OT Pass
01-13-2024, 12:57 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-14-2024, 11:47 AM by Drizzy. Edited 1 time in total.)
16. 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?
Devin Jones entered the DSFL this season as a member of the London Royals, being taken with the 1st pick of the 3rd round of the draft. The Royals had finished last season with the worst record in the league and although had loaded up on talent in the S45 DSFL Draft, were still looked at as something of a weaker team going into the season. Expectations among the players were high, but realistically the team and their fans knew that making it to the playoffs would be something of a tall order given the level of opposition in the league. Even with this in mind, things got off to something of a disappointing start as the team were thoroughly trounced by the Kansas City Coyotes. Their defense performed particularly badly, allowing 61 points to be scored and giving a sense of dread to the fans that this could be a very long and painful season. The Royals did little to reassure their fans in the following weeks, losing their next 5 games in a row to stumble to a shocking 0-6 start to the season. Despite 4 of these 6 losses coming by one score, the team morale was low and a win in Week 7 was vital to ensure that the season didn't spiral completely out of control. They managed to get the all-important result as they squeaked past the Dallas Birddogs 30-27, but would not be able to build on this and lost their following 3 games. Sitting at 1-9 on the season, the Royals were thoroughly out of playoff contention by Week 11 of the season, but the young talent on the team were determined to play for their pride. After a rousing team meeting that looked to set things back on track, the team went on something of a tear, winning 3 games in a row to lift morale and show fans that maybe there is something with the team worth sticking to. The final week of the season saw the team lose again, but on the whole there was definitely promising signs that the team could go on to do something next season. Although on the whole, S45 was one to forget for the Royals, the way that the team was able to end it might just hint at what's to come and could be the start of the new core of the team coming into their own. Code: 404 words 24. You’re in charge of entertainment for the Ultimus or Ultimini half-time show. What would you do? (Written Task) The half time show at the Ultimus is the pinnacle of entertainment, and over the years some of the most famous performers in the world have graced the stage and entertained fans during the game's intermission. If put in charge of the entertainment, I'd probably emulate what the Super Bowl did a few years back when they brought several hip hop legends on stage together. Instead of hip hop, we'd go a little bit of a different route and bring together 4 of the most famous Australian rock performers of all time; these would ideally be Daddy Cool, John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite and Jimmy Barnes. Although relatively unknown for the audience outside of Australia, this would be such a huge deal for the fans in Australia that I think it would outweigh the loss of advertising revenue and general confusion of fans over the world. It would be good fun and ultimately, why not mix things up a little bit to try and keep them fresh! Code: 166 words 33. When looking at the teams we have in the ISFL and DSFL, is there any team you believe is in need of a major rebrand or update to their current branding? Why or why not? (Written Task) As someone who really enjoys graphics and branding concepts, the only team that I feel like I struggle to connect with is the New Orleans Second Line. I love the colour scheme, I love the city of New Orleans as a base for the team, but I just can't get behind the name or the logo. I understand what the Second Line is and the significance it plays in relation to the city, but I just don't think it works as branding for a sports team (real or simulated) and the logo has never resonated with me for some reason. I remember way back when the team was made in this incarnation and I was confused about it then and the years since haven't really given me any more love for it. I will say that it's very much just my opinion, and I'm a big admirer of the franchise and what they've accomplished during their history so please don't write me off as a complete hater. Code: 167 words 10/10
Task 3
S46 ISFL preview With season just finished, first of all I'd like to congratulate newly crowned champions Austin Copperheads with their slightly unexpected Ultimus win. The previous season was pretty wild and unpredicted, especially with some teams really over/underperforming. Now let's take a look at every ISFL team coming into S46. I'm doing that before the draft, regression and FA, so obviously it will seem stupid after next season. Arizona Outlaws Perennial contenders are expected to be good again, not really a surprise. Main problem is their aging LB core. Prediction - making playoffs, duh Austin Copperheads Returning champs should still be good, though their receivers will get hit by regression pretty hard. Whole team is also getting old. Prediction - making playoffs. Baltimore Hawks In what could be last season for star QB Preston Beatz Baltimore probably still expects to contend. The rest of their team is young, with two up and coming RBs. And the conference seem wide open. Prediction - playoffs Berlin Fire Salamanders One of the teams that I never