Lol, yeah that happens. Luckily for me, I missed the spoilers.

So with that in mind, I'll predict that the Whales will upset the Stingrays to win their first championship!  (Obviously, if you saw the spoilers, don't bother telling me I'm wrong).


Another good write up as always Pepper!  Seems like so far, the attendance issue for the Bulldogs is slightly better and I'd imagine if they ever get a winner out of that team, then the attendance will start to live up to its potential..... maybe.

Poor Seattle, no winning seasons after 10 years is pretty rough.  Starting to look like they might end up being the Detroit Lions of this universe, (if the Atlanta Bulldogs aren't it anyway, lol!)

time to show Miami that having the best regular record means nothing without a title! 

Also for any Jacks fans out there, you made the playoffs in 1964-65 but lost your only playoff game to, of all teams, the Bulldogs. 

1969-70 NFA Quarterfinals Round - Los Angeles Tigers at Miami Stingrays 
This game wasn’t near as close as many had hoped. Miami would score first midway through the first quarter when RB Elijah Boone bounded into the endzone for a 8 yard touchdown. Los Angeles would manage a retaliation just a few minutes later when QB Kieth Lincoln found WR Adrian Baker for a 18 yard touchdown reception. However, this would be as close as it would get all game. Early into the 2nd Miami would score again and never look back. The defense would pick off Lincoln halfway through the quarter which gave QB Joshua George his first passing touchdown since week 14. Miami would manage to get down the field one more time before the half ended too, knocking a field goal through as time expired to go into the half scorching hot, and up, 24 to 7. 

Los Angeles would fail to try and swing the momentum this way, despite a great 50 yard kickoff return. They’d stall out just short on that drive, turn the ball over again on the next, and just barely knock through a field goal on their third try of the half. Meanwhile, Miami would put up another 10 points, making the game 34-10 as we moved into the fourth. Lincoln and the Tigers would finally get things going again mid way through the fourth when a turnover forced by the defense set them up in good field possession. Lincoln would hand the ball off to RB Bob Briscoe who would convert on a 3rd and goal from the 3, cutting the lead to 34-17 with just under 5 minutes to play. LA would attempt an onside kick and to the surprise of everyone, they’d do it to perfection. The Tigers offense would return to the field looking to make a very late game comeback. Briscoe would start the drive out well, breaking through for 2 back to back first downs. But after that Miami’s defense would clamp down, forcing the Tigers to attempt a 4th and goal just a near minute later. With just 1 yard to go, the Tigers looked to Briscoe once more. The play would be blown up though when LB Bobby Skags got through to him and tackled him for a loss of a yard. Miami would get the Tigers to use the rest of their timeouts and then convert a couple first downs to drain the last 2 minutes of the game. Los Angeles would be sent home, coming up a few scores short. The final score was 34-17. 



1969-70 NFA Quarterfinals - Cleveland Rangers at Philadelphia Hornets
The week leading up to this game had fans wondering what side of the Rangers would show up. Unfortunately for Cleveland fans, the home team stayed… well, home. Cleveland would only score once in the first half. It would come on the very first play of the game when WR Nicholas Van Daalen returned the kick all the way to the house. Philadelphia would come out of the gate as equally as slow, failing to get a first down until the beginning of the second quarter. Long story short, the first quarter was sloppy. Both teams would have an ugly turnover, Cleveland’s being a fumble when QB Curtis Mueller was sacked, and Philly’s being a QB Oscar Washington interception when he uncharacteristically overthrew his man and the pass landed in the hands of a CB Fabio Brown. Philadelphia’s offense would finally light up in the second when RB Kent Ross would lead them down the field, only getting stopped once the team hit the redzone. But the Hornets would still come away with 7. Coach Joe Taylor called for the team to attempt a fake field goal on a fourth and goal from the 9 yard line. They’d execute it amazingly and backup QB John Howard picked up his first career passing touchdown. The Hornets would pick up speed after this and the Rangers impressive defense would crumble. By halftime Philly had exploded to a 21-7 lead, scoring twice after the fake field goal at the beginning of the second. 

