Early EFL Planning: Long Island EFL 2023 Season Outlook and Annual Coaches Scouting Report (August 25, 2023 Kickoff)

[Long island EFL]

LIEFL LEAGUE SCOUTING REPORT

FOR UPCOMING 2023 SEASON WITH KICKOFF IN AUGUST

2022 LIEFL FINAL SEASON RESULTS

 

 Established: 1972

5,023 Games Played.

Total Player Personnel in LIEFL: 352

2023 All-Pro Roster will consist of 35 Players each for AFC and NFC voted on by coaches.

2023 LIEFL SUPER BOWL Prize Payout: $1800 Winner $1400 to the Runner up.

2023 League Dues: $250 Annually.

Sponsor Donates $1,000 annually including Transportation to and from Super Bowl if in Florida.

Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner: Billy O’C with Ed Viggs

Volunteer Rules Advisor: Legendary high school football coach and USA National Veterans Champion in Wrestling, Pete Porcelli (Albany) Former Arena Football Pro. Played on Rutgers Cup Winner at Bay Shore High School.

Volunteer Statistician Advisor: Long Island Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, All-County Wrestler Andy Slawson (Long Island) at Bay Shore High School.

THIS NOTICE IS TO ALL LIEFL COACHES IN PREPARATION FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON.

LIEFL Coaches in winning order of 2022 season.

1.     Matt Zoo-York (20-14)

2.     Ed Viggs (19-14)

3.     Billy O’C (17-15)

4.     Joey Pizz (16-15)

5.     Johnny Freeport-Chucker (14-15)

6.     Levi Vick (13-16)

7.     Kevin Mac (12-16)

8.     Paddy Brannigan (12-16)

9.     Joe Bino (Alternate Coach)

10. Bobby Biggs (Did not participate in 2022. 2023 Rookie Year)

2022 Coach of the Year: Matt Zoo-York.

2022 S U P E R  B O W L  X V I I Champion: AFC Wild Card Kansas City Chiefs (8-3). MVP: Priest Holmes and Tyreek Hill. Coached by Matt Zoo-York.

 TOP TEN ALL TIME LIELF TEAM RECORDS:

1. Miami Dolphins 158-40 (198)
2. Washington Redskins 109-71 (180)
3. Denver Broncos 108-68 (176)
4. Green Bay Packers 100-79 (179)
5. Chicago Bears 97-70 (167)
6. Los Angeles Chargers 93-75 (168)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers 92-77 (169)
8. Minnesota Vikings 91-87 (184)
9. New York Giants 90-76 (166)
10. Dallas Cowboys 87-77 (164)

 March 31, 2023. (Long Island, New York). Tudor Games Forum. Welcome to the 2023 Long Island Electric Football League, a locked-out league where the intensity begins August 25, 2023!

This season is our seventh consecutive 7-game season format after ten 14-game seasons, and it has been a great run filled with excitement, controversy, and the things that make this incredible game great, thanks to Tudor Games.

This season, we will again provide the electric football community and Tudor Games Forum page titled “STRATEGY AND GAMEPLAY” with weekly updates, not full write-ups. Feel free to follow our league. We have kept meticulous records of our league dating back to its foundation in 1972. https://forum.tudorgames.com/forum/45-long-island-electric-football-nation-67-big-men-established-in-1972/

WEEK#1 SCHEDULE AUGUST 25, 2023

1.     Steelers (3-4) at Ravens (3-4)

2.     Giants (7-3) at Redskins (3-5)

3.     Bengals (3-4) at Browns (4-4)

4.     Patriots (5-3) at Miami (7-3)

5.     Cowboys (2-5) at Jets (3-4)

6.     Raiders (3-4) at Broncos (3-4)

7.     Titans (5-3) at Jaguars (3-4)

8.     Eagles (3-4) at Rams (2-5)

9.     Bills (5-4) at Chiefs (8-3)

10. Seahawks (3-4) at 49ers (7-4)

11. Panthers (5-3) at Cardinals (2-5)

12. Lions (3-4) at Buccaneers (3-4)

13. Saints (1-6) at Packers (5-3)

14. Falcons (5-3) at Bears (3-4)

15. Vikings (4-5) at Chargers (6-2)

16. Colts (3-4) at Texans (3-4)

2023 New Rule Changes: (40 second set ups to 35 seconds). The LIEFL has a new 35 second set up rule on offense and defense, down five seconds from the 2022 season. The new rule promises to challenge coaches to perform at maximum intensity under duress by forcing the coaches to plan well before the season begins so that coaches can battle the time element. The fastest setup man in the league is Coach Ed Viggs who averages roughly 25 seconds to setup. While Viggs is pushing for a liberal no-stop passing league, which has now been voted down three times, our rules are balanced well. Every coach votes on league rule changes, even the alternate coach who fills in when people cannot make it. Majority vote rules.

The LIEFL has some key but other very strict rules in accordance with our own best practices on an International scale, but it’s all about sportsmanship and playing fair. Lots of people cheat in this game in order to gain an advantage, so in this league we have written agreements regarding painting players, weighing players and most importantly, all teams are Tudor 67-Big Men with strict NFL uniform codes with no acceptations to the rule.

The LIEFL only allows a coaches’ very best 11-man all-star roster.

On setups, the LIEFL clock doesn’t wait for coaches to set up just because they do it in other leagues. The pressure to perform is on for Rookie Coach Bobby Biggs who had that 5 second countdown setup idea shot right down by all coaches who play in this league.

Dealing with the stress of time is a real factor in this league. For those who played organized football, we understand how much of a factor the clock can be in a game so the pressure of competing under harsh pressure outweighs any countdowns to set players up using countdowns.

Coach Ed Viggs said, “Booyah! Countdowns, pivots, additional stops, and turning players around to chase receivers will never happen in this league and that is just never going to be our league. We told Bobby Biggs before he was voted in, if you can’t take the hard heat setting up within 30-35 seconds, play in another league. It’s fine with us. You don’t know what you can handle until you are faced with it.” Biggs argued that his league was better, but only a fool would come into a new league with that attitude. Many coaches love Biggs attitude, and privately, some do not.

Coach Paddy Brannigan fired back saying “ It’s fine, we’ll see. Let the guy talk it up, he has that right.  Muhammed Ali talked all day long and backed it up. Only time will tell. We respect all leagues, but what I love about playing in the LIEFL is the high-level game-clock and speed standards. We move the game along at a rapid pace with seconds to think on our feet rather than minutes or countdowns, or stops. The league is balanced by performance and the high-performers can play in any league. We never said we are the best league, but we are a damned competitive league.”

Viggs and Biggs will meet in Week#1 Saints vs. Packers!

Coach Joey Pizz said, “Bobby Biggs hasn’t played a single down yet. In this league you are under the pressure of performing against the clock. He’ll get used to it and he will play big!” Coach Billy O’C said, “A delay of game call penalizes a team ten-yards after the 35 second set up clock rolls. Losing his first ten games in the LIEFL, it took two-time Nassau Champion Levi Vick at least 10 games to learn the rules and beat the clock when he entered the LIEFL in 2020. He did a great job!”

Natural Continuity: The Passing Game: The LIEFL is a one-stop passing league, which literally means when a coach calls for a pass play, they get one shot at it without further time delays and that is the only time the game will stop for a pass play. After a pass reception play, we don’t allow coaches to then pivot or turn players to chase the receiver after the catch because it interferes with the natural continuity of the play and we feel it takes unnecessary time away from the game with stops, and the game actually loses its excitement. That’s just our league rule and that’s all that matters. If a defender gets burned, that’s the way the play happened. Better luck next time!

All receivers who are out of bounds on a pass attempt are considered out of the play, even if they run back in bounds. For pass plays, we set up a phantom quarterback chosen from the 11-men on the field for the offense, and he becomes the QB set up to run in the opposite direction of the play in the LIEFL. The play stops one time, and that is to pass before the QB runs twenty-yards, forcing the QB to make a passing decision without delaying the game. The QB has to pass before he either runs out-of-bounds, or whichever comes first within the twenty-yards alotted. Again, the quarterback is from the 11-men on the field, not an extra player. The passer used is the Tudor Games QB Passing figure. By turning the QB around, he is considered part of the play.

The game is set on fast-speed to produce a natural action-packed and fast-paced, lifelike feel as best as we can as a league to replicate the NFL like most leagues do.

Great Rule: Also, if an offensive ball carrier runs into the back of a defensive player it is not a tackle in the LIEFL becuase you can’t tackle a player running away from the offensive player as a defender. The offensive player is only tackled when he runs into a defending players’ side or front of the player base, including on kickoffs.

All kickoffs start with the ball carrier running the ball back from their defending endzone in the LIEFL.

