Hi all! It's Tatsu Nakamura, your local S22 rookie RB prospect, here to take a look at the performances we saw from the other S21 DSFL running back prospects in their first real professional games ahead of Thursday's loaded DSFL Draft. I'm going to go game by game here and give analyze these running backs' statistical performances and give some pretty loose thoughts on how they looked from the ol' reliable eye test. At the end, I'm going to give my top three performers from day one. For my sanity and for the purpose of providing real analysis, I'm only covering running back performances with at least 10 rushes in the game.
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GAME 1 - Baltimore Muleriders vs. Buffalo Ramblers
Baltimore Running back
Vince Waterhouse
Key Attributes:
Strength: 44
Agility: 56
Speed: 80
Hands: 49
Endurance: 72
Stats:
26 carries, 111 yards, 4.3 average yards per rush, longest rush of 10 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 receptions, 9 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Somebody fire whoever is calling the plays for Baltimore. Although Waterhouse may have an unorthodox spread of attributes (gotta have EXACTLY 49 hands), he has the tools to have kept the Muleriders in this game. Instead, Baltimore dropped quarterback Allen Spooner back more than 37 times while the young gunslinger only completed 17 passes, threw a pick, and finished with a terrible 43.2 passer rating. Meanwhile, Waterhouse enjoyed an okay 4.3 average on his 26 attempts. This number was definitely boosted by a solid second half performance as Waterhouse looked almost as bad as the rest of Baltimore's offense at halftime, sporting 62 yards on 16 rushes for an average of under 3.9 yards per carry. It was hard to get a gauge on Waterhouse as a player here as he was both underutilized and misutilized. Baltimore's desire to pass at every critical moment made the Muleriders predictable and their rushing plays were clearly telegraphed.
Buffalo Running back
Anthony De Luca
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 78
Hands: 50
Endurance: 75
Stats:
31 carries, 178 yards, 5.7 average yards per rush, longest rush of 14 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts:
Damn De Luca! This guy came out of the gates ready to go! De Luca may not seem to have elite speed out of the gates, but he uses what he's got and he used it well today. De Luca's 5.7 avg was depressed some by the grindy nature of this game and by the Ramblers really relying on him to take this lowing score game all the way to the end. Even without the presence of one "elite" stat, De Luca's combination of agility, speed, and endurance helped him have one hell of a day. Buffalo really found their identity in the running game and De Luca's superior endurance helped him lead his team to victory with 31 carries. As he continues to grow De Luca could become a true workhorse RB.
GAME 2 - Cincinnati Jet Hawks vs. Buffalo Ramblers
Cincinnati Running backs
Da Owl
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 55
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
13 carries, 133 yards, 10.2 average yards per rush, longest rush of 72 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Our first running back that hasn't really prioritized speed. While that may hurt him down the line, the horribly slow defensive players in the Prospect Bowl allowed Owl to rush for 133 yards. Don't let the 10.2 average yards per rush excite you too much, outside of a stellar 72 yard touchdown run, Owl averaged just under 5.1 yards per rush. But boy, was that a good run, maybe one of the best plays of the night. Coming out from the 28 yard line, Da Owl took off out of a wildcat formation to run a weak side off-tackle stretch, working his way up and out behind his lead blocker. Owl looked to be breaking inside of his blocker and I thought it was very likely he was down after 4 yards, as the linebackers and defensive backs all broke onto the play and took solid pursuit angles, but Owl made a long cut outside and around his blocker, pushing up to the sideline. Despite having 6, nay 7 players right on his ass, Owl turned on the afterburners and somersaulted into the endzone with 5 yards of space at the end of a great run. While he definitely has shown great potential, look for Owl to invest into speed to get more consistency out of his smart, east/west style.
