(S25) - PT 5 - Playoffs? You Kidding Me?

[Birdman]

With the season wrapping up this week, the New Orleans Second Line are sadly out of playoff contention standing at 6-9 (nice) and tied for 5th in the ASFC. Things easily could’ve gone differently for NOLA this season, suffering difficult losses to the New York Silverbacks (3-12) in Week 12 and the Austin Copperheads (6-9) in Week 6. The team is also coming off a heartbreaking Week 15 loss to the Arizona Outlaws which saw NOLA lose on Arizona’s last drive of the game, letting up a touchdown to go down 24-23. Even winning just two of those games would’ve put NOLA at 8-7 with a shot to win the last game of the season and potentially get a playoff spot.

NOLA was abysmal on the road this year, going 0-7. That is clearly one area the team needs to focus on for next season, although it is a nebulous area to work on. Potentially pumping in more crowd noise during practice, or travelling earlier in the week to opponents with colder weather could be the difference maker in those games. Otherwise, NOLA needs to work on getting more pressure on the QB – the team had a league low 36 sacks through 15 games. The team also needs to be better at finishing drives and converting long drives into touchdowns, with only 31 offensive TDs in 15 games so far this season.