04-26-2023, 09:36 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-18-2023, 09:16 AM by Aneeqs. Edited 1 time in total.)
Congratulations to the Season 40 Sim Football Writers Guild All-Pro Team!
Numerical ranks (1st, 2nd, 3rd…) are stated for that position group, unless otherwise noted as an overall rank.
QUARTERBACK
1st team: Wendell Sailor
Key Stats: 66.73% comp% (1st), 3785 yards, 33 TDs (T-3rd), 3:1 TD/INT (T-3rd), 99.9 Passer Rating (1st)
2nd team: Carter Knight
Key Stats: 4660 yards (4th), 33 TDs (T-3rd), 3.67:1 TD/INT (1st), 96.1 Passer Rating (2nd), 7.40 Y/A (1st)
Age is nothing to this old timer. Wendell Sailor once again leads the All Pro team from under center with a stellar completion percentage, a strong affinity for touchdowns, and a host of elite passing efficiency metrics. It comes as no surprise that Sailor’s Outlaws led the league in scoring en route to their third Ultimus trophy in four seasons.
Much like his fellow veteran in Arizona, Carter Knight proved that age is no object for the elite. Just as he’s done for most of his career, Knight combined impressive efficiency with high volume, producing top of the league stats across the board. Perhaps a 2nd team All Pro isn’t quite what the veteran was hoping for as he heads off into retirement, but it’s still a feather in the cap of the future Hall of Famer.
RUNNING BACK
1st team: Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 1660 rush yard (2nd), 22 rush TD (1st), 2119 scrimm yard (t-2nd), 28 scrimm TD (1st)
1st team: Adebayo Akinfenwa (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 1666 rush yard (1st), 5.03 YPC (2nd), 2140 scrimm yard (1st), 16 scrimm TD
2nd team: Michaelangelo McTurtle
Key Stats: 1448 rush yard (4th), 5.30 YPC (1st), 13 rush TD
2nd team: Bean Delphine Jr
Key Stats: 1417 rush yard (5th), 2119 scrimm yard (t-2nd), 17 scrimm TD (t-3rd)
What more can be said about the Season 40 MVP, Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin? Not only did he finish second in yards on the season, but also had the second-most TDs in a season in league history, finishing only two away from tying a record that’s stood since Season 9.
The NSFC champions, Yellowknife Wraiths, have been a model of how strong a double RB backfield can be, and this season Akinfenwa was a master of efficiency, leading the league in rushing and total yards, while also finishing with over 5 yards per carry.
New York may not have finished with the sort of record it wanted, but McTurtle, a mainstay on the All-Pro Team during his career, once again put the team on his back best he could, leading the league in yards per carry, and finishing fourth in rushing yards.
Bean Delphine Jr has quietly had a very good start to her career, racking up over 6000 total yards and 48 touchdowns. Season 40 saw the fourth-year back eclipse 2,000 scrimmage yards for the first time in her career, a number we expect to see her close to often.
WIDE RECEIVER
1st team: Rocky Moreaux
Key stats: 116 Rec (1st), 1653 yards (1st), 2.21% Drop% (4th), 14.25 Y/R (8th), 9.13 Y/tar (5th), 53.45% 1D% (9th)
1st team: Leek Mai-Heinous
Key stats: 107 Rec (2nd), 1478 yards (2nd), 14 TDs (1st), 2.30% Drop% (5th), 13.81 Y/R (10th), 8.49 Y/tar (10th), 42 pancakes (2nd)
1st team: Delores Bickerman
Key stats: 1360 yards (5th), 15.28 Y/R (3rd), 8.95 Y/tar (7th), 59.55% 1D% (2nd)
2nd team: Captain Billy Stinkwater
Key stats: 67.24% catch% (3rd), 2.59% Drop% (7th), 12 TDs (t-2nd), 8.97 Y/tar (6th)
2nd team: Eeeeeee Phensta
Key stats: 101 Rec (4th), 1444 yards (3rd), 11 TDs (t-4th), 14.30 Y/R (7th)
2nd team: Austin Morley
Key stats: 1242 yards (9th), 14.79 Y/R (5th), 9.27 Y/tar (4th), 57.14% 1D% (3rd)
Rocky Moreaux and Leek Mai-Heinous were two of the least divisive wide receiver picks among All Pro voters in a while. Both boast complete resumes from season 40 with high volume, superior efficiency, and few mistakes. Joining the pair on the All Pro first team is Delores Bickerman. Bickerman didn’t see quite as much volume as Moreaux and Mai-Heinous (her 89 receptions falls outside the top 10 among all wideouts), but her incredible efficiency and sparse negative plays was enough to convince the voters to push her over the top.
The second team All Pro receivers posted numbers remarkably similar to Bickerman, which made this a tough choice for the voters. Both Austin Morley and “Captain” Billy Stinkwater notched similarly efficient seasons as Bickerman, just with progressively less volume. Eeeeeeee phenssta lagged a little behind the others in pure efficiency and struggled a bit with penalties and fumbles, but the voters believed the negatives weren’t quite enough to outweigh the Colorado wideout’s impressive 101/1444/11 receiving line.
TIGHT END
1st team: Lucius Salem
Key stats: 929 yards (3rd), 5 TD, 11.76 YPR (2nd), 7.81 YPT (2nd), 62 pancakes (1st), 0 penalties
2nd team: Mister Hogmally
Key stats: 1244 yards (1st), 10 TD (1st), 12.32 YPR (1st), 7.81 YPT (1st), 47 pancakes, 4 penalties
We know that looking at the stats it might be a bit surprising to see Salem on the First Team over Hogmally. While the receiving numbers are without a question a great feather in the Yeti’s hat, Salem did their work playing exclusively at Tight End, whereas Hogmally continued to be played at Wide Receiver frequently. As things currently stand in the sim, playing at WR gives a measurable advantage in receiving numbers over playing at Tight End, so the voters were overall more impressed with Salem’s overall resume, as well as their ability as a blocker and ability to not give up negative plays (0 penalties and sacks allowed versus 4 and 1, respectively).
