With over a quarter of the DSFL season now over, it is probably about time to look back at teams and how they have performed so far, along with where their prospective stock price would be from the year before. I decided that the starting stock price would be determined by the team's form to finish the year and their record, the value to be determined by how well they had performed over the season thus far, and the trend to be whether it was higher or lower than through 3 weeks.
(Note, teams sorted by alphabetical order and conference)
Dallas Birddogs: Starting Stock Price High, Lost Value, Trending Down Hard
The Birddogs went out with a bit of a whimper last season, losing 3 of 4 to lose home field advantage and then losing to Norfolk in the playoffs. Still, the 9-5 record was nothing to sneeze at, and they were one of only 2 teams to be over .500 at the end of the season. They returned a couple very high profile people in the send downs, most notably the top TPE player from season 24 Zoe Watts. Still, there was a possibility for regression. Even with that in mind, however, the Birddogs surely must be disappointed with their performance over the last 4 weeks. Watts has been a candidate for the best running back in the league, but that hasn't stopped the Birddogs from having a 1-3 record at the time of writing. This entire section would be very different if Week 4 had not turned out the way it did. 31-0 against a Royals squad that had scored 10 points over the last 2 weeks. Over the young season that is by far the worst performance any team has had. Through 4 weeks the Birddogs are the worst offense and the second worst defense in the league, with by far the worst point differential, and are a clear bottom despite winning over the other 1-3 team.
Myrtle Beach Buccaneers: Starting Stock Price Very Low, Gained Value, Trending Down
The Buccaneers had an awful ending 2/3rds of last season; after winning 3 of their first 4, they only won 3 of their remaining 10. As such, along with their bottom of the South DSFL status, they would be one of the two lowest stock prices for last year. Gaining value from low stocks isn't hard, but Myrtle Beach has managed to make the most of it. They have managed to beat up their North DSFL foes so far this year, and have gone 2-2, albeit with a bit of a negative point differential. It's kind of rough to put them as Trending Down, as they faced the Juggernaut of the league in the Norfolk Seawolves. At the end of the first half, it even looked like the Buccaneers were the better team, and they had multiple drives where any score would get them the lead. At the time, if they still kept it close, I might have put them as trending up even if they lost.
Then the third quarter happened.
Despite that third quarter, and eventually losing 44-21, the Buccaneers still have the third best defense by points in the league. That being said, their pass defense really needs to recover and get back to its form before this game...and the Buccaneers quarterbacks need to not throw interceptions on 3 drives in a row, that required a total of 1 yard from the offense to turn into 3 touchdowns. Still, in a hypothetical world where you bought Buccaneers stocks, selling them now would have made you a nice profit, and selling them the week before would have had you make out like a bandit.
Tijuana Luchadores: Starting Stock Price Low, Gained Value, Trending Down Hard
Barely any different in layout than the previous entry, but with much, much different feelings involved. The Luchadores ended last season with the same 6-8 record as the Buccaneers, but did not have anywhere near as disastrous an end to the season, so they were only at low heading into the season. Then, they opened up with back to back impressive wins over the previously named Dallas and Myrtle Beach, and were flying high. At that point they were practically an undisputed second best in the league.
Since then they have gone 0-2, losing to the Kansas City Coyotes and the Minnesota Grey Ducks, two teams with no non fluky wins before facing the Luchadores, and although the loss to the Coyotes felt a bit fluky, the loss to the Ducks felt completely deserved. A team with almost no offensive presence managed to score 30 points against the Luchadores defense, currently the 3rd worst defense on points. While they do have the second best offense in the league by points, this team feels like it is on the downturn right now, in part due to a number of terrible turnovers and special teams play in the last two games.
Norfolk Seawolves: Starting Stock Price Very High, Gained Value, Trending Up
The only reason I can't give the Seawolves Trending Up Hard is because when you start as high as them, it's hard to go up very high. And you had to put them at the very top after they won their last 4 games heading into the playoffs, won the Ultimini, and had the best record in the regular season. That being said, going undefeated through 4 games with a minimum margin of victory of 14 points, having the most points scored, least points against, second most yards for, least yards against, the Seawolves are certainly an impressive team. There have been only a couple of times that felt like Norfolk might give up the lead, and when they happened, the Seawolves immediately forced turnovers and scored.
