Offensive Comparison:
The offensive match-up I was anticipating the most was the math-up between Mike Boss and King Bronko. Both QBs have had their struggles throwing interceptions but both have also showed they have what it takes to be elite quarterbacks in the league. Some would argue that Boss is the better quarterback, but there is a case for Bronko to be the better pass slinger. Throughout the second season, Bronko had a lower percent completion of passes but threw 4 more touchdowns that Boss. Bronko and Boss threw for 15 and 16 interceptions respectively on the season. While Boss was the more efficient QB and had a higher rating on the year Bronko was able to make the big plays and avoid more interceptions albeit just barely. In the actual game Bronko may have betrayed me when it came to actual game stats as he had 3 interceptions, but he did have a 52% completion rate compared to Boss at 40% completion both of them threw for an interception. One of the biggest differences between the two on game day was that Bronko and his Outlaws were 4/15 on third downs whereas Boss and the Otters were 0/16 on third down. While this is not strictly a quarterback stat it does show which QB can change the play at the line of scrimmage or just complete the clutch play and I would say Bronko had the edge there.
Bottom Half:
The Las Vegas Legion and Philadelphia Liberty are the two teams with the worst records in their divisions. Both of these teams are expansion teams, which is not an accident as these teams have had less time to build than the established NSFL teams. This is one of the reasons they did not make the playoffs. The Legion were the worse off of the two teams because they actually traded a ton of picks off to try to win in the short term and ended up being a worse team than the liberty, who have built more for the long term. Another reason these two teams did not make the playoffs is because they have less very active members in their locker rooms. The Playoff teams all seem to have a bunch of players that are constantly in the locker room or being more active in the community. This is a problem that can hopefully be fixed in the draft for next year as that is one of the easiest ways to add new active members. The last reason that I think these two teams are in the bottom teams is because they simply have to play teams that are better than them every week. The Liberty have the Otters and Outlaws to face up against and the abysmal Legion cant get past the Hawks or Wraiths
Playoff Series MVP:
My MVP for the Otters and Outlaws match-up would have to be the wide receiver Charles Chess. Not much offense was to be had at this championship game as both teams struggled to move the ball up the field in this game. In a game where there was only two touchdowns total being able to catch one of those touchdowns for his team is a rather huge deal. Chess also managed to catch a total of 67 yards in 5 passes for a total of 13 yards per catch. He was one of the reasons that the Outlaws were able to complete 4 of their 15 3rd down completions as he was always open when Bronko needed an outlet for a first down. Chess was able to catch a third and 2 for 16 yards in the first quarter and help the offense try to shake off some of the first quarter jitters. Later in the third quarter, Chess dropped a crucial third and six pass that would have surely been a first down. He seemed to be upset at himself and eager to make up for it however, because he came back later in the third and scored the go ahead touchdown.
Playoff Review:
The Otters vs. Outlaws matchup was a great close game, it was not an offensive slugfest but realistically nobody expected that out of these two teams. The Outlaws usually win on primarily the defense alone and this game showed that as the defense was able to hold the Otters time and time again. The game started with a good otters drive resulting in a field goal then an outlaws drive resulting in a punt. The otters came out on 1st and 10 and Dental Dam forced a Boss fumble and the otters gave the ball back to the Outlaws immediately, then the Outlaws were able to drive down the short field and capitalize on the turnover. The Second quarter involved the Otters and Outlaws trading field goals and Ronaldo missing one for the Outlaws. The third quarter saw the Otters and Outlaws trade off touchdowns and then the game came to a close in a scoreless fourth quarter. The Hawks and Wraiths was another quite close match-up that saw the Hawks score first with a field goal in the first quarter. Then the second quarter saw the Hawks score a touchdown and a field goal while the Wraiths scored a touchdown to stay in the game. In the third the Hawks scored another field goal as the Wraiths went scoreless and then in the fourth the Wraiths were able to get their second touchdown but nothing more and they lost the game. Lastly, the Ultimus game saw the Outlaws hold the Hawks scoreless in the first half while they themselves scored a touchdown and two field goals. The third quarter saw the Hawks go down 30-0 before getting on the board with their first field goal. The fourth quarter led to both teams trading off field goals to end the game at 33-6.
Championship Game Recap:
The championship game was a rather lackluster one in terms of excitement, unless you were an Outlaws fan. As an Outlaws fan I thought that the most exciting play to come out of the game came from the Outlaws special teams unit. The blocked punt on Turk Turkleton was a play that just crushed any hope the Hawks might have had of a comeback. Already down 20 plus points, the Outlaws safety Allen Davis used his speed to get around the punt blocking unit of the otters and was able to get his hand on the ball. Maybe the Hawks were already losing morale and that led to the block or maybe this was the play that finally did it in for the Hawks. This play was definitely one that could have had a big impact on the game. Even though the Outlaws were ahead, having the special teams continue to make plays while you're winning is a key to success. Although there was no return on the blocked punt, it did allow the Outlaws to have a nice long clock chewing drive ending in a field goal that put the game even further out of reach for the Hawks.
