Coach Dawkins took over in a Philadelphia after a 1-1 start and has the Eagles flying high up with an 8-1 record as they move into the second half. Even with seven straight victories we’ve seen the offense struggle recently the past few weeks and coach Dawkins was very candid about these issues during his last press conference.
”We have struggled after a hot start. We’ve been trying different calls and different plays what feels like almost each week. We’ve been putting in a lot of work with our guys on a daily basis trying to find what works best for us. We’ve tried getting Wentz involved in the run game, we’ve tried spreading out the offense and we’ve tried smash mouth looks. Our bye week came at a perfect time, gave us extra time to look at who we wanted to be and the direction we want to go. I believe we have an excellent game plan going forward and we will get to test it early on New England and see if we can’t perfect it as we move towards the playoffs.
We have hit the mid-way point of the first season of the MSFLD and we’ve already seen several coaches relegated out of the league and one coach earning his promotion to the upper division. We are going to try and cover a lot in this article so let’s jump right into it!
Mid-Season MVP – DeAndre Hopkins
This man has been a monster the entire season with 42 receptions for 1,266 yards and 18 scores. Hopkins has led his team to an 8-0 start and has been unstoppable.
Projected MVP – Derrick Henry
Henry has carried his team to an 8-0 start as well and rushed for 1,000 yards to start the season. Henry will face off against Hopkins two times to close out the year, I expect him to carry the ball a ton and burn a lot of clock and taking opportunities away from Hopkins.
Mid-Season Coach of the Year – Tony Smith (Tennessee Titans)
The Titans are 8-0, does anything more need to be said than that? He’s lead his team to 8-0 with 1 Superstar Player and ZERO X-Factor players to start the season.
Projected Coach of the Year – Zaire Finley (Cincinnati Bengals)
Coach Finley dropped a very close opening game to the Coach Jones (Seahawks & Eagles) and hasn’t lost since. He’s 2nd in points against, 1st in sacks and 3rd in interceptions. What he’s done with a team that no longer has AJ Green is most impressive. Expect him to keep pace in the AFC and challenge for a playoff bye.
NFC Projected Standings:
NFC Playoff Picture:
Panthers 10 vs 49ers 21
Bucs 34 vs Falcons 28
49ers 17 vs Bears 24
Bucs 21 vs Eagles 31
Eagles 16 vs Bears 21
AFC Projected Standings:
AFC Playoff Picture:
Ravens 34 vs Chiefs 31
Titans 41 vs Bills 17
Ravens 31 vs Texans 34
Titans 34 vs Bengals 24
Texans 27 vs Titans 24
Best Move:
Bengals Acquire : Vita Vea, Chris Godwin & 2nd Round Pick
Bucs Acquire : AJ Green, Andrew Billings
I was prepared to just list a move by a single team that they benefited from but really this is a perfect trade for both teams. The Bucs have a ton of young talent on the roster and when you add AJ Green and his XFactor skills with Evans it makes this team very dangerous. The Bengals also acquire Godwin who can replace Green and Vea to next to Atkins to give them a dangerous pass rush and it’s showing. A great deal for both sides!
Worst Move:
Lions Trade: Taylor Decker, A’Shawn Robinson & Jarrad Davis
This move was puzzling they added back DJ Swearinger and JR Sweezy who will be one year players and basically swap Jarrad Davis for Hasson Reddick. Swearinger moves Diggs and Wilson to the bench so if they wanted depth, that’s great they have it but they added players who won’t help them next year for players who could have been the future of the team.
Stats that’ll surprise you:
Interview with GM Justin Jones (Philadelphia Eagles)
What’s it like to be back with MSFL?
Well it was completely unexpected and surprising to get asked about coming back to rejoin the MSFL and participate in this development league. But I couldn’t be happier to play for a league that is challenging and active on a daily basis. I was happy to bury the past with the MSFL Executives and move forward and look forward to helping them build here.
What do you think of the current rule set and limitations since you last played?
It brings a new element to the game and along with the changes they’ve made to Madden 20 already, any team can be a weapon in the right hands. Just look at the Bengals and the Titans. Teams with middle of the road rosters that are playing at a high level. I like that teams are forced to build while GM’s are given freedoms to make moves that seem needed. I’ve lived by the rules like “no back to back concepts” even when I played in other leagues that had no rule against it and I think that rule alone will separate teams. Once you learn to play within multiple coverages is when you know you’ve got an edge against your opponent.
