XFL 2023: Third Time's the Charm!

[Red Comet]

Dean Blandino calling Arlington Dallas is one thing but the color commentator  just called Houston DC. 

 

Wow

And holy hell, I might actually be out $200. Renegades look great right now. 

 

Picture is the jersey I might wind up sending to @Ferdinand Cesarano

 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Red Comet

[MJWalker45]

Roughnecks look like they swapped positions from last week. They haven't been a good second half team, now they'll have to be. 

[Cujo]

1 hour ago, MJWalker45 said:

Roughnecks look like they swapped positions from last week. They haven't been a good second half team, now they'll have to be. 

 

To be fair neither team was trying last week because they both knew they were in

 

Also, damn shame Houston flamed out this season. They were the best team in the league over the first half of the season. #FIREWADE

[Sykotyk]

1 minute ago, Cujo said:

 

To be fair neither team was trying last week because they both knew they were in

 

Also, damn shame Houston flamed out this season. They were the best team in the league over the first half of the season. #FIREWADE

They rested on their laurels. After the good start, once they started losing, they just never regrouped but were far enough ahead to just coast into hosting their division playoff.

 

As troublesome as the XFL 1.0 crossover playoffs were (letting SF and LA playing in the first title by upset of the far better team Orlando), the division playoffs just feel hollow. It's four teams. Would the NFL like to let the top two in from each division and immediately play each other in the first round?

 

In a crossover this year, it would've been Arlington at DC and Seattle at Houston.  In a top 4 league-wide, it would've been DC v. St. Louis and Houston v. Seattle.

 

Either way, I figured at least one Houston spring football teams were going to win today.

[See Red]

28 minutes ago, Cujo said:

 

To be fair neither team was trying last week because they both knew they were in

 

Also, damn shame Houston flamed out this season. They were the best team in the league over the first half of the season. #FIREWADE

 

It's probably because they opened their season with Orlando twice, San Antonio, and Arlington. Then they played the only three good teams in the league and lost three straight.

 

 

[Cujo]

18 minutes ago, See Red said:

It's probably because they opened their season with Orlando twice, San Antonio, and Arlington. Then they played the only three good teams in the league and lost three straight.

 

Little did we know at the time.

 

That being said, the DC/SEA winner should and better smoke Arlington in the Million Dollar Game

[Sykotyk]

Houston was definitely a sheep in wolf's clothing. SA might have been better but that come-from-behind win by STL to open the season snakebit them.  Not championship level, but that was a gut punch.

 

Seattle was good from day one, offensively... but their defense was usually pretty suspect. LV was terrible and Orlando was terrible for the first half the year until their miracle win over DC which was more DC being relaxed and assuming a win before they stepped on the field. Arlington obviously improved at the end, but survived the rest of the year on their defense.

[Cujo]

2 hours ago, Sykotyk said:

Seattle was good from day one, offensively... but their defense was usually pretty suspect. LV was terrible and Orlando was terrible for the first half the year until their miracle win over DC which was more DC being relaxed and assuming a win before they stepped on the field. Arlington obviously improved at the end, but survived the rest of the year on their defense.

 

DiNucci has been great when he's on. But some games he's been a complete liability. On the other hand, DC was the best, most consistent team from wire to wire. I would really be surprised if they don't win it all.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

  

On 4/29/2023 at 7:48 PM, Red Comet said:

And Perez throws a bomb to put the Renegades up 14-0. 

Not what I was expecting. 

 

Exactly what I was expecting!

 

 

23 hours ago, Red Comet said:

 

Picture is the jersey I might wind up sending to @Ferdinand Cesarano

 

Hehe!  I hereby releive you of that obligation.  Just the thrill of seeing Perez lead his team this far is enough for me.

 

If Perez's magic can topple D.C. in the championship game, it will rank up there with Namath beating the Colts, and will go down as one of the greatest sports stories of our time.

[McCall]

36 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

  

 

Exactly what I was expecting!

 

 

 

Hehe!  I hereby releive you of that obligation.  Just the thrill of seeing Perez lead his team this far is enough for me.

 

If Perez's magic can topple D.C. in the championship game, it will rank up there with Namath beating the Colts, and will go down as one of the greatest sports stories of our time.

