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(S23) - Ultimus Week - Tylus - 07-28-2020
12: I started my time in the ISFL having no idea what to expect, or how well I could do. I also had NO idea how much of a social hub this league is. I received a warm welcome when I entered the discord server, and I was even given a free extra week of training to start for returning to my account, approved by Bex of course almost instantly. Learning the site seemed like it would be a daunting task at first, and made me wonder if I could make it in this league, not to mention reading people’s media and wondering if I could stack up. I fears were quickly dispelled when so many people would always be ready to come to my aid when I was confused on something, and I quickly learned to use the site. Once I got through the start, I was eating every piece of TPE I could and doing every check and point task that I could get my hands on. Then I began the scouting process, which was one of the most fun parts of the league in my opinion. Everyone who scouted me was very friendly, and some went above and beyond, but I instantly took to the Grey Ducks locker room culture. It was infectious and nearly every member that has been on that team in my time is an amazing user and friend. My rookie season went really well for the most part, and we had a lot of fun. Watching us come back from a 1-3 start was really awesome and we had a lot of good times watching our playoff push that season. I would algo go on that season to have a great season, being one of the most efficient and highest stat wide receivers in the entire DSFL. I’d go on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Wide Receiver of the Year, which was a really nice feeling. It was also fun watching a lot of my fellow ducks win awards that year. Me and a metric ton of my teammates would go to the Pro Bowl as well that offseason. After that came the ISFL draft, which again, I really enjoyed the scouting process and all the speculation! Being drafted to San Jose was awesome, going in the first round was a total blessing as well. Even though we haven’t had the best season this past year, I know that this team is growing an awesome team and I really enjoy the locker room culture there. I hope to be a major part of their success going forward.
15. If we’re talking this season, my favorite game was definitely the week four San Jose versus Orange County matchup. We came into this game as huge underdogs, and everyone picked the Otters to win against us. With us having such a young team, and Orange Counties offense and defense being considered one of the best in the league on both sides, we’d need to have a great game to win. The game started with a three and out, which definitely made us nervous but our defense held and soon got us the ball back. With another few back to back three and outs by both team, things would seem slow as it was tied at 0 at the end of the first. Suddenly, Thomas-Fox would catch a Forty-one yard pass to put us in position to score! He would cap the drive off with a five yard touchdown. The Otters would tie it up with a thirty-one yard pass to Mongo, and then take the lead with a 17 yard pass. The half ended with a 17-7 score. With a field goal bringing us to within a touchdown, and a long drive capped off by a Lackson touchdown, the game was tied in the fourth. With some key defensive stops, and a an amazing late game force fumble by Krause, we would take the lead by a field goal with two minutes remaining and would go on to win.
19. I’ll be making this scouting report about the man, the myth, the legend himself, Rashad Hilliard. Hilliard(Gotdatweefee) entered the league somewhat quietly, having been recruited from the Florida Gators subreddit by myself personally, then scouted for the Grey Ducks by myself personally. At first he seemed like an average recruit, definitely interested, but not sure if he had the time and effort to put into the league, but I could tell there was something special about him after our interview. Our interview went great, he was a team player, flexible, and seemed to be taking to the league rather quickly, not to mention the fact that he is a Florida Gators fan, aka the best team in college football. Hilliard originally created as a running back, and showed how much of a team player he was by switching roles to be the Grey Ducks newest cornerback. He would show the league why he was such a great pick for the Ducks by earning well, and playing well too! It felt like every game Hilliard would make at least one great play for us, amassing 7 interceptions, making him the league leader in that category, and a healthy 14 passes defended. If you need a solid, hard working defensive back with a great attitude, Rashad Hilliard is the player you want to draft.
(S23) - Ultimus Week - KoltClassic - 07-28-2020
5) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.
My current occupation is a software developer / engineer / whatever the kids are calling it nowadays. While I would definitely say that this is something that interests me ( though how much it interests me and how much that has been fading recently are another story ), the aspect of my work that is more applicable to the league currently is web design. More specifically, user experiences and user interfaces for web applications. I’ve found through work as a software developer that the process of my coworkers that are designers has appealed to me greatly, and as a result of that I am hoping to make the eventual transition to becoming a web designer, UI/UX designer, also whatever the kids are calling it. While this may not appear to be directly related to the league at first glance, I’ve recently been involved in work more behind the scenes that has allowed me to contribute to the league and also develop my skills as a web designer.
If you read the trade deadline head office announcement you likely saw a huge variety of information around new changes that are coming to the league and other things that are currently in progress. A name change, rebranding, moving away from the forum, and a custom website for the league. The last point mentioned there is where I come into the picture. I’ll also note here that contrary to the belief of some folks, I have not had and currently do not have any involvement with the rebranding or forum migration aspects of the announcements and do not have any concrete plans to get involved in those things in the future.
