09-24-2020, 11:16 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-24-2020, 09:32 PM by RansackTheUniverse.)
7) Awards season is a big part of the offseason festivities. Take the stand, in 400 words or more, for one or more players that are not your own, and argue why they should receive awards glory. They can be your teammates or anyone in the league. How did their stats and on the field contribution contribute to their case this year?
Even though awards season has come and gone, I’m going to talk about a teammate of mine that had a fantastic season this year. On what was an otherwise down season for the Baltimore Hawks, linebacker Derred De Ville was one of the bright spots. De Ville was everywhere on the field for the Hawks, making plays in just about every single game. He finished the season with a solid 117 tackles, and a very impressive 13 sacks, which was good for a share of second in the league. But the most impressive part of De Ville’s season was without doubt his work in pass coverage. Derred led the entire league (defensive backs included) in passes deflected, with an insane 29. No other linebacker has had this many PDs (or led the league in PDs) in over 10 seasons, and no other player at all has had this many PDs in a season since S15. If all of this weren’t impressive enough, De Ville also added 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and two tackles for loss. He truly filled the stat sheet in every way possible on defense except for scoring himself.
Based on all of the above, I think it is clear that Derred De Ville should be a shoe in for not just the linebacker of the year award, but also for the defensive player of the year award. Other candidates for defensive player of the year award, such as Thor Kirby, Haha Mango Panda, and Dermot Lavelle Jr, had extremely impressive seasons in their own right, none of them stand up to the season De Ville had. The big part of Kirby’s case was that he had 3 safeties (and also added a TD). While that is extremely impressive, it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that De Ville had an extra 23 PDs and 42 tackles compared Kirby. For Mango Panda, he had an extremely well rounded season m just like De Ville. Unfortunately for Mango Panda, De Ville beat him in most stats – 11 more tackles, 3 more sacks, 9 more PDs, and an extra TFL and forced fumble each, while Mango Panda only beat him out by one pick six, a safety and a couple fumble recoveries. Lavelle Jr’s season is probably the hardest to compare to De Ville as he plays at corner. However, the fact that De Ville managed to tally 9 PDs more than Lavelle makes Lavelle’s case a tough one from the start. Sure Dermot recorded 6 interceptions (good for most in the league) and a touchdown, but he was beaten in every other stat by De Ville, and beaten heavily by quite a few. At the end of the day I don’t see another defensive player that can compete with De Ville’s impressive stats across the board.
9) Pick any position, and determine who in your view is the greatest player to ever suit up at that position. Why do you view them as the GOAT? What achievements, records, accolades, or statistics do they hold? How do they stack up against the other legends in their position, and why does your chosen candidate come out on top?
While there have been plenty of great cornerbacks to play in the ISFL and NSFL, one stands clearly above the rest. Dermot Lavelle is without a doubt the greatest corner to ever suit up at the position. While he may have played at a time where it was easier to rack up bigger interception and pass deflection numbers at cornerback, it doesn’t change the fact that Lavelle absolutely dominated in a way that no other cornerback ever has in the ISFL. Lavelle currently holds the career records in all three major stat categories for defensive backs - pass deflections, interceptions, and defensive touchdowns. That alone is more than enough to show that Lavelle was undoubtedly the greatest corner to ever play in the ISFL. His 249 career pass deflections was so far out of reach that had it not been for the recent change to a 16 game season, it was almost guaranteed that no one would ever top his mark (no other player has even got within 50 PDs of Dermot’s total). And even now with the 16 game season, it will still be an extremely tall task for someone to make it to 250. His 57 career interceptions is mightily impressive as well, as no other player has gotten within 10 of his mark, and only 2 players have made it to within 20.
In addition to his extremely impressive career statistics, Lavelle had an astonishing level of consistency. He made the Pro Bowl in every single one of his 13 seasons, a feat that not many others have been able to accomplish. It is somewhat surprising to see that Lavelle only managed to take home one defensive player of the year award (and even more surprising that he only won one defensive back of the year award). One has to wonder whether this was in part due to the expectations that Dermot built for himself. When Lavelle had a spectacular season, absolutely no one was surprised. However when a less highly regarded player has a similar season (even if it was slightly worse than Dermot’s) people would be more likely to take notice due to the expectations they had defied. It is more than likely that this prevented Lavelle from taking home more DPOTY and DBOTY awards. He did also manage to win a single Ultimus title, in the 2023 season, and while other players have managed to win more championships, it is hard to knock Dermot too much for this, as he is just one player out on the field out of a whole team.
