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With the Prospect Bowl playoffs upon us, it's time for a proper, unbiased-ish recap of the Liverpool Llamas' Prospect Bowl regular season. Let's do this.
(Warning: This article features incredibly detailed game recaps. Do not read this article before driving or operating heavy machinery. Skip to the last sections if you value your time even remotely.)
Week 1: v Tiburon Landsharks
With the current prospect class being touted as full of defensive talent, it is perhaps unsurprising that this game started with a lot of defensive stops and 3 and outs. With 8:06 left in the first quarter, Trent Blackburn hit Scott Mastro on a streak for 26 yards, with only a last ditch tackle from Naman Fletcher stopping a certain Llamas touchdown. The Llamas unfortunately failed to capitalise on this momentum, failing to gain another first down on the drive. A war for field position ensued, with both defenses forcing fourth downs, until Trent Blackburn led the Laamas into field goal range, and Jack Burton made no mistake from 40 yards. This seemed to wake the Landsharks' offense up, as on the first play after the kickoff, Owen Holloway dropped back and sensed pressure from his right, quickly hitting Killian Chambers out of the slot for a 34 yard gain - cornerback Clay Clark had to make ground to tackle Chambers, as the hapless Llamas free safety [Note: Why is natural free safety Tayshawn Crunk playing the nickel, coach SchwarzNarr?] simply couldn't bring him down. This was the final play of the first quarter. Score after 1 quarter: 3-0
The tandem of Holloway and Jason Vermillion looked to be getting Tiburon moving in the next drive, until it was derailed by penalties. The Llamas responded with a quick, efficient drive, with their running back finding holes in the defensive front and Blackburn finding gaps in the secondary. Sadly, this drive stalled inside the red zone, but Jack Burton was good again from 31 yards to put them up by 6. A dynamic run from Holloway opened the next drive, with Llamas safety Tayshawn Crunk having to use his speed to cross the field and make the tackle to prevent an even larger gain. A couple of runs by Vermillion and a completion to Chambers put the Landsharks inside the 30, but it ended with an incompletion to Noah Akerele. Vince Hammerson was money from 42, reducing the Llamas' lead to 3. After the kickoff, another 3 and out led to the Landsharks starting their drive with decent field position, and this was promptly capitalised on by Holloway and Vermillion, who ran all over a Llamas defense apparently intent on dropping 6 into coverage. After a Llamas' coaching adjustment, and stout work from defensive tackle Honky-Tonk Haywood, the Landsharks were forced to settle for a 48-yard field goal, which Hammerson converted to level the score. The Llamas seemed content to run the clock down to half time, and were a little fortunate when their running back was forced into a fumble by a huge hit from Daniel Bateman, which the Landsharks recovered as the clock hit 00:00. Score at the half: 6-6
Whatever the Landsharks' coaching team said at half time clearly had an effect, as the Llamas offense were swiftly stopped, and this was followed shortly by Holloway utilising his speed to break a 43 yard touchdown run. The point after was converted by Hammerson, putting the Landsharks up by 7. The Llamas shot themselves in the foot with penalties on the next drive, being forced to punt and then allowing Holloway to break a 29 yard run. Some big tackles by Sam Roes and Abdul-Jabbar Abid kept the Landsharks just outside field goal range, forcing a punt. This work was undone, however when the Llamas' running back fumbled again, stripped by linebacker Gib McGlib who recovered the ball. A facemask penalty on Roes put the Landsharks at the 13, and a Holloway run was stopped at the 1 by a clutch tackle from cornerback Clay Clark. The Llamas' defense would need to make a huge stand, but failed at the first attempt when Vermilion walked in for the score. Another extra point from Hammerson put the Llamas down by 14. A couple more stopped drives would see the score unchanged by the end of the third. Score after 3 quarters: 6-20.