Set-ups. In the LIEFL on offensive setups, there must be at least five men on the line of scrimmage and two slot receivers set up on offense at all times. We couldn’t care less about whether the lineman touch. At the one yard line in the NFL players are definitely close-quarters combat. The best action we feel is in the trenches, which can also neutralize and balance the passing game. Bring on the beef! The running game in the LIEFL is the ultimate neutralizer to the passing coach. It keeps the game balanced.

There are absolutely no set-up countdowns on set-ups for the offense or defense, it’s 35 seconds to set up for both the offense and defense, and we never allow countdowns, countbacks, or anything that interferes with the natural continuity of the game. Defense sets up last.

Disputes are always resolved with a coin toss.

Statistics Matter. In the LIEFL all coaches are responsible for keeping accurate records using an index card. After the game the cards are handed to the Statistician who tabulates the stats for the league. Each coach has a roster sheet which keeps all game statistics, tackles, touchdowns, rushing, all-purpose, kick-returns, and receiving yards for each player on the roster.

Awards. All LIEFL coaches vote on All-Pro awards. Teams with the worst records get the first round draft picks from roughly 200 player bases, both TTC and Rookie running bases the following season, keeping the league extremely competitive. This system is fantastic.

This league doesn't allow overweighted or overpainted players, no sticks, just a focus on pure talent and performance under as much timely stress possible. We are using the 67-Big Men, properly painted, decaled, and representative of the NFL home and away team uniforms. We remain a historic and principled league with some talented coaches. Our regular season games are 30 minutes and Playoffs and Super Bowl are 60 with 2 timeouts per team, per half.

The LIEFL S U P E R  B O W L X V I I Champion Kansas City Chiefs return for another crack at a title, but 31 other teams stand in the way!  As you may know by following the league, we also have a new coach, Bobby Biggs! Biggs has talked himself into the big show already, unlike third year coach Levi Vick who is reserved. Vick comes into this season with a record of (22-34). Will this be the two-time Nassau Super Bowl Champion’s breakout year?

2023 LIEFL GRIDIRON WEEK ONE MATCHUPS

OPENING Game 1.

Pittsburgh Steelers (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record Steelers #7 (92-77)

Coach: Paddy Brannigan (347-342)

Baltimore Ravens (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record Ravens #28 (39-34)

Coach: Johnny Freeport Chucker (225-280)

 

It’s unlikely that the Steelers will win their 100^th game, but they are close.

When the Steelers meet the Ravens on opening day for this NFC North showdown, they have to know the weakness of these Ravens, who played solidly to close the 2022 season. The Steelers are trying to make history in the chase to win their 100^th LIEFL game. They made some big picks in the draft which should improve at linebacker and balance the defense in the trenches on the front line. The moves are expected to pave the way for LIEFL All-Pro running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. Everyone knows the Bus! Bettis finished seventh in rushing in the AFC with 52 touches for 497 yards with seven touchdowns including big runs of 62 and 64 yards for touchdowns! Wide Receiver and kick returner Lynn Swann finished 11^th in AFC all-purpose yards with 21 touches for 894 yards with four touchdowns.

The Ravens stormed back in 2022 after a slow start. Baltimore had big wins at home against Green Bay, the LA Rams, and the Steelers who they eliminated from the playoffs with a 17-14 win in the season finale!

Baltimore’s Jamaal Lewis finished 9^th in AFC Rushing with 39 carries for 487 yards with 8 touchdowns, and LIEFL All-Pro Derrick Mason finished 10^th in AFC all-purpose yards with 22 touches for 1,052 yards with one 100-yard touchdown return. Never count Baltimore out of the fiercely competitive playoff picture in the AFC North! Get ready for another season with league trash-talker Johnny Freeport Chucker. It seems like Chucker will be joined in this department by newcomer Bobby Biggs who will try to get into other coaches heads.

EDGE: Ravens

Game 2.

New York Giants (7-3) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #9 Giants (90-76)

Coach Joey Pizz (338-360)

Washington Redskins (3-5) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #2 Redskins (109-71)

Coach: Ed Viggs (399-339)

The rivalry continues! Coach Ed Viggs is hungry for victory 400! He will earn $400 from league dues upon his 400^th! For every 100 wins, it’s one-hundred dollars earned in the league. Viggs says he is giving it back to the league!  That is class, he is all class!

In 2022, the New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins in all three games they faced each other, including the NFC Wild Card Game. The Washington Redskins made two changes on the line and one at linebacker, and another at tackle, which they picked up in the draft. Four changes mean they are untested against competition. It is always unpredictable how new player bases will perform in an already highly vetted league. Look for the Redskins to have a big year in 2023.

Coach Viggs claims he is bringing pride back to Washington. He said, “We’ll be ready to lay out the front line by June as I use a practice squad for the past five seasons to compete with my teams to test the waters. My practice squad could compete in this league. I will work hard to get this team right. Winning 109 games over the years is not by mistake for my Redskins.”

LIEFL All-Pro running back Tony Green had a huge season in 2022. Green ranked 9^th in the NFC rushing 44 times for 379 yards with seven touchdowns. He needs to up his rushing game, thus the new player bases at linemen that Washington selected in the draft. Green ranked number two in NFC All-Purpose yards in 2022 with 67 all-purpose touches for 1538 yards and 9 total touchdowns, two of them 100-yarders. The speedy all-purpose back is expected to have another huge year for the Redskins.

The Giants have a tough schedule in 2023 facing the Rams, Eagles, Saints, Packers, Cowboys, and Redskins again to close out the season. This is the best Giants team in their history.

Coach Joey Pizz’ Giants boasted the top offense in the game with 149 points in our 6^th year of our seven-game season format. New York fell just short of their goal in 2022, disappointed by losing to San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game 51-44! In that game Saquon Barkley rushed 14 times for 145 yards with four touchdowns, and Ahmad Bradshaw, the LIEFL Offensive Player of the Year, carried the rest of the offense exploding for 8 touches with 499 yards and two memorable 100-yard kick returns. Bradshaw was also the Pro Bowl MVP after being named LIEFL All-Pro and Offensive Player of the Year! Bradshaw was in beast in 2022. He had one of the best seasons in the history of the league for an all-purpose back. He was the Number One return man in the LIEFL with 21 all-purpose touches for 1457 yards with seven touchdowns, six of them 100-yard touchdowns, and he was the glue to the seams in the Giants offensive attack. You could not ask for much more from a superior player.

In the playoffs Bradshaw evolved into a PRIME-TIME asset, unleashing another 22 touches for a spectacular 1140 yards with five more 100-yard touchdowns to close out a remarkable 2022! That’s a season final total of 2597 all-purpose yards for Bradshaw with 12 touchdowns, 11 of them 100-yarders on 43 touches! That is a hard mess to clean up for opposing defenses. Damage, Damage, Damage!

EDGE: Giants

Game 3.

Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #26 Bengals (57-88-1)

Coach: Johnny Freeport Chucker (225-280)

Cleveland Browns (4-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #14 Browns (79-76)

Coach: Matt Zoo-York (263-285)

The Bengals have been on the cutting edge, closing in on making the AFC playoffs for three straight seasons, but they have also been unhinged in the final weeks of the season dropping off the radar to teams like these Browns who beat them 10-0 in the 2022 season finale. The Bengals have to compete with the Browns in order to make noise in the AFC North. There are other challenges as well. They have to be able to compete with Pittsburgh and Baltimore, making for a fiercely competitive division, yet wide open. After Cleveland’s showing in the 2020 playoffs, the Browns have emerged as the team to beat in the AFC North.

Cincinnati had no top ranked offensive leaders and on defense they played to defend instead of going on the offensive to get the ball back. Bengals tackle Brian Blados was named LIEFL All-Pro for the 5th consecutive season. He is a force in the league who is respected by opposing coaches. The Bengals need to put a jolt in their offensive attack this season considering their schedule. Icky Woods wasn't as productive as he needs to be. He ranked 11th in the AFC in rushing. He rushed 37 times for 385 yards with five touchdowns. 

Coach Zoo-York had these Browns competing for a title in 2022.

The Browns picked up another warrior in the LIEFL 2023 draft in Tae Davis at linebacker. Davis only adds to a feared defense who fell just short of their goal to make the AFC Championship game losing to Miami 38-35. LIEFL All-Pro Jim Brown was tough to stop in 2022. Brown ranked 8th in the LIEFL in all-purpose yards with 24 touches for 1,116 yards with five touchdowns. Running Back Mike Pruitt played beautifully in the Wild Card Game against Miami with an impressive 125 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Chad Ocho-Cinco-Johnson will again be a threat! Johnson had 19 touches for 892 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns, one for one-hundred yards!

EDGE: Browns

Game 4.

