Eagles Fly To Victory Over #1 Ranked Raiders

What had seemed to be the coldest game played this season, it wasn't enough to stop these resurrected Eagles. On the first possession of the Eagles Roque threw an interception and it seemed that those mighty Raiders were going to cruise to an easy victory once again, but the defending champions were not gonna go down so easy. On that possession of the Raiders, Armando answered back intercepting a pass!!! Midway through the game and the Eagles with a two touchdown lead the Raiders stepped up their game and evened the score up. Following an Eagles timeout (in which Rocky came up with a game plan) Roque and Armando connected with 9 of his 13 catches!! Incredibly the Raiders didn't have an answer to stop the former Mvp Armando. On the last drives of both teams they couldn't connect on the two point conversion. Finally Roque found Eman (the runner up for this years Mvp) in the back of the end zone to beat the Raiders. Now is this Eagles team making a comeback winning 3 out of their last 4 games? Are they for real? Or are they going to choke? Well by the looks this team is ready to take that 3 spot in the standings. We all don't know for sure but i can say this much, with 3 games remaining for most teams they better be careful because these Eagles are anxious to win!!!
- Published by Special Guest Contributor

Access Granted To All

Recently, and probably more so this season than in previous seasons, this website has failed to keep up with posting headlines in a timely manner. There are only a handful of people have access to update the site, and while they make it an effort to update videos, standings and statistics a day or two after the games, sometimes they don't get enough time during the week to post headlines promptly or even at all. So in response to this predicament, the CFL will grant access to anyone who wants to post headlines on this site. All that is needed is a gmail account. Anyone who wants to post on this site can email us at churchfootballleague@gmail.com with their gmail account and we will send them a link that will give them access to post on this site. That's it and its that simple. We will continue to try to post headlines whenever possible, which hasn't been regularly as of late, but if some are unhappy about a lack of headlines, there's finally something they can do about it.

"Your Vote Can Make A Difference"

At least that is what they tell us. Even though several players and fans voted for having four teams in the playoffs this season, that outcome is probably unlikely at the moment. Having 4 out of 5 teams in the playoffs seems ridiculous from a competitive standpoint because it would render the majority of the 12-game regular season worthless. Why not just have every team team in the post-season as some players have seriously suggested? Um, basically for the same reason we stated two sentences ago. What logical incentive is there to have the best record possible if it makes no significant difference in the playoffs? There's barely any worth while incentive as it is now for the teams competing to make the post-season. Just a bye week and the coin toss for the top seeds? Surely there could be more. But for now, the CFL Committee has decided that it'll only be 3 teams in the playoffs. Its a long shot, but perhaps, just maybe, there's a chance there could be more than three teams in the playoffs, but that would probably require a playoff system where the fourth seed plays the third seed, and the winner takes on the second seed and so on, in order to reward the teams who finish with the better records during the year. Bottom line, if a team cant finish with more wins than losses, they probably don't deserve to be in post-season. While the CFL tends to be more of a pompous monarchy than a democracy at times, if there's enough support for expanding the number of teams in the playoffs, the CFL Committee will listen and seriously consider arguments for that case. The comment forum is open, so speak now or forever hold your peace.

Worst To First?

Fifty-five to twenty-one. Are the Eagles really that good, or are the Patriots just that bad? Was it the Eagles defense or Eagles offense? Maybe its both? Maybe neither? Whatever the case, the battle between the two worst teams in the league was thee most lob-sided game of this season. The Patriots basically had no answer for the Eagles two leading candidates for MVP. Eman and Armando went a combined 11-for-11, hauling in 6 of those catches for touchdowns, and scoring another 2 touchdowns on the ground! Just an amazing performance by these two individuals (even though it took them half the season to finally have one). One would think that with the Patriots winning the coin toss, and the Eagles turning the ball over on downs three times, that the game would of been a lot closer, even competitive, but unfortunately the Patriots just picked one of the worst days to play one of their worst games of the season. They lost a fumble, threw a pick, and committed six total turnovers. If you want a recipe for disaster, there it is. A win would have given the Patriots the same amount of wins as the Eagles and the fourth spot in the standings, but they now sit at the bottom of the standings. Despite their 1-5 record, the Patriots aren't definitely out of it. Yet. They could still conceivably finish first in the standings being only three and a half games out of first with six to go, but they're probably going to need a lot of help. Fortunately, all the Patriots need, and everyone else for that matter, is a spot in the playoffs, and the Patriots are only two games out of that spot at the moment.

