Quarterly Report: Top Five Teams in the OSFL

[Delandis]

Top 5 Teams in the OSFL

5. San Francisco Bayhawks (3-1)

-One word: Rico.

Rico Whalen is proving that HE is the benchmark for what is a young star quarterback. He is tied for 2nd in TDs(10), 1st in yardage(1242 yards), 8th in QB rating(100.1), hitting his recievers 68% of the time, while the offense as a whole is no lower than third in nearly every major passing category. Whalen is the real deal considering San Francisco has an, at best, pedestrian run game. Teams know Whalen will sling it all over the field and he has throw for over 300 yards 3 out of 4 games. Rico has done all of this, while battling a nagging knee injury from Week 1. With Whalen at the helm, the rather average San Francisco receivers look amazing, Alfred Starks and Danny Velasquez, are 1st(31) and 3rd(27) in receptions, respectively. Both Starks and Velasquez had under 65 catches each over the course of the entire season last year.

Defensively, the Bayhawks are very aggressive, leading the league in forced turnovers, interceptions, and pass rush percentage. Their only loss came at the hands of the undefeated (4-0) Morgantown Maniacs, and even then, Whalen wasn't contained, just out-scored by veteran gun-slinger, Floyd Cosby. The defense is anchored by the strong play of veteran linebacker, K.C. Arnston who leads the team in sacks. Also 2007 All-Pro Cornerback, Darryl Casula is playing inspired football as well. Casula has 7 batted passes, which is 2nd in the entire league.

Overall the Bayhawks look pretty tough, so far, this year. A great combination of youth and experience in San Francisco, has the potential has the Bayhawks and their fans soaring.

[Delandis]

Top 5 Teams in the OSFL

4. Motor City Mechanics (3-1)

Kenneth Clements is back and Mechanics fans all over Michigan are excited. Following a tough hamstring injury in Week 11, the Mechanics promptly lost their next three games which dropped them to 5-7 and pretty much out of playoff contention. Fast forward to 2009, and Clements is 4th in the league in rushing(386 yards), including a 184 yard explosion against Ohio Valley. Despite this singular good showing, it was Clements first game over 4.0 ypc in almost 5 games.

This year, the Mechanics may see the complete maturation of quarterback, Billy Joe Jizmejian who played extremely well in the one game he's started this year. Reserve quarterback, Jon Soriano has also played well boasting a rating of 98.3 in the 3 games he's played.

Greg Supple, the Mechanics leading receiver broke his toe in Motor City's last game and Coach Bualat will look probably look back to Clements to shoulder even more of the load.

Defensively, like most winning teams, the Mechanics boast a high turnover ratio of +4(T-3rd). Despite only having five sacks(T-29th), the Mechanics front seven puts heavy pressure on opposing quarterbacks forcing them to make mistakes. They are tied for second in the league in interceptions with seven. The Mechanics are getting great production out of rookie corner, Nicky Cortez, as well.

Motor City's only real weakness is their coach's lack of focus on strength and conditioning. Motor City has had a couple of injuries that haven't hurt them so far, but as the season continues, will likely be their biggest hurdle. If they can avoid injury, expect to see them playing in January.

[aholbert]

Elprez,

I moved this so more people could see this. Great job so far.

[Delandis]

Elprez,

I moved this so more people could see this. Great job so far.

Yea. I've got a lot of respect for you since it takes a while to research and write a quality article on just 5 different teams, let alone the entire league. I've slowed down due to a test in microbiology I have on Monday. I will be back on it as soon as i take the test! Although after some of Week 6 results, its a bit outdated...

[liquidcrash]

I've been reading these so far, you're doing a great job. I'm hoping my Grizzlies crack the top 5.

[kingfc22]

Very nice work.

[bignej]

Wow I made the top 5! If Rico goes down though we would easily be in the bottom 5.

[Delandis]

If I had done this after our game you'd probably be #2....

[Delandis]

Please be reminded that this list was made before Week 6 games.

