*Week 10: Game Changers and Disappointments

[IsaStarcrossed]

Another week has passed and we've seen more NSFL action. Surprisingly, there were less overall duds in week 10, but there were fewer real stands outs as well. Teams seemed to win or lose more as a group effort rather than individual. It made this week a bit harder to work with as I looked at out player. Never the less, here we are for another week of Game Changers and Disappointments.

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Cooter Bigsby: Game changer. Bigsby was the only think keeping the Wraiths alive in this one as the entire team seemed to lose their pulse in the second half of this one. He completed 22 of 40 passes for 238 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions which managed to net him a quarterback rating of 89.4. He put together a very solid outing that put the Wraiths ahead early, but the team simply didn't seem capable or willing of keeping that lead as they collapsed entirely as the second half played out, but that wasn't exactly on Bigsby's shoulders this time. So far this season when Bigsby has been forced to make plays when down, it has resulted in turnovers. He took care of the ball in this one which is great news for Yellowknife heading into the playoffs.

Corvo Havran: Game changer. Havran turned the narrative of this one around on a dime. If we went off of the first half, all we would be talking about for Havran is his one interception that was converted into points. He recovered in the second however and pulled Baltimore out of the depths of despair. This game was incredibly important for this roster and Havran put together a good enough game to pull it off for them. 25 of 43 completions, 341 yards, two touchdowns, and the one interception got him to the mark of a 91.3 quarterback rating. It wasn't his best game of his career, but it may have very well been his best half as he had to dig deep to find enough push to get Baltimore through this essential game. This was what the Hawks needed to see out of Havran as they roll on towards playoff contention.

Dorfus Jimbo: Game changer. Jimbo has been one of the most integral parts of this entire Hawks offense the entire season. When he was made the feature back, he hit the ground running and hasn't stopped. He's had a slump here and there and the end zone continues to elude him as he finds himself stuffed at the goal line time and time again, but his impact in the other phases of the game simply cannot be ignored. He ran for 113 yards at 5.1 yards a carry and caught three balls for another 20 yards in this game. He was a big reason why the Hawks were able to move the ball so consistently in the second half as he put them in scoring range on a multitude of occasions. The lack of scoring has almost become haunting and he only has a few more games to try and get this monkey off of his back. Its the one part of his game where he lacks and hopefully he can get there. Jimbo is an essential cog in this machine as they march towards their shot at an Ultimus.

Sunnycursed: Pleasant surprise. One of the newest Baltimore Hawks had a clutch second half in this game. Sunnycursed started the game off without any production in the first half and I began to wonder if Havran just wasn't comfortable passing to his newest weapon. He made up for it with plenty to share in the second half. Five catches, 87 yards, and a score in a game where Baltimore desperately needed some star power to show up and make some noise. Something clicked between Havran and Sunny after their abysmal first half and he absolutely exploded in the second half with big plays. Any time you can get this kind of production out of a new player on your team, you have to be able to get excited about it.

Verso L’Alto: Pleasant surprise. Any time you can get big production out of a guy who doesn't usually have big production in a close, important game it is always a pleasant surprise. L'Alto filled that role in this one as he became an essential big body target for Havran. He hauled in seven passes for 91 yards as he made a multitude of crucial grabs that moved the chains for Baltimore. Havran usually averages less than 40 yards a game, so this was a pretty clutch performance for him in a game where Baltimore needed clutch performances the most.

Jerrod Canton: Disappointment. I am a pretty big Jerrod Canton fan. I love talking about the guy, I love mentioning him in my articles. He's a play maker and has been one of the most consistent highlight reels in the NSFL. This week he let down his fans and his team in a big way. He spent a large chunk of the season leading the league in receptions and receiving yards, but after a four catch performance that saw him only go for 51 yards, he has slipped down the rankings in both. Things only get more abysmal in the running game as he was given the ball six times and only managed 2.7 yards a carry. You take away a single 42 yard catch and Canton found himself absolutely silenced by the Baltimore defense. It was an ugly performance for him and the Wraiths faltered in big part because of that. When Canton doesn't perform, Yellowknife struggles. That might not be a good look for either him or the team going into playoffs.

