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Wayne Enterprises Tournament - Champions
The Tennessee Titans have won their first (unofficial) title. This past Sunday proclaimed champions of the first edition of Wayne Enterprises Tournament, Titans GM Apolo Shapiro was part of the committee that ran it, so when asked about the possibility of a rigged tournament, we tried to contact Bruce Wayne but he was in the fountain of the hotel he just bought with 2 supermodels. So, our only source of information was James Gordon, and he said: This tournament was running supervised by myself and nothing could’ve happened. We’re as safe as Arkham’s security . Jokes aside, not in love with the idea of win a tournament I ran, but someone had to win it, and Titans finally played as a team with multiple 1st rounders. Knowing how competitive this league is, I’ve made peace with Myself and assumed that maybe never wins a Superbowl, so at least winning this is a nice bonus, part of the idea behind the tournament was that, give GM’s an extra chance of compete and having more chances of win something. That said, let’s recap the Titans pathway during the tournament: First round – at Washington Redskins. Titans Gameplan: Offense: Panthers 51% pass - 51 % aggr - 90% HB Defense: Saints 51% pass - 51% aggr - 4-3 Redskins Gameplan: Offense: Packers 55% pass - 45% aggr - 80% HB Defense: 3-4 - 55% pass - 55% aggr - base 4-3 Comment: Our first game was vs my old divisional rival Justin Walstead, a rivalry born in the NFC West when I was the Cardinals GM, and he was the GM for Rams. The Titans also had a pending debt from 2010 SB lost vs Justin’s Rams. So it was an special game for first round. Also is nice to see Justin comeback to the league and he’s doing a fantastic job with his new team so the game wasn’t an easy match. For this game it was possible to lose, but had to be for few points, as tournament had a second chance round. My idea using Panthers playbook was to explore the unique package of plays they have, specially with multiple WR sets, it was worth trying and see the performance with it, and using Saints on defense was cause NO had one of the best defenses on 08, roster wise, so assuming it had plays or packages could use the strength of my depth on defense. We managed to play a very solid defensive game, limiting the damage vs one of the best QB of the league as Sam Bradford, Titans have been built around a defensive philosophy so we need that unit to show up for win games. A 2nd quarter with 20 points helped to clear the game and allowed the team to rely on rookie HB Derrick Henry, our cornerstone that is suppose to lead us to glory. Titans managed to start the tournament with a win vs Redskins 37-17 Notable performances HB Derrick Henry: 20 carries for 120 yards, 6 ypc, 1 TD LE Dion Jordan: 3 tackles, 2 sacks CB TJ Green: 1 tackle, 2 interceptions Second Round – at St. Louis Rams Titans Gameplan: Offense: Rams - 60% pass - 40% aggr - 90% hb Defense: Steelers - 55% pass - 55% aggr Rams Gameplan Offense: Patriots - 60% pass - 57% aggr - 90% hb Defense: Seahawks - 4/3 base - 55% pass - 60% aggr Comment: Felipe is a very good friend, but he’s also my main rival. When it comes to video-games, I’m extremely competitive vs him, specially on our Pokemon adventures, so having him at the 2nd round of the tournament was a sign I had to use Rams playbook (For this tournament each team could use Rams PB 1 time) if I went down vs Felipe I wanted to do it without limitations, also I was curious to test the banned PB and this might was the only chance I’ve had. For defense used the Steelers as favors the 3-4 and cause I have big admiration for coach Mike Tomlin for me one of the best coaches. We started the game down 14-0, with a defense struggled a lot. But we understood it was too early on the game and by playing the football we know. Phillip Rivers kept trying long passes (Potential effect of Rams PB). We went to halftime tied 28-28, but 2nd half was all for Titans and won the game by 49-28 score. 1 word for Felipe: Jolteon Notable performances QB Philip Rivers 16 of 29 – 409 yards – 4 TD – 1 Int – 125.4 QBR HB Derrick Henry 24 carries – 138 yards – 1 TD – 2 Receptions – 65 Yards – 1 TD CB Casey Hayward – 6 Tackles – 1 FF – 1 Int – 4 Dfl Quarter-Final Round – at Kansas City Chiefs Titans Gameplan Offense: Titans - 65% pass - 50% aggr - 90% hb Defense: Steelers - 55% pass - 55% aggr Chiefs Gameplan Offense: Rams - 60% pass - 60% aggr Defense: Steelers - 55% pass - 55% aggr Comment: Top 8 round, on the final draw, the tournament included batman characters. My team received Scarecrow while Rodany got Harley Quinn, so was moment to scare those Chiefs. Rod and me have developed a healthy rivalry, a vague term considering only one team delivers on field. I was expecting Rod to use Rams playbook, after the trick on our league game he was looking for revenge, so I decided to stay with my same Steelers defense, that has proven to not be amazing but is very consistent and use the strengths of my front 7. This defense have been great for pressure QB, if Rams PB rely on PA, blitz is the perfect counter as can sack the QB or break the pass mechanic before complete deep. For offense decided to go with Titans, initially did it cause, well, it’s my team but also have seen how well Norb have been with it. Norb have proved that this is a dangerous and solid playbook, I have very athletic WR and very happy with them, but no one has the kind of WR ravens had, the best of league. So was a big gamble As expected Rod used Rams PB, and he stole my