ROBBED
How in the world did they Yellowknife Wraiths fall so short in a season when they likely should have been championship contenders, not to mention even managing to sneak into the playoffs. You've got a team of winners on that Wraiths squad who have the physical and mental makeup of champions, and yet, after the games were played, it was a team like the Colorado Yeti who were the ones holding a ticket to the big dance while the Wraiths sat outside the parking lot, wishing they were dressed to the nines. Not to take anything away from the Yeti, they played their games, and they earned the right to the post season fair and square, but when it comes to “on paper”, they should have been on the outside looking in. In the words of Chris Berman, “that’s why they play the game”. In my mind there is no doubt that the 8-6 record can only be seen as an underachievement for the Yellowknife squad. The question now becomes, will this be the type of season that crushes the spirit of the unit moving forward, or can they re-group to get back to a level where they should probably be?
(201)
PLAYOFF SERIES MVP
Being a member of the New Orleans Second Line myself, I am going to take a look at their clash with the Erie County Otters when examining the Most Valuable Player award for a specific series. That player, to me, was Borkus Maximus III. Borkus managed to amass 236 yards through the air (completing 26 of his 46 attempts throughout the game), and a single touchdown strike. Sure, those numbers don’t pop off the screen, but how often does a QB put up 400+ yards only to lose the game? You have to examine it within the context of the contest itself. When you consider he completed passes to 7 different players, it’s clear that he was playing point guard in getting his skilled players the ball, and enabling them to make enough plays to win (not to mention his lone TD pass was the winner in the contest). To boot, he also racked up yards on the ground himself, scrambling 7 times to the tune of 44 yards, ending the day with a YPC number that RBs would be jealous of (6.3). His ability to manage the game intelligently and calmly within the system is what led to a Second Line win, and thus, he’s my MVP for that game.
(211)
CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
The championship game represented a hell of a roller coaster ride for both squads, and for anyone at home watching. Of course the New Orleans Second Line jumped out to that early ten point lead over the opposing Baltimore Hawks, giving the former a comfortable position for a moment. That feeling of being in the driver seat wouldn’t last long; however, as the Hawks were able to bring back a touchdown merely 2 minutes later, cutting the lead back down to 7. NOLA, not to be outdone at the moment, managed to go back up by double digits in the second quarter, but the slow burn of three straight field goal conversions by the Hawks brought them back within a single point. 3 wasn’t enough for the Hawks’ Turkleton, though… a fourth and fifth field goal let to a brick by brick lead for the Hawks (of course with a Willie-Blocksdale TD was a big part of the win). Maximus, for as good as a player as he is, just wasn’t able to keep pace with the leg of Turkleton, his 3 TD falling short at the final whistle, with penalties (5 for 45 yards) only serving to make the climb steeper. A great game all in all, the Hawks’ slow grind outlasting the Second Line efforts brought them the W.
(221)
GOING TO DISNEYLAND
As I mentioned in the championship game recap, it was the leg of the Baltimore Hawks’ kicker, Turk Turkleton, that put the game on ice for his squad. In a league where you do not often see a kicker go a perfect 5 of 5 (with the addition of two extra points following two Baltimore touchdowns), Turk was able to do so on the biggest stage in nSFL football: The Ultimus Championship. Being a defender, I honestly can say that I cannot even imagine the pressure that he must have felt as he stepped up to take those kicks. I would imagine that with each ensuing conversion, the next kick would become more difficult than the last. Thoughts of “am I due for a miss, will it be this kick that I botch?” must have been running through his head, all the louder on the final of the 5.
Of course, Turk Turkleton isn’t just the place kicker for the Baltimore Hawks, he does double duty as the punter. Field position was a big factor in the day, with the NOLA second line starting half their possessions inside their own 20. One kick off the side of the foot, or even worse, a single blocked punt, could have changed the entire outlook of the game. Yet, as with his field goal kicking, Turk was unflinching.
His combined efforts were a huge factor in the Hawks’ first championship, and in a world where QBs get all the glory, Turk ruled the day.