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Apollo Reed: Game changer. Reed has been using this campaign to make a solid case for himself as the top running back in the league and a couple more games like this and he might get there. Reed managed to grind out 127 yards rushing and a touchdown in a game where he was able to consistently gash the Yeti defense for solid yardage. People were stunned when Orange County traded away their biggest offensive weapon, but people forget that Reed has been putting in the hard work this entire season and he was arguably more important to this team than Sunnycursed was. This was his first chance to prove that to us all and I think he really did himself a lot of favors by showing up in a big way.

Dan Schneider: Game changer. Schneider has been one of the best coverage safeties in the entire league as he repeatedly knocks almost any ball that comes in his direction down. He's been a treat to watch and he always seems to show up in the clutch when Orange County needs him. Today he helped nail the coffin shut on Colorado as he had five pass deflections, two interceptions, and carried on all the way to the house for a defensive touchdown. This seems to happen almost every time he gets his hands on the ball this season. He has four pick offs this season and three of them have resulted in him carrying the ball on for points. Its been hilarious fun to watch as he racks up more touchdowns than a lot of offensive players in the league.

Terry Taffy: Game changer. Another week, another day of Terry Taffy being the only sign of life in a Colorado team that no longer even seems like it has a pulse. He carries the ball 29 times for 123 yards and found himself in a position where he gained half of the total yards for the entirety of his offense. He looked like the only Yeti on the field who even wanted to play football. This man continues to try to strap the corpse of the Yeti roster to his back and carry them forward in this season but the more he tries, the harder that corpse fights back against him. Quiet frankly, Taffy has had a tall ask for any one man this season and while he's pulled a couple games off, Colorado can't keep asking him to do everything. This man needs some help and if they don't find it for him soon, I don't know how much longer his body can stand this abuse.

Corey Trevor: Pleasant surprise. Any time you can get strong production out of your secondary guy in the backfield, its a big win for everyone on the team. Corey Trevor showed up against the Yeti with one of his biggest games of the season as he ran for 73 yards and a touchdown, managing a 4.1 yards a carry average. While these numbers wouldn't normally pop out on paper, everyone knows that Apollo Reed is the number one back on this team and Trevor only gets touches as Reed gets worn down through the game. For him to come in and have nearly the same impact as Reed can only mean good things for this Orange County offense as they look for new players to step up and start contributing late in the season.

Hugh Mongo: Pleasant surprise. The first game without Sunnycursed? No problem. Sunnycursed's departure was supposed to leave a massive void for Orange County. There wasn't supposed to be anyone able to step up and fill his shoes and most fans were concerned with the direction this team was headed. Then Hugh Mongo comes out and doesn't waste a single second as he shows he is ready to take over the number one spot for Sunny. Five catches, 94 yards, and a touchdown in this one as he put up a stat line that made him look like the absolute answer. Highlight catch after highlight catch hit his hands as he found openings and separation against this defense.He's a young player with a lot ahead of him and if he can keep developing to fill this role, I don't think that Orange County ends up missing their start receiver at all.

Wolfie McDummy: Disappointment. Over the last few weeks, McDummy had me a bit fooled as for once he didn't look like the worst quarterback in the NSFL trying to sabotage his own team. Then just as I find myself believing that, McDummy comes out and does this. Every week there seems to be a player who comes out as a candidate for having the worst quarterback game of the season. This week McDummy decided he not only wanted to win the prize, he wanted to make sure no other comers could match it. A 46% completion rating, 149 yards, only 7.8 yards a completion, a single score, and a massive four touchdowns managed to net McDummy a 24.4 quarterback rating. He dug deep and I'll be damned if McDummy didn't find the absolute bottom of the barrel in this performance. He tanked this entire game in spectacular fashion and did so entirely single handed. I've never quite seen anything like it and I do believe we can officially call this one the absolute worst quarterback performance of the season.

