ABU DHABI // In a backward way, Andrej Tasic would like to lose his job next season.
A front-runner for top-player honours in the Emirates American Football League, the Dubai quarterback is hoping the league can import some experienced players from the United States next season at quarterback, where he has been a true difference-maker.
“I think that would help make the level of football here much higher,” he said.
That said, his play for the undefeated Stallions (6-0-1) has been at a consistently high altitude, one of the reasons Dubai enter Friday’s Desert Bowl II at Dubai Sports City as the favourites over the defending champions Abu Dhabi Wildcats.
This year, Tasic displaced teammate Chris Wentzel, who led the Stallions to the title game last year, where they lost the inaugural Desert Bowl to Abu Dhabi. If he was sacked as the Dubai quarterback next year, so to speak, that would be fine with him.
Tasic, a native of Belgrade, relocated to Dubai three years ago after playing several years in the growing Central European Football League, where he was once named the league’s most-valuable player. At various times, he lined up at quarterback, punter, receiver and kick returner, and would like to see as much time on the field as possible here, too.
“When you’re the quarterback, you really can’t play any of those other positions,” he said.
No question, Tasic (pronounced TASS-ich) has become a valuable commodity for the Stallions, who put together their best game of the season in the play-off semi-finals two weeks ago. In a 47-7 victory over Al Ain, Tasic played only in the first half and completed 7 of 8 passes for 181 yards and four touchdowns.
“He’s got a good arm and good football brain,” said Stallions’ receiver Jeff Nicolson, who played professionally for the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe. “He’s also got the ability to throw the ball 40 or 50 yards down the field, or take off and run with it himself.”
Pass or run? The EAFL final likewise will showcase two completely dissimilar offensive attacks. While the athletic Tasic lines up in shotgun formation and often has four receiving targets bolting downfield, Abu Dhabi (4-3) threw two passes in a 40-0 win over the Dubai Barracudas in the other league semi-final and prefer a ground-and-pound style.
It helps that Tasic’s receiver corps is head and shoulders above the rest of the league – by any metric. Nicolson and tight end Ali Al Hassona, who played professional basketball in England and caught two scoring passes in the semi-finals, are both 6 feet 6 ins tall. Wide-out Askia Horne-Pierre, the smallest of the litter at 6 ft 3 ins, led the team with four scoring receptions in the regular season. If Tasic lobs the ball up for grabs, defensive backs are mostly powerless to stop the taller trio.
Tasic, 32, passed for 517 yards and eight scores in the regular season, and ran for two more touchdowns. In his lone start at quarterback against Abu Dhabi – the Stallions swept the two-game series – Tasic completed 11 of 18 passes for 113 yards and two scores.
Wentzel played much of the second game at quarterback, while Tasic lined up at receiver. When Tasic played in Serbia, after the league began importing Americans to play at key offensive positions, he moved away from quarterback and played all over the field.
“I like to get in as many plays as possible,” said Tasic, a personal trainer.
For next year, the league is considering offering jobs in the UAE to a handful of experienced former collegians, particularly at quarterback, one of the toughest positions in all of sports to play.
Tasic certainly learned the game in the most rudimentary fashion. He watched his first National Football League game on television in Serbia when he was about 20, and a local league formed soon thereafter. For two years, players in Belgrade played tackle football with no equipment, and now there are 20 teams playing in various levels and leagues in his home country, he said. A few Serbians have even played college ball in the States.
In the Central European Football League, games are sponsored and televised.
“We’re pretty good at all the team sports,” he said. “Basketball, water polo, basketball, and in soccer, we’re not bad. Team sports are really important back home. Nobody cares about athletics or swimming or those kinds of sports.”
In fact, during Ramadan this summer, he hopes to join a Serbian team participating in a European competition in Paris, and has already been added to the roster.
“Maybe play some special teams for them, at least,” he said.
After playing only briefly for the Stallions last season because of a scheduling conflict with his job, Tasic has made a broad impact in the Emirates league, to be sure. This year, making it to the finals seems like merely the first step for a team that has the firepower to win the second Desert Bowl title. No team scored more points, or surrendered fewer.
“I do believe that we’re much better than we were last year,” Al Hassona said.
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