5) Awards season is a big part of the offseason festivities. Take the stand, in 400 words or more, for one or more players that are not your own, and argue why they should receive awards glory. They can be your teammates or anyone in the league. How did their stats and on the field contribution contribute to their case this year?
Easton Cole should be the MVP. Full stop. When parsing MVP cases there are two different lines of thinking that combine into the overarching case for someone. The first is pure statistical production: Did the player perform at a statistically dominant level in comparison to his peers? The second is narrative: Did the player have a narrative that makes his case especially interesting or compelling? Was his team the most dominant in the league, and if so, is that unique for them? Did his team have a roller coaster of a season where the turning point hinged on his play? The best MVP picks will have a compelling argument for how they meet both criteria.
Easton Cole meets both criteria better than any player in the league. He was second in the league in passing yards with 3293 - 136 yards behind the league leader in Jay Cue. He was second in the league in passing touchdowns with 26 - 3 touchdowns behind the league leader in Cooter Bigsby and 5 touchdowns more than Dan Wright who was second with 21. Cole was third in the league in Quarterback Rating at 90.7 - trailing only Dan Wright (95.2) and Cooter Bigsby (93.6). He was third in the league in yards per pass attempt with 7.3 - trailing only Dan Wright who had 7.39 yards per pass attempt.
In terms of pure passing numbers Cole is second in almost category - with no consistent first place finisher. Cole was fourth in the league in rushing for a quarterback with 203 on 27 attempts. This is an average of 7.5 yards per carry, the highest among all quarterbacks. He also rushed for 3 touchdowns, which was tied for second most in the league with Wolfie McDummy. They both trailed only Franklin Armstrong who had 6. Armstrong also had 720 yards on the ground - for a 6.8 average yards per carry.
This leaves Cole with Bigsby, Armstrong, and Dan Wright as his primary competition for the award among quarterbacks. He has the second most total yards among those quarterbacks with 3496 - trailing only Armstrong who had 3642 yards. Cole had more touchdowns, however, with 29 total compared to Armstrong's 23.
Cole has the statistical production to be considered an MVP candidate, but what sets him apart from these other quarterbacks is his narrative. Six games into the season the Austin Copperheads were 1-4-1, far outside of the playoff hunt. They finished the season on a 7 game winning streak, primarily due to Cole changing his playing style and swapping from a pass heavy, big armed quarterback to a more nimble, speedier quarterback around the halfway point of the season. This was the catalyst behind Austin's surge to the playoffs as the second seed in the ASFC. Cole had his true MVP moment in on the road against the Orange County Otters in Week 11 when he scampered for 63 yards with 4 minutes left in the game to seal the victory for the Copperheads and all but assure a playoff berth.
6) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?
At the beginning of the season many made the argument that the Austin Copperheads had gone all in for an Ultimus. This characterization came primarily after they traded their ninth round pick in the Season 22 NSFL draft for Ryan Leaf Jr. This characterization of the Copperheads, however, isn't quite correct. Although acquiring Leaf was a win now move it came at the cost of a ninth round pick that was probably a flyer at best. The rest of the moves the Copperheads made set themselves up for success in the future.
The acquisition of Colt Mendoza (S22 Cornerback - 387 TPE) with the first overall pick was an investment in the war room for the future and gave the Copperheads a max earning defensive back to groom behind Dermot Lavelle Jr. Mendoza is also on a comparable timeline to Awkward Sexjoke (S20 Safety - 597 TPE) and Gregor Macgregor (S21 Safety - 372 TPE). Mendoza will likely start the season with around 450 TPE and help anchor the Copperheads secondary for the next few seasons. To give him more time to develop, the Copperheads acquired Jack Rambo (S15 Safety - 571 TPE) from the Chicago butchers for what boiled down to being a handful of mid-round pick swaps. He was on a multi-year contract which means the Copperheads have an excess of quality, starting caliber options in the secondary going forward.
On the offensive side of the ball although Ryan Leaf Jr. heads into retirement the Copperheads have his heir apparent ready to come up from the DSFL in Kichwa Jones. Several teams - such as the Honolulu Hahalua - proved this season that you can get high value production out of lower TPE running backs, so Kichwa will slot in a valuable addition/replacement on the offense for Leaf Jr.
Another season also gives wide receiver Eddie Jeeta another time to develop. Although Rod Tidwell will regress a bit further, he'll still be a viable starting option at wide receiver. Jeeta's improvement will only add to the plethora of weapons quarterback Easton Cole has in the passing game. There is immense value in having depth on an NSFL roster - and the Copperheads definitely have that on both sides of the ball.
They also have the room in the budget to make a free agency splash. Ryan Leaf Jr.'s $5 million contract will be off the books, as will Gregor Mcgregor's $3 million position switch and the $2.3 million fine that was assessed. This should free up enough money in the Copperhead's budget to sign on high value free agent to complete their roster for the coming year. A roster that is stacked with talent on both sides of the ball still.