The second half would be better for Cleveland, but they’d fallen too deep into a hole they couldn’t recover from. Philadelphia would start the half off on a long 7 minute drive that boosted their lead to 3 scores. Cleveland, after getting lucky with a couple penalties from a weak Hornets defense, would get close enough to knock in a field goal to make it 28-10. Cleveland would get lucky again on defense when Washington would throw his second pick of the day, another uncharacteristically overthrown ball. Brown picked up his second of the afternoon, this one being returned for the score, cutting the deficit to the closest since the first quarter. As the Hornets offense retook the field after the kick, Washington wouldn’t end up going onto the field, he’d stay on the sidelines, looking like he might be pampering a hurt shoulder. Going on in his place would be Howard, making just his 3rd appearance this season, one of them being earlier in the game and another in week 14. After the drive started to get under way, Washington would actually make a visit to the locker room, seemingly still struggling with his throwing shoulder. About 4 minutes into the 4th, Ross would break through for his first score of the game on a 35 yard TD run. This would put the game just out of reach for Cleveland, giving Philly a 3 possession lead. The Rangers seemingly just gave in as well, as they’d nearly fumble the ball on 2 back to back plays, finally actually turning the ball over on the 3rd one. In one of the weirdest sequences in NFA history. Cleveland RB Joshua Barlow would drop the ball as he got hit on back to back plays, only for them both to be ruled down before the fumble, which would only be negated when he’d fumble a third time, this time on the snap. He’d fall on the ball but it would slip out from under his arms. Eventually Philadelphia would gain possession and convert it to another 3 points, confirming that the game was over. Washington had come back out of the locker room at this point and would come back on the field for that drive, but only for a play, before coming back off again. In a post game interview, he wouldn’t answer what was going on with his shoulder or arm and avoided questions about it. Coach Joe Taylor would do the same thing. Either way, Philadelphia, though it was overshadowed by Washington’s shoulder drama, did advance to the semifinals. The final score was 38-17. 



1969-70 NFA Quarterfinals - Milwaukee Barbarians at Washington Pirates
This game was much slower and closer than anyone had really anticipated. Coming out of the gate, both teams looked sluggish and struggled to get things going on offense. Ron Murray would throw a pick deep into the first quarter setting Milwaukee up for a field goal, but the kick would be blocked. That would be the closest either team got to scoring through the first 25 minutes of the game. Both teams exchanged punts over and over again and each team would have a turnover as well, both fumbles around midfield caused by big hits on receivers after a catch. However, with 5 minutes to go into the half, the spark would light a fire under the Barbarians. Milwaukee would be the first to get on the board after QB William Brown found WR Thomas Levine on a 12 yard pass, but Levine would shake off a defender and take off down the field scoring 40 yards later. On defense they’d force a 3 and out, nearly picking off Murray for a second time this half. On this subsequent drive they’d extend their lead to 14 when Brown would lead them down the field in just over a minute before handing it off to RB David Jackson to score with 2:30 to go. Washington could only respond with a field goal, but they’d leave too much time on the clock, allowing Milwaukee to go down the field kicking a field goal of their own as time expired. After most of the half was spent scoreless, we’d go into the half Milwaukee leading 17-3. 

Milwaukee would cool down a bit in the second half, allowing Washington to crawl back into it. Washington started off the half with their first touchdown of the day, when 5 minutes into the quarter RB Charley Rodgers broke through for 7, cutting the lead to 7. Milwaukee would fail to immediately retaliate, being forced to punt after only reaching their 45. However, this drive would be devastating for Washington. On back to back plays before the punt, both LB Vinnie Holiday and DE Monty Jones would go down with injuries. Holiday would have to be helped off the field with an ugly looking ankle injury that prevented him from walking under his own power. It would be learned later that he had sprained his Achilles and nearly tore it. Jones, who had become known by solely his first name over his career, wouldn’t be as badly injured, or at least it was thought. He was able to get up by himself but was limping. However after the game it was revealed that he had a torn meniscus, which means the Pirates two best defenders are out for the rest of the season. As the Pirates offense retook the field after the Barbarians punted away, they looked as deflated as ever. The offense would disappear for the second time this game and they’d be forced to punt after just 3 plays. The loss of ‘Monty’ and Holiday would immediately be felt. Milwaukee would take the rest of the quarter driving down the field and would cap it off by extending their lead back to 14 when Brown found Levine for his second score of the day.After having laid an egg on their last drive, Washington this time came out revamped and excited. After being seen giving his guys a needed pep talk, Murray and the Pirates came out looking as good as they have all seasons. Within minutes they’d be back into the red zone and bring the Milwaukee lead back down to a score. This would rub off on the defense, who after the game said that this game, and the rest of the playoffs were for Vinnie and Monty. They’d pick off Brown for his first turnover of the day and return it to field goal range, where the offense would convert it to a game tying touchdown. Murray’s 3rd of the afternoon. Milwaukee would get down the field as time ticked away in the fourth and set up their kicker to take the lead with 5 minutes to go. However, adding onto the special team trouble they had earlier in the game, the snap would be botched, leading to K Louis Plum to have to scramble ten yards behind him, pick up the ball and attempt to convert the 4th down. Plum would be rocked, jettisoning the ball out of his arms and back toward midfield. A Pirate would end up falling on the ball to give them possession. Now with all the momentum, Washington would absorb the last  4 and a half minutes inching their way down the field. With under 45 seconds to go, Washington would line up to attempt their own field goal from the 5 yard line on 3rd down. Unlike Milwaukee, the snap would be good and the kick would soar through the uprights, giving Washington a 3 point lead with half a minute to go. Milwaukee’s comeback would come up short when CB David Potts would pick off Brown with 27 seconds left in the game. The final score would be 27-24.



