1954 Season

 

East Division
With two of its top teams having new quarterbacks for this season, there was a power vacuum in the East that had to be filled. And in filling that vacuum, a bloodbath ensued to secure those two coveted playoff spots. Pittsburgh did start off on the right foot, getting revenge on the defending champion Federals by crushing them 30-13 in week 1. The Shamrocks got another win one week later against Cleveland to take the lead in the East. However, they would not win another game in the next 5 weeks, losing all but 1 of their games by 1 possession. QB O.J. DeMille showed off that he could be the Shamrocks’ QB of the future like he had promised, but the offense severely lacked any potent weapons that could make him thrive. RB Marion Waters regressed significantly from his performance last year, barely being able to get past the secondary with a drop in his speed. The receiving core was middling at best, with WR David Rice and TE Harry Worley being good but not great options for the young DeMille. This team has the potential to go far, as seen from last year, but the offense’s development will be crucial to how far they will go in the future. Pittsburgh was eliminated from contention in the penultimate week of the season still having a shot at the playoffs, but blew a last-second touchdown against Tri-Cities to knock them out of the playoff race. Detroit was the other team unfortunate enough to miss the playoffs, but they did manage to improve upon a disastrous winless campaign last year.  The offense breathed new life with first overall pick RB Jesse Brown, who finished in the top half of the league in rushing and finished third in ROTY voting. The main problem offensively was QB Terry Kadlec, whose 1 year of shadowing former starting QB Roy Woodward may not have been enough to prepare him for starting. Even with three great receivers at his disposal (Lloyd Lawson, Paul Kent, and Pat Kimball), Kadlec was consistently underthrowing his passes. The speedy Lawson was repeatedly frustrated with his new QB missing his targets, so much so that Lawson’s frustrations boiled over and got into an altercation with Kadlec during their 12-6 loss to Tri-Cities in week 9. First-year HC Leonard Holland sat Lawson for the remainder of the game, and Kadlec never saw Lawson as his primary target for the remaining 2 weeks of the season. With the drama set aside, the fans in Detroit had some hope for the future, ready to build their team around RB Jesse Brown even if Kadlec proves to be an average QB at best. That left the remaining two teams, the Buffalo Hammers and Cleveland Crows, as the two teams from the East to make the playoffs. Both teams did not start off on the right foot, as the Hammers went 0-2 and the Crows went 1-2 to start the year. Buffalo got demolished at home against the Hogs 43-13 in week 1, with rookie QB Brendan Turnbull getting swamped by Chicago’s ferocious defense. After a narrow defeat to the defending champions Federals 24-20, the Hammers found their groove, winning 5 out of their next 6 games to take possession of the East title. Turnbull would form an instant connection with veteran receivers Ben Farrell and Bernard Clarke to keep the offense at championship-levels. Turnbull’s efforts would help him narrowly win Rookie of the Year, only winning the award by 3 votes. Entering the final two weeks of the season, the Hammers were 5-3 and just had to win their next two games to win the division over the Crows. Cleveland was having a turnaround season, with the defense improving immensely compared to the previous few seasons. Second-year DL Fergus Prendergast was a major reason for why the defense shifted under new DC William Wallace, terrorizing the interior while allowing the secondary led by DB Nicholas Lamb and S Steven Norris pummeling receivers out of catches and possessions. The offense began to peak as well, with QB Denzel Collingsworth getting a boost in his second year thanks to second overall pick WR Joey Stanikovski. He and other WR Jerry O’Keefe formed a great tandem for the young QB to throw to, but the real breakout star of the team was RB Max Panders. Panders finished second in rushing yards this season, and nearly won Offensive Player of the Year if not for two other players in the West. Cleveland entered the final two weeks at 4-4, needing to catch fire after remaining firmly in second for most of the year in the East. Buffalo had to play the 2-6 Detroit Knights, while Cleveland had to play a much tougher team in the Washington Federals. The Crows dominated the Federals on the road 31-19, while the Hammers were stumped by the Knights 24-6 at home. It all came down to the final week of the season; both teams were 5-4, and all Buffalo had to do was win against the Shamrocks to secure the East, as they had the tiebreaker over the Crows on division record. The Hammers were on the road, and the pressure got to the ROTY Brendan Turnbull, turning the ball over on the final drive to set up a game-winning TD by RB Marion Waters. Pittsburgh had spoiled the division title for Buffalo, as Cleveland would narrowly hold on against the Detroit Knights to take the East in the final week of the year.

