Offensive player comparison:
The Wraiths and Hawks had a very tight game, with the Hawks coming out on top and having the much better offensive game. I want to compare the two running-backs now, both great rushers, with B. Nuck and D. Farlane. Farlane is arguably the offensive rookie of the year, leading the league in rushing yards, while Nuck had a fantastic season himself.
In this game, Farlane comes out looking stronger. He had 31 rushes for 101 attempts and 2 catches for 31 yards. Meanwhile Nuck had 27 rushes for 78 yards and 2 catches for 8 yards. As you can see, Farlane had better numbers all over. He had more attempts but still had a higher average as well.
Even when you go deeper, you will find Farlane was more impressive as a whole. Farlane hadnine rushes over 5 yards, while Nuck had 7. Most impressively, 7 of Farlane's rushes lead to a first down, while only ONE of Nucks did so. However, farlane was not better in every category. Farlane had two drops, while Nuck had one. He also had 8 rushes that went 0 yards or negative yards, while Nuck had six of those. Most importantly Farlane also had a fumble in the game, which could have been a disaster for the Hawks. In the end I still think farlane was better but the fumble is a bit of a game-changer as well.
Defensive Player comparison:
A. Hackett and S. Harrison both lead their teams in tackles, but how do they compare beyond that? Hackett of the Wraiths had 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass deflection, while Harrison of the Hawks had 13 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. At first glance Hackett had the better overall game for sure. Let's go a bit more in depth.
Two big factors that give Hackett the advantage are that he had a forced fumble and a sack. His pass deflection doesn't help either. Those are all things that stand out in his favor.
When comparing the tackles, I looked at every individual tackle. Hackett had nine tackles on rushes, the rushes went on average 3.6 yards. Harrison had ten tackles on rushes and they went on average 3.4 yards. Small edge towards Harrison but he not quite that significant. However, only one of Harrison's tackles came after a first down had already been achieved by the offense. Meanwhile, three of Hackett's came after a first down - definitely the edge to Harrison there.
Hackett had two tackles after a pass, while Harrison had three. Hackett allowed a 4 yard pass and a 20 yard pass, however the 20 yard pass is the one where Hackett forced the fumble, negating the first down. Harrison allowed a 1 yard, a 4 yard and a 5 yard catch, one of which was a first down.
In general, two of the tackles Hackett had forced a fourth down, while Harrison had three of them. In all of these statistics, Harrison has a bit of an advantage, which shows his performance was a lot closer to Hackett than it seems at first glance, but overall Hackett still had the better game thanks to the turnover and sack.
Bottom Half:
The Philadelphia Liberty and the Las Vegas Legion were both expansion teams this season. Neither of them was expected to contend for the playoffs. If anything, people expected the Legion to do better, due to their drastic and aggressive strategy of trading away draft picks and getting established players instead. However, that strategy backfired quite a bit.
Neither team got close to the playoffs, with the Liberty winning 5 games and the Legion winning 3. Both teams struggled with the main advantage in the league, home-field. The Liberty at least had 4 of their 5 wins at home, while the Legion only won one game at home, worst in the league. Home-Field currently has around a 70% win chance, so that is quite a bad problem. The five best teams in the league actually won 91% of their home games, so the Legion only winning one of seven home games really stands out.
The Legion also struggled elsewhere, with the lowest points scored of any team. The Liberty at least scored more than the Sabercats and Legion, but were also worst in their conference. The Legion allowed the 2nd most points while the Liberty actually had a fairly decent defense, allowing the 5th most points.
Playoff Series MVP:
Most likely this player will be overlooked by most fans but D. Dam was the crucial factor in the Outlaws win over the Otters. The Outlaws, by far the favourite team to win it all, struggled against the Otters and only won by four points. With three interceptions by Bronko, the defense ended up on the field for a long time.
After an early field goal by the Otters, they were up 3-0 and after forcing a punt were looking to add to their lead in the first quarter. However, on the first play of that drive, Dam got through to the quarterback and sacked M. Boss for an 11 yard loss. But that was not all. Boss lost the football and Dam recovered the fumble he forced himself.
This put the Outlaws on the 6 yard line and after three more plays, Jaxon Tuck rushed into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game. The Outlaws took the lead and they never gave it back for the rest of the game. It took until the third quarter until the Outlaws scored another touchdown. Without this turnover, this game could have turned out very very differently. D. Dam probably doesn't get the credit he deserves for that play.
Future talent:
Brice Boggs is the predicted number one pick in the season three draft, after an incredible season as a waiver wire pickup for the Wraiths. Boggs was also part of the playoff team that faced the Hawks in the NSFC championship game, a game that the Wraiths ultimately lost. Boggs was solid in the game, with five tackles, but didn't add any other things on the day. He also had a five yard penalty.
When looking at his regular season statistics though, Boggs stands out. He had 82 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 6 sacks, 1 interception and 3 pass deflections. In a way, it is sad that he wasn't able to contribute more in the playoffs but perhaps the pressure of his first playoff game was too much. He is not even drafted yet after all.
In the end, I don't think the loss or the somewhat weak performance in the playoffs will hurt Boggs draft stock. A player like him will have many teams interested and if he doesn't go first overall like many believe, he will not be there for long. Expect Boggs to be one of the frontrunners for the rookie of the year award next season.
