinderella season ended in climax with their crushing thrashing of Johnny Freeport Chucker's 2016 Super Bowl Champion Detroit Lions 49-35!   

FROM LIEFL COMMISSIONER: William O'Connell

Article Written By: Ed Viggs, Andrew Slawson and William O'Connell

May 26, 2021. (Long Island, NY) Welcome!  We hope that you and your families are well and thanks for sharing another exciting season with the Long Island Electric Football League with our rare 67' Big Men Collection of all 32 NFL teams in home and away uniforms along with what we are finding are rare standards. This year the Long Island Electric Football League (LIEFL) celebrates our 50th year playing this amazing hobby as we play our 17th Super Bowl down in Coquina Key, St. Petersburg, Florida at the home of New York Yankees Community Consultant, Executive and Special Advisor to George Steinbrenner, Ray Negron.

After an enormous 2020 season, with the Green Bay Packers (9-1) beating the Miami Dolphins (8-3) 52-49 in a spectacular LIEFL Super Bowl XVI, what a Week #1 line-up for the Long Island EFL! Also, attached in a file on this page are our Final Standings from LIEFL's 2020 season. 

We purchased quite a few new bottoms from Tudor games and quite honestly we think this was a very poor draft season. Out of a few hundred bottoms we had five offensive player bases that we would consider average quality. And we had only five player base bottoms that passed the sniff test to be lineman or linebackers so we had to dig into more than 1500 reserve player base bottoms. Nothing too exciting. The Jaguars, Texans, and Chiefs consumed the draft picks. The 49ers waived their draft and will get the top draft picks for next season in 2022. Coach Ed Viggs is a smart man. We went through another 500 bottoms that we had left over from different drafts. Sometimes you miss a bottom or two. So in all it's tougher to find great player bases. But it also shows the quality of the league.

OUR SPEED SETTING: Considered to be HIGH

RECORD KEEPING OF LEAGUE: Amazing! One of the best in the World with all records preserved.

HISTORY: EST. 1972 

TALENT: Very Good

LEAGUE RATING: Very Good

COMMISIONER RATING: GOOD--EVERY LEAGUE CAN USE IMPROVEMENT

FOR 2021: Last season our coaches were responsible for writing up a snapshot summary after every game and we posted each game on the Tudor Forum. https://forum.tudorgames.com/forum/9-the-showcase-–-photo-gallery/ That's 224 regular season games in a seven-game format, but we won't be doing that this season until the post-season. This season we will just do weekly statistics, standings and box scores.

With all of the incredible competitors and leagues out there in the world, we are far from the best league in the world or in the country but we are fierce competitors and as professional working people, like most of our brothers and sisters around the country who play electric football, time is hard to come by. This forces us to be mindful of set rules, guidelines and a standard which allows us to move the game play at a pretty fast pace with rugged intensity. We have a very strict system of organization in the league.

We play hard and smart just like your leagues. Like your leagues, we spend exorbitant amounts of time vetting player bases until we eventually weed out the best of best Draft-picks from hundreds of brand new player base bottoms after every season. And, if the National rules can prove that they are better than ours, we will play by them, but they are not.  We all played competitive football and most of us were two and three sport athletes too just like most guys who play this game. In fact one of our guys was on the two-time Rutgers Cup team from Bay Shore, NY and our rules commissioner played arena football professionally for Albany after he tried out for the NFL.

THE LITTLE THINGS MATTER TO US: We have watched countless games on YOU TUBE where the coaches don't even use goal posts or put a ball in the ball carriers hands to allow for a potential fumble. Little things haven't changed for us since we were kids. All of those pieces are a valuable part of the game and we pride ourselves on tradition as old-school playmakers. We think our league history is very special considering we have detailed records of our league since 1975. The look to the LIEFL has a realistic look to us and we want the league to be remembered for setting the highest standards of integrity for the game. 

In retrospect when we learned of the Tudor Forum it was a vision quest we had since childhood to bring the hobby to the level it sits today. The great people at Tudor truly deserve to be recognized for understanding that concept which many of us live with through the hobby. The LIEFL simply wanted to share who we are by to the electric football nation.  We wanted to teach the kids of today about the added excitement this game brings to guys who are having fun keeping friendships a profound part of our lives. The hand-eye coordination, the critical thinking, and the application of a plan are all wonderful benefits of electric football, including accounting, keeping statistical data, and more. 

We aren't looking for respect or to be recognized as electric football experts. We are a culture of champion minded people. As citizens of this country we respect ourselves and our game and we are people who make a difference in our communities and we give a damn about humanity and all people. Electric Football gives us that one-day a week out to make a human connection outside of family and the routine. It gives us that chance to realize the power of life and the legacies we leave behind with good-olé' smashed-mouth electric football.

We have it all; loud mouth coaches, strategists, low-profile coaches, and preparation masters of the game like all great leagues, but we also have great friendships who bring more than enough competition between ego's from former athletes just like your leagues around the world.

LIEFL RULES & STANDARDS NATIONAL DEBATE: We are really critical and passionate about time wasted and how much of that time is disadvantaged in formation set-ups and extra count-down time on defense in what we see in different leagues and we threw the national rule book in the garbage.

In the LIEFL there are three major rules that differ from the national rules: 1. sets-ups 2. stops, and 3. turns. In the LIEFL you don't get additional time to set up on defense. The defense sets up last in our league, but by rule, it all happens within 40 seconds just like the offense or there is a ten yard penalty, so both teams are setting up simultaneously and it is up to both coaches to get it done and work it out within the 40-second clock with no extra count downs like other leagues.

We don't allow special tools and custom made passers, dice, oversized customized players and overweighed players. Overtime games and disputes are resolved using a coin toss. We use the Tudor provided passers and kicker and the coach has to meet the challenge. The defense never gets a man-turning advantage in this league just like the offense doesn't get special stops to gain an advantage in speed. Those long lagged drawn out plays of what we have seen on YOU TUBE would take forever to finish a game.

