THE COACHING CAROUSEL BEGINS!

Head Coach – Personell | By Ryan Sollis |

The Professional Football League’s version of Black Monday began with three Head Coaching firings and one stepping down from their post with immediate effect.

HARTEFORD HAWKS HC Chris Zucker was sacked as his team deteriorated to a 2-15-1 season, with the number one overall draft pick. i.e. the worst team in the league, for the second time in three seasons. This was another disastrous season for the Hawkmen. They need to pick up soon.

ST. GEORGE SHARKS HC Gary Levicek was sacked following a 2-15-1 season, where the team regressed so badly. Both co-ordinators had been fired during the season. This wasn’t enough to the save him his job.

EREGON EAGLES HC Ali Mack was fired. They finished 4-14, lost the main QB early and never recovered. A slight raising of their game in midseason offered hope. It all flittered out into endless losses.

MELBORO GIANTS HC Neil Fagan resigned, following a very disappointing 5-13 season. He never got Tom Tomkowski comfortable in his offensive scheme and they paid for it all season. The defence regressed too.

We’ve yet to hear from the Rochester Trojans and Iomagh Steelers‘ camps. We gather that the Chakota Wasps will not be making a change, as this season is put down to being a ‘blip’. After all, they made it to the Crystal Bowl last year with pretty much the same squad of players.

REG SEASON ENDS- PLAYOFFS SET

2020-21 Regular Season | Week 20

That’s it! Eighteen games over twenty weeks. 144 games in total. This has now finalised the 8 play-off seedings and matchups.

HOW WE GOT THERE

There were head-to-head title deciders matchups in the PFL East and Central. Landor 96ers took the East with a 30-24 victory over New Chester Knights. The Adelphia Phoenix clung on to a 27-24 win against the Oakland Ravens, ensuring at least one home play-off game as no.3 seed.

Caligara Bulldogs already had sewn up the North and needed a late touchdown to beat Iomagh Steelers 19-16. They rested most of their stars in that game. The Ballymore Tigers lost to Harteford Hawks 20-17 in a way that only they can! They always slip up to a losing team late in the season.

The Chakota Wasps restored some pride with a victory over Rochester. The Trojans led early, but Chandler threw two fourth quarter TD passes to bring them back to a 24-17 win.

Hallas wrapped up their regular season with tidy 37-24 win against the St. George Sharks. The Stars are the no.4 seed. At 2-15-1, the Sharks know they need to rebuild. Relocation is also a possibility.

This left two teams fighting over the number eight spot:

San Andreas, knowing they had to better the Bears’ score, stormed out to a 31-13 first half- lead against the Eregon Eagles. The Bears were losing at half-time to the Melboro Giants 21-14, even though the Giants had only three first downs at that stage.

In the second half, the Miners added two more TD’s – Ryan Bruce passed for 413 yards and 5 touchdowns… but it was to no avail.
The Bears rallied to lead 34-31 with a game-tying 45 yard field goal set up for the Giants with just one second left on the clock. Veteran kicker Billy Young hooked the kick wide right.

AND SO, THE BEARS GO THROUGH VIA HEAD-TO-HEAD.

NUMBER ONE DRAFT PICK

The race for the number one draft pick was nearly lost by the Hsrteford Hawks, who only went and beat the play-off bound Ballymore Tigers. The Sharks also finished 2-15-1, with the tie the game between the two.
Following confirmation of the tiebreakers in this case- The Hawks retained the worst record by virtue of conceding more points and worst points- difference.

They have the first pick in June’s draft.

NEXT WEEKS PLAYOFF MATCHUPS:

Hallas Stars	4	vs	5	New Chester Knights
Caligara Bulldogs	2	vs	7	Oakland Ravens
Landor 96ers	1	vs	8	Bristow Bears
Adelphia Phoenix	3	vs	6	Ballymore Tigers

Just seven games remain before we crown the 2020-21 champions. Who will it be standing in the podium at Crystal Bowl 51?

Coaching Casualties after Reg. Season Ends

Several Teams have announced Coaching releases following the conclusion of the 2019-20 PFL Regular Season

 

IOMAGH STEELERS

General Manager Brian Watkins decided to retain Head Coach Chuck Johnson. Following conversations on Sunday night and through Monday, both coordinators have left by mutual agreement.

Fired – Attack Coordinator: Den Simpkins
Defence Coordinator: Simon Davies

 

MELBORG GIANTS

Giants management retained Head Coach Neil Fagan, but he let both his coordinators go and will announce their replacements soon.

Fired- Attack Co-ordinator: Fred Quinn, Defence Co-ordinator: Bill Brocker

 

ROCHESTER TROJANS

Owner John Michael Westerly and Chief Executive Kerry Marshall reportedly met with General Manager Cary Young and Head Coach Will James. They have fired Coach James, along with Deputy Coordinator Dory Lewis and Defensive Coordinator Ian Rudolph

Fired- Head Coach: Will James, Deputy Offensive Coordinator: Dory Lewis and Defensive Coordinator: Ian Rudolph.

 

 

 

Final week: Who needs what to happen?

As we approach the final weekend of the PFL regular season, there are a few things still to be settled as the 8 playoff spots will be claimed. Starting off in the PFL East, there’s potential for a three-way tie involving the Phoenix, Knights and 96ers. If the Phoenix beat the 96ers on Sunday, they will have the edge, based on divisional record. All three will qualify. If the Phoenix lose, they will be needing other results to go their way.

