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+---- Thread: *Godfrey King S3 Retrospective (/showthread.php?tid=5279)
*Godfrey King S3 Retrospective - Shadowz - 10-16-2017
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1922 WordsThis is taking me a little to write so I figure I'll post half now and half later this week!
This morning on Tales of the National Simulation Football League, we’ll be taking a look at the S3 campaign of the Arizona Outlaws, with a spotlight on rookie sensation—Godfrey King the defensive tackle. Arizona Outlaws fans and National Simulation Football League nerds alike may recognize the name, as King was in fact able to forego his final year of college to crack a spot redshirting for the Arizona lineup. According to NSFL rules, King was allowed to play during the season, and showed tremendous growth on the field. While not playing at all in the team’s first two games last season, King battled during practice to improve, eventually earning a spot on the field as a run stopping defensive tackle. Showing constant improvement, King solidified his place on the field, and participated in the remaining 12 regular season games. While he was far from an elite defender on the field in S2, King was able to contribute a healthy amount, putting up 17 tackles and 5 sacks across that 12 game span. He also assisted his team through the playoffs, securing Arizona’s second championship in as many years of National Simulation Football League competition.
Following rules, Godfrey King was entered into the S3 draft immediately following his redshirt campaign. The Arizona Outlaws owned the number one pick in the draft, and there was some heavy speculation that King might occupy this spot. Phones were ringing early that night however, and Yeti were extremely eager to get their hands on another hot shot prospect, Antonio Sandoval. Using this knowledge, the Outlaws traded down to the second pick (getting some goodies in addition) and gave the Yeti the first pick. Godfrey King was a pretty consensus top 5 pick, so the Outlaws then wasted no time in taking him off the board with the second overall pick of the S3 draft. From there, King rejoiced in rejoining his redshirt team, and his S3 was underway.
Week 1: Tragedy Strikes
Arizona Outlaws 32 – 3 San Jose Sabercats
King’s Stat Line: 3 Tck, 1 Sack
Just a week before the Arizona Outlaw’s S3 opener, Godfrey King received some terrible news. Late at night he received a call from his mother in tears, informing him that his father had just passed away. King’s father was his main source of inspiration in playing football. He constantly coached the young athlete in how to improve not only as a player, but also as a person, teaching him to have the impeccable work ethic which has propelled him into being the force he is today. There were doubts as to whether King would be available to play that day, but after much encouragement from his mother, King decided that playing would be the best possible way to honor his father—a man who never missed any of his games, no matter the importance or competitive level. King was able to be a consistent contributor in the game, his biggest moment coming in the second quarter, where he sacked San Jose quarterback Ethan Hunt. King opted for helping up the quarterback as opposed to gloating, and then pointed to the sky in a gesture to his father, who was certainly smiling down on his son that day. The young defensive tackle ultimately finished the game with 3 tackles, one of those being the aforementioned sack. The game was also a strong season opener for the outlaws (especially the defense), who were able to hold the Sabercats to just one field goal over four quarters of play.
Week 2: Close Call vs. a Future Star
Arizona Outlaws 22 – 17 Philadelphia Liberty
King’s Stat Line: 3 Tck, 1 Sack
Week 2 saw a matchup which many were expecting to be an even easier victory than the first, as the Arizona Outlaws took on the Philadelphia Liberty. In S2, the Liberty were missing any sort of competitive edge at the quarterback position, and looked to remedy that through the draft by selecting Clifford Rove, an intelligent QB who should bring great things in the future. That being said, Rove noticeably struggled during preseason, with his offensive line barely able to hold back any crashing defenders. Despite the weak offensive line setting up for a great defensive performance by Arizona, it seemed like the Outlaws were struggling to gain any sort of traction. King had a game identical in statistics to the first—finishing with 3 tackles and 1 sack. After going down 14-3 in the first quarter, the Outlaws battled back to win it in nail biting fashion, securing the W with a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Week 3: King Gets a Little Frustrated
Arizona Outlaws 38 – 17 Las Vegas Legion
King’s Stat Line: 2 Tck, 1 Sack
More than anything, Week 3’s game was an offensive showcase for the Arizona Outlaws. For the third week in a row, the Outlaws were expected to roll over their opposition, and this week they lived up to the hype with a flurry of scores. In the first half alone, the Outlaws were able to put a whopping 31 points on the board. The Arizona defense saw some extremely strong performances out of its players, although you wouldn’t believe this from the amount of scoring Las Vegas was able to produce. The Legion were able to score the same amount as the Philadelphia Liberty did in the previous week, a total of 17 points. While there were 4 members on the Outlaws’ defensive squad that got 5+ tackles, King was only able to contribute two, one of those being a sack. Needless to say, the rookie was discouraged, as his play on the field wasn’t showing as much progress from S2 as he felt like he had made. While he was happy for the team’s win, King looked a little distraught as he left the field that day, determined to continue working harder.