We get one stop in the LIEFL and that is to pass the ball, and after the catch the switch doesn't stop until the ball carrier is tackled or he goes out of bounds. When the receiver catches the ball defenders don't get to stop the game and then turn one or more players to tackle the ball carrier. In the NFL the game doesn't stop so that defenders can chase the ball carrier and it makes it no more realistic than how we play keeping the natural flow and outcome of the play in tact, that your defense wasn't prepared to stop. The game doesn't stop for that in the NFL. The speed of the game is important to us. We are not stopping any game for the defense who was burned out of their plastic socks to then turn defenders to make the tackle because that definitely interferes with the continuity and natural flow of the play. It would be hard to debate that point, and we win here in arguing outdated national rules. We won't even play by those rules--game over! It is up to the coach to be mindful of their game plan.

We bring eleven of our best players for a full game. They are our All-Stars from each team who then compete in a seven game regular season. 

Next, here's a cool rule we altered from the national rules. Tackles must be made by the defense from the front of their player base. If an offensive player runs into the back of a defensive player base it is not a tackle in the LIEFL. This is a critical game-changing rule that we play by. The front of the defenders base has to be facing forward for the defender to make the tackle in our league. LOGIC: Point-in-case: In the NFL when a ball carrier runs behind a defender the defender rarely is able to tackle a guy with 4.2 speed if the defender can't see the runner because he is facing in the opposite direction of the play. In the LIEFL there are more one-on-one schemes, and when people get burned it's because they couldn't defend against say, a Herman Moore or Jimmie Giles, the defense then has to figure out how to stop those guys in the LIEFL. It can be frustrating. Coaches can do double coverage all day long and still get beat by those guys!

We believe that we play by one of the most realistic standards. An offense can set up with up to four receivers and five blocking lineman and we could care less if the linemen touch each other. On passing plays a quarterback is allowed to run 25 yards in the opposite direction on passing formations before the play stops. At that point the coach is forced to make a decision to make the play and we don't allow intermittent stops in between a single play. (Typical Run Formation)

                         X

                   X    X    X

X   X        X X X X X        X  X

O   O       O O O O O       O O

                    OOO

                      O

Perhaps our rookie coach Levi Vick summed the rules experience up best of how LIEF rules differ from Tudor's national rules. Vick, who won two-championships in his previous highly touted Nassau league, handled the move to the LIEFL. He said, "Here are my thoughts. In the beginning I think I lost nine or ten straight games as the rookie in this league. Of course it's like joining any new league, you have to learn their playing style, rules, and deal with your trash talkers which is frustrating. There are many adjustments. My biggest struggle was thinking ahead so fast of how to spearhead both offense and defense with the rapid fire  40 second setups and the lightning pace of the LIEFL. Without question it is a huge challenge. In my old league we had 45 seconds to set, and then the defense had an additional ten second countdown to adjust. I didn't realize how important that extra time became comparing my old league to the LIEFL. When I came to play here in the LIEFL, it's really a different game. I found myself constantly thinking things out because of the time standard as the seconds ticked and the game progressed. That extra five seconds from my old league meant a world of difference. The one rule I love in the LIEFL is the tackle rule--that a defender has to be facing the ball carrier to make a tackle. I love this rule! It is a game changer. It totally makes sense and I made some big plays with that rule, especially on kick returns. How can a guy make a tackle running in front of the ball carrier who he can't see? The ball carrier can catch up to the defender from behind and touch him, that is not a tackle. Again, great rule! This was such a different experience than my old league where I won back-to-back titles and almost 50 games in the past two seasons and we have eight to ten, what I thought are very good coaches. I am trying to merge my old league that I played in with the LIEFL, but we would have to figure out where to play our games. LIEFL Commissioner Billy O'C loves the idea and he wants to bring on the local competition. That would up the annual payout for a Super Bowl win to $3,200 dollars! This league has amazing organizational skills with the incredible recordkeeping, and everything is synchronized and run professionally with money at stake for the winner. The league is tight! I went through a two-hour orientation with my best friend coach Joey Pizz regarding rules before I played a down, but I couldn't remember all the rules at game time because of my nerves. It took some time to get used to everything, but this year will be different. After having a taste of the playoffs, I believe Dallas can win it all."

Vick continued, "The LIEFL for me is a great challenge and Billy O'C is a humble class act. I really struggled with the costly penalties because of timing and set-ups, and I have to say that with the fast-paced set rule of 40-seconds, the game took on a very realistic football feel of it's own. After I was penalized 10-15 times in the LIEFL, I realized I was broken and I had to adapt my skillset to better utilize and manage the game clock so that I could complete timely plays. For some reason, even with my experience the game pace confused my thinking. Then you have to deal with guys like Johnny Chucker who tries to use psychology by trashing you and running his mouth to get in your head the entire game. It is difficult to shut down. He looks for any advantage he can muster and it shouldn't be allowed. He could care less who is great and from where. He laughed at my two championships in my old league and called me a green-horn, whatever that means. When you get burned, the good coaches will expose your weakness in this league regardless, especially Viggs who I think has to be a group of best of best coaches in the world, seriously. The stuff he does has magic and grace. His preparation is how I want to be like playing this game. Another class act who rarely speaks when he plays, but his talking sure is on the scoreboard."

LIEFL Commissioner Billy O'C said, "I think that Vick played great for his first season, and the most important thing is he had fun and never quit. He is a highly skilled coach who successfully managed to play great by the end of the season going (9-18), and he brought the Dallas Cowboys back! For the first time in twenty years in the league Dallas made the playoffs in one of the most fierce divisions in our league. That in itself is a great accomplishment for a first year guy. We expect big things from Levi Vick this season in his second year!"

