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+---- Thread: (S21) - Ultimus Week (/showthread.php?tid=20834)
(S21) - Ultimus Week - CalvinGolladay - 04-14-2020
19.) Team Culture:
Tijuana has the best LR in the league, and honestly it’s not very close. They offer a great combination of send-downs and rookies, with plenty of active players. It’s a very tight-knit group, with all members supporting each other despite occasionally jokingly ribbing teammates for mistakes made on the field. A few running jokes have sprung up from this, namely Reggie Gilbert, Hex’s speed, Sloth’s tripping, and Dr. Jay Doctor MD. While generally a fun environment, the Luchadores LR can get intense on gameday, with a strong hatred for Norfolk and occasional outbursts at missed chip shot field goals or big plays given up (mostly coming from the player at fault). A great example of the overall camaraderie came recently when elite linebackers Ugarth the Dissector and George Fisher offered to donate to charities in order to motivate the creation of 1.5x bonus media articles. The presence of a Vestuario locker room limited to current Luchadores has also gone a long way in making players more comfortable, in case they want to discuss NSFL destinations or opposing teams privately. Tijuana’s excellent duo of GMs, a few veteran send downs, and an active core of rookies has created what will be a great locker room for years to come.
18.) Awards Season:
This season the Luchadores had an extremely balanced team, splitting carries in a three-way platoon and running a pass-heavy 2-QB system. Although a sound strategy, it made stat-padding much harder for most players. Despite this competition, safety Magnus Valdyr still has a strong shot at winning Performance of the Year. A relative unknown outside of Tijuana, Valdyr stepped in the spotlight when he was needed most. Playing a crucial divisional game on the road against Myrtle Beach, Valydr made the most of his opportunity by returning two interceptions for touchdowns in a 28-16 win. WIthout at least one pick six the Luchadores would have lost, not to mention the momentum-altering impact of the sudden change of possession. Magnus also managed to make three tackles and defend two passes, but his real value came through the takeaways as he became just the 4th player in DSFL history to record two pick sixes in a single game. Other players have put up gaudy stats running the ball or big numbers on defense, but Valydr deserves the award for a historical performance that changed the result of the game. He checks all three boxes when it comes to Performance of the Year: Statistical significance, historical significance, and impact on the game, a feat no other candidate can claim.
4.) OL Appreciation:
As an OL watching the playoffs, it was exciting to watch NOLA and Myrtle Beach win their respective championships. Both teams had multiple user OL, and the advantage it gave was clear, especially in Myrtle Beach’s victories over Norfolk and Kansas City. S21 OL Douglas Quail dominated all season, putting himself firmly into the conversation for OLotY with Byron Dolls of the Portland Pythons. He finished the year with 59 pancakes (2nd best in the league) and allowed only one sack, paving the way for the league’s best rushing offense with almost 3,000 yards on the ground. He continuously showed up when the spotlight was brightest, recording five pancakes and blocking for a 200 yard team rushing effort in a crucial road game against the divisional rival Seawolves. Later in the year, in a three score victory over the Grey Ducks he racked up seven pancakes for yet another 200+ yard ground game, nearly cementing their spot as a #1 seed. In the playoffs the Buccaneers faced off against the Seawolves yet again, with Quail putting up similar stats once again. Myrtle Beach steamrolled Norfolk 18-0 as Quail pancaked four defenders in a 215 yard rushing performance, and kept this momentum heading into the Ultimini against Kansas City. Quail stayed consistent and had 5 pancakes in Myrtle Beach’s 200+ yard rushing game. Though I’ve focused on pancakes and rushing yards, it’s important to note that he was only called for one penalty and didn’t give up a sack in the four games analyzed, further demonstrating his impact on the Buccaneers playoff push.
17.) Sponsorships:
![[Image: lRbaCFu.jpg?1]](https://i.imgur.com/lRbaCFu.jpg?1)
(S21) - Ultimus Week - SwankyPants31 - 04-15-2020
6) Next Year
The Luchadores should be in a prime spot next season to take the trophy after a stellar draft on the offensive side of the ball for S21. Assuming the likely scenario takes place where all S22 draftees stay for one extra season in the DSFL after being drafted to the NSFL, Tijuana will have two quarterbacks, two running backs, a wide receiver, and an offensive lineman, all hitting maximum TPE before the season even starts. They’ll also have some help on the defensive side of the ball with a corner, safety, and linebacker that will all be maxed as well. On top of all that, Tijuana’s kicker Jacob Small began to ramp up his activity late in the season, meaning even when the powerhouse offense doesn’t find the end zone, the kick should usually be a sure thing. Assuming Tijuana is able to snag some marquee defensive players in the upcoming DSFL draft, they should have a strong all around team that is poised for a championship push. Even though other teams may have had stronger drafts on the defensive side of the ball, the Luchadores offense should be dominant enough that they can easily overpower other teams’ defenses and control the time of possession. The future is bright for Tijuana, and depending how the upcoming draft goes they could land anywhere between a strong contender and the top dog for the season.
8) Revenge
For me personally, the team I want revenge on the most is the Norfolk Seawolves. I understand this may be an unexpected or unorthodox decision. The Luchadores and Seawolves split their games 1-1, so it has nothing to do with losing to them. They also did not knock us out of the playoffs. The reason I would like revenge against Norfolk is because they seemingly lucked into that second playoff spot this season. Going into the last 2 games of the week in Season 21, Tijuana was one game behind Norfolk for that playoff spot. For those last two games Tijuana had two home games, while Norfolk’s were both away. Somehow, despite most teams winning easily at home and losing handily while away, Norfolk was able to pull out those two wins in the final two games to secure the playoff spot. Subsequent to that they got absolutely walloped in the playoffs by Myrtle Beach, who would eventually go on to win the Ultimini. Maybe I should say I’d like revenge against the simulation instead, but from my perspective we were the better team and should have been in the playoffs instead of Norfolk. Either way, nothing would make me happier next year than to sweep both regular season games against the Seawolves in S22, and then maybe even do it again in the playoffs for good measure.
10) Armchair GM
I’ve already touched on this a bit in the other sections, but were I GM of the Tijuana Luchadores for this upcoming draft I would focus on defense, defense, defense. Obviously this may change depending on the NSFL draft and if anybody gets brought up immediately, but Tijuana’s most glaring needs are on defense, particularly the defensive line. In S22 the Luchadores were forced to play some of our linebackers at defensive end, simply because we didn’t have the opportunity to take those active defensive ends or tackles in the draft. We were able to pick someone up off waivers who was created after the trade deadline, but hopefully in this draft we can lock someone up for the next season or two. Other than that, it wouldn’t hurt to grab another linebacker or two. With Ugarth the Dissector likely to be brought up into the NSFL for S22, we really only have one active linebacker in George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. The team also spent a high draft pick on Devaunte SackPieder in S21, but sadly some real life issues came up and he had to step away from the league. If he was to be able to come back at some point in S22, combined with stocking up at the front 7, we would be in good shape to have a legitimate defense.
19) Team Culture
Without even visiting any other teams, I can easily say that the Tijuana Luchadores have the best locker room culture in the DSFL, if not the NSFL as well. I’d like to give shoutouts particularly to FleshBagSoup and Jay_Doctor. They’ve really set up a great culture there. Both are extremely helpful to new players, both in giving build advice and being friendly in general. I couldn’t ask for an easier pair of guys to talk to if I ever had a question or concern. On top of that, the actual players there contribute a lot. Ugarth and Ben Slothlisberger are veteran presences in the league, and both were well deserving of their captain statuses. Finally I’d like to give a shout out to some of my fellow S22 rookies. Those being Julio Tirtawidjaja, Calvin Golladay, Andrew Witten, LiterallyJust A. Hexagon, George Fisher, and Jacob Small in no particular order (apologies if I forgot anyone!). That entire group of guys has been extremely active in the locker room and just a fun group of people to talk and hang out with. The entire year, the team didn’t have any real locker room problems, and it was a great introduction into the league for me. I’m looking forward to hopefully spending at least one more season in Tijuana with these guys, and continuing to interact will all of them throughout my NSFL career.
(S21) - Ultimus Week - Lowlycrib - 04-15-2020
19) Team Culture:
Throughout the recent rebuild in San Jose spirits have remained relatively high due to the strong relationships formed between the active members on the team & the backbones of the team were all from the same Season 17 draft class. This sort of environment is hopefully going to attract potential free agents & entice draft choices to buy into the team culture and take smaller contracts in order to help the team compete in the near future. As arguably one of the best players on the Sabercats, a lot of the responsibility to set the tone on the field falls upon Tyron Brackenridge as he continues to put out consecutive Pro Bowl seasons & to help bring along the younger players as he enters regression in a few seasons. The greatest aspect of the culture for this team is the opportunities for different individuals to input ideas regarding draft choices, sim testing, or trivial things such as emojis to liven up the place. Although i have not been in the league for an extended amount of time, the San Jose locker has been more than i could have asked for with the acceptance & ability to work things out in order to maintain a relatively enjoyable place to hang out and to foster the relationships between players, which inevitably is good for the culture on and off the field.
