07-12-2017, 03:48 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-12-2017, 03:50 AM by youngcricket.)
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Season, In My Eyez
[/div]
![[Image: nfl_u_willis_d1_300.jpg]](http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0823/nfl_u_willis_d1_300.jpg)
Throughout the inaugural NSFL season, I jotted down memories so that I could look back and see what I was thinking on a week to week basis. For this article, I have decided to expand on them and really reflect onto what happened in my rookie year in the NSFl It may sound cheesy, but I think that the season that myself and the Outlaws had is one that should never be forgotten because of the adversity that we overcame and how we were able to hang with the competition throughout the season. Before I start, I want to give a big thank you to ADwyer and the rest of the Arizona Outlaws for always believing in my abilities as a leader and as a teammate. And to Ballerstorm, who let me really get engaged by becoming a commissioner, forcing me to stay on top of the league happenings. Without these guys, all my teammates, and everybody who told me we couldn't do it, I wouldn't have been half the player I was.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Opening:
[/div]
I decided to join under an alias because a lot of people knew who I was already, and I didn't/don't have the best stigma around. I went by cricket for a little while on Haxball, so I decided that I would be youngcricket and slide in as a relatively unknown figure as the league opened. I saw the application for the commissioner position and decided to apply, just for fun. And because I was on the BoD (Board of Directors) when the SBA opened, and although I was not the most mature at my ripe age of 15, I learned a lot from that experience. I decided that taking this risk was worth it because it would give me a way to stay involved in the league and give me the chance to prove I can handle responsibility in a league. I had held almost every job before, GM, AD, Grader, Updater, BoD, and everything in between. But Commissioner? Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be chosen. When Baller replied with serious follow-up questions I realized the potential reality then BAM, I was a commish in a football league that I really wanted to see become successful. As I took this role, I was glad I was keeping my identity safe, solely because I had gone inactive before.
As I made a player, I realized that I was kind of late. I saw that most offensive positions were taken by other people within the league. I have only been defensive players before and typically it was a DE or a LB. I decided that since I had become a big Jaylon Smith fan (since I'm a Cowboys fan), I would go ahead and be a LB. I mean why not? I love watching Sean Lee run sideline to sideline and be the saving grace for the Cowboys' defense. And Rolando McClain? Just envisioning my player playing like him sealed my fate as a linebacker within the league.
![[Image: Patrick_Willis_Cary_Edmondson_USA_TODAY_Sports.jpg]](http://www.sportsoutwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Patrick_Willis_Cary_Edmondson_USA_TODAY_Sports.jpg)
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Draft:[/div]
Leading up to the draft, I only talked to two teams, Orange County Otters and Yellowknife Wraiths. HFFO was the only guy I heard of sending out mass PM's to people trying to get them interested. He got me interested as I remembered him from the SHL and respected him, and had also heard some of Nuck. I didn't even fill out San Jose's interest form because I had never heard of either of the GM's through anybody. As for OCO, I heard from Official DT, who I had problems with in the past, mostly because he was a hothead and I was a troll so I enjoyed pushing his buttons. This was undeniably a reason OCO didn't draft me, but I was also surprised that they didn't considering they took two LB's before me. I kind of wanted to see here after seeing Shaka get drafted here, and knowing myself as a max TPE guy with a solid league job, I thought I would be. With that said, I really didn't care where I ended up as long as it was somewhere I could play and be respected by my fellow teammates and GMs.
