S140 Measuring the Competition
We enter "yet" another season of Rockne D2 football and will soon be reminded that what happened last season, was last season. 140 seasons ago, this world started and to put that into perspective that's about 11 and a half years ago! Quite a remarkable run for a simulation football game. Over time, coaches come and ago and this season was no exception with our numbers shrinking from 71 down to 59 coaches.
For me, life is finally starting to settle down and I'm getting back to doing some blogs to make the game more interesting! I do apologies for being absent for a couple seasons but with the kids, flu and selling my home, it was super busy. I also ran into a stretch where I was starting to feel the burn and thought about taking a break. Instead, I just cut back on blogging and thankfully, Omcs1981 has continued his awesome work!
So enough talking, let's get to business because kickoff is here!
Tonight, we are going to talk about how teams are stacking up for the season. I'm going to take a quick look at the TOP FIVE ranked teams to point out strength and weaknesses and how I see them finishing. Feel free to disagree in the forums and I would encourage everything to chat it up if you want to add anything. To keep things level, we'll use to same cores for everyone.
ON THE RADAR BASED ON GUESS RANKINGS
#1 Texas A&M-Commerce
LSC
akua29
77.44
DT 77.81
Joseph Robinson
Sad to see all my favorite guys leave and not even get drafted into the NFL! I heard that some made the practice squad so perhaps one day...
The TAMC defense really carried the squad for the last two seasons and then almost gave it away in the title games versus Long Island. Now that the full senior defense is gone, who is going to step up? Defensive Lineman Joseph Robinson comes in at a 77 core on the year and will have to anchor the 3-4 defense this season. We will also have the #1 linebacker and #13th best corner back. There is a bit of a drop in talent at linebacker and defensive back but the defensive line will boast 4 players inside the top 35. It appears that our offense is going to have to get us threw it this season.
Texas looks strong again but teams like Northern Michigan have the edge in being a fully balanced squad. We have #2 Melvin Taylor to command the ship and a trio of running backs at his disposal. James Simpson leads the team at #2, but Jackson #4 and Kim #5 are all rated 72+ cores. Suprisingly, Simpson and Kim are redshirt juniors this season so they will be returning next season. At wide receiver, we have 3 guys inside the top 10, the #1 tight end with Eric Bently and four offensive linemen inside the top 50.
Solid team again, with not much competition on the schedule this season to stand in their way. A new coach in Lsusaint took over Central Oklahoma who is expected to be their CC rival at the end of the season.
#2 Humboldt State
NCC
jaylien1
75.38
OL-Pass 78.05
Edward Sloan
Having run a Humboldt State team in Heisman, I can honestly say it's one of my least favorite places to recruit from. You would think with the isolation over in California you would be in great shape, but the truth is that other teams all the from the east coast are trying to flip your locals green. Then, you have a position or two that will be just a wall of players who are 1400-2500 miles away unless you want to settle for a mediocre local guy. Jaylien1 has done a excellent job getting this team to final four status. When he took over the team was ranked 11 and this season they come in at #2.
The strength of this team falls in the right position and that's with Quarterback Christopher Vasquez who is a whopping 67 core and the #1 QB in the nation. He is one of the few quarterbacks in the league that has been playing a ton since his sophomore season. I would not expect to see any turnovers on his part and will allow Jaylien to have confidence throwing the ball against the best defenses. He should be at 70 Str, GI and TEC by playoff time and an awesome 65 elusiveness to do some damage on the scrambles.
Look for #5 WR Timothy Davis to get a lot of looks this year who has also been working with Vasquez since his sophomore season. Their stud though will likely be RB Thomas Moran who ran for 1600 yards and caught 68 catches for 783 yards. 569 of those yards came after he caught the pass! Both players can expect an uptick in touches and should deliver.
Defensively, they are very sound on the defensive line and their strength is at linebacker. They have two DL's inside the to top 20 but it's the duo Wesley Brown and Allen Devine at linebacker that should make some noise. Both of which are ranked #4 and #6 and the other three are ranked inside the top 100. Defensive back will be their one area of concern due to not only their youth, but their respective rankings amongst those from the same class.
Having set up a more meaty schedule, look for their game versus Cheyney in Week 4 to set the bar for their season. It's also going to be a real show down versus North Dakota State's shotgun attack versus their secondary to get a real test before the playoffs.
#3 Northern Michigan
GLIAC
mrbig987
74.47
RB-Pwr 77.90
Robert Hilliard
Robert Hilliard is Spthibodeau's gift to the next coach to remind all of Rockne who brings the thunder. Northern Michigan is back this season and they are my #1 pick for best chance at a National Title.
Rarely, will you run into a 77 core rated RB in Division 2 football at the beginning of the season. With that said, he also brings 83 power and a whopping 88 elusiveness. Having played them in a quick exhibition game, he put up 109 yards (5.0 ypc) and 3 touchdowns on his limited 22 touches. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a 300+ yard game in the playoffs and with how balanced they are, it will be tough to game plan against.
