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*Last Minute DSFL Power Rankings - SwankyPants31 - 04-30-2020 I wanted to set up some power ratings for the DSFL teams this season. Since our preseason just concluded, I figured I would start with the preseason rankings. I looked over each DSFL team in the player tracker, and focused on the players that are active. Technically, active is defined as having updated in the last two weeks. For the preseason rankings, I decided to give players the benefit of the doubt and extended it to anybody that updated in the month of April. I’m planning on updating these rankings throughout the season. What that means is that these rankings are a snapshot of where teams CURRENTLY stand based on TPE and activity levels. I’ll also be highlighting a couple key players for each team on each side of the ball. Please take note, just because you aren’t mentioned, or your team is ranked lower than you think it should be doesn’t mean I’m writing your team off. The team that’s ranked at the top right now may be at the bottom by the end of the season if they can’t retain users. On the other hand, one of the current bottom ranked teams may work their way to the top if they had a successful draft and are able to encourage their players to remain active. For future power rankings updates, I will be more stringent about the activity levels of players I take into consideration while making these. The reasoning behind this is that active players updating throughout the season is what causes teams to be successful down the stretch. Without further ado, let’s get into the rankings. 1. Myrtle Beach Buccaneers At the top of our preseason power rankings are the defending Ultimini champions, the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. Frankly, it’s not even a close race to the top. The team has a player either at the DSFL TPE cap or at a high enough TPE to make an immediate impact at every single position except cornerback. Offense The Bucs are one of only two teams in the league with two capped quarterbacks in Chris Ramos and Tom Sofa. Beyond that, Garfield Despacito Jr. and James Angler are capped at the wide receiver and tight end positions respectively. While not capped Leeroy Jenkins and Alyx Sabor are both high-earning weapons at receivers, giving the quarterbacks plenty of ways to attack opposing defenses. The run game looks to be a three headed monster lead by promising rookie Nicholas Ayers. Finally, the offense is rounded out the rest of the way with a capped Simon Tremblay and a just-under-the-cap Douglas Quail at the offensive line. For all intents and purposes, they’ve retained what is likely the strongest offense in the league. Defense The defense is led by powerhouse defensive tackle Cuco Clemente. They also benefit from capped players in the Defensive End and Linebacker slots who appear to be inactive. Since there is only one other active player at each of these positions, including promising rookie linebacker Tyrone Woods, these two high TPE inactive players won’t have to surrender any snaps to lower TPE active players. If Myrtle Beach has a weakness, it’s in the secondary. They currently have four active safeties, two of which are Brendan Lanier from S22 and rookie L’Carpetron Dookmarriot who should both be able to make an immediate impact. They’ll be counting on their other two safeties remaining active, since they have no active cornerbacks on the roster and will need to play safeties in that position. 2. Portland Pythons The Pythons were eliminated in the playoff round last season by the Kansas City Coyotes. This season, they begin in a much stronger position. While in my opinion they are clearly a step below Myrtle Beach, they are also at least a step above any of the other teams at the moment. They’re also currently in their championship window, with starting Quarterback George O’Donell being traded to the Butchers in the NSFL. Since current Butchers’ quarterback Rose Jenkins is slated to retire at the end of the season, we are likely seeing O’Donnell’s last season as a Python. Offense Similar to the Buccaneers, the Pythons have capped or impact players all over the offense. They technically have fewer capped players however, as the previously mentioned quarterback O’Donnell and the wide receiver Raheem Okusi are the only two offensive players to have reached the cap so far. Other notable players include Zed Keppler, who should be leading Portland’s running game, and the combination of Sean Snyder and Daniel George who will help complete O’Donnell’s primary weapons. Again similar to the Buccaneers, the Pythons have two high TPE offensive linemen in Tommy Sacamano and Joey McCabe. As a whole, Portland’s offense is about as well rounded as Myrtle Beach’s, but not quite as complete. Defense The comparisons to Myrtle Beach will continue here. Defensive end Slinky Claxton and defensive tackle Juane Arc are both capped and lead the Pythons’ front seven, though watch for rookies CJ Riley and Heinrich Kackpoo to make immediate impacts from their defensive end and linebacker positions respectively. Much like the Buccaneers, the Pythons do not have a single active cornerback on the roster, and will be relying on safeties to play out of position. Unlike the Buccaneers however, they Pythons only appear to have one secondary player ready to make an immediate impact in capped safety Shawn Dawkins. 