(S32) Ultimus Week

[krazko]

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+10 TPE

[supertardis101]

PBE CW

[Nhamlet]

SHL CW

[Highhaschdi]

20. Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, or highlights. Written or graphic option available.

The Stig is looking like a great pick in the upcoming ISFL draft. He leads the league in TPE with 319 with only Kahn Cussion and Leonardo McTurtle being close to him with more than 300 TPE currently. As Running Back, he plays an important position in the ISFL and should develop into a MVP caliber player in the next few years. While you typically don't want to draft a RB too early, The Stig is definitely an exception and I'm sure he would help every team in the league. In this DSFL rookie season, he played a big part in Portlands offense, he finished with 224 attempts for more than 1000 yards and 12 touchdowns and was clearly RB1 in that team. He played a huge part for Portland to win the division with a great 11-3 record and is definitely ready to make the next step. I'm really excited for his career here and predicting at least 1 MVP title for him in the future.


24. If you could create a team using any active players in the league, what would that team look like? Would you build a group of all-stars to contend in the next Ultimus, or a team full of jokesters for the fun of it? Describe the roster and why you chose the players you did.

I would just build pretty much the same team Berlin has at the moment. The team is looking really strong and can definitely contend for the next Ultimus and I'm enjoying my team here with two great GMs and lots of great users. We just need to add some more users that bring a bit more luck, so we can finally win our first Ultimus.
At QB, there is just no better option than Zaylren in the league, so I would definitely be rolling with him.
At RB, Goat Tank is not just a legendary name, but he also had great performances and might be the best RB in the league.
Berlin also already got some great pass catching weapons with Skiuuup, Abed, Kaepercolin Jr. and Muerto, but you could add some players like Speedman or Kingston to have some more rotation.
The OL also did a great job with Adyan leading the league in pancakes and only allowing 2 sacks all season.
And the defense is also looking like an all-star team with veterans like Swanty Jones or Jeeroy Lenkins and some younger talent like Jacob Raske. The roster in general is absolutely stacked and is a great combination, so I would just roll with them.


25. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?

If I had to pick another position for my player, it would probably be another position on offense. First, I wanted to create a RB, but I switched later to help out our team more with a position that was a bigger need. So, I would take RB as an answer for this question. I like getting some offensive stats and as running back you see at least some stats every game, while at other positions it's possible not appearing at the scoreboard at all. It's also an important position and you have good chances to win awards like MVP or OPOTY playing RB. Another position that's still very interesting for me is QB with similar reasons. It's definitely more difficult to create a QB and get on a team and you often need to plan ahead to do this. Before I switched my previoous player to QB to help Berlin in expansion, I was planning to create a QB as my second player though. So, that's definitely an option for my third player as well, if I'm not going the RB route that time.


28. Choose one existing award. Tell us why you think a certain player should win that award this season. Stats, or anything else possible should be used to support your case.

QB Dexter Zaylren from the Berlin Fire Salamanders should definitely win QBOTY and MVP as well this season. While he didn't have that much passing yards compared to some other QBs, he was extremely efficient and he was always there when the team needed him and came up with clutch plays and rarely made any mistakes at all. He led the league with only 5 interceptions, compared to at least 9 from every other QB in the ISFL. Additionally, he threw the third most TD passes with 35, only falling short to Daytona and Caliban. Zaylren also had the best rating for all QBs by far with 106.1 which shows what an outstanding year this young player had. His completion percentage was also good for rank 4 behind Howitzer, Daytona and ReallyInvisibe while having some young unproven players like Kaepercolin Jr. catching balls from him. He was a big part of leading Berlin to the Ultimus and definitely deserves those awards.

[slate]

11. The term "FTY" is thrown around so casually and lightly by many around the league these days that it feels that it's lost a lot of meaning to me. As a player on the Sarasota Sailfish who started paying attention to the league around S24-S25, I remember the term as an expression of a rivalry between two great teams at their peak, full of all the respect and jealousy that such a rivalry brings. Although some teams have flirted here and there with serious rivalries with the Sailfish, there is no question that the Colorado Yeti are our oldest, fiercest, and most meaningful rival in the International Simulation Football League.

Expansion teams often find it difficult to build rivalries. The thin roster they start with as a result of the expansion draft and relying heavily on young players means that even well formed expansion teams often get beat up on by their would-be divisional rivals for a few seasons before they start to establish themselves as contenders. By the time they start to have meaningful games or upsets against other teams, it's hard for anyone to hold a grudge.