UP FOR VOTE IN 2022: Two rules in the LIEFL will be voted on in January 2022. The LIEFL will vote on the no-stop league again, and the 35 second setup rule. Coach Viggs sets up within 30 seconds consistently. Most likely the rule will be voted down by the coaches.

In other electric football news over the past few years, he is the basher of our league and other leagues and "Self proclaimed electric football expert" who prides himself on being the greatest coach in the world. Harrington Benton says he has a no stop pass rule, but we accidently stumbled on his YouTube videos, so see below and subscribe to his page if you want. This is a guy who mocked our league and many other leagues and their playstyle publicly. And we have just the guy who would love to play him who could do no stop passing all day long in coach Viggs. In fact, we challenged him but he never got back. You're in for a war if you're going to play coach Ed Viggs. He fears no one and he's a genius on the field.  Actually Harrington's videos are very animated and his passion is tremendous for electric football. They're always has to be one bad boy in every sport. Check out some of his videos.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE: The LIEFL prides itself on being more of an "old-school" traditional league with such a rich history if you like that sort of thing. We have grown leaps and bounds as a league. As we aged the tradition of our league is still in tact, yet we have modified the rules and regulations to play at a pace like no other.  Our set-up rules use specific enforced formations that benefit everyone in the league, and not just the few so that a coach doesn't have to worry about time countdown resets on defense and when a receiver catches the ball, the excitement is watching him launch into an open field. With all due respect, a few guys decided that these are the best rules nationwide and it becomes so?  That is not how it works with us and we would never play by those rules. The pace of the game by those rules is way too slow. We are scholars, educators, athletes, Wall Street tycoons, police officers, and professional people just like the rule makers so we are all open to constructive criticism as Kaizen philosophers which we apply to our game play. We play by our rules and they are way better than the national rules.

PACE: LIEFL Commissioner Billy O'C said, "Our on-field preparation and playing philosophy is: Be ready and have a plan along with the best-of-best possible vetted 11-man rosters, with NFL uniform codes, the fast set ups, and a speedy pace like few other leagues in the country. This electrifying fast pace play is to keep the continuity and flow of the game realistic without the long extra set-up counts. The coaches now have their 2021 schedules which we will announce shortly, and they are formulating their game plan for each game and team well before a single play in August. This season will be extra prep with the big $$$ prize at stake. I am doing my homework and will be at the ready to compete! 

LIEFL back-to-back Super Bowl Champion and money-winner, Wall Street guru Coach Ed Viggs emphasized, "This is not a solitaire league. Our regular season games are 30-minutes with no time outs. Playoffs are 60 minute games with four time outs, two for each half for each team. When it comes to rules we would obviously argue that there is way too much time allotted for set-ups in most leagues. We find that to be a huge detriment to our league and speed of the game. It is not realistic to set a team up on offense and then get more time added on so that the defense can reset and adjust--in our league the defense sets last to avoid the extra counts. You shouldn't then get a chance to make all these adjustments through countdowns. In our league we live by the 40-second total set rule. The key is having a Golden game plan!"

Most coaches show up to watch and scout every opponent in the first few weeks. Every so often a player stands out and surprises like MVP Sterling Sharpe did in last year's NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. What a player he has turned out to be from the draft and we just couldn't predict his play, but Viggs saw it all along and many of us were so wrong."

THE TRASH TALKERS DON'T ALWAYS WIN BUT THEY KEEP ON TALKING: When it comes to the running game in the LIEFL, it is the great equalizer! Retired NYPD Homicide Detective 6'4" Coach Johnny Freeport Chucker said, "In the LIEFL the battle for superiority happens in the trenches just like in the NFL. Bring on the Beef! In our running attack we could care less if the linemen touch and we think that rule of spreading lineman at shoulders distance is totally ridiculous too! It works for some, but not all. Let that be your league it won't ever be ours. Just play! People who play the game professionally would love our rules.  We tried both and voted many of the Tudor national rules out with all these ridiculous set-up times. You would have a hard time in this league realizing you are not going to get all that extra time to set and reset and game stop when a receiver catches the ball. High scoring action, fast paced plays, and wicked surprises is what this league is about. Expect the unexpected in intensity. I am not your friend in electric football, I am your nightmare and my players are primed and ready at all times. Winning is an attitude. So what I lose games, we all do, but I am in your face playing hard just like I did in college."

The league bad-boy Johnny Freeport kept vocal about the pace of the game, "There are way too many stops and counts in these leagues I watch on YOU TUBE, and the time it takes to set up each play is ridiculous. That is not realistic at all. Here, once the play switch goes on it does not stop until the ball carrier is tackled or runs out-of-bounds. We play the switch at a pretty intense speed on the game board. We bring excitement to our players! In the NFL when the play is on the one-yard line, teams bring in the BEEF and the players are nearly on top of each other to get that running back into the end zone, and the play doesn't stop, but rather the line game is critical to field position and possession. That is every play in this league on every down. Let the bygones be bygones for that line domination with head-to-head battles and the lines surging ahead or getting pushed back.  As long as there are no more than four players in the backfield and two receivers set up in formation, it is game on! And the running attack is the great equalizer to the passing coach. I have to stop the pass, they have to stop the run! We find that it keeps teams in the game and the game is balanced. Everything gets voted on in our league by majority rule when it comes to rules. I would match my guys up against anybody. How about trying to stop my Dexter Bussey and I will try to stop your best receiver. He would be a gem and star in any league in the world."

