Matadors @ Savage - GAME OF THE WEEK!

Game Prediction:  Matadors 34 – Savage 0

The Matadors have been GotW every week this season so far. This one wasn’t expected as the Savage have been a bit of a surprise thus far. But they are 2-0, so you have to respect them. Finally adding Emery this week will go a long way toward the OL, and really just solve your snap issues. In week 1 you guys gave up 5 Sacks, but only 1 last week. In turn, Jared was more comfortable and turned the ball over 0 times. The Savage are avg 3.5 Sacks per game to this point. I think your offense will be fine, though it still hasn’t quite clicked yet. I still believe it’s because your DNA is a run team, but you want so badly to be an air raid team. Run the ball to setup the pass rather than the opposite. On defense you guys gotta keep #20 in check (164 offensive yards the first 2 weeks). He’s their only true weapon. Koby loves to hit the seam in the zone. So I’d love to see a lot of man this weekend as your DB’s are more athletic than their WR’s, and if you do go zone, show a 2 high, but play robber underneath. On ST, kick away from #20, and put someone that will catch punts back there.

Keys: 

1. No sacks given up, no errant snaps.

2. More rush attempts than pass attempts.

3. Hold Orlando Clay under 50 total yards.

Savage keeps finding a way against all odds. So this weekend we find out who you truly are. Were the Alphas overrated based on Saber over rating? Or were the Warhawks? Or are you guys really playoff contenders? Getting Jai Jones back this week will be huge. The Dors are much bigger than you and much more physical. Koby, you can’t take hits this week. You’re athletic enough to scramble a little, and some Dors DL are not very fast, but if you run out of room, throw it away man. The Savage can’t savage without you. The dive in the middle won’t be there. No Sunshine for this Orlando. The way the Dors rush, I’d say screen him, but Sower is too smart, and I’ll bet Hamilton (Leagues leading tackler at 20) probably recognizes that. You’re going to need Brandon Park and Prin Kolaker to have their best day on Saturday. The Sabers weren’t creative and just threw 9 balls, but still had a lot of success on Matador Corners. They have to win those 50/50 balls. You guys have to be able to kick. You’re 0-7 on scoring after TD’s. Every single point will matter to you this weekend. The Dors also have more blocked kicks than anyone, which would be a disaster. So when it’s time to punt, you better have a blocking plan.

Keys: 

1. Keep Koby upright and healthy.

2. 100 receiving yards combined for WR’s (Not Clay).

3. Make a PAT while allowing 0 blocked kicks on ST.

Best Match Up – Matador DB’s (259 yds given up last week) vs Savage WR’s (110 yds last week).

Biggest Mismatch – Matador Run Game (5.2 YPC last week) vs Savage Front 7 (4.6 YPC & 260 total rush yards allowed this season).

Bold Prediction – Dors pitch a shutout and Lions fall from Pride Rock. 3+ Turnovers forced for Dors.

Aztecs AT Sabers

Game Prediction - Aztecs 30 - Sabers 22

Aztecs are 2-0 and on top of the world. You’re playing a reeling 0-2 team. But they are still dangerous, and can catch ya sleeping if ya let em. I almost made this GotW just due to implications. If the Aztecs win, the Sabers are all but eliminated. If an upset happens, everyone is alive again. The Sabers DL does not create pressure, so Colt will have plenty of time to find Hull, who nobody on the Sabers can cover. Barber should also have plenty of room to rumble, and I think Colon has a huge day as well. The problems come on defense. You guys have been solid, they just have weapons. Their OL is subpar, so you guys will continue to create pressure (Aztecs lead league with 12 Sacks). But Hayden (assuming he plays) gets the ball out quick. Your LB’s are built to stuff, not necessarily to cover. Hayden lost his #1 target last week, but still has Brig to stretch the outside. Moreso, I think its actually the slots that’ll be a problem for you guys. I don’t think you guys can cover man to man, and Hayden is great at reading coverages, so you gotta mix em up, and disguise them presnap.

Keys: 

1. 0 Sacks allowed. 

2. 3+ Sacks on Defense.

