Bantha Skull’s TVC Retrospective Postgame Show!

Welcome to the Bantha Skull Postgame Show, sponsored by Bantha Skull.

We're live at our studio, where it's clear Jon Gruden should never have left. He sure has done a great job coaching Derek Carr into regression!

Anyway, we have updated our handy spreadsheet of the full statistics for the entire 115 figure game, which you can download HERE.

We now go into a deeper analysis of the full run of TVC (pre-Black Series debacle)...

Major Source



Hasbro followed up its balanced attack in the first half with more of the same in the second half. This time, however, special teams figured more prominently in the mix, with some big plays involving Legends and The Clone Wars.

Specific Source



Looks like Hasbro made some major adjustments at halftime. On the opening kickoff out of the locker room, Hasbro called an onside kick with a Concept Boba Fett, and followed it up with a strong drive consisting of some ROTJ figures offered in alternate "Revenge" packaging. After a mix of playcalls kept the defense on their toes, Hasbro called on The Phantom Menace in a HUGE way. Completely absent in the first half, Menace exploded with 16 consecutive figures. While the team clearly prepared well to unleash this barrage, the defense remained stoudt, and Hasbro's TPM-centric halftime adjustments were met largely with boos from the capacity crowd. The pace of the game slowed to a near halt, and many of the frustrated fans headed for the concession stands, if not the exits. In fact, at this point, the live network feed was mistakenly switched to the film Heidi, and many viewers around the country missed the majority of the furious 4th quarter comeback following the TPM near-disaster. A bunch of highlight reel plays made by the likes of the Old Republic, the Skiff Guards, The Clone Wars, and He Hate Me were only able to be found later online. The diminutive and rarely used Lumat proved the naysayers wrong, sticking it to those that said he was too small to play in this league. And finally, a virtuoso performance was turned in by Lord Vader himself, who scored twice to seal the win for TVC.

Leading Characters



The second half saw a more diverse group of players take the field and do battle on behalf of TVC, but reading between the lines, there were actually 8 pilot figures hailing from different backgrounds. If you count the undersized Nein Nunb as a pilot, that brings the count to a whopping 9, exceeding the total of clones that participated in the first half. Leia made her mark with 3 big plays, two of them essentially identical which fooled the defense both times. Luke, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Darth Vader Sir Lord Vader Sir Lord Darth Vader Lord Darth Sir Lord each came in with 2 appearances, making the most of their time on the field.

Ratings Comparison from Original



As with the first half, it was great to see most of these players, who have logged 6-7 years in the league, maintain their luster and look like they have the energy and enthusiasm of their rookie days. Only a handful of veterans showed the effects of father time, while a few others actually have aged like fine blue milk. The majority performed up to their high expectations, and the team fought particularly well down the stretch.

Recommended Action for Hasbro



A few players failed to meet expectations, and some were downright draft busts. Grand Moff Tarkin was expected to have a huge impact, but all kinds of injuries just wrecked his chances of any meaningful contribution, and he was carted off the field on a mouse droid. The decision to go with the TPM-heavy gameplan in the 3rd quarter cost Hasbro dearly, even though there were several standout performances. Special teams efforts from video games injected some much needed life into the line. When all was said and done, some players can expect to be cut from the team, so Hasbro will need to rebuild certain parts of the roster through the draft. Overall, there is a solid core which can be successfully built upon going forward.

Definitive?



In the end the team performed well, with the vast majority maintaining their active status on the roster, and should contribute meaningfully for years to come. Many made the Pro Bowl, and a few greats might even have a shot to someday see their busts unveiled in the halls of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

Before we go, we're presenting our awards for the game:






And that about wraps it up for us today, and we thank you for joining us for this memorable game.

Here's a preview of tonight's awesome programming lineup:

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