04-03-2023, 08:45 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-03-2023, 08:46 PM by IsaStarcrossed. Edited 2 times in total.)
1. The Season 40 Ultimus and Ultimini have officially come to an end. Congratulations to the the Bondi Beach Buccaneers and Arizona Outlaws for each winning their respective championships. How did each of the finalists in either the Ultimus or Ultimini arrive at the playoffs? Were there any teams that surprised or disappointed during the playoffs? Did the outcome of either championship game surprise you at all?
I was not at all surprised to find the Arizona Outlaws and the Yellowknife Wraiths in the final of the the Ultimus this season. They seemed to be two teams destined to meet in a final brawl that would decide everything and sure enough that was exactly what we got. We have two teams that were absolutely stacked to the brim with talent. They've been building their arsenals for seasons and are far and away superior to any teams in their given conferences. Just in volume of TPE alone, they blow away everyone else and it is a bit of a shocker that they can even afford to maintain here rosters! All of this to be said, I think the final result with Arizona taking it was a bit surprising! Yellowknife had to be the favorite. After all, they were the defending champions. They absolutely dominated last season with an overwhelming defense and brute forced their way to a trophy. They managed to not get any worse in the offseason and they seemed prepped to steamroller the competition to another.
Unfortunately for Yellowknife while they didn't get worse, they did stay stagnant and that opened up a window for Arizona to step in. Arizona was on the younger side last season as they'd come off several phenomenal drafts in the mid S30s where they were retooling and rebuilding what was an aged core, especially on defense. They’d seen what YKW had just done with a dominant defense and said why not us? They'd been earning well and adding pieces and it finally culminated to this season's team as many of those players really hit their peak all at once. Players like Akaki Akayre, Raphael McTurtle and Outlaw Mode Sicko at linebacker and Outlaw Mode Sicko and Spottie O’Dopaliscious at cornerback really built the backend of this defense and gave the Outlaws and incredible core group of players that rounded into shape together. What it created was the league's best defense who only allowed 249 points, roughly only 30 more than Yellowknife's record setting defense from the season before. This was really the difference.
You see they always say that defense wins championships. It was that way for YKW last season and it repeated history here for Arizona. You see despite not really moving any players, YKW’s defense while still at the top really missed a step comparatively and ended third on the season. Thanks to the above mentioned players, Arizona managed to put together a defense that led the league against the run as everyone was capable of crashing down to the line and taking down a runner. They were ranked first in this category in their conference which really spelled doom for YKW to begin with. Unlike last season YKW really had to lean on their running backs to get any offensive production and you know what they say about an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. This time the immovable object was able to get the job done.
What was most important though was that this defense was a turnover machine. They led the league in turnovers with 23 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries on the season. With 37 turnovers, averaging more than two a game, Arizona’s offense didn’t have to be spectacular. In fact, they weren’t. If anything they were near average more than anything. The Sailor led passing attack was only good for a near abysmal tenth in the league and their running backs only managed to combine to reach a meager fourth in ranking. All together this team was sixth in yards and didn’t really wow people when they were moving the ball. Thanks to this stifling defense though, they didn’t have to. Time and time again Arizona’s defense set this offense up to succeed. Despite not producing yards of their own, despite missing the big plays, despite being unimpressive as a unit, they still somehow led the league in scoring. A ranked TEN passing offense led the league in scoring. This was due to two things. First off was the defense, as I mentioned set, them up time and time again in good field position.The other being that while mortal looking, this offense just didn’t turn the ball over. Efficiency was the key. Score when the defense gives you a chance and don’t give the opponent a chance to return the favor.
So with Arizona marching into the playoffs with the first ranked scoring offense and the first ranked scoring defense they easily made it to the raid boss. Yellowknife. In this game, everything that has been mentioned here came to pass. Arizona’s offense? Delightfully average. In fact Sailor passed for less yards than YKW’s Unit. Neither one of their RBs excelled really. Instead it was all on that Arizona defense. For starters they forced two turnovers. One was an interception that became a touchdown two plays later and the other was a dumble recovery scoop and score that immediately put points on the board. And to follow it up, that absolutely run stifling defense held the ISFL’s first ranked rushing offense to only 66 yards on the day. 26 carries and only 66 yards for a little over 2.5 yards a carry. It was a dominant performance that in reality was just what this defense had done all season long and this was just the encore to cap it all off. A title for Arizona as once again the most dominant defense in the league carries the cup.