Refs Tried, But Didn't Get It Right

While all official CFL referees strive to make the correct call every play, the referees got it wrong last week on a two-point conversion attempt by the Ravens with an unusual outcome. An offensive penalty was called against the Ravens for clipping when they converted the extra point, and after some deliberations by the disagreeing officials, they ruled it would be unfair to give the team that committed the penalty the benefit of having another try at the extra point because theoretically the offensive team could just commit an offensive penalty on the extra point every time they were in danger of not converting it in order to retry it just a few farther yards out, thereby giving the offensive team an advantage when they were at fault. Needless to say, after review, the CFL referees got that call wrong. Former NFL referee Jerry Markbreit answers a similar question posed to him on ChicagoSports.com saying: "The defender's choice is to accept the penalty ... or decline, which, of course, would give the offense two points." So despite the fact that it could be advantageous for the offensive team to commit a penalty on an extra point attempt, the Ravens should have been assessed the penalty and been forced to retry the extra point last week. Unfortunately, other teams have been screwed worst by other erroneous calls in the past, though never purposefully. Every single official CFL referee will make the call impartially and to the best of their ability, but they wont always get the call right. Several weeks ago some players adamantly felt the referees purposefully made a call against them, or actually, that they didn't make a pass interference call intentionally because they felt the officials favored the other team. Despite the league's mandate to "administer the league as honest and fair as possible... to the best of the league’s ability" and the CFL's strict, unbiased and rigorous emphasis on officiating, we can't convince any players of the referees' objective and impartial intentions. The inadvertent contact "no-call" that some players were upset about was indeed correct. The NFL rulebook on pass interference states:

"Actions that do not constitute offensive pass interference include but are not limited to:

(a) Incidental contact by a receiver’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball or neither player is looking for the ball.

(b) Inadvertent touching of feet when both players are playing the ball or neither player is playing the ball.

(c) Contact that would normally be considered pass interference, but the ball is clearly uncatchable by involved players."

Obviously, while not all rules in the NFL Rulebook will apply or be the same as in the CFL, the majority of them are. With certainty we can say that CFL officials are definitely not as corrupt as other officials in recent months that have been convicted of gambling in the NBA. All our referees unequivocally strive to make the correct call no matter what team they're gambling on, and that you can be certain of.

Fifteen Minute Rule Proposed

A new rule has been proposed by some players to the CFL Committee in order to encourage the timely start of scheduled games. Last week both games began more than 30-minutes after their scheduled start time, and some games have started a lot later than that for no significant reason. Suffice to say that this tardiness is unfair to the team that arrives on time and unacceptable to everyone else who has their day delayed for no good reason, so a 15-minute rule has been proposed that would penalize the team that does not arrive within 15-minutes of the scheduled start time by forfeiting the coin toss. Technicalities and specifics will be discussed this weekend but the rule is as simple as it sounds: If a team cant start playing within those 15-minutes because some players are late, and the other team has enough players to begin the game, then the tardy team would lose the coin toss. So if this rule is indeed approved by the CFL Committee after this week's games, then some players may want to consider not turning the clock back this Sunday so that they get to the game on time next week.

Can't Be Saved?

Can the Eagles season be saved? Not since 2002 when the Titans went 2-5 after winning the CFL Championship (only to win it again that year, and don't ask how) has a team fallen so low as the 2007 Eagles. A third of the way through the season and the Eagles now stand at a dismal 1-3, tied for last place in winning percentage! How does a 13-4 team (including the playoffs) go to a 1-3 team almost overnight? Well for one, the Eagles have had enormous roster issues this season. The Eagles had to let go last season's sack-record holder, Norman, because if his availability to only play in less than half the games this season; the Eagles number two scoring receiver last season, Gonz, has appeared in only one game and has practically abandoned his team for the past several weeks; and Marty left the team last week because of several commitments he has to make at school. Even though Armando and Eman rank number two and four respectively in (non-quarterback) points scored per game, these two players have been incredibly inconsistent and unreliable in the most crucial moments of the game. The Eagles roster problems seem to have been resolved at the moment, but the results have definitely not been stellar. Their patchwork of a team turned the ball over three times, registered one of the lowest receiving percentages of the season and ultimately lost to the Raiders 41-50 their last time out. Considering the way they played that game, perhaps its surprising the Eagles didn't lose by more or at least get blown out. Maybe its even more startling that in both of their losses to the Raiders that the Eagles led by two touchdowns at one point, only to relinquish that lead; and that in their other loss to the Ravens, that the Eagles only lost by two touchdowns considering they committed three turnovers and had the slower Norman, Marty and Roque guarding the Ravens' incredibly quick top-tier receivers. Could the Eagles be on the verge of breaking out of their slump and retaking their 13-4 championship form if they only cut their mistakes and stop breaking down on defense? If past performance is an indicator of future performance, then that answer is probably no. But if the Eagles can get a really solid outing this Sunday against an exceptionally good Ravens squad, then maybe the Eagles still have hope.

