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 Week 8

Brats Find a Way to Lose against Muddies

Dietz and Watson Field, Berlin, GER: 

Berlin welcomed the offensive and defensive powerhouse Mudfish to

Germany for what would turn out to be anything but offensive.  The

teams combined for 8 turnovers in a game that had more twists than

a Chubby Checker album.

Berlin started off by forcing the Muddies to punt on their first 

drive.  The Brats were able to score 3, to take the early lead.

The Mudfish turned the ball over to the Brats on the next drive, 

but Drew Brees returned the favor, by throwing one of his 3 

interceptions.  The Mudfish were able to respond by moving 35 yards

for their first score.

Berlin kicked a field goal to make it 7-6, but on the ensuing kickoff

Rashard Matthews broke 6 tackles en-route to a 100 yard touchdown.

Berlin threatened again, but Brees threw his second pick in the endzone.

The Mudfish gave the ball back on a pick by Duncan, and Berlin put 3 

more on the board to make it 14-9 at the half.

The third quarter was filled with more turnovers as neither team scored.

But in the 4th, Marc Zala fumbled a punt with nobody around him, and the 

Muddies recovered at the 4 yard line.  Muckinpatus was unable to score a 

TD as the Berlin defense continued its domination. Muckinpatus put 3 points

on the board to take a 17-9 lead midway through the 4th quarter.

Berlin was able to get the football back with just over a minute to go, and

Drew Brees commandeered a great drive, culminated by a Dwayne Smith 

touchdown catch with 40 seconds to play, narrowing the game to 17-15.  

Brees failed to connect with Tomlinson on the 2-pointer, but Berlin still

had a chance with an onside kick. It looked as if the Brats were going to 

recover the ball, but when the smoke cleared, the Mudfish had the ball, and

the game.

Coach Grieb Press Conference:

No injuries to report.  This game will take a few years off of my life. I 

thought we controlled the entire game, with the exception of special teams,

and that is what ultimately beat us.  Our defense has never played a better

game.  Our offense moved the ball well, but couldn't convert in the red zone.

We can definitely say that we match up well with the rest of the league, and

if we continue to play like this, we will be a force.  

Question 1:

Were you surprised by how well your defense contained Ricky Williams?

Coach Grieb - I knew my boys could play like that, but it seemed like they

never took a play off.  Coach McCandless said to me that he hasn't seen a 

team play so well against his offense.  I'm proud of them.

Question 2:  Is there anything you would've done differently in the game?

Coach Grieb - Besides kicking the ball out of bounds after we got the field 

goal, and pulling Marc Zala off the field on that punt, probably not.  I may

have not have been so aggressive on first down in the red zone.  Our running

game was doing well, and I probably should've continued to stuff it.

Question 3:

What happened on that kickoff return?

Coach Grieb - We hit that returner with about 5 or 6 good hits, and he didn't

go down. He was determined to get to the endzone, and he did. Great return.

Question 4:  How difficult is it to lose a game like this?

Coach Grieb - On one hand, I was happy with the performance.  We played against

the AFC champions, and we took them to the limit.  On the other hand, I've never

been a part of a game that has been so one-sided, and my team still lost.  

Sometimes these things happen.

Question 5: Next week brings the Salty Dogz.  What can we expect.

Coach Grieb - Offensive fireworks from their team.  This team is one of the three

best offenses in the league. We won't be able to shut them down, we can just 

hope to contain them.  Our offense will have to convert.  It should be 

interesting.