#5
Today I'd like to talk about the greatest little boats to ever float. The team that has consistently put together winning seasons and has finally, this season, brought home the championship. Of course, they did it the year AFTER I left, but that's okay. I'm not bitter or anything. That's right, it's time to talk about YOUR Ultimini Champions - The Norfolk SeaWolves!
Norfolk put together a season for the ages, and they were able to accomplish such a feat because of exceptional play in every facet of the game. A team with a locker room as cohesive as this one was bound to win it all at some point, and this was the year they finally put it all together. We're going to dive into each positional grouping and look at the standouts. And there are quite a few standouts. These players, with their powers combined (like Captain Planet), are the reason why Norfolk got to hoist the trophy this season.
Let's start at quarterback, where the two-headed monster of Suleiman Ramza and Luke Skywalker towered above their positional counterparts. Ramza led the DSFL in passer rating (of players who threw more than one pass), and the pair combined for 21 passing touchdowns which was far and away the most passing TDs by any team in the league. Ramza would also add a pair of touchdowns on the ground. Suleiman Ramza's completion percentage was also tops in the league (again, for players who threw more than one pass) with Luke Skywalker finishing close behind at 3rd overall in completion percentage. Of course, the quarterback can't do it all alone. They need someone to watch their back. Protecting these two was the job of Thad Pennington, Jr. In his Pro Bowl winning season he tied for second in the league with 49 pancake blocks and did not allow a single sack. Clearly the SeaWolves dominance at the quarterback position was a major factor in the team's success.
Similarly, Norfolk's rushing attack was led my a dynamic duo. The squad primarily featured two backs: Quanter Skrills and Captain Rogers. The second year player and the rookie made the ground game run like a well-oiled machine. The two combined for over 2000 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Both numbers put the pair near the top of the rankings for running backs. Rogers' 5.1 yards per carry and longest run of 67 yards were also near the top of the league. Not bad for a rookie, right? You can begin to see a pattern emerging: another dominant position for the champion SeaWolves.
Dre Matthews led the pack at wide receiver for the SeaWolves. He was joined by players such as Logan Hex, Reynaud Haugland, and Ragnar Krashwagen. Matthews led the league in receiving touchdowns, and his 937 yards was good for fourth best in the league (and only five yards away from second). Beyond Matthews the rest of the pass catchers took on a committee approach with eight other players chipping in. Talk about depth. Norfolk would finish third in the league in receiving yards with 2,405 and their aforementioned 21 receiving touchdowns was a dominating 8 more touchdowns than the next closest team (Minnesota with 13 ). This is another area where the team dominated the competition.
As we can see, Norfolk's offense was at or near the top in almost every category. There was virtually no stopping them when they had the ball, whether it be through air or on the ground. But that's not the whole story. Let's continue...
Defensively Norfolk finished as a middle of the road team. If you look at the aggregate stats you won't find anything that jumps out at you, but if you dig a little deeper you'll see that the team did have some individual standouts. Linebacker Shepherd Marshall finished the season with 145 tackles, good for second best in the league. Not far behind Marshall was his rookie linebacker counterpart Adelie de Pengu. The flightless bird tallied 121 tackles putting him in the #6 spot in total tackles. Rookie defensive tackle Braxton Sinclair led the DSFL with nine sacks. Quarterbacks were forced to account for him on every snap. This defensive unit may have seemed average on paper, but clearly there were some individual stars giving it their all out there. These individual performances kept the defense together, allowing the rest of the team to do their thing.
There is a third phase of the game. One that is often overlooked, but not in Norfolk. That's right, we're talking about special teams. Daria Guava-Fresca* was the top kicker in the DSFL, as evidenced by her earning a Pro Bowl nod. Guava-Fresca led the league in extra points made, was third in field goals made, and was the only kicker to make two or more field goals from beyond 50 yards. Talk about not skipping leg day. In the return game Benoit Blanco was a standout. He finished in the top five in kick return average and had the second longest punt return of the season (a whopping 77 yard return).
As you can clearly see many SeaWolves from every part of the team rose to the occasion. They went above and beyond and pushed themselves to new heights, both individually and as a team. An incredibly strong locker room in Norfolk has resulted in incredibly strong play on the field. When a team rallies around each other the way this team did the sky is truly the limit. You know what they say...Norfolk Best Folk. So here's to the Norfolk SeaWolves! May they continue their fantastic run! (And hopefully they'll let me continue to hang around the locker room.)
*Sadly it has come to my attention that Daria Guava-Fresca is no longer on the Norfolk SeaWolves. In fact, she is no longer with us at all. Her unfortunate passing will be a dark cloud over the entire Norfolk team. Her time in Norfolk and the memories she helped create cannot be replaced. In other happier and less depressing news welcome to the team Melvin Murder-Moose!
