4) The offseason is a critical reflection point for the league, during which the directions of entire franchises can shift dramatically. Choose any offseason up to and including the S21 Draft, and focus on a singular team. What strategies did this particular team employ to land the players they desired? What were the team needs during the offseason, and what was the overarching plan for the future? Did they lose or land any free agents that impacted roster holes? How have the players that they drafted contributed to the team?
Arguably the most important offseason in recent history for the New Orleans Second Line was the offseason between season 18 and season 19. Season 18 marked yet another losing season for the team, extending the streak which had been ongoing since season 12. In season 11 New Orleans was dominant, appearing in their 4th consecutive Ultimus. Following that, unfortunately the team fell apart. The rebuild really began in season 15, but it took a great deal of foundation building to turn around the franchise given where it was that year. After the boom that was the season 18 draft class, New Orleans was looking to build and become a competitive team in season 19. The first big project that offseason was signing Marcella Toriki in free agency. Over the course of the long offseason period, a tremendous amount of work was put in by the New Orleans our war room, including myself. Bex received a detailed PowerPoint presentation, including stat projections, future plans, a picture collage, and evidence that with her on the team and our development to that point we could be a playoff team despite our most recent record being 5-8 and most recent playoff appearance being in season 11. While that went on, we also had the draft going on. The season 19 draft was a massive one for New Orleans. Having traded away former 7OA pick Thudd Kassel to Philadelphia and WR Action Jackson to Chicago, we had 3 first round picks including 1 and 3 overall. With the first overall pick we brought in Mack Arianlacher. Sadly, Mack was taken from us in expansion in a move I will never forgive Dwyer for, however until that time, Arianlacher was a staple of the team. He won DRotY as a defensive end that season, and continued racking up TFLs and sacks for us. In addition, Mack was a great addition to our locker room. Speaking of great additions to our locker room, with the 3rd overall pick, we picked the now two-time tight end of the year, Austin McCormick. Noka has been one of our consistently most active LR members, is always a joy, and is a big part of our culture. On the field, McCormick has been getting better and better every season, and was a massive part of our season 21 Ultimus campaign. Continuing with the theme of two-time award winners, Mason Blaylock was drafted with the 8OA pick in this draft. Jay has been an exceptionally valuable part of the war room, and Blaylock’s back to back Safety of the Year awards speak for themselves. While Blaylock was a send down for season 19, his addition to the team is one of the most impactful parts of this offseason. With our next pick, 13OA, we selected another player who was stolen to Honolulu in the expansion draft: Jed Podolak. Our future WR1 had he not gone to the Hahalua, Jed was a big part of Stan Francisco’s success in season 20 and 21. The final acquisition NOLA made in this draft was trading for Herbert Prohaska. An incredibly talented and consistent kicker, Prohaska has been a staple to the special teams unit. Following the conclusion of the draft, Marcella Toriki finally made her decision. With all 10 teams vying for her, she decided to join us in New Orleans. Despite more free agent pitches than I care to admit, New Orleans had never signed a free agent that wasn’t a re-signing in my time on the team. This marked a new era for the Second Line, as rather than being consistently near or at the bottom of the league table, we were a team that a high-profile free agent wanted to play for. On the field, this move allowed Forrest Gump to play in a committee rather than at primary back, as well as open opportunities for him in the receiving game. That, combined with the development of the TE turned QB Stan Francisco started to completely reshape the New Orleans offence. Building on that, we were able to sign our second high profile free agent of the offseason, reigning WRotY Vinny Valentine. Vinny and Fyodorovich provided a veteran presence for the developing QB and WR corps on the team, and the wealth of targets meant that neither the young guys nor the vets got tired out. The result was a complete flip of our record, from 5-8 to 8-5 with not only a playoff appearance, but we hosted a playoff game that we won. While we fell to the Otters in the ASFC conference championship, it was a truly great accomplishment and a testament to all the work that had been put into the team. Thanks to that draft and FA period, we were able to position ourselves not only to win the Ultimus in season 21, but remain a competitive team for the foreseeable future.
