uflyguy's round 1 playoff preview

What happened to the UFL this year?

Teams that were supposed to be mighty ended up being puny. And team’s that were given very slim odds to accomplish anything have made the playoffs. Mighty teams to fear became teams to pound. And perennial winners remained perennial winners. Where, why, when, and how did this happen.

I don’t have the time or desire now to review but a good old fashioned playoff preview and prediction game seems about right.

Home teams in CAPS.

Eagles (+5.5) over GIANTS

Yes the Vegas Zone for this one.

Coach, GM and Commissioner Gabriel Porrovecchio slaughtered all who challenged him in 2011. That trend continued up until the midpoint of 2012 and then a funny thing happened, the wheels started to rust sooner than expected, and their vaunted depth was challenged. In a bid to shake things up the trigger was pulled on a deal to bring Wes Welker and Reggie Bush in to maintain supremacy, but in the end it could not prevent the skid. The Giants are a team that is limping into the playoffs and has everyone in the UFL wondering what comes next.

Imagine your team consisted of Eli Manning, Ron Gronkowski, MJD, Dez Bryant, a stud kicker and a defense/special teams juggernaut. On fantasy paper you have all the ingredients for domination. And it appeared to be going that way until injuries struck and Eli regressed. Just like the Giants, the Eagles peeked off their perch too soon and stumbled into the playoffs based on their early season success.

This matchup in the end is a tale of redemption. Whoever wins will finally, after weeks of futility have something positive to look forward to… well at least the Giants will, because if the Eagles win they have a week to get their butt holes lubed up for the Bills to mercilessly buck on into.

Cowboys (+2.5) over DOLPHINS

If you would have polled the UFL GM’s at the start of the season and asked them to predict a first round matchup, one of these two teams would have received a majority of the votes and the other, just one vote.

By now we all know the story of how a terrible 2011 Miami Dolphins team trolled the depths of awful with a season to be forgotten. But rewards will often emerge from dark misery and struggle, and in this case that reward came with 1^st overall pick, Andrew Luck (editor’s note, we would like to present our condolences in advance to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the soon to be winner’s of the toilet bowl on their options for who to pick in a very weak draft year). Luck saved a potentially dreadful Dolphins season along with some snazzy free agent pick ups, and trades. If there was a GM of the year award in the UFL, GM Pasquale would have earned that particular piece of hardware this year.

Coach Kavaldjian is a perennial playoff attendee in the UFL. Unfortunately regular season successes have not translated into anything except bitter season ending losses, culminating in last year’s loss to the Giants. Now, back in the playoffs yet again and facing their former rival the Dolphins, the Cowboys are in an unfamiliar role, that of underdog. Cam Newton is heating up, and if Cam is firing on all cylinders than that will change the whole dynamic of the UFL playoffs. On paper the Cowboys are sneaky good, like sneaky upset all the way into league champions good.

I just can’t see the Dolphins being able to match the yardage and TD advantage the Cowboys will most likely have this weekend. The Dolphins have terrible matchups for their D’s while the Cowboys have a D playing against an Eagles team that has basically given up. I would love to see this magical season continue for the scrappy Dolphins, but sadly it will end this weekend.

Toilet Bowl – Bucs (+3) over RAIDERS

How does a team with Tom Brady leading the charge end up in the toilet bowl? How does a team that makes the toilet bowl still have Tom Brady as their QB? Now I don’t want to go off on a rant here… but… look we all saw this demise coming, we all were spectators to this train wreck. God Bless GM Yanicki for pulling the trigger on some deals to shake up his team, but looking back on it, the hole was just too deep to crawl out of. Now, I don’t know if there were any offers made for the Golden Boy, but if there were, and no action was taken then there should definitely be some second guessing going on here.

And what can we say about the Bucs? The Bucs were like a loveable sitcom this year, they made you laugh, they made you cry, they made you pull your hair out and feel deep pain for GM Michaud’s catastrophic fall from grace. In some ways they were reminiscent of another Floridian UFL franchise, the 2011 Dolphins (wait, who am I kidding, that 2011 Dolphins team was beyond pathetic). And in that example they should feel hope…

I just can’t see the Raiders pulling this one off. The Bucs have been a lot better than their record has shown, and the Raiders.. well… it would pretty much be par for the course. After their shocking title in 2010, back to back toilet bowl appearances have flushed whatever significance that bought.