NMU has to be the best offense this season, led by #5 ranked QB in Shawn Harding who is almost a 64 core rated at the beginning of the year. Remember, 65+ is going to be elite and difficult to get down in that 40% completion ratio to shut down. We spoke about #1 ranked RB Robert Hilliard, but they also boast the #2 Peter Espinosa and #3 William Crews at wide receiver. Espinosa is a 71 core and not only has speed at 73 but 83 hands, 71 GI and 84 elusiveness. For protection, Harding will find protection with a starting offensive line that are all ranked within the top 20.
Defensively, they have four linemen who are ranked inside the top 50, three linebackers who are inside the top 35 and two shutdown cornerbacks in #6 John Bradley and #7 Kevin Houston. In their division, only Ferris State will stand a chance of slowing them down and their new coach Cowboy90s is a veteran from the past so it will be fun to see if he's able to pull off off an upset here.
#4 Cheyney
MIAA
waregl72
74.01
DT 74.15
Jared Bird
You will always find Waregl72 hovering in the #1-4 spot each season and is noted for his consistency. It's an excellent trait to have in order to stay on top, but his thirst for another National Championship is growing. This may not be one of this best teams he has coached, but it won't be the defense that let's them down.
The secondary boasts three top 100 players but their depth is actually pretty sound with 5 inside the top 160. That might seem like it's not that sound, but considering many teams drop down to the 200-400 range after their starting group. He has put together a solid group here and I would not take them lightly. The big player will be #2 ranked James Ross who is a shutdown corner at a 66 core rating. At linebacker, you have two guys inside the top 11 and featured 70 core LB Paul Gonzalez comes in #2 in the country. Having that duo can pose an issue for those who want to use their RB's and TE's in the passing game so they do have an answer for it. Continuing with the theme, they have standout #6 ranked Jared Bird who will anchor their Nickel defense and two others that are inside the top 51. This defense is just solid when it comes to the drop off in depth and while they will allow points here and there, they have some play-makers to change the game.
Offense is where the story changes just a little and this could be a season where above average is enough to still post 40+ points on teams in the playoffs. It all starts with their senior QB Dennis Crosby who is a 59 core but is out talented by his back JR QB Ralph Brown. Both QB's are ranked 20 and 23rd respectively and both will likely see play time. Hey, that's not a bad thing though considering that your back-up almost always subs in that the most crucial times! At wide receiver, they do have Bernard Hardy with a near 68 core and ranked #12. Hardy is coming off a season high 92 receptions for 1042 yards and 13 touchdowns. 469 yards after the catch and a 63.8 catching ration. I would look for that number to improve in the mid 100's and possibly have a 2000 yard season. At running back, Waregl will have a two headed horse pushing about 68 cores per hour. Joseph Vega and John Zimmerman look like a good tandem and offer slightly different skill sets.
What sets Cheyney apart, is Waregl always plays a couple tough games each season and it gives us a real good idea of how strong they are. This season is no different, with Ferris State tonight, Humboldt State in Week 4 and Western New Mexico in week 5. That almost sounds like a playoff schedule to me. I like Cheyney quite a bit this season, but I am questing the offense a little and whether they can put up the points needed against some of the best defenses.
#5 Long Island
NE-10
bigpoppa85
73.02
OL-Pass 73.86
Ruben McNamara
What I can say... Bigpoppa is the magic man here. His team doesn't jump out of me each season but his performance does! I realize we all look at talent differently, but his offensive schemes are good enough to get other coaches to take notice. Another season of will he use Pro-set or I-formation against me? Crap... he went with both in the 1st half! Seriously, it's awesome to watch him pull these games out. Okay, enough fanboy!
I would talk about the offense, but it's his defense this season that is going to make a difference. Last year, Long Island could give up points and outscore their opponent. This season, his defense is legit and could do some damage. While they don't have the all-american top 5 player, instead they have very little drop off in their younger depth. This is a credit to Bigpoppa's recruiting and it's going to pay dividends. Young coaches need to take notice, because having large drops off leads to isolation type offensive attacks on your defense.
Defensive line, you have the starting three in their 3-4 defense that are ranked inside the top 37. Each of these guys have a 69+ core which means they will likely be around 71+ as they enter the playoffs. In that 3-4 defense, the linebackers could be considered the weaker of the crew since they feature 4 starters. Still, the top 5 guys are ranked inside the top 155 and their 6th guy is only ranked 295 as a freshman. I think he will focus on his best guy #25 Leroy Groves to be in the right spot and shut down some running back attacks. The secondary is similar but the talent is better and they will use the Jon Wallace #31 and Robert Lopez #34 to keep the WR's at bay.
Offensively, they look pretty strong although they lack the quantity of top ten talent on some of the other teams. I like their wide receiver Brian Pitts who has a 70 core and ranked #4. He's going to offer great explosiveness with his 81 speed, 82 elusiveness and great 82 hands. Excellent growth on this guy as he was originally recruited at only a 54 core rating. He will be coming off a down year with only 81 catches versus his all-star performance the year before where he hauled in 118 receptions for 1400 yards. The one thing I know about Bigpoppa is he likes to use his running backs and he has 2 inside the top 20 and one ranked #55 as a sophomore. I can see him getting a lot of mileage out of these backs and especially Nicholas Smith who fits the speed back they need.
On the schedule you have a couple tough conference games versus Pace and Southern Connecticut. Based on LI's track record, I can see them going undefeated but Southern Connecticut is not that far behind in talent and could pull off a big game.