(S4) - Ultimus Week

[sapp2013]

Playoff Matchups: Make a graphic displaying the matchups in the first round of the playoffs. Can be completed at any point


Robbed: Make a graphical stat comparison of a team who failed to qualify for playoffs but why they should have over another team.
Week 14 matchup


That Magic Moment: Show one of the most exciting points in a game.
Boss to Westfield twice in first quarter.


Playoff Recap Infographic: Make a graphic displaying the results of the playoffs

[Beaver]

[table border=\\\'0\\\' align=\\\'center\\\' width=\\\'95%\\\' cellpadding=\\\'3\\\' cellspacing=\\\'1\\\' id=\\\'QUOTE-WRAP\\\'][tr][td]QUOTE [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\\\'QUOTE\\\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]CW #1 Robbed: Write about why a team that failed to make the playoffs should have over somebody else. Can be completed at any point

It's hard to say a team got robbed when the result was decided fair and square on the field of play but that's exactly what I endeavor to do here.

The Philadelphia Liberty and Baltimore Hawks ended the season with identical 7-7 records, tied for the final playoff spot which went to the Liberty by virtue of their Week 14 win over the Hawks in an all-or-nothing regular season finale for the ages that gave them a 2-0 head-to-head advantage in the season series. While the Liberty making the playoffs over the Hawks makes for an incredible narrative (making up 3 games in 3 weeks culminating in a failed two point conversion with less than two minutes to play in the final game), narrative crafting is not what the playoffs are for. The playoffs seek to pit the two best teams in each conference against each other for the right to play for the Ultimus. The Philadelphia Liberty were the better team in the two games they played against the Hawks but the Hawks were the better team over the course of the full 14 game season as evidenced by their massively better point differential and the fact that the Liberty won 75% of their games decided by one score (3 of 4) versus 50% for the Hawks (5 of 10) suggests more than a little luck went the Liberty's way.

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232 words

Playoff Predictions: Give a short write up on each of the playoff matches (including the championship game). Must be completed before the simulation of the Conference Finals

NSFC:
On the 4th of December the Yellowknife Wraiths will host the Philadelphia Liberty with a ticket to the Championship on the line. The Wraiths earned home field by virtue of winning a single game more than the Liberty, boasting a 8-6 record to their 7-7. The previous meeting in Yellowknife didn't go well for the Wraiths as they lost by a slim 2 point margin so they will be out for revenge. I imagine they will be the favorites, too, thanks to their home field advantage and their date=]Root for the Underdog: Pick an away team in an upcoming game and try to convince yourself (and us) why they can win. (Must be completed before the playoff series you write about)[/quote]
In all honesty, either of the road teams could win this weekend. It's easy to say the Philadelphia Liberty as they swept the season series and come in on a 3 game win streak but let's take the road less traveled and talk about why Orange County can do the unthinkable and dethrone the Outlaws.

First of all Orange County, despite finishing 3 games behind in the standings, is just as good as Arizona. In the season opener in Orange County the Outlaws escaped with a 6 point overtime victory and in the Week 7 rematch the Otters came up 12 points short thanks to an 8 minute stretch in the 3rd quarter that saw the high-octane Orange County offense gain just 1 1st down in 3 drives as the Outlaws scored 16 points to blow open the game. Mike Boss went 2/6 for 17 yards during that stretch. That is certainly a credit to Arizona's defense but that sequence going even slightly different changes the complexion of the game. I expect the Orange County coaches to come out throwing early and often (Boss has 112 pass attempts against the Outlaws this season) and all it takes is one blown coverage, one tipped ball, one missed tackle to change the game and while the Arizona defense is quite good, it's been only mediocre against the pass. This season Boss has averaged a touchdown every 18.4 attempts yet has just one every 37.3 attempts against the outlaws. If we see that stat regress to the mean even a little we could be in for a 4 or 5 touchdown performance for Boss. It's not likely, it's not probable. But it's possible. And anything can happen in one game.

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288 words

Playoff Series MVP: Choose an MVP for one of the playoff series and write about why you chose them. Must be completed after the playoff series you write about

Bradley Westfield is without a doubt the MVP of the ASFC championship game. In the fourth edition of Otters vs Outlaws and the Outlaws looking for their fourth win, an Orange County player needed to step up and make the difference for his team. Bradley Westfield was that player as he carried the day, catching 6 passes for 64 yards and 3 touchdowns - the only 3 touchdowns the Otters scored. On a day where the Otters' passing attack was clicking on all cylinders (Mike Boss finished with nearly 9 ANY/A) only one receiver put points on the board and that was Westfield.