Ravens Superb Game Enough To Overcome Raiders' Equally Splendid Performance

It was a battle between the top two teams in the league as the Raiders and Ravens faced off this past Sunday. A good game was expected, and these two squads definitely delivered on that. Very few mistakes, if any, were made in this match by either team. The Raiders went 21-for-23 while the Ravens completed 7 of their 8 in pass attempts! A game this superb has probably never been played in the history of the CFL. And a game this flawless could only be lost by the team who committed the first turnover, but then again, these two team played so well that this game didn't contain a single one. Every single score was answered by the other team with another score. So it was that the Ravens defeated the Raiders 50-41 in dramatic fashion. Edwin gunned the ball about half the distance of the field to an outstretched receiver; Hernan hauled in a spectacular catch over Frank and the rest was history! The Ravens scored an incredible four kickoff returns for touchdowns, with Javy accounting for two of them. On the Raiders side of the ball, Sanchy went 11-for-11 in catch attempts turning out 4-first downs and 3-touchdowns. This Sunday the Raiders get their first crack at Christian and the surprising Patriots, while the Ravens get their second shot at the Eagles as they seek to go up a critical 2-0 on the defending Champs this season. After last week's performance, the Ravens are clearly distinguishing them one of the top teams in the league, if not thee top team, and a victory over the Eagles in Week 7 would only further support that argument.

Patriots Avoid Being Written Off

After the Patriots were embarrassed by becoming victims of the largest margin of defeat by any team this season, they bounced back in convincing manner against the Titans. Many players had written off the Patriots after their blow-out loss to the Ravens in their first game of the year, and the Titans no less were predicting an even greater slaughter even though they wouldn't have their tardy captain for the first part of their contest! But to the Titans dismay, half way through the game it appeared like there indeed wouldn't be massacre. Despite their disappointment the Titans still had to be pretty happy in the position they were in, never relinquishing the with just a few more scores to go. Nemo also finally arrived to try to help the Titans close out the game, but things quickly turned sour on the Titans. Nemo threw a pair of touchdown passes, but he also threw two critical interceptions that would prove to be costly! The Patriots rallied strong in the final possessions of the game as Christian returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Even though Christian, last season's second ranked player in total catches per game, didn't make a single reception, he did throw for 6 touchdowns showing the fans in attendance their ain't nothing he cant do, except ride the bench! The Patriots defeated the Titans 50-36 on Sam's game winning TD reception, so now the Patriots will square off against the 3-1 Raiders in their well earned Sunday night prime-time slot under the lights and will hope to avoid going 0-2 against the two top teams in the league.

Most Prolific Passing Team Ever?

Last season the Titans realized almost 300 catches, averaging an incredible 21 catches a game and shattering the record they set in 2004 when they averaged just over 16 catches a game. This season, the Titans appear to be well on their way to breaking that record once more. They're averaging 24.5 total catches a game, and though we're only 2 games into the season, the Titans certainly have a good shot at making history again with what will probably be a shorter than usual 9-game regular season. After such a remarkable accomplishment and run since 2004, the Titans certainly have to be considered one of the most prolific passing teams in CFL history, if not ever. Just how have the Titans achieved such a dominant position in this area of the game? The obvious answer is by just passing the dang ball, and passing it often. But what else can their superiority in this category be attributed to? Is it the players or the system? Well, surprisingly, despite the fact that the Titans led the league in completions the past 4 seasons (including this one), they have never led the league in receiving percentage or touchdown percentage once in that same span. So while the Titans are definitely throwing more passes and getting them caught, one can argue that they're just not achieving them in superior ways. Just because you hit the target more times than someone else who shot fewer times doesn't mean you outdid them. Its no secret the Titans eat up yardage and catches by dinking and dunking the ball down the field, but when an opponent manages to put the clamps on their passing game, the Titans' heavy reliance on their aerial game could become a great weakness. Unlike the Titans, the Eagles have actually lead the league in fewest catches per game in 3 of the last 4 seasons since 2003 but with a little greater success in the post season than the Titans. The Eagles have appeared in every Superbowl since 2003 when the CFL eliminated the ridiculous 2-team division format, but while the Titans haven't made to the Big Game as much, these two teams still have the same amount of Championships in that span. This Saturday sets the stage for what will be an intriguing look into two very different styles of play. Will the passing game prevail over the running game? Well, that depends on how much of each these two teams plan to do, but the only true measure of either teams' success will perhaps be determined by whatever team is able to take this season's 2007 CFL Championship.

