The Rogue managed to live up to their reputation as arch-rivals of the Rebel Yell as they won a stunning 82-78 victory that dropped the Rebels out of the playoffs. The Rogue needed a career day from Marques Colston to finally catch and pass the Rebels late in the contest. Despite strong performances from Peyton Manning and Randy Moss, the Rebels came up short again as they are eliminated for the fourth consecutive time in the first round of the playoffs. "It was a very somber lockerroom," comment Coach Jackson. "Our players didn't think we could lose against the Rogue, at least not after beating them so soundly last week. This will be a tough loss to forget."

The Rebels were so close to winning this game, and had plenty of chances to do so. Late in the fourth quarter, Randy Moss dropped an easy touchdown pass. Nick Folk missed a 49 yard FG that would have tied the game. "We didn't convert all of our chances," stated Jackson. "And you need to do that against a solid team like the Rogue. You never know when they will launch the inevitable assault that will net them 80 points."

The Rebel Yell season might be over, but the team management remains upbeat. "We have a solid corp of players that will be returning next season," informed GM Saylor. "Coach Jackson has proved that his offensive strategy works and we will continue to build the team to fit his pass first mentality. We look forward to next year and another season in this great SFFL."

The second meeting of the Rebel Yell and the Rogue this season ended with the same result as the first... a Rebel Yell victory. The main difference of this contest was the humilitating way that the Rebels beat the Rogue in the 86-44 contest. "We fired on all cyclinders today," said a relaxed Coach Jackson. "We are ready for the playoffs and all teams should be ready for us."

Peyton Manning led the Rebels in the over whelming attack by throwing for 4 touchdowns and 288 yards. For his efforts, he earned his second consecutive Robert E. Lee gameball. Nick Folk contributed 15 points on 3 FGs and 4 XPs. McGahee, Jones-Drew, Holt, and Moss all scored in Week 13 and Cooley had a solid performance with 89 yards receiving.

With the Rebels win (and the Water Boys win), the Rebels will hold the 3 seed in the playoffs. They will be matched once again against the Rogue team that they just handled effortlessly. "I don't like playing the same team two weeks in a row," commented Jackson. "This gives the Rogue team time to prepare against us. I expect a close batter next week."

The Rebel Yell clinched a playoff berth with a 69-52 win over the Shipyard Sharks. The win is the second win of the season against the Sharks as the teams are now split lifetime at 7-7. The Rebels finally got some production from newly acquired quarterback Peyton Manning as he ended his funk with 3 TDs on 272 yards passing. "I knew that the real Peyton Manning would show up sooner or later," pined the much at ease Coach Jackson. "You can't keep a good player down for long and Peyton showed why we went out and traded for him."

Even with his great performance, it was a close battle for the Robert E. Lee gameball. Chris Cooley continues his impressive hot streak with a 96 yard / 1 TD performance. "It was a tough decision between Peyton and Chris for this week's gameball," commented Coach Jackson. "But in the end I decided that Peyton's increase in performance deserved the ball."

After the game, the Rebel players celebrated their playoff berth quietly. "We have tons of work yet to do in order for us to obtain our goal," said team captain Maurice Jones-Drew. "It is one thing to get into the playoffs, but another thing to win the SuperBowl. We have to stay focused and continue to prepare for one week at a time." The Rebels will need a win against the Kodiak Bears and a loss from the Water Boys to clinch one of the byes for the playoffs.

Despite scoring 72 points, the Rebel Yell were unable to stop the SFFL record 10 consecutive win streak of the Rambling Gophs. Randy Moss scored a season high of 30 points with 128 yards receiving and 4 TDs. The only problem... the passes were coming from Rambling Goph quarterback Tom Brady. Add in the first touchdown score of the year by Gophs Laurence Maroney and you can call it a wash.

"We played a great game," comment Coach Jackson. "The Rambling Gophs were the better team today. I hope we see them again during the playoffs because I know that it will be a different outcome, MEOW!"

Moss, who won his Rebel Yell franchise record fifth Robert E. Lee gameball of the season, was not the only great performance for the Rebels. Chris Cooley had 89 yards and one TD. Willis McGahee and Maurice Jones-Drew each scored touchdowns in Week 12.

