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+---- Thread: Through My Eyes: My Season (/showthread.php?tid=2154)
Through My Eyes: My Season - youngcricket - 07-14-2017
![[Image: 052516-Bowman-TB.jpg]](http://prod.static.49ers.clubs.nfl.com//assets/images/imported/SF/photos/clubimages/2016/05-May/052516-Bowman-TB.jpg)
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 12:
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Going into week 12, we were really feeling good. We had clinched playoffs and were the first team to do so. We were looking like the favorites to win the league and had a matchup coming up against we had a bragging rights game, a chance to go up against the Otters and ensure that we held the head to head advantage over them. This was a big game seeing as we had a chance to lose within the next few weeks and it would suck to collapse at the end. Prior to this we all trained hard because we knew that this is what we needed to be in the best position in the playoffs. We were able to pull out a 23-3 win.
Our offense did it's job and ran the ball very well. I think that we would've scored more, but unfortunately Michael Newman was in the committee and he was a terrible ball carrier, to be frank. Draxel did his job by just being a game manager and taking care of the ball, an improvement of previous outings where he was reckless with the ball. Mackworthy and Durden performed well and we did a great job of just controlling the ball and taking our offense forward one step at a time.
For us on the defensive side, this game was all about Ernston. He and I both had 11 tackles, but he also got 4 (!) sacks on Mike Boss and forced a fumble at some point in the game. We didn't recover, but it was still a brilliant effort. Fellow linebacker Brady Stopko and DT Dental Dam both brought down Mike Boss as well, as we recked havoc on him all day long. Jason Williams got an interception in the first quarter and took it all the way to the house to get our scoring started for the afternoon. Blaster Blade had 3 tackles for loss and was in the backfield all day, which for us, was a great way to start killing any drives before they started. At this point we were 8-4, an exceptional place to be as we looked primed to be the first seed come playoff time and have the best regular season record between both conferences in the NSFL.
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Week 13:
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Week 13 was intimidating time because our game was against the only team that we hadn't beaten at all yet. Logan Noble and the Colorado Yeti were coming in on a bit of a cold streak, but they still had a potent offense and a feisty defense that consistently got into the backfield of other teams. In an intense defensive battle, we pulled out with a score of 15-0, but all of the points were actually scored in the 2nd quarter with us scoring a touchdown and knocking through 3 field goals in a quarter that we absolutely dominated. Mackworthy showed his dominant run game again averaging 4.9 yards per carry and we got an average game out of Draxel. The best part about this game was getting our first glimpse at King Bronko at quarterback. He was 7 for 8 and picked up 71 yards with a 103.6 QB Rating. Jefferson and Stormblessed both had big games receiving and started to mesh with Bronko, which we thought would be good for the upcoming season. My man crush, Tim Pest, might have been the most valuable player this game. He had 7 pancakes and allowed 0 sacks against a very talented defense. It was a performance we were glad to see and one we knew we would need to win in the playoffs in this league.
As a defense, we did an excellent job of holding Logan Noble to a 12/31 outing, only throwing 144 yards and a QB rating of 53.7. I led us in tackles, and got a tackle for loss and sack which was big for me because people had begun to say I was just a linebacker who got tackles, not one who could also get to the quarterback. As a defense we got 9 sacks, with Ernston and Tuck each recording two while Blade, Dam, Stopko, Asipi and myself all recorded one each. We got to the quarterback like never before and we also had 7 tackles for loss and 4 pass deflections, which were both amongst our best performances of the season. Most people had said at the beginning of the season that our pass rush was too weak to compete, but this is when we knew and made others believe that we have the nastiest front seven in the entire NSFL, no competition. Oh yeah, we also saw that our quarterback of the future was going to be an absolute stud.
