Sideline Illustrated Vol 1 Issue 1: Way-Too-Early Predictions
by CypherSimile | 7 years ago | 4 Comments
(image credit to Austin)
It's that time of year again!!! The SFL is BACK! We are in Year 9 of the Sideline Football League and we are about to get it cracking with season one! Who will be division winners? Who will be wildcards? Who will hoist the season one trophy and accumulate the accolades?? All of this and MORE just below!
Final Standings
AFC EAST
4 NE (11-5)
6 BUF (11-5)
NYJ (5-11)
MIA (0-16)
AFC NORTH
2 CLE (14-2)
BAL (8-8)
PIT (4-12)
CIN (1-15)
AFC SOUTH
1 HOU (15-1)
5 IND (12-4)
TEN (11-5)
JAX (5-11)
AFC WEST
3 LAC (14-2)
KC (6-10)
DEN (6-10)
OAK (4-12)
NFC EAST
4 DAL (12-4)
PHI (9-7)
WAS (9-7)
NYG (3-13)
NFC NORTH
2 GB (14-2)
5 CHI (11-5)
MIN (5-11)
DET (1-15)
NFC SOUTH
1 ATL (15-1)
6 TB (10-6)
CAR (7-9)
NO (3-13)
NFC WEST
3 SEA (12-4)
LAR (10-6)
ARI (7-9)
SF (2-14)
Playoff Seedings
AFC
1 HOU (15-1)
2 CLE (14-2)
3 LAC (14-2)
4 NE (11-5)
5 IND (11-5)
6 BUF (11-5)
NFC
1 ATL (15-1)
2 GB (14-2)
3 SEA (12-4)
4 DAL (12-4)
5 CHI (11-5)
6 TB (10-6)
Regular Season Award Predictions
NFC Coach of the Year – Q, ATL
Runner ups – Bryce, GB & Matt, SEA
AFC Coach of the Year – Chan, HOU
Runner ups – B, CLE & Mike, LAC
NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year – WR Calvin Ridley, ATL
Runner ups – HB Saquan Barkley, NYG & HB Ronald Jones, TB
NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year – LB Roquan Smith, CHI
Runner ups – LB Leighton Vander Esch, DAL & DE Marcus Davenport, NO
AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year – QB Baker Mayfield, CLE
Runner ups – QB Josh Allen, BUF & HB Nick Chubb, CLE
AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year – LB Rashaan Evans, TEN
Runner ups – LB Tremaine Edmunds, BUF & S Derwin James, LAC
NFC Best QB – QB Matt Ryan, ATL
Runner ups – QB Aaron Rodgers, GB & QB Jameis Winston, TB
NFC Best HB – HB Ezekiel Elliot, DAL
Runner ups – HB David Johnson, ARI & HB Jordan Howard, CHI
NFC Best WR – WR Julio Jones, ATL
Runner ups – WR Odell Beckham Jr., NYG & WR Mike Evans, TB
NFC Best OL – C Zack Martin, DAL
Runner ups – T David Bakhtiari, GB & C Alex Mack, ATL
NFC Best DL – DE Cameron Jordan, NO
Runner ups – DE Vic Beasley, ATL & DE Demarcus Lawrence, DAL
NFC Best LB – LB Deion Jones, ATL
Runner Ups – LB Lavonte David, TB & LB Bobby Wagner, SEA
NFC Best DB – SS Adrian Amos, CHI
Runner Ups – SS Keanu Neal, ATL & CB Chidobe Awuzie, DAL
AFC Best QB – QB Deshaun Watson, HOU
Runner Ups – QB Baker Mayfield, CLE & QB Tom Brady, NE
AFC Best HB – HB Melvin Gordon, LAC
Runner Ups – HB Nick Chubb, CLE & HB Lesean McCoy, BUF
AFC Best WR – WR DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
Runner Ups – WR Robby Anderson, NYJ & WR Jarvis Landry, CLE
AFC Best OL – G Joel Bitonio, CLE
Runner Ups – T Taylor Lewan, TEN & Russell Okung, LAC
AFC Best DL – DE J.J. Watt, HOU
Runner Ups – DE Joey Bosa, LAC & DE Myles Garrett, CLE
AFC Best LB – LB Benardrick McKinney, HOU
Runner ups – LB Jamie Collins, CLE & LB Rashaan Evans, TEN
AFC Best DB – SS Jabrill Peppers, CLE
Runner Ups – CB Jason Verrett, LAC & CB Tredavious White, BUF
NFC Offensive Player of the Year – QB Matt Ryan, ATL
Runner ups – QB Aaron Rodgers, GB & HB Ezekiel Elliot, DAL
NFC Defensive Player of the Year – LB Deion Jones, ATL
Runner ups – LB Lavonte David, TB & LB Bobby Wagner, SEA
AFC Offensive Player of the Year – QB Deshaun Watson, HOU
Runner ups – QB Baker Mayfield, CLE & QB Tom Brady, NE
AFC Defensive Player of the Year – LB Benardrick McKinney, HOU
Runner ups – LB Jamie Collins, CLE & SS Jabrill Peppers, CLE
NFC MVP – QB Matt Ryan
AFC MVP – QB Deshaun Watson
Playoff Prediction + Analysis
Wildcard Round
AFC
3 LAC vs 6 BUF
Key matchup – LAC receiver core vs BUF secondary.
