3. All About the QBs
I want to take a close look at the match-up between Franklin Armstrong and Jordan McCann III prior to tonight’s Ultimini; the juxtaposition of the grizzled, gun-slinging DSFL veteran and the baby-faced, mobile DSFL rookie offers plenty to discuss. The measurables suggest that Armstrong is easily the better pure quarterback, and the statistics back that assertion up; Armstrong outthrew McCann by roughly eight hundred yards this season, and, despite throwing six more interceptions, threw six more touchdown passes to level the numbers out and squeeze ahead with the best quarterback rating in the league, four points ahead of McCann. However, the passing numbers don’t tell you that McCann is a have-it-both-ways quarterback in a run first offense. The Luchadores were a close second in the league in rushing yards, a hundred and fifty yards ahead of the Pythons, and McCann contributed nearly four hundred yards on the ground, easily three hundred and fifty yards more than Armstrong. The key to determining which quarterback will ultimately hoist the Ultimini trophy with his team, is whether McCann’s arm can do enough to back up his legs, or whether Armstrong can basically do whatever he wants when he takes the field. We will know the answer soon enough.
7. Next Year
As most of you already know, my San Antonio Marshals were tragically crushed by the Tijuana Luchadores in our postseason bout, falling to an almost unbelievable 0-5 against the rival Luchadores on the season, and a less-than-savory 7-8 overall. However, the roster was much better than our record suggests; Taco and Stringer built an excellent program, and unfortunately, it failed to produce the desired results this season. However, with an abundance of young talent flocking into the league this year, Taco and Stringer will have another chance to build on what the accomplished this year, and despite falling short on the first attempt, I am positive that between the two of them, these guys have what it takes to build a successful powerhouse in the DSFL, especially given that they’ve already set themselves up with a quarterback for the future, and they once again have the number one draft pick. I can promise you that with the talents these two bring to the table, San Antonio will return to powerhouse status sooner rather than later. If they can learn from the mistakes of last year’s draft and capitalize on the number one pick again, the Marshals might find themselves hoisting the Ultimini next season.
10. Rivalries
As a San Antonio Marshal, you’d think I’d want to write this chunk of my PT about the Tijuana Luchadores, but I’m going to throw a curveball at you: the Portland Pythons are the overrated team in the Ultimini, and I’ll be throwing my support behind the Luchadores tonight. You might ask why this is, and let me tell you, I have two big reasons for you. First, the Pythons have no respect for the value of defense; I’ve fundamentally believed this since they agreed to trade Shane Masters to the Luchadores for Hugh Mongo in the preseason, and I will stand by this bold opinion as the Luchadore defense tramples the Pythons tonight. Second, the wide receiver corps, beyond Hugh Mongo, needs to have their egos bruised just a bit. Everybody is likely familiar with the antics of late addition Will Smith by now, and no doubt you’ve heard that Saba Donut already has an Ultimini, but many of you might have missed Action Jackson barging into Bubba Thumper’s predraft press conference last season. I believe these guys have room to learn a bit of humility, and I think the Luchadores have what it takes to give them the beating they deserve.
19. Big Fellas
For this prompt, I’d like to discuss the standout defensive lineman of the Tijuana Luchadores, Shane Masters. The Luchadores agreed to send star wide receiver Hugh Mongo to the Portland Pythons in exchange for the young prospect, and both teams have benefitted immensely from the presence of their new talents, but Portland has done so relying mostly on the strength of their offense, while Tijuana spent most of the season dominating opponents on both sides of the ball, in large part due to the outstanding play of Shane Masters, especially early in the season. While his peers, Brayden Ennis and Bubba Thumper, struggled in the early games (and, I might add, failed to collect wins in round one of the playoffs), Shane Masters soared to an impressive stat line early, and ended the season well ahead of the pack, especially in tackles for loss, where he managed to accumulate sixteen, as opposed to seven combined from the other two. Now, in the Ultimini, he has a real chance to make a serious impact against the team that traded him away, and I am sure that a player like Masters is hungry to prove his value, especially with the draft just over the horizon.
