10-04-2022, 11:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-06-2022, 01:49 PM by dude_man. Edited 1 time in total.)
This season, the New Orleans Second Line showed glimpses that they are going to be a great team in the future. They finished the season with a 9-7 record, good for second in the American Simulation Football Conference, and had their first winning season since S29. This article will summarize our first two games of the season. Perhaps more to follow when I have more time.
Week 1: New Orleans Second Line @ Austin Copperheads
First quarter:
We opened the season on the road against one of our conference rivals. Austin is going through a bit of a rebuild, so as a team with playoff aspirations, we really hoped to win this game. The offenses for both teams got off to slow starts. It seems that both teams wanted to establish the running game early. NOLA opened the game running on four of their first five plays, including calling a run on third and eight, which inevitably led to a punt. However, The Stig did have a nine yard run on the opening drive. After a great punt inside the 20 from Alfonso Dos Santos, Austin also ran four times in their first five plays. Linebackers Ganyu and Sir Peter Jackson had a pair of stops in the run defense to turn a 2nd and 4 into a 4th and 1 and a punt. The Stig started heating up on the next drive, with three consecutive runs totaling 20 yards. Two plays later, The Stig had an 11 yard reception. After a negative run by fullback Michael Patrick Porkins and a sack by Spicy Ron, the offense found themselves in a 3rd and 20. Number one wide receiver Ttollem Mada had a great catch for fifteen yards, his first of the season, but it was not enough for the first down. However, Alfonso Dos Santos drilled a 52 yard field goal for the team's first points of the season and a first quarter lead. Austin closed out the first quarter by moving away from running the ball. They passed on 9 plays of their 11 play drive, moving the ball down the field very well until they reached the end zone. Then QB Eighty Two threw three straight incompletions to kill the drive.
Second quarter:
Austin opened the quarter by tying the game with a 37 yard field goal by Leroy. Perhaps being inspired by Austin's passing game, quarterback Elessar Jones came out firing to open the second quarter. He opened the drive by finding Don Dobbler on a deep strike down the field for 32 yards. He had three more passes of at least ten yards to continue the drive, but eventually the drive was killed by another sack, leading to a 32 yard Dos Santos field goal. Austin went three and out of the ensuing drive thanks to a third down sack by Cuttino Mobley, and after a bad 32 yard punt by Leroy, NOLA had prime starting field position at their own 48. Elessar started running the ball himself on this position, taking three consecutive runs for 21 total yards. His 3rd and 7 pass to Dobbler came up just inches short of the first down inside the red zone, but the conservative playcalling of the coaching staff had the team kick a 36 yard field goal. With three minutes remaining in the half, Austin went to a hurry up offense, passing 13 consecutive times. Eighty Two converted short third downs three times on the drive, leading eventually to a 37 yard field goal to pull within three.
Score at halftime: NOLA 9 Austin 6
Third quarter:
Austin's offense looked pretty good to start the second half. After making it just past midfield, though, a holding penalty backed them up to 3rd and 13 and an eventual punt. New Orleans went three and out on their first possession of the second half, but Dos Santos had a huge 52 yard punt to place Austin at the 14 yard line. A tackle for loss by Ganyu and a pass deflection by safety Amari Springer ended Austin's next drive, giving New Orleans another chance to extend their lead. But Austin's punt pinned NOLA at their own 4, and after a great 11 yard run, NOLA could not get anything going. Surprisingly, this run heavy team chose to pass on 3rd and inches and failed to convert. A short punt, a 19 yard catch by running back Buckshank, and a Neutral zone infraction by NOLA put Austin in the red zone. A couple plays later, Austin had a third and goal from the three yard line. This was the biggest turning point of the game. Defensive end Jason Garciaparra broke through Austin's offensive line, sacked Tight End Eighty Two, forced the fumble, and somehow managed to scoop it up and return it five yards. This prevented Austin from tying or taking the lead in this defensive, low-scoring game.
