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+---- Thread: *Late Season Review of the Pythons (/showthread.php?tid=47267)
*Late Season Review of the Pythons - LurchingCard - 09-02-2023
I will be using my 2x First Gen bonus
Today we will be reviewing week by week the current top team in the DSFL through the first 10 weeks of the season, the Portland Pythons. The Pythons had a disappointing season last year finishing 4-10 but they were able to completely turn it around over the offseason and emerged as the best team in the DSFL through the first 10 weeks. The Python's season so far could be described as nothing short of spectacular by leading the league with a record of 8-2, the highest scoring offense with 31.6 PPG, the best defensive scoring in the league as well only allowing 20.5 PPG.
Week 1: W 37-14 Minnesota Grey Ducks
The Pythons came out of the gate swinging this season by absolutely dominating the Grey Ducks in the first week of the season. At first glance, you think that the Python's offense is what dominated this game but in reality, it was their defense that had complete control of this game by getting a total of 4 takeaways. The Pythons defense held the Grey Ducks offense to 356 yards and 3/12 on 3rd down conversions. The player that spearheaded this defensive showcase was one of the Python’s newest additions this offseason Felix Waterman ®. Felix Waterman is a rookie safety drafted in the 5th round and after one game making an immediate impact by getting not 1 but 2 interceptions and leading the game with 4 passes defended earning themselves the honors of defensive player of the game. But it was not just the defense that did well this game for the Pythons but their offense was able to do their job by keeping the ball safe with 0 turnovers and capitalizing on the shortened field given to them and scoring 5 tds. On offense, their QB Jay Cue III went 15/24 with 4 passing tds But the real star on offense was their receiver who joined the team last year as a converted QB that changed to a WR Huck Indarts. Huck Indarts proved that making the switch to WR was not mistake by catching all 5 of their targets for 156 yards and 2 tds one of which being a 68 yard catch and run midway through the 1st quarter.
Week 2: W 36 - 10 @Kansas City Coyotes
The Python’s gave another dominant performance and had a bigger blowout in week 2 against the Royals. This week the Python’s offense showed up in a big way by amassing a total of 515 yards with an amazing day on the ground getting 197 yards and 3 rushing tds. The rushing attack was from the unstoppable one two punch of Sean Aldrich and Eldroh Kove. These two had virtually equal carries with Aldrich getting 89 yards and 2 tds on 13 carries and Eldroh getting 109 yards and 1 td on 12 carries. The Python’s had no spectacular stats on defense with 0 takeaways and 2 sacks but no one can say the defense had a bad game because they held their opponents to only 10 points and 312 total yards, But what is probably their best stat on defense this game was only allowing 157 passing yards and 18 completions proving that they are on the verge of becoming a no fly zone with this game combined with their 3 interceptions last game.
Week 3: W 38 – 17 Bondi Beach Buccaneers
The Python’s showed no signs of slowing down in week 3 with their third blowout win in a row to start the season against the Buccaneers. The Pythons offense showed another impressive performance on the ground with 145 yards and another 3 tds lead by their RB duo of Sean Aldrich and Eldroh Kove. Both RBs had 15 carries each with Kove getting 70 yards and 2 tds and Aldrich getting 62 yards and 1 td. Their QB, Jay Cue III had a solid performance with 260 passing yards and 2 tds ending with a rating of 106.2. But the most impressive stat that the offense had this game was going 7/12 on 3rd downs helping them get a total of 23 first downs. The defense held strong this game only allowing a total of 295 yards and had their 2nd game in a row holding the opposing offense to under 200 passing yards and tacking on another interception for the season making this game another example of their elite pass defense.
Week 4: L 31 – 29 @Tijuana Luchadores
The winning streak for the Pythons comes to an end in week 4 in a nail biter against the Tijuana Luchadores. The same team that gave the Pythons their only loss in the pre season has now given them their only loss through the first 4 weeks of the season. This game could not have been any closer coming down to a 2 point conversion attempt by the Pythons with just 48 seconds left on the clock which they failed to convert and lost the game by 2 points. The rushing attack severely suffered this week for the Pythons as they only had 45 rushing yards but was made up for by a stellar passing game from the team’s QB, Jay Cue III who had a whopping 343 yards and 3 passing tds ending the game with a rating of 101.2 and even earning themselves offensive player of the game even though the Pythons lost. The defense did not do too hot guarding the rushing attack allowing 152 rushing yards and 1 td. The story of this game can be seen when you look at 3rd down conversion rate where the Pythons went a measly 2/11 as the Luchadores converted on 6/14 3rd down attempts. The Pythons not being able to convert on most of their 3rd down attempts is a big reason why they were not able to come out of this game with the W.
Week 5: W 35 – 7 Dallas Birddogs
The Pythons were not affected by last week's loss at all, and it showed as they won this week by their biggest margin yet. A big part of this win was their kicker, Unuway Jepthat ® a rookie taken in round 9 who went 4/4 on FGs earning themselves offensive player of the game. The scoreboard showed a dominant game by the Pythons but the stats for this game were surprisingly even with the Birddogs getting a total of 293 yards with 1 turnover and the Pythons had a total of 306 yards and 2 turnovers. The Pythons went 2/10 on 3rd down conversions and the Birddogs went 3/14 on 3rd downs. Based on these stats it looks like the Pythons should not have won by this much, but a crucial stat is the Birddogs had 11 penalties for 86 yards. On defense, the Pythons got their first safety of the year the player being their 1st round draft pick, safety Jamie Orion who was also defensive player of the game with a sack and 5 tackles added to the safety they got.