Who do you think is going to take the title in the first year?
That’s a tough one to say, we have a lot of good GM’s down here but the fact that a coach could be called up at any minute could completely change the landscape. Of course I’d like to say that I’m going to take the title this year, but you have teams like the Titans, Texans and Bears who are going to have something to say about that if they stay around for the entire season, I’m also not sleeping on the 49ers so I really think the team that make it into the playoffs, any of them can win except for the AFC East.
While in the developmental league, what do you think the most important thing to do is?
Activity is obviously that easiest way to get moved up, but honestly to me the most important thing you can do is learn the rules and learn the game. We’ve already had several players get suspended for breaking the blow-out rule, which there is never a reason for. I can understand feeding a player for a game because he’s open and you’re trying to win the game and your mind isn’t focused on how many catches a guy has or how many runs you’ve had in a game. But when you’re up 35+ points and you decide to throw salt in the wound, that’s a mistake you just can’t make when you move up if you expect to compete. Playing in this league will also give you a chance to create your game by allowing you to play with playbooks and schemes so that when you move up and face coach firing that you are ready to handle the higher competition.
If given the chance, what would you change about your history with the MSFL?
That’s a loaded question and obviously the easy answer is to say that I would change how things went down the first or second time I was involved with MSFL. But too be quite honest with you, I’m not sure I would change it. Despite everything that happened in the past, I know myself personally have made a lot of friends from my MSFL days that I’ve continued to communicate with and play with over the years. I’ve also taken some of things that MSFL has done and shared them within the community because to me, this has always been one of the best leagues I’ve ever been a part of in the sheesh…like 13+ years I’ve been doing madden leagues. When you play against some of the best pure sim players and you guys are competing against each other year in and year out, there’s always going to be some friction, and there’s always going to be disagreements. But the fact that I was invited back and saw some of the names in here when I rejoined, shows me that the executives of the league are putting past mistakes in the past and that shows an integrity to the league that you don’t find everywhere. Without people like myself making mistakes and both sides of learning and adjusting from them, then the league would never grow and we would never grow as individuals within the community. I’m happy to be back with MSFL and I look forward to doing my part to help move both the MSFL & MSFLD Forward.
Last question, if you had to pick a player on each side of the ball to start a team with and if you had the first overall pick in a MSFL Team Draft, who are you taking and why?
Well, is that really the last question when it’s really two questions in one? Lol – Anyways to answer the question(s) that are being asked. Obviously years past you would have looked at speed at the QB or LB Position and say that’s where you are going to start with. Lamar Jackson would be a fun choice because he gives you everything on offense. But I’ll go with Saquon Barkley, he gives you everything you’d want out of a back, he gives you the faster juke and spin animations as well as better ability when facing LB’s when coming out of the backfield. If you don’t keep a user on him he can abuse your AI all day and if you user him all game then it leaves the rest of the field open. On defense I honestly believe Harrison Smith provides the best combo of abilities and could be an elite in the box user safety but it’s tough to force the incompletions on a consistent basis and most people choose not to user a safety. So honestly I’d build with Fletcher Cox, he provides the best interior pass rush which can force QB’s to drop deeper and fall right into edge rushers.
And to answer the last part of this, if I had the chance to start with any team, obviously I’d lean towards my Philadelphia Eagles because that’s my team. But if you removed them and forced me to pick another team, The Dallas Cowboys are probably the best built team with the young secondary, LBers so on offense you could train Dak and WR’s and defense you work on the LB’s and DB and you can quickly build a beast. But honestly I’d probably start with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Jones, Evans, Godwin, Howard on offense to go with Devin White and a young secondary. It may take a year to build, but then you go after signing DL help in the off-season and drafting a QB and OL an you’d have a team that could be built for years.
Zach Brown was cut in the off-season by the Washington Redskins and it didn’t take long him the Philadelphia Eagles to call him and it took even less time for him to put pen to paper. With three games under his belt with Coach Dawkins at the helm, Brown is making a case to be in discussion for defensive player of the year.
Philly invited the Jets over on Sunday and while Philadelphia maybe the know as the city of brotherly love, well no love was shown to the Jets on both sides of the ball.
The Eagles offense got off to a slow start and gave the Jets a chance early after Wentz fumbled while scrambling out to the right. They Jets moved down the field and faced a second and goal from the three. Darnold dropped back and was looking for his tight end in the end zone, Rodney McLeod read the play and came flying in and stepped in front of Herndon to pick off the pass and kill the scoring drive.
