11-19-2020, 10:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-19-2020, 10:41 PM by GuitarMaster116.)
2) This week will see the S25 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. In 800 words or more, recount any of the previous playoff cycles of either league. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse or Cinderella teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? How did the title game play out, and which players made their mark on the field? Tell the story of those playoffs as completely as you can. Do not simply recount your own experience in those playoffs or that of a singular team.
Since I am pretty sure I can not talk about this year’s playoffs, I will talk about the other season’s playoff season that I was apart of, which was last season, S24. I am going to talk about the S24 DSFL season though and not ISFL. So, to start off, some of the things to note about the S24 season was that Tijuana, Norfolk, Portland, and London all made it to the playoffs. Out of those 4, London was the one who ended up winning the Ultimini.
Tijuana had the best record at 10-4 in the league and was just in general one of the best teams in the league that year, being amazing at home games, having a top defense and a top offense. But Norfolk upset them in a insanely close game that led to them winning and moving on to the Ultimini, where they ultimately fell to London.
Norfolk looked like by far the best team at the beginning of the season, basically curb stomping and team in their way. They went 5-0, but then went on a large losing streak. This way mainly caused by their poor offense in those games, they did have an elite defense though all year, and this showed in the game against Tijuana when Norfolk picked off Boss in overtime to basically seal the win.
Portland snuck into the playoffs with a 6-8 record and just beat out Kansas City. Honestly, this team stat wise seems more average than Kansas City was, except that Portland had the best scoring offense in the league, even though they had the worst rushing attack and one of the worst yards per game in the season. Howitzer just led this fairly strong passing attack and they were able to sneak by Kansas City with their strong offense, even with a rather poor defense. They eventually lost to London though since they were facing a London team who had the top passing offense and a top 3 defense.
Finally, the champions themselves. They may have only had a 8-6 record, but they were great team for sure. I wish we were able to see a Tijuana vs London in S24, but that would not happen until next season. They had a deadly passing attack, leading the league in it, and also had one of the best defenses in the league. Really the only downside London had was having a not so great running game, but they didn’t really need it with how well the passing offense was. This London team played amazing down the stretch to take it all and win.
I am now going to do a quick write up of each team who missed the cut and talk about their season and why they missed the playoffs.
Let us start with the team with the worst record, Minnesota. They had a horrible offense where they were trying to balance a two QB system but it just didn’t work for them. There defense as well was the worst in the league, which is surprising since they had some big name players who put up a lot of stats. But at the end of the day, this team was disjointed and ended up having the worst offense and defense. The lone bright spot on the team was the rushing attack with Vermillion and Rotchburns being one of the most dynamic duos. They ended up winning 5 games still do they weren’t completely horrible, but the wins the did have were all one score wins, and almost all of the losses were multiple score losses. Being the worst team at 5 wins is unfortunate, it just means that the rest of the league was really good that year, and Minnesota was unfortunately the team left behind.
Next up is Dallas, who had one more win over Minnesota with an 6-8 record. That is still a respectable record, as it shows how tough each team was this year. Tijuana just won the Ultimini this season with a 6-8 record. For Dallas though, they were not so lucky, being the bottom team of their conference. Compared to Minnesota, Dallas really was just a bad team in all aspects. Minnesota at least had a good rushing attack, but Dallas all across the board were not great, being 5th, 6th, and 7th, in every single major aspect. They also struggled heavily in away games, only winning 1 out of 7 away games. This led to them falling to last in their conference.
Next team up is Kansas City. The NFC North last year, while not quite as good as the SFC South, was a blood bath. All of these teams in this division were only a game or two away from being in the playoffs. Unfortunately for Kansas City though, they were the unfortunate team that just missed out. They were actually a really good team I thought though. They reminded me a lot like a lesser Norfolk. Some of the games they played in they looked ridiculously dominant. For a time, I expected them to make the playoffs as they were 6-5 at one point, which isn’t the best record, but in the last 3 games of the season they lost all 3, which ended up leading them to tying with Portland, which KC and Portland went 1-1 in the season, so Portland got in because they had the higher PF total. Looking at their stats, they had one of the better offenses in the league, they just had a relatively weak run game and defense, which unfortunately led them to their losses.
Next is Myrtle Beach. I mentioned the Minnesota were trying to imitate Myrtle Beach but were failing. That’s because what Myrtle Beach did on offense was special and unique. They had a really good QB in Daytona who actually just won the MVP this season, but they also had the one player that transformed this entire offense, and that was Owen Holloway. He was probably the most dynamic player in the league, and he led Myrtle Beach to having the number 1 rushing attack. Unfortunately though, the rest of the team didn’t perform as well as Holloway did, as they had one of the worst passing offenses and also the worst pass defense in the league. It is hard to win games by only running the ball, but Myrtle Beach did a pretty amazing job at that, getting a 7-7 record in an incredibly tough division.