Arguably the most important offseason in recent history for the New Orleans Second Line was the offseason between season 18 and season 19. Season 18 marked yet another losing season for the team, extending the streak which had been ongoing since season 12. In season 11 New Orleans was dominant, appearing in their 4th consecutive Ultimus. Following that, unfortunately the team fell apart. The rebuild really began in season 15, but it took a great deal of foundation building to turn around the franchise given where it was that year. After the boom that was the season 18 draft class, New Orleans was looking to build and become a competitive team in season 19. The first big project that offseason was signing Marcella Toriki in free agency. Over the course of the long offseason period, a tremendous amount of work was put in by the New Orleans our war room, including myself. Bex received a detailed PowerPoint presentation, including stat projections, future plans, a picture collage, and evidence that with her on the team and our development to that point we could be a playoff team despite our most recent record being 5-8 and most recent playoff appearance being in season 11. While that went on, we also had the draft going on. The season 19 draft was a massive one for New Orleans. Having traded away former 7OA pick Thudd Kassel to Philadelphia and WR Action Jackson to Chicago, we had 3 first round picks including 1 and 3 overall. With the first overall pick we brought in Mack Arianlacher. Sadly, Mack was taken from us in expansion in a move I will never forgive Dwyer for, however until that time, Arianlacher was a staple of the team. He won DRotY as a defensive end that season, and continued racking up TFLs and sacks for us. In addition, Mack was a great addition to our locker room. Speaking of great additions to our locker room, with the 3rd overall pick, we picked the now two-time tight end of the year, Austin McCormick. Noka has been one of our consistently most active LR members, is always a joy, and is a big part of our culture. On the field, McCormick has been getting better and better every season, and was a massive part of our season 21 Ultimus campaign. Continuing with the theme of two-time award winners, Mason Blaylock was drafted with the 8OA pick in this draft. Jay has been an exceptionally valuable part of the war room, and Blaylock’s back to back Safety of the Year awards speak for themselves. While Blaylock was a send down for season 19, his addition to the team is one of the most impactful parts of this offseason. With our next pick, 13OA, we selected another player who was stolen to Honolulu in the expansion draft: Jed Podolak. Our future WR1 had he not gone to the Hahalua, Jed was a big part of Stan Francisco’s success in season 20 and 21. The final acquisition NOLA made in this draft was trading for Herbert Prohaska. An incredibly talented and consistent kicker, Prohaska has been a staple to the special teams unit. Following the conclusion of the draft, Marcella Toriki finally made her decision. With all 10 teams vying for her, she decided to join us in New Orleans. Despite more free agent pitches than I care to admit, New Orleans had never signed a free agent that wasn’t a re-signing in my time on the team. This marked a new era for the Second Line, as rather than being consistently near or at the bottom of the league table, we were a team that a high-profile free agent wanted to play for. On the field, this move allowed Forrest Gump to play in a committee rather than at primary back, as well as open opportunities for him in the receiving game. That, combined with the development of the TE turned QB Stan Francisco started to completely reshape the New Orleans offence. Building on that, we were able to sign our second high profile free agent of the offseason, reigning WRotY Vinny Valentine. Vinny and Fyodorovich provided a veteran presence for the developing QB and WR corps on the team, and the wealth of targets meant that neither the young guys nor the vets got tired out. The result was a complete flip of our record, from 5-8 to 8-5 with not only a playoff appearance, but we hosted a playoff game that we won. While we fell to the Otters in the ASFC conference championship, it was a truly great accomplishment and a testament to all the work that had been put into the team. Thanks to that draft and FA period, we were able to position ourselves not only to win the Ultimus in season 21, but remain a competitive team for the foreseeable future.
