In The Bleachers.
The Mailbag: Key Player for Freedom's Altar, Offense vs Defense in the NSCF, Best unranked teams and more...
by Alen Panek (Featured Columnist).
So, here is the first In The Bleachers Mailbag of the season, these articles will be based around by questions asked by you, the readers. Football is creeping up on us, and that's a great thing. Training camp is starting to roll. Coaches are getting excited for the season. Players are fighting for their position on the depth chart and I can smell freshly cut turf, dew on the grass and football, it is on the air. So let's get going with your questions!
Q: Who is the key player for the Freedom's Altar University Flames this season? As in, if they don't make the playoffs, who will be held most responsible?
A: Well, there are three options with us to go with here. Nero Williams has left as quarterback and he was the key to running this offense, with him passing the ball efficiently and making sure everybody kept to their assignments on every offensive play. He was a brilliant leader and was the focal point of this team. It is important that whoever comes in at quarterback can either equal what he did, by passing the ball with accuracy and making sure he can get the checkdown if he runs the ball. The key to this Flames offense last season was the high completion percentage that made sure there was little chance of turning the ball over and made sure that the Flames didn't put too much work on their defense's plate in their rookie season. In training camp it looks to us as if Jared Newmann, a 6'8 behemoth of a true freshman seems to have the lead.
The great upside this freshman has is his size and his ability to run the ball, he is a huge kid, as stated, but he has the weight too, he isn't skinny and won't be injured by tackles when it comes to him running the ball. He is 245 pounds, that is a lot for an 18 year old kid, but it means he has the power to run and not get injured but also to break tackles too. He's a useful kid to have because of being able to run, with some defenses in the NSCF not being able to deal with quarterbacks who can run the ball effectively. He has the enthusiasm needed to be quarterback and the willingness to learn the role and the job he is needed to do for the Flames, but we still think there are questions about his ability to throw the ball with accuracy. If he can do so, his determination will pay off and the Flames could well go a long way into the play-offs...
...But, if he isn't effective a whole lot more weight will go on senior running back Andre Innouye, the senior running back will need to be the heart and soul of the offense if Newmann doesn't pass effectively. Innouye, luckily, is the sort of running back that can pound it up the gut on every snap. He is a workhorse, if Newmann fails to work, he'll also need to become the leader of the offense and motivate the troops. Innouye will be reliable, we feel, as he has the speed to beat defenders and the power (he weighs in at 225 pounds, which is mostly muscle), to break tackles. He's an elusive back, which is a perfect quality, he's difficult to tackle. Innouye will need to have a career defining season, we expect 1,250 yards plus from him. If he doesn't reach this, the Flames could be in trouble. He should do the job he is needed to do, if he does, the Flames will do brilliantly.
One position that may well be overlooked is center, the Flames had Rocky Telmar at the position last season, a born leader. He was the sort of player who could reassure the whole team even after a huge sack, where a player went wrong with his blocking assignment or whatever - and could also make Nero Williams feel safe when under centre. Taren Hornsby gets the job replacing this man, he'll have to do the same job as Telmar did though, but perhaps his role will be even more scrutinized because of the freshman quarterback who will be in the pocket and will need good protection to grow into the role as the Freedom's Altar QB.
In our mind, there is only one person that will be held responsible by the Flames fans if they don't make the playoffs. We'll eliminate the other two first. We'll start with senior center, Taren Hornsby. He's not going to be the one blamed if they don't reach the playoffs, mainly because he's replacing the biggest fan favourite FAU have ever had. Telmar is irreplaceable, both as a player and in the hearts of Flames fans. Flames fans are well informed about their football team, they understand that Hornsby is taking on a huge task in even taking up the new starting job at the position. They're also informed enough that putting a freshman quarterback right into the starting role is a huge leap of faith and it may not pay off straight away, quarterbacks take time to mature into their role and the quarterback we see in Week One and the one we see in Week Thirteen will be hugely different from one another, with the improvements seen hugely noticeable for Newmann. We still have questions about how accurate his passing will be, but he can certainly run the ball and will have great arm strength (we've not actually seen him take too many reps passing the ball, it's mostly been on quarterback draw plays and such, but with his size, he should be able to throw a decent way), so if the coaches at Freedom's Altar are savvy, then they will most likely start running the option offense and get Newmann comfortable running the ball.
So, that only leaves Andre Innouye, if he doesn't perform well, then the Flames won't reach the playoffs - and because he is the most experienced starter of the three he will be the one held most responsible for it. He is the key for them and he need to have a huge season, we need to see him taking around 25-30 rushing attempts a game, to take the weight off his young quarterback and any other halfbacks who will be given a hand-off or two. This Flames team seem to be one that'll rely on hard running and clever clock management, if it works and if Innouye puts up some good numbers and performances, they should go far in the playoffs.
The responsibility will lie with Innouye if they don't.
Q: Is it better to dominate on defense or offense in NSCF?