Easton Cole should be the MVP. Full stop. When parsing MVP cases there are two different lines of thinking that combine into the overarching case for someone. The first is pure statistical production: Did the player perform at a statistically dominant level in comparison to his peers? The second is narrative: Did the player have a narrative that makes his case especially interesting or compelling? Was his team the most dominant in the league, and if so, is that unique for them? Did his team have a roller coaster of a season where the turning point hinged on his play? The best MVP picks will have a compelling argument for how they meet both criteria.
Easton Cole meets both criteria better than any player in the league. He was second in the league in passing yards with 3293 - 136 yards behind the league leader in Jay Cue. He was second in the league in passing touchdowns with 26 - 3 touchdowns behind the league leader in Cooter Bigsby and 5 touchdowns more than Dan Wright who was second with 21. Cole was third in the league in Quarterback Rating at 90.7 - trailing only Dan Wright (95.2) and Cooter Bigsby (93.6). He was third in the league in yards per pass attempt with 7.3 - trailing only Dan Wright who had 7.39 yards per pass attempt.
In terms of pure passing numbers Cole is second in almost category - with no consistent first place finisher. Cole was fourth in the league in rushing for a quarterback with 203 on 27 attempts. This is an average of 7.5 yards per carry, the highest among all quarterbacks. He also rushed for 3 touchdowns, which was tied for second most in the league with Wolfie McDummy. They both trailed only Franklin Armstrong who had 6. Armstrong also had 720 yards on the ground - for a 6.8 average yards per carry.
This leaves Cole with Bigsby, Armstrong, and Dan Wright as his primary competition for the award among quarterbacks. He has the second most total yards among those quarterbacks with 3496 - trailing only Armstrong who had 3642 yards. Cole had more touchdowns, however, with 29 total compared to Armstrong's 23.
Cole has the statistical production to be considered an MVP candidate, but what sets him apart from these other quarterbacks is his narrative. Six games into the season the Austin Copperheads were 1-4-1, far outside of the playoff hunt. They finished the season on a 7 game winning streak, primarily due to Cole changing his playing style and swapping from a pass heavy, big armed quarterback to a more nimble, speedier quarterback around the halfway point of the season. This was the catalyst behind Austin's surge to the playoffs as the second seed in the ASFC. Cole had his true MVP moment in on the road against the Orange County Otters in Week 11 when he scampered for 63 yards with 4 minutes left in the game to seal the victory for the Copperheads and all but assure a playoff berth.
6) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?
At the beginning of the season many made the argument that the Austin Copperheads had gone all in for an Ultimus. This characterization came primarily after they traded their ninth round pick in the Season 22 NSFL draft for Ryan Leaf Jr. This characterization of the Copperheads, however, isn't quite correct. Although acquiring Leaf was a win now move it came at the cost of a ninth round pick that was probably a flyer at best. The rest of the moves the Copperheads made set themselves up for success in the future.
The acquisition of Colt Mendoza (S22 Cornerback - 387 TPE) with the first overall pick was an investment in the war room for the future and gave the Copperheads a max earning defensive back to groom behind Dermot Lavelle Jr. Mendoza is also on a comparable timeline to Awkward Sexjoke (S20 Safety - 597 TPE) and Gregor Macgregor (S21 Safety - 372 TPE). Mendoza will likely start the season with around 450 TPE and help anchor the Copperheads secondary for the next few seasons. To give him more time to develop, the Copperheads acquired Jack Rambo (S15 Safety - 571 TPE) from the Chicago butchers for what boiled down to being a handful of mid-round pick swaps. He was on a multi-year contract which means the Copperheads have an excess of quality, starting caliber options in the secondary going forward.
On the offensive side of the ball although Ryan Leaf Jr. heads into retirement the Copperheads have his heir apparent ready to come up from the DSFL in Kichwa Jones. Several teams - such as the Honolulu Hahalua - proved this season that you can get high value production out of lower TPE running backs, so Kichwa will slot in a valuable addition/replacement on the offense for Leaf Jr.
Another season also gives wide receiver Eddie Jeeta another time to develop. Although Rod Tidwell will regress a bit further, he'll still be a viable starting option at wide receiver. Jeeta's improvement will only add to the plethora of weapons quarterback Easton Cole has in the passing game. There is immense value in having depth on an NSFL roster - and the Copperheads definitely have that on both sides of the ball.
They also have the room in the budget to make a free agency splash. Ryan Leaf Jr.'s $5 million contract will be off the books, as will Gregor Mcgregor's $3 million position switch and the $2.3 million fine that was assessed. This should free up enough money in the Copperhead's budget to sign on high value free agent to complete their roster for the coming year. A roster that is stacked with talent on both sides of the ball still.