As the draft started, I was in the GM chat and I was very surprised how many picks were going by without me being picked. I was literally a commissioner and helping facilitate the draft and I saw Ballerstorm and Kyle go rather early, but I quietly sat there and watch my stock continue to plummet. I kept updating the original post of the draft, as was my job, and checking the discord of the draft to see if there was anybody picking me. Round 1 went by, 1 LB who wasn't me was taken. Round 2 went by, 1 LB went by who wasn't me and it was to Yellowknife which stung. Round 3 went by, no LBs were taken. I was getting confused as to the value of LBs when only one was taken in the 4th round. The 5th round came and went without any new additions to the position taken squad. With picks 36 and 37, the Otters drafted 2 LBs, neither of which were me. This definitely had me upset, especially since Arby Krimlaw had inactive written all over him in my eyes and they knew who my alias was. Well, I guess every team did since it was posted in the GM section when I became commissioner. Finally, at pick 42, I was selected by my favorite team... The Arizona Outlaws?
I no doubt was excited to be picked and enjoyed when the GM messaged me. Being as I could see the Discord of the draft, I messaged him and told him that there were a few players I thought we should take, which included John Canton and Ricky Maddox. Unfortunately, Maddox was taken before we had another pick and Canton just was not in the plans of the GM, which I'm sure he regrets. I eventually had to leave the draft, as I was needed elsewhere, but when I came back, I can honestly say that I was a bit perplexed at the draft we had. I didn't think that we had that many active players and I didn't think that the team would be very competitive. When I saw and thought this, I proceeded to message almost every player on the team to make sure they were on board with the plan to win a god damn championship. Everybody responded and said they were all in and wanted to be the inaugural championships. This got me somewhat excited, but I was still not convinced with out Wide Receivers or my fellow defensive mates. I was also a bit skeptical as to the talent that 701 possessed and how long he would be around because I had seen him go inactive time and time again. But he always has reasonable excuses, he works a lot.
We also had some locker room drama prior to the season, Kendrick wasn't so sure that he wanted to be in Arizona and ADwyer was kind of freaking out. After calming down our GM, I PMd Kendrick and told him who I was and begged him to just give Arizona a chance. Kendrick has clashes with other people, but he is genuinely a good guy who is often, I feel, misunderstood in intention. Anyways, I was able to sway him to stay calm and let it play out in Arizona. Luckily for us, he agreed to this and let ADwyer sign him to a fat contract that would keep the first rounder of our team well taken care of. I think that not trading Kendrick was the best thing that he could of done, as he was a backbone in our defensive backfield for the entire season. With this settled and me being convinced that my teammates were all going to be at least somewhat active, it was time for us to start the real season. As everybody bashed us and told us that we would have a terrible team, I gave in and decided to predict that the Otters would best us, but I just didn't see the talent that others saw on the San Jose Sabercats so I thought we would wind up getting a second place finish within our division, which would still be good enough for the playoffs.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]
Pre-Season
Week 1
[/div]
Pre-Season was an exciting time, as I had been dying for a new football sim league to come around and it was finally time to see what this sim engine was all about. No, it wasn't the awesome Madden sims that many other leagues have done where you can see your players, but seeing Draft Day Sports Pro Football Simulator in action was no doubt an exciting experience. As we waited for the first game, we had to play the Orange County Otters, which included Adamle Tomlinson who was starting to make me mad with all of his unnecessary trash talk. When the results came out, however, there was not much that I could do to try and defend us. We lost our first game 16-3, and undeniably bad performance. For me personally, I had 7 tackles which was a pretty meh performance in my eyes. Only giving up 16 points isn't too bad, but I felt like I could have made a bigger impact by recording some kind of other stat like defending passes or getting sacks or, hell, maybe starting off my career on the right foot and forcing a turnover. One player that stood out to me was Ernston. He managed to rack up a team-leading 8 tackles and also had a tackle for loss. Jayce Tuck was also exceptional as he was able to rack up 2 sacks and was wrecking havoc on Mike Boss all night, presumably.
The offense, however, absolutely sputtered. The offensive line was terrible as they allowed 7 sacks on our quarterback and Draxel was under pressure all night. Our running backs didn't have too many yards per carry, but that was likely because the terrible play of our offensive line and the great front seven that it looked like the Otters were rolling out. I was pretty disappointed to lose my first professional game, but we just took the shit talking and made ourselves realize that this was just the pre-season and it actually has 0 bearing on how the real season will go. We all still believed that we could end up being the best team in the NSFL.