I can't say they gained a lot of value, or that they are trending hard up, but they're certainly trying very very hard to achieve that right now. I honestly don't have much to say about them other than that they are monstrous right now.
Kansas City Coyotes: Starting Stock Price Medium, Lost Value, Trending Down
The Coyotes, as last year's Ultimini runner ups, and the top team in the North last year, were actually somewhat difficult to rank in terms of stock. Against those accomplishments was their .500 record and the fact that they ended the season with 4 straight losses. The rest of it was much easier to put. Their first two games were comfortable losses to the Birddogs and the Buccaneers, granted one looked better due to a touchdown with triple zeros on the clock. Then, they faced Tijuana in Week 3, in a game neither team wanted to win, Kansas eventually decided to win. If they came into this breakdown .500, then I might have had them trending up hard and they certainly would have at least stayed around the same in value if not be higher.
Week 4 did not go as well as they were expecting. They were slightly outgained, but special teams let the Coyotes down massively, as they let the Pythons return kicks for over 40 yards per return, including a touchdown that almost buried any chance of a comeback midway through the third. As is, the Coyotes score a lot of points, over 25 per game, but they currently let up over 30 points per game, the most in the league, and their run defense continues to struggle.
Minnesota Grey Ducks: Starting Stock Price Medium, Maintained Value, Trending Up Hard
I don't know how they continue to do it. Last season, as a team that finished out the season 3-1 with a 6-8 record, medium was a pretty easy pick. Honestly though, this team has not really played great. They have a .500 record somehow, despite that. They get less yards per game than anyone else, and give up more yards per game than anyone else. And yet they capitalize when needed and somehow do a bend but don't break defense in a simulation engine that I'm guessing doesn't exactly allow for that to be an intentional strategy. As for why they are trending up hard? After losing 2 games, including a game where they got completely shut out by the Seawolves, they have grinded out two straight wins, going from bottom of the barrel to tied for the lead in the North.
Portland Pythons: Starting Stock Price Very Low, Gained Value, Trending Up
Granted, this is my team, but I don't really think there's any bias in this one. Considering they had the worst record in the DSFL last year at 5-9, and lost 4 of their last 5 games, giving them the Very Low stock price along with Myrtle Beach seems fair. With that in mind, the only question is whether jumping from Very Low to maybe slightly above average in terms of stock price counts as gaining value or massively gaining in value. As a Team, Portland is interesting right now. They don't truly excel at anything that isn't the scoresheet, although they aren't really bad at anything unlike the aforementioned Ducks. Maybe the fact that they're second from the bottom in yards gained is kind of bad, but it's not anywhere near as noticeable as the Ducks being last in yards for and against. Otherwise, they are right above average in terms of points scored and points against. Having a pattern of Loss-Win-Loss-Win isn't exactly great, but they've managed to beat teams that were supposed to challenge for the playoffs this year pretty comfortably. Having beaten the Coyotes by double digits in their last game, they are certainly trending upwards, and only time will tell if they rise even higher.
London Royals: Starting Stock Price High, Lost Value, Trending Up
I think giving them a high starting stock is pretty fair, as although they only had a .500 record, they did win 5 of their last 6 and head to the playoffs. With that in mind, a 2-2 record will drop them down to a mediocre stock price, albeit probably a still respectable one. A team that was supposed to have a very good offense has not really been able to get on the score sheet, and are currently the second lowest scoring team in the league. What's saved them is their defense which has held teams to pretty low point totals themselves, the second best defense in the league in that regard. To be honest, though, this team didn't seem very well put together before this last game, having won 1 game by 3 points and then having scored 10 points in the next 2 games, losing both by 13 points each.
Then the Royals did their level best to make me put them as Trending Up Hard on the back of a single game. I really can't say much else about how dominant they were against the Birddogs that I did not say in the Birddogs section, but I think it is fair to mention that it is technically a better performance than any single Seawolves game has been thus far. Of course, I can't put them at Trending Up Hard since they were on a 2 game losing streak right before that and the Birddogs appear to not be the greatest in terms of a test, but if this continues they can get back to their starting stock price and even beyond.