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15. Superstardom:
![[Image: dI1MdQi.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/dI1MdQi.jpg)
Armchair GM:
While the Sabercats are looking to end their rebuild in the near future they still have some crucial holes to fill on this team. The first of which includes the defensive backs whose only true stand out is HeHateMe PickSix as the rest appear to be inactive or slow earners who don't look to help the team in the future. Due to the expansion draft this season the free agent market is looking to be thin and the massive draft class looks to be the best way to inject some young talent into this roster. Another hole that i believe that the team should address is the Wide Receivers as Action Jackson's progress in the offseason and the training room has begun to stall and has brought attention to his suitability as a top end WR 1 in this league. If the team could add a top tier WR to either support or take over the #1 role it could serve to help Dan Wright in his final season. A trade would be the move here in my opinion as you could snag a player about to or already in their decline for a relatively later pick. Another last hole the team should look to fill includes K/P as Kicky Bobby has continued to struggle on the field and a competing leg in camp could only serve the team positively. The Draft once again is the move here with the plethora of available kickers and the relatively low need for the across the league.
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Nostalgia:
Throughout my career thus far in the NSFL it is difficult to pick out my absolute favorite moment so far but I'll let a few that I've had. The first that came to mind was the Prospect Bowl and the hype that surrounded it in the Rookie Discord & how fun it was to actually see my player play for once and Blackbird gang is the best. Another great memory that came to mind was draft night for the NSFL where i honestly had no clue where'd i go since i saw myself making a great impact for any of the teams but I'm grateful that San Jose chose me because of the great times I've had with them so far. The relationships I've formed along the way has also been a definite plus so far because there are some genuinely interesting people in the league and it's always nice to interact with them through media pieces, sim talk, or anything. Remembering back to my article surrounding the S17 draft class also sparks some of these positive memories as we will be forever tied in one group in this simulation league but also the interactions I've had with people before they inevitably went inactive and never came back. While all these memories are good, if i could go back to experiencing the league for the first time again i think i would because of great people and experiences that I've had.
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(S21) - Ultimus Week - 2Burkeulosis - 04-15-2020
16.Scouting report
The following is a scouting report for season 22 draftee Sandro Ryeu: Sandro Ryeu is as close to a sure fire pick as you get in this league. His rookie season in the DSFL was nothing short of marvelous. He ended the regular season with 92 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 pass deflections, forced 3 fumbles, and recovered 2 fumbles. His biggest strengths are his raw speed and his considerable physical strength. Easily one of the most physically gifted athletes in this year’s draft, he is able to quickly locate the ball and chase down the carrier. His playstyle and physical build is reminiscent of former NFL players Jason Pierre-Paul and Robert Quinn.
His biggest flaws are a serious lack of technique when it comes to actually tackling an opponent. He has in my opinion become a little too reliant on his tremendous physical talents and would need to improve his fundamentals in order to see long term success. He is also not the most cerebral player in the league. He occasionally makes bone headed mistakes or fails to place himself where he would be most effective on the field preferring to take the most straightforward route to the ball carrier. Despite his shortcomings I he is still a player I would feel more than confident taking in the first round. His positives are simply too large to ignore and his negatives are things that any decent coaching staff should have no problem correcting.
17. Sponsorship
My idea for an Ultimus ad I would like to be in is for Virgil’s Cream Soda. The ad would be me sitting in a mansion or a big house. It would open with me saying “Hi I’m Susan Cash Jr. and when I’m not pursuing a career on the football field. I’m pursuing my hobby as a cream soda aficionado.” There would be a montage of me traveling all over the world like I’m some kind of Indiana Jones type adventurer cutting through tropical jungles, climbing snowy mountaintops, and riding across a scorching hot desert on the back of a camel. While this montage is playing I am speaking to the camera saying “Throughout my travels I have discovered that Virgil’s handcrafted recipe made from all natural ingredients is without a doubt the best cream soda in the entire world.” I’m back in my mansion. My butler pours a cold bottle of Virgil’s Cream Soda into a champagne glass and hands it to me. I drink it and simply say with a satisfied smile on my face“refreshing.” Cut to a close up of a silver platter that has other Virgil’s soda products In a voice over I say. “Don’t forget to try Virgil’s other flavors such as Root Beer, Orange, and Black Cherry.”
18. Awards Season
My personal pick for awards season this year is my teammate Acura Skyline for running back of the year. (Although honestly with his season he could probably be a contender for MVP) Acura had an absolutely dominating rookie season. In 14 games he only finished with less than 100 rushing yards once in the entire season. His team leaned on him heavily giving him 30 or more attempts in all but six of his games and even then he only ever saw less than 20 carries once in his entire season with 18 carries for 145 rushing yards, including an 87 yard touchdown run (The longest rushing touchdown of the entire season) . His stats at the end of the regular season ended up at 349 carries, for 1761 yards, for an average of 5 yards per attempt, and a total of 10 touchdowns. With him on their team the Royals were the best running team in their division and the second best in the entire league.
Acura ends the season ranked number one in almost every single rushing category this season. From attempts to total yards. I might expect this kind of production from a seasoned veteran on a championship bound team. I would never expect this from a rookie on an expansion team.
