2020 Long Island EFL Week#1 Dallas Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams

[Long island EFL]

RAMS HOME OPEN AGAINST DALLAS READY TO FIGHT FOR A THIRD LONG ISLAND ELECTRIC FOOTBALL TITLE!

For the past two seasons the Long Island Electric Football League #11-Ranked Los Angeles Rams (76-80), have proven that nobody does it better in the past six years of our seven-game season format, after winning the 2018 Long Island Electric Football League Super Bowl XVI, 31-28 against the Los Angeles Chargers and this past season they won LIEFL Super Bowl XV 44-21, in OT against the Miami Dolphins. The Rams are successful because they seem to play outstanding together with a cohesive urgency, and they proved that today against Dallas in their mission for a third straight title led by Coach Billy O’C. These blue-collar Rams came to play today against a worthy NFC East battle-hardened opponent in the LIEFL #8-Ranked Dallas Cowboys (81-68). The Cowboys have consistently been that one team in this league that backs down to no one!

Dallas is also an incredible story, so here is the back story:

Let’s Throwback in LIEFL Time. In 1995, there was a big article written in NEWSDAY--the 11th largest newspaper in the United States--about two Long Islanders who received a Free-Pass to Chicago to compete in the World Championship of Electric Football by Miggle Toys. One of our LIEFL members decided to contact both of the Miggle stars to include them in our league. We ended up successfully contacting only one of the Miggle Champions from the article with a challenge to play him and he agreed. No false bravado here, just competitiveness for us.

The game was set-up to be played in Islip, NY, on Long Island.

In this highly anticipated game, the star-studded Miggle Champ started with the pre-game hype bragging about his play-style as legendary. He cautioned us to be prepared for his mean and lean Chicago Bears, as if we never played the game. That's all just Psych-hype to the fearless LIEFL. Our motto is, "We don't talk, we play to win, PERIOD!" We are athletes so what our opponent was selling, we were not buying! 

What we learned in this case is that statistics can make a difference in electric football, just as they might in the NFL. For Example: In our title match against the Miggle Champ, we decided to put a feisty LIEFL #8 Ranked Dallas Cowboys (81-68 All-Time), team on the field with a proven track-record in the Long Island EFL, for whatever that is worth.

In that 1995 season for us, the Dallas Cowboys finished a hard-fought 3rd Place at (8-6) in the LIEFL highly competitive NFC East, but they made the LIEFL playoffs as a Wild Card Team. They had a major upset over the challenging #10 LIEFL Ranked New Orleans Saints (10-4 and 76-72), 16-13 in OT, in the Wild Card Game! Then Dallas lost in the LIEFL NFC Divisional Game against a savage #2 LIEFL Ranked Washington Redskins (11-3 and 105-68) team, 35-17.

The Cowboys had 106 Points and were Ranked #6 in the LIEFL NFC on offense, and they Ranked #3 on defense in the LIEFL NFC that season. 

Running Back Emmitt Smith ranked #21 in our LIEFL with 119 carries with 1238 all-purpose yards, and only 6 touchdowns compared to the LIEFL #1 all-purpose player that season, Kieth Woodside for the #6 LIEFL Ranked Green Bay Packers (10-4 and 86-76) who had an LIEFL leading 122 carries for 2174 all-purpose yards in 1995 with 21 touchdowns for the Pack who lost to the #23 LIEFL Ranked Wild Card Philadelphia Eagles (9-5 and 63-78) in the LIEFL NFC Divisional Championship Game 38-30 that season.

Regardless of our challenge, we knew the consistency of our Cowboys as a tough Tier II team climbing to the elite Tier I-Top-Five Ranks in the LIEFL behind teir one's #1 Ranked Miami Dolphins (166-34), dominant winners of LIEFL Super Bowl's I, III, IV, V, VI, and IX, the LIEFL Super Bowl VII Champion, # 2 Ranked Washington Redskins (105-68), #3 Ranked Denver Broncos (102-60-1), #4 Ranked Chicago Bears (94-66), winner of 1976 LIEFL Super Bowl II, and 2000 LIEFL Super Bowl XI, and LIEFL #5 Ranked Pittsburgh Steelers (90-68). The Cowboys have played almost 150 games in our league, and we feel all leagues are unproven obviously until we all compete. We also recognize that one team is not a complete representation of a league.