I'm gonna assume, for your sake, that you are just overexaggerating that last part to mess with people.

[BBTV]

42 minutes ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

If Perez's magic can topple D.C. in the championship game, it will rank up there with Namath beating the Colts, and will go down as one of the greatest sports stories of our time.

 

I'd rank it just slightly under the Miracle on Ice, but above Namath beating the Colts, Gibson homering for the Dodgers, and Willis Reed starting game 7 for the Knicks in 1970.

[Red Comet]

At the very least, it would be quite the unexpected result from the perspective of 48 hours ago and frankly right now if the Arlington Renegades manage to pull it off. Defenders/Renegades reminds me more of the Mass Effect morality system then it does a football game IMO. 

Still, I think the Defenders win by 10 but I also thought the Renegades were going to get completely BTFO by Houston so who knows? 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Red Comet

[TrueYankee26]

Defenders bringing DC football back on the map for good reasons for the 1st time since January 1992.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

1 hour ago, McCall said:

2 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

If Perez's magic can topple D.C. in the championship game, it will rank up there with Namath beating the Colts, and will go down as one of the greatest sports stories of our time.

I'm gonna assume, for your sake, that you are just overexaggerating that last part to mess with people.

 

If I am overselling it a bit, I assure you that this is not a conscious attempt to mess with anyone.  Rather, it is a result of my being swept up in the excitement of the whole Perez phenomenon.

 

It's tempting to dismiss the magnitude of a potential Perez-led Renegades championship game victory over the consensus best team because the XFL is still new. But once the reality sinks in that that league is a permanent part of the landscape, that title, should he actually win it, will be looked at for all time as one of the signature moments in sporting history.

 

The comparisons to Joe Namath leading the Jets over the Colts are not perfect, as that game featured the champions of an upstart league facing the champions of the established league.

 

Still, every expert predicted that the Jets had no chance against the dominant Colts, and considered Namath unworthy to be mentioned in the same breath with his opposite number, the Colts' Johnny Unitas.  Likewise, we can expect that just about no pundits will give the Renegades any chance against the Defenders, who are clearly the league's top team, nor will they acknowledge Perez to be in the class of D.C.'s Jordan Ta'amu.

 

Then there are the unique aspects of this story.  Perez played no varsity football in high school; and what little football he played at the sub-varsity level was not at quarterback. His main sport at the time was bowling!  He has bowled about a dozen 300 games.

 

Perez walked on at Southwestern College in Southern California, and, despite being like 400th on the depth chart (I think it was actually ninth), wound up starting in his second year, after studying under Akili Smith and learning a great deal about the technical aspects of the position from watching YouTube videos. He transferred to Division II Texas A&M-Commerce, and, after redshirting for a year, played two years for his new school, leading them past heavily-favoured opposition to take the Division II national title, while being awarded D-II's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, the Harlon Hill Trophy. His is a truly amazing story.  I honestly cannot understand the mindset of a sports fan who is not fascinated by this.

 

Perez came to widespread attention with Birmingham in the AAF, where his leadership abiities were obvious.  He then had successful runs with the New York Guardians in the XFL and the New Jersey Generals in the USFL, before going back to the XFL and languishing on the bench of the Vegas Vipers. The Renegades acquired him late this season, and they became transformed. He was one bad (very bad!) call away from beating D.C. in week 9, so this championship game rematch is essentially mandated by the Universe.

 

The level-headed Perez is unlikely to issue any Namath-style "guarantees" for the title game match-up against favoured D.C. But if his poise and his confidence continue to have the effect on his team that they have had so far, and if he can actually bring down the mighty Defenders, this will be a story for the ages, one that no one will chuckle at when it is compared to Namath or Willis Reed or the other now-legendary sports stories.

[McCall]

8 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

If I am overselling it a bit, I assure you that this is not a conscious attempt to mess with anyone.  Rather, it is a result of my being swept up in the excitement of the whole Perez phenomenon.

 

It's tempting to dismiss the magnitude of a potential Perez-led Renegades championship game victory over the consensus best team because the XFL is still new. But once the reality sinks in that that league is a permanent part of the landscape, that title, should he actually win it, will be looked at for all time as one of the signature moments in sporting history.