The loss this week drops the Rebels one game behind the Water Boys for the second of the playoff byes. The team will need some help by other teams in order to catch the Water Boys.

Not much to celebrate in the lockerroom of the Rebel Yell after a 56-47 defeat on Sunday. Earlier in the week, the players were stunned by the trading of teammate Larry Johnson to the BAD. Then on Sunday, the team had to go up against that same team on the field, but the BAD players obviously wanted the win more. "I think our team had what some people call a hang-over," stated an emotional coach Jackson. "We all loved LJ as a brother and he was a big part of our team. It's been real tough this week for the team, but that is no excuse. We need to play better in the future or we will find ourselves outside of the playoffs looking in."

The Rebel Yell team was led by a solid game from Maurice Jones-Drew. His 101 yards rushing and one touchdown earned him his second Robert E. Lee gameball of the year. Newly acquired Willis McGahee showed the team his desire to win by running for 60 yards and a score. Unfortunately all of the players were not as sharp. Peyton Manning threw for 328 yards and 2 TDs, but his (not 1, not 2, not 3, but...) 6 interceptions all but negated his output. LenDale White had a tough matchup and was knocked out of the game early with a bruised knee. Dwayne Bowe and Torry Holt tried to replace the team leader Randy Moss, who was on bye, but were unable to find the endzone during their 100 yard receiving performances.

"We played like we had cement in our shoes," stammered Jackson. "We have to get over the LJ thing soon because the Rambling Gophs are coming to town this weekend. We can not play like this against them or we will be blown out of the water"

Hundreds of angry fans swarmed the lobby of the Thomas Jackson Memorial fieldhouse on the Rebel Yell complex today as information was prematurely leaked concerning a trade that involved Larry Johnson. The uprising was quickly put down by security, but not before a few reported injuries. During an afternoon press conference, it was confirmed that the rumors were true and that LJ was headed out of town.

"This is a very bitter sweet moment for me as I announce a trade that will send Larry Johnson, along with Jon Kitna, DeShaun Foster, Steve Smith and Terry Glenn to B.A.D.," announced GM Mark Saylor. "It is never easy to trade away a Rebel Yell team member, and harder yet to trade someone like Larry who will one day be installed in the Rebel Yell Hall of Fame. Unfortunately we can not operate this team on emotion alone and therefore needed to make a trade to help our championship run this year."

In return for the departing Rebel Yell players, the team will acquire Peyton Manning, Willis McGahee, and Wes Welker. The team surely has sacrificed the team next year for the sake of a the playoffs this year. The only remedy for the sorrow that all the fans feel would be nothing less than a SuperBowl ring.

The Rebels were leading into the fourth quarter of the game and the battle all but won when the Rebels' luck drastically turned. Running around the left side of the offensive line, Larry Johnson broke through a hole for another positive gain. But as AJ Hawk tried to haul him in, Johnson's right foot was caught underneath the defender. And at that moment, Johnson's season was over.

Johnson was carried off the field and was carted into the lockerroom not to return. At first, it was reported that Johnson had sustained a mild foot sprain, but after further tests, it looks like Johnson will miss the rest of the season with a broken foot. "Meow, what can I say?" commented a mellow Coach Jackson. "We finally start to see the old LJ out on the field and then in one play, he is gone. What ticks me off the most about this situation is that I have been telling upper management that we needed to sign Priest Holmes for depth, but they would not listen to little old me. MEOW!!!!"

Rumors have been swirling all over the Rebel Yell complex this week. Some say that GM Saylor has already made a trade with another team to replace Johnson in the lineup. Johnson, who still has 1 year left on his $19 million contract, would be highly coveted by many owners to be the focal point of their team in 2008. A recorded message awaits all calls to the Rebel Yell office with the message that GM Saylor has no comment at this time.

The Kodiak Bears were basically eliminated from the SFFL playoffs when they lost to the Rebel Yell 74-60. The Kodiak Bears, owned by the brother of Rebel Yell General Manager Mark Saylor, have the unfortunate luck of playing one of the highest scoring teams in the league each week. In Week 9, they came up against the Rebels who scored the league's most points behind a balanced attack.