The Cowboy Romp!

By kick-off our LIEFL battle-hardened Cowboys were ready to get it on and play against the champ. Our opponent Chicago Bears looked intimidating in those dark jerseys, and "America's Team" dressed in white jerseys for the Long Island Bowl of Champions, which we had hoped to make an annual tradition. We thought that our annual Super Bowl Champ could play our opponent's SB Champion, making for a great friendship. 

Even if we were destroyed, we would have handled the game with dignity, respect, and a handshake after the game. We don't do would-have, should-have, could-have scenarios in our league, we just compete! We agreed to the rules and he won the passing rules with stick set-ups and managed formations, but we won on defense and in our running attack, which turned out to be relentless.

Good nature trash-talking by the Miggle Champion sadly went on before the game, during the game, and after the game.

As we predicted in our pre-game prep against our unknown opponent, he came out passing on first down. We somehow stopped his Bears cold on their first passing drive by shutting down his outside game with our linebackers, and in the trenches LIEFL Cowboys Ed "TooTall" Jones, Harvey Martin, Randy White, Leon Lett, and Larry Allen stuffed his run, pushing his line back 20 yards in two plays forcing our opponent to punt on fourth down. On the ensuing punt, speedy Emmitt Smith returned the ball 78 yards with a blazing sideline run to the scorched Chicago Bears 22 yard-line. One play later, Smith, led by big Larry Allen, dominated the running game as Smith bullied his way right up the center and in for the Cowboys first score! Smith had his way the entire game rushing for over 100 yards on the ground in the Long Island Bowl of Champions. The Cowboys consumed the clock and our LIEFL pre-game strategy worked perfect for this game!

With our opponent losing 21-0 at the half against the Cowboys, the trash-talk was ignited for the rest of the game when the Miggle Champs team wasn't winning. As athletes we tend to handle our wins and losses with class rather than whine about losing. When we lose we just accept a tough defeat and come back strong for the next game. We let our team just play the game the way it was meant to be played by letting our team do the talking on the scoreboard.The Dallas defense came up huge against his Bears passing game, shutting this Bear team down with silence, strategic precision. The best of the opponents Bears was a 22-yard pass touchdown play to their tight end with seconds left which ended the memorable game with the Long Island EFL Cowboys winning 21-7!

In the end our Dallas Cowboys defense shut down the Chicago Bears, holding them to zero yards on the ground in rushing, and 55 yards in the passing game. Leon Lett had three tackles and Larry Allen had three tackles for the Cowboys as they celebrated a proud moment in LIEFL history for us!

After the game this Miggle Champ boasted about how his five-year undefeated Cleveland Browns would have crushed our Cowboys, but in the end we thoroughly enjoyed the competition and statesmanship for the game.  Even if it were so that the Browns could have crushed Dallas, we always have the formidable and better than average, LIEFL #1 Ranked Miami Dolphins (166-34), who have played many outside tournaments as a worthy opponent.

Fast forward to today’s game. The Rams take a four prong approach to winning, which means all of their offensive players are involved as a team and they've been able to unite and ignite a “Fabulous Five” front-line which synergizes into a machine that wins football games! Here on opening day against the Dallas Cowboys, there is a lot of excitement of what could be a possibility that this team can win three historic Super Bowls in a row. They would become only the second team in the history of this league to be able to do so other than the Miami Dolphins. Coach O’Connell knows better than to think that far ahead. He said, “Listen, the Rams are not going to be pushed around. We are taking each game by plan, thinking it all out with a backup plan.  We have a rough schedule of Philadelphia, Buffalo, San Francisco, the Giants, the Jets, and Arizona. Four of those teams were contenders last season, so we are bringing our all and leaving nothing on the table. We are as good as any team in this league when we play together. We are going into this season at war with every team in the league, because it is not just a third title we want.  We want to DOMINATE. We think we have the coaches and the league figured out.  We have won five straight and 18 games in two seasons.  We are here to fight for a title!” That is a lot of statement, but can the Rams back it up?