(Note, teams sorted by alphabetical order and conference)
Dallas Birddogs: Starting Stock Price High, Lost Value, Trending Down Hard
The Birddogs went out with a bit of a whimper last season, losing 3 of 4 to lose home field advantage and then losing to Norfolk in the playoffs. Still, the 9-5 record was nothing to sneeze at, and they were one of only 2 teams to be over .500 at the end of the season. They returned a couple very high profile people in the send downs, most notably the top TPE player from season 24 Zoe Watts. Still, there was a possibility for regression. Even with that in mind, however, the Birddogs surely must be disappointed with their performance over the last 4 weeks. Watts has been a candidate for the best running back in the league, but that hasn't stopped the Birddogs from having a 1-3 record at the time of writing. This entire section would be very different if Week 4 had not turned out the way it did. 31-0 against a Royals squad that had scored 10 points over the last 2 weeks. Over the young season that is by far the worst performance any team has had. Through 4 weeks the Birddogs are the worst offense and the second worst defense in the league, with by far the worst point differential, and are a clear bottom despite winning over the other 1-3 team.
Myrtle Beach Buccaneers: Starting Stock Price Very Low, Gained Value, Trending Down
The Buccaneers had an awful ending 2/3rds of last season; after winning 3 of their first 4, they only won 3 of their remaining 10. As such, along with their bottom of the South DSFL status, they would be one of the two lowest stock prices for last year. Gaining value from low stocks isn't hard, but Myrtle Beach has managed to make the most of it. They have managed to beat up their North DSFL foes so far this year, and have gone 2-2, albeit with a bit of a negative point differential. It's kind of rough to put them as Trending Down, as they faced the Juggernaut of the league in the Norfolk Seawolves. At the end of the first half, it even looked like the Buccaneers were the better team, and they had multiple drives where any score would get them the lead. At the time, if they still kept it close, I might have put them as trending up even if they lost.
Then the third quarter happened.
Despite that third quarter, and eventually losing 44-21, the Buccaneers still have the third best defense by points in the league. That being said, their pass defense really needs to recover and get back to its form before this game...and the Buccaneers quarterbacks need to not throw interceptions on 3 drives in a row, that required a total of 1 yard from the offense to turn into 3 touchdowns. Still, in a hypothetical world where you bought Buccaneers stocks, selling them now would have made you a nice profit, and selling them the week before would have had you make out like a bandit.
Tijuana Luchadores: Starting Stock Price Low, Gained Value, Trending Down Hard
Barely any different in layout than the previous entry, but with much, much different feelings involved. The Luchadores ended last season with the same 6-8 record as the Buccaneers, but did not have anywhere near as disastrous an end to the season, so they were only at low heading into the season. Then, they opened up with back to back impressive wins over the previously named Dallas and Myrtle Beach, and were flying high. At that point they were practically an undisputed second best in the league.
Since then they have gone 0-2, losing to the Kansas City Coyotes and the Minnesota Grey Ducks, two teams with no non fluky wins before facing the Luchadores, and although the loss to the Coyotes felt a bit fluky, the loss to the Ducks felt completely deserved. A team with almost no offensive presence managed to score 30 points against the Luchadores defense, currently the 3rd worst defense on points. While they do have the second best offense in the league by points, this team feels like it is on the downturn right now, in part due to a number of terrible turnovers and special teams play in the last two games.
Norfolk Seawolves: Starting Stock Price Very High, Gained Value, Trending Up
The only reason I can't give the Seawolves Trending Up Hard is because when you start as high as them, it's hard to go up very high. And you had to put them at the very top after they won their last 4 games heading into the playoffs, won the Ultimini, and had the best record in the regular season. That being said, going undefeated through 4 games with a minimum margin of victory of 14 points, having the most points scored, least points against, second most yards for, least yards against, the Seawolves are certainly an impressive team. There have been only a couple of times that felt like Norfolk might give up the lead, and when they happened, the Seawolves immediately forced turnovers and scored.
