07-29-2023, 01:37 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-02-2023, 08:50 AM by lemonoppy. Edited 1 time in total.)
The final seconds ticked off the clock in a bitterly disappointing 27-7 loss in the North Division semifinal, and Jake Jefferson knew that he had just finished his DSFL career without reaching the success that he had been hoping for. The Ultimini loss in the prior season against Tijuana had never really left his mind, as would be expected for a loss that agonizing. After that game, he'd been fanatical in his training in the offseason, wanting to do everything possible to help his team get back to the Ultimini and leave nothing up to chance this time.
The first few games of the S42 season didn't go as hoped. Jefferson struggled a bit to get in rhythm with his new receivers and the depleted secondary struggled against gunslingers like Josh Patterson and Zisia Ojeisndiwoseodj, starting out the season at just 2-5 with the worst pass offense and defense in the league. Part of the struggle for Jefferson was that teams were more used to his running threat and forcing him to try and beat them with his arm, and while he had gotten better at this over the years with Kansas City he still wasn't as good as other quarterbacks at it. With Heiiajs D. Owidhuse, the team's best running back last year, having graduated to Chicago - Jefferson's future destination - the rushing attack had also lost another dimension and put more workload on Jefferson and returning back Jason West, allowing defenses to key in more on two backs instead of three and forcing the pass. The nadir of this strategy came in Week 6 against a strong Dallas Birddogs side. Neither West or Jefferson could get anything going on the ground, so the quarterback had to throw the ball 52 times, and while he did put up 347 yards on 29 completions - both career highs - with two touchdowns it also came at the expense of throwing four picks in a 27-14 loss, also a career record.
Jefferson's big breakout game for the season came against a familiar foe for these sorts of games in the London Royals in Week 8. While the North Division was weak this year, the Royals still had one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Josh Patterson and two great running backs. In this passer's duel, Jefferson was dialled in from the start, completing two touchdowns to Andrija Divac in the first half and then adding two more to Anakin Skywalker in the second half to squeak out a 31-24 victory and hopefully turn the season around. While he hadn't had to throw too many passes this game with just 21 attempts, he'd still managed to put up 325 yards and four touchdowns with no picks for a passer rating of 153.3, the best game of his young career.
Unfortunately for Jefferson and the Coyotes, this game didn't end up being the sign of great things to come as hoped. Two weeks later, the Coyotes hosted the division-leading Minnesota Grey Ducks and it wasn't even close, losing 40-16. Jefferson himself threw the ball 58 times, with only 23 of them finding receivers, and only got off one rush for five measly yards. Fortunately, the North Division was so bad that with upset wins over Dallas and Tijuana, each finishing with 9 wins in the South, the Coyotes still managed to make the playoffs as a 6-8 second seed. Heading into the game against the heavily favoured Grey Ducks, the hope was that they could find a way to pull off a huge upset, but this time it just wasn't to be. Jason West got the game's first score to give Kansas City an early lead, but once again the rushing attack just couldn't get anything going after that one touchdown and Jefferson couldn't get into the end zone, finishing with just 191 yards in a three-score road playoff loss. With that, he knew he had played his last professional game at quarterback, as Chicago had Painted Penguin manning the spot.
Despite the streaky nature of his play, Jefferson's passing abilities all came out in the wash as he put up 3100 yards while throwing far less than almost anyone ahead of him in that metric, and threw a respectable 20 touchdowns to only 11 interceptions as well to maintain the progress he had built up in his second season. It was good enough to be a middle-of-the-road performance in an up-and-down season for the 'Yotes. On the ground, Jefferson didn't quite reach the heights of last season with only 446 yards, but this was still good enough to be ninth in rushing yards and get the second-highest YPC of any rusher. Heading into the offseason, the elusive player's goals shifted to focus on getting his vision attuned to a different position, in this case running back. Make all the jokes you want about all mobile QBs being just running backs that can throw, but it was a position that was well-suited for a man of his talents and he was looking forward to the new challenge. Being able to take handoffs and catch passes out of the backfield from Painted Penguin would be an exciting time and Jefferson was ready to meet his new teammates and get ready for the big leagues.