![[Image: 2ee2bb0a0ad3d3c647117b8576dfd6fc--patric...obrian.jpg]](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2e/e2/bb/2ee2bb0a0ad3d3c647117b8576dfd6fc--patrick-willis-patrick-obrian.jpg)
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 2:
[/div]
Week 2 was a slightly better game for us. We played the Colorado Yeti and came out with guns blazing as Stormblessed brought in a touchdown to give us the early lead, but we ended up collapsing and blowing that small lead. The loss to Noble and the Yeti wasn't necessarily painful in the loss, but it definitely hurt to see the offensive line to play the way it did again. They gave up 8 more sacks which really kills offensive drives. We knew that Draxel was getting no protection and had no time to deliver strikes to our wide receivers. As a defensive player, it was extremely frustrating to see the offense perform as it did when we only let up a measly 17 points. At least Mackworthy had a coming out party in this game, though. That was a big positive and helped me see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Defensively, I was impressed by Brady Stropko as he was able to get a team high 9 tackles and Jayce Tuck who was able to rack in another sack. As a defense, we got three sacks, which is pretty good for a team who didn't have too active of a defensive line regarding updates. For my player, Jaylon Lee, I was pretty disappointed with my 6 tackles as I was looking to be the tackles leader in the regular season so this kind of performance was discouraging. I was, however, able to get an interception. As a fan of Sean Lee, this was pretty cool as he is one of the best coverage MLB's in the NFL. I thought that we could have done better in both games, but I saw a lot of potential and things to build on after this showing.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 3:
[/div]
Playing the San Jose Sabercats? Yeah, I was definitely ready to show our division and the rest of the league that we were no laughing stock and were going to be either the best or second best in the league. Unfortunately, it turned into a shootout and somehow the Outlaws lost (funny pun right there). The first thing that popped off the stat sheet when I looked at it was that Jameis Christ managed to throw for 243 yards and 3 TD's against us, which seemed like a lot of bad stuff. His Running Backs also caught quite a few balls, meaning that myself and the rest of the Linebackers on our team were struggling to contain them as they came out of the backfield and exploded into their routes. It was nice to see that the offense had picked up a little bit. They managed to score 26 and Jack Durden and Mackworthy both managed to record very solid yards per carry averages. I was ecstatic to see that because it meant that we could not only run the ball, but we could move it up and the field while maintaining the time of possession advantage that every team desires. Again, though, the offensive line gave up 6 sacks to a pass rush that was not very potent at all. I was very upset to see this because it made me feel like no matter what we did on defense, the offense would likely stall out because they have no holes to run it and no time to be able to throw the ball when necessary.
For myself, I was pretty satisfied to see that I got 8 tackles and was able to sack the quarterback one time for the team. It was my first sack so that was pretty cool to see that my player could shoot up the gap and get pressure on the quarterback when needed. I also had a pass deflection, which proved my ability to drop back into coverage once again. Tuck recorded a sack for us once again, which made me feel really confident that we not only had the best DE in the game, but with Arbin Asipi getting a sack, and Stropko recording 9 tackles, the best front 7 in the game. Ernston had a weak game, but it didn't matter too much as we could stop the ball from moving and our offense constantly stalled out. Seeing that Rashad had 8 tackles made me feel uneasy, because it probably meant that he was allowing a lot of completions or was chasing down long plays that made it past our front 7. Overall, it was improvement for offense, but wasn't a game that we wanted to remember. All we wanted to come out of any of this was a championship. Not losses.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 4:
[/div]
In our last game of the pre-season, we were matched up against the Baltimore Hawks, the most explosive team, or so it appeared. They were the only team to have a perfect record and though they didn't scare us, we didn't feel very confident that we would be able to down them with the way we had been struggling. We, unfortunately, swallowed a heartbreaker of a loss 9-8. Reg Mackworthy was a very effective back again and his performance had me thinking that he could be in the running for an award like MVP or Offensive Player of the Year. Unfortunately, I also realized he was in a committee of running backs and I didn't think that a guy like Newman was really worth being in it, but that's a different story. Stormblessed also stood out, as he hauled in 94 yards worth of receiving. Though this wasn't anything crazy, it was better than I expected from him when we first drafted him. I saw a lot of pieces that looked good in this game, but wasn't sure what to expect. Vincent Draxel was completing 50 percent of passes and was extremely inconsistent. This may have been because of the offensive line, who managed to allow 7 sacks yet again, amassing to a brutal 28 sacks in 4 games in the pre-season. As a defensive player it made me feel like I would have a lot of pressure, and that scared me to be frank with you.