Winston Bragg
Key Attributes:
Strength: 72
Agility: 50
Speed: 50
Hands: 40
Endurance: 70
Stats:
10 carries, 18 yards, 1.8 average yards per rush, longest rush of 6 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: It was great to see my boy Winnie playing alongside Da Owl. Bragg is a University of Washington guy that I've been playing with for a while. This guy has always been the thunder to my lightning and is just a great all-around dude and player. It's always going to be hard to understand Bragg's performance from the rushing and receiving stats alone. Our first and maybe only big boi of the night, Bragg is blocker and a short-yards guy first and foremost. This guy is a fighter and a fierce player on the turf. The stat to look at is definitely Winnie's two FAT pancakes on the night. A key player for two-back sets, Winston could make his next team very happy when they need to stack the line of scrimmage in the redzone and get that key lead block. And defenses will key into that in a way that gives DSFL OCs another great tool in their playbook. Look at the Jet Hawk's big break of the night: Da Owl's 72 yard touchdown. In the wildcat set, Bragg was lined up to be the lead blocker on the strong side, and the right half of Buffalo's defense bit hard, expecting the big boi to lead the way, opening Owl to make some clever moves on the left side.
Buffalo Running back
Anthony De Luca
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 78
Hands: 50
Endurance: 75
Stats:
24 carries, 118 yards, 4.9 average yards per rush, longest rush of 13 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 reception, 6 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Cincinnati's defensive staff must have been keyed into Buffalo's earlier game as the Jet Hawks went full hail storm on De Luca, keying into his position and movement on every down. Buffalo's staff had one hell of a contingency plan though, using the play action, run pass option, and a variety of quick mid range routes all over the field. De Luca still held his own, using his vision and agility to cut outside of the box and towards the sidelines, managing to still put up a strong performance. De Luca also got the chance to show off his chops not just as and east/west runner, but also a reliable tool in the red zone, taking it in twice from 7 and 3 yards out, showing strength and excellent vision behind his offensive line and not just around it. De Luca did a great job of selling the run, enabling his quarterback, and even getting back and keeping his quarterback clean, as he helped Buffalo to keep Jim Waters on his feet for each of his 36 dropbacks.
GAME 3 - Cincinnati Jet Hawks vs. Baltimore Muleriders
Cincinnati Running backs
Da Owl
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 55
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
15 carries, 65 yards, 4.3 average yards per rush, longest rush of 11 yards, 0 touchdown, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Cincinnati's offensive staff took all of the positives that they saw from their first game, brought them all together, and flushed them down the f**king toilet, replacing them instead with all of the worst things they saw from Baltimore's game. The Jet Hawks sat back with their thumbs in their mouths as they let let Dude Doggo knuckleball the football out of his ham hands 45 times, finding his wide receiver only 21 times, and finding the wrong jersey twice. On the rushing side, the Jet Hawks saw a great rushing stat line for Owl from the first game and decided to hand him the ball 15 times and tell him to yeet his ass right up the middle behind a half-asleep offensive line. Hey Cincinnati, fire literally everyone who thought was good to play an east/west running back like he's freaking Adrian Peterson. Not much that I can say about Da Owl from this game, I just hope he can learn from the notes on the first game.
Winston Bragg
Key Attributes:
Strength: 72
Agility: 50
Speed: 50
Hands: 40
Endurance: 70
Stats:
11 carries, 32 yards, 2.9 average yards per rush, longest rush of 6 yards, 0 touchdowns, 3 receptions, 20 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Okay, after looking closer at Winnie and Doggo's performances this game, it looks like the Jet Hawks really wanted to try to let those players shine and I get that, it is just the Prospect Bowl. So I apologize to the staff from Cincinnati. At least, like 50% apologize. Winston had a great game that showed off what he specializes in. The prototypical fullback, this guy can really build up speed and run a mike linebacker over, either to get the short yards needed or to clear the way for his tailback. Bragg found a way to get production through the air too, sneaking out of the backfield three times to help push his offence downfield.
