2020 Long Island EFL Week#3 Washington Football Team (1-1) vs. Cleveland Browns (1-1) What is a League?

[Long island EFL]

WASHINGTON BLANKS CLEVELAND IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE 10-0!

Long Island Electric Football League (Est.1972)

Article by William O'Connell. Long Island EFL Commissioner.

August 22, 2020. Cleveland, Ohio. 

PRE-GAME ANALYSIS & COACH SPOTLIGHT:

A league is comprised of a great group of friends who have the same interests, whose synergy connects the bridge between friendship and hobby, whose belief in integrity and commitment is exceptional and unwavering, whose values and standards are to treat each other equally in a way that transcends into both our personal spirituality and our professional lives. We belief this country is going through trying times, but we also believe as one that the value of human existence is one as a whole. Tudor Games and this hobby has helped heal us through a crisis in America. We talk, we play, we argue and debate, and we respect each other, supporting each other, to succeed in life. We are not the barrier in society, rather we are a group who are recognized as part of the solution to overcoming some of America's problems! We lead rather than follow and we are men that are not perfect, but we believe in Kaizen Philosophy, in overcoming boundaries, promoting cross-cultural awareness, and improving ourselves as active contributors to society in positive ways. Tudor Games gave us the forum to do this as one of those ways through the hobby we all love! 

In Week #3, this one between the NFC East Washington Football Team (1-1) and the AFC North Cleveland Browns (1-1) outta be a great match-up between two highly competitive Long Island Electric Football Teams!  Washington beat Philadelphia in Week#1, 13-10, and Cleveland took a beating from their division rival Baltimore 17-7, but Jim Brown had 195 yards in that game.  The Browns stormed back in Week#2 with an impressive coordinated win over Cincinnati 14-3, but Washington was slightly deflated on the road, losing to Arizona 17-14, in a great game! Washington's Tony Green exploded for 210 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns, one, a hundred-yard return in that huge game!  Green ranks #5 in the NFC with 470 all-purpose yards, with three touchdowns. The Browns will have a tough day trying to stop Coach Eddie Viggs number one guy in Green! Somehow Viggs pre-season training camps produce winners!

"He is consistent and it's that consistency that makes Washington different from the inconsistent Browns. Viggs is 332 wins and 289 losses in this league and it doesn't include tournaments outside of the LIEFL. He beat the spanking-pants off of the Chicago, Miggle-Toys world-qualifier in 1995 without saying a word. He sat there listening to the braggart opponent while his then Cowboys, pummeled the world qualifier's Bears 21-7! Then he won the 32-team New York City Open tournament filled with all-star coaches, and then he was the alternate coach last year and he beat a good coach in Billy O'C's Dolphins (166-34), using O'C's Rams as alternate coach, 44-41 in OT. After the $750 victory, it was just another handshake and goodbye by Viggs! Viggs is a brilliant electric football mind and he is the best sportsman we have in the league. When you lose to Viggs it's because he was better prepared than you! He gets the job done and sets the standard. He is a tremendous competitor and when you play him, the guys say they leave the table drained.  We have watched so much film on other leagues with all these crazy rules. That's all good and well, but it doesn't matter how great you are, Viggs will fiercely compete against anyone in the world and you will have your EFL game of your life!  Win or lose, it's the guy's nature to be competitive," said Andrew Slawson from Slawson's Corner.

When this league took off it was Viggs and O'Connell who made it happen in the 70's. Viggs has become the legendary Master of Preparation! The league loves the fact that they have Joe Cerabino  or "Bino" as the alternate coach.  When they have other plans, the alternate coach fills in like a warrior. Then you have a few renegade or rouge coaches who just march to their own drumbeat, but every league needs that.

