MyTeamIsDr.Pepper wrote:

RightGuard wrote:

Can I see Minnesota's uniform tweak?

Wow, I'm sorry I'm completely forgot to post that. Life got a bit busy the past few days and it completely slipped my mind. 

Here's the identity changes for Minnesota, I'm puttin the contents in a spoiler because there's actually a couple images. 
First, this isn't just a uniform tweak, I've also been working on field designs! I don't want to stress myself out so I'm going to spread the designs out over the next few offseasons. They won't change too often, maybe with complete rebrands or stadium changes, but I wanted to take a stab at designing some anyway. 
Minnesota shares a stadium with the resident baseball team, the Muskies. So the first half of the season, a baseball diamond is still seen on the field. However later into the season the field is fully for football, so the diamond is removed.
I also threw together a Bulldogs field design since they just moved into MLK Memorial and rebranded a couple years ago.
As for the uniform tweaks. Minnesota just returns to an all white look as they used to have.

Sorry again for forgetting. Hope y'all enjoy! I'll reply to the comments on the season before the postseason gets posted as well.

It's alright. Sometimes I worry too much about the uniform changes myself. All's good.

Rugrat wrote:

Another action packed season! Not surprised the South and West had all the success (outside of Pittsburgh). Hate to see Cleveland sucking, but we will be back. Now that Colorado and Texas made the post-season, every NFA team has earned a playoff spot, yes even Seattle has made the playoffs (the Jacks should fold) Have a feeling Pittsburgh vs Colorado in the Champions Bowl, with the Ironmen winning. 

Cleveland's going back to being bad for a bit. They went all in on a rebuild over the offseason, shedding two of the cornerstones of the Champions Bowl team in DE Leo Smitts, and QB Kurtis Mueller and fired head coach Sean MacDonald, who got them there. They may have had another postseason appearance or two in them, Mueller was and still is starter capable, and the defense was middle of the pack, but they were embarrassed in their 2 appearances since the Champions Bowl win, and they probably would've again had they made the postseason another year. Hopefully they get someone valuable with the 4th overall pick, there's some interesting defensive players at the top of the draft this year that could replace someone like Smitts.

As for Seattle. I don't think they'll fold. If anything they'll get sold, which is getting more and more likely the longer they lose. I'm not sure what the odds of 13 straight losing seasons is to start a franchise are. In fact irl, this streak would be 2nd all time in the NFL, and if they don't have a a winning season next year, they'd be tied for first. Thankfully, owner Anthony Knox isn't the least wealthy owner, but he's definitely lost money over the years. If he does sell the team though, I doubt the team leaves the city. The stadium is still only 13 years old, and in good shape, and attendance numbers surprisingly haven't been league worst since 1969-1970. Over the past 4 seasons they've bounced between 18th, 19th, and this past season they actually jumped to the 15th best attendance. If we were going to talk about relocation though, for the sake of just talking about it, the original lease for Emerald City Stadium was only for 20 years. It's still a bit early for anything, but if things somehow get worse from now til then, and Knox really wants to sell the team out of state, maybe we do see the Lumberjacks playing elsewhere at the end of the decade.
My prediction? If the team doesn't get better over the next few seasons, Knox sells the team but it stays in town and we go from there.

Wallflower wrote:

Quite a season, too bad Minne ran into a tough schedule. I gotta pull for the boys in Purple here, Let's go Cougars!
I will say that northeast seems like a very interesting story, all that hope and potential but no one could get a grip. It is also cool seeing a lot more of the younger teams take a shot at the top.

