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+---- Thread: *DSFL Preseason Power Rankings (/showthread.php?tid=8997)
*DSFL Preseason Power Rankings - Moosecop - 05-31-2018
Hello, and welcome to Moosecop's first DSFL Power Rankings: Presented by Trojan Brand Condoms. With less than an hour until the season starts I wanted to rank the teams based on their draft, preseason, and gains/losses from last season. And who knows, maybe I'll continue to do this as the season progresses and include the Solar Bears and Seawolves.
1.
I promise you, there is no bias here. The Marshals are heading into Season 8 on an amazing preseason going an undefeated 4-0, but that isn't the main reason I'm ranking them at the top before week 1, that would be their draft. San Antonio had the first overall pick and they used it to take the tremendous talent that is Kevin Fitzpatrick to be their game-managing quarterback. He'll be able to jump into the starting job, providing an immediate upgrade at the position from last season. In the preseason he averaged a great QB Rating of 69.8 while throwing for 1 TD, rushing for another, and only conceding 1 turnover. That lack of turnovers being the biggest boost that the Marshals can get compared to last year. Also on the offensive side is another rookie, running back Marquise Brown who had a fantastic preseason finishing off drives and carrying in 3 TD. On the defensive side, San Antonio brings back NSFL first-round pick Brock Weathers III as he converts from linebacker to defensive end, while taking back waiver wire pick-up, big hitting safety Bucky Barnes, and shoring up the linebacking core with Jesse Marchand. The defense didn't allow more than 14 points in a game through their four preseason games and I don't expect that to be an anomaly. 2.
Coming in at second in my Power Rankings are the Coyotes. This team finished as one of only two teams above .500 in Season 7 and I expect them to come out of the gate strong again. Kansas City really bolstered their offense with both the second and third overall picks in the draft by selecting two remakes: QB Gus T.T. Showbiz (The extra "T" is for extra talent) and one of the fastest guys in the class, WR Vinny Valentine. While those are the guys people are going to be looking at to make an impact, teams also have to pay close attention to the running back they swiped in the 5th round to take the handoffs, LaMarcus Strike. Strike did his best to carry his team in the preseason earning offensive player of the game in three of the four games, providing 2 TD and 454 all-purpose yards. Kansas City boasts a high powered offense with tons of weapons on paper, and they just need to put it all together once the regular season starts. The defense returns NSFL draftees Ramadan Steve and Fonz Nuno to get some solid playing time before making the leap to the big league. The secondary will look to continue their play from the preseason where they provided 4 INT, the same amount of passing TD they conceded. 3.
At third, we have the defending Ultimini champions, the Portland Pythons. This squad suffered a massive blow to their offense from last year as superstar wideout Mark Grau has entered the NSFL while having the least amount of picks in the draft. They used three of the four picks they had available to solidify their defense including highly touted Canadian safety Alexandre Thibault, who will no doubt provide tons of turnovers this season. The other two picks they used on defense were for young linebackers Barnaby Earl in the third, and Robert Jordan in the sixth. The Pythons offense is where I think they lost too much compared to last season. Grau left a huge void in the wide-receiver department for them that new running back Elijah Lagerfield isn't ready to fill yet. Lagerfield was the Pythons first round pick and only choice that they used on an offensive player. This speed back split carries during the preseason averaging 4.15 yards on his 29 carries, so he knows how to get yards, it's just a matter of can he do it over a full game. With Cole McCoy under center, Portland still has a veteran presence on that side of the ball that knows how to win, but the lack of offensive weapons for him to throw to currently will be their biggest detriment.4.
The Season 7 runner-ups come in at fourth. In my opinion, no team lost as much as these guys did when Brad Pennington was selected with the third overall pick in the NSFL Draft to be the Sabercats starting QB. With a draft class that only contained two quarterbacks, it was always going to be tough for Tijuana as they are forced to resort to inactive Sam Penner to control the offense. The scoring really took a nosedive compared to last year during the Luchadores preseason games as the most points they were able to put on the board was 10. They're really going to need to continue with a run-first offense with new addition Ricky Adams as he tries to take over the starting role, because although they have the weapons through the air with rookies Xavier Flash and Zapp Brannigan, I don't think they'll be able to get the ball enough times per game to make enough plays to open up the box. The Luchadores defense, however, is their big bright spot. They return first and second round NSFL draftees, linebacker Ben Horne and safety Thad Pennington to lead this unit, in addition to adding linebacker Tyler Griffin and defensive end Young Spaghetti. If the offense can just manage to keep turnovers to a minimum, this stacked defense should be able to hold its own, which they showed during preseason where they managed the only shutout while keeping teams to just 14.5 points per game. Thanks for reading Moosecop's DSFL Power Ranking presented by our sponsor Trojan Brand Condoms. Again, I'll look to add the other two teams in if I decide to continue to do these as the season gets underway.
*DSFL Preseason Power Rankings - iamslm22 - 05-31-2018
Good read man! Great article - I also think Marshalls are the team to beat.
*DSFL Preseason Power Rankings - tlk742 - 05-31-2018
more power rankings?
love it.
*DSFL Preseason Power Rankings - Ben - 05-31-2018
*DSFL Preseason Power Rankings - keanex - 06-01-2018
I fully believe in the Pythons!
*DSFL Preseason Power Rankings - YoungTB - 06-01-2018
Ya'll better Marshal the fuck up
*DSFL Preseason Power Rankings - majesiu - 06-01-2018
Great to see DSFL Power Rankings reactivated, Go Marshalls!