ISFL NEWLETTER
|
The
Internet Simulation Football League Newsletter
Volume #28 Issue #21 – January 24, 2025
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Current League Officers
Commissioner: Mark McNeil (blades99@rochester.rr.com)
League Statistician: Mark McNeil (blades99@rochester.rr.com)
ISFL
Review Board: Hank Sienzant,
Don Antonelli, Ed Minshull
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LEAGUE NOTES
I.
Message from the Commissioner
II.
News from Around the League
III.
Standings
IV.
Divisional Round Results
V.
Championship Round Schedule
VI.
Transactions
VII.
Other News including Players of the Week
I.
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMISSIONER
And
then there were 4 as the top 2 seeds in each conference win to move on
to the Championship games. Not a lot of surprise in the divisional round
in who won, though some interesting games and some not so much. Denver
rolls over Buffalo with a good game from Tua while Pittsburgh does all
they can but gets beat by Mahomes who throws the ball over 60 times to
get the win. New England wins a tight game over Kansas City in the NFC
as the Chiefs give them all they can but can’t get the score at the end
when they needed it. NY Giants win big over New Orleans and get a huge
84 yard INT return from Slay when they needed a big momentum swing to
turn the game in their favor. Now we move on to two Championship games
that involve the best two teams from each conference but they are going
to likely be very different games. In the NFC, the NY Giants will try
and avenge an earlier loss to the Patriots and this is going to be the
Patriots defense that has shut down everyone all year against a very
good Giants offense that led the league in scoring trying to offset each
other. Meanwhile, the Giants defense has to try and find a way to stop a
good Patriots offense and that likely will be the difference in the game
on who wins that battle. In the AFC, it will be one run challenged team
(Denver) against a team with no running game in San Francisco who will
still be without Jonathan Taylor again and will be strictly relying on
their defense and the arm of Patrick Mahomes who will again likely have
to throw the ball over 50 times to give his club any chance of a win.
I
have sent out the yearly ballot prop email, see that for information on
any rule changes you think we need to entertain.
Awards voting is underway and can be found here -
https://shout.com/s/gMYT6J0x
The
draft lottery order is set at this point, and we will do that once we
get closer to the Super Bowl. Here is the order pre-lottery:
1
Miami
2
Indianapolis
3
Tampa Bay
4
Jacksonville
5
Detroit
9
Seattle
11
Dallas
12
Chicago
13
Cleveland
14 LA
Chargers
Please make sure to get started on game contacts asap and don’t forget
to CC me on all of them so I can make sure games are getting set up
smoothly. If you need a sub, feel free to find your own sub or contact
me asap so we can try and get you hooked up with someone to get your
game in. Make sure you have
the latest action update which is available on the website.
Game files are up for Wild Card Weekend, so make sure you go
download them and start making contact for the wild card games. If you
have any questions, now is the time, so please ask before we get too far
into things.
I
can’t stress enough that you need to IMMEDIATELY send me your game
export when the game is complete.
Send your write up later on, that’s fine, but I MUST have the
game export as soon as the game ends or I’ll have to sim the game to
keep things moving along if it is missing at the deadline.
Reminder that you MUST send a boxscore and writeup to the league after
each game. The home team is
responsible for this, but either team can do it, as long as it does get
done. Also, you MUST send me
the game export immediately after the game is complete.
It takes about 30 seconds, so I shouldn’t have to chase you down
for that file after a game, just get it in right away so I don’t have to
guess whether a game has happened or not.
***********************************************************************
II.
News from Around the League
AFC Divisional Round
Buffalo – 10 at Denver – 36
NO PUNT INTENDED: DENVER UNSTOPPABLE, 36-10
Repeat Within Reach as Denver Advances to AFC Championship Game
Denver, CO., January 24th, 2025:
In a display of offensive prowess, the Denver Broncos dominated the
Buffalo Bills in a 36-10 victory, securing their place in the AFC
Championship Game. The Broncos' relentless attack, led by quarterback
Tua Tagovailoa, proved too much for the Bills to handle on a mild
January evening at Mile High Stadium.
The game's turning point came late in the second quarter when Tagovailoa
connected with rookie tight end Tucker Kraft for an 18-yard touchdown
pass, capping off an impressive 11-play, 85-yard drive after Buffalo had
cut the Bronco's lead to 9-3. Kraft's score extended Denver's lead to
16-3, a deficit from which Buffalo would never recover.
As the second half unfolded, the Broncos continued to assert their
dominance. Tagovailoa found his rhythm, orchestrating a 12-play, 79-yard
drive that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown pass to wideout Curtis
Samuel early in the fourth quarter. This score effectively put the game
out of reach, giving Denver a commanding 29-3 lead.