Breaking the fourth wall a bit here, but I've predicted that the Ox would make the postseason the past 2 seasons, but they've struggled in division so much. It's really disappointing. It seems like they were going to have a big shot at claiming a couple division titles too. As of 2 seasons ago, their last postseason appearance, the Whales had just won the Champions Bowl, but were already on the decline of their prime, the Tigers were also declining, and they had they jump on Colorado and Seattle in terms of building a contender. But Colorado landed QB Lloyd Brown, the Tigers were rejuvenated with QB Patrick James, and the Whales have hung around longer then originally thought thanks to a never aging, explosive offense. They're still young, but the West is just brutal.
The Northeast is kind of the opposite though. In terms of talent, Washington should still be the top team, QB Ron Murray is still one of the best in the game, but they've just barely been getting by. Philadelphia could make an argument to, but QB Oscar Washington hasn't played the same since some of the shoulder injuries he had over the past couple seasons. Sure they won 11 games that year, but it was clearly a bluff and they laid an egg in the first round against Houston. This past season, Atlanta was surprisingly the best looking team. Maybe not completely there yet, but they probably deserved the postseason spot over Washington, despite the 7-7 record.
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Stickman wrote:

This is going to be another interesting playoffs.  Colorado vs. Texas is definitely the most intriguing matchup, being as I don't recall either having won a playoff game before (actually, have either even made the playoffs before?).  I like Colorado here, but I bet the Roughriders are going to be a real problem for teams over the next few years.

The best storyline this year was a minor point, but I loved the Do It For Margaret motivation that the Cincinnati Sabres employed.  After such a bad year, it's nice to see a team bond together to rise above tragedy (well sort of, they did lose the 2 games where they did it for Margaret).  Absolutely the kind of thing you see sports teams do all the time and you know if AltSPN ever did a 30 for 30 type of show, this story would probably be featured.   Nice detail there Pepper!

Ultimately though, I feel that there won't be much drama this year for the championship.  Pittsburgh just feels really invincible this time out.  It's weird, last year, with a near identical part of the bracket, I didn't like their odds.  This year, I'm confident they'll dominate on their way to the championship, with Los Angeles being the only team I'd consider for an upset win.

On the other half of the bracket, I'm liking Houston's odds a lot here, as I think they got in the easier half of the bracket by far.  Texas is too young, San Francisco is declining, leaving Colorado as the only legitimate upset choice.  I think the Explorers will get past them though.

Going Ironmen vs. Explorers for the championship, with Pittsburgh winning dominantly, maybe a score of 37-14. 

First, no, neither the Riders nor Cougars have made the playoffs before. Colorado are heavy favorites. Texas isn't bad but they definitely aren't the best team and maybe overperformed to get here. Only time can tell though.
Next, the Do It For Margaret motto. I really have some more to share about this, that I wish I fit into the write up. Head Coach Mitchell Daniels was hired before the 70-71 season. His impact was immediately felt and the Sabres met their first postseason appearance. But that wasn't the only thing that Daniels did in Cincy that year. He also met Margaret, by way of her being a huge fan of the team. Margaret had recently lost her husband, and Daniels, in his late 30's had never been married. In no time though that would change. They got married not long before his second season in Cincy began and she'd become even closer to the team. She would be the teams biggest cheerleader and manage to get everyone from the players to the front office workers to like her. She brought such a great environment to the franchise. So the loss wasn't just felt by head coach Daniels, but the entire organization. The team unfortunately didn't win either of those 2 games, but the story was definitely there. It's definitely 30 for 30 material.
Pittsburgh is definitely peaking. I could see them going all the way too. But to do so, they might have to face the Tigers, which would be a great game, considering both look like contenders to win their first Champions Bowl since they met up against each other in the early 50's. That or another matchup against Miami, which was huge last time. Not to mention how hot the Cougars are right now. A Champions Bowl between them two would definitely be exciting! Houston I'll have to disagree on, while it's probably an easier path then the Ironmen, San Francisco could be a shocker, and Colorado is red hot on their current winning streak. I don't know if i'd feel as confident about them making it.

I'm glad to see everyone's predictions! The first round will be out soon!
 

