Ground Zero's Night of Streams on 26Sep

by PhoenixJaidin | 2 years ago | 0 Comments

And so the second Ground Zero Madden League Night of Streams kicked off, with three primed matchups looking for success as we enter the midway point of the season. After giving away 14 Star devs on the first night of streams, the GZ admin team decided to tighten the requirements, by raising the minimum number of correct guesses required for a free Star dev from 6/9 to 7/9. Furthermore, if you were a player on the stream games, you would only require 4/6 not including your game, as this prevents possible tampering while promoting people to want to be on stream (67% is much easier to hit as compared to 78%). Superstar devs still require either 9/9 or completing guessing the score AND winner together, to earn. And the effects were immediately apparent.

The slate of entertainment for the night was excellent, featuring 3 great games, and 3 individual guest commentators to come on stream, talk about their teams and outlooks, and help provide some entertaining commentary as the games progressed. We opened with the defensive duel between the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers (OSCAR) and the home Philadelphia Eagles (NIC) featuring guest speaker NATE (Miami Dolphins), followed by the AFC battle between the Denver Broncos (CHUCK) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (VICTOR) with POODGE (Los Angeles Rams), and closed out with the highly offensive battle between the Las Vegas Raiders (SCOTT) and the New Orleans Saints (WITHE) and the energetic ANT (Indianapolis Colts).

Game one favored the Eagles, coming in with a favorable spread (-2.5), was tied for highest projected total of the night at 56.5 total points, and included a prop bet for the over/under of combined turnovers at 7.5 Most of the GZ community backed the home town favorites but were stunned to find that the rest of the game did not go as expected. Right off the bat, defenses reigned supreme, as the Eagles started with the ball, drove down to the 1, and immediately scored the only points of the quarter by way of the foot of K Jake Elliott. From here, sacks, picks, and punts dominated the game. An interception by Minkah Fitzpatrick gave the ball to the Steelers at the end of the first quarter (3-0 PHI), though the yellow could not take advantage. A second PIT pick by Myles Jack, however, yielded 3 points for the Steelers as they managed to bring it back down the field. Starting another drive, the Eagles threw a quick interception, nabbed by PIT cornerback Levi Wallace, but cornerback James Bradberry grabbed one right back to give Philly a chance at the 2 minute warning. A Philly field goal followed, and then a second scoring opportunity arose behind a late interception with less than a minute in the half by PHI Bradberry, but an immediate interception from Fitzpatrick gave life to the Steelers, who ended the half with a hail mary connection from Baker Mayfield to Calvin Austin to put the Steelers up 10-6, before the Eagles took a knee, a GZ Night of Streams first, to end the half at 6 interceptions.

The second half faired a bit better for the offenses, as a first drive punt by the Steelers was followed by long touchdown catch and run from AJ Brown, giving Philly the 13-10 lead. The Steelers responded with a FG, but Philly struck quickly again, on a dart across the field to Devonta Smith, who ran it another 30 yards for the score to give the Eagles a 20-13 lead. Looking to strike again, Baker threw into coverage at the Philly side of the ball and safety Jaquiski Tartt came down with the grab, turnover number 7 in the game. Hurts' drive didn't end much better, though, as a throw out of a sack resulted in a pass to the linebacker Devin Bush, who grabbed interception number 8 on the game. The Steelers ended up with a power run to tie the game 20-20, on the back of veteran Benny Snell. With little time on the clock, though, the Eagles took a methodical drive down and kicked the game winner with no time left, finishing the game at 23-20, landing the under for the total and the over for turnovers.