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Week 14:
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This was a game we didn't expect to win. We had clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs and we simply knew that going into Orange County and winning again was extremely unlikely, but we didn't really care. We had test simmed and were ready to finally lose one to the Otters. And just as we saw coming, we lost a close game to the Orange County Otters, 23-16, to finish the season 9-5 and tied for first in our division, with the tiebreaker being in our favor. For our offense, Draxel threw 2 picks and Mackworthy was the only running back who could get anything going. Lincoln Jefferson had a huge game and was offensive player of the game, but in the end we couldn't put up enough points to pull out the victory like we had ben able to in previous weeks. Draxel actually threw a pick six which put us in a hole 7 on offense, so it was tough to be able to rebound from that and stage a comeback. We only allowed 3 sacks which was a sign that our offensive line was for real, especially after our shitty performances against the Otters' defensive line in the past few games.
Defensively, Ernston, Blade and Dam all got sacks while Tuck notched another 2. We were cooking and our pressure stats were through the roof with 5 tackles for loss as well. I notched 12 tackles for us and we got interceptions by Rashad and Williams, but we just weren't able to pull out the win in the face of their rowdy fans. After this performance, we realized that after a terribly slow start, we had ended up the sack leaders in the NSFL and were statistically the best defensive pressure team that the league saw in its inaugural season. While I'm sure some Otters will grip about it, those are just the facts of it.
After this game, we were ecstatic. We knew that we had the most momentum going into the playoffs and had about a 63 percent chance of beating the Otters since we were allowed to host them. Despite this, there was still some sentiment around the league that the Otters had an exceptional chance at beating us. But that didn't bother us, how could anything bother us when we had faced so much adversity throughout the regular season and none of it brought us down? Realistically, They could beat us, but we didn't want that to happen and none of us would let it happen.
As far as individually, as the Pro Bowl voting came out, I thought I was a shoe-in to be in the game, but as I started to look at the results of the voting, I realized that people who i thought I was better than were getting more votes than me. First off, Arby Krimlaw was getting more votes than me when I first looked and I was taken back. The dude had fewer stats in every category including only 69 tackles. Sorry to break it to him and everybody else, but this guy doesn't hold a candle to the production that I had. I also had one interception less than Bavitz and 21 more tackles and was losing to him. I get he has this math and time per possession thing, but I racked up 121 tackles in the best LB tackling corps and was the MIKE linebacker on arguably the best defense in the league. I think that I deserved it over him, regardless of whatever mathematics time per possession, tackle percent kind of bullsh*t we want to pull out of our asses.
There were also a lot of people not voting Isaiah Rashad as Defensive Player of the Year. It made very little sense to our team, as he was far and away the best CB in the league and led with 9 (!) interceptions. There was an argument that it was all because of Mike Boss, but if it's all because of Boss then why were the Otters 8-2 when not playing us? Could other people just not get in the way of his passes or what? Rashad shut down the best receivers over and over on the outside. He was undeniably the best defensive performer this season. I don't know if there was bias against him because he isn't very active, but he was a great player and a playmaker for our defense. I understand that Jonathan Saint had a lot of sacks and tackles, but Rashad transformed a series that dictated the outcome for a single conference. Without him I have no doubt that the Otters would've won another game and had home field advantage in the playoffs.
As for the Outlaws as a team? It was playoff time and we all knew we needed to start training like never before. There was so much riding on this. People might forget the champions in between S2 and S102322, but nobody will forget who won the league for the first time. We knew that no matter what, we had to go out and control our own destiny. There was nothing that we wanted more than to get the inaugural trophy and be the first underdog story, rivalry, and championship winners. It was about more than just our individual players, but we had become pretty close as a team and we were extremely excited for the opportunity to bring hardware home to where it belonged. In Arizona baby.
![[Image: Navorro+Bowman+pBCxUHIo7urm.jpg]](http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Navorro+Bowman+pBCxUHIo7urm.jpg)
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Post Season, Conference Championship:
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Wow. I couldn't believe that it was finally time to kick it into another gear and finally compete in a do or die environment. We had been training and working our asses off test simming, writing articles, doing graphics, and just brainstorming on how we would perform here. I knew that before this week I had to decide what I wanted to upgrade so I put it all into speed. I knew that I needed to perform better than any other LB in the playoffs if we were going to win, and I was fully committed to doing it. Our matchup was against the Orange County Otters. Unfortunately, I was out of town for this game and saw the result late.
