09-28-2017, 08:32 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-29-2017, 04:52 PM by JBLAZE_THE_BOSS.)
Liberty’s Bell Rung in Arizona
By Phil E. Chezestake
Coming off their first season victory against the Yellowknife Wraiths last week, the Philadelphia Liberty were hoping to begin a streak of wins as they visited the defending champions in Arizona. The Liberty had their best game ever last week with many highlights from Clifford Rove’s impressive completion rate and 2 touchdowns, Fox North and Omar Wright leading the receiving and passing games, and the Liberty defense continuing to shine. Unfortunately for the Liberty, their week 6 game was against the Outlaws at home and every team in the league can attest how difficult it is to play in such a hostile environment. The Liberty dominated from start to finish and it was a demoralizing loss much like the week 1 game against the Orange County Otters. The Liberty ended the game with a 48-6 loss against the Arizona Outlaws.
What Went Well?
This was another one of those games where it was tough to watch as a Philadelphia fan, but there were some positive things that occurred. The Liberty defense held the Outlaws well in the first half of the game as the score was 10-3 Outlaws. The defense kept them in the game despite the Outlaws getting a touchdown and field goal in the second quarter. A.C. Hackett was the most impressive player of the game with 13 tackles and 1 sack. “Iron Horse” William Ridley also had another prodigious game with 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception. Ridley is simply cementing his season as one of the best rookies from the S3 draft. Ridley was also mentioned some early S3 Award Predictions and it’s easy to see why.
What Didn’t Go Well?
The Bandit Pit might as well be called ‘Sack City’ as the offensive line could not stop the Outlaw defense from taking Rove down 12 times. This is the highest amount of sacks the Liberty offensive line has allowed and it resulted in the anemic end score for the Liberty. Jayce Tuck was able to get through an incredible 5 sacks against the team with 2 of them coming from the first quarter of the opening drive. The Arizona defense had planned well for the Liberty passing game and Rove struggled to hit targets successfully, only getting 16/37 completion/attempts and 172 yards. The offense just couldn’t get any meaningful drives down the field as the Outlaws stifled every attempt. The Liberty finished the game with only 172 yards passing and 46 yards rushing.
Penalties and turnovers will hinder any great team and the Liberty had an astounding 8 penalties for 70 yards from both sides of the field. 4 interceptions were thrown by Rove with 3 of them caught by cornerback Franklin Harris Jr. Rookies Cesar Milan and Eli Kamaka each racked up 2 penalties and the coaching staff will need to rein them in with better discipline moving forward.
As well as the Liberty defense played in the first half, it was evident that the intensity tapered off in the later quarters. As I wrote about last week, the defense struggles to endure through the end of the game and its evident here with the Outlaws scoring a majority of their points in the 3rd and 4th quarters (14 and 24 respectively).
Liberty Impact Player of the Game
This week’s Liberty Impact Player of the Game goes to William Ridley (@MacTonight). Already a recipient of the award in week 4, Ridley’s explosive performance on defensive has him in ‘Defensive Rookie of the Year’ discussions with half the season left to go.
Next Game
At home against the Las Vegas Legion in Taco Bell Stadium
By Phil E. Chezestake
Coming off their first season victory against the Yellowknife Wraiths last week, the Philadelphia Liberty were hoping to begin a streak of wins as they visited the defending champions in Arizona. The Liberty had their best game ever last week with many highlights from Clifford Rove’s impressive completion rate and 2 touchdowns, Fox North and Omar Wright leading the receiving and passing games, and the Liberty defense continuing to shine. Unfortunately for the Liberty, their week 6 game was against the Outlaws at home and every team in the league can attest how difficult it is to play in such a hostile environment. The Liberty dominated from start to finish and it was a demoralizing loss much like the week 1 game against the Orange County Otters. The Liberty ended the game with a 48-6 loss against the Arizona Outlaws.
What Went Well?
This was another one of those games where it was tough to watch as a Philadelphia fan, but there were some positive things that occurred. The Liberty defense held the Outlaws well in the first half of the game as the score was 10-3 Outlaws. The defense kept them in the game despite the Outlaws getting a touchdown and field goal in the second quarter. A.C. Hackett was the most impressive player of the game with 13 tackles and 1 sack. “Iron Horse” William Ridley also had another prodigious game with 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception. Ridley is simply cementing his season as one of the best rookies from the S3 draft. Ridley was also mentioned some early S3 Award Predictions and it’s easy to see why.
What Didn’t Go Well?
The Bandit Pit might as well be called ‘Sack City’ as the offensive line could not stop the Outlaw defense from taking Rove down 12 times. This is the highest amount of sacks the Liberty offensive line has allowed and it resulted in the anemic end score for the Liberty. Jayce Tuck was able to get through an incredible 5 sacks against the team with 2 of them coming from the first quarter of the opening drive. The Arizona defense had planned well for the Liberty passing game and Rove struggled to hit targets successfully, only getting 16/37 completion/attempts and 172 yards. The offense just couldn’t get any meaningful drives down the field as the Outlaws stifled every attempt. The Liberty finished the game with only 172 yards passing and 46 yards rushing.
Penalties and turnovers will hinder any great team and the Liberty had an astounding 8 penalties for 70 yards from both sides of the field. 4 interceptions were thrown by Rove with 3 of them caught by cornerback Franklin Harris Jr. Rookies Cesar Milan and Eli Kamaka each racked up 2 penalties and the coaching staff will need to rein them in with better discipline moving forward.
As well as the Liberty defense played in the first half, it was evident that the intensity tapered off in the later quarters. As I wrote about last week, the defense struggles to endure through the end of the game and its evident here with the Outlaws scoring a majority of their points in the 3rd and 4th quarters (14 and 24 respectively).
Liberty Impact Player of the Game This week’s Liberty Impact Player of the Game goes to William Ridley (@MacTonight). Already a recipient of the award in week 4, Ridley’s explosive performance on defensive has him in ‘Defensive Rookie of the Year’ discussions with half the season left to go.
Next Game
At home against the Las Vegas Legion in Taco Bell Stadium
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![[Image: HITSVoP.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HITSVoP.png)
