(S4) - Ultimus Week

[7hawk77]

1.)
New Talent:
The Yellowknife wraiths are going to the Ultimus. Lets look at the new talent that they have which got them there.
First up is Gosh Jarden who was acquired in free agency. This player used to be the quarterback for the San Jose Sabercats but now is a wide receiver for the Yellowknife Wraiths.
During the normal season, he put up 737 yards and 6 touchdowns which is a respectable stat line. It helps that their QB is playing well.
In the big play off game, he had 4 receptions for 49 yards. Not the best stat line but he does enough to allow Bailey Cook to feast.

Another new talent that that team acquired is an unsung hero. Clee Hardrool. He was a very respectable safety that used to play on the San Jose Sabercats but now plays for Yellowknife.
During the normal season he accumulated 74 tackles, 1 forced fumble and fumble recovery, 1 sack, 6 interceptions and 7 passes defended.
In the playoff game, he had 7 tackles which worked as a good safety valve.

Interestingly enough, some wraith players ended up on the sabercats and some sabercat players ended up on the wraiths, and overall it seems like both teams benefitted greatly from these trades.
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2.)
Hate the player or the game:
It's really unfortunate that the sabercats did not make the playoffs. The ASFC is just a better diviion than the NSFC.
The Outlaws, Otters and Sabercats are all very competitive teams. The Legion aren't great but they've gotten a little better.

Unfortunately the Otters and the Sabercats ended the season 9 and 5. They both had division records of 3-3 and the same home and road splits.
The only difference between the two teams was points for and against. Points for the otters we're 421 vs sabercats 373. The points against for the otter's were 238 vs sabercats 264.

If you take a look at the NSFC teams, You have the top team at 8 wins and 6 losses. The sabercats 9-5 win looks much better than this.
The NSFC also had two teams tied with a team to get in to the play offs on tie breakers. The Liberty and Hawks are both 7 wins, 7 losses. The big difference is the Liberty are undefeated against NSFC teams. That's pretty impressive and seems like an impactful tiebreaker.

If the Sabercats replaced any team in the NSFC, it seems like they would be in the play-offs, and probably the ultimus.
Every time the ASFC won the divison, they've gone on to win the ultimus. I don't see this deviating any time soon.


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3.)
Robbed:
The Baltimore Hawks we're robbed. There, I said it.
How we're they robbed? Well they've been a highly competitive team consistently performing at the highest level. They just lost a bit too many games that should have been in their favor. Really just unlucky and here are the stats to prove it.
Lets look at them compared to the teams above them. They've scored 315 points total and allowed 324. This negative differential is bad. However lets look at the team above them. The Philadelphia liberty scored 265 points and allowed 350 points.
That team has scored less points and allowed more points than any other team. They scored 59 points which is more than the differential between the otters and the sabercats. They allowed 26 less points than philadelphia liberty.
So how did this highway robbery happen?
Well, The hawks needed to win division games. They managed to only win 2 out of the 6 division games. They faired pretty well against the much stronger ASFC but managed to really screw the pooch as far as NSFC games are concerned.
Ultimately, I think really this comes down to planning. I think that they thought some of the division games we're going to be easier and didn't plan accordingly. Playing up or down to your opponent isn't ideal if you get unlucky.

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4.)
Unsung hero:
The Otters have defeated the Outlaws in what everyone thought was going to win the Ultimus again. How did the Otters pull this upset off?
The answer is two players. Mike Boss and Dominic Verns. He threw for 469 yards without throwing a single interception. Sure, he didn't get a single throwing touchdown, but that's a ton of yards and he never once turned the ball over.
Mike boss had a pass rating of 92.7 vs Bronko's rating of 72.5. The average yard per throw was 14.7 for Mike Boss and 13.2 for Bronko.
Bronko did throw for 1 touchdown and 1 interception. But really, I think that throwing for more yards without a touchdown and no turnovers is a much better stat line.

