The final playoff game of the season was yet another hard fought battle of the playoffs. With the Eagles’ (Full Tilt) high powered offense lead by LT vs the Rams’ (TeeTocks) passing attack of Peyton Manning, this made for a great game.

With the Rams getting the opening kickoff, they drove down the field to open up the scoreboard. The Eagles began to have a similar drive but with an interception thrown by Bulger, the Rams took advantage and quickly ran up to a 14-0 lead. On the Eagles second drive they made short work of the Rams’ defense, or lack there of and proceed to get on the board making them one touchdown behind. The Rams would drive down once again to score another TD on the catch of TE, Tony Gonzalez. LT would finish off the first half with a rushing TD and the halftime score would be 21-14. Eagles started out the second half with a drive that was cut short by another INT by Rhonde Barber and the Rams scored another TD on the proceeding drive. With the score 28-14, the Eagles were in desperate need to score quickly and they delivered. A Rams’ cornerback made a key mistake in diving for no reason and the Eagles receiver took it to the house. 28-21, this game is far from over. Eagles try for an onside kick but get penalized for touching the ball too soon. With precious time coming off the clock, the Rams use of clock management was weighing heavy on the outcome of the game. 1st and Goal, the Rams fake the run and with two Defensive Tackles barely missing a sack on Manning, he throws a TD the Tight End. Score 35-21. The Eagles waste no time once more and drive down the field for another TD…35-28. Another Eagles onside attempt thwarted by a catch by a Rams player. With the Rams getting 1st downs and no more timeouts left for the Eagles, the Rams run out the clock and win the game and the GHR Superbowl Championship.

Thanks to all who participated in the season. I personally had a blast playing with each person, even the ones that beat me. Lots of great competition and good attitudes from everyone in the League.

And then there were two. The GHR Madden League has just 1 game left to play. Last weekend #2 seed TeeTocks won a tight game against #3 seed Maverick. A last second field goal put a smile on TeeTocks’ face and a frown on Maverick’s. Last night, #1 seed Full Tilt faced off against #4 seed JD. JD gave Tilt his only regular season loss and was looking to sneak into the championship game. Each team had a kick-off return for a TD. And each team had a single defensive stop. Luckily for Tilt, his stop came with 45 seconds left. After a great pick the game ended 45-42. Tilt vs. Tocks coming soon.

With the League slowly chugging along toward the end of the Regular season, two significant games took place this past week. This week could be deemed the GHR Host Showdown…if Sam and Alfred played each other then it could really be called that but I’ll cut Sam some slack since MS got all RROD happy on him lately.

First matchup Maverick vs. Tee:

I jumped out early on Mav to the point of 21-0 and my headset earpiece was quieter than a mute in a Library after hours. But if anything, this game was a game of poor decisions. I got greedy in my play calling and instead of running out the clock for the half I tried to add more points and a resulting fumble and score kept Mav in it. Second half, this time poor decisions on Mav’s part. Mav came back strong and the game became really close. I could sense the nervousness in his voice because for the whole second half that’s all I heard, non-stop! Twice Mav chose to go for the two point conversion rather than the safe bet and both times was shut down. Another key to the game, early timeout usage would eventually doom the game for Mav as I squeaked out with a 42-40 win. All in all good game, even with an early deficit Mav played strong to bring it back.

Second matchup Sam vs. Tee:

This game was hard fought the entire time. One thing to note, both our defenses looked as clueless as Paris Hilton at a Convent. I believe we only stopped each other one time each the entire game. We kept waiting on turnovers that would help one of us pull ahead but remarkably there were no turnovers the whole match. Sam started off with an early lead but was eventually passed by me when I was able to get him to punt (the only punt in the game) and I drove down the field for a score. I had a two score lead waiting for the half to end but on a kickoff shortly before halftime, Sam returned it for a TD. Second half, more of the same. I score, Sam scores, I score, Sam scores….yada, yada. Eventually the game mercifully came to an end as I was able to run out the clock by taking a knee and securing the win. Final score 52-47.

All in all, good hard fought battles and fun times. Now I’m geared for the playoffs and nervous at the same time. Win or go home time!

Last Matchup Sam vs. Maverick (UPDATE):

Sam led this game from the First to the Fourth quarter. After Sam’s punt in the first series, Mav eventually scored on a fourth down pass to Plaxico Burress. Sam quickly marched the ball upfield, using Maurice Jones-Drew to shoulder the offense on his 5 foot frame. Jones-Drew made play after play until he eventually made paydirt. Sam and Mav went back and fourth. Sam grabbed the lead in the first and held on to it for three quarters. If Maverick scored, Sam turned it right back around for 6 points. In the third quarter after Maverick failed on a two point conversion, Sam had the ball and was using his go-to-guy, Jones-Drew, to lead his offense. Brett Favre made a miriad of passes through the third quarter to boost his QB rating over 120. Looking unstoppable moving into the fourth quarter, It looked as though doomsday was approaching for Mav. By successfully running the clock down to the two minute mark, Sam was within reach of his win. All he needed was a first down to run the clock. 1st down- Jones Drew takes it to the right. He was stuffed by Julius Peppers. 2nd Down – With pressure from Maverick’s Defensive Line, the indestructible, Brett Favre threw the ball slighly ahead of his man. Is Brett Favre choking under pressure? He was nearly perfect on his passing heading into the fourth quarter. 3rd down – Brett Favre aims for his tight end on a quick pass, but he was out of bounds. Barely under two minutes left, clock stopped, what should Sam(GRH Superman) do. 4th down – He goes big. Aiming for the endzone, Brett Favre makes his throw. BLOCKED by Samari Rolle! Maverick has the ball on his own 40. 2 mins left and three timeouts. Maverick runs Laurence Maroney on a pitch to the right. He almost breaks free for the touchdown. Maverick calls the next play from the line. Seeing that Sam’s defense is slow to get ready, he does the same play again. 10 more yards. With 1 minute left Maverick runs Maroney up the middle. Maroney gets to Sam’s 33 yard line. Mav lets the clock run to 2 seconds, and calls a timeout. Maverick makes the kick…………….It’s GOOD!

Football doesn’t start out with a bang like the GHR Madden League did on opening night. The league is now full, and the games have begun. As I write this post Weasel and JDsBlackBox are playing a match now. Currently JD is up 7-0. Teetocks began placing his mark on the competition by dismantling Weasel last night by over 60 points. He also pulled a double-header last night by facing tough competition from T3 disciple. JD also won a nail biter vs. FullTilt. He ended the game with a two-point conversion at the last second. Maverick picked apart Marauder’s overrated defense in an Exhibition match last night too. Chuckdogg is a tad bit weary of his draftees, so if you have some players that you want to trade, contact Chuckdogg’s agent. Keep the challenges coming, so the League can keep on moving. Remember, there are playoffs too so everyone still has a chance. Hike!