Raiders Capture Primetime Spotlight

Looking to build on their success last weekend against the Eagles, the Raiders sought to obtain sole possession of the top spot as they battled the Titans in CFL's Primetime slot under the lights. Early in the game, Nemo pulled one of the first blunders of the season by letting Tank recover the ball in the endzone on the kickoff. That mistake seemed to basically set the tone for the game as the Raiders easily piled on more points than the Titans winning the game 54-26. Two games into the season, the Raiders look to be well on their way to becoming one of the top teams in the league yet again, once more demonstrating a remarkable ability to consistently rank in the upper echelon of the CFL, year in and year out.

Eagles Reign In CFL Superbowl VI

The Eagles captured that elusive CFL title with a 75-49 victory over the Raiders on Saturday, and fittingly the Eagles attained that Championship in the same manner they attained some of their most toughest and improbable victories of the season: By yet again overcoming a difficult deficit in the late stages of the game to win in stunning form. The Eagles got off to a sluggish start and the Raiders took advantage of that by capitalizing on two major defensive breakdowns by Armando and Eman that Victor and Sanchez scored on. The Eagles also had problems early on getting pressure on the quarterback against the Raiders unusual blitz protection strategy, which proved to be quite effective as the Raiders jumped out to a 49 to 35 lead. With the Eagles down by 2-TD’s and the Raiders 3 scores and a 3-point conversion away from the title, the possibility of an Eagles Championship this season was highly in doubt. Indeed, if it was a regular season game or even a playoff game up to 50-points the Raiders might have already won that game, but the Superbowl is up to 72-points and maybe it was this lengthy and arduous contest that proved to be the downfall of the Raiders. After very little success in stopping the Raiders offense, the Eagles used a different approach in reaching the quarterback and adjusted to force several urgently needed turnovers-on-downs. Armando, who should now probably change his name to Armando Hester (after the Chicago Bears explosive return specialist, Devin Hester), once again returned a kickoff for touchdown for the 12th time all season (including 2 in the post season) to tie the game at 7-TD's a piece. After his TD-return Armando told his team that the Raiders looked very tired and that now was the time to step up their game and take it to them. The Eagles responded to his challenge in compelling fashion with a cunning "flea-flicker" play that isolated Eman on Tank in which Roque threw an easy touchdown strike to him. Gonz and Norman turned in some very impressive defensive drives and all the momentum was now turning towards the Eagles. In a play that probably sealed the Raiders doom, Roque and Armando got some heavy pressure on the Raiders quarterback to force the fumble which Roque ran back nearly the full length of the field for the touchdown! The final touchdown of the game came on a midfield pass from Roque to Armando, over 3-time MVP Frank, to give the Eagles the 75-49 victory! It was a very cold but great game, at least from the Eagles perspective. The Raiders fought hard. Tank and Frank connected on many short-range passes, while Ernie once again showed glimpses of his tremendous receiving abilities. But despite the Raiders gutsy performance, the Eagles are now undisputed CFL Champs! It took many seasons and four straight Superbowl tries, but the Eagles finally got it right. With so many questions and uncertainties concerning next season, no matter what happens the Eagles will be sure to savor every moment as their reign as Champions cause perhaps no other team more than the Eagles knows how agonizing and difficult it is to finally reach the top.

CFL Superbowl VI Pregame Report

After five months, 32 games and more than 2,000 plays since the start of the '06-'07 season, the finale is now at hand. The Eagles and Raiders will step onto the CFL's biggest stage and battle it out for the right to be named this year's greatest! Legacies are created, champions are anointed and careers are defined, deservedly so or not, by this one game. Only about two handfuls of players have ever raised the trophy as champs, and the Eagles and Raiders collectively carry 6 of those 11 current players to ever win a CFL Championship. Frank (2), Sanchy (1), and Tank (2) are the only '06-'07 Raiders to experience Superbowl victories, while Armando (1), Gonz (2) and Norman (1) are the only players on this year's Eagles squad to have done the same. Less than a quarter of the 45 players to ever play in the CFL have achieved Champion status since 2001, and that number will only increase slightly after this game. The Superbowl marks the end of a very long and tough season, and unfortunately, just like the Bears in Miami, one of these team's season will painfully come to end, but the other will enjoy the spoils of an all-expense paid night out and the acclaim of rightfully being named CFL Champions.