1) Playoff Predictions: Well, in the first game, we have the Yellowknife Wraiths headed to Baltimore to take on the Hawks. The sim generally favors home teams, but in this one, I think the Wraiths will come out on top. For one, the Canadian squad is coming off of a win against the Orange County Otters, whereas the Hawks just got throttled by the Colorado Yeti, who missed the playoffs. The Wraiths passing attack, manned by Chris Orosz throwing to Josh Garden, Bailey Cook and Ricky Maddox will be too much for the Hawks DBs or handle, and will be the difference.
In the second game, the heavily favored Arizona Outlaws are at home against the Otters. I think this game will be more black and white than the NSFC game, as the Outlaws won't have too much trouble holding off the California team. The Outlaws defense, led by Jaylon Lee and Jayce Tuck will overpower the o-line and make quarterback Mike Boss force some questionable passes.
In the championship game, I'll be fair and unbiased. I think the Arizona Outlaws will have a way to repeat the Ultimus this year. Starting off the league with back to back championships will be no easy feat, but they have the tools to do it. I think the Wraiths will give them a run for their money, but the home favorites will prevail in the end.
2) Offensive Comparison: Many people are going to be comparing the quarterbacks here, or maybe the running backs, but I'm going for a route less traveled which still should count as offense. I'm talking about the kicking game, that is. Kickers tend to not get as much recognition as well, any other players on the field, save for maybe offensive lineman. But these two are quite integral to their teams' respective successes. Converted soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is the Outlaws kicker and Turk Turkleton is the Hawks kicker. Ronaldo had the golden boot when it came to extra points, which are the easiest points one is supposed to get in a season. He connected on 97.6% of his tries. Turkleton was also adept at this, connecting on 95.8%. When it came to field goals, the Hawks' Turkleton was a shade better than Ronaldo. Turkleton hit 89.2% of his field goals, three percent better than Ronaldo's 86.2% clip. Both are quite formidable, and when it comes time to kick the ball through the uprights, these two are among the most trusted in the league. Punting is also something that both these men do well, Ronaldo a bit better. He averages 46.2 yards per punt, whereas Turk averages a clean 44 yards per punt, also respectable.
3) Defensive Comparison: So I definitely took the unconventional approach when talking about the offensive comparison, so for the purposes of this part, I will be sticking to conventionality and will be talking about linebackers. Specifically, I will be looking at Erasmo Broadway of the Baltimore Hawks and Jaylon Lee of the Arizona Outlaws, who I wrote about in last season's Ultimus Week. Broadway had 115 tackles, and seven of them resulted in a loss of yardage, which may or may not be as a result of his 100 agility (just kidding, that didn't affect much). Jaylon Lee led the league in tackles, posting a whopping 139, but only one of them was for a loss. He did have seven sacks, but Broadway had five more. This can largely be attributed to a difference in game approach and play style. Broadway is an aggressive linebacker who likes to jump the gun and pressure opposing quarterbacks, whereas Lee often holds back into coverage, allowing him to make all those tackles, and explaining why only one was for a loss. Lee's approach makes his seven sacks all the more impressive though, and both these guys are legit beasts of the gridiron. Looking like they are going to be making a big difference in the Ultimus.
4) Bottom Half: The Colorado Yeti were mainly kept out of the playoffs because of a lack of top tier offensive lineman. Bender Rodriguez, arguably their best blocker, would have trouble cracking a top 10 linemen list in the NSFL, a league that has eight teams. Protection is the weakest part of the Colorado Yeti roster. Gadget Tech has had a nice little season with improvement, but this line is pretty much devoid of talent. Antonio Sandoval, a Season 3 player, is not likely to end up back in Denver, so there goes another piece of the puzzle. If Rodriguez and Daniel Robicheaux ever return to training activity, then there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, but for now, the line needs serious improvement. Imagine what Boss Tweed could have accomplished had there been a competent line in front of him. The same goes for Logan Noble, who often didn’t stand a chance back there.
As for the San Jose SaberCats, they were kept out because of their defense as a whole. A.C. Hackett is just one player, but losing him from an already week defensive unit was a crushing blow. This team gave up the most points in the league, and while a lot of that is from their crushing 65-0 loss to the Arizona Outlaws in Week 12, points are indeed points. And even though that came in one game, they still had to allow all those points in said game. How did they do that? For one, except for Dan Miller, the defensive line play was borderline nonexistent. Third-round pick Enchilada Charlton can already be seen as a major bust from that draft, highlighting the team’s inability to select defensive ends in early rounds (see: S1 Draft, Greg Taylor). While Chidubem Okonkwo has shown a commitment to updating, his performance has not yet caught up.
5) Playoff Review: For the beginning of the first matchup, I was not home. I was at a charity fundraiser, so I'll only be talking about the second half of Otters vs. Outlaws. It was, well, just kinda eh. There wasn't much action to speak of, save for two touchdowns in the third quarter. But the fourth quarter was pretty stale and devoid of action. I figured the Outlaws would win so it wasn't surprising.
Then it was onto the game I really cared about. The Wraiths who I play for we're taking on the Baltimore Hawks. I was expecting a close game and got just that. The Wraiths offense struggled mightily throughout so that wasn't much fun to watch. Although I did have the most catches and yards on the day. Josh Garden surprisingly had zero of both, which was quite shocking considering his season. They beat us 16-14 and we went home upset that night.
In the Ultimus game, the Arizona Outlaws beat the Baltimore Hawks by a huge margin of 33-6! What more can I really say about that, though? I figured they would win in that fashion and they came through. It made me wonder what would've happened if it was the Wraiths representing the NSFC in the game instead of the Hawks. Hmm...maybe it's better not to know.
