6) Write 800 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that 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 participation on a Werewolf server or something.
Going into the season, everyone in the Sailfish Locker room felt pretty good about our prospects. We felt like we were in the upper tier of teams. Arizona, Yellowknife and Chicago being the others in that tier. Through the season we played very very well. Never losing by more than a touchdown all season. That is very indicative of a good team. Being able to play close when you lose and still having blowouts that go your way.
We finished a close race with the #1 one seed. The first time in franchise history. So heading into the playoffs we were feeling really confident especially with the bye and HFA throughout the playoffs.
Before I go into the actual playoff run. I want to spend sometime going over how the team was built and what got the Sailfish to this point. I'll go over the construction of the offense and then the defense as well.
On offense, the main factor is Raphilia "don't call me Dax" Chan. Chan exploded and became one of the top running backs in the ISFL. Chan was an original expansion pick (gm pick) and after a slow start has become a corner stone of the franchise. Adding to the supporting cast are two incredible receiving options in Michael Witheblock and James Angler. Both were acquired in the S22 draft much later than the should. I think they have formed one of the best WR/TE tandems the league has seen. I would not be surprised to see both of them in the Hall someday. This supporting cast is rounded out by good support players on the OL and back up TE and WR. that have been acquired in the form of trades and draft picks. It's not possible to fill a team with stars so the support players are just as important as the max earning players. The Sailfish did really well in this regards with Smitty, Blast, Megclaw and Stallworth. All of this resolves around the QB, Mike Boss Jr. Boss Jr was an interesting prospect coming out of the draft. He came out of a very QB rich draft and for some reason was seen as a step below some of the other prospects. This worked out so well for the Sailfish because they were able to wait till late in the draft and pick up Boss Jr. Without having to give up any additional draft capital. Boss Jr has outperformed all of the QBs chosen before him. A huge theme with this Sailfish Roster is the amount of players who have outperformed their draft position. The Sailfish scouting room has always been amazing and honestly is still miles ahead of where it was just a few seasons ago.
On the defensive side of things, I have to start with Jamie Nkiah. Nkiah was the first official member of the Sailfish roster after being acquired from Arizona. He was the day one started and has been the leader of the secondary every since. One of my favorite parts of watching this team grow was watching Nkiah's evolution. Despite not seeing the production he was looking for, he provided so much value off the field. Great leader. The core of the Sailfish defense is built around their S22 starters. 4 starters are from the S22 regression class. Clemente, Dimiballs, Panda, and De ville are a great group of players all peaking at the same time. 3 were drafted and De ville was acquired via free agency ( One of the few players the Sailfish were able to woo). I won't go into detail about each person, but having a group like this that is peaking together is such a huge part of being successful. Players compliment each other and having one star players is worse than having 11 solid ones. The defensive line is the most impressive unit on the Sailfish defense. Just complexly destroying the run game. LB, Mojo, Goku and the aforementioned Dimiballs formed an absolute wall for the opposing teams. Very few teams even dared trying to run against us. Last but not least is the secondary. The Sailfish drafted Cbs in back to back years in the first round netting Harrison Andrews and Patrick Peterson. Both these players have played up to their draft position and set the Sailfish up for a shutdown secondary for years to come. they are joined by Teddy in the defensive backfield. He was an absolute steal as a 5th round pick. He has been a more than reliable started and will be able to fill the shoes Nkiah left with no drop off.
The last person to go over is Jacob Small. Another S22 draft pick, small has been one of the best kickers in the game from his first day and in my opinion the best punter in the game.
So with all this being said. Once we made the playoffs with the #1 seed we felt really good and everything went much better than we could have hoped. We dominated both our opponents and everyone had a time to shine. The Sailfish are the champs.
Wc:852
Going into the season, everyone in the Sailfish Locker room felt pretty good about our prospects. We felt like we were in the upper tier of teams. Arizona, Yellowknife and Chicago being the others in that tier. Through the season we played very very well. Never losing by more than a touchdown all season. That is very indicative of a good team. Being able to play close when you lose and still having blowouts that go your way.
We finished a close race with the #1 one seed. The first time in franchise history. So heading into the playoffs we were feeling really confident especially with the bye and HFA throughout the playoffs.
Before I go into the actual playoff run. I want to spend sometime going over how the team was built and what got the Sailfish to this point. I'll go over the construction of the offense and then the defense as well.
On offense, the main factor is Raphilia "don't call me Dax" Chan. Chan exploded and became one of the top running backs in the ISFL. Chan was an original expansion pick (gm pick) and after a slow start has become a corner stone of the franchise. Adding to the supporting cast are two incredible receiving options in Michael Witheblock and James Angler. Both were acquired in the S22 draft much later than the should. I think they have formed one of the best WR/TE tandems the league has seen. I would not be surprised to see both of them in the Hall someday. This supporting cast is rounded out by good support players on the OL and back up TE and WR. that have been acquired in the form of trades and draft picks. It's not possible to fill a team with stars so the support players are just as important as the max earning players. The Sailfish did really well in this regards with Smitty, Blast, Megclaw and Stallworth. All of this resolves around the QB, Mike Boss Jr. Boss Jr was an interesting prospect coming out of the draft. He came out of a very QB rich draft and for some reason was seen as a step below some of the other prospects. This worked out so well for the Sailfish because they were able to wait till late in the draft and pick up Boss Jr. Without having to give up any additional draft capital. Boss Jr has outperformed all of the QBs chosen before him. A huge theme with this Sailfish Roster is the amount of players who have outperformed their draft position. The Sailfish scouting room has always been amazing and honestly is still miles ahead of where it was just a few seasons ago.
On the defensive side of things, I have to start with Jamie Nkiah. Nkiah was the first official member of the Sailfish roster after being acquired from Arizona. He was the day one started and has been the leader of the secondary every since. One of my favorite parts of watching this team grow was watching Nkiah's evolution. Despite not seeing the production he was looking for, he provided so much value off the field. Great leader. The core of the Sailfish defense is built around their S22 starters. 4 starters are from the S22 regression class. Clemente, Dimiballs, Panda, and De ville are a great group of players all peaking at the same time. 3 were drafted and De ville was acquired via free agency ( One of the few players the Sailfish were able to woo). I won't go into detail about each person, but having a group like this that is peaking together is such a huge part of being successful. Players compliment each other and having one star players is worse than having 11 solid ones. The defensive line is the most impressive unit on the Sailfish defense. Just complexly destroying the run game. LB, Mojo, Goku and the aforementioned Dimiballs formed an absolute wall for the opposing teams. Very few teams even dared trying to run against us. Last but not least is the secondary. The Sailfish drafted Cbs in back to back years in the first round netting Harrison Andrews and Patrick Peterson. Both these players have played up to their draft position and set the Sailfish up for a shutdown secondary for years to come. they are joined by Teddy in the defensive backfield. He was an absolute steal as a 5th round pick. He has been a more than reliable started and will be able to fill the shoes Nkiah left with no drop off.
The last person to go over is Jacob Small. Another S22 draft pick, small has been one of the best kickers in the game from his first day and in my opinion the best punter in the game.
So with all this being said. Once we made the playoffs with the #1 seed we felt really good and everything went much better than we could have hoped. We dominated both our opponents and everyone had a time to shine. The Sailfish are the champs.
Wc:852