The Sailfish were an exception to this trend. Thanks largely to an incredible S22 class, the Sailfish started contending for playoff spots extremely quickly, and only a few seasons after their founding they were clearly a top 2 team in the NSFC. Standing in their way of making a solid championship run was the near-dynastic Colorado Yeti, who Woelkers and others had led to a great run of 3 Ultimus appearances between S22 and S25. "FTY" was thus born as a way to vent the frustration of losing yet again to an incredible team to knock us down from top dog status.

Since then, the rivalry has only grown over time. Between awards squabbles over Rookie of the Year, tight divisional races, and heart attack inducing games on the field, the Sailfish and Yeti have kept a strong connection since then. After that S25 peak, I would say the Sailfish have gotten the upper hand more often than not. But no matter how it turns out, it always inspires a lot of emotions when Sarasota and Colorado are involved.

Code:

365 words

14. The Sarasota Sailfish entered the season with an aging core and what many thought was a solid team which had passed its prime and might drop out of the elite company it had established itself in over the previous seasons. Many of the key players on both offense and defense were fairly far into regression: QB Mike Boss Jr., WR Jackson Kingston, DE Son Goku, LB Heinrich Kackpoo, and S Cuco Clemente were among those for whom regression was felt the hardest. The roster had a few bright spots in a solid S26 group at its peak as well as a few recent standout draftees such as RB John Huntsman.

The Sailfish started out the season appearing to prove correct many of the doubters who thought the Sailfish, holders of the longest active playoff streak in the ISFL, were not destined to make it back to the playoffs. The 0-3 start was felt hard among the locker room, and although the Fishe had bounced back from difficult beginnings to former seasons, an increasingly competitive division with strong performances from the Colorado Yeti, Berlin Fire Salamanders, and the newly ascendant Philadelphia Liberty looked to be a very difficult obstacle to overcome.

However, the team gutted it out over the remainder of the season and was able to piece together a 10-6 record, reeling off an impressive comeback from a miserable start to the season and securing the 3rd seed in the playoffs. The fact that this playoff run was bolstered by a midseason collapse by the Colorado Yeti, our chief rival, was a cherry on top for us.

After successfully maintaining our playoff streak, the team's sights turned to our matchup with the Berlin Fire Salamanders. We had beaten them in both of the regular season matchups between our two teams, holding their ground game in check both times in fairly clear cut victories. However, in the playoffs, Berlin's recent acquisition of RB Jay Cue Jr. appeared to turn the tide, and their offense got out to a hog start with which they cruised on to the conference finals. Unfortunately, Sarasota's playoff run had taken too much out of them to win the biggest game of the season.

Looking ahead to next season, the team has an exciting future. A lot of big callups like DSFL MVP RB Rocky Rhoades, QB Carter Knight, and DT Lennay Kekua are bound to breathe new life into the team. Shifting roles in the team, like Spence taking over WR1 and Petey Patterson moving to safety to make room for Calvin Hobbes at outside corner might be big as well. I fully expect the longest playoff streak in the league to continue strong.

Code:

444 words

[Air Crou]

PBE CW Affiliate

[DELIRIVM]

SHL Championship Week Affiliate

[FireKing10789]

PT Task 5 (10 Points)  

