Re: The League
Team Overview / Week 15 Preview: San Francisco Demons
The San Francisco Demons (7-6) have struggled with consistency this season, particularly in the running game and on defense. Despite their struggles, the team is still in the thick of the wild card hunt in the National Conference, though they will need a little bit of help to earn a berth on top of taking care of what they can control by winning their remaining games.
Offense: The Demons prefer a spread offense compared to a grind-it-out style of some of their rivals, and they have a considerable amount of talent at key positions for such a system. The best player on the team is quarterback Mike Pawlawski, who is among League leaders in passing yards, touchdowns, and efficiency this season, as he was expected to be. Pawlawski boasts a good arm, adequate scrambling ability, and great field vision and pocket awareness. He is very good at anticipating the defensive pass rush and making the correct read based on what the defense shows him. Pawlawski has quite a few capable targets, including receiver Jimmy Cunningham. Cunningham started off the season rather quiet, but has elevated his game over the past month, just in time for the Demons' playoff push. Fellow receivers Brian Roberson and James Hundon are also capable targets who both possess great hands and route-running skills, making up for their relative lack of athleticism.
Defense: San Francisco's defense has suffered from both critical injuries and a dropoff in the level of play from their key players. The linebackers, Otis "Hit Squad" Floyd, Craig "Super-C" Powell, and James "J-Roc" Williams have all had subpar seasons, due to injuries and what team insiders are referring to as "a collective lack of commitment towards the goals of the team". Safety Kevin Kaesviharn has helped to make up for the linebackers' dropoff in play, but the unit overall has suffered from the threesome's lack of production.
Projection: The Demons could reach the playoffs, but it's a longshot. While the club is too close to the cutoff to consider throwing in the towel, they clearly have issues that they need to address this offseason that they may want to start looking ahead to.
The playoffs are but a pipe dream for the Waco Mavericks (5-8) at this point, but there are still three games left to play this season and the players still have their pride left to play for. The Mavs' motivation this week will more likely come from the potential to play spoiler for the Demons than the ultra-slim chances they have left of making the postseason.
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Team Overview / Week 15 Preview: San Francisco Demons
The San Francisco Demons (7-6) have struggled with consistency this season, particularly in the running game and on defense. Despite their struggles, the team is still in the thick of the wild card hunt in the National Conference, though they will need a little bit of help to earn a berth on top of taking care of what they can control by winning their remaining games.
Offense: The Demons prefer a spread offense compared to a grind-it-out style of some of their rivals, and they have a considerable amount of talent at key positions for such a system. The best player on the team is quarterback Mike Pawlawski, who is among League leaders in passing yards, touchdowns, and efficiency this season, as he was expected to be. Pawlawski boasts a good arm, adequate scrambling ability, and great field vision and pocket awareness. He is very good at anticipating the defensive pass rush and making the correct read based on what the defense shows him. Pawlawski has quite a few capable targets, including receiver Jimmy Cunningham. Cunningham started off the season rather quiet, but has elevated his game over the past month, just in time for the Demons' playoff push. Fellow receivers Brian Roberson and James Hundon are also capable targets who both possess great hands and route-running skills, making up for their relative lack of athleticism.
Defense: San Francisco's defense has suffered from both critical injuries and a dropoff in the level of play from their key players. The linebackers, Otis "Hit Squad" Floyd, Craig "Super-C" Powell, and James "J-Roc" Williams have all had subpar seasons, due to injuries and what team insiders are referring to as "a collective lack of commitment towards the goals of the team". Safety Kevin Kaesviharn has helped to make up for the linebackers' dropoff in play, but the unit overall has suffered from the threesome's lack of production.
Projection: The Demons could reach the playoffs, but it's a longshot. While the club is too close to the cutoff to consider throwing in the towel, they clearly have issues that they need to address this offseason that they may want to start looking ahead to.
Week 15 Preview: San Francisco Demons vs. Waco Mavericks
The playoffs are but a pipe dream for the Waco Mavericks (5-8) at this point, but there are still three games left to play this season and the players still have their pride left to play for. The Mavs' motivation this week will more likely come from the potential to play spoiler for the Demons than the ultra-slim chances they have left of making the postseason.
Key Players: Waco
CB Casey Black: Black will be matched up with Demons' receiver Jimmy Cunningham this week. Cunningham has been a hot target for quarterback Mike Pawlawski over the past month, and Black will likely be responsible for keeping the tandem from hooking up on passing plays too much this week.
DE James James: The rookie defensive end has been through an up-and-down season in his first year, but draws a favorable matchup this week against Demons' reserve offensive tackle Mike Nkwenti. Nkwenti, who was just signed to the team this past week, will be filling in for the veteran tackle Mike Kiselek, who went down last week with a torn MCL, and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. James could potentially exploit Nkwenti's rust and overall lack of talent for a monster game.
DE James James: The rookie defensive end has been through an up-and-down season in his first year, but draws a favorable matchup this week against Demons' reserve offensive tackle Mike Nkwenti. Nkwenti, who was just signed to the team this past week, will be filling in for the veteran tackle Mike Kiselek, who went down last week with a torn MCL, and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. James could potentially exploit Nkwenti's rust and overall lack of talent for a monster game.
QB Quincy Carter: Until Carter proves otherwise, he is a question mark for this ball club. He played decently last week and did not commit a turnover, but still not good enough for a win. He must build off last week's performance if Waco expects to do well in the passing game today.
Key Players: San FranciscoHB Kelvin Anderson: Anderson will continue to fill in for the injured Toby Krause this week. To this point in the season, Anderson has yet to find a true rhythm in the running game, averaging 3.7 yards per carry, but he has shown flashes of potential and has tremendous agility and is quite slippery as a runner at times. Against the Swiss-cheese run defense of the Mavericks, Anderson could have a career day.
LB Otis Floyd: Both Craig Powell and James Williams will sit out this contest with injuries, so the "Hit Squad" will be the one star player in this underachieving group of linebackers that will attempt to slow down Mavs' tailback Stacey Hartwell. Floyd himself has had a down season overall, and if the Demons need him to return to his normal level of play if they want to make a playoff push.
DE Eric England: While not drawing as much criticism as the linebacking corps, England himself has struggled as well this season, registering but 31 tackles and four sacks this season. He is clearly more talented than the numbers he has put up, and while he draws a tough matchup against Mavs left tackle Al Taylor this week, he will need to win his personal battle in the trenches and get to Quincy Carter, forcing the passer into making a mistake.
LB Otis Floyd: Both Craig Powell and James Williams will sit out this contest with injuries, so the "Hit Squad" will be the one star player in this underachieving group of linebackers that will attempt to slow down Mavs' tailback Stacey Hartwell. Floyd himself has had a down season overall, and if the Demons need him to return to his normal level of play if they want to make a playoff push.
DE Eric England: While not drawing as much criticism as the linebacking corps, England himself has struggled as well this season, registering but 31 tackles and four sacks this season. He is clearly more talented than the numbers he has put up, and while he draws a tough matchup against Mavs left tackle Al Taylor this week, he will need to win his personal battle in the trenches and get to Quincy Carter, forcing the passer into making a mistake.
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