Week 4 brought some results that will make people from various camps very happy, and some that will make people sad, but nonetheless, it was a thoroughly entertaining group of games. As per usual I will do a summary of each game and choose a POTG on offense and defense, and then choose an offensive and defensive POTW overall, and at the end make my updated power rankings.
Game 1 : Dallas Birddogs (0-3) @ Kansas City Coyotes (1-2), Coyotes win 34-17
The bottom teams in each division face off in this matchup, with the Birddogs looking to kickstart their season 4 weeks in and the Coyotes looking to get to a .500 record in a very competitive division. In the end it was Kansas City who took the upper hand in this matchup, with a very convincing win. The future now does not look bright for Dallas, as they have both division leaders in their Tuesday double header, going to Myrtle Beach in Week 5 and playing Portland at home in Week 6. For Kansas City their fortunes could be turning after an inconsistent start to the season with a couple of winnable games coming up for them.
Dallas will be very disappointed in their qbs performance, as he had 50% completion on 22 attempts, for 144 yards and 2 interceptions, resulting in a 33.1 QBR. Their rushing performance was somewhat better as their 2 backs Kai and Miglaskems combined for 122 yards on 30 carries, it still wasn’t great though. They will be happy with their defense getting 69 (nice) tackles, including three 10+ tackle games. This will happen when your opponents offense has the ball for 10 minutes more than your own, however.
KC will be happy to keep their form from last week going, when they only by 2 points to the divisional leaders Portland. Their quarterback put in a sufficient performance throwing for just 103 yards and a touchdown, as well as throwing an interception. The real stars of the show, however, were KCs pair of running backs who combined for 260 yards on 53 carries and getting 3 touchdowns combined. The Coyotes defense did not much have much to do, and didn’t post the most impressive stats.
OPOTG :
Sergio Kitchens, Running Back, Kansas City – For the second week this season Kitchens wins OPOTG. KCs lead rusher carried the ball 27 times for 129 yards and also got into the endzone twice in a very impressive performance.
DPOTG :
Richard Leaking, Linebacker, Dallas – A record breaking performance always deserves DPOTG, and just because he lost, Leakings’ 18 Tackles to break the Dallas Birddogs single game tackles record is no exception.
Game 2 : Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (2-1) @ London Royals (2-1), Buccaneers win 27-16
Despite being ranked above the Royals in my power rankings last week, I did not expect Myrtle Beach to win this game so comprehensively, mainly due to the fact that it was being played in London, and yet they were 20 points clear of the Royals with less then 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
This Myrtle Beach win was mainly down to some great running back play, with 2 Buccaneers backs coming just shy of 100 yards and getting a touchdown each. As well as that they got some stellar play from the rest of the players as well, with quarterback Daytona throwing for 189 yards on 17 completions and three offensive linemen getting 5+ pancakes.
The Royals will be looking to seriously improve on offense from this performance going into next week. QB Cortez played poorly, despite being on a decent streak of form, throwing two interceptions. In addition to this their running backs carried the ball 21 times for a measly 54 yards, resulting in an average of 2.6 YPC. Furthermore, they will be hoping to be able to force some turnovers from their opposition next week, which they were not able to do in this game.
OPOTG :
Tugg Speedman, Wide Receiver, London – Despite not scoring a touchdown in this game, Speedman had a day, catching 9 passes for 153 yards and getting over half of his teams total offensive yards, definitely an OPOTG worthy performance.
DPOTG :
Zack Mouse, Safety, Myrtle Beach – In this game this man was the only player who truly had stats deserving of DPOTG. He recorded 8 Tackles, 2 PDs and got 2 interceptions, returning one to the 1 yard line and the other for a touchdown.
Game 3 : Norfolk Seawolves (1-2) @ Minnesota Grey Ducks (2-1), Grey Ducks win 30-7
Minnesota came into this game looking to bounce back from their tough loss against Myrtle Beach the week prior, and this game was good for that exact objective. They move to 3-1 and sit second in their division. Norfolk are 3rd in the SFC but only a win plus a Tijuana loss away from moving into second.
Norfolk will be disappointed that their quarterback Emi Rune regressed from his great performance last week, throwing for a mere 100 yards and an interception, earning a 51.3 QBR. They will however, be happy that running back Mr. Forty Two managed over 125 yards on the ground, despite only averaging 3.7 YPC.
Minnesota will be happy with an all around great team performance in this game, with running back Mike Rotchburns notching 140 yards from scrimmage, kicker Gluteus Maximus kicking 100% from both XPs and field goals and their defense holding Norfolk to 7 points, allowing a lone score in the 2nd quarter.
OPOTG :
Ryan Negs, Quarterback, Minnesota – Whilst their were quite a few good offensive performances in this game, most notably from both running backs, the first overall pick in the draft put up some great numbers on the Seawolves defense. He completed 18 passes for 221 yards and 2 TDs, leaving him with a 105 QBR on the day.