Fourth quarter:
After receiving a gift from the defense, the offense did not capitalize. They went three and out and punted back to Austin. Eighty Two looked sharp after the fumble, driving down the field and capping the possession with the first touchdown of the game, a 28 yard toss to wide receiver Johnny Patey. Facing their first deficit of the game, the offense finally woke up from their slumber. They totally dominated the Austin defense with a 16 play, 73 yard drive that took 7 minutes and 58 seconds off the clock. They started the drive with six straight running plays between Stig and Jones. After being conservative all game long, NOLA went for it on 4th and 4 from their own 33 down 4 with 8 minutes left in the game. After finding all of his receivers covered on the play, Elessar took off down the field and ran for four yards, just barely making the first down. Jones put the team on his back, running 6 times for 33 yards on the drive, and gaining all of the rest of the yardage on his nine pass attempts. He was involved in every yard gained on the drive. His 4th and 2 pass to tight end Rex Crenshaw kept the drive going. Later on, he hit Crenshaw twice more before finding Mada for a two yard touchdown, NOLA's first of the season. Austin got the ball back with one more chance to take back the lead. However, the Second Line secondary, affectionately known as the Legion of Doot, stepped up. Star cornerback De'aaron Harper II deflected a pass on first down, All-Pro safety Chim Rickles deflected one on second down, and Austin RB Jim the Vampire dropped a pass on third down. On fourth down, Eighty Two finally completed a pass, but Johnny Patey was tackled a yard short of the line to gain by All-Pro safety Amari Springer, causing a turnover on downs. The game was sealed three plays later when the fullback broke loose on 3rd and 2. Michael Patrick Porkins took it 13 yards, picking up a first down so that the Second Line could kneel it out and end the game.
Final Score: NOLA 16, AUS 13.
Week 2: New Orleans Second Line @ Colorado Yeti
First quarter:
Winning on the road is always hard. NOLA followed up a close, low-scoring road win with a close, low-scoring, road loss. Colorado got the ball first to start the game and went three and out. A stuff for no gain by Garciaparra and a third down pass defended by Harper were the highlights in this one. After a great punt by Orlando Doom, Stig broke out a big 22 yard run to start the game. However, after getting to midfield, a strip sack that was recovered by Jones killed the drive and we had to punt. We also ran the ball on third and 15 on that drive before the punt, the second consecutive opening drive this season to end that way. However, after a surprisingly effective running game by Colorado, rookie linebacker Carissa van Campen sacked Colorado quarterback Live Laughlove for a huge loss of 12 yards, ending the drive. On the following possession, an 11 yard sack on second down set up a 3rd and 16 and a three and out for New Orleans. NOLA's defense held again, though, sparked by a first down tackle for loss by Jason Garciaparra, a three yard loss on the run by Pyxis, and an eventual three and out for the Yeti. Another great punt by Doom put the Second Line back at their own five yard line to start. Then NOLA's run game kicked in. 5 yards for Stig. 9 yards for Jones. 8 yards for Porkins. Stig for 1 more yard and a 3rd and 1. But a false start and an incompletion later, the Second Line were punting again and the first quarter ended with a score of zero to zero.
Second quarter:
The Yeti started making good progress down the field at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter. Not with huge plays, but with steady positive gains. Unfortunately, rookie defensive end JR Frankenstero committed an unnecessary roughness penalty that put Colorado in field goal range before Avenger and Jackson made nice plays to end the drive. Doom's field goal from 42 was good and Colorado put the first points on the score board. New Orleans ran the ball really well to start the following drive, with four straight runs of at least five yards. But after a first down run for no gain, New Orleans was forced to pass, and gave up yet another sack setting up 3rd and 16. This time, the offense finally converted, and Jones found Stig for a catch and run of sixteen yards. The drive came to an end, though, after the coaches called a fullback dive on 4th and 5, which was stuffed for no gain. The defense forced Colorado to punt and the Second Line went into their hurry up offense. A 22 yard pass to Dobbler was followed by an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty, and a few plays later, Elessar hit Ttollem Mada for a 16 yard score. the Second Line almost pulled off another score to end the first half. The defense managed a pair of sacks by van Campen and Garciaparra which led to a short punt by Doom. With seventeen seconds left in the half, the Second Line tried a 51 yard field goal which Dos Santos missed just wide left.
Half time score: NOLA 7, COL 3
Third quarter:
After a three and out by the Second Line to open the second half, the Yeti stringed together 14 plays on a long 7 minute drive. They had no plays of 10 or more yards, but were helped along by two defensive penalties and lots of short gains. The defense bent but did not break, and Doom hit a 40 yard field goal to pull within a point of the Second Line. NOLA's offense then went three and out again. Then Colorado went three and out thanks to back to back deflections by Rickles. Then the Second Line had their third consecutive three and out to start the half, with a frustrating run called on 3rd and 8. The defense then gave up another long drive, this one eleven plays long. But they got a stop at their own 36 yard line, and surprisingly, Colorado opted to punt.