Anyways, I am solely involved in the new website for the league. From the announcement “We’re still in the early stages of development, but we’re so excited to roll out new features such as a new player creation tool, streamlined banking, and so so much more.” While a lot of my work has gone into aiding the implementation of those features alongside Lemon and Exilizer, I’ve tried to keep most of my focus on the visual and interactive aspects of what the new website will be. The best current visual indicator of this can be seen from the “sneak peek” of the homepage that was shared in the announcements page. While it is still subject to change, I think this offers a good, simplified look into what I am trying to accomplish with new site.
When it comes to web design, I try to make sure that when I am creating something that I am taking as informed of an approach to the problem as possible. But what does informed mean? I want to make sure that everything that is put onto the site is put there intentionally and serves an actual purpose. You may have seen websites or apps that seem to have no clear distinction around what you are supposed to actually do when you get there. Dozens of links in the header, no clear calls to action, poorly contrasted text with no visual hierarchy, things like that. I try to look at a website or app more or less like a puzzle. Every piece of ( most ) puzzles goes in a specific position and rotation inside of the scope of the entire puzzle. It serves a specific purpose to complete a task ( displaying a cool picture ). That probably sounds a bit pedantic, but metaphors are a great way to make a good word count so here we are.
So, how exactly do you make these decisions? Anybody can throw some words and a sign up button on a page. I think the distinction comes in all of the little details that make up a page to take it to the next level. Here is one look into my thought process that I had around the homepage for reference:
- I knew that the main goal of the homepage was to get users to sign up for the website. I first wanted to make sure that I provided an easily noticeable and compelling headline to draw users in. I think that “Become the next gridiron superstar” is a succinct way to tell people that a.) we’re about American football ( gridiron was the best way I could find to distinguish that this was American football and not soccer) and b. ) you can be a superstar, how cool is that! The additional text below it is less marketing-y, but provides a nice little blurb that we’re a sim league and that you get to have control of a player. Neat.
- Signing up for the website is one of the main “conversion” techniques that we have as a sim league to get users into our ecosystem. The other conversion is Discord. Maybe users want to just feel out the community a bit as a precursor to joining. As the primary form of communication for many members of the league, I thought adding the discord link in the homepage was useful as well.
- For the picture to the right, I knew that I wanted to be able to highlight the not-real aspect of our league through edited renders. I also know that this would be a good opportunity to highlight users in the league that have been long-time supporters of the league and deserve some sort of recognition. I decided on an edited picture of Danny Grithead ( I think ), but I think that this could be a good opportunity to highlight other players in the leauge, possibly through a rotating picture monthly or more of a collage type of thing.
9) Pick any position, and determine who in your view is the greatest player to ever suit up at that position. Why do you view them as the GOAT? What achievements, records, accolades, or statistics do they hold? How do they stack up against the other legends in their position, and why does your chosen candidate come out on top?
Dan Miller is the greatest defensive tackle in the history of the league. To be honest, I’m not sure if this is even something that isn’t held as an objective fact, but I’ll make my case regardless. Some would say that Miller played in a different era of professional football in the NSFL when things weren’t quite as balanced as they are now. I could see that argument for some other players, but the fact that Miller is head and shoulders above any other defensive lineman statistically is proof that whether he played the game 20 years ago or now should come into consideration. It is the same argument that has been made time and time again throughout every other professional sports league when a historical player is compared to a contemporary all-star. Who would win? Would one player be better than the other back then? What about if they both played nowadays? Wayne Gretzky played in an era of hockey that most understand had a much lower level of defensive competitiveness, thus increasing the offensive output of players. That shouldn’t discount the fact that Gretzky is bar none the best hockey player of all time with 40 regular season records and 15 playoff records. Similarly, Dan Miller tops the all time sacks leaderboards with 132 total, more than 14 sacks a season! The numbers speak for themselves. Miller also has two of the top 10 spots for most sacks in a season, with the second place rank of 24 sacks in 2018 and ninth place in 2024 with 19. If you take a look at the annual sack leaders you will also see Jayce Tuck’s name on there with the first and third place position. While Jayce Tuck played primarily as a defensive end and therefore doesn’t necessarily fit the criteria of dethroning Dan Miller as the best defensive tackle of all time, I’ll further make a case why Dan Miller outs Tuck as the best defensive lineman of all time. Going back to the all time sack records, Miller has 26 more sacks all time than Tuck does, 132 to 106. Given this argument some would bring up the fact that Tuck destroys Miller in tackles for loss, 133 to 17. I can’t say that it is completely fair to compare these two stats against each other, but it is well known that defensive ends usually vastly outperform defensive tackles in tackles for loss. There is also the understanding of team performance during the players’ careers. For most of Dan Miller’s career he was on a SaberCats team that was consistently either last or in the bottom half of their division, which shows even more how impressive his stats are.
(S23) - Ultimus Week - GoonerBear - 07-28-2020
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2) This week will see the S24 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. In 800 words or more, recount any of the previous playoff cycles of either league. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse or Cinderella teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? How did the title game play out, and which players made their mark on the field? Tell the story of those playoffs as completely as you can. Do not simply recount your own experience in those playoffs or that of a singular team.The Season 10 playoff cycle was one that produced three excellent, competitive playoff games, and also ultimately resulted in the showdown the entire league had been salivating over since the regular season ended. They wanted more, and they got more.