New England Patriots (5-3) All Time LIEFL Rank #24 Patriots (69-86)

Coach: Levi Vick (22-34)

Miami Dolphins (7-3) All Time LIEFL Rank #1 Dolphins (158-40)

Coach: Billy O’C (420-301)

What a week one battle this will be! Six-time LIEFL Super Bowl Champion Miami won two more straight AFC Championships to add to their 11 others before their 2022 historic 58-57 loss in the AFC Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs. They had been undefeated in the 2022 season before losing to the Tennessee Titans in Tennessee Week#6, 13-10 in OT. The following week they lost to this New England team 21-14, which handed the AFC East Division title to the Patriots. The agony of defeat for Miami’s Coach Billy O’C. He seems to collapse in the big games where he normally wouldn’t in the past. Is it time to hang it up for the coach? Billy O’C said, “I am frustrated, but not a chance I am going to stop competing in the LIEFL. Give us some credit, we have been to three straight AFC Championships. That isn’t easy. This is the Dolphins year.  We are going for the jugular this season. I am in it until WE call it quits. Miami has to win their seventh Super Bowl title!”

Third year Coach Levi Vick said, “I am so excited for the season. I have learned a lot about the coaches and the league.  Having played in three different leagues, this one is the most realistic because of the unbelievable and rapid pace of the game. I will never forget the shock of losing my first ten games in a row as a rookie LIEFL coach, getting my butt beat in the LIEFL, but I never quit. In my past league, I was used to pivots, stops, turnarounds, sticks, and spread formations, which now I feel take away from the game immensely. Now, I love the rules, and the coaches are excellent competition. My teams will perform and compete! Really, these guys are in a league of their own. My favorite coach is Ed Viggs. To me he is a master of the game.”

What’s important about that game is that New England beat Miami on Miami’s home turf to make a statement! What a season for both teams! The Patriots won four straight games before eventually losing to the veteran Buffalo Bills 31-24 in the AFC Wild Card Game. Three of the seven playoff teams in the LIEFL 2022 tournament came from the AFC East. What does that tell you?

Miami is a triple-threat team on offense with the fierce running game of LIEFL All-Pro Mercury Morris who had 52 carries for 533 rushing yards with 8 touchdowns behind LIEFL All-Pro linemen Larry Little and Jason Taylor. Morris ranked 4^th in LIEFL AFC rushing! The Dolphins drafted a player base to replace the aging 45-year-old player base of Bob Kuechenberg. They took his player base and gave it to Larry Csonka. Expect a power offense from the Dolphins to be an even greater threat in 2023! 

The Dolphins boast two amazing receivers who alternate kick-return roles in the Marks Brothers, Duper and Clayton! This makes Miami a lethal offensive opponent. LIEFL All-Pro Mark Duper awakened coaches in the playoffs because he was simply unstoppable! The consistent Duper delivered 18 touches for 1070 all-purpose yards with six touchdowns, including four 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns in the playoffs! In the AFC Championship Game against Kansas City Duper was historic with seven touches for 560 yards with three, count them, three 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns! He was spectacular!

Mark Clayton opened eyes! Clayton broke out making it difficult for defenses and coaches to ignore in the playoffs. This is what makes Kansas City so special, because they were able to top the #1 contender in the AFC in Miami. Clayton shined in the huge AFC Divisional Championship Game between the Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers with three touches for 257 yards. He had back-to-back 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns to sink the Chargers 42-35, advancing Miami to the AFC CG! Watch out for Miami!

The Patriots improved greatly winning four in a row and naming two LIEFL All-Pro’s in lineman Billy Yates and Tight End Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski.  Gronk tore up the AFC with 22 touches for 1260 all-purpose yards with five touchdowns, three of them 100-yarders! The Patriots made the playoffs for the first time since 2018! They also saw an improvement in their running game because of Vince Wilfork, who ended up playing big in the playoff game against Buffalo with three tackles. What a battle the AFC East will be!

EDGE: Dolphins

Game 5.

Dallas Cowboys (2-5) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #7 Cowboys (87-77)

Coach: Levi Vick (22-34)

New York Jets (4-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #25 Jets (63-85)

Coach Joey Pizz (338-360)

Coaches are asking, “What happened to Coach Levi Vick's 2020 playoff Dallas Cowboys?”

Dallas had a rough season in 2022 with a hardcore schedule to their disadvantage, but there were bright spots in their roster.  LIEFL All-Pro Terrell Owens accomplished his usual production ranked 10^th in the NFC in all-purpose yards with 21 touches for 1,127 and five touchdowns for the Cowboys! In 2020, Owens blazed 21 times for 1196 yards with seven touchdowns with four 100-tyard kick returns for touchdowns! In 2019, the LIEFL All-Pro can do it all, and that’s what makes him one of the most dangerous players in the LIEFL. He exploded for 14 touches with 1102 yards with seven touchdowns with big play making in receiving. He had a 70, and 92 yard touchdown! That is what we consider a PRIME-TIME player!

What is incredible is Dallas still lost five games in 2022 after making the playoffs in 2020. The Boys saw Michael Irvin bring the double-threat with his speed and skill. Irvin played great when he touched the ball, causing much damage for opposing defenses. He touched the ball twice for 158 yards with two touchdowns for 75, and 88 yards!  Emmitt Smith did his usual steady rushing attack with 43 touches and 353 with 6 touchdowns. Smith opened the season with 129 yards rushing against Tampa Bay with two touchdowns, and he ran for 92 yards against a tough Philadelphia Eagles defense. Count on the Dallas Cowboys to turn things around in 2023.

The Jets are a tough team in one of the toughest divisions in the LIEFL.  Somehow the league felt the curse of Tampa Bay last season. The Bucs upset the Jets and the Rams, who never recovered. This season they picked up a draft at lineman replacing Mark Gastineau’s player base and Winston Hill’s.  Jets aging running back Bruce Harper made small progress in 2022. The one-time star rushed for 137 yards with two touchdowns.

The Jets have to continue to make moves to keep up with Buffalo, New England, and Miami. LeVeon Bell was 25 for 395 with four touchdowns, and Wesley Walker put up 756 yards with a hundred-yard touchdown return.  The Jets have to find their offense to make the playoffs.

Game 6.

Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #17 Raiders (75-84)

Coach: Kevin Mac (334-354)

Denver Broncos (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #3 Broncos (108-68-1)

Coach: Paddy Brannigan (347-322)

What a whopper this will be, two division rivals at war in Week 1! These two teams played a historic game in 2022, with the Raiders beating the Broncos 35-28 in week five. For anyone in the league who doubted the rivalries, that changed on December 19, 2022 when Dave Casper exploded for 433 yards with three 100-yard touchdowns! The two teams had a combined 909 all-purpose yards and 9 touchdowns in the game! Broncos LIEFL All-Pro sensation Terrell Davis had 399 all-purpose yards with three touchdowns against Las Vegas! 

In our league we play by the first three games and last four games of the NFL schedule which make up the LIEFL schedule. The Raiders picked up a strong lineman player base for Lyle Alzado and Howie Long. They are an undersized team with lots of speed. Six-time LIEFL All-Pro Dave Casper is not finished beating opposing defenses. Casper ranked 7^th in LIEFL All-Purpose yards with 28 touches with 1495 yards with touchdowns, but he was ranked 2^nd in the LIEFL in kick returns behind NY Giants star Ahmad Bradshaw with 20-1240-4/4X100TDS! We all know that Casper is one of the most exciting plastic players in the league going back to his S U P E R   B O W L  X I MVP game against the NY Giants in 2008, where Casper opened the game and closed the game in OT with hundred-yard touchdown runs to give the Raiders their first ever LIEFL Super Bowl title!

The annual drafts in the league make for spectacular competitive changes to where the league sits today with 28 teams in the playoff hunt in this league up until the final week of the season. The Raiders must change the direction of the franchise in an evolving super league where no team is safe.

The Broncos are tough, but at times sporadic. The one consistency is superstar and LIEFL All-Pro Terrell Davis, who again made himself relevant in the league with big numbers. Behind LIEFL All-Pro tackle Andy Mauer, Davis ranked 2^nd in the AFC in all-purpose yards behind Indianapolis Joseph Addai with 67 touches for 1708 yards with 10 touchdowns! He was 10^th in AFC rushing with 47 carries totaling 478 yards with six touchdowns and Davis ranked 3^rd in the LIEFL in kick returns with 19 touches with 1203 yards with four 100-yard touchdown returns! This guy is one of the most dangerous players in the league.

In their resurgence, Denver has all the tools they need to be a contender with lineman Paul Smith and linebacker Von Miller leading the way.

EDGE: Broncos

Game 7.

Tennessee Titans (5-3) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #31 Titans (30-25)

Coach: Kevin Mac (334-354)

Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #30 Jaguars (30-37)

Coach: Bobby Biggs (0-0) (ROOKIE SEASON)

The Titans had a promising 2022 season, beating Miami in Week#6 13-10 in OT, but they fell short in the playoffs after clinching the AFC South Divisional title. They also had the #2 ranked defense in the LIEFL, but that was tested in the playoffs when Kansas City spanked the Titans in the AFC Wild Card Game 42-31.