FULLBACK
First Team: Leandre Diarra
Key Stats: 80 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed, 612 all purpose yards, 4 total TDs
Second Team: William Groves
Key Stats: 48 pancakes, 1 sack allowed, 1 TD
While Leandre Diarra still has some detractors among the All Pro voters in the form of fullback purists, the do everything fullback once again finds himself as the first team All Pro fullback. His 80 pancakes easily laps the field, in no small part supported by more than doubling the rest of the field in total snaps. Despite the extra snaps, Diarra avoided giving up a single sack all season.
The race for second team fullback was remarkably close as William Groves wasn’t the only FB to notch 48 pancakes against just 1 sack allowed. The difference maker here was Groves’ singular TD, which was enough to sway the voters into naming him to the All Pro second team.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
1st team: Swantavius Payne (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 124 pancakes (2nd), 0 sacks allowed, 2 penalties
1st team: D’Nickashaw Mangoldson
Key Stats: 109 pancakes, 1 sack allowed, 4 penalties
2nd team: Pan Cakes
Key Stats: 114 pancakes, 1 sack allowed, 6 penalties
2nd team: Remi Musgrave-Smyth
Key Stats: 135 pancakes (1st), 1 sack allowed, 11 penalties
Offensive Tackles are the anchors of the offensive line, and as such they’re expected to first and foremost protect the QB and not commit mental errors. Our lone unanimous OT this season, Swantavius Payne, was the best of the bunch in that regard, not allowing a single sack (the only OT in S40 to do so) while only committing 2 penalties. He also was second in pancakes, to boot!
Mangoldson and Cakes had very similar seasons and ended up very close in the voting. In the end, the voters felt that Mangoldson having 25 less penalty yards on the season was more important than the 5 pancake advantage Cakes had over him.
Lastly, we have Musgrave-Smyth. He flattened defenders at a blistering pace, leading the league with 135 pancakes. He did, however, have a lot of mental lapses this season, committing 11 penalties.
INTERIOR OL
1st team: Troy Barnes (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 110 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed, 3 penalties
2nd team: Dennis Rodman
Key Stats: 88 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed, 0 penalties
Centers and Guards are not known for bowling their opponents over at a high rate, which makes Troy Barnes’ season even more impressive. Not only did he finish 5th among ALL offensive lineman in pancakes, he is also one of only two to have more than 100 without allowing a sack. You could make a strong case for Barnes being the top all-around OL in Season 40!
After playing tackle in S39, the Outlaws moved young Rodman to the interior in S40, a spot that seemed to come more naturally, as he not only totalled nearly 90 pancakes, but also was not flagged a single time all season. In fact, he was one of two OL to not register a single penalty all season.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
1st team: Christian Marciano (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 73 tackles (1st), 12 sacks (2nd), 10 TFL (1st), 1 safety
1st team: Joseph Reed (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 56 tackles, 17 sacks (1st), 7 FF (1st)
2nd team: Raphael McTurtle
Key stats: 51 tackles, 10 sacks (3rd), 5 TFL, 2 FF, 3 FR
2nd team: Fat Jack
Key stats: 67 tackles (2nd), 5 sacks, 4 TFL, 2 FF
In Season 40 there were two Defensive Tackles that stood above the rest of the group - reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Joseph Reed, and four-time first team All-Pro Christian Marciano. Reed was a force of nature in Season 40, finishing with 17 sacks (one from the league lead) and forcing a league-leading 7 fumbles. Marciano didn’t get to the QB as often as Reed, but he did lead the position group in tackles and tackles for loss, as well as the second-most sacks for DTs.
The Second Team features a familiar face - the Outlaws’ Raphael McTurtle - who posted double digit sacks for the fourth straight season, as well as chipping in 5 TFL. Making his first appearance on the All-Pro Team, we have San Jose’s Fat Jack. He didn’t put up the same eye-popping numbers as others on the list did, but he was a consistent force in the middle of the Sabercats’ defense all season.
DEFENSIVE END
1st team: Daron Arnold (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 56 tackles, 12 sacks (2nd), 8 TFL (t-3rd), 6 FF (1st), 3 FR
1st team: Harley Andrews (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 53 tackles, 14 sacks (1st), 1 safety, 3 FF
2nd team: Joey Din
Key stats: 59 tackles, 11 sacks (3rd), 9 TFL (t-1st)
2nd team: Alex Armstrong
Key stats: 42 tackles, 5 sacks, 9 TFL (t-1st)
Much like the Defensive Tackles, our Defensive Ends had a clear-cut pair at the top, resulting in two unanimous First Team selections. Daron Arnold has been no stranger to the All-Pro team during his career, and he showed he still has enough in the tank to finish out his career on a high note. He finished second among all DEs in sacks, and forced six fumbles on the season. Sarasota’s Harley Andrews led all DEs in sacks, and tallied up a safety in S40. Unfortunately, he lost a bunch of weight in the off-season and moved out to Cornerback.
Austin’s Joey Din put up an all around season, racking up 20 total sacks behind the line of scrimmage, as well as 59 total tackles. Our other Second Team selection, San Jose’s Alex Armstrong, may not have put up the pass rushing numbers as his fellow DEs, but he was recognized for his ability as a run stopper.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
1st team: Rumble Ronson
Key stats: 114 tackles (t-7th), 16 TFLs (1st), 14 sacks (t-6th), 7 FF (1st), 3 FR (2nd)
1st teamont Draft
Key stats: 105 tackles, 10 TFLs, 10 sacks, 1 safety, 96.33% tackle% (6th), 4 INTs (1st), 16 PDs (1st), 1 DTD
2nd team: Khan Cussion
Key stats: 109 tackles, 11 TFLs (t-8th), 17 sacks (2nd), 4 FR (1st)
2nd team: Carissa Van Campen
Key stats: 109 tackles, 14 TFLs (4th), 13 sacks, 97.32% tackle% (3rd), 13 PDs (4th)
Rumble Ronson was a force behind the line last season. His 30 total tackles behind the line led the league, and that kind of disruption is likely what led to leading the league in forced fumbles as well. He is joined on the first team by Dont Draft. Draft wasn’t quite as prolific behind the line (though 10 TFLs and 10 sacks is nothing to sneeze at), but where the Sarasota linebacker made up for it was as the unquestioned best coverage linebacker in the league. Draft’s well rounded play was enough to convince the voters to name him to the All Pro first team.
