Shoulder Shrug Grades (Wks 1-3)--Guest Writer Tim Ghiorso

The first three weeks are in the books for the 2011 Flag Football season. Shrug, after a disappointing season last year (2-6), are making noise.

Shrug came out blazing the first week as if they had been counting down the days since the final game last spring.  The offense was clicking early and Shrug scored on their very first possession. The story of the game however was the improved Shrug Defense. They shut out their first opponent 25-0, forcing 4 interceptions (two of which were returned for touchdowns). In week two Shrugs offense continued to shine. Two time-consuming drives led by Kyle Woods kept FOSS in control. The defense shut down the “Ludacris” offense by forcing 3 more turnovers and only allowing 6 points on a fluke hail mary touchdown. Shrug were clicking on all cylinders, but ran into a wall against “Miner Details” in their third contest. Shrug left out some “minor details” in their game plan which included playing against a 6’5 massive white dude. He may have looked old, but he was tall, strong, and quite fast as he burned Shrugs defense twice with long bombs and was unguardable in the red zone. Shrugs Defense was in disarray the whole game as the QB from the other team worked out every “minor detail” of Shrugs Defense. Shrug kept switching back and forth between man and zone and by the time they figured it out, it was too late. Shrug had a chance to come back, but the D failed to make a 4^th quarter stop to continue the game.  Although Shrugs D suffered a setback, the bright spot was the Offense. Except for a late interception the offense did extremely well. Scoring on 3 touchdown drives and even making a comeback late in the game. Shoulder Shrug is still one of the top teams in the league and they will get a chance to practice and work out some “Miner Details” for next game.

So after 3 weeks of action here are the grades for Shoulder Shrug:

Offense: A-    Shrugs Offense led by QB Kyle Woods has been efficient all season long. Shrug has youth and speed and has an array of offense playmakers.

Defense:  B+   I would have rated Shrugs defense an A if it wasn’t for their last game allowing 28 points and forcing no turnovers. However they have a lot of talent on defense and just need more time to mesh. They are also very good at forcing interceptions (7 over first 2 games)

Special teams:   F   Shrug has only had to punt once this season. Taylor Gordon botched it.

INJURY REPORT

Kyle Woods: Probable sore throwing shoulder

Nate Ghiorso: Probable Knee

Ian Dyrness: Questionable Ankle

Stat Leaders:

Interceptions: 3 Tim Ghiorso, Taylor Gordon

Receiving Touchdowns: 4 Nate Ghiorso

Receptions: Taylor Gordon

Throwing Touchdowns: Kyle woods

Key Additions

            The front office of Shoulder Shrug was very disappointed after last seasons record (2-6) and did something about it. Shrug upgraded both their offense and defense with a few key free agent additions this offseason.

Taylor Gordon, a former Rugby player out of Sierra College, signed with the team and has been a huge addition. He leads the team in receptions and is tied for lead in interceptions. He plays center for shrug and is considered Kyle Woods’ safety valve. However he doesn’t just play it safe. On Shrugs first drive in the first game Kyle called for Taylor to do a seam route. Taylor said later that, “as soon as he called the play for me I got butterflies and I knew I was going to get a touchdown”. And he did just that catching a 50-yard touchdown pass from Kyle. However, there is concern from the front office for next year that Taylor might hold out to restructure his contract because he actually had to pay to even get on the team in the 1^st place.

Another edition was Eric Ramazzini or “carne asada,” a very speedy and athletic player. Eric contributes to both the offense and defense. He hasn’t shown up in the stat book defensively yet, but the stats don’t tell the whole story. Eric came up big in coverage and had key pass deflections on defense. The next game he caught a touchdown on offense.

Also, Shrug added Kyle’s Cousin, Jordan.

Lastly, FOSS decided a QB change was also necessary for Shrugs growth. Last year’s starter, Tyler Bennett, has been replaced by new GM and QB Kyle Woods. Kyle is having a comeback year after struggling as Tyler’s backup in the spring. Now, Kyle doesn’t have to worry about losing his job back to Tyler and can sling it without worry. It has worked with Kyle only throwing 2 INT in 3 games and throwing 9 touchdowns. With these new additions and a capable starting QB, Shrug is confident and their ceiling grows even higher. 

Week 3 Highlights:

 Week 3 Highlights Video