(S47) PT #5 - April Madness Brings May Sadness

[Will3]

SHL Affiliate PT

[jlyles7]

As a rookie who just came into this league a very short time ago, I'm still learning the ins and outs of all of this stuff. However, I'm going to focus on the DSFL since that's the league I have my sight set upon and will get drafted into in the very near future. Before the draft, I was lucky enough to be claimed off the waivers by the Minnesota Grey Ducks. The ducks took a huge win off of Tijuana in their first game after picking me up. Coincidence? Maybe. It's too early to tell. BUT, I have full confidence that our ducks will go steam rolling into the playoffs and play a rematch in the championship game against Tijuana. We'll prove that it wasn't a fluke and take the Ultimini home to Minnesota. General Managers looking to draft new rookies in the DSFL Draft after the Ducks take home the Ultimini will then have to ask themselves, "Was picking up Joe Blaze from the waivers the tipping point that gave the Grey Ducks the edge to win it all?"

[CementHands]

SHL PT Claim

[Nectorist]

At the moment, Tijuana and Minnesota have kinda separated themselves from the pack in the DSFL, but even then it's still not a huge margin. Bondi Beach has a shot to upset Tijuana to make it to the Ultimini, but I'm still putting my money on the Luchadores to pull it out in the South. In the North, London and Portland are shooting for that #2 seed, and they actually play each other in this last week for the spot. Both have split even with Minnesota, but I won't bet against the Grey Ducks. If Portland gets the #2 seed then I think they could actually go on a sneaky upset run to win it all, but they're definitely the dark horse. In a Minnesota vs. Tijuana Ultimini, I might give it to the Luchadores. Even though they just lost to the Grey Ducks, I think the Luchadores have a higher ceiling with their offense and will step up come the playoffs to win it all for the DSFL.

[AJay887]

Well, the playoffs have been set at the time of writing this PT. Personally I'm a bit disappointed that the Copperheads weren't able to make it back to the playoffs this year, but we'll bounce back next season, don't worry about that. But coming into THIS season, the Sabercats are looking like a tough team to beat. They lead the league in points against with only 309, with the Arizona Outlaws a full 25 points behind them. The defense of San Jose is looking very strong, and their offense isn't so bad either, 3rd in the league behind the Outlaws and the Cape Town Crash. All three of these teams are in the playoffs, with the Crash narrowly making it in ahead of the Wraiths, which could lead to some explosive playoff games with high scoring. But again, with the defense of the Sabercats, Outlaws and Secondline all being present in the playoffs as well, these offenses could be stymied and make it a bit closer than expected. Overall, I'm predicting the Sabercats over the Crash, which might be an interesting take.

[WrittinDirectino]

I believe the Arizona Outlaws will win the Ultimus, because Crunk said so and I trust Crunk   . Lot of key members on this team are at their peak in terms of TPE.

Getting a first week bye would've been real nice but we'll manage. I think whichever team comes out on top of the ASFC will win the whole thing.
Here's what going to happen.
In the AFSC, Arizona will squeak past NOLA in an overtime thriller, perhaps something like 24-21. Contrary to the nail biter in the wild card round the Outlaws will move past the Sabercats fairly easily. We beat them handily just two games ago and I believe that's what going to happen again.

I haven't exactly been keeping track of the NSFC teams but I don't think Chicago will make it to the Championship game. Baltimore will face Arizona in the Ultimus and in a low scoring defensive battle, the Arizona Outlaws will claim the Ultimus again.

[PMoney]

The San Jose Sabercats are so back. Despite being one of the oldest franchises with very consistent management, it has been a rough few seasons for the Sabercats. They finished this season at 13-3 atop an ASFC that has been dominated by several dynasties in the past few years to regain the top seed in the conference for the first time since S24, almost 4 years ago outside of the sim. And on that fated year, they won the Ultimus which is what will happen this season once again. They have actually won the Ultimus since as they went back to back in S25 from the 3rd seed and have never seen the dizzying heights of 13 wins, the last first place finish being the infamous 4 way tie on 9-7 that saw them scrape into the postseason by a hair. This is the Sabercat season as recent additions to the team have seen them go from a constantly OK team to one with clear direction and swagger as they move in the playoffs.

[JoeSteel]

I waited to see how the playoffs ended up before writing this. I think it's really going to come down to who comes out of the ASFC. As far as I've been aware with sim testing these games essentially come down to coin flips. Honestly just having a positive Win-Loss ratio was all I wanted for a successful season. I'm very loud and proud about my homer bias, so I'm going to go with NOLA to take it all. We play both teams very well, and ideally our secondary can show up if we manage to get to San Jose. Home field advantage will probably be the biggest deciding factor here tho. This will also be Scott Junior's first time in the playoffs, and during a year where he broke team records for Def TDs and INTs I expect him to become more of a leader on the field here. Overall, the one thing we can pretty much guarantee is that it won't be boring

[jaypc8237]

SHL Affiliate

[Tmoney6996]

This is the first time in the 6 or so seasons that I've been involved in the league that I'll actually be participating in the playoffs at either level. Needless to say, I am very excited to see how it all plays out and hopefully NOLA can make some noise. 

I think the NSFC is a crapshoot at this point. None of the teams that made it are consistent and they've all beaten each other. I do think CTC pulls the "upset" in the first game and beats BAL, who has just looked terrible these past few weeks and that's not how you want to enter the playoffs. As for a potential CHI-CTC matchup, I have no idea, and ultimately, I don't think it really matters. 

The ASFC should be a dogfight. NOLA gets to travel to AZ on the road where they beat them just a few weeks ago, after getting some help from AUS to get in. I think this game could go either way, with the winner needing to then face SJS at SJS. I think SJS is the best team this season and there's a reason they're the 1 seed. I think SJS ultimately wins the whole thing and absolutely trounces whoever comes out of the NSFC. 

Obviously though, I really hope that NOLA is able to make some noise and go on a run here to end the season. Is it possible? Sure, anything is possible. Is it plausible? That I don't know. There are two tough tests ahead of them, and I guess we'll have to wait and see how it all pans out.