A: This is an extremely interesting question and not one that has any simple answer really. To answer it, we have to look back into the past. I'm going to look at the champions each season and see how they performed both offensively and defensively each season - and then make a decision.
Last season, Frbiba State were known for a hardnosed defense and a run-based offense. They averaged 15.5 points per game last year whilst only conceding 7.25 points per game on average. We're going to use 21 points as our threshold here and say any team that scores under this doesn't have the greatest offense (they couldn't get two touchdowns and a field goal on average each game), and a team who concedes less than 10 a game has a dominating defense. Frbiba State relied on a great defense to win them their title, only giving up a touchdown on average - and actually making several shutouts through the season. So that's one point to dominating on defense.
In NSCF 4 we had the UArk Wyverns win the biggest college trophy of them all, they had an offense revered by everybody, managing 24 points per game on average. They did give up around 12.2 points per game through the season, meaning that their great offense managed to lead them to the championship and dominated teams for them. They did still have a very good defense however, but not good enough for our imaginary threshold. Meaning it is 1-1.
Going back to NSCF 3, Utica Tigers won the title and were known for an aggressive offensive gameplan and it worked as it led them the whole way to their second championship. They averaged 32 points per game on offense, there's no point even trying to discover the average points conceded for the Tigers as they didn't concede under 10 points once in the whole season. Only conceding this amount once. They obviously did not rely on their defense to carry them to this championship - so that makes the score 2-1 to offenses.
We're heading back to NSCF 2 now where Eirikssonia University won the championship - the only non-Woodlands team to ever do so. They averaged 29 points per game throughout the season as they scored freely on the arm of Tom Ehrlich. They also conceded around 20.2 points per game, meaning they were not very tight on defense at all. The Tomcats clearly relied on dominating teams with their offense here, meaning it is 3-1 to offense and that lead is unassailable. We shall cover NSCF 1 for posterity, however.
All the way back in the first edition of the NSCF, the Utica Tigers won the championship. They averaged 27.5 points per game on offense, another team dominating away with their offense. They did however concede 17.3 points per game, proving once again that offense was more important. 4-1 to the dominating offenses, with only one defense proving to be more important - the one in the most recent NSCF. Does that mean that having a dominating defense is more relevant to the more recent game? No. Not to us.
In terms of trying to win the NSCF Championship, if you have a dominating offense you can at the very least turn every single game into a shoot-out and at least have a chance at outscoring your opponent in the game. This means that dominating on offense is better in our opinion, it is of course, very good if you can dominate on defense also, but if you can't score, you can't win games - even if you can shut the other teams out, you still need your offense to lead you into position to be able to score (unless your defense can score on interceptions and fumbles etc, which our handy test doesn't account for, but most points are scored when you have the ball). If your defense can dominate and score at the same time, you're set. However, this doesn't occur often, if at all - and so, we see more benefit in having an offense which can score efficiently each game. So the short answer is, it is better to dominate on offense in the NSCF.
Q: How far will the best unranked team go this year?
A: Well, depends on your definition of unranked. Going by the NSCF Top 15 compiled by OSN.net, our own ITB Top 15 rankings or by teams that have never competed in the NSCF before. Unranked in the first two, means being outside the top fifteen teams, the third is slightly different - although the two are very much linked, with no teams that have never competed in the NSCF before being in either of these rankings.
Anyway, there are four teams we rate very highly that are completely new teams to the NSCF. We shall start with the University of Stahalmark at Dunnmaar from Allamunnic States, they're a stereotypical Allamunnic team, with a power running offense and a hardnosed defense that won't give up many points and will probably even generate turnovers. Of course, we also know that Allamunnic teams are typically very strong and are of a high quality. They have a good chance to do very well this season, especially with junior halfback Anders Blumunn who stands at 5'11 and 231 pounds, making him a big back to have. The only problem the Skiltrum may have is with the quality of their conference. They have been sent straight into the fire in the Woodlands Conference, the strongest conference in the NSCF. With a tough running game though, they could cause problems for the tough Woodlands' defenses though.
Second, there is the University of St. Jermaine of Taijan. They have the great luck of being drawn into the Equinox Conference, one of the weakest conferences in the NSCF (if not the weakest), they of course benefit from having what appears - on the face of it - to be a very good team. From watching them in their fall camp, they have two decent quarterbacks, Montague and Rodriguez who could very well end up locked in a battle for the starting role which could rely on one of the two just taking the role in the end. Davis Tong also seems a decent prospect at halfback, but of course, this is just from some snippets in training we've seen. We could very well be wrong, but if these players perform well, up to the expectations we have set them... They could surprise quite a few people.