In the NSFC Championship Game, we had the 9-5 Colorado Yeti visiting the 13-1 Baltimore Hawks. Baltimore won both matchups in the regular season, and this one was not expected to go any different. The Yeti arrived at this stage in a tight playoff race against the Yellowknife Wraiths. They split the season series, though it was their second game in Week 13 that all but decided who would advance. Colorado edged out Yellowknife at home to go one game up with one to go, and all but seal the deal. Even if they had lost in Week 14, they had the superior point difference. Baltimore had run the table all season long, save for a 38-12 loss in New Orleans. There was never any doubt they would make it here.
Baltimore would open up the game with a touchdown drive that lasted 7 minutes once they took the ball from Colorado on a punt. The Yeti would only need three plays to respond, helped with a decently long kick return and ending on a long ball. After the Hawks punted, they took the ball right back on Yeti turf with an interception. They would methodically make their way to the end zone in seven plays to regain the lead 14-7. Colorado went three-and-out before stalling the Hawks' drive and watching Turk Turkleton miss a 41-yard field goal kick. The complete stop gave life to the Yeti offense, who tied the game a little over four and a half minutes later. Turkleton would answer by making from 39 on the next drive, and the half would end 17-14 in Baltimore's favor.
As an added advantage, the Hawks received the kickoff at the start of the second half. They wouldn't convert it, however, though Colorado would take their first lead of the game 21-17 on the ensuing possession. Heath Miller made up most of the ground on a 42-yard catch, leaving it to Fox North to finish the drive one play later. The Hawks would waste no time answering to take the lead back, scoring a touchdown on a pass from Avon Blocksdale to Trey Willie after a little more than four minutes and going back up 24-21. The Yeti couldn't get a first down, and the Hawks took their time to burn clock. This time, when the Hawks stalled, Turkleton converted from 41 for a 27-21 lead. On the next drive, as Colorado looked to answer, a pass intended for Mark Grau was snatched by Vikian Marmeladov and taken back the other way to extend the lead to 34-21. The Yeti would never recover, despite valiant final efforts. They charged down the field in a flash to pull up to a 34-28 deficit, though with Baltimore's possession, they executed on milking clock and sinking the dagger on a 26-yard chip shot field goal with just more than a minute to play. A team would have to pull off three massive plays to overcome a nine-point hole with 67 seconds to play. The Yeti didn't.
In the ASFC, we had the 7-7 Orange County Otters going to the Bayou against the 11-3 New Orleans Second Line. OCO had the benefit of the alignment working for them. At the time, the entire schedule was more or less a double round-robin with divisions. If it was a straightforward ranking, Yellowknife would have advanced to the postseason at 8-6. The Otters won the first meeting 24-10 in California before the Second Line nuked them in the reverse game in Louisiana 61-7. With the game back down in the South, it was shaping up to be more of the same. There was little doubt these would be the two teams who advanced, as the 4-10 Arizona Outlaws and 4-10 San Jose SaberCats just weren't ready to contend.
This game, unlike the NSFC Championship, was a long, low-scoring slog. There weren't even any turnovers. Just good fundamental defense on both parts. Sacks abounded in this game. Rookie OCO QB Gus T.T. Showbiz went down three times in the first quarter alone. Fifth-year NOLA playcaller Borkus Maximus III took two sacks. Both passers were getting somewhere at best, but not where they wanted to get. It was quite remarkable Maximus was held so low, the league leader in passing yards with 5036 that season. Bradley Madlad broke the deadlock with a 39-yarder early in the second quarter. Showbiz ate turf again before halftime, though it went into a back-and-forth punting contest. After the field goal, OCO would cross the 50 only for that sack and a penalty to back them out. No one would get off their own side with the ball the rest of the quarter.
The Second Line looked ready to break the game open when they stormed out in the third quarter. With the pass finally working, NOLA scored a touchdown on a six-yard pass to Darren Smallwood. 7-3, New Orleans with their first score and lead of the game. Throughout the third quarter and much of the fourth was more grinding, more punts, more of the same of the first half, however. Peg Leg notched a field goal to push the lead to 10-3 for NOLA. Two possessions later, the Otters were running out of time and on their last chance. Two and a half minutes remained, and they needed 58 yards to force overtime. They would begin to press, with a 15-yard pass giving them hope. Godfrey King wounded that hope on a sack, forcing the last timeout. Showbiz heaved it to King, though he wasn't quite fast enough. New Orleans survived a gruesome upset bid.