INTERVIEW WITH COACH VIGGS:
The passing rules in the LIEFL have been slightly altered as well by majority votes. Coach Viggs said, "Let me be constructive here. We used to have a zero-stop league and pass on the fly, which I dominated on a regular bases with 50-yard touchdown passes which drove guys crazy in this league, but now it is a one-stop, one-set league with the Tudor Games kicker-passer, without defensive adjustments. My argument to the league is, listen, lets go back to live throws. In the NFL when you are burned, you're burned, that's it. You get one shot at the play. The game doesn't stop so that we can turn the the defense around to chase down receivers. That's a ridiculous waste of game time with all the stops! Guess what, you got scorched, so why can't we go back to a zero-stop league? The whole countdown thing with the passing and defensive set-up countdowns, strings and all that, is not something I will ever vote for in this league and all these guys in this league who wanna be in a delusion that it's more realistic, are just rule-hoggers to suite their own needs. To me, that is a step-back in the progression of the hobby. I have no problem debating you on it. Get your real game and skills on and throw live passes and hit your receivers consistently on the fly while the board is buzzing, then come talk to me. I wish we still passed with the game running without any stop at all--that's as realistic as the game is going to get, but these guys don't like it in this league because they can't pass like me! In my away games I try to get the game to overtime using the clock so my team can overcome the obstacle of time."

Viggs continued, "I focus on the little things in electric football. I am a planner. I plan and execute a winning game plan with that goal in mind, to keep every game close. I try to drag my opponent into the shallows and drown them, especially O'C's Dolphins! (Laughing) I watch so much game-film for fun on YOUTUBE, and there isn't a guy out there who I wouldn't play with NFL-like rules. I would never play in a league that gives so much time to set up and reset. That would bore the heck out of me--just run the play! I listen to all these 'experts' who play the game, and their rules that have changed drastically to suite each league, but on a whole, the game always comes down to the team we put on the field, and the skills and knowledge of each coach. In high school, I played on two Long Island Rutgers Cup Championship football teams. We were 19-2! I played quarterback and defensive back, and I always have been one to analyze the game. In college I played Lacrosse. What I find amazing is the comradeship we guys have in the league." 

Viggs eded with, "In this league, the great coaches capitalize on the mistakes, or better planning wins them games. It would be so cool if we could teach the kids of today this game. On an academic level they learn how to use critical-thinking, hand and eye coordination, planning, scheming, and most important, how to resolve mistakes and conflict, and improve the conscious mind.
I am a busy Private Investment Banker outside of this hobby, but that 2-hours a week I dedicate to this hobby keeps me sane coming from intense Wall Street. (Laughing) After all these years, we all make mistakes on the board, but that is the fun of the game!"

LIEFL GAME RITUAL:
In the Long Island Electric Football League it is the responsibility of the coach from the losing team to write the game follow-up article on this Forum. If there are spelling and grammar errors, blame the losing team! They then submit the article to the Commissioner, and he posts the article. The stats go to Slawson's Corner via email, and Slawson keeps all of the statistics for the league along with our Head of Rules, Pete Porcelli, who oversees that the rules are not violated. The league is beyond organized!

Each year the league uses a new Tudor Game board, so everyone gets the chance to hold the board for two weeks for two-practices "Borrowed-out" in the 6 month off-season, to get a feel for the new board before the season begins. Coach and Commissioner, Billy O'C said, "We have ten Tudor Game boards saved, so if anyone out there is in desperate need of a used board let us know.  All you have to do is pay for shipping. Our loyalty remains with Tudor! We may not always agree on products but as an organization, they are the best at caring about progression and improvement of the hobby!  

Before each game we wash the board, then we dip each runner base in water to remove any possible particles, and finally, they dry while we switch from home to away uniforms.  We have 100 new old-school footballs and we use 10 brand new each game and 5 new for the playoffs, and 5 new for the Super Bowl. We even trade things for new footballs."

In this game today, Matt "Zoo-York" McQueen’s Cleveland Browns "Dawg-Pound" have to simply outplay the WFT. McQueen said, "So far I realize that this Browns team needs a stable running game.  My goal is to secure a fullback in the LIEFL 2021 Draft so that Jimmy Brown is just my return man, and a new star runs the down-to-down trench running. I traded up this year so that in 2021, I get two #1 Draft picks. Ozzie Newsome's player base is so old, and so is he, so after the season I will have a new wide-receiver who can make big plays and we can run more of a west-coast style offense. I need to get the Browns to be like the Panthers and Eagles so they become the invariable in the league. I want each of my teams to be a threat. My Eagles and Panthers are right on the edge  and we just need to turn the corner. My hope is to gain one great receiver so we can take dominate in the North and beat Baltimore. Coach Viggs is a legend in the league, and I learn from him, but I am here to win. So far this season I am (4-4).  It sounds like we play so many games, but I was (14-18) as a coach in a great league, and I played 32 total games last season. I want more! I have goals for my teams too, and the league will see my teams improve. With the Eagles and Panthers, I will be in the playoffs! I love that the LIEFL is actually run like a professional league with the stats, the prize money, the trophy, regulation sized Tudor Games 67' BIG MEN, and I love the Coaches selections of All-Pro's!  Last season 11 of my players were named to the LIEFL Pro Bowl! Ten people involved in a league is a lot for this hobby. It is a huge commitment, and when the cold weather hits New York in October, the league will HEAT UP! I remember last year, nobody wanted the season to end and we even thought about expanding to a ten-game format, which I am voting for."

THE GAME:

On the opening kick-off dangerous Jim Brown ran the ball back 44 yards, but nothing could have gone more wrong for the Cleveland Browns offense and Coach McQueen's Browns. After two failed run, and a incomplete pass, the Browns were stopped on 4th down by a ferocious Washington defense and that front-line of the Hogs, Mann, Manley, and Butz, who beat down the Cleveland as the Browns turned the ball over at their own 28-yard line. They started from the 44, had an incomplete pass, and the Browns couldn't get the bull running with 8:01 left and a half.

Maybe Matt McQueen's Browns couldn't get the offense going but the defensive unit showed up to play some football and they stopped Washington running back Tony Green on his first run for a loss of five yards. The Cleveland defense then stopped Green again on 2nd down. Washington was forced to pass and air it out on a spectacular 3rd down throw by Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins to Tony Green who was wide open near the sideline as he went out-of-bounds at the 14-yard line for a Washington Football Team first down with 3:09 left in the half. Coach Viggs played a determined game.

 

That amazing defensive line for the Browns led by Kam Wimbley, stopped Tony Green again, forcing a third-down play at the WFT 32-yard line. Cleveland pushed them back for an 18-yards loss. After being tackled for the third time by number Cleveland lineman Simon Fraser on third down,  Washington was forced to kick a 52-yard field goal to make the score 3-0 with 14:10 left to go in the game!

 

McQueen's Browns continue to have a huge running problems as Browns running back Jim Brown continues to hook on to his linebacker when the buzz gets going. McQueen has to stop the linebacker from hooking on for the running back in this new pattern that has been consistent disruption for the Browns. There's no problem with Jim Brown, but this has to be worked out.  A few plays the offense of line finally starting to kick into gear with a 4-yard run but then lost all of that with a 15-yard loss, making it third down with 10:09 left to go in the game.

 

And on fourth down the Browns just shut down. Coach Viggs created chaos on the road with his team, and nothing went right from the start for McQueen as he missed the field-goal attempt from 52 yards away with 3:24 left to go in the game! This enormous defensive battle has presented a huge challenge for both teams on offense. That was until Viggs unleashed his passing game and Washington's Art Monk. Monk put on the afterburners and blazed down the center of the field for 48 yard touchdown to make the score 10-0, Washington with 2:47 left to go in the game! 

 

Cleveland attempted the kick-return, but Monk tackled Brown in an awesome open field tackle at the Cleveland 34-yard line, and that ran the clock down with another pass, this time to Ozzie Newsome for the 18 yard gain as the Browns (1-2) ran out of time! Washington (2-1) faces the hard-nosed Baltimore Ravens next week in Washington, and Cleveland has three road games in the road at Dallas, Jacksonville, and the New York Giants.