In the Central, the Wasps can confirm the no.3 spot if they beat the Ravens- who need to win to get in, along with the Sharks, Phoenix and/or Sharks losing! If the Wasps lose, as do the 96ers- they still get seed no.3.

Playoff picture- Week 19 one team eliminated

We are now down to fitting ten teams into the eight playoff spots, as the Trojans loss eliminated them fro playoff contention. There’s also been some shuffling around of playoff spots.

The Sharks moved out of the no. 8 spot and are now ‘in the running, along with the Oakland Ravens. Defending champs the Ballymore Tigers are back in the eight slot.

The 96ers and Wasps have swapped the 3 & 4, as the 96ers surprisingly lost to the Giants. Whilst the Knights win over the Phoenix moved them up over them. It’s all to play for next week.

Playoff Picture- 2 weeks to go!

PFL 2019-20 PLAYOFFS |

With just two weeks remaining, the top teams have made some room in three of the four divisions. It looks like the PFL West will be decided on Prime Time TV, with the Miners hosting the Stars on Saturday 1st Feb. The Sharks, who finish at the Eagles are in control of their own destiny. Win both games and definitely in. lose one and maybe still in- lose both and quite likely to stay home.

In the East the 96ers took the lead, preventing a three-way tie at the top by beating the Knights. Instead, they hold a one game advantage over the Adelphia Phoenix. Landor are still in the wild card spots.

The Central is headed by the Wasps, who have clinched their division. The Ravens and Trojans meet this coming weekend, with the loser, at 8-9 likely to be out of the running.

The Chakota Bulldogs once again have railroaded the North division. Defending CB Champs the Ballymore Tigers are sitting just outside at 9-7. They need others to lose to get back in.

The playoff picture, at a glance:

PFL Half-season report card

PFL 2019-20 Half-season report card

by Ryan Sollis

After ten weeks of action, everyone has completed nine games in league play. We have graded all 16 teams’ progress to date:

PFL EAST

Landor 96ers (6-3) – B+

The 96ers have been a great defensive team, led by DE Vin Marshall, who has become an elite pass rusher. The offence is still good, but there are signs that veteran QB Kurt Sierra is perhaps coming to the finish line sooner rather than later.

Unloved, unnoticed and irreplaceable: The story of the Long Snapper

PFL features | The Long Snapper

Hands up who knows who is the Long Snapper for the Ballymore Tigers?  Anyone? No? Um, how about for the champion Landor Knights? Still no? Well, meet the position where fame is not sought, if you’re getting attention, you may be doing it wrong. Welcome to the world of the most unheralded position in Football. I give you the Long Snapper.

It wasn’t even considered a proper position, deserving of a specialist roster spot until the 1990s. Yep. The backups often got a roster spot on their ability to long snap. The teams started taking in more seriously after some key games, where missed field goals and extra points had been attributed to botched snaps. one by one they reserved a roster spot for someone who could specialise in getting the ball to the punter and to the holder on place kicks. Nowadays it is an accepted position, but is it respected?

Phoenix QB Kelly breaks finger. Out for six weeks

Adelphia Phoenix QB Matt Kelly injured a finger in his throwing arm in last nights game versus the Caligara Bulldogs. Kelly is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, depending on how his throwing action can cope with any necessary adjustments. Greg Wayne, who took over in the first quarter, is expected to deputise, despite his poor outing in Caligara. Wayne couldn’t complete 50% of his passes and the team only gained 10 first downs in three and a half quarters with him at the helm.

Ravens at 5-0, but where is the love?

Oakland Ravens | PFL | Season 2017-18

By Ryan Solis, PFL Reporter.

The Oakland Ravens are the only undefeated team after five rounds of the PFL season. They have been the only truly consistent team this year, so whay have they not been getting the love and appreciation that Landor were getting last year?

No Razzle Dazzle?

The main difference between the 2016 Landor Knights and the 2017 Oakland Ravens is showmanship. You had the capital city, bright lights, a little bit of styling and profiling, dabbing, charisma. The Ravens have been saying and doing the right things- just it has been a little too low-key for TV! Some say boring, even. Tom Tomkowski, or ‘TOM2’ is a brand, but he’s been playing to the part lines, been a team player. This is a very good thing, but it doesn’t raise the profile. That is how the Ravens seem to like it, though.

Option Kings?

Tom Tomkowski is a good all-rounder. The team have been successfully implementing triple option and read-option plays into their schemes. With a league that apart from a few prefer the air-raid passing attacks, this is a novelty. You played against it in UFB, but not so much in the PFL. This is showing to be a good option for the Ravens so far.

Defensive Showing?

The Ravens’ defence has played very well to date, only conceding 60 points in five games, 7 points of the 67 came from a kick return. They have shown a lot of discipline in sticking to their roles and allowing the combined talent to shine. This reminds me a lot of the New England Patriots ‘do your job’  mantra. So far, so good.

Only five games in

Part of the lack of hype has been that we are only five games in, less than a third of the season played out. The hype will definitely grow if they continue to win as the weeks go by. No one is expecting an  18-0 team in this new 16 team set-up. You play everyone nowadays. My thoughts are that the team are happy flying a little under the radar, just taking things week by week.

Without making headlines or seeking attention, the Ravens are clearly doing it their way- as a team. Best of luck to them.