The Wraiths and Hawks had a very tight game, with the Hawks coming out on top and having the much better offensive game. I want to compare the two running-backs now, both great rushers, with B. Nuck and D. Farlane. Farlane is arguably the offensive rookie of the year, leading the league in rushing yards, while Nuck had a fantastic season himself.
In this game, Farlane comes out looking stronger. He had 31 rushes for 101 attempts and 2 catches for 31 yards. Meanwhile Nuck had 27 rushes for 78 yards and 2 catches for 8 yards. As you can see, Farlane had better numbers all over. He had more attempts but still had a higher average as well.
Even when you go deeper, you will find Farlane was more impressive as a whole. Farlane hadnine rushes over 5 yards, while Nuck had 7. Most impressively, 7 of Farlane's rushes lead to a first down, while only ONE of Nucks did so. However, farlane was not better in every category. Farlane had two drops, while Nuck had one. He also had 8 rushes that went 0 yards or negative yards, while Nuck had six of those. Most importantly Farlane also had a fumble in the game, which could have been a disaster for the Hawks. In the end I still think farlane was better but the fumble is a bit of a game-changer as well.
Defensive Player comparison:
A. Hackett and S. Harrison both lead their teams in tackles, but how do they compare beyond that? Hackett of the Wraiths had 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass deflection, while Harrison of the Hawks had 13 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. At first glance Hackett had the better overall game for sure. Let's go a bit more in depth.
Two big factors that give Hackett the advantage are that he had a forced fumble and a sack. His pass deflection doesn't help either. Those are all things that stand out in his favor.
When comparing the tackles, I looked at every individual tackle. Hackett had nine tackles on rushes, the rushes went on average 3.6 yards. Harrison had ten tackles on rushes and they went on average 3.4 yards. Small edge towards Harrison but he not quite that significant. However, only one of Harrison's tackles came after a first down had already been achieved by the offense. Meanwhile, three of Hackett's came after a first down - definitely the edge to Harrison there.
Hackett had two tackles after a pass, while Harrison had three. Hackett allowed a 4 yard pass and a 20 yard pass, however the 20 yard pass is the one where Hackett forced the fumble, negating the first down. Harrison allowed a 1 yard, a 4 yard and a 5 yard catch, one of which was a first down.
In general, two of the tackles Hackett had forced a fourth down, while Harrison had three of them. In all of these statistics, Harrison has a bit of an advantage, which shows his performance was a lot closer to Hackett than it seems at first glance, but overall Hackett still had the better game thanks to the turnover and sack.
Bottom Half:
The Philadelphia Liberty and the Las Vegas Legion were both expansion teams this season. Neither of them was expected to contend for the playoffs. If anything, people expected the Legion to do better, due to their drastic and aggressive strategy of trading away draft picks and getting established players instead. However, that strategy backfired quite a bit.
Neither team got close to the playoffs, with the Liberty winning 5 games and the Legion winning 3. Both teams struggled with the main advantage in the league, home-field. The Liberty at least had 4 of their 5 wins at home, while the Legion only won one game at home, worst in the league. Home-Field currently has around a 70% win chance, so that is quite a bad problem. The five best teams in the league actually won 91% of their home games, so the Legion only winning one of seven home games really stands out.
The Legion also struggled elsewhere, with the lowest points scored of any team. The Liberty at least scored more than the Sabercats and Legion, but were also worst in their conference. The Legion allowed the 2nd most points while the Liberty actually had a fairly decent defense, allowing the 5th most points.
Playoff Series MVP:
Most likely this player will be overlooked by most fans but D. Dam was the crucial factor in the Outlaws win over the Otters. The Outlaws, by far the favourite team to win it all, struggled against the Otters and only won by four points. With three interceptions by Bronko, the defense ended up on the field for a long time.
After an early field goal by the Otters, they were up 3-0 and after forcing a punt were looking to add to their lead in the first quarter. However, on the first play of that drive, Dam got through to the quarterback and sacked M. Boss for an 11 yard loss. But that was not all. Boss lost the football and Dam recovered the fumble he forced himself.
This put the Outlaws on the 6 yard line and after three more plays, Jaxon Tuck rushed into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game. The Outlaws took the lead and they never gave it back for the rest of the game. It took until the third quarter until the Outlaws scored another touchdown. Without this turnover, this game could have turned out very very differently. D. Dam probably doesn't get the credit he deserves for that play.
Future talent:
Brice Boggs is the predicted number one pick in the season three draft, after an incredible season as a waiver wire pickup for the Wraiths. Boggs was also part of the playoff team that faced the Hawks in the NSFC championship game, a game that the Wraiths ultimately lost. Boggs was solid in the game, with five tackles, but didn't add any other things on the day. He also had a five yard penalty.
When looking at his regular season statistics though, Boggs stands out. He had 82 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 6 sacks, 1 interception and 3 pass deflections. In a way, it is sad that he wasn't able to contribute more in the playoffs but perhaps the pressure of his first playoff game was too much. He is not even drafted yet after all.
In the end, I don't think the loss or the somewhat weak performance in the playoffs will hurt Boggs draft stock. A player like him will have many teams interested and if he doesn't go first overall like many believe, he will not be there for long. Expect Boggs to be one of the frontrunners for the rookie of the year award next season.