19. team culture
The Royals locker room is in my biased opinion one of the best in the league. We are a small group of fiery and passionate individuals. While we may occasionally get a little rowdy and take things a little too far. We are aware that this is just a game and everyone is here to just have fun so we try not to take things too seriously, but sometimes we do get caught up in all the trash talking. Are rivalry with our fellow expansion team the Dallas Birddogs is evidence of this point. While it is occasionally inflammatory it is all and all in good fun.
We don’t like losing but we also don’t point fingers at one another or try to cast blame on any single person. We all have the same mindset of putting a bad game behind us and moving on to next week. Learning from past mistakes and working on how we can improve ourselves. We also know how to celebrate each other and our accomplishments. We hand out game balls to our best offensive and defensive player every week no matter how well our team performed that week. It gives the players something to shoot for each week.
(S21) - Ultimus Week - jeffie43 - 04-15-2020
SHL Affiliate
Claiming Welfare
Rivalry
I would personally love to beat New Orleans in the playoffs next season. They're a division rival and a team I respect very much. They have many people I like on their roster and I think it would be awesome to get some sweet sweet revenge in the upcoming season. Both Orange County and the Second Line have been power houses over the course of the past few seasons and it would be exciting to see us clash in the playoffs yet again. It's a super exciting rivalry to have and one that I know both sides look forward to on a regular basis. The New Orleans Second Line have a strong and potent offense and they rival Orange County's elite offense perfectly, adding another angle to our rivalry. Their offense features an elite running back core of Forrest Gump and Marcella Toriki, and their receiving core is not too shabby either with one of the best Tight Ends in the league in Austin McCormick. Along with that they have a great defense with many big names, such as Quenton Bode, their middle linebacker, and a strong cornerback duo of David Rector and Deon Taylor. Overall, this team is not one to mess around with, however, it is one that I love facing due to our fierce rivalry and the respect we have for one another.
Next Year
I think the Orange County Otters will be a force to be reckoned with moving forward.They have a team that is very well setup for the future. They had an amazing S21 draft, nailing a lot of their picks and have a strong young defensive core to build around, featuring former DSFL MVP, Cornerback Kacey Dream, 1st Overall Pick, Free Safety Prince Vegeta and an elite Defensive Tackle in Rapid Eagle. If that is not scary enough they also have Remon Kurisuto offensively who had showed a lot of versatility early on last season, playing some running back and wide receiver. Although the team may have some questions regarding running backs and tight ends (Blaze was taken in the expansion draft) moving forward, I have faith in the front office to figure it out moving forward, especially given such a big draft class and not many other positions requiring help at. This team is well built and despite some players being in their prime or on the older end, this team is definitely set to see some special things as they had managed to protect most of their core in expansion whereas other teams were hit harder. Especially their rivals in Austin and New Orleans. Even though the Otters may have fallen short this season, they are definitely looking like a strong contender to kick off the next one.
Playoff X-Factor
![[Image: TPoZ1wL.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/TPoZ1wL.gif)
(S21) - Ultimus Week - Jay_Doctor - 04-15-2020
6. Next Year
Thank god almighty I didn’t finally have to write about this category for once!
9. Dynasty
I wrote last season that New Orleans was starting off a dynasty and I feel like we have done just that. Making a conference championship for the third season in a row was a great way to help cement that. Unlike the past two seasons where that was as far as we made it, this season we were able to win it all. A weight feels lifted off our shoulders. While it is possible that this could cause us to let us slip up in the future, we have a lot of hard-working people on the team who won’t let that happen. There are a couple of obvious things that will need to be covered to help keep the team competitive for next season. Losing Slothface, Ironside and Faux to retirement will hurt our defense big time. We do have Ugarth and Dorfus Jr. coming up at some point to help cover that need though. Replacing Ironside and Faux will be more difficult. We don’t have any DTs ready to get called up, so addressing that need will probably have to come from in the next couple of drafts. The other main loss of players steams from the expansion draft. Those players will also need to be covered via the draft. At least most teams were also affected by expansion, so that should hopefully be negligible. The strengths of this steam are still in our core. We have the best running game in the league, the best offensive line, a top tight end and some elite secondary still.
11. Rivalry
This one is a bit of a split decision. I think over a long period of time, the Second Line would consider the Orange County Otters to be our rival. I’m sure a lot of teams feel that way, though. Highly successful teams wind up with a target on their backs. Everyone wants to get a piece of them and end their reign of success. I personally would consider the Austin Copperheads to be a more exciting and recent rivalry, though. For me personally, two of my closer DSFL teammates wound up there so there is always added incentive to show up in those games. As a whole team, they were able to get the better of us in the regular to take the conference and then also beat us in the conference championship. They then went on to win the Ultimus. This past season, we were able to strike back. We beat them in the season opener and then later game in the season. We then had a big rematch in the playoffs, this time in the wild card game. It was a rather tight game with each offense putting up a ton of yards, but the defenses able to slow them down in the red zone.
