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CHECK OUT OUR
NEW SUPPORT THE TEAMS
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Mason-Dixon 9-man Challenge
Hagerstown MD
November 21-22, 2009
Congratulations to our Spring OC09 Champions!
Packers (9-man A)
Lynch Mob (9-man B)
Carnage (7-man)
D4 (4-man)
Congratulations also to our Baltimore 09 Champions!
Baltimore Packers (9-man)
D4 (4-man)
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
Pool C- Baltimore Packers, NJ Raiders, and Philly Hurricanes
Something old, something new...
Very interesting bracket. The Packers and Raiders have two of the longer tenures in 9-man, and teams know what
to expect from them: big linemen, bigger receivers, and physical play. The Packers have played 2 games since Orlando,
so how long will it take to get their continuity up? The Raiders aren't playing in the spring (that I can find) so how
soon will they be up to speed?
The Hurricanes are the new kids on the block. They played the Palmyra PA tournament with 13 guys, and are pretty
athletic. This is a big step to move into a 9-man tourney, and they are going to need depth and big plays to be a factor
in this pool.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Pool B- Heat (NJ), Mckenzies Tigers (MD) and NE Baltimore Trojans (MD)
The Heat will play anywhere and everywhere, and are contenders at each tournament. They have the most speed of
any receivers, and they are more athletic than most teams in this tournament. Defensively, they will give up points,
which might knock down their seed for Sunday. After losing in the first round of single elimination in the St.
Patricks Day tournament, they've played once, a 7-0 loss to the Ravens. Is that good for their psyches?
The McKenzies Tigers are athletic and physical. They like to hit, and they will take their shots. If Doc
can get the snap and the ball out to their playmakers, this could be a team to reckon with. They are said
to be going to Ocean City shorthanded, but their best players can work either side of the ball.
The NE Baltimore Trojans will grind you. They don't put up a lot of points, and Cotty Weston's defense doesn't
allow a lot of points. The question is if the Trojans can match up speed wise against the Heat receivers. The
Trojan OL is big, and they are bringing a full squad to OC. They have the best kicker in this pool, which could become
really importand on Saturday.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Pool A- MetroDawgs, NJ Ravens, Maryland Bengals
This could be a very interesting pool.
The MetroDawgs bring a full roster to every tourney, and won the USFTL Orlando tourney in January. However, they
haven't been challenged playing 8-man in the NVFFL (Northern Virginia), going 5-0 with an average score of 29-5
while resting veterans for large portions of the games. They are a physical team, with veteran skill players and a strong
pass rush. The Ravens and Bengals won't be competitive if they don't slow the rush and stop the screens and direct snaps.
The NJ Ravens are 6-0-1 in the WWFFL (Queens) after a strong showing in the St. Patrick's Day Tournament as the All-Stars
(2-1-1). They have a solid receiving corps, and are playing well coming in. They have a pocket passer, so
holding off the pass rush will be the key to their success offensively.
The Maryland Bengals are a young team out of Baltimore, and tend to play as well as their competition. They finished
2nd in the Palmyra PA tournament in March, and have split their first four games in the MDFFA (Baltimore), with all games
within 6 points. They have athleticism, but the trenches are the deciding factor in their games.
Pool B will go up tonight...
Andy
Saturday, April 21, 2007
The Tournament is Announced!
First, this is going to be a great tournament. We have the big boys (Metro-Dawgs, Heat, Packers and Real Deal).
We have the solid teams (Ravens and Raiders). We have six teams coming from the MDFFA (Packers, Scorpions, McKenzies
Tigers, Maryland Bengals and Trojans). We've got two teams noone knows (Hurricanes and Tequila Mockingbird).
And you don't know how close we were to 18.
A couple administrative things:
We will have have scoreboard on each field.
- Guys, I want to give the teams and players as much credit as I can. Please take the time to click on the Teams link
and fill out your team write-up. This is the easiest way to hype your squad!
- Teams, please read the rules. Also, please make sure your guys don't have pants the same color as their flags.
I'm not the uniform police, but that's just common sense. The same goes for pants with pockets, jeans, etc. It
is to your advantage to wear football pants.
- The Sunday bracket will be posted in the hotel and at the host bar approximately one hour after the last game on Saturday.
I will not be contacting every team to tell them game times. If you need to get in contact with me on Saturday, call
my cell (443-996-9677).
- There are three teams in every pool, and 5 teams from the MDFFA. Unfortunately, that means there will be a game
between two league teams in the pool play.
- We will not have overtime in pool play. This will keep us closer to being on time, and create another tiebreaker
for the re-seeding for Sunday.
- I will be doing write-ups for each pool, starting Sunday night with Pool A. Take the time to click on the Ocean
City link at the left side of the page.
- If anyone has a tournament that they would like to affiliate with the Flag Football Challenge Series, it costs nothing
and you can promote for free on this site. I really don't care who the tournament is affiliated with, or if it is affiliated
at all.
Good luck and good weather this week...
-Andy
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
The Truth about the 9-man Teams
I've been watching.
First you get the New England vs NY/NJ argument on Real Deal's board. Then you get the South/Texas vs the Northeast
argument on the MCFFU board. Everyone claims their region has the best competition, and the best teams.
There are basically six main areas of 9-man flag football, and all are in the Eastern half of the US. (I'm sorry
West, but until we hear about one of your tournaments, I can't include you here.)
