Tier 1, Task 5: Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.
As a relatively new member, the ISFL has presented me with a number of opportunities to get involved in the community. One such opportunity that I have found very interesting has been working as a contributor for the ISFL wiki. For those of you that are unaware, the ISFL has a dedicated Wikipedia site, detailing many different things such as past drafts, team rosters, and specifically what I worked on, DSFL records. The record pages include both career and single-season records across offense, defense, and special teams. During my time spent updating all of these DSFL record pages, I came across a handful of statistics that caught my eye, some very high outliers for example. This post will examine just a few of these from all three aspects of the game.
Offense
Longest completed pass: 80 yards, Jim McMahon, QB, Palm Beach Solar Bears, Season 5 (2020)
Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly), the leaders for yards and touchdowns thrown are all fairly close to one another if not tied in the latter's case. However, one statistic that stood out to me was longest pass completed. Especially in the DSFL, it is fairly rare to see very long completions as receivers' speed can only go so high with the 250 TPE cap. All the more reason that Solar Bears' QB Jim McMahon's 80 yard completion stuck out to me. For reference, the next longest completed pass is only 66 yards. Just a quick side note, the Palm Beach Solar Bears are a now-defunct DSFL team who transitioned into being the modern Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. Getting back on track, this pass happened in the Solar Bears very first game of season five (index link for the game can be found here). Unsurprisingly, the pass went for a touchdown. My best guess as to what happened on this play is either the receiver simply outran the cornerback and/or safety, or the cornerback caught up and simply lacked the strength to tackle the receiver who dragged them all the way down the field. Despite this record setting throw by McMahon, Solar Bears kicker Kevin Butler would actually miss the extra point, and the Solar Bears would go on to lose this game 23-27.
Defense
Most defensive touchdowns in a season: 4, Oskar Ludvig, CB, San Antonio Marshals, Season 8 (2023)
The uncontested leader for most defensive touchdowns in a season, Oskar Ludvig was a statistical anomaly. While he is not the leader for most career defensive touchdowns - that would be Myrtle Beach cornerback Kacey Dream with 5 total across three DSFL seasons - Ludvig only played one season in the DSFL and managed to get an incredible four defensive touchdowns. Most defensive players are lucky if they even get one, but Ludvig defied the odds and did quadruple that amount. Taking a bit of a deeper dive into this season, Ludvig was actually part of a very impressive San Antonio Marshals team (now defunct, the Marshals transitioned into being the Minnesota Grey Ducks) that went 11-3 (index link here), largely thanks to their defense who recorded 8 total defensive touchdowns that year. While Ludvig obviously recorded half of those, his teammate and fellow DB Bucky Barnes had 3 of the remaining 4, another feat worthy of recognition as he is one of only 5 players to record 3 in a single season. Despite this incredible season, the Marshals actually lost in the first round of the DSFL playoffs to Tijuana by a score of 13-14. Ludvig had 1 tackle and 3 passes defended that game, the last game of his DSFL career. He went on to be drafted by the Colorado Yeti with the sixth pick in the first round.
Special Teams
Fewest kick returns in a season while recording a kick-return touchdown: 2, Octavius Godspeed, RB, Kansas City Coyotes, Season 18 (2033)
When people think special teams, they generally think of kicking and punting. While there are a few stats in those categories that caught my eye, I tried to make this one a bit more interesting. Let me introduce to you Octavius Godspeed, a running back for the 2033 Kansas City Coyotes who has recorded 2 total kickoff returns. Both occurred in the Coyotes' first game of the season against the Norfolk Seawolves (index link here). His first kick return went 92 yards to the house for a Coyotes touchdown. His second kick return went nowhere, returned for 0 yards. After that, he never touched the ball again on kick or punt returns, at least in the DSFL. I understand that the sim engine is very much RNG-based, but this stat is just bonkers to me. I can only assume Godspeed was not the designated returner on the Coyotes that year. This is supported by the fact that he has only 5 career kickoff returns in the DSFL, and a DSFL career total of 138 kickoff return yards. That being said he certainly made the most of his opportunity when given it. His score actually helped the Coyotes tie the game at 17-17. Regulation ended with a 24-24 score as the Coyotes manage to score from 2 yards out on the last play of the 4th quarter to send the game to overtime. There they won 27-24 over Norfolk. Godspeed was not drafted, which leads me to believe that he was actually a bot player and not a user-controlled one.
The DSFL is filled with tons of interesting statistics that you just need to do a little digging to find. While I have not yet exported the ISFL team data, I imagine there will be even more statistical outliers to examine.