"We went through the rules argument back in the 90's when we played the "Miggle selected Electric football expert" here on Long Island who was rampaged by our (8-6) LIEFL #10 ranked Dallas Cowboys at the time that season. The "experts" running game didn't exist, and the passing game was silenced and so were his rules and boring long counts on set ups, but our Emmitt Smith had an exciting three touchdowns and over 150 yards rushing behind big Larry Allen on the day. The term "Bully-Ball" was used by our unprepared opponent for our running game, and we did not pass a single play. Dallas had possession of the ball roughly 12-15 minutes in the hour game, but the damage they did to our opponents "bragged about Bears" was profound in our 21-7 rampage. The score was actually 21-0, when the time ran out in the game and we decided to be fair sports and allow another set of downs and an opportunity for the Bears to score on us, which they did, but Dallas dominated. We won't ever play those rules again! They really don't make the game better at all. If you can't set up an offense or defense in 40 seconds or less then don't compete is the motto, like it or not. We tried the other way. The one criteria that we find makes the game better is SPEED," said Coach Paddy Brannigan.

Our analyst Andy Slawson said, "We have watched hundreds of electric football videos on You Tube and we would never play by those slow-paced Tudor Rules which allows coaches way too much time to set up and reset their plays. It takes way too long to set and reset, that is why in the LIEFL we have important formation rules so that it offsets that wasted extra time we feel coaches get to set up their plays. All of us played competitive sports just like most people who play this great game, so in this league it is all about thinking football on the fly and having a serious game plan the week before the game. It has been our experience that without a plan a coach gets buried in mistakes. That's just the way it is in the LIEFL and it is one way we may differ from other leagues globally."  

We would love to read all about your leagues as well. We may not ever agree on rules, but we sure will agree on our love and passion for the game.  

Week#1 is stacked with a fiercely competitive schedule with a season altering list of games as we refresh, reboot, and attack the challenges of our 7th consecutive 7-game season format!  It is never easy to win on the road in any league, so lets see who wants the prize most this season with some serious intensity and $3200 dollars on the line. 

This season, Long Island Sports Hall of Fame inductee Andrew Slawson, will again be providing his debatable in-depth weekly analysis. He believes that Coach Ed Viggs will win this year's Super Bowl. Wall Street people do not like losing and his competitiveness can be matched up against anyone in the country. 

That enticing $3,200 dollars Super Bowl Pool winning makes this high stakes league something to strive for!  This year, our league dues are being matched by USA World Champion Swimmer, Greg Jagenberg. The generous Jagenberg announced that he will also fly the finalist to St. Pete in December for the LIEFL Super Bowl! Wow!

Coach Ed Viggs has won back-to-back Super Bowls. Is Viggs ready for a three-peat? 

League Commissioner William O'Connell said, "This will be an amazing season as the world hopefully sees light at the end of the tunnel with Covid-19. This is an amazing league I feel, and playing with this group is a story in itself in this United Brotherhood of Electric Football. National Electric Football Museum founder Chris Le May and I came up the concept of the United Brotherhood of Electric Football, with the idea that we can be progressive in evolving the true mission of electric football. We have come together as an international electric football community rooting for each other and all of the hobbyists who play our game."  

Dallas Cowboys (LIEFL RANK #7) (86-72) Coach: Levi Vick at 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LIEFL RANK #21) (68-90) Coach: Joey Pizz

What a game this is going to be with the returning Eastern Division Champion Dallas Cowboys (5-3), taking on a highly competitive Tampa Bay team who finished (3-4) last season. Tampa Bay needs to find ways to finish strong since their last playoff run in 2016. But boy did Jimmie Giles have a 2020 season to remember! Giles finished the season with a whopping (24-1439-9TD/4x100TD) and he had two major touchdowns of 86 against Denver and 88 yards against Atlanta, showing his breakaway speed. That is a lot of offensive firepower for a 16 touchdown team in 2020! Dallas will also have a huge challenge ahead of them trying to stop Giles at home, but equally the Bucs will have to come up big on defense trying to stop Terrell Owens and the Cowboys running game of Emmitt Smith (38-537-8TD) led by Big Larry Allen. The Cowboys success in 2020, was in huge part because Owens broke out with (21-1196-7TD/4x100TD), and he had a 595 yard four touchdown game in the NFC Wild Card game against the fierce Washington Football Team and Coach Ed Viggs, which Dallas lost 45-37! This should be one of the best games of the week.

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: The Buccaneers will edge the Cowboys 28-24.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars (LIEFL RANK#30) (26-31) Coach: Kevin Maloney at

Houston Texans (LIEFL RANK#32) (21-26) Coach: Levi Vick

Both of these teams were in the gutter last season but both have great running backs who will keep these teams in the game. The Jags (1-6) made out nicely with three draft picks and the Texans will also see improvements on the line in the AFC South ruled by Tennessee. Jacksonville's tackles Rob Maier (14 Tackles in 2020) and Charles Spencer (10 Tackles) played outstanding football. They will be tough to stop, but it is the front three who need work. With Jaguars running back Fred Taylor (51-1003-3TD) not missing a beat, this team can go places. Three new draft picks will pave the way for the Jaguars this season at receiver where they added some serious speed, at linebacker to support the run and on the front line this team could be a contender this year. Should be a different look to the Jaguars.

There is no doubt that Ron Dayne (63-1384-6TD) is one of the best running backs in the LIEFL. His consistency even when the Texans don't block is magical. The guy flat out has speed and toughness in the big spots for the (1-6) Texans. Houston will be back to compete this year after a solid draft. Watch out Titans! 

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Texans 21-Jaguars 14

 

Philadelphia Eagles (LIEFL RANK #22) (67-81) Coach: Matt McQueen at

Atlanta Falcons (LIEFL RANK#20) (69-89) Coach: Johnny "Freeport Chucker"

This game will be filled with explosiveness both on and off the field with these two coaches! Another Week#1 tremendous game as Eagles sensation Harold Carmichael matches up against one of the best running backs in the LIEFL in Atlanta Hall of Famer Gerald Riggs. These two teams are just a step away from competing for a Super Bowl. After his LIEFL record setting 11 hundred yard kick returns for touchdowns in 2019 with 1696 all-purpose yards, the electrifying Carmichael was finally figured out and slowed up from his offensive rampage play last season, but he still had (22-1481-7TD and 6 x100TD) and he still walked away as the best return man in the NFC! Make no mistake he is a premiere player in the LIEFL and he will be back for more this season as the Eagles, who finished (4-3) last season try to figure out a way to unhinge the competitive NFC East. The Eagles are hungry to get back to the Super Bowl and they will compete!