The fourth quarter looked immediately as if it was going to be a repeat of the third, with a pass from Holloway to T.J Evans looking like another Landsharks touchdown until Llamas linebacker Caleb Judge ran him down and stripped him, with Clark picking up the fumble for an 11-yard return. This sort of play can really swing the momentum of a game, except in this case it just didn't. The next 8 minutes saw more defensive stops, with the 'highlight' being a bizarre defensive pass interference call on Landsharks' defensive tackle Sheed Thebaw. It was Holloway's day, though, as he broke a designed run off right tackle for 74 yards and a touchdown. Down 21 with 6 minutes left, the game was all but over for the Llamas. Unable to get anything going on offense, and with a Tiburon team content to run the ball and clock for the rest of the game, the game would end with no further scores.
Final Score: Llamas 6, Landsharks 27
Llamas' Player of the Game: Caleb Judge - 14 tackles and a touchdown-saving forced fumble marked a solid day for the former Cincinnati Bearcat.
Week 2: v Tokyo Drifters
The Llamas' first division game started with the same offensive struggles as before. Tokyo, however, looked sharp on the second drive with quarterback Jackie Daytona hitting receiver Mark Walker outside for a 19-yard gain. Daytona looked unafraid to air the ball out, and the Llamas defense seized on this when linebacker Rusty Rucker jumped a route, snatching the ball from the air and taking it back 60 yards for a touchdown. The Llamas defense celebrated around Rucker as he received oxygen on the sideline, while Burton kicked the extra point. A good kickoff and good defense forcing a punt led to the Llamas getting the ball back in good field position, and Blackburn moved the chains a couple of times before the drive was halted by a sack from Drifters' defensive tackle J.J.J. Shabadoo. Jack Burton missed his first field goal of the season from 39 yards, leaving Liverpool up by 7. The next two drives were ended by punts, but Tokyo started gaining offensive momentum towards the end of the quarter. The aerial attack paid dividends as Daytona found Walker streaking into the end zone in the last play of the quarter. Score after 1 quarter: 7-7.
The second quarter began with more offensive struggles for the Llamas and saw them punt, but on the next Drifters' possession, Clay Clark read a double move by Tokyo receiver Crayne Whebet, putting himself in a perfect position to pick the pass from Daytona. Again though, the Llamas' running game couldn't move the chains, and the game reverted to a defensive stalemate. This stalemate was broken when Tokyo cornerback James Gath picked off a Blackburn pass, starting a Drifters drive that took them from halfway to the red zone. A couple of interceptions stalled the drive, and Tokyo had to settle for a 29 yard field goal. With 5 minuites left in the half, the Llamas' offense finally came to life. Trent Blackburn led the team all the way down the field into the red zone with some pinpoint-accurate throws. Poor clock management on the sideline forced Liverpool to take a field goal with 7 seconds left in the half. Score at the half: 10-10.
The second half opened with more defensive dominance and three punts, Daytona looked shaken after a vicious sack from Llamas' safety Lionel Rumper that surprisingly didn't draw a flag. Defenses looked more likely to make a play, and so it came about when Gath beat Scott Mastro to the spot and picked Blackburn, taking the pick 39 yards to the house. After a missed extra point, the Llamas were down by 6. The next four drives ended in punts, and it was late in the third when the Llamas started putting a drive together, Blackburn hitting his tight end repeatedly over the middle to take Liverpool into the red zone. Blackburn hit his tight end again for a 10 yard score, but Burton shanked the kick wide right to keep the score level. Score after 3 quarters: 16-16.
The Llamas started slow in the fourth. A few Terry Yaki runs and Daytona completions put the Drifters in range for a 41-yard field goal. Down 3, the Llamas looked to rally, though, as Trent Blackburn hit Scott Mastro down the seam for a 31 yard gain, taking them to midfield. This drive ended soon after with a turnover on downs. After a Drifters punt, Blackburn made great use of his receiving corps, leading the team to field goal range before stuffed runs halted the drive. With three minutes left and down three points, Jack Burton took the field goal from 39.... no good. Two missed field goals on the day for the Southern Illinois product. The Llamas' offense rallied around him on the sideline as their defense took the field once again. Looking to run the clock out, the Drifters looked to their ground game, but nickelback Tayshawn Crunk stuffed two consecutive runs, leaving third down and six. Forced into passing, Daytona again looked to Whebet, and this time it was the Llamas' free safety who reached high for a one-handed pick, before following blockers into the end zone. Burton made no mistake to put the Llamas up by 4. On the final Tokyo drive, the Llamas cornerbacks broke up key passes to force a turnover on downs and effectively end the game.