But Westfield's performance isn't completely represented by his stat line, we need to look at Mike Boss's. Boss only attempted 38 passes in this game which is nigh unheard of for the Otters. Had Westfield not scored early and often the Otters would've been airing the ball out quite a bit more and he likely would've ended with close to 10 receptions and would've almost surely broken 100 yards. He got his job done early, though, and was able to save a little something for the Ultimus where he scored 2 more touchdowns on 6 more receptions for 145 yards. Not a bad playoffs for the receiver.

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210 words

[cosbornballboy]

Robbed: The team that everyone has come to the consensus was robbed is the Baltimore Hawks. So would I even try to write about it? Yes, I would. The fact of the matter is that the Yeti should have never beaten the Hawks. The sim gave the Yeti a win in a game that was basically considered a 99% chance for the Hawks to win in, yet the Yeti somehow won. The Hawks are indisputably a better team than the Wraiths and Liberty, yet they were given the short end of the stick when they had a serious right to be in this season's Ultimus game. This also robs the league of a chance to see a non-Outlaws champion. Call me crazy, but I don't see the Otters, Wraiths, or Liberty winning against the Outlaws consistently when we've literally seen that the Hawks can beat them time and time again. The main concern here is not that the Hawks were deserving of a playoff spot, they were, but that's not the main concern. The main concern is that this league parity increase has ironically led to the powerhouses continuing their reign. All in all, we will need to wait until S5 to finally see the powerful Outlaws fall.

Code:

208 words

Playoff Predictions: Give a short write up on each of the playoff matches (including the championship game). Must be completed before the simulation of the Conference Finals


New Talent: Write about which S4 trade will or did have the biggest impact in the playoffs. Can be written at any time depending on if you choose to write about who already has or who will do good

In Season 4, one of the most hotly contested moves was not a trade, but rather a free agency move. And not just one, but multiple. Kevin Cushing moved from the Yellowknife Wraiths to the Philadelphia Liberty, who would go on to lose to the Wraiths and the Wraiths made the Ultimus. Cushing was the real loser in this transaction. Then Josh Garden. He moved also from the Yellowknife Wraiths to the Outlaws. We don't even need to say how that turned out. Then there was Chris Orosz who moved from the Wraiths AS WELL and joined the San Jose Sabercats. Needless to say, he was on the losing end of this move. Then there was the one winner. Gosh Jarden moved from QB to WR, made a name change, and joined the Wraiths. The only winner here was truly @daBenchwarmer. The biggest thing to look at is if he will have a large impact in the Ultimus or not. The true answer is yes, and the Wraiths must attack the Otters secondary rather than running into the brick wall of a front 7 they have in order to win this one. Of course, only time will tell the results of this game.

Code:

203 words

[Jiggly_333]

Someone's gonna have to remind me to do this

[tbone415]

That Magic Moment: Pick one moment from a playoff game and describe what made it so amazing to watch

The upset of the century! The superteam falls! The Orange County Otters upset the Arizona Outlaws! How you ask? I mean the Outlaws were a seemingly unstoppable force, but somehow even more unstoppable at home! This game gave us the first home team playoff defeat in NSFL history. It was a treat to watch, and I’m sure almost all of us loved to see Arizona lose. It started with an interception thrown by King Bronko to Dominic Verns which was returned 30 yards for a touchdown. This was the biggest play of the game by far, as this not only gave a score to the Otters but it also had bigger impact on the game. Arizona did not have a lead until the third quarter (a Josh Garden TD) and even then it was by one point, meaning that Arizona was playing from behind or had the other team looming right behind them ready to take the lead back. This made Arizona had to play aggressively which was a very high risk, high reward type of play and it did not work. This win would not have been possible without the interception by Dominic Verns. This moment surely was magical. (200 words)

Playoff Series MVP: Choose an MVP for one of the playoff series and write about why you chose them.

The aforementioned Dominic Verns gets this spot too. He really stepped up this game. You already know that he started the game with a 30 yard pick 6 that was one of the best moments all playoffs. The Outlaws struggled on offense the whole game despite a good effort from the veteran Josh Garden and Dustin Evans. Dominic Verns had 8 tackles, meaning that when a ball was caught against him he was able to get there quickly and get the tackle. Going up against the best team in NSFL history shouldn’t have seemed so easy for this corner. He was facing potentially the best receiver in the NSFL in Josh Garden and made it seem easy. His 3 PD’s made it seem like throwing the ball his way was impossible. 1 INT 3 PD’s and 8 tackles are elite corner stats for a team playing away in the playoffs against the best team we have ever seen in the league. He led the Otters defense to a huge upset against Arizona. He was the reason Orange County’s offense had such an advantage. Arizona did not have a lead until Josh Garden caught a TD pass in the third quarter. Thank you Dominic Verns! (204 words)