The first few games of the S42 season didn't go as hoped. Jefferson struggled a bit to get in rhythm with his new receivers and the depleted secondary struggled against gunslingers like Josh Patterson and Zisia Ojeisndiwoseodj, starting out the season at just 2-5 with the worst pass offense and defense in the league. Part of the struggle for Jefferson was that teams were more used to his running threat and forcing him to try and beat them with his arm, and while he had gotten better at this over the years with Kansas City he still wasn't as good as other quarterbacks at it. With Heiiajs D. Owidhuse, the team's best running back last year, having graduated to Chicago - Jefferson's future destination - the rushing attack had also lost another dimension and put more workload on Jefferson and returning back Jason West, allowing defenses to key in more on two backs instead of three and forcing the pass. The nadir of this strategy came in Week 6 against a strong Dallas Birddogs side. Neither West or Jefferson could get anything going on the ground, so the quarterback had to throw the ball 52 times, and while he did put up 347 yards on 29 completions - both career highs - with two touchdowns it also came at the expense of throwing four picks in a 27-14 loss, also a career record.
Jefferson's big breakout game for the season came against a familiar foe for these sorts of games in the London Royals in Week 8. While the North Division was weak this year, the Royals still had one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Josh Patterson and two great running backs. In this passer's duel, Jefferson was dialled in from the start, completing two touchdowns to Andrija Divac in the first half and then adding two more to Anakin Skywalker in the second half to squeak out a 31-24 victory and hopefully turn the season around. While he hadn't had to throw too many passes this game with just 21 attempts, he'd still managed to put up 325 yards and four touchdowns with no picks for a passer rating of 153.3, the best game of his young career.
Unfortunately for Jefferson and the Coyotes, this game didn't end up being the sign of great things to come as hoped. Two weeks later, the Coyotes hosted the division-leading Minnesota Grey Ducks and it wasn't even close, losing 40-16. Jefferson himself threw the ball 58 times, with only 23 of them finding receivers, and only got off one rush for five measly yards. Fortunately, the North Division was so bad that with upset wins over Dallas and Tijuana, each finishing with 9 wins in the South, the Coyotes still managed to make the playoffs as a 6-8 second seed. Heading into the game against the heavily favoured Grey Ducks, the hope was that they could find a way to pull off a huge upset, but this time it just wasn't to be. Jason West got the game's first score to give Kansas City an early lead, but once again the rushing attack just couldn't get anything going after that one touchdown and Jefferson couldn't get into the end zone, finishing with just 191 yards in a three-score road playoff loss. With that, he knew he had played his last professional game at quarterback, as Chicago had Painted Penguin manning the spot.
Despite the streaky nature of his play, Jefferson's passing abilities all came out in the wash as he put up 3100 yards while throwing far less than almost anyone ahead of him in that metric, and threw a respectable 20 touchdowns to only 11 interceptions as well to maintain the progress he had built up in his second season. It was good enough to be a middle-of-the-road performance in an up-and-down season for the 'Yotes. On the ground, Jefferson didn't quite reach the heights of last season with only 446 yards, but this was still good enough to be ninth in rushing yards and get the second-highest YPC of any rusher. Heading into the offseason, the elusive player's goals shifted to focus on getting his vision attuned to a different position, in this case running back. Make all the jokes you want about all mobile QBs being just running backs that can throw, but it was a position that was well-suited for a man of his talents and he was looking forward to the new challenge. Being able to take handoffs and catch passes out of the backfield from Painted Penguin would be an exciting time and Jefferson was ready to meet his new teammates and get ready for the big leagues.
Byron Blackwell - S22-S25 - Dallas Birddogs CB
Kevin Morrison - S26-S31 - New Orleans Second Line OLB / Honolulu Hahalua DT
Jake Jefferson - S40-
S24 - DSFL CBOTY
S31 Ultimus