After that play it was all Philly for the rest of the day. Wentz carved up the Jets going 15-16 for 256 and three scores. His lone incompletion coming on a drop by Alshon Jeffery. Zach Brown added another inception and Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox both added two sacks.
DeSean Jackson spoke with reporters two weeks ago about being frustrated with his role, well he put up a game worth talking about as he added 136 yards and a score.
Philadelphia will travel to Minnesota next week to face a struggling Vikings team but is loaded with stars on both sides of the ball.
The Philadelphia Eagles came into this season with icon Donovan McNabb taking over as the head coach. Eagles fans suffered in the first two weeks watching star QB Carson Wentz get subjected to suspension and then they were forced to watch as they lost a heart breaking game against the Atlanta Falcons. Flash foward two weeks later and the Philly fanbase is fired up and expecting big things. Philly cleaned house bringing over General Manager Justin Jones who had ties to the Seattle Seahawks earlier that season and allowed him to bring in his own staff including Coach Brian Dawkins.
Philadelphia was able to out last Detriot last week in a shoot out that saw that game ended early due to a power failure and all stats were thrown out the window. But the offense put up over 40 points and the defense made just enough plays to pull off the victory. Going into Lambeau after his first full week with the team, Coach Dawkins and the Eagles knew they needed to be better against Aaron Rodgers and they delievered.
Kamu started the game off on the right foot, faking a blitz on Rodgers and dropping into coverage to pick off the first play of the game. Wentz hit Jeffery with a 23 yard pass and Jordan Howard punched it in one play later to start the Eagles off with a 7-0 lead. Rodgers being the future hall of famer that he is was able lead the Packers back down the field and hit Aaron Jones for a long run after the catch score to even the game. After that score, Coach Dawkins could be seen on the sidelines talking to every member of the defense and whatever he said worked.
The Packers were able to hold the Eagles to a FG on the next drive and then the defense began to take over the game. Zach Brown snagged his first interception off a deflection that saw the ball pop up in the air. With the offense failing to move the ball and giving it back to Rodgers, it looked like GB had a chance come away unharmed from the turnover. Rodgers then dropped back and Zach Brown chased down a long crossing route to DaVante Adams and picked off Rodgers again. This time the offense didn't sputter with the ball, Wentz connected to Alshon Jeffery on the left side and saw him break a tackle and take it to the house for a 59 yard score.
Green Bay drove late in the half and kicked a FG with under two minutes to cut the lead down and make it a one score game. Wentz drove his crew right back down the field and looked to be in a position to settle for a FG. Green Bay then took a surprising time out and this allowed them to draw up a play and Wentz found Ertz wide open down the middle of the field for a late score to push the lead to 24-10. Philadelphia came out on fire in the second half and lead off with a long drive that ended with a DeSean Jackson touchdown as he out raced the Packers to the boundry and took it up the field. The defense would continue to smother Aaron Rodgers as they blanked them in the second half and Jordan Howard and JD McKissic would seal the game with fourth quarter touchdown runs.
Philadelphia looks to be back in the NFC under the leadership of Justin Jones and Coach Dawkins and they look ready to take on any challengers.
After nine successful seasons with Seattle after making the jump from the University of Southern California, Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks decided it was time to go a different direction. The team and the city never seemed to recover from the fateful interception on the one yard line in Super Bowl 49. After that season the dread Legion of Boom and the aura around Pete Carroll seemed to disappear. Marshawn Lynch left, Injuries took our enforcer Cam Chancellor, Richard Sherman wanted out and Earl Thomas ended his career with a single finger directed toward his coach.
Seattle knew it was time for a change, Russell Wilson was entering the second half of his career, and young talented stars like Chris Carson, Tyler Lockett and the Shaq Griffin's were the future. Former Seattle great, Mack Strong came out of nowhere to win the job in Seattle. Strong who played his entire 15 year career with Seattle after being signed as an undrafted free agent brings the type of mentality that you would expect from a lead blocking full back.
“I’ve played with some greats throughout my entire career. It was my job to protect some great quarterbacks like Warren Moon and Matt Hasselbeck. It was my job to make the blocks for greats like Garrison Hearst, TD (Terrell Davis), Ricky Watters and Shaun Alexander. This is a tough game, on and off the field. I went into college expecting to be the next Garrison Hearst or TD, instead I had to adapt and overcome and learn to block and protect those guys to help the team. No one player can be successful on his own, but when a team is firing together, then every player is deemed successful.”