As a whole, the playoffs were a little undersold and underwhelming. Hoping for more firepower and publicity next season!
In the second game, the heavily favored Arizona Outlaws are at home against the Otters. I think this game will be more black and white than the NSFC game, as the Outlaws won't have too much trouble holding off the California team. The Outlaws defense, led by Jaylon Lee and Jayce Tuck will overpower the o-line and make quarterback Mike Boss force some questionable passes.
In the championship game, I'll be fair and unbiased. I think the Arizona Outlaws will have a way to repeat the Ultimus this year. Starting off the league with back to back championships will be no easy feat, but they have the tools to do it. I think the Wraiths will give them a run for their money, but the home favorites will prevail in the end.
2) Offensive Comparison: Many people are going to be comparing the quarterbacks here, or maybe the running backs, but I'm going for a route less traveled which still should count as offense. I'm talking about the kicking game, that is. Kickers tend to not get as much recognition as well, any other players on the field, save for maybe offensive lineman. But these two are quite integral to their teams' respective successes. Converted soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is the Outlaws kicker and Turk Turkleton is the Hawks kicker. Ronaldo had the golden boot when it came to extra points, which are the easiest points one is supposed to get in a season. He connected on 97.6% of his tries. Turkleton was also adept at this, connecting on 95.8%. When it came to field goals, the Hawks' Turkleton was a shade better than Ronaldo. Turkleton hit 89.2% of his field goals, three percent better than Ronaldo's 86.2% clip. Both are quite formidable, and when it comes time to kick the ball through the uprights, these two are among the most trusted in the league. Punting is also something that both these men do well, Ronaldo a bit better. He averages 46.2 yards per punt, whereas Turk averages a clean 44 yards per punt, also respectable.
3) Defensive Comparison: So I definitely took the unconventional approach when talking about the offensive comparison, so for the purposes of this part, I will be sticking to conventionality and will be talking about linebackers. Specifically, I will be looking at Erasmo Broadway of the Baltimore Hawks and Jaylon Lee of the Arizona Outlaws, who I wrote about in last season's Ultimus Week. Broadway had 115 tackles, and seven of them resulted in a loss of yardage, which may or may not be as a result of his 100 agility (just kidding, that didn't affect much). Jaylon Lee led the league in tackles, posting a whopping 139, but only one of them was for a loss. He did have seven sacks, but Broadway had five more. This can largely be attributed to a difference in game approach and play style. Broadway is an aggressive linebacker who likes to jump the gun and pressure opposing quarterbacks, whereas Lee often holds back into coverage, allowing him to make all those tackles, and explaining why only one was for a loss. Lee's approach makes his seven sacks all the more impressive though, and both these guys are legit beasts of the gridiron. Looking like they are going to be making a big difference in the Ultimus.
4) Bottom Half: The Colorado Yeti were mainly kept out of the playoffs because of a lack of top tier offensive lineman. Bender Rodriguez, arguably their best blocker, would have trouble cracking a top 10 linemen list in the NSFL, a league that has eight teams. Protection is the weakest part of the Colorado Yeti roster. Gadget Tech has had a nice little season with improvement, but this line is pretty much devoid of talent. Antonio Sandoval, a Season 3 player, is not likely to end up back in Denver, so there goes another piece of the puzzle. If Rodriguez and Daniel Robicheaux ever return to training activity, then there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, but for now, the line needs serious improvement. Imagine what Boss Tweed could have accomplished had there been a competent line in front of him. The same goes for Logan Noble, who often didn’t stand a chance back there.
As for the San Jose SaberCats, they were kept out because of their defense as a whole. A.C. Hackett is just one player, but losing him from an already week defensive unit was a crushing blow. This team gave up the most points in the league, and while a lot of that is from their crushing 65-0 loss to the Arizona Outlaws in Week 12, points are indeed points. And even though that came in one game, they still had to allow all those points in said game. How did they do that? For one, except for Dan Miller, the defensive line play was borderline nonexistent. Third-round pick Enchilada Charlton can already be seen as a major bust from that draft, highlighting the team’s inability to select defensive ends in early rounds (see: S1 Draft, Greg Taylor). While Chidubem Okonkwo has shown a commitment to updating, his performance has not yet caught up.
5) Playoff Review: For the beginning of the first matchup, I was not home. I was at a charity fundraiser, so I'll only be talking about the second half of Otters vs. Outlaws. It was, well, just kinda eh. There wasn't much action to speak of, save for two touchdowns in the third quarter. But the fourth quarter was pretty stale and devoid of action. I figured the Outlaws would win so it wasn't surprising.
Then it was onto the game I really cared about. The Wraiths who I play for we're taking on the Baltimore Hawks. I was expecting a close game and got just that. The Wraiths offense struggled mightily throughout so that wasn't much fun to watch. Although I did have the most catches and yards on the day. Josh Garden surprisingly had zero of both, which was quite shocking considering his season. They beat us 16-14 and we went home upset that night.
In the Ultimus game, the Arizona Outlaws beat the Baltimore Hawks by a huge margin of 33-6! What more can I really say about that, though? I figured they would win in that fashion and they came through. It made me wonder what would've happened if it was the Wraiths representing the NSFC in the game instead of the Hawks. Hmm...maybe it's better not to know.
As a whole, the playoffs were a little undersold and underwhelming. Hoping for more firepower and publicity next season!
![[Image: brooks.png]](https://i.ibb.co/JW13P77m/brooks.png)
