Jim Fitzpatrick

More images. Read bottom to top: Titans' FB #39 for no gain. Tackled by Gladiators' DT #61.

In what amounted to a tough defensive struggle, the Titans came from behind in the 4th quarter to edge the defending Old League champion Gladiators 24-20. Leading 20-17 in the middle of the 4th quarter, the Gladiators pinned the Titans on their own 5 yard line with an out of bounds punt. On the very first offensive play, Titans' FB #39, off a superb block on Gladiators' DT #61 by HB #47, raced 95 yards for the go-ahead (and wining) TD. Previously, the Gladiator defense had shut down the Titans' running attack, with a 9 yard run being the Titans' biggest gain through 3 quarters. The Titans had grabbed the lead in the first quarter, as Titan QB #18 threw TD passes to backup TE #84 and WR #89. The Gladiators slowly, but steadily, came back, with FB #35 rushing for 178 yards and 2 TDs over the course of the first three quarters. Following #39's 4th quarter run, the Gladiators marched the ball downfield, with QB #13 coming to life after a lackluster game to that point. Unfortunately, time ran out as the Gladiators got the ball to the Titans' 10 yard line. During the game, the Gladiators lost HB #42 to a season-ending injury (see below). [My injury policy: If a player 'jumps the board' - i.e. goes off the board - or becomes separated from his base during the time when a play is taking place, he is lost for the season. His base may not be used for another replacement player. If a player goes down - i.e. is knocked, or falls over, during a play - he is injured. If this occurs in the first half, he is out for the rest of the game; if it occurs in the second half, he must miss the next game] First image set: (read R to L) : Gladiators' FB #35 takes an inside handoff for a short gain

Next, Gladiators on offense. HB #42 tries to go between C and LG, but is stopped for no gain by DT #92. Again, inverse order. View from bottom to top.

Hmmm...These seem to be have uploaded inverse order. Please view them from bottom to top. #39 drives off right tackle, but SS #45 stops him.

Titans on offense. Off tackle to FB #39:

I'll try to remember to take some still photographs from future games.

The Lancers #41 rushed for 224 yards and ran for 3 TDs, and QB #9 threw a TD pass to WR #2 as the Lancers decisively defeated the Hawks 35 - 15 in their first meeting of the 2023 season. The other Lancer TD came on a 37 yard run by rookie FB #37. Meanwhile, the Hawks tackled #41 in the end zone for a safety - their first score. On the ensuing kick, #6 returned the ball to the Lancer 12 yard line, and HB #26 ran it in from there for the Hawks first TD, but the extra point hit the left upright for a miss. Later, FB #36 also scored on a run in the third quarter, keeping the Hawks in the game. The Lancer defense still had problems controlling the run, but their corner backs, #44 and #21, along with their slot corner, #22, stifled the Hawk receivers. The Lancers effectively used a two tight end offense, or a single wing formation far more than has normally been the case. Lancer WRs #2 and #81 consistently got open and QB #9 passed for over 50%, spreading the ball around to everyone. Hawk WLB #58 played exceptionally well in the Hawk's losing effort, as did FB#36. Next up: Titans (1 - 0) at Gladiators (1 - 0).

I'd say I'm impressed by the third and long balls. I can't say they're so much better than the felt, but I haven't used them long enough to render an "expert" opinion. Indeed, the Lancers need to do something about their run defense. I allow base changes to be made through the first set (the first 4 games), but after that, they're fixed for the rest of the season. Another option is changing the defensive alignment (meaning the position the defense lines up in, subject to rules on where the players are allowed to line up). I think using the two motors has affected things greater than I had anticipated.

The 2023 season kicked off with the inter-league games, much as last year. No real surprises, except that the rule changes I made during the off season to favor the defense and reduce high scoring games didn't seem to work. The Thunderbolts used a powerful running attack in which #23 gained 153 yards and #27 gained 122, to to defeat the Lancers 34-28. Lancer QB #9 threw 3 interceptions. The Warriors looked like the complete package to defeat the Hawks 44-28. Most of the Hawks points came in the 4th quarter, as they passed constantly, trying to get back in it. The Titans put together a solid defense and a great passing game to top the Wildcats 36-17. One Wildcat TD was on a 100yd KO return by #14. The defending Old League champion Gladiators dominated the Panthers 34-14, and Gladiator FB #35 rushed for 183 yds. The three main things that are different this season are the installation of two motors on my playing field, the use of a Lavatools digital timer for the game, and the change over from the old felt footballs to "Third and Long" footballs. The two motor set up works great, although it sometimes doesn't turn on when I press the switch. Got to figure that out. Also, the cord connecting the two motors should be a few inches longer. But I'm generally pleased. Now, no more "dead" areas on the field. I'll just have to get used to the vibration pattern when I'm planning what plays to use in a given area. The Lavatools timer is also great. Again, it will take a little more getting used to, pausing it and remembering to start it again throughout a quarter. At the moment, I'm using a 30 minute quarter (by the timer), which is about 45 minutes to an hour in real time. This may change as I get more experienced. I love the "new" Tudor footballs. After practicing, I've gotten comfortable, and I think my completion percentage has gone up - especially with longer (25+ yards) passes. The one thing I still have to learn to do is lobbing the football over players' heads to get a very tight completion. I'd gotten quite good over the years with the felt footballs.

I don't. I have certain rules governing the positions of defensive players which attempt to more-or-lass control my "knowing" where the ball is going, and these work fairly well. The only way I can think of to call an audible is to start every play with the QB holding the ball, and either handing off or passing, depending on how the movement of players evolve. This seems too clumsy to effectively do.