Week 4: Bouncing Back
Arizona Outlaws 32 – 0 Colorado Yeti
King’s Stat Line: 5 Tck, 1 TFL, 2 Sacks
As mentioned earlier, Week 3 made King reexamine his entire approach to training for games. While already being what some would call a “student of the game”, spending countless hours working out on a speed ladder and watching film every night, King decided that he needed to up the ante. Not only forcing himself to work harder and devote more of his day to practice, King would also use cones in the gym to simulate situations he was sure to face in the coming games, ones he had worked out through watching film of his future opponents. When it came time for the game, King felt readier than he had ever felt for a game in his life. He had always been able to come mentally resilient, never giving up on a play, but today he felt like he would have the edge on whoever he was matched up against every single play. This confidence was clear in his performance. King was able to contribute the most sacks by anyone on his team against the Yeti, and put up 5 total tackles. The Arizona Outlaws defense also functioned incredibly well as a unit, completely shutting out the Yeti. King was finally performing how he felt like he should be able to each game.
Week 5: Close Calls and Sharp Falls
Arizona Outlaws 28 – 21 Orange County Otters
King’s Stat Line: 1 Tck, 1 Sack
Something was evidently off the day the Outlaws were to take on the Otters. Maybe it was the coffee he drank that morning, maybe it was the cereal ate—who knows. After his performance in the last week, Godfrey King should have felt unstoppable, but for some reason he could be seen slouching as he warmed up for the game. This fact paired with an impressive Orange County offensive line spelled a recipe for complete disaster. The generally impregnable Arizona Defense struggled this game, and owe it to QB Bronko and the rest of the offense for saving their hides. Giving up a touchdown in each quarter except for the fourth, the Defensive Corps just couldn’t put anything together, only getting 2 sacks in the entire game. For King, it felt like he had taken a step back to last year, he simply wasn’t producing at the level he felt he should be. Rather than going back to the drawing board like he did week 3, King just sat in his living room after the game for hours. How was he going to make it in the league if he couldn’t string two fantastic games together in a row?
Week 6: Revenge as Planned
Arizona Outlaws 48 – 6 Philadelphia Liberty
King’s Stat Line: 5 Tck, 2 Sacks
The Arizona Outlaw’s last matchup against the Liberty left a little bit of a bitter taste in their mouths. The Liberty were a team they originally went into the game expecting to walk all over. This backfired on them, as they got tangled up into what was ultimately an extremely close game. Turning the clock forward to Week 6, the Outlaws knew what to expect. Young QB Clifford Rove had only gotten better over the season, and so they knew that their defense would have to play 100% the entire game—no slacking off could be done. All in all, the team came out as they needed to. The offense was on fire—Mackworthy rushed for over 100 yards and Bronko had 2 TDs (also two interceptions). The defense however was unstoppable, or at least Rove was playing a very stoppable game, throwing 4 interceptions total. The Philadelphia Offensive Line also couldn’t hold Godfrey King, coming back from an abysmal performance against the Otters and getting 5 tackles with 2 sacks. Paired with a monstrous performance from Jayce Tuck, 8 tackles with 5 (yes 5) sacks, the legend of “The Gruesome Twosome” had begun. Outlaws take the game handily in the end.
Week 7: Legend of The Gruesome Twosome
Arizona Outlaws 27 – 10 Colorado Yeti
King’s Stat Line: 4 Tck, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
It had been talked about on draft night as one of the future cornerstones of the Arizona Outlaws, but to Godfrey King, he hadn’t really gotten the point until the last game. The Gruesome Twosome was a moniker fans had started using after the dynamic duo of defensive tackles’ fantastic Week 6 performances, and King had started to take a liking to it. The trend continued into Week 7, when the Outlaws matched up again against the Colorado Yeti. Absolutely crushing them in their previous matchup (Week 4), Tuck and King knew that this would be an opportunity to flex their stuff once again. The game wasn’t one which posed any risks to the Outlaws’ undefeated record, they maintained the lead the entire game. King was able to be a solid contributor once again, putting 4 tackles on the board, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack. Jayce Tuck had a monster game, destroying the Colorado offense with 10 total tackles and 5 sacks among those. After the last two games, there was a legitimate case to be made that the Arizona Outlaw defensive tackle duo would be the best pair in the league in the near future. We’ll have to see how that pans out.
GRADED