The Doormat Bowl is just a few weeks away, and the temperature rose to -6 degrees in Krustkarsk this morning, and the Lambs and Dolts were able to get in some practice after heater trucks thawed out the turf in the Raisa Gorbachyova Soccer Stadium. At the airport, which is closed due to neglect, teens drank Vodka and drag raced trucks in the pleasant winter weather.
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| Raisa Soccer Stadium |
"We are so bursting with proud to be hosting a real American professional football game here in Russia," said Vladimir Putskiya, mayor of Krustkarsk.
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| Krustkarsk in January |
Putskiya said they have sold over 120,000 tickets for the Doormat Bowl. "We have only the 80,000 seats so it should be a noisy crowd," he said. Last year's Doormat Bowl was at Grant High School in Portland, Oregon. The mostly soccer-fan crowd of 2,400 spent the better part of the game playing hacky sack. So the Lambs and Dolts were happy to be playing in a bigger venue with a larger crowd that will actually watch the game.
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| Training Facility for Indianapolis in Krustkarsk, Russia |
"It's been great," said Sam Bradford, QB, St. Louis. "The people here have really opened up their arms to us, and they think we are tough." Bradford, who threw for 2,870 yards this season, more than half the yards of Drew Brees, said the cold weather should not affect his passing game. "I seldom complete anything over 5 yards down field, so the cold weather shouldn't be a problem," he said.
The Lambs averaged 12.1 points per game in 2011, the lowest scoring average in the NFL, so the Indianapolis Dolts, who averaged 15.2 points, will have to get creative to find a way to stay out of the end zone or the uprights enough for the Lambs to win.
"It's all going to come down to defense," said A.J. Ebbs, LB, Indianapolis. "And ours is much worse."
Not exactly. The Dolts gave up 26.9 points per game as opposed to the Lambs' 25.4. However, the Dolts did give up over 100 yards more in rushing in 2011, and this game, in the sub-zero weather, will be lost on the ground. "Our linebackers over commit on a regular basis," Ebbs said. "And on that rock-hard cold turf, running backs will get a lot of speed and beat us to the corners regularly. We figure to give up at least 300 yards on the ground in this game. The Lambs will never overcome that."
Look for more updates from Krustkarsk at the Doormat Bowl approaches.
funniest damn post ever.
ReplyDeleteDoormat Bowl Wednesday just can't get here fast enough!
ReplyDeleteI'm making guacamole ice cubes right now!
ReplyDelete1000 more yards?? really?? Holy Cow.
ReplyDeleteStatistics Alert: That's 100 yards, not 1000. Typung on a schmart fon is a reel mesd. And the Lambs are actually the worse ones, it was just the last four games that the Dolts collapsed on rush defense. So Ebbs doesn't know what he is talking about. On another note, the Lambies have the 7th rated pass defense in the NFL. Wow, how did they do that? Maybe nobody had to pass? Dolts are 15th. (Packers, Saints, Giants, and Patriots are the bottom feeders in this category.) Anyway, the Dolts Lambs will be challenged to lose with a pass defense like that. But I still think the Doormat Bowl will come down to the ground game. As for the other playoffs, Packers and Saints are already gone, and Giants and Patriots are definitely weak on pass defense. If Alex Smith and his receivers can rise to the occasion, SF can win the whole enchilada.
ReplyDeleteLambs did it by giving up huge gainers in various places in the game, often a big run or punt return. But also the bomb. So, they'd play fine for a while, and then open up the freeway on one play. The Dolts have their work cut out for them. Somebody's gonna have to fall down on those plays, but not look too obvious. Also Lambs led league in missed tackles, which was accomplished by team-wide practicing of the 'Hope they Fall Down' technique that was popular when you could spear people with your helmet. Now that you can't do that, people aren't so scared of you throwing your armless body at them. Lambs haven't caught up to the new rules. Still tackling like it's 1999.
ReplyDelete