I want to take a close look at the match-up between Franklin Armstrong and Jordan McCann III prior to tonight’s Ultimini; the juxtaposition of the grizzled, gun-slinging DSFL veteran and the baby-faced, mobile DSFL rookie offers plenty to discuss. The measurables suggest that Armstrong is easily the better pure quarterback, and the statistics back that assertion up; Armstrong outthrew McCann by roughly eight hundred yards this season, and, despite throwing six more interceptions, threw six more touchdown passes to level the numbers out and squeeze ahead with the best quarterback rating in the league, four points ahead of McCann. However, the passing numbers don’t tell you that McCann is a have-it-both-ways quarterback in a run first offense. The Luchadores were a close second in the league in rushing yards, a hundred and fifty yards ahead of the Pythons, and McCann contributed nearly four hundred yards on the ground, easily three hundred and fifty yards more than Armstrong. The key to determining which quarterback will ultimately hoist the Ultimini trophy with his team, is whether McCann’s arm can do enough to back up his legs, or whether Armstrong can basically do whatever he wants when he takes the field. We will know the answer soon enough.
7. Next Year
As most of you already know, my San Antonio Marshals were tragically crushed by the Tijuana Luchadores in our postseason bout, falling to an almost unbelievable 0-5 against the rival Luchadores on the season, and a less-than-savory 7-8 overall. However, the roster was much better than our record suggests; Taco and Stringer built an excellent program, and unfortunately, it failed to produce the desired results this season. However, with an abundance of young talent flocking into the league this year, Taco and Stringer will have another chance to build on what the accomplished this year, and despite falling short on the first attempt, I am positive that between the two of them, these guys have what it takes to build a successful powerhouse in the DSFL, especially given that they’ve already set themselves up with a quarterback for the future, and they once again have the number one draft pick. I can promise you that with the talents these two bring to the table, San Antonio will return to powerhouse status sooner rather than later. If they can learn from the mistakes of last year’s draft and capitalize on the number one pick again, the Marshals might find themselves hoisting the Ultimini next season.
10. Rivalries
As a San Antonio Marshal, you’d think I’d want to write this chunk of my PT about the Tijuana Luchadores, but I’m going to throw a curveball at you: the Portland Pythons are the overrated team in the Ultimini, and I’ll be throwing my support behind the Luchadores tonight. You might ask why this is, and let me tell you, I have two big reasons for you. First, the Pythons have no respect for the value of defense; I’ve fundamentally believed this since they agreed to trade Shane Masters to the Luchadores for Hugh Mongo in the preseason, and I will stand by this bold opinion as the Luchadore defense tramples the Pythons tonight. Second, the wide receiver corps, beyond Hugh Mongo, needs to have their egos bruised just a bit. Everybody is likely familiar with the antics of late addition Will Smith by now, and no doubt you’ve heard that Saba Donut already has an Ultimini, but many of you might have missed Action Jackson barging into Bubba Thumper’s predraft press conference last season. I believe these guys have room to learn a bit of humility, and I think the Luchadores have what it takes to give them the beating they deserve.
19. Big Fellas
For this prompt, I’d like to discuss the standout defensive lineman of the Tijuana Luchadores, Shane Masters. The Luchadores agreed to send star wide receiver Hugh Mongo to the Portland Pythons in exchange for the young prospect, and both teams have benefitted immensely from the presence of their new talents, but Portland has done so relying mostly on the strength of their offense, while Tijuana spent most of the season dominating opponents on both sides of the ball, in large part due to the outstanding play of Shane Masters, especially early in the season. While his peers, Brayden Ennis and Bubba Thumper, struggled in the early games (and, I might add, failed to collect wins in round one of the playoffs), Shane Masters soared to an impressive stat line early, and ended the season well ahead of the pack, especially in tackles for loss, where he managed to accumulate sixteen, as opposed to seven combined from the other two. Now, in the Ultimini, he has a real chance to make a serious impact against the team that traded him away, and I am sure that a player like Masters is hungry to prove his value, especially with the draft just over the horizon.
