Robbed:
The Baltimore Hawks may not have been robed per se but they certainly put forth an effort that should have seen them lock up a postseason berth. Having the third best offence in the entire league probably should have meant more than it did but at the end of the day the defence was leaky and likely cost them the playoffs. What has to hurt the Hawks the most is that they were knocked out by a mere tie; despite winning the same amount of games as the Yellowknife Wraiths they didn't have the half point that comes with a tie.
Actually, what has to hurt the most in Baltimore is that they had their destiny in their own hands. In the second last week, they lost a nail-biter to the Philadelphia Liberty by ONE fucking point, just one! Seguay into the next week and it is the very team the boys are chasing visiting them. The big bad Wraiths came into town and all the little birds had to do was beat them and they would have clinched a playoff berth. Instead, the Hawks marched onto the field and collectively dropped a big deuce all over the gridiron en route to a 41-28 drubbing.
Playoff Predictions:
Yellowknife vs Philadelphia
It is tough to go against easily the best team in the NSFC but that is just what I will do. The Yellowknife Wraiths have been the Ultimus two seasons in a row and the players are hungry to go back and take home the hardware; the third time is the charm as they say. Despite dropping both games against the Liberty this season I have no doubt that the veteran players from the frozen tundra can walk away with the victory in this one.
San Jose vs Orange County
On the other side of the playoffs is a matchup between giants. The Sabrecats are a very impressive team that only lost three games the entire season, unfortunately, two of those three losses were to the much more impressive Otters. The Otters are the best team in football right now it is hard to imagine anything stopping them now.
Yellowknife vs Orange County
I predict we will see the Otters and Wraiths square off for the third straight season. Unlike previous seasons I think that we will see a new champion crowned as the boys from up North prove once and for all that they can win the big one. It will be a very tough game for Yellowknife to win but with some veteran moxie, I see them winning it all!
Hate the player or the game:
I think the Yellowknife defence needs some league-wide recognition for their heroic efforts to drag the Wraiths sad-sack offence into the playoffs. It all starts with the quarterback, Mat Akselsen, who was hot garbage most of the season and finished with the third worst rating of all the pigskin chuckers. Akselsen also had the second least amount of touchdowns thrown, averaging only 1.3 TDs a game is scary bad. Mat did not have a lot of help up front as the Wraiths have lost a few good wideouts over the past few seasons and nobody seems like they wanted to step to the plate. Now it may not seem like the Wraiths defence was all that good on paper but if you go back and watch game tape then you will see the crucial stops and game-saving plays they made. When you factor in how many three and outs the offence had or how many ghastly turnovers there were that led to the defence being on the field for large chunks of the game then I think you have to be impressed that they weren't worse. Luckily, it looks like Akselsen is hot going into the playoffs with 6 touchdowns and zero interceptions thrown!
Matchup Nightmares:
Tyler Oles vs Dermot Lavelle
When I looked up Philadelphia quarterback Tyler Oles' stat line from this season I immediately was shocked that he managed to lead the league in picks thrown with 17. The first thought that went through my head was "oh man, Lavalle is gonna eat you alive Mr. Oles. Sloppy gunslinging quarterbacks are my friend's favourite treat." Now, the flip side of that is that Oles was also third in touchdowns thrown and has boom or bust potential in the playoffs. I would bet on Dermot every day of the week and twice on Sundays though. The stalwart corner is arguably the best lockdown defender in the league and is one of the best ball-hawking defensive backs in the league. I would go so far to say that if Lavalle did not have such a reputation and quarterbacks were not terrified of looking his way that Lavalle would be the BEST playmaker in the backfield. I do not envy the Philadelphia Liberty and their offence when they have to take the field against big bad boys from the North. I do not envy any offence for that matter, the Wraiths limp offence could allow the defence ample opportunity to wreak havoc against Mr. Oles.
The Baltimore Hawks may not have been robed per se but they certainly put forth an effort that should have seen them lock up a postseason berth. Having the third best offence in the entire league probably should have meant more than it did but at the end of the day the defence was leaky and likely cost them the playoffs. What has to hurt the Hawks the most is that they were knocked out by a mere tie; despite winning the same amount of games as the Yellowknife Wraiths they didn't have the half point that comes with a tie.
Actually, what has to hurt the most in Baltimore is that they had their destiny in their own hands. In the second last week, they lost a nail-biter to the Philadelphia Liberty by ONE fucking point, just one! Seguay into the next week and it is the very team the boys are chasing visiting them. The big bad Wraiths came into town and all the little birds had to do was beat them and they would have clinched a playoff berth. Instead, the Hawks marched onto the field and collectively dropped a big deuce all over the gridiron en route to a 41-28 drubbing.
Playoff Predictions:
Yellowknife vs Philadelphia
It is tough to go against easily the best team in the NSFC but that is just what I will do. The Yellowknife Wraiths have been the Ultimus two seasons in a row and the players are hungry to go back and take home the hardware; the third time is the charm as they say. Despite dropping both games against the Liberty this season I have no doubt that the veteran players from the frozen tundra can walk away with the victory in this one.
San Jose vs Orange County
On the other side of the playoffs is a matchup between giants. The Sabrecats are a very impressive team that only lost three games the entire season, unfortunately, two of those three losses were to the much more impressive Otters. The Otters are the best team in football right now it is hard to imagine anything stopping them now.
Yellowknife vs Orange County
I predict we will see the Otters and Wraiths square off for the third straight season. Unlike previous seasons I think that we will see a new champion crowned as the boys from up North prove once and for all that they can win the big one. It will be a very tough game for Yellowknife to win but with some veteran moxie, I see them winning it all!
Hate the player or the game:
I think the Yellowknife defence needs some league-wide recognition for their heroic efforts to drag the Wraiths sad-sack offence into the playoffs. It all starts with the quarterback, Mat Akselsen, who was hot garbage most of the season and finished with the third worst rating of all the pigskin chuckers. Akselsen also had the second least amount of touchdowns thrown, averaging only 1.3 TDs a game is scary bad. Mat did not have a lot of help up front as the Wraiths have lost a few good wideouts over the past few seasons and nobody seems like they wanted to step to the plate. Now it may not seem like the Wraiths defence was all that good on paper but if you go back and watch game tape then you will see the crucial stops and game-saving plays they made. When you factor in how many three and outs the offence had or how many ghastly turnovers there were that led to the defence being on the field for large chunks of the game then I think you have to be impressed that they weren't worse. Luckily, it looks like Akselsen is hot going into the playoffs with 6 touchdowns and zero interceptions thrown!
Matchup Nightmares:
Tyler Oles vs Dermot Lavelle
When I looked up Philadelphia quarterback Tyler Oles' stat line from this season I immediately was shocked that he managed to lead the league in picks thrown with 17. The first thought that went through my head was "oh man, Lavalle is gonna eat you alive Mr. Oles. Sloppy gunslinging quarterbacks are my friend's favourite treat." Now, the flip side of that is that Oles was also third in touchdowns thrown and has boom or bust potential in the playoffs. I would bet on Dermot every day of the week and twice on Sundays though. The stalwart corner is arguably the best lockdown defender in the league and is one of the best ball-hawking defensive backs in the league. I would go so far to say that if Lavalle did not have such a reputation and quarterbacks were not terrified of looking his way that Lavalle would be the BEST playmaker in the backfield. I do not envy the Philadelphia Liberty and their offence when they have to take the field against big bad boys from the North. I do not envy any offence for that matter, the Wraiths limp offence could allow the defence ample opportunity to wreak havoc against Mr. Oles.
![[Image: LnNkySV.png]](https://i.imgur.com/LnNkySV.png)