 

Compared to Philadelphia, the Atlanta Falcons saw a (3-4) season ultimately collapse defensively losing the division to their nemesis in the NFC South, the Carolina Panthers when they dropped their season finale to Tampa Bay.  Proud loud mouth coach Johnny Freeport Chucker's Atlanta Falcons keep pressing on, getting better each season on offense. But every season they seem to come up short on defense even though the Chucker keeps bragging that this is the year of the Dirty Birds!  Let's see what happens with the explosive Gerald Riggs who had 13 touchdowns in 2020. He is a flat out beast in this league with (88-1773-13TD), and offense isn't the issue for Atlanta.  They made some adjustments for 2021 and will play hard. This game will be filled with surprises!

 

The Chucker said, "We are tired of watching average coaches win.  Coach Viggs is afraid of my Falcons and if he couldn't pass, he wouldn't win in this league, or any league. He is overrated! That $3,200 will pay for a nice down payment for my next car, a Corvette. That is all he has is the pass and the only guy who wants a no stop league because it gives him an advantage. I am not happy with his nonsense of a no stop league. The one-stop makes him have to work harder. We will see who is king this year and trust me, I am performing better in the last few weeks this year than I did last year. That garbage of playing in snow in Green Bay in the Divisional Game was the only thing that stopped my Detroit Lions. Wait and see what Dexter Bussey has in store this year.  I may have fallen short last season, but I am really excited for August!" The league has a rule regarding bashing agreed upon rules and Chucker already owes $20 more for his unsportsmanlike remarks. League Rules Commissioner Pete Porcelli said on our zoom meeting, "You can talk trash but you have to back it up, and we shouldn't really be bashing other coaches publicly.  Kids play this game so we take this seriously. When I played professional football, on the field we did our talking."  

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Eagles to upset Atlanta 28-24 and their big mouth coach!

 

Pittsburgh Steelers  (LIEFL RANK #6) (92-73) Coach: Paddy Brannigan at  

Buffalo Bills (LIEFL RANK #13) (77-80) Coach: Billy O'C

After their championship run in 2017 winning LIEFL Super Bowl XIII, the competition against the Bills in this league has been matched through the tough revolving Draft--No one is safe!  We thought the Bills would win three straight after OJ Simpson's heightened MVP record setting 623 yard, seven touchdown performance against Detroit, but their dynasty ended after one season. That doesn't mean OJ lacks as a performer--he is more like the show for the Bills. In light of a (2-5) season, Simpson led the way behind Marcell Darius and Bruce Smith with a respectable (64-1353-12TD). He is showing up every game and Buffalo will not be walked on. The Bills are switching it up on the kick return game as second year draft, Jay Brown (6-211-1TD) played steady in his rookie season so count on him to develop for Buffalo.  The Bills will let him have his run to make this a two-threat offense! Maybe three years ago in this league a coach can get away with a one threat player, but today, that is rare.

 

The Steelers will have their hands full with Simpson and the Bills. Pittsburgh has been building for four seasons looking for the right recipe for success. They have to compete harder on the road in order to take on the Ravens in the AFC North for a division title. The "Bus" Jerome Bettis will see the ball on almost every carry until Pittsburgh gets into a zone. The Steelers do better when the Bus carries the ball ten or more times in a game. Bettis was (45-540-6TD) with 304 of those yards on the ground rushing. Even though Pittsburgh finished with a disappointing (2-5) record last season one bright light shined again, Lynn Swann is back! Swann had (15-714-4x2 100TD). The Steelers have some powerful draft picks at Linebacker, so let's see what happens in 2021.

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Buffalo 21-Pittsburgh 14

 

New York Jets (LIEFL Rank #25) (60-81) Coach: Joey Pizz at 

Carolina Panthers (LIEFL RANK #29) (33-34) Coach: Matt McQueen

What a game this too will be! The Jets finished very strong at (4-4) last season making it to the playoffs, losing a hard-fought battle to the elite Chargers in the Wild Card Game 52-27! These Jets are on the rise. Both Wesley Walker (21-916-3TD) and Le'Veon Bell (28-435-5TD) brought the Jets offense against the Chargers. Bell had 98 yards rushing against the powerhouse Chargers front three, with two touchdowns, and Walker lit it up with 503 yards and a hundred yard touchdown! Never count these Cinderella Jets out! They never quit in that game against Los Angeles, a superior opponent, but lets see if they can correct the mistakes and win the AFC East in 2021 competing against the rough Miami Dolphins, Bills, and Patriots who they upset in New England in the season finale to qualify as a wild card team! 

 

The Panthers have been fierce competitors for the last three seasons as back to back NFC finalist, losing to the Los Angles Rams both times. Carolina is just one or two players away from making a Super Bowl. Panthers running back DeShaun Foster (46-574-10TD), is next to impossible to stop, and of course who can forget Greg Jones, who blazed out of nowhere becoming a showstopper in the 2019 playoff run for Carolina.  Jones was (18-938-2TD) last season and he has been a terrifying double-threat for the past two seasons becoming a star in the league for the Panthers. This duo are a wrecking crew! Carolina won the division for the third straight season at (4-4) losing a close battle to Detroit in the Wild Card Game 37-34! Don't count them out in a stacked NFC.

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Panthers in a war for week one 17-14.

