The Arizona Outlaws are the worst team in the league, and for the league.
I know what you're thinking: "But Rusfan, what about the Honolulu Hahalua or the Berlin Fire Salamanders, or even the San Jose Sabercats?" And yes, I agree, those teams are also awful, but they are also immensely untalented. They have an excuse for being so bad, they have a reason. The Arizona Outlaws on the other hand? They should be really good, they should have won at least one ultimus in the last few years. Jay Cue was the best quarterback in the league a few years ago. They had an immensely talented defense with talent on offense to match. But despite all that they struggled to get past the first round of the playoffs and never even sniffed an ultimus or even a spot in the championship game. Now Jay Cue is a turnover machine and they lost all of their great talent that made them such a strong opponent. Teams like that hurt the league as a whole and discourage participation.
Maybe this is a bit of an exaggeration, after all they did win the first ever ultimus in league history so I guess you cant be too harsh on their team as a whole, especially since every team goes through their struggling periods. Except for OCO.
Matt "The So-Called Son of Havoc" Cross has played like absolute garbage this year. Entering his 5th season in the league, as the oldest member of the Liberty Defense, although still well within his prime, Cross has barely made an impact in a majority of these first few weeks. When he was voted as captain for Philly's defense, it was expected that Cross could really have a break out year and teach his fellow Defensive backs a thing or two. However, the rookies in the secondary have been showing Cross how it's done. And this sudden laziness out on the field is completely out of the blue for Cross, but it's been seriously affecting his play. Barely averaging 4.5 tackles a game, the impact that the Son of Havoc used to have has significantly decreased. His best performance of the year was in week 7, where Philly lost 13-31 to Chicago. Cross had a sack and an interception which shows his potential influence out on the field, but critics will be keeping an eye out on his play during the next few weeks to decide if his impact is a fluke, or if he has what it takes to return back to his true form. In the mean time, Cross looks at the Captain patch sewn into his jersey with a glint of shame in his eyes, and wonders what he must do to get back on track.
After a quick and fiery start to the season, we all know that are going to be hot and spicy takes and some takes that are going to be cold like absolute zero. Well I'm going to spit a few of my takes! As a member of NOLA, I am going to outright say this: I think that we are one of the best teams, if not, the best outright team this season. I say that, aside from two fluky losses (due to the sim trying to be cute), we have defeated teams with an efficient ground based offense combined with an elite defense filling with disruptors and playmakers across the board. For proof, look no further than our sound demolishing of the Otters, the league's apparent darling, where we forced or inflicted 10 turnovers and negative plays to have a resounding win!
My second take is that I believe that this year both the MVP and DPOY will both reside with NOLA. Our run game has been one of the league's most efficient and thats thanks to Rotchburn's high level running which has gotten us through thick and thin. Our defense is our true calling card, however, and is filled with multiple S-tier defenders have have individually generated havoc and the stats necessary to be considered for the DPOY race!
[OPTION]S26 Orange County - 16 GP | 66 Tackles | 1 TFL | 1 FF | 5 Sacks | 4 INT | 7 PDs
[OPTION]S27 Orange County - 16 GP | 57 Tackles | 1 FF | 1 FR | 2 Sacks | 3 INT | 16 PDs
[OPTION]S28 Orange County - 16 GP | 60 Tackles | 0 FF | 0 FR | 2 Sacks | 2 INT | 7 PDs
[OPTION]S29 Orange County - 16 GP | 65 Tackles | 1 FF | 0 FR | 6 Sacks | 3 INT | 9 PDs
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S19 Myrtle Beach - 1 GP | 11 Tackles | 2 PD | 1 INT | 1 DEF-TD
[OPTION]S20 Myrtle Beach - 2 GP | 20 Tackles | 2 PD | 1 INT | 1 FF | 1 FR
[OPTION]S21 Orange County - 1 GP | 8 Tackles
[OPTION]S22 Orange County - 2 GP | 9 Tackles | 1 Sack
[OPTION]S23 Orange County - 1 GP | 3 Tackles
[OPTION]S24 Orange County - 2 GP | 11 Tackles | 1 Sack
[OPTION]S25 Orange County - 1 GP | 6 Tackles | 1 PD | 1 INT
[OPTION]S26 Orange County - 1 GP | 4 Tackles | 1 Sack
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION] 4OA in the DSFL Draft
[OPTION] 1OA in the NSFL Draft
[OPTION] S20 DSFL DBoTY Nominee
[OPTION] S20 DSFL DRoTY Nominee
[OPTION] S20 DSFL Pro Bowl
[OPTION] S21 NSFL DRoTY Nominee
[OPTION] S22 NSFL Breakout Player of The Year Nominee
[OPTION] S23 Safety of The Year Nominee
[OPTION] S22, S23, 25 NSFL Pro Bowl
[OPTION]S25 Defensive Performance of The Year
[OPTION]S25 Safety of The Year
[OPTION]S25 Orange County - 9-7-0 (0.563)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Playoff Stats
[OPTION]S24 Orange County - 0-1-0 (Lost in ASFCCG to SJS)
[OPTION]S25 Orange County - 0-1-0 (Lost in ASFCCG to SJS)
[OPTION]S26 Orange County - 0-1-0 (Lost in Wild Card to NOLA)
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements: