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+---- Thread: *Cole Maxwell’s Season 34 Season Review Pt. II (/showthread.php?tid=38715)
*Cole Maxwell’s Season 34 Season Review Pt. II - Alcott - 04-10-2022
And we're back with part two of the season 34 recap, specifically focusing on Colorado Yeti wide receiver Cole Maxwell’s year in the ISFL. Statistically speaking he’s been doing pretty good for himself so far, with the catch being the team’s success hasn’t followed suit. The Yeti to the point are sitting at 1-2, with an anemic offense by the Yeti’s standard and a defense that, while good at causing turnovers and making big plays, gives up an equal number of big plays and even more points to opposing offenses. We will resume our watch on the Yeti and Cole with a week 4 matchup back at home in Colorado.
Week 4 - Colorado Yeti vs Honolulu Hahalua - LOSS 23-37
Well, playing at home certainly isn’t working out for the Yeti this year, as the team drops to 0-3 in their own stadium in an embarrassing fashion. Despite a constant stream of turnovers from the defense, the Yeti offense continues its streak of underachieving by again failing to crack the 24 point ceiling that seems to be set for them. With that lack of offensive coherency, the defense is left to fend off the opposing team far too often which leads to more and more points against the Yeti. But perhaps there’s a silver lining to today’s shameful performance in the re-emergence of Cole to his hot streak.
10:25 Q1 - Cole somewhat gets involved in the game on the Yeti’s second offensive possession, as Laughlove targets the receiver, but throws an errant pass that falls incomplete
0:26 Q2 - After a real long break in any meaningful action, Cole finally gets his second target from Laughlove, however Honolulu defensive back Davriel Lavigne is able to break up the pass
10:53 Q3 - In contrast to the first half, Cole gets involved early, being targeted by Laughlove on the second offensive play of the half for the Yeti. Maxwell is able to make the catch and advance the ball 9 yards to pick up a first down
1:55 Q3 - Another significant chunk of plays for the Yeti go by without any involvement from Cole, however he gets his next target from Laughlove and picks up another 6 yards on the catch
13:17 Q4 - Cole gets targeted again by Laughlove on the first play of the next series, however the pass isn’t quite on target and falls incomplete
12:58 Q4 - Two plays later after an incompletion and a penalty, Cole is the target on a third and long, making the catch and picking up 13 yards to set up a 4th and short opportunity for the offense
5:02 Q4 - Two possessions later Cole is again targeted on a third and long opportunity, securing the catch for a 17 yard gain and converting for a first down
2:43 Q4 - Later on in the possession Laughlove again goes to Cole, who makes the catch for a 6 yard gain
1:31 Q4 - Five plays later Laughlove targets Maxwell once more, who takes the pass 17 yards to the endzone for the Yeti touchdown
0:48 Q4 - After a successful onside kick by the Yeti, the offense starts up again. Laughlive hits Cole for a 6 yard gain to keep moving the team forward on the drive
I would say Cole had a game that, while not up to the standard the first two games set, certainly showed signs that he is bouncing back from the atrocious week 3 showing. Putting up 7 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but not quite the offensive explosion we’d hope for out of the talented receiver. If this type of performance can be the new floor for Cole, I think he’s going to be set up for quite a nice year.
Week 5 - Colorado Yeti at Berlin Fire Salamanders - LOSS 27-37
This is quickly turning into a nightmare scenario season for the Yeti, losing yet again in a not as close as the final score indicated game. The Yeti defense didn’t turn in its normal turnover and sack heavy performance, but still only gave up around the average points they have been regardless. The offense, however, continues to put up long stretches of failing to produce touchdowns. But so far, Cole has largely been opposite of the Yeti performance, putting up big numbers more often than not, so let’s see if that trend continues in this game.
