S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!!

[Hallmonitor_20]

1.)

2.) The Tijuana Luchadores are probably the most favored underdogs in the history of the league. While yes they do have a worse record than the Pythons and have to travel to Portland, the Luchadores are still heavily favored to win by most DSFL experts. Tijuana's bright spot is their near impenetrable offensive line that is without a doubt the best in the league. Combine that with a strong rushing attack and versatile pass catchers the Tijuana offense is set up to have a great game on the road. Portland has a strong passing attack of their own with Jay Cue tying the touchdown record for the Pythons but they will be facing a huge task against one of the top defenses in the league. The Luchadores are aiming to add another Ultimini trophy to their mantle and should not be seen as underdogs just because they are wearing white uniforms.

9.) Alright if we are talking about rivalries then I have to talk about the guy who's rivalry was so weak he came crawling to me so he could clout chase a real rival. This guy is none other than Portland "wide receiver" Jake Dropson (@goodvsevil1275). Now Jake is best known for being traded away from Tijuana during the draft and I don't know what worse; the fact that Portland decided he was worth trading for or the fact that he was drafted in the first place. "Well what was he traded for" you may ask. He was traded for a full back and some later picks. A FULL BACK. IN TODAYS FOOTBALL. How are you so bad a team prefers to have a full back on the roster over you. To continue Jake's fullback problems, Jake is the third option on his team behind another fullback. This guy is so bad at catching the ball that Portland would rather throw the ball to a glorified offensive lineman. Jake had such a forgettable season that the Training staff forgot he was on the team for eight weeks. Jake did make history by being the only player with a -32 yard reception breaking the record of worst reception in football history. So Jake congrats on making it to the playoffs and Ultimini so the entire world can watch you drop touchdown passes on national television and losing in important games like you are so good at.

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[flyeaglesfly29]

Playoff Predictions/Reviews: 206 words

So far the NSFL playoffs have not been the best for the former first ever pick of the Chicago Butchers as they fell to the Baltimore Hawks in the Wild Card Round, however, the Hawks are still alive in the playoffs and have an opportunity to win the Ultimus, so losing to the champs is not the worst thing ever I guess. But I must say that I think Baltimore could struggle with Orange County in the Ultimus. Why you ask? The reason is simple, I personally feel like the Otters defeated the best team that was in the playoffs and if you go by their records from all season that team was the Arizona Outlaws. The season 16 Champs had a chance to defend their title but fell short to the Otters. With the Ultimus coming up this week, I feel the need to make a pick and with that being said I am going with the Otters over the Hawks by a score of 27-17. I just feel like the Otters have the offensive power to hang with anyone who doesn't have an elite pass rush and that is not something that is a strong suit for the Hawks. Take that to the Bank!

All about the QBs: 229 Words

Lucky for me I am doing this right before the Ultimus game and therefore I am not stuck writing a small article about six different quarterbacks. Instead I get to write about two quarterbacks: Corvo Havran from the Baltimore Hawks and Franklin Armstrong from the Orange County Otters. During the regular season Havran dwarfed Armstrong stat wise and I do feel like Havran is the better quarterback in this match up. The issue is the depth that the Otters have at the receiver position. While Havran may have the best receiver in the league with Errol Maddox, Armstrong has multiple young receivers that are going to be stars in this league.

In terms of stats from the season Havran outgunned Armstrong by almost 400 yards, but the real discrepancy is in the number of touchdowns thrown and their quarterback ratings. Havran posted a league tying best 31 touchdowns with the leagues highest QBR of 95.5, while Armstrong was only able to pass for 23 touchdowns and a much lower 78.2 QBR. While I did pick Orange County to win it all in my previous post the one thing that they will not be winning is who goes home with the best quarterback. Havran is a much better suited quarterback for the future if you ask me and given that I am having to write this for TPE, you are!