18. Award Season
When looking at the top performance index, the sim highly favors defensive performances that have a safety. It is a pretty rare occasion and something that not a lot of players will achieve in a season or even career. While Quinn Hughes had a monster week 1 performance, I think the defensive performance of the year belongs to Valdyr’s week 7 performance. He was able to pull off something significantly rarer. Valdyr had a 2 interception, 2 touchdown game from the safety position. He single-handedly helped us win on the road against the team that ended up winning the Ultimini. For reference, only three DSFL players have ever had 2 pick-sixes in one game. The most recent one happened in season 14, so it has not been done for 7 seasons. It has also only ever happened two times in the NSFL, with the last one in season 12. That makes Valdyr only the 6th player ever to do such a feat. If that isn’t a performance of the year, I’m not sure what is. To put this into perspective compared to getting a safety, there were at least 5 of those this season alone. It’s rare, but significantly less rare than a 2 pick-six game.
20. Nostalgia
I hate splitting half my answers by giving two, but I have two distinct memories that hands down been the most important moments in this league for me. The slightly more obvious one just happened last week and that was winning the Ultimus with New Orleans. Wining the Ultimus is much more than just a feeling of accomplishment in that moment. It encapsulates everything you have done to get there. For me, it started when I was getting scouted for the NSFL draft. There were a couple teams that stood out to me, but NOLA was where I wanted to go most. Hearing my name called at 8OA was the true beginning. I made it onto the team I wanted most and there are fewer highs than that. I spent the next season down in the DSFL improving myself and making sure I would be able to contribute to the best of my ability for my team the next season. NOLA lost in the conference championship that year. Fast forward a year later and I get the call up. We make the playoffs but lose once again in the conference championship. Fast forward one more year and there is an almost all-or-nothing feel. We knew we would be losing quite a few teammates who were either retiring or what seemed like an inevitable expansion draft. To go through most of the season undefeated and have things unravel the last 4 weeks was a gut-punching wake up call. We make the playoffs and win the wild card round, but we are at the dreaded conference championship. I think most outside of NOLA expected the Otters to hand us our third consecutive ASFC championship loss. Instead, we finally overcame what had been a huge roadblock. Just playing in a championship is an honor, but still there was a feeling of hope that this would be our year. Sure enough, that feeling proved correct. We brought home the Ultimus and were able to call ourselves champions. Even though our team will look quite different next season, I will never forget everyone on that season 21 team.
My other favorite memory in the league came towards the end of my second season. On Christmas eve, I got invited into the NOLA war room. I made the war room for a team I hadn’t even played a down with. I’m sure it has happened before, but I felt extremely honored to be given such an opportunity. Then just a short while later on the same day, I was named a team captain for Tijuana. This was also a huge honor for me as I had really embraced trying to be a leader for the team in our playoff push. Being a captain in Tijuana ultimately led me to where I am today as a coGM. These two memories have meant the most to me in my time here and can’t wait to have other positive memories like this.
(S21) - Ultimus Week - terriblehippo - 04-15-2020
1) PLAYOFF REVIEW: Give a short write up of one playoff match.
In what some have described as “the season’s real Ultimus,” New Orleans faced the Orange County Otters in the ASFC championship game. The Second Line were the visitors in the matchup, thanks to a four game losing streak to end the regular season. That didn’t bode well for the team, as New Orleans can count the number of victories they’ve won in Orange County on one hand. But the team was determined to win and make their first Ultimus appearance since Season 11, so they came out fighting. The Otters put points on the board first, but after that the Second Line took over. Both of Stan Francisco’s two touchdown passes came in the first half, and a field goal from Herbert Prohaska late in the second quarter gave New Orleans a commanding 17-3 lead going into halftime. We might never know what Orange County’s coach said to their team in that locker room, but whatever it was, it worked. The Otters scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the second half, and an interception early in the fourth allowed Franklin Armstrong to scramble for the game-tying touchdown. New Orleans wasn’t done quite yet, however, and managed to drive downfield and score another touchdown. Many people believed the game to be over at this point, but those people clearly don’t know the Otters. They got the ball back, marched all the way to New Orleans’ endzone, and with just over one minute left to play, Ludicolo Bigby scored the game-tying touchdown. The battle between the two strongest teams in the conference (and, arguably, the league) would be determined in overtime. New Orleans received the ball first, and a 23-yard pass gave the Second Line faithful hope. But the Otters defense held firm, and New Orleans was forced to attempt a 46-yard field goal, which Prohaska coolly converted. The Otters now had their chance to win the game, and momentum was largely on their side. But the monstrous New Orleans defense proved insurmountable, and when a fourth-down pass attempt was dropped, the Second Line rushed the field to celebrate their monumental victory.