Looking at Jaylon Lee, I was very satisfied with my performance in a game dominated by the defenses of the two teams. I was able to rack up 11 tackles, record a sack, a tackle for loss, and also score two of our points by getting a safety. Seeing that I got 25% of our points was cool, but also discouraging. Asipi and Blaster Blade both recorded more sacks which was good to see, so I knew that our defensive line was still strong. We also had Isaiah Rashad who was not overly active, but managed to intercept a pass, which was big for my confidence in our secondary. I knew that Flock and Jackson would hold it down at safety, but it was nice to see one of our cornerback spots being really fulfilled.
Following pre-season, we had a big team discussion. I believe it was Tuck who said that we all need to keep each other accountable to updating and everybody agreed. We began a Discord for us to use and tried to keep everybody posted on how to keep TPE. Going 0-4 in the pre-season is not fun, but we had the utmost confidence that we would find a way to turn around our early struggles and rebound to win a championship. Now that we had the belief, all we had to do was execute.
words: 3,018
[/div]
![[Image: nfl_u_willis_d1_300.jpg]](http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0823/nfl_u_willis_d1_300.jpg)
Throughout the inaugural NSFL season, I jotted down memories so that I could look back and see what I was thinking on a week to week basis. For this article, I have decided to expand on them and really reflect onto what happened in my rookie year in the NSFl It may sound cheesy, but I think that the season that myself and the Outlaws had is one that should never be forgotten because of the adversity that we overcame and how we were able to hang with the competition throughout the season. Before I start, I want to give a big thank you to ADwyer and the rest of the Arizona Outlaws for always believing in my abilities as a leader and as a teammate. And to Ballerstorm, who let me really get engaged by becoming a commissioner, forcing me to stay on top of the league happenings. Without these guys, all my teammates, and everybody who told me we couldn't do it, I wouldn't have been half the player I was.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Opening:
[/div]
I decided to join under an alias because a lot of people knew who I was already, and I didn't/don't have the best stigma around. I went by cricket for a little while on Haxball, so I decided that I would be youngcricket and slide in as a relatively unknown figure as the league opened. I saw the application for the commissioner position and decided to apply, just for fun. And because I was on the BoD (Board of Directors) when the SBA opened, and although I was not the most mature at my ripe age of 15, I learned a lot from that experience. I decided that taking this risk was worth it because it would give me a way to stay involved in the league and give me the chance to prove I can handle responsibility in a league. I had held almost every job before, GM, AD, Grader, Updater, BoD, and everything in between. But Commissioner? Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be chosen. When Baller replied with serious follow-up questions I realized the potential reality then BAM, I was a commish in a football league that I really wanted to see become successful. As I took this role, I was glad I was keeping my identity safe, solely because I had gone inactive before.
As I made a player, I realized that I was kind of late. I saw that most offensive positions were taken by other people within the league. I have only been defensive players before and typically it was a DE or a LB. I decided that since I had become a big Jaylon Smith fan (since I'm a Cowboys fan), I would go ahead and be a LB. I mean why not? I love watching Sean Lee run sideline to sideline and be the saving grace for the Cowboys' defense. And Rolando McClain? Just envisioning my player playing like him sealed my fate as a linebacker within the league.