Rookie running back Derrick Henry had an eye-opening season for Tennessee ranking him 5^th in AFC Rushing. Henry earned LIEFL Rookie of the Year carrying the ball 42 times for 517 yards with seven touchdowns, one of them a 64-yarder! Not bad for a rookie.

Bad boys worth mentioning is Titans return specialist Brandon Jones. Jones touched the ball 18 times for 758 yards with three touchdowns, including one one-hundred yarder! Linebacker Colin Alred, who had six tackles, made LIEFL All-Pro, and the Titans will unleash lineman highly touted lineman from the draft in Jeffery Simmons under the coaching of veteran Kevin “Mac”, as the Titans strengthen their line from solid draft picks before facing a tough division rival in the Jaguars.

The Jaguars begin their 10^th season in the LIEFL with rookie coach Bobby Biggs at the helm. If Biggs plays like he talks he will be a coaching force in the LIEFL. He has a team in Jacksonville who plays on the edge. The Jaguars have been clawing away for the past six or seven seasons only to fall short. They picked up several drafts, so it shouldn’t be the same 2022 season results with the favorable schedule they have. The Jags are (18-31) since 2008. This is the season they need to perform! 

Make no mistake about it Freddie Taylor is PRIME-TIME!  Taylor ranked 6^th in AFC All-Purpose yards busting out for 69 touches with 1359 all-purpose yards with nine touchdowns including a 100-yard touchdown. He also rushed 53 times for 494 yards with 7 touchdowns, including a bustling 65 yarder.

The Jags defense ranked 5^th in the LIEFL AFC, so they are hungry, ready, and they have a favorable schedule! It’s almost time for rookie coach Bobby Biggs to put his money where his mouth is as the league rookie.

EDGE: Jaguars

Game 8.

Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #22 Eagles (70-84)

Coach: Matt Zoo-York (263-285)

Los Angeles Rams (2-5) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #10 Rams (84-87)

Coach: Billy O’C (420-301)

The Philadelphia Eagles have been on the edge of pivoting into a playoff team for the last three seasons when Harold Carmichael became a sensation carrying the offense along with elite running back Keith Byars. The Eagles have the talent to put it all together and win the division.

Philadelphia lost the final game of the season 13-7 to Washington in 2022, who eliminated the Eagles from the playoffs. The Eagles saw the playoffs in 2019 in the NFC Wild Card Game against the Rams, losing 31-24. Philadelphia is a team not to be reckoned with. They had the number three ranked offense in the NFC along with the number nine ranked defense overall.

Eagles running back LIEFL All-Pro Keith Byers did a lot of damage with his 38 touches. Buyers exploded for an LIEFL NFC leading 704 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown scamper to claim the NFC best running back award. Return specialist Harold Carmichael poured it on in the last few games. Carmichael had 16 touches for 739 all-purpose yards including three touchdowns, two of them 100-yard touchdown returns. On defense, Philadelphia named two All-Pro’s. Defensive end Hugh Douglas made the Pro Bowl for the third time and Byron Evans had seven tackles and he was named All-Pro starting at linebacker in the Pro Bowl representing the NFC. This Eagles team will compete hard in one of the toughest divisions in the LIEFL, the NFC East.

The Los Angeles Rams are still a terrific team and should not be taken for granted. They are still the same Rams who won back-to-back LIEFL Super Bowls titles in 2018 winning Super Bowl XIV against the Los Angeles Chargers 31-28, and the following year in 2019 as an NFC Wild Card team, the Rams beat the Miami Dolphins 44-41, in overtime in Super Bowl XV. The Rams are a very skilled football team, but after losing in an upset 51-45 in the NFC Wild Card Game against Seattle in 2020, the Rams realized that the league caught up through the draft, and they settled for two wins in the 2022 season losing three in a row. Prior to that point Los Angeles had a (16-5) run as the league bad-boys, all the result of the 2017 draft, which they were feared in the league from 2018 to 2020. Through the draft, the league caught up fast and stopped Los Angeles from a three-peat!

The Rams have not lost a step on offense. Return man, The Reverend Isaac Bruce had a very good year again last year. He ranked 11^th in the NFC in all-purpose yards with 17 touches for 1049 yards with two touchdowns and 100-yard return. The Rams once feared “Fabulous-Five” on defense had a subpar year, ranking 10th on defense in the NFC behind Washington and Philadelphia. The Rams were ranked sixth on offense, tied with Washington-107 points.

Coach Billy O’C has lost something in his game and his step the coaches jokingly contend. The usually reliable Billy OC Rams collapsed in Week#3 when people in the league laughed that Tampa Bay cursed them, upsetting the Rams at home 7-6, and after a huge win against division rival Seattle 21-14, it was all downhill from there. Boom! The Rams dropped their last three games to Minnesota, Baltimore, and Division rival San Francisco at home 24-21, which eliminated them from the 2022 playoffs.

The steady running game of Wendell Tyler who rushed for 617 yards on the season on 51 touches and 10 touchdowns, make the Rams a continuous threat. Eric Dickerson may see some action in 2023. Tyler had an amazing 74-yard touchdown run against Seattle. This is one of the toughest divisions in the league and Billy O’C must rise to the occasion with a tough schedule ahead of him. The Rams will be back!

EDGE: Rams

Game 9.

Buffalo Bills (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #13 Bills (83-81)

Coach: Billy O’C (420-301)

Kansas City Chiefs (8-3) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #19 Chiefs (76-91)

Coach: Matt Zoo-York (263-285)

Rematches are awesome! We could write a book on these two tough teams.

What a way to begin the 2023 season with two elite teams going at it. The Chiefs had a storybook 2022, similar to the Bills 2017 story when Buffalo took the league by surprise storming into the AFC playoffs and dismantling everyone in their way like a torpedo hitting targets for coach Billy O’C. They dominated just like the Chiefs, but the league caught up fast, a theme thread to the LIEFL. With teams like this, the difference between winning and losing this game comes down to coaching mistakes.

The Bills have a sour memory, which ended their season losing to Kansas City in the AFC Divisional Championship Game 56-52, tying the record for the most points scored in a playoff game with 56 before the Chiefs topped Miami in the AFC Championship Game 58-57! That Buffalo Bills story is well documented on the Tudor Forum Page.

https://forum.tudorgames.com/files/category/25-2017-super-bowl-xiii-afc-buffalo-bills-vs-nfc-detroit-lions-write-up/

Buffalo has a tremendous history. LIEFL All-Pro running back OJ Simpson has been slowed up compared to the past three seasons by defense's who have improved though the draft. With OJ carrying the football, Buffalo is going to be counted into the mix every season. They were the number four ranked offense in the AFC and number nine on defense. The one area where Buffalo needs to improve because the league caught up so fast is on the line in the trenches to pave the way for Simpson. He ranked number 12 in the AFC in rushing with 48 touches for 378 yards and six touchdowns, but he also totaled 66 touches for 1341 with 10 touchdowns, including two 100 yard run backs ranking him number seven in all-purpose yards in the AFC. Just for comparison, in 2019, Simpson rushed 44 times for 608 yards with 11 touchdowns and in 2020 he had 670 yards with just four rushing touchdowns. That is quite a contrast to his 2022 numbers.

Simpson set the record for all-purpose yards in a Super Bowl when he totaled 623 yards against the Detroit Lions with a record setting seven touchdowns in Super Bowl XIII in 2017. Buffalo became the first Wild Card team to go all the way to the Super Bowl and win It! Jay Brown will be the front man for OJ Simpson this season. All Simpson has to worry about is getting in the endzone and doing his job rushing the ball.

The Kansas City Chiefs share the same fate after becoming the second Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl in spectacular fashion. Chiefs running back Priest Holmes carried the weight during the regular season as the number two rusher in the AFC with 47 touches for 618 yards with 10 touchdowns, including a 60-yard touchdown run. The only guy ahead of him was the Chargers LaDainian Tomlinson.

Kansas City’s journey to the top started with the 2020 draft when they obtained Tyreek Hill's player base. He didn't see much action in 2020 but by 2022 Hill owned the playoffs taking the LIEFL by force while setting historic records in the process for the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game victory over the Miami Dolphins 58-57! Hill ranked a measly 16th in all-purpose yards in AFC regular season play, but in the playoffs, Hill will go down as one of the greatest playoff performers of all time. The numbers are incredible, and they speak boldly of Tyreek Hill. In three playoff games Hill totaled an impressive 1883 all-purpose yards on 32 touches with six touchdowns, five of them 100 yarders including three 100-yard touchdowns against Miami, where he had 10 touches for 720 yards setting a new LIEFL historic record, crushing OJ Simpson's Super Bowl XIII record and earning Hill the MVP Trophy in the AFC CG! Johnny Chucker said, “These Chiefs were a fluke last season, just watch them get their butts beat in 2023.”

