*Week 10 & 11: Fan Reviews!

[IsaStarcrossed]

We only have two weeks left in the season and now we're really getting into the final grind. Almost all the playoff spots are locked in with the only question marks being San Jose and Austin and we're finally getting an idea of who might hold those coveted top four picks. These games contained a lot of action including a massive comeback and a couple of upsets. Lets dive into another week of Fan Reviews!

@ 24-30, Hawks win. This game was absolutely wild to watch. The Yellowknife Wraiths absolutely dominated this game and made us all confused about why the Hawks made all of these moves at the last minute to improve their team. They got absolutely walloped and was shown why they can't compete with the top teams even with their new players. It was a humiliating affair for the Hawks for about 30 minutes of play time. After going into halftime with a 24-6 lead, the Wraiths choked it away in the second half as Baltimore complete reversed the story line with a 24-0 second half which lead to their victory as the Wraiths had one of the most embarrassing football losses since Atlanta was up 28-3 in the Super Bowl against New England. Cooter Bigsby had a rare mistake free day as his 238 yards and two touchdowns in the second half is a big reason why they had their dominant first half. Jaylen Storm also had a heroic moment early in the game as he had an interception return for a touchdown in the first half that should have been the nail in the coffin in this game. Unfortunately for them, it simply wasn't enough as Corvo Havran had a monster second half as he and Sunnycursed finally began to sync up. After not getting involved in the first, Sunny exploded for 87 yards and a touchdown and his sudden surge was a big reason why this comeback was possible. Dorfus Jimbo is back to grinding up yardage in the ground game, but the end zone alludes him yet again this week. Dorfus must be getting frustrated at this point and there isn't much time left in the season to find points for this guy. This game tied these teams up in the playoff race and now the final two games of the season matters more than ever for them.

@ 37-7, Otters win. After trading away Sunnycursed, many people thought that Orange County might be trying to tank the rest of this season. They put away almost all of those questions in this absolute destruction of the Colorado Yeti. They leaned heavily on their run game with Apollo Reed rushing for 127 yards and a score and Corey Trevor was right behind him with 73 yards and a score of his own. Hugh Mongo showed that he was ready to step up and fill Sunnycursed's shoes as he caught five passes for 94 yards and a score of his own, showing that this rookie has flash and can help carry the Otters into the future. Combine all of this with a defensive touchdown return from Dan Schneider and you had a complete game from this team in which the Yeti never even had a chance to win. Wolfie McDummy went back to being his normal self after a few games that weren't terrible. Less than a 50% completion rating and four interceptions made McDummy the primary reason why Colorado got steamrolled so hard. Terry Taffy did his thing and remained one of the most consistent runners in the league, but the man has to start getting tired of carrying this team on his back just to watch McDummy take the ball out of his hands and throw all his work to the other team. This game officially locked the Yeti out of the playoffs and got Orange County one game closer to them.

@ 14-34, Butchers win. The Butchers offense was firing on all cylinders in this game and after a 17 point third quarter, this game simply got out of hand in a way that San Jose had no chance of recovering from. Rose Jenkins played a new perfect game as Jenkins wen 15 of 19, 238 yards, and two touchdowns to achieve a 153.8 quarterback rating. It was a masterful display and the defense was not ready to be picked apart the way they were. That wasn't enough, though. The Butchers followed up Jenkins' display by absolutely gashing the SaberCats on the ground as their two headed monster rushing attack had their way with San Jose's front seven. Aksel Danielsson and Sam Torenson tag teamed for 196 yards and two touchdowns on a night in which it looked like they could drive trains through the gaps. The Butchers defense dominated the line of scrimmage as well, bring Joliet L. Christ to the ground for seven sacks on the night during a campaign in which Christ seemed absolutely flustered and couldn't find openings in the defense. There was almost nothing positive for San Jose to take from this game. The passing game was lackluster, their rushing attack was as disappointing as it has been all season, and their defense got absolutely steamrolled. It was an ugly affair in which Xavier Flash's 103 yard, one score game off of only four catches was almost completely overlooked. Flash has really tried to stand out for San Jose this season, but he's not going to have any luck keeping this sinking ship afloat. A few weeks ago, we though this San Jose team might be at the top of the standings by season end. Now we're wondering if they'll even make playoffs.