As a team on offense, Draxel threw for 183 yards and lobbed up a touchdown. Mackworthy averaged 5 yards a carry and had a 7 yard run in the 4th to really lay it on. Durden got some good yardage, though not very efficient. Our backfield did good damage and our wide receivers launched a balanced attack as Lincoln Jefferson hauled in a touchdown and led the team with 59 yards receiving. The Offensive Line allowed 6 sacks and Tim Pest and Jefferspin performed extraordinarily well. They were both extremely solid and didn't give up sacks. It was a performance our offense had been waiting for from the offensive line and it allowed our offense to consistently move the ball and put up 36 points in the playoffs. A time when defense wins championships, our offense excelled in their own rights and had a performance that would no doubt be remembered for future seasons. And special teams? Yeah, Stormblessed just decided to house a kick when the game started to get close and scary.
Defensively, we played a great game. We picked off Mike Boss 4 times and only allowed 13 points and under 200 yards passing. I had a performance that will probably go down as one of the most clutch playoff performances in history. I had a game high 9 tackles, got a sacks, and had a pass deflection. Oh, I also intercepted a ball and took it to the house to seal the win in the fourth quarter. It was an amazing feat and one that people were buzzing about after. I knew I had to do something special, so I just did it. Stropko recorded 9 tackles as well, three of which for a loss. Blaster Blade did the unthinkable and got a sack against Angus Winchester. Dam got a sack. Ernston actually got a sack that was a safety. We scored 9 points as a defense but contributed to many more, as Jason Williams notched two interceptions and Flock had a takeaway as well to help the team secure victory. Our defensive performance was unreal and we did it without our best player even having a breakout party. 36-13 Boom.
We were ecstatic going into the championship. There was nobody that could stand in our way. Except Logan Noble and the Yeti who were the only team that had consistently given us fits.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Championship Game:
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Everything led up to this. From the creation of our players to the draft to our last game, this is what we have been working hard to win. We were all ready and test sims showed us having a 77% chance of winning, but we weren't sold that meant everything. We had all the momentum and, it felt like, most of the league was finally behind us and on our bandwagon. As the game came, we also learned that Adam would be leaving us for an expansion team so we knew we had to win. If not for ourselves, for our family. So we could have something that would last us forever.
I'll be honest, we started strong and finished strong. Start to finish we were the superior team in this game. We couldn't run the damn ball, as both of our running backs averaged under 3 yards a carry. In the end, it didn't matter. Vincent Draxel through for 270 yards and a TD while not turning the ball over. Lincoln Jefferson went for over 100 yards in his finale and Stormblessed caught a touchdown, as did Wes Washington. Wait, that's two touchdown passes isn't it? Yeah, the future, King Bronko, actually came in because it was such a blowout and went 4/5 as he led us down the field and tossed a touchdown. That's just how we roll. A dominant performance by the best team of season 1.
Defensively, I led the team in tackles again and got a sack. Shoutout to all my naysayers who said I was just a linebacker who got tackles only because my DL was porous. My boys Ernston and Dam were both able to sack the quarterback again, proving their toughness and determination another week. Jayce Tuck was arguably our defensive MVP as he had 5 tackles, 3 of which were sacks on Logan Noble. It was a dominant performance up front by him and will go down as one of the best defensive performances in a championship game. Ryan Flock also had a pick six, a very big feat for our star safety. This was one of our most dominating performances as a defense again, and it solidified our amazing run throughout the season as, in my opinion, the best defense in the league. I truly think that we rode our defense to the championship, but there is no denying that our offense stepped up and did what was needed when they were called to action.
