Missing the playoffs while having a record that would tie the other division winner... sadpain

Section30 wrote:

Missing the playoffs while having a record that would tie the other division winner... sadpain

It is funny to note that the last time a team made the playoffs with a worse record than another that missed, was 1953 when Boston (4-6) made the playoffs over Buffalo (6-4). This was the reason the crossover was added in the first place...Buffalo really doesn't like playoff formats and Boston.

1965 NAAF Award Nominations

MVP

QB Lyle Painter IND
Painter is not a name you would have expected to be up here for the MVP award this season, especially when he was not named the Victors’ starting QB for week 1. However, after QB Tom Applewhite got off to a rocky start, the team turned to Painter who would prove why he was once a number 1 overall pick. He would lead the Victors to a 6-4 record over the rest of the season giving them their first-ever playoff appearance. His leadership and determination made him the most valuable piece in helping Indiana find a name for themselves. He also threw 21 touchdowns in the 10 games he started which would have put him on pace for 25 if he got the other 2 games.

LB William Washington II LI
The Raiders’ defence had a record-setting season, and their lead man was former 2nd overall selection LB William Washington II. He made quite the comeback this season after suffering a major injury that kept him sidelined for most of last year. This season he would lead the league in tackles and have 6 forced fumbles which were tied for 3rd in the league. His production is super valuable, but the leadership was even more so bringing together the stout defence to crush opposing offences. It very much looks like William Washington II is going to be one of the next great LBs in the NAAF.

QB Todd Baker TOR
Baker certainly will not get the recognition on the stat sheet, however, you cannot ignore the level of leadership and determination for the QB that just led a team that most expected to be middle of the road or worse, to a league-best 9-3 record and a West Division crown. Baker has been the steady hand that has guided the Steelheads on the field, being able to face adversity and challenges to put their team in the best position to win. He did it so consistently this season that he certainly deserves to be looked at as an MVP candidate.

Offensive Player of the Year
QB Nathaniel Braddock BOS - 24 Passing Touchdowns (1st), 1st in Passing Yards
Braddock had one of his best seasons throwing for 24 touchdowns and leading the league in passing yards. His play made him the top QB this season.
RB Jimmy Golden BUF - 19 Rushing Touchdowns (1st), 2nd in Rushing Yards
Golden was not able to replicate his record-breaking season from 1964, but he still had a strong year scoring 3 more touchdowns than the next RB, and only falling behind RB Dareion Fields in rushing yards
QB Lyle Painter IND - 21 Passing Touchdowns (2nd), 3rd in Passing Yards
Painter was on pace to finish with more touchdowns than Braddock this season through the 10 games he had played. His best season since joining the league in 1955 certainly gives him the opportunity to win an award.
WR Ed Edwards IND - 12 Receiving Touchdowns (1st), 1st in Receiving Yards
Edwards was a major help to Painter’s fantastic season, having a career year of his own. Edwards was easily the most lethal weapon through the air this season, being able to catch seemingly everything thrown at him.

Defensive Player of the Year
DL William Sanderson BUF - 7 Forced Fumbles (T-1st), 2nd in Sacks
1964’s DPOY continued to show why he was one of the scariest DL in the league. With another 7 forced fumbles and finishing 2nd in sacks, only 1 behind the league-leader in DL Wayne Baxton.
LB William Washington II LI - 6 Forced Fumbles (T-3rd), 1st in Tackles
Washington managed to become the next new leader in tackles this season as he returned to a healthy self. His dominance down the middle made the Raiders’ defence one of the toughest to play this season.
DB Oliver Langstrom LOU - 7 Interceptions (T-2nd), 1st in Passes Defended
Langstrom got a lot of time to shine this season with S Johnny Berger being injured in Louisville. The veteran DB racked up the interceptions this season as well as making it excruciatingly tough to complete passes in his vicinity.
DB Neville Falkner PRO - 8 Interceptions (1st), 2 Defensive Touchdowns, 2nd in Passes Defended
Of course, the DPOY list would be incomplete without the outstanding Neville Falkner, who continues to come up with boatloads of interceptions, knockdowns, and defensive touchdowns. The superstar made the most of a tough situation in Providence this season. 