West Division
If it were ever a year to dominate, the Chicago Hogs chose the right year. QB Alfred Walton would mostly stand to the side in his final year, allowing second-year RB Billy Gould to shine. Newly-appointed OC Johnnie Hendrix made good use of the young RB as the star, putting Gould as the focal point of the new offense.  With Gould at the forefront, the Hogs offense annihilated their competition, scoring almost 30 points a game. Gould had immense help on the offensive line, which was leagues ahead of the competition, allowing him to bob and weave through the holes created for him and break away from defenders with ease. While Gould was carrying the offense, the defense held its own to be one of the best the league has seen. Perennial all-star DL Eric Forbes was joined on the line by DL Benjamin Walkins Jr., as they terrorized the edge and took down almost anyone who came across their path. Walkins was so dominant that he nearly won Rookie of the Year over Buffalo’s QB Brendan Turnbull, narrowly losing it to the player drafted right before him. The Hogs started off the year 7-0, and although did lose their next two games, they would end up winning the division with just a week to spare. For the second year in a row, the Cincinnati Rivermen and the Washington Federals would be fighting for the remaining playoff spot in the West. Each started off the year 2-1, but Cincinnati’s chances of making it to the playoffs took a turn for the worse in week 4. At a home game against Cleveland, QB Lester Parker threw a pass to top WR Alfred Dunn, but Crows’ DB Nicholas Lamb pummeled the star receiver shortly after catching the ball. Dunn landed on his leg after getting crushed, and was assisted off the field with a broken leg, taking him out for the rest of the year. The Rivermen offense really wasn’t the same after Dunn’s injury, limping around .500 for the remainder of the year. Parker struggled to find a new top receiver after Dunn went down, splitting passes between WR’s Chris Marks and Paul Doyle. The offense didn’t take a huge dip compared to last year, but the team’s morale suffered from their star player being out for the season. However, they weren’t eliminated from the playoff hunt just yet. With a week 10 upset over the Hogs, the 5-4 Rivermen could still make the playoffs if they beat Washington in the final week of the season. While the Feds may still have the same record as last year, they were suffering from a bit of a championship hangover. The offense didn’t perform as great as they did last year, but QB Johnnie Sellers still proved that he was the best QB in the league by nabbing the OPOY award. However, they still had to deal with the Rivermen trailing right behind them, eager to get back into the playoffs after being snubbed the year prior. Going into the final week of the season, Washington was 6-3 while Cincinnati was just 1 game behind them. All the Federals had to do in the final week was to win at home, while the Rivermen needed a win and to win by 2 or more points to make the playoffs due to tiebreakers. As with the previous year, the mood at Washington Stadium was tense all game. That atmosphere seeped into the play, as both teams committed turnover after turnover in the first half to a defensive stalemate. The offenses got moving after halftime, with QB’s Lester Parker and Johnnie Sellers attempting to out-duel one another to get into the playoffs. Washington took a 24-20 lead late into the fourth quarter on a TD pass from Sellers to WR Joseph Atkins, and Cincinnati only had 3 minutes to retaliate. The Rivermen had to go for it on fourth down, and Parker found WR Anthony Wheatland streaking down the sidelines wide open. Parker fired a pass right to Wheatland, but the ball bounced right into his chest and out for an incompletion. The Federals would survive a final week to clinch their way into the playoffs, while Cincinnati had to wait another year to get their shot. While all of this excitement was happening around the league, the Tri-Cities Hawks were faltering. The offense took a massive nosedive to the worst in the league, even with the offseason acquisition of RB Brian Bruce from Chicago. Bruce and WR John McLean were the few bright spots this year, as the offense struggled to move without those two to carry the majority of the load when not on the field. Even worse, because the Hawks had traded away their first round selection to acquire Bruce, the first overall pick is now in the hands of the Chicago Hogs. The Hawks should almost certainly rebuild at this point, but they simply do not have the draft capital to do so. Many fans are clambering to get back to their old winning ways, but Tri-Cities have to figure out how to get that capital with an expansion draft looming in the distance.

Awards:
Most Valuable Player: CHI RB Billy Gould
Offensive Player of the Year: WAS QB Johnnie Sellers
Defensive Player of the Year: CHI DL Eric Forbes
Rookie of the Year: BUF QB Brendan Turnbull
Coach of the Year: CLE Ike Schwann

East Division Playoff: Buffalo Hammers @ Cleveland Crows
1954 H2H: W5 - CLE 13-20 BUF, W9 - BUF 30-16 CLE
Historic H2H: 3-1 BUF
Playoff H2H: 0-0
A young and upcoming team in Cleveland faces off against a  more experienced team with a rookie QB in Buffalo. Cleveland’s offense has changed significantly compared to last year, allowing QB Denzel Collingsworth to thrive in an offense with options such as RB Max Panders, and WR’s Jerry O’Keefe and Joey Stanikovski. The Hammers’ offense is equally as capable, though ROTY QB Brendan Turnbull relies a lot more on veteran WR’s Ben Farrell and Bernard Clarke than RB Calvin Townsend to move the ball around. While the Crows sneaked past the Hammers in getting the division title, Buffalo has had Cleveland’s number this season, sweeping them in their two games played. However, this game may come down to which team is on a hot streak and which team is entering cold. That hot team is Cleveland, winning their last two games while Buffalo dropped their last two to lose the division title.
My Pick: Cleveland

West Division Playoff: Washington Federals @ Chicago Hogs
1954 H2H: W5 - CHI 34-14 WAS, W9 - WAS 33-29 CHI
Historic H2H: 7-1 CHI
Playoff H2H: 1-0 WAS
It’s been a dominant year for the Hogs, led by RB Billy Gould on offense and DL’s Eric Forbes and Benjamin Walkins, Jr. on defense. The team is on a mission to give long-time QB Alfred Walton one final championship in his final year, and are now just two games away from giving Walton the final game he deserves. However, the one team in their way of the championship ambitions was their demise from last year’s playoff: the Washington Federals. Their high-powered offense headlined by QB Johnnie Sellers, RB Rip Rooney, and WR’s Joseph Atkins and Darius Sanderson have kept them in the race for the playoffs this year, winning the championship last year as a result. The Feds finally won in the regular season against the Hogs this year, causing Chicago to go on a brief skid to end the year. Now that Washington can beat Chicago in the regular season, they’ll defeat them the third time around to go to the championship once again.
My Pick: Washington