ISFL NEWLETTER
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The
Internet Simulation Football League Newsletter
Volume #23 Issue #20 – February 18, 2020
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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.
Championship Round Results
V.
Schedule
VI.
Transactions
VII.
Other News including Players of the Week
I.
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMISSIONER
After
a bit of technical difficulties we finally have the conference
championships in the books as Houston was able to top Denver and New
Orleans took down the NY Giants to move on.
See below for the game writeups and information about the big
game. We will be finishing
up the regular season shortly and I am going to ask everyone for three
final things before you disappear for a couple of months until the draft
in May. 1) Please let me know if you are or are not returning for next
season so I can get a head count and figure out if we need any new
owners. 2) I am going to set up a ballot to vote on some
players/coaches/GMs for awards, please take some time to vote (optional
but I appreciate those who take that time.
3) I will be accepting ballot proposals over the next week or two
and we will discuss and vote once I am sure who we have returning for
owners and then get any new owners up to speed. Remember, you can
discuss trades all you want but no trades can be announced until the new
game is released in April so enjoy some time off!
In
both games the higher seed was able to get the victory leaving us with a
matchup of the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Texans in this years
Super Bowl. I have files up
and the two teams can play whenever they are ready. Make sure you
remember to turn off home field advantage and the game should be played
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. If you guys have any questions, let
me know otherwise good luck to both teams in the big game!
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.
Don’t
forget, if you lose a player for 2 or more games, you can ask for an
injury replacement, but it must be done the same week as the injury, so
don’t wait, get those requests in right away and take advantage,
especially the teams who are already challenged for the amount of games
they have to work with.
Also, be sure you give me enough names as the more injuries the more
likely someone else already grabbed the guy you want.
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.
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II.
News from Around the League
New
York Giants (13) at New Orleans Saints (23)
Dean brings the NYG team into the Superdome to play
NO. The first half starts well for the Giants with an 8 play
drive that ends with a FG. New Orleans ties it up at 3's after a
couple punts as both defenses are playing well. The second quarter
the Giants intercept Russell Wilson but they can't get anything as the
Saints defense holds strong. The defensive call of the game is by
Dean where he keys Wilson with an aggressive defense and Sheard picks up
the fumble and takes it to the 9 yard line. A Goff to Thomas TD
pass on the next play gives the Giants a 10-3 lead. The Giant
defense holds and gets the ball with 1:37 left in the half. But a
3 and out gives the ball back to the Saints and it only takes Russell
Wilson 4 plays to tie it up. Wilson finds his second receiver
Lindsay for a 23 yard TD pass with 1 second left in the half. Tied
at 10-10 and the Saints get the ball to start off the half. The
second half starts out with Phillip Lindsay beating the pass blitz up
the middle and breaks a tackle for a 67 yard TD run on the second play
of the half. Goff answers with a 12 play 8 minute FG drive to make
it 17-13. Russell Wilson answers back with a 11 play 6:37 FG drive
for a 7 point lead early in the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter it
was the Saints defense that holds the Giants and game MVP Phillip
Lindsay's running to advance New Orleans to the Superbowl. Final
New Orleans 23 New York 13 Denver Broncos (17) at Houston Texans (29)
HOUSTON
ADVANCES TO SUPER BOWL
Defeats
Denver 29-17
Houston,
February 18th, 2020: The Houston Texans will face the New Orleans Saints
in the Super Bowl after defeating the upstart Denver Broncos in the AFC
Championship game, 29-17.
The Broncos
jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but were not able to add
onto that until the fourth quarter and the Texans rallied to take the
lead at halftime, 16-14. The Texans made it 23-14 in the third, and
after the Broncos cut the lead to 23-17, the Texans were able to add two
field goals in the final few minutes to win going away, 29-17.
The Broncos
got on the board first with a Carson Wentz touchdown pass to Zeke
Elliott from nine yards out to end a seven play, 84-yard touchdown drive
and take the lead at 7-0. The biggest plays on that scoring drive were
consecutive completions of 21 and 25 yards from Wentz to Curtis Samuel.
Houston was
unable to get anything going offensively and the Broncos defense was
stuffing the Texans Mark Ingram (2 for minus one yard) and keeping Tom
Brady off balance in the Texans first two possessions (just one of five
for 11 yards).
When Dont'e
Hightower picked off Brady on the first play of the Texans third
possession, taking over at the Texans 30, the Broncos capitalized by
getting their second touchdown, a 13-yard strike from Wentz to Curtis
Samuel to make it 14-0 with just 11:02 elapsed in the game. But that
would prove to be the last touchdown the Broncos would score, as the
Texans defense pretty much shut down the Chargers thereafter and the
Texans offense, under Brady would slowly creep back into the game.
