1. It is our time this year
The Sabercats have had a memorable season already in finishing with a 10-4 record only a game back of the Otters in The conference. Their two matchups with the Otters this season have been quite close in what ended up being a split series. Not only that, but the team is among the fastest growing and improving in the league, which should mean we're even stronger now and really coming into our own at the most important part of the year. We have a solid offense with a lot of players just entering their prime - including Christ at QB, Canton at RB, Flash at WR, and Brannigan at TE - plus an insanely deep back 7 of the defense and some young and improving players on the defensive line. I expect another close game against the Otters in round 1, and then we'd either face the Hawks that we had another split season series with in two one-possesion games, or the liberty that we handled pretty easily both times. Obviously there's no guarantee of winning it all or advancing but I think we have as much of a shot as anyone, and we're particularly well set up for next season as well when you consider just how many players are actively improving and haven't even hit regression yet.
2. Spotlight on the youth
Not to toot my own horn but I'm totally going to toot my own horn and talk about my own player, rookie DT Freezer Riposte who was mistakenly or possibly accidentally taken first overall in the draft. Riposte has actually been pretty effective at getting to the QB as a DT, finished third in the league in sacks among players at the position and first among rookies at the position. Also, in our first matchup against the Otters that resulted in victory, Freezer managed to bring down Showbiz for one of those five sacks on the season. If he is able to use his speed and strength combo to do the same in the first round of the playoffs, it could be a tough day for the Otters QB as his pocket breaks down repeatedly and he becomes scared to take a hit. That's when the rest of the defense has a chance to make a big play like a turnover or even just locking down the opposing receivers and backs, with Freezer and the other linemen providing pressure and eating up blockers for breakfast. Often Freezer makes his biggest impact in ways that can't be found on the box score, and you could see that happening here while he also keeps himself out of committing penalties.
4. QB Matchup
I am actually really intrigued by the QB matchup of the Ultimini. Luke Boechler and the Coyotes will face off against Zenyou Wozy and the Marshals. It's pretty clear that both of these guys are pocket passers first and foremost, as neither had more than 40 yards rushing this season. They actually had pretty similar statlines during the season too. Wozy finished with another 350 yards and 6 TD's on about 20 more attempts, but he also chunked 15 balls to the wrong team compared to Boechler's 6. They completed an identical percentage of passes overall and had a quite similar QB rating. Additionally, they are both backed up by a strong run game - the Coyotes have the league's leading rusher in Danielsson who was quite efficient, not to mention the 7 yards per carry man himself in Davenport, while Wozy is complemented by the Swift/Boija tag-team that were consistently strong all season. I think this matchup will largely come down to whether Wozy can manage to use his big play ability to the team's advantage while not making all of the mistakes of the regular season. With those running backs as long as the QB's aren't turning the ball over it should be a close game.
Interview with a fan (@PSanchez55:
What will be the key to the Coyotes winning their first ever Ultimini?
I think a big part of that will be achieving a nice balance between the run and pass. For most of the season we relied on our running backs to churn out yardage, really only focusing on the pass in very long distance situations. I hope to surprise the Marshals with more of a passing attack since they've been strong at stopping the run.
What are your thoughts on how the conference championship game ended, with Kaine fumbling at the 1 yard line?
While the game wouldn't have been immediately over even with a Pythons touchdown, clearly that was a huge play for us. True Pierce has a history of skipping practices but still coming through for the team with the game on the line, as he certainly did here. It was a well-played game by Portland for sure.
What were some of the highlights of the regular season?
I was really proud of our rookies for coming in and immediately making an impact on the field. Davenport dominated in his limited carries with 7 yards per carry, Alex Frost was a strong field goal kicker, J.N. Nova supplemented our strong receiving core, and Johnny Snuggles was a lock-down corner. Just seeing everyone do well and having a strong record was awesome.
Finally, how did Riposte's rookie campaign go?
While we ultimately came up short it was a fun season for Riposte and the Sabercats. Nobody expected much out of us but we finished with the second best record in the NSFL thanks to a strong, well-rounded team. Riposte himself had probably the best season statwise of any of the rookie DT's and made great strides by training as well.
