Xtra issue 2

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Copyright Š 2017 by XRFL: Xtreme Reality Football League. All Rights Reserved.

Used under Authorization.

Published via electronic platform Issue. Issue is a Trademark if Issue Publishing.

Do not reprint any photos or stories contained within this publication without the express permission of the periodical author.

Follow the XRFL on our website: http://xrfl.wordpress.com and on our Facebook group page.

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Things have been a little hectic with my work schedule lately, so I appreciate your patience with me as we continue to put out a good product. The league has also had a busy couple OF weeks, as we have quite a bit of turnover in our team owners.

We are proud to continue the search until we find the best 32 members for this league. Enjoy and thanks again for your patience!

6 Miami’s Smothering Defense 8 Power Rankings 11 Team of the Week 12 Who’s Got the Best WR Corps?

16 Scouting Report 18 Rivalries in the XRFL 21 Meet your Opponent 22 -23 Where You at Bro?

XRFL Commissioner

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Written by: Jas Anthony

During the Tom Brady era inside the AFC EAST, the New England Patriots have dominated the division year after year. The Miami Dolphins have constantly been the team with the most potential and promise to knock the Patriots off the top of the division. The 2018 version of the Dolphins have them sitting at 101 with a one game lead over New England and two meetings still between the two that will decide the division. What is the biggest change between the 2017 and 2018 Dolphins? DEFENSE. In 2017, the Dolphins ranked as the 29th best defense in the league. A change now that sees them ranked 5th in the league giving up 19.1 points a game with an average winning margin of 17 points a victory. The change is thanks to the resurgence of the Dolphins defensive pass

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rush. The dolphins defensive front is smothering opponents forcing them to become a predictable and onedimensional offense. Their relentless pass rush is lead by Cameron Wake, the former Penn State standout, who currently leads the XRFL in sacks with 18. Both he and Von Miller of the Denver Broncos are on pace to break the single season sack record of 22 set by Mark Gastineau of the New York Giants in 1984. Wake is coming off of a couple injury filled seasons and now is starting to finally gel with Ndamukong Suh. Inside the AFC, Wake is also the favorite to win defensive player of the year.

The Dolphins defense is especially stingy inside the red zone. Of the 26 trips allowed to the red zone, only 14 have resulted in touchdowns, 3 others in a field goal giving them the 4th best red zone defense scoring percentage at 65%. Miami’s secondary has struggled and statistically ranks in the middle of the pack, but recent trade moves have added veteran CB Joe Haden to shore up the corner spot. Haden will join lock-down defender Byron Maxwell as they attempt to add interceptions to their list of defensive exploits this season. (continued on page 9)

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All eyes will continue to be on Miami as they look to cement all roads to the Super Bowl in the AFC to have to travel through Miami. New England will look to have something to say about that in weeks 12 and 14. Does Brady have enough left in the tank to outsmart the Dolphins defense? Will a week 13 home game against the Broncos be a trap game? At the least this war will be settled on the football field, the Dolphins defense will look to win their battle and setup their offense with short fields moving forward, to become NFC contenders.

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The Jets are a team that has struggled to find consistency this season. They started off with a big win over their divisional rival the Bills. Then they lost seven straight games. At that point, the Jets owner quit the league. A new owner, Harley Maszczak, was brought in to right the ship. The Jets under Harley lost their first matchup, but have since won three straight matchups. Statistically, the Jets rank in the bottom 5 in almost every statistical category (offense, defense, etc). They do have the third most fumble recoveries (8) and are tied for the most successful 2 point conversions (3). It does seem that they are improving though under the new ownership.

While the playoffs may be a stretch, they may just be able to pull out a winning season (but they would have to be basically win out).

Here’s wishing the Jets (and Harley) the best of luck. #JET UP

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One of the keys to having a prolific offense in the XRFL is having a core of reliable wide receivers. In this week's edition, we will take a look at the top 5 WR corps in the league!

1. Atlanta Falcons The number one spot belongs to the Atlanta Falcons who have the #2 passing attack in the league and are lead by the #1 WR in the league. Julio Jones leads the core of receivers with 60 receptions, 1,091 yards and 8 touchdowns. Jones is the first player this season to reach the 1,000 yards receiving mark and could be on the path to setting an NFL record in that category. The next target for Matt Ryan is speedster Taylor Gabriel with 46 receptions, 710 yards and 5 touchdowns. Mohamed Sanu has been a reliable target for Matt Ryan the last few seasons and continues to be as he's pulled in 38 targets for 470 yards but just 1 touchdown. Any defense who has the Falcons on their remaining schedule better

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bring their A game or risk getting torched by this aerial assault.

