Ok, well, I was claimed off of waivers by the Norfolk Seawolves so I will admit a little bit of bias there. As it looks now, we have a rather abysmal record at 3-7, but lucky for us the whole division seems a little weak which means we haven't been eliminated from playoff contention yet. We are still two games behind with four games left to go. So, yes, its a longshot but if we are able to win out and get some help from the Bondi Beach Buccaneers' opponents, then a playoff spot is still within reach. And here's why we are going to make it: perhaps no team was so active at the trade deadline than the Norfolk Seawolves. We added a whopping 5 players. Granted some of them are back up QBs, which will have no impact on the game, but others--like Marshall von Hildebrand--should be immediate impact upgrades over the bots that were previously on the field. Thus, Norfolk should return the best performance over expectation of all the teams--a perfect recipe for a come from behind playoff berth. And with that under our belts, we will be the ultimate cinderella team. As much as I have a fondness for the Tijuana Luchadores, the Seawolves will cruise to the Ultimini where they will win a hard-fought game against th Minnesota Grey Ducks.
S47 is finally ending and Chicago is so excited to finally be relevant and almost clinch the playoffs. It is an amazing feeling after a few struggling seasons and all the players in the locker room are pumped to see what noise Chicago is able to make. The team's defense has especially been an area that has the league on notice. The team has strong players throughout. The defensive line and linebacker group I feel is the strength and the depth and playmaking abilities of the team will see low scoring games in the playoffs. I expect Chicago to grind out their wins and stick to their running game as it has been a pleasant surprise with some changes in the roster. The pass play needs a little work and the secondary has had its ups and downs but Chicago has the roster and makeup to go deep and surprise teams in the playoffs and to prove everyone wrong that Chicago is back!
This season has been very up and down for the Outlaws, who had been comfortably winning the divison for most of the season, but now currently sit second behind San Jose. Some uncharacteristic losses (in particular a crushing loss to Nola and division front runners San Jose) have led to a bit of navel gazing over our running game, and Bertie's offensive output in particular has cratered following a hugely successful first half of the season. Nonetheless, the team remains well balanced overall, and it is hoped that the losses incurred were more of an aberration than a reflection of our overall ability.
In terms of predictions, the league as a whole is a lot more balanced, with a lot of teams in each division sitting at 9-5, and so it's hard to call anyone a runaway favourite at this point. For Arizona, it would appear that San Jose represent the biggest challenge, and so getting out of the division series will be hard. It certainly won't be as free as last season, where the Outlaws stomped the opposition before running into a defensive matchup with YKW in the Ultimus. Despite it all this, I'm calling the trio of Winters, Bamford and Nedelko to carry us to victory! Hopefully I can help too!
This is being written after the completion of the Week 14 games. So in order to predict the playoffs for the ISFL, we need to predict the last two weeks of the regular season. Using my Weekly Predictions, the final standings would shake out to be:
ASFC: 1. San Jose SaberCats (14-2) 2. Arizona Outlaws (11-5) 3. New Orleans Secondline (11-5) NSFC: 1. Baltimore Hawks (12-4) 2. Chicago Butchers (11-5) 3. Yellowknife Wraiths (9-7) Wild Card Round Chicago completes the sweep of the Wraiths as the Butchers top ranked passing defense is able to shutdown Maximas Bordeaux en route to victory. 29 - 19 New Orleans has 5 losses on the season. All of them have come against the other powers of the ASFC (San Jose, Arizona, Orange County). They are bound for some sim luck. The Secondline move on with a last second come from behind victory. 33 - 31 Conference Championships In a low scoring affair, the Hawks are able to use the homefield advantage to earn the victory after putting up over 200 yards on the ground. 17 - 12 The SaberCats have everything going for them after being undefeated at home throughout the season. It doesn't stop now. 37 - 28 Ultimus Even with an inept offense, the Hawks score two defensive touchdowns and Emile Charles returns a punt for a touchdown as the Hawks find a way to win. Realistically, the SaberCats are the better team but some big play touchdowns swing the game to Baltimore. 27 - 25 DSFL S43 Draft - Round 4 Pick 30 ISFL S44 Draft - Round 1 Pick 12 S43 DSFL Pro Bowl S44 DSFL Pro Bowl S45 All Rookie Team Gemini Media Awards 12 Gemini Nominations Best Article (Limited) - S43 "Do Penalties Really Matter?" Best Author - S43, S44
Now I’m not superstitious personally, but I imagine Juan might be. So looking back at earlier tasks in the season where I celebrated an undefeated start for the team, or lauded a player’s impressive mid-season stat total only to see those trends immediately screech to a halt has me a bit reticent to reveal my hopes for how the playoffs should pan out.
I will say I’m extremely excited for both the DSFL and ISFL playoffs. This is the time of year when one dot’s frantic skittering can enter the annals of sim league lore. I’ve made it a point to watch all the weeks plays, but not always live. I imagine when the teams start dwindling the drama amps up to a new level and we’ll have lots of trash talk during and after the game. Should be a lot of fun for everyone involved. Oh screw it one more prediction to test out the superstition theory: Minnesota wins the Ultimini!
The Minnesota Grey Ducks are 8-2. The Tijuana Luchadores are also 8-2. London is not far behind Minnesota at 6-4, but Tijuana’s closest competitor is only barely .500 (Bondi Beach). Each looks like the dominant team in their respective conference and the last 4 games of the season are unlikely to change that. Out of their last 4 contests neither team faces another team with a winning record except when they play each other.
Given the relative strength over the rest of the league that these facts indicate, I think when the 2 square off against each other in penultimate game of the season, we will be looking at a preview of the Ultimini. For my money, Tijuana will come away with the win in that ultimate contest. This is based on past performance. Tijuana and Minnesota faced each other 2 previous times in the season – one of these times in the preseason. In both contests, Tijuana came away with convincing wins: 24-6 and 34-0. This shows dominance on both sides of the ball with a combined score of 58-6. There is such a thing as third time’s the charm and playing for pride, but it just seems like too big a hurdle. I’m calling the Ultimini as Tijuana 32, Minnesota 10. Code: 212 words |
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