(S25) - PT 5 - Playoffs? You Kidding Me?

[Leafs4ever]

Welp, another week, another hard to believe, disappointing loss for the Liberty. There is no team that loses like Philadelphia loses. It's almost comical now, even for the players themselves. Sitting at 6-7, Philly gave up two fourth down conversions on the final drive of the game to lose and drop to 6-8 on the season. If they could of held on for one more drive, they could of went to 7-7 and sat tied for fourth spot in the NSFC and only game back of the final playoff spot. Instead, they are two games behind and now need a ton of help just to sniff the post-season.

Phildadelphia hasn't been great at anything this season. The offense hasn't generated much, scoring the 9th least points in the league. The defense has been worse, giving up a ton of yards and points and sitting bottom 3 in almost every category. With another last minute loss, it put the Liberty in a tough situation for the playoffs. They are going to have to win out for the final 2 games of the season and have Chicago lose both games. Philly plays a winnable game against Berlin, but then have to face the league leading Yeti, while Chicago plays a easy match up against New York and then another winnable game against the Wraiths. Safe to say Philly is going to be on the outside looking in once again.

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[Kotasa]

The Tijuana Luchadores are in a very interesting spot at this point in the season. Coming off a 10-4 record followed by a heartbreaking playoff loss in overtime the Tijuana Luchadores looked to bounce back and bring the eighth championship home. Unfortunately for the Luchadores things did not go as planned. Tijuana had a solid idea of callups before the season and had some surprise send downs, Doy Fierie, Rich Triplet, and Adam Mellott were all thought to be going to the ISFL however they were left down. The key surprise callup was WR Mark Walker, leaving Tijuana without a single LB which was expected, but also without a single WR. The Luchadores took three wide receivers in the draft hoping to stimulate their passing game with some youth. Things have not been great; Mike Boss JR has thrown only 2 TDs on the season and the primary wide receiver Quavious McGrady has caught none of them. The offense has not been able to finish drives on the year. The most Tijuana has scored is 20 points and that happened only twice. Tijuana looked to be a lock for the playoffs until Dallas got hot and stole a game from Tijuana at home. Tijuana has looked oblivious at home going 1-4, the upside of that is Tijuana is full of road warriors going 3-1 so far on the road. A playoff lock is far from guaranteed but if they do make it to the dance watch out, the best road team in the DSFL will not go down easily. They need the passing game to become a threat again like it was in season 24 if they want a chance at their eighth ultimini.

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284 words

[supertardis101]

http://probaseballexperience.jcink.net/i...t&p=236076

[Emi]

PBE AFFILIATION

[AdamS]

Oh look it's "give away your team's strategies" the point task. Fun. I think for the Second Line its obvious that a lot of things haven't gone our way this season. We're not looking so hot at 6-8 in a competitive Conference. We haven't clicked on offense a lot of the time and its put our defense into some bad spots. When our offense does click it's not always well timed to the defense. Each player's obviously gonna have their own thoughts as to why but for my part I take responsibility. I personally feel that I haven't been able to command enough respect over the middle to force defenses to account for me. 18 catches in 14 games says they barely even have to commit a player to me. Which means there's a whole space in the middle they don't need to even worry about. Which leads to being able to add additional pressure on the line, and the sidelines. If I'm performing, they have to make sure that inside space is covered and it creates bigger gaps for my teammates to work in. This isn't just lip service. A well run offense is a series of cogs interacting with each other and mine isn't moving that quickly. The better I work the more everyone else on the offense clicks. Which then leaves our defense out to dry a little less. Which then gives them more opportunities late in games to get the ball back to us and actually depend on us to put it in the end zone. You really wanted scouting info? Well there it is. If we're going to make the playoffs, improve as a team, take steps towards winning the Ultimus....it starts with me doing my job better than I have so far. And I still have two games to really up things. That's how my team improves. Me. Or I could lower my team's chances to win and give handjobs to the Coach to get my number called more.  You know. Different strategies.

[jzajenius36]

Well this response might’ve looked a bit different if your Philadelphia Liberty was able to make a stop on 4th and 3 last night while leading by four with the game on the line against the ASFC’s second place San Jose Sabercats.  Instead, in what was a microcosm of the Liberty season, the defense was unable to make the game-sealing play, allowed the eventual game winning touchdown, and fell to 6-8 in the process.  While the playoffs are a theoretical possibility, the Liberty would need to win out while needing a ton of help from the rest of the league.  This would include a must-win week 16 matchup against the NSFC leading Colorado Yeti.

This has been a season full of potential success unrealized – largely a result of the Liberty’s rebuilding and young defensive group.  Liberty quarterback Brock Phoenix did his damndest to carry Philadelphia to the playoffs this year, with an impressive 23/7 TD/INT ratio.  But it wasn’t enough to overcome the Liberty’s 4-th worst points-against in the league, behind only the two new expansion teams and the New Orleans Second Line.  While just competing for the playoffs was a step in the right direction for Philadelphia, its young core of defensive draft picks will really need to continue to earn and build their players if the Liberty hope to ascend to the next level, next year.