Baltimore Running back
Vince Waterhouse
Key Attributes:
Strength: 44
Agility: 56
Speed: 80
Hands: 49
Endurance: 72
Stats:
19 carries, 114 yards, 6.0 average yards per rush, longest rush of 17 yards, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Wow, Baltimore really learned how to play efficiently in this game and capitalize on the explosive playmakers they have. Waterhouse showed up and showed off against the Jet Hawks putting up a pretty 6.0 average on his 19 carries. You really got a good idea of the kind of running back Waterhouse wants to be in this game, and he's got the potential to really get there. Vince is a straight up twitchy dude, and he gets downhill quick. A real high-motor, north/south guy, Waterhouse uses his quick feet to cut around the field and keep defenders guessing. The guy looks like he's actually vibrating when he gets the ball, his footwork is killer. Great game man.
GAME 4 - Miami Grenadiers vs. New England Atoms
There maybe some inconsistencies in the stats on this one, blame Bex. I had to take what I could from the stream.
Miami Running back
J.B. Apollo
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 65
Speed: 70
Hands: 50
Endurance: 70
Stats:
30 carries, 113 yards, 3.8 average yards per rush, 1 touchdown, remaining stats not recorded
Thoughts: Miami came in with a really clear, well made battle plan to split these Atoms. The combination of a strong defense, quick West Coast style passing plays, and feeding Apollo as much as they could payed off. Apollo was fighting through the whole defense for every one of his 30 carries. Even with that, he pulled through for 113 yards, an average of just under 3.8 per carry. That 3.8 number might not be flashy, but when you're rushing Apollo on every down, the chains just don't stop moving. Apollo is a really smart runner too. Remember how I described Waterhouse as like, the Energizer bunny on coke? Well Apollo has the same kind of vision and skill at getting downfield as a north/south runner, but damn is this boy smooth like butter. Apollo doesn't make cuts and jukes around the defense so much as he glides around his blockers and would be tacklers.
New England Running back
Aaron Feels
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 81
Hands: 40
Endurance: 73
Stats:
18 carries, 101 yards, 5.6 average yards per rush, 0 touchdowns, remaining stats not recorded
Thoughts: Aaron Feelsbadman. This guy has the speed and vision to have at least made this game close, but a lot of the best play designs and key rushing opportunities were given to an actual robot. I think Feels must have pissed in his coach's Wheaties, because New England really didn't want to feed him the ball except on long third downs or garbage suicide plays behind a middling offensive line. Feels looks a lot like the greek god on the other sideline, making smooth cuts around the defense, but Feels may have forced the play too far east and west too often, sometimes on him, and sometimes on lethargic blockers. On half of his runs, Feels was running halfway across the field just to make a 5 yard run. Despite all this, the man still put up a more than respectable 5.6 average yards per rush and has the potential to make some big plays.
GAME 5 - New York Poodles vs. Miami Grenadiers
New York Running back
Julio Tirtawidjaja
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
32 carries, 132 yards, 4.1 average yards per rush, longest rush of 13 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 receptions, 14 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Yeah, I'm gonna need a pronunciation guide on this one Julio. I think the Poodles tried to Space Jam the Grenadiers game plan, but they didn't bring along nearly enough mojo to pull it off. Tirtawidjaja did a respectable job as New York's workhorse, managing to hold onto an average of 4.1 yards per carry. And Tirtawidjaja definitely has the skills and athletic ability to do better in the future. On the field, Tirtawidjaja looks like the aggressive and confidant middle-ground between Apollo's silky smooth running style and Waterhouse's crackhouse jitterbug style, but he fails to have the vision and decision-making of either. Tirtawidjaja regularly missed his running lane while trying to break the run outside. Solid potential, lots of room to grow. Time to get nose-deep in the playbook and spend all day in the film room kid.
Miami Running back
J.B. Apollo
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 65
Speed: 70
Hands: 50
Endurance: 70
Stats: 27 carries, 123 yards, 4.6 average yards per rush, longest rush of 14 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Look, it's getting late and I don't think I have much more to say about this kid. He showed up and showed his stuff. He needs to clean up his decision making and vision a little bit, and his coaches really need to focus on the kind of north/south running that this guy kills at, but Apollo is still a really solid three down running back with silky smooth moves.