 When the boom of the kickoff began, the Rams wasted no time with a 40-yard kick return from Superstar return specialist, “The Reverend” Isaac Bruce and on the first run of the game. The Rams are all about ball control and time we are looking at a prolific offense that is anchored by one of the most intense lines in the Long Island Football League over the last two seasons of Rosy Grier Merlin Olsen Chris Long and Deacon Jones along with their anchor, Jackie Slater. On their first run from scrimmage, last year’s LIEFL Super Bowl XV MVP, Wendell Tyler ran 8 yards until he collided with Dallas linebacker Dexter Coakley who stopped Tyler at the 48-yard line of Los Angeles.

 On second run Tyler styled a 34-yard slashing run through traffic to the Dallas 18-yard line for huge first down. The Rams made easy work of that tough Dallas defensive line with big Larry Allen in the middle getting run over by All-Pro Jackie Slater and the Fab-Five! After the first two big runs for Los Angeles they're the Dallas defense stopped the run and figured it out by moving people around for better match-ups, but it took Coach Pizz time to make the adjustments. The Rams were forced to pass on 3rd down and two-time NFC Championship Game MVP, and Super Bowl XV MVP with Tyler, Isaac Bruce grabbed a swift 34-yard touchdown play on third down from quarterback Jared Goff to make the score, 7-0 Rams!

On the ensuing kickoff Cowboy All-Pro Terrell Owens buzzed back 37-yards and is hit head-on by Eric Dickerson who makes a big open field tackle for Los Angeles as the ball gets turned over to the evasive Emmitt Smith, one of the most prolific runners in our game. The Cowboys came to play as Smith ran for three straight first downs of 25,14, and 18 yards to the Los Angeles 8-yard line to end the half.

 One play later Smith bullets through the left hole for a touchdown to tie the game at seven, with 13:17 left to go in the game.

 After Isaac Bruce's 46-yard kick return with the score tied, Wendell Tyler took over with a 26-yard run on 1st down with the Dallas defense fighting hard for the battle in the trenches. Last year when these two teams met it was the Cowboys who walked away with the win 23-17 in 23 seconds of OT. It's not hard to imagine these two teams in the playoffs and both teams have strong schedules. Dallas has a favorable schedule that can land them in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, when they set a playoff record for most points scored in a game with 56 against Atlanta beating them 56-52, and then they lost to Philadelphia in the Divisional Championship Game, 35-20.

 The Rams kept the ball moving on this drive. Bruce made another first down on a great catch for 16-yards bringing it to the Dallas 9-yard line with 4:57 left to go in the game. On the very next play Wendell Tyler ran around star defensive tackle, Randy White from 9 yards out to score, making the score 14-7, Los Angeles with 4:09 left to go in the game.

 Dallas marched right back on the kick-off with a blazing 100-yard kick-return for a touchdown by Terrel Owens with 2:25 left to go in the game, tying the score at 14 in this electrifying game.

 This game was going to end at Los Angeles in front of 85,000 people with the Cowboys backs against the wall to remember when it comes playoff time, and when the Rams got the ball back for the last time, there is only one man they could rely on to get the job done to get in field-goal range with 8 seconds left in the game, “The Reverend” Isaac Bruce! Bruce took it a shocking 93-yards downfield to the Dallas 7-yard line where the Rams ended the game with a field goal, winning 17-14 in a thriller!

 Dallas is at Atlanta (1-0), next week and the Rams play a rematch of the NFC Wild Card Game against Philadelphia (0-1).