![[Image: Patrick_Willis_Cary_Edmondson_USA_TODAY_Sports.jpg]](http://www.sportsoutwest.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Patrick_Willis_Cary_Edmondson_USA_TODAY_Sports.jpg)
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Draft:[/div]
Leading up to the draft, I only talked to two teams, Orange County Otters and Yellowknife Wraiths. HFFO was the only guy I heard of sending out mass PM's to people trying to get them interested. He got me interested as I remembered him from the SHL and respected him, and had also heard some of Nuck. I didn't even fill out San Jose's interest form because I had never heard of either of the GM's through anybody. As for OCO, I heard from Official DT, who I had problems with in the past, mostly because he was a hothead and I was a troll so I enjoyed pushing his buttons. This was undeniably a reason OCO didn't draft me, but I was also surprised that they didn't considering they took two LB's before me. I kind of wanted to see here after seeing Shaka get drafted here, and knowing myself as a max TPE guy with a solid league job, I thought I would be. With that said, I really didn't care where I ended up as long as it was somewhere I could play and be respected by my fellow teammates and GMs.
As the draft started, I was in the GM chat and I was very surprised how many picks were going by without me being picked. I was literally a commissioner and helping facilitate the draft and I saw Ballerstorm and Kyle go rather early, but I quietly sat there and watch my stock continue to plummet. I kept updating the original post of the draft, as was my job, and checking the discord of the draft to see if there was anybody picking me. Round 1 went by, 1 LB who wasn't me was taken. Round 2 went by, 1 LB went by who wasn't me and it was to Yellowknife which stung. Round 3 went by, no LBs were taken. I was getting confused as to the value of LBs when only one was taken in the 4th round. The 5th round came and went without any new additions to the position taken squad. With picks 36 and 37, the Otters drafted 2 LBs, neither of which were me. This definitely had me upset, especially since Arby Krimlaw had inactive written all over him in my eyes and they knew who my alias was. Well, I guess every team did since it was posted in the GM section when I became commissioner. Finally, at pick 42, I was selected by my favorite team... The Arizona Outlaws?
I no doubt was excited to be picked and enjoyed when the GM messaged me. Being as I could see the Discord of the draft, I messaged him and told him that there were a few players I thought we should take, which included John Canton and Ricky Maddox. Unfortunately, Maddox was taken before we had another pick and Canton just was not in the plans of the GM, which I'm sure he regrets. I eventually had to leave the draft, as I was needed elsewhere, but when I came back, I can honestly say that I was a bit perplexed at the draft we had. I didn't think that we had that many active players and I didn't think that the team would be very competitive. When I saw and thought this, I proceeded to message almost every player on the team to make sure they were on board with the plan to win a god damn championship. Everybody responded and said they were all in and wanted to be the inaugural championships. This got me somewhat excited, but I was still not convinced with out Wide Receivers or my fellow defensive mates. I was also a bit skeptical as to the talent that 701 possessed and how long he would be around because I had seen him go inactive time and time again. But he always has reasonable excuses, he works a lot.
