Ballistic Bowl XIII Preview

BALLISTIC BOWL XIII Dec 20-24, 2012
	VS
8-5-0		7-6-0
Obviously the sentimental favorite to win Ballistic Bowl XIII has to be the Orange Crush considering their franchise is new to the eSFL and they are a huge underdog against the veteran Zima Ruskies unit. The Crush have never so much as played in a postseason contest while the Zima Ruskies have a long illustrious history with an eSFL championship under their belt, Ballistic Bowl V. Of course, the Crush are going to have their work cut out for them going against the Peyton Manning/Adrian Peterson-led Ruskies, who haven't lost a meaningful game since week seven, 12-1 since an 0-4 start including the playoffs.  The good news for the Crush is that they have star quarterback Tommy Brady against the pathetic Jags, a hot wide receiver in Steven Smith, and one of the leagues premier defensive units, led by D. Washington. In fact, the Crush was ranked 2nd out of 24 teams in the league in total defense.In addition to the above named players, the Ruskies also have star wide receiver Calvin Johnson, acquired in a week six trade with the Runners. Megatron has had zero impact on the win-loss record of  the Ruskies since he was acquired, but he is ecpected to be a difference maker in the Ballistic Bowl, be it negative or positive. Ruskies Keys to Winning: Keep Pressure on- With the Broncos and 49ers playoff locked the Ruskies have to be weary of playing time for Manning and Gore, shouldn't be a problem but an early blowout either way could have a negative effect for Zima. Get An Early Lead- With Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson and defensive end J. Abraham playing on Saturday night the Zima team likely will need a total of 28 from these two once Sunday morning games kick-off. Run Adrian Run -Peterson has his sites set on the single season rushing yards mark, the problem is the Vikings are in the playoff hunt and will be gameplanning for a win, not an A.P. record. The best opportunity here would be three two yard touchdowns, the yards won't be enough this week. Defense Defence Denial -The Ruskies 9th ranked team defense must achieve at least half the weekly total as the Crush to compete. Troy Palamalu and John. Abraham likely are not the answers. Crush Keys to Winning:. Catch Em If You Can- The wide receivers must obtain a combined 62 points or this game will be won by the Ruskies. Washington, Hawkins, Smith, or whoever plays are not big time players and another lucky week is required. Here Kitty Kitty -The cats will play a big part in deciding whether the Crush win this game or not, the Jags (vs Brady) and the Lions (Calvin Johnson). We Defend  -Total weekly defensive points for the Crush probably must be in the 52 range if they are to win. Washington will bounce back from a poor performance last week, Bowman will get his double digit output making it a possibility to achieve or exceed that number. Luck, Not Andrew -The Crush need luck, lot's and lot's of it. Considering these team owners ar very close, it is likely these teams have collaborated throughout the season with player personnel moves. This week I doubt there will be any assistance between the two, it comes down to simple luck.
Similar Players on Rosters Position Gore RB Morgan WR Floyd WR Bowman LB
Top Performers Position (acquired) Position (acquired) P. Manning QB (Draft, Rd 4) T. Brady QB (Draft, Rd 1) A. Peterson RB (Draft, Rd 3) D. Sproles RB (Draft, Rd 2) C. Johnson WR (Trade, Week 4 (M.J.D)) F. Gore RB (Draft, Rd 4) N. Bowman LB (Draft, Rd 11) D. Washington LB (2-A-Days)
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Favorite		Underdog
+39		-39
Over/Under 286
The Numbers Category Reg Season Total (includes Postseason) Total (includes Postseason) Reg Season 1602 2047 Offense 1840 1460 405 541 Defense 652 525 2007 2588 Points Fielded 2493 1985 1839 2233 Points Against 2375 1954 8th 8th Draft Position 4th 4th 8072 (17th) 67.98 Percentile World Rank 2930 (8th) 74.92 Percentile 52.5 (6th) 61 (4th) Power Rank 48.5 (8th) 43.5 (11th) 67.6 (6th) 49.3 (3rd) Value 33.1 (8th) 52.8 (14th) 82.2 (13th) Coach Efficiency (year) 86 (4th) 154-122 (7th) 219-126 (2nd) What If vs Everyone 196-149 (7th) 145-131 (9th) 8-4 (T 3rd) 11-4 (T 1st) What If vs Season Avg 10-5 (T 2nd) 8-4 (T 3rd) 8-4 (T 3rd) 11-4 (2nd) What If vs Weekly Avg 9-6 (T 6th) 6-6 (11th)
Allen Golic Hoge Jaworski Rhodes
These teams have never met in the eSFL.