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Xavier Flash: Game changer. It's almost hard to watch as Flash puts together one of his best seasons at the same time that Christ seems to be regressing. His four catches for 103 yards and a touchdown were the only highlights for this team all game long. He averaged 25.8 yards a catch as he found massive holes in the defense and took advantage of every chance he got, managing a game where he almost hit half of his team's total offensive production in bot yards and points. Flash put on a heroic display, but he seemed to be the only guy on the roster able to get open and with San Jose having no rushing attack, he had to do it all himself. Unfortunately for Flash, it wasn't enough. This team is faltering fast, but I hope Flash can at least go out with his head high knowing he's done everything he can.

Rose Jenkins: Game changer. The Butchers never have to ask too much of Jenkins, but anything they do ask is done with surprising precision and ease. Rose Jenkins has become one of the most accurate passers in the league, is excellent at taking care of the ball, and averages one of the highest ratings out there. Anytime Rose's number is called, it is answered with new perfection. This game was a perfect example of that as Jenkins managed to go 15 of 19, 238 yards, two touchdowns, and not a single turnover. This campaign led to an almost perfect quarterback rating of 153.8. If Jenkins can continue to perform like this while Chicago's running game continues to pound the trenches, Chicago might quickly become the conference favorite heading into the playoffs.

Guy Nikko: Pleasant surprise. Sometimes you have a quiet guy on the roster that consistently does his job, but doesn't ever really stand out or rack up the numbers the way some of the other guys do. Sometimes on rare occasion you have that guy step up and have a much larger impact than you expected from them. Guy Nikko was that guy for Chicago in this game. He has been very quietly having himself a nice little season as he consistently makes impact plays for for the Butchers. This game he really helped himself stand out though as one of two guys who had a multiple sack game. He helped terrorize Christ today in a game where Christ looked like he never had any time to throw and when you can get this production unexpectedly, it has to be a win.

Aksel Danielsson: Pleasant surprise. Everyone knows about Sam Torenson. Everyone knows about the expectations on Sam Torenson. No one really talks about the number two back on this squad, Aksel Danielsson. Danielsson decided that ended today. He put together 133 all purpose yards and two scores as he showed himself to be one of the top 10 ball carriers in the league. Despite playing second fiddle to the league's leading rusher, he has managed to put together a campaign that has him competing with feature backs on other teams statistically. He's been impressive all season long and when Chicago can get this kind of production from him, it changes their entire outlook on how this offense looks. If he can remain consistent going forwards, Chicago will look so much scarier as they head into the postseason.

Cameron Olsen: Disappointment. In big time games, you need your big time players to make plays. Olsen is one of the best guys on this entire roster and with this team in free fall mode, a lot of people are looking his way for help. They aren't getting any. Three catches for 21 yards in a game against a top opponent just will not cut it. He struggled to get open, he struggled to create separation, and quite frankly he looked to have no impact on the field at all in this one. He's been one of the most dominant pass catchers in the league this season and for him to just vanish in a game like this isn't a good look. The Sabercats need him to have a bigger impact as the postseason approaches and they need that impact sooner than later. San Jose is on the edge of potentially getting knocked out of playoff contention and that would be a disaster for a team that started off as hot as they did.

Joliet L. Christ: Disappointment. Christ simply has not looked the same this season. After being one of the best in the NSFL last season, he looks like a shell of his former self and he's starting to show that he may have been the only good thing about San Jose. The more he degrades, the more he falters, the worse this team looks. Without peak Christ, this team is dead in the water and this was one of those games where he just couldn't get anything going. He barely completed a third of his passes, only managed 157 yards, threw a single touchdown, and threw an interception to match it. His 57.1 quarterback rating was only ahead of McDummy's masterpiece game on the week. San Jose simply cannot compete as a team when Christ plays like this and I don't know how many more good games he has in him. This postseason is fast approaching and hopefully for San Jose he can pull out a few more clutch performances.

