It Is Our Time This (Next) Year
Season 13 was a strange year for the Hawks as they came into the season as the reigning NSFC champions and looked to be championship contenders but ended up finishing tied for the worst record in the league. Normally it would seem like the team would need to make major changes after a disappointment like this, but I don't think that is a case. The Hawks were actually favored in test sims in six of their first eight games. This means they should have started the season off 6-2 but in reality they got off to a 1-7 start. If they had won those early games they were favored in, the Hawks would have finished 9-5 and been the top seed in the NSFC. So it seems like the Hawks really were as good as they were expected to be, but just had bad luck in the sims and vastly unperformed their expected results. The Hawks still have a very talented roster and will now have some high draft picks to add to it in the off season in addition to any free agency signings they make. Even with the disappointing results this season, I think the Hawks could bounce back in a big way next season and be serious contenders to win the Ultimus Trophy.
Spotlight on the Youth
One Season 10 player who has the potential to have a huge impact on the playoffs this season is San Jose Sabercats quarterback Joliet L. Christ. The Sabercats are in the midst of their best season in franchise history with a 12-2 record and look like the favorites to win the championship with home field advantage throughout the playoffs. I think one of the most important factors in deciding whether they live up to their potential in the playoffs will depend on the play of their quarterback. Christ is still young as this is just his third year as a starting quarterback in the NSFL. He doesn't have much playoff experience as he has only played one playoff game in his career so far and he struggled in that game as he recorded a 47.5 passer rating in a 35-10 loss against the Orange County Otters. If Christ struggles and puts together a poor performance in the playoffs, it could sink a promising season for the Sabercats. However, Christ could also be the key factor that elevates the Sabercats to a championship. He was the most efficient quarterback in the league during the regular season this year with a league leading 93.4 passer rating. If he continues his high level play into the playoffs, it is going to be very hard for any other team to beat the Sabercats. As a young player playing at the most important position on the league's top team, Joliet L. Christ will be a very interesting player to watch during the playoffs as he could have a major impact on the ultimate results of the playoffs, one way or another.
Pre-Game or...Post-Game
The ASFC Championship Game was an exciting game with the league's top two teams from the regular season going head to head. The Sabercats were looking for their first playoff win in franchise history and the Otters were looking for a chance to repeat as champions and to have a shot at winning their fifth championship. The Sabercats took the lead early as their opening drive touchdown was the only score of the first quarter so they held a 7-0 lead at the end of the quarter. The Otters responded with a touchdown early in the second quarter but the Sabercats responded back with a touchdown on the following drive to regain the lead at 14-7. The Otters were able to score another touchdown within the final minute of the half to make it a tie game with a 14-14 halftime score. The Otters took their first lead of the game with a field goal on their opening drive of the second half and extended the lead with another field goal on their next drive to make it a 20-14 game entering the final quarter. However, the Sabercats took back the lead with a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to take a 21-20 lead. The Otters quickly responded with a touchdown and a two point conversion on their following drive to take a 28-21 lead. This would be the final lead change as the Otters' defense would hold strong for the rest of the game and the Otters tacked on one more field goal in the final seconds of the game to come away with a 31-21 victory and book a trip to the championship game with a chance to repeat as champions. This game was exciting throughout and lived up to the expectation of two top teams going against each other.
Quarterback Matchup
The Ultimus matchup between the Orange County Otters and the Colorado Yeti presented an interesting quarterback matchup. Both quarterbacks had put together strong showings in the regular season and had helped lead their teams to the championship game. Gus T.T. Showbiz was the victorious quarterback as he passed for 247 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a 77 passer rating on 22/36 passing in the Otters' 24-21 win. However, Micycle McCormick also had a solid performance despite the Yeti's loss with 291 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a 84.7 passer rating on 36/54 passing. It's hard to say who won the quarterback battle. McCormick had more yards and had higher passer rating, a better completion percentage, and 1 less interception despite having 18 more passing attempts. However, Showbiz had a higher yards per completion and had the same amount of touchdowns on 18 less attempts and ended up on the winning side of the game. Overall, both quarterbacks put up pretty similar performances. Neither performed badly but neither performed amazingly either, so both performances were overall decent. Both quarterbacks performed below their regular season average passer rating, so credit goes to the defenses for playing strong games and preventing this game from becoming a shootout as it could have been much more high scoring if both quarterbacks were on the top of their game.