It started
with a field goal from Aldrick Rosas to end a eight-play, 47-yard drive
spearheaded by Brady's 19-yard completion to JuJu Smith-Schuster on the
first play from scrimmage for New England after the Broncos touchdown.
Another Rosas field goal followed a Bronco three-and-out, making it 14-6
early in the second quarter. That field goal was set up by a Desmond
King punt return of 51 yards to the Broncos 35, and the Texans got to
the Broncos ten on the next play with a 15-yard completion from Brady to
James White, with a ten-yard roughness penalty tacked on for good
measure. But the Broncos defense stopped the Texans at the Denver four
forcing the Rosas three pointer to make it 14-6 in favor of Denver.
When another
Bronco possession went nowhere, the Broncos tried kicking away from
King, but that strategy netted only 17 yards on the Jordan Berry punt,
as the kick went only 32 yards before King fielded it on the run,
returning it 17 yards to the Bronco 47. The Texans scored their first
touchdown on a Brady to Charles Clay touchdown pass from five yards out
to make the score 14-13 in favor of Denver.
Another
Bronco three-and-out, followed by another Rosas field goal, this time
after the Denver defense stopped the Texans at the Denver six yard line,
gave the Texans the lead late in the first half at 16-14. This lead,
once taken, was not to be relinquished as the Broncos Damien Williams
fumbled early in the second half, and the Texans Luke Kuechly recovered
the fumble at the Denver 46. It took only one play for the Texans to go
up by nine, as Brady hit Odell Beckham for a 46-yard touchdown on a
hitch pass that Beckham caught and then turned on the jets to score.
That made it 23 unanswered points for the Texans and put the Texans up
23-14.
It stayed
that way through an exchange of punts, with the Broncos finally getting
a field goal from Harrison Butker early in the fourth quarter to cut the
Texans lead to six at 23-17. That field goal came after a solid Broncos
drive was aborted when Curtis Samuel was thrown for a big loss of seven
yards on a jet sweep from the Texans 11 yard line on second and five.
After an
exchange of punts, Aldrick Rosas drilled a 54-yard field goal through
the uprights to expand the Texans lead to two scores at 26-17 with just
4:55 left in the game, and after the Broncos went for it from their own
41 yard line on fourth and ten and failed, the Texans added yet another
Rosas field to close out the scoring at 29-17.
GAME NOTES:
The stats were relatively even in first downs (20 to 19 in favor of the
Texans) and time of possession (30:35 to 29:25 in favor of the Broncos),
but the Texans ability to totally stymie the Broncos offense through the
middle two quarters when they rallied back from that 14-0 deficit to
that 23-14 lead spelled the difference in the game.
Tom Brady
finished up with 273 yards passing on 21 of 39 passes, but was held to a
low 82.5 passer rating with the two touchdown passes and one pick
thrown. Carson Wentz completed 22 of 32 for 209 yards and two
touchdowns, with no picks, for a 107.4 passer rating. But too many times
a Wentz pass was incomplete on third down to stop a Broncos drive or a
Wentz checkdown failed to pick up the necessary yardage to keep a drive
alive.
On the
ground, the Broncos Zeke Elliott ran for 94 yards on 22 carries (4.3)
and added nine receptions for 51 yards. Damien Williams ran for 22 yards
on just three carries (7.3) but had that costly lost fumble to start the
second half that gave the Texans their first nine-point lead at 23-14.
Mark Ingram
rushed for 50 yards on just ten carries, with almost all of that yardage
(49) coming in the final 24 minutes as the Texans came back and scored
those 23 consecutive points behind the arm of Tom Brady.
The Texans
leading receiver was Odelll Beckham, with five receptions for 95 yards.
Smith-Schuster went down with injury late in the first quarter and did
not return.
Luke Keuchly
was the Texans leading defender with eight tackles, one pass defensed,
two stuffs and one forced fumble. He also had the key fumble recovery
early in the third quarter. The Broncos Tremaine Edmunds was the Broncos
leading defender with 15 tackles and one stuff.
Other players
deserving of mention were Aldrick Rosas of the Texans who scored 17 of
the Texans 29 points with a perfect five for five on field goals and two
extra points. Curtis Samuel was the best Bronco receiver on the field
today, catching five for 78 yards and scoring once.
