Before I was going to start writing stuff for this season, I wanted to wait a minute and get as much data as I could. That way I could present as much info as I could in one concise article. Also, I have two jobs right now, and those dishes aren't going to do themselves. Oh and by the way, I will not be including players from the bot teams, since that goes to no one. Sorry Palm Beach and Norfolk fans (of which I am one), writing is hard, let's begin.
Portland Pythons (4-0)
RB RKANSAW (@PratJ)
I don't know what it is about DSFL quarterbacks, but here's the tip to DSFL success: only stay for one season. Because after that, for whatever reason, the wheels just fall off. Easton Cole lasted just one season, and he may be one of the best QBs in league history. That might be why the D-League is such a run-focused league. To demonstrate that point, check out RKANSAW, who reclaimed the starting job after the departure of Sam Torenson, and is running wild and free. Arkansas's pride and joy has hit 100 yards rushing in every game so far this season, and is currently second in the league in rushing yards with a very nice 497 on the season. He's also sitting at the top of the offensive Performance of the Year rankings with a Week 3 performance that consisted of 23 carries for 118 yards and 2 TDs. And he also threw in a 160 yard day the week prior. He's fired out the gates strong, and seems like an early contender for RB of the Year.
FS A.C. Payton (@Hydracronis)
A.C. Payton has gotten off to one hell of a start for his first in-game action. Week 1: six tackles, two picks, two deflections. That's how you do it. The first of those picks brought Portland to a goal-to-go situation, which let them score six just three plays later. The other kicked off a series of back-to-back-to-back INTs between both teams because throwing is hard. He got his third pick in Week 2, and that came pretty late in the game; late enough that the resulting field goal put them up two scores and sealed the game. He's slowed down in recent weeks because people now know not to throw it to Payton, because they won't get it back. Such is the life of a secondary member. Hot and cold streaks that coincide with how much space they're occupying in the opponent's head.
Tijuana Luchadores (4-0)
RB Ducky Donut & WR Laszlo Fourty-Two (@idkman & @C9Van)
If you ever needed proof that this league can be totally random sometimes, a 50 TPE RB is the best runner on the field. Figure that out. Ducky Donut is currently leading the league in both rushing yards (502) and rushing TDs (five), and has had the second, third, and fourth best performances of this young season. He's simply running around his competition, as evidenced by a Week 3 game where Mr. Donut piled up 163 rushing yards. And when Tijuana throws the ball, it usually comes down in the hands of Laszlo Fourty-Two. The future Colorado Yeti receiver has been simply metronomic on the field, putting up eerily consistent numbers. He's a lock to hit close to 70 yards on four receptions and a touchdown every other week. Both have been playing very well and I couldn't pick just one for this list, so heck off.
LB Jojo Burr-Kirven (@Rindiee)
I don't think this season is going to have the same levels of tackling insanity that we saw last season, but if anyone is gonna make a run at Lanzer Grevious's tackling record, it'll be Jojo Burr-Kirven. He's a machine out there, currently at 50 tackles on the season, which when spread across a 14 game season, puts him on pace for 175 by season's end. Pretty good, but he'll need a few more to get there. He hasn't done too much else beside the tackling (two deflections, a pick, a fumble recovery and a TFL in four games are it), but he's still one of the most productive middle linebackers in the game this season.
San Antonio Marshals (1-3)
RB Ashley Owens (@run_CMC)
San Antonio has one of the best running games in the league, and that alone will make the Marshals tough to beat on a weekly basis. It's just a shame that QB Jim McMahon is kinda crap right now. Ashley Owens is putting in some very good work at the moment, despite sharing the workload with DeeJay Dallas. Dallas has been pretty good as well, but comparing him to Owens, it's just not the same. Ashley Owens currently has 407 yards on just 82 carries and three TDs, and should be seen as the leader of this backfield. Owens has stated that he wants to be more involved in the passing game, but we'll see if he gets to add that to his arsenal.
CB Tobias Chase (@Qux)
Tobias Chase is currently the #2 CB on this team behind the active Willie Woodson, but even still, Chase is feasting on the league #2 receivers. So far on the season, he's got 18 tackles, a forced fumble, a recovery, two deflections, two picks, and a pick-six. Most of those numbers, though, were acquired in one game, San An's Week 3 victory over Palm Beach, where he got those two picks, the pick-six, and the fumble recovery. And those three turnovers directly resulted in 13 points for the Marshals. He does have his cold spells, but when he's hot, he's damn hot.
Kansas City Coyotes (1-3)
RBs Octavius Godspeed & Jay Quick (@GodSpeed11 & @Ramrod18)
These two guys have basically been all of the Coyotes offense this season since their quarterback situation is kinda ass. And these two have also been trading blows with each other all season to be KC's lead back, and neither have made much headway. They have nearly identical stats on the year. Octavius Godspeed is sitting at 72 carries for 361 yards and two scores. Jay Quick is at 70 carries for 340 yards and two scores. They're both hovering around five yards per rush, and if either one can secure the lead back role, they could be on track for a Pro Bowl type of season. As it stands though, they're still probably the best one-two punch at RB in the D-League.
LB Buddha Lebowski (@BuddhaLebowski)
This is my third season of doing these posts, and despite the fact that he hasn't updated even once, this 50 TPE backer is consistently on here all the time, how do these things happen? Well, here's Buddha Lebowski again. On the season, he's got 32 tackles, a forced fumble with a recovery, a sack and a deflection, and most of that came in KC's Week 4 loss to Palm Beach. Yep, KC lost to a bot team, can we relegate this team to the college football level or something. Anyway, Buddha's last two games have been quite nice for him, with back-to-back 10 tackle games, including nearly completing what I like to call a defensive grand slam. He got a sack, caused a fumble, recovered it, and made it to the 1-yard line before getting tackled. What a shame. At least Jay Quick scored a play later.