Next up is Dominic Verns. He scored a defensive touchdown after intercepting the ball. Without this play, I don't think the Otters could have won the game.
The rest of the defense played alright. Angus Winchester picked up a sack. Really there was a defensive struggle in this game and the Otter's defense was the one that scored.

If arizona had any chance, it was because of LB, Noah Goodson. He picked up 9 tackles and 2 sacks which is a great statline for a linebacker.

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5.)
Sit down with a Fan:
@ExemplaryChad Interviewed me.
Sit Down With a Fan

356 words




Interviewed @ExemplaryChad

1.) How do you like playing for the yeti? Who is your favorite teamate?
(on the field, in the locker room)
Playing for the Yeti has been great. We’re obviously in a rebuild, brought about by some unfortunate shadiness in our recent past. But that means players like me get a chance for some real playing time, and I’m able to learn at a rate that not many rookies are. It’s a great locker room, and it’s been a really good experience all around.
As far as my favorite teammate is concerned, it’s really hard to single out guys. But just by virtue of our position groups, I’d have to say the guy that I’ve gotten closest to has been Saint. He’s really taken me under his wing and helped me to have the season that I’ve had. I look forward to playing with him for years to come.

2.) How do you feel your performance was for your first year in the NSFL?
I have mixed emotions here. I’m happy because my individual performance was, I think, pretty solid. I had one game with 13 tackles and a sack, and that’s a stat line that I’ll aim for in every game for the rest of my playing days. On the other hand, our team had very little success, so I’m not too happy about that. I’d rather get wins than tackles, so I’m hoping we can do more of that next year.

3.) What are your long term aspirations?
I want to have a positive impact on the community and on the game. It would be great to be another excellent player in the long list of my predecessors and contemporaries, but doing something bigger is really my goal. Whether it’s coaching, activism, front office work, or anything else, I want my legacy to be more than tackling dudes.

4.) What is something that few people know about you that you would like to share?

I was named after the postmodern Japanese author Haruki Murakami. He’s been writing novels and short stories for decades, and they’re truly transformative works of literature. I’d like more people to know I’m named after him because then they might read his books, and then we could have something to talk about on planes and buses, haha.

[iamslm22]

PLAYOFF SERIES MVP -

I know this is going to be a boring pick. The Arizona Outlaws and Orange County Otters played in the dessert in Arizona and they were the underdogs. The AZ Outlaws had won the previous three Ultimus trophies and each and every single season they had faced the Orange County Otters, and beat them every year in the conference championship game. Every year the Otters come in thinking they have a chance, but this year they had their star QB ready to go. Mike Boss was the rightful MVP of the league last year, and this year is the odds on favorite to win the award. He came into this game with an absolute vengeance and was awesome. Though he did not throw any touch downs he played mistake free ball and threw for a ton of yards. Mike Boss was 32 for 51 and threw for an astounding four hundred and sixty nine yards. The OC Otters were happy to win this game and they have to be thanking their star QB. He's the reason they won this game, and with his talents you have to expect that the Otters will be favorite to win the Ultimus and he'll be favored to win the Ultimus MVP. (207)

SIT DOWN WITH A STAR-

I got to sit down with Wraiths co-GM / Defensive start Bjork Bjornsenn @bovo

Q - As the captain for the Yellowknife Defense, you were one of the big anchors on the team. Were you surprised with how the Wraiths did this season?

A - We were definitely surprised. Our goal was just to make playoffs... we saw that as our best case scenario as this year was going to be a rebuilding year. The fact that we won the NSFC in both regular and post season was certainly a surprise, but I think in hindsight it makes sense. We’ve got a fantastic core group of players, and while I think it’s surprising that we did so well this year, I don’t think it’s surprising that these players are finding success

Q - How did the Offensive Line Changes impact the team? Would you have traded Chris Orosz if Akselsen couldn't be a QB?