![[Image: nfl_a_navorro-bowman_mb_576x324.jpg]](http://blacksportsonline.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/nfl_a_navorro-bowman_mb_576x324.jpg)
And with that, we won. I have nothing but gratitude for my great GM ADwyer87. He followed his gut in the draft, and although I didn't think it would work, he truly took us to the glory land with a brilliant game plan and vision for our team. To my buddy BlasterBlade, thank you for joining the league even though you didn't think you would like it. We wouldn't have been so dominant without you. To Dam, Tuck, and Asipi, thank you for forming an amazing front line in front of me. To Adam, thank you for being a great Co-GM and helping us all throughout the way. To Flock, Kendrick, and Ray, thank you for sticking in the secondary and though it isn't a glory position for stats at times, helping us fight through all of our imperfections to win games. And to Ernston, my linebacker brother. Thank you for being such a positive attitude in the locker room and a great guy to be a teammate with. Though some might fight your posts to be excessive and annoying, I can truly say that you have our backs and would stick up for anybody on our team. I respect that.
All season long we were doubted and there were people who said that we didn't have the cajones to win the whole damn league. Well guess what, we fucking did it. We went in there and looked every team in the eyes, and beat them. There was no team that truly dominated us in a game and there was no team that we let walk all on our home turf. We had the support of our fans and ourselves and that was it. We were the first underdog story in the NSFL and maybe the greatest that it will ever see. To all of the people who said we couldn't I say thank you. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to bond and show the world that we are better than any kind of label that some unknowing fans want to put onto us.
The Arizona Outlaws baby! S1 Champs!
3001 words
GRADED
Through My Eyes: My Season - youngcricket - 07-14-2017
@Esa77 @ADwyer87 @ErMurazor @Valtookan @theFlock @Kendrick @Bushito @`TimPest` @Blaster @adam2552 @`DillyDing` @DeathOnReddit @Destroyer @scottyt @everybody else
thanks for the great season boys
Through My Eyes: My Season - TimPest - 07-14-2017
outlaw forever
Through My Eyes: My Season - youngcricket - 07-14-2017
(07-14-2017, 02:27 AM)TimPest Wrote:outlaw foreverlove u tim pest
Through My Eyes: My Season - DeathOnReddit - 07-14-2017
(07-14-2017, 03:25 AM)youngcricket Wrote:@Esa77 @ADwyer87 @ErMurazor @Valtookan @theFlock @Kendrick @Bushito @`TimPest` @Blaster @adam2552 @`DillyDing` @DeathOnReddit @Destroyer @scottyt @everybody else
thanks for the great season boys
This was my first ever sim, and the fun I had with you guys was awesome! Im glad to be a part of this team. Now lets go repeat!
Through My Eyes: My Season - youngcricket - 07-14-2017
(07-14-2017, 02:31 AM)DeathOnReddit Wrote:This was my first ever sim, and the fun I had with you guys was awesome! Im glad to be a part of this team. Now lets go repeat!Let's do it nerd
Through My Eyes: My Season - theFlock - 07-14-2017
I'm not crying, you are.
Very good read. Thank you for the great season.
Through My Eyes: My Season - youngcricket - 07-14-2017
(07-14-2017, 02:42 AM)theFlock Wrote:I'm not crying, you are.thank you, unsung star
Very good read. Thank you for the great season.
Through My Eyes: My Season - ADwyer87 - 07-14-2017
I love all of this
Through My Eyes: My Season - kckolbe - 07-14-2017
What I've really enjoyed aside from great narrative, was the genuine appreciation for teammates. I would have liked to see more along the lines of RBs/TEs that played well AGAINST you, as I think interleague respect/rivalry makes the league feel more alive, but this was still great.
Also, amazing that Pest and Blade played for you this year. Those are both top 5 picks, possibly higher. Between that, losing Adam, and losing some depth and role players, it will be very interesting to see how you do, though some of that goes for other teams as well.