*An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45

*An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 - Printable Version

+- International Simulation Football League (https://forums.sim-football.com)
+-- Forum: Community (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Forum: Media (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=37)
+---- Forum: Graded Articles (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38)
+---- Thread: *An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 (/showthread.php?tid=48983)

*An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 - ElMerchanto - 12-31-2023

So we're 11 games through Season 45 in the DSFL, the playoff picture is beginning to become clear and while there's still spots at stake for many teams including my beloved Dallas Birddogs, there's one team that stands above all in one of the most dominant displays that the DSFL has seen in a while.

The developmental level of the ISFL is no stranger to dominant teams (and tragic ones), but Tijuana's run this year is the strongest in a long while. 11-3 is a pretty standard elite team record for the finish of the regular season, but the Luchadores already sit on a record that sees them most likely establishing the most dominant run since Season 38's Kansas City (ironically the Luchadores' one loss so far this season has been to the Coyotes) 13-1 record.

So, why are they so strong? Let's take a look at the different areas of their game so far in Season 45 and identify what key players and areas are driving Tijuana to be the clear cut favourites for this seasons coveted Ultimi trophy, the true pinnacle of glory in the ISFL.

Now as a Seattle fan in real life, I'm a fan of defence and pounding the rock, but it's undeniably true that most truly elite teams have stellar play from the top down, so let's start out with a look at the tip of the spear, the head of the snake, the big man in the pocket

QB Play - C.G Breezy Jr

The Tijuana Luchadores are lead into battle on offence by Breezy Jr, their passing attack currently ranks 2nd in their conference and 3rd overall in the league. This isn't as dominant as you may expect, but they lead points per game overall in the league so clearly all around and defensive strength is propelling them on top of still extremely good QB play. Remember, while they might not be number 1 in the category of QB play, they are Top 3. That's the insane height of the overall bar we're assessing here.

So while Breezy Jr might not lead in pure statistical categories, he does lead in some immensely important elements that is allowing his team to compete with such elite consistency. Consistency is pretty much the name of the game for Breezy, with a 2nd in league 25 TDs and an equally impressive 2nd place 5 interceptions (first place has significantly less offensive numbers) he's simply not causing unnecessary turnovers while putting up top 3 numbers in terms of firepower. This has combined to afford him a league-best absolutely insane 108.7 QB rating through 11 weeks, 14 points clear of his rival in rating.

Borderline elite offensive capability, incredible consistency and a lack of unnecessary turnovers is providing the Luchadores with everything they need to win. Stellar stuff from C.G Breezy Jr to lead the charge.

RB1 - Dan Sevin

Any great team needs a solid Running Back room to take the pressure off the passing game and provide a secondary dimension to the overall offensive scheme ran by the head coach. If anything could be pointed as the "weaker" area for the Tijuana Luchadores it is most likely the run game. To put that in context once again, by saying it's the weaker area of the team I mean that they sit 4th in overall efficiency in the league, which is just disgusting all things considered. That's still a top half run game being put on the field in Tijuana.

Dan Sevin leads the RB room in yardage and overall usage for the Luchadores. Although rookie Corey Trevor sees a good amount of usage too, combining for just over 1000 yards on the season so far. Sevin is a solid if unexciting running back through his career so far, putting up a decent average of 4.8 yards but one thing that stands out is the lack of big play potential with their longest rush being 22 yards currently in Season 45. He profiles as a fast, speed focused back with a tonne of potential but underdeveloped physicals when it comes to the sheer brute force nature that the position often requires. With some time to round out his skillset he will be a menace putting that speed to use however. Still, with Trevor focused more on the passing game, if Tijuana lack anything it's a traditional smashmouth RB to allow them to punish defences focusing on their pass game. Again though, isolating a weakness to comment on here is needle in a haystack level stuff, but the pure running numbers stand out.

WR1 - Pitter Patter

Ask Patrick Mahomes, any star QB needs their supporting cast of Wide Receivers to help propel them into their potential. Tijuana is lucky to have a few great players lining up as receivers this season, but we're going to focus on their WR1 and take a look at Pitter Patter and their performance so far this season. Playing a key part in that 1st place ranking in points per game that the Luchadores are enjoying this season, Patter is having an absolutely stellar season that is sure to be heralding their arrival into the ISFL nicely. A fast, agile leading wide receiver in the DSFL, Patter has put up over 1000 yards receiving already and brought 9 scores down through the air to boot.