A - OL changes were huge. Our only OL position switches were Akselsen to QB and Floggity to CB, and they’ve both been extremely effective and important to our team. We probably would not have, or we would have asked for more for Orosz... we knew we were going to be rebuilding anyways even with Orosz because of all the pieces we lost. Trading him was what made our season a “successful” rebuild since we got Hardrool and another 1st round pick, and we still had a franchise QB. I honestly have no idea what we would have done, it was a hard enough decision at the time even with the OL changes

Q - How do you think you'll match up with the Otters in the Ultimus? Do you expect you'll be able to win?

A - We match up pretty terribly to be honest. But we beat them before on their home turf and there’s no doubt in my mind that we have the chance to do it again. We are hoping to pull off the biggest Ultiumus upset of all time.

Q - Clee Hardrool all the way. I think he should be defensive player of the year to be honest. His stats aren’t absolutely killer (though he leads the league in defensive touchdowns) but he was easily our biggest impact player and single-handily made our typically iffy defense much much better (even after losing one of our top CBs and starting LBs). If you think the Wraiths performing as well as they did is a huge surprise, then I think you need to acknowledge that Hardrool was a huge reason why.

ROBBED

Obviously I am going to write about my team, the two time defending NSFC Conference Champions that some how missed the playoffs this year. It was truly a series of unfortunate events that kept the Hawks out of the playoffs. Obviously the disappointment started with a devastating loss on the road in Colorado. It was an incredibly unlucky game, and the players in Baltimore have no idea how the heck that game happened. Avon Blocksdale barely threw for over 50% and the team struggled. Avon also threw for no TDs and an interception that was returned for a touch down. The Pick 6 wound up being the differentiation in the game and it helped cost Baltimore a playoff spot. In addition to that the Hawks also had a bad game at home against the Philadelphia Liberty. In that game the Hawks were actually better than the liberty in most aspects. They threw for more yards and ran for more yards but they gave up an astounding 2 kick off returns for touch downs. If that is not unlucky I have no idea what is. That really cost Baltimore a shot at the play offs and allowed the Liberty the right to get in to the playoffs only to lose the Yellowknife Wraiths. 212

UNSUNG HERO

The Orange County Otters had an incredible playoff run. And you know the typical stars. You know Mike Boss. You know about Bradley Westfield. You know about Robert Phelps. On the defensive side you know about Angus Winchester and you know about Gregor Clegane. But the Orange County Otters had a rookie on offense that absolutely killed it in the playoffs. Tight End Steven O'Sullivan was great in the playoffs. In each game he had at least 4 receptions and at least 80 yards. In the first game, the conference championship, SOS was a downfield threat. Dude had only four receptions but wound up with 93 yards including an incredible play where he went an awesome 43 yards before being brought down. He also added a pancake without allowing a sack. In the Ultimus though dude was even better. He had an astounding 9 receptions for 85 yards. He was an absolute chain mover for the Otters leading the team in receptions. In addition to his killer receiving in the Ultimus game SOS also added another 3 pancakes and did not allow a sack. This kid is going to be a star in the NSFL as long as he is catching passes from star QB Mike Boss. I don't think after his playoff performance, and what should be a unanimous rookie of the year campaign, he will fly under the radar much longer. 233

[HENDRIX]

1. Robbed: Write about why a team that failed to make the playoffs should have over somebody else. Can be completed at any point

This will be a bit biased as it will be coming from the Baltimore GM, but the Baltimore Hawks got robbed this season. They were robbed by the sim gods. The Hawks lost several games this season when they were prohibitive favorites. But in all of them untimely interceptions for fumbles in the red zone killed them. Special teams were also damaged by this mysterious force. Throughout the year the most talented kicker in the league had five missed extra points. Five! The guy is able to kick 59 and 61 yarders with ease but he missed 5 twenty yard extra points? Robbed. Then there was the kick returns. Too often the Hawks KR got tackled within the five yard line, pinning the Baltimore offense against their own goal line. In then in the season finale against the Liberty at home, with a playoff berth on the line, the Liberty returned not just one but TWO kick returns for touchdowns, a simply incredible occurrence. I might sound like Jules from Pulp Fiction, but the only way that could have happened was divine intervention. The Hawks might send the most players to the pro-bowl out of any team, but they were not good enough for the sim gods this season. (209)

2. Playoff Series MVP: Choose an MVP for one of the playoff series and write about why you chose them. Must be completed after the playoff series you write about

It is quite obvious the series MVP of the ASFC championship game was QB Mike Boss of the Orange County Otters. The game plan was simple on paper: pass a lot. Which is the same plan as it has been the last two seasons. OC has supreme confidence in their signal caller. Putting the ball in his hands as often as possible is their best game plan. On the day he completed 32 out of 51 passes for 469 yards. It is surprising for him not to throw a touchdown pass, but the OC offense was moving up and down the field all game long. They only attempted 16 rushes, with a few of those being on the goal line, and then a few more at the end of the game when they were draining the clock. He also didn't have a turnover despite that kind of work load. Very impressive. He carved up the Outlaws defense. Wide receivers Phelps and Westfield were getting open all day on the outside while TE O'Sullivan worked the middle of the field and hauled in ten catches. Those 469 passing yards by Boss is a new playoff record in the NSFL. For that he deserves the ASFC game MVP. (206)

3. Matchup Nightmares: Pick an offensive and defensive player who will be going up against each other and why it will be a nightmare for one of them.(Must be completed before the playoff series you write about)

If the Yellowknife Wraiths want to shock the world and win the Ultimus trophy, I have a feeling Wraiths WR Bailey Cook is going to have to dominate his matchup with Orange County Otters CB Marc Spector. Cook is a bigger and stronger athlete, so he'll have to rely on positioning and jumping ability to beat Spector. Because in flat out speed Spector has a significant advantage. Over the course of the season Cook accumulated 84 receptions, 1267 yards, and 9 touchdowns. On the flip side Spector amassed a league leading twenty-two pass deflection along with five interceptions. Look for Cook to work the middle of the field a lot to keep the chains moving for Yellowknife. In the two previous matchups between these two teams each won a game, and Cook did Cook things totaling 9 catches, 146 yards, and a touchdown. That's a solid two game total. In the NSFC championship game against Philadelphia's strong secondary Cook had 5 catches, 104 yards, and a touchdown. So he has great momentum going into this season finale. It is arguable Spector is a lesser player than either Oles or Cushing, so the Wraiths would be smart to target him early and often. (202)

4. Root for the Underdog: Pick an away team in an upcoming game and try to convince yourself (and us) why they can win. (Must be completed before the playoff series you write about)

The Yellowknife Wraiths are huge underdogs tonight against the Orange County Otters in the Ultimus, however, they could pull out the win. They don't have the overall depth throughout their roster like OCO does, but they do have several players that are the best, or near the best at their respective positions. On offense let's start with QB Mat Akselsen, he is a super athletic QB that likes to work the middle of the field. His elusiveness in the pocket and scrambling ability is a lot like Russell Wilson's of the NSFL, he is simply more athletic than all the defensive linemen running after him. This ability to extend plays leads to more time to make completions. His top receiving target is Bailey Cook. Cook is a bigger and stronger type of WR. He gains position on the corner backs that he dwarfs in size and could use his world class catching ability to make the reception. On defense they have two elite defensive linemen in Maddox and Bjornson. The Otters will be passing 75% of the time, so a constant pass rushing presence from those two is absolutely critical. If they get in OCO QB's face, it could lead to a turnover or two that could make the difference. (210)

[toivo]

Championship Game Recap
Five minutes left in the in the game, it's 4th down and the Otters have the ball at the 25. Otters are up 27-13, so there's no need to gamble and try to for the conversion. The field goal squad is sent out, Bradley Madlad is going for the 30 yard field goal. This Ultimus game is being played on a cold windy night. The only way conditions for this kick could be worse is if it were raining or snowing. Madlad had been practicing on the sideline for the kick. The Otters get out there and snap the footba.... The Wraiths call a timeout before the play was actually started, but Otters go through the cycle nonetheless. The snapper and holder connect, Madlad kicks, and it goes wide. Madlad now must take this timeout thinking about what just happened. The timeout is over, and the Otters line up once again. Snap, kick, it's good and the Otters are up 30-13 now. This lead would prove to be very important. Having the 17 point lead with just 5 left in the third gives Orange County optimism, they could still probably get a few more scoring drives out of Boss. The Otters managed to hold onto the lead for the rest of the game and win it all.