GAME 6 - New England Atoms vs. New York Poodles
New England Running back
Aaron Feels
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 81
Hands: 40
Endurance: 73
Stats: 20 carries, 147 yards, 7.4 average yards per rush, longest rush of 48 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 reception, 7 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: There we go man! Feels really showed up in this game and hit his stride. My boy Aaron was grooving! Feels found great success snaking his way on some great north/south runs, this kid really looked like he had perfect vision of where he needed to go to get as much as he could out of every run. Feels pulled some more awesome tools out of his kit to show to the crowd in the last game of the night, making his way off the tackle on the weak side of an I-formation package and played with major cajones against both safeties barreling towards him. Feels pulled off a crisp stop-and-go twice in a row to brush past both of them, finding nothing put open field after them on his way to a 48 yard touchdown. That play alone showed excellent feet, agility, and absolute madlad tier mind game skills. Feels relationship with his coaches still seemed to be in question. He was still kept out of several key plays, and I get the feeling that feeding him the rock 5 or 10 more times early on in this game might have given the Atoms an easier time pulling away.
Running Bot
Okay, so technically New England's Running Bot got 10 carries, and I said that was my threshold, but I am refusing to write up about this vulture as a sign of respect for my boy Feels.
New York Running back
Julio Tirtawidjaja
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
20 carries, 81 yards, 4 average yards per rush, longest rush of 15 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Wow, man. Time for a reset Julio. This game really put a dark filter on all of the silver linings from the previous game. Tirtawidjaja looked like he lost his contacts before the game, and he played with a real lack of vision and confidence because of it. Tirtawidjaja was straight up running in the wrong direction on multiple plays, and he failed to hit a single gap, when there even was one. Get yourself some Lasik or some coke-bottle glasses and get in the film room my dude.
Top Three Running Backs from Day One
1. Anthony De Luca
2. Aaron Feels
3. J.B. Apollo
Honorable Mention: Shout out to the big blocky boi Winston Bragg for playing really well in his role.
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Alright then! That's it for me tonight. This took a lot of time, so I don't know if I'll do this again for the remainder of the Prospect Bowl, and if I do, it'll be trimmed down significantly, but I was just so excited for the first few games for us rookies. I hope you all enjoy!
Tatsu Nakamura out.
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GAME 1 - Baltimore Muleriders vs. Buffalo Ramblers
Baltimore Running back
Vince Waterhouse
Key Attributes:
Strength: 44
Agility: 56
Speed: 80
Hands: 49
Endurance: 72
Stats:
26 carries, 111 yards, 4.3 average yards per rush, longest rush of 10 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 receptions, 9 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Somebody fire whoever is calling the plays for Baltimore. Although Waterhouse may have an unorthodox spread of attributes (gotta have EXACTLY 49 hands), he has the tools to have kept the Muleriders in this game. Instead, Baltimore dropped quarterback Allen Spooner back more than 37 times while the young gunslinger only completed 17 passes, threw a pick, and finished with a terrible 43.2 passer rating. Meanwhile, Waterhouse enjoyed an okay 4.3 average on his 26 attempts. This number was definitely boosted by a solid second half performance as Waterhouse looked almost as bad as the rest of Baltimore's offense at halftime, sporting 62 yards on 16 rushes for an average of under 3.9 yards per carry. It was hard to get a gauge on Waterhouse as a player here as he was both underutilized and misutilized. Baltimore's desire to pass at every critical moment made the Muleriders predictable and their rushing plays were clearly telegraphed.
Buffalo Running back
Anthony De Luca
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 78
Hands: 50
Endurance: 75
Stats:
31 carries, 178 yards, 5.7 average yards per rush, longest rush of 14 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts:
Damn De Luca! This guy came out of the gates ready to go! De Luca may not seem to have elite speed out of the gates, but he uses what he's got and he used it well today. De Luca's 5.7 avg was depressed some by the grindy nature of this game and by the Ramblers really relying on him to take this lowing score game all the way to the end. Even without the presence of one "elite" stat, De Luca's combination of agility, speed, and endurance helped him have one hell of a day. Buffalo really found their identity in the running game and De Luca's superior endurance helped him lead his team to victory with 31 carries. As he continues to grow De Luca could become a true workhorse RB.