 

Minnesota Vikings (LIEFL RANK #8) (84-79) Coach: Joey Pizz  at

Cincinnati Bengals (LIEFL RANK#26) (54-84-1) Coach: Johnny Freeport Chucker

Both of these teams are highly competitive, and both fell just short of making the playoffs last season. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson earned (56-1247-8TD) all-purpose yards and Peterson had 308 yards rushing. The defense for Minnesota (2-5) was solid, but they could only muster up two wins competing in that fierce NFC North Division with the Packers, Lions, and Bears being so competitive. After winning Division titles in 2016, 2017, and 2018, the draft has caught up in the North with the Vikings finding themselves rebuilding again.

 

The Bengals (3-4) are tricky to predict. They had a great upset against the Chargers last season in Week#1, and then they fizzled out. All-Pro Icky Woods played big with (53-546-5TD) rushing yards, and Chad Ocho-Cinco Johnson took flight with (20-1018-4TD). Johnson set a team record for yards and touchdowns as a receiver and kick return man by tearing up the AFC North with surprises. He had 184 yards and two touchdowns against the Chargers and five 100-yard games, including 834 yards on kick returns for Cincinnati. The matchups should be fantastic with four-time All-Pro Brian Blados at tackle for the Bengals facing tough Carl Eller and Jared Allen. The two teams have not met in years. It should be an interesting season with the NFC North playing the AFC North. 

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Bengals 10-7.

 

San Francisco 49ers (LIEFL RANK #17) (66-76) Coach Ed Viggs at 

 Detroit Lions (LIEFL RANK#16) (72-74) Coach: Johnny Chucker

More battles! What a game this will be!  Forget last season. It was a fluke for San Francisco (0-7) who had bad breaks, poor positioning, and mistakes, but Coach Viggs swears his 49ers will be bold in the West this season and they will battle for a title with few changes on the line. He says the Rams are a great team but he will do for the 49ers what he did with his Packers last season and he will do it without talk in a league filled with envy to beat the best of the best. The 49ers earned the top draft picks this season. There's nothing wrong with that 49ers football team other than bad luck last season. The West is filled with Monsters in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Arizona.

 

The 49ers will be back strong, but the Lions also improved and have been competitive for the last five straight seasons turning the entire franchise around, making two consecutive LIEFL Super Bowls and coming close last season with only their division rival Green Bay Packers standing in their way. What a matchup between the 2019 record setting Ricky Watters and LIEFL Hall of Famer Dexter Bussey. Watters rushed for (49-587-8TD) in 2020 after a LIEFL record setting 2019 season with his 925 yards rushing, and LIEFL best! Bussey played incredible and he only seems to get better tabbing (55-1863-16TD) as the leading all-purpose player in the tough NFC, finishing #2 in the LIEFL in all-purpose yards. The LIEFL veteran was a beast again for the (6-3) Lions getting better and better as the league standards get vetted to different performance levels. Bussey earned LIEFL NFC Offensive Player of the Year last season blazing 471 yards rushing and he had another 1322 yards with six 100 kick returns for touchdowns in 2020 on special teams. The snow game against the Packers in the NFC Divisional playoff game killed the Lions shot at a title. This will be a high-powered offensive game and what a Week#1 matchup and it will take a bold skillful coach to stop these Lions.

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Lions 31-49ers 28. Nobody is beating Detroit on their home turf and Detroit will win the Division.

 

Seattle Seahawks (LIEFL RANK#27) (54-103) Coach Paddy Brannigan at 

Indianapolis Colts (LIEFL RANK#15) (74-90) Coach: Billy O'C

What another terrific Week#1 matchup between these two 2020 playoff teams. The Hawks played spectacular last season with major upsets on the road against Philadelphia, Miami, the LA Rams and they lost 24-22 in the Divisional playoff game against Coach Ed Viggs Washington Football Team, but what a season it was! Marshawn Lynch exploded for (49-1332-11TD). Lynch had an unforgettable season, including a 672 yard, three-touchdown performance with two hundred yard TD returns against Coach Billy O'C's two-time LIEFL Super Bowl Champion Rams, knocking them out of the playoffs for the first time in three seasons in the Wild Card Game 51-45 upset of the tournament in OT! Lynch's outstanding season earned the Seahawks some serious respect as a contender in this league under the great coaching of Paddy Brannigan.

 

Billy O'C's Colts (15-6) the past three seasons finished a strong (7-2) in 2020, but they came up short with a 30-22 Divisional Championship game loss to the Chargers for the LIEFL #2 defense in the Colts. They brought a competitive war with star running back Joseph Addai (74-1654-10TD), who is one of the top five backs in the LIEFL. Another phenomenal game for week one. O'C says no more disappointments for this Colts team, they are ready to terrorize and surprise the league.  They gained lots of lessons against the Chargers after pummeling the Broncos in the playoffs. They'll be back!

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Colts 14-Seahawks 10

 

Arizona Cardinals (LIEFL RANK#23) (67-93) Coach: Kevin Maloney at 

Tennessee Titans (LIEFL RANK#21) (25-22)  Coach Kevin Maloney (Joe Bino will be the alternate coach for this game).

Every season the Cardinals (3-4) start off explosive only to crumble towards the end of the season. They fell apart last year somehow after losing the last 4 out of five games. This year we think the Cardinals will have a different run. They have too many weapons to bow down to a very tough and challenging Titans team. The big back Otis Anderson (53-439-6TD), is tough to bring down, and the Cards have weapons in Mel Gray (17-966-4TD), and Larry Fitzgerald (5-312-2TD).

 

The Titans (4-4) showed lots of promise last year and they will come out fighting as they usually do taking the South by storm. These Titans have had a great run, but Miami's dominant AFC Wild Card Game victory 42-20 in 2020 exposed the Titans weakness at Linebacker. Tennessee is stacked with talent with a front three anchored by All-Pro Bruce Matthews. Eddie George had a decent season (49-369-6TD) and the cornermen Brandon Jones (13-510-0TD) and Eron Kinney (10-465-5TD) kept the triple-threat Titans competitive and filled with surprises. Don't forget the speedsters for the Titans at the corners. Kinney exploded in Week#1 against Denver with 268 yards and three touchdowns, but he also had touchdowns in big spots against Detroit and Houston.

