Beating the Spread ...
The turnout was fabulous as 42 different coaches vied for
the coveted Paydirt wood this year. Wednesday, 30 players
took teams, with Harry Flawd's Broncos topping Jason Levine's
Jaguars on one of the most amazing finishes in tournament history,
28-24. Harry had the ball on Jason's 35 yard line with 1:40 left
in the game and no timeouts, 4th down and 10, and out of field
goal range, so Brian Griese just lobbed the hail mary up and...Touchdown!!
A 37 yard strike to Rod Smith pulled out an
unimaginable victory.
In the NFC heat, Ray Stakenas led his Lions to the championship
game against Devin Flawd's Dallas Cowboys. Ray had an early 4-point
spread advantage, and used that plus a myriad of Cowboy penalties
and well timed interceptions to advance to the Super Bowl 13-0.
In the Super Bowl, it was all Denver, giving the Lions a generous
15 point spread at the beginning, but using a balance of Clinton
Portis rushing and Brian Griese short passes to forge a 34-26
lead with two minutes left. The Broncos did try to open the door
a crack at the end when they fumbled with a minute left, but
recovered their own fumble and ran the clock out to seal the
victory.
Using the most recent Paydirt charts was a big reason
for the record turnout, and since we will be using the newest
season each year henceforth, we hope to climb back into the Century
status. I am in contact with the creator of the charts for review
on how they played (short pass was very strong and pass defense
was generally weak, along with the fumble numbers not being randomized),
so next year should be even better!
Ray Stakenas (left) on his way
to a Paydirt Super Bowl appearance.
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