@ 23-40, Liberty win. In this match up we had a game hosted between two teams that have been eliminated from playoff contention. There was so little to play for in this one, that fans had labeled it the Tank Bowl. As it turns out, this game really encapsulated both of these teams' seasons as they proved they struggle to even do that right. Both teams came out firing, marching down the field and putting up over 400 yards of offense each. The Liberty put up 40 points and the Second Line made a vicious attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter. Both of these teams seemed to be hungry for this win and it was displayed through their quarterbacks. Stan Francisco had one of his best games of the season as he threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and avoided turnovers like they were the plague. On the other side, Adriana Falconi had by far her best game of the season as she exploded in monstrous fashion to put up five passes to the end zone and carved her way to a 129.4 quarterback rating. Adriana reminded us all why she was considered one of the best last season and it is a little tragic that it came at a point where this team had nothing to play for. Sam Hardwick had a monster game for Philadelphia as well and his 96 yards, three touchdown stat line was one of the best we've seen from a pass catcher all season long. Vladimir Fyodorovich for New Orleans wasn't going to let him have all the fun though as his 114 yards, two score game seemed to be trying to match Hardwick point for point. Both of these teams had incredible offensive standouts as they did their best to make this game a shootout. Unfortunately for the Liberty, they tried a little harder than New Orleans and pulled out this win. In a game that was likely for the first overall pick, you have to ask yourself who really won this one. New Orleans. New Orleans won this one.

@ 10-35, Outlaws win. When the Outlaws have struggled this season, it has been against teams that are at the bottom of the standings. I'm not sure if it is because they don't practice for these games or if it is because they come in overconfident and get surprised. Whatever the case, the Outlaws seemed to clean that up in this one as they marched their way into a clean victory that was never close enough for Austin to have hope. Andrew Reese had a monster game as he went 35 of 54 for 407 yards and two scores without turning the ball over a single time. This attack was facilitated by a monster game from Slim Shady in which he looked like he had massive holes to run through. 134 all purpose yards while averaging 6.7 yards a touch made Shady the go to weapon anytime this team needed a conversion. Then you had everyone in the receiving corps for this team step up. Tight end Jammerson Irving had one of his best games of the year as he hauled in nine catches for 70 yards and score. Then Brock Landers and Vinny Valentine combined for another 12 catches and 229 yards as it looked like the Copperheads simply could not cover anyone on this roster. Then on the defensive side, you had Raymond Vans come out with a monster game as he put up three sacks in this one and seemed entirely unblockable for the whole night. This was a crushing loss for Austin as Easton Cole couldn't get anything going and Ashley Owens looked pedestrian at best. Their defense got carved like a turkey and it is difficult for me to find anything positive to say here. I guess Honda Edmund had his best game of the season with eight tackles and two sacks, so at least Austin can get excited about his progression. The Outlaws won this game in dominant fashion the way they were supposed to, which is surprising for this team of late.

@ 10-37, Wraiths win. I think most everyone knew what this game was from the start. Philadelphia has been plummeting all season long and with three games left on their schedule, it landed them the Yellowknife. Yellowknife has had a few tough games of late including a loss to the Hawks that made their conference's playoff race far more interesting. There was a moment in this game where it seemed like it might get even more fascinating to watch in the final games of the season, but then the Wraiths came out after the second half with a nail gun and made the coffin they put Philadelphia in look like a porcupine. After having her best game of the season, Falconi miraculously followed it up by having by far the worst performance I've ever seen her play. 11 of 26, 138 yards, zero touchdowns, a given up safety, and two interceptions for a 27.4 quarterback rating. This was ugly, this was heartbreaking, and this is closer to what we've come to expect from Falconi this season as opposed to her five touchdown game. Farley Hank's 120 all purpose yards and Lennox Garnett's kickoff return for a score were the only signs of life this team had all day long. For Yellowknife, Cooter Bigsby seems to be really coming into form at the perfect part of the season. 436 yards and four touchdowns is a monster game by any metric and was only brought down by his two interceptions that the Liberty were incapable of capitalizing on. Danny Grithead had another massive performance with his two sacks including a safety as he continues to produce for the Wraith's defense. If Bigsby can clean up his interceptions, this Wraiths team is starting to look terrifying as they head towards the postseason. You can officially stick a fork in Philadelphia though, with this loss they're done.

@ 21-24, Copperheads win. Surprisingly, this was a big game for Austin as they're still actually in the playoff hunt. With San Jose faltering and the Otters trading away one of their best players, a team that didn't win a game last season still has a gleam of hope left at the end of this one. For Colorado, almost everything went wrong in this one. Wolfie McDummy had less than a 50% completion rating as he struggled to get the ball down the field, Terry Taffy had a rare off day as he couldn't find any holes in the Austin defense, the Yeti defense couldn't get to Easton Cole, and the only reason they were in this game in the first place is because Cole hand fed them 14 points off of interceptions that probably should have cost Austin this game. As I say that though, Easton Cole giveth and Easton Cole taketh away. His 337 yards on the day was why the Copperheads were able to get into scoring range on three different drives and allowed for Ashley Owens and Mako Mendonca to pound it in for scores. Their real highlights of the night was on the defensive side of the balls. Their five sacks as a team rattled McDummy early an often and he never really seemed to get himself set in this one because of it and their two tackles for a loss showed they were often in the back field, constricting what Taffy was able to do as well. I think if Taffy had one of his normal days or if McDummy had at least completed half of his passes, the Yeti might have taken this one. This game meant a lot to an Austin team that has been surprisingly competitive and just needs a few things to go right to reach the promised land. Meanwhile for the playoff eliminated Yeti, this game was three points away from also eliminating them from first pick contention.