DPOTG :
Tommy Tenners, Linebacker, Norfolk – This game was not the best for defensive stat lines and this shows with this selection, as Tenner amassed 11 tackles with 2 for a loss, however you still want to be the best on the field every day and in this game, I believe Tenners was.
Game 4 : Portland Pythons (3-0) @ Tijuana Luchadores (1-2), Luchadores win 13-10
The undefeated Pythons travelled to Tijuana hoping, and probably expecting, to make it a fourth successive win to start out the season, while the Mexican team were looking to upset the Pythons, get a second win on the bounce and, after earlier results had fallen their way, go second in their division with no on below them matching their record. In the end it was Tijuana who came away from that game happy, upsetting the visitors by the just three points in a low scoring affair.
Portland will feel hard done by after this result, as they gained 82 yards more on offense than their opponents and managed to convert half of their third downs, compared to Tijuanas 25%. However, at the end of the day, all that matters is the result and Portland, were the losers. After the game, the Pythons began the search for a new kicker as Buttowski, their kicker since the start of the season missed two game tying field goal attempts from 36 and 40 yards respectively.
Tijuana, on the other hand, will not care about how their opponents feel with regards to the performance, as they came out winners, some would say deservedly as well, as they didn’t turn the ball over all game, compared to a lost fumble and an interception from Portland. Their quarterback played well, throwing for 183 yards, with no scores or turnovers, and one of their offensive linemen, Mellott, registered 7 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed on the day, an impressive stat line for sure.
OPOTG :
Darren Pama, Running back, Portland – This man gets his second OPOTG running. In a game that did not display the best of its offensive ability, this man carried the ball 22 times for 104 yards, enough to warrant the award in my book.
DPOTG :
Mason Gillion, Cornerback, Tijuana – A game that had a couple of relatively impressive defensive stat lines, as it was a low scoring one, Gillions 11 Tackles, 1 Sack and a Fumble Recovery were more than adequate for the stats of a DPOTG.
Offensive Player of the Week :
Minnesota Quarterback Ryan Negs
For the third time in 4 weeks it was a quarterback taking home this award, with 1st overall pick Negs getting the nod from myself. It was a 50/50 between him and wide receiver Tugg Speedman, and so, I decided to give it to the player whose team won that week.
Defensive Player of the Week :
Buccaneers Safety Zack Mouse
A clear winner for DPOTW, Mouse got 8 tackles and 2 PDs, but the most impressive part of his day were the 2 interceptions he got, nearly returning both for TDs. One fell just short at the 1 yard line, while he brought the other all the way back. Mouse was instrumental in his teams win this week.
POWER RANKINGS :
1. Portland Pythons (3-1)(-) – Portland sit atop my rankings again this week, however it’s now closer than ever between themselves and Myrtle Beach, but I just can’t look over the complete annihilation of the Buccaneers in week 2, by Portland.
2. Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (3-1)(-) – An unchanged top 2, for the reasoning I gave above, and this pair have been head and shoulders above the rest so far this season, in my opinion.
3. Minnesota Grey Ducks (3-1)(+1) – The worst of the 3-1 teams in my opinion, however a 3-1 team nonetheless. I have been saying for the past 2 weeks that Minnesota needed a convincing win to look like a true contender, and they got one this week, against the Seawolves. It will be interesting to see how they play in Week 4 against Portland.
4. London Royals (2-2)(-1) – I was thinking of ranking Tijuana above London but the lead London have on them in PD is too significant, and this is partly due to the blowout win they had over Tijuana. However, London are now very close to losing this top half spot and will need to change their 2 game losing streak to a winning streak soon if they want to keep this spot.
5. Tijuana Luchadores (2-2)(+2) – Probably the most surprising change of the week, but Tijuanas win over rank 1 Portland seriously impressed, as well as the fact they had a close loss against rank 3 Minnesota, and if they hadn’t been crushed by London in Week 2 they could easily be higher now.
6. Kansas City Coyotes (2-2)(-1) – Some would say it’s very harsh to drop a team down a spot after a 17 point win, and I wholeheartedly agree with those people. However, Tijuanas wins have come against better teams than KCs, and so I have decided to swap their positions. We will see who truly deserves to be higher when they face off in Week 6.
7. Norfolk Seawolves (1-3)(-1) – After such a promising win over London in Week 3, Tijuana suffered a third defeat where they only managed to score 7 points, making their 34 points through 4 games the worst in the league. If Norfolk have playoff aspirations, they will need to start scoring more, and soon.
8. Dallas Birddogs (0-4)(-) – Ranked dead last again this week, the Birddogs look to stuck in a position which they will not be getting out of anytime soon, and this could very easily turn into a wasted season for Dallas, before it has even begun.