Interview with a star (@Jiggly_333)

:interview: Hello, Mr. Jenkins. I must first ask you if you are the Leroy Jenkins from the World of Warcraft?

“No, I’m not. I know, people are always asking that question; but unfortunately I have no relation to that person.”

:interview: Second, you showed up big in the conference final against Outlaws. Had a touchdown, and helped Orange County become the first team to win a playoff game on the road. Do you think you were the driving force for that victory? Did the team feed off you?

“I think all of us really wanted it. At the beginning of this year when I announced my retirement to the team, Angus Winchester instantly stood up and told me, ‘You’re not leaving without a ring,’ and we’ve held ourselves to that challenge. It’s amazing that we were able to meet that challenge in that way and it’s a great feeling to be those 6 points that get us farther than we’ve ever been.”

:interview: Third, winning the championship is the dream. Will your career be complete at that point?

“I think there’s always a ‘what if’ whenever a player retires, especially when you retire so young. But I think that if my final moments in an OC Otters uniform are spent winning this organization our first championship, I can be happy with my contributions. This season has gone pretty well and it’s almost making me reconsider my retirement, but I don’t think Koda will let me back out of it at this point.”

:interview: Finally, will Orange County be back in the final next season?

“I don’t know. It’s possible. I can’t see this team changing that much over the offseason other than my retirement. We’ll see.”

Hate the player or the game

The Arizona Outlaws should not have made the playoffs. The loss to Orange County showed that they were not ready to compete for the Ultimus for the 4th time in a row. Let's look at the Outlaws. The name says it all, they have no respect for rules or laws. They are a dirty team that roughs up other teams. Rookie Noah Goodson put it all on the line in the game against Orange County, but perhaps not when the team really needed it. Those rough tackles, leading with the helmet, they might have seem good at the time, but ultimately held the team back. The game had a lot of questions about it. Having to be restarted after some league mishandling. All in all, I think the Outlaws should have either played better and run through Orange County, or stop the charades of being a contender. Being a pretender, putting band-aids on positional needs, all that harms the team in the long run. The final game of the season is to be played today, and the Outlaws will be watching it from home. Perhaps another team, one that is young up-and-coming could have used the playoff berth to inject some enthusiasm and life into their franchise.

Unsung Hero Billboard

[37thchamber]

Robbed: Write about why a team that failed to make the playoffs should have over somebody else. Can be completed at any point

Due to the two conference setup -- even though every team plays every other team twice -- the current lineal champions of the NSFL, and third best team by overall record were left out of the playoffs this season. That is the definition of robbery. The Sabercats ended the season with a record good enough to be NSFC Regular Season Champions, but had to watch the playoffs from home due to the misfortune of being in the same conference as the Otters and Outlaws. Literally one NSFC team (Yellowknife Wraiths) hosted the Sabercats and won last season, the other three all lost. At home. The only home losses the Sabercats suffered were at the hands of last season's Ultimus teams. This is a team with two top ten receivers, a top four runningback and arguably the best defence in the league. How the league can justify this imbalance between conferences, and thus, depriving the Sabercats of a playoff berth is beyond me. If this sort of injustice continues, perhaps the league will need to look at restructuring things. Expansion might help, but that doesn't seem to be on the horizon in the near future, so the alternative -- if we care about fairness -- is to restructure the playoff setup. Do away with conference championship games and put the top four teams in the playoffs? Radical move, but it might be for the best.

