The DSFL Playoffs are set, San Antonio will face Tijuana, Portland will face Norfolk, and Palm Beach and Kansas City are out. San An and Portland will have home field advantage for their conference title game, and San An is the overall number one seed. However, we still have games to play, so let's look through Weeks 11 and 12 to see who were the major standouts.
San Antonio Marshalls
QB Cooter Bigsby (@timeconsumer)
Could the Marshalls beat the Outlaws? Maybe not, but I'd still like to see that matchup. Now I'm not going to say that the San Antonio rushing attack is falling off, both Morgan Marshall and Max Vaz put up good numbers, but neither of them hit 100 rushing yards in either game which is pretty much unprecedented for these two. However, Cooter Bigsby has taken the reigns and is evolving into a laser-guiding precision machine. The second year pro completed nearly 80% of his passes over the last two games for more than 400 combined passing yards, three scores, and one pick. He's leading the D-League in both completion percentage and passer rating, and is tied for the fewest interceptions of all full-time DSFL quarterbacks. Over the last four games, he's morphed from a somewhat unnecessary part of the San Antonio offense to the most efficient quarterback in the D-League. No one could've seen this coming (besides probably Cooter himself).
LB Jon Gott (@JR95)
The Marshalls were able to hold both of their opponents to ten points, and especially in the game against Tijuana, the Marshalls terrorized their foes, and Jon Gott was doing a lot of the work. Against the Luchadores, he registered seven tackles, deflected two passes and pulled down an interception on the second play from scrimmage and came a yard away from putting six on the board himself. Throw in an 11 tackle game against Palm Beach, and you've got a quality 1-2 linebacker punch with him and Quenton Bode wrecking shop all over the field.
Portland Pythons
WR Bona'beri Jones (@toivo)
Call me crazy, but I don't trust any NFC team in the playoffs this year. Portland lost a nail-biter to a previously one-win Kansas City team, and needed overtime to knockout the ice-cold Seawolves. The only person who's doing well consistently for the Pythons is their ace receiver Bona'beri Jones, and even he was shut down for most of the Kansas City game. He caught one ball all game. That one ball just so happened to be a 26-yard touchdown that gave Portland a three-point lead midway through the fourth. Against Norfolk though, he put up his usual quality numbers, five receptions for 97 yards and one touchdown. If the Pythons are going to have any realistic chances of winning the Ultimini, Bona'beri will need some help.
S Richard D'Attoria V (@124715)
Jay Longshaw had a kind rough day at the office against Portland. He threw two picks within the first eight minutes of the game, and he looked shook every since. The second of those picks went to the esteemed Richard D'Attoria V. He ended that game with a team-high nine tackles and a deflection to go with his pick. And in the game before that, he only registered three tackles, but he also recovered a fumble in the fourth and returned it into the Kansas City red zone, where Portland scored two plays later. He was all over the field, making life miserable for the Portland offense, and forcing bad throws all day.
Tijuana Luchadores
WR Rod Tidwell (@SDCore)
You know, you guys should be praying that I say that you're "underperforming" in these columns, because I've apparently got incredible jinxing powers that make you go absolutely beast mode right after I say something like that. So Rod Tidwell went bananas in Week 12 against Kansas City, he caught seven passes for 99 yards and two scores, the second of which put Tijuana up eight with under five minutes to play, forcing Kansas City to get more aggressive with their attempted comeback that did not come to pass. He scored Tijuana's only touchdown against San Antonio as well, finishing that game with six receptions, 61 yards and one score. Good job, Rod. You proved me wrong.
LB Jojo Burr-Kirven (@Rindiee)
The Luchadores are last in the D-League in sacks, by a pretty wide margin. It would be really handy if someone were to step up and give them some kind of pass rush. Well, maybe that guy is Jojo Burr-Kirven. A slightly overlooked member of this defense, he's second on the team in tackles and second in sacks, but he put a sack on the board in both of his last two games. The one in the Kansas City game came in the fourth quarter and effectively squashed a Coyotes drive, which led to Tijuana putting points on the board on their ensuing drive. He might just be the unsung hero of this Tijuana defense, and if they're going to have any hope of getting by San Antonio in the playoffs, JBK will need to make an impact, like he's been doing lately.
