13. Choose a team or player to write about that isn’t your own. What did they do well in the last season? Have they shown any drastic improvements from previous years? What could they do better?
Sarasota quarterback Willier Miller had a near perfect rookie season. He was voted as the Most Outstanding Player in the league by his peers, the Most Dedicated Member of the league for his off-the-field philanthropy, and even took home the coveted Most Valuable Player title for his remarkable season leading the Sailfish to the playoffs. However, this was two seasons ago—and unfortunately it means that Miller’s sophomore season would almost certainly be a decline from his outlandish rookie campaign. Miller had a respectable season in S42 leading the league in passing yards once again, but his efficiency metrics regressed to the mean. While this meant he still earned a Pro Bowl nomination alongside Hawks QB Preston Beatz, he did not win any additional hardware as the Sailfish failed to qualify for the postseason.
Though my player is not a quarterback, I do have some advice for Miller as he enters his third season. Stop focusing on touchdowns. I know this sounds strange, but I truly believe the team would be better served if more drives stalled out somewhere around the red zone so that the kicker could have more field goal opportunities. This would take a tremendous amount of pressure off Miller and allow him to focus on the fundamental aspects of passing. Another step that Miller could take off the field is to increase his media presence. I personally find that many players outside of Sarasota know little about the quarterback’s fascinating background, despite his storied rookie season. My suggestion for Miller would be to have his PR team beef up his Wikipedia page, which is seemingly abandoned at this time. This would allow fans to get to know Miller a bit better and make him a universally liked player in the league.
How will Miller’s career continue to unfold? Perhaps we will have to settle for Miller winning MVP only in odd-numbered years, but will that be enough to satisfy the cutthroat Sarasota management?
27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?
Before he became the kicker and punter for the Sarasota Sailfish, Swantavius King actually started out as an offensive lineman while on waivers for the Kansas City Coyotes and during the first week of his rookie season for the London Royals. After wrapping up my previous player’s career, I wanted to set my sights on breaking a significant league record. At first, I decided that I would target the career pancakes record then set by Bruce Buckley and now held by Stumpy Jones. However, I created King simultaneously with his in-universe relative Swantavius Payne, who was also an offensive lineman. Ultimately, I thought it would be more fun for both of us if we could each pursue our own records instead of competing head-to-head at the offensive lineman position, so I ended up switching to kicker to pursue the all-time points record, and I am happy to say that we are both on track to surpass our respective targets!
34. New players join our teams every season, so which of those new players made the biggest impact on the field for your team?
Although the Sarasota Sailfish acquired a couple of veterans during the offseason in Rockbot Rockbo and Chim Rickles, the most important roster addition was calling up London linebacker Max Honestly from the DSFL. Honestly was drafted by the Sailfish in the first round of the S41 ISFL draft and made his Sarasota debut in S42. He was instantly a locker room favorite and was named team captain before his rookie season, one of only two rookie players in the league to be named defensive captain. Honestly joined an established linebacker corps of Aqeel Steele and Fronky Fresh and immediately made his presence felt. Despite being a rookie, Honestly was the only one of the three to receive a Pro Bowl nomination. Max led all rookies in tackles and forced fumbles from his inside linebacker role for the Sailfish defense. His play should only continue to improve as he works to adapt his skills to the ISFL level en route to becoming a star player.
Sarasota quarterback Willier Miller had a near perfect rookie season. He was voted as the Most Outstanding Player in the league by his peers, the Most Dedicated Member of the league for his off-the-field philanthropy, and even took home the coveted Most Valuable Player title for his remarkable season leading the Sailfish to the playoffs. However, this was two seasons ago—and unfortunately it means that Miller’s sophomore season would almost certainly be a decline from his outlandish rookie campaign. Miller had a respectable season in S42 leading the league in passing yards once again, but his efficiency metrics regressed to the mean. While this meant he still earned a Pro Bowl nomination alongside Hawks QB Preston Beatz, he did not win any additional hardware as the Sailfish failed to qualify for the postseason.
Though my player is not a quarterback, I do have some advice for Miller as he enters his third season. Stop focusing on touchdowns. I know this sounds strange, but I truly believe the team would be better served if more drives stalled out somewhere around the red zone so that the kicker could have more field goal opportunities. This would take a tremendous amount of pressure off Miller and allow him to focus on the fundamental aspects of passing. Another step that Miller could take off the field is to increase his media presence. I personally find that many players outside of Sarasota know little about the quarterback’s fascinating background, despite his storied rookie season. My suggestion for Miller would be to have his PR team beef up his Wikipedia page, which is seemingly abandoned at this time. This would allow fans to get to know Miller a bit better and make him a universally liked player in the league.
How will Miller’s career continue to unfold? Perhaps we will have to settle for Miller winning MVP only in odd-numbered years, but will that be enough to satisfy the cutthroat Sarasota management?
27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why?
Before he became the kicker and punter for the Sarasota Sailfish, Swantavius King actually started out as an offensive lineman while on waivers for the Kansas City Coyotes and during the first week of his rookie season for the London Royals. After wrapping up my previous player’s career, I wanted to set my sights on breaking a significant league record. At first, I decided that I would target the career pancakes record then set by Bruce Buckley and now held by Stumpy Jones. However, I created King simultaneously with his in-universe relative Swantavius Payne, who was also an offensive lineman. Ultimately, I thought it would be more fun for both of us if we could each pursue our own records instead of competing head-to-head at the offensive lineman position, so I ended up switching to kicker to pursue the all-time points record, and I am happy to say that we are both on track to surpass our respective targets!
34. New players join our teams every season, so which of those new players made the biggest impact on the field for your team?
Although the Sarasota Sailfish acquired a couple of veterans during the offseason in Rockbot Rockbo and Chim Rickles, the most important roster addition was calling up London linebacker Max Honestly from the DSFL. Honestly was drafted by the Sailfish in the first round of the S41 ISFL draft and made his Sarasota debut in S42. He was instantly a locker room favorite and was named team captain before his rookie season, one of only two rookie players in the league to be named defensive captain. Honestly joined an established linebacker corps of Aqeel Steele and Fronky Fresh and immediately made his presence felt. Despite being a rookie, Honestly was the only one of the three to receive a Pro Bowl nomination. Max led all rookies in tackles and forced fumbles from his inside linebacker role for the Sailfish defense. His play should only continue to improve as he works to adapt his skills to the ISFL level en route to becoming a star player.