1) Playoff Predictions, Reviews
I just have to write a review about the disaster that was the Baltimore versus Colorado game in the wildcard. I’ve always been a big fan of the underdog and I was really pulling for Colorado to win this one. I didn’t feel like they were completely outmatched and I thought they had a solid chance at upsetting the Hawks and moving on to face Yellowknife. I couldn't have been more wrong as we all got to watch the Yeti get unceremoniously disassembled. At no point was the game even close as Baltimore proceeded to dominate in every single possible category they could. 23 first downs to only 14. 418 total offensive yards to only 315. The Hawks dominated in passive yards, rushing yards, yards per attempt on both sides of the ball. They were more efficient as they won the turnover battle, had less penalties, and controlled the time of possession for almost 10 minutes more than the Yeti. There was not a single highlight or a single optimistic thing that Colorado could have taken from this disaster. On paper, I thought that this game had the chance to be much closer. At the end of the day, a 31 to 0 score line completely demolished that thought. The Hawks showed up to play and if they can continue this level of dominance while going against the Wraiths, we might actually see an upset in this next one.
2) Underdog
I think that Arizona has a very solid chance of upsetting Orange County tonight. We can start with the obvious which is that Arizona actually has a better overall roster at the moment. A lot of their players are older and on the edge of regression, but for the time being they actually are able to field more talent than Orange County is able to. Their average TPE per player is near identical, but with Arizona having a larger roster with less holes, they have 500 more TPE. Now that isn't a huge amount and at the end of the day, total TPE isn't always the best tell. It is also in where Arizona has their massive amounts of TPE banked. Quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, and safety. Their top five players are all clutch skill positions who can make waves in the game. For Orange County, they have a lot of talent wrapped up at defensive tackle, tight end, and cornerback. Now these guys are all great and they certainly make a difference on the field, but they aren't the kind of guys you expect the big play from. Reliable, not flashy. When you're on the road in a playoff game, flashy big plays are what you need to get over the edge. Arizona has that in spades and I think they have a legitimate shot and making this final push for a championship.
3) All about the QBs
I was actually quite excited about the quarterback matchup we had in the wildcard game between Austin and Arizona. You had the older veteran Andrew Reese matching up against a young gun in Easton Cole. Everyone knows who Reese is and they know what to expect from him at this point in his career. That said, we've been able to watch Cole slowly advance and get better in his career and this past season was a real highlight for him. He became one of the most efficient passers in the league and at the end of the day, his numbers ended up almost identical to Reese's. 61% completion rating to 59.5%, 30 touchdowns to 31, and 12 interceptions to 14. These guys ran very similar numbers and even only had about 20 pass attempts separating them. It was truly an exciting prospect going in to see which of these guys would perform better when going head to head in a high stakes winner takes all environment. We weren't disappointed as these guys showed us why they should be a premier pair to watch. As it turns out, they were as close to each other on the day as they were during the season. Yardage, touchdowns, and even interceptions were nearly identical to each other in a quarterback face off that became truly memorable as they traded blows with each other. At the end of the day, Reese scored one extra touchdown and was just a bit more efficient. That ended up being the difference as the veteran took home the win. I look forward to seeing this match again next season to see if Cole can close the very marginal gap between the two.
7) Next year
Unfortunately, New Orleans just barely missed the playoffs this season. It was a long, hard season but at the end of the day, we just didn't quite make it. That said, this should all be changing in the near future. With so much young, developing talent, many thought that this would be the season for New Orleans to take off and begin their championship window. It looks like we were just one more season away. We've got a strong, active core group of players and we've shown that we can at least compete with some of the top teams. No one on our team is showing any signs of regression for a long, long while and we're only going to get better as a unit. More than half of our team's starters are active, near max earning players and we've got three draft picks in the first round of S19. With guys like Gump, Slothface, Bode, and Francisco we’ve got a steady group of veterans leading the way and a large number of young guys who are trying to follow their success. With a huge offseason update coming in the immediate future, I can see this team easily jumping into the top three in terms of total talent this season and at that point, I think we just need a few lucky bounces in the sim and we are there. We're so close that we can smell a championship and now all we need to do is reach out and take it.