Norfolk Seawolves
WR Ahri Espeeyeeseetee (@steelsound)
The Seawolves are in a free fall right now, but you can't blame their offense. The Wolves have been averaging more than 20 points per game over the nine game stretch that's seen them go 2-7, and have scored less than 17 points exactly once all season. One of the guys keeping the Seawolves offense above water (PUNS) is Ahri Espeeyeeseetee. He's been the leading receiver for the Seawolves the last couple of weeks, going for seven catches, 73 yards and one score against Palm Beach in Week 11, and seven catches for 97 yards against Portland in Week 12. If the Seawolves are going to right the ship (MORE PUNS) in time for the playoffs, then Jay Longshaw is going to need to start hitting both Espeeyeeseetee and Brock Landers with more consistency.
S Logan Uchiha (@CalvinP)
Although there's at least one person on this Seawolves defense that offenses should stay away from. Logan Uchiha had one of the most dominant performances I've seen from a defender all season against Portland. Eight tackles, two sacks, a deflection, a TFL, and a pick-six sounds good on paper, but even that doesn't tell the whole story. There was a drive for Portland early in the first where the only two plays were an Uchiha sack and an Uchiha pick-six. It was a nightmare of a drive for Franklin Armstrong, and Logan Uchiha was playing the role of Freddy Krueger. Oh, and he also got six tackles, a TFL, a deflection, and a pick against Palm Beach in case you thought he was just a one hit wonder. He wasn't.
Palm Beach Solar Bears
RB Ludicolo Bigby (@TheWoZy)
Right now, there're only four running backs with over 1000 rushing yards on the season. Two of them play for San Antonio, unarguably the best team in the D-League. The other two play for Palm Beach. Tell me there isn't hope for this team yet. Both Ben Bortboy and Ludicolo Bigby performed well, it's Bigby whom I want to talk about today. In Week 11, he carried the ball 22 times for 111 yards and a score, on route to a Palm Beach win. He only picked up 60 rushing yards against San Antonio, but it was on just 13 carries, so at least the yards per attempt were solid. If both of these guys stick around next season, there's a strong chance that this Palm Beach offense can turn it around next season.
LB Rock Hardshaft @Rouchicus
The trio of Rock Hardshaft, Guy Nikko, and Tony Gabagool might be the best linebacker corps in the D-League. Collectively known as the "Palm Beach Penetration" (not making that up), Nikko's still leading the D-League in sacks, while Gabagool is third in tackles (the fourth unofficial member, Dizzy Daz, is also leading the lead in TFLs). But this time it's Hardshaft who I wanna talk about. Against San Antonio, he had team-high 13 tackles and a forced fumble. And the week prior against Norfolk, he had six tackles and a sack. There're playmakers all over this defense, at every level. Just a few more pieces, and this puzzle will be solved.
Kansas City Coyotes
QB Rose Jenkins (@Jiggly_333)
Holy moly, Rose Jenkins has ice in her veins. Do you know how hard it is to engineer a game-winning fourth quarter drive? It's really hard, trust me, we've tried in Palm Beach. But with six minutes left to play, from her own 20, Rose led her team all the way down the field and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Ronald St. James III with just twenty seconds remaining. She ended the day 25/36 for 281 yards, two TDs, and a pick. She didn't do so hot against Tijuana, but still at least against Portland, in that Game of the Year contender, she was THE MAN.
S Cam Poole (@cb9)
The Kansas City offense struggled big time against Tijuana, but they stayed in the game thanks to two non-offensive touchdowns, a 102 yard kick return score by Terry Taffy, and a 21 yard pick-six by Cam Poole less than a minute later. Through the rest of the game against Tijuana, Poole picked up seven tackles and a deflection, and in the Portland game before that, he registered five tackles and a sack. Poole played pretty well, and with some more attention on his development, he should improve all the more.
