This is part of a several part series I'll be doing leading up to the draft. I wanna get all 8 teams in, but who knows.
The NSFL has undergone a bit of a power shift over the last 2 seasons. In the first 6 seasons of the NSFL, the ASFC was basically Arizona and Orange County and then two other teams tripping over their own shoelaces. San Jose tried some sort of big power moves a cuple seasons ago but their attempt fell flat. The Legion took a different approach. Blow it up and start from scratch. And given their appearance in the Ultimus game, and their roster of storng vets and decent talent, it's seems to have worked. Since S6, Arizona has fallen to the wayside and are currently in a bit of a rebuild themselves. This leaves the ever present Orange County Otters.
Never in the history of this league has the Otters been considered a non-threat. They're definitely one of the premier franchises of the league. winning 3 straight asterisk free championships will do that to a team. 4 straight Ultimus appearances, and never missing the playoffs certainly commands respect. But the mighty have to fall eventually. right? Especially as regression takes hold of the key players who made Orange County the stalwart in this league. Not so fast.
Let's look at positions.
Quarterback
Mike Boss has been the bar for how a QB performs in this league for quite a while. Even as other guys do great, like Akselsen, Bronko and Oles, they still don't have the level of play Boss has. but he's a S1 player and he's going to have to statistically decline at some point. Well, Orange County has that covered. By league rules, their GM must be drafted this season. Gus T.T. Showbiz is destined to be an Otter. After 1 more year in the DSFL, he'll be ready to take over under center in sunny Southern California.
Receivers
Who is he going to throw to? Well, for Boss it has been a combination of Westfield and Phelps. no duo of receivers has been more feared for as long as these two have been. Both were, at one point in their careers, the NSFL's best receiver. considering they are both playing on the same team, that's incredible. it's like having Randy Moss and Terrell Owens on your team. At the same time. But, as their age gets up there, the Otters have found their solution. Enter Carlito Crush and Tegan Atwell. Atwell showed off some really flashy moves as she transitioned from CB to WR this season. Bpth of these players are young and good to be catching passes for quite a while. Any 3rd receiver can fit in at TE. I believe Phelps or Crush sat in at TE for some formations.
Backfield
Typically this is called a Running Back, but the way OC plays, it's more of a Catching Back. That said, Running Back might be an issue, but to be quite fair, this team hasn't been a "running team" in a long time. Yates is definitely fighting regression and will likely retire in the next couple seasons. This leaves a hole to fill and it's one that Burnsman's inactivity can not fill. So, if there's a hole on this offense going forward, it's at RB. But there's always good talented RBs in every draft. Orange County will be sure to pick one up, or find a Free Agent who's looking to get on a winning franchise and help out. That's always an option. Worked out really well for Yates.
All things considered, the Offense doesn't look like it's going to take too much of a step back overall. Boss's transition to Gus Showbizz might make them take a small hit but I think overall they'll be competent.
d-Line
The Otters Defensive front might be in bad shape soon. Clegane, Fitzfatrick, Sierra and Wright are all either regressing or inactive. If Orange County wants to keep up, they're going to have to fill these holes, and fast. Clegane and Sierra can likely hold out another season but Wright and Fitzfatrick are an immediate position of need. When the Otters were in their glory, they had one of the best defenses in the NSFL.
Linebacker
Linebacker has always been a strong suit for this Otter team. Over the years they've had some really top tier ones. Winchester and Bavitz being the biggest names. But Bavitz just retired and Winchester is gonna have to face regression again this season. Elvin Enchant has gone inactive but young Mason Brown has shown some serious potential and is looking like a wonderful fill in for Bavitz. If Angus Winchester hangs up the cleats soon, that's going to be an impossibly large hole to fill on this defense. One that they may need to address sooner rather than later.
Secondary
Safety and CB aren't glorious positions in the NSFL. Even guys like Lavelle and Delacour aren't big name stars in comparison to LBs and DEs. Still, OCO has had a few good ones. Atwell recently switched to WR, leaving Spector and King as the only CBs left, and at Safety, the team only has young Jaylon Broxton, who has been a huge playmaker, leading the Otters in tackles this season. He's only going to get better too. Eventually the Otters will have to look into replacing Spector, but as of right now he's staying put, as he just inked a 1 year deal with the team this past week.
Assessment
All in all, for a team "on the way down" as they say, they're in pretty decent shape. No need for a Liberty style fire sale and blow up of the franchise. Just a few good moves by the front office, some solid drafting and they're not going anywhere. it's doubtful they'll be back to their threepeat days any time soon, but one thing is for sure, they're not moving their stuff to the basement either.
Draft Predictions
Look for them to address D-Line, RB or Secondary in the first round, and QB in the second. That is, if they even draft anyone this year. They failed to draft anyone last season, but it seemed to work out for them.
