With the DSFL preseason behind us now, I thought it would be fun to review the predictions I made with Roly and see how they are looking with a mild-take power rankings.
#1 San Antonio Marshals
Preseason Record: 3-1 (0 games at home)
Points For/Against: 79-42
This was actually a really tough call between San Antonio and Portland, hurt by the fact that their one game was so close (12-10 Pythons, played at Portland). In the end I gave it to San Antonio due to them having been the champs and having a much larger base of active players. Also, going undefeated at home is tough, but winning 75% of road games is much tougher.
Biggest Weakness: Passing game. Draxel posted 1 TD against 4 interceptions, and given the number of active CBs in the league, I don’t see that improving much.
Biggest Strength: Offensive Line. The Marshals upgraded 4 of their 5 OL positions after preseason, and between that and the OL buffs recently handed out, I can’t see any team stopping the rushing game or getting to the QB without heavily blitzing. Would be easy to say defense here, as it is the best D in the league, but the O line will allow the Marshals to actually capitalize on turnovers, something they weren’t able to do last year.
#2 Portland Pythons
Preseason Record: 4-0 (4 games at home)
Points For/Against: 120-34
Look at that point differential. I would have expected the Pythons to win all 4 home games, but I definitely wouldn’t have expected such brutal destruction. It’s hard to say whether their 47-7 win over Chicago or their 37-0 win over Kansas City was more impressive, but both were enough to show that this is NOT the same team as last year.
Biggest Weakness: Front Seven. Drafting Ottokar Von Gerhardt and keeping Andreas Waiters gives them two decent pieces on the defensive line, but with 0 active linebackers, expect Norfolk, Tijuana, and San Antonio to run all over them.
Biggest Strength: Just…everything about the offense. Christ was the #1 QB last season (though only played 6 games), and he has the #1 WR and the #1 TE, and NOW he also has the #2 O line. Portland wasn’t QUITE as aggressive as San Antonio was, but they also snagged 4 upgrades to their line, giving Christ all day to find open receivers.
#3 Kansas City Coyotes
Preseason Record: 2-2 (1 game at home)
Points For/Against: 68-107
Okay, first off, that point differential does NOT match that record at all. Both of their losses (46-7 in Chicago and 37-0 in Portland) were absolute slaughters. I strongly considered putting them below Norfolk, but pulling out 2 wins was kind of impressive, and they picked up some big impact players in the supplemental draft.
Biggest Weakness: Turnovers. Adams is SUPPOSED to be a good QB. But 7 picks in 4 games is horrible. Add in a lost fumble they had as well and that is 2 turnovers a game. With Marcus Robinson coming in to be the new every down RB, that should allow a safer offense, but it might not be enough.
Biggest Strength: Pass defense. They already had the best CB in Andre Bly, but they just picked up the second best CB in Jason Williams. Honestly, that pick up is why I have them so high. This is a team that just can NOT be passed on, and adding LB Luke Chunk as well gives them a bit of help against the run. If defense really wins games, then KC has a bit to be optimistic about.
#4 Norfolk SeaWolves
Preseason Record: 2-2 (4 at home)
Points For/Against: 66-85
Come championship time, I suspect this is the scariest team San Antonio can face, but I’m not sure they can make it to the Noble Bowl (not the actual name, but I refuse to use the real one). QB Wolverine Justice is rapidly improving, but he’s not up to where Christian Adams is yet (which is a big problem considering what I just said about Adams). They might be the scariest week 14 team, but how many games will they lose on the way there?
Biggest Weakness: Secondary. Tanner Hendrix was the only DB Norfolk selected in the first 5 rounds, and he is not quite living up to his draft position. This will be an easy team to pass on throughout the year.
Biggest Strength: All-purpose offense. With a strong running AND passing game, this team is just a nightmare to gameplan for. Wolverine Justice and Kenny Omega are starting to build chemistry, and Connall O’Sullivan seems to be the best RB in the DSFL. How do you stop that?
#5 Tijuana Luchadores
Preseason Record: 0-4 (1 at home)
Points For/Against: 65-95
With a winless preseason, putting the Luchadores anywhere but last was difficult, but I actually considered them as high as #3, because they might be better than the Coyotes. Spinelli has been a beast on offense, accounting for 484 yards, and that is a good thing, since Isaac Brown is something of a late bloomer at QB.
Biggest Weakness: Lack of talent. Having lost Big Bot and Connor Tanner to call-ups, and Rich Gucci to retirement, the Luchadores had some big losses that they just didn’t have enough draft picks to replace. Their passing game is the weakest part of the offense, but really the whole team is kind of “meh.”
Biggest Strength: Team-Building. This team is put together REALLY well. Yeah, I’ve said they are building like I did last year, so I am patting myself on the back, but just look at how close they are playing opponents. Their ONLY home game was against the Marshals, so their performance is gonna be much better in the season (and even better in S5).
#6 Chicago Blues
Preseason Record: 1-3 (2 at home)
Points For/Against: 75-109
How, in one night, does a team go from beating Kansas City 46-7 to losing to Portland 47-7? They then followed that up with a respectable loss to the SeaWolves 23-16, but then lost 32-6 AT HOME to the Marshals. You may have noticed that is kind of a tough schedule, but the worst thing about being the Chicago Blues is that you never get to play against the Chicago Blues.
Biggest Weakness: Defense. The Blues drafted 4 DBs in the S4 DSFL draft, none of whom are looking great. A supplemental draft landed them Jonathan King, who can handle ANY wide receiver in the DSFL, but it won’t be close to enough.
Biggest Strength: Atkins. The Blues are fighting to get the ban on dustyatters overturned, and you can see why. He’s a top prospect, and the Blues could well go 0-14 without him.