Buffalo's lone moment of offensive brilliance came midway through the
final quarter when Baker Mayfield connected with Chris Godwin for a
50-yard catch and run touchdown to end a four-play, 75-yard drive.
However, this flash of offensive firepower proved too little, too late
for the Bills, as it cut the Bills' deficit from 29-3 to 29-10.
Denver's ground game, led by rookie Keaton Mitchell, sealed the victory
with a 9-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to finish off a
five-play, 47-yard drive. This score was set up by a failed onside kick
attempt, allowing the Broncos to start their drive in excellent field
position.
The Broncos set the tone early, with kicker Evan McPherson nailing field
goals of 41 and 49 yards in the first quarter, adding another from 56
yards out to make it 9-0 five minutes into the second quarter. These
scores came off drives that showcased Denver's ability to move the ball
consistently against Buffalo's defense.
Buffalo's struggles were evident from the outset, as their first three
possessions resulted in punts. The Bills' only points in the first 50
minutes of the contest came from an Anders Carlson 20-yard field goal in
the second quarter, capping a 13-play, 73-yard, five-minute drive that
cut the Denver lead to 9-3 but stalled in the red zone. That score gave
Buffalo a flicker of hope that the Broncos snuffed out when Denver
responded with that 85-yard march to paydirt, scoring on Kraft's 18-yard
reception. Denver would add another 13 points to make it 29-3 before
Buffalo would score their only touchdown of the contest.
GAME NOTES: Tua Tagovailoa's
masterful performance was the cornerstone of Denver's victory. The
quarterback completed 27 of 38 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns,
finishing with an impressive 113.5 passer rating. His ability to spread
the ball was evident, with six different receivers catching multiple
passes. Curtis Samuel led the receiving corps with six catches for 89
yards and a touchdown, while Wan'Dale Robinson contributed five
receptions for 64 yards. On the ground, dynamic rookie running back
Keaton Mitchell spearheaded the Broncos' rushing attack with 48 yards on
six carries, including the game-sealing touchdown. The committee
approach in the backfield proved effective, with A.J. Dillon and Ezekiel
Elliott doing the bulk of the heavy lifting in the ground game,
combining for 79 yards on 27 carries.
Defensively, Denver's front seven applied consistent pressure, with
Myles Garrett recording a sack and a forced fumble. The secondary, led
by safeties Kyle Hamilton and Julian Love, limited Buffalo's big-play
opportunities, holding them to just one pass play over 25 yards.
Baker Mayfield struggled to find his rhythm for the Bills, completing 19
of 31 passes for 163 yards and one touchdown, posting a modest 85.8
passer rating. Chris Godwin was Mayfield's primary target, hauling in 4
catches for 68 yards and Buffalo's lone touchdown. Aaron Jones led the
Bills' rushing attack with 59 yards on ten carries and caught six passes
for another 12 yards, but Jones gained 51 of his 59 rushing yards in the
fourth quarter when the Denver defense was trading runs for time off the
clock.
Denver's special teams also played a crucial role, with Devin Duvernay's
punt returns consistently providing excellent field position. This field
position advantage allowed the Broncos to maintain pressure on Buffalo's
defense throughout the game, as Evan McPherson was successful on all
five of his field goal attempts, including kicks from 54, 56, and 49
yards.
The disparity in offensive production was stark, with Denver amassing 30
first downs to Buffalo's 11. The Broncos dominated time of possession,
controlling the ball for 40:18 compared to the Bills' 19:42. Total yards
from scrimmage reflected this control, with Denver outgaining Buffalo
438 to 214.
Perhaps most impressively, the Broncos did not punt once during the
entire game while forcing Buffalo to punt seven times. Denver's only
non-scoring possessions came when they ran out the clock at the end of
each half. This offensive efficiency, combined with a stifling defensive
effort, proved to be the winning formula for Denver.
A LOOK AHEAD: With this convincing
victory, the Denver Broncos have set the stage for a thrilling AFC
Championship showdown against the San Francisco 49ers. The teams will
face off at Mile High Stadium, where the Broncos will look to leverage
their home-field advantage in their quest to return to the Super Bowl.
Denver carries the weight of expectations as defending champions, but
their performance against Buffalo suggests they are ready for the
challenge. The matchup against San Francisco promises to be a clash of
titans, pitting the Broncos' high-powered offense against the 49ers and
Patrick Mahomes, who led his team to a road upset of the Pittsburgh
Steelers in the divisional round in overtime, 19-16.
Pittsburgh – 16 at San Francisco – 19
As has been the case all year, our defense gets the job done and Minshew
lets them down. We did enough to win this game, but in the end Mahomes
just kept throwing and throwing and throwing and it eventually got the
Niners the score they needed. First quarter is a lot of defense and a FG
from Hopkins for a 3-0 score. Second quarter is a LOT more defense and
the teams trade FGs from Hopkins and Grupe.