Fourth quarter:
Unfortunately, the NOLA offensive line gave up yet another 2nd down sack, the fourth of the game, and a 3rd and 15 forced Jones into an interception. However, the defense held strong yet again, this time stopping Colorado short at the 4 yard line, and a Doom field goal gave Colorado a 9-7 lead. Just like week 1, losing the lead in the second half breathed some life into the offense. Stig plowed ahead for 19 yards on the opening play, breaking tackles left and right. Squidward Tentacles had a nice catch on third and eight to extend the drive. After a holding play on the right tackle, Beers, Jones let loose a huge arcing throw down the left sideline, connecting with Mada on a 43 yard touchdown, Mada's third of the year. This was now on the defense to win the game. Colorado got the ball back with 5 minutes left, and continued their dink and dunk offense. After 8 plays, they had methodically worked past midfield. Van Campen lost her cool, though, and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag turned a 3rd and 5 from the 39 into a 1st and 10 at the 24. Laughlove spread the ball around to four receivers on four consecutive passes after the penalty on short gains, before finding a fifth different target for a one yard touchdown to take the lead with under a minute remaining. Ceti Pyxis also ran in the 2 pt conversion, putting Colorado ahead 17-14. Jones hit two deep passes on the following drive, 17 to Crenshaw and 21 to Dobbler, and set up a 53 yard field goal attempt for Dos Santos to send it to overtime. Unfortunately, Dos Santos overcorrected from his previous mistake, and missed wide right.
Final Score: NOLA 14, COL 17.
Some takeaways:
The NOLA offensive line really struggled last season. Despite a mobile quarterback, Jones had the second highest sacked rate in the league at 9.47%, just behind Berlin's Singh. This offense is not built to throw the ball down the field, and all these sacks setting up 3rd and long situations rarely turn out well for the offense. In just these two games, Elessar Jones was sacked 6 times, and only converted a first down after a sack once out of those six drives. Hopefully, the team can figure out the O-line issue and help the offense sustain drives rather than suffer momentum killing sacks.
The wide receiver roles seem to be well defined so far. Ttollem Mada is a great red zone threat as a Possession archetype guy, he does exactly what he needs to. Don Dobbler is the speed guy and had the best average on the team. Already in the first two weeks we saw that when the team needed a deep shot, it usually went to Dobbler. Hey sim balance team! Nice job on differentiating the wide receiver archetypes!
That's all for now. Go NOLA!
Week 1: New Orleans Second Line @ Austin Copperheads
First quarter:
We opened the season on the road against one of our conference rivals. Austin is going through a bit of a rebuild, so as a team with playoff aspirations, we really hoped to win this game. The offenses for both teams got off to slow starts. It seems that both teams wanted to establish the running game early. NOLA opened the game running on four of their first five plays, including calling a run on third and eight, which inevitably led to a punt. However, The Stig did have a nine yard run on the opening drive. After a great punt inside the 20 from Alfonso Dos Santos, Austin also ran four times in their first five plays. Linebackers Ganyu and Sir Peter Jackson had a pair of stops in the run defense to turn a 2nd and 4 into a 4th and 1 and a punt. The Stig started heating up on the next drive, with three consecutive runs totaling 20 yards. Two plays later, The Stig had an 11 yard reception. After a negative run by fullback Michael Patrick Porkins and a sack by Spicy Ron, the offense found themselves in a 3rd and 20. Number one wide receiver Ttollem Mada had a great catch for fifteen yards, his first of the season, but it was not enough for the first down. However, Alfonso Dos Santos drilled a 52 yard field goal for the team's first points of the season and a first quarter lead. Austin closed out the first quarter by moving away from running the ball. They passed on 9 plays of their 11 play drive, moving the ball down the field very well until they reached the end zone. Then QB Eighty Two threw three straight incompletions to kill the drive.
Second quarter:
Austin opened the quarter by tying the game with a 37 yard field goal by Leroy. Perhaps being inspired by Austin's passing game, quarterback Elessar Jones came out firing to open the second quarter. He opened the drive by finding Don Dobbler on a deep strike down the field for 32 yards. He had three more passes of at least ten yards to continue the drive, but eventually the drive was killed by another sack, leading to a 32 yard Dos Santos field goal. Austin went three and out of the ensuing drive thanks to a third down sack by Cuttino Mobley, and after a bad 32 yard punt by Leroy, NOLA had prime starting field position at their own 48. Elessar started running the ball himself on this position, taking three consecutive runs for 21 total yards. His 3rd and 7 pass to Dobbler came up just inches short of the first down inside the red zone, but the conservative playcalling of the coaching staff had the team kick a 36 yard field goal. With three minutes remaining in the half, Austin went to a hurry up offense, passing 13 consecutive times. Eighty Two converted short third downs three times on the drive, leading eventually to a 37 yard field goal to pull within three.