The Norfolk Seawolves’ season thirty-two Developmental Simulation Football League championship is one of the highest points in franchise history. Lead by the Co-GMs Negs and Sconnie the Norfolk Seawolves were coming off a playoff appearance in Season thirty-one. After two amazing drafts and some free agent signings the Seawolves were hoping they could go all the way for the first time in a while. Some notable players include the Seawolves rookie QB Malcom Savage who was essential for the run, John Patey a WR who caught every ball that came his way and dominated opposing CBs, and Jerry Crouse a RB that ran through defenses like butter. Many other players helped this team get past the tough gauntlet they faced with close and arduous games and could not have been done without the everyone helping. I was a part of this historic victory as a second-year cornerback reinforcing the secondary named Dragazor Blaze. This historic event deserves to be remembered not just because it affected everyone involved on the team and made a memory that is unforgettable for the rest of their time in the Developmental Simulation Football League and beyond because it will go down in history and reflect on the members of the team for the rest of their time and change their spirits in a way that nothing other than a championship could by adding a winning spirt that is truly infectious. The Norfolk Seawolves season started out with a Week 1 game against the Bondi Beach Buccaneers. In the Seawolves’ Season 32 debut the game quickly jumped out to a 10-7 Bondi Beach lead. However, the Seawolves roared back scoring 17 unanswered points giving Norfolk a 14-point lead. After a failed Buccaneer comeback, the Seawolves offense could not be stopped thanks to Savage’s 336 yards and 3 touchdowns winning 34-20. After a ridiculous offensive performance, the Seawolves continued with another offensive show scoring 48 points against the Tijuana Luchadores thanks to 282 yards and 5 touchdowns from Malcom Savage and another 71 yards on the ground for him. While making his case for MVP the undefeated Seawolves played a big game against the Dallas Birddogs and absolutely dominated a struggling team with 56 unanswered points with 4 touchdowns passing for Savage and a touchdown for all 4 rushers. Week 4 had the Seawolves offense get 34 points on the board against the Kansas City Coyotes in a 34-17 win and Week 5 the defense dominated the London Royal’s only allowing 7 points in a 18-7 defensive masterclass where the offense only scored off the leg of kicker Jack Lewis. The undefeated Seawolves had hopes riding high and smacked the Minnesota Ducks in a 30-3 win in Week 6. With hopes riding high in Norfolk the Seawolves would travel to Portland to play the Pythons and would be humbled by a lock down defense and smart offense in a 28-10 loss to bring the Seawolves down to 6-1. The Seawolves would continue to struggle with a tight overtime win against the Bondi Beach Buccaneers in Week 8 and then a bad loss 24-10 to the Luchadores in Week 9 to bring them to 7-2. Even with the two losses the Seawolves were still in the driver's seat to make the playoffs. The Seawolves would get back on track with a 10-point win over the Dallas Birddogs, a close 6-point win over the Kansas City Coyotes, a dominating performance against the London Royals 65-24, in Week 13 the Seawolves swept the Ducks of Minnesota with a 20-13 win, and in Week 14 the Seawolves got their revenge against the Portland Pythons in a nail-biting 15-10 win in Norfolk. The Seawolves had gotten back on track to 12-2 going in to playoffs with the best record in the SFC and the best record in the DSFL overall. In the conference championship game, the Norfolk Seawolves played their other loss in the Luchadores and avenged their loss 40-20 smoking the Luchadores in control since the second quarter. Finally, the Seawolves had made their goal of making it all the way to the DSFL Ultimini and played their biggest challenges all season in the Portland Pythons in Paul Allen Field. The first quarter consisted of Portland and Norfolk trading field goals with a 6-3 Python lead. Portland scored a touchdown early in the second quarter and the Norfolk offense needed to answer, and they did by answering with a field goal but then it was up to the defense to keep the Pythons from scoring. After a single first down Portland was forced to punt and after some punting games the half ran out. The Seawolves started with the ball and drove down quickly for a touchdown in under 3 minutes. The Seawolves now had hope in a tied 13-13 game and at the end of the 3rd quarter a field goal gave Norfolk a 3-point lead. In the 4th quarter the Norfolk Seawolves never trailed again after a field goal by Portland to tie the game at 16-16 and another field goal by Norfolk gave them a 3-point lead. Norfolk scored another touchdown and held on from a Portland comeback to win the game 26-22. In conclusion, this event is important and should be remembered for how it affected everyone involved and changed the players and coaches for the rest of their time in the DSFL and beyond.

[MamaB]

9. Through a random lottery drawing, you have been named the league's new commissioner for a day. Congrats! What improvements would you make to the league if you had the power to do whatever you wanted?

(Words 355)
If you’re a real fan of MamaB (or if you have been forced to grade my work a few times), you know what I came here to say.  As commissioner for a day, I would be scrambling to hire some of the most active, most positive locker room voices to be the mascots for their teams. 

After a lot of thought, I really think that the league should be creating a position that people can be hired for to play the role of a team mascot.  People would love to do this, people would love to make money, people could make this extremely fun, and people could start to unite the league as a whole with mascot rivalries and stories.  I want to make this happen, and I am just looking for someone to hear me and to help me make this possible. 

I know that people would be honored to be a mascot in some of the locker rooms that I am in.  There could be an interview and nominating process for this role.  Then I would have teams vote for their person to represent their mascot.  Each team mascot could have a twitter role, and could hype viewership for game nights.  As commissioner, I would ensure that this idea would be up and running by the next day.  I am proud to be in this league, I am proud to be on the teams that I am on, and I know there are other people that would love to earn this position and to make some league money through this role. 

I would be creating contracts that would describe what the league was requiring of the role of mascot.  I would be asking players to discuss and define what they would like to see from their mascots.  I would be negotiating with all the teams to decide what the role of mascot was worth to teams and creating a pay scale for this role.  I would also be putting some mascot season caps on the role as well so that teams would have at least a little bit of turnover for the role. 

14. Describe your player and/or team’s journey through this latest season. What were the highlights? What were the lower points? What might you have done differently? What are your expectations for next season?