That is a quick overview of the S24 DSFL Season! It was a great season coming off a reddit class and was super competitive and fun. Although it does bring back some painful memories.
Since I am pretty sure I can not talk about this year’s playoffs, I will talk about the other season’s playoff season that I was apart of, which was last season, S24. I am going to talk about the S24 DSFL season though and not ISFL. So, to start off, some of the things to note about the S24 season was that Tijuana, Norfolk, Portland, and London all made it to the playoffs. Out of those 4, London was the one who ended up winning the Ultimini.
Tijuana had the best record at 10-4 in the league and was just in general one of the best teams in the league that year, being amazing at home games, having a top defense and a top offense. But Norfolk upset them in a insanely close game that led to them winning and moving on to the Ultimini, where they ultimately fell to London.
Norfolk looked like by far the best team at the beginning of the season, basically curb stomping and team in their way. They went 5-0, but then went on a large losing streak. This way mainly caused by their poor offense in those games, they did have an elite defense though all year, and this showed in the game against Tijuana when Norfolk picked off Boss in overtime to basically seal the win.
Portland snuck into the playoffs with a 6-8 record and just beat out Kansas City. Honestly, this team stat wise seems more average than Kansas City was, except that Portland had the best scoring offense in the league, even though they had the worst rushing attack and one of the worst yards per game in the season. Howitzer just led this fairly strong passing attack and they were able to sneak by Kansas City with their strong offense, even with a rather poor defense. They eventually lost to London though since they were facing a London team who had the top passing offense and a top 3 defense.
Finally, the champions themselves. They may have only had a 8-6 record, but they were great team for sure. I wish we were able to see a Tijuana vs London in S24, but that would not happen until next season. They had a deadly passing attack, leading the league in it, and also had one of the best defenses in the league. Really the only downside London had was having a not so great running game, but they didn’t really need it with how well the passing offense was. This London team played amazing down the stretch to take it all and win.
I am now going to do a quick write up of each team who missed the cut and talk about their season and why they missed the playoffs.
Let us start with the team with the worst record, Minnesota. They had a horrible offense where they were trying to balance a two QB system but it just didn’t work for them. There defense as well was the worst in the league, which is surprising since they had some big name players who put up a lot of stats. But at the end of the day, this team was disjointed and ended up having the worst offense and defense. The lone bright spot on the team was the rushing attack with Vermillion and Rotchburns being one of the most dynamic duos. They ended up winning 5 games still do they weren’t completely horrible, but the wins the did have were all one score wins, and almost all of the losses were multiple score losses. Being the worst team at 5 wins is unfortunate, it just means that the rest of the league was really good that year, and Minnesota was unfortunately the team left behind.
Next up is Dallas, who had one more win over Minnesota with an 6-8 record. That is still a respectable record, as it shows how tough each team was this year. Tijuana just won the Ultimini this season with a 6-8 record. For Dallas though, they were not so lucky, being the bottom team of their conference. Compared to Minnesota, Dallas really was just a bad team in all aspects. Minnesota at least had a good rushing attack, but Dallas all across the board were not great, being 5th, 6th, and 7th, in every single major aspect. They also struggled heavily in away games, only winning 1 out of 7 away games. This led to them falling to last in their conference.
Next team up is Kansas City. The NFC North last year, while not quite as good as the SFC South, was a blood bath. All of these teams in this division were only a game or two away from being in the playoffs. Unfortunately for Kansas City though, they were the unfortunate team that just missed out. They were actually a really good team I thought though. They reminded me a lot like a lesser Norfolk. Some of the games they played in they looked ridiculously dominant. For a time, I expected them to make the playoffs as they were 6-5 at one point, which isn’t the best record, but in the last 3 games of the season they lost all 3, which ended up leading them to tying with Portland, which KC and Portland went 1-1 in the season, so Portland got in because they had the higher PF total. Looking at their stats, they had one of the better offenses in the league, they just had a relatively weak run game and defense, which unfortunately led them to their losses.
Next is Myrtle Beach. I mentioned the Minnesota were trying to imitate Myrtle Beach but were failing. That’s because what Myrtle Beach did on offense was special and unique. They had a really good QB in Daytona who actually just won the MVP this season, but they also had the one player that transformed this entire offense, and that was Owen Holloway. He was probably the most dynamic player in the league, and he led Myrtle Beach to having the number 1 rushing attack. Unfortunately though, the rest of the team didn’t perform as well as Holloway did, as they had one of the worst passing offenses and also the worst pass defense in the league. It is hard to win games by only running the ball, but Myrtle Beach did a pretty amazing job at that, getting a 7-7 record in an incredibly tough division.
That is a quick overview of the S24 DSFL Season! It was a great season coming off a reddit class and was super competitive and fun. Although it does bring back some painful memories.
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