The Ultimus pitted the two clear frontrunners against one another in Baltimore. Hawks vs Second Line. The number two offense and number one defense vs the number one offense and number two defense. There could have been no better game to decide the best. NOLA provided the opening salvo on their first two possessions, a field goal and a touchdown pass to quickly go up 10-0 within the first 10 minutes. Baltimore answered in five plays, finishing with a 33-yard bomb to pull up to within 10-7. The Second Line had found their offense after conference championship week, however, and went right back down for another touchdown, 17-7. The Hawks could only answer with a field goal, and needed a stop fast before the game spiraled out of hand. A quick three-and-out would do the trick, though did not take full advantage next drive. They would only manage a field goal with three minutes left after another stop, then another to end the half after the Hawks finally found their defensive rhythm again. The Second Line would enter the break ahead 17-16, though the Hawks would get the ball back.
The Hawks would take their first lead of the game on a 40-yard kick from Turkleton after stopping at the NOLA 23. The Second Line answered promptly when the challenge was put back to them, gaining yards in sizable chunks and capping off with an 18-yard pass to Alexandre LeClair, though Peg Leg missed the extra point thereafter. It would remain 23-19 Second Line...for about two minutes. Baltimore was much faster to retake the lead, however, when a 41-yard kick return was followed with a pass to Budda Browning that almost resulted in him winning a footrace to the end zone and Trey Willie finishing the job. 26-23 Hawks, with less than 5 to go in the 3rd. Another three-and-out, another drive that stalled just short, and Turkleton stretched it to a 29-23 lead.
New Orleans would get three more chances to answer and tie or take the lead. In drives of five, three, and seven plays, the Hawks stood firm. The Second Line turned the ball over on downs with 2:27 to go and never touched it again. The Baltimore Hawks, on a 13-1 regular-season record, secured their domination of Season 10 with an Ultimus win.
(1362)
(S23) - Ultimus Week - bex - 07-28-2020
5) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you.
Head Office in this league has always been an area of interest for me. I joined the league and was interested in pursuing HO opportunities fairly early on into my time here because I felt that I had a particular set of talents and the necessary work ethic to make an impact. My own rise to Head Office was a very quick one, as I went from intern to commissioner in the span of three seasons. But my involvement in HO isn't the focus of this. I'd like to take a look at HO tenure data. As you may know, HO is a position in the league that is especially prone to burnout. It's a highly public role, one that generally has to interact directly with the more stressful parts of league operations. When things break, it's on HO to get things fixed, and often that means bearing the brunt of less than happy people.
So, with that in mind, let's take a look at Head Office over time. The shortest documented tenure in HO would be adam2552, who served for 29 days. This makes sense when you know that he joined HO with the express mission to flush out some multis and then get out. He joins Sweetwater, Noble, Bigred and Exilizer in our under 80 days club. Exilizer has the chance to escape the under 80, needing about 25 days at time of writing. We have two people, 7hawk77 and tlk742, who exist in an in-between tier, both at 82 days served. The middle tier encompasses many people, those who have served between 100 and 200 days. There are 14 people on this tier, with some expected names such as Raven, iamslm22, Eco and league founded Ballerstorm. It also features infinitempg and terriblehippo, who also have the chance to escape this tier, needing 56 and 67 days respectively. With our under 200 out of the way, we can group the next tier loosely by being between 200 and 250. This tier has six users. The most notable would be AdamS, who reached his whopping 233 days in HO through two distinct terms. The other names at this tier are also pretty familiar for those who have been around the league for a bit, as we see AsylumParty, 124715, BayleyIsland, Trautner and TeyonSchavari at this level as well.
Let's dive into our top 6 now, because the numbers are far enough apart to not be sorted into clean tiers. At the number six spot you have little ol me! At time of writing, I've served in HO for 256 days. As I'm still in HO, I have a chance to make it into the top ten.
At 5, we have Mavfatha, who served in HO for 285 days. Mav was Head Office when I first joined the league, and was among the members of HO that welcomed me in when I was hired in. He departed quite suddenly amidst some unfortunate circumstances, but his dedication in the league is obvious from his long tenure in such a major league position.
At 4 we have To12143, who served in HO for 355 days. According to the records I have access to, he joined HO in April of 2018, which would have been around Season 7. He departed just under a year later, towards the end of S14. His tenure means he is one of a handful of people to serve under two different commissioners, as he was hired under White Cornerback, and departed during ADwyer's time in office.
At 3, we have the aforementioned White Cornerback, who served for 385 days. He worked tirelessly to maintain the league after Ballerstorm's departure. Even after stepping down from HO, he has continuously worked to improve the league, being one of the pillars of our league's Wiki.
At 2, Manicmav36 with 449 days. He's the only non-commissioner in the top three, but if you could his brief tenure as DSFL commissioner, you can ignore that fun fact. Manic joined HO in January of 2019, which would have been around season 13 if my math is correct. He only recently departed from the position around season 22. He's also maintained a high level of involvement though, as he began serving as the ISFL simmer around S19 and remains in that position currently.
