One week to the only thing that matters in sport, the elusive championship. It has been a great season, we are left with four teams that could win THE championship. A real argument could be made for each and every one of these teams. Every team has at least one man that could be league MVP and multiples that could be offensive and defensive MVP's.
The Shock are on fire and have been all year. They seem to be a team of destiny as they just find ways to win games even when they get outplayed for three and a half quarters. The Rebels look strong and they are getting on the same page with each other at the right time. The Revolution are, deservedly so, many peoples pick to take home the hardware. With a top D and a top O they are dangerous. The Stealth are the sneakiest four seed I have ever seen, if they catch fire they could see themselves getting fitted for another set of rings.
Due to there only being two weeks left and three games I will give each game a seperate write up...
STEALTH @SHOCK
Players to watch:
SHOCK: QB Jordan Kjar, RB George Allums, WR Matt Thorton, DL Troy Peterson, LB Kelon Brooks
STEALTH: QB Steve Vincent, WR Sam Thomas, RB Matt Mann, LB Justin Walker
The Shock have been week in and week out the best team in the RMFL this year. They bring to the table the highest scoring offense (29.1 per game) and the best defense only giving up 14.7 per game. That is a good statistical combination to have on your side. However as we look deeper into the stats the Shock are third in rushing and fourth in both passing and total offense. Now that may surprise you but what you need to know and can figure out with a little math is that the Shock are #1 in offensive efficiency, and that by no small margin!! Also if you do a little arithmetic each time a team faces the Shock their offense is on the field for less plays than against any other opponent. That friends means one thing the Shock possess the football longer than any other team, and that is hell of a way to play defense!
The offense led by MVP candidate Jordan Kjar, 1132 yards passing, 18 total touchdowns, and an unprecedented 111.8 passer rating. Following him is another MVP candidate in George Allums, now the mighty Rev d shut him down last week but he didnt get many carries and he is likely the biggest part of that ball control offense, after JK of course. Most importantly they play together as you can see from the stat line, no one is in the top 3 of any offensive category outside of JK.
On the defensive side the Shock are led by high energy Kelon Brooks and league sack leaded Troy Peterson. The defense is not as prolofic as one would think, note the time of possesion thought, however the Shock D has become prolific at making plays when plays need to be made. They dont turnover teams at the highest rate in the league but they likely lead the league in crunch time and red zone turnovers, as well as red zone stops. In short the Shock D plays as a unit that will stand for each other in time of need, and that is the BEST way to play D!
Lets talk about the Stealth now three weeks ago when one could see this matchup coming I thought UPSET! Why? Lets see Stealth O is the biggest play O in the league. The Shock are notorious for one thing, status quo right, regular season champs.. Now...its a different thought line. The Stealth are led by RMFL new comer and MVP candidate Steve Vincent. He brings with him over 1400 yards passing and a league leading 62 percent completion percentage, yes all that without playing in the first few games...He is accompanied by the most prolific receiver in the league Sam Thomas, can we just say that the receiving yards race is ...NOT EVEN CLOSE...over 1000 yards receiving on a partial year and 7 TD'S??? The most impressive thing? Everyone knows what is going to happen, yet it still happens. Couple these two with a great backfield, however slightly under used in my opinion...Ubani and Mann can make things happen they combine for over 400 yards rushing this year. On the defensive side the Stealth are led by perrenial all star LB Justin Walker he is having a good year with 44 tackles and ten for loss. However the Stealth falter in the one ability that the Shock have as a strength..the ability to be a team. It is anyones guess who will show up come game time. The Stealth can go from a top D to a bottom dweller just depending on who decides to stay home..
As previously stated this could be an epic upset. But I do not like the way the Stealth set themselves for the playoffs, by taking weeks off. That will ruin any momentum you could of had. On the other hand I really like how the Shock have been of a single mind this year no days off! What could of been an upset will not. JK and the boys will possess the ball keeping the Stealths dynamic duo on the bench.
SHOCK 28 STEALTH 21
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IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW THINK TWICE THE SUM OF ALL PARTS IS NOT ONE..
Awesome again! That got my blood flowing. I'm so excited to see the playoffs, I think all 4 teams are equally dangerous. Jk is as consistent as ever.. I'm really starting to like the shock run game as well. Especially when you have a run pass option on every pass play with the mobility back there. Then on the other hand you have the stealth who in my opinion is the scariest 4 seed out there. I don't know if you saw the stats update but Thomas brought it again this last week (179 yards 3 tds) bringing his totals to 1183 yards and a whopping 10 Tds! Stats wise this kid has MVP all over him and gets my nod. The stealth are a scary dangerous 4 if all players show up. But I think the shock win a barn burner tho. 35-31
Honestly down south is another tough call. You have Peterson vs Draper, battle of the big arms. The rebels have that home field cooking down in st George that could play a big role. But they've also been bringing it all year. They protect home and travel very well. I really like the hard nose running game the rebels are capable of. I think they could use clock control and make things interesting! The rev are equally tough in their own right. They lost a heartbreaker to the shock for the one seed and may come into town hungrier then ever. I think the rev outlast the rebels for a 28-27 win.