[Delandis]

#3 North Liberty Enforcers

-As a hardcore North Liberty fan, it is very hard to write an objective column. They won just 3 games last year, and have already won four this year. Myron Allen has finally matured to an acceptable level of production from a first round quarterback, and the front office went all out and him some help by making the biggest trade in OSFL history for wide receiver, Patrick Siegrist. The Enforcers also have one the league’s best young running backs in Conrad “the Illini” Bronson who is 5th in the league in rushing. North Liberty’s offense has also only turned the ball over a league best, 3 times this season.
Combine this with the defense coming in at 3rd in the league in turnovers with 12, and you have the recipe for the best turnover ratio in the league. Mix in the DPOY caliber play of veteran end, Sam Barrett and the improved play of veteran safety, David Schwartz and veteran corner, Eric “Its in the Game” Ackerman, there’s no wonder why there’s new life in Iowa.

However, between every silver lining, there’s a dark cloud. The Enforcers either cannot or will not throw the ball down field and with talent like Allen and Siegrist on the field, that doesn’t seem like good team management. Also, the coach seems to occasionally forget that they have Bronson on the field at times, more mismanagement. This a team on the brink of stardom, but if they don’t put it together, I see them as this year’s paper champs.

[Delandis]

#2 Utah Bees
-Did the defending OSFL champs get shafted at #2? Is this blasphemy? Let us take a look at the numbers, shall we? They are the #1 scoring offense in the league and the #3 team in the league in rushing attempts. Van “Lucky” Lochtefeld is putting up more amazing numbers despite braking his hand in Week 1. Perennial All-Pro, Danny Viola has 13 catches, 20+yards per catch and 3 touchdowns. They have made the OSFL Championship Game the last two years and won one of them.

Their defense is equally impressive. Safety, Donnie Rogers leads the league in interceptions and boast the fifth best Pass Def% amongst players logging over 125 passing plays. The Bees also have the best pair of blitzing outside linebackers in the business with 2008 1st Team All-OSFL, Brandon Blackburn and 2007 1st All-OSFL, Tyrone Gomez. The two stars are 5th and 6th in sacks with 5 and 4.5 sacks, respectively.
The kicker is that all of this success has been orchestrated by a head coach who is pay rate is comparable to an average coordinator.

How in the world are they #2 then?
-The combined record of their opponents is just 8-12, not particularly impressive. Also, the Bees have a discouraging blemish pertaining to the defense. They are dead last in rushing yards average. Surely part of that is due to the beatdowns that the Bees have been giving out on a consistent basis, as teams are able to get bigger games when Utah is sitting back in pass defense mode. However, part of it can probably be attributed to the aggressive play of the Bees defense. This defense will do great against heavy passing offenses but against their undefeated division rival Denver, I’m not so sure. One thing is for certain however, the Bees will be in the playoffs again.

[Delandis]

#1 (6-0) Morgantown Maniacs

Losing must have left a bad taste in the mouths of the Maniax. The leading candidate for Offensive Player of the Year, Floyd Cosby is slinging the ball everywhere on the field. He boasts an eye-popping, 112.3 quarterback rating and has already thrown for 17 touchdowns, so far this season. The Maniacs leading receiver is a...tight end? However, 2-time All-Pro tight end, Lamont Duncan, is not your average tight end. Duncan has 25 catches for 376 yards and five touchdowns(T-2nd). He also leads the league in receiving yards per touch average(12.97)and may likely be the OSFL's first 1000 yd tight end. The rest of the receivers look rather pedestrian, but Cosby makes them shine like stars.

On defense, the Maniacs have been dominant, only allowing 12.3ppg(3rd). Young defensive end, Wesley Giles is having a break-out season leading the league in blocks(5) and hurries(17), while adding 4.5 sacks through 6 games. With Larry King stuffing the middle, another young end, Quinn Moland is racking up on quarterbacks, leading the team with 5.5 sacks. 2008 All-OSFL 1st Team Cornerback, Luke Oakes uses the help from his pass rushers well, picking off five passes through just six games and has a good chance to set a new interceptions record this year.

Looking at the Maniacs schedule, they only have one more team with a current winning record to play, so the ******* season(don't wanna jinx 'em) may be something to look at down the road. However, the Maniacs did get stiff competition from both San Francisco and Motor City earlier this year, so we do know they aren't invincible. But the real question is, will anybody step up to challenge?

[UNC_Pete]

Nice work!

Finally some respect.. :)