Season 13 was a strange year for the Hawks as they came into the season as the reigning NSFC champions and looked to be championship contenders but ended up finishing tied for the worst record in the league. Normally it would seem like the team would need to make major changes after a disappointment like this, but I don't think that is a case. The Hawks were actually favored in test sims in six of their first eight games. This means they should have started the season off 6-2 but in reality they got off to a 1-7 start. If they had won those early games they were favored in, the Hawks would have finished 9-5 and been the top seed in the NSFC. So it seems like the Hawks really were as good as they were expected to be, but just had bad luck in the sims and vastly unperformed their expected results. The Hawks still have a very talented roster and will now have some high draft picks to add to it in the off season in addition to any free agency signings they make. Even with the disappointing results this season, I think the Hawks could bounce back in a big way next season and be serious contenders to win the Ultimus Trophy.
Quote:216 Words
Spotlight on the Youth
One Season 10 player who has the potential to have a huge impact on the playoffs this season is San Jose Sabercats quarterback Joliet L. Christ. The Sabercats are in the midst of their best season in franchise history with a 12-2 record and look like the favorites to win the championship with home field advantage throughout the playoffs. I think one of the most important factors in deciding whether they live up to their potential in the playoffs will depend on the play of their quarterback. Christ is still young as this is just his third year as a starting quarterback in the NSFL. He doesn't have much playoff experience as he has only played one playoff game in his career so far and he struggled in that game as he recorded a 47.5 passer rating in a 35-10 loss against the Orange County Otters. If Christ struggles and puts together a poor performance in the playoffs, it could sink a promising season for the Sabercats. However, Christ could also be the key factor that elevates the Sabercats to a championship. He was the most efficient quarterback in the league during the regular season this year with a league leading 93.4 passer rating. If he continues his high level play into the playoffs, it is going to be very hard for any other team to beat the Sabercats. As a young player playing at the most important position on the league's top team, Joliet L. Christ will be a very interesting player to watch during the playoffs as he could have a major impact on the ultimate results of the playoffs, one way or another.
Quote:276 Words
Pre-Game or...Post-Game
The ASFC Championship Game was an exciting game with the league's top two teams from the regular season going head to head. The Sabercats were looking for their first playoff win in franchise history and the Otters were looking for a chance to repeat as champions and to have a shot at winning their fifth championship. The Sabercats took the lead early as their opening drive touchdown was the only score of the first quarter so they held a 7-0 lead at the end of the quarter. The Otters responded with a touchdown early in the second quarter but the Sabercats responded back with a touchdown on the following drive to regain the lead at 14-7. The Otters were able to score another touchdown within the final minute of the half to make it a tie game with a 14-14 halftime score. The Otters took their first lead of the game with a field goal on their opening drive of the second half and extended the lead with another field goal on their next drive to make it a 20-14 game entering the final quarter. However, the Sabercats took back the lead with a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to take a 21-20 lead. The Otters quickly responded with a touchdown and a two point conversion on their following drive to take a 28-21 lead. This would be the final lead change as the Otters' defense would hold strong for the rest of the game and the Otters tacked on one more field goal in the final seconds of the game to come away with a 31-21 victory and book a trip to the championship game with a chance to repeat as champions. This game was exciting throughout and lived up to the expectation of two top teams going against each other.
Quote:306 Words
Quarterback Matchup
The Ultimus matchup between the Orange County Otters and the Colorado Yeti presented an interesting quarterback matchup. Both quarterbacks had put together strong showings in the regular season and had helped lead their teams to the championship game. Gus T.T. Showbiz was the victorious quarterback as he passed for 247 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a 77 passer rating on 22/36 passing in the Otters' 24-21 win. However, Micycle McCormick also had a solid performance despite the Yeti's loss with 291 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a 84.7 passer rating on 36/54 passing. It's hard to say who won the quarterback battle. McCormick had more yards and had higher passer rating, a better completion percentage, and 1 less interception despite having 18 more passing attempts. However, Showbiz had a higher yards per completion and had the same amount of touchdowns on 18 less attempts and ended up on the winning side of the game. Overall, both quarterbacks put up pretty similar performances. Neither performed badly but neither performed amazingly either, so both performances were overall decent. Both quarterbacks performed below their regular season average passer rating, so credit goes to the defenses for playing strong games and preventing this game from becoming a shootout as it could have been much more high scoring if both quarterbacks were on the top of their game.
Quote:225 Words
![[Image: 24-win-MVP.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/h48H8mVk/24-win-MVP.png)