2. Houston Texans One of the more surprising WR groups is the Houston Texans. After trading away Deandre Hopkins and Will Fuller V to begin the season, no one thought much of Houston's passing attack. You could ask if it's more Aaron Rodgers than the WR but none the less the Texans statistically have a top 5 WR group. Aaron Rodgers top target is a newcomer in Terrelle Pryor Sr., who leads the team with 36 receptions for 891 yards and a whopping 14 touchdowns. Second on the pecking order is rookie Taywan Taylor with 33 receptions, 709 yards and 6 touchdowns. Speedster Tyler Lockett gives Rodgers a home run threat with 28 receptions, 606 yards and 6 touchdowns. Could Houston have three 1,000 yard receivers by seasons end?

3. Philadelphia Eagles Carson Wentz has 2 very reliable targets in Philly with offseason signee Alshon Jeffery and veteran Torrey Smith. This may not be the deepest group in the league but with the numbers these guys are putting up, they have to be on the list. Alshon Jeffery leads the team with 836 yards on 36 receptions with Torrey Smith’s 40 receptions and 737 yards not

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far behind. Nelson Agholor serves as the teams 3rd WR bringing in 17 passes for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns. If Philly can get Agholor to make more of an impact and take some of the load off of Jeffery and Smith, watch out NFC East.

4. Cleveland Browns Had we taken a look at the top 5 WR groups to begin the season, you would have seen Cleveland near the bottom of the list. Thanks to the front office this WR corps has been completely rebuilt to help rookie QB and potential AFC ROTY Deshone Kizer thrive with a lethal passing attack. It's hard to pick who really leads a group that bolsters Martavis Bryant (42/623/4), Jordan Matthews (36/644/3), Will Fuller V (29/455/5) and Josh Gordon (21/276/5). Its an air raid that no one player can be overlooked while defenses game plan. Making the Browns passing game even harder to defend is their RB/WR hybrid Ty Montgomery who actually leads the league in receptions and team in receiving touchdowns with 63/7.

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5. New Orleans Saints There is plenty of passing on the bayou with the New Orleans Saints. A lot of times when it comes to WR groups, the question can be “Is it the WRs or the QB that really make this group tick?” When it comes to the Saints, the answer is both. The WR group is lead by one of the best veterans and also one of the best young guns in the league. Jordy Nelson, the veteran, was traded from Green Bay to New Orleans earlier this season and has not missed a beat with Drew Brees throwing him the balls as opposed to Aaron Rodgers. He’s racked up 516 yards on 31 receptions and 6 touchdowns. Mike Thomas, the young gun that leads this group, is having a slightly better season with 39 receptions, 593 yards and 4 touchdowns. Individually, neither are even top 15 in receiving yards but the combination of the 2 along with Willie Snead IV (31/453/7) lead one of the best passing attacks in the XRFL collectively. Drew Brees has plenty of weapons to choose from in this high powered passing attack.

Honorable Mentions

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Written by: Jas Anthony

Injuries to the Buffaloes long snapper led to Schmidt moving over to Center from Left Guard his senior season. Schmidt has excelled at the position, the fact that he only has 8 career starts at center make him a late round project.

The second generation Center has all the talent and ability to immediately make an impact at the next level. Scouts though will hold back a bit until they see him perform in the senior bowl against Division 1 talent. Carney has great hand and foot work, and excels at maintaining blocks. Scouts were scratching their heads about his run block and pass block consistency.

Dreisbach has been the glue holding together the Seminoles offensive line. He consistently wins battles in the trenches. Scouts are drooling over his freak physical ability, he's a must have to solidify your line in the first round. He has killer strength and opens up holes for the run game. This guy would be a monster addition to a good line.

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This kid is one of the best run blockers in the entire draft. The only reason he will fall to the late 1st round or early 2nd is his recent struggles with pass blocking. He is still a talent non the less and scouts will take a chance on him if he's available in the draft.

One of the building blocks for UCLA’s pass heavy offense has been it’s starting center this season. Burr does well in this scheme with decent strength. He seems to get lost on run plays and anytime he is required to pull out of the line for blocking. It has also been suggested that he is a little slow. Perhaps a team will work with him to increase his mechanics in the run game.

Russ was thrust into this position after repeatedly (and very publicly) demanding to be left at Right Tackle. Russ performs well in zone run schemes, but beyond that he doesn’t have the skill to be a good pass blocked. Add to that his off the field antics (remember when he was arrested a few years ago for domestic violence?), and he might just find himself on the free agency.

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Written by: Chris O’Donohue

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Daniel Huffman Lives in: Middletown, Delaware Age: 27 Occupation: Supply /Distro for State of DE In a Relationship with one 3 yr old son Favorite Team: Cowboys Favorite NFL player:

DeMarcus Ware,

because he is the most dominant DE I've ever watched, love the way he plays love that he's a respectable player on and off the field Favorite Memory of the Cowboys: My favorite memory is the Marion Barber run on the Patriots where he broke about ten tackles in the backfield. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=L19qwz7ryZ8&app=desktop

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The above map shows approximate locations for each team user. This map can be used to help schedule your games against a certain opponent by understanding what time zone they are in.

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Oshawa, Ontario

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