GAME 2 - Cincinnati Jet Hawks vs. Buffalo Ramblers
Cincinnati Running backs
Da Owl
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 55
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
13 carries, 133 yards, 10.2 average yards per rush, longest rush of 72 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Our first running back that hasn't really prioritized speed. While that may hurt him down the line, the horribly slow defensive players in the Prospect Bowl allowed Owl to rush for 133 yards. Don't let the 10.2 average yards per rush excite you too much, outside of a stellar 72 yard touchdown run, Owl averaged just under 5.1 yards per rush. But boy, was that a good run, maybe one of the best plays of the night. Coming out from the 28 yard line, Da Owl took off out of a wildcat formation to run a weak side off-tackle stretch, working his way up and out behind his lead blocker. Owl looked to be breaking inside of his blocker and I thought it was very likely he was down after 4 yards, as the linebackers and defensive backs all broke onto the play and took solid pursuit angles, but Owl made a long cut outside and around his blocker, pushing up to the sideline. Despite having 6, nay 7 players right on his ass, Owl turned on the afterburners and somersaulted into the endzone with 5 yards of space at the end of a great run. While he definitely has shown great potential, look for Owl to invest into speed to get more consistency out of his smart, east/west style.
Winston Bragg
Key Attributes:
Strength: 72
Agility: 50
Speed: 50
Hands: 40
Endurance: 70
Stats:
10 carries, 18 yards, 1.8 average yards per rush, longest rush of 6 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: It was great to see my boy Winnie playing alongside Da Owl. Bragg is a University of Washington guy that I've been playing with for a while. This guy has always been the thunder to my lightning and is just a great all-around dude and player. It's always going to be hard to understand Bragg's performance from the rushing and receiving stats alone. Our first and maybe only big boi of the night, Bragg is blocker and a short-yards guy first and foremost. This guy is a fighter and a fierce player on the turf. The stat to look at is definitely Winnie's two FAT pancakes on the night. A key player for two-back sets, Winston could make his next team very happy when they need to stack the line of scrimmage in the redzone and get that key lead block. And defenses will key into that in a way that gives DSFL OCs another great tool in their playbook. Look at the Jet Hawk's big break of the night: Da Owl's 72 yard touchdown. In the wildcat set, Bragg was lined up to be the lead blocker on the strong side, and the right half of Buffalo's defense bit hard, expecting the big boi to lead the way, opening Owl to make some clever moves on the left side.
Buffalo Running back
Anthony De Luca
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 78
Hands: 50
Endurance: 75
Stats:
24 carries, 118 yards, 4.9 average yards per rush, longest rush of 13 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 reception, 6 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Cincinnati's defensive staff must have been keyed into Buffalo's earlier game as the Jet Hawks went full hail storm on De Luca, keying into his position and movement on every down. Buffalo's staff had one hell of a contingency plan though, using the play action, run pass option, and a variety of quick mid range routes all over the field. De Luca still held his own, using his vision and agility to cut outside of the box and towards the sidelines, managing to still put up a strong performance. De Luca also got the chance to show off his chops not just as and east/west runner, but also a reliable tool in the red zone, taking it in twice from 7 and 3 yards out, showing strength and excellent vision behind his offensive line and not just around it. De Luca did a great job of selling the run, enabling his quarterback, and even getting back and keeping his quarterback clean, as he helped Buffalo to keep Jim Waters on his feet for each of his 36 dropbacks.
GAME 3 - Cincinnati Jet Hawks vs. Baltimore Muleriders
Cincinnati Running backs
Da Owl
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 55
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
15 carries, 65 yards, 4.3 average yards per rush, longest rush of 11 yards, 0 touchdown, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Cincinnati's offensive staff took all of the positives that they saw from their first game, brought them all together, and flushed them down the f**king toilet, replacing them instead with all of the worst things they saw from Baltimore's game. The Jet Hawks sat back with their thumbs in their mouths as they let let Dude Doggo knuckleball the football out of his ham hands 45 times, finding his wide receiver only 21 times, and finding the wrong jersey twice. On the rushing side, the Jet Hawks saw a great rushing stat line for Owl from the first game and decided to hand him the ball 15 times and tell him to yeet his ass right up the middle behind a half-asleep offensive line. Hey Cincinnati, fire literally everyone who thought was good to play an east/west running back like he's freaking Adrian Peterson. Not much that I can say about Da Owl from this game, I just hope he can learn from the notes on the first game.
