![[DEV] ISFL Forums](http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/images/emerald/logo.png "[DEV] ISFL Forums"){kind=logo}
+- [DEV] ISFL Forums (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Community (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Media (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+---- Forum: Graded Articles (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: *Excelsior's Daily Game Review #14 (/showthread.php?tid=28179)
*Excelsior's Daily Game Review #14 - excelsior - 12-08-2020
I’ve been reviewing some boring games recently, so I thought I’d spice things up a bit. I handpicked this game, and yes, it’s semi-recent-ish, but not really. It’s for sure exciting, and some of you vets may recognize the players in this game.
The season is the 17th, and we are in the week of 12 as the Butchers travel to New Orleans to take on the 4-7 Second Line. The Butchers themselves were 7-4, so a little flip flop of the records. Butchers had already clinched a playoff spot, but they were trying to win games so they could get a higher seed. They were tied with the Hawks and the Wraiths, 2 dominant forces at the time. The Wraiths would go on to be in several Ultimuses (Ultimi? What’s the plural?), but not without the Hawks nagging at them for most of the time in the playoffs. So, needless to say, this was a must-win game for Chicago if they wanted a realistic shot at the Ultimus. HFA was and still is a big deal, according to my sources, so having that would greatly improve their chances to make it to the big game
The opening kickoff was returned for 36 yards by the Chicago returner Lewis. 2 straight rushes by Torenson make it a 3rd and 1, so they bring in the big back, Danielson, who runs up the middle for 2 yards and the first down. A dropped pass and a 9 yard rush by Torenson bring up 3rd and 1 again, and this time they run play action as Jenkins slings it to Oles for a 4 yard catch and a first down. A stuffed run + a blown up screen pass presented a 3rd and 10 from the NOLA 38. Chicago elected to run it up the middle and got a yard. So they decided to punt. NOLA offense can’t muster much, and on a 3rd and 9, Lightsout Lewis blitzed and sacked the QB, forcing a punt. Chicago can’t do much either after a penalty making it 3rd and 15, and a deep ball was broken up by Slothface. A good punt puts NOLA on their own 15 yard line. A 13 yard completion to start the drive off is followed by a 10 yard outside run by Gump. 2 straight rushes by Swift make it 3rd and 7. Francisco finds Jackson for 7 yards and a first down, as he got tackled just as the ball passed the marker. A 9 yard rush by Gump put NOLA in Chicago’s side of the field, and Franciscio immediately unloads a 31 yard bomb on a dig route by Jones. 2 straight rushes by Swift punch it in the endzone and NOLA goes up 7-0. On a 3rd and 1 for Chicago on the next drive, Jenkins finds Adams for 12 yards. Torenson immediately follows up with a 21 yard rush, and Jenkins tops that with a 35 yard catch and run to Oles. They are on the NOLA 8 yard line now. An incomplete pass in the endzone makes it 2nd and goal. They line up 5 wide and NOLA brings the blitz, and they sack Jenkins for 11 yards. They can’t do anything on 3rd and goal, and they kick a FG. The score is now 7-3 as the 2nd quarter starts. On a 3rd and 6 for NOLA, Francisco finds Fyodorovich for 8 yards and a first. 1 play later, Fyodorovich is open again, and this time for 28 yards. On a 2nd and 15, they only get 13 yards, and on the 3rd and 2, they get stuffed, kicking a 25 yard FG. The drive was very efficient, with 6 plays of 7+ yards, as they drove 72 yards in 5 minutes. The score is now 10-3. 4 straight rushes by Torenson for 5,3,4,3, get them the first down, slowly but surely. A penalty and a sack kill the drive and Chicago has to punt, however. On a 3rd and 3, Swift runs inside and manages to get the yards necessary, but on the next play Gump coughs up the ball, but luckily NOLA jumps back on it. An inaccurate throw on 3rd and 10 forces NOLA to punt back with 4 and a half remaining in the first half. Chicago sticks with the run game after an incomplete pass, electing to run on a 3rd and 7 and manage to get the 7 yards on a rushing play. Torenson then gets back to back 6 yard runs, and Jenkins follows up another run by Torenson with a 14 yard completion to Oles. A drop and a penalty would stall out the drive though, as they punted back with a minute left in the half. NOLA runs the ball and chews the clock to the half. That has got to be the most offense I’ve ever seen in a game. Multiple 3rd down conversions, good runs, nice balances, no turnovers, very clean game, and honestly the offenses on both teams did well, but they can’t punch it in.
