1) Playoff Predictions, Reviews:
Hawks Pitch Shutout
Alright, well at the moment this matchup was announced everyone pretty much knew how this one would end up. Despite that though, Baltimore still exceeded expectations and completely dominated all aspects of the game shutting out the Yeti and not allowing them to score a single point.
Copperheads; less embarrassing loss then Yeti
Well the Austin Copperheads managed to sneak into the playoffs with an amazing collapse by the Second Line. Easton Cole, a revelation among young quarterbacks in the league this year, tried his best, but ultimately completed less than fifty percent of his passes including an interception allowing the Outlaws to escape with a victory.
Wraiths Strangle Hawks
The Yellowknife Wraiths had the best defense in the entire NSFL this last season so them hosting a playoff game would be a hard thing to overcome, especially a team coming in with a losing record on the year. The Wraiths defense put on a show picking off Corvo Havran 4 times, including one that would be returned for a touchdown in the 4th quarter.
Armstrong Clutch For Otters
Coming in this had shades of Otters/Sabercats of a few years ago and was the expected matchup for the ASFC. This one was a great instant classic slugfest type match where both teams went back and forth and each quarterback putting on a great show. Arizona was led by their trio of receivers while Johnny Blaze did it all for the Otters. In the end the Otters defense went into prevent defense and a sack by David Ginsberg would push the Otters through.
Otters Hoist Another Trophy
On a day where everyone was talking about the Yellowknife Wraiths defense, Orange County had other plans. They opened the scoring early with Blaze reaching the endzone. They'd later tack on a field goal the end the first quarter and just like that Yellowknife was on the ropes. While the Wraiths had the vaunted defense, Orange County's actually was the one shutting the opposing offense down and as the fourth quarter started the Wraiths were down 13. In the end the Otters would pick off Bigsby twice and had him seeing ghosts.
3) All about the QBs
While most people were talking about the Corvo Havran/Cooter Bigsby matchup, I was actually more interested to see how the Andrew Reese/Easton Cole pairing would do. Easton Cole came into this year as the face of the expansion Copperheads franchise. He had two pretty rough seasons under his belt entering year three, but people inside the organization were saying he was one to look out for this year and they were not wrong as he threw for a league tying best 31 touchdowns. While he did throw 14 interceptions he still was able to post the third best quarterback rating. On the other side of the field was Andrew Reese, a defensive end turned quarterback, who now had a cornucopia of receivers to throw to, including one of the best in the game, Vincent Valentine. This was interesting because both players put up similar stats on the year, but I was wondering whether or not the youngster Cole would have any jitters being on the big stage or not. Well the answer to that would be answered as he failed to connect on over half his passes as he was wildly inconsistent. Now his receivers did drop some catchable balls, but in the end the grizzled veteran was able to best the younger foe.
11) Trades
I think it's pretty clear to see which trade made the most impact in terms of a team making or not making the playoffs and that was the trade that send Thudd Castle to the Philadelphia Liberty in exchange for Jordan von Matt, Gekyume Stokeley, and Philadelphia's first round pick. Sure New Orleans is looking towards the future with this one in getting a first round pick and possibly von Matt next year to help their receiving core, but giving up on a young defensive player like Castle and replacing him with an aging linebacker who already announced his retirement was a strategy that didn't make sense for a team that started the year off so hot. Maybe they saw the writing on the wall already and figured it was just a coincidence they started with a great 4-0 record, but at the same time they were only giving up 20.8 points per game. Once Thudd packed up his locker though the deed had been done and their fate had been sealed. From there on out the Second Line would not win a single game thereafter and their defense would give up almost 12 more points per game. That is actually quite remarkable and basically shows how they gave up on the season and threw away a shot at the playoffs.
Affiliate
PBE PT
Hawks Pitch Shutout
Alright, well at the moment this matchup was announced everyone pretty much knew how this one would end up. Despite that though, Baltimore still exceeded expectations and completely dominated all aspects of the game shutting out the Yeti and not allowing them to score a single point.
Copperheads; less embarrassing loss then Yeti
Well the Austin Copperheads managed to sneak into the playoffs with an amazing collapse by the Second Line. Easton Cole, a revelation among young quarterbacks in the league this year, tried his best, but ultimately completed less than fifty percent of his passes including an interception allowing the Outlaws to escape with a victory.
Wraiths Strangle Hawks
The Yellowknife Wraiths had the best defense in the entire NSFL this last season so them hosting a playoff game would be a hard thing to overcome, especially a team coming in with a losing record on the year. The Wraiths defense put on a show picking off Corvo Havran 4 times, including one that would be returned for a touchdown in the 4th quarter.
Armstrong Clutch For Otters
Coming in this had shades of Otters/Sabercats of a few years ago and was the expected matchup for the ASFC. This one was a great instant classic slugfest type match where both teams went back and forth and each quarterback putting on a great show. Arizona was led by their trio of receivers while Johnny Blaze did it all for the Otters. In the end the Otters defense went into prevent defense and a sack by David Ginsberg would push the Otters through.
Otters Hoist Another Trophy
On a day where everyone was talking about the Yellowknife Wraiths defense, Orange County had other plans. They opened the scoring early with Blaze reaching the endzone. They'd later tack on a field goal the end the first quarter and just like that Yellowknife was on the ropes. While the Wraiths had the vaunted defense, Orange County's actually was the one shutting the opposing offense down and as the fourth quarter started the Wraiths were down 13. In the end the Otters would pick off Bigsby twice and had him seeing ghosts.
3) All about the QBs
While most people were talking about the Corvo Havran/Cooter Bigsby matchup, I was actually more interested to see how the Andrew Reese/Easton Cole pairing would do. Easton Cole came into this year as the face of the expansion Copperheads franchise. He had two pretty rough seasons under his belt entering year three, but people inside the organization were saying he was one to look out for this year and they were not wrong as he threw for a league tying best 31 touchdowns. While he did throw 14 interceptions he still was able to post the third best quarterback rating. On the other side of the field was Andrew Reese, a defensive end turned quarterback, who now had a cornucopia of receivers to throw to, including one of the best in the game, Vincent Valentine. This was interesting because both players put up similar stats on the year, but I was wondering whether or not the youngster Cole would have any jitters being on the big stage or not. Well the answer to that would be answered as he failed to connect on over half his passes as he was wildly inconsistent. Now his receivers did drop some catchable balls, but in the end the grizzled veteran was able to best the younger foe.
11) Trades
I think it's pretty clear to see which trade made the most impact in terms of a team making or not making the playoffs and that was the trade that send Thudd Castle to the Philadelphia Liberty in exchange for Jordan von Matt, Gekyume Stokeley, and Philadelphia's first round pick. Sure New Orleans is looking towards the future with this one in getting a first round pick and possibly von Matt next year to help their receiving core, but giving up on a young defensive player like Castle and replacing him with an aging linebacker who already announced his retirement was a strategy that didn't make sense for a team that started the year off so hot. Maybe they saw the writing on the wall already and figured it was just a coincidence they started with a great 4-0 record, but at the same time they were only giving up 20.8 points per game. Once Thudd packed up his locker though the deed had been done and their fate had been sealed. From there on out the Second Line would not win a single game thereafter and their defense would give up almost 12 more points per game. That is actually quite remarkable and basically shows how they gave up on the season and threw away a shot at the playoffs.
Affiliate
PBE PT
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