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+---- Thread: *S20 Ultimini Recap (/showthread.php?tid=19208)
*S20 Ultimini Recap - retrospace111 - 02-19-2020
Wow, the S20 Ultimini just finished, and we saw a crazy battle between the Minnesota Grey Ducks and the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. I'll be going over what happened, part by part, bit by bit, and what went wrong and right for each team. Stay tuned!
KEY TEAM STATS
MB MINN
First Downs 10 21
3rd Down Efficiency 3/13 8/15
4rd Down Efficiency 1/1 1/2
Total Yards 268 342
Passing 113 122
Comp/Att 10/21 13/29
Yards per Pass 5.4 4.2
Rushing 155 220
Rushing Attempts 35 48
Yards per Rush 4.4 4.6
Penalties 15-156 5-35
Turnovers 2 1
Fumbles (Lost) 1 (0) 1 (1)
Had Intercepted 2 0
Time of Possession 27:56 32:04
Quarter 1
It started out as a defensive battle, with both teams going 3 and out on their opening drives. The Buccaneers finally got some offense going on their 2nd possession, mostly because of their running game. 26/33 yards on that drive was from rushing. Unfortunately they couldn't keep that going, so they punted at midfield and it was touch back. The Ducks were able to generate some offense through a balance of running and passing, but due to a penalty that made it a 1st and 15, they were unable to get another 1st down and their drive stalled at midfield. We've had 2 penalties by the Ducks so far and it's only the first quarter. The Buccaneers received the ball at their 11 yard line, and started on their 3rd possession of the game. This one was much longer, despite 2 penalties. The first one was an illegal substitution penalty, making it 1st and 15. After a nice 11 yard run, it was negated by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, making it 3rd and 19. A beautiful catch and run for 33 yards helped set them up in their best position all game. They stalled out at the MINN-32, and it was a 4th and 3. They went for it, a ballsy move, considering how early in the game it was. They converted, fortunately, but they were pushed out of field goal range 2 plays later from a holding penalty on ... the quarterback? This is ridiculous. 5 penalties already in the first quarter, 3 on the Bucs, 2 on the Ducks. After a 1 yard rush and a sack, the Bucs..., punted from the opposing 34 yard line? Crazy call honestly, one that changed the game. Their coach went for it on 4th and 3, but punted so close to FG range? Why not just attempt it at that point? I'll never understand it as long as I live, and I'm sure it will be something haunting the minds of those players tonight.
Quarter 2
Quarter 2 started out with the Duck's 3rd possession of the game. A questionable unnecessary roughness on the Bucs pushed the Ducks 15 yards downfield, but it was for nothing. Just like the first quarter, both teams went 3 and out on their first possession. Just remember that that's 4 penalties already on the Bucs and 2 on the Ducks. Minnesota got the ball back on their 35 yard line for their 4th possession of the game. They drove down the field to the MB-40. It was 3rd and 2 and if the Ducks didn't convert here, they would most likely have to punt it again. Luckily for them, the Bucs were called with their 5th penalty of the game with an encroachment call. This put the Ducks in FG range and gave them a new set of downs. They made quick work of the Bucs defense and drove down to the MB-11. The Bucs were then called with another encroachment penalty, their 6th penalty of the game. On the next play, the Ducks scored on a rushing play by Austin Brehio. The ensuing kickoff to the Bucs ended with a 70 yard return, electrifying the team and sparking comeback vibes. An excellent 16 yard pass was overshadowed by an offensive pass interference call that occurred right after, the Bucs 7th penalty. The Bucs couldn't overcome 2nd and 16 and settled for a FG, bringing the score a bit closer at 7-3. It was nearing halftime, but the Ducks weren't finished. They started driving down the field, and they were assisted by a face mask call on the Buccaneers, the Bucs' 8th penalty OF THE HALF. The Ducks used it well and drove down to the MB-36, with a 2nd and 2 with 2:11 left. It was an optimal position for scoring, but a sack from Jamie Nkiah took that thought out of their head. Soon after it was 4th and 1 at the MB-35 and the coach thought it was out of his kicker's range, so he opted to go for it. They failed to convert and the Bucs got the ball back at their own 35 yard line. They drove down to the MINN-36 but didn't have timeouts left, so the clock ran down and there was no points scored. This was poor clock management from the Bucs. They had some offense going there and they wasted it with the poor usages of timeouts.