Special Teams Player of the Year
K Ryan Perch BUF - 23 Field Goals (4th), 34 Extra Points (2nd), 2 Singles, 105 Total Points (3rd)
Perch had a strong season despite the Blue Wings missing the playoffs, he was one of the most consistent when it came to extra points with Buffalo being a force in the redzone. 
K Nimrod Handsworth LDN - 33 Field Goals (1st), 28 Extra Points (T-5th), 127 Total Points (1st)
Nimrod shattered the points meter this season connecting in 33 field goals and putting up 127 total points, which was 12 more than the next highest in K Ira Foster.
K Ira Foster OTT - 32 Field Goals (2nd), 19 Extra Points (10th), 115 Total Points (2nd)
Foster was neck-and-neck with Handsworth this season. The veteran kicker showed that he had incredible poise managing to lift Ottawa up several times this season including scoring all 18 points in an 18-15 win over Pittsburgh.

Rookie of the Year
DB Aquilio Ruiz HFX - 4 Interceptions, 1 Defensive Touchdown
Ruiz was up and down at times this season, but there were several moments of true brilliance. Those often were plays where the DB came flying out of nowhere to steal or knock away the ball with his insane speed. We have another strong DB in the making with this one.
LB Marshall Langenbrunner IND - 3 Forced Fumbles, Led Rookie Tackles
Langenbrunner was fairly consistent this season, being a strong starter for the Victors all year long. He still made his mistakes, but the #2 pick seems to be getting his footing fairly quickly
WR Lloyd Lane LOU - 1 Receiving Touchdown
Outside of the top two rookies in Ruiz and Langenbrunner, there were not as many rookies to stand out, but Lane did start to pick up his role as the Thunder rolled to 6-straight wins. He seems to have found a solid connection with Dumont which allowed him to rack up some decent yardage down the stretch. 

Coach of the Year
HC Dannell Willis IND - Record: 7-5
Willis does deserve a lot of credit for turning the league’s worst team from last season into a West Division contender this season. Many though will likely credit Painter a lot more for the success, but it does take a team to get there. 
HC Emil Riddle LOU - Record: 8-4
Riddle seems to always have an answer when critics start to question his team. After a tough 2-4 start, Riddle was able to snap the team back into action and lead them on a 6-game win streak to finish at 8-4.
HC Ronald Martin TOR - Record: 9-3
Last season’s Coach of the Year once again proved why he deserved the award. Martin was able to bring the Steelheads to the top of the league despite many predicting that they would come well short of a playoff spot. 

Breakout Player of the Year
WR Evan Clanton BOS - 10 Receiving Touchdowns (3rd), 3rd in Receiving Yards
Clanton had some big shoes to fill with the retirement of WR Ellis Lindholm, but he seemed to do it perfectly with a 10 touchdown season and being Braddock’s new favourite target.
RB Austin Andrews LDN - 11 Rushing Touchdowns (T-6th), 7th in Rushing Yards
Andrews was another player looking to fill the shoes of a veteran, as he took on the starting role over RB Clifford Russell this season. Andrews was solid with an 11 touchdown performance this season and being good help to Kiernan in the backfield.
DL Zane Tannith OTT - 4 Forced Fumbles (T-9th)
Tannith was quietly the Royals’ best DL this season. DL Olaf Viktorsson was not quite as good as he has been, so the youngster stepped up to fill his shoes having a really solid season all around.

48th McCallister Cup Host
Victory Stadium - Indianapolis, IN - Capacity: 48,500 - Last Host: 1958
This stadium continues to be a hot pick to host the big game due to the coliseum-like atmosphere. The ‘58 McCallister Cup was one of the best games between the Royals and Raiders and they hope with the team finding success it might be the best time to capitalize on getting the fans involved.
Long Island Stadium - Hempstead, NY - Capacity: 40,450 - Last Host: 1963
The city of New York continues to be a great host for the Championship game proving so just a couple of seasons ago. The league is liking to continue to promote the league in New York in the challenge with the ACFL.
Anderson Stadium - Toronto, ON - Capacity: 51,220 - Last Host: Never
Toronto is here for the first time with Anderson Stadium likely being a grand place to have the championship game. Toronto also has not hosted the event yet, and will likely be able to be a popular place to host games in the future. 

