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The DSFL's second season has come and gone leaving four teams remaining in a battle for the championship. The season was a fun one, with huge upsets, classic matchups, and surprise teams taking their game to the next level. If you're a fan of watching young players make huge strides throughout a single season, the DSFL is perfect for you. In the end, the four best teams remain, with little controversy. But now the post season begins, and every game has more at stake. Who will rise to the task and stand out, impressing NSFL scouts along the way? Who will fold under the pressure and end their season on a sour note? Who will reign supreme and bring home the DSFL championship? My thoughts below.
Matchup #1 - Norfolk Seawolves (7-6-1) @ Portland Pythons (11-3)
The battle for the DSFL West will be played in Portland. After finishing tied for a league worst 5-9 a season ago, new co-gm @PDXBaller rebranded the team, much to the chagrin of the rest of the league. He took over the team with a clear goal in mind: establish an elite passing attack and win games; he did both. Picking up Jameis Christ and drafting both John Wachter and Carlito Crush paid dividends, as the Pythons had the best passing attack in the league and the best record overall. All three of their losses came to the reinging champs of the West, the Chicago Blues. Luckily for them, the Blues had a down season and they won't have to face them again.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Norfolk Seawolves make the playoffs for the second straight year. Conall O'Sullivan set the record for longest run (56) and most yards in a season (1383), adding a very respectable eight touchdowns to that total. They also sport one of the two active Qbs in the league in Wolverine Justice, who finished with arguably the third best stat line of anyone at the position.
These two teams met four times this season, with all four wins going to Portland. That said, every game has been close, three of the four were decided by one score, and the largest margin of victory for Portland was only eleven. In the two games in Portland, the Pythons won by a combined score of seven points, meaning anything can happen and one big play can change the whole game.
Prediction: Portland wins a close game. Look at their point spreads to tell the story. The Pythons have scored 254 compared to Norfolk's 223, but the bigger story is a less talked about aspect in the Pythons': The defense is better than expected. The Pythons have only allowed 216 points, good for first in the league. Cameron Taylor was a late pick that really panned out well, and the late-season addition of DT Norman Bagwell could play dividends in helping the Pythons stop Norfolk's best player. Carlito Crush just put up a big update to get to 234 (!) TPE, and WR John Wachter just upped his speed stat by 7 points. Portland was the best team in the regular season and has only gotten better for this week.
Matchup #2 - Tijuana Luchadors (7-7) @ San Antonio Marshalls (7-7)
The battle for the DSFL East will be played in San Antonio. In it's inaugural season, the Marshall's brought home to DSFL championship, and they're looking for a repeat performance in season two. This matchup features the two teams with the highest point totals and the top two rushing attacks in the league. Though the volume stats are similar and the records are identical, these two teams got it done in different ways. The Marshalls used both Jack Stats and Thomas Mango, two of the top four backs in the entire league with opposite play styles. While each of their individual performances were impressive, when you put them together the numbers are absolutely ludicrous. 2100 yards, 19 touchdowns, and the best per carry average in the league helped lead an offense who's best receiving threat had zero touchdowns.
After starting the year 0-5 the Luchadores won seven of their final nine. Much like San Antonio, they have a great rushing attack but one lead by a feature back. Sydney Spinelli was the second best back in the league, leading the entire DSFL with twelve rushing TDs and coming in second for rush yards behind O'Sullivan. Tijuana leaned heavily on their talented back to protect their developing QB Isaac Brown. Brown was improving throughout the season, and finished with a pretty respectable statline. Tijuana also boasts a dangerous defense. Though they gave up a pretty significant amount of points, they also excelled at making big plays. 50 sacks was behind only Portland (55) for the league lead, and their 31 turnovers were the best in the league. They also sport the best kicker in the league, Dean Jackson, who was money all year.
These two teams have played four times throughout the year, splitting the series evenly. Each team won a game in the other's stadium, and both teams held their ground on their own turf. Home field hasn't been the advantage we're used to seeing, and your guess is as good as mine as to who will win this one. For what it's worth, San Antonio beat the Luchadores in Tijuana during week 13, which ultimately won them the division as both teams lost their final game.
Prediction: Flip a coin I guess. My choice is Tijuana for this one, but it truly can go either way. Despite losing their last two, Tijuana just seems hotter, in my gut they feel like the right choice. Here's how to explain it by metrics: Draxel is coming off a historically terrible year for San Antonio. 3 TDs to 23 interceptions is inexcusable, even with the lack of weapons on the outside. He's been a liability for them. Luckily, they have the best rush attack in the league, but they'll be going against a bear in human form in Egor Medved. When push comes to shove, when you go off script, you have to find a way to make plays. If the run game struggles in any way, Draxel will have to find a way to make plays. Brandon Carter was great, he was the second best TE in the league and he WILL move the chains a few times. But on the outside, who's going to get open? Terrell Brister will shut down any receiving options, the front seven, lead by medved, will make life difficult for the run game, and they WILL pressure a QB who's shown poor decision making throughout the year. Isaac Bruce isn't going to put up a ton of points, and the talented secondary led by Greg Fletcher and Darren Morris will ensure points are at a premium. But I think the Luchadores are more well equipted to win a war, and if it comes down to a last second FG there's no one I'd rather have than Dean Jackson
Matchup #3 - Tijuana Luchadores (8-7) @ Portland Pythons (12-3)
The championship game! No point in running down each team's season at this point since it was covered above, so this section will be a little shorter. These two teams met twice so far: once on week two in Portland, and once on week fourteen in Tijuana. The Pythons won 16-14 and 27-17 respectably. If my predicitions are correct and this is the game that ends the season, it would see the two teams that missed the playoffs a year ago playing for the championship, which says a lot about the parity of the league as a whole. This matchup would see the top ranked passing attack take on the worst passing attack, but would also see the second-best rush attack take on the second worst. The Pythons have the most sacks in the league while surrendering the fewest; the Luchadores have the second-most sacks while allowing the third fewest.
Prediction: The Pythons win the Championship. Call it a homer pick if you want, but this is the team to beat. Best record in the league, all 3 losses to a team not in the playoffs, and key active players with huge updates for the playoffs. The Luchadores will have success, this won't be a blowout, but John Wachter just had a career day against them to end the season, and Crush was beyond solid. Both players got significantly better since then. Terrell Brister is bound for greatness, but with a +7 speed increase from 73 to 80, it'll be even tougher for him to stop Wachter than before. I touched on the addition of Bagwell in the matchup 1 preview, and that remains relevant dor this game as well. The passing attack will be overwhelming for the Luchadore defense, the Pythons will get constant pressure on the still developing Issac Bruce, and the Pythons will simply score more. That said, Spinelli is set to have a big day: in two games against Portland he has 191 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately for Tijuana, both Isaac Brown and Spinelli appear to have gone inacitve for the time being, which will be huge for this game. This one will be competitive and fun to watch, but Portland matches up well and should win their first trophy.
GRADED
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