Quarter 3
The Ducks must have gotten motivated as hell in that locker room because they came out guns blazing to start the half. Unlike the first 2 quarters, which started out with back to back 3 and outs, this quarter started with a long scoring drive with 2 3rd down conversions and some timely passes. Of course, there was a penalty, and you guessed correctly, it was on the Buccaneers for too many men on the field. That was the Bucs' 9th penalty of the game. This penalty helped secure the Ducks a touchdown and a 14-3 lead. The Bucs didn't want to win. Their next drive started out with an Illegal use of Hands penalty, the Bucs' 10th penalty. Their QB sacked right after, making the 2nd and 26 too long to get out of. They punted after failing to convert on 3rd down. Minnesota went 3 and out after the Bucs went 3 and out, assisted by an 11 yard sack by Bobby Boucher. The Bucs got the ball back on their own 9 yard line with the chance to tighten up the score. After all, it was only 14-3. A 13 yard defensive holding penalty on the Ducks gave the Bucs a chance to do something great. This was the 13th penalty of the game, total. On the very next play, there was a Chop Block penalty on the Buccaneers, their 11th of the game. Their drive stalled out and they punted. On the 2nd play of the Ducks' drive, there was an encroachment penalty on the Bucs, their 12th penalty total. The Ducks were set up with excellent field position at the MB-44. They drove down and scored a touchdown, bringing their lead up to 21-3. The Bucs got the ball back, needing to score and make this game close. Another encroachment penalty was called, but this time on the Ducks, bringing the total penalties in the game 16, and it's just the 3rd quarter.
Quarter 4
The Bucs continued their drive and used the run game to gain some yards. There was yet again another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bucs, their 13th penalty total. After 2 more rushes for 13 yards, their QB, Ramos, threw an INT to Bumper, T. The Ducks got their run game going after that, with 3 rushes for 23 yards. On their 4th rush of the drive, they fumbled and the Bucs recovered. The Bucs did squat with it and immediately punted. The Ducks received the ball and also punted after a quick 3 and out. The Bucs got the ball back down 3 scores, with time running out and a desperate need to score something before their season hopes fell apart. They of course, went 3 and out again. Their punt went through the endzone, so the Ducks should have started on their 20 yard line, but another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bucs, their 14th total, brought them out to the 35 yard line. The Ducks did not waste this golden opportunity to put the game away. They drove 35 yards to the MB-30, where they were gifted with a facemask penalty on the Bucs, their 15th penalty total. This pushed them to the MB-15, where they scored a touchdown just plays later, bringing the score to 28-3. The Bucs then threw an interception on the 3rd play of their ensuing drive. The Ducks ran the clock down, and ironically the game ended with an illegal use of hands penalty on the Ducks, bringing their total penalties to 5, and the Bucs to 15. Good game. Final score: 28-3.
Why the Ducks won.
The Ducks won because they used their opportunities. They were practically gifted extra lives on possessions which stalled out. They were disciplined and didn't commit many costly penalties. Their offense was hot and cold and stalled out miserably on some drives and was rolling on other drives. Their passing game was historically inefficient, with 4.2 yards per pass. They had a much more efficient ground game, with 4.6 yard per rush. They had +4 mins over the Bucs in the time of possession battle. They played well overall, had efficient drives, maximized their opportunities and played with discipline.
Why the Buccaneers lost.
The Buccaneers really shot themselves in the foot here. They sucked so much on offense, and they couldn't sustain a drive due to their bipolar offensive schemes and penalties. 15 penalties for 156 yards is a lot and can destroy your team. They had 2 turnovers, both INTs, but one was in garbage time. The penalties were horrifying and embarrassing to watch. A freaking quarterback got called for holding, come on now. But still, penalties don't explain why the Bucs played so awful on their non-penalized drives. Their QB finished with a 24.6 passer rating, which is awful. Their run game was OK, but their passing game was horrible. Their only points came off of a 70 yard kickoff return. They need to look towards offense next season and fix that. The Buccaneers lost because of their costly penalties and poor passing performances from their QB and WRs.
Why we should care.
Those freaking penalties dude. A freaking holding penalty on a QB? Seriously? This seems a bit out of hand and something we should be keeping watch over in the future. The simulations got out of hand in this game and the number of penalties was ridiculous, considering how one team got 3 times more penalties than the other.