got what it's truing to do. Are they trying to contend, or going to rebuild? Who knows, definitely not me. Seems more like rebuilding next season. Prediction - tank season Chicago Butchers Chicago was unexpectedly good last season and probably punched over their own weight. But with their main carry in Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin leaving and couple of good players regressing they are still too young to seriously contend, but possibly can be spoilers. Prediction - playoff bubble Colorado Yetis Yetis got first seed and first round bye last season on the backs of their great defense. There is nothing on their roster that suggests that they should be worse next season. But you could definitely argue that they won't be so lucky again, as they had negative post differential as a first seed. Even 69-14 win couldn't make it positive. Their luck ran out in the playoffs, but they definitely can get back, based solely on their defense. Prediction - playoffs. Cape town Crash What happened to CTC? They definitely should have been one of contenders, but seems that their sim luck really turned upon them. With several key players retiring they are bringing some new blood next season. I'm not sold that it will be enough to make the playoffs, but they won`t go full tank. Prediction - playoff bubble Honolulu Hahalua Honolulu is still one of the strongest team in the league. While regression will eat upon their tpe advantage, the roster is still great. Nova Montagne will try to lead them once again to ultimus before probably inevitable hard reset. Prediction - playoffs. New Orleans Second Line The laugh of the league is over. On of the longest tanks seem to finally get out of league basement. They are not even picking first overall again! Jokes aside, this roster have players that are finally hitting their primes tpe wise, and should definitely get better next season. Prediction - too early for playoffs, but not last New York Silverbacks Monkes seem to have missed their best shot at ultimus with this roster couple of seasons ago. Their QB and star RB are still maxed but the rest of the roster is getting old (average age is even worse than AUS and AZ). After regression they will land in playoff bubble, but making it will be hard. Orange County Otters It seems that everything went wrong for otters last season. The team definitely expected to land in the playoffs but finished up right out of it with negative point difference. Otters probably expect to make it next season but I dont see it over AUS, AZ and HON. Sarasota Sailfish Fishes made the playoffs on tiebreaker and then went to Ultimus. They are always a good team that does better than most. I don;t see a reason they can't make playoffs again on that playing field. San Jose Sabercats SJS got some surprising wins over good teams last season. They are still very young and are not there yet. With NOLA getting better I predict them being last in the conference. Yellowknife Wraiths Rebranding goes hard, same as rebuilding. it will take couple of seasons more for Wraiths to get out of the league basement. Prediction for Ultimus: HON - BAL with BAL winning
`2. Tell us about your draft class. Is there anything that makes it special in comparison to other classes? Where did your fellow draftees land, how are they doing? Did anyone turn out to be an unexpected steal of that draft based on what you know today? Do you think anyone in your draft class will become a hall of famer? If you’re new to the league, how do you think your class will do? Where do you think people will get drafted to?`
As someone who is new to the league, it has been an exciting and daunting process to become immersed and catch up to speed with everything going on around the league. There's been a ton of communication within the DSFL discord, mainly fueled by rookies like myself new to the league. From everything I've learned, it seems that activity is the largest indicator of long-term success within the ISFL, and so far we've had some very active rookies. While I have no point of reference to compare to previous classes, I do currently believe that our rookie class could shape up to be a dominant one, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Here are some of my fellow rookies who I would like to highlight and speculate over their careers. Let's start it up first with the loudest guy in the room (likely every room) - Maurice "Mo Money" Gunner, TE/DT. Maurice exploded into the discord, basically kicking the door down on his way in, and hasn't ceased his yapping since. He wrote a tragic backstory about a troubled youth with a big personality, and certainly has succeeded in playing his character well. His initial positional interest was in TE, but it seems that upon further review and analysis of league needs, he is now leaning DT - and will likely swap positions before he plays in the prospect bowl. If his current activity is sustained, we could be looking at a real force of nature on the interior defensive line for many seasons to come. He seems like the kind of player who's gonna talk a big game, and do his best to follow that up with big plays on the field. My unfounded draft projection: Tijuana. I think Gunner is the kind of guy who will have no reserves playing for the big dogs, and will want to be on a team that looks to dominate it's opposition. I can see Tijuana enjoying his spicy personality, and I'm sure that the inner city kid can find a ton of ways to keep himself busy down at the clubs in Tijuana. Following him up, we have a bit