Against San Francisco in Super Bowl XVII, Hill touched the ball seven times for 418 yards with another 100-yard kick return for a touchdown behind one of the toughest draft pick lines in the LIEFL led by Buck Buchanan, John Alt, and Willie Lanier. The Chiefs played with everyone’s head in this league and Coach Matt Zoo-York played flawlessly beating last year’s Super Bowl winning LIEFL Coach, Ed Viggs!

Can the Chiefs do it again?  They have a rough 2023 schedule playing on the road two out of their first three games. After Buffalo, they play in Detroit then Los Angeles against the rough division rival Chargers, then they are home against the Steelers, away at Chicago, home against the Jets and in the Chiefs season finale, they play the Green Bay Packers at home. It is a long road for Kansas City to repeat.

EDGE: Chiefs

Game 10.

Seattle Seahawks (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #27 Seahawks (56-102)

Coach: Paddy Brannigan (347-322)

San Francisco 49ers (7-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #21 49ers (70-79)

Coach: Ed Viggs (399-339)

The undersized 67-Big Men Seattle Seahawks ranked 7^th on offense and on defense in the NFC in 2020. They have become one of those teams we never count out. Seahawks coach Paddy Brannigan wants a title for Marshawn Lynch. Lynch may be the fearless and hardest working back in the league. Lynch was truly a BEAST in 2020, ranking 3^rd in NFC rushing with 42 carries for 629 yards with nine touchdowns. The All-Pro running back also ran wild in the all-purpose yards category doing double-duty on kick returns. He ranked 3^rd in the NFC in all-purpose yards with 61 total touches for a respectable 1475 yards with 13 total touchdowns, two of them 100-yarders in the same game against the ferocious, elite Detroit Lions in Week#6! 

The Hawks climbed back like a blood-round in a wrestling tournament, winning their last three games to finish the 2022 season by beating Chicago, Detroit, and Arizona. Seattle has to get off to a big start in 2023 to make noise in a very tough division which includes these NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers and a Jerry Rice-Ricky Watters combination. What a match up and war this game will be!

The 49ers turned it around for Coach Viggs after their disastrous 2020 winless season, but San Francisco played to win in 2022, upsetting some formidable opponents. The Niners beat the New York Giants 51-44 in the NFC Championship Game, and they beat the number one seeded and defending Super Bowl XVI Champion Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Championship Game 38-35, before losing to Kansas City in Super Bowl XVII. The 49ers proved that they're a mean football team and are perhaps one or two players shy of winning a title in this league. Ricky Watters was ranked number five in the NFC in rushing with 38 carries for 524 yards with seven touchdowns. Watters had a big game in the NFC Wild Card Game against Atlanta rushing for 98 yards with three touchdowns on 11 carries. He totaled 42 carries for 241 yards with six touchdowns in the playoffs!

The 49ers made a statement with Jerry Rice as their franchise player and the NFC Championship Game of the Giants. San Francisco is the team to beat now in the NFC because they beat the best in Green Bay and New York! Rice took his game to an entirely different level in the postseason. His regular season numbers were 20 touches for 996 yards with three touchdowns, including a 100-yard run back. In the playoffs Jerry Rice touched the ball 31 times for 1894 yards with an incredible10 touchdowns, including five 100-yard run backs for touchdowns. He had a sensational playoff. In Super Bowl XVII against Kansas City, Rice had 364 yards with 100-yard touchdown run, including 102 yards with two touchdown catches including a 71 yard bomb which took him blazing for a touchdown! The 49ers resurrected offense is no joke!  They can compete with anyone and the Watters-Rice combo are a very dangerous. San Francisco should have an amazing season in 2023!

EDGE: 49ERS

Game 11.

Carolina Panthers (5-3) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #29 Panthers (38-37)

Coach: Matt Zoo-York (263-285)

Arizona Cardinals (2-5) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #23 Cardinals (69-98)

Coach: Kevin Mac (334-354)

After two consecutive back-to-back NFC title game appearances the Panthers fell short again, this time in an upset in the NFC Wild Card Game against an unpredictable Minnesota Vikings, with the Panthers losing 31-24! Coaches around the league expected Carolina to get to the NFC Championship Game again, but that didn't happen. We believe the Panthers are not finished and this year they have to come for blood. They are a tough resilient team who will make the adjustments during the season to stay on track to compete for a title again.

Carolina coach Matt Zoo-York is still in shock by the loss to Minnesota. LIEFL All-Pro Running back Deshaun Foster carried the ball 48 times for 639 yards and 12 touchdowns, including a 72-yard bust for a touchdown during the regular season. Foster ranked second in the NFC in rushing. The Panthers also have Greg Jones as their return specialist. Jones has been a beast in the last three consecutive seasons. He had 17 touches for 932 yards with three 100 -yard touchdown run backs. Jones can be a starter on any team in this league. And if that's not enough, the front line of the Panthers paved the way for Foster to explode with four 100-yard rushing games. That front line was led by the big guy, Kawaan Short and linebacker Kevin Greene, who were both named to the Pro-Bowl. That is Short’s fourth Pro Bowl appearance and Greene’s third.

The Panthers also suffered the wrath of division rival Tampa Bay in Week#7 losing to the Buccaneers, 21-17. This year rookie coach Bobby Biggs will be at the helm trying to turn Tampa Bay into a playoff contender.

The Arizona Cardinals and Coach Kevin Mac struggled in their division. It's not like the Cardinals have a bad team. They have a tough line and very capable receivers, so people point the finger at the coach for their losses. They had bad breaks, mistakes, and it costs you in this league when mistakes lose games. Mac said, “For some reason I just couldn’t execute with my team.  The statistics were better than the wins and losses and stats can be misleading. Maybe this year we will play one down at a time. I can’t let this team fold. It’s like all of these teams have minds of their own. It’s crazy.  Look at Miami they lost like 18 games and then through the draft they are better than ever because they have the running. The running game is everything. An old coach by the name of Bill Parcels once said something like that, and Madden too.”

The Cardinals are certainly solid at tackle. In the news, the real Conrad Dobler died February 13, 2023.

In the LIEFL, Dobler was the highlight of the defense in 2022. He is honored in the LIEFL earning first team LIEFL All-Pro, finishing the season with 10 tackles. Receiver and return specialist Mel Gray, who is a force, had 25 touches and 1335 all-purpose yards with six touchdowns, including two 100-yard run backs. He didn’t stop there. Gray also was the top receiver in the NFC with 273 yards and five touchdowns, one of them was 71 yarder. Cards running back Otis Anderson played solid football with 40 carries and 375 yards with five touchdowns, so what's wrong with the Cardinals?

They had a bit of a disadvantage with only three home games in seven games. In our league a team must have at least three home games as is the rule. Unfortunately, because of the schedule and 32 teams, in a small number of cases it leaves a few teams at a disadvantage. Arizona lost one out of three home games to who else? The Seattle Seahawks 17-14, in overtime. Hopefully the Cardinals will get back on track this season after making a few changes at tackle and on the line. They will be competitive!

EDGE: Cardinals

 Game 12.

Detroit Lions (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #17 Lions (75-78)

Coach: Johnny Freeport Chucker (225-280)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #20 Buccaneers (71-94)

Coach: Bobby Biggs (0-0) (ROOKIE SEASON)

 The curse of the Buccaneers!

What a trash talking game this will be, and all LIEFL coaches will surely be at as Johnny Freeport takes his Detroit Lions to Bobby “BIGMOUTH” Biggs who already has a new nickname around the league. Coaches are sure to get after Biggs fast-talk! Biggs takes Tampa Bay out of the hands of LIEFL legendary coach Joey Pizz. Pizz said, “Biggs is a badass and he will become a great force in the league leading the Buccaneers.  I love how he loves the game and I love that he has such passion for it. Let’s see how Biggs does against these coaches. I think the league is in for a surprise if all his talk is true.”

Commissioner Billy O’C said, “We don't want to make a game more dramatic than it already is, but these two coaches, Johnny Chucker and Bobby Biggs, will go head-to-head the entire season and most of the coaches in the league are happy about it because the Chucker and Biggs can use each other as sounding boards for greater competition. We think Bobby Biggs will bring that cutting edge playstyle to the league, from all we've heard about his play style. It could modernize the LIEFL.” 

The Detroit Lions had a very disappointing season last year. They are a ferocious team who just play great electric football. When you have an elite player like Dexter Bussey anything can happen. Bussey’s player base is 45 years of age, and he is still ticking! (Check out the LIEFL video of his skillset).  He had a slightly off-season last year. He ranked 8th in the NFC rushing, carrying the football 55 times for 398 yards with five touchdowns. On special teams he did a lot of damage, ranking fifth in the NFC with 76 total touches for 1336 yards, with eight touchdowns including two 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns.

