Geno's Minor League Mashup Week 1: Welcome to Opening Day!
With the new wave of rookies starting their seasons in the SFLm this Friday, I thought it was about time to showcase the SFLm- in article form! The Minor League Mashup will be my opinion on the SFLm, focusing on the teams and games as a whole. We will also have a few guest predictions sprinkled in every week! This week, I'll be taking you through my thoughts on each team as well as my predictions for Week 1.
ALBUQUERQUE
The Atoms' offense will return Ty Ptak as their silver QB as well as Josh Slapp, as both (somehow) went undrafted last year. These two, with the WR corps, will need to lead strong, as the defense isn't looking as good as expected. With only three bronze players and no ILB, a strong run game will likely be able to beat this team to the ground.
Projected Record: 3-5
ANNAPOLIS
Since I am on the coaching staff for Annapolis, I will not be giving any projections or predictions for our games. We like to stay neutral here on the Minor League Mashup.
LEXINGTON
Lexington has quite a mix of colors on its portal page. Chad Moore will lead the way for the Miners offense, with fresh-face Willy Smoke at halfback. Alex Jackson and Xavier Solomon will likely be the two leading receivers, with the latter being a two-way. Expect an air raid-style offense from this team. On the defensive side, Lexington boasts quite the secondary, with 3 out of 4 defensive backs having a bronze or silver rating. With only two linebackers, this defense will also likely be susceptible to a run-heavy team.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Lexington is the only SFLm team with a contracted punter (Victor Ironleg).
Projected Record: 4-4
LINCOLN
With the two highest-rated players in the league (Logan Lee and Kenny Slider), Lincoln's offense is looking LETHAL. 3 bronze WRs will help support Slider and Lee in their quest to break records this season. There is no predicting how the Lincoln coaches will run this offense, as there are infinite possibilities here. For the defense, we see our first team with two defensive linemen, helping to support the pass rush off the edge. They will likely use ILB Dimitri Monzzuma as a blitzer up the middle, with the 5 contracted DBs supporting him in the secondary.
Projected Record: 7-1
MADISON
This Madison offense gives us our first offensive lineman so far in John Smith while also having 4 WR/TEs with bronze/silver ratings. Switch Thumper, the pocket passer, has the reigns here, with 5 contracted targets to throw to. They will try to keep up with Lincoln as the top offense in the SFLm. On the other side of the football, we see a very strong defense with a full LB corps. This defense feels like a blitz-heavy defense, as they have strong support from the secondary.
Projected Record: 4-4
OTTAWA
Ottawa has a new face at QB after John Lakeman was drafted last season. Duane Sammons looks to be the workhorse back with support from OT Ray Arnold. Azami Mihata earns two-way status as the TE2 in Motor City, with just one bronze WR beside him in Henry McGee. On the defense, we see another 2-man DL, with Leopold in the middle and Geddin on the end. Matt Ryan returns as a two-way FS, the only bronze safety on this roster.
Projected Record: 6-2
SAN JOSE
Austin Blanco is very happy about how this offense fell into place. With 3 WRs and 2 TEs, he'll have many options to throw to. Hunter McWaffle looks to help out on the ground with OT Janae Nicole supporting in the trenches. On the other side of the line, we see an empty DL, as San Jose has no contracted defensive linemen. However, they make up for that with three linebackers and 4 bronze contracts.
Projected Record: 1-7
TACOMA
Rounding out our team summaries is this offense-heavy Tacoma squad. King Jackson will lead his men into battle, with two-way receiver Rob Hunt supporting as the main target. With 5 receiving targets, KJ will look to spread the ball out and send it deep. Flipping the field, this defense is looking a bit weak. With only 3 contracted players in the front 7, it'll be tough to stop the star RBs of the SFLm. However, they do have 3 bronze players in the secondary, so the LBs will have some strong support.
Projected Record: 1-7
WEEK 1 PREDICTIONS:
Guest Predictions: Ty Ptak & TJ Harper
MAD @ ANN:
Geno: No prediction (Coach)
Ty: Ron Haines unleashes a season's worth of frustration on the Annapolis defense, as he and Switch Thumper power the Lynx to a 27-13 win.
TJ: Madison has a lot of big names returning. Switch, Lewis, Ron Hanes "The LB Deleter". Lots of great weapons on offense and not shabby on defense. Annapolis has a young team and needs to show they belong this week. They will ride as far as Chris Grant Jr can take them. Madison wins 27-21.
SJF @ LEX:
Geno: Lexington opens the season strong, as Guy Incognito snags 2 INTs en route to a 27-13 win.
Ty: Lexington's defense proves too tough and grounds the Flight in a 17-6 dogfight.
TJ: Another track team at receiver, but they don’t have their skills rounded out. I expect a lot of missed opportunities from this offense as the season goes on. Amazing CB duo of Frossil and Seatbelt. Excited to see if they are able to force turnovers. Lexington lost a lot of players to the draft this last season. They have some holdouts here in Kliganon and Tucker on defense. I don’t expect them to be a top contender this year due to the young roster. San Jose wins 32-17.
OTT @ TAC:
Geno: Ottawa traps the Grizzlies in their stadium as the Cavalry storm to a 28-17 win.
Ty: The war of words between these two young QBs rages onward, as this one is tight all the way through. Ultimately, Tacoma comes out with the 28-27 victory.
TJ: Ottawa is the most terrifying. Young QB with burners all on offense. Sammons at halfback and Mihati at TE would be tough matchups for most defenses. King to Hunt connection can’t be denied and will force the issue against Ottawa secondary. I’d keep an eye on this young defense. I expect a lot of zone from them to try and keep the game close. Ottawa wins 28-27.
LIN @ ABQ:
Geno: The Logan Lee Show returns here with multiple TDs as Lincoln cruises, 31-20.
Ty: No predictions (player)
TJ: I have Lincoln as the league favorite due to the favorable builds of Lee, Slider and Fullerton. ABQ will put up a good fight and we will definitely see a potential playoff rematch. Lincoln wins 28-24.
Be sure to come back next week as I recap Week 1, as well as give my Week 2 predictions!
Take care,
GENO