06-25-2018, 07:38 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-25-2018, 09:18 AM by ItsJustBarry.)
Robbed:
You can easily make an argument for both the Philadelphia Liberty and Colorado Yeti. They were sitting and 2nd and 3rd in the conference respectively heading into week 13. Everything was in place and each team had control of their own destiny. All Colorado needed to do was win their remaining games and the playoff berth would have been theirs. What a story that would have been; from winless to playoff bound nearly overnight. As for the Liberty, they didn’t even need to win both of their remaining games. They could have suffered a loss and still made the playoffs as long as they outscored the Baltimore Hawks in those remaining weeks for the tie breaker. Unfortunately for Philly, Baltimore went on an offensive tear and they managed to score 87 points in the final 2 weeks winning both of their matchups and securing the playoff spot. This is the closest this conference has been, maybe in all of history, and we likely won’t see it this close again as the Liberty towards rebuilding. Looking towards the playoffs, Baltimore has the same daunting task that the Liberty faced last season in traveling to Yellowknife to play for a chance at the Ultimus.
New Talent:
There is no arguing that the Baltimore Hawks were in ‘win now’ mindset as they try to secure that sweet, Ultimus hardware before their top talent falls off the regression cliff very soon. I don’t think a single trade stands out but there is little dispute that Baltimore would be where they are without the addition of Arbin Asipi Jr. , Budda Browning, Vikain Marmeladov, and Clifford Rove. Budda Browning was exceptional as he stepped in and stepped up to replace John Wachter while amassing 915 yards and 5 TDs on the season. Vikain Marmeladov was equally impressive while racking up 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, and a defensive touchdown. Clifford Rove added 2 INTs of his own in a modest season performance. Although not a part of a trade, he was newly acquired for S8 and broke the Hawks dry spell of signing free agents, and that player is none other than Arbin Asipi Jr. Asipi Jr. has a career year as he flourished in this Hawks’ defense. His stat line screams Defensive Player of the Year. He dominated with 11 sacks, 11 more tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovered, and a safety to help Baltimore secure the playoff berth.
Playoff Predictions:
First, we’ll take a look at the ASFC matchup between the Orange County Otters and the New Orleans Second Line. Both teams have looked impressive this season and would argue that NOLA may actually be the better team. Had the Otters not scored the winning touchdown in the final minutes of their week 13 matchup to go ahead by 1 point, NOLA would actually be hosting this championship game. Instead, Westfield continued to do Westfield things as he secured the win and home field advantage. I am predicting that NOLA comes out slow at the beginning but icks up momentum as the game rolls along and they do just enough to pull off the win and lock up the team’s first ever Ultimus appearance.
On the other side, we have the Baltimore Hawks headed up to face Yellowknife Wraiths. While their records would indicate that this is a lopsided matchup, I think these teams are more closely matched. The Wraiths average just 3 points more per game than Baltimore so I expect this game to be closely decided. The one aspect where I can give Yellowknife the nod would be with home field advantage. They had just a single loss at home this season and that was in week 12 once they had locked up their conference championship. Baltimore learned a lot about overcoming difficult situations and luck may still be on their side come Monday night so I will predict the Hawks stunning the Wraiths 31-27.
Baltimore stomps NOLA in Ultimus.
Hate the player or the game:
The team that made the playoffs but shouldn’t have has the be the Baltimore Hawks. If anyone said that Baltimore would go 1-7 stretch through the middle of the season, nobody would have given them a chance. Lucky for them, they play in a conference with the basement dwelling Colorado Yeti and self imploding Philadelphia Liberty. Although Yeti are on their way up, finally, they still reside at the bottom of the standings but this should be their last season there for a while. Heading into week 13, Baltimore was at the bottom of the standing and needed everything to go their way to have even a chance at the playoffs. Believe it or not, both the Philadelphia Liberty and Colorado yeti’d hard as the Hawks were able to stumble into the postseason. Now Baltimore has its toughest game of the season Monday night when they head to Yellowknife for the conference championship. The Wraiths won both regular season matchups by margins of 4 and 5 so history tells us to expect a close game. The key to Baltimore winning this game will be to keep QB Mat Akselsen in the backfield and make him use his arm to win. As we’ve seen, when he gets moving, he is a force that is hard to match.