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352 words2) PLAYOFFS MVP: Wrote about a heroic performance on the field by any player this playoff season. Why do they deserve to be called the MVP of the playoffs?
Stan Francisco absolutely deserves to be called the MVP of the Season 21 playoffs. Originally a tight end, Francisco made the switch to quarterback in Season 16. The move initially had many people scratching their heads, especially when Francisco struggled to adjust to the new role. But these playoffs have made it clear that that was the right move, and that Francisco is as talented a quarterback as any other. The most impressive thing about Francisco’s playoff performance is that he clearly improved with every game. In the wild card round, he only completed 50% of his passes (17/34), threw for 214 yards, and didn’t score a single touchdown. But in the conference championship, he completed 58% of his passes (22/38), picked up 316 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Many would think that that performance couldn’t be topped, but the Ultimus game proved those people wrong. Francisco completed 22 passes on 37 attempts, one fewer attempt than the game before, but those completions went for 353 yards, a 37-yard improvement over the conference championship. And, after having thrown two touchdown passes and one interception the week before, Francisco in this game threw for three touchdowns and one interception. All told, across three playoff games (one of which was against the defending champions), Francisco completed 61 passes on 109 attempts, good for a 56% completion rate. Those 61 passes went for a total of 883 yards, which averages out to 14.5 yards per completion. Francisco also ended the playoffs with a respectable TD:INT ratio of 5:2. Clearly, that kind of performance--and the ability to elevate one’s play as the stakes get higher--deserves the title of playoffs MVP.
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281 words4) OL APPRECIATION: Write about an active human offensive lineman that is in the playoffs, and how they affected the outcome.
Going into the playoffs, New Orleans had two of the most dominant offensive lineman in the league playing side-by-side. Brave Ulysses, a fan favorite in New Orleans, had finished the season with 55 pancakes and only two sacks allowed. And Givussafare Rubbe, who led the league with 73 pancakes and didn’t give up a single sack all season, was the clear front-runner for Offensive Lineman of the Year. The two were major factors in the Second Line’s regular season success, and they elevated the play of everyone on the offensive line: of the four teams that recorded 300+ sacks in the regular season, New Orleans allowed the fewest sacks by a wide margin. Rubbe and Ulysses continued to anchor the line in the playoffs, and much of the credit for the Second Line’s playoff run and Ultimus victory goes to the two of them. Rubbe recorded 23 pancakes in the playoffs, including an 11 pancake performance in the Ultimus, and didn’t allow a single sack. Ulysses recorded 16 pancakes, and he too didn’t give up any sacks in the playoffs. In fact, the New Orleans offensive line only allowed one sack across three playoff games, while combining for a mind-blowing 98 pancakes. The line’s most impressive performance came in the Ultimus, where they recorded 39 total pancakes and zero sacks allowed. In that game, Rubbe and Ulysses combined for 20 pancakes; for comparison, the entire Wraiths roster recorded 23 pancakes in that same game. I know people hold very strong opinions about human offensive linemen, but I personally think that human OL are underrated, and that having human OL on your roster greatly improves your chances at winning a championship. I’m obviously biased, given that I have two great human OL on my team, but looking at these playoffs alone, the impact that Rubbe and Ulysses had cannot be ignored. I fully support human offensive linemen, and I think the league is a better place with them in it.
Code:
329 words17) SPONSORSHIPS: You’ve been contacted to appear in a company’s ad airing during the Ultimus. What is the ad about?
The ad starts in the middle of the action: a rain-soaked football game. The game has clearly been going for some time, as both teams are dirty and sweaty. A quarterback in a generic uniform snaps the ball, and quickly hands it off to his running back. You can hear the grunts and the impact of pads as the linemen crash into each other, and you can see their cleats churning up the mud and grass. The running back takes the ball and begins running upfield, but someone--or something--comes flying into the picture and knocks the running back clean off his feet. The whistle blows, and Quenton Bode stands up on his hind legs, roaring ferociously. His fur, normally white, is caked with mud and grime, but Bode is clearly in his element. As the crowd cheers and the rain continues to pour, a deep male voice with a British accent asks, “How does Quenton Bode relax?” The ad then cuts to a quaint kitchen, into which sunlight is streaming. Birds are chirping outside, and Bode is sitting at a small table in the kitchen’s breakfast nook. He’s wearing a plush bath robe, and he’s holding a mug that contains a steaming liquid. As we watch, Bode raises the mug to his lips and takes a sip, and as he lowers it he smiles. Whatever he just drank, it clearly relaxed him. The same deep male voice from before says, “He just has a cup of Yorkshire Tea.” The final shot of the ad is a box of Yorkshire Tea sitting on the counter, with Bode in the background at the breakfast nook. The deep male voice speaks up one final time, saying the company’s motto: “Yorkshire Tea. Let’s have a proper brew.”