1969-70 NFA Quarterfinals - Houston Explorers at San Francisco Whales
This game would be the least exciting out of all of them. San Francisco would dominate from the first to last minute and never trail. They’d start off scoring on a scoop and score when WR Fred Barret dropped the kickoff, picked it up, tried to return it but didn’t have a good handle on it, fumbling it, allowing a Whales player to pick it up and prance into the end zone for an easy 7. This play summed up the game for Houston well. On their following opportunity, QB Zachary Ingram would get picked off by CB August King, who set the Whales up in Explorer territory. A couple minutes later and RB Sid Snell got his first taste of the end zone for the day.The Whales defense would continue to shut down Houston, forcing them to punt on almost the rest of their drives of the half. Snell would dominate on offense, scoring twice more and putting the Whales up 28-0 with 5 to go in the half. As Houston took the field after giving up yet another score. They’d commit another blunder. The first snap of the drive would sail over Ingrams head and soaring 10 yards behind him. This set them up with 2nd and 20. One penalty later and they were at their own 5 yard line. Ingram would hand the ball off to RB Ollie Smith, but he’d get no leeway on back to back attempts. Facing 4th and 24 at their own 6, Houston sent out the punt team once again. However things would only get worse as the holder would muff the snap, resulting in a blocked punt, which would be recovered by an Explorers player, only for him to be in the end zone for the safety. The halftime score would be an embarrassing 30-0. 

San Francisco would only start their starters for 5 snaps this half and they’d still easily handle the Explorers. Houston wouldn’t get on the board until the 4th when Smith found himself untouched in the end zone after a big hole opened up for him on a 2nd and goal. Although it was trivial at this point and Houston would only score one more when they picked off the Whales backup for the pick six. San Francisco would score two more times as well, both in the third, to make the final score an embarrassing 44-14. It was one of the most lopsided games in NFA postseason history. Rivaling the 1958 Champions Bowl.




Semifinal Previews 

5.Philadelphia Hornets at 1.Miami Stingrays
Both these teams got here with ease with big wins over their wildcard opponents and impressive offensive performances. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, I don’t think that’ll be enough to stop Miami. Despite beating an arguably better overall opponent in Cleveland, Miami is still just too hot and Philadelphia’s defense is just too much of a liability and matches up worse to the Rays rushing offense than the Tigers did. Not to mention the questionable status of Oscar Washington. Either Elijah Boone will have to be completely shut down or Oscar Washington will have to shake off a shoulder injury and bring his best game and outperform Miami if they want a chance to repeat as Champions. 

3.San Francisco Whales at 2.Washington Pirates
This is the second time these teams are meeting up this season. The first one was a thriller. It was a tight game with tensions flying all game, culminating in a fight in the 4th. The Whales would eventually beat them though, with a game winning field goal in front of their home crowd to hand Washington their first loss and to stay undefeated themselves. But now, the game is in Washington on the Pirates home turf. This doesn’t exactly mean a Pirates victory is definite though as after almost getting upset at the hands of the Barbarians last round, and suffering devastating injuries to both Monty Jones and Vinnie Holiday on defense, they look as fragile as they’ve been all season. San Francisco also showed up big time to their last game, scoring an unanswered 44 points. Their keys to repeating that performance and making it to the Champions Bowl are finding some way to slow them down, much like Milwaukee did last week. Washington just needs to play their game. Their roster is much more talented than the Whales and they have home field advantage this time around, they should win this if they can bounce back from last week’s slow start and play as good as they have all season. 

C&C appreciated! How'd your team do?

Last edited by MyTeamIsDr.Pepper (12/20/2020 3:36 pm)

Quite the game in Washington, and then quite the game in San Fran. for two very different reasons. I'm thinking the injuries for Washington and potentially Philly could be very impactful for the semis, so I'll take the Whales narrowly over the Pirates, and then the Hornets still manage to sneak it out over Miami. 

Quite the game in DC, both teams fighting tooth and nail to the end, although I think Washington wins a tight game, I’ll be cheering for the Stingrays.