Most people will tell you that the DSFL is generally a crapshoot, due to all the strange things that happen with players vastly improving from week to week, send downs and send ups affecting each team differently, and the comparatively lower skill level leading to an even wider gap in week to week performance from year to year.
And yet, whenever people talk about the two conferences, a specific one always comes up as being much better. Somehow, some way, the Southern Conference always ends up better than the Northern Conference, and that has shown itself to be true with aplomb right out of the gate this season.
It is probably not a surprise which team is the lone undefeated team at this point in the season. After winning the Ultimini last year and getting a bunch of send downs, the Norfolk Seawolves have continued to tear through the league as they did last year. They lead in points per game, points allowed per game, yards per game, yards allowed per game, and rushing yards per game. Their week 1 comfortable victory over the Portland Pythons, 31-17, is their worst game so far, after shutting out the Ducks and putting 37 up on the Birddogs in their previous 2 seasons. Norfolk welcomes Myrtle Beach, one of the only defenses that could match them, and it will be interesting to see how their offense powers through, and if their defense continues to hold fast.
The Luchadores almost matched them. Indeed, it feels like they probably should have. Their first two games, they won comfortably against the Birddogs and the Buccaneers, and in Week 3 they were paired up with the winless Kansas City Coyotes. They outgained the Coyotes by almost 100 yards, ran for 6.6 yards per carry, and near the end of the game it felt like the Coyotes didn't even want to win. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, the Luchadores also did not want to win. They gained 2 yards total on their last 3 drives, and Mike Boss Jr. threw 2 picks, giving the Coyotes 2 field goal opportunities to win. After missing the first one, the Coyotes hit the second one in overtime and the Luchadores fell to 2-1. Still, led by an amazing offense that has scored more than 26 points per game, the Luchadores could easily go far. Unfortunately, their defense, one of the worst in the league by points allowed, appears to hold them back. Looking further into it, however, it appears the real problem is the Luchadores' Offense and their propensity for turnovers and giving their opponents short fields. This occurrence which happened multiple times in the Kansas City Coyotes game is what tanks the points allowed stat for the Luchadores the most, as that game currently has more than half their points allowed. A second game against Northern Conference opposition in the Minnesota Grey Ducks will tell if that is a fluke or a sign.
The Buccaneers are also 2-1, and have gotten that way due to their strong defense carrying their offense. While they did lose to the Luchadores, if their defense holds up their run may be more sustainable. Having held their opponents to under 100 rushing yards per game is very impressive, as is shutting out the Royals in their most recent game. Their anemic offense does give me a bit of pause however, as I am not sure they have the ability to win a track meet if they get into one. Facing the powerhouse Norfolk Seawolves means that even if they lose, it will not be against expectations, and if they can stifle the attack even a little it will be very impressive.
The Birddogs, meanwhile, are a firm 4th in the South Conference. It appears to be somewhat of a scheduling and conference quirk, as they faced 2 of the top 3 teams in the league thus far, unfortunately all of those were in their conference. Still, despite being in the harder conference and having a built in excuse, there are significant cracks in this team thus far. Throughout the 3 games of the season thus far, the Birddogs have been outscored and outgained in both categories, even getting outgained by the Kansas City Coyotes in the Birddogs lone win this season. Their bright spot so far this year has been Zoe Mills, who has 3 touchdowns and a near 6 yards per carry. However, it is unlikely that she will be able to find another gear on top of her already impressive performance, and with that in mind someone has to step up. When passing, Caliban has been decent, but he has not done it all too often. And their defense needs to tighten up much more. They will get a lot of help with that when they face the Royals this week, who have been dreadful recently.
With the exception of the Birddogs, none of these teams have a negative point differential. All of the Northern Conference teams do.
The Pythons are the closest team to not having a negative point differential, and as such are top of the Conference, despite boasting the exact same 1-2 record as everyone else. Granted, it probably feels to them like they should have a positive point differential, as their two losses were to Norfolk by not as much as everyone else, and to the Minnesota Grey Ducks in a game where it felt like the Pythons played better. Their point differential of -5 is down to those plus the only double digit win any team in the Northern Conference has, a 23-10 game against the Royals where the Pythons were outgained by close to 100 yards but still won by 13 in part due to two interceptions. They technically have a top half offense, but it only scores 18 points per game. Still, if you were to say this team was in a better position than the Birddogs, I would probably not argue with you. Where they need to improve is mainly on all fronts, they are a well rounded average team right now. They face the Coyotes, and a win over them would almost inarguably put them as the best team in this less powerful conference.
