Bottom Third
Now that the season is over many articles are focused on discussing the champions, the playoff teams and especially outlooks for last year. But rarely do we actually look what went wrong for those teams at the bottom. What did the Baltimore Hawks and the San Jose Sabercats do that cost them a playoff spot? Or more importantly, what didn't they do?
Despite having a similar record, the Sabercats actually looked better towards the end of the season. They won the last game of the season, which was a game against the Hawks and also barely lost by one point the week before. The Sabercats actually had a somewhat decent offense at times, while the Hawks really seemed to struggle on offense and also barely ever managed to stop anyone.
However, you also have to question the coaching for both teams. Both teams seemed unprepared at times, unable to make adjustments in the course of the games and at times undisciplined. This is a major problem when you try to be competitive or even make the playoffs. They need to improve in order to play better next season and to be a threat to make the playoffs, especially with expansion bringing more competition.
Playoff Review
The playoffs promised very interesting and tight match-ups. . This was definitely a very close game on paper, with both teams coming into the playoffs with an 8-6 record. The game itself was a defensive monster. Both teams struggled to put points on the board, especially aided by a combined 12 sacks in the game. One touchdown ended up being the big difference, when Logan Noble found DJ Law in the 3rd quarter. Another reason for the loss for the Wraiths ended up being their abysmal third down conversion rate - just one of thirteen.In the NSFC championship match, the Colorado Yeti met the Yellowknife Wraiths
In the ASFC, the Orange County Otters met the Arizona Outlaws. Similar to the NSFC, the match-up looked close on paper, both teams had a 9-5 record in the regular season. However, the game did not prove to be close, with the Outlaws destroying the Otters 36-13. Not all of the points came from the offense though, as the Outlaws found various ways to score, despite a terrible third down conversion rate, which was 2 of 14. The Outlaws scored points through a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, an interception return touchdown, a kickoff return touchdown, field goals and a safety. One could argue they dominated the game in every aspect.
Thanks to the dominant performance, the Outlaws entered the championship game as the favorite. The Yeti had already struggled offensively in the previous round and their issues did not go away. They only scored 6 points, without a single touchdown and the game was never really close. The Outlaws dominated again and in the end secured the season one trophy with a score of 29-6 in an easy fashion.
Championship Game Recap
The Championship game saw the Colorado Yeti trying to stop the Arizona Outlaws. The Outlaws came into the game as the favorites and the Yet had struggled offensively the week before. The Yeti knew that mistakes would be costly, but just that happened early on in the first quarter.
After both teams had disappointing first series, the Yeti were happy to get the ball back still tied at 0-0, when Logan Noble tried to find Hendrix for a short pass. However, Ryan Flock stepped between the quarterback and the receiver for the easy interception. Flock then evaded defenders and returned the interception for 24 yards and the touchdown.
While the game never ended up being close, one has to wonder if the game is a closer affair without this amazing play. The Outlaws found themselves ahead 16-0 early in the second quarter and the game seemed decided already. The play had other impacts on the game as well, for example Noble never seemed to trust Hendrix after this and the receiver only ended up with 2 catches for 18 yards in an uninspiring performance. It might have also had an impact on Nobles confidence in general, as he ended up without a single touchdown in the most important game of the year.
Offensive comparison
We saw a very interesting Quarterback match-up in the NSFC championship game between the Colorado Yeti met the Yellowknife Wraiths. Logan Noble faced C. Orosz. While the game was very tight, we saw some big differences between quarterback play. Let's take a closer look.
At first glance, you would not assume a huge discrepancy between quarterbacks in this game, as neither team scored a lot of points and only one touchdown was scored by either offense. But looking at numbers more closely paints a different story.
Logan Noble completed 25 of his 37 passes (67% completion rate) for 229 yards and a touchdown. He had a 93.2 quarterback rating, which is decent. Orosz on the other hand only completed 11 of his 21 passes (52% completion rate) for 138 and no touchdowns, which was good for a 73.1 quarterback rating. Neither quarterback had an interception.
The numbers are clear, Noble had a much better game. While Noble completed a lot of short passes (his average pass went for less than 10 yards), Orosz had a similar issue at times. While is average pass went 12.5 yards, four of his eleven completed passes went for 6 yards or less. All in all, Noble performed much better.
Defensive comparison
The championship game between the Colorado Yeti and the Arizona Outlaws had some fascinating match-ups and while the game was fairly one-sided, I want to highlight two defensive players who had a very similar game in terms of their numbers. Vinny Cox of the Yeti and Jayce Tuck of the Outlaws both had 3 sacks, one tackle for loss and both 5 or more tackles (5 for Tuck, 6 for Cox). But who had a bigger impact on the game?
Tuck opened the game up with a sack in the first series, which immediately led to a punt. Cox's first sack also came in the first quarter, but on 1st down and ultimately the Outlaws managed another first down here, so the sack had less of an impact. In the end, this series actually lead to a field goal.
In the third quarter, we see Cox have a bigger impact, as he also managed a sack on third down, causing a punt. It gave the Yeti some hope to turn the game around after the break. In the fourth quarter Cox got his third and final sack, on first down but it did lead to another punt.
Tuck on the other hand ended up with two sacks very late, when the game was already out of reach. He had two sacks right after each other, on second and third down, causing a 4th and 28.
While the Outlaws won the game, Cox had more impact with his sacks because two sacks from Tuck came with the game out of reach with less than 3 minutes to go.