Final Score: Llamas 23, Drifters 19
Llamas' Player of the Game: I'm not going to choose a CPU free safety [Note: That's playing in my position ] despite the game winning play, so it's got to be Rusty Rucker. 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and a touchdown for the versatile linebacker out of Syracuse showed his ability to be a true game changer.
Week 3: @ Brooklyn Atlantics
Coming off the back of a big game winning play, hopes were high for the Llamas, but again their offense started slowly. The first quarter was mostly punting back and forth, livened up only by quarterback Trent Blackburn drawing an inexplicable presnap unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for grabbing his crotch and pointing at the Brooklyn bench. A slew of penalties followed, with Honky-Tonk Haywood's sack of Matt Peterson one of the few highlights. The Atlantics showed some signs of life towards the end of the quarter, getting their ground game going to push into field goal range. Score after 1 quarter: 0-0.
A couple of Lionel Rumper tackles halted the Brooklyn drive, and a Lucky Dickerson field goal put the first points on the board. Down by three, the Liverpool offense couldnt; make it work, a sack from Brooklyn linebacker Jeff Haraldson made Liverpool punt from deep, which gave Brooklyn good field position for the following drive - they capitalised on this with a 47 yard field goal. Two punts later, the game looked to be heading back to the attritional ground war of the first quarter, until the Llamas running back found a lane behind the right guard, running right across the field to evade linebackers and the secondary on his way to a 78 yard score. The celebrations were cut short after the extra point, as Burton's kick off fell straight into the hands of Brooklyn running back Frankie Lantz, who took it out of the endzone, found a gap up the middle and followed his blockers for a 101-yard kickoff return touchdown. Dickerson kicked the extra point to put the Atlantics back up by 6. Defenses reigned supreme for the rest of the second quarter. Score at the half: 13-7.
The second half began with Brooklyn pinned back inside their own 10, an athletic play from Llamas linebacker Donald McBobby giving him a sack and forcing the punt from deep. Trent Blackburn took full advantage of this, carving up the Atlantic secondary with an array of well timed throws that ended with an easy three yard slant for a score, which Burton converted. Most of the highlights were on defense - a tremendous effort from Llamas cornerback Corran West saw him run down Atlantics receiver Mark Callous to make an unlikely touchdown-saving tackle, and nickelback Tayshawn Crunk caught Peterson staring down tight end Darren Pama, jumping the route for an athletic interception. A couple of punts later, the Atlantics looked to be gaining some steam, with Peterson finding his wideouts and Lantz making gains on the ground, but this was stopped by a huge sack from defensive end Etrigan T. Slayer. Dickerson hit a field goal from 40 to put Brooklyn back up by 2. The third quarter ended with the Llamas punting. Score after 3 quarters: 16-14.
The fourth quarter began with some nice completions from Peterson putting the Atlantic in position for a field goal, which Dickerson hit from 44. On the next drive, Blackburn dropped back and found his receivers covered, but as he checked down to his running back Atlantic corner Charlie Woody tipped the pass to himself, returning it 37 yards for a touchdown. Dickerson made the kick, putting the Llamas down by 12. Sadly, the Llamas reverted to uninspired, run-heavy play calling, and the game became a punt-heavy field position war. Lionel Rumper put up a sack but this was followed by Blackburn throwing another interception, as the Llamas never looked like troubling the Brooklyn defense deep.
Final Score: Atlantics 26, Llamas 14
Llamas' Player of the Game: Would have gone to the CPU running back for that TD [Note: God forbid anyone reads this (seriously), but I really hope that the depth charts are sorted out for the playoffs - we have CPU players starting over user players at RB and WR, and that really isn't cool. I know you guys are busy, but... please?] but no. There aren't really any huge standouts, so I'll go off stats, and it's got to be Tayshawn Crunk. With 13 tackles and an interception, the Ole Miss safety showed that he has hands and grit to go with his much-vaunted speed.