(230 words)

Hate the player or the game: Tell us which team made the playoffs and shouldn't have, or which team didn't and should have? (Can be completed at any point)

Contrary to the expectations of around 90% of NSFL fans, the Baltimore Hawks failed to make the playoffs this season. There are several reasons for this, like the simple fact that they lost what should have been a gimme against the Yeti, or their generally inconsistent play... or their double losses against the Liberty. Hold up. Let's look at that last one again. They lost twice to the Liberty? Including a home game? Wait wait wait. That home game was the last one of the regular season? And they lost by two? After failing a two point conversion in the last ninety seconds after a touchdown? This is dramatic stuff. Hand me the popcorn. Really, the Hawks' absence from the playoffs can be traced to this very moment. Brian Wheat's touchdown put them in position to tie the game back up at thirty-five apiece, forcing overtime in The Aviary. They have arguably the league's best runningback this season, and two top ten receivers. How did they not convert? Well, two point conversion rates are less than fifty percent so... maybe that's not why they didn't make it after all. A better question is... how did the Liberty manage not one, but TWO huge kickoff return touchdowns in that game? In fact, let's ask how the Liberty twice defied the odds this season to sweep the NSFC. Not only did they have the absurd fortune of two long kickoff return TDs and a failed two-point conversion against the Hawks, but their road win over the NSFC Champion Wraiths came after a field goal in the last thirty seconds. What I'm trying to say is... the Liberty were really f'n lucky this season, and probably shouldn't have made the playoffs.

(288 words)

That Magic Moment: Pick one moment from a playoff game and describe what made it so amazing to watch. (Must be completed after the game you write about)

Leroy Jenkins had rushed for less than twenty yards in the game so far, and the Otters' run game had been genuinely terrible overall. But his moment came. Taking the handoff on the Arizona 2-yard line, Jenkins -- who I like to imagine roared his name triumphantly as he did this -- launched himself bodily through the Outlaws defensive line to pick up the go-ahead touchdown. There was plenty of time left for Arizona's bad guys, the reigning champions, to fire back, but there was a definite change in atmosphere. Somehow, most people watching knew it. An agonising four minutes later, King Bronko attempted to find star wideout Josh Garden on 4th and 6, but couldn't. And it was all but confirmed. Leroy Jenkins had scored the decisive points, the decisive touchdown in the ASFC Championship game. That this touchdown was the one that put the Otters in position to keep the Outlaws out of the Ultimus game for the first time in the history of the league was only part of the magic. The other part being, of course, that Jenkins has already announced his intent to retire at the end of the season. Only one play could be more magical, really. And that's if he repeats the trick in the Ultimus game.

(212 words)

Unsung Hero: Who was the unsung hero of the playoffs, convince us. (Can be completed after the Ultimus game)

The unsung hero of the playoffs, in my eyes, is the man they call "BroSullivan". Tight Ends in this league not called Paul DiMirio generally get no love. Arguably the best performance from a tight end came from a guy so roided up, he is said to have destroyed his GM's phone just by rage shouting at him on a phonecall [allegedly this is why Gordon Gekko's phone was destroyed before the league investigation into Carmel Gibson; when Gekko called Gibson to inform him he was being cut, the latter went into a presumably drug-fuelled rage so potent it actually destroyed Gekko's phone - Ed.]. The GOAT TE changed positions, for crying out loud! What I'm saying is that tight ends get no love in this league. So why is BroSullivan a hero? Well... he's sort of a safety blanket for Mike Boss. Hear me out. Mike Boss is undoubtedly the best quarterback in the league. This isn't even up for debate at this point. But in the Otters' win over the Outlaws, he targeted BroSullivan more frequently than any of his other weapons. In fact, BroSullivan made more catches than Westfield and Phelps combined, often picking up the relatively short gains that keep the chains moving (Fact: four of six attempts on third down were completed to BroSullivan). Without the safety valve that is BroSullivan, I wager that the Otters passing offense would have looked a lot more like their anemic run game. BroSullivan deserves credit.

