BDL Discussion Thread 2024

[MWil23]

5 minutes ago, InjuredReserve said:

Was tempted to respond to this earlier with "So true." 

But I was 50% sure this was a trap for Blue to unleash "Not your gameplan loser."

I cast my quarterly vote this week.

I shall return around Halloween to vote on another matchup to be determined.

[Scoundrel]

1 minute ago, SirA1 said:

I think I voted in every game. Day 6 without power so not likely to comment more than I already have. Standings also won't be updated until tomorrow morning whenever I can get up to the food hall I have been using for internet.

[Scoundrel]

1.1 Raleigh 0-4 (-37)

1.2 Cwmfelinfach 1-3 (-15)

1.3 Greenland 1-3 (-40)

1.4 Rome 1-3 (-22) (DV1)

1.5 Lancaster 1-3 (-10) (DV1)

1.6 Akureyri 1-2-1 (-7) (DV1

1.7 Quebec 2-2 (-11) (DV1)

1.8 Hungary 2-2 (-6) (DV1)

1.9 New Orleans 2-2 (-3) (DV1)

1.10 Berlin 2-2 (7) (DV1) 

1.11 Cuba 2-1-1 (13) (DV1)

1.12 Las Vegas 3-1 (20) (DV1)

1.13 Ivory Coast 3-1 (24) (DV1)

1.14 Anchorage 3-1 (36) (DV1)

1.15 Svalbard 3-1 (25) (DV2)

1.16 Cancun 4-0 (26) (DV2)

[Scoundrel]

1.1 Raleigh- Travis Hunter Everything Colorado 

1.2 Cwmfelinfach- Will Johnson CB UM

1.3 Greenland- Mason Graham INT UM

1.4 Rome- Deone Walker INT UK

1.5 Anchorage (from Lancaster)- Nic Scourton Edge TAMU 

1.6 Hungary (from Akureyri)- Kelvin Banks Jr OT Texas 

1.7 Quebec- Cam Ward QB Miami 

1.8 Berlin (from Hungary)- James Pearce Jr Edge Tennessee 

1.9 New Orleans- Will Campbell OT LSU 

1.10 Berlin- Malaki Starks S UGA 

1.11 Lancaster (from Cuba)- Luther Burden lll WR Mizzou

1.12 Las Vegas- Tetairoa McMillan WR Arizona 

1.13 Ivory Coast- Ashton Jeanty RB Boise State 

1.14 Anchorage- Tyler Booker OG Alabama 

1.15 Berlin (from Svalbard)- Benjamin Morrison CB ND 

1.16 Las Vegas (from Cancun)- Kenneth Grant INT UM

[SirA1]

Standings updated in the Roster Sheet. @bcb1213

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-news-roundup-latest-league-updates-from-wednesday-oct-2

Edited Thursday at 01:24 PM by SirA1

[Blue]

A third of the way through the season, let's do a thirdly review of the teams and what their biggest issues are right now!

1.      Raleigh Firebirds: Quarterback

I don’t think anyone, including the Firebirds, are surprised by where they are here. They acquired a whopping four QBs this offseason to go along with 2023 No. 2 overall pick Bryce Young. Of those players, two are backups and a third (Young) was benched. Both Fields and Stafford have been…serviceable but very much low-end BDL material. It looks like another lost season in Raleigh and it's tough to see what Raleigh does going forward with no clear No. 1 pick at QB in the upcoming rookie class.

2.      Greenland Polar Bears: Defensive line

Consistent misses on dart-board throws along the defensive line have been exacerbated by injury issues in Greenland, and injuries have also taken a toll on an otherwise-deep offensive line. That said, the offensive weapons are downright scary and the back seven is both talented and deep. With a tough early schedule and No. 1 pick Caleb Williams starting slow, Greenland is a lot better than their record shows.

3.      Cwm Pterodactyls: Depth

Nobody is surprised the Dactyls are this low, but they’ve shown some really impressive signs of life. Depth issues along the offensive line have reared their ugly head early, and there are serious depth issues along the entire defense. The rest of the season will likely be about trying different lineups and gameplans to see what flies with voters for next year. Absolutely nothing for them to be ashamed of so far, and the hope is that Jayden Daniels continues to impress and stay healthy.