THE DALLAS COWBOYS "LIEFL HISTORY BY THE NUMBERS":

1977-78	Dallas	9	5		0	1	2nd AFC Conference I, Round 1: lost to Dallas 14-7.
1978-79	Dallas	12	2		0	1	1st NFC Eastern Division, NFC DG lost to NY Giants 24-17.
1980-81	Dallas	8	6		0	1	2nd NFC Eastern Division, NFC DG lost to Washington 24-17.
1982-83	Dallas	7	7		1	1	2nd NFC Eastern Division, NFC WCG beat St. Louis 45-42, NFC DG lost to NY Giants 41-35.
1983-84	Dallas	6	8		0	0	Last NFC Eastern Division
1991-92	Dallas	6	8		0	0	4th Eastern Division
1995	Dallas	8	6		1	1	3rd NFC Eastern Division, NFC WCG beat New Orleans 16-13 (OT), NFC DG lost to Washington 35-17. BEAT MIGGLE TOY FINALIST CHICAGO BEARS 21-7!
2000	Dallas	8	6		1	1	2nd NFC Eastern Division, NFC WCG beat Atlanta 56-52, NFC DCG lost to Philadelphia 35-20.
2008	Dallas	3	4		0	0	3rd NFC Eastern Division
2016	Dallas	4	3		0	0	3rd NFC Eastern Division
2018	Dallas	4	3		0	0	2nd NFC Eastern Division
2019	Dallas	3	4				3rd NFC Eastern Division
2020	Dallas
		78	62		3	6	81-68

 

 THE LOS ANGELES RAMS "LIEFL HISTORY BY THE NUMBERS":

 

YEAR   TEAM   W L W L DIVISION FINISH             1976-77 Los Angeles 0 0 0 1 Lost to Oakland 21-14 in FIRST Championship Tournament 1977-78 Los Angeles 9 5 0 1 2nd NFC Western Division, Lost to Green Bay 23-21 in NFC WCG. 1978-79 Los Angeles 9 5 0 1 2ND NFC Western Division, NFC WCG lost to Green Bay 23-17. 1980-81 Los Angeles 5 9 0 0 3rd NFC Western Division (DNQ for Playoffs) 1982-83 Los Angeles 4 10 0 0 Last NFC Western Division (DNQ for Playoffs) 1983-84   Los Angeles 8 6 2 1 1st NFC Western Division, Beat San Francisco 30-27 in NFC DCG, Lost to Washington in NFC CG 41-35. Beat Denver in Consolation Game 12-7. 1991-92 Los Angeles 4 10 0 0 3rd NFC Western Division (DNQ for Playoffs) 1995 Los Angeles 6 8 0 0 3rd NFC Western Division (DNQ for Playoffs) 2000 St. Louis 5 9 0 0 Last NFC Western Division (DNQ for Playoffs) 2008 St. Louis 4 3 0 1 1st NFC Western Division Lost in NFC DCG vs. Detroit Lions 21-17. 2016 St. Louis 4 3 0 0 2ND NFC Western Division (Lost Playoff Chance in last game of season 7-3 to 49ers) 2017 Los Angeles 2 5 0 0 Last Place NFC Western Division (DNQ for Playoffs) 2018   Los Angeles   6 1 3 0 1st Place NFC Western Division Champion, NFCDCG beat NY Giants 34-31, NFC Conference Championship Game Beat Carolina 45-31,  SUPER BOWLBeat Los Angeles Chargers 31-28 Super Bowl XIV Champions! 2019   Los Angeles 4 3 4 0 3rd Place Wild Card Team NFC Western Division, Beat Philadelphia in the NFCWCG 31-24, NFCDCG: Beat San Francisco 38-34, NFC Conference Championship Game: Beat Carolina 45-38! NFC CHAMPIONS! Beat Miami 44-41 (OT 49SEC) 2019 SUPER BOWL XV CHAMPIONS! 2020 Los Angeles               67 75 9 5 76-80 7 X Playoff Appearances, 3 Division Championships, 1 NFC Championship, 2 x Super Bowl Champion (2018, 2019)

 

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by Long island EFL

[Long island EFL]

MY BAD IT WAS 44-41 IN OT!

[Long island EFL]

MY BAD IT WAS 44-41 IN OT! ALSO RAMS WON 2 NFC TITLES