6:55 Q1 - Cole’s first target of the game comes on the first possession, after the team has driven down to the Fire Salamander goal line. Unfortunately the first pass is broken up by Fire Salamander defender Tony Demonson
5:51 Q1 - Two plays later, on third and goal in the same situation as the first pass, Laughlove misses Cole and the pass again falls incomplete
0:45 Q1 - On the start of the next possession Cole gets another look from Laughlove, finally able to bring in his first reception for 5 yards
0:30 Q1 - The very next play, on third and short with the quarter coming to a close, Laughlove targets Cole again to the tune of a 37 yard pickup
0:35 Q3 - After almost two full quarters without any action, Cole gets his next target, picking up 9 yards on a second and long to set up a third and short opportunity for the offense
0:15 Q3 - The very next play Laughlove again looks to Cole to try and convert the down, however Demonson again is able to step in the way and break up the pass
6:56 Q4 - On the second play of the next series Cole receives his next target on a second and very deep, picking up 11 yards to set up a third and reasonable
2:45 Q4 - A second and medium opportunity comes Cole’s way, as he takes the Laughlove pass for 8 yards to give the offense another set of downs to work with
2:25 Q4 - The very next play Cole is again targeted by Laughlove, but once again Demonson is able to disrupt the play and pick up a pass defense
2:15 Q4 - For the third play in a row Laughlove targets Cole, but like the last play the ball only finds the dirt, as the errant pass falls incomplete
1:28 Q4 - On Cole’s last target of the game, Laughlove targets him on second and 10, where Maxwell is able to pick up another 10 yards for a first down to continue the drive
For a regular player 6 receptions for 80 yards isn’t a terrible stat line, but for Cole, who is the number one receiver in a wide open offense, that just isn’t good enough to pass mustard. I know technically it’s more yards than the previous game that I said would be a decent floor, but the lack of touchdown and overall involvement in the game is just disappointing and makes this performance just not as good as the previous output despite an extra 6 yards. Hopefully the usage keeps up (11 targets on the game), but more catchable balls, especially on deeper routes, can help really bring the offense around and let Cole shine
Week 6 - Colorado Yeti vs Chicago Butchers - LOSS 22-41
Sheeeeesh this has been a bad year and only continues to get worse. Despite the defense forcing some turnovers for the Yeti, Laughlove had a real rookie showing, dropping 4 interceptions of his own and limiting the effectiveness of the offense as a whole. At this point in the season any hope of the playoffs is lost, but building up experience and getting ready for the next season is the main focus. Now if one of the players really gets on a roll it wouldn’t be unreasonable to try and help them get the stats to show out, but that’s really all that the team is probably playing for at this point. Speaking of players that could be having a heck of a season, let’s take a look at what Cole did in this matchup
11:02 Q1 - On the Yeti’s second offensive play of the game Cole comes up with his first reception, hauling in a Laughlove pass for a 6 yard gain
0:23 Q1 - Two possession later, the series starts with an attempt in the direction of Cole, but the Laughlove pass is wide and falls incomplete
11:35 Q2 - Part way into the next series, Cole gets the look on a third and medium, racking up a 13 yard gain to convert for the first down
10:52 Q2 - The very next play Laughlove targets Cole again, and unfortunately a good pass is the victim of a concentration drop that has plagued Cole for his whole career
7:04 Q2 - A second and short on the next possession allows for a shot to Cole, however the Butcher defender Tim Soulja is able to break up the pass
4:54 Q2 - Later on in the same drive, Maxwell is targeted again by Laughlove and hauls in a quick 6 yard completion
4:05 Q2 - The very next play Laughlove challenges Soulja again with a pass to Cole, however Soulja is up to the task and breaks up the pass again
1:18 Q2 - With the clock winding down in the half, Laughlove takes another shot to Cole, this time the safety Dee Walt is the one to make the play and break up the pass
12:14 Q3 - The Yeti’s first offensive play of the second half again goes Cole’s way, and again Soulja is in position to break up the pass mid air
11:12 Q3 - Two plays later on a third and manageable Laughlove targets Cole again, who is able to rack up another 6 yards and convert for the first down
5:07 Q3 - Cole’s next target comes on the first third down of the next possession on a third and long, with Cole only able to bring in another 5 yards but fall short of converting a first down. A penalty on the Butcher defense does grant the Yeti a new set of downs though
