[div align=\\\"center\\\"]WEEK 1 GAME PREVIEW
Arizona Outlaws vs Chicago Butchers
The NSFL regular season returns after a lengthy offseason tomorrow night. There’s a whole host of matchups on display which’ll see some of the best talent in the league matched up, but the one game we’re going to be looking at in close detail sees two teams matched up that missed out on the playoffs and will be hoping for better this season. The Arizona Outlaws will make the long trip up to the Mid West to take on the Chicago Butchers, and both teams will have a lot of motivation to stamp their authority on the season opener and use it as a statement of intent for the rest of the season.
There’s little disputing that the Chicago Butchers’ S20 campaign left a lot to be desired. The Butchers came away with the unenviable honour of sporting the worst record in the league, finishing their season with 4 wins and 9 losses. They also made the bold decision to trade away the pick that would turn into the first overall selection during the season, in a deal that included later picks and defensive lineman Thorian Skarsgaard coming back the other way. The Butchers will be hoping that Skarsgaard is the type of offseason addition that will set them on a very different path to the one they went down last season. I’d imagine the Butchers GMs have aspirations of making the playoffs this season, or at least coming close, and it’ll be very important to them that they use their home opener in Week 1 to cement their status as a team to take seriously for the year ahead.
On the other side of things are the Arizona Outlaws. The Outlaws went through a great deal of change this offseason, including a switch in team management. They added some serious talent on draft day but were quiet when it came to free agency and player trades, so despite one or two call ups, there isn’t much different between this year’s roster and the one that gave them a 7-6 record last season. They missed out on making the playoffs by the closest of margins, falling victim to the league’s tiebreaker rules behind two other teams with the same record as them, and so it’s expected they’ll enter S21 with a lot to prove. Last season was notable for the Outlaws in that it heralded the arrival of some potential superstars of the future in Desmond Scarlett, Galt Wilf and Jay Cue. Cue in particular looks set to be a perennial MVP candidate based on the promise shown last season, and it’s expected that he’ll look to come out the blocks all guns blazing in Week 1, as he leads his team on the road in Chicago.
Last season saw the Outlaws win the only game the two teams played. It was as exciting a game as you could possibly get, and on a cool night in Arizona the Outlaws managed to walk away victorious by the slimmest of margins. Losing out by only two points last season will certainly have left a sting for Chicago, and you’d imagine they’ll be looking to return the favour this time around and put on a show for their fans. It’ll be an interesting quarterback match up as always, with the dynamic sophomore Cue going up against a more wily veteran in Rose Jenkins. Cue certainly has the X factor as a play caller and thrower of the football, but the Butchers defense can’t be overlooked with names like Hockhertz and Rambo out on the field. At the other side of things, Jenkins will need to see what he can do against a young and hungry Arizona defense that will be looking to establish itself as one to watch in the season. The previously mentioned Wilf and Scarlett, along with rookies including Pete Miller and Jamie Nkiah, form a core that’s full of potential and will have very intention of ruining the Chicago fans’ night in the first game of the week.
The running game is one where you’d have to think Chicago enters with a clear advantage. Ryan Leaf Jr is one of the more well known running back talents in the league, and it’ll be his goal to make life as difficult for the Outlaws as he can. The Outlaws defensive line is going to have to really dig deep and do everything they can to try and shut him out if they are going to give themselves a chance in this one. The Butchers will be confident that their d line is up to the task of dealing with Ruff Ruff, who although far from terrible, is not what you’d describe as an elite talent at the position. If the Butchers can impose their will on Ruff by making his life difficult and limiting his yards and carries, the pressure on the young Cue will stack up and allow the Butchers more of a shot to force mistakes out of their offense.
This one really isn’t the easiest of games to call, especially when home field advantage is taken into consideration. On paper, it’s tough to say which of the two teams has the clear edge, but with home field advantage taken into consideration, the Butchers will surely fancy their chances to be able to emerge victorious. The Outlaws on the other hand will be confident that their young team possesses the drive to go out and get the win on the road, and I think their young defense is going to look to make life as difficult as it can for the Butchers when they try to implement their passing game. I do however think it’ll boil down to how well the Butchers can contain Cue. If they’re able to keep him in the pocket, put pressure on and cover his targets well, then they should be in a good position to win, but this is easier said than done. If Cue plays the type of game he likes to play, and can make the big throws downfield or break the Butchers defense up by making plays with his legs, this is going to be a much harder won for the Butchers to come away from victorious. We’ll see for sure how things play out tomorrow night, and whether or not there’s any big takeaways that we can try and learn some lessons from going forward into the new and exciting season.
Out of all the fixtures this week, this is the one that would probably have the biggest implications for teams that believe themselves to belong in the playoffs but maybe haven't cemented that belief in the rest of the league. While the champion Copperheads against the Second Line might be the one with the most firepower on display, and the game we’re most likely to see replicated in the Ultimus, I think this one is the one that has the most on the line and will really be pivotal in setting the teams involved off on the road to recovery properly.
Be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 8PM EST to see this one go down, it’s really going to be something special if we’ve learnt anything from last year!
