*Positional Review of the DSFL - P1 (Tijuana Off.)

[jeffie43]

Am I stupid for writing this article? Maybe. Am I stupid in general? Yes. Do I want monies? Maybe. Do I care about this upcoming DSFL Draft? Very much so.

Hey all, Jeffrey LaVert here and this will be my first piece of media. An article where I dive into all of the existing DSFL teams sans Norfolk and Kansas City (Or plan to at least, I'm sorry if I miss some teams due to time constraints pre-draft). As a prospect myself I was curious as to which teams had ideal situations for myself and decided to dive into the already existing DSFL teams’ past season and current roster situation while attempting to speculate send-downs. Please do note that each grade represents a teams need to draft someone at the position and everything comes from me and represents my opinion.

Anyways, let’s cut to the chase and dive right into it!

Tijuana Luchadores (GMs: Earl Sauce & Fuzzy Dotson):
Oh my, “sim gonna sim” might just describe Tijuana’s season in a nutshell. After tearing up the DSFL with an 11-3 record and a strong win against another Ultimini contender in Myrtle Beach, the Luchadores dropped the ball in a big way against the Grey Ducks in the Ultimini game, where they had lost 16-13.

Tijuana Offense:
- Tijuana had one of the more mediocres offenses in the league as they had the:
- 3rd Lowest Points For
- 3rd in Passing Yards (2nd in Passing TDs)
And 2nd in Rushing Yards

Overall there’s nothing that Tijuana specifically stands out in overall but this balanced offensive scheme led them to an Ultimini finals mainly off the backs of Podolak, Blocksdale Jr. and Vuxta.

QB:
Potential Losses: Avon Blocksdale Jr. (Call ups), Apollo Lange (KCC)
Retains:

In terms of QBs, Tijuana had the pleasure of having someone I’d consider the “Jacoby Brissett” of the DSFL in Avon Blocksdale Jr. His stats were considered around league average and although he may have room for growth as time moves on due to more TPE, he is very much in danger of losing (potentially) his top 2 targets in Randy Vuxta and Jordan McCann III. Both of them had fantastic seasons (by DSFL standards) for Tijuana and losing 1 will definitely hurt Blocksdale Jr, but both could lead to negative consequences unless Tijuana manages to grab some more talent at the position via the draft or through other means.



Blocksdale Jr. was just about more mobile than the Statue of Liberty and was extremely inconsistent in terms of accuracy all throughout the season, however, activity, reputation and average performance will keep himself as the starter of Tijuana int he event that he does remain as their QB instead of getting called up.

Unfortunately for the Luchadores I don’t think Blocksdale plans on staying around in the DSFL for much longer and plans on getting called up this season to the Philadelphia Liberty. In the case that Blocksdale Jr. does end up getting a call from Philadelphia, Tijuana is gonna be in a lot of trouble, plain and simple. They absolutely need a QB this draft if they don’t want to be the new Norfolk, enough said.

Positional Need: A++++



RB/FB:
Potential Losses: Ed Barker (Draft), Jed Podolak (Call ups)
Retains: Colonel Tushfinger, Hank McCoy, Ducky Donut, Ben Bortboy

Tijuana had 4 strong running backs throughout the season as the majority of their damage was done through the ground. They had the 2nd most rushing yards in total as a team and featured the 2nd best running back in the league (In terms of rushing yards) in Jed Podolak.

Jed Podolak was among the best running backs in the league and was on fire all season long with 1544 Rushing Yards (2nd), 5.4 YPC (2nd in Running backs with 100 Attempts or more) and 11 TDs (T-2nd).



Podolak would struggle with consistent reps every now and then with GMs Earl Sauce and Fuzzy Dotson choosing to go with a more committee-based approach in certain games, spreading the ball around with Tushfinger (Who would only appear in 7 games) and Donut. Although both would manage to get a combined 177 Attempts to Podolak’s 311, his nose as well as attempts in the red zone would lead to him getting 11 rushing TDs to the others’ combined...2.

However all this success may come at a cost as Podolak may just be getting a call from his NSFL GM soon

Ducky Donut was a key part of Tijuana’s initial success through the ground and played a major factor in their split-back approach. However things would turn sour after Ducky became an inactive player as the season progressed.