The second game, featured a former Super Bowl Champion in the Broncos and a former Super Bowl runner-up in the Jaguars, in a game where the visiting Broncos were favored (-1.5), the total was the lowest of the games (52.5) and the prop bet was the over/under of combined passing touchdowns (4.5). The game looked to be an immediate repeat of game 1, as the over/under was lower and the user stick skills of these two players are top tier, when the Broncos' cornerback Patrick Surtain intercepted QB Trevor Lawrence's first pass, and the Broncos immediately took it across the endzone, as rookie sensation QB Desmond Ridder found solid tight end Albert Okwuegbunam for the first score of the game, 7-0 Broncos, and the first passing touchdown of the game. Jacksonville quickly responded with a huge run from HB James Robinson and a playaction pass to tight end Evan Engram to even the game at 7-7, with the second passing touchdown coming before halfway through the first quarter. A littlle bit of trickery after a forced punt from Jacksonville, and HB Travis Etienne carried it across the line for the Jaguars' second touchdown (14-7). The Broncos quickly responded, though, with good vision and power running from HB Javonte Williams, who took a huge run down to the red zone, followed by a power push to score and even the game at 14-14. As the clock continued to run, a pass from Lawrence to WR Marvin Jones got the ball down to the 1 yard line, before Lawrence kept it for a QB sneak and rushing TD, to give the Jaguars a 21-14 lead. Inside a minute, with no timeouts remaining, the Jaguars stopped the Broncos on 4th across the 50, with a pair of medium-long passes from Lawrence, got down to the 1, and took a field goal to end the half with a 24-14 lead, with 2 passing touchdowns and a combined 38 points at half.

The second half, however, was completely different. A field goal on the opening Broncos drive, after taking more than half the quarter worth of the clock, brought the game within a score, 24-17. A nice user lurk from LB Baron Browning and the Broncos took over the ball, early in the 4th, in a one score game. However, after crossing into Jaguars territory, Ridder took a shot to Courtland Sutton in the endzone, but throwing off his back foot to avoid teh sack led to an interception from Jaguars' cornerback Shaquill Griffin. A clutch 4th down conversion, a few solid passes, a good Broncos goal line stand (including a stop on a QB Sneak), and a field goal later, the Jaguars held a 27-17 lead with about a minute left. With no timeouts remaining, the Broncos were were in dire straits but a game sealing inteception from safety Rayshawn Jenkins locked up the win for Jacksonville, 27-17, with the under on the total and under on the prop both hitting.

The third and final game, between the Raiders and the Saints, came with more high scoring expectations, despite the low scores of the first two games. The Saints were the favorites at home (-1.5), with the over/under being set at 56.5 and the prop challenging bettors to pick which team would have the longest play from scrimmage. The first points came midway through the first on a Saints field goal 3-0. Raiders' QB Derek Carr attempted to get the points back quickly, but threw a pick to New Orleans' cornerback Paulson Adebo, which HB Alvin Kamara rewarded with a touchdown push up the middle that found paydirt at home (10-0). Another punt and a quarter ending bomb to TE Taysom Hill from QB Phillip Hewitt saw the Saints take a 17-0 lead through one. The Raiders settled in at the half, though, and quickly started closing the gap as they kicked a field goal to start the quarter, forced a punt, and then moved to the goal line on a huge shot to TE Darren Waller, followed by a touchdown run by HB Josh Jacobs to get within a score (17-10). The Saints responded with a massive 65 yard touchdown catch and run from WR Michael Thomas, and the Saints extended their lead back to two scores (24-10). With a minute on the clock, the Raiders drove down the field and scored on Jacobs' second touchdown run. In an attempt to put points on the board again before half, Hewitt threw a pick to end the half and neutralized the morale difference between the two teams, as they enter halftime, Saints leading 24-17 and getting the ball in the second half.

