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+---- Thread: *Comparing Champions (/showthread.php?tid=26800)
*Comparing Champions - DApolloS - 10-15-2020
We are going to compare The Defending Ultimini Champions London Royals roster to the 2 Teams to repeat as Champions, the Tijuana Luchadores and The Minnesota Grey Ducks. The Luchadores had a threepeat in Ultimini 6 to 8 and also had back to back Championships with wins in Ultimini 14 (XIV) and 15 (XV), but we'll take a look at the 14 and 15 champs respectively as a threepeat is a large feat and i don't want to make my team look bad. The Grey Ducks successfully defended their Ultimini 17 (XVII) title with a win in Ultimini 18 (XVIII). We'll be comparing last season's Royals to the first winning roster of each team and then compare this season's roster to the repeat team's rosters to see if The Royals have what it take to become only the 3rd franchise in DSFL to defend their title with a win in the last game of the year.
Luchadores QB XIV
J. McCann III
2062 Passing Yards
12 TDs
Grey Ducks QB XVII
Z. Vega
1713 Passing Yards
7 TDs
Royals QB XXII
C. Cortez
2744 Passing Yards
17 TDs
So the first thing we notice here is the first championship team's QBs had strong seasons, but Cortez's season was on another level. It's very clear the Royals' passing game was a strong reason why they won their title, and these numbers could also be attributed to the fact the team had a strong receiving core that season (we'll take a look at the receivers shortly).
Luchadores QB XV
J. McCann III
2158 Passing Yards
14 TDs
Grey Ducks QB XVIII
Z. Vega
1840 Passing Yards
18 TDs
Royals QB XXIII
C. Cortez
Projected Stats:
1876 Passing Yards
14 TDs
So here we see that both teams had their champion quarterbacks return to chase down a 2nd consecutive successful season before going up to the big leagues. The Royals have that in their returning leader behind center. It also shows that those QBs menat business and they had much better 2nd seasons then their last, so it'll be up to Cortez to show he is not only still a franchise QB, but a better QB then he wasn't season
Luchadores RB XIV
D. Donut (1572 Rushing Yards, 12 Rushing TDs)
Grey Ducks RB XVII
D. Williams (1713 Rushing Yards, 11 Rushing TDs)
O. Littlewood (954 Rushing Yard, 4 Rushing TDs)
Royals RB XXII
T. Yaki (1032 Rushing Yards, 6 Rushing TDs)
D. King (783 Rushing Yards, 5 Rushing TDs)
Who would have thought the DSFL was a run heavy league? Well, apparently everyone except me. You can see how each team had not only 1, but 2 quality running backs to help their offense succeed where their passing game couldn't help them. The Royals RBs might not have had as strong of seasons as either of the other 2 teams, but they still held their own compared to the rest of the league rushing totals in their respective seasons.
Luchadores RB XV
D. Donut (1462 Rushing Yards, 10 Rushing TDs)
C. Osborne (1079 Rushing Yards, 9 Rushing TDs)
Grey Ducks RB XVIII
B. Yoda (1410 Rushing Yards, 7 Rushing TDs)
A. Brehio (1044 Rushing Yards, 12 Rushing TDs)
Royals RB XXIII
Projected Stats
T. Yaki (1310 Rushing Yards, 14 Rushing TDs)
B. Hana (1074 Rushing Yards, 14 Rushing TDs)
So it appears that The Royals ground game will be just as strong, if not a bit stronger, with both Royal running backs projected to get 14 touchdowns by the end of the regular season. I would be surprised to see both RBs get this many TDs, but I'm sure crazier things have happened. It looks like we can check off the run game as a contributor to a potential repeat.
Luchadores WRs XIV
L. Forty-Two (898 Receiving Yards, 8TDs)
J. Valadez (496 Receiving Yards, 1 TD)
C. Rey (319 Receiving Yards, 1 TD)
Grey Ducks WRs XVII
T. Thompson (690 Receiving Yards, 3 TDs)
M. Big Chest (316 Receiving Yards, 2 TDs)
T. Hoss (231 Receiving Yards, 0 TDs)
Royal WRs XXII
G. Thorbjornsson (964 Receiving Yards, 4 TDs)
T. J'Vathon (614 Receiving Yards, 4 TDs)
F. Michel (557 Receiving Yards, 4 TDs)
Royals had the fortune of having Royals great WR (now RB in ISFL) Thorbjornsson. He, along with the rest of the receiving core, helped Cortez have a remarkable year in route to their Ultimini Title. Their passing also seems to have been altogether stronger than the first championship winning teams.of each franchise. Although we know what happened to that offense, everyone other than Cortez and Yaki were called up so they were required to reshape their offense through the draft.
