1. This week will see the S28 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? Who do you think will win the final? If you’re writing this after the finals were decided, were you surprised by the outcome?
Well, in the Ultimus we have the Yellowknife Wraiths and the Austin Copperheads battling it out later today. Not very many people had these two teams finishing in the top three. I went back and looked at the season predictions, and Austin had a lot of fifth, sixth and seventh place votes, with various other ones thrown in. Majority of people had them finishing in the bottom half of their conference. As for the Wraiths, they had a lot of fourth place finishes, so most people had them just outside of the playoffs, and of course there were votes ranging from first to seventh as well. So, to start with, very people had either team in the playoffs, much less both making it in. From looking at the playoff predictions thread, it also seems like the two most picked to win it all are were the Berlin Fire Salamanders and the Arizona Outlaws, obviously neither of them is still in the game. There were a few people who picked the Wraiths to take it all, and some few also picked the Copperheads to win it all, most likely players on those two teams(I know I picked the Wraiths).
How did the wraiths get there, well that was a combination of scoring a decent amount of points while also mostly limiting teams to a reasonable score. Now, there were a few blowouts to a certain team that got beat in the playoffs, and the wraiths only allowed fourteen points in that game as well. First four weeks were rough for sure, finishing two and two and not really looking like a playoff caliber team. But the wraiths managed to go on two different runs where they won three or more games in a row to ultimately finish with an eleven and five record, good for second in their division. They did well at home and on the road, going six and two at home and five and three on the road. Then they had to play in two playoff games, and while both were close games, they only allowed fourteen and thirteen points in each.
The Copperheads got here by finishing in third place in their division and having a very similar points scored to points allowed differential as the wraiths. At the end of the day they won when it counted most in both the wildcard and conference championships, beating out the Silverbacks and the Outlaws, also both very close games. They started off the season in a much better place going three and one in the first four, and winning multiple games after their losses until late in the season where they ended with three straight losses going into the playoffs. Not exactly the way you want to head into there, but I guess it has worked out very well so far.
The wraiths have the top TPE quarterback in the entire league while the copperheads have one of the newer, lower TPE guys in a season twenty five recruit. They both have a wide receiver one who is in beast mode with super high TPE, followed by a wide out number two in the nine hundred TPE range. The copperheads have a really good running back, and the wraiths have two solid running backs in their backfield. The wraiths have a top tier talent at tight end where the copperheads have a solid one who just didn't earn at the same rate. At the offensive line position the copperheads have two newer players anchoring their line and the wraiths have one of the top linemen in the league followed by a low TPE veteran. On the defensive side of the ball both teams have a defender near the top of their TPE list, the wraiths having a defensive lineman up there, and the copperheads having a defensive end at he top followed by a linebacker. Both teams have some solid secondary players with the wraiths having two really good safeties with two season twenty five cornerbacks on the up swing back there. The copperheads have a corner back and two more line backers holding their defense down. As for kicker, the wraiths have one of the higher earning kickers in the league, and the copperheads have one of the lowest earning kickers.
I know the wraiths got here through drafting solid players and keeping them in the building long term. I think we resigned almost every player since I have been here, not including any trades or players who resigned. As for the copperheads, I don't really know for sure how they got their team, seams like definitely hit on some of those guys they have drafted recently. Should be a good game, not sure if it will be a defensive minded game, or if we will see these explosive offenses go off and make it a high scoring game.
As for the Ultimini, got to give a quick shout out to the mini game. The Tijuana Luchadores(my alma mater) get to play the London Royals. I am mostly going to speak about the luchadores as I am in that locker room everyday. They got where they are by doing some good drafting mixed in with some solid waiver wire pickups and some good ole fashioned game planning. The team is very well run with a really good group of guys in that locker room supporting each other on a daily basis. I know they are going for trophy number nine!
Well, in the Ultimus we have the Yellowknife Wraiths and the Austin Copperheads battling it out later today. Not very many people had these two teams finishing in the top three. I went back and looked at the season predictions, and Austin had a lot of fifth, sixth and seventh place votes, with various other ones thrown in. Majority of people had them finishing in the bottom half of their conference. As for the Wraiths, they had a lot of fourth place finishes, so most people had them just outside of the playoffs, and of course there were votes ranging from first to seventh as well. So, to start with, very people had either team in the playoffs, much less both making it in. From looking at the playoff predictions thread, it also seems like the two most picked to win it all are were the Berlin Fire Salamanders and the Arizona Outlaws, obviously neither of them is still in the game. There were a few people who picked the Wraiths to take it all, and some few also picked the Copperheads to win it all, most likely players on those two teams(I know I picked the Wraiths).
How did the wraiths get there, well that was a combination of scoring a decent amount of points while also mostly limiting teams to a reasonable score. Now, there were a few blowouts to a certain team that got beat in the playoffs, and the wraiths only allowed fourteen points in that game as well. First four weeks were rough for sure, finishing two and two and not really looking like a playoff caliber team. But the wraiths managed to go on two different runs where they won three or more games in a row to ultimately finish with an eleven and five record, good for second in their division. They did well at home and on the road, going six and two at home and five and three on the road. Then they had to play in two playoff games, and while both were close games, they only allowed fourteen and thirteen points in each.
The Copperheads got here by finishing in third place in their division and having a very similar points scored to points allowed differential as the wraiths. At the end of the day they won when it counted most in both the wildcard and conference championships, beating out the Silverbacks and the Outlaws, also both very close games. They started off the season in a much better place going three and one in the first four, and winning multiple games after their losses until late in the season where they ended with three straight losses going into the playoffs. Not exactly the way you want to head into there, but I guess it has worked out very well so far.
The wraiths have the top TPE quarterback in the entire league while the copperheads have one of the newer, lower TPE guys in a season twenty five recruit. They both have a wide receiver one who is in beast mode with super high TPE, followed by a wide out number two in the nine hundred TPE range. The copperheads have a really good running back, and the wraiths have two solid running backs in their backfield. The wraiths have a top tier talent at tight end where the copperheads have a solid one who just didn't earn at the same rate. At the offensive line position the copperheads have two newer players anchoring their line and the wraiths have one of the top linemen in the league followed by a low TPE veteran. On the defensive side of the ball both teams have a defender near the top of their TPE list, the wraiths having a defensive lineman up there, and the copperheads having a defensive end at he top followed by a linebacker. Both teams have some solid secondary players with the wraiths having two really good safeties with two season twenty five cornerbacks on the up swing back there. The copperheads have a corner back and two more line backers holding their defense down. As for kicker, the wraiths have one of the higher earning kickers in the league, and the copperheads have one of the lowest earning kickers.
I know the wraiths got here through drafting solid players and keeping them in the building long term. I think we resigned almost every player since I have been here, not including any trades or players who resigned. As for the copperheads, I don't really know for sure how they got their team, seams like definitely hit on some of those guys they have drafted recently. Should be a good game, not sure if it will be a defensive minded game, or if we will see these explosive offenses go off and make it a high scoring game.
As for the Ultimini, got to give a quick shout out to the mini game. The Tijuana Luchadores(my alma mater) get to play the London Royals. I am mostly going to speak about the luchadores as I am in that locker room everyday. They got where they are by doing some good drafting mixed in with some solid waiver wire pickups and some good ole fashioned game planning. The team is very well run with a really good group of guys in that locker room supporting each other on a daily basis. I know they are going for trophy number nine!