 

The comparisons to Joe Namath leading the Jets over the Colts are not perfect, as that game featured the champions of an upstart league facing the champions of the established league.

 

Still, every expert predicted that the Jets had no chance against the dominant Colts, and considered Namath unworthy to be mentioned in the same breath with his opposite number, the Colts' Johnny Unitas.  Likewise, we can expect that just about no pundits will give the Renegades any chance against the Defenders, who are clearly the league's top team, nor will they acknowledge Perez to be in the class of D.C.'s Jordan Ta'amu.

 

Then there are the unique aspects of this story.  Perez played no varsity football in high school; and what little football he played at the sub-varsity level was not at quarterback. His main sport at the time was bowling!  He has bowled about a dozen 300 games.

 

Perez walked on at Southwestern College in Southern California, and, despite being like 400th on the depth chart (I think it was actually ninth), wound up starting in his second year, after studying under Akili Smith and learning a great deal about the technical aspects of the position from watching YouTube videos. He transferred to Division II Texas A&M-Commerce, and, after redshirting for a year, played two years for his new school, leading them past heavily-favoured opposition to take the Division II national title, while being awarded D-II's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, the Harlon Hill Trophy. His is a truly amazing story.  I honestly cannot understand the mindset of a sports fan who is not fascinated by this.

 

Perez came to widespread attention with Birmingham in the AAF, where his leadership abiities were obvious.  He then had successful runs with the New York Guardians in the XFL and the New Jersey Generals in the USFL, before going back to the XFL and languishing on the bench of the Vegas Vipers. The Renegades acquired him late this season, and they became transformed. He was one bad (very bad!) call away from beating D.C. in week 9, so this championship game rematch is essentially mandated by the Universe.

 

The level-headed Perez is unlikely to issue any Namath-style "guarantees" for the title game match-up against favoured D.C. But if his poise and his confidence continue to have the effect on his team that they have had so far, and if he can actually bring down the mighty Defenders, this will be a story for the ages, one that no one will chuckle at when it is compared to Namath or Willis Reed or the other now-legendary sports stories.

[Red Comet]

I guess we finally have the answer to who’s going to be in the next Million Dollar Game now.

[CS85]

10 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

But once the reality sinks in that that league is a permanent part of the landscape, that title, should he actually win it, will be looked at for all time as one of the signature moments in sporting history.

 

 

Also this XFL title game is trash.  Defenders should win in a route.

[IceCap]

13 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

If Perez's magic can topple D.C. in the championship game, it will rank up there with Namath beating the Colts, and will go down as one of the greatest sports stories of our time.

... what? 

[GDAWG]

 

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, GDAWG said:

 

He improved a lot from the start of the year up until the last game. That game vs DC was his best game of the season. I hope he makes a roster in the NFL, but if he doesn't I wouldn't mind him coming back to the Brahmas. 

15 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

If I am overselling it a bit, I assure you that this is not a conscious attempt to mess with anyone.  Rather, it is a result of my being swept up in the excitement of the whole Perez phenomenon.

He wasn't event eh most talked up QB this year that didn't end on the team they started with. Kyle Sloter disappeared from Arlington after Week 4 and is back in the USFL, and Paxton Lynch didn't touch the ball in San Antonio. So I think that experiment is probably done, unless he wants to play in the CFL and FCF this year too.  Perez got a lot of stick in Birmingham because he didn't throw touchdowns, but he'd get a lot of passing yards in games. Being gifted a wide open receiver with no safety coverage helped on Saturday though. 

 

15 hours ago, TrueYankee26 said:

Defenders bringing DC football back on the map for good reasons for the 1st time since January 1992.

Glad to see old school, slip sliding all over the field football yesterday. It was a great advert in the first half. IT was sad to see Seattle just turn into petulant kids by the middle of the fourth quarter though. That's still not as bad as what the Michigan Panthers did, but I think for Seattle, losing a game that badly at the end when they were in it for so long just led to acting up like that. 

 

On 4/29/2023 at 7:21 PM, Red Comet said:

Dean Blandino calling Arlington Dallas is one thing but the color commentator  just called Houston DC. 

 

Wow

And holy hell, I might actually be out $200. Renegades look great right now. 

 

 

I wonder if they'll be selling these at the game. I would think they might have all of the teams available if not just the two teams playing.