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| The biggest catch |
Saturday, we had to go into the beach to try out his water scooter. It was by far the coldest day I have ever got into any water, but I couldn't not do it. Once fully submerging, it became bearable, slightly enjoyable. I don't think the scooter was made for us larger guys for carrying us around, but if we were in deep water diving down, it would kick ass. Also, with it being so damn cold, I was a bit timid to go under and really try to enjoy it. We spent about an hour and a half around the beach. We then went into the closest town area to get some eats for later. From there we just enjoyed the nice day and rested watching the Hangover. We did some more BBQing and later, Speed 2 just happened to be on, so naturally we had to watch.
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| Beautiful home |
Practice was great for the Seniors all week, as we felt we were extraordinarily prepared as a defensive line for their scheme and what they would do to us. We had a feeling they may scale down their playbook a bit as they also secured a semi-final spot and are a favorite to reach the Mermaid Bowl.
I wish I could have said the same for the young guys. It was a lackadaisical week with little focus. By far the most frustrating week of DL play, at the worst possible time because we needed to beat the Towers to be the number 1 seed and get a home game. Thursday was an abysmal practice when it came to executing plays. It is baffling to me that they can't remember the 6 twists we do. I even take time in practice from doing other drills to walk through the plays, but I guess they don't realize how terrible they are at it, until they mess it up. Now of course its not everyone, but the fair majority had poor execution on Thursday. I also think the play has some to do with having to use what we have on the scout team, which means receivers on the offensive line. The DL are just getting pumped beating up on a receiver instead of playing their technique and reading their keys. I had to let Thursday go and hope they came prepared Sunday
Saturday, I met up with AG, and our two Danish QBs, to watch the Herlev Rebels take on the Copenhagen Towers in the battle for second place. In what most assumed would be a fierce battle between two quality teams, the Towers prevailed like 47-7 I think. It was a disastrous game for the Rebels as anytime they got any momentum going, they killed it themselves with penalties or turnovers. Teams won't be successful with the amount of 1st and 20s and 3rd and 15s the Rebels had. Their ground game was tearing it up and the Towers couldn't answer, but its hard to stick with a constant ground attack when you are down 30. The "turning point" in my opinion came when the game was 14-7 in favor of the Towers early on. The Rebels D just came up with a huge fumble recovery in Towers territory. The very first play, the QB throws a pick, then the Towers drive and score, taking what could have been a tying score by the Rebels, and making it a TD of their own. Some more heartbreak came when the Towers got the ball around their 40 with 10 seconds left. The Towers QB LAUNCHED this ball to a streaking receiver who caught it for the score to go up 27-7 at the half. A score like that knocks the wind out of a team. That being said, the Towers will host the Arhus Tigers, and the Rebels will travel to Aalborg, home of defensive end extraordinaire Stephan "Steve" Nickelsen, to play the 89ers.
After that, we met up with one of the OL who has ESPN America, to watch some college football. We grabbed some chicken and pasta for dinner and watched Wisconsin roll Oregon State. I left early to get home to get a good night of sleep before my long Sunday.
Sunday morning rolled around and I headed out to Gentofte for our youngster's game. Our practice was still on my mind, but I let it go, hoping they would come out fired up. We were missing some of our key lineman on the day, so it was a bit scary. It's just funny how we still had 7 DL, but we were freaking out about our rotation, when most teams would KILL to have that many guys. Just a fun thought. But the weather toyed with us, pouring down rain before the game, then doing it again as we were in pregame. It cleared up and became a beautiful day for kickoff.
The game did not go as planned, and I suffered my first lost in Denmark as the Towers went on to a 22-8 victory. They threw some stuff at us we didn't expect to see, and didn't do some things we were really expecting. They also made plays when it counted, and we were a bit unsound. Fatigue seemed to set in for some of the guys as well, but that will happen when you are playing offense and defense and special teams. I remember those times in high school, and the great nights of sleep that followed. We clearly didn't play out best, and didn't execute when we had the chance too. However, with a playoff spot secured, its not the time for me to become worried or scared. The guys should come out hungry, waiting for the unbeaten Copenhagen Tomahawks in the semis. I'm hoping they have that attitude, because they are a great group of players, and it would be scary to think we could be finished after one more game. That said, I had to erase this from my mind and scurry over to Rundforbi for our game against the Razorbacks from Vejle.
I got there about an hour before kickoff and hurried up to get ready and my mind right. The guys were focused going through their pregame as if I am not even needed! The game started out magnificently, as we received the ball, marched down the field, and scored to go up 7-0. It was a lead we would never lose as we went on to a 31-13 victory. Both teams had already secured a spot in the semifinals, but the winner would have an "easier" road to the Mermaid Bowl, as the loser would be more than likely facing the Towers.
As far as the game, the offense was clicking, and the D was rolling. The Razors had some solid players and played with a passion that most other teams do not display. While I feel their offense was scaled down a bit, our preparation led to us having a good idea of what to expect, as far as go to plays, and offensive line weaknesses. I was pleased with OUR execution of twists. I felt like I was getting blocked from every angle, and one of the guys would come up huge. That's what awesome about our defense, we are a team. If you send 3 guys at one of us, there's another dude you need to worry about. We got some good hits on their QB and the sat him towards the end of the game to protect him for the finals. Their American WR/DB played a great game. He had an amazing interception on defense, and some great catches on offense. A really tough dude. Along with their WR, their import DL is from UConn. Our OL did a good job against him. He's so freaking tall, that it always seemed his hands were in a passing lane, but it's tough for one guy to make a huge impact consistently, and out OL did a good job neutralizing him.
On our ride home, we had a celebrity sighting, as we spotted Danish pop sensation Medina riding in her BMW in the streets of Copenhagen. All the guys went crazy of course, but I had to get a lesson on who she was. This here is the song I was told to check out, because I HAD to know it. She definitely noticed us staring, as she avoided passing us, until the car swooped over to make a turn and lose us paparazzi. Pretty cool I guess.
So, that leads to a prefect 9-0 Danish season, and 10-0 on Danish soil including our win over the French. We have a bye this week for the wild card games. Since we are the #1 overall seed, we will get the lowest seeded remaining winner, which will more than likely be the Rebels or 89ers. Both teams would be fun to play. So, for another bye week, time to keep myself busy. Today I am going to another after school thing for kids. Basically they bash into each other, laugh, and catch some footballs. They really seem to like it. I also have some weekend plans to check out an FC Copenhagen game with some of the guys, so hopefully all that works out.
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| DL at my last game at Rundforbi Stadium |
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