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Arizona Outlaws vs Chicago Butchers
The NSFL regular season returns after a lengthy offseason tomorrow night. There’s a whole host of matchups on display which’ll see some of the best talent in the league matched up, but the one game we’re going to be looking at in close detail sees two teams matched up that missed out on the playoffs and will be hoping for better this season. The Arizona Outlaws will make the long trip up to the Mid West to take on the Chicago Butchers, and both teams will have a lot of motivation to stamp their authority on the season opener and use it as a statement of intent for the rest of the season.
There’s little disputing that the Chicago Butchers’ S20 campaign left a lot to be desired. The Butchers came away with the unenviable honour of sporting the worst record in the league, finishing their season with 4 wins and 9 losses. They also made the bold decision to trade away the pick that would turn into the first overall selection during the season, in a deal that included later picks and defensive lineman Thorian Skarsgaard coming back the other way. The Butchers will be hoping that Skarsgaard is the type of offseason addition that will set them on a very different path to the one they went down last season. I’d imagine the Butchers GMs have aspirations of making the playoffs this season, or at least coming close, and it’ll be very important to them that they use their home opener in Week 1 to cement their status as a team to take seriously for the year ahead.
On the other side of things are the Arizona Outlaws. The Outlaws went through a great deal of change this offseason, including a switch in team management. They added some serious talent on draft day but were quiet when it came to free agency and player trades, so despite one or two call ups, there isn’t much different between this year’s roster and the one that gave them a 7-6 record last season. They missed out on making the playoffs by the closest of margins, falling victim to the league’s tiebreaker rules behind two other teams with the same record as them, and so it’s expected they’ll enter S21 with a lot to prove. Last season was notable for the Outlaws in that it heralded the arrival of some potential superstars of the future in Desmond Scarlett, Galt Wilf and Jay Cue. Cue in particular looks set to be a perennial MVP candidate based on the promise shown last season, and it’s expected that he’ll look to come out the blocks all guns blazing in Week 1, as he leads his team on the road in Chicago.
Last season saw the Outlaws win the only game the two teams played. It was as exciting a game as you could possibly get, and on a cool night in Arizona the Outlaws managed to walk away victorious by the slimmest of margins. Losing out by only two points last season will certainly have left a sting for Chicago, and you’d imagine they’ll be looking to return the favour this time around and put on a show for their fans. It’ll be an interesting quarterback match up as always, with the dynamic sophomore Cue going up against a more wily veteran in Rose Jenkins. Cue certainly has the X factor as a play caller and thrower of the football, but the Butchers defense can’t be overlooked with names like Hockhertz and Rambo out on the field. At the other side of things, Jenkins will need to see what he can do against a young and hungry Arizona defense that will be looking to establish itself as one to watch in the season. The previously mentioned Wilf and Scarlett, along with rookies including Pete Miller and Jamie Nkiah, form a core that’s full of potential and will have very intention of ruining the Chicago fans’ night in the first game of the week.
The running game is one where you’d have to think Chicago enters with a clear advantage. Ryan Leaf Jr is one of the more well known running back talents in the league, and it’ll be his goal to make life as difficult for the Outlaws as he can. The Outlaws defensive line is going to have to really dig deep and do everything they can to try and shut him out if they are going to give themselves a chance in this one. The Butchers will be confident that their d line is up to the task of dealing with Ruff Ruff, who although far from terrible, is not what you’d describe as an elite talent at the position. If the Butchers can impose their will on Ruff by making his life difficult and limiting his yards and carries, the pressure on the young Cue will stack up and allow the Butchers more of a shot to force mistakes out of their offense.
This one really isn’t the easiest of games to call, especially when home field advantage is taken into consideration. On paper, it’s tough to say which of the two teams has the clear edge, but with home field advantage taken into consideration, the Butchers will surely fancy their chances to be able to emerge victorious. The Outlaws on the other hand will be confident that their young team possesses the drive to go out and get the win on the road, and I think their young defense is going to look to make life as difficult as it can for the Butchers when they try to implement their passing game. I do however think it’ll boil down to how well the Butchers can contain Cue. If they’re able to keep him in the pocket, put pressure on and cover his targets well, then they should be in a good position to win, but this is easier said than done. If Cue plays the type of game he likes to play, and can make the big throws downfield or break the Butchers defense up by making plays with his legs, this is going to be a much harder won for the Butchers to come away from victorious. We’ll see for sure how things play out tomorrow night, and whether or not there’s any big takeaways that we can try and learn some lessons from going forward into the new and exciting season.
Out of all the fixtures this week, this is the one that would probably have the biggest implications for teams that believe themselves to belong in the playoffs but maybe haven't cemented that belief in the rest of the league. While the champion Copperheads against the Second Line might be the one with the most firepower on display, and the game we’re most likely to see replicated in the Ultimus, I think this one is the one that has the most on the line and will really be pivotal in setting the teams involved off on the road to recovery properly.
Be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 8PM EST to see this one go down, it’s really going to be something special if we’ve learnt anything from last year!
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