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Week 1
Ok. So. We need to spice things up a little bit around here at SGN. I used to write a weekly...well, I'm not sure how consistent I was...but a weekly NFL wrap-up over at Operation Sports. I'm going to follow that similar format and start writing one here. Feel free to provide criticism, new ideas, whatever. If people aren't reading it, responding, what have you, I will burn out. Nothing is set in stone. Things will change. Whatever. Let me know what you think. Oh, and don't forget, they will often be wrote + beers.
Top Five
In this section I will list my top five teams. It will be based off of record, roster talent, power ratings, the teams winning history, injuries, quality of wins, etc. Feel free to disagree.
1. Yuma Aces (1-0) - PR 90 - W 37-13 over Las Vegas Outlaws
Not only do I think this is the leagues best team right now, you could make the argument that they are the best team in OSFL history. Last season, as favorites to repeat in the 2010 Stevens Cup they lost 6-3 to Lake County. This team is out for vengeance. This week they dismantled (2nd largest margin of victory) a pretty solid Las Vegas team. Next week they travel North to face the (0-1) Washington Bombers. Expect another ass whooping.
2. Phoenix Riders (1-0) - PR 100 - W 34-21 over Denver Grizzlies
Meet the new Riders. The high powered offense is lead by the trio of QB Lorenzo Kaplan, RB Fernando Perkins and WR Sammy Slade. Kaplan threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Perkins had 200 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Slade had six catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. And while the defense gave up 21 points and didn't cause any turnovers, there is a ton of talent on that side of the ball. Next week they are on the road at the (1-0) Dakota Totems.
3. Columbus Catfish (1-0) - PR 79 - W 38-6 over Morgantown Maniacs
Last season Columbus won the NC South over Morgantown over a tie-breaker after both finished 10-6. This season, Columbus proved they were the much better team by dominating the Maniacs in front of their home crowd. QB Corey Lincoln threw five touchdown passes to four different receivers and RB Darnell Wilkens ran for 190 yards on 27 carries. The defense forced three turnovers and only allowed two field goals. Next week Columbus stays on the road and travels to (1-0) Memphis.
4. Memphis Admirals - PR 88 - W 30-10 over Port City Steam
A win over Port City isn't that impressive, but beating any team on the road by 20 points however is. In the off-season the Admirals traded away one of their best players in CB Dusty Dinh, but the pass defense didn't miss a beat. They gave rookie QB Sammy Dillon a tough debut. The Steam QB threw two interceptions, was sacked six times and finished just 18/44. Last season the Admirals struggled out of the starting gate...not this year. Next week, as mentioned above, the (1-0) Columbus Catfish are coming to town.
5. Kalispel Stags - PR 81 - W 23-7 over Washington Bombers
The Stags are looking to repeat as first time AC North division winners, and beating a divisional foe on the road is a great way to start. In the 23-7 win over the Bombers, the Stags had multiple big plays from nickel corner, Lincoln Ramsey. He finished the game with four tackles, three pass defenses and a forced fumble that lead to an 82-yard fumble return by LB Wesley Watson. That play changed the entire game as the Bombers were looking to take the lead right before halftime. Next on the schedule is the (0-1) Pearl Harbor Defenders. Expect the Stags to be 2-0 with a home win.
Bottom One
In this section I will pick the team I think is the WORST in the league. Pretty self explanatory.
1. Portland Phantoms - PR 47 - L 23-7 to Anchorage Gladiators
Who was the worst team in the league last year? Well, that would be me, the Portland Phantoms who went 2-14. I'm a firm believer in the school of thought "the champs are still the champs until they lose," so in this case, I think I am still the worst. I was dominated by the Anchorage Gladiators, most notably, QB Jay Nori. He finished the game 20/22 for 285 yards, one touchdown and 14 rushing yards. Next week (1-0) San Fransisco comes to town for my first home game of the season. They are favored by four. Wish me luck.
Game of the Week
In this section I will review the game of the week from the previous wrap-up and highlight the following weeks best upcoming game. Since there was no wrap-up before week one, I will just highlight a great game.