The Minnesota Grey Ducks are second in the conference due to having a better point differential than the Royals, and having a Conference win. They were able to beat the Pythons in a game that it felt like the Pythons were better, and also had a slim loss to the Royals. The weak spot this team has is very very clear. Due to getting shut out by the Seawolves, they have the second worst offense by points in the entire league, and their pass game has a putrid 85 yards per game under its belt. Even the 4th best rushing attack and the best rushing attack in the conference isn't anywhere near enough to drag them out of the worst yards per game. They also give up the most yards per game. In short, if not for a win that feels somewhat fluky, this would be an easy choice for the worst team in the league. But they did win. They go from winning one fluky game to facing the team that gave up another fluky game last week, and if they can catch the Luchadores reeling, they could pull off a second straight upset.
The Kansas City Coyotes are technically fourth in the conference due to not having played a single conference game yet, but in this situation that might make them the best team in their own conference. It might be unfair to point out that their points scored is a bit inflated by a garbage time touchdown and their overtime game with the Luchadores, but they have the 3rd best points scored in the league, and have not yet lost by more than 10. Still, they do have a clear problem. Their lone win is one of the two fluky wins, and their defense is the worst in the league by points. That is also inflated by their game against the Luchadores, but what is not is their terrible run game on both offense and defense. Having barely over 115 rushing yards per game while giving up over 200 rushing yards to their opposition sounds like a recipe for disaster more than anything else. Still, having the second best passing game in the league by yards and tied for the most touchdowns means that they have one of the best passing attacks in the league to balance it out. The Coyotes open their in conference play by facing the technically top of the conference Pythons, and if they continue to score, they could outmatch any side in this lesser conference.
The London Royals are technically only third in the conference, but it feels like they are 5th after these previous two weeks. If you look at their yardage stats, they appear to have the best passing attack, the best pass defense (holding opponents to under 105 yards per game) and top 3 in both yards per game and yards allowed. They also have the 3rd best defense by points allowed. So what gives, exactly? Why are they only 1-2, and why do they feel like they are 5th? 11.3 points scored per game, last in the league, and only 10 points scored combined between the previous two games. With all that yardage gained, something has to give for them to only have that few points, and it comes from a -5 turnover differential. Through 3 games, 5 turnovers is a lot, and getting 0 turnovers is also impressive for the opposite reason. If the Royals are to get anything going on Offense, they're going to need to do it this week against the second worst defense in the league, a Birddogs side that has let up 26.7 points so far through 3 games.
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And yet, whenever people talk about the two conferences, a specific one always comes up as being much better. Somehow, some way, the Southern Conference always ends up better than the Northern Conference, and that has shown itself to be true with aplomb right out of the gate this season.
It is probably not a surprise which team is the lone undefeated team at this point in the season. After winning the Ultimini last year and getting a bunch of send downs, the Norfolk Seawolves have continued to tear through the league as they did last year. They lead in points per game, points allowed per game, yards per game, yards allowed per game, and rushing yards per game. Their week 1 comfortable victory over the Portland Pythons, 31-17, is their worst game so far, after shutting out the Ducks and putting 37 up on the Birddogs in their previous 2 seasons. Norfolk welcomes Myrtle Beach, one of the only defenses that could match them, and it will be interesting to see how their offense powers through, and if their defense continues to hold fast.
The Luchadores almost matched them. Indeed, it feels like they probably should have. Their first two games, they won comfortably against the Birddogs and the Buccaneers, and in Week 3 they were paired up with the winless Kansas City Coyotes. They outgained the Coyotes by almost 100 yards, ran for 6.6 yards per carry, and near the end of the game it felt like the Coyotes didn't even want to win. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, the Luchadores also did not want to win. They gained 2 yards total on their last 3 drives, and Mike Boss Jr. threw 2 picks, giving the Coyotes 2 field goal opportunities to win. After missing the first one, the Coyotes hit the second one in overtime and the Luchadores fell to 2-1. Still, led by an amazing offense that has scored more than 26 points per game, the Luchadores could easily go far. Unfortunately, their defense, one of the worst in the league by points allowed, appears to hold them back. Looking further into it, however, it appears the real problem is the Luchadores' Offense and their propensity for turnovers and giving their opponents short fields. This occurrence which happened multiple times in the Kansas City Coyotes game is what tanks the points allowed stat for the Luchadores the most, as that game currently has more than half their points allowed. A second game against Northern Conference opposition in the Minnesota Grey Ducks will tell if that is a fluke or a sign.
