Week 3 and we're finally home to take in the comforts of a wet soggy Glasgow morning.

And yes it does appear that our banner has sprouted a boom mike.

Time for a pregame drink, and for 2004 that means under the roof of the West Stand. Much better than the quagmire of Lesser Hampden!

What's that red and yellow thing lurking in the back ...

It's a jet lagged Shuggie!

The NY based "financial whizz kid" has been flown in especially by the stats crew as they have decided they need an extra member to count horizontal yardage.

Sunday saw Cheddarhead Hall of Famer Dante Hall get the same recognition from the Claymores.

However the man with the best moves in the NFL was no match for the soggy disgrace that was the Hampden pitch. His 40 yard dash time to the centre of the field in a kilt was a decidedly poor 1 minute 12 seconds. Punters around the NFL all already petitioning the league that the X-factor be kilted up for 2004.

Dante has represented the Claymores well during his transition to "superstar" and hasn't forgotten the time he spent here or the people he met. A well deserved induction!

Admiral pregame introductions.

"Hey that dude with the long hair looks like Clint Stoerner".

Claymore pregame introductions.

For the 2nd straight week, things were going well at this stage.

Two helmets for Roy this week. In case you didn't know the significance of #6 please read here.

Shuggie was not the only fool to fly over water to see the Claymores.

Uwe Fire Brother has decided he has had enough of Schalke, and has become a Claymores season ticket holder for 2004.

WHY???????

Claymores 1st drive and Scott McCready goes vertical after catching a horizontal pass from Nate Hybl.

No horizontal stats this weeks, but suffice to say that Scott's effort converted the 3rd and 8.

However Hybl Horizontal woes continued a few plays later.

Advice for Nate - when throwing the ball away out of bounds, please remember to do so before stepping out of bounds!!!

Result: Admirals sack for Corey Alston

More Hybl troubles on 3rd and 16 as Nate fails to get rid of the ball and runs into another sack.

That brought on Nick Murphy for the 1st of several appearances on the day.

Enter Clint the Admiral!

Since he's been away he's managed to add the 2 handed fling to his repertoire.

But after a couple of 1st downs they too had to punt and it was Hybl time again.

Claymores next drive and was time to give Maurice Hicks the rock.

Hicks has provided more of a spark than Galloway so far this year, and the same pattern continued here. He ripped off a 10 yard run to start this drive, but 2 Hybl incomplete passes had the Claymores punting again.

Points!

Clint flips a little pass to RB Jason Anderson who rumbles 30 yards into Claymores territory. 4 plays later Todd Sievers boots a 44 yard FG to open (and close) the scoring.

ADMIRALS 3-0

Nick Davis fielded the kickoff and returned it 22 yards to the 36 yard line. Sadly that's where Nick's season ended as the dangerous Hampden slosh claimed its first victim of the day as Nick broke his ankle on the play.

Get well soon Nick!

Even the officials were laughing at our offense by this stage.

"Where's your QB guys?"

2nd Q
Thankfully it was the 2nd Q and it was Anes time. Curt seems to have a better knack of getting rid of the ball, and actually attempting to get it down the field too.

However a sack by Clint Mitchell stalled his 1st drive.

The D held however and got good field position when Ian Smart returned the punt 23 yards to the 37 yard line.

This is Ian returning the punt - not Jermaine Chatman as the official stats say.

DON'T DENY IAN HIS YARDS!!!

However the poor conditions in the middle of the field started to take their toll. Both teams went 3 and out on their next 2 possessions leaving Curt one last chance to run the 2 minute drill. Once again he does well, showing good poise when scrambling out of the pocket (unlike Hybl). 3 straight completions helped drive us to the Admirals 30 yard line.

And on 2nd and 4 we almost had points!!!

Anes aims downfield and finds Ron Bellamy at the goal line who leaps over Derek Combs to make the catch ... but he cannot come down in bounds!

The Admirals D then wasn't fooled when we tried to run Maurice Hicks up the middle on 3rd down. That left Mark Jensen with a tricky 46 yard FG, which had the distance but was wide left.

HT: ADMIRALS 3-0

Half-time in 2004 means time to Twist.

It's very simple really. All NFL Europe stadia must be serenaded by the Twister board.

You can find out more about this venture below. Will Preston remain winless?

And of course don't forget to catch the FTP Website to find out all the girly gossip on the weekends events.

Hybl was back at QB, but the horizontal passing game was getting lost in the mud. Galloway manages a 1st down but loses yardage on a Hybl dump off pass on 3rd and 5.

At this stage it looks the Admirals are sitting pretty in the clubhouse at 3 over.

Then they get even better field position when Chris Taylor returns Murphy's punt 28 yards to the Claymores 43 yard line, and a facemask penalty on Maurice Hicks moves the ball to the 28.

But the D holds again! Hamdan's 4th and 1 sneak is denied and the momentum looks to have shifted.