Finally, at the number one spot on the list, shocking to no one, we have ADwyer87. Dwyer served in HO for a staggering 730 days, joining HO in January 9th, 2018 and departing in January 9th 2020. His tenure was a clean two years. He worked tirelessly and quite often thanklessly to keep the league afloat through some of its hardest times. As someone who has yet to hit the year mark, it still shocks me that he managed to do it for that long. Dwyer took a much-needed break after stepping down from HO, but remained a vital resource for me as I stepped into the commissioner role. He then came back to be a founding GM of the Honolulu Hahalua, adding to his impressive league legacy.
So what's the takeaway here? While yes, HO is prone to burnout, the average tenure is 169 days (dropping the highest and lowest as we know those are both pretty noticeable outliers.) Even dropping the three highest we see a mean of 152, or around 5 months. Perhaps things aren't quite as bad as we think.
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902 words(S23) - Ultimus Week - Reno - 07-28-2020
Task 8 (406 Words)
There’s a phrase that always echoes throughout cities of teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs, “There’s always next year.” This unfortunately has been the motto of the Chicago Butchers these past few seasons, football has not been kind to the Windy City. But for once, the phrase “there’s always next year” carries some actual weight with it. The biggest weakness for the Butchers these past few years will become their greatest strength: youth. The Butchers have a ton of players that are super young and still have plenty of room to grow. One look at the roster page and most every name has either S21, 22, or 23 next to the name. With regression not due to hit for several more seasons the Butchers core is poised to expand rapidly and become a threat. The youth movement comes as a result of something the team also desperately needed, stable management. It goes without saying Chicago was in an awful state in regards to their leadership before Bayley and Muford took over and helped change the image of the team drastically. No longer is Chicago that team that everyone wants to avoid, rather it’s becoming the place to be. The team has drive and direction and that is appealing to the free agent market, which ties into my next reason the Butchers will be great. The team has drawn several free agents to the team to help boost spots that were on the weaker side: names like Tyler Oles Jr. on the defensive side of the ball and the most recent addition of Baby Yoda on the offensive side. Free agency is like playing a game of dominoes, once the first one falls it sets off a chain that keeps falling. I’m expecting Chicago to be in the running for several bigger name free agents come these next few seasons. And the last reason I think Chicago will be poised to have a serious breakout season is that they hold the #1 draft pick slot and there’s countless options that they can do with it. Draft picks in this league are incredibly valuable, and the draft class features a ton of options that can become a cornerstone of the Chicago Butchers franchise for seasons upon seasons to come. The Windy City is slowly on the right track to becoming a football powerhouse, and there should be a new slogan for them this year “Chop on.”
Task 18:
![[Image: JVcc6dL.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/JVcc6dL.jpg)
Task 22 (234 Words)
If the ISFL had a Pro Bowl I’d say that the best game to implement would be a relay race, mostly because it would be the best way to showcase the wide spread of talent across the league, notably the unsung stars of the show on the Offensive Line. You can showcase those who are insanely strong, those incredibly fleet of foot, and those with the best hands in the business. Another one I’d want to implement would love to see is Ultimate Frisbee, mostly because it’s the best game to ever exist and seeing some of the big stars of the league showcasing their talents in multiple sports is always amazing. Imagine the sight of Chika Fujiwara just absolutely launching the frisbee the entire length of the field super fast while Sean O’Leary and Saba Donut are jumping over each other to try and snag these frisbees. It would truly be a sight to behold. As for which division would win these games? It would obviously be the NSFC, we’ve got the Ultimus winner in our division and star players on every single team on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, it would be a completely wipe. Adding games to the Pro Bowl would definitely make it a lot more worthwhile to watch, and it would give the fans a much added bonus to enjoy after the regular season ends.
(S23) - Ultimus Week - Mongoose87 - 07-28-2020
13) Daria Guava-Fresca was so clearly the best kicker in the DSFL this season, I shouldn't even need to write this case for her to win the positional excellence award. Daria Guava-Fresca (DGF, from now on) was unmatched among non-bot kickers. Her 97% and 88% extra point and field goal percentage, respectively, were tops along non-bot kickers. "Mongoose," I hear you protest, "Hunt was right behind her at 96.6% and 87.5%!" Sure, but let's look at the truly challenging kicks. DGF made two v50+ yard kicks to Hunt's one. At 40-49 yards, DGF was a cool 9/10. Hunt, on the other hand, was a mere 3/5, simply not good enough for serious consideration. "PhastBawl," you might say, "Was a perfect 5/5 from 40-49." Sure, that's pretty good, I guess, if your standards are low enough to overlook a 71.4% field goal percentage, and 0/4 kicks from 50+. If you're going to be the best kicker, you need at least a semblance of consistency, and you definitely need to connect on those truly challenging, 50+ yard kicks. DGF's case only improves when you consider she led all humans in 33 extra point attempts, likely because Norfolk generously did their best to set her up for as many as possible.
8)
Off-season evaluation: Norfolk Seawolves
Quarterback
The Seawolves have an embarrassment of riches, with Ramza and Skywalker, two excellent quarterbacks, each an insurance policy against the other Nicole up to the ISFL. I recommend no change, here.