NFC Divisional Round
Kansas City – 17 at New England – 21
KC started hot, with Murray that played an almost perfect game (a 23/29
attempts for 193 yards), but ended his game with a bloody pick with 3
minutes to go in the 4th quarter.
After that, Goff and company were able to run the ball and run out the
clock.
Thanks to Nino for the game.
He gave me a big scare! :-)
Now we'll host NYG for his revenge...
That's all folks!
New Orleans – 24 at NY Giants – 38
Giants win the toss and defer. This game is going to come down to
whether or not the Giants defense can hold Russell Wilson and Devonte
Adams in check. Doesn’t start so great, as the Saints rumble right down
the field, leading to a Wilson to Logan Thomas TD and it’s 7-0 early.
Giants defense seems to be taking the night off on the first drive, but
they show up on the second one, as Big Play Slay picks Wilson off on a
deep throw against the Giants four-man run blitz, and takes it 84 yards
to the house and the Giants lead 14-7. That’s Slay’s 7th pick
of the season, five of which he returned for TDs.
Wilson hits Jaxon Smith-Njigba twice early in the next drive, including
a 35 yard catch and run, as the Saints get a field goal from Justin
Tucker and the first quarter ends with the Giants leading 14-10.
Giants would have to punt on their next drive, and the Saints decided
that, for this drive at least, passing was optional. Zach Charbonnet and
some Kenneth Gainwell would lead them right down the field, and when
Gainwell rumbled in from 22 yards out, the Saints had regained the lead.
Nick Chubb, miraculously recovered from his torn ACL earlier in this
season, says “hold my beer” and runs halfway down the field, and Jarome
Ford took over from there, scoring from 37 yards out and the Giants are
back in the lead, 21-17. At this point, I’m left wondering why either
team would bother throwing the ball again!
More running from the Saints on the next drive as the first half ticks
down. A costly holding penalty would push them back and the drive would
stall. A punt from the Saints and an interception by Purdy on a
desperation heave as the half would end and we’re still ahead 21-17 at
the half.
More running from Chubb and the Giants as they take the next drive down
the field. A couple catch and runs from Tyler Higbee as well, then a
nice pass from Purdy on a wheel route to Kyle Juszczyk, then another TD
pass from Purdy, this time to DaVonte Smith and the Giants have their
biggest lead of the game, 28-17.
The Saints would stall again on the next drive, going three and out and
the Giants were left with a chance to put it away. A 53-yard completion
to Drake London on the first play of the next drive put them in business
right away, but a couple incompletions and a penalty would leave them
with nothing but a long field goal attempt from IdiotKicker, who hit
from 45 and the Giants lead by 14.
The Giants key on Charbonnet and Zach Mason a lot on the next drive and
it works, sort of, but Wilson and the passing game shows back up and the
Saints would score when Charbonnet plunges in from a yard out, and we
have a ballgame once again, as the lead is back down to 7.
The Giants running game once again comes up big, with Nick Chubb moving
the ball down the field almost single-handedly, and his backfield buddy
Jarome Ford would score from 3 yards out and we’re back up 14 points
with 12 minutes left to go.
Saints start to move the ball on the back of Charbonnet again, but sacks
from Willie Gay and Dayo Odeyingbo put the Saints in 3rd and
forever, and on 4th and 14 from around midfield and 8 minutes
left, they are forced to punt the ball back to the Giants.
Starting from their own 9-yard line, the Giants go into clock killing
mode, and another big 14-yard run from Chubb gets them out of danger.
Purdy would find Smith on a play-action pass on the next play to put up
another first down and kill the clock further. By the time the Giants
have to punt from midfield, there are only 4 minutes left and the Saints
time is running out. It would run out pretty quickly on the next drive,
as Gainwell is stuffed on 4th and inches, and the Giants take
over and nothing but clock killing happens from here on out.
Nick Chubb ran for 108 yards, and Jarome Ford added 65 yards and two
TDs. Purdy had a perfectly good game, throwing for 234 yards, 2 TD’s and
the one ‘hail-mary-ish’ interception.
Good day for the Saints run game as well, as they totalled 28 carries
for 169 yards and 2 TD’s.
For Game MVP, I’m giving it to Darius Slay, who was matched up on
Davonte Adams for much of the day, and held him (with some double
teaming help of course) to 5 catches for 68 yards, and of course had the
game-changing pick-six.
Giants win 38-24, and win the honor of going to New England next week
and getting their brains blown out. Er, assuming Kansas City doesn’t
pull off the massive upset, that is.
Congrats to Ed on a fine season with a team that could be described as
rebuilding, especially the defense. Another indication that a great
coach can cover up for quite a few flaws.