This weeks game of the week is Dakota's 42-39 victory over St. Paul. In this game the two teams quarterbacks, Roy Parrish and Dusty Galloway combined for 750 yards and nine touchdowns! After jumping out to an early 21-7 point lead, it appeared Dakota would cruise to a season opening home victory. But after the Bandits scored the next 17 points, the Totems leaned on their young quarterback Parrish. He threw three second half touchdown passes, and the Totems looked to have sealed the victory at the 5:34 mark of the 4th when WR Ted Brandon caught the 13-yard fade pass to take a 42-31 lead. It looked even worse after Bandits QB Galloway threw an interception with three minutes left. However the Bandits defense forced a three-and-out and Galloway rallied the troops one last time. They scored on a 15-yard slant pass to WR Bo "Diddley" Stuart. The two point conversion was a success, cutting the deficit to just three points. The Bandits have a kicker equipped with a strong leg, who is capable of making 50+ yard field goals, but the onside kick was recovered by Dakota.
Next weeks game of the week is the clash of two of the leagues best. The Memphis Admirals host the Columbus Catfish. The Admirals are favored by four points. Two Southern teams with high expectations for the year. This game features two of the leagues best as well as most accomplished quarterbacks in Corey Lincoln and Dusty Cowell. I expect a really high scoring game and the winner being whoever has the ball last. I'm calling it a 34-31 Catfish upset.
Player Spotlights
To keep this interesting for all parties involved, I am going to highlight an offensive and defensive player each week, NOT from a team listed in the game of the week, or in the top five, or on the bottom one.
This weeks offensive spotlight is on North Liberty Enforces LG Andy Grisso. You all remember Grisso, he was the #1 rated FA on the market this off-season. He signed a five-year $54.25 million contract to play for the Enforces. And what happens when you sign a $50 million dollar guard? You run behind his 300 pound ass. The Enforces called 14 plays this week which required a key block by Grisso. He succeeded on six of those, giving up no sacks, and totaling three pancakes. He lead the way while RB Conrad Bronson ran for 168 yards on 32 carries in the 36-14 smashing over the Chicago Reapers.
This weeks defensive spotlight is on South Maryland Jaguars FS Raymond Clayton. He finished the game with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions and 1 pass defense in the 31-10 win over Brooklyn. Impressive game.
Extra Points
1. So, the Lake County Xtreme are the defending champs. They lost this week 17-27 to Ohio Valley.
2. Charlotte CB Heath Dixon returned a kickoff for TD this week. He has nine in his career. I think my franchise has one or two in franchise history.
Ok. So. We need to spice things up a little bit around here at SGN. I used to write a weekly...well, I'm not sure how consistent I was...but a weekly NFL wrap-up over at Operation Sports. I'm going to follow that similar format and start writing one here. Feel free to provide criticism, new ideas, whatever. If people aren't reading it, responding, what have you, I will burn out. Nothing is set in stone. Things will change. Whatever. Let me know what you think. Oh, and don't forget, they will often be wrote + beers.
Top Five
In this section I will list my top five teams. It will be based off of record, roster talent, power ratings, the teams winning history, injuries, quality of wins, etc. Feel free to disagree.
1. Yuma Aces (1-0) - PR 90 - W 37-13 over Las Vegas OutlawsNot only do I think this is the leagues best team right now, you could make the argument that they are the best team in OSFL history. Last season, as favorites to repeat in the 2010 Stevens Cup they lost 6-3 to Lake County. This team is out for vengeance. This week they dismantled (2nd largest margin of victory) a pretty solid Las Vegas team. Next week they travel North to face the (0-1) Washington Bombers. Expect another ass whooping.
2. Phoenix Riders (1-0) - PR 100 - W 34-21 over Denver GrizzliesMeet the new Riders. The high powered offense is lead by the trio of QB Lorenzo Kaplan, RB Fernando Perkins and WR Sammy Slade. Kaplan threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns. Perkins had 200 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Slade had six catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns. And while the defense gave up 21 points and didn't cause any turnovers, there is a ton of talent on that side of the ball. Next week they are on the road at the (1-0) Dakota Totems.
3. Columbus Catfish (1-0) - PR 79 - W 38-6 over Morgantown ManiacsLast season Columbus won the NC South over Morgantown over a tie-breaker after both finished 10-6. This season, Columbus proved they were the much better team by dominating the Maniacs in front of their home crowd. QB Corey Lincoln threw five touchdown passes to four different receivers and RB Darnell Wilkens ran for 190 yards on 27 carries. The defense forced three turnovers and only allowed two field goals. Next week Columbus stays on the road and travels to (1-0) Memphis.