4.      Rome Eternals: Basically the entire offense

This is not at all where anyone would have projected Rome in the preseason, where they looked like their annual BizzBowl contending selves. With at least four offensive tackles hurt or benched so far this year, a badly-struggling running back group, and receivers hamstrung by bad QB play IRL to go along with a hobbled Justin Herbert, this might go down as a lost year in Rome unless Sam Darnold somehow keeps up his CPOY campaign.

5.      Lancaster Werewolves: The passing game

Viewed as a potential BizzBowl favorite going into the year, the continued bafflingly poor play of Jalen Hurts as well as the cap-mandated decision to trade away Michael Pittman for Chris Godwin, who was then 3 Downed, are the big stories here. Lancaster has an elite defense as always, but surely with the benefit of hindsight they would have kept Pittman or Godwin instead of signing Marquise Brown, David Montgomery, and Ikem Ekwonu (via trade). The OT situation still isn’t sorted out in Lancaster, either, with 1^st round pick Olu Fashanu buried on the bench IRL until last week. A midseason Sirianni firing or a blockbuster trade might be the only things to salvage their season.

6.      Akureyri Huldufolk: Offensive playmaking

The QB duo might be the biggest story here, with both playing poorly and getting hurt. With a shallow group of skill players around them and very little explosion on offense along to go with generally subpar BDL offensive line talent, a strong and deep defense just hasn’t been able to carry them against any team with a pulse. In a feisty division, they really need Love to get back to his late 2023 form and fast.

7.      Quebec Nordiques: Injuries

Losing Tua to yet another concussion so early is a brutal hit (pun intended), especially as Kirk Cousins hasn’t impressed so far in Atlanta. Losing the top 2 receivers has tested a deep receiver group, while the edge depth has had everything bad possible happen to it. There is plenty of talent on this roster if key offensive players can get and stay healthy, and I wouldn’t count Quebec out of a late playoff run quite yet given they are in the worst BDL division by a mile.

8.      Hungary Hippos: Run the ball, stop the run

This is a good, not great team that is kind of having to patch things together right now at running back and in the trenches. Even a good one-dimensional offense like Hungary’s can’t overcome what is likely the league’s worst run game, while their own run defense is a sieve right now thanks to injuries. Their salary cap situation really hamstrings what they can do to address these problems, and it might make sense to accept they aren’t winning a BizzBowl this year and make some trades for the future.

9.      New Orleans Jazz: The trenches

We probably wouldn’t be talking about the Jazz here if they hadn’t faced an apocalyptic number of DNPs in Week 4 at defensive tackle. This is an offense built to grind out boring yardage all day long and get just enough big plays from Josh Allen and his top two receivers to keep defenses from crowding the box. However, the Jazz’s refusal to invest on offensive line until Shark Tank has come back to haunt them with a whopping four potential centers out with injury and facing down Rob Havenstein or injury-prone Jack Conklin at right tackle. This doesn’t feel like the BizzBowl contending New Orleans teams of the past, but we’ll have to see how the rest of the season plays out for them.

10.  Berlin Blitzkrieg: Slow starts

Another team with BizzBowl aspirations that really didn’t expect to be here, four early injuries to important players at positions of bad depth and horrible starts to the season from their Week 1 starters at receiver have left Berlin in a tight spot. That said, the tight ends are starting to really step up, Jayden Reed has put the team on his back doe, and there’s still time for the interior OL to sort itself out positively. The Blitzkrieg will probably still win their division when all is said and done, and they’re still on the short list of title contenders record notwithstanding.

11.  Cuba Smugglers: Consistency on offense

The move to Aaron Rodgers at QB, even with his new injury issues, may have saved the season here. A front seven susceptible to the run and a VERY shallow offensive line still finding its footing are issues holding the team back, but there’s a lot of talent here if Zay Flowers and the OL can get on track. A couple serious injuries to starters will absolutely sink this roster, however, and the QB situation merits keeping an eye on. Cuba has to figure things out, but they have the benefit of a bad division keeping them in the playoff race and hosting a first-round game, at that.

