BUAFL As It Stands: Challenge Cup Playoff

Following on from the Championship Playoff Wildcard bracket we take a look at the Challenge Cup playoffs if they were to start today. Take a look at our opening article to see how we got to the fixtures we are looking at today.

North

Lincoln Colonials @ Glasgow Tigers

Lincoln come into this game as underdogs to a Glasgow team that will feel hard done by to end up outside of the Championship playoffs and Glasgow would very quickly show why they were favourites quickly scoring two TD’s in the first quarter.

Lincoln responded in the second when deep in his own half QB Simon Wilkinson floated a pass to Wide Receiver Tom Bray who broke a tackle and ran the ball the length of the field. This however was the lone bright spot for Lincoln as they struggled to put anything together for the rest of the game as Glasgow dominated on defence and put up two more touchdowns as the game wound down to run out convincing winners at 28-7 and will play Hull Sharks in the quarter finals.

Chris Peel leads the Bradford Offence

Northumbria Mustangs @ Bradford Bears

The second of our Northern Wildcard games sees a clash between Northern and Border rivals as Northumbria travel down to take on Bradford.

The first quarter of the game showed that both teams were nervous of the occasion as misfires on offence prevented any team getting on the scoreboard and allowed the punters to rack up some serious yardage.

Challenging Traditional thinking: Pulaski Academy

An interesting article by Sports Illustrated looking at the Pulaski Academy and their philosophy:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/scorecasting/09/15/kelley.pulaski/index.html

They never punt on 4th down, don't return punts and have a myriad of onside kick options to get the ball back after they score (or they just kick it out of bounds).

Far from being a mad cap approach to the game, Head Coach Kevin Keely's thinking is grounded on statistical facts factoring in the probablility of an opponent scoring from certain areas of the field and the average net return.

Why are coaches rooted to the tradition of punting the ball away, even if it goes against all statistical sense? Could an approach like this be viable in British American Football?

Championship Playoffs Wild Card Weekend

Today we look at how the Championship wildcard matchups would play out and who would end up being a hero or villain for their respective teams based on the standings we produced before Christmas. Playoff predictions: As it stands. Remember it’s just a little fun to warm the cockles in the cold barren Christmas break.

North

Stirling Clansmen #6 @ Hallam Warriors #3

Despite being outplayed for majority of the first quarter, it was the Clansmen who struck first with a TD pass from Luis Stephenson to Dion Feather. Unfortunately this would be the highlight of the first half for Stirling as the high scoring Hallam offence took control of the game with four rushing TD’s of their own, scoring 32 straight points. The Warriors touchdowns came courtesy of Danny Pyle (2), James Musonda and QB Jacob Muncey.

The third quarter turned into a defensive battle with two interceptions for the Hallam defence (Aden Flannagan and Mike Whiston respectively) and a fumbleforced by Stirling MLB Zake Muluzi was recovered by Shaun Leslie for the first Stilring turnover. The only score of the half was a 6 yard passing TD for the Warriors from Muncey to TE Josh Bayley. The PAT was good 39-7 at the end of the third.

Pyle continued his good game with another two rushing touchdowns and the Warriors FB Richard Griffiths piled over for the final score of the game. For the Clansmen their scores came courtesy of a Muluzi fumble recovery in the endzone and a rushing TD. Stirling replied with two more TD’s of their own,but the game ended with the final score 59-20 to Hallam.

With a win Hallam now head off to the number 2 seed Newcastle in the next round of the playoffs.

BUAFL Breakdown: Northern Conference (Part 2)

Manchester Tyrants

With the introduction of a new set of coaches this season, including new Head Coach Hugh English, the Tyrants are clearly a team in transition. Despite being involved in a number of close fixtures against Bradford and York, losing by a single score or less, Manchester seem to have taken a backward step when it comes to putting points on the board.

With fixtures against local rivals Manchester Met Eagles, Sheffield Sabres and conference leaders Hallam Warriors to come, there are sterner tests ahead for the Tyrants this season and it seems unlikely that the Lancashire side will see their 0-4 record improve.