The All Pro second team features a familiar face in Kahn Cussion, who was once again a disruptive force behind the line. His 28 tackles behind the line only trailed Rumble Ronson, and, much like his first team counterpart, the Yellowknife linebacker made an impact with both forcing and recovering fumbles. He’s joined by Carissa van Campen, who fully embodied the idea of a well rounded, fundamentals based linebacker. Van Campen didn’t have much in the way of flashy turnovers, but what she did have was 27 total tackles behind the line, 13 pass deflections, no penalties, and the 3rd highest tackle rate among outside linebackers.
INSIDE LINEBACKER
1st team: Zephyr Greywolf
Key stats: 87 tackles, 4 TFL (1st), 5 sacks (2nd), 1 FF, 1 FR, 2 INT (t-1st), 1 DTD
2nd team: Jordan Hartline
Key stats: 102 tackles (2nd), 4 sacks (t-3rd), 2 INT (t-1st), 18 PD (1st)
You can take the wolf out of the outside linebacker spot, but you can’t take the outside linebacker out of the wolf. Zephyr Greywolf continued to dominate opponents despite the switch to full time inside linebacker, placing among the leaders in TFLs, sacks, interceptions, pass deflections, and even scoring a TD. Second team selection Jordan Hartline wasn’t far behind. The Berlin linebacker closely trailed Greywolf as an all around threat over the middle of the field, and even managed to lead all inside linebackers with 18 pass deflections.
CORNERBACK
1st team: Spottie O'Dopaliscious
Key stats: 6 INT’s / 31 PD’s / 60.5% Catch allowed
1st team: King Zeus
Key Stats: 5 INT’s / 34 PD’s / 104 Tckl’s
1st team flex DB: Russet Buster
Key stats: 7 INT’s / 25 PD’s / 1 Def TD’s
2nd team: Ace McAlister
Key stats: 4 INT’s / 30 PD’s / 1 Def TD’s
2nd team: Kalam Mekhar
Key stats: 37 PD’s / 4 INT’s / 58.62% Catch Allowed
Coming into his 6th season with Arizona, Spottie took a huge step up and had a career year, leading the Outlaws backfield. Very few CB’s let alone CB1’s had a catch date anyway near his. He was a stalwart in the Arizona backfield helping force 9 turnovers in the season, more than 1 every two games. Not only was he a shutdown corner but also a backfield tackling machine, getting close to the coveted 100 tackle mark.
King Zeus broke the 30 PD barrier for the first time in his career backing up with over 100 tackles, his presence in the backfield gave any opposing QB a constant problem with choosing targets. King was a constant threat with turnovers, intercepting 5 passes as well as forcing 4 extra fumbles.
Russet had a great season for the SJS, leading a relatively inexperienced backfield in a way that the coaching staff couldn’t ask for more. He led the league in INT’s with 7 more than double his previous best and 6 more than his last two seasons combined. This really was a season that showcased why he was such a highly coveted prospect for his draft class. He was the league ballhawk this season. He also has a career season with tackles. Another season like this looks to be on the cards for next season.
The Otters CB Ace had a third great season on the bounce intercepting the ball 4 times as well as forcing 3 more fumbles, even finding the end zone. Ace is one of a scoring machine having found the end zone 7 times out of 23 INT’s almost 1 in 3 INT’s results in a score, one of the best in the league. A 4th string season would really cement his stats as one of the best CB’s in the league.
Coming off a stellar season Mekhar is the league's star CB, looking to build upon his 9 INT’s season he had another steeper season breaking up 37 passes, a career high however his hands weren’t as sticky as before only able to bring in 4. Still that aside Mekhar had a fantastic rate at which catches allowed under the magical 60%. Surely this cements himself as a future HoFer.
SAFETY
1st team: Cross-Eriksen (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 5 INT, 15 PDs, 2 DTD, 4 FF
1st team: Jasper Fontaine
Key stats: 4 INT, 22 PDs, 2 DTD, 3 FF, 52.45% CtA
2nd team: Diggs Sideline-Touchdown
Key stats: 6 INT, 15 PDs, 1 DTD
2nd team: NotSo Smart
Key stats: 6 sacks, 2 FF, 5 INT
2nd team Flex DB: Spike Daniels
Key stats: 67 tackles, 6 INT, 15 PDs, 1 DTD
Season 40 saw a bit of a paradigm shift at the Safety position. Typically, the top players at the position tend to be stat sheet stuffers. In Season 40, however, the top Safeties made names for themselves defending against the pass. Our lone unanimous First Team selection, Cross-Eriksen, was a ball hawk all season, picking off five interceptions and forcing four fumbles. The other First Teamer, Cape Town’s Jasper Fontaine, led all Safeties at breaking up passes, and barely allowed half of the passes his way to be completed.
When you add in the Second Teamers to the bunch, the Safeties might be the strongest position group we have in Season 40. Berlin’s DST and Sarasota’s Daniels both finished only one interception away from the league lead. Arizona’s NotSo Smart not only pitched in 5 interceptions, but also totaled six sacks, third-most by a Safety in Season 40.