"Today was bitter sweet for me," commented Saylor. "As a team, we performed magnificently. But in doing so, we knocked my brother's team out of the playoffs. Even if the Kodiak Bears would have won, they would have had an extremely tough uphill battle ahead of them."

The Kodiak Bears took an early lead in the game behind a Lee Evans touchdown pass, but the Rebels countered with Maurice Jones-Drew kickoff return for a touchdown. Half-way through the game, the teams were in a close battle, but then a quick succession of scores for Larry Johnson, LenDale White, and Randy Moss put the game out of reach. The Kodiak Bears made a last ditch effort with a score from Marion Barber, but the foot of Nick Folk sealed the deal as the clock winded down.

"Meow, what a game!" purred an ecstatic Coach Jackson. "We played well as a team with everyone scoring. I am a little concerned with the injury status of some of my players for next week, but other than that I am extremely pleased with my team." Dwayne Bowe left the game after suffering an injury on the first play of the game. Larry Johnson went down with a bad ankle injury late in the 4th quarter. The seriousness of both injuries will be determined later in the week.

The competition for the Robert E. Lee gameball was fierce in Week 9 between Jon Kitna and Larry Johnson. Before he was hurt, LJ ran for 53 yards and a score and caught 3 balls for 42 yards another score. Kitna threw for 252 yards with 2 touchdowns. "After consideration, I decided to give Jon the gameball this week," state Jackson. "Scoring from the QB position has been an achilles heel for the majority of the season and we need to recognize him."

The Minute Men led the Rebels for most of the afternoon, until the Rebels found a way to squeak it out in the last minute of the game. Chris Cooley's third and last catch of the day was the key play of the Rebels 49-45 win against replacement coach Brian Stump's much improved Minute Men. With time running out and no hope left for the trailing Rebels, Cooley takes that third catch into the endzone for the win. "As the game was winding down, I didn't think we would get another chance as the Minute Men were doing a great job of killing the clock," stated Coach Jackson. "And then Cooley woke the team up as he found a way into the endzone, Meow! There is no doubt who will be receiving the Robert E. Lee gameball today!"

The Rebels didn't explode like they are capable of doing, but instead had to grind out the win. "We couldn't find the endzone as much as I would have liked," complained GM Saylor. "But the team was still able to put up enough points for the win. We had a lot of players on bye this week and I have to give props to DeShaun Foster who game off the bench to rush for 62 yards with a touchdown." Kitna threw for over 268 yards, but didn't score. LenDale White ran for 133 yards, but was also kept out of the endzone. Randy Moss, the team's top scorer, was held to 3 catches, but did score his league leading 11th touchdown. Torry Holt had a great game with 110 yards and a score of his own.

With the win behind them, the Rebels start to prepare for the Kodiak Bears, owned by GM Saylor's brother Matt. The Kodiak Bears are 2-6 this year and have rebuilt mid-season, but are possible more dangerous now then the beginning of the season. This next game is a must win for the Rebels.

The SuperJets flew into town, but ended up stalling as they could never track down the Rebel Yell. The Rebels, behind another incredible Randy Moss performance, won their fourth game of the season 63-49. Moss caught just 4 passes, but went for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns and leads the SFFL with 10 TD catches. He almost got his 11th on a fake spike play, but the pass was overthrown by about 6 inches and forced Moss to step on the end line. "Moss deserves the Robert E. Lee gameball again this week," commented Coach Jackson. "It seems like every catch goes for a touchdown. There can be no doubt, meow, that he is the MVP of our team for the first half of the season."

A team cannot be a team based on one player's performances, and Moss got support from the re-merging running game. Larry Johnson ran for 112 yards and a score. LenDale White came off the bench and ran for his first career 100-yard game (104) and also scored.  Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 52 yards and added a score of his own.

One suspect and disappointing performance was that of Chris Cooley, who caught one pass for 3 yards. This snapped his 4 game touchdown streak and showed how any player can have a bad day.