Based on all of this, it seems to be clear that no one else really even comes close to challenging Lavelle for the title of the greatest ISFL cornerback of all time
Even though awards season has come and gone, I’m going to talk about a teammate of mine that had a fantastic season this year. On what was an otherwise down season for the Baltimore Hawks, linebacker Derred De Ville was one of the bright spots. De Ville was everywhere on the field for the Hawks, making plays in just about every single game. He finished the season with a solid 117 tackles, and a very impressive 13 sacks, which was good for a share of second in the league. But the most impressive part of De Ville’s season was without doubt his work in pass coverage. Derred led the entire league (defensive backs included) in passes deflected, with an insane 29. No other linebacker has had this many PDs (or led the league in PDs) in over 10 seasons, and no other player at all has had this many PDs in a season since S15. If all of this weren’t impressive enough, De Ville also added 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and two tackles for loss. He truly filled the stat sheet in every way possible on defense except for scoring himself.
Based on all of the above, I think it is clear that Derred De Ville should be a shoe in for not just the linebacker of the year award, but also for the defensive player of the year award. Other candidates for defensive player of the year award, such as Thor Kirby, Haha Mango Panda, and Dermot Lavelle Jr, had extremely impressive seasons in their own right, none of them stand up to the season De Ville had. The big part of Kirby’s case was that he had 3 safeties (and also added a TD). While that is extremely impressive, it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that De Ville had an extra 23 PDs and 42 tackles compared Kirby. For Mango Panda, he had an extremely well rounded season m just like De Ville. Unfortunately for Mango Panda, De Ville beat him in most stats – 11 more tackles, 3 more sacks, 9 more PDs, and an extra TFL and forced fumble each, while Mango Panda only beat him out by one pick six, a safety and a couple fumble recoveries. Lavelle Jr’s season is probably the hardest to compare to De Ville as he plays at corner. However, the fact that De Ville managed to tally 9 PDs more than Lavelle makes Lavelle’s case a tough one from the start. Sure Dermot recorded 6 interceptions (good for most in the league) and a touchdown, but he was beaten in every other stat by De Ville, and beaten heavily by quite a few. At the end of the day I don’t see another defensive player that can compete with De Ville’s impressive stats across the board.
9) Pick any position, and determine who in your view is the greatest player to ever suit up at that position. Why do you view them as the GOAT? What achievements, records, accolades, or statistics do they hold? How do they stack up against the other legends in their position, and why does your chosen candidate come out on top?
While there have been plenty of great cornerbacks to play in the ISFL and NSFL, one stands clearly above the rest. Dermot Lavelle is without a doubt the greatest corner to ever suit up at the position. While he may have played at a time where it was easier to rack up bigger interception and pass deflection numbers at cornerback, it doesn’t change the fact that Lavelle absolutely dominated in a way that no other cornerback ever has in the ISFL. Lavelle currently holds the career records in all three major stat categories for defensive backs - pass deflections, interceptions, and defensive touchdowns. That alone is more than enough to show that Lavelle was undoubtedly the greatest corner to ever play in the ISFL. His 249 career pass deflections was so far out of reach that had it not been for the recent change to a 16 game season, it was almost guaranteed that no one would ever top his mark (no other player has even got within 50 PDs of Dermot’s total). And even now with the 16 game season, it will still be an extremely tall task for someone to make it to 250. His 57 career interceptions is mightily impressive as well, as no other player has gotten within 10 of his mark, and only 2 players have made it to within 20.
In addition to his extremely impressive career statistics, Lavelle had an astonishing level of consistency. He made the Pro Bowl in every single one of his 13 seasons, a feat that not many others have been able to accomplish. It is somewhat surprising to see that Lavelle only managed to take home one defensive player of the year award (and even more surprising that he only won one defensive back of the year award). One has to wonder whether this was in part due to the expectations that Dermot built for himself. When Lavelle had a spectacular season, absolutely no one was surprised. However when a less highly regarded player has a similar season (even if it was slightly worse than Dermot’s) people would be more likely to take notice due to the expectations they had defied. It is more than likely that this prevented Lavelle from taking home more DPOTY and DBOTY awards. He did also manage to win a single Ultimus title, in the 2023 season, and while other players have managed to win more championships, it is hard to knock Dermot too much for this, as he is just one player out on the field out of a whole team.
Based on all of this, it seems to be clear that no one else really even comes close to challenging Lavelle for the title of the greatest ISFL cornerback of all time