12.  Las Vegas Bangers: Pass defense

I don’t think anyone expected the Bangers to be here at this stage of the season, including them. Riding an explosive passing game, the Bangers are somehow overcoming an awful Edge rotation and a lack of depth at cornerback to a three-game winning streak over teams struggling much more than they are. This team doesn’t look built to last here, with offensive line, running back, and pass defense problems, but winning another 5 games with their shockingly easy schedule seems immensely doable.

13.  Ivory Coast Black Rhinos: The schedule

Another team that has surprised out the gates, Ivory Coast has overcome some early injuries with an elite defensive line, solid OL play, and a strong passing attack. A playoff appearance seems likely, but they’re going to need to rack up some wins in the next few weeks before the schedule gets tougher down the stretch.

14.  Anchorage Aliens: Youth on offense

It speaks to the incredible job Anchorage has done acquiring depth as well as top-end talent that they are relying heavily on rookie-contract players on offense, losing elite starters on defense, and still have the inside track for a top-2 playoff seed. The defensive line and run defense as a whole are showing major cracks with Vita Vea and now Micah Parsons missing time, but the cornerback room is the best in the league. The rookie wall may yet be the Achilles’ heel for this team in the playoffs, but for now they’re living up to their contender status even in what looked like a big rebuilding year on offense.

15.  Svalbard Miners: The talent ceiling

One of the most complete teams in the league, yes, but one with a lower amount of top-end players than other teams with worse records, in my opinion. Dak Prescott helms an offense full of playmakers, but Svalbard still needs to convince voters that Dak can get the job done in the playoffs—especially with players like Colton McKivitz, Lucas Patrick, and Will Fries currently holding down the fort on the offensive line and the pass rush completely dependent on Jonathan Greenard and newly-acquired role player Will McDonald (for now).

16.  Cancun Kaiju: Veteran underperformance on defense

In a strange turn of events, it’s been Cancun’s unrelenting offense that has kept them unbeaten through four weeks. Zyon McCollum, Jaylen Watson, and Travis Jones have had breakout seasons as full-time starters defensively, but that’s come along with several big-name vets greatly underperforming on that side of the ball. The defensive line needs to get on track in the pass-rush department while Jack Jones and the safeties (outside of Jalen Pitre) need to get back to their 2022-23 levels of play if Cancun is going to finally get over the semi-finals hump in the playoffs. With games against Berlin, Anchorage, Svalbard, and New Orleans (twice), the Kaiju are certainly going to be tested long before then.

[MWil23]

4 minutes ago, Blue said:

16.  Cancun Kaiju: Veteran underperformance on defense

 

In a strange turn of events, it’s been Cancun’s unrelenting offense that has kept them unbeaten through four weeks. Zyon McCollum, Jaylen Watson, and Travis Jones have had breakout seasons as full-time starters defensively, but that’s come along with several big-name vets greatly underperforming on that side of the ball. The defensive line needs to get on track in the pass-rush department while Jack Jones and the safeties (outside of Jalen Pitre) need to get back to their 2022-23 levels of play if Cancun is going to finally get over the semi-finals hump in the playoffs. With games against Berlin, Anchorage, Svalbard, and New Orleans (twice), the Kaiju are certainly going to be tested long before then.

[Blue]

1 minute ago, MWil23 said:

Coach gotta get on their *****, they're letting him down out there

[PR]

Was this a trade for the future? Or the present?

[Blue]

Just now, PR said:

Was this a trade for the future? Or the present?

Why not both?

But I'd lean more towards present given the value of the picks given up.

[InjuredReserve]

Good **** Blue. I enjoyed it.

[InjuredReserve]

My fav part was Blue being like Cancun has some problems. I mean they are all Mwil related, but they exist haha.

[Malfatron]

1 hour ago, Blue said:

Berlin Blitzkrieg: Slow starts

Well, thats over at least.

Undefeated the rest of the way

[MWil23]

22 minutes ago, InjuredReserve said:

My fav part was Blue being like Cancun has some problems. I mean they are all Mwil related, but they exist haha.

[Blue]

38 minutes ago, InjuredReserve said:

My fav part was Blue being like Cancun has some problems. I mean they are all Mwil related, but they exist haha.

I mean, I put the roster together, but I’m happy to yell at Mwil to Do Better