Hey all! As many know the team many considered the favorite to make the Ultimus from the NSFC was the Baltimore Hawks. And the Baltimore Hawks in surprising fashion collapsed down the stretch and were failures in missing the playoffs. In this series we are going to look at the every game on the Baltimore schedule to determine whether or not they should have the game (or should have lost the game that they wound up winning). The Hawks finished 7-7 with a slightly negative point differential, and missed out on the playoffs by a tiebreaker even though they outscored and allowed less points than the team they tied with, the Philadelphia Liberty.
Lets start in week 1. They had a home game against their division rivals the Yellowknife Wraiths. This was a game where Baltimore was favored and they were expected win as they were at home. Baltimore was able to pull off the win, leading by 10 until the final seconds when Dermot Lavelle returned the final kick off all the way for a touchdown. You will see a theme in these reports about the Hawks garbage kick coverage (it winds up biting them in the butt quite a few times). This game was also of note because Avon Blocksdale and Matty Aks (not typing that full name @Bzerkap) were making their debut as QBs after being offensive linemen in the first few seasons of their careers.
Next up the Hawks were hosting the San Jose Saber cats. San Jose and the Baltimore Hawks are about equal in terms of talent and the Hawks were hosting the game making them favorites. This was the first of unfortunate games for the Baltimore Hawks where they lost a game they should have won. The Hawks were favored in the game, but in an offensive display the Saber cats won in a game was never all that close. San Jose wound up winning the game 31-23. This game is particularly notable because of how poor Avon Blocksdale played. The likely Pro Bowler had a truly bad performance that many would call "Clifford Rove Esque" throwing for only one touchdown against four interceptions. He did have a great game other than the interceptions, throwing for 364 yards and averaging over 18 yards per completion. This puts the Baltimore Hawks luck count at minus 1.
Week three had what was likely the easiest game of the year on the Baltimore Hawks schedule. The Baltimore Hawks were playing host to the dismal Colorado Yeti. The Colorado Yeti wound up the season with only one win on the season (we'll be getting to that win later in this series.) The Yeti in this one however were not able to pull off any type of upset. The Baltimore Hawks' defense suffocated Nicholas Pierno as he completed about 40% of his passes in this one, threw two picks and no touchdowns for a qb rating of only 33. The Baltimore Offense was so dominant that the AI in the sim even pulled the starters. Avon Blocksdale threw two interceptions, but had three touchdowns and 342 yards. Avon however was not the only player in Baltimore to throw a pass. For some reason (I think because of the blowout) Zobot Slinger came in to the game. Zobot, in typical Zobot fashion, game into the game and immediately threw a pick 6 int returned for a touchdown. Unbelievable. The Baltimore Hawks wound up winning this game 48-17 and it should not have even been that close. This is a game where obviously the Baltimore Hawks did not get unlucky, as they were favored.
Stay tuned for the next parts which will go into the one game where the Baltimore Hawks actually GOT lucky. Thanks for reading! 627
GRADED
Lets start in week 1. They had a home game against their division rivals the Yellowknife Wraiths. This was a game where Baltimore was favored and they were expected win as they were at home. Baltimore was able to pull off the win, leading by 10 until the final seconds when Dermot Lavelle returned the final kick off all the way for a touchdown. You will see a theme in these reports about the Hawks garbage kick coverage (it winds up biting them in the butt quite a few times). This game was also of note because Avon Blocksdale and Matty Aks (not typing that full name @Bzerkap) were making their debut as QBs after being offensive linemen in the first few seasons of their careers.
Next up the Hawks were hosting the San Jose Saber cats. San Jose and the Baltimore Hawks are about equal in terms of talent and the Hawks were hosting the game making them favorites. This was the first of unfortunate games for the Baltimore Hawks where they lost a game they should have won. The Hawks were favored in the game, but in an offensive display the Saber cats won in a game was never all that close. San Jose wound up winning the game 31-23. This game is particularly notable because of how poor Avon Blocksdale played. The likely Pro Bowler had a truly bad performance that many would call "Clifford Rove Esque" throwing for only one touchdown against four interceptions. He did have a great game other than the interceptions, throwing for 364 yards and averaging over 18 yards per completion. This puts the Baltimore Hawks luck count at minus 1.
Week three had what was likely the easiest game of the year on the Baltimore Hawks schedule. The Baltimore Hawks were playing host to the dismal Colorado Yeti. The Colorado Yeti wound up the season with only one win on the season (we'll be getting to that win later in this series.) The Yeti in this one however were not able to pull off any type of upset. The Baltimore Hawks' defense suffocated Nicholas Pierno as he completed about 40% of his passes in this one, threw two picks and no touchdowns for a qb rating of only 33. The Baltimore Offense was so dominant that the AI in the sim even pulled the starters. Avon Blocksdale threw two interceptions, but had three touchdowns and 342 yards. Avon however was not the only player in Baltimore to throw a pass. For some reason (I think because of the blowout) Zobot Slinger came in to the game. Zobot, in typical Zobot fashion, game into the game and immediately threw a pick 6 int returned for a touchdown. Unbelievable. The Baltimore Hawks wound up winning this game 48-17 and it should not have even been that close. This is a game where obviously the Baltimore Hawks did not get unlucky, as they were favored.
Stay tuned for the next parts which will go into the one game where the Baltimore Hawks actually GOT lucky. Thanks for reading! 627
GRADED
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