KICKER
1st team: Known Acquaintance
Key stats: 31/34 FG, 35/35 XP, 10.90 PAR
2nd team: David Doug
Key stats: 32/34 FG, 40/41 XP, 10.34 PAR
Season 40 might have been the most hotly-debated season for Kickers we’ve had in the history of the ISFL All-Pro Team. These two kickers plus a third - YKW’s Double Doink - had extremely close seasons that picking the best one was almost impossible. In the end, Berlin’s Acquaintance got the First Team nod over his two competitors. He was the only of the trio that did not miss a single XP on the season, and nearly half of his attempts on the year were from greater than 40 yards. Throw in that he hit all of his 50+ yard kicks during the season and it’s hard to say he wasn’t deserving.
Chicago’s David Doug only missed two field goals on the season, as well as one extra point. However, some voters were less enamored with his season since he had 19 of his attempts from under 40 yards. You have to hit the easy ones, and while he did, the voters weren’t as impressed since it seemed the team didn’t ask him to try too many hard kicks.
PUNTER
1st team: Double Doink (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 48.22 punt avg (3rd), 51.39% in20 (1st)
2nd team: Orlando Doom
Key Stats: 46.62 punt avg, 46.58% in20 (2nd)
Let’s get something out of the way: if you’re an offensive coordinator, you’d prefer if you never had to use your punter. IF you must punt, however, you would probably hope to have someone on your team that can produce a season like we saw from YKW’s Double Doink in Season 40. Not only did Doink finish just off the pace for the punt average lead, but Doink also dominated everyone in the Inside20 metric, landing nearly 5% more of his punts within the opposing team’s 20 yard line than any other punter in Season 40 did.
On the Second Team, the voters showed the importance of the coffin corner, opting to look past Orlando Doom’s middling punt average (6th-best) in favor of his Inside20 number (second-best).
RETURNER:
1st team: Austin Morley
Key Stats: 36 yard KR avg (1st), 1 KR TD
2nd team: Derrick Prince
Key Stats: 12.81 PR Avg, 2 PR TD (1st)
If you want to see why Austin Morley made the First Team, I suggest you check out this great article by Modern_Duke which illustrates how great his season as a returner was: Long Live the Return King.
Derrick Prince can add his name to the short list of players to rack up multiple punt return touchdowns in a single season, becoming only the 16th player in the history of the league to do so.
SFWG All-Pro First Team
First Team
QB - Wendell Sailor - AZ
RB - Adebayo Akinfenwa - YKW+
RB - Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin - CTC+
FB - Leandre Diarra - OCO
TE - Lucius Salem - SAR
WR - Rocky Moreaux - BAL
WR - Leek Mai-Heinous - HON
WR - Delores Bickerman - AUS
OT - Swantavius Payne - CTC+
OT - D'Nickashaw Mangoldson - AZ
IOL - Troy Barnes - SAR+
DT - Christian Marciano - CTC+
DT - Joseph Reed - CHI+
DE - Daron Arnold - YKW+
DE - Harley Andrews - SAR+
OLB - Rumble Ronson - CHI
OLB - Dont Draft - SAR
ILB - Zephyr Greywolf - YKW
CB - Spottie O'Dopaliscious - AZ
CB - King Zeus - SAR
S - Cross-Eriksen - COL+
S - Jasper Fontaine - CTC
FLEX - Russet Buster - SJS
K - Known Acquaintance - BER
P - Double Doink - YKW+
Ret - Austin Morley - CHI
Second Team
QB - Carter Knight - SAR
RB - Michaelangelo McTurtle - NYS
RB - Bean Delphine Jr - HON
FB - William Groves - NYS
TE - Mister Hogmally - COL
WR - Captain Billy Stinkwater - AZ
WR - Eeeeeeee Phensta - COL
WR - Austin Morley - CHI
OT - Pan Cakes - NYS
OT - Remi Musgrave-Smythe - COL
IOL - Dennis Rodman - AZ
DT - Raphael McTurtle - NYS
DT - Fat Jack - SJS
DE - Joey Din - AUS
DE - Alex Armstrong - SJS
OLB - Kahn Cussion - YKW
OLB - Carissa Van Campen - NOLA
ILB - Jordan Hartline - BER
CB - Ace McAlister - OCO
CB - Kalam Mekhar - YKW
S - Diggs Sideline-Touchdown - BER
S - NotSo Smart - AZ
FLEX - Spike Daniels - SAR
K - David Doug - CHI
P - Orlando Doom - COL
Ret - Derrick Prince - CTC
+ Denotes Unanimous Selection
Other Players Receiving Votes:
QB Creg Jerrith IV; QB Queen Elizabeth II; RB Zane Cold; RB Cety Pyxis; RB Lalu Muhammad Zohri; FB Triple Option; WR Zayne Dangle; WR Sconnie McSix; TE Waluigi Gronkowski; IOL Dallas Fort-Worth; IOL Larry Jenkins; DT Lennay Kekua; DE Goat Tannk; DE Jr Frankenstero; OLB Aqeel Steele; OLB Bruce Buckley Jr; OLB Solace Avenger; OLB Akaki Akayre; OLB Barry Badman; OLB Caleb Hayden; ILB So-Much Jazz; CB Dee Walt; CB Draft Steal; CB Quendyn Quarterstorm; CB Zamir Kehla Jr; S Aleksandr Milescu; S Inspector Gadget; K Double Doink; P Known Acquaintance; P Swantavius King; RET Louis Blondin; RET DeAndre King
Summary by team:
- 7 (5 first; 2 second)
- 6 (4 first; 2 second)
- 6 (3 first; 3 second)
- 5 (4 first; 1 second)
- 5 (3 first; 2 second)
- 5 (1 first; 4 second)
- 4 (0 first; 4 second)
- 3 (1 first; 2 second)
- 3 (1 first; 2 second)
- 2 (1 first, 1 second)
- 2 (1 first; 1 second)
-2 (1 first; 1 second)
- 1 (1 first; 0 second)
- 1 (0 first; 1 second)
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Thank you again for reading this season’s SFWG All-Pro Team!
In the name of transparency, here is a link to the All-Pro final ballot: S40 All Pro Votes
Thank you again to all of the members of the ISFL All-Pro Committee, and to the members of the ISFL Community for reading these every season!