The Lions and Johnny Freeport did some soul searching in the draft and made lots of changes replacing several players who used to be Stars, with what Chucker feels are better player bases who will compete harder. Detroit changed the player base for Calvin Johnson who only had 54 yards receiving in 2022 and Herman Moore who had 73 yards receiving.

The Lions had a tough 2022 schedule, and they were involved in two LIEFL Game of the Week games losing their season opener to San Francisco 16-14 at home, which triggered a bad start to the season. They lost games in Week#5 and Week#6, bowing in a historic game against the Atlanta Falcons 27-21 in overtime. The game against Atlanta saw 708 total yards with seven touchdowns. Detroit lost the following week when they were eliminated from the playoffs in a crushing and humiliating defeat by the Seattle Seahawks, losing 28-10 at the hands of Marshawn Lynch. Detroit has to rise to the occasion in 2023, especially since Chucker repainted and decaled his favorite team. Chucker loves his Bengals, Ravens, and Falcons too!

All-World running back Dexter Bussey has made the Pro-Bowl for the last six seasons. The Lions have been in two LIEFL Super Bowls, and their nemesis has been the New York Giants in the playoffs. In 2008, the Lions lost to the Giants 45-35 in the NFC Championship Game. In 2016, they beat the Giants 31-24. Detroit went on to win Super Bowl XII beating New England 42-17, and in 2017, like everyone else who played Buffalo, the Lions were rampaged by the record-setting Bills in a lopsided 49-35 loss in Super Bowl XIII.

One of the most memorable and recent games they played was in the controversial 2020 NFC Divisional Championship Game when they lost to the Green Bay Packers 31-26 in what we now call the LIEFL snow bowl, which sent the Packers to Super Bowl XVI. It was the first time that any team in the league played in snow. They coaches voted in favor of the snow, all but Johnny Freeport Chucker who was livid by the vote. The bantering hasn’t stopped.

Detroit finished on a very positive note after losing to Seattle and being eliminated from the playoffs. The Lions beat the Green Bay Packers in overtime 13-10, in the last game of the 2022 season!

We don't know what to expect this year with Bobby Biggs as the new Tampa Bay coach. We are excited to watch him perform. The Buccaneers had three very solid anchors in their three-win season. Star player, LIEFL All-Pro Jimmie Giles had an amazing season and was named starting Pro-Bowl receiver for the NFC. Giles was 9th in the NFC in all-purpose yards touching the ball 19 times for 1138 yards with four 100-yard touchdown returns. In the kick return category Giles had 18 touches for 1090 yards including those four 100-yard touchdowns runs. He was ranked third in kick returns behind Washington’s Tony Green and the top dog, the New York Giants superstar Ahmad Bradshaw. The Buccaneers expect good numbers from Ricky Bell this season with his new player base.

Bobby Biggs said, “The NFC South has a lot to be worried about because I am coming to get you. All the hype in the league is about me and I will deliver. We will bring Pirates Wrath and take charge in this division. The Panthers, Saints, and Falcons are not safe, and I am predicting that I will get this Bucs team to the playoffs. With the weapons we have there is no reason I can think of that we shouldn’t be in the big show.” Biggs has a lot to be excited about on the line also as the Buccaneers bring back All-Pro linemen Brad Culpepper who had eight tackles last season and All-Pro John Lynch who was the starting linebacker for the NFC Pro-Bowl team in 2022. The division is up for grabs but don’t expect the Panthers to lay down and die.

 EDGE: Buccaneers

 Game 13.

New Orleans Saints (1-6) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #13 Saints (81-80)

Coach: Bobby Biggs (0-0) (ROOKIE SEASON)

Green Bay Packers (5-3) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #4 Packers (100-79)

Coach: Ed Viggs (399-339)

This is a big season for the New Orleans Saints. They again, received the top draft picks two straight years, but still went (1-6), in a bust. They are in new hands! The Saints are (17-32), not so good since the inaugural 7-game season format. Bobby Biggs will be tested big time in LIEFL Week#1! Coach Viggs will be ready and Biggs will see just how talented Viggs is.

Green Bay will play hard again and try to get to the LIEFL playoffs for the third straight season after a long drought. Coach Viggs has a real sore spot after being the top seed in the NFC in 2022, only to drop that game to San Francisco. He won his 100^th game with the Packers and he said that feeling was ecstatic! The Pack brings back a great special team’s game with Sterling Sharpe who if you’ve been following the LIEFL you may recall what he did in last year’s playoffs earning MVP in the NFC Championship Game and then crowned MVP of LIEFL Super Bowl XVI, beating Miami 52-49 in OT! Green Bay was (9-1) in 2020!  In 2022, Sharpe ranked 12^th in NFC All-Purpose yards with 20 touches for 1013 yards with six touchdowns, including three 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns! He is the go-to guy for Coach Ed Viggs. “When the pressure is on Sharpe proved to be my guy in the big situations. I just need to get him the ball as much as I can, said Viggs.” 

These two teams have a history going back to 1978 when New Orleans beat Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card Game 35-33, in an upset, and the Packers never forgot it. The Saints would go on to lose a close one in Super Bowl IV to Miami 34-28 that season! 

At the moment though, nobody has it better than the New Orleans Saints and rookie coach Bobby Biggs. The Saints received five #1 draft picks in this year’s draft so if anyone is to improve in theory, it is the undersized Saints and even though the Saints won only one game last season, that is a deceiving number because they were in every game.  The cards didn’t work in their favor. 

LIEFL All-Pro running back Reggie Bush has been a force in the NFC. Bush ranked 11^th  in rushing, carrying the football 45 times for 303 yards with three touchdowns. That three touchdowns rushing is what the Saints look to improve on the line in the trenches. It was on special teams where Bush is most dangerous carrying the weight of the New Orleans offense. Bush handled the ball a total 64 times for 1265 yards with seven all-purpose touchdowns, including two 100-yard runbacks for touchdowns. He ranked 8^th in the NFC in all-purpose yards. Imagine if the Saints draft a line that can block for him on the run?

New Orleans made huge moves this season, boasting an untested new triple-threat attempt at offense with five #1 drafted player bases for Marcus Colston, Jeremy Shockey, inside linebacker Ricky Jackson, tackle William Ruff, and at nose Tim Smith who will have the back of lineman Bruce Clark. That speed and power hopes to change the undersized New Orleans Saints dynamics. After winning LIEFL Super Bowl VIII beating Miami 26-20 in OT, the Saints have not seen the playoffs since 2008 when they lost to the Giants in the NFC Wild Card Game 24-21.  After this opening day game against the Packers, New Orleans plays three straight games at home against Chicago, Houston, and a revenge game against the New York Giants before heading to Detroit.

In this league the best teams can win on the road. The question remains, does Bobby Biggs and his Saints have a packed punch to wake up the league with an upset against the Green Bay Packers and one of the best coaches in the league in Ed Viggs?

Coach Ed Viggs is excited to be tested by Bobby Biggs. Win or lose, it will be a war. Viggs said, “Bobby was an excellent football player, but he doesn’t know offense schemes like I do, having played quarterback and safety. He was a receiver in high school. It doesn’t matter, I lay low and bring my game, and I am not letting my Packers bow down this season. We will play smart and compete for the division which has seen three Super Bowls in the past six seasons, so we must be doing something right in the division.” Viggs and his Packers have a lot to prove after being upset in the NFC Divisional Championship Game against the 49ers which Green Bay lost 38-35! That is uncharacteristic of Viggs, but he’s back with his Pack and ready for the new season.

Green Bay needs to improve the running game this season but expect Coach Viggs to be silent and deadly this season, even more than the past.

EDGE: Packers

Game 14.

Atlanta Falcons (5-3) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #19 Falcons (74-92)

Coach: Johnny Freeport Chucker (225-280)

Chicago Bears (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #5 Bears (97-70)

Coach: Paddy Brannigan (347-322)

 The Falcons were one of the top teams in the NFC last season, coming up just short of advancing to the NFC Divisional Championship Game, losing to the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers in a fiercely contested Wild Card Game 37-31 in overtime. LIEFL All-Pro and star running back Gerald Riggs had 21 touches in that game for a total of 319 yards with two touchdowns. He met a tough 49ers defense who rose to the occasion, never backing down! 

The Falcons will find a way to get to the next level with great coaching. Sometimes Coach Johnny Freeport Chucker is his worst opponent. Every team in this league

Is competitive. Any team can go all the way in the right situation as was proven by the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs last season. Johnny Chucker’s temperament sometimes costs him big games by collapsing under pressure. Chucker admits his faults. “Nobody is perfect, but I know I can compete with anyone in the world in this game. My Falcons are a great team when they are on and I cost them that NFC Wild Card Game. It’s the road less traveled that the championship coaches know how to play in. Maybe this year we will go farther after what I’ve learned because to lose to Viggs is the worse. I know I am as good as him, said Chucker.”

