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*Can the Dallas Birddogs still turn this season around? - r0tzbua - 08-25-2020 There’s still time … Can the Dallas Birddogs still turn this season around? It’s not been a great start to this 2039 DSFL season for the Dallas Birddogs. They had one of the best drafts this year and coming off a promising 9-5 season where they only lost to the reigning Ultimini champs in the Playoffs. It even was a very close loss and they had a real shot at the Ultimini trophy. Coming off that 2038 campaign as well as a great draft a lot of analysts expected them to start rushing into the season with some great wins. All in all they have a great squad, returned some of their greatest players and invested in a well balanced rookie presence. So what is going on? Why are they 1-3 after 4 weeks in this still young season? These are the big question right now, not only in the public opinion but also internally with the Birddogs. One thing is clear though: They want to turn it around. Will they? And if they can, how will it happen? First we need to dig into the statistics and we can try to dig into the story that is this years Dallas Birddogs campaign. Preseason Everyone knows the Preseason is not worth a lot in the DSFL, at least in regards to predicting the outcome of the season. But let’s still take a quick look into what happened in the 4 games in the Preseason. Dallas won the first game against the Grey Ducks closely with a great 4 quarter push. In next weeks outing, they got dominated by the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers but came back and scored a win against the northern folk (also known as the Seawolves) the week after that. In the final week of Preseason, they lost on a fourth quarter field goal against the Kansas City Coyotes. It was a great chance for the rookies to get their first big league experience after the short prospect bowl, but it did not show any specific trends in playcalling or general game plans. Week 1 Dallas Birddogs @ Tijuana Luchadores: A hopeful start The Luchadores were touted as a strong team before the season and this game started out great for them. They shut out Dallas completely in the first half and scored 19 unanswered points against them. In the half, the faces in Dallas’ lockerroom were longer than at the track of the Kentucky Derby. But they rallied up and after a Tijuana field goal it was all Dallas after that. Social Media believed in a comeback and touted them as the winner already but in the end they couldn’t make it. They lost 13-22 and especially the Special Teams mistakes of the first half hurt them. A strong showing by Zoe Watts and the Wide Receiver corps did not help them out of the hole they dug themselves in the first half. The game left a lot of fans and the team optimistic because of the strong offensive and defensive showing of the second half. Week 2 Kansas City Coyotes @ Dallas Birddogs: The Reckoning The second week showed a different team, especially the Pick Six in the first quarter pointed out what this young defensive unit is capable of. Two more touchdowns in the second half helped seal the deal, even with a late Kansas City touchdown they did not come back to win this game. Both of Dallas’ backs had a great showing and it was all in all a well-rounded game even if the defense left something to be desired with a lot of scoring by Kansas City in the second half. Caliban had a great game even if all touchdowns came rushing and he still threw an Interception. Week 3 Norfolk Seawolves @ Dallas Birddogs: A downward slope The showoff against the reigning Ultimini champions started well and high-scoring. With a tied game at halftime and both teams at 17 points on the board it had everyone hope for a second half that would follow in it’s footsteps. The only scoring in the second half came from Norfolk though when they put another 20 points on Dallas and ended the game with a score of 37-17 and 3 score lead which was impossible to catch up on, even with a late game offensive surge that got stopped in it’s tracks. The team seemed completely switched out at the half and was totally outplayed by Norfolk. Week 4 Dallas Birddogs @ London Royals: The rock bottom? Dallas took the journey to London for the following game and should hit rock bottom. Being totally dominated over all four quarters and all sides of the game they lost 31-0 with London scoring 21 points in the first half alone and tacked on 10 more late in the fourth quarter when the Birddogs had to start playing risky to even retain a chance to stay in the game. It did not pay off. Being shutout is hard enough but being so totally dominated left some scars on the players who were hyped up by a Twitter war between the two teams before the game. Post-game interviews showed a general lack of ideas on what’s going on. So while the season started out hopeful the last two weeks have shown that while the team is young and hopeful this may not be THE season for Dallas. The team could be a bit too young, may not have gelled too much. But that is not what the locker room wants to hear. They are sure this season is salvageable and they will turn it around. They are working around their clock, adding more and more reps every day. Especially the rookies seem to be in the training facility from dusk to dawn. Coaches and management has been seen setting up their sleeping places in the headquarters to work on the problems until late in the night/early in the morning. Dallas is not ready to give up on 2039 yet. Will the defense which is made up of a lot of young kids straight out of college will find their cohesion though? Will the offense start being consistent throughout all quarters of the game? These are the questions that will define the rest of the season for Dallas. And will be the difference between a losing season and a shot at the playoffs.