Score at halftime: NOLA 9 Austin 6
Third quarter:
Austin's offense looked pretty good to start the second half. After making it just past midfield, though, a holding penalty backed them up to 3rd and 13 and an eventual punt. New Orleans went three and out on their first possession of the second half, but Dos Santos had a huge 52 yard punt to place Austin at the 14 yard line. A tackle for loss by Ganyu and a pass deflection by safety Amari Springer ended Austin's next drive, giving New Orleans another chance to extend their lead. But Austin's punt pinned NOLA at their own 4, and after a great 11 yard run, NOLA could not get anything going. Surprisingly, this run heavy team chose to pass on 3rd and inches and failed to convert. A short punt, a 19 yard catch by running back Buckshank, and a Neutral zone infraction by NOLA put Austin in the red zone. A couple plays later, Austin had a third and goal from the three yard line. This was the biggest turning point of the game. Defensive end Jason Garciaparra broke through Austin's offensive line, sacked Tight End Eighty Two, forced the fumble, and somehow managed to scoop it up and return it five yards. This prevented Austin from tying or taking the lead in this defensive, low-scoring game.
Fourth quarter:
After receiving a gift from the defense, the offense did not capitalize. They went three and out and punted back to Austin. Eighty Two looked sharp after the fumble, driving down the field and capping the possession with the first touchdown of the game, a 28 yard toss to wide receiver Johnny Patey. Facing their first deficit of the game, the offense finally woke up from their slumber. They totally dominated the Austin defense with a 16 play, 73 yard drive that took 7 minutes and 58 seconds off the clock. They started the drive with six straight running plays between Stig and Jones. After being conservative all game long, NOLA went for it on 4th and 4 from their own 33 down 4 with 8 minutes left in the game. After finding all of his receivers covered on the play, Elessar took off down the field and ran for four yards, just barely making the first down. Jones put the team on his back, running 6 times for 33 yards on the drive, and gaining all of the rest of the yardage on his nine pass attempts. He was involved in every yard gained on the drive. His 4th and 2 pass to tight end Rex Crenshaw kept the drive going. Later on, he hit Crenshaw twice more before finding Mada for a two yard touchdown, NOLA's first of the season. Austin got the ball back with one more chance to take back the lead. However, the Second Line secondary, affectionately known as the Legion of Doot, stepped up. Star cornerback De'aaron Harper II deflected a pass on first down, All-Pro safety Chim Rickles deflected one on second down, and Austin RB Jim the Vampire dropped a pass on third down. On fourth down, Eighty Two finally completed a pass, but Johnny Patey was tackled a yard short of the line to gain by All-Pro safety Amari Springer, causing a turnover on downs. The game was sealed three plays later when the fullback broke loose on 3rd and 2. Michael Patrick Porkins took it 13 yards, picking up a first down so that the Second Line could kneel it out and end the game.
Final Score: NOLA 16, AUS 13.
Week 2: New Orleans Second Line @ Colorado Yeti
First quarter:
Winning on the road is always hard. NOLA followed up a close, low-scoring road win with a close, low-scoring, road loss. Colorado got the ball first to start the game and went three and out. A stuff for no gain by Garciaparra and a third down pass defended by Harper were the highlights in this one. After a great punt by Orlando Doom, Stig broke out a big 22 yard run to start the game. However, after getting to midfield, a strip sack that was recovered by Jones killed the drive and we had to punt. We also ran the ball on third and 15 on that drive before the punt, the second consecutive opening drive this season to end that way. However, after a surprisingly effective running game by Colorado, rookie linebacker Carissa van Campen sacked Colorado quarterback Live Laughlove for a huge loss of 12 yards, ending the drive. On the following possession, an 11 yard sack on second down set up a 3rd and 16 and a three and out for New Orleans. NOLA's defense held again, though, sparked by a first down tackle for loss by Jason Garciaparra, a three yard loss on the run by Pyxis, and an eventual three and out for the Yeti. Another great punt by Doom put the Second Line back at their own five yard line to start. Then NOLA's run game kicked in. 5 yards for Stig. 9 yards for Jones. 8 yards for Porkins. Stig for 1 more yard and a 3rd and 1. But a false start and an incompletion later, the Second Line were punting again and the first quarter ended with a score of zero to zero.