“This league maybe moving away from fullbacks and I understand that the game is involving. Quarterbacks get all the praise for needing to know the play from top to bottom, who’s blocking who, who’s running where and who’s running what route. As a fullback, we in are in charge of doing the same thing. I need to know exactly how my guys infront of me are going to block, I need to understand the timing of the guy behind me and I need to where I’m blocking or what route I’m running on every play. As a full back we tend to be the last line of defense. If one of my guys on the line gets beat or it’s a blitz, I’m the last guy between that man and our QB. I’m the last guy the quarterback is looking for in pass play, I’m his last option and when my number gets called I need to be ready.”
“That’s how this team is going to think, how this team is going to prepare and how we are going to move forward. We don’t have a #1 option on this team. Your name maybe #1 on the depth chart, but you better believe that everyone’s number is going to be called upon and when it does, you better be ready. We won’t a roster of 30 guys and a bunch of guys who sit for the entire team. We will be a team of 53 guys who are ready to bring it every week. If you’re not one of those guys, you won’t be here.”
“The Legion of Boom brought a swagger back to Seattle, they brought a toughness with them. I would have loved to block for a guy like MarShawn who would hit you in the mouth right after I did just to prove a point that we were going to run over you. I’d love to run onto the field after a guy like Kam popped a man in the chest and forced a turnover. You have got to be TOUGH if you want to win in this league, we lost that the past few years. This team got soft. This team had guys who wouldn’t block, who wouldn’t dig into the mud for Russell or wouldn’t run over a linebacker for Carson. That’s changed, We are going to be young, we are going to be fast and we are going to be deep. While the other guys are getting tired on the other side of the ball, we are going to have another body ready to enter the game and run over them. We’ve heard about the greatness of Kyler Murray, we’ve heard about how the Rams have changed how teams play offense, we’ve heard it all. All I can say is that when we take the field on Sunday, the 53 guys on this team will want it more than anyone on the other team. Every single guy on this team is here to prove a point.”
Mack Strong started off his Seattle career with bold statements about his team and his roster and the club saw this changes take effect almost immediately. Seattle brought in and kept almost 20 free agents making this on of the deepest Seattle teams we’ve seen in recent years. Depth hasn’t always translated to victories however so Coach Strong has a long way to go to back up how he started his career. But what else could you expect from a guy who has spent his entire playing career in the shadows of blocking and special teams. His peers knew how tough he was and his team found that out very quickly to start this year. We can’t say that this Seattle team will win every game, but we do feel confident in saying that we expect them to play every game like it’s the their last one.
AFC Predictions
AFC East
1 – Buffalo Bills : 11-5
These guys have depths for days. A solid offensive line, a good young quarterback to develop and a strong wideout cast will make these guys dangerous late in the season. These guys are the best team on paper and have strong playmakers everywhere. Can they challenge for a crown this year?
2 – Miami Dolphins : 9-7
Maybe it’s just me being lazy, but these guys look destined to repeat the same season they had last year. They had some whiffs at the draft but have a good enough squad to keep in the race most of the way.
3 – New York Jets : 6-10
Jets have some solid playmakers at every level of the defense except the secondary. Offense they will be able to build around a great rookie QB but this coach needs to take some Lesson’s from a better player with the same last name. If he contact’s Seattle and learns a thing or two, he may win another game or two. From what I’ve been told his main goal this year is to win more games than Seattle loses…
4 – New England Patriots : 2-14
This team spent a lot of money this off season on two safeties, in fact they spent so much money that they broke the collective bargaining agreement and the ownership was forced to sell. They had a great chance to improve going into the draft and then decided to draft ANOTHER safety. These guys have no offensive weapons and no secondary, except to get blowed out a lot.
AFC West
1 – Oakland Raiders : 11-5
These guys had a very good season last year, all while being very quiet. The owner must not be a true loud and obnoxious raiders fan. The team lacks a lot of true talent but if the coach can continue to get solid production from Carr and Cooper and keep Aaron Jones going they can continue to hold off the Denver Broncos.
2 – Denver Broncos : 11-5
Chubbs, Miller, Wright, Barrett make this one deadly defense up front. It felt like they were playing with 12 men on the field against the Jaguars but snuck into the playoffs on the final week and made it to the Super Bowl. Their offense line was exposed and they did almost nothing to address it in the offseason. Unless Chase Locker has been able to remove the nightmares of Takk and Symonette, they may fall just short of passing Oakland.