Week 7 Mailbag

Time to dip into the UFL mailbag to see what questions from the fans of the UFL have to ask about the league so far…

“Can you explain to me how the once mighty Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise has fallen so far down the glory pole?”

Trevin, Springfield, NH

Dear Trevin,

I am not too sure if I want to slide down this glory pole you speak of, but I do have some thoughts as to what has happened here. GM Michaud clearly had a draft strategy, and that is all I have because I just can’t seem to locate where he put it. The usually well thought out draftees and free agents signings just did not happen. I think that at the end of the day we can all agree that GM Michaud was not himself that day, is it possible that he has an evil twin that we do not know about it? Is Mel still alive? How can we know.. and I am starting to have my doubts….

“HOW ABOUT THEM COWBOYS!?!?”

Armando, StoneFalls, ON

I had the techs here at UFL mailbag HQ  trace the origin of this email as something did not smell right, it lead us down a dark hole of the internet where communication consisted of elongated syllables by what looked like ordinary white people acting slightly less white. Just look at this conversation and tell me I’m wrong:

1: “heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy whaaaatt uppp”

2: “dammmmmmmm that issss soooooooooooooo phhhat”

1: “yooo mannnnnnnnn I knooooow”

2: “You gonnnnna startttt CAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM nexxxtt weeeek?”

I still have my doubts about the authenticity here, but all I have to say about the cowboys really is… how about them cowboys!

“What will the feeling be like across the living room’s of all the UFL GM’s the day the Giants loose their first game of the season”

John, Cincinnati, OH

I will let the normally reserved people of Iceland’s soccer community respond to that…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--UVoz95oic&feature=youtube_gdata_player

“If you could re-do the 2012 UFL draft, what would it look like, knowing what we know now?”

Jermaine, Topeka, KS

Wow, great question Jermaine. Yes, it is only 6 weeks into the UFL season and these young men have 5 years to develop into the powerhouse talents that UFL GM’s hope they will. But if I go by what I have seen I would certainly like to see perhaps a different order of players selected. My post 6 week UFL 2012 re-draft would like this:

12^th Overall – Blair Walsh – PK

This season has been a real renaissance for young legs. You have Greg Zurlein teeing off ICBMs in St-Louis and Justin Tucker bringing some consistency to the Ravens. But it is Blair Walsh in Minnesota who is the standout here. Through 6 weeks he is 16 for 17 with 7 off those coming from beyond 40 yards. Franchise kickers are rare and when you find one are worth the 1^st round gambit.

11^th Overall - Randall Cobb – WR

I hesitated in putting Cobb on here, but he is on a team with an aging WR corps and he can get open, and make people miss tackles. He is on the right team, and has tons of upside.

10^th Overall – Coby Fleener – TE

Fleener will be a franchise TE for years to come. His established chemistry with Andrew Luck, and god given skill set will work well long term in a young and feisty Colts offence that will put up yardage and points.

9^th Overall – Kendall Wright – WR

Wright’s potential and work ethic has paid off in spades. The Titans coaching staff showed supreme confidence in him from the beginning by naming him a starter for Week 1, and he has not looked back since then. While he may not have the long term potential of an AJ Green or Julio Jones, Wright will establish himself snuggly as a dominant WR for years to come.

8^th Overall – Russell Wilson – QB

Wilson kind of snuck up on everyone in the offseason, but not on the shrewdly talented Mr. Mel. Pete Carroll loves youth, and Wilson fits the bill perfectly for a Pete Carroll coached team. Our only hang up with Wilson is his size and the fact that he has a very pricey backup in Seattle.

7^th Overall – Victor Cruz – WR

Cruz picked up from where he left on in 2011. He is one Eli’s go to receivers in the red zone and the two have great chemistry. His early season drops against the Cowboys had us worried, but he has rebounded solidly since then, putting up both big yardage and TD receptions.