Luchadores WRs XV
B. Rodriguez (912 Receiving Yards, 5 TDs)
J. Jackson (577 Receiving Yards, 2 TDs)
Grey Ducks WRs XVIII
J. Davis (541 Receiving Yards, 4 TDs)
B. Gragg (468 Receiving Yards, 6 TDs)
E. Woodward (277 Receiving Yards, 4 TDs)
Royals WRs XXIII
Projected Stats
S. Hulkenvettel (640 Receiving Yards, 0 TDs)
T. Speedman (574 Receiving Yards, 0 TDs)
F. Michell (570 Receiving Yards, 14 TDs)
So the first thing we can do is say that both Rookie receivers, Speedman and Hulkenvettel, will get more than the projected 0 receiving TDs this season. Its very doubtful that only 1 member of the passing game gets all the scores. Now that we've addressed that issue, we can move on to yardage. Cortez is using all of the weapons given to him, with all 3 of these athletes getting close to the same amount of yardage, and they actually have more yards than previous champs so there is a chance that the passing game could help the running game give them more offense.
Luchadores Defense XIV
753 Tackles
55 TFL
28 Sacks
12 Interceptions
Notable Players:
J. Rowan DT, 7 Sacks
S. Masters DE, 16 Tackles for Losses
M. Beckham DE, 21 Tackles for Losses
Grey Ducks Defense XVII
675 Tackles
54 TFL
33 Sacks
6 Interceptions
Notable Players:
T. Kirby LB, 117 Tackles
N. Beat FS, 104 Tackles
A. Josh LB, 6 Sacks
Royals Defense XXII
753 Tackles
51 TFL
48 Sacks
8 Interceptions
Notable Players:
B. Light LB, 116 Tackles, 6 Sacks
J. Domine LB, 93 Tackles, 12 Sacks
T. Crunk FS, 5 Interceptions
I could have added more names to each team. Although in some cases the phrase "Defense wins Championships" is true, as you can see with The Royals, the Grey Ducks had the worst defense of the league so its curious how they managed to push as far as they did, ultimately winning the whole thing. Its possible that the regular season offense stepped up in the playoffs, as well as the defense. We can clearly see the Royals had a terrifyingly montrous defense, with many top players not even named in this article. It was their title to lose last season.
Luchadores Defense XV
684 Tackles
42 TFL
25 Sacks
15 Interceptions
Notable Players:
T. Kessel LB, 126 Tackles
H. Ryan SS, 105 Tackles, 4 INTs
S. Masters DE, 7 Sacks
Grey Ducks Defense XVIII
647 Tackles
41 TFL
44 Sacks
16 Interceptions
Notable Players:
M. Hole DE, 18 TFL
M. Murphy FS, 7 Interceptions
T. Kirby LB, 7 Sacks
Royals Defense XXIII
Projected Stats
734 Tackles
61 TFL
42 Sacks
10 Interceptions
Notbale Players:
L. Sarrasin LB, 118 Tackles, 10 Sacks
L. Burfict LB, 108 Tackles, 14 Sacks
M. Cadaire DE, 52 Tackles, 28 TFLs
The Royals Defense has been severely gutted since their Championship run last season, but that's what happens when your line up is filled with defensive studs. Despite the extreme turnover, the defense seems to be doing just fine and they look like they can be relied upon to keep opposing offense at bay as they are averaging only 15 points against per game.
Final Verdict
After looking at the current Royals roster, we can say they will definitely put up a fight, and if their season continues to trend upwards, they will get the playoff birth they need to defend their title. That's being said, playoffs are a fickle beast and the smallest mistake in a game can cost your team everything. It will be a fascinating season, not only for the Royals, but for both the DSFL and the ISFL.
Good luck to everyone and may the odds be ever in your favor
RE: Comparing Champions - LB3737 - 10-15-2020
Shame the Royals aren't going to be repeating :/
RE: Comparing Champions - SabaDonutMan - 10-15-2020
Heck lucha