Today I'd like to talk about the greatest little boats to ever float. The team that has consistently put together winning seasons and has finally, this season, brought home the championship. Of course, they did it the year AFTER I left, but that's okay. I'm not bitter or anything. That's right, it's time to talk about YOUR Ultimini Champions - The Norfolk SeaWolves!
Norfolk put together a season for the ages, and they were able to accomplish such a feat because of exceptional play in every facet of the game. A team with a locker room as cohesive as this one was bound to win it all at some point, and this was the year they finally put it all together. We're going to dive into each positional grouping and look at the standouts. And there are quite a few standouts. These players, with their powers combined (like Captain Planet), are the reason why Norfolk got to hoist the trophy this season.
Let's start at quarterback, where the two-headed monster of Suleiman Ramza and Luke Skywalker towered above their positional counterparts. Ramza led the DSFL in passer rating (of players who threw more than one pass), and the pair combined for 21 passing touchdowns which was far and away the most passing TDs by any team in the league. Ramza would also add a pair of touchdowns on the ground. Suleiman Ramza's completion percentage was also tops in the league (again, for players who threw more than one pass) with Luke Skywalker finishing close behind at 3rd overall in completion percentage. Of course, the quarterback can't do it all alone. They need someone to watch their back. Protecting these two was the job of Thad Pennington, Jr. In his Pro Bowl winning season he tied for second in the league with 49 pancake blocks and did not allow a single sack. Clearly the SeaWolves dominance at the quarterback position was a major factor in the team's success.
Similarly, Norfolk's rushing attack was led my a dynamic duo. The squad primarily featured two backs: Quanter Skrills and Captain Rogers. The second year player and the rookie made the ground game run like a well-oiled machine. The two combined for over 2000 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Both numbers put the pair near the top of the rankings for running backs. Rogers' 5.1 yards per carry and longest run of 67 yards were also near the top of the league. Not bad for a rookie, right? You can begin to see a pattern emerging: another dominant position for the champion SeaWolves.
Dre Matthews led the pack at wide receiver for the SeaWolves. He was joined by players such as Logan Hex, Reynaud Haugland, and Ragnar Krashwagen. Matthews led the league in receiving touchdowns, and his 937 yards was good for fourth best in the league (and only five yards away from second). Beyond Matthews the rest of the pass catchers took on a committee approach with eight other players chipping in. Talk about depth. Norfolk would finish third in the league in receiving yards with 2,405 and their aforementioned 21 receiving touchdowns was a dominating 8 more touchdowns than the next closest team (Minnesota with 13 ). This is another area where the team dominated the competition.
As we can see, Norfolk's offense was at or near the top in almost every category. There was virtually no stopping them when they had the ball, whether it be through air or on the ground. But that's not the whole story. Let's continue...
Defensively Norfolk finished as a middle of the road team. If you look at the aggregate stats you won't find anything that jumps out at you, but if you dig a little deeper you'll see that the team did have some individual standouts. Linebacker Shepherd Marshall finished the season with 145 tackles, good for second best in the league. Not far behind Marshall was his rookie linebacker counterpart Adelie de Pengu. The flightless bird tallied 121 tackles putting him in the #6 spot in total tackles. Rookie defensive tackle Braxton Sinclair led the DSFL with nine sacks. Quarterbacks were forced to account for him on every snap. This defensive unit may have seemed average on paper, but clearly there were some individual stars giving it their all out there. These individual performances kept the defense together, allowing the rest of the team to do their thing.
There is a third phase of the game. One that is often overlooked, but not in Norfolk. That's right, we're talking about special teams. Daria Guava-Fresca* was the top kicker in the DSFL, as evidenced by her earning a Pro Bowl nod. Guava-Fresca led the league in extra points made, was third in field goals made, and was the only kicker to make two or more field goals from beyond 50 yards. Talk about not skipping leg day. In the return game Benoit Blanco was a standout. He finished in the top five in kick return average and had the second longest punt return of the season (a whopping 77 yard return).
As you can clearly see many SeaWolves from every part of the team rose to the occasion. They went above and beyond and pushed themselves to new heights, both individually and as a team. An incredibly strong locker room in Norfolk has resulted in incredibly strong play on the field. When a team rallies around each other the way this team did the sky is truly the limit. You know what they say...Norfolk Best Folk. So here's to the Norfolk SeaWolves! May they continue their fantastic run! (And hopefully they'll let me continue to hang around the locker room.)
*Sadly it has come to my attention that Daria Guava-Fresca is no longer on the Norfolk SeaWolves. In fact, she is no longer with us at all. Her unfortunate passing will be a dark cloud over the entire Norfolk team. Her time in Norfolk and the memories she helped create cannot be replaced. In other happier and less depressing news welcome to the team Melvin Murder-Moose!