Manchester Metropolitan Eagles

Manchester Met have been involved in some close battles so far this season against York and a nail-bitter with the Celtics, which took two periods of overtime to decide. Head Coach Jim Blinkhorn may be regretting going for the win in that one, but it shows the confidence he obviously has in his offence. But for a forceful hit in the end zone, he may have been vindicated in that decision.

Out of the sides in the bottom half of the table, the Eagles arguably have the easiest run-in to the end of the season with fixtures against the also winless Stallions, Fury and bottom-of-the-table rivals, Manchester Tyrants. With the defensive showing displayed against York, a rampant Bangor offence and Leeds Celtics it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Eagles finished the season strongly, but in these tight defensive battles it all comes down to who is able to get that ball into the end zone.   

BUAFL Breakdown: Northern Conference

Sheffield Hallam Warriors
The Hallam Warriors are looking unstoppable at the moment. Their offence is averaging over 76 points a game with MVP candidate Danny Pyle leading a potent rushing attack. Their defence is also strong having conceded only to Hull and they have only one real challenge left this year against their cross town rivals the Sheffield Sabres. That said, the Steel Bowl will probably only be a formality for Coach Batty and his boys.

Without a serious upset, Hallam are destined to go 8-0 in regular season games, but they have everything to prove in the playoffs. Many have written off Hallam as soon as they come up against one of the big four (Portsmouth, Hertfordshire, Birmingham and Loughborough), so it’s up to the Warriros to show that they have the versatility to cope with the other teams that are regarded as the league’s best.

Sheffield Sabres
With a relatively easy first half of the season, Sheffield will have to step it up for the second. The Sabres have played some of the north’s worst in Huddersfield and Lancaster and although they still have bottom of conference Tyrants to play, they also have to take on Hallam, Carnegie and Bradford. 

Losses against Bradford or Carnegie will put them out of the playoffs and perhaps out of the plate, however the biggest game of them all will be against Steel City rivals Hallam. If they win, they will clinch the conference. If they lose they will be in a ‘points conceded’ battle against Hull who have only been scored on by Bradford and Hallam – two teams the Sabres have yet to play.

UH Sharks
Hull have an easy schedule after Christmas which is probably a good thing as they have had some close run ins in their last three games. Their special teams did the scoring against Carnegie, but they conceded over fifty against Hallam and couldn’t get their offence to finish against Huddersfield. With games against three teams whose offences have only managed to put up a combined 117 points in 13 games, the Sharks will be looking to their defence to win them some games.

If Hull can go the last three games without conceding a point then they’re in with a good shot at the playoffs. Either way, they are likely to see some form of postseason football.

Bradford Bears
Although the Bears had a slow start, it looks like they are starting to find their form. Perhaps this is what you’d expect from a rookie team with a large and experienced coaching staff and with Hull being the only team to have scored on the Bears, they look to have taken on the ‘Defence wins championships’ philosophy. 

Bradford will be looking to build on their momentum and come in to the Sabres game with all guns blazing. This is a huge game for both teams because if Bradford cause an upset and win, they could be in the plate in their first season and depending on how Bangor do against Carnegie, could potentially push the Sabres out of postseason all together! However This eventuality is unlikely, leaving Bradford as a long shot for postseason and a favourite for 5^th place in the conference.

Bangor Muddogs
Bangor have had a great season so far. Their first victories came this year, with the only loss being to the Sabres. With talk of some new imports coming over from the states for the start of 2012, Bangor will look to continue their form and hit post season football. They have two obstacles in their path though. 

The first is Carnegie and their stingy defence, a game which has the potential to be one of the highlights of the Northern Conference in the New Year.

The second is their schedule; they have already missed a game against Huddersfield and Bangor need to ensure that this game is replayed. Failing to do so could result in the game being awarded a tie, which could potentially cost the Muddogs a place in the plate.