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Adriana Falconi: Game changer. Now where has this Falconi been all season long? The Philadelphia needed Falconi to be one of the best in the league to compete at a high level for the entirety of the season to have a chance at making playoffs this season. They leaned heavily on her in season 16 and we didn't see this team improve enough in the off season for it to be anything but the Falconi show again in this one. Unfortunately, she never really got off the ground and waited until week 10 of the season to have her best game. She completed 25 of 37 passes, 279 yards, and three five touchdown passes without throwing a single interception. Her 129.4 quarterback rating was here highest on the season and we finally got the Falconi we thought we would get for most of the season. It is far, far too late for it now as the Liberty have been eliminated from playoffs and nothing they did in this game mattered in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully they can get more of this Falconi heading into next season though.

Stan Francisco: Game changer. First Falconi and now Stran Francisco. Its almost ground shattering how much better these quarterbacks play when they're no longer in contention. Francisco completed 31 of 52 passes for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and not a single turnover in route to a 91.3 quarterback rating. It was a strong showing that made the end of the game exciting, but it was far too little to deal with the absolute explosion of offense Philadelphia managed in this one. New Orleans is eliminated from contention, but seeing the guy under center play this well has to give them some optimism going into next season. If Francisco can keep developing and put up a few more games like this, he'll be scary to deal with this time next season.

Vladimir Fyodorovich: Game changer. Fyodorovich has been fighting for a top five receiver spot this whole season and this was another in a long line of impressive performances he's had so far in pursuit of that goal. Eight receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns is enough to get any receiver excited. He was open consistently in this game and he gave Francisco a safe place to go with the ball throughout. He made this offense run smoothly and in almost any other game, his performance would have been enough to escape with a victory in this one. Unfortunately for him, Falconi was in the zone for this one and his defense couldn't keep it close. A few more performances like this and he'll find himself ranked towards the top by season end.

Jordan von Matt: Pleasant surprise. After being one of the most impressive threats in all of football last season, von Matt found himself vacationing near a cliff and then walked right off of it. He's been struggling all season long. He's not been able to make separation and simply hasn't been open for Falconi to get the ball to. In this one he showed some of that flash that made him a top guy last season. Six catches, 73 yards, and a touchdown as he averaged 12.2 yards a catch. He was able to find a few holes and Falconi was able to finally get the ball to her favorite receiver. After such a dry spell, it was a surprise to see von Matt get involved again, but a welcome surprise as he aided in a lopsided victory over the Second Line.

Sam Hardwick: Pleasant surprise. When you look at the list of impact receivers this season, you have a lot of names to filter through before you find Hawick's. He's not the first or the second target in Philadelphia, but the third. That may all change after a game like he had in this one. He hauled in six catches for 96 yards and three touchdowns. Three times he managed to get open in the end zone as he became one of Falconi's favorite security blankets in this one. Hardwick proved that he still had a way to impact this roster despite being further down the depth chart. Any time you can have a guy this unexpected come out and have a three touchdown game, that is incredibly earth shattering. It made all the difference in this one as helped Falconi to her best game on the season and imposed his own dominance on the New Orleans secondary.

Johnson Cox III: Disappointment. When you look at the statistics on this one, this name might be one you'd be surprised to see here. He led the Liberty in tackles and you would think that would set him up to be one of the better players on this defense. Unfortunately for him, that simply isn't true. Johnson Cox III made 11 tackles in this one, but of those five were made after a catch. He managed so many tackles because he was getting burned time and time again in the secondary and then he had to fight to catch up and stop the receiver. His coverage had a lapse in this one and while it looked good on paper, it wasn't a good showing for anyone who was actually paying attention. Hopefully Cox can get some off season development and clean up some of his coverage issues.