Second quarter:
The Yeti started making good progress down the field at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter. Not with huge plays, but with steady positive gains. Unfortunately, rookie defensive end JR Frankenstero committed an unnecessary roughness penalty that put Colorado in field goal range before Avenger and Jackson made nice plays to end the drive. Doom's field goal from 42 was good and Colorado put the first points on the score board. New Orleans ran the ball really well to start the following drive, with four straight runs of at least five yards. But after a first down run for no gain, New Orleans was forced to pass, and gave up yet another sack setting up 3rd and 16. This time, the offense finally converted, and Jones found Stig for a catch and run of sixteen yards. The drive came to an end, though, after the coaches called a fullback dive on 4th and 5, which was stuffed for no gain. The defense forced Colorado to punt and the Second Line went into their hurry up offense. A 22 yard pass to Dobbler was followed by an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty, and a few plays later, Elessar hit Ttollem Mada for a 16 yard score. the Second Line almost pulled off another score to end the first half. The defense managed a pair of sacks by van Campen and Garciaparra which led to a short punt by Doom. With seventeen seconds left in the half, the Second Line tried a 51 yard field goal which Dos Santos missed just wide left.
Half time score: NOLA 7, COL 3
Third quarter:
After a three and out by the Second Line to open the second half, the Yeti stringed together 14 plays on a long 7 minute drive. They had no plays of 10 or more yards, but were helped along by two defensive penalties and lots of short gains. The defense bent but did not break, and Doom hit a 40 yard field goal to pull within a point of the Second Line. NOLA's offense then went three and out again. Then Colorado went three and out thanks to back to back deflections by Rickles. Then the Second Line had their third consecutive three and out to start the half, with a frustrating run called on 3rd and 8. The defense then gave up another long drive, this one eleven plays long. But they got a stop at their own 36 yard line, and surprisingly, Colorado opted to punt.
Fourth quarter:
Unfortunately, the NOLA offensive line gave up yet another 2nd down sack, the fourth of the game, and a 3rd and 15 forced Jones into an interception. However, the defense held strong yet again, this time stopping Colorado short at the 4 yard line, and a Doom field goal gave Colorado a 9-7 lead. Just like week 1, losing the lead in the second half breathed some life into the offense. Stig plowed ahead for 19 yards on the opening play, breaking tackles left and right. Squidward Tentacles had a nice catch on third and eight to extend the drive. After a holding play on the right tackle, Beers, Jones let loose a huge arcing throw down the left sideline, connecting with Mada on a 43 yard touchdown, Mada's third of the year. This was now on the defense to win the game. Colorado got the ball back with 5 minutes left, and continued their dink and dunk offense. After 8 plays, they had methodically worked past midfield. Van Campen lost her cool, though, and an unsportsmanlike conduct flag turned a 3rd and 5 from the 39 into a 1st and 10 at the 24. Laughlove spread the ball around to four receivers on four consecutive passes after the penalty on short gains, before finding a fifth different target for a one yard touchdown to take the lead with under a minute remaining. Ceti Pyxis also ran in the 2 pt conversion, putting Colorado ahead 17-14. Jones hit two deep passes on the following drive, 17 to Crenshaw and 21 to Dobbler, and set up a 53 yard field goal attempt for Dos Santos to send it to overtime. Unfortunately, Dos Santos overcorrected from his previous mistake, and missed wide right.
Final Score: NOLA 14, COL 17.
Some takeaways:
The NOLA offensive line really struggled last season. Despite a mobile quarterback, Jones had the second highest sacked rate in the league at 9.47%, just behind Berlin's Singh. This offense is not built to throw the ball down the field, and all these sacks setting up 3rd and long situations rarely turn out well for the offense. In just these two games, Elessar Jones was sacked 6 times, and only converted a first down after a sack once out of those six drives. Hopefully, the team can figure out the O-line issue and help the offense sustain drives rather than suffer momentum killing sacks.
The wide receiver roles seem to be well defined so far. Ttollem Mada is a great red zone threat as a Possession archetype guy, he does exactly what he needs to. Don Dobbler is the speed guy and had the best average on the team. Already in the first two weeks we saw that when the team needed a deep shot, it usually went to Dobbler. Hey sim balance team! Nice job on differentiating the wide receiver archetypes!
That's all for now. Go NOLA!
![[Image: Mith.png]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/754506686688919573/1049975202924199986/Mith.png)
![[Image: Witten_HOF_3.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/760203360971784263/1014156341608202280/Witten_HOF_3.png)