We also had some locker room drama prior to the season, Kendrick wasn't so sure that he wanted to be in Arizona and ADwyer was kind of freaking out. After calming down our GM, I PMd Kendrick and told him who I was and begged him to just give Arizona a chance. Kendrick has clashes with other people, but he is genuinely a good guy who is often, I feel, misunderstood in intention. Anyways, I was able to sway him to stay calm and let it play out in Arizona. Luckily for us, he agreed to this and let ADwyer sign him to a fat contract that would keep the first rounder of our team well taken care of. I think that not trading Kendrick was the best thing that he could of done, as he was a backbone in our defensive backfield for the entire season. With this settled and me being convinced that my teammates were all going to be at least somewhat active, it was time for us to start the real season. As everybody bashed us and told us that we would have a terrible team, I gave in and decided to predict that the Otters would best us, but I just didn't see the talent that others saw on the San Jose Sabercats so I thought we would wind up getting a second place finish within our division, which would still be good enough for the playoffs.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]
Pre-Season
Week 1
[/div]
Pre-Season was an exciting time, as I had been dying for a new football sim league to come around and it was finally time to see what this sim engine was all about. No, it wasn't the awesome Madden sims that many other leagues have done where you can see your players, but seeing Draft Day Sports Pro Football Simulator in action was no doubt an exciting experience. As we waited for the first game, we had to play the Orange County Otters, which included Adamle Tomlinson who was starting to make me mad with all of his unnecessary trash talk. When the results came out, however, there was not much that I could do to try and defend us. We lost our first game 16-3, and undeniably bad performance. For me personally, I had 7 tackles which was a pretty meh performance in my eyes. Only giving up 16 points isn't too bad, but I felt like I could have made a bigger impact by recording some kind of other stat like defending passes or getting sacks or, hell, maybe starting off my career on the right foot and forcing a turnover. One player that stood out to me was Ernston. He managed to rack up a team-leading 8 tackles and also had a tackle for loss. Jayce Tuck was also exceptional as he was able to rack up 2 sacks and was wrecking havoc on Mike Boss all night, presumably.
The offense, however, absolutely sputtered. The offensive line was terrible as they allowed 7 sacks on our quarterback and Draxel was under pressure all night. Our running backs didn't have too many yards per carry, but that was likely because the terrible play of our offensive line and the great front seven that it looked like the Otters were rolling out. I was pretty disappointed to lose my first professional game, but we just took the shit talking and made ourselves realize that this was just the pre-season and it actually has 0 bearing on how the real season will go. We all still believed that we could end up being the best team in the NSFL.
![[Image: 2ee2bb0a0ad3d3c647117b8576dfd6fc--patric...obrian.jpg]](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2e/e2/bb/2ee2bb0a0ad3d3c647117b8576dfd6fc--patrick-willis-patrick-obrian.jpg)
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 2:
[/div]
Week 2 was a slightly better game for us. We played the Colorado Yeti and came out with guns blazing as Stormblessed brought in a touchdown to give us the early lead, but we ended up collapsing and blowing that small lead. The loss to Noble and the Yeti wasn't necessarily painful in the loss, but it definitely hurt to see the offensive line to play the way it did again. They gave up 8 more sacks which really kills offensive drives. We knew that Draxel was getting no protection and had no time to deliver strikes to our wide receivers. As a defensive player, it was extremely frustrating to see the offense perform as it did when we only let up a measly 17 points. At least Mackworthy had a coming out party in this game, though. That was a big positive and helped me see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Defensively, I was impressed by Brady Stropko as he was able to get a team high 9 tackles and Jayce Tuck who was able to rack in another sack. As a defense, we got three sacks, which is pretty good for a team who didn't have too active of a defensive line regarding updates. For my player, Jaylon Lee, I was pretty disappointed with my 6 tackles as I was looking to be the tackles leader in the regular season so this kind of performance was discouraging. I was, however, able to get an interception. As a fan of Sean Lee, this was pretty cool as he is one of the best coverage MLB's in the NFL. I thought that we could have done better in both games, but I saw a lot of potential and things to build on after this showing.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 3:
[/div]
Playing the San Jose Sabercats? Yeah, I was definitely ready to show our division and the rest of the league that we were no laughing stock and were going to be either the best or second best in the league. Unfortunately, it turned into a shootout and somehow the Outlaws lost (funny pun right there). The first thing that popped off the stat sheet when I looked at it was that Jameis Christ managed to throw for 243 yards and 3 TD's against us, which seemed like a lot of bad stuff. His Running Backs also caught quite a few balls, meaning that myself and the rest of the Linebackers on our team were struggling to contain them as they came out of the backfield and exploded into their routes. It was nice to see that the offense had picked up a little bit. They managed to score 26 and Jack Durden and Mackworthy both managed to record very solid yards per carry averages. I was ecstatic to see that because it meant that we could not only run the ball, but we could move it up and the field while maintaining the time of possession advantage that every team desires. Again, though, the offensive line gave up 6 sacks to a pass rush that was not very potent at all. I was very upset to see this because it made me feel like no matter what we did on defense, the offense would likely stall out because they have no holes to run it and no time to be able to throw the ball when necessary.