The Sabercats have had a memorable season already in finishing with a 10-4 record only a game back of the Otters in The conference. Their two matchups with the Otters this season have been quite close in what ended up being a split series. Not only that, but the team is among the fastest growing and improving in the league, which should mean we're even stronger now and really coming into our own at the most important part of the year. We have a solid offense with a lot of players just entering their prime - including Christ at QB, Canton at RB, Flash at WR, and Brannigan at TE - plus an insanely deep back 7 of the defense and some young and improving players on the defensive line. I expect another close game against the Otters in round 1, and then we'd either face the Hawks that we had another split season series with in two one-possesion games, or the liberty that we handled pretty easily both times. Obviously there's no guarantee of winning it all or advancing but I think we have as much of a shot as anyone, and we're particularly well set up for next season as well when you consider just how many players are actively improving and haven't even hit regression yet.
2. Spotlight on the youth
Not to toot my own horn but I'm totally going to toot my own horn and talk about my own player, rookie DT Freezer Riposte who was mistakenly or possibly accidentally taken first overall in the draft. Riposte has actually been pretty effective at getting to the QB as a DT, finished third in the league in sacks among players at the position and first among rookies at the position. Also, in our first matchup against the Otters that resulted in victory, Freezer managed to bring down Showbiz for one of those five sacks on the season. If he is able to use his speed and strength combo to do the same in the first round of the playoffs, it could be a tough day for the Otters QB as his pocket breaks down repeatedly and he becomes scared to take a hit. That's when the rest of the defense has a chance to make a big play like a turnover or even just locking down the opposing receivers and backs, with Freezer and the other linemen providing pressure and eating up blockers for breakfast. Often Freezer makes his biggest impact in ways that can't be found on the box score, and you could see that happening here while he also keeps himself out of committing penalties.
4. QB Matchup
I am actually really intrigued by the QB matchup of the Ultimini. Luke Boechler and the Coyotes will face off against Zenyou Wozy and the Marshals. It's pretty clear that both of these guys are pocket passers first and foremost, as neither had more than 40 yards rushing this season. They actually had pretty similar statlines during the season too. Wozy finished with another 350 yards and 6 TD's on about 20 more attempts, but he also chunked 15 balls to the wrong team compared to Boechler's 6. They completed an identical percentage of passes overall and had a quite similar QB rating. Additionally, they are both backed up by a strong run game - the Coyotes have the league's leading rusher in Danielsson who was quite efficient, not to mention the 7 yards per carry man himself in Davenport, while Wozy is complemented by the Swift/Boija tag-team that were consistently strong all season. I think this matchup will largely come down to whether Wozy can manage to use his big play ability to the team's advantage while not making all of the mistakes of the regular season. With those running backs as long as the QB's aren't turning the ball over it should be a close game.
Interview with a fan (@PSanchez55:
What will be the key to the Coyotes winning their first ever Ultimini?
I think a big part of that will be achieving a nice balance between the run and pass. For most of the season we relied on our running backs to churn out yardage, really only focusing on the pass in very long distance situations. I hope to surprise the Marshals with more of a passing attack since they've been strong at stopping the run.
What are your thoughts on how the conference championship game ended, with Kaine fumbling at the 1 yard line?
While the game wouldn't have been immediately over even with a Pythons touchdown, clearly that was a huge play for us. True Pierce has a history of skipping practices but still coming through for the team with the game on the line, as he certainly did here. It was a well-played game by Portland for sure.
What were some of the highlights of the regular season?
I was really proud of our rookies for coming in and immediately making an impact on the field. Davenport dominated in his limited carries with 7 yards per carry, Alex Frost was a strong field goal kicker, J.N. Nova supplemented our strong receiving core, and Johnny Snuggles was a lock-down corner. Just seeing everyone do well and having a strong record was awesome.
Finally, how did Riposte's rookie campaign go?
While we ultimately came up short it was a fun season for Riposte and the Sabercats. Nobody expected much out of us but we finished with the second best record in the NSFL thanks to a strong, well-rounded team. Riposte himself had probably the best season statwise of any of the rookie DT's and made great strides by training as well.
![[Image: reposte.png?width=1050&height=534]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/716823545174425650/741340235748868157/reposte.png?width=1050&height=534)
![[Image: 2gqV8ts.png]](https://i.imgur.com/2gqV8ts.png)