© 2023 Simulation Football Writers’ Guild
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Numerical ranks (1st, 2nd, 3rd…) are stated for that position group, unless otherwise noted as an overall rank.
QUARTERBACK
1st team: Wendell Sailor
Key Stats: 66.73% comp% (1st), 3785 yards, 33 TDs (T-3rd), 3:1 TD/INT (T-3rd), 99.9 Passer Rating (1st)
2nd team: Carter Knight
Key Stats: 4660 yards (4th), 33 TDs (T-3rd), 3.67:1 TD/INT (1st), 96.1 Passer Rating (2nd), 7.40 Y/A (1st)
Age is nothing to this old timer. Wendell Sailor once again leads the All Pro team from under center with a stellar completion percentage, a strong affinity for touchdowns, and a host of elite passing efficiency metrics. It comes as no surprise that Sailor’s Outlaws led the league in scoring en route to their third Ultimus trophy in four seasons.
Much like his fellow veteran in Arizona, Carter Knight proved that age is no object for the elite. Just as he’s done for most of his career, Knight combined impressive efficiency with high volume, producing top of the league stats across the board. Perhaps a 2nd team All Pro isn’t quite what the veteran was hoping for as he heads off into retirement, but it’s still a feather in the cap of the future Hall of Famer.
RUNNING BACK
1st team: Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 1660 rush yard (2nd), 22 rush TD (1st), 2119 scrimm yard (t-2nd), 28 scrimm TD (1st)
1st team: Adebayo Akinfenwa (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 1666 rush yard (1st), 5.03 YPC (2nd), 2140 scrimm yard (1st), 16 scrimm TD
2nd team: Michaelangelo McTurtle
Key Stats: 1448 rush yard (4th), 5.30 YPC (1st), 13 rush TD
2nd team: Bean Delphine Jr
Key Stats: 1417 rush yard (5th), 2119 scrimm yard (t-2nd), 17 scrimm TD (t-3rd)
What more can be said about the Season 40 MVP, Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin? Not only did he finish second in yards on the season, but also had the second-most TDs in a season in league history, finishing only two away from tying a record that’s stood since Season 9.
The NSFC champions, Yellowknife Wraiths, have been a model of how strong a double RB backfield can be, and this season Akinfenwa was a master of efficiency, leading the league in rushing and total yards, while also finishing with over 5 yards per carry.
New York may not have finished with the sort of record it wanted, but McTurtle, a mainstay on the All-Pro Team during his career, once again put the team on his back best he could, leading the league in yards per carry, and finishing fourth in rushing yards.
Bean Delphine Jr has quietly had a very good start to her career, racking up over 6000 total yards and 48 touchdowns. Season 40 saw the fourth-year back eclipse 2,000 scrimmage yards for the first time in her career, a number we expect to see her close to often.
WIDE RECEIVER
1st team: Rocky Moreaux
Key stats: 116 Rec (1st), 1653 yards (1st), 2.21% Drop% (4th), 14.25 Y/R (8th), 9.13 Y/tar (5th), 53.45% 1D% (9th)
1st team: Leek Mai-Heinous
Key stats: 107 Rec (2nd), 1478 yards (2nd), 14 TDs (1st), 2.30% Drop% (5th), 13.81 Y/R (10th), 8.49 Y/tar (10th), 42 pancakes (2nd)
1st team: Delores Bickerman
Key stats: 1360 yards (5th), 15.28 Y/R (3rd), 8.95 Y/tar (7th), 59.55% 1D% (2nd)
2nd team: Captain Billy Stinkwater
Key stats: 67.24% catch% (3rd), 2.59% Drop% (7th), 12 TDs (t-2nd), 8.97 Y/tar (6th)
2nd team: Eeeeeee Phensta
Key stats: 101 Rec (4th), 1444 yards (3rd), 11 TDs (t-4th), 14.30 Y/R (7th)
2nd team: Austin Morley
Key stats: 1242 yards (9th), 14.79 Y/R (5th), 9.27 Y/tar (4th), 57.14% 1D% (3rd)
Rocky Moreaux and Leek Mai-Heinous were two of the least divisive wide receiver picks among All Pro voters in a while. Both boast complete resumes from season 40 with high volume, superior efficiency, and few mistakes. Joining the pair on the All Pro first team is Delores Bickerman. Bickerman didn’t see quite as much volume as Moreaux and Mai-Heinous (her 89 receptions falls outside the top 10 among all wideouts), but her incredible efficiency and sparse negative plays was enough to convince the voters to push her over the top.
The second team All Pro receivers posted numbers remarkably similar to Bickerman, which made this a tough choice for the voters. Both Austin Morley and “Captain” Billy Stinkwater notched similarly efficient seasons as Bickerman, just with progressively less volume. Eeeeeeee phenssta lagged a little behind the others in pure efficiency and struggled a bit with penalties and fumbles, but the voters believed the negatives weren’t quite enough to outweigh the Colorado wideout’s impressive 101/1444/11 receiving line.
TIGHT END
1st team: Lucius Salem
Key stats: 929 yards (3rd), 5 TD, 11.76 YPR (2nd), 7.81 YPT (2nd), 62 pancakes (1st), 0 penalties
2nd team: Mister Hogmally
Key stats: 1244 yards (1st), 10 TD (1st), 12.32 YPR (1st), 7.81 YPT (1st), 47 pancakes, 4 penalties
We know that looking at the stats it might be a bit surprising to see Salem on the First Team over Hogmally. While the receiving numbers are without a question a great feather in the Yeti’s hat, Salem did their work playing exclusively at Tight End, whereas Hogmally continued to be played at Wide Receiver frequently. As things currently stand in the sim, playing at WR gives a measurable advantage in receiving numbers over playing at Tight End, so the voters were overall more impressed with Salem’s overall resume, as well as their ability as a blocker and ability to not give up negative plays (0 penalties and sacks allowed versus 4 and 1, respectively).