The Hurricanes never saw the attack coming as the Rebel Yell crushed them 81-49 behind a long lost rushing game. It only took six weeks for the Rebel running attack to get on track, but when it did this past weekend, it sent a notice to the entire league. Maurice Jones-Drew led the Rebels by scoring 2 touchdowns and rushing for 125 yards, which garnered the second year player his first Robert E. Lee gameball of the season. Not to be outdone by MJD, Larry Johnson came out of hibernation to rush for 119 yards and his first touchdown of the season. "It's about time!" stated an overjoyed Saylor when talking about the strong performances from his starting running backs. "It's about time!"

MJD and LJ might have powered the attack, but they weren't the only solid performers. Randy Moss caught his league leading 8th touchdown pass, while Chris Cooley caught his 4th touchdown pass in the last four weeks to go along with 105 yards receiving. Nick Folk continued his strong rookie season with 9 point performance. Even newly acquired quarterback David Garrard added 15 points of his own with 221 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. Coach Jackson was seen running around the locker-room, possible high on catnip screaming "We are back, We are back." When he was finally cornered by the litter-box, he had this to say... "The team played great this week, meow, and we have served notice to the league that we will not be held down for long. Woe the teams that come against us in the weeks to come."

18 Points!!! 18 Stinking Points!! That is the total points scored by the starting Rebel running backs through 5 weeks this season. That would be 1.6 per player per start. With this type of number, it is quite obvious why the Rebels lost their third game in a row, 35-39 to the Water Boys.

"What am I to do?" purred a frustrated head coach Jackson. "We practice every day on running plays near the goal line, meow, but we can not seem to execute this year." The Rebel starting running backs have not hit pay dirt once this season. "If they are on the bench, they score... if they start, they fumble. There performance this year is just pathetic.

The Rebels didn't get much help from the rest of the team either. If not for a touchdown catch from Cooley and a late touchdown from Smith, the team would have been close to the lowest weekly score in SFFL history.

"What am I to do?"

Another week, another loss for the Rebel Yell. Even though the team is currently ranked 2nd in the SFFL power rankings, the team is only 2-2. The 46-49 loss to the 4th Down Bombs fueled the rage of GM Saylor to greater heights.

“Now the rest of the team decides to take the day off?” yelled Jackson. “If it weren’t for Randy Moss, meow, this team wouldn’t have a pulse. The running backs still have not scored more than a handful of points in any game and that just makes me sick. If it was up to me, I would trade all of the players tonight.”

Looking on the bright side, Larry Johnson rushed for over a hundred yards for the first time in the season. He has still not found the end-zone, but it looks like he is slowly coming out of his funk. Another solid performance from Randy Moss helped him secure his second consecutive Robert E. Lee gameball and third of the season.

The Rebel Yell and Rogue come to terms on a 5 player - 2 week trade that will give both teams depth and bye week replacements. Neil Rackers and Brian Leonard will depart for Melbourne Beach and the Rogue facilities today and should cross paths with TE Jeff King and WR Devery Henderson. Rebel fans should not get accustomed to these players, as they will be shipped back to Rogue after this weekend for DeAngelo Williams.

"We felt that we needed to get more backup power at RB in case DeShaun gets hurt his year," commented GM Saylor. "We know that DeShaun has a bad rep as injury prone, but it was something that we were not willing to chance."

The Rebel Yell recorded their first loss of the season losing 51-59 to the newest franchise in the SFFL, the Desperate Housewives. The loss was tough on Rebel GM Saylor from the standpoint that he was defeated by his sister-in-law. The contest was really never close as the Rebel Yell did not get support for the third week in a row from the running back position.

“Until furrrrrther notice, LJ and MJD will be benched and replaced by others who want to be out there fighting for our team,” said a irate HC Jackson. “I was embarrassed by the lack of production from the only two guys that have contracts for multiple years. I will not stand for it any longer.” Fortunately the Rebel Yell has many options at running back. Expect to see Foster and White leading the charge for the Rebels in weeks to come.

“If it wasn’t for our new kicker and Randy Moss, we wouldn’t have been any where close to the score that the housewives put up,” stated GM Saylor. “Some players come to play and others take practicing for granted.”

The Robert E. Lee gameball was given to Randy Moss for his 115 yard, 2 touchdown performance.