As a relatively new member, the ISFL has presented me with a number of opportunities to get involved in the community. One such opportunity that I have found very interesting has been working as a contributor for the ISFL wiki. For those of you that are unaware, the ISFL has a dedicated Wikipedia site, detailing many different things such as past drafts, team rosters, and specifically what I worked on, DSFL records. The record pages include both career and single-season records across offense, defense, and special teams. During my time spent updating all of these DSFL record pages, I came across a handful of statistics that caught my eye, some very high outliers for example. This post will examine just a few of these from all three aspects of the game.
Offense
Longest completed pass: 80 yards, Jim McMahon, QB, Palm Beach Solar Bears, Season 5 (2020)
Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly), the leaders for yards and touchdowns thrown are all fairly close to one another if not tied in the latter's case. However, one statistic that stood out to me was longest pass completed. Especially in the DSFL, it is fairly rare to see very long completions as receivers' speed can only go so high with the 250 TPE cap. All the more reason that Solar Bears' QB Jim McMahon's 80 yard completion stuck out to me. For reference, the next longest completed pass is only 66 yards. Just a quick side note, the Palm Beach Solar Bears are a now-defunct DSFL team who transitioned into being the modern Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. Getting back on track, this pass happened in the Solar Bears very first game of season five (index link for the game can be found here). Unsurprisingly, the pass went for a touchdown. My best guess as to what happened on this play is either the receiver simply outran the cornerback and/or safety, or the cornerback caught up and simply lacked the strength to tackle the receiver who dragged them all the way down the field. Despite this record setting throw by McMahon, Solar Bears kicker Kevin Butler would actually miss the extra point, and the Solar Bears would go on to lose this game 23-27.
Defense
Most defensive touchdowns in a season: 4, Oskar Ludvig, CB, San Antonio Marshals, Season 8 (2023)
The uncontested leader for most defensive touchdowns in a season, Oskar Ludvig was a statistical anomaly. While he is not the leader for most career defensive touchdowns - that would be Myrtle Beach cornerback Kacey Dream with 5 total across three DSFL seasons - Ludvig only played one season in the DSFL and managed to get an incredible four defensive touchdowns. Most defensive players are lucky if they even get one, but Ludvig defied the odds and did quadruple that amount. Taking a bit of a deeper dive into this season, Ludvig was actually part of a very impressive San Antonio Marshals team (now defunct, the Marshals transitioned into being the Minnesota Grey Ducks) that went 11-3 (index link here), largely thanks to their defense who recorded 8 total defensive touchdowns that year. While Ludvig obviously recorded half of those, his teammate and fellow DB Bucky Barnes had 3 of the remaining 4, another feat worthy of recognition as he is one of only 5 players to record 3 in a single season. Despite this incredible season, the Marshals actually lost in the first round of the DSFL playoffs to Tijuana by a score of 13-14. Ludvig had 1 tackle and 3 passes defended that game, the last game of his DSFL career. He went on to be drafted by the Colorado Yeti with the sixth pick in the first round.
Special Teams
Fewest kick returns in a season while recording a kick-return touchdown: 2, Octavius Godspeed, RB, Kansas City Coyotes, Season 18 (2033)
When people think special teams, they generally think of kicking and punting. While there are a few stats in those categories that caught my eye, I tried to make this one a bit more interesting. Let me introduce to you Octavius Godspeed, a running back for the 2033 Kansas City Coyotes who has recorded 2 total kickoff returns. Both occurred in the Coyotes' first game of the season against the Norfolk Seawolves (index link here). His first kick return went 92 yards to the house for a Coyotes touchdown. His second kick return went nowhere, returned for 0 yards. After that, he never touched the ball again on kick or punt returns, at least in the DSFL. I understand that the sim engine is very much RNG-based, but this stat is just bonkers to me. I can only assume Godspeed was not the designated returner on the Coyotes that year. This is supported by the fact that he has only 5 career kickoff returns in the DSFL, and a DSFL career total of 138 kickoff return yards. That being said he certainly made the most of his opportunity when given it. His score actually helped the Coyotes tie the game at 17-17. Regulation ended with a 24-24 score as the Coyotes manage to score from 2 yards out on the last play of the 4th quarter to send the game to overtime. There they won 27-24 over Norfolk. Godspeed was not drafted, which leads me to believe that he was actually a bot player and not a user-controlled one.
The DSFL is filled with tons of interesting statistics that you just need to do a little digging to find. While I have not yet exported the ISFL team data, I imagine there will be even more statistical outliers to examine.
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939 words