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+---- Thread: *Cole Maxwell’s Season 34 Season Review Pt. I (/showthread.php?tid=38506)
*Cole Maxwell’s Season 34 Season Review Pt. I - Alcott - 04-05-2022
Took a couple seasons off of reviewing, mostly from returning to working in the office but I’d be lying if I didn’t say a not insignificant level of laziness didn’t also play a large factor in not keeping up with the money making tradition (it doesn’t hurt that the double media has rolled around as well), but now I’m back and ready to tell the tale of Cole Maxwell’s first season as the bona fide number one receiver in the Yeti’s high powered offense. There is a level of mystery involved in this season from the start, like is Cole ready to take the reigns and be the alpha of the receiver group, will the offensive philosophy change with the Retirement of longtime Yeti QB Mattathias Caliban, and can the Yeti return to the playoffs with this new squad? The forward to this piece is being written before the season has really started so all we, and yes this is collective to all ISFL members (I mean who among us isn’t a fan of the Colorado Yellow and Red?), can do is hope that the team shows up and shows out with the talented youth they’ve developed. So without further introduction, let’s review how the season progressed for the sixth year pro.
Week 1 - Colorado Yeti vs Sarasota Sailfish - LOSS 21-49
Oof, the Yeti get off to a rough start with what can only be called a shellacking at the hands of the Sailfish, who rattled off 49 unanswered points after letting the Yeti get a quick 14-0 lead. The defense started off hot with an interception on Sarasota’s second play of the game and showed fight throughout, but just couldn’t survive the onslaught as the Yeti’s anemic offense couldn’t hold on to the ball for any stretch after the first two possessions. Now to actually look at our titular character’s day and how he performed on the field.
7:23 Q1 - Cole’s first look of the game comes on the first play of the second possession, just seconds after the defense created a turnover via interception and only minute after the Yeti’s first score. The pass by new quarterback Live Loughlove is broken up by Sarasota’s new mercenary cornerback Raeni Clarke and falls incomplete.
5:03 Q1 - Following a quick turnover by the Yeti and a defensive stop by the defense, Loughlove again targets Cole on the first play of the new series (3rd of the game for the Yeti), and this time connects for a monster 43 yard gain on the broken play rollout. Honestly not sure how Cole was caught from behind considering his higher speed and endurance and weighs less than the defender who made the tackle….*
3:25 Q1 - Two plays later though and Cole finds the endzone on a 26 yard pass from Laughlove, effectively making the only difference between scoring on his previous catch and this one five less yards and a slight change in yards per catch.
14:24 Q2 - After the Sailfish respond to the Yeti’s second touchdown with one of their own, the Yeti offense retakes the field. On the fourth play of the drive Laughlove again finds Cole for 28 yards after breaking out of the pocket and improvising, and curiously enough Cole is once again caught from behind by Clarke*
9:08 Q2 - On a third on long the following possession Laughlove has to hit Cole for a 9 yard checkdown and Clarke makes a sure tackle to end the play immediately, which unfortunately doesn’t convert for the first down and leads to a punt the following play
0:17 Q2 - After no targets on the three and out possession following the punt, Cole sees his next target in the waning seconds of the half. On a second and long Laughlove again hits Cole on the underneath checkdown but he isn’t able to break free of the sure-tackling Clarke and only picks up 7 yards.
0:07 Q2 - With only seconds left in the half Laughlove tries to connect with Cole on a fade route to get the team in field goal range, but the taller Clarke is able to break up the pass before Cole could secure the catch and fall out of bounds to stop the clock.