(246 words)

[Vikain]

A team that truly got robbed from the postseason are the Baltimore Hawks. With a 2 game lead over the Philadelphia Liberty all the Hawks had to do was win one game from the last two games they had left. One being against the Orange County Otters in which they lost 24 - 7 and the last game of the season against the Liberty who were creeping up on the standings. But unfortunately they lost in a heartbreaking loss of 35 - 33. Baltimore Hawks issues could be pointed at their passing game with 18 td and 20 interceptions but looking at Philadelphia they had 16 td and 26 interceptions. Hawks were second in the league in rushing yards with 1404 yards and league leading 15 touchdowns so that could not be the issues that plagued Baltimore. But defensively it seemed that the Hawks had some issues. For one they were second to last in tackling with 669 total tackles only behind...well the Yellowknife Wraiths who won the division. Hawks also had least amount of Forced Fumbles but in everything else they were mostly in the middle of the pack. So it seems it was just an unlucky break that created this choke for the Baltimore Hawks and it also did not help that Philadelphia were undefeated in the division.


For the first round of playoffs there were great plays from great players. I will now discuss some of the MVPs from the two games that deserve some recognition. Let's start with the NSFC with the Liberty and Wraiths. A game that ended 10 - 17 the defense wasn't giving up much, one offensive played his heart out. Bailey Cook would record 5 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Cook was definitely the best player in this series making play after play to keep the chains moving. In the ASFC Otters took on the reigning champs the Outlaws and defeated them 22 - 17 which made everyone in the NSFL cheer as the Outlaws will not win the Ultimus. M. Boss had a really good game throwing the ball even though he did not throw a touchdown or an interception he kept the chains moving and gaining yardage. He went 32/51 with 469 throwing yards. One of his best games in the playoffs and it pushes his team past one of the best dynasties. Now the Otters are poised to have the upper hand in the Ultimus and could be the second team ever to win it. It will be very interesting how it plays out.

[loco]

[Apache_Chief]

Future Talent

Playoff Matchups

Conference Final MVP Sig

Championship Banner

[Saliva^]

Robbed

Nobody had the balls to predict the fail of the Baltimore Hawks when they rolled over their oponents in pre-season and then amassing the 5-1 record. Then they lost to Philly, but the win against the Otters calmed the critics down. But then something unimaginable happened. Two losses against Philly still would be ok as they were 2-5 at that time and Baltimore still looked nice. But when you're losing to the league worst team in Colorado, you know you're fucked. This loss pretty much robbed Baltimore chances for the playoffs. That also screwed up their conference record - out of three NSFC contender teams they had the worst 2-4 record. It's funny because they had a better goal differental than the Liberty: more point for, less points against, but that didn't matter anyway. Why this happened? I guess they were weak morally - while Philly was intentionally sucking against ASFC teams but busting their ass against every ASFC team (6-0 conference record), Baltimore was trying to get every game and got burned soon. And all these losses, especially against Colorado just made it even worse. So now they need to make up their mind to not having these collapses again and maybe finally try to get the Ultimus Cup.

Playoff Review

So the Baltimore Hawks team was kinda robbed from the playoffs, but it didn't matter to Philly and Yellowknife who somehow ''failed the rebuild and instead went to the playoffs from the number one seed''. The match was pretty defensive - teams only scored 27 points combined. The start of the match was very sloppy - both team defense made it clear they will make every offensive player's life a nightmare. So the halftime score was 3-3: first Harris and Lombardi scored their field goals. The fun started in the second half when Fox North finally found a hole in the Wraiths' defense and made the first TD of the game. However, Askins quickly restored the tie game: 10-10 after three quarters. In the last quarter, Bailey Cook managed to repeat Askins' success and this was the last TD of the game. 17-10, this was the finals score and the Wraiths made the finals.

I won't say much about the ASFC conference finals, but that match was more entertaining. Arizona was trying to take the Solis trophy for the fourth time straight, but the Otters had none of that. They were leading the game for most par of this matchup; however, Garden managed to put his team to the lead. But it was Orange County who had the last laugh - Leroy Jenkins TD put Zona to sleep and they made it to the finals for the first time, just like Yellowknife. 22-17, OCO wins.