The NSFL has undergone a bit of a power shift over the last 2 seasons. In the first 6 seasons of the NSFL, the ASFC was basically Arizona and Orange County and then two other teams tripping over their own shoelaces. San Jose tried some sort of big power moves a cuple seasons ago but their attempt fell flat. The Legion took a different approach. Blow it up and start from scratch. And given their appearance in the Ultimus game, and their roster of storng vets and decent talent, it's seems to have worked. Since S6, Arizona has fallen to the wayside and are currently in a bit of a rebuild themselves. This leaves the ever present Orange County Otters.
Never in the history of this league has the Otters been considered a non-threat. They're definitely one of the premier franchises of the league. winning 3 straight asterisk free championships will do that to a team. 4 straight Ultimus appearances, and never missing the playoffs certainly commands respect. But the mighty have to fall eventually. right? Especially as regression takes hold of the key players who made Orange County the stalwart in this league. Not so fast.
Let's look at positions.
Quarterback
Mike Boss has been the bar for how a QB performs in this league for quite a while. Even as other guys do great, like Akselsen, Bronko and Oles, they still don't have the level of play Boss has. but he's a S1 player and he's going to have to statistically decline at some point. Well, Orange County has that covered. By league rules, their GM must be drafted this season. Gus T.T. Showbiz is destined to be an Otter. After 1 more year in the DSFL, he'll be ready to take over under center in sunny Southern California.
Receivers
Who is he going to throw to? Well, for Boss it has been a combination of Westfield and Phelps. no duo of receivers has been more feared for as long as these two have been. Both were, at one point in their careers, the NSFL's best receiver. considering they are both playing on the same team, that's incredible. it's like having Randy Moss and Terrell Owens on your team. At the same time. But, as their age gets up there, the Otters have found their solution. Enter Carlito Crush and Tegan Atwell. Atwell showed off some really flashy moves as she transitioned from CB to WR this season. Bpth of these players are young and good to be catching passes for quite a while. Any 3rd receiver can fit in at TE. I believe Phelps or Crush sat in at TE for some formations.
Backfield
Typically this is called a Running Back, but the way OC plays, it's more of a Catching Back. That said, Running Back might be an issue, but to be quite fair, this team hasn't been a "running team" in a long time. Yates is definitely fighting regression and will likely retire in the next couple seasons. This leaves a hole to fill and it's one that Burnsman's inactivity can not fill. So, if there's a hole on this offense going forward, it's at RB. But there's always good talented RBs in every draft. Orange County will be sure to pick one up, or find a Free Agent who's looking to get on a winning franchise and help out. That's always an option. Worked out really well for Yates.
All things considered, the Offense doesn't look like it's going to take too much of a step back overall. Boss's transition to Gus Showbizz might make them take a small hit but I think overall they'll be competent.
d-Line
The Otters Defensive front might be in bad shape soon. Clegane, Fitzfatrick, Sierra and Wright are all either regressing or inactive. If Orange County wants to keep up, they're going to have to fill these holes, and fast. Clegane and Sierra can likely hold out another season but Wright and Fitzfatrick are an immediate position of need. When the Otters were in their glory, they had one of the best defenses in the NSFL.
Linebacker
Linebacker has always been a strong suit for this Otter team. Over the years they've had some really top tier ones. Winchester and Bavitz being the biggest names. But Bavitz just retired and Winchester is gonna have to face regression again this season. Elvin Enchant has gone inactive but young Mason Brown has shown some serious potential and is looking like a wonderful fill in for Bavitz. If Angus Winchester hangs up the cleats soon, that's going to be an impossibly large hole to fill on this defense. One that they may need to address sooner rather than later.
Secondary
Safety and CB aren't glorious positions in the NSFL. Even guys like Lavelle and Delacour aren't big name stars in comparison to LBs and DEs. Still, OCO has had a few good ones. Atwell recently switched to WR, leaving Spector and King as the only CBs left, and at Safety, the team only has young Jaylon Broxton, who has been a huge playmaker, leading the Otters in tackles this season. He's only going to get better too. Eventually the Otters will have to look into replacing Spector, but as of right now he's staying put, as he just inked a 1 year deal with the team this past week.
Assessment
All in all, for a team "on the way down" as they say, they're in pretty decent shape. No need for a Liberty style fire sale and blow up of the franchise. Just a few good moves by the front office, some solid drafting and they're not going anywhere. it's doubtful they'll be back to their threepeat days any time soon, but one thing is for sure, they're not moving their stuff to the basement either.
Draft Predictions
Look for them to address D-Line, RB or Secondary in the first round, and QB in the second. That is, if they even draft anyone this year. They failed to draft anyone last season, but it seemed to work out for them.
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