Projection:	Zima 145	Orange Crush  125

2012 Conference Championships-Recaps

2012 Conference Championships-RECAPS
(6-7)	(8-5)
144.14 TOTAL 179.36 116.64 OFF 137.36 26.5 DEF 42			144.62 TOTAL 139.24 112.12 OFF 112.24 32.5 DEF 27 Orange Crush SCORES  Brady,Tom r1,p5,  Gore,Frank r3,  Sproles,Darren c2,  Smith,Stevn c4,  Prater,Matt 27,36, McKevitt Meatstyx SCORES  Moore,Lance c7,  Johnson,Andre c3,
Perdew Pulverizers SCORES Newton, Cam P45, P4 Lynch, Marshon R13 Green, A.J. C5         Zima Ruskies SCORES Witten, Jason C17 Manning, Peyton P51 Peterson, Adrian R82 Tucker, Justin 45
Position Totals Pos 27.14 QB 17.56 43.3 RB 54.4 35.6 WR 43.1 10.6 TE 15.3 0 PK 7 3.5 DL - 13 DB 16.5 11 LB 25.5 144.14 Total 179.36			Position Totals Pos 32.82 QB 2.54 38.6 RB 24.1 26.2 WR 75.3 3.5 TE 12.3 11 PK -2 - DL - 15.5 DB 12 17 LB 15 144.62 Total 139.24
LINE			LINE
Boxscore 17.56 DEN QB Manning,Peyton Pass: 17-28-204-0  Sck: 2  TDs: p51,   23.8 DEN RB Moreno,Knowshon Rush: 22-118  Rec: 2-8  TDs: r6,   30.6 MIN RB Peterson,Adrian Rush: 24-212  TDs: r82,   5.7 CLE WR Gordon,Josh Rec: 3-27   15.3 JAC WR Blackmon,Justin Rec: 6-93   22.1 DET WR Johnson,Calvin Rec: 10-121   15.3 DAL TE Witten,Jason Rec: 5-43  TDs: c17,   7 BAL PK Tucker,Justin XPs: 2-0  FG Made: 45,   7 PIT DB Polamalu,Troy T-A-S: 7-0-0   9.5 GB DB Hayward,Casey T-A-S: 0-1-0  Ints: 1   13 DAL LB Spencer,Anthony T-A-S: 1-3-1.5   12.5 SF LB Bowman,Navorro T-A-S: 9-3-0			STARTERS Boxscore     NYG/QB Manning,Eli  2.54     Pass: 13-25-161-2     NE/RB Ridley,Stevan  0.2     Rush: 9-23  Rec: 0-0  Fum: 1     STL/RB Jackson,Steve  23.9     Rush: 13-73  Rec: 8-73     NO/WR Moore,Lance  14.2     Rec: 4-42  TDs: c7,   NE/WR Lloyd,Brandon  29     Rec: 10-190     HOU/WR Johnson,Andre  32.1     Rec: 11-151  TDs: c3,   CIN/TE Gresham,Jerma  12.3     Rec: 6-63     NYG/PK Tynes,Lawrenc  -2     XPs: -0  FG Miss: 30,   BAL/DB Reed,Edward  7.5     T-A-S: 5-1-0     MIA/DB Jones,Reshad  4.5     T-A-S: 2-1-0     TB/LB David,Lavonte  5.5     T-A-S: 4-3-0     JAC/LB Posluszny,Pau  9.5
Boxscore  Newton,Cam QB CAR 27.14 Pass: 19-33-231-0  Rush: 4-7  Sck: 2  TDs: p45,p4,    Lynch,Marshawn RB SEA 21.7 Rush: 10-113  Rec: 1-14  TDs: r13,    Foster,Arian RB HOU 21.6 Rush: 27-165  Rec: 2-4    Wayne,Reggie WR IND 4.4 Rec: 3-14    Wallace,Mike WR PIT 13.5 Rec: 4-95    Green,A.J. WR CIN 17.7 Rec: 6-57  TDs: c5,    Olsen,Greg TE CAR 10.6 Rec: 5-56    Barth,Connor PK TB 0 Rush:      Wake,Cameron DL MIA 3.5 T-A-S: 1-1-0    Harper,Roman DB NO 10 T-A-S: 9-2-0    Verner,Alterraun DB TEN 3 T-A-S: 2-2-0    Wagner,Bobby LB SEA 11 T-A-S: 10-2-0			STARTERS Boxscore   32.82   Brady,Tom QB/NE   Pass: 36-65-443-2  Rush: 3-11  TDs: r1,p5,   22.8   Gore,Frank RB/SF   Rush: 21-83  Rec: 2-34  TDs: r3,   15.8   Sproles,Darre RB/NO   Rush: 5-22  Rec: 5-21  Ret: 38  TDs: c2,   1   Hawkins,Andre WR/CIN   Rush: 1-9  Rec: 0-0     5.9  Floyd,Malcom WR/SD   Rec: 2-39     19.3   Smith,Stevn WR/CAR   Rush: 1-15  Rec: 6-57  TDs: c4,   3.5   Myers,Brandon TE/OAK   Rec: 2-15     11   Prater,Matt PK/DEN   XPs: 4-0  FG Made: 27,36,  FG Miss: 45,   8  Burnett,Morga DB/GB   T-A-S: 6-0-0     7.5  Tillman,Charl DB/CHI   T-A-S: 3-1-0     11  Wagner,Bobby LB/SEA   T-A-S: 10-2-0     6  Washington,Da LB/ARI     T-A-S: 5-2-0
Allen Golic Hoge Jaworski Rhodes			Allen Golic Hoge Jaworski Rhodes
Recap			Recap