For myself, I was pretty satisfied to see that I got 8 tackles and was able to sack the quarterback one time for the team. It was my first sack so that was pretty cool to see that my player could shoot up the gap and get pressure on the quarterback when needed. I also had a pass deflection, which proved my ability to drop back into coverage once again. Tuck recorded a sack for us once again, which made me feel really confident that we not only had the best DE in the game, but with Arbin Asipi getting a sack, and Stropko recording 9 tackles, the best front 7 in the game. Ernston had a weak game, but it didn't matter too much as we could stop the ball from moving and our offense constantly stalled out. Seeing that Rashad had 8 tackles made me feel uneasy, because it probably meant that he was allowing a lot of completions or was chasing down long plays that made it past our front 7. Overall, it was improvement for offense, but wasn't a game that we wanted to remember. All we wanted to come out of any of this was a championship. Not losses.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]Week 4:
[/div]
In our last game of the pre-season, we were matched up against the Baltimore Hawks, the most explosive team, or so it appeared. They were the only team to have a perfect record and though they didn't scare us, we didn't feel very confident that we would be able to down them with the way we had been struggling. We, unfortunately, swallowed a heartbreaker of a loss 9-8. Reg Mackworthy was a very effective back again and his performance had me thinking that he could be in the running for an award like MVP or Offensive Player of the Year. Unfortunately, I also realized he was in a committee of running backs and I didn't think that a guy like Newman was really worth being in it, but that's a different story. Stormblessed also stood out, as he hauled in 94 yards worth of receiving. Though this wasn't anything crazy, it was better than I expected from him when we first drafted him. I saw a lot of pieces that looked good in this game, but wasn't sure what to expect. Vincent Draxel was completing 50 percent of passes and was extremely inconsistent. This may have been because of the offensive line, who managed to allow 7 sacks yet again, amassing to a brutal 28 sacks in 4 games in the pre-season. As a defensive player it made me feel like I would have a lot of pressure, and that scared me to be frank with you.
Looking at Jaylon Lee, I was very satisfied with my performance in a game dominated by the defenses of the two teams. I was able to rack up 11 tackles, record a sack, a tackle for loss, and also score two of our points by getting a safety. Seeing that I got 25% of our points was cool, but also discouraging. Asipi and Blaster Blade both recorded more sacks which was good to see, so I knew that our defensive line was still strong. We also had Isaiah Rashad who was not overly active, but managed to intercept a pass, which was big for my confidence in our secondary. I knew that Flock and Jackson would hold it down at safety, but it was nice to see one of our cornerback spots being really fulfilled.
Following pre-season, we had a big team discussion. I believe it was Tuck who said that we all need to keep each other accountable to updating and everybody agreed. We began a Discord for us to use and tried to keep everybody posted on how to keep TPE. Going 0-4 in the pre-season is not fun, but we had the utmost confidence that we would find a way to turn around our early struggles and rebound to win a championship. Now that we had the belief, all we had to do was execute.
words: 3,018
![[Image: pW5BShp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/pW5BShp.png)
![[Image: dGb6cvU.jpg]](https://images-ext-2.discordapp.net/external/NwItHACVWD99rbqaiLxL5ykSu6HzMWQyjgbXuuAMsEY/https/i.imgur.com/dGb6cvU.jpg)