I was not at all surprised to find the Arizona Outlaws and the Yellowknife Wraiths in the final of the the Ultimus this season. They seemed to be two teams destined to meet in a final brawl that would decide everything and sure enough that was exactly what we got. We have two teams that were absolutely stacked to the brim with talent. They've been building their arsenals for seasons and are far and away superior to any teams in their given conferences. Just in volume of TPE alone, they blow away everyone else and it is a bit of a shocker that they can even afford to maintain here rosters! All of this to be said, I think the final result with Arizona taking it was a bit surprising! Yellowknife had to be the favorite. After all, they were the defending champions. They absolutely dominated last season with an overwhelming defense and brute forced their way to a trophy. They managed to not get any worse in the offseason and they seemed prepped to steamroller the competition to another.
Unfortunately for Yellowknife while they didn't get worse, they did stay stagnant and that opened up a window for Arizona to step in. Arizona was on the younger side last season as they'd come off several phenomenal drafts in the mid S30s where they were retooling and rebuilding what was an aged core, especially on defense. They’d seen what YKW had just done with a dominant defense and said why not us? They'd been earning well and adding pieces and it finally culminated to this season's team as many of those players really hit their peak all at once. Players like Akaki Akayre, Raphael McTurtle and Outlaw Mode Sicko at linebacker and Outlaw Mode Sicko and Spottie O’Dopaliscious at cornerback really built the backend of this defense and gave the Outlaws and incredible core group of players that rounded into shape together. What it created was the league's best defense who only allowed 249 points, roughly only 30 more than Yellowknife's record setting defense from the season before. This was really the difference.
You see they always say that defense wins championships. It was that way for YKW last season and it repeated history here for Arizona. You see despite not really moving any players, YKW’s defense while still at the top really missed a step comparatively and ended third on the season. Thanks to the above mentioned players, Arizona managed to put together a defense that led the league against the run as everyone was capable of crashing down to the line and taking down a runner. They were ranked first in this category in their conference which really spelled doom for YKW to begin with. Unlike last season YKW really had to lean on their running backs to get any offensive production and you know what they say about an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. This time the immovable object was able to get the job done.
What was most important though was that this defense was a turnover machine. They led the league in turnovers with 23 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries on the season. With 37 turnovers, averaging more than two a game, Arizona’s offense didn’t have to be spectacular. In fact, they weren’t. If anything they were near average more than anything. The Sailor led passing attack was only good for a near abysmal tenth in the league and their running backs only managed to combine to reach a meager fourth in ranking. All together this team was sixth in yards and didn’t really wow people when they were moving the ball. Thanks to this stifling defense though, they didn’t have to. Time and time again Arizona’s defense set this offense up to succeed. Despite not producing yards of their own, despite missing the big plays, despite being unimpressive as a unit, they still somehow led the league in scoring. A ranked TEN passing offense led the league in scoring. This was due to two things. First off was the defense, as I mentioned set, them up time and time again in good field position.The other being that while mortal looking, this offense just didn’t turn the ball over. Efficiency was the key. Score when the defense gives you a chance and don’t give the opponent a chance to return the favor.
So with Arizona marching into the playoffs with the first ranked scoring offense and the first ranked scoring defense they easily made it to the raid boss. Yellowknife. In this game, everything that has been mentioned here came to pass. Arizona’s offense? Delightfully average. In fact Sailor passed for less yards than YKW’s Unit. Neither one of their RBs excelled really. Instead it was all on that Arizona defense. For starters they forced two turnovers. One was an interception that became a touchdown two plays later and the other was a dumble recovery scoop and score that immediately put points on the board. And to follow it up, that absolutely run stifling defense held the ISFL’s first ranked rushing offense to only 66 yards on the day. 26 carries and only 66 yards for a little over 2.5 yards a carry. It was a dominant performance that in reality was just what this defense had done all season long and this was just the encore to cap it all off. A title for Arizona as once again the most dominant defense in the league carries the cup.