Code:
293 words(S21) - Ultimus Week - Bauer - 04-15-2020
Task 6 - What team will win the championship next season? I think you would be absolutely stupid to not talk about Norfolk. The LR this past season has been crazy busy, and I don’t think we’re going to have too many call ups. I think if everyone stays down and we keep earning like we have been, there’s no reason we can’t bring a fight to the playoffs. This past season we apparently had the best season in the history of Norfolk, which was really fun to be a part of. The only other time I've seen a minor league team so passionate about what they’re doing is when I was the Co-gm of the grey ducks. That team won a championship, and I have no reason to believe that Norfolk can’t do it. We have all gotten along well there, and I’ve made some amazing friends. We had easily one of the highest number of updates per week, which directly translates into success. As for looking towards the future, sure this draft was absolutely loaded with talent so every team was basically guaranteed a few good picks, but I think this is just the start of many wins for Norfolk in the future. I just really hope we can get it done next season.
Task 8 - What team does Norfolk want revenge on? Well I think that’s a fairly simple question to answer. Myrtle Beach is going down next season. I don’t think it’s wrong to say that Myrtle Beach absolutely dominated this past season. They have a 9 and 5 record, which could only be matched by the Coyotes. Myrtle Beach however is in our division, which makes beating them a personal issue. The amount of updates that they had was just insane. I don’t think anyone could have expected them to work as hard as they did this past season. They really surprised us all in the DSFL. Hopefully though with expansion on the horizon, teams will need to make a lot of call ups. Now I have reason to believe that Myrtle Beach will end up having a lot of its roster called up in this offseason. Norfolk on the other hand, will not be losing a ton. With most of the roster returning back, I think we can absolutely fight Norfolk next season. The main thing we need to be dominant next season is to stay active. I hope to help lead the charge next season of the championship winning attitude. If we stay doing what we already have been doing all season, Myrtle Beach doesn’t stand a chance.
Task 12 - Well this will be a very easy task for me to complete. I’m gonna split this up into 2 people because I love them both. First I'll go with bex, the absolutely horrendous toxic commissioner of this league. If you can’t tell, that’s a joke. She has to deal with so much bullshit that goes on in this league, and I commend her for not just giving up. God knows if I had to deal with half of the stuff she did I would just quit. She’s easily one of the nicest people in this league if you actually take the time to get to know and not just let everyone else skew your opinion. Alright enough about bex, otherwise she’ll think I’m being sweet and we can’t have that. Now I’ll move on to that stupid co of the Yeti woelkers. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be in this league if I’m being perfectly honest. He has made my experience incredibly enjoyable and I’m proud to call him one of my better friends. He also doesn’t get enough credit for all of the work he does for this league, which seems to be a common theme here. But if you are reading this bex and woelkers, god bless you both <3
Task 19 - Now this is the part where I tell you how absolutely terrible it has been in the Norfolk locker room all season. Honestly have no idea why I'm still even there at all. In case you don’t know me, that was me being sarcastic. Being in that locker room all season has been an absolute delight. Tesla is the team mom, I really can’t understand how she’s so positive all the time. She’s one of the main reasons the locker room has held together so tightly. While the locker room activity has been going down during the season, that’s mostly to be expected. At the beginning of the season the amount of messages that were sent in that locker room was crazy. While it’s not nearly as active as it was back then, we still do talk every day. We haven’t had one bit of drama the entire time i’ve been in there, which is another reason I love it there. Sim league drama is big dumb, and I’m so glad that Norfolk hasn’t been a part of it. To any of the Norfolk folk reading this, thank you for making this season incredibly enjoyable. I hope to be with you guys again next season.
(S21) - Ultimus Week - Faded - 04-15-2020
Scouting Report
I think that people should be paying attention to the following WR out of Orange Star College; Videl-San. This player has been tearing up secondaries all throughout college and has lead the small school to a postseason birth in the Pac-12. Growing up in Japan, the nation is really known that much for playing gridiron football per say, but Videl-San has most likely motivated individuals to start paying attention to the sport. Moving on to Videl-San as a player. This man is a true speedster, outrunning many defensive backs and using his endurance to maintain his speed from the possession to the touchdown. With this, his agility makes him look quite elusive while dodging and weaving through the defense. However, the main drawback is his strength. With all that speed, it is where he unfortunately lacks in the strength department. If gets a hit stick by any big linebackers and such, he will definitely feel it for along time affecting his game. But on the plus side, he isn't quite too small or quite too skinny, so his body is certainly made for taking burly hits. Even with these downsides, any team would be lucky to have this elite receiver in their corp, and I wish the best for him in the future.