3 - Kansas City Chiefs : 7-9
These guys have strong defensive 7 but with two corners that are slower than some quarterbacks, these guys will struggle in the secondary. Gray and Berry help cover things up as best they can, and Julio is a great addition but really they won’t battle for the top of the division as much as they will battle for the not worst brother of the trio. I feel that KC will be more worried about the Jets than Denver.
4 – LA Chargers: 5-11
These guys have some talent in some places and this division is pretty even in terms of overall talent. These guys have weapons, Bosa, Allen, Gordon, Eckler, they’ve kept a lot of home grown talent but the light at the end of the tunnel is fading. LA Fans are going to suffer having to watch the Rams all season, can the Chargers give them a little bit of hope and change teams? Nah…
AFC South
1 – Jacksonville Jaguars : 13-3
Jacksonville is out for blood after the end to their season last year, Case Keenum will be replacing Nick Foles but he is still a very capable QB. This team should be in the market to make a run at it now and try and acquire a QB and make a deep run. Tyreek Hill is the best receiver in the game and Henry provides them with a dangerous 1.2 combo. This defense lost Telvin Smith and AJ Bouye, so they will have some work cut out for them. Can Quinton Dunbar replace Bouye…we shall see.
2 – Tennessee Titans : 10-6
Ok, these guys suck on paper. DeMarcus Jennings is going to be a candidate for ROY and expect Mariota to bounce back after a rough season last year. I would talk about the defense but other than Adoree Jackson there really isn’t much to talk about. A lot of faith is being put in this coach, if he fails again this year…then I don’t know who he is.
3 – Indianapolis Colts : 9-7
The Colts drafted everyone’s new favorite toy in DeAndre Newton, but the real question is does the coach know how to use him? They have a great offensive line but no threats on the outside, no playmakers in the secondary. Can Newton help this team win some shootouts. I think they will get better late in the season if they develop properly. Will these guys turn to the Jags and trade Meadows to their rival?
4 – Houston Texans : 5-11
Ok, these guys had a solid season last year despite having like three different coaches. We now have a brand new coach to the league, nobody knows how good he is or really…WHO he is. The first thing he announces to the league is that he Is willing to move Hopkins. “That’s a bold move cotton”. Clowney, Hopkins, Cook, Watson, they got some dangerous studs but need desperate help at corner. Does the new coach blow it all up and build quickly or grind out a long season?
AFC North
3 – Cincinnati Bengals : 10-6
We’ve heard all offseason as to how he built the Texans to be a powerhouse and the left to go travel the world or live on a yacht for a month, something like that. This team got better in a hurry this offseason thanks in part to the Cleveland Browns. Their loss will be this team’s gain. If they are able to play as half as much as he talks, they should take this division.
2 – Baltimore Ravens : 9-7
Any team that has Lamar Jackson is dangerous, this Ravens team has some weapons around him but nothing that stands out. Can Lamar continue to be Superman? He was so displeased with this team that he tried to leave for Free Agency but got Franchised Tagged. This could be the year for the Ravens to make a move and add some playmakers.
3 – Cleveland Browns : 8-8
I love this team on paper but whoever wrote the code for this game must hate the Cleveland Browns as they seem to catch a big injury every week. Between Injuries and Depression last season the Browns were never able to recover after some early season struggles. I’d expect a rebound this season or a relapse…one of the two
4 – Pittsburgh Steelers - : 3-13
I know we have a coach for this team, I’d give somebody a $1 is they could tell me his name without looking it up. These guys have kept their talent but it’s all past it’s prime now, this is the season they unload Bell, Brown, DeCastro if they are smart. This is a year they could add a lot of future for playmakers as a lot of teams are close. Somebody call the Steelers, if you know who it is.
AFC Playoffs:
#1 Seed – Jacksonville Jaguars
#2 Seed – Buffalo Bills
#3 Seed – Oakland Raiders
#4 Seed – Cincinnati Bengals
#5 Seed – Denver Broncos
#6 Seed – Tennessee Titans
Wild Card Round:
Titans Defeat the Raiders
Bengals Defeat the Broncos
Divisional Round:
Jaguars Defeat the Titans
Bills Defeat the Bengals
Championship Round:
Bills Defeat the Jaguars
NFC Predictions
NFC East
1 – Washington Redskins : 10-6
Washington added Carson Wentz and Devonta Freeman this offseason to give them playmakers at very skill position. However offensive line and their line backing core will be issues they will need to address.