11:15 Q3 - After the half the Yeti still weren’t able to get anything going, as a second down errant throw from Laughlove targetted Cole but found nothing but the turf to catch it
7:25 Q3 - The following possession on a second and medium, Laughlove targets Cole on a quick hitch route and angles for the first down, but again the larger Clarke is able to stop his momentum short to bring up a 3 and 1
3:13 Q3 - First down targets seem to be getting the best results for Cole today, as again Laughlove breaks contain and rolls out to the right, allowing Cole to slip past the corner and make a 21 yard catch and run on the play. Once again, though, Clarke is mysteriously able to defy his physical attributes and track down Cole from behind for the stop*
2:35 Q3 - Two plays later on a second and long Laughlove finds Cole in the hole of the defense for a 9 yard pick up that again brings up a 3rd and 1 situation
0:30 Q3 - Well it looks like I spoke too soon about first down targets being the way to go, as the first play of the following possession Clarke is again able to break up the Laughlove pass intended for Cole
5:46 Q4 - In his lone fourth quarter target, Cole is the recipient of a Laughlove pass on a post route trying to get enough for the long first down, but Clarke is able to close and make the tackle well short of the line to gain.
If you just look at the stats from the game it would appear as though Cole had a pretty good day, racking up 9 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown, but upon further inspection it really feels like there was a lot more left out on the field*. And despite the large number of catches, there just seemed to be too many stretches where Cole didn’t receive a target, although both the first and last possessions ended in touchdowns and didn’t feature a single Cole Maxwell target between them, so maybe those stretches aren’t so bad after all? Additionally the matchup with Clarke is a tough one, and to come away with so many yards and catches is still a feat in itself, plus this was the first real outing for the new QB and his squad, so hopefully things improve as the season progresses. Also there were some questionable play calls, where Cole would set up a 3rd and 1 only to have an incomplete pass and a punt follow immediately after, that will hopefully get cleaned up as well.
*After discussion with the locker room I was informed of “ball weight” that slows down any player with the ball and potential graphics misrepresentation that would account for maybe being caught from behind, but it was funnier to leave my ignorant complaints in the text rather than remove it after being educated
Week 2 - Colorado Yeti at Baltimore Hawks - WIN 48-24
Well that sure was a turn of events, the Yeti apparently took the loss from Sarasota personally and doled out roughly the same beat down they took last week. After cruising to the games biggest lead of 35 points, thanks to an incredible effort on the defensive side to keep Baltimore’s offense stagnant, the Yeti focused more on killing the clock to bring home the inevitable win sooner rather than later. Overall excellent team win as all phases of the game seemed to be clicking for the Yeti. And now to take a closer look at our protagonists game:
15:00 Q1 - Cole gets his first target on the literal first play of the game, to which I would usually say there’s no better way to start except for the fact that the Hawks’ top corner Lip Gallagher swooped in to break up the pass
8:29 Q1 - 3rd and long is never a good place to be, especially last week with Clarke in coverage as the corner was able to stifle any attempt at a first down, however this time Laughlove is able to hit Cole for enough to convert and keep the series moving with an 11 yard gain
7:13 Q1 - And again I’ve spoken too soon, as just three plays later on another third and long Cole is again the target of the Laughlove pass, however this time the pair can’t connect and Yeti are forced to punt
1:26 Q1 - Deep into the next possession Laughlove hits Cole for a nice first down gain of 5 yards on the underneath route. A sure tackle by Gallagher prevents a bigger play from happening
1:00 Q1 - Two plays later Cole is able to burst out for a 20 yard pickup on the Laughlove pass, getting tackled at the 2 yard line by Baltimore linebacker Big Slammu, preventing the touchdown on the play. The Yeti would drive the ball into the endzone the very next play
11:13 Q2 - On the first play of the following possession, Laughlove hits Cole for a 13 yard gain and another first down
10:18 Q2 - Back to back targets for Cole brings up a second and short after the 6 yard gain from the Laughlove pass
6:18 Q3 - Another long streak without a look, Cole gets back in the game the same way he started, with Gallagher battling and breaking up the Laughlove pass
2:34 Q3 - A second and 21 on the following possession gives Cole the opportunity to put on a show as he takes the pass from Laughlove 65 yards down the field before getting tackled by Gallagher. This whole ball weight and getting caught from behind despite being maxed on speed is really getting annoying, and honestly just makes me way more impressed (and jealous) of all the super long touchdowns from this season and the past couple season as well
1:46 Q3 - Laughlove gives Cole another chance to score on the very next play, but Gallagher comes up again and stops Cole for just a 6 yard gain before hitting Delacour for the touchdown on the very next play
12:02 Q4 - A few plays in to the next drive for the Yeti, Cole is again targeted by Laughlove on the short underneath route and makes the grab before being dropped immediately by linebacker AJ Lucas to stop the gain at just 6 yards. This would be Cole’s last target of the game
It’s hard to complain with the continued amount of targets Cole is getting, reeling in another 8 passes for 132 yards, but I am still concerned at the large spans of plays where he doesn’t show up at all. That’s probably a little dramatic, as so far he’s been covered solely by a 100 rated corner in both games and still put up great stats, which would be even better if the sim would allow him to actually finish any of his big plays in the endzone. Still, being on pace for 136 catches and 2328 yards isn’t really anything to get up in a huff about so for now I’ll leave it at a good team win and hope for more continued success on the field.
