Ayo 12s!!
What a weekend for your Seattle Sea Dragons! Setting the stage: Going into their game on Sunday, they sat at 3rd place in the division, which only sends the top 2 teams to the playoffs. Their record left them with no choice, but to win-out the rest of the season, their first game coming against the team currently ahead of them in the division, the St. Louis Battlehawks, The most-embraced team of the XFL, with a stadium turnout that dwarfs the next 2 teams in attendance combined. And what's more, they've already beaten us once this season. Proud to say, this was not the case this weekend. Not even close.
The only negative that I'll put out there about the performance of the Sea Dragons this weekend, was midway through the first half, they seemed a bit deflated. Runs weren't gaining any ground, passes were dropped or poorly placed, morale seemed low, and the BH seemed to have the momentum to begin their noteworthy beatdown ability. But, for whatever reason, the tables turned and this team clicked like never before. Pass protection was everything we needed and more, running game was established between TJ Hammonds and former NFL running back Phillip Lindsay, with QB Ben DiNucci taking some down field himself and even finding himself in the endzone in one of my favorite shows of force I've seen from him.
Defensively, the coverage was exactly what it needed to be. They had some trouble on keeping the 3rd down conversions at bay, but our backs made it incredibly difficult for QB AJ McCarron to find a target. Run defense was nearly impenetrable. Nobody broke free for anything significant throughout the game, or at least nothing I found of note. And boy oh boy that pressure on the quarterback. McCarron took so many sacks from the Dragons, they'll end up charging him a bagging fee.
This game was about as textbook as it can get for our boys. Endless pressure partnered with discombobulation of the Battlehawks that led to several pointless penalties helped secure a much needed victory in the playoff fight.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR THIS WEEKEND: The Sea Dragons will wrap up the final week of the XFL when they host the Vipers on Sunday, and by that time, they'll know if their fate is in their hands. We need to win against the Vipers, first and foremost, but that means nothing, if the Orlando Guardians (1-8) don't rally for us and beat the Battlehawks to send them quietly into the night. Its going to be a heck of a fight, the Guardians' record doesn't bode confidence and they have nothing but pride to play for, and the Battlehawks have the playoffs on the line. Cheer loud and proud for the Guardians and send them all the good vibes you've got. If they win, then we only need to beat the Vipers to punch our ticket to the playoffs. I believe! Are you with me 12s?? Let's GET THIS DONE! With that, Mike Hawk is OUT!!