2020 Long Island EFL Week#4 New York Giants (2-1) vs. Los Angeles Rams (2-1)

[Long island EFL]

RAMS BEAT GIANTS IN AMAZING BATTLE! TYLER AND BRUCE COMBINE FOR 295 YARDS!

 

Los Angeles Rams Football Team

The NFC WEST Los Angeles Rams play their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which they share with the Los Angeles Chargers.

September 15, 2020. Los Angeles, California. We know somehow in the past three seasons the Long Island Football League Los Angeles Rams exploded into the consistent winning team they have become today. No team other than the Miami Dolphins in the Long Island Electric Football League has ever won back-to-back Super Bowl Championships other than the Rams. No other coach ironically has achieved that status in the league, but Rams Coach Billy O'C. It is a bit shocking because on the surface it seems that with all of the dynamic powerhouse NFC teams, there could be another team in the league who could beat Los Angeles in the big spot, but for the past two seasons, it hasn't happened. This team looks better than ever right now! 

Billy O'C has his Rams engine tuned, in gear, and ready to fire up at (2-1) after upsetting Buffalo last week in overtime at Orchard Park on the Bills home turf, winning 16-10! There is something about these Rams that is special. Maybe they don't dominate every team or game, but they have beaten the best teams in this league. The LIEFL-Playoffs truly vets every team until the league upturns the best-of-the-best possible team through our "Quest-for-Best" playoff system, just like most leagues do. 

Since 2018, Los Angeles has won 19 games with only 5 losses! That is a lot of damage. The sparkplug to the Rams offense is "The Reverend" Isaac Bruce, who Rams Coach Billy O'C drafted in the 2018 Draft. And O'C didn't even use Bruce until 2018 playoffs. The Rams have beaten down teams with that "Fab-Five" front-line, and there isn't a team in the league with their synergy. Running back Wendall Tyler is explosive and cunning. He has brought devastating results to opposing defenses with his slashing running style, which to date, no coach in the league has been able to stop. In last year's LIEFL-Super Bowl XV, he broke the "Longest run from Scrimmage Record" previously held 40 years by New Orleans Saints running back Tony Galbreath in 1979. Galbreath had a record-setting 60-yard run which Tyler broke!  Tyler had a 60-yard run, and a 61-yard run in LIEFL-Super Bowl XV. He shared Super Bowl honors with Bruce when he rushed for 195 yards against Miami in the game. The "Dynamic-Dou" is out to beat the extremely competitive New York Giants.

Long Island Hall of Fame Sports Hall of Fame Inductee and Sports Historian and Game Day Analyst, Andrew Slawson of our Slawson's Corner said, "This Rams team are the best team in the league for a reason. They execute their plays to perfection.  They can be beat though! If you study Billy O'C's game patterns, I see weaknesses and if the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, or Detroit Lions keep playing the way they have, the Rams need to play at Super Bowl level to beat them. This year's NFC playoffs, you don't want to miss. The Giants will be out-coached today, although Pizz has shocked O'C with his great play in the past. O'C may be stuck in his stubborn running ways, and that may cost him if the Giant defense is on! O'C is not a good passer, so he lives by the run and dies by the run and that's that!"

The Giants, like many other teams have had trouble with the dominant NFC West. They lost to the Rams in the 2018, NFC Divisional Championship Game 34-31, and they haven't forgotten that game. This game is going to be like a playoff game because the Giants are (2-1), and they too are hungry to win the division, and hungry to unseed the Rams.

New York has one the best running teams in the LIEFL. Giants running back Shaquon Barkley, is the #5 rusher in the NFC with 254-yards and two touchdowns, one of them a 60-yard touchdown. And Giants receiver and kick-returner Odell Beckham Jr., OBJ, has been sensational setting-up Barkley with great kick returns! They also have Ahmad Bradshaw who backs up OBJ now. New York has a combined total 669 yards with five touchdowns! The Giants won't be an easy target for these Rams, but they will have to play at a different level to beat the Rams on their home field. Coach Joey Pizz said, “Nobody does it better than the Rams. They refuse to lose, but my Giants play just the same as a team, and I will never forget the playoff game we lost to the Rams. It cost us another trip to the Super Bowl to win some nice money. Money is always a nice competitive incentive in a league. I did practice with them this week on return set-ups so I could follow their patterns, and OBJ is a beast on returns. He will have to navigate the Rams defense because we all know what we have seen in them. This will be a great game." 

