05-06-2023, 08:41 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-08-2023, 10:50 AM by xenosthelegend. Edited 1 time in total.)
With week 7 finishing yesterday, we’re officially at the midpoint of the regular season. This season has absolutely flown by with some banger games in between. The landscape of the league is very different from last season. Where does London stand in all of this? This media piece will attempt to deep dive into the Royals’ S41 campaign.
CURRENT RECORD (5-2)
Key Departures
London had a decent amount of roster turnover at key positions.
Willer Miller(QB)
A veteran in the Royals locker room, Willer Miller was called up to the Sarasota Sailfish after his all pro season. While Willer did have problems with pocket presence sometimes he was a driving force of the Royals’ league leading passing game. Willer’s success in the DSFL has translated to the ISFL flawlessly and he has been a top quarterback so far. Willer still hangs out in the Royals locker room and is the source of deeply insightful discussions and advice.
Lord Farquaads(RB)
The square-jawed running back was the sole running back on the roster for the majority of the season and took on the bell cow role. Despite having blazing top end speed, he had a bit of trouble getting into the open field to utilize it. Instead, he was at his best running in between the tackles and working the middle of the field. He totaled 15 touchdowns in 2055.
Loose Cannon(LB)
The Royals first round pick lived up to the hype and had a great season-maybe too great. Loose led the league in tackles and provided a stout defensive presence in the middle of the field. Loose was unsurprisingly called up immediately to New York after his debut season.
Diego López Alonso(WR)
Unlike other players on this list Diego López Alonso was not called up and instead traded to the Minnesota Grey Ducks after his trade request. While the reasons for his request are not exactly known I suspect that the amount of targets and the crowded receiver room has something to do with it. Nevertheless, DL provided great special teams value and was more than serviceable as a WR3.
The Draft
Round 1: Josh Patterson (CB -> QB)
Round 2: Turd Burglar(CB)
Round 3: Martin Bachman(TE -> RB)
Round 4: Abraham Madden(LB)
Round 5: Adriano Goopert(DT)
Round 6: Carl Weezer(DE)
Round 7: Jozef Janssens(CB)
Round 8: Troy Ballamallyou (S)
Round 9: That-One-Guy Kyle (S)
First of all, congrats and a belated welcome to all the new Royals. I have to admit that I was not the biggest fan of this year’s class on draft day. I was surprised by the corner back pick in the first round and even more surprised when we didn’t draft a replacement for Willer and Farquaads. I would have preferred to beef up the line on both sides on Day 1 and Day 2 or draft a quarterback. But it was clear Alikh and LeSizz had a plan. Josh Patterson and Martin Bachman converted to QB and RB respectively and the FO found value picks in the later rounds to fill the holes in the defense. I gave this class a B- on draft day. Looking back, based on the performance of the rookie class so far, it’s a lot closer to an A.
Worst Loss
Week 1 vs KCC (24-38)
Josh Patterson had a good showing in his debut game with 3 touchdowns and an interception. The London defense is gashed twice for 40+yards by dual threat Jake Jefferson and have trouble containing him all game. The offense struggles to turn catches into big gains and averages 2.7 yards per carry.
Best Win
Week 6 vs POR (37-13)
The Royals defense has their best game of season and allow 0 touchdowns after the first quarter. Lenny Lyons Jr and Max Honestly stood out as stout run defenders. Pretty much everyone on the offense contributes in one way or another as Tollibeo and Ehrmantraut go for 100+ yards each.
Roster/Game plan Thoughts
In terms of TPE, the Royals are slightly better than average by most metrics. They’re ranked third in effective TPE but have some way to go until second place. They’re not special when you consider the number of maxed out players either. They have 4 maxed out players rostered right now, which is pretty bang on average. Perhaps their 5-2 record is a testament to their fantastic player development (led by the great Twenty6). The Royals have been able to get the best out of their players regardless of their TPE by molding the players into exactly what they need them to be. Josh Patterson and Martin Bachman are good examples.
Like most modern teams, London runs multiple fronts to keep the offense guessing. Their go-to alignment is variation of the 3-4 where the strong side LB will drop down to the level of the safety pretty much functioning as an extra DB, resembling a nickel defense. This makes it harder for the slot receiver to get open and pretty much impossible for the running back to break free, as evidenced by their number 2 run defense. London has pretty much the perfect personnel for this, because 1: All 4 of their linebackers are quick and speedy 2:a star interior pass rusher in Lenny Lyons and 3: Max Honestly. Max’s versatility means he can generate pressure and set the edge very well which frees up a linebacker so he can drop deep into coverage. London almost always plays soft man coverage to mixed results. The talent is there(Brian Vincent-Vega, Bradley Welch Jr, and the up&coming Turd Burglar), but they have allowed some big plays here and there.
On offense, the most notable player is rookie phenom Josh Patterson. No one expected him to be this good this early but he’s been the best quarterback in the league. Josh is a cerebral quarterback with great accuracy and the ability to fit the ball through tight windows. Not to discredit Josh, London was one of the best places for a rookie quarterback. Their 3 receivers who are all on pace to hit 1k yards and a safety valve+red zone threat in Nick Williams is the perfect pass catcher corps. They also have an established tackle in Yoshi Jr. All of this means London is the perfect team for a spread offense. London rely heavily on the use of 11 personnel (no surprise there) and it’s been a nightmare for defenses to handle. With Martin Bachman and Josh Patterson rapidly improving, this offense should be even more scary in the weeks to come.
Concluding thoughts
Despite the departure of several big name players, London has done a great job filling those holes in the draft. A big shout out to the S40 draft class for taking the leap and becoming big time contributors. London’s stars along the defensive line deserve huge credit for their run defense and the offense can only get better. Something like an 11-3 record and a championship game appearance is definitely within the realms of possibility.