Week 4: @ Tiburon Landsharks
In an awkward piece of scheduling, the Llamas faced the Landsharks for a second time, this time away from home. Though they were keen as a locker room to avenge their loss, rumour has it coach SchwarzNarr tempered her players' expectations of winning, instead telling them to focus on the game and enjoy it. This approach didn't seem to work as Trent Blackburn was stripped of the ball on a designed run inside his own ten yard line, with Gib McGlib recovering the ball. This set up Owen Holloway for an easy six yard pitch and catch to Killian Chambers for the score, with Vince Hammerson hitting the extra point. A defensive battle ensued with multiple punts and most of the game being played in the Llamas' half. Thankfully, this was broken when the Llamas' running back ran off left tackle, cut inside and managed to split the whole Landsharks defense on the way to a 49 yard touchdown. With the scores tied, Holloway looked to make a play with his feet from his own 17, but Llamas defensive end Abdul-Jabbar Abid hit him with such force that the ball popped free, with Abid himself jumping on it to claim possession. A Blackburn completion to Mastro left only 2 yards to the end zone, an easy score for the running back. The quarter ended with the Landsharks punting the ball. Score after 1 quarter: 7-14.
The start of the second quarter saw both teams struggle to establish their offense. Finally, an Owen Holloway run was stuffed hard by Etrigan T. Slayer, forcing the dynamic quarterback into another fumble, which was dived on by multiple players. Tayshawn Crunk was revealed to be clutching the ball at the bottom of the pile. A couple of Blackburn completions showed promise, before the drive was derailed by the Llamas quarterback taking a tripping penalty. [Note: That one is so conceptually stupid, I can't even make fun of it] A good punt saw the Landsharks pinned back in their own 10, and their punt gave Liverpool solid field position to work from. Blackburn came alive, setting himself up with an 18 yard completion to his tight end and finishing with a 19 yard toss to his running back, to put the Llamas two scores up after a Burton kick. Neither team could do much for the rest of the first half, with a fumble forced and recovered by Tiburon cornerback Naman Fletcher being rendered pointless by the clock running out. Score at the half: 7-21.
Tiburon started brightly in the third quarter, finally establishing their running game. A defensive pass interference call on Llamas linebacker Donald McBobby helped kick start a huge, 6 minute drive down the field for the Landsharks, with Jason Vermillion fittingly finishing it with a 3 yard run. Hammerson hit the extra point to reduce the Llamas' lead to seven. Not wanting to be outdone, Liverpool managed to move the chains a couple of times before punting to pin Tiburon inside their own 5 yard line. Three stuffed runs later, the Tiburon punt was caught by Clay Clark who found a huge seam in the punt coverage to take it back to the Tiburon 2 yard line, being taken down just short of a score. This set up an easy run for a Llamas touchdown, though Burton missed the kick. A few punts later, Abdul-Jabbar Abid hit Owen Holloway on a run and forced yet another fumble, which Abid recovered again. A 30-yard pass from Blackburn set Burton up for a 33 yard field goal, which he put just inside the left upright to put the Llamas up by 16 and end the quarter. Score after 3 quarters: 14-30.
The fourth quarter was a chippy non-event, though chippy might be understating it. At one point the teams managed five penalties over three consecutive plays. Llamas defensive tackle Booker Bookchin was penalised twice for too many men on the field in back-to-back plays. For the love of God, learn to count, Book! [Note: I love this sim] It looked like smooth sailing for the Llamas until Trent Blackburn threw his first interception of the day to Lukas Hinsetzen, setting up Hammerson for a 19-yard field goal. Liverpool drove down the field to respond immediately, with Jack Burton sailing a 44-yard field goal to bring the lead back to 16 with 46 seconds to play. That's all, folks!
Final Score: Landsharks 17, Llamas 33
Llamas' Player of the Game: Screw you CPU running back and your career game, this one goes to Abdul-Jabbar Abid. 290 pounds of old-fashioned Texas nasty rushing off the edge forced (and recovered) 2 fumbles from his 4 tackles, changing the complexion of this game completely.
