03-27-2023, 08:32 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-29-2023, 02:47 AM by shanghai_kid. Edited 1 time in total.)
Brandon and the austin copperheads finished the season on a great note going for the sweep in the last 3 games. This helped then lock in the two seed going into the playoffs, as they will battle to obtain the Ultimus trophy. They are excited about the possibility of a trip to Sydney, Australia. However, there’s a tough road ahead. First, a matchup with the Orange County otters then followed up with a game against the leagues best team the Arizona outlaws. Austin is a combined 1-3 when playing these two teams this year. Austin needs to break down their matchups with these guys, see what went well for them, what needs to be improved upon, and create the perfect game plans. The road will be difficult, but not impossible.
Austin will first face off with the Orange County otters. They split the regular season matchups with the winning team winning by at least 3 scores. In the first matchup austin won the turnover battle which is always a good way to make sure you win a game. Another key part to this victory was limiting Shinomiya to 19 rushing yards. Shinomiya is a very elusive QB that can extend plays or even make you pay with their feet. Cold was also held to 59 yards forcing them to throw. They were very effective through the air having 323 yards but the copperheads played bend but don’t break defense, allowing only 12 points. In the second match up austin lost the turnover battle and also lost the game. While austin was able to limit them to 98 yards passing, cold and Shinomiya rushed for 177 yards combined. Austin’s defense forces OCO into a lot of field goals, but it was the offense that really struggled to get going. They total 239 yards of offense, 2 turnovers and only 10 points. Another big killer for austin was the 10 penalties for 69 yards. This will kill any offensive drive or extend a drive for the opposition. In order to win this tie breaker and head the conference finals, austin needs to do a couple things. First, they have to play a clean game. They cannot afford to have another 10 penalty game and kill momentum or extend drives for OCO. Second, the offense has to get going early. Austin has a tendency to start slow offensively. They have been able to battle back in a decent amount of those games, but it would just make thing easier on defense to not have to play from behind. Lastly, defense needs to play, bend but don’t break. Shinomiya will make plays and Cold will too, but limiting those big plays and points.
As long as austin takes care of business in the game against Orange County, their next matchup will be a much tougher test. Arizona beat austin in both match ups in the regular season but austin lost by a total of 12 points between the 2 games. Arizona only lost 2 games all season one to San Jose and another to Cape Town. In both of those games, Arizona lost the turnover battles with those teams. This is rare for them, however, it’s the best way to slow the game down and keep their high powered offense off the field. The biggest thing with playing against Arizona is making the most of all your offensive drives. They rank in the top 2 in the league in all defensive categories. Biggest one is allowing only 15 points a game. Their two losses came against teams who managed to score more than 20 points against them. Which doesn’t always guarantee a win either since they are averaging 31 points for per game. Austin did a good job on defense allowing 21 and 19 points in their match ups but they have to be able to score. Basic concept, score more than your opponent, but easier said than done against a tough Arizona team.
These are winnable games for Austin, but it won’t be an easy road to Sydney, Australia. There they would face either the Wraiths, Butchers, or Crash. All would be great match ups with austin but we will see how it all unfolds.
Austin will first face off with the Orange County otters. They split the regular season matchups with the winning team winning by at least 3 scores. In the first matchup austin won the turnover battle which is always a good way to make sure you win a game. Another key part to this victory was limiting Shinomiya to 19 rushing yards. Shinomiya is a very elusive QB that can extend plays or even make you pay with their feet. Cold was also held to 59 yards forcing them to throw. They were very effective through the air having 323 yards but the copperheads played bend but don’t break defense, allowing only 12 points. In the second match up austin lost the turnover battle and also lost the game. While austin was able to limit them to 98 yards passing, cold and Shinomiya rushed for 177 yards combined. Austin’s defense forces OCO into a lot of field goals, but it was the offense that really struggled to get going. They total 239 yards of offense, 2 turnovers and only 10 points. Another big killer for austin was the 10 penalties for 69 yards. This will kill any offensive drive or extend a drive for the opposition. In order to win this tie breaker and head the conference finals, austin needs to do a couple things. First, they have to play a clean game. They cannot afford to have another 10 penalty game and kill momentum or extend drives for OCO. Second, the offense has to get going early. Austin has a tendency to start slow offensively. They have been able to battle back in a decent amount of those games, but it would just make thing easier on defense to not have to play from behind. Lastly, defense needs to play, bend but don’t break. Shinomiya will make plays and Cold will too, but limiting those big plays and points.
As long as austin takes care of business in the game against Orange County, their next matchup will be a much tougher test. Arizona beat austin in both match ups in the regular season but austin lost by a total of 12 points between the 2 games. Arizona only lost 2 games all season one to San Jose and another to Cape Town. In both of those games, Arizona lost the turnover battles with those teams. This is rare for them, however, it’s the best way to slow the game down and keep their high powered offense off the field. The biggest thing with playing against Arizona is making the most of all your offensive drives. They rank in the top 2 in the league in all defensive categories. Biggest one is allowing only 15 points a game. Their two losses came against teams who managed to score more than 20 points against them. Which doesn’t always guarantee a win either since they are averaging 31 points for per game. Austin did a good job on defense allowing 21 and 19 points in their match ups but they have to be able to score. Basic concept, score more than your opponent, but easier said than done against a tough Arizona team.
These are winnable games for Austin, but it won’t be an easy road to Sydney, Australia. There they would face either the Wraiths, Butchers, or Crash. All would be great match ups with austin but we will see how it all unfolds.