2 - Dallas Cowboys : 9-7
Dallas sent out Jones and Smith to get younger overall as a team. Cowboys wiffed on getting their QB of the future but there is too much offensive firepower to shut out these guys all year.
3 – Philadelphia Eagles : 6-10
Philly spent the entire offseason sending off contracts and aging players for cap space and youth. They did well in the draft and landed some playmakers, but a young secondary and average linebacker group will force this team into shootouts that they aren’t ready for.
4 – New York Giants : 4-12
Josh Rosen lost the lead in league interceptions in Week 17 of last week. New York drafted a brand new QB who has weapons in Barkley, OBJ, Engram to put some points on the board. They lack any real defensive playmakers however so without greatly improved QB play, except the Giants to draft early again next year.
NFC West
1 – San Francisco 49ers : 14-2
Defending champs start off the season with against the Packers and Seahawks and face a rematch with Denver late in the year. Somebody is bound to knock off these guys, who will be the first to do it?
2 – Seattle Seahawks : 13-3
Seattle had a great season last year but had to fight thru the WC round last season and will be facing the same uphill battle. If they can beat the 49ers both times then it could be a race to the top.
3 – Arizona Cardinals : 7-9
The Cards added some solid pieces this offseason but face two monsters atop of the division. Rumor is the Cardinals have been putting in some practice time and development time this offseason, can they do enough to secure a WC berth?
4 – LA Rams : 5-11
LA can be very up and down at times and with no major moves made in the offseason, Gurley will continue to struggle behind a bad offensive line and Donald can’t do it alone on defense.
NFC South
1 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers : 9-7
This division came down to the wire last year and will likely do the same again. Tampa made some big additions this year with Prescott, Smith, Watt and Jones. This team played well down the stretch and could take the division this year.
2 – New Orleans Saints : 8-8
Saints have a few playmakers at each position, they will need to lean heavily on these players as the surrounding talent is average at best. A young QB will keep these guys from sneaking into the playoffs again this year.
3 – Carolina Panthers : 7-9
Carolina had a chance to win and get in last year and dropped the ball, they will just miss out again this year. This team is getting older and the offensive line isn’t going to help McCaffery out much this year.
4 – Atlanta Falcons : 3-13
These guys started clear the books last season moving on from Stars like Jones, Takk, Julio, Freeman and appear to be ready to move on from Matt Ryan as well. No cap space and no major weapons could mean a long season in Atlanta.
NFC North
1 – Green Bay Packers : 12-4
These guys looked destined to finish as the top speed last year but got out of sync late in the year. They added A Lot of talent this year, but losing Aaron Rodgers means this team will need to focus on Ballard. Green Bay’s secondary is no joke this year but with an average front 7 they won’t be able to fall behind and have Rodgers save them.
2 – Detroit Lions : 11-5
Detroit’s coaching staff get’s a lot out of their talent, but they lack and true offensive playmaker. This team can compete with anyone because of a smart coach, but smart coaching can’t win you every game and you need points to score. Lions will push the Packers and keep them on their toes this year but will need to settle for another WC game.
3 – Chicago Bears : 6-10
Two heavy hitters in this division make it tough for the Bears to claw away in this division. Howard and Luck are great weapons on offense but with no real blockers and lack of threats on the outside teams will force Luck into throws and attempt to contain Howard. These guys need to find help for Luck and fast.
4 – Minnesota Vikings - : 3-13
I may be completely wrong with this pick, but how can you trust a team that doesn’t even show up to the draft when they own the #1 overall pick. These guys are getting old very quickly, they should look to blow things up after a slow start and maybe…just maybe show up to the draft again this year when they are drafting in the top 3 again.
NFC Playoffs:
#1 Seed – San Francisco 49ers
#2 Seed – Green Bay Packers
#3 Seed – Washington Redskins
#4 Seed – Tampa Bay Bucs
#5 Seed – Seattle Seahawks
#6 Seed – Detroit Lions
Wild Card Round:
Redskins Defeat the Lions
Seahawks Defeat the Bucs
Divisional Round:
49ers Defeat the Seahawks
Packers Defeat the Redskins
Championship Round:
49ers Defeat the Packers
As we close the door on 2021 here at SSG and begin to roll into our fourth season and year 2022. Last season was filled with some changes, a few surprises and new rivalries to go along with a first time champion. SSG decided to reach out to Owner Justin Jones to go over what made 2021 such a successful season for the San Francisco 49ers and how they see their team going forward.