Winston Bragg
Key Attributes:
Strength: 72
Agility: 50
Speed: 50
Hands: 40
Endurance: 70
Stats:
11 carries, 32 yards, 2.9 average yards per rush, longest rush of 6 yards, 0 touchdowns, 3 receptions, 20 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Okay, after looking closer at Winnie and Doggo's performances this game, it looks like the Jet Hawks really wanted to try to let those players shine and I get that, it is just the Prospect Bowl. So I apologize to the staff from Cincinnati. At least, like 50% apologize. Winston had a great game that showed off what he specializes in. The prototypical fullback, this guy can really build up speed and run a mike linebacker over, either to get the short yards needed or to clear the way for his tailback. Bragg found a way to get production through the air too, sneaking out of the backfield three times to help push his offence downfield.
Baltimore Running back
Vince Waterhouse
Key Attributes:
Strength: 44
Agility: 56
Speed: 80
Hands: 49
Endurance: 72
Stats:
19 carries, 114 yards, 6.0 average yards per rush, longest rush of 17 yards, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Wow, Baltimore really learned how to play efficiently in this game and capitalize on the explosive playmakers they have. Waterhouse showed up and showed off against the Jet Hawks putting up a pretty 6.0 average on his 19 carries. You really got a good idea of the kind of running back Waterhouse wants to be in this game, and he's got the potential to really get there. Vince is a straight up twitchy dude, and he gets downhill quick. A real high-motor, north/south guy, Waterhouse uses his quick feet to cut around the field and keep defenders guessing. The guy looks like he's actually vibrating when he gets the ball, his footwork is killer. Great game man.
GAME 4 - Miami Grenadiers vs. New England Atoms
There maybe some inconsistencies in the stats on this one, blame Bex. I had to take what I could from the stream.
Miami Running back
J.B. Apollo
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 65
Speed: 70
Hands: 50
Endurance: 70
Stats:
30 carries, 113 yards, 3.8 average yards per rush, 1 touchdown, remaining stats not recorded
Thoughts: Miami came in with a really clear, well made battle plan to split these Atoms. The combination of a strong defense, quick West Coast style passing plays, and feeding Apollo as much as they could payed off. Apollo was fighting through the whole defense for every one of his 30 carries. Even with that, he pulled through for 113 yards, an average of just under 3.8 per carry. That 3.8 number might not be flashy, but when you're rushing Apollo on every down, the chains just don't stop moving. Apollo is a really smart runner too. Remember how I described Waterhouse as like, the Energizer bunny on coke? Well Apollo has the same kind of vision and skill at getting downfield as a north/south runner, but damn is this boy smooth like butter. Apollo doesn't make cuts and jukes around the defense so much as he glides around his blockers and would be tacklers.
New England Running back
Aaron Feels
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 81
Hands: 40
Endurance: 73
Stats:
18 carries, 101 yards, 5.6 average yards per rush, 0 touchdowns, remaining stats not recorded
Thoughts: Aaron Feelsbadman. This guy has the speed and vision to have at least made this game close, but a lot of the best play designs and key rushing opportunities were given to an actual robot. I think Feels must have pissed in his coach's Wheaties, because New England really didn't want to feed him the ball except on long third downs or garbage suicide plays behind a middling offensive line. Feels looks a lot like the greek god on the other sideline, making smooth cuts around the defense, but Feels may have forced the play too far east and west too often, sometimes on him, and sometimes on lethargic blockers. On half of his runs, Feels was running halfway across the field just to make a 5 yard run. Despite all this, the man still put up a more than respectable 5.6 average yards per rush and has the potential to make some big plays.