of a sleeper rookie: Brad Woof. This guy is almost the opposite of Maurice. He's calm, collected, and a bit on the quiet side. But do not mistake quietness for inactivity, Brad seems like he's also looking to stick around for the longhaul. This cool cat is looking to join the league as a WR, and if his on the field demeanor is half as collected as his discord personality, I can envision him with some clutch catches in key moments. A northeasterner at heart, I can see him going to the most northeastern team possible - The London Royals. I don't know much about the royals, but I can see the British enjoying a more gentlemanly player, in staunch contrast to our next player... Dominic Reynolds! This young DE has wasted no time stirring the pot, making sure to let the rookie QBs around that he's happy to see em. He's setting the expectation high, claiming that he's looking forward to a 12 sack rookie season. He's made it clear that he's not here to make friends, he's here to win. Only time will tell if he is capable of hitting the standard he's set for himself, but I think it's obvious that he will be a name to watch going into the draft. My speculative pick: Minnesota Grey Ducks. He'd fill a massive positional need for them in DE, where the only active player on the roster is fellow rookie Dunkler Sowerwine with 60 TPE total. In addition, they showed some interest to his big talk, and I'm sure they'd love to give him an opportunity to back it up. While these are just 3 of the many personalities entering the league in this upcoming draft, I think it's clear that this rookie class means business. If I have anything to say about it, we plan to go down as a historic class filled with studs - especially on the defensive side. To any prospective GMs reading this, think very carefully about your next moves - missing out on any of these prospects could have you kicking yourself for years to come. And to my fellow rookies, watch out - that DROY award is as locked up as all you sorry WRs are about to be. Au revoir, see you on the field. Roquefort Cotswald
Tier 1, Task 6:
The ISFL has had forty-six seasons of action packed chaos from start to finish. From players like Mike Boss to Preston Beatz, there has been little chance to take a breath or you might risk missing out on the legends. At times it can seem that there is just too many players to focus on that are all blossoming at the exact same time. Our story here is about something that can be forgotten about amongst the highest of highs which is something that the league has not had to face many times since the harsh reality of those lowest of lows. The DSFL bot teams. Long ago it was not unheard of for the DSFL to have a battle against the ISFL when it came to the talented players that were seen as rising potential for a team trying to make a move. When league activity was at a much lower point, those players were highly coveted for the ISFL and had to be called up early in order to become the greatest players that they could be. Not all of these players would be as highly talented as expected, but this situation was putting a hold on the DSFL from maintaining its successful teams or wide range of disparity with active players. This came to a head after the widely successful Season 18 class had all managed to move around in the ISFL and left two teams behind the eight ball on active members. The Kansas City Coyotes and the Norfolk Seawolves were soon informed that their fate would be sealed as full bot teams despite the class that had just come through their doors. After the decision, Kansas City and Norfolk spent a season as little more than a stat-padding game for the talent that was still building in the DSFL. Games would regularly show up where the two teams looked worse than someone actually trying to perform the robot during a dance party. Kansas City was moved into the SFC South division to keep the DSFL balanced with their bot teams and would be the more successful of the two bot teams, going 4-10 on the year. Norfolk had little to celebrate as they lost all 14 of their games by 10 or more points. The only team that performed as badly as these two would be the young Minnesota Grey Ducks that had a passing attack and defense worse than Kansas City. Regardless of the faults, something great was waiting these two teams in the form of the Season 21 draft. After spending a season in the gutter, new managers and players were picked for the Coyotes and Seawolves which brought them back to an active status. In Season 20, both teams managed to free themselves of their bot status and became full-fledged teams that were second in their respective divisions. This gave them both an opportunity to build on something in the aforementioned draft that featured a total of 271 players entering the league! Although the teams would have to compete with new teams in the Dallas Birddogs and the London Royals, they would use their successful drafts to enter the S21 Playoffs. While the Seawolves were eliminated in the first round, the Coyotes made it to the Ultimini against the Bondi Beach Buccaneers (Myrtle Beach back in S21). They would lose 27-10. The league itself has faced many major dips in activity since that fateful 271 person class but bot teams have never returned. Both the Kansas City Coyotes and Norfolk Seawolves have had their moments in the sun as well since returning and have also avoided the threat of becoming bot teams once again. Thankfully, this has remained an event of the past as the DSFL has maintained healthy activity since.