3. Tijuana Luchadores Up next I placed my team, the Tijuana Luchadores. Keep in mind these next three teams including the Luchadores are very close in strength, and I only put them here above the other two due to blind homerism. Offense Tijuana is the other team to have two capped quarterbacks in Ben Slothlisberger and Jim Waters. What makes this combination especially interesting to me is their complementary skill sets. Slothlisberger is a traditional gunslinger type quarterback, while Waters is more of a runner. This adds a wrinkle to Tijuana’s offense that can be difficult to plan for, given you don’t know which quarterback is going to hit you. Other than the quarterback position, Tijuana also benefits from having just one of three capped running backs in the league in myself, Richard Gilbert. While the only other immediate impact player on the offense is receiver Friedrich Vequain, the Luchadores currently have 5 active rookies on the offensive side alone, giving them tremendous upside later into the season. Defense The heart and soul of Tijuana’s defense comes from the safety position. Capped geometric shape LiterallyJust A. Hexagon is the only currently capped player on the Luchador defense, but fellow safety Magnus Valdyr is just behind him. Standouts on the front seven include rookie defensive end Tycker Om and rookie defensive tackle Bane Ka’ana’ana. Similar to the offense, the defense currently includes a total of 4 active rookies, meaning the Luchadores could have a team that really comes on late into the season if they are able to keep everybody active. 4. Minnesota Grey Ducks Minnesota was an interesting team for me to look at, because while they are tied for the second least capped players across the roster, they also are tied for the most active impact players who are currently below the cap. As a result I have them right in the middle of the pack right now, but they are a true wild card team depending on how they are able to develop their talent. On top of that, they may have some of the most likeable characters in the DSFL. Offense Minnesota is another team with a capped running back on the roster in Jamar Lackson. Chatter I’ve heard says that a lot of people already see Lackson as the top running back in the league, even among the other two who are over the cap. I think there’s a good chance of that happening, as the Grey Ducks will likely make Lackson the focal point of their offense. Beyond him, they also have a solid passing attack with everybody’s favorite Sim Snowbow at quarterback, as well as promising rookies at receiver in Kai Sakura and Tychondrius Hood, though none of these three have hit the cap yet. Defense The Grey Ducks have a fairly well rounded out defense. Capped defensive end Mario VonPebbles leads the front 7, while capped safety Buck Thornton leads the secondary. Though they have no other capped players on the defensive side, there are multiple other impact players to watch out for, such as Dex Kennedy at linebacker, Sebastian Vettel at safety, and the combination of Matt Krause and rookie Ray-Ray Jackson at cornerback. All in all a solid, though not spectacular defense. 5. Dallas Birddogs I’m going to go on a little rant here, so bear with me. It’s no secret that multiple times I’ve gushed over how good the Birddogs’ S22 draft was. Looking at their S23 class, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one pan out as well. The fact that Gucci and Kyle didn’t win GMs of the year during the awards last season is highway robbery as far as I’m concerned. They took an expansion team and made them into a legitimate playoff contender, and while NSFL call-ups hit them hard, they look like they’re in a good position to make another playoff push. Offense The third and final team with a capped running back is Dallas with Kichwa Jones. Jones will likely be the focal point of the offense this season, given the Birddogs’ shallow passing game. That’s not to say there’s no talent there, Monty Jack is capped at quarterback, Mike Lee is capped at wide receiver, and Zee Rechs has earned a respectable level of TPE at the tight end position. The problem is that outside of those three players, the only active offensive weapon is one other receiver, Luca Sabbia. Defense I was surprised looking at the defense to find that superstar corner Colt Mendoza played by superstar user iStegosauruz was not called up into the NSFL this season. It’s a good thing for Dallas, because without him they would be left without a single capped player on the defense. There’s other talend around of course, my former teammate Tyler Montain jumps out having earned a staggering 182 TPE before even the first week of his rookie season. On top of that Hingle McCringleberry is a promising linebacker, and the Birddogs have a respectable safety tandem in Abbas Muhammad and rookie Raphael d’Alcott. 6. Norfolk SeaWolves While I only have Norfolk ranked 6th as of preseason, I admit they’re an interesting team to watch. For whatever reason that I don’t understand, I feel like the sim loves them. Last season they vastly outperformed what I expected from them, including winning their final 3 games of the last season, 2 of which were away, to clinch a playoff spot. Simulation magic aside, I feel they’re actually one of the lower teams talent wise, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see if they work their voodoo magic again. Offense Norfolk was close to being a third team with double capped quarterbacks. Luke Skywalker has already hit the cap, and Suleiman Ramza is only two points shy. What sets them below the other 2 quarterback tandems in my opinion is lack of receiving options. Reynaud Haugland is a capped tight end who will most likely be the focal point of the passing game for the early season, as outside of him there are currently no significant threats. There are also only two active running backs at the moment, the stronger of which is Tequila Sunrise. It will be interesting to see down the stretch if the SeaWolves are able to keep up with other teams, as they don’t seem to have as much opportunity for growth. Defense The SeaWolves defensive strength lies in their secondary. Cornerback Thubba Bumper is the sole capped player on the defensive squad, but Bayden Brosley opposite of him doesn’t look too shabby himself. Meanwhile at the safety position DB Jadakiss and Adelie de Pengu will be a pair to watch going forward. If all these players continue developing and earning, the SeaWolves could easily end up having the strongest secondary in the league. On the other side, the front 7 seem like they could use a bit of help. Noteworthy players here are linebacker Jack Banks and rookie defensive tackle Braxton Sinclair. However, given there are a total of 6 active front 7 players, it will also depend on if they are able to keep active and earning. 