6^th Overall – Torrey Smith - WR

His shocking arrival last year caught many of us off guard. No one had him on their draft board. Well that all changed this year and Smith was a first round pick in the 2012 UFL draft. He continues to progress as legitimate deep threat on virtually every down and is only improving as every game passes. His speed and skill cannot be denied.

5^th Overall – Ryan Tannehill – QB

I had a lot of questions about the converted WR. How would he handle the speed of the NFL? How would he handle professional defenses? How would he cope in a system with terrible receivers? What Tannehill has accomplished (besides landing a hot wife) is pretty remarkable. He manages the offence well, has great poise, and a pretty damn accurate arm. His instant chemistry with Brian Hartline, with whom he had virtually no pre-season reps with, could be a long term threat to the rest of the National Football League.

4^th Overall – Trent Richardson – RB

Richardson has been the man from the start in the Cleveland backfield. He will see the ball a lot in an offence that will rely heavily on his ability to carry the shoulder of the workload. I am worried about all the small injuries that seem to be piling up, and given the Browns shady history recently in keeping their backs healthy I worry that all that work they are placing on him may wear him down sooner rather than later.

3^rd Overall – Alfred Morris – RB

By far the biggest surprise of the year has been Alfred Morris. A crowded Redskins backfield and the confidence of the coaching staff have given Morris a golden opportunity to showcase why he deserves to be discussed in the elite category of NFL running backs. Already in the top 5 for yardage, Morris may be the steal of the UFL draft by the end of the season… he certainly is right now.

2^nd Overall – Andrew Luck – QB

Luck has so far come as advertised. Confident, calm and collected in the pocket. He has a maturity that most NFL quarterbacks need years to learn. His 4^th quarter heroics have already started and I feel like a legend is being born. There is no doubt that he is on the road to a hall of fame like career, and any time you can draft a future hall of famer, you do not hesitate… but…

1^st Overall – Robert Griffin III – QB

I debated long and hard on this one, but in the end I had to go with flash over flat in picking RG3 over Luck. RG3 has proven that he can play in the NFL. He has a coaching staff that understands how he plays the game and has tailored a playbook that works perfectly with his skill sets. I am worried about his size and injury potential, and feel that ultimately Luck is the better long term QB, but if you had a guy for just 5 years like they do in the UFL, RG3 could be that special player that wins you titles by just doing what he does.

Will the Dolphins ever decide to pick a direction and stick with it?

Regis, Toledo, OH

Oh Miami. I wish I had an answer for that one. All I can really say is that Dolphins are mammals, and like most mammals they make irrational decisions. What I do know is that they finally had a decent draft after years of failures. And if they can learn from their past mistakes, then holding a combined 16 picks in the next 2 years means that the Dolphins could be on the cusp on establishing a dynasty, or they could be setting themselves up to be caught in giant tuna nets. Either way, I plan on sitting back and enjoying the irrational chaos.

Who do you think will be the next team to relocate?

Bill, Portland, ME

Stability has never been the UFL’s strong suit. But if you take a look at the UFL map, you will see established franchises with loyal owners. But if you had a gun to my head and I had to pick one team it would be the Chargers. Don’t ask me why, I just can’t see GM Eric Kavagaskasjklian staying there for much longer.

If someone put a gun to your head and asked you to predict the Supreme Bowl teams for this season, the Toilet bowl teams and the scores for each respective game what would you tell them?

Matt, Festering, MI

A gun to my head? Really? Is the UFL that popular? Are there online sports books hinging on this? I actually think this question came from GM Teoli… so I will humor him this one time…

In the Supreme Bow I have the Houston Texans falling to the Philadelphia Eagles, 42 – 36  and the Eagles winning their first ever UFL title. Defense wins championships, and in the end the Eagles have the better defense here.

As for the Toilet Bowl, at this point it looks pretty clear that we will have a Redskins vs Bucs matchup, something that is truly shocking considering where these 2 franchises finished last year. Assuming the Redskins hold on to McCoy, Andre Johsnon and the Jets D, I see them as the eventual TB winners… 28 – 15.

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That's it for the mailbag this week. If you have any questions for the uflguy please send them to me here at uflguy1@gmail.com