ELF: Five takeaways from week 9 including a crucial missed “12 men on the field call”
Following the conclusion of week 9 in the European League of Football (ELF), we have devised a list of the biggest takeaways from the weekend’s action.
1. The Hamburg Sea Devils and their 12th man
No, this isn’t a nod to the Sea Devils noisy fans. Hamburg actually had 12 men on the field for their fourth-down, goal-line touchdown run against the Istanbul Rams on Sunday.
The significance of this oversight by the referees cannot be overstated. The Sea Devils were down 17-7 when this happened, and they were going for it on fourth and goal; taking one man out of the box in a goal-line stand is hugely impactful to a defense.
Although it should be stated that this was almost certainly not an intentional infraction by Hamburg, just an honest mistake, it still nevertheless resulted in the most defining part of the game. A game that was forced into overtime and an eventual Hamburg victory.
2. Another bye week?
We have just had two weeks of a half schedule, we get one full week of games, and now we have a league-wide bye week?
The ELF needs to hire a new game organizer.
3. Sean Shelton is an animal…against bad teams
The Raiders Tirol quarterback completed 30 of 36 of his passes with zero interceptions against the Leipzig Kings on Sunday. He threw for a shocking 438 yards and five touchdowns in just three quarters of football.
This near perfect game led to a dominant 56-14 victory. It’s just a shame he can’t do that against the Vienna Vikings.
4. The Rams ARE good
After weeks of slander by the European football community the Istanbul Rams have finally proven the naysayers wrong and shown they are a competitive club.
The Rams went toe to toe with the number one and two teams in the league this past two weeks, felling one and taking the other to overtime.
All they needed was a good quarterback, who would have ever thought it.
5. Is there anything Quinten Pounds can’t do?
On Sunday, Quinten Pounds stood in for the injured Jan Weinreich, the Cologne Centurion’s starting quarterback. He threw for 174 yards and a touchdown in their 39-29 loss to the Berlin Thunder.
Statistically, Pounds is currently a top 20 quarterback in the ELF. Considering the league has seen about 30 quarterbacks already, it’s a pretty impressive feat after just one game. There is little the University of Washington alumnus can’t do.