FULLBACK
First Team: Leandre Diarra
Key Stats: 80 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed, 612 all purpose yards, 4 total TDs
Second Team: William Groves
Key Stats: 48 pancakes, 1 sack allowed, 1 TD
While Leandre Diarra still has some detractors among the All Pro voters in the form of fullback purists, the do everything fullback once again finds himself as the first team All Pro fullback. His 80 pancakes easily laps the field, in no small part supported by more than doubling the rest of the field in total snaps. Despite the extra snaps, Diarra avoided giving up a single sack all season.
The race for second team fullback was remarkably close as William Groves wasn’t the only FB to notch 48 pancakes against just 1 sack allowed. The difference maker here was Groves’ singular TD, which was enough to sway the voters into naming him to the All Pro second team.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE
1st team: Swantavius Payne (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 124 pancakes (2nd), 0 sacks allowed, 2 penalties
1st team: D’Nickashaw Mangoldson
Key Stats: 109 pancakes, 1 sack allowed, 4 penalties
2nd team: Pan Cakes
Key Stats: 114 pancakes, 1 sack allowed, 6 penalties
2nd team: Remi Musgrave-Smyth
Key Stats: 135 pancakes (1st), 1 sack allowed, 11 penalties
Offensive Tackles are the anchors of the offensive line, and as such they’re expected to first and foremost protect the QB and not commit mental errors. Our lone unanimous OT this season, Swantavius Payne, was the best of the bunch in that regard, not allowing a single sack (the only OT in S40 to do so) while only committing 2 penalties. He also was second in pancakes, to boot!
Mangoldson and Cakes had very similar seasons and ended up very close in the voting. In the end, the voters felt that Mangoldson having 25 less penalty yards on the season was more important than the 5 pancake advantage Cakes had over him.
Lastly, we have Musgrave-Smyth. He flattened defenders at a blistering pace, leading the league with 135 pancakes. He did, however, have a lot of mental lapses this season, committing 11 penalties.
INTERIOR OL
1st team: Troy Barnes (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 110 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed, 3 penalties
2nd team: Dennis Rodman
Key Stats: 88 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed, 0 penalties
Centers and Guards are not known for bowling their opponents over at a high rate, which makes Troy Barnes’ season even more impressive. Not only did he finish 5th among ALL offensive lineman in pancakes, he is also one of only two to have more than 100 without allowing a sack. You could make a strong case for Barnes being the top all-around OL in Season 40!
After playing tackle in S39, the Outlaws moved young Rodman to the interior in S40, a spot that seemed to come more naturally, as he not only totalled nearly 90 pancakes, but also was not flagged a single time all season. In fact, he was one of two OL to not register a single penalty all season.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
1st team: Christian Marciano (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 73 tackles (1st), 12 sacks (2nd), 10 TFL (1st), 1 safety
1st team: Joseph Reed (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 56 tackles, 17 sacks (1st), 7 FF (1st)
2nd team: Raphael McTurtle
Key stats: 51 tackles, 10 sacks (3rd), 5 TFL, 2 FF, 3 FR
2nd team: Fat Jack
Key stats: 67 tackles (2nd), 5 sacks, 4 TFL, 2 FF
In Season 40 there were two Defensive Tackles that stood above the rest of the group - reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Joseph Reed, and four-time first team All-Pro Christian Marciano. Reed was a force of nature in Season 40, finishing with 17 sacks (one from the league lead) and forcing a league-leading 7 fumbles. Marciano didn’t get to the QB as often as Reed, but he did lead the position group in tackles and tackles for loss, as well as the second-most sacks for DTs.
The Second Team features a familiar face - the Outlaws’ Raphael McTurtle - who posted double digit sacks for the fourth straight season, as well as chipping in 5 TFL. Making his first appearance on the All-Pro Team, we have San Jose’s Fat Jack. He didn’t put up the same eye-popping numbers as others on the list did, but he was a consistent force in the middle of the Sabercats’ defense all season.
DEFENSIVE END
1st team: Daron Arnold (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 56 tackles, 12 sacks (2nd), 8 TFL (t-3rd), 6 FF (1st), 3 FR
1st team: Harley Andrews (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 53 tackles, 14 sacks (1st), 1 safety, 3 FF
2nd team: Joey Din
Key stats: 59 tackles, 11 sacks (3rd), 9 TFL (t-1st)
2nd team: Alex Armstrong
Key stats: 42 tackles, 5 sacks, 9 TFL (t-1st)
Much like the Defensive Tackles, our Defensive Ends had a clear-cut pair at the top, resulting in two unanimous First Team selections. Daron Arnold has been no stranger to the All-Pro team during his career, and he showed he still has enough in the tank to finish out his career on a high note. He finished second among all DEs in sacks, and forced six fumbles on the season. Sarasota’s Harley Andrews led all DEs in sacks, and tallied up a safety in S40. Unfortunately, he lost a bunch of weight in the off-season and moved out to Cornerback.
Austin’s Joey Din put up an all around season, racking up 20 total sacks behind the line of scrimmage, as well as 59 total tackles. Our other Second Team selection, San Jose’s Alex Armstrong, may not have put up the pass rushing numbers as his fellow DEs, but he was recognized for his ability as a run stopper.
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
1st team: Rumble Ronson
Key stats: 114 tackles (t-7th), 16 TFLs (1st), 14 sacks (t-6th), 7 FF (1st), 3 FR (2nd)
1st teamont Draft
Key stats: 105 tackles, 10 TFLs, 10 sacks, 1 safety, 96.33% tackle% (6th), 4 INTs (1st), 16 PDs (1st), 1 DTD
2nd team: Khan Cussion
Key stats: 109 tackles, 11 TFLs (t-8th), 17 sacks (2nd), 4 FR (1st)
2nd team: Carissa Van Campen
Key stats: 109 tackles, 14 TFLs (4th), 13 sacks, 97.32% tackle% (3rd), 13 PDs (4th)
Rumble Ronson was a force behind the line last season. His 30 total tackles behind the line led the league, and that kind of disruption is likely what led to leading the league in forced fumbles as well. He is joined on the first team by Dont Draft. Draft wasn’t quite as prolific behind the line (though 10 TFLs and 10 sacks is nothing to sneeze at), but where the Sarasota linebacker made up for it was as the unquestioned best coverage linebacker in the league. Draft’s well rounded play was enough to convince the voters to name him to the All Pro first team.
