Tier 2:
8) 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?
There is one very obvious and very simple way that my team, the Colorado Yeti, could have used this offseason to improve. Sign me. Mo Berry, a top ten player in sacks, decided to call it quits and mark the end of one of the greatest LB careers this sim has ever seen. The man was LBOTY four times and made seven Pro Bowls and will most likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame nearly as soon as he is eligible. His retirement leaves some very big shoes to fill and I am finally beginning to grow into my own shoes. I think I have what it takes to fill in and help keep this defense, and team, dominant. I have played three seasons in the NSFL and ISFL, so my career is relatively young. But I have certainly left my mark. I finished second in the league in tackles in Season 22, only one behind the league leader and record holder for most tackles in a single season in the 13 game era. During that season, I became the record holder in Philadelphia for most tackles in a season, though I am sure that record will quickly be smashed now that we play 16 games. My totals declined this most recent season, but there is good reason for that. I began making the transition from middle linebacker to SLB, so playing time was split between these two positions, meaning I was unable to achieve my potential at either potential, but in Colorado I will have access to legendary coaching and a guarantee to play SLB, since I’m filling those massive Shoes that Mo wore (seriously, the dude had some huge feet). But in addition to my on-field presence, I bring something unique as well. I run a highly successful, dare I say legendary, minibar out of my locker in the clubhouse. It has a five-star rating on Google Maps, in case you were wondering. So while I am confident I can bring some impressive performances to the field, I am even more confident that I can elevate an already great clubhouse into something…better. I’m not entirely sure how it will be better, but increased comradery is always good, right? Finally, I am continuing to pick up more TPE. I don’t claim to be earning at a uniquely impressive rate, I am still getting better each week and cannot wait to continue to grow as a Yeti. To sum things up, SLB went from a massive strength of the yeti defense to an uncertainty with Mo retiring, to locked back up again if/when they acquire my talents. (438 words)
Tier 3:
15) Choose your favorite non-playoffs game of this season, whether your own team or another. Explain what was so special and why the winner ultimately came out victorious, including key players and moments.
The Liberty were at a rough place coming into this game. Despite a poor start to the season, we had managed to fight our way back into a chance at the playoffs, but we badly needed to win the final game of the season against the Wraiths after losing the previous two to the Hawks and Sailfish. It was a win-and-in type situation. The scoring opened early. Just over a minute into the game, Bigsby dropped back and found his pass intercepted by D’Attoria. D’Attoria found himself with the ball and a clear path to the endzone, putting the Liberty up 7-0. A few minutes later, Varga caught a bullet from Phoenix to double the lead. We never looked back. With both the offense and defense finding the endzone, we carried a 28-7 lead into the half and spirits were high. Things were looking good, but we couldn’t allow ourselves to relax. This season had been incredibly unlucky and you could feel that we were all trying not to let the “what ifs” back into our heads. The third quarter looked bad, though. We went scoreless and let the Wraiths cut the lead down to 11 before the defense stepped back up in the fourth. I personally finished with double digit tackles and a sack, an effort that I will always be proud of. The rest of the team had a great game and we felt dominant heading into the first playoff game of my career, following our 35-17 win to clinch the 3 seed and a playoff berth. (260 words)
17) Choose any award from the past 22 offseasons that you think should’ve gone to a different contender. Why was your chosen candidate’s season superior to the actual winner?
Last offseason, a player was left off the awards ballot entirely, despite having a record-breaking season. I remember getting online to watch the last stream of the regular season knowing that I needed a strong performance to climb into the top 10 all time leaders for tackles in a single season. And although I already had the Liberty record in the bag, I wanted to extend my lead a little bit. If only I’d known that we would soon be moving to a sixteen game season… I also knew that a strong performance could very well see me leading the league in tackles, something I would love to do. But there were a few people in my way. H. Edmond was one of those few. The linebacker for Austin was playing incredibly and, if I remember right, they were the final team playing on stream. Edmond ended up eclipsing my tackle mark by one single tackle that night. I would later find out that his impressive total of 135 tackles was, in fact, the most tackles ever recorded in the “modern” era of the rules. He was left off the ballot entirely because the committee devalued tackles. I was told that there was a vote on whether or not he should be on the ballot, but a committee member has informed me that there was no vote and that Edmond was simply left off at the discussion of the committee head due to him feeling tackles aren’t an important stat since they might be at the end of a good play for the offense and, therefore, shouldn’t be considered for awards. They were more than happy to include someone on the defensive line simply for having a high tackle total, though. Edmond should have been LBOTY, but wasn’t even placed on the ballot. Middle linebackers are severely under appreciated during awards season. (312 words)
8) 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?
