“Round 5: Beards Grind Nippon Night-Runners to 2-1 Victory

The Beards Round 5 opponent was the Skaven Nippon Night Runners, sporting a full set of 4 skilled Gutter Runners. The Night-Runners posted a 3-3 draw with the High Hats in their previous match, so although their record may not appear impressive, they definitely have the capacity to score and score quickly. The Beards received and set to work in their usual manner, slowly working their way up the sideline. Turn 1, the Beards had a linerat stretchered off the field, but that was most of the damage the Skaven would take for the match. The Beards gradually worked up the field with Belli crossing the endzone turn 8, according to plan.

The rats received to start the second half, and immediately went on an aggressive offensive. They sent two Gutter Runners deep and were able to score on their turn 3 after an early bobbled handoff. This left the Beards with 6 turns to push for the 2-1 win. The ball was kicked deep and the Night-Runners knew this was what they were made for. The Beards managed to recover the ball, but were quickly under heavy pressure in their backfield. They managed to clear it away and set to work progressing the cage, while the core of their players tied up would- be pursuers. In the end the Beards were forced into a turn 7 side cage, but with nearly every Night-Runner marked to prevent the sack. A failed dodge left Belli with another jaunt into the endzone to seal the 2-1 win.

Coach Buck Comments:
“This is a win, but I really feel this is a missed opportunity for our guys. For some reason we put on the kid gloves with these rats. We had a lot of shots, and we just couldn’t get them off the field. I don’t know that our guys realize we’re playing the Nasty Boiz next round, and we really needed a few of our guys to show they can hit. That didn’t happen today. I’m all for sound play: we moved the ball well, we played defense well, but you have to play this game with a little nastiness and we just weren’t up to it today. I don’t believe we gave up a shot on the ball today, which is great, especially with all those Gutters running all over the place. Also we put them in a position on their defense where essentially they had to score early, which I felt comfortable with. The deep kick worried me, but we got out of it. Good things for sure, but we needed to do better on removals today.”

Tactical Takeaways

One Turn Defense: I need to do a little more research on how to defend a one-turn. I know the basic set-up does a good job, but I’d like to know if that is really the most optimal way to do it.

Anti-Blitz Set Up: Against Skaven a blitz is most likely my biggest fear. I’d like to know what the best anti-blitz set up is, because when I line up, I always feel like “if this is a blitz we’re screwed.” Even when I have wide guys, so something to look into.
”