The All Pro second team features a familiar face in Kahn Cussion, who was once again a disruptive force behind the line. His 28 tackles behind the line only trailed Rumble Ronson, and, much like his first team counterpart, the Yellowknife linebacker made an impact with both forcing and recovering fumbles. He’s joined by Carissa van Campen, who fully embodied the idea of a well rounded, fundamentals based linebacker. Van Campen didn’t have much in the way of flashy turnovers, but what she did have was 27 total tackles behind the line, 13 pass deflections, no penalties, and the 3rd highest tackle rate among outside linebackers.
INSIDE LINEBACKER
1st team: Zephyr Greywolf
Key stats: 87 tackles, 4 TFL (1st), 5 sacks (2nd), 1 FF, 1 FR, 2 INT (t-1st), 1 DTD
2nd team: Jordan Hartline
Key stats: 102 tackles (2nd), 4 sacks (t-3rd), 2 INT (t-1st), 18 PD (1st)
You can take the wolf out of the outside linebacker spot, but you can’t take the outside linebacker out of the wolf. Zephyr Greywolf continued to dominate opponents despite the switch to full time inside linebacker, placing among the leaders in TFLs, sacks, interceptions, pass deflections, and even scoring a TD. Second team selection Jordan Hartline wasn’t far behind. The Berlin linebacker closely trailed Greywolf as an all around threat over the middle of the field, and even managed to lead all inside linebackers with 18 pass deflections.
CORNERBACK
1st team: Spottie O'Dopaliscious
Key stats: 6 INT’s / 31 PD’s / 60.5% Catch allowed
1st team: King Zeus
Key Stats: 5 INT’s / 34 PD’s / 104 Tckl’s
1st team flex DB: Russet Buster
Key stats: 7 INT’s / 25 PD’s / 1 Def TD’s
2nd team: Ace McAlister
Key stats: 4 INT’s / 30 PD’s / 1 Def TD’s
2nd team: Kalam Mekhar
Key stats: 37 PD’s / 4 INT’s / 58.62% Catch Allowed
Coming into his 6th season with Arizona, Spottie took a huge step up and had a career year, leading the Outlaws backfield. Very few CB’s let alone CB1’s had a catch date anyway near his. He was a stalwart in the Arizona backfield helping force 9 turnovers in the season, more than 1 every two games. Not only was he a shutdown corner but also a backfield tackling machine, getting close to the coveted 100 tackle mark.
King Zeus broke the 30 PD barrier for the first time in his career backing up with over 100 tackles, his presence in the backfield gave any opposing QB a constant problem with choosing targets. King was a constant threat with turnovers, intercepting 5 passes as well as forcing 4 extra fumbles.
Russet had a great season for the SJS, leading a relatively inexperienced backfield in a way that the coaching staff couldn’t ask for more. He led the league in INT’s with 7 more than double his previous best and 6 more than his last two seasons combined. This really was a season that showcased why he was such a highly coveted prospect for his draft class. He was the league ballhawk this season. He also has a career season with tackles. Another season like this looks to be on the cards for next season.
The Otters CB Ace had a third great season on the bounce intercepting the ball 4 times as well as forcing 3 more fumbles, even finding the end zone. Ace is one of a scoring machine having found the end zone 7 times out of 23 INT’s almost 1 in 3 INT’s results in a score, one of the best in the league. A 4th string season would really cement his stats as one of the best CB’s in the league.
Coming off a stellar season Mekhar is the league's star CB, looking to build upon his 9 INT’s season he had another steeper season breaking up 37 passes, a career high however his hands weren’t as sticky as before only able to bring in 4. Still that aside Mekhar had a fantastic rate at which catches allowed under the magical 60%. Surely this cements himself as a future HoFer.
SAFETY
1st team: Cross-Eriksen (Unanimous Selection)
Key stats: 5 INT, 15 PDs, 2 DTD, 4 FF
1st team: Jasper Fontaine
Key stats: 4 INT, 22 PDs, 2 DTD, 3 FF, 52.45% CtA
2nd team: Diggs Sideline-Touchdown
Key stats: 6 INT, 15 PDs, 1 DTD
2nd team: NotSo Smart
Key stats: 6 sacks, 2 FF, 5 INT
2nd team Flex DB: Spike Daniels
Key stats: 67 tackles, 6 INT, 15 PDs, 1 DTD
Season 40 saw a bit of a paradigm shift at the Safety position. Typically, the top players at the position tend to be stat sheet stuffers. In Season 40, however, the top Safeties made names for themselves defending against the pass. Our lone unanimous First Team selection, Cross-Eriksen, was a ball hawk all season, picking off five interceptions and forcing four fumbles. The other First Teamer, Cape Town’s Jasper Fontaine, led all Safeties at breaking up passes, and barely allowed half of the passes his way to be completed.
When you add in the Second Teamers to the bunch, the Safeties might be the strongest position group we have in Season 40. Berlin’s DST and Sarasota’s Daniels both finished only one interception away from the league lead. Arizona’s NotSo Smart not only pitched in 5 interceptions, but also totaled six sacks, third-most by a Safety in Season 40.
KICKER
1st team: Known Acquaintance
Key stats: 31/34 FG, 35/35 XP, 10.90 PAR
2nd team: David Doug
Key stats: 32/34 FG, 40/41 XP, 10.34 PAR
Season 40 might have been the most hotly-debated season for Kickers we’ve had in the history of the ISFL All-Pro Team. These two kickers plus a third - YKW’s Double Doink - had extremely close seasons that picking the best one was almost impossible. In the end, Berlin’s Acquaintance got the First Team nod over his two competitors. He was the only of the trio that did not miss a single XP on the season, and nearly half of his attempts on the year were from greater than 40 yards. Throw in that he hit all of his 50+ yard kicks during the season and it’s hard to say he wasn’t deserving.