The Buccaneers are also 2-1, and have gotten that way due to their strong defense carrying their offense. While they did lose to the Luchadores, if their defense holds up their run may be more sustainable. Having held their opponents to under 100 rushing yards per game is very impressive, as is shutting out the Royals in their most recent game. Their anemic offense does give me a bit of pause however, as I am not sure they have the ability to win a track meet if they get into one. Facing the powerhouse Norfolk Seawolves means that even if they lose, it will not be against expectations, and if they can stifle the attack even a little it will be very impressive.
The Birddogs, meanwhile, are a firm 4th in the South Conference. It appears to be somewhat of a scheduling and conference quirk, as they faced 2 of the top 3 teams in the league thus far, unfortunately all of those were in their conference. Still, despite being in the harder conference and having a built in excuse, there are significant cracks in this team thus far. Throughout the 3 games of the season thus far, the Birddogs have been outscored and outgained in both categories, even getting outgained by the Kansas City Coyotes in the Birddogs lone win this season. Their bright spot so far this year has been Zoe Mills, who has 3 touchdowns and a near 6 yards per carry. However, it is unlikely that she will be able to find another gear on top of her already impressive performance, and with that in mind someone has to step up. When passing, Caliban has been decent, but he has not done it all too often. And their defense needs to tighten up much more. They will get a lot of help with that when they face the Royals this week, who have been dreadful recently.
With the exception of the Birddogs, none of these teams have a negative point differential. All of the Northern Conference teams do.
The Pythons are the closest team to not having a negative point differential, and as such are top of the Conference, despite boasting the exact same 1-2 record as everyone else. Granted, it probably feels to them like they should have a positive point differential, as their two losses were to Norfolk by not as much as everyone else, and to the Minnesota Grey Ducks in a game where it felt like the Pythons played better. Their point differential of -5 is down to those plus the only double digit win any team in the Northern Conference has, a 23-10 game against the Royals where the Pythons were outgained by close to 100 yards but still won by 13 in part due to two interceptions. They technically have a top half offense, but it only scores 18 points per game. Still, if you were to say this team was in a better position than the Birddogs, I would probably not argue with you. Where they need to improve is mainly on all fronts, they are a well rounded average team right now. They face the Coyotes, and a win over them would almost inarguably put them as the best team in this less powerful conference.
The Minnesota Grey Ducks are second in the conference due to having a better point differential than the Royals, and having a Conference win. They were able to beat the Pythons in a game that it felt like the Pythons were better, and also had a slim loss to the Royals. The weak spot this team has is very very clear. Due to getting shut out by the Seawolves, they have the second worst offense by points in the entire league, and their pass game has a putrid 85 yards per game under its belt. Even the 4th best rushing attack and the best rushing attack in the conference isn't anywhere near enough to drag them out of the worst yards per game. They also give up the most yards per game. In short, if not for a win that feels somewhat fluky, this would be an easy choice for the worst team in the league. But they did win. They go from winning one fluky game to facing the team that gave up another fluky game last week, and if they can catch the Luchadores reeling, they could pull off a second straight upset.
The Kansas City Coyotes are technically fourth in the conference due to not having played a single conference game yet, but in this situation that might make them the best team in their own conference. It might be unfair to point out that their points scored is a bit inflated by a garbage time touchdown and their overtime game with the Luchadores, but they have the 3rd best points scored in the league, and have not yet lost by more than 10. Still, they do have a clear problem. Their lone win is one of the two fluky wins, and their defense is the worst in the league by points. That is also inflated by their game against the Luchadores, but what is not is their terrible run game on both offense and defense. Having barely over 115 rushing yards per game while giving up over 200 rushing yards to their opposition sounds like a recipe for disaster more than anything else. Still, having the second best passing game in the league by yards and tied for the most touchdowns means that they have one of the best passing attacks in the league to balance it out. The Coyotes open their in conference play by facing the technically top of the conference Pythons, and if they continue to score, they could outmatch any side in this lesser conference.
The London Royals are technically only third in the conference, but it feels like they are 5th after these previous two weeks. If you look at their yardage stats, they appear to have the best passing attack, the best pass defense (holding opponents to under 105 yards per game) and top 3 in both yards per game and yards allowed. They also have the 3rd best defense by points allowed. So what gives, exactly? Why are they only 1-2, and why do they feel like they are 5th? 11.3 points scored per game, last in the league, and only 10 points scored combined between the previous two games. With all that yardage gained, something has to give for them to only have that few points, and it comes from a -5 turnover differential. Through 3 games, 5 turnovers is a lot, and getting 0 turnovers is also impressive for the opposite reason. If the Royals are to get anything going on Offense, they're going to need to do it this week against the second worst defense in the league, a Birddogs side that has let up 26.7 points so far through 3 games.
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