4:53 Q3 - The very next play on a first and ten Cole gets another reception for ten yards and another first down earned the hard way
15:00 Q4 - Two possessions later Cole gets another look on a second and long, where he brings in the Laughlove pass for 14 yards and another first down conversion
9:03 Q4 - First play of the next series gets another target for Cole, but Soulja once again is able to jump on the Laughlove pass and bat it down for the incompletion
4:04 Q4 - Again the first play of the Yeti’s possession is a pass to Cole, but this time Cole is able to wrangle in the Laughlove pass for a 14 yard gain and another first down
3:41 Q4 - The very next play Laughlove takes another shot downfield to Cole, who is finally able to make a big play for a 36 yard pickup
3:13 Q4 - Two plays later Laughlove targets Cole, who brings in the pass for a 19 yard touchdown catch
0:28 Q4 - For both Cole’s last target of the game and the Yeti’s last play of the game, on a 4th and 11, Laughlove throws a short pass to Cole for a 7 yard gain that results in a turnover on downs
Now this type of game I could get used to. 18 targets on the day is unreal, and even though Cole “only” came up with 11 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown, it was definitely a great day. Besides the blowout loss, the only disappointing aspect of the day for Cole was the number of passes defended by the Butcher’s defensive backs, as a really good day could’ve possibly become a personal best day if some of those balls managed to sneak through into Cole’s hands. If this type of game can become the norm those 18 targets will start returning many more receptions as Laughlove grows and becomes able to hit Cole on the tight window throws instead of falling incomplete or getting batted down by defenders, and when that happens the offense will really take flight.
So this three game stretch was not as impressive as the first three games, with only one performance surpassing the 100 yard mark as opposed to two of the first three. It is worth noting that the low yardage game in the first set was the lowest of the first six, so while the highs weren’t as high in this set, the lows were also not as low. This will come to be kind of a pattern over the season, where breakout games will be intertwined with some more disappointing outings mixed in. Overall the season is going well on a personal statistical level for Cole, racking up 642 yards over the first six games. While the lack of touchdown production (only 3) is disappointing for the yardage and catch totals, it seems to mirror the actual season achievement of the team, as the Colorado Yeti sit a 1 win to 5 losses to this point in the season. Perhaps if more of Cole’s targets were able to be converted into points the Yeti might be in a better place in the standings, but as of now it appears as though the team is headed for a top pick in the season 35 ISFL draft. Hopefully as we continue on through the year review we start seeing more of the over 100 yard games and more touchdowns that hopefully will also lead to a few more wins for the Yeti.
In all honesty I’m starting to be bewildered by my previous self, managing to cover 5 or 6 games per article while I now find myself struggling going over just 3 games now. I would really like to continue reviewing this season, especially considering it has come to an end at the time of writing this and (spoiler alert) it was quite a season for Cole, setting personal bests in receptions, yards, and longest catch, all while putting up the third most receiving yards all time without even cracking the top ten for catches in a season. While it wasn’t quite good enough to beat out William Lim’s best season to break the Colorado Yeti receiving yards record, it was still a great season nonetheless, and since only one of the three games featured in this review indicate that Cole would have a season as good as mentioned it makes the accomplishment all the more impressive. To be able to put up record numbers even without consistent dominance on the field is fascinating and means that the highs have to be quite impressive to counter some of the lower points seen over the year. Granted the lows can’t be all that low given the high achievement of the season, but still compared to Kai Sakura’s record setting year in 2045 (1948 yards) where he only had 4 games under 100 receiving yards, with one of those being a 97 yard day, Cole has quite a lot of makeup to do with his 3 games out of 6 under 100. That was kind of a tangent on the original topic, but I wanted to make sure the full season was recognized if I burn out and don’t manage to get through all 16 games this season.