BMO Stadium (Los Angeles) – Put some respect on his name.
USA Football player Darrell Doucette spoke for the rest of his teammates after manhandling some of the best NFL players in the game, winning the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Championship on Saturday.
An emotional and teary-eyed Doucette was thankful for the opportunity for his team to highlight their skills, letting the world know what they do is much different than the tackle football being played on Sundays.
“Those guys that we competed against, they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into,” Doucette said. “They just thought that they were going to come out and play. But I think we gained a lot of respect from those guys.
“Of course, we are fans of those guys. We love just being in their presence, not necessarily competing against them, but being in their presence and them accepting us. They gave us a lot of respect and a lot of credit.”
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USA Football’s cat-quick, shifty athletes routinely slid past their NFL counterparts, as the more experienced national team players dominated play on Saturday, finishing 3-0 in the round-robin tournament.
Here are my takeaways:
1. Yep, Tom Brady can still play
On the opening drive of the game, Brady engineered his most impressive two-play sequence on the day. Brady evaded a would-be pass rusher who attempted to grab his flag by side-stepping him to the left, then delivering a dart to the back of the end zone to Stefon Diggs.
Brady followed that up by finding his security blanket in the pros, connecting with tight end Rob Gronkowski for the two-point version as Team Founder took an 8-0 lead to start the game against USA Football.
It was short-lived, though, as USA Football marched down the field to tie the game en route to a runaway victory over Brady’s hand-picked team. The seven-time Super Bowl champion finished 8-of-12 for 61 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions, while his team finished 0-2 on the day.
While the NFL players struggled, Brady said not to rule out the possibility of elite athletes from the highest level of football learning the flag football game over the next two years to make their way onto the USA Football team by the Olympics.
“There’s going to be a selection process, and may the best people play,” Brady said. “That’s the best thing about team sports, it’s a meritocracy. Whoever gives the team the best opportunity to win, that’s who should be out there. There’s a long way from that happening, a couple years.
“But I think it’s just good for NFL players to see what this is all about. The NFL players are great athletes. We were literally learning how to take flags off two days ago. Those guys did a great job. I don’t want to take anything away from them. But there’s certainly a long way to go before the selection process happens.”
2. USA Football is the clear winner
The USA Football team accomplished its goal of proving it can compete against the NFL-level talent that was on the field opposite it on Saturday. More experienced and practiced in playing flag football, that wizardry showed as NFL players were routinely fooled schematically or just could not catch the smaller, quicker players on USA Football on the smaller field in open space.
It was surprising to see elite NFL athletes struggle to keep up with the USA Football team, which makes you wonder how the selection process will be handled two years from now for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“With that 5-vs-5 field, it’s not as big as a natural football field,” Doucette said. “You can’t get into the deep balls like they’re accustomed to. A 40-yard dash doesn’t mean anything. It’s 50 yards. You’re only going to run 40 yards when you run down the field to the end zone. So, a 40 doesn’t matter.
“It’s all about being able to be a little twitchy or quicker. But we just wanted to showcase our talents. And those guys respected us. They treated us great all week, and it’s been a blessing.”
The LSU product sat out last season and served a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. The 33-year-old receiver certainly looked like he could help an NFL team during the flag football event, though, finishing with a handful of spectacular catches, including a one-handed grab over two USA Football defenders in the back of the end zone for a score.
USA Football head coach Jorge Cascudo took notice, pointing to Beckham as an NFL player who could successfully make the transition to his team.
“Odell’s a great athlete,” Cascudo said. “He made an excellent catch in our game, and I was like, ‘Whoa. There’s a spot whenever you’re interested. Come talk to me. We’ll put you in trials and come compete.'”
4. NFL players face a steep learning curve in flag football
Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly understands NFL players have an uphill climb to learn the flag football game and compete for a spot on the USA Flag Football team. Bulkier players like Kuechly are not built for the short-area quickness required to make plays on the smaller flag football field.
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“Me and Logan (Paul), were not built for this type of game,” Kuechly said. “I think when you look at it, you build it with corner and nickels (defenders) on the defensive side of the ball. And then fast, skilled guys on the other side of the ball.
“It was a tremendous opportunity for me to play. I loved it. The fellowship, camaraderie and the opportunity to put cleats on again was great. … But it feels like a nickels and corners game on the defensive side of the ball.”