2020 Long Island EFL Week#2 Atlanta Falcons (1-0) vs. Dallas Cowboys (0-1)

[Long island EFL]

INCREDIBLE FALCONS BEAT COWBOYS IN OT 26-21!

Falcons Gerald Riggs (42) had 4 touchdowns with 354 all-purpose yard in Atlanta's highly anticipated game with Dallas, beating the Cowboys 27-21 in an OT thriller!

August 16, 2020. Dallas, Texas. The game was in Dallas, one of the toughest places to win on the road, but the high-flying "Dirty-Birds" played amazing in this overtime game!

It is Tudor Games who sold us some amazing 67' Big Men, especially the Atlanta Falcons!  In 2008 we revamped our entire league and sold all of our Haiti guys and Hogleg, bought a whole new 32-team home and away Big Men, painted them, decaled them, and WALA--a new look to our established league!  We were ready for a change and each coach had something at stake. We've had a few regrets because of the "rare" historic value of the Haiti and Hogleg figures, but we've come to love the Big-Men. Subliminally, it is Tudor Games who does that for us. Tudor is a great company that keeps our hobby alive. This is a company who actually cares about the people they serve. In my few encounters with customer service they have been nothing less than professional in their commitment to the game and customers. They build relationships with the customers as well.

In our league each coach is held accountable for their team and we don't joke around when it comes to signing rules at the beginning of the season. We aren't playing at Mom's table anymore. Everyone is clear about how we go about taking care of business.

In 2017, the Falcons lost to Minnesota 24-17, in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game after winning the NFC South Division. Long Island Electric Football League Coach, Johnny "Freeport-Chucker" Lafromboise might be the most vocal coach in this league when it comes to his Atlanta Falcons (1-0), who were just on the crust of making the Long Island Electric Football League playoffs last season, only to be cut short of that hope in the final week of the season by Coach Kevin "Mac" Maloney's comeback kids, the New Orleans Saints 26-21, in OT! Today, Atlanta faces a seasoned group of veterans in the Dallas Cowboys (0-1), coached by Levi Vick, but we have yet to figure out how league "Bad-Boy" Johnny Freeport-Chucker, has set so many records with his "Dirty-Birds" and the power-back Gerald Riggs without advancing further in the NFC playoffs with this team. Could it be the size of the Tudor 67' Big Men? The Coaching? The Schedule? 

For some answers we turned to the highly controversial, but unbiased Slawson's Corner. If a coach wants to find sentiment in Slawson, forget it, he goes by the numbers and statistical invariables. Statistics or probabilities do sometimes matter in electric football.  Our expert analytic feels that the Falcons need to rise to the occasion against the better teams because that is where they fell short each season, in coaching. "They were involved in 4 historic league games last season, three of the games were overtime games in which they won two of them. We are talking about winning one regular season game more because if a team like the Falcons make it, they can be a very dangerous team in the playoffs. The coaching is a story in itself. The division produced a 4-win playoff team in the Panthers, and the Falcons, don't forget, beat the Panthers in a high-scoring duel during the regular season. If they just won one more game, they would have won the division because they beat Carolina, and they would have seen the postseason. Can you imagine how many points they could have scored in the postseason if they got hot? This is a team that only great coaching will drive a chance at the LIEFL Super Bowl, and the Falcons are not quite there. What do you want, a novel? It is really simple to understand, like it or not, this coach is a hot head. Yeah it's a sad day when coaches start using profanity then let their anger get the best of them in a game," said "The Claw" Andrew Slawson, who himself was an excellent lineman and All-County Wrestler in high school. Slawson was recently inducted into the Long Island Sports Hall of Fame. True story! No answer from the Chucker.