Running Back
Skrills and Sunrise were both adept runners this season, and the rookie Rogers has worked to improve. Therl Seawolves should be safe staying pat on the offensive backfield.
Offensive Line
Norfolk rolled with four bots, plus Pennington as the score, at Tackle. It's hard to imagine them investing more into the line at the moment.
Tight End
The rookie Krashwagen showed a lot of potential this season, but, Hopkins, the only depth behind him, is lackluster. This would be a position to keep an eye on in the draft.
Wide Receiver
Matthews and Haugland are both reliable targets, but the two young players behind them have questionable upside and don't appear to be future starters, since they are little better than bots, one season in. Norfolk should put serious effort into acquiring a third threat to play on passing downs.
Defensive Tackle
Two young players, Sinclair and Sternenstaub, plug the middle for Norfolk. Sinclair plays a 1 and 2 technique, either demanding a double team or dominating his blocker. Sternenstaub plays a 3 technique. There is no depth behind these two, so, while both should return, a substitute and future replacement for both needs to be a high priority.
Defensive End
Kong, Namen and Simpson make a versatile trio at End for the Seawolves. Kong is a pure speed rusher, whereas Simpson is focused on power moves, like having a third tackle on the field. Namen is an adequate substitute to spell either player, but cannot be counted on as a potential starter.
Linebacker
Norfolk's lethal linebacker corps features two rookies and is headed by the indomitable Scott and Marshall. I expect them to be even better next season, which should be terrifying for the rest of the league.
Corner Backs
In Quackstack and Vaughne, the Seawolves have two reliable corners, but Waffle provides questionable depth behind them, making this a position of he'd in the draft.
Safety
The Seawolves compensate for their thin lineup at corner back by fielding three safeties that can play anywhere in the defensive backfield. Blanco and Button have blazing speed, whereas Cross plays like an extra linebacker, intimidating any receiver that dares go over the middle.
Kicker/Punter
Guava-Fresca proved an excellent performer on special teams this season. If she can be retained, Norfolk will be set there. If not, this will go from a position of strength to extreme weakness.
Draft Picks
Norfolk have not made any moves this season to suck up on draft capital. They will need to make their picks count.
(S23) - Ultimus Week - Dagumpa - 07-28-2020
9) In the game of football, some are able to emerge above others. Be it their superior athleticism, speed, agility, intelligence, or overall knowledge of the game, there are those who are just better than the rest. It’s an uncommon calling. Some people are born with it and are able to emerge above others almost immediately. Others have to work for it. Those players have to build their legend instead of growing into it. But just being better than most doesn’t designate you as the best. Being the best requires a combination of god-given ability and an undying work ethic. Being the best is an extremely rare calling that very few have legitimate arguments towards. However, football is not a sport where a decisive GOAT can be found among everyone. Just because someone might be the best safety in the league doesn’t exactly mean he’s any better than an average wide receiver (it could but...hear me out). Therefore, in order to find the GOAT, the search must be narrowed down to positions. I have decided to look at the most important position in the ISFL...offensive line. And through weeks upon weeks of strenuous and sleepless vetting, I have found the truth...DICK THRUSTER is the greatest o-lineman in ISFL history.
The 6’7” largeman out of Michigan may have just finished his first season in the ISFL, but it’s too hard to pass up upon the truth. That truth is that when Dick was thrust into the NSFL, the league changed. What was once the National Simulation Football League is now referred to as the International Simulation Football League. The league has also changed websites, expanded to a 16 game regular season, and now publicly discourages quarterbacks from joining the league. That last one is especially important since they know that every quarterback wants nothing more than to play with Dick protecting their weak side. However, Dick Thruster has made it clear that he is a proud Yeti. Sure, Dick only had 53 pancakes last season. And sure, he allowed 5 sacks to boot. But anyone who has eyes, ears, and a functioning central nervous system can tell that Dick hits differently than any other offensive lineman in the history of the ISFL. I am still in awe at the size of this lad and I hope to never get on his bad side. He will be a force to be reckoned with in the ISFL for, at least, the next 3 seasons (then he’ll probably retire). But for now, there’s no debate that Dick Thruster is the GOAT o-lineman.
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426 WordsOffensively, the team was led by the incredible ground game of Jamar Lackson and the showering air-attack of Sim SnowBow. SnowBow was greatly assisted by receivers like Tychondrius Hood and Daymond Brooks. When it was all said and done, Hood would win Offensive Rookie of the Year and Wide Receiver of the Year. Sim SnowBow would win Quarterback of the Year and Most Valuable Player. Jamar Lackson was a major contender for Running Back of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and Returner of the Year, but failed to win any of them. In total, the Grey Ducks offense scored 317 points: 2nd most of any DSFL team. The defense, however, was the real highlight of this Grey Ducks team. Buck Thornton was, especially, the highlight player. Thornton won his 2nd consecutive Defensive Back of the Year award in addition to winning Defensive Player of the Year. I was up for a lot of awards as well, including MVP. I didn’t win any because I guess the voters ignored I led the league in sacks as a linebacker but...whatever. The Grey Ducks defense allowed 216 yards that season: the least allowed yards of any team. But, of course, we didn’t win it all in the end. It’s the closest I ever got to winning it all and I probably will never get closer. Were they an all-time great? Probably not. They were to me, though.