GRADED
#1 San Antonio Marshals
Preseason Record: 3-1 (0 games at home)
Points For/Against: 79-42
This was actually a really tough call between San Antonio and Portland, hurt by the fact that their one game was so close (12-10 Pythons, played at Portland). In the end I gave it to San Antonio due to them having been the champs and having a much larger base of active players. Also, going undefeated at home is tough, but winning 75% of road games is much tougher.
Biggest Weakness: Passing game. Draxel posted 1 TD against 4 interceptions, and given the number of active CBs in the league, I don’t see that improving much.
Biggest Strength: Offensive Line. The Marshals upgraded 4 of their 5 OL positions after preseason, and between that and the OL buffs recently handed out, I can’t see any team stopping the rushing game or getting to the QB without heavily blitzing. Would be easy to say defense here, as it is the best D in the league, but the O line will allow the Marshals to actually capitalize on turnovers, something they weren’t able to do last year.
#2 Portland Pythons
Preseason Record: 4-0 (4 games at home)
Points For/Against: 120-34
Look at that point differential. I would have expected the Pythons to win all 4 home games, but I definitely wouldn’t have expected such brutal destruction. It’s hard to say whether their 47-7 win over Chicago or their 37-0 win over Kansas City was more impressive, but both were enough to show that this is NOT the same team as last year.
Biggest Weakness: Front Seven. Drafting Ottokar Von Gerhardt and keeping Andreas Waiters gives them two decent pieces on the defensive line, but with 0 active linebackers, expect Norfolk, Tijuana, and San Antonio to run all over them.
Biggest Strength: Just…everything about the offense. Christ was the #1 QB last season (though only played 6 games), and he has the #1 WR and the #1 TE, and NOW he also has the #2 O line. Portland wasn’t QUITE as aggressive as San Antonio was, but they also snagged 4 upgrades to their line, giving Christ all day to find open receivers.
#3 Kansas City Coyotes
Preseason Record: 2-2 (1 game at home)
Points For/Against: 68-107
Okay, first off, that point differential does NOT match that record at all. Both of their losses (46-7 in Chicago and 37-0 in Portland) were absolute slaughters. I strongly considered putting them below Norfolk, but pulling out 2 wins was kind of impressive, and they picked up some big impact players in the supplemental draft.
Biggest Weakness: Turnovers. Adams is SUPPOSED to be a good QB. But 7 picks in 4 games is horrible. Add in a lost fumble they had as well and that is 2 turnovers a game. With Marcus Robinson coming in to be the new every down RB, that should allow a safer offense, but it might not be enough.
Biggest Strength: Pass defense. They already had the best CB in Andre Bly, but they just picked up the second best CB in Jason Williams. Honestly, that pick up is why I have them so high. This is a team that just can NOT be passed on, and adding LB Luke Chunk as well gives them a bit of help against the run. If defense really wins games, then KC has a bit to be optimistic about.
#4 Norfolk SeaWolves
Preseason Record: 2-2 (4 at home)
Points For/Against: 66-85
Come championship time, I suspect this is the scariest team San Antonio can face, but I’m not sure they can make it to the Noble Bowl (not the actual name, but I refuse to use the real one). QB Wolverine Justice is rapidly improving, but he’s not up to where Christian Adams is yet (which is a big problem considering what I just said about Adams). They might be the scariest week 14 team, but how many games will they lose on the way there?
Biggest Weakness: Secondary. Tanner Hendrix was the only DB Norfolk selected in the first 5 rounds, and he is not quite living up to his draft position. This will be an easy team to pass on throughout the year.
Biggest Strength: All-purpose offense. With a strong running AND passing game, this team is just a nightmare to gameplan for. Wolverine Justice and Kenny Omega are starting to build chemistry, and Connall O’Sullivan seems to be the best RB in the DSFL. How do you stop that?
#5 Tijuana Luchadores
Preseason Record: 0-4 (1 at home)
Points For/Against: 65-95
With a winless preseason, putting the Luchadores anywhere but last was difficult, but I actually considered them as high as #3, because they might be better than the Coyotes. Spinelli has been a beast on offense, accounting for 484 yards, and that is a good thing, since Isaac Brown is something of a late bloomer at QB.
Biggest Weakness: Lack of talent. Having lost Big Bot and Connor Tanner to call-ups, and Rich Gucci to retirement, the Luchadores had some big losses that they just didn’t have enough draft picks to replace. Their passing game is the weakest part of the offense, but really the whole team is kind of “meh.”
Biggest Strength: Team-Building. This team is put together REALLY well. Yeah, I’ve said they are building like I did last year, so I am patting myself on the back, but just look at how close they are playing opponents. Their ONLY home game was against the Marshals, so their performance is gonna be much better in the season (and even better in S5).
#6 Chicago Blues
Preseason Record: 1-3 (2 at home)
Points For/Against: 75-109
How, in one night, does a team go from beating Kansas City 46-7 to losing to Portland 47-7? They then followed that up with a respectable loss to the SeaWolves 23-16, but then lost 32-6 AT HOME to the Marshals. You may have noticed that is kind of a tough schedule, but the worst thing about being the Chicago Blues is that you never get to play against the Chicago Blues.
Biggest Weakness: Defense. The Blues drafted 4 DBs in the S4 DSFL draft, none of whom are looking great. A supplemental draft landed them Jonathan King, who can handle ANY wide receiver in the DSFL, but it won’t be close to enough.
Biggest Strength: Atkins. The Blues are fighting to get the ban on dustyatters overturned, and you can see why. He’s a top prospect, and the Blues could well go 0-14 without him.
GRADED