TL;DR London going undefeated, championship on the way
CURRENT RECORD (5-2)
Key Departures
London had a decent amount of roster turnover at key positions.
Willer Miller(QB)
A veteran in the Royals locker room, Willer Miller was called up to the Sarasota Sailfish after his all pro season. While Willer did have problems with pocket presence sometimes he was a driving force of the Royals’ league leading passing game. Willer’s success in the DSFL has translated to the ISFL flawlessly and he has been a top quarterback so far. Willer still hangs out in the Royals locker room and is the source of deeply insightful discussions and advice.
Lord Farquaads(RB)
The square-jawed running back was the sole running back on the roster for the majority of the season and took on the bell cow role. Despite having blazing top end speed, he had a bit of trouble getting into the open field to utilize it. Instead, he was at his best running in between the tackles and working the middle of the field. He totaled 15 touchdowns in 2055.
Loose Cannon(LB)
The Royals first round pick lived up to the hype and had a great season-maybe too great. Loose led the league in tackles and provided a stout defensive presence in the middle of the field. Loose was unsurprisingly called up immediately to New York after his debut season.
Diego López Alonso(WR)
Unlike other players on this list Diego López Alonso was not called up and instead traded to the Minnesota Grey Ducks after his trade request. While the reasons for his request are not exactly known I suspect that the amount of targets and the crowded receiver room has something to do with it. Nevertheless, DL provided great special teams value and was more than serviceable as a WR3.
The Draft
Round 1: Josh Patterson (CB -> QB)
Round 2: Turd Burglar(CB)
Round 3: Martin Bachman(TE -> RB)
Round 4: Abraham Madden(LB)
Round 5: Adriano Goopert(DT)
Round 6: Carl Weezer(DE)
Round 7: Jozef Janssens(CB)
Round 8: Troy Ballamallyou (S)
Round 9: That-One-Guy Kyle (S)
First of all, congrats and a belated welcome to all the new Royals. I have to admit that I was not the biggest fan of this year’s class on draft day. I was surprised by the corner back pick in the first round and even more surprised when we didn’t draft a replacement for Willer and Farquaads. I would have preferred to beef up the line on both sides on Day 1 and Day 2 or draft a quarterback. But it was clear Alikh and LeSizz had a plan. Josh Patterson and Martin Bachman converted to QB and RB respectively and the FO found value picks in the later rounds to fill the holes in the defense. I gave this class a B- on draft day. Looking back, based on the performance of the rookie class so far, it’s a lot closer to an A.
Worst Loss
Week 1 vs KCC (24-38)
Josh Patterson had a good showing in his debut game with 3 touchdowns and an interception. The London defense is gashed twice for 40+yards by dual threat Jake Jefferson and have trouble containing him all game. The offense struggles to turn catches into big gains and averages 2.7 yards per carry.
Best Win
Week 6 vs POR (37-13)
The Royals defense has their best game of season and allow 0 touchdowns after the first quarter. Lenny Lyons Jr and Max Honestly stood out as stout run defenders. Pretty much everyone on the offense contributes in one way or another as Tollibeo and Ehrmantraut go for 100+ yards each.
Roster/Game plan Thoughts
In terms of TPE, the Royals are slightly better than average by most metrics. They’re ranked third in effective TPE but have some way to go until second place. They’re not special when you consider the number of maxed out players either. They have 4 maxed out players rostered right now, which is pretty bang on average. Perhaps their 5-2 record is a testament to their fantastic player development (led by the great Twenty6). The Royals have been able to get the best out of their players regardless of their TPE by molding the players into exactly what they need them to be. Josh Patterson and Martin Bachman are good examples.
Like most modern teams, London runs multiple fronts to keep the offense guessing. Their go-to alignment is variation of the 3-4 where the strong side LB will drop down to the level of the safety pretty much functioning as an extra DB, resembling a nickel defense. This makes it harder for the slot receiver to get open and pretty much impossible for the running back to break free, as evidenced by their number 2 run defense. London has pretty much the perfect personnel for this, because 1: All 4 of their linebackers are quick and speedy 2:a star interior pass rusher in Lenny Lyons and 3: Max Honestly. Max’s versatility means he can generate pressure and set the edge very well which frees up a linebacker so he can drop deep into coverage. London almost always plays soft man coverage to mixed results. The talent is there(Brian Vincent-Vega, Bradley Welch Jr, and the up&coming Turd Burglar), but they have allowed some big plays here and there.
On offense, the most notable player is rookie phenom Josh Patterson. No one expected him to be this good this early but he’s been the best quarterback in the league. Josh is a cerebral quarterback with great accuracy and the ability to fit the ball through tight windows. Not to discredit Josh, London was one of the best places for a rookie quarterback. Their 3 receivers who are all on pace to hit 1k yards and a safety valve+red zone threat in Nick Williams is the perfect pass catcher corps. They also have an established tackle in Yoshi Jr. All of this means London is the perfect team for a spread offense. London rely heavily on the use of 11 personnel (no surprise there) and it’s been a nightmare for defenses to handle. With Martin Bachman and Josh Patterson rapidly improving, this offense should be even more scary in the weeks to come.
Concluding thoughts
Despite the departure of several big name players, London has done a great job filling those holes in the draft. A big shout out to the S40 draft class for taking the leap and becoming big time contributors. London’s stars along the defensive line deserve huge credit for their run defense and the offense can only get better. Something like an 11-3 record and a championship game appearance is definitely within the realms of possibility.
TL;DR London going undefeated, championship on the way