3. Funny enough I did this task offseason, and honestly, I think it's my favorite one, so going to run it back this time around. First off, I want to take a look at what I had predicated last offseason:
In summary, in the NSFC I said the BAL and CTC were the top two teams, but could very soon be pushed out by the likes of COL and SAR. Holy chow, I actually got that pretty spot on, as COL was the one seed this season and SAR represented the NSFC in the S45 Ultimus. But how did we do in the ASFC: I said that AZ, HON, NYS, and AUS, would run the division and that's technically true. HON was the clearly the best team this regular season and AUS was the eventual Ultimus winner, so I'll count that as a portion of a win. I also said SJS would get to 6-7 wins and I was right about that as well. Lastly, I said that NOLA would get to 5-6 wins and they did just that. All in all, pretty happy with how this turned out looking back a year later, so let's try and do it again this season. Also, shoutout to me for kind of picking the Ultimus. Here's a direct quote: "Realistically, I think you’ve got to look at CTC and HON as early favorites. BUT, if you wanted to rock the boat a bit, I think you could potentially take SAR out of the NSFC and AUS out of the ASFC to both represent their conferences in the Ultimus. (Clearly AUS was was also very good last year, so it’s not THAT crazy of a pick)" Looking ahead to S46, I don't really see too much movement. If we start with the ASFC this time around, I think HON still is the team to beat, with AUS closely nipping at their heels. Beyond that. I think you've got a log jam for the 3 spot with AZ, OCO, and NYS. I do think both SJS and NOLA take huge steps this year, but the competition in this division is fierce and I think the other teams need to realistically lose a step before these two teams look to compete consistently. SJS showed huge strides and flipped those 1 score games on their head, and NOLA, who should have a strong draft this time around and has their young core beginning to hit their prime, may be able to churn out 7 wins. BUT, the big question for both of these teams is whether or not they can win the all important division games, or if they beat up on the NSFC a little longer. If we shift to the NSFC, I think we've got a real nice traffic jam in SAR, COL, and BAL. With BER going through a mini reboot, CTC losing a ton of veterans and having to reset, plus, with YKW with a small talent pool for the time being, the top 3 shouldn't change too much. However, a team I would keep my eyes on is CHI. They narrowly missed the playoffs this past season and looked poised for another run with that veteran offense that they have. Will it be enough to knock off one of the big 3 in this division? I don't know, but it almost happened this season, so it very well could happen again. Alright, alright, Ultimus prediction time: I think the league is going to be a bloodbath this year. We saw that with the ASFC and the top heavy NSFC, and it should carry through this kind of transitional season for the ISFL. Early favorites again should be HON and SAR, but if you wanted to look for some longshot predictions: I think you have to take a peak at OCO and COL. One of these teams looked great at the end of last season and was hampered by a bad start and the other was the #1 seed for NSFC. Hopefully we get close to being right agan, because I would love to walk this same path and be right for the second season in a row.
18. Well with the draft coming up and the incredible power of nominative determinism on his side, Seventh Rounder offers a multitude of benefits any prospective team willing to take a late round flier on him. The most obvious is value, if he develops as well as he intends then being taken in the rarely even seen seventh round the simulation football league draft will grant him a value ratio quite literally unheard of, due to being impossible some would say, in the history of the league. Additionally, there are rumours that he has been learning many things in training camp, and has even begun showing signs of sentience and asking if it is possible to do things other than run directly between the tackles every single player whether handed the ball or not. He hasn't taken the bold step to try, but it's curious to see that clearly the young mans mind is beginning to entertain the idea of things other than bone crunching brutality existing within the confines of the game he plays.
Word Count: 174 23. Oh boy, now there's a question for the ages. There's quite a few areas that our beloved (or loathed) sim engine could be improved within, but a key one to me would be attribute balance most likely increasing the range of attributes available to a player. I think the ones we have cover key areas, but when our leagues quarterbacks don't even have different pass accuracy types for example, there's certainly a large range of areas of real football that could be better represented within our sim engine. A lesser focus on the singular stat of speed would be to everyones benefit too, and could likely be broken up in to pace and acceleration similar to a game like football manager. This would be deep threat WRs would have to prioritise pace for their top speed too, but shorter yardage players like Running Backs or Tight Ends could opt to focus primarily in Acceleration for short bursts of speed. Ultimate there's tonnes of media worth of commentary here, but I'll keep it brief and say attribute balance & design would be my immediate primary focus. Word Count: 185 24. Oh boy, the half time show of the greatest show on earth. It's a tough one for sure. It can make or break the historical representation of that years grand tournament should it either succeed or fail spectacularly. Music is the obvious choice, and while the idea of subjecting everyone to a 4 hour half time show of Imagine Dragons is absolutely hilarious and therefore very enticing, it'd be good to see some variety within. I've always been a fan of junior teams competing in the middle of major matches, as I have done so myself many moons ago rumour has it. I'd go with showcasing some form of prospect all star game or high school bowl in a rapid fire game of football in the half time break, as it'd be a good break from tradition of over exposed pop stars and bring the event back into the footballing world, although as my board room furious reminds me, that may well hurt our wider demographic appeal. Word Count: 167 26. Well Seventh Rounder was born with the very idea of being a late round draft pick within the simulation football league as his ultimate fate and destiny, so asking the young man what he would consider attempting to achieve in life if that were not to be the case is a most perplexing question for him. After weeks and some say months of painstaking deliberation on his behalf, he eventually answered with the fact that he isn't quite sure, but he's heard some other sports have drafts too so he'd probably try to be picked in one of them. Given his size and strength, it's likely that he'd go after a career perhaps in baseball of another sport where he can put some good old fashioned brute force strength to use. When asked what he would be interested in outside the realm of professional sports entirely, he looked somewhat confused at the very nature of the question and replied with a simple huh. Word Count: 163 Craig Brand - LB: S40 DSFL First Team All Pro - DAL S41 Defensive Rookie of the Year - CTC S41 Ultimus Champion - CTC S41 NSFC Pro Bowler - CTC
01-13-2024, 07:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-15-2024, 12:28 PM by ZootTX. Edited 4 times in total.)
