[div align=\\\"center\\\"]NSFLN REQUESTED ARTICLE[/div]
How do you stop the unstoppable Outlaws? I’ve thought long and hard about this question, and I’ve really had trouble figuring out how to stop them. Their offense looks suspect but looking at it I don’t think they’re as bad as people say. I just think the defense is so good the offense is underrated because when you hear Outlaws you hear defense. This isn’t a Wraiths team that has a glaring weakness on the defensive side of the ball, this is an incredible Outlaws team that has the ability to win in any way. This is a hard task to figure out, but I think I have the answer to this question, and the other playoff teams should take note, because you guys will need all the help you can get.
Stop the pass rush, it’s that simple. Their LBs and DEs are so good, and the front 7 is so dominant, that if you can stop those players, you will have a shot at beating the team that is the best team in the league. When I look at the stats every LB and DE is able to burn you, so you need a good offensive line to compete with the team. The Otters need to be able to overpower the nasty front 7. That’s how you have any shot at the Ultimus trophy, or even the title game. You need to force this game into a shootout, both the Otters and Wraiths have the QBs to do it, but if you cannot give your QB time to throw, and time to make good decisions you have absolutely no way of winning. You need to force the secondary to stop you, that is where you make your move, the secondary is not as dominant, nor as good, as the front 7, neutralize the front 7 and you can neutralize the Outlaws. The only way to neutralize the front 7 is to have a good offensive line, and I don’t know if any team in the league has the line to contend with the front 7 that takes the field for the Outlaws.
So how do the offensive lines stack up? The first matchup is the Otters, with 291 pancakes and 30 sacks allowed. Neither of these are bad numbers, and good enough for 2nd most pancakes in the league, and tied for 3rd least sacks allowed. The Outlaws defense has 53 tackles for loss, 83 sacks, and 1 safety. The outlaws have the most tackles for loss, the most sacks, and are middle of the pack for safeties, but the most safeties in the league was 3 to Orange County. I believe this front 7 can beat the Otters offensive line, but we don’t need to just look at season numbers, thankfully we have some matchups we can use to help determine it as well. In the 2 matchups the Outlaws won both, beating the Otters 17-9 at home, and then at Orange County 26-20. Already this looks to favor the Outlaws, but we can go deeper. In the first game, the Otters offensive line combined for 17 pancakes, and 5 sacks allowed. The pancake number isn’t bad but the sacks already scare me, but this was the first week of the season, this could just be some growing pains. The Otters did struggle the first few weeks of the season after all, so it could be a false positive. In game 2, which the Outlaws won, the Otters offensive line had 21 pancakes, and 2 sacks allowed. More pancakes and 3 less sacks allowed, so they certainly improved, but they still lost this game to the Outlaws. Now do I think the Otters have any chance to stop them? No, Otters will be sent home without an Ultimus trophy this season, and maybe for a few seasons with the overpowering Outlaws.
Now what about in the final game of the year? Will the Wraiths or Hawks be able to stop them? First, we’ll look at the Hawks, the surprise team of the year that has turned heads, and brought scandals, with them throughout the season. The Hawks line had 278 pancakes and 30 sacks allowed, so the same amount of sacks allowed as the Otters, but not as many pancakes. In their first game of the year the Hawks won, 13-10, at home. The Outlaws went on to win the 2nd game, 27-9, in Arizona. When the Hawks had home field advantage they were able to pull off a win, but that was due to the defense overpowering the Outlaws offense, and Bronko having a pretty bad game. The Hawks had 26 pancakes, and 4 sacks allowed, so once again the pancakes are there, but the sacks are concerning. It’s also almost guaranteed that the Hawks are not at home, and will not benefit from home field advantage like they did in the close game 1. In game 2 they had 31 pancakes, and 3 sacks allowed. The pancake number is a bit inflated by Blocksdale’s career game, which will likely not be replicated in a possible Ultimus matchup. Now the sacks are worrying, but part of this could just be something you have to deal with, you’re going to see the Outlaws sack your QB, you just have to hope it doesn’t lead to bad decisions. Now what about the Hawks, do I think they have a shot at the Ultimus? Again, I do not, the Outlaws are just too overpowering for just about every team this year.
What about the final team that has a shot at the title, the Wraiths? The Wraiths had the best line in the league this past season, and could be the only chance, as they had 300 pancakes and only 18 sacks allowed. This is by far the best number for both stats, and it shows that they have what may be the only way to stop the Outlaws. What about their regular season games though, because who knows, 10 of those sacks could be Outlaw sacks. In the first game, the Outlaws won at home 21-10. The Wraiths had 13 pancakes and 3 sacks allowed. They did not overpower the Outlaws one bit, and that is concerning, especially considering they will have to travel to Arizona again if this matchup happens. In game 2 the Outlaws won in Yellowknife, 27-19. The Wraiths had 20 pancakes and 1 sack allowed, a much better number than in game 1, but again, they were at home. They will not have the benefit of home field advantage, and even if they did they still could not beat the Wraiths during the season. I cannot see the Wraiths beating the Outlaws either, they are too good to fall now.
So I’ve laid out how you beat them, their defense can easily carry them to another Ultimus victory. You can stop their offense all you want, but their defense will stop you if you can’t beat the front 7. The front 7 runs that team, and it’s clear to see why, they are consistently overpowering and consistently beating everyone in their path. They only lost twice last year, one time to the Hawks, and one time to the Yeti, both of which were games decided by 3 points or less, and the Outlaws were on the road. It’s a tough task for whatever teams end up facing the Outlaws, and I doubt any team can do it, but you have to stop the defense to have any chance at winning. Good luck to the teams, you’ll need every bit of help you can get to stop the Outlaws.