[TomHanks]

The ASFC really do be wildin this season. I suppose the NSFC is too, but NOLA is in the ASFC so that’s what I’m going to focus on. I know it isn’t anything new. Lord knows NOLA got into the playoffs on a tiebreaker last season. But yet again here we sit, somehow in contention for 6th in the division and also playoffs. The sim has been big mean to NOLA this season, so we’d need to run the table and have some other games go our way to get in. But I believe. Step one is our next game, a road game at Arizona. This one is a must win since they’re above us in the standings and in our conference. I think if we lose here we are out of the playoff race entirely. We also need Orange County to win, a sentiment that makes me ill to think about, but they’re already in the playoffs and we need to get past the Hahalua. Our last game is against the fire Salamanders. It’s on the road but we’re definitely a better team than them so I really hope the sim doesn’t bend us over a barrel again. Yet again, need the Otters to beat Austin. Disgusting that we need them to run the table too. At that point we would be 8-8. Honolulu and Arizona play week 16 and that’s where things get tricky. Assuming things go to plan week 15, the winner of that game goes to 8-8 and will have split games with us. So then it goes to the sim’s secret tiebreakers and who the heck knows what’s gonna happen there.

[nunccoepi]

Blackstone has been very blessed to be a part of the Colorado Yeti, a team that has remained not only drama free (apparently a lot to ask these days), but also a consistent playoff contender in the league since he was drafted in S21. Blackstone's fifth season in the league is no different as the Colorado Yeti are tied for the best record in the league at 11 and 3 and, in week 14 just clinched a playoff berth for the 8th season in a row. Right now the Colorado Yeti are focused on Home Field advantage, both in the conference and in the playoffs overall. The former is entirely within Yeti control, the latter is not. If the Colorado Yeti win out, they will be guaranteed to have a first round bye and then a home game in the conference championship (likely against the Sarasota Sailfish). However, to be guaranteed home field advantage in the Ultimus game, the Colorado yeti need some help from either of the two teams that play the Orange County Otters to close the season: the Honolulu Hahalua and the Austin Copperheads. The Yeti need the Otters to drop one of the two final games or be outscored by at least 28 points. Neither of these routes are necessarily unlikely as the Hahalua is the top scoring team in the league this season and because the Otters will have to face a strong Copperheads team in foreign territory.

[Ephenssta]

The Kansas City Coyotes are currently sitting in a playoff spot and looking to keep it. London looks near untouchable in the number one spot, but the second NFC slot is available. Kansas City currently occupies it with a 6-4 record, but their most recent loss combined with the wins of both Minnesota and Portland reduced our lead to a meager single game. Obviously, that is not a comfortable lead. So while London fights with Myrtle Beach for the #1 overall seed going into the playoffs, the Coyotes must fight to maintain their standing in the top half of the division to earn a playoff spot, where anything can happen.

Looking ahead at the rest of their season, the Coyotes will square off against the Birddogs, the Royals, the Luchadores, and the Grey Ducks. Combined, those teams have a 20-20 record. If, however, we take away the Royals, the teams fall to 12-18 combined. I like our chances against the birddogs, which should bring us to a 7-4 record and prevent one of Minnesota or Portland from having a chance to tie for second. London, however, is a far more intimidating opponent. It is entirely possible that one of the two formerly mentioned teams could keep their playoff hopes alive with wins in that week. From there, it really feels like a tossup, but we will need at least one more win to punch our ticket to the playoffs. I think we can do it, but sim gonna sim. Go Coyotes!

[3lewsers]

The Hawks had a huge win in Week 14 against the Berlin Fire Salamanders, to give them a one-game lead for the final wild card spot in the NSFC. With two games left in the regular season, Baltimore controls their own destiny. If they win both of their final 2 games (Week 15 at Colorado and Week 16 at home against Sarasota) they clinch a playoff spot. However, that will not be easy as the Yeti are 11 and 3, and the Sailfish are 9 and 5. One game behind them in the playoff hunt is Chicago, who have a much easier pair of games in the final weeks as they face off against the New York Silverbacks and the Yellowknife Wraiths, 2 teams with losing records. While there are scenarios that involve the Hawks going 1 and 1 in their final two games and making the playoffs, the easiest path is for them to win out. Baltimore has the talent to make a deep run in the playoffs, but their inconsistency is cause for concern. If Baltimore fails to make the playoffs, they will look back on a few of their losses as the games that got away. They have had every opportunity to write a great script for this season, and it will be interesting to see if they can grab that by the reins or if they fall off the wagon.

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