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION] Tackles: 106
[OPTION] TFLs: 7
[OPTION] FF/FR: 1/1
[OPTION] Sacks: 3
[OPTION] Interceptions: 3
[OPTION] Pass Deflections: 9
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION] Tackles: 106
[OPTION] TFLs: 7
[OPTION] FF/FR: 1/1
[OPTION] Sacks: 3
[OPTION] Interceptions: 3
[OPTION] Pass Deflections: 9
[OPTION] Touchdowns: 1
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION] Tackles: 25
[OPTION] TFLs: 0
[OPTION] FF/FR: 1/0
[OPTION] Sacks: 3
[OPTION] Interceptions: 0
[OPTION] Pass Deflections: 2
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]DSFL Playoff Stats
[OPTION] Tackles: 25
[OPTION] TFLs: 0
[OPTION] FF/FR: 1/0
[OPTION] Sacks: 3
[OPTION] Interceptions: 0
[OPTION] Pass Deflections: 2
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]ISFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION] Tackles: 78
[OPTION] TFLs: 5
[OPTION] FF/FR: 1/2
[OPTION] Sacks: 8
[OPTION] Interceptions: 1
[OPTION] Pass Deflections: 8
[OPTION] Touchdowns: 0
[OPTION]ISFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION] Tackles: 78
[OPTION] TFLs: 5
[OPTION] FF/FR: 1/2
[OPTION] Sacks: 8
[OPTION] Interceptions: 1
[OPTION] Pass Deflections: 8
[OPTION] Touchdowns: 0
[OPTION] Receptions: 419
[OPTION] Receiving Yards: 3681
[OPTION] Receiving Touchdowns: 25
[OPTION] Kick Return Yards: 5367
[OPTION] Kick Return TDs: 1
[OPTION] Punt Return Yards: 1651
[OPTION] Punt Return TDs: 5
[OPTION] Pancakes: 242
[OPTION] Kick Return TDs: 1
[OPTION] Punt Return Yards: 1651
[OPTION] Punt Return TDs: 5
[OPTION] Pancakes: 242
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]ISFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION] Rushing Yards: 926
[OPTION] Yards per Carry: 4.56
[OPTION] Rushing Touchdowns: 7
[OPTION] Receptions: 44
[OPTION] Receiving Yards: 408
[OPTION] Receiving Touchdowns: 4
[OPTION] Kick Return Yards: 653
[OPTION] Kick Return TDs: 0
[OPTION] Punt Return Yards: 192
[OPTION] Punt Return TDs: 0
[OPTION] Pancakes: 28
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION] S15 DSFL RBotY
[OPTION] S15 DSFL MVP
[OPTION] S16 Pro Bowler (RB)
[OPTION] S17 Pro Bowler (RB)
[OPTION] S18 RBotY
[OPTION] S18 PERotY
[OPTION] S18 OPotY
[OPTION]ISFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION] Rushing Yards: 926
[OPTION] Yards per Carry: 4.56
[OPTION] Rushing Touchdowns: 7
[OPTION] Receptions: 44
[OPTION] Receiving Yards: 408
[OPTION] Receiving Touchdowns: 4
[OPTION] Kick Return Yards: 653
[OPTION] Kick Return TDs: 0
[OPTION] Punt Return Yards: 192
[OPTION] Punt Return TDs: 0
[OPTION] Pancakes: 28
[OPTION]===========================================
[OPTION]Trophy Case/Achievements:
[OPTION] S15 DSFL RBotY
[OPTION] S15 DSFL MVP
[OPTION] S16 Pro Bowler (RB)
[OPTION] S17 Pro Bowler (RB)
[OPTION] S18 RBotY
[OPTION] S18 PERotY
[OPTION] S18 OPotY
[OPTION] S18 Pro Bowler (RB)
[OPTION] S19 Pro Bowler (RB & Returner)
[OPTION] S20 Pro Bowler (RB & Returner)
[OPTION] S21 Pro Bowler (OFlex & Returner)
[OPTION] S21 Ultimus Champion
[OPTION] S21 Ultimus MVP
[OPTION] S22 Pro Bowler (RB & Returner)
[OPTION] Most Rushing TDs in a DSFL season (S15, 20)
[OPTION] 3rd Most Rushing TDs in a DSFL season (S14, 18)
[OPTION] 3rd Most Rushing TDs in a DSFL season (S14, 18)
[OPTION] 5th Most Career Rushing Yards
[OPTION] 9th Most Career Rushing TDs
[OPTION] 7th Most Career Scrimmage Yards
[OPTION] 8th Most Career Scrimmage TDs
[OPTION] 5th Most Career Punt Return TDs
[OPTION] 5th Most Career All-Purpose Yards
[OPTION] 8th Most Career All-Purpose TDs
[OPTION] 4th Most Career Postseason Rushing Yards
[OPTION] 2nd Most Career Postseason Rushing TDs
[OPTION] 2nd Most Career Postseason Scrimmage Yards
[OPTION] 2nd Most Career Postseason Scrimmage TDs
[OPTION] 2nd Most Career Postseason Scrimmage TDs
[OPTION] 10th Most Career Postseason Kick Return Yards
[OPTION] 7th Most Career Postseason Punt Return Yards
[OPTION] 2nd Most Career Postseason All-Purpose Yards
[OPTION] 2nd Most Career Postseason All-Purpose TDs
[OPTION] 2nd Most Career Postseason All-Purpose TDs