3. Take away the slots (Betty/Frost/Neff combine for 20 catches this year).

Sabers are straight up, not having a good time. Losses and injuries mounting. Now you get the #1 team in the standings. How can you keep your QB upright? You can’t block straight up, you lose that battle. You can’t keep everyone in max protect, or they bring the house. You need to figure out a way to support your superstar. I know how I’d do it, I’ve been saying it all year, and that’s give him a legitimate weapon on offense to take the pressure off. The Leagues single game and single season record holder, one of the most elusive players to ever play in the ICFL, Morris Bunn, needs to play offense. I don’t know if he doesn’t want to, or if you don’t want him to, but when you’re facing 0-3 does it really matter? Ryan Coleman does not match up against the Aztecs. KJ is better, but not enough. Swap them spots already. On D, you need an identity. You don’t get pressure, so you need to bring blitzers while also covering better. I know, it’s a tough task. And to make matters worse, that might not even matter if you can’t tackle RB’s in the open field. It’s going to require 11 guys swarming to the ball to the whistle every play. Which drains energy fast. So you need your guys to be selfless. Going balls to the walls 100% every play, coming off, snagging a squirt, and popping back in.

Keys:

1. Protect Hayden. > 2 Sacks given up. 

2. Bunn needs 7+ offensive touches. 

3. Create Pressure on Colt. 3+ Sacks. (You only have 2 total this season).

Best Match Up – Saber WR’s (201 Rec YPG) vs Aztec DB’s (106 Rec Yds Against in Week 1).

Biggest Mismatch – Aztecs Run Game (147 Rush YPG) vs Saber Front 7 (175 Rush YPG Allowed).

Bold Prediction –Sabers keep it closer than expected. Tied at halftime.

Warhawks at Black Tide

Game Prediction - Warhawks 0 - Black Tide 50

Alright Warhawks, the game you all tell me you’ve been looking forward to. Time to put your money where your mouth is. You asked for the champs, and Daddy’s home. So lets talk game plan. You better be starting Lopez at QB. Cuz #6 will be eaten and devoured before he knows we even kicked off. So let’s say Lopez is in there. He loves to run. But he’s ailing. How are you going to keep him healthy? Because as athletic as he is, is he faster than Ryan Carlen or Scale Igeihon? Let alone Swain tracking everything? We can’t block them, so I don’t know how you will. But let’s say you miraculously do. Does Lopez run and get hit? Or does he throw it up? Your leading WR Davis Eckebrecht guaranteed me 100 Rec Yards against us. Are you betting on him over Matt Fisher? Over Jamie Smith? Over Zach Peterson? Cuz I’m not. Carson Fisk is a nice lil’ weapon. So ok, we’ve established throwing will be a problem. Which is fine. You love to run the ball. Your 35 Rush attempts per game lead the league. And Maybe BT is susceptible to the run. We’ve only played the Guardians, so know knows. Maybe everyone I mentioned earlier, plus Ackerman, Peterman, Dottellis, and Hurst forgot how to tackle. Maybe Parham running (avg 23 rush att per game) all day is the answer. We shall see. On defense things don’t really get easier. Roach is solid. Maybe he can cover the whole field. Because you don’t have another tackler in the Top 20. But hey, your DC spent like 6 years with us. Maybe he knows exactly what our offense will do. Maybe he knows every single call. Maybe he will know exactly what to do when we bring in 6’4” ICFL record holding WR Zach Peterson (who also happens to be the fastest player in the league) to line up on your 5’3” 16 year old Corner. Maybe he will bring a bear front to stop us when we go Titan. 7 men over 300 lbs, and surprisingly athletic, on the line vs your DL (which just lost both starters to the Savage). Maybe.