7. London Royals A lot of mocks I’ve seen and people I’ve talked to have London as the worst team in the league this year, but I disagree. Sure, both the Royals and Kansas City Coyotes are tied for the lowest active player count for the moment, but personally I think they have a stronger roster for the moment. Offense It’s no secret that last season the Royals didn’t do too hot either. At that time, the offense went entirely through Acura Skyline. Unfortunately for London, Skyline was immediately summoned up into the NSFL. The good news for this though, is that London actually has a passing offense that looks like it could make a splash. Quarterback Colby Jack and wide receivers Nick Kaepercolin and Susan Cash Jr. are all active, have returned to the DSFL for another season, and most important of all are capped. On top of that, tight end Donatello Arrabiata looks like he might be able to make an impact as well. The main problem with the offense is a clear answer at running back, at least for the moment. Rookie Danny King is the name to watch here, though he may not make much of a splash until later in the season after he’s earned more TPE. Defense To quote my former teammate Andrew Witten, played by Mithrandir, “Sylphreni went to the DSFL awards factory. He’ll probably win DPOY. That’s what happens when your team only has one good player”. For newer users, this is a reference to last season, where Derred de Ville, a linebacker for the Royals won defensive player of the year after racking up outrageous stats, due partly to the fact that he almost had to do everything himself. Greedy Sly, played by Sylphreni, is another former teammate of main and is currently in position to pick up right where de Ville left off. The fit is not quite as ideal, as fellow rookie Safety Bob Bob also looks like an immediate impact player, but outside of that the Royals don’t have a player at any position that causes me immediate concern. Given that they have rookies across the board though, we’ll have to wait and see how they develop. 8. Kansas City Coyotes Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I actually do have a lot of sympathy for Kansas City. After making it all the way to the Ultimini last season, then ended up losing to Myrtle Beach and then were absolutely torn apart by NSFL callups. As mentioned in the Royals writeup, this left them tied with London for the least number of currently active users, but also with the least amount of capped players. They’ll have to depend on returning S22 players and S23 rookies stepping up to dig themselves out of the hole they find themselves in at the beginning of the season. Offense Kansas City has only one capped player on each side of the ball. For offense, that would be tight end Tree Gelbman. The good news for them is that rookie quarterback Reginald Covington III is already over 150 TPE for the beginning of the season, and will likely be caught up with most of the other teams before too long. At the running back spot, Kevin Fakon was a highly sought out draft prospect last season whose activity fizzled out. For whatever reason, Fakon is back and active again now, and should be a quality starter assuming he both returns to earning at the same rate as before and stays active. Defense The capped player on the defensive side is safety Jon Bois. Outside of him though, there currently aren’t any active secondary players that have broken even 100 TPE, so they may be vulnerable to passing attacks at the beginning of the season. The defensive line looks like it may be solid, with rookie defensive end Son Goku and rookie defensive tackle Carl Wheezer leading a front 7 made entirely of active rookies. This is one of the biggest question marks in the league at the moment. If the four rookies here are able to remain active they should actually form a decent defensive front, but if their activity were to drop off it would be catastrophic for the Kansas City defense. Unfortunately, the Coyotes also do not have a single active linebacker on the roster at the time of this writing. Tier List Since some gaps between teams are larger than others, I wanted to also include a basic tier list to show where I see the fall-offs happening. A Tier Myrtle Beach Buccaneers B Tier Portland Pythons C Tier Tijuana Luchadores Minnesota Grey Ducks Dallas Birddogs D Tier Norfolk SeaWolves London Royals F Tier Kansas City Coyotes As I said at the beginning, these are all subject to change as the season goes on. This is simply how the roster looks immediately on paper, and does not factor in things such as who tends to have better gameplans and who has more potential for future growth. Best of luck to all teams tomorrow! *Last Minute DSFL Power Rankings - Billybolo53 - 04-30-2020 I approve. The buccs vs the pythons is the game of the week. *Last Minute DSFL Power Rankings - slothfacekilla - 04-30-2020 Good stuff, excited for the season