Chicago’s David Doug only missed two field goals on the season, as well as one extra point. However, some voters were less enamored with his season since he had 19 of his attempts from under 40 yards. You have to hit the easy ones, and while he did, the voters weren’t as impressed since it seemed the team didn’t ask him to try too many hard kicks.
PUNTER
1st team: Double Doink (Unanimous Selection)
Key Stats: 48.22 punt avg (3rd), 51.39% in20 (1st)
2nd team: Orlando Doom
Key Stats: 46.62 punt avg, 46.58% in20 (2nd)
Let’s get something out of the way: if you’re an offensive coordinator, you’d prefer if you never had to use your punter. IF you must punt, however, you would probably hope to have someone on your team that can produce a season like we saw from YKW’s Double Doink in Season 40. Not only did Doink finish just off the pace for the punt average lead, but Doink also dominated everyone in the Inside20 metric, landing nearly 5% more of his punts within the opposing team’s 20 yard line than any other punter in Season 40 did.
On the Second Team, the voters showed the importance of the coffin corner, opting to look past Orlando Doom’s middling punt average (6th-best) in favor of his Inside20 number (second-best).
RETURNER:
1st team: Austin Morley
Key Stats: 36 yard KR avg (1st), 1 KR TD
2nd team: Derrick Prince
Key Stats: 12.81 PR Avg, 2 PR TD (1st)
If you want to see why Austin Morley made the First Team, I suggest you check out this great article by Modern_Duke which illustrates how great his season as a returner was: Long Live the Return King.
Derrick Prince can add his name to the short list of players to rack up multiple punt return touchdowns in a single season, becoming only the 16th player in the history of the league to do so.
SFWG All-Pro First Team
First Team
QB - Wendell Sailor - AZ
RB - Adebayo Akinfenwa - YKW+
RB - Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin - CTC+
FB - Leandre Diarra - OCO
TE - Lucius Salem - SAR
WR - Rocky Moreaux - BAL
WR - Leek Mai-Heinous - HON
WR - Delores Bickerman - AUS
OT - Swantavius Payne - CTC+
OT - D'Nickashaw Mangoldson - AZ
IOL - Troy Barnes - SAR+
DT - Christian Marciano - CTC+
DT - Joseph Reed - CHI+
DE - Daron Arnold - YKW+
DE - Harley Andrews - SAR+
OLB - Rumble Ronson - CHI
OLB - Dont Draft - SAR
ILB - Zephyr Greywolf - YKW
CB - Spottie O'Dopaliscious - AZ
CB - King Zeus - SAR
S - Cross-Eriksen - COL+
S - Jasper Fontaine - CTC
FLEX - Russet Buster - SJS
K - Known Acquaintance - BER
P - Double Doink - YKW+
Ret - Austin Morley - CHI
Second Team
QB - Carter Knight - SAR
RB - Michaelangelo McTurtle - NYS
RB - Bean Delphine Jr - HON
FB - William Groves - NYS
TE - Mister Hogmally - COL
WR - Captain Billy Stinkwater - AZ
WR - Eeeeeeee Phensta - COL
WR - Austin Morley - CHI
OT - Pan Cakes - NYS
OT - Remi Musgrave-Smythe - COL
IOL - Dennis Rodman - AZ
DT - Raphael McTurtle - NYS
DT - Fat Jack - SJS
DE - Joey Din - AUS
DE - Alex Armstrong - SJS
OLB - Kahn Cussion - YKW
OLB - Carissa Van Campen - NOLA
ILB - Jordan Hartline - BER
CB - Ace McAlister - OCO
CB - Kalam Mekhar - YKW
S - Diggs Sideline-Touchdown - BER
S - NotSo Smart - AZ
FLEX - Spike Daniels - SAR
K - David Doug - CHI
P - Orlando Doom - COL
Ret - Derrick Prince - CTC
+ Denotes Unanimous Selection
Other Players Receiving Votes:
QB Creg Jerrith IV; QB Queen Elizabeth II; RB Zane Cold; RB Cety Pyxis; RB Lalu Muhammad Zohri; FB Triple Option; WR Zayne Dangle; WR Sconnie McSix; TE Waluigi Gronkowski; IOL Dallas Fort-Worth; IOL Larry Jenkins; DT Lennay Kekua; DE Goat Tannk; DE Jr Frankenstero; OLB Aqeel Steele; OLB Bruce Buckley Jr; OLB Solace Avenger; OLB Akaki Akayre; OLB Barry Badman; OLB Caleb Hayden; ILB So-Much Jazz; CB Dee Walt; CB Draft Steal; CB Quendyn Quarterstorm; CB Zamir Kehla Jr; S Aleksandr Milescu; S Inspector Gadget; K Double Doink; P Known Acquaintance; P Swantavius King; RET Louis Blondin; RET DeAndre King
Summary by team:
- 7 (5 first; 2 second)
- 6 (4 first; 2 second)
- 6 (3 first; 3 second)
- 5 (4 first; 1 second)
- 5 (3 first; 2 second)
- 5 (1 first; 4 second)
- 4 (0 first; 4 second)
- 3 (1 first; 2 second)
- 3 (1 first; 2 second)
- 2 (1 first, 1 second)
- 2 (1 first; 1 second)
-2 (1 first; 1 second)
- 1 (1 first; 0 second)
- 1 (0 first; 1 second)
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Thank you again for reading this season’s SFWG All-Pro Team!
In the name of transparency, here is a link to the All-Pro final ballot: S40 All Pro Votes
Thank you again to all of the members of the ISFL All-Pro Committee, and to the members of the ISFL Community for reading these every season!
© 2023 Simulation Football Writers’ Guild
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