1) In the first game of the Ultimini playoffs we have the Sealwolves facing off against the Buccaneers. While the Buccaneers have the better record at 9-5 the Seawolves are close with only one less win. The Seawolves also scored 18 more points this season and allowed 22 less than Myrtle Beach. Both teams won one game each during their regular season matchups but Norfolk are on a roll right now, winning the last three games of the season. If the Seawolves find a way to stop Myrtle Beach‘s rushing offense they have a good chance to win. I don‘t believe they will though, so the Buccaneers will get the win.
In the NFC North the Kansas City Coyotes will play against the Portland Pythons. It looks like a close match on paper as well, both teams with similar regular season records. Unlike the Coyotes, who played more offensive minded with 22 points scored per game, the Pythons relied more on their defense, scoring almost 4.5 points less per game than Kansas City. Both defenses looked very competent throughout the season and here, just as in the SFC game, both teams managed to win one game against each other in the regular season. You know the saying, offense wins games but defense wins championships, but since both teams showed a lot of skill on defense and the Coyotes are the better team on offense I believe the Coyotes will win this one.
3) The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers wouldn‘t be in the Ultimini championship game without Dax Frost and I believe he will win the championship for them. Frost isn‘t the strongest or most agile back in the league but he is blazing fast and if you know there‘s one thing GMs love in this league, it‘s speed. Frost had an impressive regular season, rushing for 1592 yards and 12 touchdowns with an average of 4.9 yards per attempt. In the 14 games the Buccaneers played, he rushed for over 100 yards in nine of them, getting more than 155 yards in a game three times. He also doesn‘t seem to be afraid of the big stage, getting an impressive 113 yards against the Seawolves yesterday. If your opponent has to be ready for a big play on the ground that also opens more holes for the team‘s receivers and Alyx Sabor and their tight end Heath Evans made good use of that extra space in the regular season. Put their other great running back J.B. Apollo into the mix and you have four pillars in your offense that can overpower any defense. Football is a team sport and it‘s never just about one player but I‘m sure losing Frost would be the biggest impact on the Myrtle Beach offense and that‘s why he‘s their X-factor.
4) Okay, I have to admit I wanted to write about Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname of the Orange County Otters but since OCO were eliminated from the playoffs, I‘ll have to find another kicker. Luckily it‘n not hard to pick one, as the Otters lost in overtime thanks to a 46 yard field goal by Herbert Prohaska. I can only imagine what it‘s like to be the deciding factor in a conference championship game, the unsung hero if all goes well and you make the field goal or the most hated person on the team if you miss the kick. And it‘s not like a 46 yard field goal is something automatic you make ten out of ten times, it requires a lot more skill than most people think and even the best kickers miss one like that every now and then. Prohaska is still a relatively young kicker, imagine having the delight or despair of a whole franchise and all its fans on your shoulder when you‘re in your mid-twenties. Those kickers need nerves of steel and be ready on the few occasions they step onto the field. They probably work with really good psychologists to be calm and those big moments. But as much as I can appreciate the value a kicker brings to his or her team, I prefer games that are decided by touchdowns so let‘s hope the Ultimus game isn‘t decided by Prohaska or Smalls.
8) It‘s not just one team but two of them. I‘m talking about those damned expansion teams of course, the London Royals and the Dallas Birddogs. We lost all four games against them as the reigning Ultimini champions, so half of our season‘s losses came against expansion teams while we managed to beat every other team in the DSFL at least once. I mean, yeah, they‘re new and you‘re supposed to be nice to the new kids but not that nice. I don‘t even know how it happened, it wasn‘t like we underestimated them. We prepared for the matches just as every other week, no one on the team thought it would be an automatic win. After the first two games we blamed it on the away game curse and how it was impossible to escape another team‘s stadium with the W in your hands but after we played our home games against them and lost them, too, that just sounded like a weak excuse. And it‘s not like it was close half the time! The Birddogs defeated us by 21 points and the Royals scored 17 more in our own stadium. That had to be our worst losses of the season, almost embarrassing. I‘m not sure if I‘ll play in the DSFL next year, it seems likely at this point, but if I do, there‘s nothing I want more than to beat these newcomers and show them what the Grey Ducks are really made of.
