Robbed:
At the first glance, my writeup would seem biased as I was the Wraiths' player before retiring Clee. But look closer then - the bottom two ASFC teams never fought for the post-season so it's obvious it's YKW that was robbed. And don't even at me. I see a lot of members don't understand why Colorado went to the playoffs. Me neither. The Wraiths had a better defence that could've stopped Baltimore in the conference finals. Instead, we saw that Colorado was fighting hard, but their defence was just too weak. Allowing 40 points won't help a team to achieve their dream, facts. We can say that the Yeti did it when it mattered (a win vs YKW on the road), but the real reason why they could make it was weak Yellowknife play against 4-10 Philly and 3-10 Zona. So yeah, COL had a luck that didn't last long though. There is one guy who said it best - it's not like Colorado made it, it's more like Yellowknife lost that playoff spot by themselves. Conclusion - Baltimore didn't care; Colorado got lucky; Yellowknife screwed up the NSFC finals; Philly didn't care...well, except for that game vs YKW that they won.
Playoff Review:
Let's continue my first writeup with the NSFC finals between the Baltimore Hawks against Colorado Yeti teams. BAL made it with the dangerous 11-3 record and COL could squeak with a 8-6 record. The underdogs were trying to prove that their success wasn't a fluke and actually made an impressive start by taking a 14-0 lead. This didn't last very long though. The first half finished with a 21-21 tie. Then we saw that the Yeti was still fighting and pulled what they could, but Baltimore slowly started to run away from their opponenets. At the end of the day, the Hawks could celebrate a 40-34 win to advance into the finals.
The second matchup was a 12-2 Second Line taking on 9-5 OCO. The Otters were a dominant force back then, but for now they were an underdogs there. Unfortunately, we didn't see as much fight as in NSFC finals. New Orleans took a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and never let slip it away. The fans were hoping for a miracle when Crush made it 24-13, but nothing much happened then. 39-21, an easy win for NO.
As about the finals, we were expecting to see a bloodfest between two best S9 teams: 11-3 Baltimore vs 12-2 New Orleans. And we actually got a good match as it was a roller-coaster for both teams. Anyways, NO managed to do a 18-0 fourth quarter run and win it all. 37-24 and we have a new champ.
Championship Game Recap:
More about this match. Baltimore actually had a good start as Browning could catch a marvelous 18 yard pass from Blocksdale and it's 7-0. The Second line answered with a safety - it was a second time when they ''clapped'' a quarterback in his own endzone. This time, Wozy did it. 7-2. The start of the second quarter brought even more optimism on the Hawks fan faces. Owen Taylor could squeak past his rival defence and it's 14-2. And then it was all New Orleans. First of all Smallwood answers to Taylor's run; then Jackson get a ball from Borkus for another successful TD; and then Blewit puts a final shot for three more points. 19-14, New Orleans in the lead.
The second half once again started in Baltimore way. Turkleton shows why he's one of the best kickers in this league and then Taylor once again could trick NO defs for 7 points. 24-19, now it's the Hawks that's in the driver seat. But the final answer was from the Second Line guys. Smallwood also makes a successful run for the second time with a two point convo. Then Evans puts his team in a 10-point lead and Baltimore just can't do shit about it. Blewit put a nail in the coffin with his successful field goal. 18-0 in last quarter, 37-24 and our new champs will be New Orleans.
Going to Disneyland!
I was always writing a kicker as the guy who should've been an MVP. Especially when it came to Madlad from the Otters' team. But this time I'm going to agree with a sim engine and give the MVP to a New Orleans' quarter back Borkus Maximus III. I get it, 24/43 CP/ATT ratio in ASFC finals isn't the best stat, but he still managed to shit on Mike Boss:
1. He has more touchdowns: 4-2;
2. He has more yards: 344-278;
3. He has a better rating: 112.9 - 79.5
4. And most importantly - he wasn't sacked in his own endzone.
What about the finals? I gotta say that he had a more difficult opponent in Blocksdale, but at the end of the day, he still was better. And once again, he wasn't sacked in his own endzone, like it happened with his rival QB. His TD passes were also right in time: the first one helped his team to take a lead for the first time. The second one could give more breathing room for his team since they got a 10-point lead. So yeah, while I'm not that guy who can do more research on stats, but seeing a boxscore is good enough for me to say that Maximus III deserved the offense MVP awards in both matches.
