As I start to write this it’s 1 AM now and it’s definitely late but I’ve been slacking on the game reviews and I thought I’d write 2 of them to make up for the one I missed yesterday.
For Game Review 3, I thought I’d take us back a bit and go to an older game in an ancient era. Anyone remember S7? Well, what about the playoff picture at the time? Going into week 16, in the ASFC, there were 3 below average teams competing for that coveted 2nd seed. Arizona and NOLA were 4-9. San Jose was 5-8. Arizona and NOLA would have tiebreakers over San Jose if San Jose lost and Arizona/NOLA won. Lucky for them, San Jose did end up losing to the Otters, and NOLA and Arizona still had to play their game. Winner gets into the playoffs.There could not have been more stakes on the line. Let’s get right into the action.
Arizona starts out pathetic, with a sack forcing them to go 3 and out on their opening drive. A sack by Hariff Ernston forces a 3rd and 17 for NOLA but Maximus launches a huge 55 dime to Evans to bring them into FG range already. At a 3rd and 6 on the Arizona 7, Ernston comes up clutch and gets another sack, forcing the FG. The score is 3-0, NOLA is up. Bronko is sacked twice on the next drive and is forced to punt, and already we see 5 sacks from both teams within the first 6 minutes. A terrible punt gives NOLA great field position and a 4th down conversion + some great throws gets them a TD, setting them up 10-0. Arizona offense can’t do anything and they are forced to punt again. But this time, their defense bails them out. Stone runs back a pick for 6 and brings the score to a respectables 10-7. On the next drive, Maximus throws a 2nd int, and on the very next play, Bronko heaves it to the endzone and scored, putting his team up 14-10. Just like that, Arizona is up 4 points. NOLA’s following drive stalls out and they punt, but get the ball right back as Arizona’s offense stalls out too. A 3rd sack by Ernston sets NOLA back a bit, but back to back 20 yard completions sets them up in good position and they take the field goal after another sack, cutting the Arizona lead to one at 14-13. 5 straight rushes by Arizona stalls the drive out and they’re forced to punt. There’s 10 minutes left in the 2nd quarter as they punt back to NOLA. They have a long drive which results in a turnover on downs just outside of field goal range. After that, both teams do absolutely nothing, trading punts twice and going into the half 14-13, Arizona on top. A big return in the opening kickoff boosts NOLA’s field position and they end up settling for another field goal, giving them back the lead at 16-14. Arizona stalls out again, punting, and on a drive with 3 consecutive penalties, and a sack, it ends up resulting in a missed 52 yarder for NOLA. Arizona goes 3 and out again, and NOLA is unable to sustain a drive either. Back to back sacks by Brain Mills forces another Arizona punt. Arizona punted 13 times today, and it’s not hard to see why. Both teams trade punts again and NOLA gets the ball right back. They waste no time getting the ball in the redzone but a sack by Hackett sets them back in the tracks and they are forced to kick a FG. Wow the rhyming. They are now up 19-14 with under 13 minutes left to play in the 4th quarter. Arizona will have to get it together or else they’ll be sitting and watching the playoffs from home. Bronko throws back to back huge completions for 63 yards total, and an unfortunate blown up screen forces them to kick a FG, making the score 19-17 with 8 minutes left to go. A terrible return sets up NOLA in terrible field position and their offense sputters out, and punts, but they took 2 minutes off the clock. It seems like this might be the final drive of the game for Arizona, and what do they do with 5 minutes left down 2? They go 3 and out of course. NOLA defense holds strong, but their offense doesn’t. On the first play of their new possession with 4 minutes left to go, they fumble it. And Arizona picks it up of course, and in great field position. Their offense sputters out but they manage to get a FG. On NOLA’s next drive, they fumble again, but this time the offense picks it up. A dropped pass forces them to punt at their own 40 yard line, but critics will ask why they didn’t go for it down 1 point with a 4th & 4 at their own 40 yard line with 2 minutes left to go. They would never see the ball again. Arizona was going to the playoffs. Their defense set up the offense so well and really carried the team.