The 2nd half continues that pattern as NOLA receives the 2nd half kickoff and decided at half time they would stick with the run game. After a 10 yard completion to Fyodorovich, they get 3 runs, averaging 7 yards. Then Francisco bombs Jones on a 36 yard deep ball, which he went up and mossed the defender. They are on the Chicago 21 yard line, and 3 rushes later, they are on the Chicago 4 yard line. They decide to stop running, and it hurts them as the pass is broken up. On a 3rd and goal, they decide to go back to what was working so well the entire drive and they handoff to Swift who runs it in for the 4 yard TD. Chicago’s run defense is looking very suspect here. The XP was missed however, so NOLA only goes up 16-3. Chicago decides they wanted to showoff their efficient offense, so they start off with 4 straight running plays, totaling 17 yards. On a 3rd and 4, Jenkins calls a simple out route for Adams and delivers for 7 yards, converting and gaining a 1st down. With that play they are at the NOLA 46 yard line. On the next play, Torenson is unable to pick up the free safety blitz, and Harrison sacks Jenkins, but the ball comes out too, but luckily Torenson was there to pick it up. Still a huge loss as it’s 2nd and 17. Jenkins comes out, ready to help clean up the game, and immediately throws a 9 yard dart to Batoff. It’s now a 3rd and 8. Jenkins goes back to Adams on a screen pass, and he manages to break a tackle and run for 12 yards and a first down. They decide to run it 3 straight times with Torenson, who gets 10 yards combined. On the NOLA 22, they run for a 1 yard gain, and let Jenkins do his thing. He goes back to his trusty Adams, and finds him for 13 yards, making it 1st and goal from the NOLA 8. Torenson runs and immediately gets popped at the line of scrimmage, and the ball comes out, but he picks it up and runs for 6 yards. They run a play action from the 2 yard line and Jenkins passes to Hasselhoff for the easy 2 yard TD. The game is now 16-10 with 2 minutes to go. That drive took up 8 minutes. NOLA decides to go to the ground game with their possession, but Swift gets stuffed at the line of Scrimmage, and Gump fumbles the ball on the next carry, but luckily he recovers it for no gain. His 2nd fumble of the game. On a 3rd and 10, Francisco finds Swift, who gets tackled by Dugnutt before he can go anywhere. NOLA punts back. Chicago gets gifted 20 yards thanks to NOLA penalties, and they’re already at their own 41 yard line. After a 4 yard rush, they uncork Jenkins and let him do his thing, as he’s been on fire recently. He continues that trend, finding Harp for a 21 yard post route. On the next play, they run the exact same play, and this time he throws to Harp again, but Harp breaks the safety’s tackle, running it in for 34 yards and the TD with the first play of the 4th quarter. The extra point was good, so it’s now 17-16, and Chicago has the lead. NOLA knows they need to come back with an answer and not let this lead slip away. Francisco opens up with an 18 yard dagger to Sackless. 2 straight rushes by Swift for 5 and 6 yards help move the chain, but Gump gets stuffed for no gain on the next play. I think we’ll be seeing less of him as the game goes on. On that 2nd and 10, Francisco calls a screen pass to Swift, who catches it and runs, breaking tackles and going 35 yards. They are on the 16 yard line, and 1 good run later, they are at the Chicago 9 yard line. Francisco goes to his #1 WR, Fyodorovich, in the endzone and he gets a flashy one handed catch in the back of the endzone. NOLA goes for 2 but fails, meaning they’re only up by 5, 22-17, with 10 minutes left in the quarter. Chicago starts on their own 12 yard line, but 3 great runs + a penalty bring them out to their own 46 yard line. Jenkins tries to scramble as the pocket collapses, but can only get back to the line of scrimmage as he slides. On a 3rd and 3, they decide to run play action, and Jenkins goes back to Oles for 8 yards. Jenkins dials up a route for Harp, who had some monster plays on the last drive, and he delivers again, with a 13 yard catch. They handoff 3 straight times for Torenson, who gets 5 yards on each of them. Now, they’re at the NOLA 18 yard line. Jenkins motions Torenson out and they’re in a 5 wide formation. Jenkins passes to Hasselhoff, who’s in the endzone, and he makes an awesome jumping catch over the defender for a TD. Chicago goes for 2 and they are successful, so they go up 25-22. Both of these teams have scored 3 touchdowns and a field goal, but one of them has been more efficient on their points after. With 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, NOLA will get one last chance to tie this game up, or maybe even win it. On a 3rd and 9, with 3:12 to go, Francisco lines up, and gets sacked by Faux for 7 yards. And they decide to punt. With 2:43 in the game, Chicago can put this away, but they pass 3 straight times for some reason, and which is all incomplete, and NOLA gets the ball back with under 2 minutes to go. Francisco knows they only have like 1 or 2 plays before time expires, so he looks at Fyodorovich, and Fyodorovich looks at him, and they know what to do. Fyodorovich gets a great release and raises his arm, signaling to Francisco, but Francisco was ready, and he unloaded a deep bomb, as Fyodorovich grabs it and falls down, but manages to snag it for 53 yards. They immediately run up and kick a FG, with 14 seconds left. This game is going into overtime, ladies and gentlemen.
NOLA wins the coin toss, and elects to receive. A first down later, they get a penalty, so it’s 2nd and 15. A 7 yard screen pass gets them to 3rd and 8, and now Francisco lines up, throws another pass to the reliable Swift, but Ridley undercuts the route and picks off the pass, and Chicago has the ball on the NOLA 42 yard line. They run the ball 5 straight times for 19 yards, and then kick a 40 yard FG, which is good. Chicago wins 28-25.
This game was very exciting and I wrote a lot for it, and it was definitely a wilder game, with lots of big plays and good offense. One of my favorites.