After a quick offensive drive, ending with a punt for the Saints, the Raiders looked to even the score, as Jacobs took the ball and started sprinting down the sideline. However, a hit from Adebo and a scoop by CB Marcus Lattimore before the ball hit the grass out of bounds (which elicited the ANT scream that everyone was waiting for) gave the ball back to the Saints, who couldn't take advantage as they immediately threw a pick, undercut by Raiders' CB Trayvon Mullen. This allowed the Raiders to even the score at 24-24 behind Jacobs' third rushing touchdown of the game. On the first play after the kickoff, Hewitt attempted to throw against his body and threw an interception to veteran LB Chandler Jones, who returned it to the Saints' red zone. Carr immediately landed a corner shot to stud WR Davante Adams to give the Raiders their first lead, 31-24. After another punt, this time from their own endzone, the Saints managed to hold the Raiders to a field goal, to extend the lead to 10, 34-24. Attempting to start moving the ball quickly, Hewitt attempted another deep pass to Hill, who had been his number one target in the first half, but didn't see CB Nate Hobbs, who picked him off again, giving the Raiders the ball again in Saints' territory. Driving to the goal line again, Jacobs scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, carrying defenders on his back, but an absolute crack kick of an extra point, ala the field goal kicking clinic of GZ, K Daniel Carlson shanked the XP to leave the score at 40-24, ruining score bets in the process. On the Saints next drive, after moving the ball a bit, Hewitt attempted another deep sideline shot, this time to WR Chris Olave, but CB Rock Ya-Sin jumped in front and took it away, giving the Raiders another takeaway. Trying to further extend the lead, Carr threw a pick as SS Tyrann Mathieu jumped it and brought it back for the Saints, setting up a scoring opportunity, that Kamara cashed in on an easy run in, bringing the score up to 40-30, after a 2 pt stand on a key tackle from Jones. The Raiders extended their lead on a shot play to Waller, bringing the score up to 47-30. The final dagger, though, was sunk in when LB Jayon Brown grabbed an errant pass from Hewitt, allowing the Raiders to kneel it out, securing a 47-30 win, blowing way past the over on the total and the Saints had the longest play, at 65 yards.

After 14 star devs were handed out on the first stream, the raised standards only yielded two star devs were earned this time, both by players on the stream. VICTOR used his on LB Devin Lloyd and WITHE used his on LB Pete Werner.
Make sure you're getting in on the league streams, as we give out the opportunity to earn a Star/SuperStar Dev from the GZ Pick 9 and we also offer another SuperStar Dev opportunity for score/winner predictions. Can't win if you ain't in!

During the stream, we also interviewed our 3 guest commentators, who gave us outlooks on their teams and their thoughts on the league. When prompted about his early struggles with a young team, NATE of the MIA Dolphins talked about how he made the big trade for HB Dalvin Cook because the successful users in GZ have solid run games. But it has been difficult getting accustomed to as he never had a solid run game previously. Similarly, he made a move to acquire DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to beef up the defense but it has not turned out how he expected.

POODGE of the LA Rams was more pleased with his squad, as the potent offense has playmakers all over in one of the best route runners, WR Cooper Kupp, speedy tight end target, Jacob Harris, newly earned superstar HB Cam Akers, and speedy WR Keeper Taj Wiggins. Combined with the skillset of QB Matthew Stafford, who was not part of the original plan, the offense has been flowing. On the defensive side, weapons like DE Aaron Donald, who is capable of disrupting every play, LB Bobby Wagner, even without the broken avalanche ability, and shutdown cornerback Jalen Ramsey, the defense has been nasty and fun to use.

Finally, ANT of the IND Colts has been pleasantly surprised, as he was able to pick and use his favorite real life team, the Colts. Despite trading GZ star favorite Mo-Alie Cox, the ability to develop young speedy guys like TE Jelani Woods, safeties Nick Cross and Julian Blackmon, and rely on veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore has given ANT the ability to enjoy playing with the young talent on his favorite team. When asked on the game 3 #AskAnt prompt, he also identified that WALTZ of the TEN Titans is one of his favorite opponents due to their close games and similar playstyles, while DYLAN of the KC Chiefs is his other favorite for the high-scoring offensive shootouts that they seem to always have.

Now that we are in Week 9, the Week 8 results provide us an opportunity to look at the potential playoff picture and league leaders.

Leading the way in the AFC, the Tennessee Titans (WALTZ) hold a 7-0 record, followed closely by the Los Angeles Chargers (MILLZZ) at 6-1, New York Jets (BELLIS) at 6-2, and the Baltimore Ravens (Malibu) at 5-3. The currently wild card positions are the Denver Broncos (CHUCK) at 5-3, and then a four-way tie at 4-4 between the Jacksonville Jaguars (VICTOR, Indianapolis Colts (ANT), Cincinnati Bengals (DEKE), and Pittsburgh Steelers (OSCAR).