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San Antonio Marshalls QB Cooter Bigsby (@timeconsumer)
Could the Marshalls beat the Outlaws? Maybe not, but I'd still like to see that matchup. Now I'm not going to say that the San Antonio rushing attack is falling off, both Morgan Marshall and Max Vaz put up good numbers, but neither of them hit 100 rushing yards in either game which is pretty much unprecedented for these two. However, Cooter Bigsby has taken the reigns and is evolving into a laser-guiding precision machine. The second year pro completed nearly 80% of his passes over the last two games for more than 400 combined passing yards, three scores, and one pick. He's leading the D-League in both completion percentage and passer rating, and is tied for the fewest interceptions of all full-time DSFL quarterbacks. Over the last four games, he's morphed from a somewhat unnecessary part of the San Antonio offense to the most efficient quarterback in the D-League. No one could've seen this coming (besides probably Cooter himself).
LB Jon Gott (@JR95)
The Marshalls were able to hold both of their opponents to ten points, and especially in the game against Tijuana, the Marshalls terrorized their foes, and Jon Gott was doing a lot of the work. Against the Luchadores, he registered seven tackles, deflected two passes and pulled down an interception on the second play from scrimmage and came a yard away from putting six on the board himself. Throw in an 11 tackle game against Palm Beach, and you've got a quality 1-2 linebacker punch with him and Quenton Bode wrecking shop all over the field.
Portland Pythons WR Bona'beri Jones (@toivo)
Call me crazy, but I don't trust any NFC team in the playoffs this year. Portland lost a nail-biter to a previously one-win Kansas City team, and needed overtime to knockout the ice-cold Seawolves. The only person who's doing well consistently for the Pythons is their ace receiver Bona'beri Jones, and even he was shut down for most of the Kansas City game. He caught one ball all game. That one ball just so happened to be a 26-yard touchdown that gave Portland a three-point lead midway through the fourth. Against Norfolk though, he put up his usual quality numbers, five receptions for 97 yards and one touchdown. If the Pythons are going to have any realistic chances of winning the Ultimini, Bona'beri will need some help.
S Richard D'Attoria V (@124715)
Jay Longshaw had a kind rough day at the office against Portland. He threw two picks within the first eight minutes of the game, and he looked shook every since. The second of those picks went to the esteemed Richard D'Attoria V. He ended that game with a team-high nine tackles and a deflection to go with his pick. And in the game before that, he only registered three tackles, but he also recovered a fumble in the fourth and returned it into the Kansas City red zone, where Portland scored two plays later. He was all over the field, making life miserable for the Portland offense, and forcing bad throws all day.
Tijuana Luchadores WR Rod Tidwell (@SDCore)
You know, you guys should be praying that I say that you're "underperforming" in these columns, because I've apparently got incredible jinxing powers that make you go absolutely beast mode right after I say something like that. So Rod Tidwell went bananas in Week 12 against Kansas City, he caught seven passes for 99 yards and two scores, the second of which put Tijuana up eight with under five minutes to play, forcing Kansas City to get more aggressive with their attempted comeback that did not come to pass. He scored Tijuana's only touchdown against San Antonio as well, finishing that game with six receptions, 61 yards and one score. Good job, Rod. You proved me wrong.
LB Jojo Burr-Kirven (@Rindiee)
The Luchadores are last in the D-League in sacks, by a pretty wide margin. It would be really handy if someone were to step up and give them some kind of pass rush. Well, maybe that guy is Jojo Burr-Kirven. A slightly overlooked member of this defense, he's second on the team in tackles and second in sacks, but he put a sack on the board in both of his last two games. The one in the Kansas City game came in the fourth quarter and effectively squashed a Coyotes drive, which led to Tijuana putting points on the board on their ensuing drive. He might just be the unsung hero of this Tijuana defense, and if they're going to have any hope of getting by San Antonio in the playoffs, JBK will need to make an impact, like he's been doing lately.
