Robbed: Write about why a team that failed to make the playoffs should have over somebody else.
Look, I’m not going to throw a pity party for the Hawks here. The Hawks didn’t have any business making the playoffs with how they performed at the end of the season. Many people want to point out that the Liberty were the worse team, and want to use every stat except for one to qualify that statement. Liberty went 6-0 in division games, sweeping the NSFC on their road to the playoffs. I don’t care what other stats you show me, Hawks had 2 chances to beat the Liberty, which they failed to do so, and that’s why they didn’t make the playoffs. Now who was robbed you ask? It’s simple, the SaberCats were. They went 9-5, but because they happened to be in the division that includes the Otters and Outlaws, they were left out as those 2 teams boasted better records and or tiebreakers. The SaberCats however ended the season with the 3rd best record, typically this doesn’t happen, and at least the number 1 seed from the other division has more wins. Not this season, the Hawks, who were coasting halfway through the season, choked liked no team has ever choked before, opening the door for the Wraiths and Liberty. The SaberCats by all qualifications were a playoff team, but they were not rewarded as such and missed out on the playoffs again, still looking for their first playoff appearance. (234 words)
Playoff Series MVP: Choose an MVP for one of the playoff series and write about why you chose them.
Dominic Verns helped the Otters finally topple the Outlaws, a feat they’ve been trying for 4 seasons now. Verns started the game off with a pick 6, immediately putting the only NSFL Champions down by 7, forcing them to play from behind, something the Outlaws aren’t used to doing. He also had 8 tackles and 3 PDs. He was everywhere on the field for the Otters, and finally proved to be the hero they needed to topple the giant they couldn’t. Verns was able to control the pace of play, along with Spector, where they were able to hold Garden under 100, and Evans barely eclipsed the 100-yard mark at 114 yards. This may seem like a lot, but considering the talent that both Evans and Garden have this was a great performance by the two CBs. Verns is certainly a leader of this team, and getting that early TD for them was a great way to start the game, and showed that they didn’t need the offense to do it all (even though Boss did throw for almost 500 yards in the game, which does help). Verns was able to propel the team to victory with his early heroics, and they rode that play all the way to the championship, where they would go on to beat the Wraiths and capture their first championship. (225 words)
Championship Game Recap: Do a recap of the best play from the championship game.
The play of the game had to be when the game was put out of reach. The Wraiths had 1 last reasonable drive, with 5 minutes left they got the ball on their 40 yard line, they were in a prime position to make a comeback drive, and tie the game up. They started the drive with a penalty, and followed it up with 2 short plays totaling 4 yards. Not a good start to their last drive. Then the former OL standout, now DT, Greg Clegane then sacked Akselsen to push them to 4th and 27. While not impossible, it was highly unlikely that the Wraiths were going to pull off the miracle play. The Wraiths were down to their final play, they didn’t have any more shots realistically after this play, with only 3 minutes on the clock at this point, it would have taken a turnover, or a quick drive with a missed field goal, for the Wraiths to have any hope at the championship. Akselsen dropped back for the pass, and could not find a man open, out of desperation, just hoping for something to materialize, he checked it down to his running back, Eric Kennedy, and watched their championship hopes fade away as he was talked shortly after the catch was made. Now, this was the game clinching play, the Wraiths would go on to get the ball back from a turnover, but they were deep in their territory with only 44 seconds left to play. They had no chance to drive 95 yards in 44 seconds, and the game was over. The Otters had finally realized what many thought they could do since season 2, and they won the championship. They were popping the champagne, celebrating all night and waiting for the parade shortly after, they now could claim that they were the 2nd team to win the Ultimus, a feat that had only be done by the Outlaws up to this point. (329 words)
Hate the player or the game: Tell us which team made the playoffs and shouldn't have, or which team didn't and should have?