Now that the season is over many articles are focused on discussing the champions, the playoff teams and especially outlooks for last year. But rarely do we actually look what went wrong for those teams at the bottom. What did the Baltimore Hawks and the San Jose Sabercats do that cost them a playoff spot? Or more importantly, what didn't they do?
Despite having a similar record, the Sabercats actually looked better towards the end of the season. They won the last game of the season, which was a game against the Hawks and also barely lost by one point the week before. The Sabercats actually had a somewhat decent offense at times, while the Hawks really seemed to struggle on offense and also barely ever managed to stop anyone.
However, you also have to question the coaching for both teams. Both teams seemed unprepared at times, unable to make adjustments in the course of the games and at times undisciplined. This is a major problem when you try to be competitive or even make the playoffs. They need to improve in order to play better next season and to be a threat to make the playoffs, especially with expansion bringing more competition.
Playoff Review
The playoffs promised very interesting and tight match-ups. . This was definitely a very close game on paper, with both teams coming into the playoffs with an 8-6 record. The game itself was a defensive monster. Both teams struggled to put points on the board, especially aided by a combined 12 sacks in the game. One touchdown ended up being the big difference, when Logan Noble found DJ Law in the 3rd quarter. Another reason for the loss for the Wraiths ended up being their abysmal third down conversion rate - just one of thirteen.In the NSFC championship match, the Colorado Yeti met the Yellowknife Wraiths
In the ASFC, the Orange County Otters met the Arizona Outlaws. Similar to the NSFC, the match-up looked close on paper, both teams had a 9-5 record in the regular season. However, the game did not prove to be close, with the Outlaws destroying the Otters 36-13. Not all of the points came from the offense though, as the Outlaws found various ways to score, despite a terrible third down conversion rate, which was 2 of 14. The Outlaws scored points through a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, an interception return touchdown, a kickoff return touchdown, field goals and a safety. One could argue they dominated the game in every aspect.
Thanks to the dominant performance, the Outlaws entered the championship game as the favorite. The Yeti had already struggled offensively in the previous round and their issues did not go away. They only scored 6 points, without a single touchdown and the game was never really close. The Outlaws dominated again and in the end secured the season one trophy with a score of 29-6 in an easy fashion.
Championship Game Recap
The Championship game saw the Colorado Yeti trying to stop the Arizona Outlaws. The Outlaws came into the game as the favorites and the Yet had struggled offensively the week before. The Yeti knew that mistakes would be costly, but just that happened early on in the first quarter.
After both teams had disappointing first series, the Yeti were happy to get the ball back still tied at 0-0, when Logan Noble tried to find Hendrix for a short pass. However, Ryan Flock stepped between the quarterback and the receiver for the easy interception. Flock then evaded defenders and returned the interception for 24 yards and the touchdown.
While the game never ended up being close, one has to wonder if the game is a closer affair without this amazing play. The Outlaws found themselves ahead 16-0 early in the second quarter and the game seemed decided already. The play had other impacts on the game as well, for example Noble never seemed to trust Hendrix after this and the receiver only ended up with 2 catches for 18 yards in an uninspiring performance. It might have also had an impact on Nobles confidence in general, as he ended up without a single touchdown in the most important game of the year.
Offensive comparison
We saw a very interesting Quarterback match-up in the NSFC championship game between the Colorado Yeti met the Yellowknife Wraiths. Logan Noble faced C. Orosz. While the game was very tight, we saw some big differences between quarterback play. Let's take a closer look.
At first glance, you would not assume a huge discrepancy between quarterbacks in this game, as neither team scored a lot of points and only one touchdown was scored by either offense. But looking at numbers more closely paints a different story.
Logan Noble completed 25 of his 37 passes (67% completion rate) for 229 yards and a touchdown. He had a 93.2 quarterback rating, which is decent. Orosz on the other hand only completed 11 of his 21 passes (52% completion rate) for 138 and no touchdowns, which was good for a 73.1 quarterback rating. Neither quarterback had an interception.
The numbers are clear, Noble had a much better game. While Noble completed a lot of short passes (his average pass went for less than 10 yards), Orosz had a similar issue at times. While is average pass went 12.5 yards, four of his eleven completed passes went for 6 yards or less. All in all, Noble performed much better.
Defensive comparison
The championship game between the Colorado Yeti and the Arizona Outlaws had some fascinating match-ups and while the game was fairly one-sided, I want to highlight two defensive players who had a very similar game in terms of their numbers. Vinny Cox of the Yeti and Jayce Tuck of the Outlaws both had 3 sacks, one tackle for loss and both 5 or more tackles (5 for Tuck, 6 for Cox). But who had a bigger impact on the game?
Tuck opened the game up with a sack in the first series, which immediately led to a punt. Cox's first sack also came in the first quarter, but on 1st down and ultimately the Outlaws managed another first down here, so the sack had less of an impact. In the end, this series actually lead to a field goal.
In the third quarter, we see Cox have a bigger impact, as he also managed a sack on third down, causing a punt. It gave the Yeti some hope to turn the game around after the break. In the fourth quarter Cox got his third and final sack, on first down but it did lead to another punt.
Tuck on the other hand ended up with two sacks very late, when the game was already out of reach. He had two sacks right after each other, on second and third down, causing a 4th and 28.
While the Outlaws won the game, Cox had more impact with his sacks because two sacks from Tuck came with the game out of reach with less than 3 minutes to go.