Billy O'C has been extremely evasive and secret when it comes to questions about his play-calling with the Rams.  He did the same with the Dolphins for years. The Rams have been impressive, but they are beatable, as we saw in Philadelphia Week#2, when Harold Carmichael had the perfect game, running back three 100-yard touchdowns in an unforgettable historic game earlier this season when the Eagles beat the Rams 28-21! Coach O'C said, "I love the Giants and what they mean to this league. They have a rich tradition and history and games like this are what I live the hobby for. We can't wait for the challenge!"

The Giants played the Oakland Raiders in 2008 in our first seven-game season in LIEFL-Super Bowl XI, 27-21, losing in overtime on a Dave Casper 100-yard victory run! Two intense teams with focused coaches and mission can be a game to watch. O'C said, "I respe
ct Pizz a great deal. These are the kind of games everyone wants to watch. We still have the film of last year's Super Bowl that has to be put together. Instead of all of our screaming we are going to put the NFL music in it."

THE PLAY-BY-PLAY: New York Giants (2-1) vs Los Angeles Rams (2-1)

On the opening kickoff, the visual anticipation on the faces of Coach Billy O'C and Joey Pizz, two coaches who practically know each other's every move, was priceless.  During the course of the season these two coaches may face-off four or five times, and it is always a war! Today is no different, it is about the competition, pride, and the battle for the trophy between two great NFC opposite coast rivals!

The

"The Reverend" Isaac Bruce opened up this highly anticipated match-up by returning the kick-off with a blazing 45-yard run. He was hit hard by David Diehl and linebacker Lawrence Taylor. The Rams big Fab-Five took charge with running back Wendell Tyler exploding for a 21-yard pick-up on his very first run, bringing the football to the New York Giant 34-yard line with 12:35 remaining in the first half.

Between Bruce and Tyler, once the Rams get going, they are lethal and they make defenses pay dearly when coaches from opposing teams make mistakes, but Los Angeles seems magical with their slicing performance through the defensive line this season. With these two great coaches it will most likely come down to time in the game, which decides the outcome.

The Rams kept moving forward with another 8-yard pickup by Tyler. Tyler exploded through the Giants defense again, on second down, this time for a huge 17-yard first down before Giants defensive tackle Osi Umenyiora tackled Wendell Tyler, with the Rams threatening to score.

Umenyiora had a big day, making his second straight tackle, rising to the occasion with Coach Pizz moving players around on defense looking for the best possible match-ups to give the Giants an advantage against LA's All-Pro Merlin Olsen and Rosy Grier, as Umenyiora made another big hit on Tyler. Tyler picked up another 3-yards on first down! Watching the game, Los Angeles has the ability to position any one of their lineman at center between the three guards, and all of them can be extremely dangerous. Andrew Slawson was talking to Coach Eddie Viggs. He said, "When you have three guys that could play center on offense who can
 move the ball the way the Rams do in this league, it gives the Rams offense and defense a sense of comfort that many teams do not have. When Coach Billy OC redesigned this Rams team, I think he had Tyler in mind because of the way he runs. He is beyond smooth." These Rams are the LIEFL team to beat, and they are built almost to perfection, now they just have to get warmed up and perform.

 

On second down New York's Michael Strahan and George Martin hit Tyler hard taking him down at the New York 8-yard line for a loss of two yards, forcing a third down with 6:11 left to go and a half. On the next play, Coach Pizz shouted out at his team, "You got to be kidding me as Wendell Tyler took the ball into the end-zone from 8-yards out for the touchdown on some amazing front-line blocking from this championship team to make the score 7-0, with 4:51 remaining in the half! The excitement is building and the anxiety to perform could be seen on Pizz' face. He knows better than to panic with Barkley in the backfield. 

 

On the kick-off Odell Beckham Jr, OBJ, returned a speedy 40-yard kick, but he was hit hard by Wendell Tyler who made the tackle. Now the Fabulous-Five defense would be tested by the Giants fantastic running game with Shaquon Barkley at the helm with 2:02 left to go and a half. And on first down Barkley run straight around the end for a 46-yard first down to the Rams 10-yard line on an amazing run. Everybody came to their feet and roared on a beautiful executed play by Coach Pizz and his Giants! The first half ended with Barkley running into the end-zone from 10 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 as the fireworks have begun, with lots of pushing and shoving. Barkley looked amazing with his two runs to the opposite side of the field, and then straight up the middle as he totaled 56-yards in the first half! Coach Pizz' strategy worked very well as the Rams ready for the kickoff in the start of the second half with the score tied 7-7! The Giants look fantastic as they have all season long.