So far through 11 games he ranks third in the DSFL in total receiving yardage, behind only the elite duo of Suzuka and Frost in Dallas whom I've covered already in one of my previous team strength articles. Patter's elite speed is providing good yards after the catch and their 9 tds ranks in the upper echelon of the league as well, although is slightly edged out by Benn, their Wide Receiver 2's 10 TDs on the team.

So, Tijuana clearly are strong offensively, but it's worth noting that they actually don't lead any offensive category outside of points & yards per game, reaching that pinnacle through combined strength and dynamism of offence essentially. But there's one side of the field, the only other side of the field in fact, that they dominate in so brutally that their success rate has sky rocketed.

S+ Tier Run Defence

So, the simple reality is you can't run against the Tijuana Luchadores. Know above where I said that in order for a team to really succeed at an elite level they often need to produce both through the air and on the ground when it comes down to it. Well, due to Tijuana's insanely stacked defence, you can pass against them with mediocre success, but you absolutely can not run against them. For contrast, I criticized their pure running numbers as a potentially slightly weaker area of their offensive game plan. Their running numbers per game is about 131 yards running offence on average, which is 4th overall. The average that they allow teams to gain on the ground against them is a staggeringly low 83 yards per game. To illustrate how statistically defying this level of shut down is, the second place team against the run is Bondi Beach Buccaneers, who are allowing on average 101 yards on the ground to opposing teams. That's 18 yards higher than the Luchadores' 83.

If you can't run against a team, you're forced to pass against them at a rate teams might not be comfortable fully utilising. That means more interceptions, more risky 3rd downs, worse field position on average and generally just absolute hell when it comes to maintaining just about any level of offensive game plan consistency or effectiveness against Tijuana. This, coupled with the fact that their passing defence is Top 3 (which many teams would be happy with in either defensive category), means that they incredibly successfully funnel teams into a pass heavy attack that blows up in their face as the overall standard on the defensive side of the field is insurmountable. They allow just 16 points a game, resulting in plenty of demoralizing blow outs and frustrated coaches against Tijuana. They simply have one of the most dominant performances in DSFL history against a key factor of opposing offences, and it's elevated them from being an elite team into being a truly dominant force.

RE: An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 - Assistant to the POR GM - 12-31-2023

Would have 3 losses if we didn’t get simmed against them both times

RE: An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 - swoosh - 12-31-2023

(12-31-2023, 12:28 AM)Bamford13 Wrote: Would have 3 losses if we didn’t get simmed against them both times

[Image: giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952ybthy51zx07vegpgli...y.gif&ct=g]

RE: An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 - Assistant to the POR GM - 12-31-2023

(12-31-2023, 12:47 AM)swoosh Wrote:
(12-31-2023, 12:28 AM)Bamford13 Wrote: Would have 3 losses if we didn’t get simmed against them both times

if throwing an int with 20 seconds left then the defense doing a cover 0 and allowing a 70 yard td right away isn't getting simmed then I don't know what it means

RE: An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 - swoosh - 12-31-2023

(12-31-2023, 02:04 AM)Bamford13 Wrote:
(12-31-2023, 12:47 AM)swoosh Wrote:
(12-31-2023, 12:28 AM)Bamford13 Wrote: Would have 3 losses if we didn’t get simmed against them both times
if throwing an int with 20 seconds left then the defense doing a cover 0 and allowing a 70 yard td right away isn't getting simmed then I don't know what it means

I mean there’s a pretty hefty TPE difference between the two teams. POR even being in that situation in the first place fits the definition better than a few plays at the end of the game in a single sim.

RE: An in-depth look at Tijuana's Dominance in Season 45 - Assistant to the POR GM - 12-31-2023

(12-31-2023, 02:39 AM)swoosh Wrote:
(12-31-2023, 02:04 AM)Bamford13 Wrote:
(12-31-2023, 12:47 AM)swoosh Wrote:
(12-31-2023, 12:28 AM)Bamford13 Wrote: Would have 3 losses if we didn’t get simmed against them both times
if throwing an int with 20 seconds left then the defense doing a cover 0 and allowing a 70 yard td right away isn't getting simmed then I don't know what it means
I mean there’s a pretty hefty TPE difference between the two teams. POR even being in that situation in the first place fits the definition better than a few plays at the end of the game in a single sim.

POR being in that situation is the Scorch Von Turbo affect