In the running game, Atlanta has the best numbers player based on stats in the league in Gerald Riggs. Riggs continues to hunt for his first NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl quest. He was the number one all-purpose player in the NFC in 2020 with 61 touches for 1572 yards and 11 touchdowns, including a 100-yarder. He was number three in kick returns going 17 for 1084 with 100-yard touchdown. Atlanta ranked 5th on offense and 4th on defense in 2022. Perhaps this is their year. Many in the league think that they will lose because of their coach Chucker doesn’t have what it takes to manage this team. Chucker did win a Super Bowl with his Lions, his favorite team. His attitude is his worst enemy. Too many years as a detective? Chucker’s attitude sometimes cost his team games. On the other hand, nobody can say the Falcons didn't play a great playoff game, after all, they lost to the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers.

Gerald Riggs is in the elite category in this league and the line in the trenches has to find a way to get the job done for this team to be a top five team. All-Pro lineman Bill Fralic paves the way for Riggs. Riggs is the only player in a seven game regular season to have 2,000 or more all-purpose yards. In 2019, Riggs had a monster season totaling 78 touches for 2339 yards with 21 touchdowns and runs of 78,and 96 yards with five 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns. That record may never be broken!

The Bears are three wins shy of becoming only the fifth team in LIEFL history to win 100 games! That is an amazing and respectable feat. Chicago fell just short of making the 2022 playoffs for the second year in a row, losing their final game on the road to that tough defensive Minnesota Viking team 14-7, in the season finale. The Bears beat Miami in one of the best Super Bowl’s on record in 2000, when they took the Dolphins into overtime in LIEFL Super Bowl X, beating Miami, 45-38! The Bears went (13-4) that season, and they hope to bring back the honor!

Walter Payton had a good season in 2022, but it wasn't enough. He ranked 12th in rushing with 40 carries on 302 yards with five touchdowns including a 58-yard touchdown scamper. The guy who sets Payton up, Willie Gault, had 16 touches for 836 yards with three touchdowns, including a 100-yard run back for a touchdown. They need to feed Gault more touches. Gault slipped a little in comparison to his 2020 numbers in the all-purpose category. In 2020, Gault had 23 touches for 1340 yards with six touchdowns, including three 100-yard run backs. The points scored is the number that counts! Look for the Bears to capitalize on their draft picks replacing Richard Dent's player base and Steve McMichael who Chicago expects to anchor the line. 

EDGE: Bears

Game 15.

Minnesota Vikings (4-5) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #8 Vikings (91-87)

Coach Joey Pizz (338-360)

Los Angeles Chargers (6-2) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #6 Chargers (93-75)

Coach: Ed Viggs (399-339)

Coach Joey Pizz and his Minnesota Vikings were impressive in 2022. The Vikings stormed back and qualified for the playoffs upsetting the number two seed the Carolina Panthers by dominating on defense and getting the job done on offense, beating the Panthers 31-24 in the NFC Wild Card Game. Coach Joey Pizz had a tough decision to make the following week in the playoffs when he had to choose from his two playoff teams who faced each other in the Giants and Vikings. The Giants would go on to beat the Vikings 38-35 in the NFC Divisional Championship Game, but all eyes were opened if there was any doubt about Pizz’ teams.

So far this is the toughest Viking team we've seen regardless of their record. But the Vikings have not won a Super Bowl and the closest they've come to getting there is in 2017, when they lost in the NFC Championship Game to Detroit 45-41.

After picking up several amazing player bases in the 2023 LIEFL Draft, these bases can turn plastic figures into the new generation of stars in the league. Minnesota should improve even more all the way around, and they’ll build on the promising foundation they have. Rookie receiver Justin Jefferson will return kicks on and off to give him some touches, and the way Chuck Foreman and Adrian Peterson played in the playoffs along with the blocking of LIEFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl starter Carl Eller at tackle, Minnesota is in great shape for a head-on battle in the division with Green Bay, Chicago, and Detroit.

Minnesota had three straight five-game win seasons from 2016 to 2018 and they weren't so bad in 2019 winning four games. They are a tough and gritty team especially on defense. They tore up the number two offense in the NFC and they were the number two ranked defense in 2022. It will be game-on with this feisty group as they test Coach Ed Viggs electrifying Chargers.  

On offense Minnesota’s LIEFL All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson ranked 7th in all-purpose yards, carrying the ball 71 times for 1275 yards with eight touchdowns, four of them were 100-yard kick returns. In rushing he was 10th with 51 carries for 315 yards with three touchdowns. Chuck Foreman played fantastic against the Carolina Panthers finding his way into the end zone three times, pulling off the upset for the Vikings in the playoffs. The one thing missing from this team's resume is the Super Bowl.

Both the Chargers and the Vikings are close to becoming sensational 100-win teams in this league. Los Angeles is a fantastic team, and they just need to finish strong this season, especially after losing to Miami the last two seasons in the playoffs.

This season, the Chargers are looking for revenge. They have the team who can compete with anybody in this league on a good day with LIEFL Defensive Player of the Year Earl Faison leading the way. Behind him is a stellar offensive machine in LaDainian Tomlinson. 

In 2020, the Dolphins beat the Chargers 42-35. The Dolphins and Chargers have been involved in some of the greatest rivalries in the history of the Long Island Electric Football League. In the 2020 AFC Championship Game Miami beat this Chargers team in a war 32-27! Coach Viggs never quits, he came right back with another winning season to try again.

The Charges are (23-5) in the last four seasons, including a run at LIEFL Super Bowl XIV, where they lost a close battle to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018, 31-28! 

In 2022, superstar running back LaDainian Tomlinson was the number one running back in the Long Island Electric Football League last season. Tomlinson ranked number three in the AFC in all-purpose yards. The workhorse touched the ball 83 times for 1624 yards and he had an amazing 13 touchdowns. And, in the rushing department he was also the number one back in the LIEFL with 55 carries for 743 yards and 12 touchdowns, including a 58 yard scamper, breaking the AFC rushing yards record previously held by Miami’s Mercury Morris. These Chargers will be tough to stop again in 2023.

 EDGE: Chargers 

Game 16. Monday Night Game

Indianapolis Colts (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #15 Colts (77-94)

Coach: Billy O’C (420-301)

Houston Texans (3-4) All Time LIEFL Rank and Record #32 Texans (24-30)

Coach: Ed Viggs (399-339)

When division rivals clash on opening day it is always exciting!

This rival is a clash of the offensive powerhouses between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans! Coach Billy O’C has been criticized amongst coaches in the LIEFL for letting the Colts collapse going from 2020 1^st place in the AFC South to last place in 2022.

No one can explain it in the league, but the Indianapolis Colts fell apart Midway through the 2022 season after getting off to a jumpy start. Coach Billy O’C said, “A couple of bad breaks in this league can cost you your season, but I won’t quit because I lose. I love this game!  The Colts have, I think, one of the best running backs in the game in Joseph Addai. He’s become one of the all-time LIEFL great running backs. This guy is the heart and soul of my Colts offense, and I am not afraid to give him the ball as many times possible. He is a workhorse on offense, but this year I am not going to be about the statistics. I am looking for a kick returner so that Addai can just focus on his running game. I like Marvin Harrison and Raymond Berry, so I have to take risks to get them carries because at some point we have to have confidence in the players we put on the field. Giving them the ball is how stars are born!”  

Joseph Addai has been nothing less than impressive on the LIEFL scene. He broke all of the Colts offensive team records, and he set new team records along the way after beating Curtis Dickey’s all-purpose record of 4644 yards with 42 touchdowns! Addai was ranked 3^rd in rushing in the AFC in 2022 with 53 carries for 579 yards, and he had a whopping 14 touchdowns! 

In all-purpose yards Addai was a beast with a total of 73 touches for 1730 yards with 15 total touchdowns! Nineteen of those touches were on kickoff returns where Addai had an electrifying 1126 yards, breaking his own 2020 all-purpose yards record of 74 total touches for 1654 yards with 10 touchdowns, including a 100-yard touchdown! In the past four seasons Addai has crushed it in the LIEFL with a total 6480 yards with 46 touchdowns. That is a lot of damage to opposing defenses. He has done everything but win the Super Bowl for coach Billy O’C. Indianapolis has to build in the trenches. 

Further, the Colts made the playoffs three straight years with this high-powered offense after clinching first place in 2018, 2019, and 2020! In 2018, Indianapolis lost in the AFC Divisional Championship Game 44-38 in OT to the Chargers, and in 2019 they lost to the Raiders in the AFC Divisional Championship Game 38-34, and finally, in 2020 they lost to their nemesis the Chargers again 30-22, after beating a tough Denver Broncos team 27-10 in the AFC Wild Card Game.

On the other end of the field is another top elite player in LIEFL superstar, All-Pro Ron Dayne. Dayne has been one of the most consistent players in LIEFL history. He wants to win!