I can't say they gained a lot of value, or that they are trending hard up, but they're certainly trying very very hard to achieve that right now. I honestly don't have much to say about them other than that they are monstrous right now.
Kansas City Coyotes: Starting Stock Price Medium, Lost Value, Trending Down
The Coyotes, as last year's Ultimini runner ups, and the top team in the North last year, were actually somewhat difficult to rank in terms of stock. Against those accomplishments was their .500 record and the fact that they ended the season with 4 straight losses. The rest of it was much easier to put. Their first two games were comfortable losses to the Birddogs and the Buccaneers, granted one looked better due to a touchdown with triple zeros on the clock. Then, they faced Tijuana in Week 3, in a game neither team wanted to win, Kansas eventually decided to win. If they came into this breakdown .500, then I might have had them trending up hard and they certainly would have at least stayed around the same in value if not be higher.
Week 4 did not go as well as they were expecting. They were slightly outgained, but special teams let the Coyotes down massively, as they let the Pythons return kicks for over 40 yards per return, including a touchdown that almost buried any chance of a comeback midway through the third. As is, the Coyotes score a lot of points, over 25 per game, but they currently let up over 30 points per game, the most in the league, and their run defense continues to struggle.
Minnesota Grey Ducks: Starting Stock Price Medium, Maintained Value, Trending Up Hard
I don't know how they continue to do it. Last season, as a team that finished out the season 3-1 with a 6-8 record, medium was a pretty easy pick. Honestly though, this team has not really played great. They have a .500 record somehow, despite that. They get less yards per game than anyone else, and give up more yards per game than anyone else. And yet they capitalize when needed and somehow do a bend but don't break defense in a simulation engine that I'm guessing doesn't exactly allow for that to be an intentional strategy. As for why they are trending up hard? After losing 2 games, including a game where they got completely shut out by the Seawolves, they have grinded out two straight wins, going from bottom of the barrel to tied for the lead in the North.
Portland Pythons: Starting Stock Price Very Low, Gained Value, Trending Up
Granted, this is my team, but I don't really think there's any bias in this one. Considering they had the worst record in the DSFL last year at 5-9, and lost 4 of their last 5 games, giving them the Very Low stock price along with Myrtle Beach seems fair. With that in mind, the only question is whether jumping from Very Low to maybe slightly above average in terms of stock price counts as gaining value or massively gaining in value. As a Team, Portland is interesting right now. They don't truly excel at anything that isn't the scoresheet, although they aren't really bad at anything unlike the aforementioned Ducks. Maybe the fact that they're second from the bottom in yards gained is kind of bad, but it's not anywhere near as noticeable as the Ducks being last in yards for and against. Otherwise, they are right above average in terms of points scored and points against. Having a pattern of Loss-Win-Loss-Win isn't exactly great, but they've managed to beat teams that were supposed to challenge for the playoffs this year pretty comfortably. Having beaten the Coyotes by double digits in their last game, they are certainly trending upwards, and only time will tell if they rise even higher.
London Royals: Starting Stock Price High, Lost Value, Trending Up
I think giving them a high starting stock is pretty fair, as although they only had a .500 record, they did win 5 of their last 6 and head to the playoffs. With that in mind, a 2-2 record will drop them down to a mediocre stock price, albeit probably a still respectable one. A team that was supposed to have a very good offense has not really been able to get on the score sheet, and are currently the second lowest scoring team in the league. What's saved them is their defense which has held teams to pretty low point totals themselves, the second best defense in the league in that regard. To be honest, though, this team didn't seem very well put together before this last game, having won 1 game by 3 points and then having scored 10 points in the next 2 games, losing both by 13 points each.
Then the Royals did their level best to make me put them as Trending Up Hard on the back of a single game. I really can't say much else about how dominant they were against the Birddogs that I did not say in the Birddogs section, but I think it is fair to mention that it is technically a better performance than any single Seawolves game has been thus far. Of course, I can't put them at Trending Up Hard since they were on a 2 game losing streak right before that and the Birddogs appear to not be the greatest in terms of a test, but if this continues they can get back to their starting stock price and even beyond.