4. Memphis Admirals - PR 88 - W 30-10 over Port City SteamA win over Port City isn't that impressive, but beating any team on the road by 20 points however is. In the off-season the Admirals traded away one of their best players in CB Dusty Dinh, but the pass defense didn't miss a beat. They gave rookie QB Sammy Dillon a tough debut. The Steam QB threw two interceptions, was sacked six times and finished just 18/44. Last season the Admirals struggled out of the starting gate...not this year. Next week, as mentioned above, the (1-0) Columbus Catfish are coming to town.
5. Kalispel Stags - PR 81 - W 23-7 over Washington BombersThe Stags are looking to repeat as first time AC North division winners, and beating a divisional foe on the road is a great way to start. In the 23-7 win over the Bombers, the Stags had multiple big plays from nickel corner, Lincoln Ramsey. He finished the game with four tackles, three pass defenses and a forced fumble that lead to an 82-yard fumble return by LB Wesley Watson. That play changed the entire game as the Bombers were looking to take the lead right before halftime. Next on the schedule is the (0-1) Pearl Harbor Defenders. Expect the Stags to be 2-0 with a home win.
Bottom One
In this section I will pick the team I think is the WORST in the league. Pretty self explanatory.
1. Portland Phantoms - PR 47 - L 23-7 to Anchorage GladiatorsWho was the worst team in the league last year? Well, that would be me, the Portland Phantoms who went 2-14. I'm a firm believer in the school of thought "the champs are still the champs until they lose," so in this case, I think I am still the worst. I was dominated by the Anchorage Gladiators, most notably, QB Jay Nori. He finished the game 20/22 for 285 yards, one touchdown and 14 rushing yards. Next week (1-0) San Fransisco comes to town for my first home game of the season. They are favored by four. Wish me luck.
Game of the Week
In this section I will review the game of the week from the previous wrap-up and highlight the following weeks best upcoming game. Since there was no wrap-up before week one, I will just highlight a great game.
This weeks game of the week is Dakota's 42-39 victory over St. Paul. In this game the two teams quarterbacks, Roy Parrish and Dusty Galloway combined for 750 yards and nine touchdowns! After jumping out to an early 21-7 point lead, it appeared Dakota would cruise to a season opening home victory. But after the Bandits scored the next 17 points, the Totems leaned on their young quarterback Parrish. He threw three second half touchdown passes, and the Totems looked to have sealed the victory at the 5:34 mark of the 4th when WR Ted Brandon caught the 13-yard fade pass to take a 42-31 lead. It looked even worse after Bandits QB Galloway threw an interception with three minutes left. However the Bandits defense forced a three-and-out and Galloway rallied the troops one last time. They scored on a 15-yard slant pass to WR Bo "Diddley" Stuart. The two point conversion was a success, cutting the deficit to just three points. The Bandits have a kicker equipped with a strong leg, who is capable of making 50+ yard field goals, but the onside kick was recovered by Dakota.
Next weeks game of the week is the clash of two of the leagues best. The Memphis Admirals host the Columbus Catfish. The Admirals are favored by four points. Two Southern teams with high expectations for the year. This game features two of the leagues best as well as most accomplished quarterbacks in Corey Lincoln and Dusty Cowell. I expect a really high scoring game and the winner being whoever has the ball last. I'm calling it a 34-31 Catfish upset.
Player Spotlights
To keep this interesting for all parties involved, I am going to highlight an offensive and defensive player each week, NOT from a team listed in the game of the week, or in the top five, or on the bottom one.
This weeks offensive spotlight is on North Liberty Enforces LG Andy Grisso. You all remember Grisso, he was the #1 rated FA on the market this off-season. He signed a five-year $54.25 million contract to play for the Enforces. And what happens when you sign a $50 million dollar guard? You run behind his 300 pound ass. The Enforces called 14 plays this week which required a key block by Grisso. He succeeded on six of those, giving up no sacks, and totaling three pancakes. He lead the way while RB Conrad Bronson ran for 168 yards on 32 carries in the 36-14 smashing over the Chicago Reapers.
This weeks defensive spotlight is on South Maryland Jaguars FS Raymond Clayton. He finished the game with 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions and 1 pass defense in the 31-10 win over Brooklyn. Impressive game.
Extra Points
1. So, the Lake County Xtreme are the defending champs. They lost this week 17-27 to Ohio Valley.
2. Charlotte CB Heath Dixon returned a kickoff for TD this week. He has nine in his career. I think my franchise has one or two in franchise history.
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