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Titans 21-Cardinals 14

 

Los Angeles Chargers (LIEFL RANK#11) (81-71) Coach: Ed Viggs at 

Washington Redskins Football Team (LIEFL RANK#2) (107-67) Coach: Ed Viggs (Alternate Coach Joe Bino will play this game).

 

As if the matchups couldn't get any better in Week#1 of the LIEFL! Two more terrific playoff teams from the AFC and NFC will meet. This will be one of the most competitive and watched games of the week. The Chargers (8-2) bring it just like Washington (7-3), and in three seasons Los Angeles has been a force losing such close games against the Bills 49-48 in the 2019 AFC Divisional Championship Game, and then to Miami last season in the AFC Championship Game 32-27, but don't be fooled by their loses. They have won 17 games in the past three seasons! The Chargers will compete for a Super Bowl after losing LIEFL Super Bowl XIV 31-28 to the Los Angeles Rams.

 

This game features the LIEFL's elite players and best rated coach in the league in the steady and cool Wall Street Guru, Ed Viggs--the guy everyone wants to beat! We already know the two running backs playing in this game are next to unstoppable in LaDanian Tomlinson (64-1640-13 TD) and Washington's Tony Green (62-1190-7TD), and both defenses are outstanding with fierce front line matchups. 

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Chargers 20-WTF 17 in the upset!

 

Cleveland Browns (LIEFL RANK#14) (75-72) Coach: Matt "Zoo-York" McQueen at 

Kansas City Chiefs (LIEFL RANK#19) (68-88) Coach: Matt McQueen, but Joe Bino will be the alternate coach seeing the action.

 

Of all the games listed in week one this one might be the most unpredictable in two of the most disappointing teams in the LIEFL. The Cleveland Browns (2-5) face the Kansas City Chiefs (2-5).  One thing the Browns have is a defense, so why can't they win? Coach McQueen hasn't found the magic formula to get this team to score points. In fact, the Browns had one of the best defenses in the AFC allowing an AFC third best 83 points in 2020. But, on offense they were abysmal with only 64 points landing them dead-last in the LIEFL. Coach McQueen needs to fix this fast or it will be another long season for the Cleveland coach. The last thing a coach wants to be is the whipping boy of the league. The Browns went from the #1 Seeded team in 2017 after being crushed by Buffalo 42-14 in the AFC Divisional Game on OJ Simpson's rampage, to a team sinking. They had a few bright spots in 2020 in Mike Pruitt (27-223-4TD) who did most of the rushing in the last three games of the season and of course, Jim Brown (37-1126-4TD), who came thru on kick returns and set-ups. The Browns defense comes to play, but we have to see some improvement in their offense.

 

The Chiefs have elite running back Priest Holmes (49-468-7TD), but they find themselves rebuilding yet again for the 4th straight season. Let's see how Holmes makes his way into the first three weeks of the season as the Chiefs rebound from another losing season. 2019 draft, Tyreek Hill (13-650-1TD) has to have a breakout year in order for this Kansas City team to compete. This one will be close.

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Chiefs 17-Browns 14

 

Miami Dolphins (LIEFL RANK#1) (151-37) Coach: Billy O'C at 

New England Patriots (LIEFL RANK#24) (64-82) Coach: Levi Vick

Is this Miami's year after back to back LIEFL Super Bowl loses as they search for their 7th Super Bowl Trophy in franchise history? Coach Billy O'C has to find what is missing in this team's ability to get it done. Maybe his coaching? He had the game sealed against the Packers but the magic took over for Sterling Sharpe as his 100 yard dramatic touchdown run sealed the deal for Green Bay in Super Bowl XVI! Let's see if the Patriots can handle fury of Miami. The Miami Dolphins (8-3) played a great game against Green Bay in last year's Super Bowl, but these division matchups are always a huge challenge. The Patriots have rebuilt and their plan is to take back the east. Nobody is stopping the Dolphin defense who outplayed the AFC last season. Jason Taylor, and Larry Little will be pushed with two great tackles in AJ Duhe and Manny Fernandez this year, and their mentor Bob Kuechenberg will lead the charge. Mercury Morris (54-611-11TD) is back to compete with LaDanian Tomlinson for another rushing title, and superstar Mark Duper (18-1007-2TD) will set up Morris on the offense.

 

New England (2-5) had their most difficult season since 2008 losing  to Miami twice and then they lost in an upset at home to the Jets 17-14 which cost them a shot at the post-season. The Pats have one of the best players in the AFC in starting Pro Bowl tight-end Rob Gronkowski (22-1254-3TD), so they need to challenge early on and beat the Dolphins at home to stay in this race. Every game counts big!

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Miami will upset New England 20-17. 

 

Green Bay Packers (LIEFL RANK#4) (95-76) Coach: Ed Viggs  at 

New Orleans Saints (LIEF RANK#12) (80-74) Coach: Kevin Maloney

Coach Viggs will take that walk down memory lane of last year's Super Bowl win over Miami often when his Packers take the field to battle for another title! The Packers (9-1) were the best team in the LIEFL last season. They proved that because of the stellar strategic coaching of Ed Viggs who walked away with the prize. Nobody could have predicted the season Green Bay would have in 2020 and big-play stars emerged From Jim Taylor and Reggie White to Ray Nitschke and Sterling Sharpe, the Packers were 6-0 up until their loss to Chicago. Sharpe had a perfect performance in the game against Miami with 11-530-4 touchdowns, including the game winning 100 yard run back to win the game with seconds left of the last possession of the game to earn him the Super Bowl XVI MVP award!  Sharpe reached stardom and the elite level with that respectable Super Bowl performance! The Packers found a way to win nine games last season including their winning their first ever LIEFL Super Bowl in three tries with their win over Miami. They dominated the league on defense and when it came time to perform on the biggest stage of the playoffs under pressure, Coach Viggs stepped up with a game plan to beat the elite teams in both on the journey to the road less traveled. 