@ 24-33, Butchers win. Coming into this game, I thought the Butchers looked the worst playoff bound team in their conference. They did a lot to alleviate that opinion in this one. Rose Jenkins has been one of my biggest question marks about this team, but the Butchers have proven time and time again that they don't have to ask Jenkins for much. Thanks to games like this in which Sam Torenson runs for 93 yards and two touchdowns and Aksel Danielsson tacks on another 90 yards, Chicago has proven that their two headed rushing attack is a dominant combo that will be near impossible for teams to slow down. As long as Chicago is able to keep Jenkins low on attempts and limits the turnovers, I think this team is in a position where they can win almost any game with the way these guys find gaps to run through. On the other side, Andrew Reese had a fairly average day for himself and Slim Shady was able to put two scores up in this one, but the real standout in this game for the Oulaws was Vinny Valentine and his four catches for 135 yards and a 34 yard per catch average. The dude made several absolutely massive plays in this game including a 58 yard grab that led to points for Arizona. Unfortunately their for this group, their defense was completely void of any real impact plays the entire game and as such, Arizona simply couldn't keep up. The Butchers ran all over the champs without any real opposition and put themselves together a standout game as they head into the final weeks of the season. The Outlaws on the other hand really should be scratching their head in this one and wondering where exactly their defense got off to.

@ 17-31, Hawks win. Watching Joliet L. Christ decline as the season has progressed has been one of the most gut wrenching things about this season. In this game he put together one of his more vintage performances as he had a mistake free game and threw two scores, racking up a 135.4 quarterback rating on a day where passing opportunities were limited and he had to use his legs to make things happen. He hasn't looked like the play making game changer he was last season as he was the only player on the entire team that seemed to be capable of making things happen in a flailing display against the Hawks. He did what he could and it wasn't even enough to come close in this one. That may have been a big contributor of why he announced his retirement after the games, making it multiple losses the SaberCats had to take in this one. Corvo Havran had one of his best games on the season as it seems Sunncursed has made a positive impact in his ability to connect with open receivers. He completed 22 of 31 passes for 249 yards, three touchdowns, and not a single turnover in route to a 126.9 quarterback rating. He picked the San Jose defense apart in a way he hasn't really been able to so far this season and he didn't have to rely on Dorfus Jimbo to set up the scores. Defensively for the Hawks, it was an all around solid effort that was led by two sacks and a tackle for a loss Ben Horne. They really made San Jose look flaccid on offense and that's a bad look for a team that has the worst defense of any team left in the playoff race. As Christ's abilities have faltered this season, so has San Jose's aspirations of an Ultimus. They look like the worst team left in contention and at this point I think they'll be thanking their lucky stars just to slip into the playoffs. Meanwhile this win keeps Baltimore in the hunt for home field advantage and a first round bye in their conference.

@ 23-20, Second Line win. This game was a confusing one to watch. Most peopled though New Orleans would have given up by and no one would have blamed them. This season has been circling the drain for a while now and they really don't have anything to play for. Despite that, they came into this game a put together a win in a game that wasn't as close as the scoreboard would suggest. The Second Line had double the first downs and double the yardage that Orange county managed while winning in turnover differential and time of possession. This game should have never been remotely this close, but a couple of huge special teams plays for the Otters kept this game at least entertaining. Tyler Swift played an inspired game for New Orleans and was very likely the only reason they walked away from this one with a win. 190 all purpose yards and a score for a guy who is the second running back on this roster behind Tom Hanks. The fact that New Orleans has both of these guys highlights their wealth of offensive weapons and when you see one show up like this, you have to wonder how New Orleans has gotten themselves in this bad of a spot. For the Otters, this game emphasized their lack of weapons now that Sunnycursed is gone. We saw glimpses of what Hugh Mongo could do as the number one guy, but those glimpses from last game vanished faster than they appeared. He was locked down all night and was never able to have any impact. Apollo Reed and Johnny Blaze both had decent games as they tried their best to keep Orange County in this one, but neither of them have the same explosive play making that this team is now missing. They still have a little time to find their guy before playoffs, but after losing to the team currently at the bottom of the standings, you have to wonder if they actually have a chance to compete in the playoffs. Lucky for New Orleans, this win doesn't hurt their chances at the first pick, so they can relax and enjoy this one.

This was a fun one to write up and I appreciate you guys coming on this journey with me. I apologize if my phrasing seems to be getting more aggressive as these come out, but I'm starting to get to know the teams and the players and as such my articles are getting a bit more personal. I hope you guys enjoy this one and I'll see you next time!

[ScorpXCracker]

Dorfus must be getting frustrated at this point and there isn't much time left in the season to find points for this guy.

you have bo odea

[Raven]

you have bo odea

It's so bad, he has resorted to day time drinking

[iseedoug]