Keys:

1. Take shots. Connect a couple, and it’ll put BT on tilt. 

2. Make the easy stuff difficult. BT runs the rock better than anyone. Make it tough on em. 

3. Force BT’s 3 brand new inexperienced QB’s into mistakes. And capitalize on the freebies.

BT needs to wake up. Week 1 vs the Guardians was underwhelming. Week 2 BYE was the same difficulty. Practice yesterday under attended and under focused. Already overlooking the Hawks. Not to say this one isn’t a little special to us with Castleman on the other side. There’s still love there, but sometimes you gotta take it to your brother. QB’s you have to prove BT can throw the ball this year or teams won’t respect it. Warhawks currently blitz at a 79% clip. (65/82 defensive snaps). They’re going to bring it, so can you make them pay? If you can, you’re the most dangerous offense in the league. They aren’t sneaky about it, they’re comin. #7 blitzes from MLB more than 50% of the time. 8 & 1 come off the outside. 34 has free reign. With nobody to his side he will either spy, or blitz from depth. He’s the clean up crew for anything that get’s through. Warhawks play a 3-3 Stack (Rob calls it a 3-5) which is susceptible to the outside. #9 Regan Sondermann (Former BT) starts on the outside. Let’s run right at him. On Defense, nothing scares me this week. #11 will run 25 times, then #34 will come in, run hard right at you attempting to punish. Keep Lopez contained, hit him every play.

Keys: 

1. 100+ passing yards at the blitz. (Slant/seam/pop). 

2. Hit the QB every single play. He’s already scared of you. Give him more reason to be.

3. Score on ST/Defense.

Best Match Up – Warhawk DB’s vs BT WR’s

Biggest Mismatch – Size. Power. Speed. Athleticism. Football IQ.

Bold Prediction – BT starts slow. Low scoring game to start. 14-0 at the half. But then BT takes off in the second half. At least 1 Defensive or ST TD.

Alphas At Diamondbacks

Game Prediction - Alphas 35 - Diamondbacks 14

Alphas, there couldn’t be a better time to get your ailing league rival. The high of the roller coaster was followed by the drop, and now your headed back up. This one wont be a challenge to you guys, but you need to work on a few things to be ready for BT in Week 4. Mainly, what do you do when Logan can’t carry you? Can you lean on anyone else? What other playmakers can step up? This cant be a 1 man offense. Eldredge, I hope you read my recap this week. You’re a talented kid, and if you can fine tune a few things, you can really make some noise. But it starts with protecting the football. On defense, you guys are already physical, but can you be consistent? You like to hit, but every once in a while the mental errors creep in. Focus on a clean game, because those things will beat you in later games. Right now, you’re still a 4 Seed favorite. But it won’t stay that way if you drop this easy one.

Keys:

1. 50+ Rush Yards from someone other than Bowers/Eldredge. 

2. Less than 3 Penalties.

3. Force 2 Turnovers on Defense.

Diamondbacks, tough week right? Couple guys left for the Warhawks. Couple guys left for the Alphas. Athlete of the Year Jerico Lewis suspended for the remainder of the season. Ouch. But you do get your QB back this week, and he was sorely missed last game. Right now, there’s 2 options. Play Woe is Me and Complain about how unfair everything is, or shut up n’ nut up and overcome the obstacles. You’re 1 game in, so it’s too early to cry over spilt milk. On the bright side, you guys did turn in 3 new agreements this week including Freddie Brown. Hopefully his leadership can right the ship. As for the game, in case you didn’t already know, this is a grudge match for you guys. Like 5 of them have been DBax before. They recruit in your back yard. They stole your superstar player! Go show em’ what you think of it. Starting with taking that said player away. He’s their best player on both sides of the ball, so if you can make him a non-factor (easier said than done) it’ll be harder on them. Their QB tossed 3 picks last week, force him into that. Keep him on the run. And most importantly, no matter what happens, I hope you guys dap each other up. Nobody makes mistakes on purpose. Every one of you has the same goal, so keep that in mind, and motivate your brothers with positivity.

Keys: 

1. Supportive Energy. Maybe more important than winning this week. Change the culture, change the chemistry, change your future. 

2. Welcome back QB Austin Clark. Protect him with > 3 Sacks allowed and > 3 Dropped passes.

3. Hold Logan Bowers under 100 total yards.

Best Match Up – DBax Pass Game vs Alpha Backend

Biggest Mismatch – Alpha Run Game vs DBax Front 7

Bold Prediction – Alphas get back on track, and it’s a bit of a blowout. But DBax make a big step in learning to lose together rather than losing as individuals. Yes, I know how corny that sounds, but damn it if it ain’t true.