Head to Head Matchups: 208 Words

In this one I'm going to look at the matchup between the guy who I consider to be the best receiver in the league Errol Maddox and the recently converted quarterback to corner Guz Showbiz. During season 17 Errol Maddox finished second in the league in receiving yards with 1232 and 10 touchdowns. That might not seem like a ton, but this man did that with another hall of fame caliber receiver sharing the ball in that offense as well in Sunnycursed. Sunny found himself having a great year as well amassing 1069 yards and 11 touchdowns of his own. That to me is the obvious reason as to why Maddox is such a dominating force and the problem that they will cause for the Otters and Showbiz is that you have to choose which one of these guys you want to beat you.

However, on the flip side of things Showbiz did have a pretty good season for himself as the first year corner burst on to the scene with top 5 league performance of 22 pass deflections. Showbiz also added in 4 interceptions to help his cause. For the most part when quarterbacks decided to throw his way he was able to cause issues for them.

Next year: 203 Words

And here is the time that I get to talk about myself a little bit because although this is supposed to be about my team and next year, I currently don't have a team. Well, not officially yet, but I will be a free agent at the end of this week and I can't be more excited. I will be leaving the Butchers behind as they are working their way through the whole rebuild situation and I will be taking my talents to....haha I am not telling you guys that news here. What I will tell you is this: the team that I go to will be gaining one hell of a player. I am top 3 in this league as a safety and that is not something that is going to change anytime soon. I am one of the top TPE earners and I'm going to continue my TPE dominance for as long as I deem fit. I will also tell you that the team I join will be one that will surround me with great players that will raise my level of dominance. We will work together and march our way down the road to an Ultimus together. Stay tuned folks...

[caltroit_red_flames]

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Affiliate PT

PBE PT

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8) Draft Focus
Written: What areas of your team has the biggest holes that you are hoping get filled in the upcoming gigantic S18 draft? What round are you hoping it’s filled?

In my personal opinion I think that San Jose has a huge need on the offensive line. Right now we don't even have what I would classify as players. Instead we have a ton of machines and when you're trying to win an Ultimus that cold steel doesn't cut it. You need a human that can read and react to plays as they happen, learn mid game how a defensive player is battling against you and adjust based on that. There are proven statistics that show that a human player just leads to more wins that a machine offensive lineman based solely on the basis of being stronger and having more weight behind their blocks. I think the San Jose Sabrecats are the team that could go out and get the offensive line position the fair rub that it deserves. There are a lot of great young linemen that could fill this role and I'm thinking we want the cream of the crop. My hope is that we go for an offensive lineman as early as the 2nd round and that we don't stop there. Grab an all star left tackle or center to build around and make sure you pick up another four linemen to develop with him. Maybe some don't pan out, but get some real men on that line that the QB can depend on.

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9) Enemies
Written: Not everyone loves each other, write 200 words on an opposing player or player in this year's playoffs about how they will struggle, why do you want them to lose? (Don't be too mean).

I've had to play against and hear about the Orange County Otters since I joined the NSFL. Honestly I have to say good for them for having such a good team for so long. But on the other hand I am so damn sick of having to lose against them in the playoffs over and over. I have my two Ultimus victories so honestly I'm happy with Chad Pennington's career. But you know what really sucks? Losing to the same team in S17, S14, S13 and S12. Four damn times! So you know what Armstrong? You can eat a donut. These playoffs after playing against the San Jose Sabrecats you're going to have an awful outing against the Arizona Outlaws. Nah, a brutal outing. I'm talking like 5 for 30 on passing attempts, 3 interceptions, 0 touchdowns and 2 fumbles. The kind of outing that makes every fan question how you even made it to the professional level and whether or not you have what it takes to carry the franchise for another season let alone to an Ultimus victory. Career ending bad. Get exposed in an expansion draft bad. I don't know, maybe you'll bounce back at some point if you leave in FA or get traded, but not while you wear that shitty orange.

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19) Kickers are people too!
Written: Write about a Kicker in the playoffs, and how they will or did affect the outcome.