Hybl even starts to find some 'rhythm' finding big Aaron Golliday on 3 dump off passes that the big TE rumbles downfield for vertical yardage.

And then on 2nd & 10 from the Ams 25 ...

Interception! Todd Howard has to fight off another Admiral defender for the ball.

Where were the Claymores WR's? Once again it seems anything that Nate aims down the filed is doomed for disaster ...

4th Q
With the Ads backed up - the D forces a quick punt. After a penalty forces a re-kick Nate Fikse's punt is shanked out of bounds at the 36 yard line.

Despite this excellent field position, Hybl cannot move the team a single inch and when Nick Murphy's punt sails into the end zone the Boo Birds take flight in the South Stand ...

And the "We Want Curt" chant begins ...

The D holds and we get our wish. After a 1st down takes us into Admirals territory yet again, Anes doesn't get the snap properly from Curt McGiill on 3rd and 4. Even though #5 dives on it, it means yet again we are forced to punt with 10 mins left.

Gavin Walls downs this one at the 5 yard line, but Stoerner (back at QB) leads Amsterdam on a clocking killing drive before the D forces a punt with 4 mins left...

Which once again Ian Smart breaks a nice 25 yard return on, much to the chagrin of Admirals special teams coach Jeff Reinebold.

60 yards to paydirt with 3:23 left. Can Curt do it?

After converting a 4th and 4 with a clutch 9 yard pass to Herb Haygood, Curt uses his legs on 1st down and rambles up the middle for 15 yards to the Admirals 30. On 3rd and 9 however he can only gain 1 yard when forced from the pocket and with 39 seconds a FG will be attempted ...

Mark Jensen is called upon again, but the Cal kid seems to slip on his follow though and ball is low and flat and most definitely no good ...

So after last years record high of 93 points in the home opener - this year sees a record low 3 being scored. Talk about extremes!

FINAL
CLAYMORES 0 ADMIRALS 3

No Touchdown Scotland again this week!

  

Game "cheddars" to...

The Defense. 2nd straight week - what can you say? They stopped the Admirals every time they had to and are now ranked #1 in the league. Ryan Myers again led the way with 8 tackles. The cornerbacks held the Admirals WR's to just 2 catches.

Herb Haygood. He got off the snide with his 1st catches of the season - clearly showing the power of a FTP Bowl in Dusseldorf ...

Aaron Golliday. 3 catches - all on 1 drive. But he's load with the ball and they shouldn't forget about him.

Ian Smart. Punt returns of 25 and 23 yards should have led to points. Needs more touches on offense.

What we learnt after Week 3 ...

Jack is in a rut. He is 0-6 in his last 6 games and his teams have been outscored 179-44 !!!!

Back Jack. But this is no time to be jumping off the bandwagon. His coaching staff have proved many times they can be successful in this league and they will turn around this years group..

Hampden was a disgrace. The state of the 'national' pitch was a huge factor in the struggles of the 2 offenses. (Don't forget that in last year's "mudbath" vs the Dragons our best-ever offense was shut out for the 1st 53 mins of the game).

It doesn't rain often in California or Oklahoma. Both Mark Jensen and Nate Hybl have found European conditions not to their liking. Can Hybl throw a wet ball even?

Time to throw a change-up. The offense needs a kick-start. We suggest Anes at QB and Hicks at RB from the outset and riding them for the game.

Have a Hart. Poor Rob lost his scoring streak Sunday. A 46 yarder would have been tough for him - but we figure even the barefooted wonder might have handled the conditions better than the Cal Golden Boy.

D is due. As sterling as the D has been it still hasn't got an interception or dived on a fumble. These things come in bunches so look out when the dam finally busts!

Welcome back Clint? Lost in the mud was Clint Stoerner's quiet return to Scotland. While he only hit 7 of 16 passes for 76 yards, he left with the victory and runs his Hampden record to 5-1.

This was not the worst game ever! Frustrating for sure, but 'worse' games are those you get blown out in and the 4th quarter is meaningless. Week 2 was 'worse'. Home fans in Scotland have been spoiled lately. It's amazing but it's 5 years since we've lost a home game by more than 7 points. When that happens - that will feel worse!

Odds & Ends

We couldn't leave without giving another mention to the X-Factor himself.

As we were wearily trotting up the steps and out the stadium, Dante banged on the window from his VIP suite and made sure he stopped to say hi again.

Dante is counting the number of Hall of Fames he's been inducted into now by the way!

What kind of a clown would travel 3,859 miles for 0 points.

Welcome back Shuggie!

OK we admit it. We just cant help drafting 5'8" guys in the fan draft because we like to pretend we're tall! In 2001 we drafted some guy called Dante, and this year 5'8" Ian Smart fitted the bill.

We need to make sure this guy totes the pig more - he's a playmaker.

It's been an odd season so far. It's like some curse of the Dragons has affected us and we've certainly hit rock bottom.

But nobody has quit yet, and we can turn this thing around.

First mission: Beat the 0-3 Centurions in the Eau De Toilette Bowl!