At the first glance, my writeup would seem biased as I was the Wraiths' player before retiring Clee. But look closer then - the bottom two ASFC teams never fought for the post-season so it's obvious it's YKW that was robbed. And don't even at me. I see a lot of members don't understand why Colorado went to the playoffs. Me neither. The Wraiths had a better defence that could've stopped Baltimore in the conference finals. Instead, we saw that Colorado was fighting hard, but their defence was just too weak. Allowing 40 points won't help a team to achieve their dream, facts. We can say that the Yeti did it when it mattered (a win vs YKW on the road), but the real reason why they could make it was weak Yellowknife play against 4-10 Philly and 3-10 Zona. So yeah, COL had a luck that didn't last long though. There is one guy who said it best - it's not like Colorado made it, it's more like Yellowknife lost that playoff spot by themselves. Conclusion - Baltimore didn't care; Colorado got lucky; Yellowknife screwed up the NSFC finals; Philly didn't care...well, except for that game vs YKW that they won.
Playoff Review:
Let's continue my first writeup with the NSFC finals between the Baltimore Hawks against Colorado Yeti teams. BAL made it with the dangerous 11-3 record and COL could squeak with a 8-6 record. The underdogs were trying to prove that their success wasn't a fluke and actually made an impressive start by taking a 14-0 lead. This didn't last very long though. The first half finished with a 21-21 tie. Then we saw that the Yeti was still fighting and pulled what they could, but Baltimore slowly started to run away from their opponenets. At the end of the day, the Hawks could celebrate a 40-34 win to advance into the finals.
The second matchup was a 12-2 Second Line taking on 9-5 OCO. The Otters were a dominant force back then, but for now they were an underdogs there. Unfortunately, we didn't see as much fight as in NSFC finals. New Orleans took a 9-0 lead in the first quarter and never let slip it away. The fans were hoping for a miracle when Crush made it 24-13, but nothing much happened then. 39-21, an easy win for NO.
As about the finals, we were expecting to see a bloodfest between two best S9 teams: 11-3 Baltimore vs 12-2 New Orleans. And we actually got a good match as it was a roller-coaster for both teams. Anyways, NO managed to do a 18-0 fourth quarter run and win it all. 37-24 and we have a new champ.
Championship Game Recap:
More about this match. Baltimore actually had a good start as Browning could catch a marvelous 18 yard pass from Blocksdale and it's 7-0. The Second line answered with a safety - it was a second time when they ''clapped'' a quarterback in his own endzone. This time, Wozy did it. 7-2. The start of the second quarter brought even more optimism on the Hawks fan faces. Owen Taylor could squeak past his rival defence and it's 14-2. And then it was all New Orleans. First of all Smallwood answers to Taylor's run; then Jackson get a ball from Borkus for another successful TD; and then Blewit puts a final shot for three more points. 19-14, New Orleans in the lead.
The second half once again started in Baltimore way. Turkleton shows why he's one of the best kickers in this league and then Taylor once again could trick NO defs for 7 points. 24-19, now it's the Hawks that's in the driver seat. But the final answer was from the Second Line guys. Smallwood also makes a successful run for the second time with a two point convo. Then Evans puts his team in a 10-point lead and Baltimore just can't do shit about it. Blewit put a nail in the coffin with his successful field goal. 18-0 in last quarter, 37-24 and our new champs will be New Orleans.
Going to Disneyland!
I was always writing a kicker as the guy who should've been an MVP. Especially when it came to Madlad from the Otters' team. But this time I'm going to agree with a sim engine and give the MVP to a New Orleans' quarter back Borkus Maximus III. I get it, 24/43 CP/ATT ratio in ASFC finals isn't the best stat, but he still managed to shit on Mike Boss:
1. He has more touchdowns: 4-2;
2. He has more yards: 344-278;
3. He has a better rating: 112.9 - 79.5
4. And most importantly - he wasn't sacked in his own endzone.
What about the finals? I gotta say that he had a more difficult opponent in Blocksdale, but at the end of the day, he still was better. And once again, he wasn't sacked in his own endzone, like it happened with his rival QB. His TD passes were also right in time: the first one helped his team to take a lead for the first time. The second one could give more breathing room for his team since they got a 10-point lead. So yeah, while I'm not that guy who can do more research on stats, but seeing a boxscore is good enough for me to say that Maximus III deserved the offense MVP awards in both matches.