Without a doubt the best kicker this season in my opinion was the Baltimore Hawks' own F. Brand. Brand went 37 for 39 on extra points., but more importantly he hit 94.9% of his field goals with the longest one being 52 yards. This guy knows exactly what he's every time he's brought onto the field and he does it really really well. So how is he going to effect the playoffs? Well I can say firsthand that I've seen kickers alone steal games from other teams. Field goals are disappointing because you're missing out 4 points but those field goals add up over a game. A kicker that can point them away consistently is huge. I foresee Brand coming into these big games and driving home field goal after field goal. In a conference where three teams are tied for first with a record of 8 - 5 - 0 I see Brand being the difference maker. The Butchers and the Wraiths just don't have the difference making leg on their roster like the Hawks do. With that said I see Brand carrying the Hawks to the Ultimus but when it comes to the championship anything can happen. It's going to be on the rest of the offense to consistently get him in good kicking position because with that much pressure on this shoulders it's going to be really tough to ask him to kick a 50 yard field goal. Get him in the red zone and any ASFC team is toast. Bet on it.

[majesiu]

0) PBE Affiliation

7) Next year
Written: If your team has been eliminated, why will the next year, or the year after that, be the year that your team is going to win the Ultimus or Ultimini.
New Orleans Second Line was really quite unlucky this year, since our breakthrough is long coming and this was supposed to be our year, but we were handed some difficult loses and had to fight other attempts to break out spirits and will to win. What has me positively fixed on this team future is that this team is incredibly young as only remnants of past era remain on the team - WR Vladimir Fyodorovich, William H. Harrison Safety and Lo Rax as Defensive End. While Vlad & Rax should still play meaningful role next year Harrison might get replaced by youth wave headlined by the offensive talent of Stan Francisco & Forrest Gump, while rest of the defense is only getting better highlighted by S15 stars of Johnny Slothface, Quenton Bode & Deon Taylor. Defensive Line is yet another aspect that should become team strength with up and coming Brayden Ennis. Jordan Andrews should form the best coverage duo with Deon Taylor. NOLA has also one more LB reinforcements and OL hero - the Brave Ulysses. All this players should make team with (I think) longest current postseason drought finally break this curse and continue undefeated march through ASFC like the past Second Line of S8-11 did. This couldn't be soon enough, since Fyodorovich career is soon to be ending and he is really longing for some postseason action.

8) Draft Focus
Written: What areas of your team has the biggest holes that you are hoping get filled in the upcoming gigantic S18 draft? What round are you hoping it’s filled?
So I hyped the team in previous point, but team still has some serious needs to be filled in the upcoming draft:
- Only QB/LB (if played with 3 LB formation)/CB & RB isn't in desperate need of more active bodies
- Wide Receiver seems set with 3 actives, but Fyodorovich will be on his last legs in S18 and on the wheelchair during chase for 10k in S19, so drafting someone to replace him down the line is a must. Action Jackson has #1 WR potential and Jones looks like one of more sure-handed options.
- D-Line has Brayden Ennis and aging Lo Rax so we will need new bodies too to fil the gaps
- Defensive backs have 2 great corners and aging safeties, so drafting even 2 actives for this position should be treated as main priority, you can't win in NSFL without good pass defense
- last but not least kicker could be better, with Frost not representing too good of an option, but as usual this could just become a lateral move
Thankfully even if team has almost half a team needing reinforcements the draft potential is there with two 1st round picks (#1 & #6) and an extra 3rd rounder to go along with pick in every round. This year could make or break NOLA rebuild efforts, but I remain firm believer it will be the start of new Dynasty!

10) Rivalries
Written: Write about another team and why they are overrated and why you want them to lose.
Orange County Otters long were on my cross-hair, ever since drafting me (which I wasn't too high on going there in the first place given my disdain for dynasty teams and being fed success on the silver spoon), but I was ok with that until they traded me away in an unprecedented matter for an active player - without any prior warning or talks. This gave me motivation though to make Second Line the big winner of that trade and I feel like my player accomplished that with winning 4 straight ASFC titles with the Second Line and Two Ultimus trophies. He also stayed loyal and plans to end his career in the Big Easy. Their run of postseason appearances should finally end, as their team TPE is barreling down and should be overtaken next year by almost every other team as long as they won't continue and be allowed with coercing free agents to join that despicable team (hope it wasn't too mean...). League gets boring if you can say a statement that's true every single season, so even for sake of that I wish for Otters dismissal and putting them through real rebuild, with seasons spend in the bottom of the conference rankings. So long for that, at least hopefully I won't see the banner with S17 and those orange colors up there.

[BroicSilence]

1) Playoff Review
Before the Ultimus sim was aired, I wrote that I thought Baltimore Hawks quarterback Corvo Havran would vastly outplay the Orange County Otters quarterback Franklin Armstrong. After all, Havran was a dark horse MVP candidate and arguably had the best season of any quarterback in the league. Now that the championship is over though, I must admit that I was absolutely wrong about that. The Ultimus was an exciting game with many standout performers, but it was Franklin that shined the most. By the time the fourth quarter ended, Franklin had put up 287 yards (completing 17 out of 27 passes) and three touchdowns, good for an amazing passer rating of 135.9.

The game started as a shootout, which itself was somewhat surprising. After all, the Hawks had two spectacular wide receivers in Sunnycursed and Maddox to go along with their seemingly superior quarterback. But it would be the Otters who would draw first blood, as Franklin scored a touchdown on the opening drive. The Hawks responded with a touchdown of their own immediately after. A missed field goal by Baltimore after a clutch sack by Lanzer Grievous prevented the Hawks from pulling ahead. By a few minutes into the third quarter, the teams were tied 14-14. This would be the beginning of the end for the Hawks, as the Otters put up two more touchdowns compared to a single field goal for Baltimore.
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3) All About the QBs
With the Baltimore Hawks and the Orange County Otters being the last teams standing in the race for the Ultimus championship, fans can look forward to an exciting game with an interesting quarterback match up that includes a player in just his first year of playing in the NSFL and a player who is a dark horse MVP candidate.

Playing for the Baltimore Hawks will be celebrated quarterback Corvo Havran. Havran has had an exciting season so far. He put up 3,590 yards passing, good for fourth in the league, and did so with a 59.8% completion percentage that also is fourth highest this season. What is most impressive; however, are the scoring numbers he produced. He ended the season with 31 touchdowns (tied for most in the league) and a mere 11 interceptions. Ultimately, these numbers plus his league-leading passer rating of 95.5 shows just how dominant he was at the quarterback position.

Franklin Armstrong, in his first year starting in the NSFL, will be leading the Otters in this match up. As one might expect from a player that still fairly young, his numbers are not quite as impressive as Havran’s. He was eighth in the league in passing yards (3191), fifth in touchdowns (23), third in most interceptions (13), and ninth in passer rating (78.2). Unfortunately, his most glaring weakness was his accuracy. He completed a mere 53.5% of passes which places him last in the league.

Given the experience and talent of these two quarterbacks, it is fairly safe to say that Havran will probably have the better game. But Armstrong should take some pride in making it this far and clearly has a bright future ahead of him.
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10) Rivalries
Hot take: The Portland Pythons are a national disgrace and will lose to the Tijuana Luchadores in the championship without question. Yes, I have heard all of the hype and never in my life have I seen a DSFL team that is so outrageously overrated. They lost by two scores to the paltry Palm Beach Solar Bears for crying out loud. Sure they might have the “number one offense” in terms of yards. When you take a look at their points scored though...oh. They have the number one offense in points scored as well. That’s fine though because it doesn’t matter how explosive your offense is if your defense is made of wet tissue paper. The Luchadores will be able to tear through them at will. After all, the Pythons have merely the...oh come on! This is ridiculous! They have the number one defense too?! In both yards AND points?

Some might wonder why a player from the illustrious Norfolk SeaWolves would even consider the Pythons as a rival team. There are two reasons for this. First, we are in the same conference. Second, we had some incredibly competitive games this season. This includes...woof...a 13 point Norfolk loss, a 14 point Norfolk loss, a 25 point Norfolk loss, and a 41 point Norfolk loss.

So the Pythons may not actually be overrated. But I still would like for them to lose on the grounds of them hurting my feelings.
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19) Kickers are people too!
When it comes to American football, the spotlight is always on the big name, flashy, offensive players: the quarterbacks, the running backs, the wide receivers. In some instances defensive players are also highlighted, but only if they are regularly putting up exciting stats like sacks and interceptions. The rest of the players are often unheralded and we are focusing on one of these such players today. No, not the robot offensive linemen or the non-existent long snappers. Today we are focusing on the humble kicker. And in this season’s NSFL wildcard round, there was possibly no kicker more notable than the great Kulture Fulture.

There are many ways to describe the 40-6 Baltimore victory over Chicago. Some words, such as “exciting,” “entertaining,” or “close,” do not apply here. It was an unmitigated beatdown. But as his team was getting annihilated around him, one man, or rather, one hero, stood tall. That man was Kulture “the entire scoring offense for Chicago” Fulture. He made not one but TWO field goals, one of which was for a very nice 43 yards. Did this win Chicago the game? No. Did it put the game within Chicago’s reach? No it did not. But there is nothing more beautiful than an individual standing tall in the face of utter destruction and for that I honor the great Kulture Fulture and the many brave kickers who have come before him.
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[Mooty99]

7) Next year

Mark my work next year you will see the Copperheads in the playoffs into the vying for the Ultimus. Our offensive is set to go off! Every position across the offense is manned by a young, active ever improving player and after a couple of seasons of slow progression we will set the league alight. Our QB Easton Cole has had a tough couple of season but he has improved game after game and is now at a level to compete with the best of them. We have the best 1-2 pair of passing catching runningbacks in the NSFL in Mendonca and Owens. Our wide receivers are now at star levels in Anoa'i and Tidwell and our tight end is an all round stud in Larson. Our defense has some great players on it at all posistions but it is just lacking a little depth. But their is a deep draft coming up the holes will be filled with the wide number of active player that are available in the season 18 rookie class, we may even bring in a free agent or 2 if the right deal can be made. We will be ready to rock and roll so watch out NSFL!

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8) Draft Focus

It is quite obvious about the holes in the Copperheads roster and they are all on defense. Offensively the Copperheads are looking really strong and look set to stay that way for years to come thanks to putting together a great group of young active offensive players over the last 3 drafts. Defensively the Copperheads do have some very good players, across most Position they just do not have enough of them. First on the defensive line we have a couple of stars in Wizardry at defensive tackle and Kuusela but that is it, and with both players being from the season 12 draft regression will hit them in a season or 2, so defensive line has to be our prime target for the upcoming draft. Then at linebacker we have Bakshi and Edmond but a 3rd active linebacker would be great or even 2 more to slough us to play a 3-4 defense. Lastly at defensive back we have 2 active safties and 1 active cornerback (as well as a reasonable inactive one), so again this is a position that needs to be addressed, if we got a couple of young active corners that would be a great thing for the team. So in summary from this draft we need 1-2 defensive linemen, 1-2 linebackers and 2 defensive backs, is that too much to ask for?!

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10) Rivalries

For reasons that I am not 100% sure about our biggest rivals seem to be the San Jose Sabercats. Personally I would have thought that it would have been fellow expansion team Chicago or nearest other team Arizona however it seems to be San Jose that we have the most beef with. It may well be a projection of our General Managers beef with that organisation but I don't mind as having a rival is always a good idea. Now San Jose are famous largely for checking in big games over the years and so I would be very happy to continue that tread. In our 1st meeting this season San Jose's General Manager said that he didn't need to do any prep for facing us as we were crap so that is always fun (by the way we went on to smash them in that match so that was great fun). San Jose are a team on the slide and I for one am very happy for them to slide to the bottom of our division. San Jose's Quarterback is set to retire this off season so that will always help as well. Anyway enough rambling San Jose suck, boo, hiss and all that!

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17) Robbed 

Well this is very easy and a similar topic to the last weeks task. The Copperheads we screwed on week 1 when they were forced to play with a massively underpowered team against a division rival in a winnable match and were not allowed to replay the match because a small but vocal group of members of this fine community are a bunch of whiny cry babies who would lose their top if this had happened to their own team but just couldn't lose their tackles or sacks for the season. If the Copperheads had rightly won that match up against the New Orleans New Line in week won (as they did in the cancelled re-sim) they would have scrapped just ahead of the San Jose Sabercats and into the wildcard round of the playoffs. In the wild card we would have given the Orange County Otters a far better game the San Jose given that we are a better team, with better player and that is better run. So after all this it could be us and not Orange County now in Ultimus final against Baltimore and after all, anything can happen in a final. But hey the sim (and more importantly Head office) screwed us over, but don't worry, WE WILL BE BACK!!!!!

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[TeyonSchavari]

3) All about the QBs - 214 words

There are many interesting QB battles that have happened or will happen this postseason. In the Ultimini, you have Pythons QB Jay Cue going up against McCann of the Luchadores. Although I'm excited to see how my former Pythons and their rookie Cue perform against Tijuana, I am most excited for the Ultimus matchup of Franklin Armstrong of the Orange County Otters and Corvo Havran of the Baltimore Hawks. Interestingly, this parallels the current DSFL matchup, as Armstrong took on Havran in the Pythons vs Luchadores Ultimini a few seasons prior, where Portland ultimately came out on top. The similarities don't stop there, as Cue tied Armstrong's touchdown record in the DSFL season. Because of the classic rematch and the coincidences between this season and the S14 season, I feel that this will be a heated game with each looking to outperform the opposition. In my unbiased opinion, I feel that Armstrong will wipe the floor with Harvran and earn Ultimus MVP while leading the Otters to a convincing victory over the Hawks. I predict Armstrong to finish with over 250 yards and 3 touchdowns while Havran throws for 140 yards and 3 interceptions. The Otters will win by a score of 30-13 and will be crowned the champions thanks to Armstrong's performance.

[StamkosFan]

PBE PT

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3) All about the QBs
Written: Write 200 words on one of the QB matchups in this year's playoffs. What are you most excited to see (Or excited to have seen), who will play better (Or who played better), etc.

The Otters squared off against the Hawks in the finals, and I was excited to have seen Orange County's Franklin Armstrong square off against Corvo Havran. Havran is an up-and-coming S14 player, rather young and not yet at 1000 TPE, whereas Armstrong is even young, S15 and under 800 TPE. This would be watching the next generation unfold, seeing who would likely dominate for years. It would be intriguing to see who would emerge triumphant, who would help to carry his team to victory. Armstrong simply played better as far as I am concerned, completing more of his passes, finding his guys when they were open, and allowing his team to get the touchdowns they needed to win. Havran certainly has skill, but the Hawks only ran for 2 touchdowns, so he just couldn't make anything happen under the pressure of the big game. Armstrong really showed mental fortitude and showed that he has what it takes to be a star and a champion in one of the best football leagues in the world. I think we will see much more of Armstrong in the years to come, and I expect him to rack up a few more rings before he hangs up his cleats.

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7) Next year
Written: If your team has been eliminated, why will the next year, or the year after that, be the year that your team is going to win the Ultimus or Ultimini.

Yellowknife has so many good players on our roster and played really strongly in our division this year, showing our skill level. Everyone is sticking together in the next season, and we'll have a chance to not only bring in some new guys, but all of our current players should train hard and improve. The GMs now also have more experience and an even better idea of what it will take to win it all. We have a really strong receiving core and Cooter Bigsby is one of the best quarterbacks in the league today. I think our running backs will continue to impress, and hopefully my player, Tommy Helanen, will take some steps forward since he will be passing 1000 TPE. Basically, all of our players have built chemistry together for years and are entering our primes; we know this is our time to win and we will be out for blood out of the gate. We have patiently rebuilt and put together a team that would make any GM green with envy, a team that has what it takes to match up against anyone in the league. We are trending up and we want a ring; that's really what it all boils down to.

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19) Kickers are people too!
Written: Write about a Kicker in the playoffs, and how they will or did affect the outcome.

Getting a big field goal can be the difference between winning or losing, especially in a close game. Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname was the kicker for the champs, the Orange County Otters, and what he did on the turf certainly had an impact that many have since overlooked. The S15 German was instrumental in helping the Otters beat the Sabercats in round 1, as he made 2 20-29 yard range field goals, worth 6 points; it would have been a much closer game than 20-13 if not for his contributions. Those field goals destroyed all of San Jose's hopes of a comeback and gave Orange County the insurance marker they needed. And while the semi-finals may have been a total blow out in favor of the Otters, he showed his prowess and poise, managing to make a field goal from 30-39 yards away. Having a kicker that they could be confident to fall back on make the Otters willing to take chances and make aggressive moves, as they knew that they could have a reliable field goal converter if their plays didn't work out. They had a kicker who didn't crumble under pressure, and that gave them the added boost to put them over the top and win a championship.

[Judas_Iscariot]

Task 1 - Playoff Predictions

[Jaspers]

7: I suppose now that our team has expectations, we're going to need to take a big step forward next year. I know we, the Copperheads made the playoffs in only our third year of existence, but getting the second lowest seed and being stomped on in the first round isn't exactly what we want to aim for. With new talent like Edmond, Owens and the like, we're finally going to be on the upswing. I've had my own challenges dealing with our lack of talent and horrible practice facilities. But next year, maybe we can win a game in the playoffs, or even go further than that. In addition, I've finally stopped my stretch of lazy and non devoted activity. That was part of the old copperheads. The new copperheads won't be like that. As indicated by our decent offense and progressing defense, we finally have a culture. A solid air attack, aided by a great and youthful running back core. Our defense isn't the greatest, but it's still getting there. Perhaps by next year I'll be a decent player instead of a greenhorn rookie with just raw speed and lacking of intangibles. There's finally hope in Austin next year.

20: I didn't think we had a chance to win, nor did we. The copperheads were smacked around for four quarters against the far superior Outlaws. Our defense was slow, our offense decent, but once again, not elite. I suppose such expectations aren't to be expected for an expansion team like the Copperheads. But that time of low expectations is starting to come to an end. Could the Copperheads have put up a better fight? Absolutely. The Copperheads won two of the four quarters, dominantly in fact. The problem was the other two, and getting off to an 0-16 deficit by the second quarter. With playoff experience, next year could be different for the youthful group, who hope to make long strides in the upcoming years. With Easton Cole putting up a forgettable passing attack, tarnished by two interceptions in the first half that gave all momentum away, it was over as soon as it began. Owens was a bright spot for the Copperheads, receiving 8 times, and for 80 yards. Why didn't the Copperheads pass him the ball? I'm sure the Outlaws were very happy they decided against it. He cut them up the whole game. But sometimes one bright spot can't overcome the sun.

9: Tyron Brackenridge isn't so bad? Are you kidding me? When was the last time you saw a safety with such a lack of grace on the field? Takeda breaks the limits of speed. Garnett breaks up the passes. Brackenridge breaks the rules. You can keep your highlights, I prefer the stats. Brackenridge has not exactly struggled in his time with San Jose, but they were already a solid team. With such a team behind you, a player can focus solely on doing their part. Meanwhile, a safety such as Takeda Okura, will be forced to clean up after weak LB or DE play. That is why he will get absolutely slaughtered against the Sabrecats. A safety of his caliber will be picked apart by an elite quarterback like Armstrong. Deep throws down the field will shut down the Otters' decent defense, and ball control will prove to be a big issue for their offense as a result.

This is without mentioning Brackenridge's early success. Because of it, fellow prospect Takeda Okura nearly quit the league due to feeling as though he wasn't doing anything, or was going to do anything. This was in addition to Tyron's mocking on twitter. Brackenridge is bad.