On the NFC side, the Seattle Seahawks (ANDY) sit at the top at 7-1, followed by the Detroit Lions (JUMP) and Philadelphia Eagles (NIC) at 6-1, and the Atlanta Falcons (Q) at 6-2. The wild card positions are held by the NEW YORK GIANTS (newly managed by BFOMBS) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (CHANDLER).

Through this point, the passing leaders are QB Matthew Stafford of the LA Rams (POODGE) with 2,411 yards, QB Russell Wilson of the ATL Falcons (Q) with 27 passing touchdowns, and QB Deshaun Watson of the CLE Browns (newly managed by ESTRADA) at 102.8 QBR.
The rushing leaders are Najee Harris of the PIT Steelers (OSCAR) with 171 carries, Kenneth Walker of the SEA Seahawks (ANDY) with 1063 yards, and Breece Hall of the NY Jets (BELLIS) with 12 rushing touchdowns.
The receiving leader is TE Kyle Pitts of the ATL Falcons (Q) with the current triple crown lead of 50 receptions, 814 receiving yards, and 10 receiving touchdowns.
The defensive leaders are LB Anthony Walker of the CLE Browns (newly managed by ESTRADA) with 42 tackles, LB Matthew Judon of the NE Patriots (JELLY) with 11 sacks, LB Lavonte David of the TB Buccaneers (CHANDLER) and LB Cory Littleton of the CAR Panthers (LYCAN) with 3 forced fumbles apiece, LB Devin White of the TB Buccaneers (CHANDLER) and LB Matthew Judon of the NE Patriots (JELLY) with 3 fumble recoveries each, S DeShon Elliott of the DET Lions (JUMP) with 11 interceptions, S Eddie Jackson of the CHI Bears (TIGER) and CB Eric Stokes of the GB Packers (SQUIB) with 7 pass deflections each, and S Jimmie Ward of the SF 49ers (FLOPPY), S Micah Hyde of the BUF Bills (CHANDY), and S Tracy Walker of the DET Lions (JUMP) with 3 defensive touchdowns apiece.

As of right now, the current award front runners are:

MVP: HB Jonathan Taylor of the IND Colts (ANT)
COTY: BELLIS of the NY Jets
OPOY: HB Jonathan Taylor of the IND Colts (ANT) / HB Kenneth Walker of the SEA Seahawks (ANDY)
DPOY: LB Troy Andersen of the NY Jets (BELLIS) / LB Nakobe Dean of the PHI Eagles (NIC)
OROY: WR Tyquan Thornton of the NE Patriots (JELLY) / HB Kenneth Walker of the SEA Seahawks (ANDY)
DROY: LB Troy Andersen of the NY Jets (BELLIS) / LB Nakobe Dean of the PHI Eagles (NIC)
Best QB: Deshaun Watson of the CLE Browns (newly managed by ESTRADA) / Aaron Rodgers of the GB Packers (SQUIB)
Best RB: Jonathan Taylor of the IND Colts (ANT) / Kenny Walker of the SEA Seahawks (ANDY)
Best WR: Ja'Marr Chase of the CIN Bengals (DEKE) / Jameson Williams of the DET Lions (JUMP)
Best OL: Corey Linsley of the LA Chargers (MILLZZ) / Tristan Wirfs of the TB Buccaneers (CHANDLER)
Best DL: Von Miller of the BUF Bills (CHANDY) / Leonard Williams of the NY Giants (newly managed by BFOMBS)
Best LB: Matthew Judon of the NE Patriots (JELLY) / Nakobe Dean of the PHI Eagles (NIC)
Best DB: Troy Pride Jr of the TEN Titans (WALTZ) / DeShon Elliott of the DET Lions (JUMP)
Best K: Brandon McManus of the DEN Broncos (CHUCK) / Jake Elliott of the PHI Eagles (NIC)

Stay tuned for the next Ground Zero Madden League Night of Streams recap, a future look at the prospects of the first Draft Class for Ground Zero Madden 23, the draft positions of teams as they prepare to take those players, and the playoff picture as we get closer to crunch time for the crowning of the first champion of GZ 23.

This is the Tornado, signing off!