*Yellowknife Wraiths' Fan Newsletter: S5 MidSeason - Printable Version +- International Simulation Football League (https://forums.sim-football.com) +-- Forum: Community (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=5) +--- Forum: Media (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=37) +---- Forum: Graded Articles (https://forums.sim-football.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=38) +---- Thread: *Yellowknife Wraiths' Fan Newsletter: S5 MidSeason (/showthread.php?tid=7089)

*Yellowknife Wraiths' Fan Newsletter: S5 MidSeason - SwagSloth - 01-15-2018 [div align=\\\"center\\\"]Yellowknife Wraiths Fan Newsletter[/div] Welcome to the First Edition of the Wraiths Fan Newsletter! This unofficial Fan Newsletter will discuss team news and events and will hopefully be part of a larger series to come. This edition will focus on the S5 mid-season following the events of week 6. [div align=\\\"center\\\"][/div] Team Record The Wraiths kick off the season with a 5-1 record, starting S5 off on a high note. Many experts have placed the team at the top of the charts and even those that disagree consider them to be a consensus top 2 team. After surprising fans across the league last season with a breakout performance, the Wraiths have entered the new season with a stacked roster and are already seeing great results. After winning their first 3 games, the Wraiths found themselves as the only undefeated team left standing in either conference, but lost in week 4 to the reigning Ultimus champions, the Orange County Otters, who also defeated the Wraiths to win the championship last season. The Wraiths managed to bounce back with wins over both the San Jose Sabercats and the Los Vegas Legion, but the blemish on their record still stands. Much like the Wraiths, the Otters have retained an impressively stacked roster from last season and also find themselves at 5-1. Both teams are considered to be the most likely contenders for the S5 Ultimus and, as a result, have developed a budding rivalry. Fans are eagerly awaiting the rematch as the Otters head to Yellowknife in week 11, but before that game can take place, both teams have a series of challenges ahead as they work to defend their positions at the top of their respective conferences. [div align=\\\"center\\\"][/div] Six 100+ Yard Games by Two Receivers To the surprise of many, Yellowknife lays claim to not just one, but two receivers with over 100 yards per game this season. Bailey Cook stepped up in S4 after the team lost former WR1 Josh Garden to free agency, lured away by a lucrative contract with the Arizona Outlaws. Cook totaled over 1100 yards in S3 and over 1200 yards in S4, maintaining his success without the help of Garden, who previously help him form one of the most dangerous wide receiver duos in NSFL history. This season, he’s already exceeded over 100 yards in every game this season, putting him on pace for over 1400 yards. He also finds himself averaging 1 Touchdown per game, proving that this star receiver’s production is not to be questioned. Far more surprising is the continuing emergence of Running Back Eric Kennedy. After seeing a drastic transformation over the previous two seasons, many expected Kennedy to take over the starting Running Back spot or at least form a committee with Season 1 MVP Bubba Nuck, but Kennedy continued to rotate into the passing game and it’s been hard to argue with the results. Coming out of week 6, the former back-up Full Back has quickly established himself as the current #1 receiver in the league, ranking 1st in total catches (59), receiving yards (833), and touchdowns (8). The top Touchdown ranking is tied with Josh Garden, who was recently traded to the Philadelphia Liberty and who also remains one of the top receivers in each category. Unlike traditional wide receivers like Cook and Garden, many of Kennedy’s yards come from YAC (Yards After Catch), forcing defenses to spread thin as the Wraiths find themselves able to pick up yards from both the backfield and their long-range threats like Cook. It’s an unconventional approach, but so far, it appears to be working. Some organizations have been critical of the Wraiths lining up a Running Back at multiple spots previously reserved for traditional receivers as Kennedy has not made an official position change, but the strategy’s success could lead to others adopting it if it continues to produce similar results throughout the season. For those particularly critical of Kennedy, he has continued to support Nuck as a back-up RB, averaging 3 carries a game at 3.8 yards per carry. Of course, a lot of the credit has to go to Mat Akselsen, who moved into the Quarterback role last season after former Wraiths QB Chris Orosz was traded to the Sabercats. It was a risky move, but it also proved to pay off as the former lineman now finds himself as the only QB to support two receivers averaging over 100+ yards per game. Gosh Jarden (the former Ethan Hunt) is also averaging almost 70 yards per game, though he did exceed 100 yards in the week 3 game against the Outlaws, a career game as Akselsen as he was able to help all 3 receivers reach the 100 yards threshold. We’re also told that the Wraiths are hoping to get newly acquired Tight End Franklin Harris Jr. more integrated into the air attack as he continues to acclimate to the team’s playbook and offensive schemes. Sources close to Akselsen say that he isn’t satisfied with seeing 3 receivers break 100 yards and that he hopes to see Harris reach that same level of play. If the superstar Quarterback has his way, opposing defenses may have a hard time determining which receivers to cover. [div align=\\\"center\\\"][/div] Wraiths Acquire DE Fuego Wozy, Rookie Cameron Taylor Impressing Officials In a shocking trade, the Arizona Outlaws traded their top Defensive End Fuego Wozy to the Wraiths in exchange for Wraiths’ Safety Jogn Floggity and a conditional S7 3rd round draft pick. Floggity impressed coaches earlier on, but started to see limited success as his time with the Wraiths went on. Sources close to the Outlaws say that they see a lot of potential in Floggity and feel that a move to a new team may invigorate the Safety, who could be a tremendous asset to their Secondary with the right motivation. The Wraiths were said to be holding out hope for Floggity and still saw him as an essential part of their defense, but sources inside their camp say that they saw a lot of value in Wozy and felt they had to jump at the chance to add him to their line-up this season. The addition of Wozy adds some impressive depth to the team’s already outstanding defensive line as he’s expected to leap past Blaster Blade and immediately move into a starting spot. Blade recently announced that he is retiring at the end of this season and, while his reasons remain a mystery, this blockbuster trade and Blade’s subsequent movement into a more limited role have led to rumors that the retirement may be injury related. Blade will join Bork Bjornson, who is also retiring this season after reportedly inheriting property in the Florida Keyes. In the wake of the Floggity trade, officials are said to be excited about it creating new opportunities for Safety Cameron Taylor, who experts expect to benefit the most from this trade. The Yellowknife staff is apparently impressed with Cameron’s efforts since joining the team. Many were surprised to see the Wraiths utilize their 1st round pick this year on a Safety after already being deep at the position, but sources inside their camp say that the team strongly believed that Taylor was easily the “best player available” and that he would find a way to benefit the team regardless of his role. The Wraiths’ sudden trade of a player like Floggity suggests that the team’s trust in Taylor has been validated and that they have enough faith in him as a player to reward him with a larger role. Taylor currently holds claim to 22 tackles, 2 pass deflections, and an interception, but if his role within the team is indeed expanding, we expect those numbers to grow considerably. Thank you to all of our followers for your support in this newsletter. We’re aiming to produce another one for the end of the season, at which point we hope to see our Wraiths locked into the play-offs and that much closer to an Ultimus Championship. Ready for Grading 1,330 Words GRADED