Norfolk Seawolves WR Ahri Espeeyeeseetee (@steelsound)
The Seawolves are in a free fall right now, but you can't blame their offense. The Wolves have been averaging more than 20 points per game over the nine game stretch that's seen them go 2-7, and have scored less than 17 points exactly once all season. One of the guys keeping the Seawolves offense above water (PUNS) is Ahri Espeeyeeseetee. He's been the leading receiver for the Seawolves the last couple of weeks, going for seven catches, 73 yards and one score against Palm Beach in Week 11, and seven catches for 97 yards against Portland in Week 12. If the Seawolves are going to right the ship (MORE PUNS) in time for the playoffs, then Jay Longshaw is going to need to start hitting both Espeeyeeseetee and Brock Landers with more consistency.
S Logan Uchiha (@CalvinP)
Although there's at least one person on this Seawolves defense that offenses should stay away from. Logan Uchiha had one of the most dominant performances I've seen from a defender all season against Portland. Eight tackles, two sacks, a deflection, a TFL, and a pick-six sounds good on paper, but even that doesn't tell the whole story. There was a drive for Portland early in the first where the only two plays were an Uchiha sack and an Uchiha pick-six. It was a nightmare of a drive for Franklin Armstrong, and Logan Uchiha was playing the role of Freddy Krueger. Oh, and he also got six tackles, a TFL, a deflection, and a pick against Palm Beach in case you thought he was just a one hit wonder. He wasn't.
Palm Beach Solar Bears RB Ludicolo Bigby (@TheWoZy)
Right now, there're only four running backs with over 1000 rushing yards on the season. Two of them play for San Antonio, unarguably the best team in the D-League. The other two play for Palm Beach. Tell me there isn't hope for this team yet. Both Ben Bortboy and Ludicolo Bigby performed well, it's Bigby whom I want to talk about today. In Week 11, he carried the ball 22 times for 111 yards and a score, on route to a Palm Beach win. He only picked up 60 rushing yards against San Antonio, but it was on just 13 carries, so at least the yards per attempt were solid. If both of these guys stick around next season, there's a strong chance that this Palm Beach offense can turn it around next season.
LB Rock Hardshaft @Rouchicus
The trio of Rock Hardshaft, Guy Nikko, and Tony Gabagool might be the best linebacker corps in the D-League. Collectively known as the "Palm Beach Penetration" (not making that up), Nikko's still leading the D-League in sacks, while Gabagool is third in tackles (the fourth unofficial member, Dizzy Daz, is also leading the lead in TFLs). But this time it's Hardshaft who I wanna talk about. Against San Antonio, he had team-high 13 tackles and a forced fumble. And the week prior against Norfolk, he had six tackles and a sack. There're playmakers all over this defense, at every level. Just a few more pieces, and this puzzle will be solved.
Kansas City Coyotes QB Rose Jenkins (@Jiggly_333)
Holy moly, Rose Jenkins has ice in her veins. Do you know how hard it is to engineer a game-winning fourth quarter drive? It's really hard, trust me, we've tried in Palm Beach. But with six minutes left to play, from her own 20, Rose led her team all the way down the field and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Ronald St. James III with just twenty seconds remaining. She ended the day 25/36 for 281 yards, two TDs, and a pick. She didn't do so hot against Tijuana, but still at least against Portland, in that Game of the Year contender, she was THE MAN.
S Cam Poole (@cb9)
The Kansas City offense struggled big time against Tijuana, but they stayed in the game thanks to two non-offensive touchdowns, a 102 yard kick return score by Terry Taffy, and a 21 yard pick-six by Cam Poole less than a minute later. Through the rest of the game against Tijuana, Poole picked up seven tackles and a deflection, and in the Portland game before that, he registered five tackles and a sack. Poole played pretty well, and with some more attention on his development, he should improve all the more.
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