Game 1 : Dallas Birddogs (0-3) @ Kansas City Coyotes (1-2), Coyotes win 34-17
The bottom teams in each division face off in this matchup, with the Birddogs looking to kickstart their season 4 weeks in and the Coyotes looking to get to a .500 record in a very competitive division. In the end it was Kansas City who took the upper hand in this matchup, with a very convincing win. The future now does not look bright for Dallas, as they have both division leaders in their Tuesday double header, going to Myrtle Beach in Week 5 and playing Portland at home in Week 6. For Kansas City their fortunes could be turning after an inconsistent start to the season with a couple of winnable games coming up for them.
Dallas will be very disappointed in their qbs performance, as he had 50% completion on 22 attempts, for 144 yards and 2 interceptions, resulting in a 33.1 QBR. Their rushing performance was somewhat better as their 2 backs Kai and Miglaskems combined for 122 yards on 30 carries, it still wasn’t great though. They will be happy with their defense getting 69 (nice) tackles, including three 10+ tackle games. This will happen when your opponents offense has the ball for 10 minutes more than your own, however.
KC will be happy to keep their form from last week going, when they only by 2 points to the divisional leaders Portland. Their quarterback put in a sufficient performance throwing for just 103 yards and a touchdown, as well as throwing an interception. The real stars of the show, however, were KCs pair of running backs who combined for 260 yards on 53 carries and getting 3 touchdowns combined. The Coyotes defense did not much have much to do, and didn’t post the most impressive stats.
OPOTG :
Sergio Kitchens, Running Back, Kansas City – For the second week this season Kitchens wins OPOTG. KCs lead rusher carried the ball 27 times for 129 yards and also got into the endzone twice in a very impressive performance.
DPOTG :
Richard Leaking, Linebacker, Dallas – A record breaking performance always deserves DPOTG, and just because he lost, Leakings’ 18 Tackles to break the Dallas Birddogs single game tackles record is no exception.
Game 2 : Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (2-1) @ London Royals (2-1), Buccaneers win 27-16
Despite being ranked above the Royals in my power rankings last week, I did not expect Myrtle Beach to win this game so comprehensively, mainly due to the fact that it was being played in London, and yet they were 20 points clear of the Royals with less then 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
This Myrtle Beach win was mainly down to some great running back play, with 2 Buccaneers backs coming just shy of 100 yards and getting a touchdown each. As well as that they got some stellar play from the rest of the players as well, with quarterback Daytona throwing for 189 yards on 17 completions and three offensive linemen getting 5+ pancakes.
The Royals will be looking to seriously improve on offense from this performance going into next week. QB Cortez played poorly, despite being on a decent streak of form, throwing two interceptions. In addition to this their running backs carried the ball 21 times for a measly 54 yards, resulting in an average of 2.6 YPC. Furthermore, they will be hoping to be able to force some turnovers from their opposition next week, which they were not able to do in this game.
OPOTG :
Tugg Speedman, Wide Receiver, London – Despite not scoring a touchdown in this game, Speedman had a day, catching 9 passes for 153 yards and getting over half of his teams total offensive yards, definitely an OPOTG worthy performance.
DPOTG :
Zack Mouse, Safety, Myrtle Beach – In this game this man was the only player who truly had stats deserving of DPOTG. He recorded 8 Tackles, 2 PDs and got 2 interceptions, returning one to the 1 yard line and the other for a touchdown.
Game 3 : Norfolk Seawolves (1-2) @ Minnesota Grey Ducks (2-1), Grey Ducks win 30-7
Minnesota came into this game looking to bounce back from their tough loss against Myrtle Beach the week prior, and this game was good for that exact objective. They move to 3-1 and sit second in their division. Norfolk are 3rd in the SFC but only a win plus a Tijuana loss away from moving into second.
Norfolk will be disappointed that their quarterback Emi Rune regressed from his great performance last week, throwing for a mere 100 yards and an interception, earning a 51.3 QBR. They will however, be happy that running back Mr. Forty Two managed over 125 yards on the ground, despite only averaging 3.7 YPC.
Minnesota will be happy with an all around great team performance in this game, with running back Mike Rotchburns notching 140 yards from scrimmage, kicker Gluteus Maximus kicking 100% from both XPs and field goals and their defense holding Norfolk to 7 points, allowing a lone score in the 2nd quarter.
OPOTG :
Ryan Negs, Quarterback, Minnesota – Whilst their were quite a few good offensive performances in this game, most notably from both running backs, the first overall pick in the draft put up some great numbers on the Seawolves defense. He completed 18 passes for 221 yards and 2 TDs, leaving him with a 105 QBR on the day.
DPOTG :
Tommy Tenners, Linebacker, Norfolk – This game was not the best for defensive stat lines and this shows with this selection, as Tenner amassed 11 tackles with 2 for a loss, however you still want to be the best on the field every day and in this game, I believe Tenners was.