[kckolbe]

Playoff Predictions:
The AFSC will kick things off with the fourth straight match up between the Arizona Outlaws and the Orange County Otters. While Arizona, at home, is favored to win, the Otters have consistently played the Outlaws closer than the eventual Ultimus match up, and this is no exception. Expect a high-scoring game dominated by huge passing plays from both teams, as the Otters alternate being being sacked and exposing the weak secondary, and the Outlaws just consistently chipping away. In the NSFC, the Wraiths host the Liberty. This is the first time the Wraiths have had home field advantage in the playoffs, but I don’t think it will do them much good. I expect a mainly defensive battle dominated by rushing, with the Wraiths gaining more yards but struggling to get in the end zone and the Liberty getting a few lucky drives for the lead. This means that, most likely, the Liberty will face the Outlaws in Arizona. For the first time, though, I could see ANY playoff combination as a reality. One thing I don’t see changing is that the NSFC team (most likely the Liberty) will be on the road against the AFSC team (most likely the Outlaws), and the AFSC team will win in a one-sided victory.

Root For the Underdog:
As painful as it will be for the Wraiths, I don’t see them coming away with the win on Monday night. This is unfortunate, as they are the best NSFC team this year (not for the first time), and they finally have home field advantage. Unfortunately, the Liberty match up just too well against them. As a starting point, just look at the Season Four results. The two teams met in Week 8 and in Week 13, and the Liberty won BOTH of those matches with a combined score of 50-37. They highlight just what a good match Philadelphia is for Yellowknife. After all, Philly D has allowed an abysmal 25 points a game this season, yet only 18.5 against a playoff team? I think it comes down to passing. The Wraiths lack the speed to exploit Cushing’s only weakness as a DB, leaving Akselsen with only 2 TDs to 3 INTs in both matches combined. While Cushing only deflected 8 passes all season, THREE of them came in those two games. In addition, the Liberty offense just performs better against Yellowknife’s defense, scoring an extra 6.1 points per game. With those facts, combined with a MASSIVE update from Clifford Rove, not only are the Liberty able to win, I have them favored.

MVP:
The MVP is the playoffs, in my opinion, was Mike Boss. Yeah, I am going the easy route, but I spent about ten minutes debating between Robert Phelps and Bradley Westfield (I was leaning Phelps) before realizing that one person was responsible for the success of both of them. Mike Boss had two remarkable games against good teams. First he faced the #1 pass rush in the Arizona Outlaws, then the best CB in the league in Yellowknife Wraiths’ Dermot Lavelle. Despite that, though, the Otters leaned heavily on Boss, allowing 110 attempts over two games. Boss made the most of them, too, totaling over 900 yards. In the first game against Arizona, he passed 51 times, a seemingly unthinkable strategy considering the Outlaws had been beating more on the ground in the past. Somehow, despite frequent pressure, Boss managed zero interceptions against a team that had been his bane. He didn’t throw any touchdowns, but passing for over 400 yards on the road against the number one defense without turning it over allowed the Otters to win. Against Yellowknife, he passed for even more while getting in the end zone three times, outscoring the once best offense in the league.

Championship Review:
Before diving into the details, let me start by saying this was far and away the closest Ultimus matchup we’ve ever had. The previous three championships were decided by margins of and 23, 27, and 37. Spoiler alert: this one was decided by only a single possession.
To the game. The Otters kicked off and the Wraiths very quickly drove down the field and scored on a 32 yard touchdown pass to D.J. Law, acquired in a trade with the Yeti late in Season Three. After stalled drives by both teams, the Otters answered with a TD pass of their own to Westfield. A quick fumble gave the Otters back the ball, and they got their first lead of the game with a 28 yard FG. They would never lose that lead, though they would expand on the lead with a TD in the final minute of the half with a 35 yard TD pass, again to Westfield.
In the second half, the third quarter would be a draw as each team kicked a FG. The Wraiths would bring the game to a one touchdown lead with a field goal with 8:41 remaining, but the Wraiths only got one chance to tie it up and stalled on the drive, giving the Otters their first Ultimus Trophy.

