Our next installment of "DSFL Season Preview" takes us all the way to Portland. The Pythons were a pretty balanced team last year but they couldn't take that balanced play-style and turn it into wins on the field. With three weeks to go last season, Portland had their playoff lives in their own hands. Winning two out of the last three games, in any order, would've gotten them into the playoffs. They ended up only winning one and missing out on the playoffs by a game. But, a new season is ahead and the Pythons are ready for another crack at it. But, before we get to next season, let's go more in depth with last season.
Last Season Review:
The Pythons' offense last year was...conflicting. They were third in the league in total yards yet ended the year with the fifth best scoring total. This is due to their 66.7% field goal percentage. Good for dead last by a large margin. This needs to be fixed. They ran the ball the second most in the league but averaged the second to worst yards per carry. They also totaled only six rushing touchdowns which is good for fifth best...or second worst. Their passing game was a bit more consistent. They were fourth in the league in passing attempts, passing yards, passer rating, and tied for fourth in passing touchdowns. Their quarterback, Mitch Stars, is long since inactive, but is at right around 57 TPE played average for a DSFL quarterback. He actually got drafted this year to the NSFL but no doubt will be sent back down. Their leading rushers, Jack Stats and R. Ferrell, both carried it over 170 times and both had 3 touchdowns. They lost Jack Stats last year so their leading rusher Ferrell, who is a 30 TPE bot, will be coming back and I expect him to take many of the carries. They didn't pick up/draft a running back this year so they will need Ferrell to play well. The loss of O' Sullivan is going to hurt quite a bit as well. He was drafted to the Legion and as an active tight end, I'm assuming he will stay on the roster and not be sent down. Although he wasn't a massive part of the passing game, he still had a touchdown on 17 catches and was really only utilized as a short pass option. But he was a very serviceable blocker and I think they will miss him in that respect.
Their defense was as average as they come. They gave up the fourth most amount of points and total yards but only the third most passing and rushing yards in the league. These numbers are good enough that with a draft pick or two and some free agent signings, Portland's defense could be primed to make that jump into the top tier DSFL defenses. But hold up, not so fast. They lost two defensive members to the NSFL draft. I'll start with Waiters. He's been inactive for a while it appears but it seems he is back. His TPE however is low but I still expect for him to be kept on the team and to not be sent back down (I haven't heard whether he is staying or being sent down however. Just speculation.). If he is indeed to stay with the Legion and not come back to play for the Pythons, that would be very bad news. Waiters had the top sack total and a top 6 tackles for loss total. And, to pile on, here is more bad news. Noah Goodson, a Pythons starting line backer, a top 3 tackler, a 115+ TPE player, got drafted number one overall to the Legion. I, as well as most others, are fully expecting him to stay with the team and to get some playing time. And if he stays up with the Legion, the Pythons will have lost their two best defensive players and two players that are hard to replace. Not a good sign.
But, the Pythons headed into the draft with obvious holes that needed to be addressed and they would have the chance to do that. But did they?
Draft Recap:
My rankings of their draft needs after reviewing their previous seasons are as follow.
1. Front Seven Defensive Player(s) - AT LEAST ONE
2. Weapons for Mitch Stars. Preferably a tight end that can block and catch. But any weapon for him is great.
3. A running back or a kicker would be fantastic as well.
What Portland actually drafted:
Round 1: John Wachter - WR
Round 2: Carlito Crush - TE
Round 4: Cameron Taylor - S
Round 6: Jakob Andrews - CB
Round 7: Boston Ooty - CB
Overall, I've seen worse drafts. They got two great weapons in Wachter and Crush. I LOVE the Crush pick. Before starting my research, I also LOVED the Wachter pick. Not so much any more. They were already in a position where they had to make the most of each pick seeing as how they had no third and fifth round picks due to trades. They needed a new TE and Crush was by far the best option here. By taking Wachter, they risked losing out on Crush and should be thankful that they got him. BUT, if they take Crush at 2, they then could've taken Luke Kraken at pick 8. This would've filled, in my opinion, their two biggest holes. I want to be clear here, I like Wachter as a player and he should be primed for a big year. But I think Kraken would have been fantastic for Portland. After the Crush pick, by the time it came for Portland to pick again, both of the other LB's had been picked so they finished up by drafting 3 DB's, 2 of which seem active which is great.
Draft Grade: B. At first glance, I would've given them an A for their draft. But after not securing any of the defensive front seven players in the draft, I just can't do that. Not to mention they also didn't take an RB either.
Season Prediction:
This is a tough one. Because I see their offense as potentially being a top 2 offense in the league with Crush and Wachter. All they need is some half decent running from their backs and they could be dangerous every time they take the field. But I believe they are going to struggle mightily on defense. If Waiters and Goodson do not get sent back down, I believe that they are going to have a tough time rushing the QB on passing plays and stopping the run.
With all of that being said, I think the Pythons approve upon last years 5-9 record. They lost all 4 games to the Chicago Blues last year and I just can't see that happening again. I think they come in at 7-7 and potentially even 8-6. I think they make the playoffs in the West and we shall see how they do from there.
