08-13-2018, 09:34 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-13-2018, 09:51 AM by ItsJustBarry.)
Playoff Predictions:
In the first matchup, we see the New Orleans Second Line facing off against the Orange County Otters for the chance to represent the ASFC in the Ultimus game. In maybe the quickest rebuild in football history, New Orleans was able to hit the reset button, quite literally, and capture the best record in the league just 3 short seasons later. The Otters are headed to the bayou but there’s nobody that is considering them an underdog in the game. Although they lost both regular season matchups against the Second Line, first by 18 then 9, something tells me they still have a little magic in their playbooks. This is a close one but Otters win in the final minutes.
Next, we get to see the Baltimore Hawks play host to the Colorado Yeti. I expect this game to play out in a similar fashion as the 2 regular season matchups these teams had. Baltimore won both games by a combined margin of 53. While the Yeti have definitely made great strides to become competitive in the past season, I think they are still 1 or 2 seasons away from being threats in the playoffs.
For the Ultimus, I see Baltimore host Orange County and Baltimore wins, barely.
Hate the player or the game:
I would say that the Colorado Yeti maybe aren’t quite ready to play on a bigger stage. I would say that the team that is most responsible for getting the Yeti into the playoffs isn’t the Yeti, it was the Arizona Outlaws. Arizona handed Colorado a close win in week 8 which may have sealed the deal. In addition to that, Arizona stunned Yellowknife Wraiths in week 2 with a 12 to 6 win in Yellowknife. Despite being early in the season, this was the nail in the coffin for the Wraiths.
Looking back to this season, the biggest move the Colorado Yeti made, which I directly attribute to their immediate success, they can’t even take credit for. With the league stepping in to clean up the Colorado front office, that saw GM mememaestro forced out and new, active leadership step up. This was a needed move and we saw an immediate improvement across the entire team as soon as this occurred. Even though they have the 4th best record in the league, their negative point differential tells me they aren’t ready for the playoffs. What this will do is provide them big game experience for the future as I expect them to become recurring participants in the seasons to come.
Root for the Underdog:
This is a little bit of a stretch but the underdog I would be rooting for is the Orange County Otters. They know what defeat in the post season feels like and they are not looking for a repeat of last season. IT is not as if they are a bad team either. Most of their key pieces from their championship team has remained intact. This is just a case of an older team being out hustled by a youthful team. The key factor that will determine who will come out of this game victorious will be the Otters offense. Can they put numbers up on the score board. New Orleans has been stingy this season allowing just barely 14 points a game while averaging almost 38 points themselves. If the Orange County Otters expect to win, they need to score fast and often. While I feel they can slow down the Second Line offense, they will still likely need 30 points to even be in contention. This may be the Otters last chance for a while as they has recently seen a handful of offensive players decide to hang up their cleats. I am rooting for the Otters because the Second Line will be the harder team to face in the Ultimus.
Robbed:
Do you know who got robbed? The Yellowknife Wraiths. How in the hell can you miss the playoffs while the Colorado Yeti claim the two seed? Their problems began in week 2 when they hosted the Arizona Outlaws with their rookie QB. The Wraiths had a little too much confidence heading into this game and it showed on the field. Their offense was stagnant and was only able to put up 2 field goals total. Despite forcing 2 turnovers, they didn’t score on either of those opportunities. The worst part about this team lack of success this season is the fact that they may have player(s) who potentially utilized performance enhancing methods to unlawfully increase their max TPE output. Even while fielding the player(s) with these ill gotten gains, they were barely able to limp through the season with a .500 record. Their only hope now may be for the head office to intervene and terminate the entire Yellowknife Wraiths front office. While this may seem extreme, a similar set of actions occurred in Colorado and now look at them, playoff bound. Still, this team was robbed and its hard to argue that. The league and their fans both expect better from this franchise.
In the first matchup, we see the New Orleans Second Line facing off against the Orange County Otters for the chance to represent the ASFC in the Ultimus game. In maybe the quickest rebuild in football history, New Orleans was able to hit the reset button, quite literally, and capture the best record in the league just 3 short seasons later. The Otters are headed to the bayou but there’s nobody that is considering them an underdog in the game. Although they lost both regular season matchups against the Second Line, first by 18 then 9, something tells me they still have a little magic in their playbooks. This is a close one but Otters win in the final minutes.
Next, we get to see the Baltimore Hawks play host to the Colorado Yeti. I expect this game to play out in a similar fashion as the 2 regular season matchups these teams had. Baltimore won both games by a combined margin of 53. While the Yeti have definitely made great strides to become competitive in the past season, I think they are still 1 or 2 seasons away from being threats in the playoffs.
For the Ultimus, I see Baltimore host Orange County and Baltimore wins, barely.
Hate the player or the game:
I would say that the Colorado Yeti maybe aren’t quite ready to play on a bigger stage. I would say that the team that is most responsible for getting the Yeti into the playoffs isn’t the Yeti, it was the Arizona Outlaws. Arizona handed Colorado a close win in week 8 which may have sealed the deal. In addition to that, Arizona stunned Yellowknife Wraiths in week 2 with a 12 to 6 win in Yellowknife. Despite being early in the season, this was the nail in the coffin for the Wraiths.
Looking back to this season, the biggest move the Colorado Yeti made, which I directly attribute to their immediate success, they can’t even take credit for. With the league stepping in to clean up the Colorado front office, that saw GM mememaestro forced out and new, active leadership step up. This was a needed move and we saw an immediate improvement across the entire team as soon as this occurred. Even though they have the 4th best record in the league, their negative point differential tells me they aren’t ready for the playoffs. What this will do is provide them big game experience for the future as I expect them to become recurring participants in the seasons to come.
Root for the Underdog:
This is a little bit of a stretch but the underdog I would be rooting for is the Orange County Otters. They know what defeat in the post season feels like and they are not looking for a repeat of last season. IT is not as if they are a bad team either. Most of their key pieces from their championship team has remained intact. This is just a case of an older team being out hustled by a youthful team. The key factor that will determine who will come out of this game victorious will be the Otters offense. Can they put numbers up on the score board. New Orleans has been stingy this season allowing just barely 14 points a game while averaging almost 38 points themselves. If the Orange County Otters expect to win, they need to score fast and often. While I feel they can slow down the Second Line offense, they will still likely need 30 points to even be in contention. This may be the Otters last chance for a while as they has recently seen a handful of offensive players decide to hang up their cleats. I am rooting for the Otters because the Second Line will be the harder team to face in the Ultimus.
Robbed:
Do you know who got robbed? The Yellowknife Wraiths. How in the hell can you miss the playoffs while the Colorado Yeti claim the two seed? Their problems began in week 2 when they hosted the Arizona Outlaws with their rookie QB. The Wraiths had a little too much confidence heading into this game and it showed on the field. Their offense was stagnant and was only able to put up 2 field goals total. Despite forcing 2 turnovers, they didn’t score on either of those opportunities. The worst part about this team lack of success this season is the fact that they may have player(s) who potentially utilized performance enhancing methods to unlawfully increase their max TPE output. Even while fielding the player(s) with these ill gotten gains, they were barely able to limp through the season with a .500 record. Their only hope now may be for the head office to intervene and terminate the entire Yellowknife Wraiths front office. While this may seem extreme, a similar set of actions occurred in Colorado and now look at them, playoff bound. Still, this team was robbed and its hard to argue that. The league and their fans both expect better from this franchise.
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