In the NFC North the Kansas City Coyotes will play against the Portland Pythons. It looks like a close match on paper as well, both teams with similar regular season records. Unlike the Coyotes, who played more offensive minded with 22 points scored per game, the Pythons relied more on their defense, scoring almost 4.5 points less per game than Kansas City. Both defenses looked very competent throughout the season and here, just as in the SFC game, both teams managed to win one game against each other in the regular season. You know the saying, offense wins games but defense wins championships, but since both teams showed a lot of skill on defense and the Coyotes are the better team on offense I believe the Coyotes will win this one.
3) The Myrtle Beach Buccaneers wouldn‘t be in the Ultimini championship game without Dax Frost and I believe he will win the championship for them. Frost isn‘t the strongest or most agile back in the league but he is blazing fast and if you know there‘s one thing GMs love in this league, it‘s speed. Frost had an impressive regular season, rushing for 1592 yards and 12 touchdowns with an average of 4.9 yards per attempt. In the 14 games the Buccaneers played, he rushed for over 100 yards in nine of them, getting more than 155 yards in a game three times. He also doesn‘t seem to be afraid of the big stage, getting an impressive 113 yards against the Seawolves yesterday. If your opponent has to be ready for a big play on the ground that also opens more holes for the team‘s receivers and Alyx Sabor and their tight end Heath Evans made good use of that extra space in the regular season. Put their other great running back J.B. Apollo into the mix and you have four pillars in your offense that can overpower any defense. Football is a team sport and it‘s never just about one player but I‘m sure losing Frost would be the biggest impact on the Myrtle Beach offense and that‘s why he‘s their X-factor.
4) Okay, I have to admit I wanted to write about Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname of the Orange County Otters but since OCO were eliminated from the playoffs, I‘ll have to find another kicker. Luckily it‘n not hard to pick one, as the Otters lost in overtime thanks to a 46 yard field goal by Herbert Prohaska. I can only imagine what it‘s like to be the deciding factor in a conference championship game, the unsung hero if all goes well and you make the field goal or the most hated person on the team if you miss the kick. And it‘s not like a 46 yard field goal is something automatic you make ten out of ten times, it requires a lot more skill than most people think and even the best kickers miss one like that every now and then. Prohaska is still a relatively young kicker, imagine having the delight or despair of a whole franchise and all its fans on your shoulder when you‘re in your mid-twenties. Those kickers need nerves of steel and be ready on the few occasions they step onto the field. They probably work with really good psychologists to be calm and those big moments. But as much as I can appreciate the value a kicker brings to his or her team, I prefer games that are decided by touchdowns so let‘s hope the Ultimus game isn‘t decided by Prohaska or Smalls.
8) It‘s not just one team but two of them. I‘m talking about those damned expansion teams of course, the London Royals and the Dallas Birddogs. We lost all four games against them as the reigning Ultimini champions, so half of our season‘s losses came against expansion teams while we managed to beat every other team in the DSFL at least once. I mean, yeah, they‘re new and you‘re supposed to be nice to the new kids but not that nice. I don‘t even know how it happened, it wasn‘t like we underestimated them. We prepared for the matches just as every other week, no one on the team thought it would be an automatic win. After the first two games we blamed it on the away game curse and how it was impossible to escape another team‘s stadium with the W in your hands but after we played our home games against them and lost them, too, that just sounded like a weak excuse. And it‘s not like it was close half the time! The Birddogs defeated us by 21 points and the Royals scored 17 more in our own stadium. That had to be our worst losses of the season, almost embarrassing. I‘m not sure if I‘ll play in the DSFL next year, it seems likely at this point, but if I do, there‘s nothing I want more than to beat these newcomers and show them what the Grey Ducks are really made of.
![[Image: 8m5vv9L.png]](https://i.imgur.com/8m5vv9L.png)