And that wraps up another episode of "DSFL Season Preview". If anybody sees anything wrong, whether it be statistics, my analysis, or anything else, let me know in the comments. I would especially like to know if there is any concrete information on the players the Pythons lost to the NSFL draft and whether or not they will be sent down or not. But as always, thank you for reading!
GRADED
Last Season Review:
The Pythons' offense last year was...conflicting. They were third in the league in total yards yet ended the year with the fifth best scoring total. This is due to their 66.7% field goal percentage. Good for dead last by a large margin. This needs to be fixed. They ran the ball the second most in the league but averaged the second to worst yards per carry. They also totaled only six rushing touchdowns which is good for fifth best...or second worst. Their passing game was a bit more consistent. They were fourth in the league in passing attempts, passing yards, passer rating, and tied for fourth in passing touchdowns. Their quarterback, Mitch Stars, is long since inactive, but is at right around 57 TPE played average for a DSFL quarterback. He actually got drafted this year to the NSFL but no doubt will be sent back down. Their leading rushers, Jack Stats and R. Ferrell, both carried it over 170 times and both had 3 touchdowns. They lost Jack Stats last year so their leading rusher Ferrell, who is a 30 TPE bot, will be coming back and I expect him to take many of the carries. They didn't pick up/draft a running back this year so they will need Ferrell to play well. The loss of O' Sullivan is going to hurt quite a bit as well. He was drafted to the Legion and as an active tight end, I'm assuming he will stay on the roster and not be sent down. Although he wasn't a massive part of the passing game, he still had a touchdown on 17 catches and was really only utilized as a short pass option. But he was a very serviceable blocker and I think they will miss him in that respect.
Their defense was as average as they come. They gave up the fourth most amount of points and total yards but only the third most passing and rushing yards in the league. These numbers are good enough that with a draft pick or two and some free agent signings, Portland's defense could be primed to make that jump into the top tier DSFL defenses. But hold up, not so fast. They lost two defensive members to the NSFL draft. I'll start with Waiters. He's been inactive for a while it appears but it seems he is back. His TPE however is low but I still expect for him to be kept on the team and to not be sent back down (I haven't heard whether he is staying or being sent down however. Just speculation.). If he is indeed to stay with the Legion and not come back to play for the Pythons, that would be very bad news. Waiters had the top sack total and a top 6 tackles for loss total. And, to pile on, here is more bad news. Noah Goodson, a Pythons starting line backer, a top 3 tackler, a 115+ TPE player, got drafted number one overall to the Legion. I, as well as most others, are fully expecting him to stay with the team and to get some playing time. And if he stays up with the Legion, the Pythons will have lost their two best defensive players and two players that are hard to replace. Not a good sign.
But, the Pythons headed into the draft with obvious holes that needed to be addressed and they would have the chance to do that. But did they?
Draft Recap:
My rankings of their draft needs after reviewing their previous seasons are as follow.
1. Front Seven Defensive Player(s) - AT LEAST ONE
2. Weapons for Mitch Stars. Preferably a tight end that can block and catch. But any weapon for him is great.
3. A running back or a kicker would be fantastic as well.
What Portland actually drafted:
Round 1: John Wachter - WR
Round 2: Carlito Crush - TE
Round 4: Cameron Taylor - S
Round 6: Jakob Andrews - CB
Round 7: Boston Ooty - CB
Overall, I've seen worse drafts. They got two great weapons in Wachter and Crush. I LOVE the Crush pick. Before starting my research, I also LOVED the Wachter pick. Not so much any more. They were already in a position where they had to make the most of each pick seeing as how they had no third and fifth round picks due to trades. They needed a new TE and Crush was by far the best option here. By taking Wachter, they risked losing out on Crush and should be thankful that they got him. BUT, if they take Crush at 2, they then could've taken Luke Kraken at pick 8. This would've filled, in my opinion, their two biggest holes. I want to be clear here, I like Wachter as a player and he should be primed for a big year. But I think Kraken would have been fantastic for Portland. After the Crush pick, by the time it came for Portland to pick again, both of the other LB's had been picked so they finished up by drafting 3 DB's, 2 of which seem active which is great.
Draft Grade: B. At first glance, I would've given them an A for their draft. But after not securing any of the defensive front seven players in the draft, I just can't do that. Not to mention they also didn't take an RB either.
Season Prediction:
This is a tough one. Because I see their offense as potentially being a top 2 offense in the league with Crush and Wachter. All they need is some half decent running from their backs and they could be dangerous every time they take the field. But I believe they are going to struggle mightily on defense. If Waiters and Goodson do not get sent back down, I believe that they are going to have a tough time rushing the QB on passing plays and stopping the run.
With all of that being said, I think the Pythons approve upon last years 5-9 record. They lost all 4 games to the Chicago Blues last year and I just can't see that happening again. I think they come in at 7-7 and potentially even 8-6. I think they make the playoffs in the West and we shall see how they do from there.
And that wraps up another episode of "DSFL Season Preview". If anybody sees anything wrong, whether it be statistics, my analysis, or anything else, let me know in the comments. I would especially like to know if there is any concrete information on the players the Pythons lost to the NSFL draft and whether or not they will be sent down or not. But as always, thank you for reading!
Code:
1,235 WordsQuote:Ready for Grading
GRADED
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