Paying It Forward
To all of the people, from the HO to the forum dwellers, from seasoned vets to prospects, from GMs to players, I thank each and every one of you for helping through this new and challenging website for me. I love the idea that people can create their own player and have them duke it out all in stimulation, and this fills the hole of regret in me that I never picked up the pigskin in real life and play for a team. We don't need to account for people, or lives, or etc, as they can toss each other around in simulation without affecting lives. With this, there is one team that I would like to thank personally for their kindness to a player and person like me, and that is the Birddogs. Joining this league, I was nervous on how I would make friends, make bank, get peoples attention, get my name out there, etc. But the Birddogs were gracious enough to scout me and take me to their LR, where people like furiousPanda, iStegosauruz, and Gucci have been the kindest souls on the server. They gave me the confidence to begin writing media for everyone to enjoy, and to truly get immersed in to this website and community. So it's with a great pleasure, that I really appreciate everyone who put up with me, helped me along the way, and sowed the seeds for success.
Advertisement
Recently, I have picked up a sponsorship with a local fast food chain called Greco's, a Pizza sit down joint where famlies can watch their pizzas get hand made in the middle of the store, and taste some genuine Italian culture. It starts out with me making my way through a pie, when a young kid comes up to me and asks, "Hey mister, what are you eating?" To which I reply, "Well, champ, I am eating the greatest pizza in the Valley of the Sun!" He sits and ponders for a moment, then asks, "But...What are you eating?" I smile, shake my head, and tell the yound lad the following description of the pizza; "Well, its a wonderfully made, hand-made crust, with a rich, fresh tomato sauce with real San Marzano tomatoes, layers of Provolone, Mozzarella, and Jack Cheese, pieces of sweet basil, all baked to a crisp, oven roasted perfection." He sits their, gazing at the half eaten pie, then asks, "Can I have a slice?" To which I say, "No. It's mine!" Then the kid gets angry and we start to fight over the pizza. The owner hears the ruckus and bursts out of his office to the main room. He sees what is going on and bellows, "What the heck is going on out here?!" And, with pizza all over my head and body, I just say, "Pizza Time." Greco's Pizza. Real Culture, Real Family, Real Food.
Being Interviewed By A Fan
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very, very happy to sit down with one of my favorite players on the ASU Sun Devils, Nick Ayers. Nick, it is an incredible opportunity that I am in right now and I am super glad that I get to be with you. I am very big fan of your work, and I wish the Best for you coming up in the DSFL draft!
Well thank you for that introduction, I am ready, all my work has lead up to this, and I am ready to play.
Well I'm just list off a bunch of questions, and I want you to take your time and try answer most of them the best that you can. How do you think that you will do in this upcoming draft? Where do you think that you wanna go? Who do you model your game after, and who would you like to thank for helping you along the journey?
Wow, well those are some pretty good questions. I think that I'm getting there on peoples draft boards, and I think that I'll be Mid to High when it comes to where my position will be. But of course, I may just be getting super cocky and arrogant, and I might just be a Mr. Irrelevant when it comes to draft day. But, I have talked to many GMs and higher ups, and they seem quite interested in me. I would like to go frankly any team that is willing to put up with my antics frankly, but If I were to choose a team to go, It would probably be the Birddogs. They just have such a lovely environment and a great locker room filled with great people. I model my game after the player LeSean McCoy. He is just such a speedy and elusive guy that he is just great to look at when he goes off. And lastly, I cannot thank enough my parents, my coaches, my friends, and all those that supported me on my quest to be the greatest I can ever be.
Well thank you Nick for the talk, and good luck!
Thank you.
(S21) - Ultimus Week - iamslm22 - 04-15-2020
Sit down with a star
@J0EB
1 - How did it feel to be part of the best team in NOR history?
It was so exciting. We have such a great group of people within that locker room that every win was so much fun. It’s my goal as a player to go break records and win trophies. Obviously we weren’t able to get the Ultimini this season, but being the winningest team in Norfolk history was definitely something we still were able to celebrate.
2 - Where do you think you'll go in the draft?
I think I’m a first rounder for sure. I’m super active, friendly and a max earner so it would make sense. Other than that, I don’t really wanna say much about draft position.
3 - What team do you most want to go to?
There are a few teams that are really high on my list, Arizona, Nola and Philly all stand out. I really value an active locker room and a good culture and I think these three teams strive in those areas. Side note, IRL I am from Arizona so it would be really cool to play for my home team.
4 - What was your favorite memory from rookie season
My favorite memory is beating Myrtle Beach week 13. We had a shot at the playoffs, but it was gonna be really close. We pretty much needed two wins heading into those last two games in order to secure our playoff spot. We were away for that game, so we knew it was likely going to be the hardest game we had played all year. Luckily, we beat them 37-10 and towards the end of the game when we knew he had secured the win, the locker room went nuts. Our playoff hopes were alive and at full blast. We had just beaten our biggest rival and so we were all full of excitement. A few of us hopped in the voice chat and we celebrated the game together by talking. It easily stands out as one of the best moments in the league for me and it’s a memory I’d like to hold on to forever.