Game 4 : Portland Pythons (3-0) @ Tijuana Luchadores (1-2), Luchadores win 13-10
The undefeated Pythons travelled to Tijuana hoping, and probably expecting, to make it a fourth successive win to start out the season, while the Mexican team were looking to upset the Pythons, get a second win on the bounce and, after earlier results had fallen their way, go second in their division with no on below them matching their record. In the end it was Tijuana who came away from that game happy, upsetting the visitors by the just three points in a low scoring affair.
Portland will feel hard done by after this result, as they gained 82 yards more on offense than their opponents and managed to convert half of their third downs, compared to Tijuanas 25%. However, at the end of the day, all that matters is the result and Portland, were the losers. After the game, the Pythons began the search for a new kicker as Buttowski, their kicker since the start of the season missed two game tying field goal attempts from 36 and 40 yards respectively.
Tijuana, on the other hand, will not care about how their opponents feel with regards to the performance, as they came out winners, some would say deservedly as well, as they didn’t turn the ball over all game, compared to a lost fumble and an interception from Portland. Their quarterback played well, throwing for 183 yards, with no scores or turnovers, and one of their offensive linemen, Mellott, registered 7 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed on the day, an impressive stat line for sure.
OPOTG :
Darren Pama, Running back, Portland – This man gets his second OPOTG running. In a game that did not display the best of its offensive ability, this man carried the ball 22 times for 104 yards, enough to warrant the award in my book.
DPOTG :
Mason Gillion, Cornerback, Tijuana – A game that had a couple of relatively impressive defensive stat lines, as it was a low scoring one, Gillions 11 Tackles, 1 Sack and a Fumble Recovery were more than adequate for the stats of a DPOTG.
Offensive Player of the Week :
Minnesota Quarterback Ryan Negs
For the third time in 4 weeks it was a quarterback taking home this award, with 1st overall pick Negs getting the nod from myself. It was a 50/50 between him and wide receiver Tugg Speedman, and so, I decided to give it to the player whose team won that week.
Defensive Player of the Week :
Buccaneers Safety Zack Mouse
A clear winner for DPOTW, Mouse got 8 tackles and 2 PDs, but the most impressive part of his day were the 2 interceptions he got, nearly returning both for TDs. One fell just short at the 1 yard line, while he brought the other all the way back. Mouse was instrumental in his teams win this week.
POWER RANKINGS :
1. Portland Pythons (3-1)(-) – Portland sit atop my rankings again this week, however it’s now closer than ever between themselves and Myrtle Beach, but I just can’t look over the complete annihilation of the Buccaneers in week 2, by Portland.
2. Myrtle Beach Buccaneers (3-1)(-) – An unchanged top 2, for the reasoning I gave above, and this pair have been head and shoulders above the rest so far this season, in my opinion.
3. Minnesota Grey Ducks (3-1)(+1) – The worst of the 3-1 teams in my opinion, however a 3-1 team nonetheless. I have been saying for the past 2 weeks that Minnesota needed a convincing win to look like a true contender, and they got one this week, against the Seawolves. It will be interesting to see how they play in Week 4 against Portland.
4. London Royals (2-2)(-1) – I was thinking of ranking Tijuana above London but the lead London have on them in PD is too significant, and this is partly due to the blowout win they had over Tijuana. However, London are now very close to losing this top half spot and will need to change their 2 game losing streak to a winning streak soon if they want to keep this spot.
5. Tijuana Luchadores (2-2)(+2) – Probably the most surprising change of the week, but Tijuanas win over rank 1 Portland seriously impressed, as well as the fact they had a close loss against rank 3 Minnesota, and if they hadn’t been crushed by London in Week 2 they could easily be higher now.
6. Kansas City Coyotes (2-2)(-1) – Some would say it’s very harsh to drop a team down a spot after a 17 point win, and I wholeheartedly agree with those people. However, Tijuanas wins have come against better teams than KCs, and so I have decided to swap their positions. We will see who truly deserves to be higher when they face off in Week 6.
7. Norfolk Seawolves (1-3)(-1) – After such a promising win over London in Week 3, Tijuana suffered a third defeat where they only managed to score 7 points, making their 34 points through 4 games the worst in the league. If Norfolk have playoff aspirations, they will need to start scoring more, and soon.
8. Dallas Birddogs (0-4)(-) – Ranked dead last again this week, the Birddogs look to stuck in a position which they will not be getting out of anytime soon, and this could very easily turn into a wasted season for Dallas, before it has even begun.
[img=0x0]https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/external/t52dU9eBJgwsyw3nTevSVxQLhH2o2kjrFAMEacLX6tY/https/i.imgur.com/zpHk3Xu.mp4[/img]
S27 Ultimus DPOTG
S27 Ultimus DPOTG