What made you decide to join the SSG?
It really was just a whirlwind course of events that brought me to Sim Sports Gaming last season. At the time that I joined into SSG last season it had been close to a full year since I had played in a competitive madden league environment and honestly had been nearly four months since I really spent any time with the game. I started of Madden 19 really focused on playing MUT Squads and the mode just really wasn’t for me. Shark(Titans GM) reached out to a few weeks prior to joining SSG about getting back into Madden and trying MUT Duo’s now and the problem was that I was so far behind in that mode that it was near impossible to catch up and again took the joy out of the game for me.
So one day I just happened to be searching around on leaguecrawler and looked at all the big hitters on their and probably looked at about 12 different leagues trying to find something that would fit, that seemed active and seemed like a good place to start getting back into the swing of things. One of the last leagues that I looked was Sim Sports Gaming. I just happened to notice the contact name for the league was Mike Lowe, and I used to play EASHL last year with a huge named Mike Lowe who was a HUGE advocate of SIM gaming. I reached out to him thinking that it would be a REALLY small world if this happened to be his league and sure enough, it was. One thing led to another and after reaching out to a few friends, we found a home in SSG at the start of the season after they needed three GM’s and here I am.
What’s been your biggest challenge adjusting from other leagues or MUT into the world of SSG?
The base of SSG is the same heart of every other SIM League that is out there. The goal is to try and keep stats in a realistic world and create a competitive balance vs online games where you see guys scrambling every play with Mike Vick or going for it on every 4th down and quitting if they get down 14 points. There’s probably three major rule variations to Sim Sports Gaming that captured my attention and either had me hesitant at first to join and drew me in.
I’d gladly say for anyone thinking of joining this league, give it time. It WILL make you a better player. IT WILL allow you to develop GREAT User skills and if you play in a league later on in which you can pick off passes, you’ll find yourself with the ability to call better coverages, be in better positons to make interceptions and read route combinations.
While at the end of the season you were the last man standing, you had some tough games along the way, what moments stand out from you last season?
Week 6 against the Mike Lowe led Detroit Lions last year, I was coming off two strong performances, putting up 40-0 shutouts and felt like I had the right playbook, the right offense and defense. That game taught me otherwise. We had just added Deion Jones and Takk to our defense and felt like we should dominate the game and we just had nothing. We were able to score late and our line did enough to put the game in Bortles hands, but it really showed me that I needed to change both my entire offense and defenses playbooks around if we wanted to keep winning.
My first game against Seattle comes in right behind it however, anytime you play a division opponent anything can happen. That was a crazy game that was back and forth the entire way and was really fought hard on both sides. In my honest opinion, I was out played that game and probably shouldn’t have come away with the victory but we got a few bounces to go our way and we snuck out of there with a win. After that game I knew it would be “playoff football” for the rest of the season as I faced a few great owners like the Jaguars, Titans and Seahawks again all before the start of the playoffs. So having that game last in season allowed us to make sure we were ready going forward.
You’ve had several owners tell you that you were “Handed” a title or that you are a “speed freak” and that’s how you were able to be so successful last year, how would you like to respond to those remarks?
Well as far as being handed a title, if people want to think that, then they can come try and beat me. Was this team built to contend last season, sure it could have. But it’s not as if this team was a overpowering at ANY position when I started. Jimmy G is a top 10 QB, sure but he’s not perfect. Omameh was just a prospect at that time with average skills across the board, really no offensive line to speak of other than McGlinchy. The defense had solid playmakers all around but had a few holes. Really what changed this team was dumping all of my development into Omameh and the Line and then selling off two young players and three high picks for Takk and Jones to complete my defense and make that the real strength of the team. This team doesn’t have the line or the wide outs to win a 42-35 style game. So I made the adjustments to build this team and develop it around it’s strengths, if more owners took the time to just look over their roster, they would be better off.
As far as “Speed Freak” goes, sure, if that’s what you want to call me then go for it. Jimmy I think finished in bottom half of the league in passing yards, Clear and Goodwin the two speedster wideouts made some plays but didn’t come close to leading the league in any category. This team was built to Run the ball and play off of that strength. If teams wanted to press and bring coverage down, then yes Clear or Goodwin could beat a man deep. If you kept your coverage back then Omameh would be the feature, there’s a reason he led the league in rushing. We could attack you in multiple different ways, you won’t find any successful team in the NFL that doesn’t try to add speed when and where they can at the playmaker position. Even the Patriots have added guys like Randy Moss, Brandon Cooks, Josh Gordon and Phillip Dorsett to their teams just to stretch the field. But go ask the Arizona Cardinals (Rankin) what happens with Speed WR’s and no other offense built around them. You lead the league in interceptions.