The type of offensive firepower the Falcons have produced is exceptional.  They have one of the premiere offenses in electric football and because of the numbers the Freeport-Chucker has been able to put up, when Gerald Riggs and the Falcons play, almost everyone in the league shows up to watch this exciting team. In fact, no one has put up better numbers than the Chucker's star, Riggs. Riggs became the only 2,000-yard player in a seven game season with an LIEFL leading 2339 all-purpose yards with a record 21 touchdowns. Riggs and that Falcon offense produced 22 touchdowns last season in our seven-game season format.  Slawson thinks the Falcon coach focuses too much on the stats and not on the big picture. Riggs has totaled 7,429 all-purpose yards with 59 touchdowns in his LIEFL career, and he has won three MVP's. This criticism may indeed motivate the Freeport-Chucker to take a closer look at this season's Falcon game plan. The team is capable of next level competition, but what holds them back, only the coach can say.

In these 2019 historic games, the first historic game that went into the record books for the Atlanta Falcons last season was against the Philadelphia Eagles. Gerald Riggs had 402 all-purpose yards with four touchdowns and two, hundred-yard kick-returns for touchdowns! There was over 700 yards in the game with seven touchdowns in the Falcons 26-21 victory over  in OT, beating the Eagles! The next game they got even better! Riggs played his heart out but the Falcons lost to the excited 49ers, 31-28, in 7:16 of overtime. Between San Francisco's Rickey Watters, Jerry Rice and Riggs, they had a combined total all-purpose yards of 880 yards with 8 touchdowns in a regulation 30 minute game, putting that game in the record-books! In that game Riggs exploded for 350 all-purpose yards with 224 yards on special teams and 126 yards rushing, with three touchdowns. As if that didn't open up eyes in the league for the least popular coach, Riggs produced 457 all-purpose yards against one of the best defenses in the league, beating their division rival Carolina Panthers 31-28, in an electrifying finish against Matt "Zoo-York" Mulqueen's Panthers. That was an all-out verbal-brawl and assault, and the Chucker was fined for his language, $25 league fee by Rules Commissioner and former Pro football player for the arena league's Albany Firebirds, and legendary Albany high school football coach, Pete Porcelli. Porcelli said, "We have a professional league we are running here. We don't tolerate that type of behavior.  We know guys get heated in the game, but they have to learn to respect their opponents and deal with their anger management issues. We can't have coaches who lack discipline and sportsmanship." The last guy Porcelli tossed from the league was Wilfred "Grubsy-Bee" Brimsby, in a year-2000 shouting match with coach Ed Viglietta, when Brimsby broke Viglietta's men in a tantrum 28-10, loss by Brimsby's Seattle Seahawks to Coach Vigs' San Francisco 49ers." Brimsby was banned from the league and we heard he joined another league where it was reported back that he won a Super Bowl! Good for him because Porcelli said, "He won't be back in this league." 

In the last historic game of the year, Riggs set the 2000-yard record with 300 yards against Jacksonville on October 29, 2019, with 147 yards rushing with three touchdowns and another 153 yards on special teams. So, there is a strong historic team here, not to mention the beauty Tudor Games produced in these 67'Big Men!  They are enormous. The one thing that needs to stay cool is their coach. Coach Billy O'C said, "Riggs can do lots of damage and he's just a beast! I want him on my team, but at least when we play tournaments outside the league, he's with us rather than against us."

The Dallas Cowboys have been sporadic in the past two seasons, but a favorable schedule could land them in the postseason, if Coach Vick can manage them. This top-10 team in the LIEFL is fast, big, the scouting report is that they have a double threat between Terrell Owens and Emmitt Smith, two top players in the LIEFL.  

As game-time set in, the excitement was in the air with a full house on hand to watch this LIEFL game. 

The Cowboys opened with a booming kick-return by Terrell Owens who took it back 34-yards. In just two plays, Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith had runs of 23 yards and 43 yards into the end zone for a touchdown, 7-0, Dallas!  Coach Vick yelled loud when the Boys scored! 