19. Your team has announced that they will be laying ground on a new stadium next season. What additions would you like to see included in it. (Written Task)
With the announcement of the brand new Yellowknife Wraiths logo and associated branding, the Wraiths are also breaking ground on a new Spooky stadium next season. While Yellowknife fans are certainly hardy folk and can stand the cold, Wraiths ownership has decided the new stadium will be a dome and all indoors so that fans and players alike will no longer have to worry about getting frostbite if they stay to watch the 4th quarter. Ownership also hopes that the new stadium will be able to be used for community events and bring more business to Yellowknife. Yellowknife is a small but tight knit community and the Wraiths want to give back. The stadium will also feature a state of the art medical and rehab center that is open to the public. The new stadium will include a new 'Graveyard of Honor' to recognize legendary Wraiths players. Finally, the team will be expanding the practice facilities to include more amenities for the players and staff. (165 words) 24. You’re in charge of entertainment for the Ultimus or Ultimini half-time show. What would you do? (Written Task) The Ultimus halftime show has long gone for glamor and glitz. Always some trendy, cool celebrity performer is invited to be the centerpiece of the halftime extravaganza. Lots of show, but not a lot of go, and too much lip syncing! Sure, that kind of thing often brings viewers who normally would eschew watching, but man there's just no soul left in the average halftime performance. My solution: bring back the marching bands! While some of my idea is likely because I was a band nerd, the marching band is the heart and soul of halftime entertainment at many colleges and high schools. The ISFL should have a sort of regional invitational competition. After that, the ISFL brings in the top bands that win their regional performances to perform at halftime of the Ultimus. There may not be spotlights or wardrobe malfunctions, but a good marching band performance can give you chills and seeing people normally not recognized on a international stage for their talents definitely warms the heart. (169 words) 27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why? (Written Task) I have always wanted to be a QB in the league, but until this player the timing was never right. So I was pretty excited to be able to go QB this time around. My first DSFL season was pretty awesome and we won a ring and I got some awards but outside that it has been meh. Next time around I will be going LB or RB, because they get all the stats on their respective sides of the ball and win the most awards and get the most glory. I will probably be breaking the mold and be pretty mercenary, moving around seeking stats and rings. Honestly that sounds kind of exciting because I only have to be invested in myself. After 3 players of doing what is best for a team it seems kind of freeing to be honest. RBs get to both rush and catch the ball, getting glory on the ground and in the air, while linebackers get to play all over the defensive side of the field and can slot almost anywhere in a defensive scheme. (182 words) 32. Your player has decided to start a podcast since it's what all the cool celebrities are doing these days. What would the name of your player's podcast be and what would they talk about/do on the podcast? (Written Task) Podcasts are awesome, you can sit and talk and say whatever you want (ok maybe there are some limits, looking at you Aaron Rodgers) and sometimes you can even get paid for it! Most people do it for free so the dream is definitely get paid for your shitty takes. One of the things Maximus Boudreaux is really into is smoking meats. They say that as you age you either get into military history or smoking and Max has gone with smoking. His ISFL salary allows him to have a pretty nice smoking setup, so there'd be plenty of talking about doing his own thing, while drinking beer, of course. But also he'd travel the US and maybe the world, trying different BBQ joints. And then talk about them on his podcast. Sounds pretty awesome! Will anyone listen to Max's podcast? That remains to be seen. Some players have done a good job of ruining their public persona with stupid podcast takes, so Max will have to be sure not to get too stupid on the internet. (177 words) 10 TPE |
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