Tier 1 (629 Words)
This is the first time I have been back in the ISFL for a while, but luckily, I was able to get on a fantastic team, Bondi Beach Buccaneers, who were able to win the DSFL championship this season! As someone who has not paid attention to this league in a very long time it was awesome to see, and hooked me back into the league again. Last season the Buccaneers finished dead last with a record of 2-11-1. That season Smokin Jay led the league in passing with over 4 thousand passing yards and 29 touchdowns on the year. The thing that held Bondi Beach back with the performance from their defense which was ranked as the second worst overall in the DSFL in S39. In S40 they ramped up the defense which seemed to make all the difference in the world. Compared to S39 Bondi Beach got 12 more sacks, 12 more interceptions, and 94 pass deflections which is double the amount they had the previous season.
The reason this worked so well for the Buccaneers was due to their drafting in the offseason previously. In the S40 draft the Buccaneers addressed their needs heavily, with the first overall pick taking an upcoming start Mary Marie at safety. Marie finished the season with 2 sacks, 67 tackles and 6 interceptions in their rookie season, one of the “safety” stones on the defense this past season. In the first seven rounds of the draft, all but 2 players were defensive players taken. That had to be the most surprising thing for me this season, winning the Ultimini. Bondi Beach finished with the second-best record in the DSFL, a game behind the Seawolves. However, we were able to beat them at their home stadium in the first playoff game and edging out the Pythons in a super tight championship game.
In the ISFL, we had a rematch from last season as the Outlaws played against the Wraiths in the finals yet again. But this time was different story as the team I was just recently drafted to, Arizona, was able to win the Ultimus this season. Kind of like what I mentioned before with Bondi Beach, defense was the key to them winning the championship. In S39 the Outlaws had a good defense which helped them get to the finals of course but they stepped up and improved in areas they needed to in order to win the championship next season. In S40 the Outlaws increased their turnover rate on fumbles to just below 80 percent of the time compared to 68 percent in the season prior. Being able to secure turnovers when they happen is a huge turning point in any game and gives your team a great chance of getting the win at the end of the day. The biggest change for Arizona must be in their pass defense this season. In S40 Arizona had 123 passes defended and 23 interceptions, compared to in S39 they had 88 passes defended and 10 interceptions. This really must be attributed to the secondary of Arizona improving and continuing to earn TPE the past season and so.
Was this an expected result, absolutely. The Outlaws have won a few championships back-to-back before the Wraiths ruined that streak winning next season. So, the outcome was not surprising to anyone at all. The most surprising thing this playoff season has to be the first round match up between the Otters and Copperheads. The Otters finished the season with a losing record and were able to beat the second overall seed in the playoffs in a close game 20-13. And the game came down to a fumble recovery touchdown to win the game with less than 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
This is the first time I have been back in the ISFL for a while, but luckily, I was able to get on a fantastic team, Bondi Beach Buccaneers, who were able to win the DSFL championship this season! As someone who has not paid attention to this league in a very long time it was awesome to see, and hooked me back into the league again. Last season the Buccaneers finished dead last with a record of 2-11-1. That season Smokin Jay led the league in passing with over 4 thousand passing yards and 29 touchdowns on the year. The thing that held Bondi Beach back with the performance from their defense which was ranked as the second worst overall in the DSFL in S39. In S40 they ramped up the defense which seemed to make all the difference in the world. Compared to S39 Bondi Beach got 12 more sacks, 12 more interceptions, and 94 pass deflections which is double the amount they had the previous season.
The reason this worked so well for the Buccaneers was due to their drafting in the offseason previously. In the S40 draft the Buccaneers addressed their needs heavily, with the first overall pick taking an upcoming start Mary Marie at safety. Marie finished the season with 2 sacks, 67 tackles and 6 interceptions in their rookie season, one of the “safety” stones on the defense this past season. In the first seven rounds of the draft, all but 2 players were defensive players taken. That had to be the most surprising thing for me this season, winning the Ultimini. Bondi Beach finished with the second-best record in the DSFL, a game behind the Seawolves. However, we were able to beat them at their home stadium in the first playoff game and edging out the Pythons in a super tight championship game.
In the ISFL, we had a rematch from last season as the Outlaws played against the Wraiths in the finals yet again. But this time was different story as the team I was just recently drafted to, Arizona, was able to win the Ultimus this season. Kind of like what I mentioned before with Bondi Beach, defense was the key to them winning the championship. In S39 the Outlaws had a good defense which helped them get to the finals of course but they stepped up and improved in areas they needed to in order to win the championship next season. In S40 the Outlaws increased their turnover rate on fumbles to just below 80 percent of the time compared to 68 percent in the season prior. Being able to secure turnovers when they happen is a huge turning point in any game and gives your team a great chance of getting the win at the end of the day. The biggest change for Arizona must be in their pass defense this season. In S40 Arizona had 123 passes defended and 23 interceptions, compared to in S39 they had 88 passes defended and 10 interceptions. This really must be attributed to the secondary of Arizona improving and continuing to earn TPE the past season and so.
Was this an expected result, absolutely. The Outlaws have won a few championships back-to-back before the Wraiths ruined that streak winning next season. So, the outcome was not surprising to anyone at all. The most surprising thing this playoff season has to be the first round match up between the Otters and Copperheads. The Otters finished the season with a losing record and were able to beat the second overall seed in the playoffs in a close game 20-13. And the game came down to a fumble recovery touchdown to win the game with less than 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter.