8) Draft Focus
As a new GM of the Philadelphia Liberty, one big need for us in the draft will be defensive line. We did recently swap Maulolo for Smyles before the deadline, which allowed us to get an extra pick in the upcoming draft. Maulolo was obviously lower in TPE, so that gap will need to be filled. We had a hard time stopping the run this past season, as we were continually gashed in short yardage situations, and a lot of that had to do with being somewhat thin up front. This class has some great options on the defensive line. The big name is IsaStarcrossed, of course, but we’re not overlooking the other guys like Hall_Monitor, RobCubed, and thunderbug. These guys can be staples of defensive lines for seasons to come if they stay active and keep earning. Defensive line is not the sexiest of positions, mainly due to it being a generally low stat position in the sim. However, it’s always a huge need for most teams, with it being one of the lowest picked position for new creates. All that said, we in Philly are really looking forward to bolstering the team in general, and we have several early picks to do so.
3) All about the QBs
For this category, I’m going to talk about the two QBs that faced off in the championship game. Orange County Otters QB Franklin Armstrong must be feeling great today. For some inexplicable reason, Armstrong fell extremely far in the S15 draft. I think he proved a lot of his doubters wrong with this huge performance in the championship game that ultimately brought an Ultimus to Orange County. The Otters went for a more balanced approach this game, with 27 passing attempts and just over 30 rushing attempts. This kept the Baltimore defense on their toes as they couldn’t just stack the box against the run, or play too many DBs and risk getting the ball run down their throat. Armstrong was 17/29 in this game, with an astounding average per completion of 16.9 yards. The Otters were clearly okay with letting Armstrong loose in this game, as his completion percentage was under 60%, but the average yards per completion shows how they were trying to take advantage of the Baltimore secondary by throwing downfield most of the game. Corvo Havran on the other hand, struggled a bit this game. Baltimore barely went with the run in this game, partly due to being behind, but the Otters defense usually had answers for them in this one.
1) Playoff Review
For this section I’ll be reviewing the Baltimore Hawks @ Yellowknife Wraiths conference championship game. The Wraiths came into this game as the favorite. They had home field advantage, an absolutely loaded roster, and Ryan Leaf Jr’s extensive sim testing showing them winning it all. Unfortunately, for them, that result did not pan out. The Wraiths started off trailing in the first half of this game, thanks in part to a few Corvo Havran TD passes. With 8:51 left in the second quarter the score was already 21-3. The Wraiths were resilient, though, and battled back to make it 24-27 near the end of the 3rd with the now retired Morgan Marshall rushing for two short yardage touchdowns. Sadly for the Wraiths, all of their drives stalled in the 4th quarter. The Hawks had a really hard time moving the ball against the stout Wraith defense, but they had built up enough of a lead in the first half for it to not really matter. Both offenses employed a fairly balanced offensive attack with the Hawks rushing 30 times and passing for 36, and the Wraiths rushing 28 times and passing for 44. Obviously this is due in large part to being down for most of the game. I’m sure if given the option the Wraiths would have rather been able to run the clock out with their two stud RBs, but that’s not how it went in this contest.
4) Head to Head Matchups
For the last part of my Ultimus Week categories, I decided to focus on two studs that squared off in the Ultimus game. Fatih Terim is one of the best players to come out of the absolutely loaded S15 draft class that features a bevy of max-earning safeties. Terim faced off in this contest against Franklin Armstrong, as the two players were battling wits as Terim anchored the Baltimore defense, primarily in pass protection, and Armstrong was the general of the OCO offense. In my estimation, Armstrong got the better of Terim in this contest. Terim did manage to have 7 tackles as well as a tackle for loss, Armstrong more or less had his way with this Baltimore secondary, especially on downfield throws, which should be Fatih’s area to defend. Some of this is Armstrong threading the needle on some impossible to defend throws, which you obviously can’t fault Terim for. Terim did make some nice plays, and generally the Otters were targeting other areas of the defense than Terim’s side of the field. That said, in this matchup, I would definitely give the edge to Armstrong, given how the game went and how he played against the Baltimore seconday. I think we’ll see these two face off in more Ultimuses before everything is said and done.
As a new GM of the Philadelphia Liberty, one big need for us in the draft will be defensive line. We did recently swap Maulolo for Smyles before the deadline, which allowed us to get an extra pick in the upcoming draft. Maulolo was obviously lower in TPE, so that gap will need to be filled. We had a hard time stopping the run this past season, as we were continually gashed in short yardage situations, and a lot of that had to do with being somewhat thin up front. This class has some great options on the defensive line. The big name is IsaStarcrossed, of course, but we’re not overlooking the other guys like Hall_Monitor, RobCubed, and thunderbug. These guys can be staples of defensive lines for seasons to come if they stay active and keep earning. Defensive line is not the sexiest of positions, mainly due to it being a generally low stat position in the sim. However, it’s always a huge need for most teams, with it being one of the lowest picked position for new creates. All that said, we in Philly are really looking forward to bolstering the team in general, and we have several early picks to do so.
3) All about the QBs
For this category, I’m going to talk about the two QBs that faced off in the championship game. Orange County Otters QB Franklin Armstrong must be feeling great today. For some inexplicable reason, Armstrong fell extremely far in the S15 draft. I think he proved a lot of his doubters wrong with this huge performance in the championship game that ultimately brought an Ultimus to Orange County. The Otters went for a more balanced approach this game, with 27 passing attempts and just over 30 rushing attempts. This kept the Baltimore defense on their toes as they couldn’t just stack the box against the run, or play too many DBs and risk getting the ball run down their throat. Armstrong was 17/29 in this game, with an astounding average per completion of 16.9 yards. The Otters were clearly okay with letting Armstrong loose in this game, as his completion percentage was under 60%, but the average yards per completion shows how they were trying to take advantage of the Baltimore secondary by throwing downfield most of the game. Corvo Havran on the other hand, struggled a bit this game. Baltimore barely went with the run in this game, partly due to being behind, but the Otters defense usually had answers for them in this one.
1) Playoff Review
For this section I’ll be reviewing the Baltimore Hawks @ Yellowknife Wraiths conference championship game. The Wraiths came into this game as the favorite. They had home field advantage, an absolutely loaded roster, and Ryan Leaf Jr’s extensive sim testing showing them winning it all. Unfortunately, for them, that result did not pan out. The Wraiths started off trailing in the first half of this game, thanks in part to a few Corvo Havran TD passes. With 8:51 left in the second quarter the score was already 21-3. The Wraiths were resilient, though, and battled back to make it 24-27 near the end of the 3rd with the now retired Morgan Marshall rushing for two short yardage touchdowns. Sadly for the Wraiths, all of their drives stalled in the 4th quarter. The Hawks had a really hard time moving the ball against the stout Wraith defense, but they had built up enough of a lead in the first half for it to not really matter. Both offenses employed a fairly balanced offensive attack with the Hawks rushing 30 times and passing for 36, and the Wraiths rushing 28 times and passing for 44. Obviously this is due in large part to being down for most of the game. I’m sure if given the option the Wraiths would have rather been able to run the clock out with their two stud RBs, but that’s not how it went in this contest.
4) Head to Head Matchups
For the last part of my Ultimus Week categories, I decided to focus on two studs that squared off in the Ultimus game. Fatih Terim is one of the best players to come out of the absolutely loaded S15 draft class that features a bevy of max-earning safeties. Terim faced off in this contest against Franklin Armstrong, as the two players were battling wits as Terim anchored the Baltimore defense, primarily in pass protection, and Armstrong was the general of the OCO offense. In my estimation, Armstrong got the better of Terim in this contest. Terim did manage to have 7 tackles as well as a tackle for loss, Armstrong more or less had his way with this Baltimore secondary, especially on downfield throws, which should be Fatih’s area to defend. Some of this is Armstrong threading the needle on some impossible to defend throws, which you obviously can’t fault Terim for. Terim did make some nice plays, and generally the Otters were targeting other areas of the defense than Terim’s side of the field. That said, in this matchup, I would definitely give the edge to Armstrong, given how the game went and how he played against the Baltimore seconday. I think we’ll see these two face off in more Ultimuses before everything is said and done.