As Coach "Chucker" looked close at his Falcons, carefully setting up his first kick-return, he had a smirk on his face. On a weak kick-return, star back, Gerald Riggs ran the ball back only 30-yards. Atlanta had trouble against that Dallas defense. They could not get the running game going and the Falcons ran the clock down in the first half with four runs from Riggs for just three yards and then Jamal Anderson came up huge with two catches in the flats for big first downs totaling 70 yards in receptions from quarterback Matt Ryan taking the ball to the Dallas Cowboy 11-yard line!  Riggs and the Atlanta front line were just warming up as Riggs powered his way into the Dallas end-zone for a touchdown to tie the game, 7-7 with 14:25 remaining. Coach Chucker and his Falcons were prepared tonight.

 

Surprise! Surprise! Coach Vick has a prepared Cowboy team!  Terrell Owens silenced the Falcons running one back for a hundred yards on the kick return into the end-zone, putting the Cowboys up 14-7, with 12:15 left to go in the game on a terrific blazing run!

 

Riggs answered with a 76 yard-kick return of his own! On first down at the 24 yard line of the Dallas Cowboys, the Falcon superstar Gerald Riggs exploded for a 24-yard touchdown to tie the score at 14-14, with 9:19 left to go in the game! What a stunner!

 

The Cowboys were not quitting. After a 63 yard kick-return from Owens, on his fourth consecutive run, Emmitt Smith scored on a sweet 11-yard run to put the Dallas Cowboys ahead 21-14, with 2:58 left to go in the game! The excitement was amazing and people were loud in this incredible action-packed thriller!

 

With 50 seconds left to go in the game the Falcons decided to pass the ball to Gerald Riggs who scorched the Dallas defense with a 53-yard  reception and Riggs third touchdown of the night! Game tied, 21-21! The Freeport-Chucker is taking his Falcons into overtime with the Cowboys! And, in a stunning turn of events the Freeport-Chuckers Falcons win the coin toss with Coach Vick in disbelief. Dallas was looking at its second possible loss in a row.

 

Atlanta got caught up on a weak 12-yard kick return in overtime, which meant they had to march a long 88 yards for a score with a tired Falcon offense. But, Riggs made Vick's Cowboys pay. Once the Falcons took over on a horrible kickoff return for 12 yards by Riggs, he made the Cowboys pay the price driving the ball, six plays and 88 yards later in 12:35 of overtime, Gerald Riggs scored his fourth touchdown of the game from 9-yards out as the Atlanta Falcons stunned the Dallas Cowboys 27-21, on one of the most spectacular performances ever by an LIEFL player and coach! 

 

Cowboys Coach Vick said, "Really, you have to tip your hat to Gerald Riggs and their coach in a game like this. The Falcons came back and fought hard and Riggs took over. It was like he had some kind of magic. We played a great game, but we lost the coin toss and that was enough for Atlanta because Riggs won the momentum."  Slawson's Corner's Andrew Slawson said, "Now that was an impressive victory. You know the Falcons, they really played a great game, it was a very impressive performance." 

 

Riggs has done this kind of damage before, but this one might go down as one of his best because they came from behind and Riggs just took charge of the game. The offensive line of the Falcons are not a team to be messed with. Riggs finished the game with some big yardage totaling 354-yards with four touchdowns. He had 137 rushing yards on 14 carries, and 164 yards on special teams, and 53 yards receiving!  How's that for a Sunday afternoon?

 

The Chucker said, "My Falcons are coming for all of you. Riggs is coming after all of you so I'd be careful what you say about him because in the end I'm going to prove this Slawson wrong."

 

For Dallas, Terrell Owens finished with 197 yards and a touchdown and Emmitt Smith rushed for 103 yards against the Falcons in an absolutely incredible game! The Cowboys (0-2), are off the a shaky start. The face a real challenge next week in Seattle and then they will have three home games in a row where they will have the chance to save their 2020 season. It is a huge mountain to climb. Atlanta has such a big game next week at home against the uprising Chicago Bears (1-1)! Gerald Riggs has run up the numbers with 608 total yards and six touchdowns! This guy is on fire and so are the Falcons (2-0)!

 

 

[Long island EFL]

Correction 27-21 final score