***VOTE HERE***

Now that the Tigers are out of it, lets go Toronto! 

 Also, two questions about draft candidates, when can we submit players? And do I have to re submit the players I submitted last time?

1965 Division Finals

EAST DIVISION FINAL
Long Island Raiders VS. Boston Independents - Long Island Stadium - September 26, 1965 - 3 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy 19ºC | 67ºF
1st Q
To no surprise, the East Division final was very defensive early. After the first 4 drives of the game, there were no first downs, and a net -4 yards of offence combined between the teams. The offences did start to pick it up, but the opening frame would remain quite slow with both defences punishing the other offence. 
LI 0-0 BOS

2nd Q
Offence finally found its place in the game when RB Dareion Fields of the Raiders broke loose for a 38-yard run that would set up K Henderson Schumacher for a field goal and the 3-0 lead. The run would swing the momentum heavily in the favour of the Raiders as their defence would come through with a turnover on the next drive. LB William Washington II would punch it out of RB Kendall Morgan’s arms to cause the fumble and give the Raiders another chance to score. Schumacher would nail his second field goal to head into the half up 6-0.
LI 6-0 BOS

3rd Q
Boston would certainly need a spark in the second half as they only managed 62 yards of offence in the first half. They would get it on the opening kickoff as rookie RB Tresean Jones was able to return the ball into Raiders’ territory. The play would give Boston a great opportunity to which they would turn into a field goal to cut the lead in half. While the momentum seemed to shift, the Raiders were able to counter the Boston attack with a strong drive of their own. QB Stanley Troyer would look to the air and would connect with WR Casey Coleman who would scramble for a 45-yard gain. Then Dareion Fields would continue to push the ball down into the redzone. Eventually, Fields would escape the Boston defence and get into the endzone to make it 13-3 heading into the final frame.
LI 13-3 BOS

4th Q
It had certainly been a frustrating game for QB Nathaniel Braddock and the Independents, but he was not going to be taken down so easily. In the fourth, Boston’s offence finally started to click. Braddock was starting to find holes in the defence and RB Kendall Morgan was having more success on the ground. After a successful drive that finally saw Boston get into the redzone, Braddock would dump a pass off to WR Alexei Dubois, who would get a block from WR Chester Bennett en route to the endzone to cut the lead back down to just 3. The Raiders’ defence would tighten up following the Boston drive, but the Independents managed to keep rolling and would be challenging for a score late in the quarter. Braddock would need to convert a 3rd and 3 to keep the late drive alive, and the QB would connect with WR Chester Bennett to get it. He would then set up K Johnnie Berg to kick a field goal to tie the game. The pressure would be immense for Berg, but the veteran kicker nailed the kick to tie the game. Both teams would shut the other down to send the game to overtime.
LI 13-13 BOS

Overtime
The extra frame remained much like the rest of the game went. Both defences were able to shut the other team down. After 9 minutes of back and forth punts, Long Island’s defence would be the one to make the difference. Braddock would look to make a play downfield, but his throw was a little slightly knocked off course by DL Vernon Spears. The pass intended for WR Evan Clanton would flutter and DB Rutherford Winters would jump in front to grab the interception. The Raiders' offence would not be able to get to the endzone, but K Henderson Schumacher would easily knock down a field goal to give them the 3-point lead. Braddock would do his best to make some more late-game heroics, but the Raiders defence would not allow any more ground and would hold on to make it to back-to-back McCallister Cups. 