Week 6: W 24-17 @London Royals
Pythons won a close game this week against the Royals with another game where the stats did not go their way. The Pythons had a total of 301 yards and only 12 first downs, the Royals had 313 total yards and 20 first downs and both teams got 1 takeaway each. Both teams had little discipline in this game with the Pythons committing 10 penalties for a total of 95 yards and the Royals also committing 10 penalties with a total of 84 yards. There was not really a standout player this game for the Pythons their run game was average getting 96 rushing yards and their pass game was lackluster completing just 14 passes for 205 yards. The Pythons defense played well holding the opposition to 313 yards and allowing 2 tds but really struggled on 3rd down allowing the royals to convert on 7/15 of their 3rd down attempts. The player that played the biggest role in this win for the Pythons was their CB Saveour Piethons. Saveour Piethons had the most impactful play of the game by getting a pick six to open the second half when the Pythons were down 17 – 0 starting their come back and resulting in making them defensive player of the game.
Week 7: W 31 – 24 Norfolk Seawolves
Back to back, one score wins for the Pythons to make them 6-1 after 7 weeks of the season. The Pythons came out of this game with a win mainly due to dominating the turnover battle. The Pythons got 3 takeaways and had 0 giveaways. This performance was led by one of the Python’s rookies, Xavier Moreno. Xavier Moreno was taken with the Python’s third round pick and had 2 interceptions this game earning themselves defensive player of the game. The Python’s offense was led by their rushing game again gaining 116 yards out of their 271 total yards again with both RBs contributing to this rushing attack. A few games in a row now where the passing game has been a bit of a disappointment, but it hasn’t proven to stop the Pythons from getting some wins.
Week 8: W 34 – 16 @Minnesota Grey Ducks
The Pythons are back at it again with another blowout victory making this their 5th game won by 3 scores or more. On offense, we have the same old story for the Pythons with what seems like an unstoppable run game at this point with their tandem backfield getting a combined 182 rushing yards with 3 rushing tds. The passing game left some to be desired only getting 199 yards with this being their second game in a row with under 200 passing yards. But just because the passing game was not too good does not mean the receivers all played badly, one receiver had a nice game, Sam Mercury. Sam caught 6 of 7 targets for 120 yards. This game was a wild one turnover wise the Pythons turned the ball over 3 times and the Grey Ducks had a total of 6 turnovers. That is not a typo, the Pythons forced 6 turnovers this game, 5 of which were fumble recoveries. A big reason the Pythons got all these fumble recoveries is that one of their rookies Xavier Moreno broke the team record for FR in a game with 3 this week while also forcing 2 fumbles. Another defensive player that had a good game was Saveour Piethons who was able to get 7 tackles and a pick six earning himself defensive player of the game.
Week 9: W 49 – 35 Kansas City Coyotes
After a win in week 9 against the Coyotes, the Pythons move to a very impressive 8-1. This game has been by far the best game for the Pythons offensively scoring 6 tds and 2 FGs with 5 of those tds being thrown by the QB, Jay Cue III. Of those 5 tds thrown 4 of them where thrown to a single receiver Sam Mercury who caught 7 out of 10 targets for 86 yards, truly an amazing performance by Sam but still was not offensive player of the game. The offensive player of the game was the Pythons RB Eldroh Kove. Kove usually splits carries pretty evenly with Aldrich but in this game, Kove played well enough to gain a majority of the carries getting 22 with a total of 179 yards for 1 td, and Aldrich only got 14 carries for 74 yards. Each team was a little careless with the ball in this one with both teams having 3 turnovers each. One big reason for the Pythons getting 3 takeaways is their LB Hamburger Harmer, who had 9 tackles, a pick, a FF, and a FR, earning themselves defensive player of the game and helping the Pythons get the W.
Week 10: L 34 – 3 @Bondi Beach Buccaneers
By far the worst game the Pythons had all year and hopefully, the worst game they will have all year. The less said about this game the better but we better. There was no one who did exceptional for Pythons this week as they only had 9 first downs, a terrible 207 total yards, and only converted on 3rd down 1/11 times but there was a bright spot on the defense, Hamburger Harmer, who had 14 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 pass defended earning themselves defensive player of the game. All the Python players would like to have a short term memory after this game as they look on to the next week.
Through the first 10 weeks of the season, the Pythons have shown dominance over the competition by being ranked first in offensive PPG as well as first for defensive PPG. They are 2nd in the league for yards per game and 3rd in the league for defensive yards per game. Jay Cue III is leading the team in passing yards and is 5th in the league. Eldroh Kove is leading the team in rushing yards with 672 yards and is 5th in the league. Kove is also tied for first in the league in rushing tds with 8. Sam Mercury is leading the team in receiving yards with 566 yards and is 12th in the league but is tied for first in the league for receiving tds. The Pythons are in a good spot to clinch their division needing only 1 more win or 1 loss from the Kansas City Coyotes.
RE: Late Season Review of the Pythons - homercrates - 09-03-2023
Great Job LurchingcCard
good read.
AKA Xavier Moreno Monster CB