You can easily make an argument for both the Philadelphia Liberty and Colorado Yeti. They were sitting and 2nd and 3rd in the conference respectively heading into week 13. Everything was in place and each team had control of their own destiny. All Colorado needed to do was win their remaining games and the playoff berth would have been theirs. What a story that would have been; from winless to playoff bound nearly overnight. As for the Liberty, they didn’t even need to win both of their remaining games. They could have suffered a loss and still made the playoffs as long as they outscored the Baltimore Hawks in those remaining weeks for the tie breaker. Unfortunately for Philly, Baltimore went on an offensive tear and they managed to score 87 points in the final 2 weeks winning both of their matchups and securing the playoff spot. This is the closest this conference has been, maybe in all of history, and we likely won’t see it this close again as the Liberty towards rebuilding. Looking towards the playoffs, Baltimore has the same daunting task that the Liberty faced last season in traveling to Yellowknife to play for a chance at the Ultimus.
New Talent:
There is no arguing that the Baltimore Hawks were in ‘win now’ mindset as they try to secure that sweet, Ultimus hardware before their top talent falls off the regression cliff very soon. I don’t think a single trade stands out but there is little dispute that Baltimore would be where they are without the addition of Arbin Asipi Jr. , Budda Browning, Vikain Marmeladov, and Clifford Rove. Budda Browning was exceptional as he stepped in and stepped up to replace John Wachter while amassing 915 yards and 5 TDs on the season. Vikain Marmeladov was equally impressive while racking up 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, and a defensive touchdown. Clifford Rove added 2 INTs of his own in a modest season performance. Although not a part of a trade, he was newly acquired for S8 and broke the Hawks dry spell of signing free agents, and that player is none other than Arbin Asipi Jr. Asipi Jr. has a career year as he flourished in this Hawks’ defense. His stat line screams Defensive Player of the Year. He dominated with 11 sacks, 11 more tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovered, and a safety to help Baltimore secure the playoff berth.
Playoff Predictions:
First, we’ll take a look at the ASFC matchup between the Orange County Otters and the New Orleans Second Line. Both teams have looked impressive this season and would argue that NOLA may actually be the better team. Had the Otters not scored the winning touchdown in the final minutes of their week 13 matchup to go ahead by 1 point, NOLA would actually be hosting this championship game. Instead, Westfield continued to do Westfield things as he secured the win and home field advantage. I am predicting that NOLA comes out slow at the beginning but icks up momentum as the game rolls along and they do just enough to pull off the win and lock up the team’s first ever Ultimus appearance.
On the other side, we have the Baltimore Hawks headed up to face Yellowknife Wraiths. While their records would indicate that this is a lopsided matchup, I think these teams are more closely matched. The Wraiths average just 3 points more per game than Baltimore so I expect this game to be closely decided. The one aspect where I can give Yellowknife the nod would be with home field advantage. They had just a single loss at home this season and that was in week 12 once they had locked up their conference championship. Baltimore learned a lot about overcoming difficult situations and luck may still be on their side come Monday night so I will predict the Hawks stunning the Wraiths 31-27.
Baltimore stomps NOLA in Ultimus.
Hate the player or the game:
The team that made the playoffs but shouldn’t have has the be the Baltimore Hawks. If anyone said that Baltimore would go 1-7 stretch through the middle of the season, nobody would have given them a chance. Lucky for them, they play in a conference with the basement dwelling Colorado Yeti and self imploding Philadelphia Liberty. Although Yeti are on their way up, finally, they still reside at the bottom of the standings but this should be their last season there for a while. Heading into week 13, Baltimore was at the bottom of the standing and needed everything to go their way to have even a chance at the playoffs. Believe it or not, both the Philadelphia Liberty and Colorado yeti’d hard as the Hawks were able to stumble into the postseason. Now Baltimore has its toughest game of the season Monday night when they head to Yellowknife for the conference championship. The Wraiths won both regular season matchups by margins of 4 and 5 so history tells us to expect a close game. The key to Baltimore winning this game will be to keep QB Mat Akselsen in the backfield and make him use his arm to win. As we’ve seen, when he gets moving, he is a force that is hard to match.
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