1296 words .
Portland Pythons (4-0)
RB RKANSAW (@PratJ)
I don't know what it is about DSFL quarterbacks, but here's the tip to DSFL success: only stay for one season. Because after that, for whatever reason, the wheels just fall off. Easton Cole lasted just one season, and he may be one of the best QBs in league history. That might be why the D-League is such a run-focused league. To demonstrate that point, check out RKANSAW, who reclaimed the starting job after the departure of Sam Torenson, and is running wild and free. Arkansas's pride and joy has hit 100 yards rushing in every game so far this season, and is currently second in the league in rushing yards with a very nice 497 on the season. He's also sitting at the top of the offensive Performance of the Year rankings with a Week 3 performance that consisted of 23 carries for 118 yards and 2 TDs. And he also threw in a 160 yard day the week prior. He's fired out the gates strong, and seems like an early contender for RB of the Year.
FS A.C. Payton (@Hydracronis)
A.C. Payton has gotten off to one hell of a start for his first in-game action. Week 1: six tackles, two picks, two deflections. That's how you do it. The first of those picks brought Portland to a goal-to-go situation, which let them score six just three plays later. The other kicked off a series of back-to-back-to-back INTs between both teams because throwing is hard. He got his third pick in Week 2, and that came pretty late in the game; late enough that the resulting field goal put them up two scores and sealed the game. He's slowed down in recent weeks because people now know not to throw it to Payton, because they won't get it back. Such is the life of a secondary member. Hot and cold streaks that coincide with how much space they're occupying in the opponent's head.
Tijuana Luchadores (4-0)
RB Ducky Donut & WR Laszlo Fourty-Two (@idkman & @C9Van)
If you ever needed proof that this league can be totally random sometimes, a 50 TPE RB is the best runner on the field. Figure that out. Ducky Donut is currently leading the league in both rushing yards (502) and rushing TDs (five), and has had the second, third, and fourth best performances of this young season. He's simply running around his competition, as evidenced by a Week 3 game where Mr. Donut piled up 163 rushing yards. And when Tijuana throws the ball, it usually comes down in the hands of Laszlo Fourty-Two. The future Colorado Yeti receiver has been simply metronomic on the field, putting up eerily consistent numbers. He's a lock to hit close to 70 yards on four receptions and a touchdown every other week. Both have been playing very well and I couldn't pick just one for this list, so heck off.
LB Jojo Burr-Kirven (@Rindiee)
I don't think this season is going to have the same levels of tackling insanity that we saw last season, but if anyone is gonna make a run at Lanzer Grevious's tackling record, it'll be Jojo Burr-Kirven. He's a machine out there, currently at 50 tackles on the season, which when spread across a 14 game season, puts him on pace for 175 by season's end. Pretty good, but he'll need a few more to get there. He hasn't done too much else beside the tackling (two deflections, a pick, a fumble recovery and a TFL in four games are it), but he's still one of the most productive middle linebackers in the game this season.
San Antonio Marshals (1-3)
RB Ashley Owens (@run_CMC)
San Antonio has one of the best running games in the league, and that alone will make the Marshals tough to beat on a weekly basis. It's just a shame that QB Jim McMahon is kinda crap right now. Ashley Owens is putting in some very good work at the moment, despite sharing the workload with DeeJay Dallas. Dallas has been pretty good as well, but comparing him to Owens, it's just not the same. Ashley Owens currently has 407 yards on just 82 carries and three TDs, and should be seen as the leader of this backfield. Owens has stated that he wants to be more involved in the passing game, but we'll see if he gets to add that to his arsenal.
CB Tobias Chase (@Qux)
Tobias Chase is currently the #2 CB on this team behind the active Willie Woodson, but even still, Chase is feasting on the league #2 receivers. So far on the season, he's got 18 tackles, a forced fumble, a recovery, two deflections, two picks, and a pick-six. Most of those numbers, though, were acquired in one game, San An's Week 3 victory over Palm Beach, where he got those two picks, the pick-six, and the fumble recovery. And those three turnovers directly resulted in 13 points for the Marshals. He does have his cold spells, but when he's hot, he's damn hot.
Kansas City Coyotes (1-3)
RBs Octavius Godspeed & Jay Quick (@GodSpeed11 & @Ramrod18)
These two guys have basically been all of the Coyotes offense this season since their quarterback situation is kinda ass. And these two have also been trading blows with each other all season to be KC's lead back, and neither have made much headway. They have nearly identical stats on the year. Octavius Godspeed is sitting at 72 carries for 361 yards and two scores. Jay Quick is at 70 carries for 340 yards and two scores. They're both hovering around five yards per rush, and if either one can secure the lead back role, they could be on track for a Pro Bowl type of season. As it stands though, they're still probably the best one-two punch at RB in the D-League.
LB Buddha Lebowski (@BuddhaLebowski)
This is my third season of doing these posts, and despite the fact that he hasn't updated even once, this 50 TPE backer is consistently on here all the time, how do these things happen? Well, here's Buddha Lebowski again. On the season, he's got 32 tackles, a forced fumble with a recovery, a sack and a deflection, and most of that came in KC's Week 4 loss to Palm Beach. Yep, KC lost to a bot team, can we relegate this team to the college football level or something. Anyway, Buddha's last two games have been quite nice for him, with back-to-back 10 tackle games, including nearly completing what I like to call a defensive grand slam. He got a sack, caused a fumble, recovered it, and made it to the 1-yard line before getting tackled. What a shame. At least Jay Quick scored a play later.
1296 words .