Quote:Robbed: Write about why a team that failed to make the playoffs should have over somebody else. Can be completed at any pointDue to the two conference setup -- even though every team plays every other team twice -- the current lineal champions of the NSFL, and third best team by overall record were left out of the playoffs this season. That is the definition of robbery. The Sabercats ended the season with a record good enough to be NSFC Regular Season Champions, but had to watch the playoffs from home due to the misfortune of being in the same conference as the Otters and Outlaws. Literally one NSFC team (Yellowknife Wraiths) hosted the Sabercats and won last season, the other three all lost. At home. The only home losses the Sabercats suffered were at the hands of last season's Ultimus teams. This is a team with two top ten receivers, a top four runningback and arguably the best defence in the league. How the league can justify this imbalance between conferences, and thus, depriving the Sabercats of a playoff berth is beyond me. If this sort of injustice continues, perhaps the league will need to look at restructuring things. Expansion might help, but that doesn't seem to be on the horizon in the near future, so the alternative -- if we care about fairness -- is to restructure the playoff setup. Do away with conference championship games and put the top four teams in the playoffs? Radical move, but it might be for the best.
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Quote: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? (Can be completed at any point)Contrary to the expectations of around 90% of NSFL fans, the Baltimore Hawks failed to make the playoffs this season. There are several reasons for this, like the simple fact that they lost what should have been a gimme against the Yeti, or their generally inconsistent play... or their double losses against the Liberty. Hold up. Let's look at that last one again. They lost twice to the Liberty? Including a home game? Wait wait wait. That home game was the last one of the regular season? And they lost by two? After failing a two point conversion in the last ninety seconds after a touchdown? This is dramatic stuff. Hand me the popcorn. Really, the Hawks' absence from the playoffs can be traced to this very moment. Brian Wheat's touchdown put them in position to tie the game back up at thirty-five apiece, forcing overtime in The Aviary. They have arguably the league's best runningback this season, and two top ten receivers. How did they not convert? Well, two point conversion rates are less than fifty percent so... maybe that's not why they didn't make it after all. A better question is... how did the Liberty manage not one, but TWO huge kickoff return touchdowns in that game? In fact, let's ask how the Liberty twice defied the odds this season to sweep the NSFC. Not only did they have the absurd fortune of two long kickoff return TDs and a failed two-point conversion against the Hawks, but their road win over the NSFC Champion Wraiths came after a field goal in the last thirty seconds. What I'm trying to say is... the Liberty were really f'n lucky this season, and probably shouldn't have made the playoffs.
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Quote:That Magic Moment: Pick one moment from a playoff game and describe what made it so amazing to watch. (Must be completed after the game you write about)Leroy Jenkins had rushed for less than twenty yards in the game so far, and the Otters' run game had been genuinely terrible overall. But his moment came. Taking the handoff on the Arizona 2-yard line, Jenkins -- who I like to imagine roared his name triumphantly as he did this -- launched himself bodily through the Outlaws defensive line to pick up the go-ahead touchdown. There was plenty of time left for Arizona's bad guys, the reigning champions, to fire back, but there was a definite change in atmosphere. Somehow, most people watching knew it. An agonising four minutes later, King Bronko attempted to find star wideout Josh Garden on 4th and 6, but couldn't. And it was all but confirmed. Leroy Jenkins had scored the decisive points, the decisive touchdown in the ASFC Championship game. That this touchdown was the one that put the Otters in position to keep the Outlaws out of the Ultimus game for the first time in the history of the league was only part of the magic. The other part being, of course, that Jenkins has already announced his intent to retire at the end of the season. Only one play could be more magical, really. And that's if he repeats the trick in the Ultimus game.
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Quote:Unsung Hero: Who was the unsung hero of the playoffs, convince us. (Can be completed after the Ultimus game)The unsung hero of the playoffs, in my eyes, is the man they call "BroSullivan". Tight Ends in this league not called Paul DiMirio generally get no love. Arguably the best performance from a tight end came from a guy so roided up, he is said to have destroyed his GM's phone just by rage shouting at him on a phonecall [allegedly this is why Gordon Gekko's phone was destroyed before the league investigation into Carmel Gibson; when Gekko called Gibson to inform him he was being cut, the latter went into a presumably drug-fuelled rage so potent it actually destroyed Gekko's phone - Ed.]. The GOAT TE changed positions, for crying out loud! What I'm saying is that tight ends get no love in this league. So why is BroSullivan a hero? Well... he's sort of a safety blanket for Mike Boss. Hear me out. Mike Boss is undoubtedly the best quarterback in the league. This isn't even up for debate at this point. But in the Otters' win over the Outlaws, he targeted BroSullivan more frequently than any of his other weapons. In fact, BroSullivan made more catches than Westfield and Phelps combined, often picking up the relatively short gains that keep the chains moving (Fact: four of six attempts on third down were completed to BroSullivan). Without the safety valve that is BroSullivan, I wager that the Otters passing offense would have looked a lot more like their anemic run game. BroSullivan deserves credit.
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