Next up, there is our own Decraa College. Led by highly recruited Sviatoslaw Kovalyov and an extremely high powered air raid offense, they will try to tear teams apart through the air, repeatedly passing the ball. Their defense doesn't offer much at all, but the Eagles are a strong team on offense. They don't run the ball (unless it's late in the game and/or a very short yardage situation), but they certainly have the quality to do well. After all, they did cause the Royals problems in the MNCF. They're not in the toughest conference ever either, the Sequoia is fairly friendly towards completely new teams. There is really only two big teams, UAD and RMU, after all Netteingen Tech and the University of Korcyka are fairly average (although the latter will probably improve this year) and there is one other newcomer team, Decraa College have a decent chance at having an extremely good season.
Finally, there is the UCLA Bruins of Free South Califas, they are helped by their intimidating atmosphere at the Rose Bowl. 90,000 fans inside the stadium with the searing heat of that particular area possibly causing problems for teams that are not used to the heat. They have what look like some talented players on the roster too, that could well take the Big Eight Conference by storm. Senior wide-out Festus Karolina looks to be a good player who could well burn defenses when used on the outside against possibly smaller cornerbacks. They're not too shabby on defense either, with senior nose tackle Raymundo Baxter being a talent that can reach the quarterback in the backfield and also seemingly stuff the run. UCLA are another team that benefit from being in a weaker conference than teams like the University of Stahalmark at Dunnmaar.
Any one of these four teams could go on to be very successful in their first season in the NSCF, they have the right ingredients - good players, weak schedules and good fans - that could make them go far. The conditions need to be right for them to be successful though, with teams needing luck to do well along the way too.
Basically, if these teams perform well and have enough luck - they will be in with a great shout of reaching the play-offs and perhaps going deep in them - after all, Frbiba State managed to reach the Championship in NSCF 3 - their first season. If these teams play well and get the all important luck needed, along with intimidating home environments and good coaching - they could well emulate the Firebirds.
Q: Are the University of Alzburg-Dyka being over hyped going into this season?
A: I, personally, would say yes. Well informed Royals fans would agree. Other Royals fans, may not (a small minority). You have to remember that the biggest talent to ever come out of the University has just graduated and left for the MFL, with a degree in architectural design. Sadly, the Mikjel Ostgurn era is over. All Royals fans have to come to terms with this. It's great that we have Erritel Hikhrela at the helm though, he's a clever quarterback, but he isn't Mikjel Ostgurn. He doesn't have the arm strength for a start, but his accuracy is very good. He has been touted as the 'best quarterback in the Sequoia Conference' by some media in Khabarovsk Krai, is this right? Well, we're not sure. He's good, but best in the conference? I'm not so sure. Evan Loch is decent for the University of Korcyka Warhawks, RMU don't really offer anyone in this category, Finn Mayrhofer threw more interceptions than touchdowns and is in a competition for the starting gig with Ryan Collaros but Netteingen Tech do have Leiuv Emanuelsen a 6'6, 212 pound monster at the position - who can rush and pass, we think he's a very talented quarterback - but is unlucky to attend an average college. Hikhrela could be in competition with Evan Loch and Leiuv Emanuelsen for the best QB slot in the conference really, but we'll see on that score.
I mean, we do have the best wide receiver in the conference - that is true and Aleksi Tevarz has been noticed for this, with media in Khabarovsk Krai awarding the title of 'best wide receiver in the conference', which has to be taken with a pinch of salt at this point - but his career stats so far offering us a good insight into how he'll do in this season. He's a big talent and could easily eclipse the performances of Yuri Zukov - in the same manner that he has already eclipsed Zukov's stats. Tevarz could easily be the best wide receiver in UAD history. He has the huge stats, but can he provide the clutch performances to match? We'll see, once again.
We also do have one of the best defenses in the NSCF, whether you like it or not. It is a simple fact. But you do have to remember that the secondary is pretty much all new, three new members are in there. Two are freshmen. Our defensive line is strong, with only one new lineman being added - and he's a senior. Our linebackers are fantastic, with Simmundsson and Veronek being experienced and hugely talented - Johnson van Eekeren adds great enthusiasm to this line-up and of course, he is going to be a special player for the Royals. His skill set adding fantastically to what we currently have, he is great in coverage and in stopping the run. The secondary is the only part of the defense that could have questions asked of it, it's strong, but inexperienced. That could be a problem. Again, we will have to see what happens.
So, an above average quarterback, a good offensive line, a good set of receiving corps, a good halfback/fullback pairing on offense. On defense, a strong defensive line and set of linebackers and a good but inexperienced secondary. So is our #3 ranking justified? On this evidence, we'd say maybe just about. Questions around the quarterback and secondary could lead us to drop down to around #5 in the OSN.net Top 15, with some people overestimating just how good the quarterback is (he is good at passing, but offers nothing on the ground and doesn't have great arm strength), and not even asking questions of the young secondary yet. That could change yet, with teams learning that the secondary is young in the opening weeks of the season and then beginning to ask questions on the field by throwing towards the young cornerbacks.
The short version, the Royals are being over hyped, but only ever so slightly. Questions about the quarterback and the secondary will be answered very shortly, the answer we think will be good for both though.