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418 Words(S23) - Ultimus Week - iStegosauruz - 07-29-2020
13) Create an argument for your own player, or for someone else on your team, as to why they should be nominated for awards. Lay out their stats or compare them to other contenders. Make a convincing case.
Its not really my "team" per se, its the team I currently am GM for, but I definitely think that Zoe Watts should win RBoTY in the DSFL. At this point awards have been published, and she didn't win it, so I'll approach my argument from the perspective of why she should have won it. Going into this season, the Dallas Birddogs had to replace a significant part of their offense including a quarterback, runningback, and wide receiver. In a league that relies heavily on a strong ground game, needing to replace a runningback in the same season you have to replace a quarterback is a difficult proposition. Ideally an offense spearheaded by a rookie quarterback will be able to rely on the ground game, but having a rookie runningback only complicates that problem. Zoe Watts responding impressively, putting up 1160 yards on 237 carries for a 4.9 average yards per carry. She was the fourth highest in the league in total yards and had the second highest yards per carry among the top 5 runningbacks in yards. She helped carry an almost entirely rookie offense to the first playoff appearance in Dallas Birddogs history. She may not be at the top of the counting stats leaderboard but she had an impressive season considering the position she found herself in at the start of the season.
24) The league is prone to change. Reflect on a past change in either the ISFL or DSFL that significantly impacted something - be it a rules change, an expansion or contraction, or even a complete rebranding. What were the effects of this change, and how has it shaken the status quo?
One of the most positive changes the league has made recently is creating an entirely separate DSFL Head Office. Originally I was skeptical of the idea, especially considering that all of the initial members of the team were ISFL GMs. I was worried about whether or not they would have time to devote to the league. Although the situation wasn't always perfect, what I did notice throughout this past season was that having people entirely focused on the DSFL - even if not as much as I'd always like - was still beneficial for the league. The new Head Office has worked diligently to put forward proposals to solve issues or make decisions on situations that benefit the league fully. We finally have a group entirely dedicated to moving the league forward to productive and sustainable ways. This is really best represented in how much the camaraderie in the group of GMs has increased. With more focus from a dedicated Head Office there is less consistent strife or arguments - those are often shut down or streamlined into productive conversations. With less arguing the league is just in a better place than it was before - or even when I joined a few seasons ago. I'm excited to see the future, especially if the Head Office does manage to hire new interns or other dedicated members so we can have even more people constantly working to brainstorm good ideas.
8) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?
Wanna know what will really help Austin take a stab at trophy contention? Getting actually half decent sim luck. I'm not even kidding when I say that for the first three quarters of this past season we lost more games we were the favorite in than we won. Now, thats totally understandable. Strange things happen and when you're maximizing win% in the sim through testing it always needs to come with the caveat that 55% is still only 5.5 times out of 10, and you may be the favorites but only by a slim chance. A little bit under half the times you flip the coin you're still going to lose.
That being said complaining about poor sim luck is a cop out. What we really need is for the back seven in the defense to improve - whether that be through the draft or through just general player progression. I'm a big believer that you don't win games with a subpar secondary. If you go look at the teams that are historically great - Orange County comes to mind - they built their dynasty on the back of a strong secondary. In Austin's case we have on strong, veteran CB in Dermot Lavelle Jr., who although he just had the best season of his career statistically is beginning to regress. On the other side of the field, however, we have Colt Mendoza, a former first overall draft pick who has been a max earner since being drafted into the ISFL. He's the future at CB for the Copperheads, but still could use a few seasons of earning to really begin to dominate and lock down a side of the field. Safety is the problem position for the Copperheads, however. Awkward Sexjoke just announced his retirement, which will leave a gaping hole in the safety position after this coming year. Gregor McGregor is a solid option to move up and play in the Nickelback position that Sexjoke is vacating, but that still leaves a hole in the secondary. Austin also has to replace their other safety who often plays strong safety in Takeda Okura. Tomage McGullager waits in the DSFL to come up and lock down one of the open positions, however he'll still be young and needs a few more seasons of development to really reach his full potential. If the secondary can continue to grow and develop the Copperheads have a really good chance to build a championship contender within the next couple of years.
(S23) - Ultimus Week - Rufio_NZ - 07-29-2020
18) Create a billboard, magazine cover, or video game cover depicting a superstar of the league. Graphics only.
![[Image: Quick_aas.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/350042516843921413/737924856234115122/Quick_aas.png)
20) Show your player hoisting the championship trophy. Graphics only.
![[Image: League_champs.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/477769663561072650/737940413171630120/League_champs.png)
14) Create a championship banner for your team, including relevant players and iconography. Graphics only.