A LOOK AHEAD:
The Texans advance to the Super Bowl. The Broncos return home to Denver
with the knowledge that they outperformed their expected results in what
was considered to be a rebuilding year and reached the AFC Championship
game for the first time since 2011 when they won the Super Bowl. Despite
falling here in Texas, it has to be considered a very good year for the
Broncos. The Broncos can start preparation for the upcoming draft in
May, holding additional picks in the first, second, and sixth rounds,
but without a pick in the third round, having traded that and Nick Foles
for veteran quarterback Eli Manning during the final trade week.
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III. STANDINGS
http://www.blades99.com/ISFL/Standings19.htm
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IV. RESULTS – Championship Round Results
Denver 17 Houston 29
V.
SCHEDULE
Super Bowl 23
VI.
TRANSACTIONS
AFC
BUF –
CLE –
DEN –
HOU –
IND –
MIN –
NE -
NYJ –
PIT –
SF
- TEN –
NFC
ARZ –
ATL -
CAR –
DET –
GB
-
KC
-
MIA –
PHI –
SEA –
LAR –
DRAFT
PICKS FORFEITED:
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VII.
OTHER NEWS:
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
WEEK
ONE
OFFENSE: Mitchell Trubisky, CHI – 38 of 45 for 505 yards, 5 TDs
WEEK
TWO
OFFENSE: Drew Brees, DAL – 28 of 35 for 408 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Roquan Smith, CHI – 1 INT, 18 tackles
WEEK
THREE:
OFFENSE: Julio Jones, SF – 7 catches, 200 yards, 3 TDs
DEFENSE: Donte Jackson, GB – 2 INTs, 10 tackles
WEEK
FOUR:
OFFENSE: Jared Goff, NYG – 23 of 34 for 350 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Janoris Jenkins, PHI – 15 tackles
WEEK
FIVE:
OFFENSE: Aaron Rodgers,IND – 30 of 53 for 361 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Kyle Fuller, SEA – 2 INTs, 4 tackles
WEEK
SIX:
OFFENSE: Cam Newton, NE – 29 of 38 for 378 yards, 3 TDs
DEFENSE: Eddie Jackson, PHI – 2 INTs, 4 tackles
WEEK
SEVEN:
OFFENSE: Kirk Cousins, SD – 32 of 40 for 374 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Shawn Williams, NYJ – 2 INTs, 10 tackles, 1 stuff, 1 pass
defense
WEEK
EIGHT:
OFFENSE: Robbie Anderson, DAL – 5 catches, 172 yards, 2 TDs (game winner
OT)
WEEK
NINE:
OFFENSE: Derek Carr, CAR – 35 of 50 for 443 yards, 5 TDs
WEEK
TEN:
OFFENSE: DeAndre Hopkins, NYG – 12 catches for 174 yards, 2 TDs
DEFENSE: Kiko Alonso, MIA – 2 INTs, 10 tackles
WEEK
ELEVEN:
OFFENSE: Matt Ryan, SF – 28 of 41 for 413 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Jalen Ramsey, JAX – 1 INT, 14 tackles
WEEK
TWELVE:
OFFENSE: Antonio Brown, CAR – 9 catches, 153 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Ryan Kerrigan, PHI – 3 sacks, 5 tackles
WEEK
THIRTEEN:
OFFENSE: Sammy Watkins, CAR – 6 catches, 187 yards, 3 TDs
DEFENSE: Haason Reddick, SD – 17 tackles
WEEK
FIFTEEN
OFFENSE: Mitchell Trubisky, CHI – 28 of 32 for 322 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Earl Thomas, SEA – 2 INTs, 5 tackles
WEEK
SIXTEEN
OFFENSE: Russell Wilson, NO – 26 of 34 for 437 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Deion Jones, BUF – 1 INT, 19 tackles
WEEK
SEVENTEEN
OFFENSE: Melvin Gordon III, LAR – 32 carries, 192 yards, 1 TD
DEFENSE: Darius Leonard, KC – 1 INT, 3 sacks, 9 tackles
WILDCARD ROUND
OFFENSE: Patrick Mahomes, JAX – 21 of 41 for 356 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Jimmy Smith, LAR – 2 INTs, 2 tackles
DIVSIONAL ROUND
OFFENSE: Jared Goff, NYG – 20 of 31 for 269 yards, 4 TDs
DEFENSE: Carmeron Jordan, NO – 2 sacks, 5 tackles, 2 hurries, 1 stuff
CONFERENCE FINALS
OFFENSE: Phillip Lindsay, NO – 16 carries for 94 yards, 1 TD
DEFENSE: Luke Kuechley, HOU – 8 tackles, 1 pass defense, 2 stuffs, 1
forced fumble |