1972 NFA Quarterfinals

1972-73 NFA Quarterfinals - Washington Pirates at Pittsburgh Ironmen
For a second year in a row, Pittsburgh and Washington are meeting as a 1 and an 8 seed. Much like last time, Pittsburgh is favored to win, and much like last time it wouldn’t be close. Washington’s struggles on defense that showed throughout the season continued into this game, and the Ironmen’s high powered passing game was unstoppable. At half time the Ironmen were already up 13-3, and were receiving the ball after the break. Washington would try and make it a game though as they would intercept QB Sam Powers and turn that into a score, making it 13-10, but when they had to stop Pittsburgh on the subsequent drive, they failed and Pittsburgh retook a 10 point lead. Washington would sneak another field goal in before the end of the 3rd. The fourth quarter would be rather uneventful, but Pittsburgh would score one more time making the final score 27-13.



1972-73 NFA Quarterfinals - Miami Stingrays at Los Angeles Tigers
This was only the second ever postseason meeting between these two teams, and boy was it memorable. Both teams started out really hot and scored on their first drives, RB Elijah Boone sneaking it in for Miami, and QB Patrick James finding his target at the front of the endzone for LA. For the rest of the first half, the two teams continued being locked in battle. Both teams would mimic each other almost identically, when Miami had to punt, they’d turn around and force LA to punt, when LA knocked in the lead stealing field goal, Miami rushed down the field and tied it. The two teams would go to half time, tied of course, at 17 a piece. The second half would be much more dramatic. On their opening drive, Miami would turn the ball over, QB Joshua George getting the ball knocked loose from him after a sack. The Tigers would have a similar thing happen to them just three plays later, when WR Adrian Baker lost the ball after his reception thanks to a big hit. Miami would fall on it and take back possession. As we neared the 4th quarter, Miami would score for their second lead of the day, making it 24-17. However, just as had happened all afternoon, the Tigers managed to tie it up again. A pair of punts later and Miami’s last minute attempt to win the game would fall short and we’d be headed to overtime in LA County Stadium. 
Reminder, OT is just an extra 5 minutes added to the end of a game. The roaring 94,000 people would go a long way in OT, as on the first drive of the period, the Stingrays were visibly struggling to hear one another. This led to them turning the ball over on what ended up being their last chance on offense. With the remaining 3 minutes in the game the Tigers carefully went down the field and scored with seconds remaining on the clock. This caused the already loud fans to go even louder, and on the ensuing kickoff, the Stingrays returner would botch the return and LA would end up with the ball, sealing the game for LA. The final score was 31-24.



1972-73 NFA Quarterfinals - Texas Roughriders at Colorado Cougars
These two teams were both making their first ever playoff appearances, both were led by young QBs and emerging offenses. This game was a western shootout. Texas would score first, knocking a field goal through after a quick 3 minute drive. Colorado would retaliate this with a 14-0 run, with QB Lloyd Brown being almost perfect, completing 10 of his 11 pass attempts on those two drives. Texas would come back with a score of their own but would fail to tie it before half, leaving it at 14-10 at half. The second half would start out with Brown going a perfect 7 for 7 on his way to another score. The two teams would keep going back and forth until we entered the last 5 minutes at 28-24, Colorado still on top and Texas with the ball. Rookie RB Andre Kirkland would break through for a 35 yard score to take the lead for the Roughriders though with about 4 minutes still on the clock. This was just enough time for the Cougars. Brown would go down the field, and RB David Jackson would punch it in for the game winning score. The Cougars would survive to play next week on the back of Brown. The final score was 35-31.



1972-73 NFA Quarterfinals - San Francisco Whales at Houston Explorers
This is the 3rd time these 2 teams have met in the playoffs over the course of the past 4 seasons. Neither of the first two games would be close, and neither would this one. Houston would start out hot and jump to a 9-0 lead before San Francisco even got a first down. The score at half time would be 16-3 and it wouldn’t ever be any closer. The Whales only put up a measly 9 points through the whole game while the Explorers dropped another 13 in the second half. The final score was 29-9.



 How'd your predictions turn out? C&C Appreciated! 

Also sorry about the couple weeks absence, the end of the school year's getting a bit busy. Thanks for the patience.
 

Whooo, lets go Cougars! I completely forget why I decided I would like them but I'm still gonna cheer for them anyway!

Nice game for LA, taking down the defending champs. I'm gonna have to go for LA to beat Pittsburgh and Colorado to beat Houston.