(346 Words)
In my real life, myself and my two young children contracted COVID-19, and were in quarantine for a month. As much as I didn’t want it to affect my player and role in the ISFL, I was extremely depressed and devastated, to the point where I was unable to even open discord.  That has never happened to me.  No matter what you feel about COVID, my children were sick, and all my doctors could tell me was, “Just continue to keep an eye on them. We don’t have enough information to give you any further advice for this age group.”  Personally, having sick kids is one thousand percent worse than being sick myself. 

My player suffered a bit, not for the DSFL as I am capped, but for the ISFL, I feel as though it will hinder me being called up this season. Being uninvolved made me feel guilty, and that guilt led to ignoring the league, and that led to more feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and disconnectedness.  Especially from the league and from my friends that I have made in the locker rooms. 

I was proud of myself for continuing to put up some good stats, and for continuing to improve my pancake stats.  Another big highlight for me was that when I did enter the locker room, I was always greeted with excitement and enthusiasm.  Additionally, as I was “lurking” in the locker rooms, I noticed that people were doing their best to keep things positive for each other.  I really appreciated this, and commend my teams for always looking out for each other.  I was proud of our team for WINNING the Ultimini! A win like that provides feelings of excitement and elation that still affects me today, even just thinking about it.

For next season, I have high expectations for my player.  I expect myself to be more active in the locker rooms, to do some more media (hopefully some podcasting with Sconnie), and to have more of a presence for the team now that my physical and mental health have improved.

[jdourtled]

16. This task is exclusive to recreate/non-recreate rookies of the S33 class and later. The season is over and the draft is coming up. What do you bring to a team, and why should a team choose to take a chance on you next season?

Firstly, I'm a recreate, so I have at least some clue what I'm doing and should be able non-recreates if need be. I'm also an extremely flexible person, whether it comes to different ideas for what my build should be, or potential position switches, I'm always willing to listen and do my best to do what will make the team better. One of the downsides of being a recreate, is that teams know and can see your earning habits, and I'll readily admit I did basically the bare minimum when it comes to earning, though I hope to change that this time around. Teams should take a chance on me if they want a steady, not so max earner, who isn't going to be too miffed when it comes to getting stats, and will gladly take a step back role wise if it means it'll make the team better, as well as someone who wants to be a reliable war room member.

21. Now thats five seasons on the new sim. What are your thoughts? Do you think that it is better than DDSPF16?

If I'm being real with myself, I can't really tell the difference between the old and new sim (outside of the whole trait system), but if I had to pick between the old sim and the new sim, I'd probably lean towards the new sim, mainly because I had the best seasons of my career in the new sim lmao (though I may have some different thoughts if I actively used both sims in any meaningful capacity). Fumbles seem, or seemed, to be at an all time high at the time of the sim, and I partially still think they happen more frequently than before, but that might just be confirmation bias. This has more to do with the visuals of the games of the sim more than anything, but when I first heard that you'd actually be able to see the ball being thrown in the new sim, I thought it was a cool addition, but in practice it's really wonky and doesn't really make much sense, so in a way I'd almost rather not have it at all (a weird gripe I know.)

25. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player.
 What other position would you have picked, and why?

If I couldn't have recreated as a wide receiver, I probably would've stuck with offense with tight end, or stuck with my original player's original position and played linebacker.

Firstly for tight end, though not as involved in the pass game as wide receiver, a number 1 tight end is arguably more important than, say, a number three receiver. Finding that balance of being a good blocker and pass catcher is a real interesting debate, with no real right answer, with some teams valuing a tight end as a sixth lineman, and some basically a second slot receiver.

As for linebacker, before Frost forced me to switched to safety against my will the first time around, I was a linebacker, and linebacker, from the outside looking in, seems like a bit more of an interesting conundrum than tight end, with one having to choose to either be a glorified safety, edge rusher, or just be what most people think when they think of a linebacker.


27. What team do you think has the best branding in the league? What team do you think could use a refresh? Why?

When it comes to the best branding in the league, it hands down has to be the reigning ultimus champions, the New York Silverbacks. Not only because of monke..... well maybe mostly because of monke, but also the color scheme is, while not too appealing on their own, really work well together. The logo also has a nice broadway look to it, and if you were to pick a mascot for a new york team, king kong isn't that bad of an option. As for a rebrand, I don't think there are many teams that are downright terrible, but if I had to pick, it'd probably have to be one of the original 6 teams, with the only one having minimal logo changes being Yellowknife, though working with black and white and a wraith doesn't really leave much for creativity branding wise. Also who wants to play for a team that's from canada smh my head