[Kendrick]

Robbed: It's clear as day which team deserved to be in the playoffs over another team. Orange County should be watching at home and the San Jose Sabercats should be playing against the Arizona Yank...I mean Outlaws. First and foremost the Outlaws deserve nothing considering they bought their way to another playoff and their General Manager is pretty much the second coming of Honey Boo Boo. That being said, the Otters and Sabercats both had identical records in the regular season but the Otters won on a bullshit tiebreaker and the Sabercats are forced to watch these too shitty teams battle each other in the first round. The good news is that it's only one season and the Outlaws will lose their steam soon. The funny thing is that more people will be cheering for the Otters in the playoffs than they will for the Outlaws. It takes no skill to pick up a high profile player in free agency like the Outlaws, so they won't get praise if they win. Sabercats deserve to be in the playoffs and it would be great for parity if they were there. Let's scratch this up as a loss for the entire league that they ain't there.

Playoff Predictions: Outlaws will probably win over the Otters but that's not saying much. The Otters backed into the playoffs and the Outlaws bought their way there. If the Otters can keep it close they might be able to knock out the useless King Bronko (who has the worst name in sports) and get themselves a sneaky victory. Otters will need a complete effort the entire game to beat the loaded Outlaws but what a slap in the face that would be if the Outlaws got beat. I think every team in the league wants to see the Outlaws lose this because they don't deserve it.

In the other conference which doesn't really matter you'll see the Yellowknife Wraiths (who have the worst logo in sports) face the Philadelphia Liberty (who boast one of the worst colours in sports) for the chance to be the NSFC champions. This one looks like an easy win for the Wraiths as the Liberty finished the season with as many losses as they do wins. Liberty were also tied with the Baltimore Hawks (the Ravens knockoff) for the final spot in the playoff matchup but we don't see the Hawks doing any better if they were in this contest. This was the worst of the two conferences so we'll see what sloppy football takes place.

Hate the player or the game: As touched on earlier, the San Jose Sabercats deserved to be in the playoffs this year and it's not even close. An above .500 record and an all-star cast of players with a great passing attack. Orange County Otters got in and like the show that sued to be on T.V. called The O.C., they will fade out very quickly. San Jose is a much more desirable location and that makes them a clear choice for a team more deserving of the ASFC matchup. Let's not forget that the Sabercats have Mayran Jackson who is the most underrated receiver in the NSFL next to Shane Weston who is also on San Jose. Jackson is overlooked by some but this guy has been putting up great numbers the last three seasons. Sabercats also have Chris Orosz who was a great signing this past off-season and he himself deserves a shot at a title. The tie breaker rules in this league obviously suck because the Sabercats weren't given the nod over the less than impressive Otters. Time for this league to look forward and try to create some parity and the Sabercats were doing that this year on their march. Maybe they will sign Josh Garden who will bounce around like Kevin Durant in the future. Then again he wouldn't want to be a third option in an offence.

Root for the Underdog: I think we should go all in on cheering for the Orange County Otters because they could beat former teammate and current bandwagoner Josh Garden. I guess "if you can't win a title, go to a team that can carry you to one" is what Josh Garden said to himself. It's clear as day that Otters deserve a shot at the title more than the outlaws because they worked harder through the past couple seasons to overcome losses and become greater. Outlaws are like the Yankees in the Major League Baseball; and no one likes the Yankees. Otters do have some weapons and because the Outlaws were found to have cheated this year as well, we should all hate them even more. Plus, I'm pretty sure Jayce Tuck is on steroids so the league might want to keep an eye on that. The guy has logged over 700 hours in the gym and that's simply not possible with the amount of hours in a season. Next up we have the biggest bust is Arbin Asipi who's name reminds us of a river in the United States. Well sadly for him it's a river we all used to love but we hate it now.

[ralz9]

Playoff Matchups

[ralz9]

Robbed

When fall hits, that means it’s football time. Classes beginning, Thanksgiving and the leaves falling have all become synonymous cues of “football time” in America for quite some time now. Because the season starts in the fall, that means that teams are playing in the bitter cold by the time the postseason rolls around. That often time means snow—especially in a city like Denver which, coincidentally, is the home to the NSFL’s Colorado Yeti football team. Let’s take a look at the numbers: The Yeti ran for 1,351 yards on 3.1 yards per attempt. Meanwhile, the Orange County Otters were only able to muster up a putrid 632 rushing yards on 2.8 yards per attempt. It’s clear they wouldn’t be able to succeed in the playoffs. Bad weather also usually results in a lot of turnovers. Since the Colorado Yeti can’t turn the ball over more than they already do, that means the Orange County Otters (or any other team in the league) would’ve started turning it over just as much as the Yeti, a team that’s built to capitalize off of other teams’ turnovers. In the regular season, the Yeti scored a touchdown on ever 6.33 forced turnovers.

TLDR: NSFL is rigged by not allowing the Yeti to thrive by playing at home during the winter.