![[Image: TIJUANA_BANNER.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/477769663561072650/737951775344164954/TIJUANA_BANNER.png)
17) Choose any award from the past 22 offseasons that you think should’ve gone to a different contender. Why was your chosen candidate’s season superior to the actual winner?
The first thought that comes to mind would be Vequain for WRoTY in season twenty two over Tychondrius Hood. Both are great and I can see why Hood could edge out in some peoples minds but it seemed much closer than others were letting it on.
Here are their stat lines:
![[Image: Screenshot_2020-07-30_at_21.37.39.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/714651699209437225/738329908241104896/Screenshot_2020-07-30_at_21.37.39.png)
For starters, Tijuana had put up great air yardage with Slothlisberger slinging the rock with split carries and Vequain was sharing a backfield with Kingston and Howlett amongst another tight end and a couple backs who would occasionally be used for checkdowns so the argument that Hood had more target competition is arguable. Secondly, Vequain was a much more solid piece to the Tijuana offense than what Hood was to Minnesota. He was a constant play maker and pushed the sticks and was a reliable piece to the puzzle that eventually helped Tijuana win the Ultimini. It was also a spark of luck that Hood would edge out the essential pieces in the final week of the DSFL putting up 2 TD and great yards per reception. But this is an award for a receiver and their performance alone and in my opinion id rather a receiver with 15 more catches and 100 or more yards than one extra touchdown.
The awards comittee also obviously thought Vequain was going to win because he was nominated for OPOTY and Hood wasn't so I doubt I was alone in thinking Vequain was bringing home some tin.
(240 words.)
(S23) - Ultimus Week - AdamS - 07-29-2020
teir 1 task 5 (and not 3k in words this season i promise)
It's been an interesting season from my perspective in the league. I retired Awkward Sexjoke after just 5 seasons. This came as a shock to some because honestly not that many people do this kind of thing. Either they change position for half a career or they just go IA. Since the second one isn't really my speed, I chose a third option. Though technically I did just take a few weeks off and was technically IA at one point. The simple truth behind the decision is that I was not enjoying playing Safety. Now..obviously many people come across a similar feeling about their players at some point. 42 famously hated being a Wide Receiver. Baron hated playing Running Back. the list goes on. Usually what happens in these scenarios is that someone will position switch (as mentioned above) or retire quickly. I feel like mine went on a bit longer than it should have before I made the call to pull the plug and I feel like it's for the same reasons that a lot of people have been faced with at one point or another. I didn't want to let my team down. I didn't want to give up the effort I'd put in.
Ironically I quite consistently made a point of telling people to not hold onto players they aren't having fun with. Yet I fell victim to the same mindset traps myself. Likely because I didn't HATE the character per se. I just couldn't get into him no matter what I threw at the wall. Including a pretty great wiki if I say so myself. So it's likely that I ended up hanging on longer than I should have in part because I just didn't have that super negative fuel to work from. Ultimately though, I had to admit I really wasn't enjoying it at all and make the call to do what I've wanted to for a while. Go back to the receiving side of things.
Obviously the inevitable expansion in the near future also plays a hand in my decision. With a new large incoming swath of players it looks like a sure bet that it's right on the horizon and I (to the shock of no one) intend to push for a team. Also though, receiving has been my favorite experience thus far in the league. It makes Wide Reciever an easy thing to slide into as I prepare to make my next attempt to successfully build a team from scratch. When you're neck deep in the build its very easy to lose sight and lose steam with your personal player and so this should help quite a bit in the regard and also gives me a chance to grow WITH my future team as well.
Beyond that it's been quite an interesting season in terms of other pursuits. The Awards Committee is now fully independent and operational under Voiceless and he has passed every mark I set down in that regard. I fully stepped away and left him in charge once the ballots were sent along to the GMs and in fact for large swaths of the process I was a completely unnecessary presence. Which was always the end goal. So with that built and running under its own power, I'm calling that project a success. It will still weather issues from those who never wanted to see it succeed to begin with, but they can handle it on their own. There was a particular moment this season that really made me sure of the direction it was going and allowed me great confidence to step fully out of the way. I can't really go into specifics but it was a very sharp moment of "no shit..I've got this covered" that I got ti witness that made me breathe a final sigh of relief on the topic. I expect great things from the committee now that it's got stability, actual foundation, and momentum to boot.
The leaves the Casino. Year two of the casino has been extremely fruitful. We nailed down a pay structure. We expanded the number of games. We came out ahead. All extremely important goals for this season, which I'd declared a make or break for the concept way back before the season started. We are now better staffed, better organized, better established, and we have more up our sleeve going forward, too. This season has also been a pretty big success in that realm. I was not relishing the possibility of telling people that it wasn't going to work out so that's a relief as well. Hiring the right people and recognizing opportunities (even unplanned ones) have been saving graces of this project as it now slowly turns into what I hope will be a lasting staple of the league. I intend to see this one through for a while as it grows even more.
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