Chargers barely miss the 2 seed but look dominant all season only slipping against B in week 6 and Gabe in week 7 which cost them the tie breaker with CLE. They go on to rattle off 10 straight wins but face a tough competitor who is on a similar run of his own, barely making the playoffs over Gabe having won against him in week 9. Chargers will be a top 3 offensive team and be a top 10 defensive team. LB will only have his defensive to rely upon but the Chargers front seven will prove to be too much for LB. Chargers win it.
FINAL
LAC – 28
BUF – 20
4 NE vs 5 IND
Key matchup – IND front 7 vs NE rushing attack
NE comes into the playoffs having won his division and sweeping it at that thus allowing him to have the 4 seed. IND has been battled tested all year despite the lack of notable talent on the team. IND comes in with QB Andrew Luck and WR T.Y. Hilton looking like the best 1-2 punch in the SFL but NE, with its top 10 defense, are able to lock down Hilton and force Luck into some costly errors. NE wins but barely.
FINAL
NE – 30
IND – 26
NFC
3 SEA vs 6 TB
Key matchup – TB front 7 vs SEA o-line
Seattle comes into the playoffs looking like the best defensive unit in the NFC playoffs. TB, on the other hand, led the entire NFC in QB tackles and have WR Mike Evans looking like one of the best WRs in the NFC. This game will come down to a final drive by TB and they will find a way to pull it off in the biggest upset in the playoffs this year. TB wins on a last second FG.
FINAL
SEA – 21
TB – 23
4 DAL vs 5 CHI
Key matchup – DAL HBs vs CHI LBs
DAL comes into the playoffs with the NFL leading rusher in rush yards. CHI comes into the game with a top 5 defensive unit. Unfortunately, DAL offensive play calling will overwhelm CHI’s defensive play calling and with some untimely errors by Trubisky and CHI, DAL will capitalize and take over this game early in the second half. This game ends in a blowout.
FINAL
DAL – 37
CHI – 22
Division Round
NFC
1 ATL vs 6 TB
Key matchup – ATL WRs vs TB DBs
ATL has the #1 offense in the SFL and played TB twice this season, sweeping them both times. TB, and their pass rush, will meet their match as ATL has too much time and too many weapons for TB to keep up. TB makes it closer late but ATL dominates this game.
FINAL
ATL – 40
TB – 30
2 GB vs 4 DAL
Key matchup – GB WRs vs DAL DBs
GB comes into the playoffs leading the SFL in INTs. DAL, with their rush offense, proved formidable but GB’s front seven and ability to score on offense, will force DAL to throw the football a ton. This leads me to believe that GB will be able to force a few mistakes that GB won’t make and win this game and the turnover battle. GB wins it.
FINAL
GB – 31
DAL – 27
AFC
1 HOU vs 4 NE
Key matchup – HOU pass rush vs NE o-line
HOU comes into the playoffs top 5 in every statistical category in the SFL. They only lost to CLE this year and have looked like the best team in the league all season. NE, having just barely won against IND, faces a different type of beast in HOU who doesn’t make too many mistakes and knows how to bounce back when he does make mistakes. This game will be a defensive one but HOU’s pass rush gets to NE’s Brady one too many times and forces a few turnovers and get the win off a scoop in score late in the 4th.
FINAL
HOU – 28
NE – 24
2 CLE vs 3 LAC
Key matchup – CLE o-line vs LAC pass rush
CLE comes into the playoffs with the #1 defensive unit in the SFL and are top 3 in INTs, QB tackles and FFs. Their only loss of the season was at the hands of ATL in week 10. They face LAC who is a matchup nightmare for them. LAC’s front seven will wreck havoc on CLE offense and give CLE’s WRs fits as they fail to get any separation from LAC’s Heyward & Verrett. This defensive battles ends on a last minute FG and a defensive stand by LAC.
FINAL
CLE – 17
LAC – 20
Conference Round
NFC
1 ATL vs 2 GB
Key matchup – ATL offense vs GB defense
ATL vs GB end up being the two best NFC offenses against one another. The issue here is that GB, who led the league in INTs, faces an ATL team that doesn’t turn the football over and plays smartly but aggressively, something that has made GB’s owner Bryce play recklessly. This back and forth shootout ends when GB throws an INT late in the 4th when attempting to tie the game. ATL wins a wild one.
FINAL
ATL – 45
GB – 38
AFC
1 HOU vs 3 LAC
Key matchup – LAC Jason Verrett & Casey Heyward vs HOU Will Fuller & DeAndre Hopkins
HOU and LAC are two teams that look very similar on paper but a key difference here is the play of LAC’s secondary and the play of HOU’s WRs. HOU has been able to get the best of his opponents due to the matchup problems those WRs pose but LAC has the talent to take those WRs away. LAC plays an immaculate game with zero mistakes and somehow win it on another last minute FG and defensive stand.
FINAL
LAC – 21
HOU – 20
Super Bowl
1 ATL vs 3 LAC
Key matchup – ATL offensive line vs LAC defensive line
The top offense in the SFL vs one of the best defensive units in the SFL square off in this Super Bowl that pits the young upstart, Mike vs the three-peat seeker, Q. Both offenses can get it going but the main and key difference will be in how ATL’s offensive line protects QB Matt Ryan from LAC’s Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa. Defense wins championships and in this one, Mike will play out of his mind on defense and hold an other-worldly ATL offense below 30 points to secure his first ever championship.
FINAL
LAC – 31
ATL – 28
That concludes the first volume and first issue of the Sideline Illustrated. Keep it locked for the next issue coming to a news stand near you!