LI - 28 DB Rutherford Winters
BOS - 13 QB Nathaniel Braddock

WEST DIVISION FINAL 
Toronto Steelheads VS. Louisville Thunder - Anderson Stadium - September 26, 1965 - 7 PM ET - Weather: Partly Cloudy 6ºC | 43ºF
1st Q
The crowd in Toronto was electrifying ahead of their first home playoff game in the NAAF. It certainly made it tough on the Thunder offence who were struggling with communication. The Steelheads’ defence was able to stall them out early while the offence was able to give them an early 3-0 lead on a K Bob Randall field goal. The slow start did not deter the Thunder as they would make some adjustments and with some different communication, techniques would start getting the offence rolling. QB Leonidas Dumont would make a couple of strong passes leading to get them down to the 32 before K Frank Hughes would tie the game up.
TOR 3-3 LOU

2nd Q
The Thunder continued to roll on offence early in the second quarter. They would get down into the redzone before RB Rodney Clark was able to break through the Toronto defence and get into the endzone for the 3-10 lead. The Steelheads woke up a bit after the 10-point swing in the game. QB Todd Baker was struggling through the air with Louisville’s secondary being able to turn back any attempt downfield. RB Max Tracy would be looked upon to start moving the offence. He did well to start getting them back into field goal range to cut into the Thunder lead, but soon enough the Thunder were starting to bottleneck the line and slow down Tracy as well. Louisville would add another field goal of their own to take a 7-point lead into the break.
TOR 6-13 LOU

3rd Q
It was a disappointing first half for the Steelheads, which was taking the crowd out of the game. Louisville fed off of the anxious crowd and continued to roll on and create a bigger gap. The defence would come up with a big interception from DB Oliver Langstrom, which would lead to another Thunder touchdown from RB Rodney Clark. Down by 14, the Steelheads would finally make some significant adjustments to try and claw their way back into the game. More runs from RB Max Tracy and RB Tommy Allen was the main change and it ended up working. The two were able to pick up 65 yards combined on the next drive. Tracy would get the last touch and would find the endzone to cut the lead back down to 7 heading into the final quarter. 
TOR 13-20 LOU

4th Q
Toronto’s march continued early in the second, but the Thunder front 7 were starting to push back against the run. They only managed a field goal on their next drive to cut the lead to 4. The Thunder offence was also starting to see some struggles with Toronto’s front 7 holding off RB Rodney Clark more than they had earlier in the contest. The game was stuck at 16-20 for a few drives before finally QB Leonidas Dumont was able to connect with WR Piers Key to get the team into scoring range. They got down inside the 10 before Toronto would try to stall them. However, after a stop on 1st down, Dumont would find his TE Christopher Gist open for a touchdown to extend Louisville’s lead to 11. Toronto was certainly feeling down after the score, but they did not give in. QB Todd Baker would lead an excellent drive down the field. Making tough throws that somehow got through the Thunder secondary. As they approached deep Thunder territory, Baker’s luck had run out and he would fly a little too close to the sun and a shot at WR Edmund Landry would land in the arms of DB Oliver Langstrom for the DB’s second interception of the game. The play killed any hopes for the Steelheads as the Thunder would hold on to win and send themselves to the McCallister Cup for the second time in team history and give LB Scotty Williams a final shot at the cup.

TOR - 10 QB Todd Baker
LOU - 4 QB Leonidas Dumont

Injury Report
OL Stanley Witt BOS - 3 Weeks
LB Aristofane Zuccaro BOS - Day-to-Day

Players of the Week

EDF: LB William Washington II LI - 12 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble

WDF: DB Oliver Langstrom LOU - 2 Interceptions, 2 Passes Deflected, 4 Tackles

47th McCallister Cup Preview
Long Island Raiders VS Louisville Thunder
Head-to-Head: W2 - LOU 9-32 LI
Defence seems to be the key to success this season as both teams in the final have been winning games from that side of the ball. The Raiders’ historic defence had been shutting down offences left and right, while the Thunder secondary has continuously stolen the ball and the game. It should be a very defensive battle between these two teams however, the advantage may be ever so slightly in the Raiders’ favour. The team has a stronger all-around defence, as well as having a great run-game which the Thunder have struggled against. Louisville will certainly not go down easy as they are rolling in on 8 straight victories. In the end, the advantage of the Raiders seems to be the difference and they should come through with a win in this one.
My Pick: Raiders

*Also Stanley Troyer joins just Jean Matieau, Larry Larson, and Riley Kiernan as the only 4 QBs to reach back-to-back McCallister Cups.*

Last edited by Wallflower (10/16/2021 8:13 pm)