defense so we were facing same defenses. As note on this stage of tournament we were using the after trade deadline file, so Chiefs already had the 3 elite defenders they added, that had me worry. The game was very close during first quarters, the defensive strategy was working well vs the banned PB, Chiefs got into red-zone some times but struggle to break Tomlin’s scheme and ended with fg. I feel the copycat defense call help us a lot, I think Steelers is a suicide kind defense, and Chiefs doesn’t have the speed Titans does, so we were able to move the ball score 2 TD and 5 FG enough for take the win and advance. Final Score 29-12, considering facing the most explosive playbook vs one of the most explosive teams as Chiefs, not allowing a TD is a massive statement for the defense I’ve left heart and soul for build Notable performances TE Jared Cook – 6 Receptions – 64 yards – 1 TD – 7 Pancakes MLB Denzel Perryman – 6 tackles – 1 TFL – 1 Sack K Caleb Sturgis – 5 FG Semifinal – at Carolina Panthers Titans Gameplan Offense: Titans - 65% pass - 50% aggr - 90% hb Defense: Steelers - 55% pass - 55% aggr Panthers Gameplan Offense: Chargers - 50% pass - 70% aggr - HB 90% Defense: 3-4 - 50% pass - 70% aggr Comment: Panthers are historically a team I struggle a lot vs, and the kind of team-building Phill have done in recent seasons complicate it more. My team is based on speed, Panthers are build around power and trenches, so definetily not a game I was looking for, and less being played in Carolina, at this point of the tournament all my games had Titans traveling and playing as away team. I kept exactly the same gameplan as did vs Chiefs, as liked how the team performed against a top opponent in Arrowhead. Phil kept the same gameplan during all tournament using high aggressiveness and balanced pass 50%, with a Chargers offensive playbook that focus on the Runningbacks, and 3-4 that is a very balance playbook. The game quickly became a defensive battle, with focus on field position, Panthers moved the ball and kept scoring Field Goals, when our offense woke up was able to score a TD and take a lead, seconds before halftime, destiny had a cruel move against us. With only 1 play on the last seconds of the half, QB Stanton (One of my former QB) managed to find a deep hail mary scoring 7 points. So instead go to halftime up 17-6, the game became closer to only 17-13. The 2nd half became even more defensive with none of the teams being able to even get close to redzone, we exchanged multiple punts, both teams scored a fg during 3rd quarter, reaching the 4th quarter with only 4 points lead. That isn’t good news, more when Panthers got close to just 1 point with a FG. At that moment I was getting mentally ready for a long pass or a play that set Panthers into FG range for eliminate us, but defense proved me wrong and managed to resist sending Titans to the Final! Notable performances CB Casey Hayward – 6 tackles – 1 Int – 1 TD – 1 dfl – 6 ctha WR Josh Gordon – 6 receptions – 105 yards – 1 TD LE Dion Jordan – 3 tackles – 2 TFL FINAL VS FALCONS Titans Gameplan Offense: Steelers - 55% pass - 55% aggr - 90% hb Defense: Steelers - 55% pass - 55% aggr Falcons Gameplan Offense: Run'N Gun - 35% pass - 45% aggr Defense: Bengals - 42% pass - 52% aggr Comment: It’s the final countdown! The moment of truth and for the first time on 5 games, luck gave us the home field advantadge so the first victory even if smaller was there during the draw. For the final game decided to follow my heart and use the gameplan of one of my favorite head coaches as is Mike Tomlin, my experience with Steelers playbook on offense is very limited so had no idea what to expect, based on the way Steelers use to play I was predicting a playcall focused on run game, that’s good when you control the time and have a lead, but those kind of playbooks can backfire so fast if go down on score The Falcons completely destroyed one of the best teams of the tournament as Broncos on previous round, so we were definetily scared, but I had confidence on my guys. That confidence started to fade away so fast on the game, when Falcons dominated the first drives of the game, offense wasn’t working but defense once again raised the hand. 3 times defense lowered the damages to only field goals, leaving the game 9-0, start that way is awful, but the score somehow was still very manageable. On our darkest time a hero emerged, Derrick Henry broke free with a long TD and put us once again in the game only down 7-9. That was the play that changed the game, from that moment defense became extremely dominant, Eli Manning was struggling on his return to Tennessee with a heavy pressure scheme, breaking his pace on the passes, while Rivers let behind the shadows of first quarter and started to find his targets, but the player that changed everything and that carry us during whole game, was the rookie stud Derrick Henry. We scored 2 fg before half and went to halftime leading 13-9. After that the game was 1 sided, defense didn’t allow a single point, and the offense scored 27 more leaving a final score of 40-9. Definetily a game Titans fans won’t forget and even if unofficial, we add the Wayne Enterprises Tournament title to our shelves, that currently empty but we working hard for add more trophies there. Notable performances HB Derrick Henry - 28 Carries - 203 yards - 3 TD FS Kam Chancellor - 8 Tackles - 1 TFL - 1 FF - 1 DFL LE Dion Jordan - 3 Tackles - 2 Sacks
Forum Discussion (by A_Shapiro on 09/25/2023)	Replies - 0 :: Views - 18

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