**********************************************************************
III. STANDINGS
http://www.blades99.com/ISFL/Standings24.htm
**********************************************************************
IV. RESULTS – Divisional Round Results
Buffalo 10 Denver 36
V.
SCHEDULE
Championship Round
AFC
San
Francisco at Denver
NFC
NY
Giants at New England
***********************************************************************
VI.
TRANSACTIONS
AFC
BUF –
CLE –
DEN –
IND –
MIN –
NYJ –
PIT –
LAR –
TEN –
NFC
ARZ –
ATL -
CAR –
DET –
HOU –
JAX –
KC
- MIA –
NO
-
PHI –
SEA –
TB
-
DRAFT
PICKS FORFEITED:
***********************************************************************
VII.
OTHER NEWS:
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
WEEK
ONE
OFFENSE: CeeDee Lamb, LAR – 12 catches, 171 yards, 4 TDs
WEEK
TWO
OFFENSE: Brock Purdy, NYG – 27 of 36 for 444 yards, 5 TDs
DEFENSE: Aaron Donald, NE – 3 sacks, 4 tackles, 1 hurry
WEEK
THREE:
OFFENSE: Lamar Jackson, GB – 20 of 23 for 328 yards, 42 rush yds, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: TJ Watt, SF – 3 sacks, 7 tackles, 1 stuff
WEEK
FOUR:
OFFENSE: Derek Carr, CAR – 31 of 39 for 509 yards, 7 TDs
DEFENSE: Kenny Moore II, PIT – 2 INTs, 4 tackles, 2 passes defended
WEEK
FIVE:
OFFENSE: Baker Mayfield, BUF – 17 of 25 for 273 yards, 6 TDs
DEFENSE: Terrell Bernard, NO – 3 sacks, 10 tackles, 4 hurries
WEEK
SIX:
OFFENSE: Kirk Cousins, LAC – 23 of 32 for 353 yards, 5 TDs
DEFENSE: Jeffrey Simmons, NE – 3 sacks, 3 tackles, 2 hurries, 1
deflection
WEEK
SEVEN:
OFFENSE: De’Von Achane, NYJ – 22 carries, 143 yards, 3 TDs
DEFENSE: DaRon Bland, MIA – 2 INTs, 3 tackles, 3 pass defense, 2 TDs
WEEK
EIGHT:
OFFENSE: Stefon Diggs, CAR – 12 for 194 yards, 4 TDs
WEEK
NINE:
OFFENSE: Kirk Cousins, LAC – 40 of 67 for 489 yards, 5 TDs
WEEK
TEN:
OFFENSE: Mike Evans, NE – 7 catches, 172 yards, 3 TDs
DEFENSE: Dru Tranquill, CAR – 3 sacks, 9 tackles, 2 hurries, 1 forced
fumble
WEEK
ELEVEN:
OFFENSE: Travis Kelce, ARZ – 7 catches, 182 yards, 2 TDs
DEFENSE: Fred Warner, BUF – 2 INTs, 7 tackles
WEEK
TWELVE:
OFFENSE: Tyreek Hill, PHI – 16 catches, 302 yards, 1 TD
DEFENSE: Khalil Mack, MIN – 3 sacks, 9 tackles, 1 pass deflection
WEEK
THIRTEEN:
OFFENSE: Tua Tagovailoa, DEN – 20 of 29 for 387 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Tyrique Stevenson, DET – 3 INTs, 6 tackles, 4 pass defenses
WEEK
FOURTEEN
OFFENSE: DK Moore, KC – 11 catches, 154 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Dru Tranquill, CAR – 3 sacks, 8 tackles, 3 hurries, 2 forced
fumbles
WEEK
SIXTEEN
OFFENSE: Patrick Mahomes, SF – 35 of 51 for 405 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Leonard Floyd, IND – 3 sacks, 4 tackles, 1 hurry, 1 stuff
WEEK
SEVENTEEN
OFFENSE: Zeke Elliott, DEN – 18 carries, 115 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Hassan Reddick, LAC – 3 sacks, 8 tackle, 1 hurry
WEEK
EIGHTEEN
OFFENSE: Diontae Johnson, TB – 11 catches, 197 yards, 3 TDs
DEFENSE: Dayo Odeyingbo, NYG – 3 sacks, 4 tackles, 1 hurry
WILDCARD ROUND
OFFENSE: DJ Moore, KC – 7 catches, 150 yards, 2 TDs
DEFENSE: Darrell Stingley Jr, NO – 2 INTs, 9 tackles, 1 pass defense
DIVSIONAL ROUND
OFFENSE: Tua Tagovailo, DEN – 27 of 38 for 316 yards, 2 TDs
DEFENSE: Darius Slay, NYG – 1 INT, 5 tackles, 84 yd TD return |