I said I wasn’t going to throw a pity party for the Hawks, but the Liberty had no business making the playoffs. They started off 2-5 in the first 7 games of the season, losing every ASFC matchup except for their week 1 home game against the Legion, and their lone NSFC matchup with the Yeti, also a home game. They struggled against the Outlaws, which is being generous, while losing to every other ASFC team at least 1 in that first 7 game stretch. Then the second half they found life, they still couldn’t get a 2nd win against the ASFC opponents though, but were able find the spark they needed, winning all of their NSFC matchups during the season. By all accounts the Liberty should not have made the playoffs, they had mediocre, to below average, stats on the season, they struggled to force turnovers, even though many thought they would boast the best secondary in the league. This team drastically underperformed on the season, many thought they would overtake the Hawks as the top team in the NSFC, and all they did was struggle, leaving no hope for the season with 5 weeks left to play. They should have been out of the playoffs when they started 2-5, and even 4-5 in week 9 should have seen them in a bad situation, which it did. The Hawks needed to win 1 more game than they did over the last 7 weeks to make the playoffs. They didn’t deserve to make the playoffs, but the Hawks had the biggest choke-job in NSFL history which allowed them the path to the playoffs. (273 words)
Look, I’m not going to throw a pity party for the Hawks here. The Hawks didn’t have any business making the playoffs with how they performed at the end of the season. Many people want to point out that the Liberty were the worse team, and want to use every stat except for one to qualify that statement. Liberty went 6-0 in division games, sweeping the NSFC on their road to the playoffs. I don’t care what other stats you show me, Hawks had 2 chances to beat the Liberty, which they failed to do so, and that’s why they didn’t make the playoffs. Now who was robbed you ask? It’s simple, the SaberCats were. They went 9-5, but because they happened to be in the division that includes the Otters and Outlaws, they were left out as those 2 teams boasted better records and or tiebreakers. The SaberCats however ended the season with the 3rd best record, typically this doesn’t happen, and at least the number 1 seed from the other division has more wins. Not this season, the Hawks, who were coasting halfway through the season, choked liked no team has ever choked before, opening the door for the Wraiths and Liberty. The SaberCats by all qualifications were a playoff team, but they were not rewarded as such and missed out on the playoffs again, still looking for their first playoff appearance. (234 words)
Playoff Series MVP: Choose an MVP for one of the playoff series and write about why you chose them.
Dominic Verns helped the Otters finally topple the Outlaws, a feat they’ve been trying for 4 seasons now. Verns started the game off with a pick 6, immediately putting the only NSFL Champions down by 7, forcing them to play from behind, something the Outlaws aren’t used to doing. He also had 8 tackles and 3 PDs. He was everywhere on the field for the Otters, and finally proved to be the hero they needed to topple the giant they couldn’t. Verns was able to control the pace of play, along with Spector, where they were able to hold Garden under 100, and Evans barely eclipsed the 100-yard mark at 114 yards. This may seem like a lot, but considering the talent that both Evans and Garden have this was a great performance by the two CBs. Verns is certainly a leader of this team, and getting that early TD for them was a great way to start the game, and showed that they didn’t need the offense to do it all (even though Boss did throw for almost 500 yards in the game, which does help). Verns was able to propel the team to victory with his early heroics, and they rode that play all the way to the championship, where they would go on to beat the Wraiths and capture their first championship. (225 words)
Championship Game Recap: Do a recap of the best play from the championship game.
The play of the game had to be when the game was put out of reach. The Wraiths had 1 last reasonable drive, with 5 minutes left they got the ball on their 40 yard line, they were in a prime position to make a comeback drive, and tie the game up. They started the drive with a penalty, and followed it up with 2 short plays totaling 4 yards. Not a good start to their last drive. Then the former OL standout, now DT, Greg Clegane then sacked Akselsen to push them to 4th and 27. While not impossible, it was highly unlikely that the Wraiths were going to pull off the miracle play. The Wraiths were down to their final play, they didn’t have any more shots realistically after this play, with only 3 minutes on the clock at this point, it would have taken a turnover, or a quick drive with a missed field goal, for the Wraiths to have any hope at the championship. Akselsen dropped back for the pass, and could not find a man open, out of desperation, just hoping for something to materialize, he checked it down to his running back, Eric Kennedy, and watched their championship hopes fade away as he was talked shortly after the catch was made. Now, this was the game clinching play, the Wraiths would go on to get the ball back from a turnover, but they were deep in their territory with only 44 seconds left to play. They had no chance to drive 95 yards in 44 seconds, and the game was over. The Otters had finally realized what many thought they could do since season 2, and they won the championship. They were popping the champagne, celebrating all night and waiting for the parade shortly after, they now could claim that they were the 2nd team to win the Ultimus, a feat that had only be done by the Outlaws up to this point. (329 words)
Hate the player or the game: Tell us which team made the playoffs and shouldn't have, or which team didn't and should have?
I said I wasn’t going to throw a pity party for the Hawks, but the Liberty had no business making the playoffs. They started off 2-5 in the first 7 games of the season, losing every ASFC matchup except for their week 1 home game against the Legion, and their lone NSFC matchup with the Yeti, also a home game. They struggled against the Outlaws, which is being generous, while losing to every other ASFC team at least 1 in that first 7 game stretch. Then the second half they found life, they still couldn’t get a 2nd win against the ASFC opponents though, but were able find the spark they needed, winning all of their NSFC matchups during the season. By all accounts the Liberty should not have made the playoffs, they had mediocre, to below average, stats on the season, they struggled to force turnovers, even though many thought they would boast the best secondary in the league. This team drastically underperformed on the season, many thought they would overtake the Hawks as the top team in the NSFC, and all they did was struggle, leaving no hope for the season with 5 weeks left to play. They should have been out of the playoffs when they started 2-5, and even 4-5 in week 9 should have seen them in a bad situation, which it did. The Hawks needed to win 1 more game than they did over the last 7 weeks to make the playoffs. They didn’t deserve to make the playoffs, but the Hawks had the biggest choke-job in NSFL history which allowed them the path to the playoffs. (273 words)
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