I just have to write a review about the disaster that was the Baltimore versus Colorado game in the wildcard. I’ve always been a big fan of the underdog and I was really pulling for Colorado to win this one. I didn’t feel like they were completely outmatched and I thought they had a solid chance at upsetting the Hawks and moving on to face Yellowknife. I couldn't have been more wrong as we all got to watch the Yeti get unceremoniously disassembled. At no point was the game even close as Baltimore proceeded to dominate in every single possible category they could. 23 first downs to only 14. 418 total offensive yards to only 315. The Hawks dominated in passive yards, rushing yards, yards per attempt on both sides of the ball. They were more efficient as they won the turnover battle, had less penalties, and controlled the time of possession for almost 10 minutes more than the Yeti. There was not a single highlight or a single optimistic thing that Colorado could have taken from this disaster. On paper, I thought that this game had the chance to be much closer. At the end of the day, a 31 to 0 score line completely demolished that thought. The Hawks showed up to play and if they can continue this level of dominance while going against the Wraiths, we might actually see an upset in this next one.
2) Underdog
I think that Arizona has a very solid chance of upsetting Orange County tonight. We can start with the obvious which is that Arizona actually has a better overall roster at the moment. A lot of their players are older and on the edge of regression, but for the time being they actually are able to field more talent than Orange County is able to. Their average TPE per player is near identical, but with Arizona having a larger roster with less holes, they have 500 more TPE. Now that isn't a huge amount and at the end of the day, total TPE isn't always the best tell. It is also in where Arizona has their massive amounts of TPE banked. Quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker, and safety. Their top five players are all clutch skill positions who can make waves in the game. For Orange County, they have a lot of talent wrapped up at defensive tackle, tight end, and cornerback. Now these guys are all great and they certainly make a difference on the field, but they aren't the kind of guys you expect the big play from. Reliable, not flashy. When you're on the road in a playoff game, flashy big plays are what you need to get over the edge. Arizona has that in spades and I think they have a legitimate shot and making this final push for a championship.
3) All about the QBs
I was actually quite excited about the quarterback matchup we had in the wildcard game between Austin and Arizona. You had the older veteran Andrew Reese matching up against a young gun in Easton Cole. Everyone knows who Reese is and they know what to expect from him at this point in his career. That said, we've been able to watch Cole slowly advance and get better in his career and this past season was a real highlight for him. He became one of the most efficient passers in the league and at the end of the day, his numbers ended up almost identical to Reese's. 61% completion rating to 59.5%, 30 touchdowns to 31, and 12 interceptions to 14. These guys ran very similar numbers and even only had about 20 pass attempts separating them. It was truly an exciting prospect going in to see which of these guys would perform better when going head to head in a high stakes winner takes all environment. We weren't disappointed as these guys showed us why they should be a premier pair to watch. As it turns out, they were as close to each other on the day as they were during the season. Yardage, touchdowns, and even interceptions were nearly identical to each other in a quarterback face off that became truly memorable as they traded blows with each other. At the end of the day, Reese scored one extra touchdown and was just a bit more efficient. That ended up being the difference as the veteran took home the win. I look forward to seeing this match again next season to see if Cole can close the very marginal gap between the two.
7) Next year
Unfortunately, New Orleans just barely missed the playoffs this season. It was a long, hard season but at the end of the day, we just didn't quite make it. That said, this should all be changing in the near future. With so much young, developing talent, many thought that this would be the season for New Orleans to take off and begin their championship window. It looks like we were just one more season away. We've got a strong, active core group of players and we've shown that we can at least compete with some of the top teams. No one on our team is showing any signs of regression for a long, long while and we're only going to get better as a unit. More than half of our team's starters are active, near max earning players and we've got three draft picks in the first round of S19. With guys like Gump, Slothface, Bode, and Francisco we’ve got a steady group of veterans leading the way and a large number of young guys who are trying to follow their success. With a huge offseason update coming in the immediate future, I can see this team easily jumping into the top three in terms of total talent this season and at that point, I think we just need a few lucky bounces in the sim and we are there. We're so close that we can smell a championship and now all we need to do is reach out and take it.