(1274 words, ready to be graded)
How do you stop the unstoppable Outlaws? I’ve thought long and hard about this question, and I’ve really had trouble figuring out how to stop them. Their offense looks suspect but looking at it I don’t think they’re as bad as people say. I just think the defense is so good the offense is underrated because when you hear Outlaws you hear defense. This isn’t a Wraiths team that has a glaring weakness on the defensive side of the ball, this is an incredible Outlaws team that has the ability to win in any way. This is a hard task to figure out, but I think I have the answer to this question, and the other playoff teams should take note, because you guys will need all the help you can get.
Stop the pass rush, it’s that simple. Their LBs and DEs are so good, and the front 7 is so dominant, that if you can stop those players, you will have a shot at beating the team that is the best team in the league. When I look at the stats every LB and DE is able to burn you, so you need a good offensive line to compete with the team. The Otters need to be able to overpower the nasty front 7. That’s how you have any shot at the Ultimus trophy, or even the title game. You need to force this game into a shootout, both the Otters and Wraiths have the QBs to do it, but if you cannot give your QB time to throw, and time to make good decisions you have absolutely no way of winning. You need to force the secondary to stop you, that is where you make your move, the secondary is not as dominant, nor as good, as the front 7, neutralize the front 7 and you can neutralize the Outlaws. The only way to neutralize the front 7 is to have a good offensive line, and I don’t know if any team in the league has the line to contend with the front 7 that takes the field for the Outlaws.
So how do the offensive lines stack up? The first matchup is the Otters, with 291 pancakes and 30 sacks allowed. Neither of these are bad numbers, and good enough for 2nd most pancakes in the league, and tied for 3rd least sacks allowed. The Outlaws defense has 53 tackles for loss, 83 sacks, and 1 safety. The outlaws have the most tackles for loss, the most sacks, and are middle of the pack for safeties, but the most safeties in the league was 3 to Orange County. I believe this front 7 can beat the Otters offensive line, but we don’t need to just look at season numbers, thankfully we have some matchups we can use to help determine it as well. In the 2 matchups the Outlaws won both, beating the Otters 17-9 at home, and then at Orange County 26-20. Already this looks to favor the Outlaws, but we can go deeper. In the first game, the Otters offensive line combined for 17 pancakes, and 5 sacks allowed. The pancake number isn’t bad but the sacks already scare me, but this was the first week of the season, this could just be some growing pains. The Otters did struggle the first few weeks of the season after all, so it could be a false positive. In game 2, which the Outlaws won, the Otters offensive line had 21 pancakes, and 2 sacks allowed. More pancakes and 3 less sacks allowed, so they certainly improved, but they still lost this game to the Outlaws. Now do I think the Otters have any chance to stop them? No, Otters will be sent home without an Ultimus trophy this season, and maybe for a few seasons with the overpowering Outlaws.
Now what about in the final game of the year? Will the Wraiths or Hawks be able to stop them? First, we’ll look at the Hawks, the surprise team of the year that has turned heads, and brought scandals, with them throughout the season. The Hawks line had 278 pancakes and 30 sacks allowed, so the same amount of sacks allowed as the Otters, but not as many pancakes. In their first game of the year the Hawks won, 13-10, at home. The Outlaws went on to win the 2nd game, 27-9, in Arizona. When the Hawks had home field advantage they were able to pull off a win, but that was due to the defense overpowering the Outlaws offense, and Bronko having a pretty bad game. The Hawks had 26 pancakes, and 4 sacks allowed, so once again the pancakes are there, but the sacks are concerning. It’s also almost guaranteed that the Hawks are not at home, and will not benefit from home field advantage like they did in the close game 1. In game 2 they had 31 pancakes, and 3 sacks allowed. The pancake number is a bit inflated by Blocksdale’s career game, which will likely not be replicated in a possible Ultimus matchup. Now the sacks are worrying, but part of this could just be something you have to deal with, you’re going to see the Outlaws sack your QB, you just have to hope it doesn’t lead to bad decisions. Now what about the Hawks, do I think they have a shot at the Ultimus? Again, I do not, the Outlaws are just too overpowering for just about every team this year.
What about the final team that has a shot at the title, the Wraiths? The Wraiths had the best line in the league this past season, and could be the only chance, as they had 300 pancakes and only 18 sacks allowed. This is by far the best number for both stats, and it shows that they have what may be the only way to stop the Outlaws. What about their regular season games though, because who knows, 10 of those sacks could be Outlaw sacks. In the first game, the Outlaws won at home 21-10. The Wraiths had 13 pancakes and 3 sacks allowed. They did not overpower the Outlaws one bit, and that is concerning, especially considering they will have to travel to Arizona again if this matchup happens. In game 2 the Outlaws won in Yellowknife, 27-19. The Wraiths had 20 pancakes and 1 sack allowed, a much better number than in game 1, but again, they were at home. They will not have the benefit of home field advantage, and even if they did they still could not beat the Wraiths during the season. I cannot see the Wraiths beating the Outlaws either, they are too good to fall now.
So I’ve laid out how you beat them, their defense can easily carry them to another Ultimus victory. You can stop their offense all you want, but their defense will stop you if you can’t beat the front 7. The front 7 runs that team, and it’s clear to see why, they are consistently overpowering and consistently beating everyone in their path. They only lost twice last year, one time to the Hawks, and one time to the Yeti, both of which were games decided by 3 points or less, and the Outlaws were on the road. It’s a tough task for whatever teams end up facing the Outlaws, and I doubt any team can do it, but you have to stop the defense to have any chance at winning. Good luck to the teams, you’ll need every bit of help you can get to stop the Outlaws.
(1274 words, ready to be graded)
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