We made it to the championship of Exhibition Season 1! After it all shook out, the final game is between the Greens and the Purples. The Greens were 5-0 with the Purples going 4-1. The lone Purples loss was to the Greens in week 3 42-35.
The engine went through a lot of refinement over the season. I think we ended up in a good spot, which allowed me to get through the rest of the season pretty quickly, and with few engine changes.
On to the game!
- Purples kick off to Urquhart, who quickly gets tackled. .... uh oh.
- Greens try to move the ball on the ground, and end up with a quick 3 and out.
- Purples get the ball, and rely on their running game all the way down the field for a TD! oh no, we're in trouble.
- Urquhart takes the kickoff and houses it! We're back in it!
- We shift to a zone defense to contain the run, and force the Purples to a 3 and out.
- Urquhart gets tackled quickly on the PR. grrrrr.....
- Since running didn't work, we take advantage of WR Jarmon's speed and go to a quick passing game. It pays off as we drive down the field and score! 14-7 Greens
- I'm sticking with the zone blitz defense to stop the running game. The Purples are going to have to throw if they want to win. It doesn't work. The Purples QB had happy feet and tries to run the ball instead of being patient. 3 and out.
- Nice return by Urquhart, but he gets tackled around midfield. He made a sick juke between two free defender that I really wish I had on video!
- Purples shift to a zone to try and contain Jarmon. It works, but my dink and dunk offense slowly marches down the field until we find WR Martindale in a hole on the zone. He makes a nice catch and stretches over the goal line for a TD. 21-7
- The Purples completely give up on the pass and dedicate themselves to the run. The Greens just have too much team speed to throw on. 10 plays later they reach paydirt. 21-14
- Urquhart gets tackled on the KR by the first guy down.
- Jarmon beats the zone deep over the middle on the first play for a TD! 28-14
- On the Purples drive, we make a mistake on 3rd and short, and try a man-blitz. The Purples block it easily and break the run for a TD. 28-21
- Urquhart gets tackled on the KR by the first guy down. again.
- We hit another deep pass to Jarmon (in double coverage). I think I got a little cocky because I tried to hit the homerun on the next 3 plays, and get forced into a punt.
- Purples are backed up inside their own 10. I had some pretty good run defense, and was making the Purples work for their first downs. Then the Purples RB broke my Safety's ankles with a crazy juke, and broke it for a long TD run. 28-28
- Urquhart gets tackled on the KR by the second guy down. COME ON MAN!!!!!
- I'm playing tight now. Calling a lot of safe plays as we slowly march down the field. Eventually, Jarmon breaks free on a crossing route and turns it upfield for a TD! 35-28
- Purples need to score on this drive. The end of the game is coming up pretty soon. They have a 4th and 2.3 near midfield....... they have to go for it. Bread and butter play, power sweep to the left....
- ...
- ugh. We give up 10 on that play. Drive alive.
- NOO!!! We have the RB bottled up in the backfield for a big loss, when he spins and runs back across the pile in the other direction to wide open field. TD. 35-35
- We went over 75 plays, so next score wins.
- Urquhart gets the kick and makes the first guy miss. He weaves his way through the blocks and breaks into the open field!! YES!! YES!! YE-
- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
- Urquhart got caught from behind!!!! WHAT? That can't happen!
- Urquhart gets stopped at the 6. ok, 6 yards. we can do that.
- Power left for 2 yards. Ball on the 4.
- Off tackle right for 3. Ball on the 1.5.
- Dive. Loss of 0.3. 4th and goal on the 1.8
- o...m....g...
- I don't trust the OL in power situations, so I'm calling a quick slant to Jarmon. Besides, the Purples are selling out on the run.
- He's open! The throw is away! Batted down by the CB.
- Purples have the ball on the 1.8
- Maybe we can end this on a safety. Afterall, the Purples won a game on a safety.
- We're sending the house.
- We get to the RB in the end zone, and then he breaks the tackle and scampers up the sideline to reach the 20. Grrrr....
- 8 plays later, we end up forcing a punt near midfield!
- Urquhart catches it at the 11 and........ gets tackled by the first gunner. COME ON!!!!!
- F this. We sub out Martindale and put Urquhart in. If we're going down, it's with Urquhart and Jarmon flying all over the field.
- Urquhart is open on a deep cross, and Thurber fires it.... about 8 yards overthrown. NO!!!! It gets picked off by the Purples safety! Turnover!
- 7 plays of power right, toss left, and the Purples work their way down the short field for a TD.
Purples win the Exhibition Season 1 Championship 42-35.
I'm a little sad my Greens didn't pull it off, but it was a pretty fun game. Overall, I think the biggest problem with the engine right now is speed. Everything else looks like it might be pretty good. Shrinking the field might be a good idea, too. I'll have to look into that for Ex Season 2.
Here's the final TD.