- The Dirty South- Atlanta was a hotbed of teams in the past, and ATL Connection
won the USFTL Orlando tournament in 2006. They are the team to beat at home, but they travel (more than 2 hours) to
one tournament a year, and they've ransacked the other GA teams for players. Phase II is the other
major participant at the larger tournaments, and routinely places in the middle of the pack in Orlando. The MCFFU Atlanta
tournament in December 06 was cancelled due to lack of turnout. Getting teams to go on the road is hindered by
finances, and they don't play shorthanded. Birmingham reportedly has a league, but they don't trust
organizations and don't leave the state. The Tampa Hawks have been competitive the last two seasons
in Orlando, but haven't travelled to other tournaments.
- Texas- Turned out very well at MCFFU Dallas 07, with 11 teams representing, with the
Hot Boyz winning the title. There are good teams, average teams, and new teams here as well. These teams
have never been enamored with the older organizations, so they've been independent for the past 5 seasons or so. It
appears a few teams will make the trip to Atlanta in June 07, but this will be their first tournaments out of state in a while.
- The Carolinas tend to produce middle of the pack teams. Unanimous Decision and
Carolina Connection are solid teams, but have not proven to be a threat against the higher level teams. These
teams play the local tournaments, but these tournaments rarely draw more than 6 teams.
- Maryland/DC/PA is an enigma. There are two very good and very experienced teams (Baltimore
Packers and the Metro-Dawgs). They play in as many tournaments as they can find each year
(5 and 8 tournaments played last year, respectively). The second tier of ineligible in this region participate in 8-man
Ineligible, where they feel they have a better chance to win the tournament. Teams like the Baltimore Scorpions,
Team Avari, Da Villains, Beltway Bruins and more routinely play against the Packers and Metro-Dawgs in league play,
but drop down a level to 8-man for tournaments. These teams have all the ability to improve the amount of competitive
teams in 9-man, but haven't made the move yet. The Pennsylvania and Western Maryland teams tend to
be physical with good-sized linemen, but they rarely travel to the larger tournaments other than Orlando, and tend to be severely
shorthanded when they do travel.
- New York and New Jersey have several top teams, with a solid middle level of play. The
Heat and the Real Deal are constantly in the top tier of tournament results, as were the
Titans before their sabbatical. Free the Fan Falcons had a 2nd place finish in Orlando, but
need to stay on the road to be a full-time force. The Raiders and Ravens are solid
teams. The 8-man teams from the Long Island league only travel to AFTFL Virginia Beach and USFTL
Orlando, so they aren't in the mainstream tournament scene. The Enforcers could be one of the up and
coming challengers, if they moved to 9-man full-time.
- New England has become a more active locale due to the efforts of the NEFFA. The NEFFA
throws three tournaments a year which will eventually be a draw, and the USFTL throws two tourneys in CT each year.
However, they need to have their teams travel outside the region in order to gain more respect. The Ciccone's
Outlaws have had good showings in Orlando in the past few seasons, but that is the only tournament they travel to
outside the region each season. The Silverbacks have demonstrated they have ability by winning
USFTL Orlando (8-man) in January, and by putting up good results against the Outlaws and Outkast, but their first foray outside
the region was disrupted by an ice storm. Outkast/Warren won the 8-man bracket in
Orlando 3 seasons ago, but tend to be inconsistent. The rest of the teams in New England are middle of the pack,
and only play in the local tournaments.
So here is the breakdown (names listed in each group are in no particular order):
"A" teams (These teams go on the road, play with whichever players made it to the field, and will play anyone anywhere.):
Metro-Dawgs, Baltimore Packers, Real Deal, the Heat, the Titans.
"Home" teams (These teams have done well, earned some respect, but now need to hit the road to spread the word.): ATL Connection,
FTF Falcons, Hot Boyz (TX), Ciccone's Outlaws, Silverbacks.
"Solid" teams (These teams will win games, and be competitive, but are just below the top tier.): Outkast/Warren, NJ Ravens,
NJ Raiders, Unanimous Decision, Carolina Connection.
"Growing" teams (These teams could be challengers, if they step up to the higher level of competition.): Tampa Hawks,
Beltway Bruins, Baltimore Scorpions, Long Island Enforcers.
"Unknown" teams (These teams have talent, but aren't known outside their area because they rarely go anywhere.): Cavemen/MGD/Redd
Rhinos (PA), Baltimore Blaze, the other Texas teams, Rhode Warriors, NY Devils.
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Welcome to new thoughts, ideas and plans for flag football!
We look forward to growing our game, without the petty
arguments of previous organizations. Our goal is to enable more teams, players and regions to participate, and
to bring national and corporate attention to Flag Football!
This site is designed for open conversations about flag football,
irregardless of organization.
Need somewhere to promote your league, team or tournament?
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We are excited that you are visiting our web site. We are here to provide a forum for flag football's ineligible
style. Our focus is to bring more attention to the closest thing to pads, and to grow our game to its past heights.
I look forward to hearing from you, and I personally look forward to what 2007 can bring! Feel
free to email me with any questions or comments.
Andy Hoffman
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Please get in touch to offer comments and join our mailing list.
 
The Flag Football Challenge Series
*801 Long Bar Harbor Rd, Suite 200 *
* Abingdon MD 21009 *
(410) 612-9231
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