Week 3 - Colorado Yeti vs Philadelphia Liberty - LOSS 24-27
Looking to continue rolling after the big win in Baltimore, the Yeti fell flat in the return home against the Liberty. Despite a valiant fourth quarter effort to bring the team back within reach of the win, the Liberty were able to bleed out the final four minutes to secure the victory for themselves. Overall the defense played pretty well, putting up a lot fo big plays, including a late defensive touchdown, but ultimately couldn’t get enough stops to help out the struggling offense. Speaking of the offense, an underwhelming performance by the unit matched the production Cole put out on the field
11:04 Q1 - It appears as though the same playbook as week 2 is being used this week, as the first offensive play again targets Cole, and just as it was last week, the Laughlove pass is broken up by the Liberty’s top corner Willie Miller
13:28 Q2 - After a long break that somehow only had one missed possession in it, Cole sees his second target of the game, however it, like the last Laughlove pass, is also broken up by Miller
5:39 Q2 - On a third and long the following drive, Cole and Laughlove again attempt to make their first connection, but the pass isn’t within reach and falls incomplete for the third time in a row
0:22 Q2 - For the final play of the half, Cole is finally able to make his first reception, a 34 yard gain before being brought down by Miller.
14:55 Q3 - The third quarter starts off hot for Cole, with the first offensive play being directed toward him. The Laughlove pass connects with Cole for an 11 yard gain and first down
14:10 Q3 - For the second play in a row Cole is targeted by Laughlove and secures the catch, this time for a 5 yard gain
13:23 Q3 - Well hot dog, three straight pass plays to Cole, with another 5 yard reception and first down on the pass from Laughlove
11:51 Q3 - A few plays later on another third and long Laughlove aims to convert via pass to Cole, however Miller is once again able to break up the attempt
6:49 Q3 - During the next drive for the Yeti Cole catches his last ball, a 6 yard gain to bring up a second and short
5:57 Q3 - The very next play Cole is targeted again, for the last time this game, but as with his first target of the game, Miller is there to break up the play
This was by and far the worst game of Cole’s year so far, with a paltry 5 receptions for 61 yards. The even more disappointing aspect of that statline is that Cole led the team in receptions, showing how inept the Yeti offense was on the day. And while it certainly dragged his numbers on the season down, everyone has an off day once in a while, and since it looks like Cole will be manned up by the opposing team’s top corner on a weekly basis, I suppose it isn’t surprising that a game like this came along sooner rather than later. Hopefully the rookie QB and get his feet back under him for the second game of the double header and help Cole put on another show more similar to the first two weeks of the season.
Normally I’d split the season up into fourths and review four games in each segment, but this one went a little longer than expected so we’ll just have to stop here for now and catch our breath a little bit. The blistering pace Cole started off at may have cooled, but we definitely need a bigger sample size before determining if it was the booms or the bust that was the fluke. The offense certainly hasn’t been performing up to the usual Yeti standards thus far, at least not as far as points are concerned as they have yet to top 24 points in a game to this point in the season, but have been piling up the yardage. Over the course of the next 13 games we can see if Cole really is the next man up in a great line of Yeti receivers, or just a guy who happened to get lucky in the first couple games of a new season. Tune in to part two as we continue our walk through the Season 34 season to find out what Cole truly is.