Update: My eyes are about to fall out of their socket, so let’s just call this game review #3 and I’ll double up on it later today to make up for the ones I’ve missed.
For Game Review 3, I thought I’d take us back a bit and go to an older game in an ancient era. Anyone remember S7? Well, what about the playoff picture at the time? Going into week 16, in the ASFC, there were 3 below average teams competing for that coveted 2nd seed. Arizona and NOLA were 4-9. San Jose was 5-8. Arizona and NOLA would have tiebreakers over San Jose if San Jose lost and Arizona/NOLA won. Lucky for them, San Jose did end up losing to the Otters, and NOLA and Arizona still had to play their game. Winner gets into the playoffs.There could not have been more stakes on the line. Let’s get right into the action.
Arizona starts out pathetic, with a sack forcing them to go 3 and out on their opening drive. A sack by Hariff Ernston forces a 3rd and 17 for NOLA but Maximus launches a huge 55 dime to Evans to bring them into FG range already. At a 3rd and 6 on the Arizona 7, Ernston comes up clutch and gets another sack, forcing the FG. The score is 3-0, NOLA is up. Bronko is sacked twice on the next drive and is forced to punt, and already we see 5 sacks from both teams within the first 6 minutes. A terrible punt gives NOLA great field position and a 4th down conversion + some great throws gets them a TD, setting them up 10-0. Arizona offense can’t do anything and they are forced to punt again. But this time, their defense bails them out. Stone runs back a pick for 6 and brings the score to a respectables 10-7. On the next drive, Maximus throws a 2nd int, and on the very next play, Bronko heaves it to the endzone and scored, putting his team up 14-10. Just like that, Arizona is up 4 points. NOLA’s following drive stalls out and they punt, but get the ball right back as Arizona’s offense stalls out too. A 3rd sack by Ernston sets NOLA back a bit, but back to back 20 yard completions sets them up in good position and they take the field goal after another sack, cutting the Arizona lead to one at 14-13. 5 straight rushes by Arizona stalls the drive out and they’re forced to punt. There’s 10 minutes left in the 2nd quarter as they punt back to NOLA. They have a long drive which results in a turnover on downs just outside of field goal range. After that, both teams do absolutely nothing, trading punts twice and going into the half 14-13, Arizona on top. A big return in the opening kickoff boosts NOLA’s field position and they end up settling for another field goal, giving them back the lead at 16-14. Arizona stalls out again, punting, and on a drive with 3 consecutive penalties, and a sack, it ends up resulting in a missed 52 yarder for NOLA. Arizona goes 3 and out again, and NOLA is unable to sustain a drive either. Back to back sacks by Brain Mills forces another Arizona punt. Arizona punted 13 times today, and it’s not hard to see why. Both teams trade punts again and NOLA gets the ball right back. They waste no time getting the ball in the redzone but a sack by Hackett sets them back in the tracks and they are forced to kick a FG. Wow the rhyming. They are now up 19-14 with under 13 minutes left to play in the 4th quarter. Arizona will have to get it together or else they’ll be sitting and watching the playoffs from home. Bronko throws back to back huge completions for 63 yards total, and an unfortunate blown up screen forces them to kick a FG, making the score 19-17 with 8 minutes left to go. A terrible return sets up NOLA in terrible field position and their offense sputters out, and punts, but they took 2 minutes off the clock. It seems like this might be the final drive of the game for Arizona, and what do they do with 5 minutes left down 2? They go 3 and out of course. NOLA defense holds strong, but their offense doesn’t. On the first play of their new possession with 4 minutes left to go, they fumble it. And Arizona picks it up of course, and in great field position. Their offense sputters out but they manage to get a FG. On NOLA’s next drive, they fumble again, but this time the offense picks it up. A dropped pass forces them to punt at their own 40 yard line, but critics will ask why they didn’t go for it down 1 point with a 4th & 4 at their own 40 yard line with 2 minutes left to go. They would never see the ball again. Arizona was going to the playoffs. Their defense set up the offense so well and really carried the team.
Update: My eyes are about to fall out of their socket, so let’s just call this game review #3 and I’ll double up on it later today to make up for the ones I’ve missed.
