New Talent: The Orange County Otters’ acquisition of Tight End Carlito Crush in a deadline day trade with Colorado proved to be a pretty smart move for the 3 time champions. While the Otters have been very busy creating and breaking offensive records the last few years, the one thing this well oiled machine never had was a stud Tight End. Orange County would ride this new toy to a 4-0 record in the season with Crush in the lineup, easily making the playoffs. Even though the Otters would fall to the Philadelphia Liberty in the Ultimus Game, Crush was not part of the reason why. In the opening playoff game win against the Arizona Outlaws, Crush was all over the field, making a game high eight receptions, while tacking on 95 yards of his own. While he didn’t score, his presence kept the defense honest, which allowed the deadly trio of Westfield, Phelps, and Yates to get open, as each player eclipsed 100 yards in the game. It was more of the same in the Ultimus, except that the offense as a whole sputtered repeatedly in the red zone. Crush was even better, having a game high 10 receptions this time, although it was only for 89 yards. (209)
Playoff Review: The first playoff matchup pitted the Yellowknife Wraiths against the Philadelphia Liberty. The Wraiths were the season’s best team, but they didn’t look the part against the Liberty. The Liberty raced to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and never really looked back, although the Wraiths would make it close a few times. The score was 20-10 at halftime. Robby Rainey would score a TD in the last seconds of the third quarter to bring YKW within 2 points, but the Liberty answered with another DiMirio TD to get the score to 33-24. YKW get it within 2 points again, but Krotech scored a TD with 56 seconds left to seal the deal.
The second matchup gave us the Orange County Otters vs the Arizona Outlaws. This matchup was all Otters, as Mike Boss torched Arizona for 484 yards and 4 touchdowns, leading the Otters to a relatively easy 48-24 victory. The Otters took a 35-7 lead at one point before playing prevent defense and letting Arizona score some garbage time points.
In the Ultimus, the Liberty took it to the Otters from the get go, as Josh Garden ran the opening kickoff back 103 yards for a touchdown. Orange County would never hold the lead in this contest, as the Otters had to settle for 4 field goals after driving deep into Philadelphia territory. The Liberty would hold their 28-19 lead throughout the 4th quarter to become the Ultimus champions. (244)
Hate The Player, Or Hate The Game: This is a running problem for me in the NSFL. Honestly, the way the playoffs currently go, there’s always one division that’s stronger than another. This year was no exception, as the (5-9) Arizona Outlaws got into the playoffs, despite allowing 433 points against, the second highest total in the league. Arizona only scored 357 points themselves. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Hawks had to sit home and watch the playoffs, although they had a better record than Arizona at 7-7. Baltimore scored 405 points and allowed 333, both totals significantly better than the numbers the Outlaws put up. There is no reason for the NSFL to have two conferences when everyone already plays each other twice. The playoffs would be much better off if we had the Top 4 teams in the postseason instead of constantly watching a better team sit on the sidelines while a much lesser team gets blown out by a strong competitor. Even Head to Head, Baltimore proved they were the better team, as the Hawks won 27-10 at home in Week 7 and then they traveled to Arizona and won 41-35 in Week 12. There has to be something the league can do, whether they remove conferences, or create a wild card scenario. (214)
That Magic Moment: The magic moment for me this playoffs was the opening kickoff for the game between the Arizona Outlaws and the Orange County Otters. While the play itself was nothing special (a 64 yard kick off with a 7 yard return), it meant everything to Carlito Crush and myself. I’ve been in this league for 3 seasons, and up until getting traded to Orange County, I was met with a lot of sim heartbreak. It wasn’t always the best for me to watch my player, who I spent a lot of time working on upgrading and getting TPE, doing next to nothing while we got our asses kicked. For a time, despite the best efforts of the management in Colorado, it truly felt like ever making the playoffs would be a pipe dream. Sitting there, watching the little “81” orange dot run around in a playoff game, and eventually an Ultimus, was an awesome feeling. It showed me that all of my hard work so far wasn’t just for nothing, and it got me invigorated for the rest of Carlito’s career. It might sound stupid, considering that this is “just a sim league”, but that feeling was still really cool, and I’m glad I got to see my player in the playoffs. (214)
Playoff Review: The first playoff matchup pitted the Yellowknife Wraiths against the Philadelphia Liberty. The Wraiths were the season’s best team, but they didn’t look the part against the Liberty. The Liberty raced to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and never really looked back, although the Wraiths would make it close a few times. The score was 20-10 at halftime. Robby Rainey would score a TD in the last seconds of the third quarter to bring YKW within 2 points, but the Liberty answered with another DiMirio TD to get the score to 33-24. YKW get it within 2 points again, but Krotech scored a TD with 56 seconds left to seal the deal.
The second matchup gave us the Orange County Otters vs the Arizona Outlaws. This matchup was all Otters, as Mike Boss torched Arizona for 484 yards and 4 touchdowns, leading the Otters to a relatively easy 48-24 victory. The Otters took a 35-7 lead at one point before playing prevent defense and letting Arizona score some garbage time points.
In the Ultimus, the Liberty took it to the Otters from the get go, as Josh Garden ran the opening kickoff back 103 yards for a touchdown. Orange County would never hold the lead in this contest, as the Otters had to settle for 4 field goals after driving deep into Philadelphia territory. The Liberty would hold their 28-19 lead throughout the 4th quarter to become the Ultimus champions. (244)
Hate The Player, Or Hate The Game: This is a running problem for me in the NSFL. Honestly, the way the playoffs currently go, there’s always one division that’s stronger than another. This year was no exception, as the (5-9) Arizona Outlaws got into the playoffs, despite allowing 433 points against, the second highest total in the league. Arizona only scored 357 points themselves. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Hawks had to sit home and watch the playoffs, although they had a better record than Arizona at 7-7. Baltimore scored 405 points and allowed 333, both totals significantly better than the numbers the Outlaws put up. There is no reason for the NSFL to have two conferences when everyone already plays each other twice. The playoffs would be much better off if we had the Top 4 teams in the postseason instead of constantly watching a better team sit on the sidelines while a much lesser team gets blown out by a strong competitor. Even Head to Head, Baltimore proved they were the better team, as the Hawks won 27-10 at home in Week 7 and then they traveled to Arizona and won 41-35 in Week 12. There has to be something the league can do, whether they remove conferences, or create a wild card scenario. (214)
That Magic Moment: The magic moment for me this playoffs was the opening kickoff for the game between the Arizona Outlaws and the Orange County Otters. While the play itself was nothing special (a 64 yard kick off with a 7 yard return), it meant everything to Carlito Crush and myself. I’ve been in this league for 3 seasons, and up until getting traded to Orange County, I was met with a lot of sim heartbreak. It wasn’t always the best for me to watch my player, who I spent a lot of time working on upgrading and getting TPE, doing next to nothing while we got our asses kicked. For a time, despite the best efforts of the management in Colorado, it truly felt like ever making the playoffs would be a pipe dream. Sitting there, watching the little “81” orange dot run around in a playoff game, and eventually an Ultimus, was an awesome feeling. It showed me that all of my hard work so far wasn’t just for nothing, and it got me invigorated for the rest of Carlito’s career. It might sound stupid, considering that this is “just a sim league”, but that feeling was still really cool, and I’m glad I got to see my player in the playoffs. (214)
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