On the other hand, Tushfinger (a popular/famous recreate) made their entrance in a game against Myrtle Beach in the middle of the season and had a strong entrance against one of the better defenses in the league, only to suffer from the same fate as Ducky Donut as they eventually became inactive as well, except never getting past 50 TPE.



Ed Barker made his appearance much later in the season but has shown signs of progress and life unlike the previous two. However, his lackluster performances aside from a game may have hurt Tijuana down the stretch, and quite possibly even the Ultimini game as he failed to get anything going when the offense turned to him after Podolak’s struggles.



Although Tijuana may have had one of the best running backs in the league and one of the better running back committees in the DSFL in general, inactivity and untimely struggles may have cost the Luchadores their season as they all faltered in the Ultimini. As we look ahead, it will be hard not to see RB as a glaring issue for Tijuana due to them probably losing Podolak to the NSFL and Barker in the DSFL draft.

Positional Need: A

WR:
Potential Losses: Randy Vuxta (NSFL Call-Up), Rusty Nails (Draft)
Retains: Jordan McCann III, Jesse Jackson, Ron Mexico, Alexander Ryan, Jackson Valdez, Miles Royal

Randy Vuxta was simply put, a beast. Despite playing alongside another fantastic WR in McCann III, he was always consistent with his receptions outside of 2 outliers where the offense was more run heavy. He was a consistent endzone threat who can make big plays down the field whenever called upon. He had shown in the playoffs that he can make big plays against big players when called upon (vs Myrtle Beach) and there was truly nothing this man could not do.



Jordan McCann III was the perfect partner in crime to Randy Vuxta, they both had great seasons and complimented each other perfectly. The inactive WR still put up big numbers despite being...well, inactive. Although his stunted growth may not be great for Tijuana moving forward, he still provides an immediate shot in the arm for any QB looking for some juice in the passing game.



Quite simply put, Tijuana had one of, if not the best receiving tandem in the league with McCann and Vuxta, however, (likely) losing Vuxta to the NSFL will definitely hurt this offense in a big way as they lose their #1 Wide Receiver and their main red zone threat through the passing game. Aside from the big 2 the team still has some solid depth options in Jesse Jackson (89 TPE), Ron Mexico (85 TPE) and Alexander Ryan (80 TPE).

Despite significant depth at the position, the team could still use another good WR if they want to be a quality offense

Position Need: B



TE:
Potential Losses: Jean-Baptist Boivin (KCC)
Retains: Ben Kenobi, Michael Rood

Tijuana’s offense never utilised their tight ends to their full extent due to their deadly duo of McCann III and Vuxta on the receiving end and one of the best running attacks in all of DSFL. Although Kenobi would get more looks towards the end of the season (Especially in the endzone), the two could never really get it going.

Jean-Baptist Boivin is someone who had helped Tijuana immensely throughout his time there, however that will now come to an end as he prepares to return home to KCC where he can potentially play a bigger role. Although he may not have had the best of seasons according to those that are counting by NFL standards, DSFL is more reliant on the run game and when they do pass, the receivers are usually the recipients of the QB's love and affection



Ben Kenobi had a slow start to the season playing behind Boivin and being a 50 TPE player. He would eventually sputter and once again throw an absolute dud in Week 7 where he finally decided to push for a TPE update and consequently got more playing time, he would eventually make another update later on and it would pay dividends as he saw spikes in his receptions, yards and touchdowns towards the end of the regular season. There is still plenty of promise as long as he keeps the updates up, but once again, it’s something that has to be monitored closely for those that want to determine his success in the DSFL moving forward.



At the end of the day TE is not an incredibly important position and although they could use an improvement at the position, I don’t really see them taking another one unless it’s later on in the draft, but as of right now I think they’ll be just fine with Ben Kenobi getting pancakes and getting 1st downs.

Position Grade: C+,



OL:
Potential Losses: Maximum Chungus (Norfolk), Ben Tu’inukuafe, Richard Gardner (Draft), Rahm Kota (KCC), Eeeee Silvveremm
Retains: Blacke McCargue, Bryant Alexander

I’ll cut right to the chase here, O-linemen aren’t as important as other positions due to the difference one can make. Nobody needs OL but to put it simply, it’s always nice to have active ones.

HOWEVER with Tijuana potentially losing a significant part of their Offensive Line they may want to take a couple of Offensive Linemen in this massive draft class in order to give some fair rubs and fill up holes in their starting lineup.

Positional Need: B+