There is one very obvious and very simple way that my team, the Colorado Yeti, could have used this offseason to improve. Sign me. Mo Berry, a top ten player in sacks, decided to call it quits and mark the end of one of the greatest LB careers this sim has ever seen. The man was LBOTY four times and made seven Pro Bowls and will most likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame nearly as soon as he is eligible. His retirement leaves some very big shoes to fill and I am finally beginning to grow into my own shoes. I think I have what it takes to fill in and help keep this defense, and team, dominant. I have played three seasons in the NSFL and ISFL, so my career is relatively young. But I have certainly left my mark. I finished second in the league in tackles in Season 22, only one behind the league leader and record holder for most tackles in a single season in the 13 game era. During that season, I became the record holder in Philadelphia for most tackles in a season, though I am sure that record will quickly be smashed now that we play 16 games. My totals declined this most recent season, but there is good reason for that. I began making the transition from middle linebacker to SLB, so playing time was split between these two positions, meaning I was unable to achieve my potential at either potential, but in Colorado I will have access to legendary coaching and a guarantee to play SLB, since I’m filling those massive Shoes that Mo wore (seriously, the dude had some huge feet). But in addition to my on-field presence, I bring something unique as well. I run a highly successful, dare I say legendary, minibar out of my locker in the clubhouse. It has a five-star rating on Google Maps, in case you were wondering. So while I am confident I can bring some impressive performances to the field, I am even more confident that I can elevate an already great clubhouse into something…better. I’m not entirely sure how it will be better, but increased comradery is always good, right? Finally, I am continuing to pick up more TPE. I don’t claim to be earning at a uniquely impressive rate, I am still getting better each week and cannot wait to continue to grow as a Yeti. To sum things up, SLB went from a massive strength of the yeti defense to an uncertainty with Mo retiring, to locked back up again if/when they acquire my talents. (438 words)
Tier 3:
15) Choose your favorite non-playoffs game of this season, whether your own team or another. Explain what was so special and why the winner ultimately came out victorious, including key players and moments.
The Liberty were at a rough place coming into this game. Despite a poor start to the season, we had managed to fight our way back into a chance at the playoffs, but we badly needed to win the final game of the season against the Wraiths after losing the previous two to the Hawks and Sailfish. It was a win-and-in type situation. The scoring opened early. Just over a minute into the game, Bigsby dropped back and found his pass intercepted by D’Attoria. D’Attoria found himself with the ball and a clear path to the endzone, putting the Liberty up 7-0. A few minutes later, Varga caught a bullet from Phoenix to double the lead. We never looked back. With both the offense and defense finding the endzone, we carried a 28-7 lead into the half and spirits were high. Things were looking good, but we couldn’t allow ourselves to relax. This season had been incredibly unlucky and you could feel that we were all trying not to let the “what ifs” back into our heads. The third quarter looked bad, though. We went scoreless and let the Wraiths cut the lead down to 11 before the defense stepped back up in the fourth. I personally finished with double digit tackles and a sack, an effort that I will always be proud of. The rest of the team had a great game and we felt dominant heading into the first playoff game of my career, following our 35-17 win to clinch the 3 seed and a playoff berth. (260 words)
17) Choose any award from the past 22 offseasons that you think should’ve gone to a different contender. Why was your chosen candidate’s season superior to the actual winner?
Last offseason, a player was left off the awards ballot entirely, despite having a record-breaking season. I remember getting online to watch the last stream of the regular season knowing that I needed a strong performance to climb into the top 10 all time leaders for tackles in a single season. And although I already had the Liberty record in the bag, I wanted to extend my lead a little bit. If only I’d known that we would soon be moving to a sixteen game season… I also knew that a strong performance could very well see me leading the league in tackles, something I would love to do. But there were a few people in my way. H. Edmond was one of those few. The linebacker for Austin was playing incredibly and, if I remember right, they were the final team playing on stream. Edmond ended up eclipsing my tackle mark by one single tackle that night. I would later find out that his impressive total of 135 tackles was, in fact, the most tackles ever recorded in the “modern” era of the rules. He was left off the ballot entirely because the committee devalued tackles. I was told that there was a vote on whether or not he should be on the ballot, but a committee member has informed me that there was no vote and that Edmond was simply left off at the discussion of the committee head due to him feeling tackles aren’t an important stat since they might be at the end of a good play for the offense and, therefore, shouldn’t be considered for awards. They were more than happy to include someone on the defensive line simply for having a high tackle total, though. Edmond should have been LBOTY, but wasn’t even placed on the ballot. Middle linebackers are severely under appreciated during awards season. (312 words)