 

The Saints (2-5), suffered tough losses in 2020, losing five out of their last six games of the season. They need help on their front line.

With a light handed draft the saints should improve in the receiving game and they strengthened the lineman as they try to bring back the magic that they had earlier in their career. We'll see if they can turn things around. The bright spot for New Orleans was Reggie Bush (59-1305-6TD). will be ready for the rebuilding Saints. Never count the Packers out!

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Packers 14-Saints 7 in the upset!

 

Denver Broncos (LIEFL RANK#3) (105-64-1) Coach: Paddy Brannigan  

New York Football Giants (LIEF RANK#9) (83-73) Coach: Joey Pizz

What a come back season for the once elite Broncos (4-4) and what a devastating season it was for the tough Giants (4-3) in 2020.

For the first time in 20 years the Broncos, who have not seen a playoff games since their 1992 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Divisional Championship Game 28-17, made it to the playoffs last season losing to the high-octane Indianapolis Colts 27-10, but these Broncos led by the LIEFL leading rusher Terrell Davis (58-1924-15TD+8 100TD) had an explosive breakout year. Davis earned the LIEFL Walter Payton Award given to the best offensive player in the LIEFL. Davis and the Broncos will show up again to wreak havoc! It could be a very interesting season for this team as they rebuild for the future. They have a huge test against Big Blue! 

Denver will need all the firepower they can get against the Giants because New York has lots to prove after folding in the final game of the season after Dallas knocked them out of the playoff hunt in the season finale in a tremendous 21-17 upset! 

 

The tandem of Saquon Barkley (42-505-8TD) and Odell Beckham (15-894-4TD) had some huge performances as they lit up the NFC East. Beckham had an amazing three hundred yard kick returns for touchdowns in his performance against Cincinnati, finishing with 376 yards in that game for New York. Barkley consistently causes problems for defenders. Another amazing week 1 matchup! It's very tough to win on the road in this league but the elite teams are able to do it and the Broncos are trying to get to that level they play that in the seventies.

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Giants 21-14 In a battle but it won't be easy.

 

Chicago Bears LIEFL RANK#5) (94-66) Coach: Paddy Brannigan at 

Los Angeles Rams (LIEFL RANK#10) (82-82) Coach Billy O'C

The week is stacked tall! What another amazing Week#1 matchup! This Chicago Bears (4-3) team were one of the most exciting teams in 2020 and they are back big with their star Willie Gault (23-1340-6TD) who was the #6 all-purpose guy in the NFC and #10 in the LIEFL, leading the offense behind a wall of hungry and talented Bears! The Bears were just shy of making the playoffs and the formidable two-time LIEFL Super Bowl Champion Rams had their dreams crushed in the upset in the NFC Wild Card Game by the Seahawks 51-45 in OT!

 

Watch for these Rams to return right back to the form that they were in last season as they battle for another division title and Super Bowl. Rams running back Wendell Tyler (62-651-10TD) all-purpose yards, had a great year and The "Reverend" Isaac Bruce (27-1415-6TD) #4 in the NFC and #7 in the LIEFL in all-purpose yards, is unstoppable with that Fab-5 line. Los Angeles is still a major threat and a force to be reckoned with in the LIEFL. They are still the team to beat! 

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION: Rams 28-Bears 21

 

Baltimore Ravens (LIEFL RANK #28) (35-30) Coach: Johnny Freeport Chucker at 

Las Vegas Raiders (LIEFL RANK#17) (72-80) Coach: Kevin Maloney

We'll call this game a mixed bag. It doesn't matter what anyone says, the Raiders (2-5) won't be the same away from the projects of Oakland and the mean streets of Raider Nation. They've changed and they have been on the brink of trade in this league.  Billy O'C wants the Raiders back and is willing to trade his Buffalo Bills to obtain the Raiders, but Maloney wants either Miami or the Rams. As usual five time LIEFL Raiders All-Pro end Dave Casper (25-1284-5TD), was a beast in 2020. Can he get any better in 2021? Will the Raiders improve at Linebacker? They replaced both linebackers to try to open up that run for Bo Jackson. The linebackers played great in the draft but we will see if they passed the test in the first 3 weeks of the season.

We shall see if their offseason work makes them a contender against a powerhouse Baltimore team in their opener. If the Raiders front three get going for running back Bo Jackson, this one can be a great team and game. Jackson (37-272-4TD), was held back last season and the Raiders need to find their way

back into the mix and compete with Los Angeles in the west. 

 

The Ravens had a terrific year in 2020 only to be upset by their rival Miami who beat them soundly in the AFC Divisional Game 52-46! Coach Johnny Freeport Chucker was beyond emotional and he was even fined after the playoff game against Miami for intentionally tossing Miami's Mercury Morris on the field after Mars scored the go-ahead touchdown. In our league you're not supposed to touch the opponents players. This guy continues to be the league bad boy. Nevertheless his Ravens looked sharp with LIEFL 4 x All-Pro Derrick Mason (19-1203-4TD) crushed it on special teams and kick returns with a boasting 595 yards along with four touchdowns against Miami in that loss. Mason is a powerhouse star in the league! The Ravens also have an enormous line which paves the way for All-Pro running back Jamal Lewis (55-568-11TD) and that is what makes this team so dangerous as a triple-threat team. The Ravens have to come up big this season in the tough spots in order to make their move as an elite team! 

 

SLAWSON PREDICTION:  Ravens on the road 21-17!

 

 

2020 OFFICIAL LIEFL STANDINGS STATS SCHEDULE.docx