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Andrew Reese: Game changer. Reese came into this one at home and made it an absolute statement game. He had been on fire through the bulk of the season, but recently had a game he threw away himself. We wondered how he would bounce back from that and he bounced back by completing 35 of his 54 passes for 407 yards and two touchdowns while avoiding any turnovers at all. He needed to make it clear that he was still in form and ready for the coming postseason and it was unfortunate for the Copperheads that they were the ones caught in the middle. 400 yard games aren't common in the NSFL, so it was nice to see Reese absolutely rack up the completions as he made his way to that mark. With Reese in form, I think any team should be afraid to enter Arizona when playoffs roll around.

Slim Shady: Game changer. Its time to stop talking like Slim Shady has had an up and down season. After a tough start with a few off games, Shady has officially come into form as the season begins to come to a close as he's begun to string together a seriously impressive set of games. Both his receiving and his rushing has been slowly improving as the season has progressed and now he's just doing it in a way no other running back in the league is capable over. 134 all purpose yards and a score with only 20 touches. He was averaging more than six yards any time the ball came near his hands and no one on the Copperheads roster seemed remotely interested in stopping him. If Shady keeps performing like this as the postseason plays out, I think that the Outlaws should be the most feared team in the NSFL.

Raymond Vans: Game changer. Raymond Vans is slowly progressing into the monster under the bed that quarterbacks tell their children about. Game after game, play after play, Raymond Van makes his presence known as he puts together one of the most impressive complete campaigns by a linebacker that I have seen in this league. Run stopping, pass rushing, pass coverage. Whatever it is you want from this man, he does it as he impacts every level of a defense. This has culminated in a game in which he counted in seven tackles, three sacks, and three pass defenses. The biggest number here being three sacks as that is one of the most rare feats I've seen this season. He absolutely terrorized Easton Cole all game long and it was a surprise that the young quarterback didn't perform worse than he did. This was a god tier game by a player that doesn't get discussed nearly enough, but I think that is about to change.

Honda Edmond: Pleasant surprise. Copperheads rookie linebacker Honda Edmund has now managed to string two pretty good games together. In this one we saw him get eight tackles and a pair of sacks as the young player has put in two multiple sack games in two weeks. It took some time before we started seeing Edmond produce, but now that he has started it is all starting to fall into place for him. If he can continue this level of play as he develops, I think Austin may have lucked into a superstar in the making. As it turns out, they may have known exactly what they were doing when they traded up to get him in the draft. I hope he continues to play well because he's become a delight to watch on game day.

Brock Landers: Pleasant surprise. One of my favorite things in football is getting to see the number two guy on a roster get a chance to put together a solid game. Landers is very clearly behind Valentine, but on days like today it doesn't matter. He hauled in seven catches for 111 yards and a touchdown as he was Reese's best target on the day. Landers has established himself as one of the best number two receivers in the NSFL and has shown time and time again that he can have big games that change the entire way the Arizona offense works. If he can stay consistent week to week, this air raid attack that the Outlaws have begun to piece together will be terrifying in the playoffs.

Mako Mendonca: Disappointment. This is a rare case where a player is put into this spot not only because their performance wasn't what we're used to from them but also because of who they share their work load with. For most of the season, Ashley Owens has gotten the bulk of the carries for the Copperheads while Mendonca relieved Owens as fatigue set in. In this game, Austin decided to go with a rare game plan that featured Mendonca more and gave him more touches than Owens. They bet on the wrong horse as his 13 carries went for only 36 yards and a 3.5 yard per carry average. Owens was given less opportunities and had the same yardage on the ground, but then also managed a better game receiving. Owens is the new young star of this league and Mendonca is trying to find a way to stay relevant. He needs to do better about maximizing on his opportunities if he wants to continue splitting this back field with Owens.

Keep in mind that everything here is all opinion based on stats and in game observations from watching the sim! Nothing is meant personally and I hope everyone has enjoyed my dive into the week 10 player performances!