You took over the team in week 3, you ran off 16 straight victories including the playoffs. What would you say the most important thing is to help put yourself in a position to win that many games in a row?
It’s not really one thing that you can do to help make you a better team. There isn’t a single player, playbook or play that can make you win a game. Every team is created different and everyone tends to play a little different as well. First thing you need to do is look at your team and decide HOW you want to build your team. If you have a Quaterback like Matt Ryan, Jimmy Garropolo that are stationary QB’s then you shouldn’t be running a ton of bootlegs, option runs. Same thing if you have a running back like Fournette, pound the ball inside vs running tosses and sweeps.
Once you know HOW you should best use your team, then you need to find a playbook to match that. Some playbooks are run heavy, some are option based, some are west coast and some are pistol based. Again you need to find a playbook that matches what you are trying to do on offense. Mike made mention of all the motion I run inside of my offense, that’s to keep defenses guessing, allows me to get last minute reads on coverage and helps get playmakers in space. If I ran a guy like Mike Evans in motion for a Jet Sweep do you think that would worry a defense? No he doesn’t have the speed to scare a defense. EVERY part of the play matters.
Practice, Practice, Practice. I’m a huge Philly Fan and I LOVE Allen Iverson…but C’mon man….We are talking about practice. – Maybe if AI cared a little bit more about practice, he could have won more than ONE nba final game. But in regards to Madden, just go to the training mode and play around in free practice mode. I try to spend 10 minutes or so before a game in that mode, just getting a feel for the plays and speed so I’m ready come game time. I’ll also use this mode to find new plays that I like and test them out against popular coverages like Cover 1/2/3. If you don’t practice your offensive playbook in this mode your only hurting yourself. Ask Shark, we played late in the year last year and since we have known each other for awhile, we chatted back and forth during the game. One of my early scores, I saw his defense shift, called what play he was running before I snapped the ball and hit James White for a wide open touchdown.
You think Tony Romo is able to predict what offenses are going to do because he’s a wizard? Nah he was a undrafted QB who spent his first several years in practice only, watching film, studying defenses, what worked here, what didn’t’ work. It’s the same with Madden and within our rules. If you only have two hot-routes and you only have 10 seconds to get everything placed, you need to know what defense you’re going up against. I had to change BOTH of my playbooks after Week 6 because I wasn’t getting the pressure I knew I needed in order to sustain what my defense was doing and I wasn’t creative enough on offense to put teams away if my defense wasn’t locking everyone up.
If you pay attention to how your team is built or build it to a strength, you then find a playbook that plays to your strength and you practice it out, then you can win with ANY team. I’m one of the few madden players who is always down for some practice and will gladly help anyone. Up until about two years ago, I NEVER controlled a LB because I was always missing reads or messing up coverages. It wasn’t until I got smacked playing a game in person with a buddy of mine that I decided to sit down with a madden friend who is the best user I’ve ever seen and had him work with me on what to look for, when to move, how to anticipate routes. Now I feel comfortable playing with any player on the field all thanks to practice and labbing with friends.
It was a play that nobody will remember or recall from the Super Bowl. Early in the game the Broncos had a 3rd and long, I wanna say it was 10 or 7-0 at that time. Denver called an out route with inside slot receiver. I changed my user from the LB to the SS prior to the play because the far side of the field was going to be open around the sticks. If the WR went inside, he was going into zones covered by Foster and Jones so I felt safe there. The only spot on the field that would result in an easy first down was an out route. His WR came up, if he stayed on a streak I was ready to match him deep, if he broke to the outside I was ready to break that way. He broke on the out route, Denver timed the route perfectly, made a good throw but being ready for the play I was able to cut in front and if not for our rules would have had a pick six, but was able to get a key knock down and get the ball back and I believe go down and score again and gave me the confidence that I had taken control of the game.
Practice allowed me to know the coverage I had called, allowed me to be ready for what routes would beat my coverage, where the defensive players would be vulnerable and how to time the throw. If anyone ever wants advice, or to do some lab work, let me know. Because I’m telling you…Practice…Practice…Practice…