With one championship under their belt, the Zima Ruskies are already eyeing a few others, they expect to begin this holiday season. After starting the season 0-4, the Ruskies are showing signs they might have a run in them like the one that carried them to the Ballistic Bowl title eight years ago. They have assured themselves of a seed in this years final game and, at 9-5 including postseason, are likely favorites over the upstart Orange Crush team from the Nebula Conference. They solidified the opinion that draft day is overrated, this team entered the 2012 draft without a second round pick, traded to the Viall Vigilante. However, looking back on the draft the Zima unit had two very valuable players fall into their lap in later rounds, A. P. and Peyton Manning. The performance of both have led the team to 11 wins in the past 12 weeks, to include three playoff games. The front office also made a wonderful trade and acquired wide receiver Calvin Johnson from the Runners, a move that gives the team a chance to win every week.The Perdew Pulverizers built the 2012 team around an unheard of two restricted free agents. The gamble payed off as A.J. Green and Cam Newton led the team to within a few points of their first ever Ballistic Bowl appearence. It wasn't to be this year as the Ruskies simply was to powerfull this week, a win was not possible regardless of the lineup coach Perdew posted. A Gunner Cup opportunity awaits the Pulverizers, an opportunity they are likely to take advantage of. The Ruskies will participate in Ballistic Bowl XII against the Orange Crush.			The miracle season of the McKevitt Meatstyx has taken a hard hit as the Orange Crush pulled off an unbelievable victory and will advance to their first Ballistic Bowl appearence. The Crush battled all day Sunday and as the evening game kicked off it appeared they were in a great position to advance to the title game next week. Trailing by 40 points with their star running back and quarterback remaining, the Crush fans probably felt as though this would be locked up by halftime of that game, not the case. A furious comeback by the Brady team added just enough points for the win, and Mckevitt's fans sat and watched snap after snap as running back Ridley was relagated to fan status himself for most of the game after an early fumble lost cost his team three points.  In hindsite, this was coach McKevitt trying to do something you might expect out of Andrew Robinson or Matt Templin, guys who each have won two Ballistic Bowls, trying to obtain goals that the teams talent probably could never reach . Do not let this loss cloud your judgement of the losing team or it's coach, the entire organization deserves lots of praise for it's ability to overcome, well, lets say a slow start to the season (draft). Had it not been such a pathetic performance from the teams quarterback and place kicker this week the Meatstyx likely would have been the team celebrating. Bottom line, Crush head coach Jason Pozzi has been everything that he imagined himself being when taking the teams vacant coaching job. Part of the reason this team is where they are is that he had such an unusual sense of calm about himself under pressure all season long. It is not unlike what the league has seen with the likes of Tim Meneely or even Matt Templin, although Pozzi is away from that stage without a league title at this moment. He had a calm presence in the celebatory locker room,"It is a little bit crazy, a little bit surreal, but I'm just trying to keep my head down and trying to keep it going as long as I can, one more win is what we need" he said. The Meatstyx advance to the final round of Gunner Cup 3 next week. The Crush will meet the Zima Ruskies in Ballistic Bowl XIII.
Projection:	Zima 185		Projection:	Orange Crush  155
	Perdew  167			Meatstyx  134