The offensive match-up I was anticipating the most was the math-up between Mike Boss and King Bronko. Both QBs have had their struggles throwing interceptions but both have also showed they have what it takes to be elite quarterbacks in the league. Some would argue that Boss is the better quarterback, but there is a case for Bronko to be the better pass slinger. Throughout the second season, Bronko had a lower percent completion of passes but threw 4 more touchdowns that Boss. Bronko and Boss threw for 15 and 16 interceptions respectively on the season. While Boss was the more efficient QB and had a higher rating on the year Bronko was able to make the big plays and avoid more interceptions albeit just barely. In the actual game Bronko may have betrayed me when it came to actual game stats as he had 3 interceptions, but he did have a 52% completion rate compared to Boss at 40% completion both of them threw for an interception. One of the biggest differences between the two on game day was that Bronko and his Outlaws were 4/15 on third downs whereas Boss and the Otters were 0/16 on third down. While this is not strictly a quarterback stat it does show which QB can change the play at the line of scrimmage or just complete the clutch play and I would say Bronko had the edge there.
Bottom Half:
The Las Vegas Legion and Philadelphia Liberty are the two teams with the worst records in their divisions. Both of these teams are expansion teams, which is not an accident as these teams have had less time to build than the established NSFL teams. This is one of the reasons they did not make the playoffs. The Legion were the worse off of the two teams because they actually traded a ton of picks off to try to win in the short term and ended up being a worse team than the liberty, who have built more for the long term. Another reason these two teams did not make the playoffs is because they have less very active members in their locker rooms. The Playoff teams all seem to have a bunch of players that are constantly in the locker room or being more active in the community. This is a problem that can hopefully be fixed in the draft for next year as that is one of the easiest ways to add new active members. The last reason that I think these two teams are in the bottom teams is because they simply have to play teams that are better than them every week. The Liberty have the Otters and Outlaws to face up against and the abysmal Legion cant get past the Hawks or Wraiths
Playoff Series MVP:
My MVP for the Otters and Outlaws match-up would have to be the wide receiver Charles Chess. Not much offense was to be had at this championship game as both teams struggled to move the ball up the field in this game. In a game where there was only two touchdowns total being able to catch one of those touchdowns for his team is a rather huge deal. Chess also managed to catch a total of 67 yards in 5 passes for a total of 13 yards per catch. He was one of the reasons that the Outlaws were able to complete 4 of their 15 3rd down completions as he was always open when Bronko needed an outlet for a first down. Chess was able to catch a third and 2 for 16 yards in the first quarter and help the offense try to shake off some of the first quarter jitters. Later in the third quarter, Chess dropped a crucial third and six pass that would have surely been a first down. He seemed to be upset at himself and eager to make up for it however, because he came back later in the third and scored the go ahead touchdown.
Playoff Review:
The Otters vs. Outlaws matchup was a great close game, it was not an offensive slugfest but realistically nobody expected that out of these two teams. The Outlaws usually win on primarily the defense alone and this game showed that as the defense was able to hold the Otters time and time again. The game started with a good otters drive resulting in a field goal then an outlaws drive resulting in a punt. The otters came out on 1st and 10 and Dental Dam forced a Boss fumble and the otters gave the ball back to the Outlaws immediately, then the Outlaws were able to drive down the short field and capitalize on the turnover. The Second quarter involved the Otters and Outlaws trading field goals and Ronaldo missing one for the Outlaws. The third quarter saw the Otters and Outlaws trade off touchdowns and then the game came to a close in a scoreless fourth quarter. The Hawks and Wraiths was another quite close match-up that saw the Hawks score first with a field goal in the first quarter. Then the second quarter saw the Hawks score a touchdown and a field goal while the Wraiths scored a touchdown to stay in the game. In the third the Hawks scored another field goal as the Wraiths went scoreless and then in the fourth the Wraiths were able to get their second touchdown but nothing more and they lost the game. Lastly, the Ultimus game saw the Outlaws hold the Hawks scoreless in the first half while they themselves scored a touchdown and two field goals. The third quarter saw the Hawks go down 30-0 before getting on the board with their first field goal. The fourth quarter led to both teams trading off field goals to end the game at 33-6.
Championship Game Recap:
The championship game was a rather lackluster one in terms of excitement, unless you were an Outlaws fan. As an Outlaws fan I thought that the most exciting play to come out of the game came from the Outlaws special teams unit. The blocked punt on Turk Turkleton was a play that just crushed any hope the Hawks might have had of a comeback. Already down 20 plus points, the Outlaws safety Allen Davis used his speed to get around the punt blocking unit of the otters and was able to get his hand on the ball. Maybe the Hawks were already losing morale and that led to the block or maybe this was the play that finally did it in for the Hawks. This play was definitely one that could have had a big impact on the game. Even though the Outlaws were ahead, having the special teams continue to make plays while you're winning is a key to success. Although there was no return on the blocked punt, it did allow the Outlaws to have a nice long clock chewing drive ending in a field goal that put the game even further out of reach for the Hawks.
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