(251)
How in the world did they Yellowknife Wraiths fall so short in a season when they likely should have been championship contenders, not to mention even managing to sneak into the playoffs. You've got a team of winners on that Wraiths squad who have the physical and mental makeup of champions, and yet, after the games were played, it was a team like the Colorado Yeti who were the ones holding a ticket to the big dance while the Wraiths sat outside the parking lot, wishing they were dressed to the nines. Not to take anything away from the Yeti, they played their games, and they earned the right to the post season fair and square, but when it comes to “on paper”, they should have been on the outside looking in. In the words of Chris Berman, “that’s why they play the game”. In my mind there is no doubt that the 8-6 record can only be seen as an underachievement for the Yellowknife squad. The question now becomes, will this be the type of season that crushes the spirit of the unit moving forward, or can they re-group to get back to a level where they should probably be?
(201)
PLAYOFF SERIES MVP
Being a member of the New Orleans Second Line myself, I am going to take a look at their clash with the Erie County Otters when examining the Most Valuable Player award for a specific series. That player, to me, was Borkus Maximus III. Borkus managed to amass 236 yards through the air (completing 26 of his 46 attempts throughout the game), and a single touchdown strike. Sure, those numbers don’t pop off the screen, but how often does a QB put up 400+ yards only to lose the game? You have to examine it within the context of the contest itself. When you consider he completed passes to 7 different players, it’s clear that he was playing point guard in getting his skilled players the ball, and enabling them to make enough plays to win (not to mention his lone TD pass was the winner in the contest). To boot, he also racked up yards on the ground himself, scrambling 7 times to the tune of 44 yards, ending the day with a YPC number that RBs would be jealous of (6.3). His ability to manage the game intelligently and calmly within the system is what led to a Second Line win, and thus, he’s my MVP for that game.
(211)
CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
The championship game represented a hell of a roller coaster ride for both squads, and for anyone at home watching. Of course the New Orleans Second Line jumped out to that early ten point lead over the opposing Baltimore Hawks, giving the former a comfortable position for a moment. That feeling of being in the driver seat wouldn’t last long; however, as the Hawks were able to bring back a touchdown merely 2 minutes later, cutting the lead back down to 7. NOLA, not to be outdone at the moment, managed to go back up by double digits in the second quarter, but the slow burn of three straight field goal conversions by the Hawks brought them back within a single point. 3 wasn’t enough for the Hawks’ Turkleton, though… a fourth and fifth field goal let to a brick by brick lead for the Hawks (of course with a Willie-Blocksdale TD was a big part of the win). Maximus, for as good as a player as he is, just wasn’t able to keep pace with the leg of Turkleton, his 3 TD falling short at the final whistle, with penalties (5 for 45 yards) only serving to make the climb steeper. A great game all in all, the Hawks’ slow grind outlasting the Second Line efforts brought them the W.
(221)
GOING TO DISNEYLAND
As I mentioned in the championship game recap, it was the leg of the Baltimore Hawks’ kicker, Turk Turkleton, that put the game on ice for his squad. In a league where you do not often see a kicker go a perfect 5 of 5 (with the addition of two extra points following two Baltimore touchdowns), Turk was able to do so on the biggest stage in nSFL football: The Ultimus Championship. Being a defender, I honestly can say that I cannot even imagine the pressure that he must have felt as he stepped up to take those kicks. I would imagine that with each ensuing conversion, the next kick would become more difficult than the last. Thoughts of “am I due for a miss, will it be this kick that I botch?” must have been running through his head, all the louder on the final of the 5.
Of course, Turk Turkleton isn’t just the place kicker for the Baltimore Hawks, he does double duty as the punter. Field position was a big factor in the day, with the NOLA second line starting half their possessions inside their own 20. One kick off the side of the foot, or even worse, a single blocked punt, could have changed the entire outlook of the game. Yet, as with his field goal kicking, Turk was unflinching.
His combined efforts were a huge factor in the Hawks’ first championship, and in a world where QBs get all the glory, Turk ruled the day.
(251)
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