Midpoint of the season

After watching the hoped for game of the first half of the season, the Cutters-Hawks turned into a laugher, and the game of the week, the No-Namers-Maddawgs, S.O would like to think back on the season up to this point.

The Cutters and the Hawks are clearly in a class of their own. The strength of the Cutters is the their D and the strength of the Hawks is their multiple option O. It would seem after the first week that the change at QB did not hurt the Cutters, contrary to general consensus. There was no perceived drop-off at QB play.

The game revealed some rust on the Hawks armor. The Hawks QB did not have his usual mobility. Generally, D-linemen look at him the wrong way and he is off and running. Today, he would shuffle a little to avoid the pressure and then throw the ball. S.O wonders if the injury bug has bitten the Hawks signal caller?

After #1 and #2, there is some room for interpretation. The Stankoniforous One would lump the Maddawgs and Conquest or Conquest and Maddawgs here. The Maddawgs run the only other unconventional offense in Novaffl, with the Hawks being the other. The Maddawgs run a TE oriented offense. They have two legitimate TEs for the Pro Bowl. As good as they are defensively, their strength is the unorthodox offense. A TE with WR speed is a problem for any defense because a decision must be made on who guards him a CB, S, or LB?

On a side note, the injury bug, the bastard stepchild of death, has visited the Maddawg's camp. In its wake, one of the TE's went down and a RB/WR was lost as well.

Conquest run a very conventional offense with some variations, namely featuring the #1 TE in Novaffl and a two headed QB attack. As potentially explosive as the team can be, S-dot would say their strength is defensively oriented, namely the D-line. To S-dot's prying eyes, there is a brewing QB controversy. What else explains Ali starting one game and the Twin starting the other? Politics wins elections but it does not win football games.

After the elite teams of Novaffl, the Field Generals would come next. Having bested the lower ranked teams, they cannot seem to best any of the upper echelon of Novaffl. Also, there are rumors that the Field Generals are suffering from internal strife.

Next after the Field Generals would be the Candles, who seem to be in free fall. S.O was there to witness the aerial assaults hurled upon the Candles D. There are rumblings of internal conflicts with this team as well. S.O also noticed the change at QB, and there was no perceived drop off there either. S.O wonders if two headed QBs are the new trend in Novaffl?

From here are the lower echelon and the best (and rapidly rising) are the No-Namers. The Stankoniforous One witnessed their onslaught. The focal point is the QB, henceforth known as the USSR because you have to contain him. Please believe after watching the game against the Maddawgs that is easier said than done. The nimble QB broke a long TD run and tossed a couple to his underrated WRs. The No-Namers were also without the services of their two primary WRs. A very impressive week for the No-Namers.

From this point, the order in which teams are named does not influence their status within Novaffl.

The Upper Deckers have put together an impressive win. Their game against the Candles was glimpses of the Air Force passing attack. They have a capable QB and aside from their big TE, their offense is a mystery.

The Extraordinaries have the weapons to be top tier offense, with the speedy small RB/WR and the big tall WR, but the QB play is hampering their team. S.O saw some Bledsoe-itis in his play, namely seeing the D and not his WRs. The O line is a positive work in progress, but they can make some significant moves in the second half of the season.

Lastly, the Merks! What more can be said? They show heart and have a never-say-die leader, but cannot put it together offensively and defensively. S-dot would normally hate to say this, but it's time to recruit heavily. Start with the O/D line.

The Stankoniforous One sees the No-Namers poised to make a run for the playoffs. S.O also sees the Candles free falling to a lower seeding in the playoffs. The off-the-field problems of the Field Generals may translate onto the field. That will be something to watch for. The rest of Novaffl will stay where they are.