“This was an odd game, and certainly one I would take back if I could - not because I lost, but because my legendary passer made an absolute fool of himself at the start by double-fumbling his first throw, and was then BH for the second game in a row, thereby denying me my passing game before it had even begun. And giving up a TD in the process.

Fortunately, my back-up thrower fared a lot better. I have often said, never send a catcher to do a thrower's job, but today I was very much proved wrong as Overpruned Lavenderbush stepped in and proceeded to show my overpaid legend how it's done. 4 for 35 is pretty impressive stats anyway, but he was more than just the numbers, as he also got me out of several tricky situations and was definitely the MVP (no matter what the RNG said).

So that was how it all started, with Swampserpent picking up an easy first score. I pulled one back with a slightly shorter pass than usual, and was then able to bash out the rest of the half and prevent the rats from scoring again. And it really was a bash. My blocking was perfect all game, and Swampserpent's really wasn't. He did end up with a couple of SIs against me, but the dice were being particularly savage towards him and soon he had more rats off the field than on.

It didn't stop him from putting up a fierce assault during the second half, however, and despite my best efforts, he was able to get in the winning score just before running out of time.

And then I messed up the slim chance I had of scoring a final-turn one-turner by forgetting about Skitter Stab-Stab's really annoying shadowing and having to burn my reroll before I'd got going.

So it was a fun game - as all games against Swampserpent are - but not really the game either of us was expecting. And I really can't complain (even though I began this report by complaining) because I came away with another guard for the LoS, a +MA for the back-up thrower (who will now return to his usual duties) and a rookie lineman to take up some of the pressure until my two guys return for the game after next.

So congrats to Swampserpent, who survived a severely deadly beating and still came out on top for a much-deserved win.

Now off to the training ground for a few words with Briskbreeze...”