Championship Game Recap

Which brings us to the Ultimus cup game between Yellowkinfe Wraiths and Orange County Otters. Both teams made the finals for the first time so this matchup was supposed to be interesting despite the strength of the Otters' offense. I don't know why the index wasn't updated so I won't do a detalized recap, but as far as I recall the Wraiths made the first strike. However, the Otters quickly tied this game up thanks to Floggity mistake. Unfortunately for Jogn, he was more Floppity in that match as this wasn't the first mistake that lead to another TD from the OCO. In the late stage of the game the Otters had the 30-13 lead. Yellowknife made a good run and they weren't far from tie this game up, but at the end they didn't have much power to make a miracle. 30-23, the Otters team becomes the Ultimus champion for the first time of their franchise history. Also, if I recall right, Clee Hardrool had 6 tackles and 1 pick so it's safe to say he had nice two games (13 tackles and 1 pick) so I hope we'll get it next season. And gratz to OCO and fuck them at the same time.

Hate the player or the game

It's hard to say much about the ASFC conference - the Cats were a legit contender, however, the Otters also deserved the playoffs and they eventually won the Ultimus cup so no complaints here. But still it feels like this wasn't the most right outcome. And I'm not talking about the Otters' team, but when the team goes 9-5 and it still isn't enough to make playoffs, something is wrong here. The Cats have come a long way from being league's laughing stock and sucking good D's to the Ultimus worthy team. But then the tiebraker happened and even the 9-5 record wasn't enough. Even the NSFC #1 seed had the worse record and then Philly and Baltimore had the 7-7 record. Decent? Of course, but this is no 9-5. So I assume the Cats' were very disappointed with the outcome - they even traded the best steal ever Clee Hardrool to make a push and still no result. I'm not surprised if they were thinking about making a suggestion about splitting the conferences to make it a one big NSFL league. But no matter how they are disappointed now, they have a good team so let's see if they can be more lucky next season.

[jordan327]

Dude, the san jose sabercats totally should have made the playoffs. Have you ever just looked at that team and thought wow thats a really good team because I know I have many times. They start with one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Chris Orosz, who leads the offense. They also have Yates, one of the most efficient runningbacks in the entire National Simulation Football League, to help take some of the pressure off of Orosz. Their receivers are also fantastic featuring former National Simulation Football League Ultimus champion Mayran Jackson along with homegrown talent Shane Weston. This doesn't even mention Darren Smallwood, who despite being a receiver plays at tight end most of the time. Moving on to the defense, their completely stout there also. They have Dan Miller at defensive tackle who is likely the best defensive tackle in the league. The linebacker corps are headed up by offensive lineman turned defensive machine Vincent Sharpei, and they also have one of the best cornerback duos in the league in Benson Bayley along with John Canton. Combined, they have more interceptions then any other duo on one team in the league. The Sabercats should have won the playoffs.

my gimp is broken i can only access this wack paintbrush lol
The real hero of the playoffs was Ethan Hunt. Nobody will believe me but I am 100% sure he was the only reason the Wraiths won a single game this year. This man simply radiates energy and positivity. In fact, it's not just a saying, he actually does it. Scientists were so interested that before the game they borrowed a few of the players from the Wraiths. They put Ethan Hunt in a room with teammates then messured tests such as vertical jump, 40 yard dash, bench press and shuttle. They then repeated the experiment without Ethan Hunt in the room. The 40 yard dash proved that with Ethan hunt in the room, players cut down on their time by 0.2 seconds. In the vertical jump, players jumped an extra 6 inches with Ethan hunt in the room. In the bench press, players got an extra 4 reps when Ethan Hunt was in the room. In the shuttle, players cut 0.4 seconds off their time when Ethan Hunt was in the room. This just shows that Ethan Hunt is the greatest player in the history of the National Simulation Football League and was the unsung hero of the playoffs for the Wraiths.