The first of two battles between the Rebel Yell and their arch-rival Rogue happened in the second week of the season. The gurus predicted that the Rebel Yell would have the highest score of the week, but that was only a slight advantage over the Rogue, who had the second highest predicted score. With the long history of the two teams, and the fact that GM Saylor was going to travel with the team to Melbourne Beach for the contest, the week leading up to the game was full of anticipation.

The game was as close as the gurus predicted and the result was the same with the Rebel Yell team pulling out a close call between two of the top teams for the week. The Rebel Yell did fulfill the predictions with the highest score in the SFFL league as the team got incredible performances from Steve Smith and Randy Moss. The contest went back and forth as both teams seemed to score at will.

“I think that the straw that broke the camels back was the third touchdown of the day for Steve,” stated Saylor. After catching a late 4th quarter pass over the middle, Smith was swarmed by many defenders, but somehow out of the pile came Smith romping the rest of the way to the end-zone untouched. For his incredible performance, Smith was awarded the Robert E. Lee gameball for week 2.

The Rogue made a late charge but was unable to make up the necessary ground in order to prolong the contest to Monday night. In the end, it would not have mattered as Cooley pulled in a touchdown for the Rebels on one of his two catches.

Looking closer at the performances of the Rebel Yell players, an ugly trend is developing. The team is not getting any production from the running back position as Larry Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew had another bad game. Without a balanced team, the Rebels can expect some loses in the future.

The Rebel Yell started off the season by narrowly beating the Shipyard Sharks 61-58, which was propelled by the passing game as expected pre-season. Kitna tossed 3 touchdowns and threw for 289 yards on his way to a 17 point day. Moss, Smith, and Holt all scored TDs during their 15, 11, 9 point days. The disappointing side to the team’s performance came in the running game. Larry Johnson scored 4 points, but definitely out-shown MJD with his 0 point day.

“It is quite evident that we have the passing game, but we need to work on our running attack,” says GM Saylor. “Getting 4 points total from our running game is unacceptable. I am sure that the coach will let those players hear about their lackluster performance first thing Monday morning.”

The first Robert E. Lee gameball of the season went to Randy Moss for his 15 point performance in the flex position. “He really could be the steal of the year for our team,” quipped Saylor. “No one seemed to want him at the auction, but we were willing to give him a chance.” That chance really seems to be panning out.

The Rebel Yell had a very successful auction on Sunday where they were able to pick up a solid team with plenty of depth and potential. Even Rogue head coach Petrillo made comments about how strong the Rebel Yell would be during the upcoming year.

Management went into the auction with two starting running backs on the roster: Larry Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew. After selecting Tory Holt, Steve Smith and then Randy Moss, it was quite evident that the team was going in a different direction from previous years. “We have been burnt many years by trying to spend too much money on a top 5 running back and then not having any money for depth,” commented general manager and owner Mark Saylor. “This year we emphasized the passing game. The key of the day was signing Jon Kitna for $6 early in the auction. This enabled us to take the money we allocated for the starting quarterback and move it to other positions. Without that money, we would not have been able to sign Randy.”

The team then signed DeShaun Foster, LenDale White, Tony Hunt, Warrick Dunn, and Brian Leonard at running back to provide depth for LJ and MJD. Rex Grossman was resigned by the Rebel Yell to provide depth behind Kitna and Chris Cooley and Neil Rackers were signed to fill out the roster.

This team brings high expectations for the 2007 season. Only time will tell if this team lives up to the potential.

For the second straight year, the Rebel Yell has changed their head coach. GM Saylor looked inside the ranks for the franchise to replace the 2006 coach Mike Shapiro, with the team's offensive coordinator. Jackson (who goes by only one name) will take over a team that is coming of a disappointing season where the team missed the playoffs by one win. Jackson brings to the table many years of football experience and a new philosophy of offense. "We are excited for the upcoming season and we expect nothing less than a long run through the playoffs," commented GM Saylor.

With a pending contract holdout looming, the Rebel Yell are worried about the status of franchise player Larry Johnson for the 2007 season. If the holdout comes to fruition, then the team might need to send LJ back to the auction pool or look for a team willing to take a chance on his contract. In other news, the team has decided to extend the contract of 2nd year running back Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew was the heart and soul of the 2006 team and was a wonderful surprise as the last person selected from the auction that year. Terms of the deal have not yet be disclosed.