GAME 5 - New York Poodles vs. Miami Grenadiers
New York Running back
Julio Tirtawidjaja
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
32 carries, 132 yards, 4.1 average yards per rush, longest rush of 13 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 receptions, 14 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Yeah, I'm gonna need a pronunciation guide on this one Julio. I think the Poodles tried to Space Jam the Grenadiers game plan, but they didn't bring along nearly enough mojo to pull it off. Tirtawidjaja did a respectable job as New York's workhorse, managing to hold onto an average of 4.1 yards per carry. And Tirtawidjaja definitely has the skills and athletic ability to do better in the future. On the field, Tirtawidjaja looks like the aggressive and confidant middle-ground between Apollo's silky smooth running style and Waterhouse's crackhouse jitterbug style, but he fails to have the vision and decision-making of either. Tirtawidjaja regularly missed his running lane while trying to break the run outside. Solid potential, lots of room to grow. Time to get nose-deep in the playbook and spend all day in the film room kid.
Miami Running back
J.B. Apollo
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 65
Speed: 70
Hands: 50
Endurance: 70
Stats: 27 carries, 123 yards, 4.6 average yards per rush, longest rush of 14 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Look, it's getting late and I don't think I have much more to say about this kid. He showed up and showed his stuff. He needs to clean up his decision making and vision a little bit, and his coaches really need to focus on the kind of north/south running that this guy kills at, but Apollo is still a really solid three down running back with silky smooth moves.
GAME 6 - New England Atoms vs. New York Poodles
New England Running back
Aaron Feels
Key Attributes:
Strength: 40
Agility: 55
Speed: 81
Hands: 40
Endurance: 73
Stats: 20 carries, 147 yards, 7.4 average yards per rush, longest rush of 48 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 reception, 7 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: There we go man! Feels really showed up in this game and hit his stride. My boy Aaron was grooving! Feels found great success snaking his way on some great north/south runs, this kid really looked like he had perfect vision of where he needed to go to get as much as he could out of every run. Feels pulled some more awesome tools out of his kit to show to the crowd in the last game of the night, making his way off the tackle on the weak side of an I-formation package and played with major cajones against both safeties barreling towards him. Feels pulled off a crisp stop-and-go twice in a row to brush past both of them, finding nothing put open field after them on his way to a 48 yard touchdown. That play alone showed excellent feet, agility, and absolute madlad tier mind game skills. Feels relationship with his coaches still seemed to be in question. He was still kept out of several key plays, and I get the feeling that feeding him the rock 5 or 10 more times early on in this game might have given the Atoms an easier time pulling away.
Running Bot
Okay, so technically New England's Running Bot got 10 carries, and I said that was my threshold, but I am refusing to write up about this vulture as a sign of respect for my boy Feels.
New York Running back
Julio Tirtawidjaja
Key Attributes:
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Speed: 70
Hands: 55
Endurance: 70
Stats:
20 carries, 81 yards, 4 average yards per rush, longest rush of 15 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 receptions, 0 receiving yards, 0 touchdowns
Thoughts: Wow, man. Time for a reset Julio. This game really put a dark filter on all of the silver linings from the previous game. Tirtawidjaja looked like he lost his contacts before the game, and he played with a real lack of vision and confidence because of it. Tirtawidjaja was straight up running in the wrong direction on multiple plays, and he failed to hit a single gap, when there even was one. Get yourself some Lasik or some coke-bottle glasses and get in the film room my dude.
Top Three Running Backs from Day One
1. Anthony De Luca
2. Aaron Feels
3. J.B. Apollo
Honorable Mention: Shout out to the big blocky boi Winston Bragg for playing really well in his role.
:dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl: :dsfl:
Alright then! That's it for me tonight. This took a lot of time, so I don't know if I'll do this again for the remainder of the Prospect Bowl, and if I do, it'll be trimmed down significantly, but I was just so excited for the first few games for us rookies. I hope you all enjoy!
Tatsu Nakamura out.
![[Image: xzfGZKP.png]](https://i.imgur.com/xzfGZKP.png)
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