Last year, the Lancers did poorly, finishing third in the "Old League". During the off-season - my training camp - new, or replacement, bases are assigned to improve certain players' performances. For the upcoming season (and based on what I've seen in training camp, players I expect will have outstanding years are, #24 (RB) and #44 (CB), Lancers; #85 (WR), #52 (WLB), and #84 (DE), Wildcats; #61 (RT), Hawks; #47 (RB), Titans; #80 (rookie WR), #75 (DE), and #55 (WLB), Thunderbolts; #87 (rookie WR, made from a 'mean 13 QB figure) and #56 (rookie WLB), Panthers; #66 (LG) and #68 (LT), Warriors; #42 (RB) Gladiators. Of course, this is all subjective and can easily change once the season begins. Training camp involves teams' offenses going against their own defenses, and has to be only a gauge determining how individual players (bases, really) curve, how much power or speed their bases give them, etc. I've created different body positions for many players in the off season, mostly by cutting away and repositioning arms. It will be interesting to see how they work out. Also, as I've mentioned, I've added a second motor unit and purchased a stopwatch timer to improve play. THAT will be interesting!

...and per Tudor's request, my teams in away and home colors. L-R: Gladiators - FS #40, RB #44 Hawks - RT #61, WLB #58 Titans - WR #11. MLB #52 Lancers - DE #87, RB #24 Wildcats - RB #32, DT #91 Thunderbolts - LT #78. DE #75 Panthers - SS #38, RG #75 Warriors - WLB #91, C #63

Let me know how that goes. I might be interested. 3. Players. I wish Tudor would sell players (positions) individually, or (more likely) in packages, of say, 4. Like a package of 4 DBs, or 4 RBs, or something like that. Red colored players are easily adapted by spray painting them white. I use both the standard 11 unpainted figures and the pro-pack 'mean 13'. I have been trying to "create" different poses using the standard 11 - which only amounts to cutting off arms and repositioning them. This way I can make addition DBs out of Ts, or LBs out of Ts, or different poses for RBs. I haven't tried this with the pro-pack, except for the QB figure, which, once you cut off the ball, makes an acceptable WR or DB. Currently, I have 8 teams, divided into 2 leagues (conferences). Each team has an offensive and defensive platoon (to use the old term), in both white and colored jerseys. This gives me a roster of 32-33 players per team (in both white and colored jerseys). I don't foresee going beyond this, as this would just be too many to effectively use. The current amount allows for a few subs, to cover injury or just to 'spell' plays - i.e. get someone different in for a few plays. 4. Timer. This year I'm going to (finally!) use a digital stopwatch/timer - for obvious reasons. At this point, I'm experimenting, trying to determine the length of a quarter. Sure, it's 15 minutes in the real game, but EF moves a little more slowly. I'm taking the average number of offensive plays per game in a real game (which I get from pro-football-reference.com) and divide the total by 4. Typically, this will be around 50-60 plays per game, and thus, 12-15 per quarter. Running scrimmages with a team of mine, I've arrived at about 25 minutes per quarter. I'll go with this when I start my season, and see how it works out.. That's all for now.

My "administrative'" period (between seasons) is almost over. This is when I retire certain players, draft others, repair, repaint, touch up, change rules, modify rules, etc. Once again I've rejected the two point conversion and overtime during regular season games. I've also made sure that each team has a viable kicker/punter. All this has taken all of three months, and very soon I'll be starting 'training camp'. There's a lot to work out with the new timer and rules regarding it, but I'm excited to see things progress so well. During this time, let me share some observations from the admin period: 1. Numbers. I use the varsity numbers in all colors (what happened to Burgundy???). In the past, the adhesion (sticking) of these numbers has been problematic. I find that by closely trimming the numbers on the sheet with a razor blade, or and X-acto tool helps. I suspect that it's because the sticky part seems concentrated aroung the number itself. This doesn't apply to the white numbers. The white numbers seem to have very poor adhesive quality no matter which sheet (I have several) I take them from. So with them, I have to use a little glue. I've experimented with these various sticks used for paper - none work well. I'm currently using Elmer's Washable Clear Glue. It takes a few minutes to set, but so far has been my best option. Incidentally, numbers seem to stick best on a rougher surface. Try using a thicker paint to get texture, or sand or score the surface of the player first. If you have colored jerseys, the colored numbers that Tudor puts out don't stand out enough when applied. For example, I use a yellow number on a green jersey. The Tudor yellow numbers just don't have enough (or too little?) opacity. My solution is to use a white number and color it in with a yellow sharpie. But you'll have to refresh it after ever 2-3 games, as it tends to wear off. That's the inherent problem in using sharpies: the color easily wears off. Fortunately, I don't have too many colored numbers for home team jerseys. 2. Paint. See above for comments on sharpies. As for paint, I've been using both Walmart's Apple Barrel and Hobby Lobby's Deco Art paints. Both are okay, but I think I prefer Deco Art. Matching the colors from one brand to the other can be problematic, but as long as you're not using something too exotic, there should be no problem. For example, Apple Barrel's Spiced Berry matches Deco Art's Heritage Brick very well. Using a razor blade or X-acto tool to scrape away "mistakes" is one's painting is effective. I find that the X-acto #10 blade is especially effective. This is getting pretty long. I'll add some more on this later.

Over the years, the Lancers have won 16 championships, by far the most of any team. Although my teams don't represent any specific pro team, there are connections in the uniforms, but with certain modifications. For example, the Titans' new uniforms are based on those of the Chicago Bears of the late 1940s, the Lancers' are similar to (but not exactly like) the NY Giants, and so on. I've debated whether to go to league expansion, but the 4 teams per "conference" (8 teams total) is very convenient for the 10 game season I'm now playing. I have expanded individual team rosters to 32 players each, and I may go to 33. This seems to be the maximum number practicable. I wish Tudor would sell individual players at the various positions, even at a greater price per player. It would make roster expansion much more convenient.