Playoff Matchup Graphic


Orange County, not San Jose...Please don't count it against me bc don't have the psd file.

Old Faces, New Places

[CDub2]

Robbed: Write about why a team that failed to make the playoffs should have over somebody else. Can be written at any point.

I think everyone expected the Hawks to be in the playoffs this year. They were coming off a great season last year and it was expected that the conference wasn't getting any stronger. The Yeti were and still are a mess, the Liberty didn't seem like a threat, and the Wraiths were improved, but the Hawks still probably felt pretty confident going into the season. They were 9-5 last year and had one of the best defences in the league. They also had a much improved offense coming into the season due to some position changes. Well as the season progressed, the Hawks probably felt confident. The were sitting pretty atop the division with the Yeti and and Liberty having a couple wins between them. Then all of a sudden, the Liberty go on a tear, squeaking by teams and going 5 and 2 en route to clinching a playoff berth over the Hawks. So you could say that the Hawks blew it but I think that the Liberty just got very lucky. They won a ton of close games (including the 33-30 win over Baltimore to clinch) and their point differential on the season was horrible. When they lost, they got absolutely murdered. That type of inconsistency is not how playoff teams are built. They were a -85 point differential while Baltimore was only -9. I'd put my money on the Hawks any day. 235 Words

New Talent: Write about which S4 trade will or did have the biggest impact in the playoffs. Can be written at any time depending on if you choose to write about who already has or who will do good

I believe the Kevin Cushing trade from early in the off season may pay huge dividends in the playoffs. The PHI front 7 is pretty formidable and can hold it's own against the run game. Adding a very good corner in Cushing made it so teams had to chose to challenge the front 7 of PHI or go against some very good play makers in the secondary. It just so happens that the Yellowknife run game isn't that imposing, so having a strong pass defence (the second best in the league) should help PHI control the game. A large part of that will be Cushing. While his regular season numbers are not eye popping in terms of interceptions, the more important stat is holding the superstar wide receivers of the opposition to low yardage, and that is something Cushing has been good at. Looking at the schedule, the Wraiths and then the OCO/ARI match ups are all pass happy offences. Now PHI did give up a second, third, and fourth round picks, and W. Ridley (a backup linebacker) to get Cushing, but PHI felt they could win now and they've proven themselves right. If Cushing helps PHI get past the Wraiths, then the package given up is more than worth it.

211 Words

Hate the player or the game: Tell us which team made the playoffs and shouldn't have, or which team didn't and should have? (Can be completed at any point)

Not to repeat myself, I will venture away from the robbery that the Hawks faced in their division this year. They had better overall stats but couldn’t find the wins when they needed too. Thus, the Liberty snuck in. The team that is likely hating the game right now is the San Jose Sabercats. Here is a team that went 9-5 in the regular season, boasted a +109 point differential and went 6-2 against NSFC opponents and yet here they are with an early end to the season. Now, everyone knows that the ASFC is the power conference, but why is it that every year, one of the three best teams in the league misses the playoffs due to conference formatting, and yet we see a team like the Liberty sneak in the NSFC playoffs and have a chance to win the Ultimus. IF I was the Sabercats, I’d be petitioning for a conference redistribution this offseason and ask to be moved to the NSFC. No matter how many free agents come their way, the Sabercats are still stuck in the nastiest division in the league and have to fight for 2 playoff spots with perennial powerhouses Arizona and Orange County. We’ve seen this conference disparity for a while now, but it still sucks for the Cats.

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Root for the Underdog: Pick an away team in an upcoming game and try to convince yourself (and us) why they can win. (Must be completed before the playoff series you write about

Its crazy to say it, as I picked them to do very well this year, but the Orange County Otters are my underdog in this coming week. I don’t understand why there isn’t a interconference crossover, or a rebalancing of the conferences, but once again, the OCOs go up against the team that will likely win it all again this year… unless OCO kicks the crap out of them. Here’s why they might have a chance this time around. They are on the road, and they went 0-2 against the Outlaws in the regular season but they went 5-1 to end the season so they are hot right now. They also happen to have the most dangerous QB in the league to go along with two 1500+ yard receivers. That is a deadly offense. And yes, the Outlaw defence is something special as well, but they haven’t been nearly as dominant as they’ve been in the past few seasons. They also have one of the weaker secondaries in the league. If OCO pass offence can have a good game, there’s no way that Arizona can stop them. And for the critics who say that Arizona offence can go tit for tat with OCO’s, first off, not passing-wise and secondly, they are likely underestimating how good OCO defence was this year. Here’s hoping for a new ASFC champ.

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