 

On the kickoff, Isaac Bruce had a gorgeous return of 73-yards hit again by David Diehl on a beautiful play by the Reverend, who showed lightning speed with 14:09 remaining in the game. So far, it's an even match-up! Nobody seems to run the ball like the Giants, they're fun to watch, they're fast and furious!  Slawson said, "I think Barkley and Tyler are two of the most exciting players in the league. The do what most backs do not, run with consistency."  And on an amazing run Wendell Tyler again shines on his first carry of the second half for a huge 23 yard run in one play into the Giants end-zone on an end-around play set-up by slick Billy OC, as the Rams take the lead 14-7 12:54 left to go in the game. Just like that, Los Angeles back in control!

 

On an absolutely tremendous kick-return by Giants receiver and kick-returner Odell Beckham, Beckham ran the ball to the Rams 7-yard line on an explosive 93-yard kick return, brought down by All-Pro Chris Long at the seven yard line. What an absolutely amazing kick return for Beckham and the Giants! The Giants without question have come here to play today!

Unbelievable! There is no quit in the Giants. On first down Barkley answered the Rams with a seven-yard touchdown run one play later to tie the score at 7-7, with 9:15 left to go in the game! We could already feel that this was going to be a heart-breaker for one of these teams. This was the Giants chance to really make a tremendous statement if they could overcome Los Angeles on the road.

 

The Giants defense came up big on the ensuing kick return as Ahman Bradshaw made a huge hit on Isaac Bruce at the 35-yard line and Bruce was slow to get up. This raging battle was very intense in a game of champions. Both the Giants and Rams look very impressive, just two great teams going at. It's really not a matter of who's better, it's a matter of who has the home field advantage and who can take advantage of one small mistake with 6:33 remaining in the game!

 

On first down, Wendell Tyler ran for the Rams fourth first down of the game taking the ball to the 45-yard line, almost at midfield as the Rams continue to press the Giants defense. Coach Pizz constantly moved personnel around, putting Michael Strahan in the nose tackle position with 5:20 on the clock and ticking. Part of great coaching is managing the clock, which is always a delicate situation in tight games like this. This is where Billy OC is a master at controlling the clock. On first down, Tyler busted through the line for another first down for a 12-yard pickup. New York defensive lineman Leonard Marshall saved the Day as he was the only one standing between an open field touchdown, stopping Tyler at the 43-yard line of the Giants for another first down!

 

The pressure was mounting for New York. If the Rams scored the Giants would have to rely on a magical kick-return by OBJ to tie or win the game depending on the time left on the clock, which was ticking away. Los Angeles wasn't having it. And on the next play, Wendell Tyler blasted right through the center of the line as Jackie Slater, Deacon Jones, and Chris Long sliced a massive hole right through the center of the Giants heart with Tyler prancing in for the touchdown, his third of the day, making the score 21-14 Rams, with 2:54 left to go in the game!

One more chance on the kick return for OBJ and the Giants. LA linebacker Jack Youngblood made a huge hit on OBJ on the kick return at the 30 yard line, denying better field position for New York, with 1:21 left to go in the game! The Giants will still have one opportunity to score, but it would have to be a 70-yard touchdown play.  That might be all they have left. One pass from quarterback Eli Manning who will be more than likely looking to hit OBJ near the sideline will be a very tough play for the Rams to make with Beckham's speed. The Giants ran out of time as the almighty Los Angeles Rams defense denies the Giants from completing a pass!

The Los Angeles Rams (3-1) beat the New York Giants (2-2) 21-14, in an absolutely phenomenal game!

The Rams continue to demonstrate why they are the top team in the league at the moment. The competition is really on fire and getting even more fierce as we get closer to LIEFL Week#5.  Almost the entire league was on hand to watch this game to scout the Rams and Coach Billy. The New York Giants played an absolutely tremendous game!  That's all she wrote! 

Wendall Tyler rushed for 145-yards with three touchdowns, bringing Tyler to 347 total rushing yards with six rushing touchdowns for the season. Isaac Bruce set Tyler up with precision strikes as Bruce totaled 153 yards on kick returns. Nobody does it better than these two, because having 298-yards of offensive firepower would be hard for any team to beat! The Rams head North to win-less San Francisco 49ers (0-3), in a division showdown next week. 

The Giants are still shinning. Odell Beckham Jr., ran back 163-yards today, giving him 395 total kick-return yards for the season! 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by Long island EFL
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