Team Stats Leaders
Passing: QB Trent Blackburn (664 yards, 3TD, 5 INT, 61.5 QBR)
There's no question that Trent Blackburn has the arm to make big throws, but Blackburn has had the ups and downs you would expect from a quarterback straight out of college. He's tied second in the league in touchdowns but second-worst in QBR and interceptions. The Llamas have more faith in him than most teams do in their quarterbacks, and their playoff aspirations will hinge on him more than anyone.
Rushing: CPU RB (Not doing stats for a CPU player, sorry)
[Note: Please, please fix the depth chart. It must absolutely suck for those users to see their guys benched in their first proper experience of the ISFL.]
Receiving: WR Scott Mastro (166 yards, 15 catches, 0TD)
Mastro has proved highly useful to the Llamas this season, and though he hasn't found the end zone yet, I'd say the smart money is that he will at some point during the playoffs with the amount that Blackburn throws the ball.
Tackling: FS Tayshawn Crunk (42 tackles, 4 TFL)
Crunk is playing nickel, and his raw speed has put him in the position to make tackles, putting him second in the league. While this may not be his preferred position, he's definitely putting in work.
Interceptions: FS Tayshawn Crunk, LB Rusty Rucker, CB Clay Clark, CPU FS (1 interception)
The Llamas have a defense full of ballhawks and playmakers, possibly even selling out for interceptions too much at times.
Sacks: SS Lionel Rumper, DT Honky-Tonk Haywood (2 sacks)
Well you sort of expect a 308 pound force of nature defensive tackle like Haywood to be getting up in the face of the quarterback, but a strong safety? Though he's not the fastest safety around, Rumper has shown strong instincts when it comes to blitzing and he has been a but part of ensuring that Llamas defense can keep opposing QBs on their toes.
Analysis
With the most points allowed in the league and the second-most points scored in the league, the Liverpool Llamas are a pretty good team to watch for the neutral fan. A record of 2-2 is probably reflective of their collective talents, though avenging their defeat against a Tiburon Landsharks team that were almost unanimously rated number 1 after Week 3 shows that this team has real potential for the playoffs, and may even play better when written off.
The key to the team's success on offense will be quarterback Trent Blackburn. He's not much of a running threat, so the decisions he makes with his arm will be crucial to the Llamas' ability to put points on the board. He has shown he is willing to throw to a variety of targets, having targeted 6 different receivers in his 4 games played. He has his favourites - TE Stephon Trummer and WR Scott Mastro are his go-to options on the inside and outside respectively. If Blackburn can play like he did in Week 4, the Llamas should be in the conversation to win the entire Prospect Bowl. If he doesn't - well, it will require a lot of work on the part of the defense to make it past the first round.
On defense, their hopes for success will rest on their defensive line. If Honky-Tonk Haywood is getting sacks and Abdul-Jabbar Abid is hitting hard and forcing fumbles, that enables their play calling - which often calls for dropping 5 or 6 players into coverage - to work properly. If the defensive line is being manhandled, the Llamas will be too reliant on linebackers and safeties to stop the run - giving up valuable yards in the process. Also, in the passing game their cornerbacks have shown a bit of a vulnerability to the deep ball, so a dynamic pass rush will be needed to limit the time opposing quarterbacks have to throw.
Playoff Prediction
The Llamas are the very definition of a high variance team. They very nearly lost to Tokyo in week 2, and they face them (again) at home (again) in the first round of the playoffs. Tokyo's 0-4 record is as much a product of scheduling [Note: Four away games?] as anything else, and this is exactly the kind of game that could trip Liverpool up.
That said, it would not surprise me at all if the Llamas swept the playoffs on the back of turnover-creating defense and competent quarterback play. Absolutely anything is possible with this group of players. Except consistency, apparently.
With all that said, I'm going to go squarely in the middle and predict that the Liverpool Llamas will make it to the semi finals of the playoffs and go down swinging. Home advantage will be off the table by then, and most veterans of the sim know that home advantage is a huge deal.
Either way, if being on the Llamas has taught me one thing, it's that their games won't be boring. You should definitely watch them.
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