Houston has had their ups and downs, but their problems have never been on offense. The defense needs lots of work and although they've improved through the draft this team seems to fall apart through tough scheduling. Coach Levi Vick said, “We can't make up an excuse for schedules because regardless of scheduling, to win in this league coaches have to play the elite teams, and that's the only way these teams are going to get better. Last season every team but the Saints fought down to the wire, and this year will be even more competitive. I have to just compartmentalize and take it one down at a time for my team.” 

The last time Houston made the playoffs was in In 2017, the Texans made it all the way to the AFC Championship Game, but were crushed by Buffalo like everybody else, 43-26.  In 2018, Houston went (6-3), winning the AFC South Division, but then the Texans went on to lose to New England 28-21, in the AFC Divisional Game. That was the last time we saw the Texans as a threat in the league. Ron Dayne is always a major threat. Dayne has rampaged 8451 all-purpose yards with an incredible 60 touchdowns in his LIEFL career. He's flat out one of the all-time best players in the league just like his opponent Indianapolis’ Joseph Addai. This is going to be a game with fireworks! 

Houston coach Levi Vic said, “This is my third year in the league. Ronny Dayne is a privilege to have on my team because he's the type of single-handed player that can carry a team. This team is very exciting!  Dayne just doesn't have bad games. Against one of the best defenses in the League last year in the Cleveland Browns Dayne rushed all over the Browns top dogs, rushing for 169 yards with two touchdowns, and the following week he rushed for another 100 yards against the mighty Carolina Panthers, but more interesting is, Dayne ran all over the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers, rushing for 92 yards with two touchdowns in the regular season … No team can stop this magical player!

This is a team that can beat the good teams with their explosive offense, and if they can put it together this year, they will be a major contender because we know one person is not backing down and that's the explosive Ron Dayne. Dayne was ranked 8^th in the AFC last season in rushing with 49 rushes for 489 yards with nine touchdowns. He was a beast on all-purpose yards ranked 4th in the AFC, touching the ball a total 72 times for 1590 yards with a booming 15 touchdowns, including two 100-yard kick returns for touchdowns! Dayne didn't stop there. He ranked 7th in kick returns with 18 returns for 944 yards, two of them 100-yard touchdowns.

The Texans bring back LIEFL All-Pro tackle Eric Winston who's now been an LIEFL All- Pro at two positions, guard and now a tackle. Winston had nine tackles to lead the AFC, and he's hungry for more. The Texans will up their game through the draft and we will see how they do at linebacker and on the line this season as they put their opponents to the test. Great game in store!

EDGE: Texans

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[nefgm.org]

Awesome write up!! Thanks for posting. 

[wbj]

Nice write up indeed! Good to see you are back up and running.  Hopefully you will extend an invitation to the "opening day".  Should be a blast!

[Terry43]

Hi. I like your rules and your emphasis on maintaining the flow of the play. I stop the play to pass and that's it. No turning or moving players. It's too bad your league is a locked out league. 

I read this: Great Rule: Also, if an offensive ball carrier runs into the back of a defensive player it is not a tackle in the LIEFL becuase you can’t tackle a player running away from the offensive player as a defender. The offensive player is only tackled when he runs into a defending players’ side or front of the player base, including on kickoffs.

I'm wondering why you're still playing touch football? Front, back, or side it's still touch football. When was the last time you saw a college or NFL running back brought down by the first contact? I play Stop Forward Progress. This usually means two or more defensive players have to contact the ball carrier to stop the forward progress. You should try it. 😄 Terry43

[Long island EFL]

4 hours ago, Terry43 said:

Hi. I like your rules and your emphasis on maintaining the flow of the play. I stop the play to pass and that's it. No turning or moving players. It's too bad your league is a locked out league. 

I read this: Great Rule: Also, if an offensive ball carrier runs into the back of a defensive player it is not a tackle in the LIEFL becuase you can’t tackle a player running away from the offensive player as a defender. The offensive player is only tackled when he runs into a defending players’ side or front of the player base, including on kickoffs.

I'm wondering why you're still playing touch football? Front, back, or side it's still touch football. When was the last time you saw a college or NFL running back brought down by the first contact? I play Stop Forward Progress. This usually means two or more defensi

4 hours ago, Terry43 said:

Hi. I like your rules and your emphasis on maintaining the flow of the play. I stop the play to pass and that's it. No turning or moving players. It's too bad your league is a locked out league. 

I read this: Great Rule: Also, if an offensive ball carrier runs into the back of a defensive player it is not a tackle in the LIEFL becuase you can’t tackle a player running away from the offensive player as a defender. The offensive player is only tackled when he runs into a defending players’ side or front of the player base, including on kickoffs.

I'm wondering why you're still playing touch football? Front, back, or side it's still touch football. When was the last time you saw a college or NFL running back brought down by the first contact? I play Stop Forward Progress. This usually means two or more defensive players have to contact the ball carrier to stop the forward progress. You should try it. 😄 Terry43

Hey Terry, Thanks for the feedback.  Yes, play is fast and furious.  The thing about single contact is maybe today you don't see so much one-on-one tackling but there were plenty of badass solo tacklers in the 70's and 80,s who are on our dynasty teams, Ronnie Lott, Steve Atwater, Mike Singletary, and a whole lot of players who made names for themselves as solo tacklers. A good league is a lot to manage when done correct, and correct is based on interpretation.  We have some stubborn coaches in the league and everything is voted on. 

Best,

Paddy B

4 hours ago, Terry43 said:

Hi. I like your rules and your emphasis on maintaining the flow of the play. I stop the play to pass and that's it. No turning or moving players. It's too bad your league is a locked out league. 

I read this: Great Rule: Also, if an offensive ball carrier runs into the back of a defensive player it is not a tackle in the LIEFL becuase you can’t tackle a player running away from the offensive player as a defender. The offensive player is only tackled when he runs into a defending players’ side or front of the player base, including on kickoffs.

I'm wondering why you're still playing touch football? Front, back, or side it's still touch football. When was the last time you saw a college or NFL running back brought down by the first contact? I play Stop Forward Progress. This usually means two or more defensive players have to contact the ball carrier to stop the forward progress. You should try it. 😄 Terry43

ve players have to contact the ball carrier to stop the forward progress. You should try it. 😄 Terry43

 

[Terry43]

Thanks for your response Paddy B. In all walks of life good management is difficult and sometimes taken for granted. From what I've read the Long Island League is in good hands! 

I completely agree with this also: Natural Continuity: The Passing Game: The LIEFL is a one-stop passing league, which literally means when a coach calls for a pass play, they get one shot at it without further time delays and that is the only time the game will stop for a pass play. After a pass reception play, we don’t allow coaches to then pivot or turn players to chase the receiver after the catch because it interferes with the natural continuity of the play and we feel it takes unnecessary time away from the game with stops, and the game actually loses its excitement. That’s just our league rule and that’s all that matters. If a defender gets burned, that’s the way the play happened. Better luck next time!

Thanks for sharing your League Rules. Also, I enjoyed seeing the Kick off for a touchdown. T43

[Long island EFL]

We appreciate that so much can't wait to read about your league as well! This next one coming up in 2023 should be a great one!

Paddy B

[Terry43]

On 3/31/2023 at 8:53 AM, Long island EFL said:

Natural Continuity: The Passing Game: The LIEFL is a one-stop passing league, which literally means when a coach calls for a pass play, they get one shot at it without further time delays and that is the only time the game will stop for a pass play. After a pass reception play, we don’t allow coaches to then pivot or turn players to chase the receiver after the catch because it interferes with the natural continuity of the play and we feel it takes unnecessary time away from the game with stops, and the game actually loses its excitement. That’s just our league rule and that’s all that matters. If a defender gets burned, that’s the way the play happened. Better luck next time!

Paddy,

I used this quote in the discussion of setting up pass patterns. I believe your words and intent are spot on. T43 ⚡🏈

[JPT222]

In my solitaire league,  I also allow a defender to make a tackle on the ball carrier with the front and side of their base but not the rear of the base.  I count this as a broken tackle, if the player on offense bounces off the rear of a defenders base and is able to gain more yardage.  On the other hand if a defender slams into the rear of the ball carrier's base I call that a forced fumble simulating stripping the ball.

[Long island EFL]

We respect all leagues and all rules because that's what works for them.

[Long island EFL]

1 minute ago, Long island EFL said:

We respect all leagues and all rules because that's what works for them.

As long as the games flowing we're going LOL!

[Terry43]

1 hour ago, JPT222 said:

On the other hand if a defender slams into the rear of the ball carrier's base I call that a forced fumble simulating stripping the ball.

I really the way your league simulates stripping the ball. It happens all the time in the NFL so an equivalent in Electric Football makes sense. Great idea! T43 ⚡🏈