(S8) - Ultimus Week

[Durden]

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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)

New Orleans Second Line can definitely win the Ultimus Trophy this season. Sure, they're a huge underdog, but they can pull it off.
The first thing about winning is keeping momentum. And boy do the Second Line have momentum going into this game. They won 8 of their last ten games,. Their first loss was by 4 points, and their most recent loss (against the recently defeated Orange County Otters) was by a single point. They are looking good going into this. This time, they beat the Otters by 3 points, showing that even in the last 3 weeks they've improved.
The Wraiths won a nail-biter by 14 against the 7 and 7 Hawks. That's not looking very good. The Wraiths also lost 3 of their last 8 games, to the Orange County Otters, the 5 and 9 Arizona Outlaws and the Otters once again. If the Second Line can beat the Otters in playoff football, they can beat the Wraiths who took two losses from them.
No one is standing out for the Second Line, but as a team they're coming together to be better then their individual pieces. If there's an underdog that I'm willing to bet on, it's the New Orleans Second Line in the biggest game of the year.

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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

The Most Valuable Player of the Baltimore Hawks versus the Yellowknife Wraiths was undoubtedly Robby Rainey. Rainey was a dominant force for the Wraiths, and the idiots who pick Offensive Player of the Game were very confused. His stat sheet doesn't look glorious, as he only had 33 yards on 11 runs. An average of 3 yards per carry isn't going to do anything for anyone, and is downright dismal on it's own.

However, Robby Rainey made his touches count. He didn't need to be the impact player every down, just when it mattered. The Wraiths were down 21 to 7, and Rainey scored on a 3 yard run to make it a one score game.

The game was tied at 24, and Rainey ran for another touchdown to give his team a 6 point (7 with the extra point) lead. With less than 2 minutes remaining, he ran for another touchdown, cementing the game.

While his numbers aren't great, he did what he needed to when it mattered most. Without Rainey in the game, we have a completely different turnout. It's not always about the person that puts up the biggest numbers, but is about the players who take the touches they get and make the most out of it.

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

When you look at teams that maybe should've made the playoffs but didn't, you shouldn't look any farther than last season's champions in the Philadelphia Liberty.

Halfway through the season, the Liberty decided that this was a perfect time to enter a re-build mode and trade most of their players away. The Liberty weren't as dominant as they were last season, but they were winning games and had a great chance to make it back to the championship round. But, they traded everyone.

They traded away: Micah Hendrix, Eli Kamaka, Damien Kroetch, Clifford Rove, Vikian Melamedov, Paul DiMirio and Godfrey King.

This is insane!

Hendrix had 5 tackles, a sack and an interception in last years championship game. Kamaka had 4 tackles and a sack. Kroetch had 21 rushing attempts for 81 yards. Rove had 6 tackles. DiMirio had 4 receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. And King had 4 tackles and a sack.

These are the players you DON'T trade away. For some reason, Philly went into a rebuild way ahead of schedule and ended up costing themselves these playoffs, and possibly another championship. I won't ever get these early rebuild decisions, but I'm not the GM. I still think they could've made it.

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Championship Game Recap: Do a recap of the best play from the championship game. Must be completed after the Championship Game

The Championship game in the NSFL is always a fun one to watch, even though one team must walk away hanging their heads at getting so far but being unable to win. The team that had to walk away this season was the New Orleans Second Line.

The game started in their favor with a 45 yard field goal by Peg Leg, but should-be MVP Robby Rainey took over and gave the Yellowknife Wraith an insurmountable lead with 7 minutes left in the second quarter! Rainey scored two on the ground, one from 4 and another from 2 yards out.

Dustin Evans looked to bring the game closer, but then Eric Kennedy reigned in a pass from Mat Akselsen for a 36 yard touchdown.

These three scores would be too much for the Second Line to overcome. An errant pass by Maximus III didn't help the Second Line muster a comeback either. Lavelle would get credit for the interception.

At the end of the third, New Orleans would have to punt twice on back to back drives. And the fourth quarter was started by 3 Second Line penalties (for a total of 23 yards). It was ended by two more punts.


New Orleans had a shot, but blew it as they couldn't convert their third downs(7/19).