1) Playoff Predictions: Kansas City vs THE Portland Pythons. Well ladies and gentlemen come one come all for a rematch of last years conference final. Last season the Pythons snuck out the victory at home to buy themselves a ticket to the Ultimini and unfortunately for Coyotes fans I predict this year to be much of the same. The Pythons were the toast of the league this season finishing with an 11-3 record while the Coyotes snuck into the playoffs with a sub .500 record of 6-8. During their two matchups this season the Pythons cruised to easy victories of 38-0 and 28-14. Kansas City is running into a bit of a buzzsaw here and although anything can happen I predict a Pythons blowout victory at home. The Pythons had the #1 defence and #1 offence in the DSFL this season and MVP favourite Jay Cue has been on FIRE. Kansas City features returning superstars Dexter Banks and Jay Longshaw on offence but the Pythons defence lead by yours truly is just a different animal that will have no issues shutting down the coyotes offence. I expect the Pythons Defence to force a number of Coyote turnovers and the electric offence to capitalize on said turnovers. My prediction - 35-14 Pythons.
4) Head to Head Matchups: I featured this matchup in my Ultimus Week writeup last season and considering we are crossing paths once again in the divisional round tonight it is only fair that I cover this matchup once again. Mervin Leonard CB for the Portland Pythons vs Dexter Banks WR for the Kansas City Coyotes. Last season I pegged this as a pivotal matchup heading into our playoff game mainly because although Mervin had a defensive player of the year calibre season last year Dexter Banks gave him headaches every time they matched up. Well, fast forward to this season and Banks is still the toast of the league at the WR position but unfortunately for him Leonard has had his number to this point in the season. Over two matchups Leonard has held Banks to 8 catches for less than 100 yards and 1 TD while deflecting the ball 3 times. That is a far cry from last season when Banks put up over 100 on Leonard in each game during the regular season. There is always fireworks when these two matchup and that rivalry is sure to heat up tonight as these two go head to head for a shot at an Ultimini berth.
6) Our Time: This Ultimus Week topic seems personally made for the Portland Pythons. The Pythons have been to the show the past three seasons but have lost it the past two years to those losers out in Tijuana. Well, the Pythons have retooled and look more ready than ever to take home an Ultimini this season. After last seasons heartbreaking loss in the Championship the team had to say goodbye to its GOAT QB Franklin Armstong and many thought this would be a rebuilding year. Much to the chagrin of the rest of the league the Pythons picked up soon to be MVP Jay Cue to replace Armstrong and the Offence lead by SabaDonutMan has been more explosive than ever leading the league in points per game, total yards per game and passing yards per game. On the defence the Pythons have been lights out holding opposing teams to 14 points per game and leading the league in every category. The secondary is absolutely terrifying lead by Mervin Leonard and AC Payton and the D line lead by Trae Bacon has been terrorizing opposing QBs all season. The Pythons are coming into the post season with the leagues best record, number one offence and number one defence so anything shy of a championship will be a disappointment. This is OUR time.
8) Draft Focus: The Portland Pythons are heading into a very interesting offseason. The team has been to the past three Ultimini games and looks to be heading there again this season lead by young Rookie Stud Jay Cu, but the team is also about to lose a whole lot of talent in the upcoming draft which leaves a lot of question marks for trade extraordinaire SabaDonutMan. The team will be losing Saba at WR, Mervin Leonard at CB and AC Payton at Safety just to name a few. Each of these players are absolute studs and will need to be addressed come draft time. Saba did make a trade for Jake Watson at WR this past offseason and as long as he stays down should be Jay Cue's number one target next season. Defence wins championships and for this team to continue to succeed they will need to address the defence early in the draft especially in the secondary with Leonard and Payton heading up to their NSFL clubs. Call me bias but #1 priority for the team in my eyes is snagging the next great CB to fill my void in the secondary and then a DL to either play alongside Trae Bacon or to replace him if he goes up to the NSFL.
4) Head to Head Matchups: I featured this matchup in my Ultimus Week writeup last season and considering we are crossing paths once again in the divisional round tonight it is only fair that I cover this matchup once again. Mervin Leonard CB for the Portland Pythons vs Dexter Banks WR for the Kansas City Coyotes. Last season I pegged this as a pivotal matchup heading into our playoff game mainly because although Mervin had a defensive player of the year calibre season last year Dexter Banks gave him headaches every time they matched up. Well, fast forward to this season and Banks is still the toast of the league at the WR position but unfortunately for him Leonard has had his number to this point in the season. Over two matchups Leonard has held Banks to 8 catches for less than 100 yards and 1 TD while deflecting the ball 3 times. That is a far cry from last season when Banks put up over 100 on Leonard in each game during the regular season. There is always fireworks when these two matchup and that rivalry is sure to heat up tonight as these two go head to head for a shot at an Ultimini berth.
6) Our Time: This Ultimus Week topic seems personally made for the Portland Pythons. The Pythons have been to the show the past three seasons but have lost it the past two years to those losers out in Tijuana. Well, the Pythons have retooled and look more ready than ever to take home an Ultimini this season. After last seasons heartbreaking loss in the Championship the team had to say goodbye to its GOAT QB Franklin Armstong and many thought this would be a rebuilding year. Much to the chagrin of the rest of the league the Pythons picked up soon to be MVP Jay Cue to replace Armstrong and the Offence lead by SabaDonutMan has been more explosive than ever leading the league in points per game, total yards per game and passing yards per game. On the defence the Pythons have been lights out holding opposing teams to 14 points per game and leading the league in every category. The secondary is absolutely terrifying lead by Mervin Leonard and AC Payton and the D line lead by Trae Bacon has been terrorizing opposing QBs all season. The Pythons are coming into the post season with the leagues best record, number one offence and number one defence so anything shy of a championship will be a disappointment. This is OUR time.
8) Draft Focus: The Portland Pythons are heading into a very interesting offseason. The team has been to the past three Ultimini games and looks to be heading there again this season lead by young Rookie Stud Jay Cu, but the team is also about to lose a whole lot of talent in the upcoming draft which leaves a lot of question marks for trade extraordinaire SabaDonutMan. The team will be losing Saba at WR, Mervin Leonard at CB and AC Payton at Safety just to name a few. Each of these players are absolute studs and will need to be addressed come draft time. Saba did make a trade for Jake Watson at WR this past offseason and as long as he stays down should be Jay Cue's number one target next season. Defence wins championships and for this team to continue to succeed they will need to address the defence early in the draft especially in the secondary with Leonard and Payton heading up to their NSFL clubs. Call me bias but #1 priority for the team in my eyes is snagging the next great CB to fill my void in the secondary and then a DL to either play alongside Trae Bacon or to replace him if he goes up to the NSFL.