Welcome to the Season Three NSFL in Review series! There will be 8 parts to this, one for each team in record/elimination order.
We have already had:
NSFL in Review: Las Vegas Legion, The Good, The Bad, The Future
NSFL in Review: Colorado Yeti, The Good, Bad, and Future
NSFL in Review: San Jose SaberCats, The Good, Bad, and Future
NSFL in Review: Yellowknife Wraiths, The Good, The Bad, The Future
NSFL in Review: Philadelphia Liberty, The Good, The Bad, The Future
Next up we have the Orange County Otters, who finished 2nd in the American Simulation Football Conference this season to make the playoffs for the 3rd time in a row.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]
Orange County Otters
8-6
[span style=\\'font-size:14pt;line-height:100%\\']Second in ASFC[/span]
[/div]
The Otters had plenty of great things going for them in season 3 despite having to play in the same conference as the Outlaws. Here are the top 3 things I think they had going for them:
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Good[/div]
Number One: Mike...friggin’...Boss. He is easily the best quarterback in the league with a 91.9 passer rating and the highest completion percentage among all quarterbacks having played all games this season and leads one of the best offenses in the league with most touchdown passes thrown and only 0.85 interceptions per game. According to @JuOSu and StevenO’Sullivan’s research, Mike Boss absolutely shattered passing records in the regular season:
Most Passing Attempts (624 - beats 546 from J. Christ last season)
Most Passing Completions (380 - beats 332 from C. Orosz last season)
Most Passing Yards (4649 - beats C. Orosz 3663 from this year and 3657 from last year)
Most Passing TDs (30 - beats 28 from C. Orosz this year and 25 from K. Bronko last year)
Passing Rating (91.9 - beats 91.6 from K. Bronko this year and 84.1 from C. Orosz last year)
This was the Bossman’s year and it’ll be incredible to see what he accomplishes next season.
Number Two: The Otters have one of the best offensive lines in the league with Gregor Clegane and Angus Winchester holding the line. They play a large part in the success that the offense had in season 3. Clegane and Winchester are elite Tackles who rank in the top 4 pancakes category with 63 and 73 respectively. Winchester is one of only three offensive lineman with 0 sacks allowed and more than 60 pancakes and only ended the regular season with 2 less pancakes behind Arizona Outlaw Tim Pest. Clegane only gave up 2 sacks this season. Guard Cliff Hamilton also had a noteworthy performance this season with 44 pancakes and 6 sacks allowed. With an offensive line like this, Mike Boss can stay in the pocket longer than most quarterbacks in the league.
Number Three: Wide receivers Robert Phelps and Bradley Westfield are the other Otters duo of offensive efficiency. Mike Boss has two of the top receivers in the league and both are highly capable of scoring in a hurry. Both players rank top two in receptions for wide receivers, total yards, and touchdowns. Only San Jose and Yellowknife can boast 2 wide receivers with comparable ability, but Phelps and Westfield are miles ahead of the competition. Westfield had a phenomenal season with 1625 yards and Phelps had 1284.
Despite having the best offense in the league, the Otters are a curious case and their 8-6 record is not indicative of their overall potential. Here are the bad things we found this season.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Bad[/div]
Number One: Free agency is here and it’s going to hit the Otters hard since Mike Boss is on the market. If he stays, then the Otters can breathe a sigh of relief and continue moving forward with developing an even more potent offense. If he leaves...well...the Otters will be scrambling to join the Quarterback sweepstakes for Ethan Hunt or Chris Orosz. With negotiations at a stand still and tensions running high in the Orange County camp, the future of Boss as an Otter is uncertain.
Number Two: Retirement has hit the mighty Otters across the face like a fish smacking an Otter...well..in the face! They’ve lost Franklin Harris Sr., Vick Bowers Jr., and recently Leroy Jenkins has announced retirement. This has left some big gaps in the Otters roster and there will be some big shoes to fill in the next season, especially if Boss leaves. The Otters won’t be able to sustain their core if more players continue to retire.
Number Three: The Otters finished the regular season with a surprising 8-6 record. This is a curious case since they have the best offense in the league and arguable, a top tier defense. Despite ranking 3rd in tackles for loss and forced fumbles, they can’t seem to close out games. The Otters also have a knack for losing to lesser teams in the league. They lost by 1 point to San Jose in week 4 and week 12 against Philadelphia. Granted these were road games, but they lost to Yellowknife at home in week 14, 32-17. It’s difficult to pinpoint the problem and they have had 8 of their games end within two scores (win or loss).
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Future[/div]
It will be imperative that the Otters resign Mike Boss. Their future will depend on his committal to Orange County. They’ll also need to consider resigning Westfield to maintain their receiving dominance. Erlich Burnsman will also need to step up this upcoming season and he’s shown some flashes of brilliance with 11 rushing touchdowns this season. Losing Jenkins will set the offense back a bit next season as Burnsman continues to develop. They’ve run running back by committee all 3 years and only having Burnsman left may have them switching up their scheme a bit.
The Otters also recently announced the appointment of JuOSu. This was an excellent choice that should keep the Otters steering in the right direction given his energy and enthusiasm to help the team succeed.
Their defensive backfield will remain strong with J.D. Boom and Julian O’Sullivan becoming new defensive stalwarts for an already elite secondary. The core is active and making great headway on overall development with already exceptional players in cornerback Marc Spector, Dominic Verns, Ian Bavitz, and George Wright Jr.
We have already had:
NSFL in Review: Las Vegas Legion, The Good, The Bad, The Future
NSFL in Review: Colorado Yeti, The Good, Bad, and Future
NSFL in Review: San Jose SaberCats, The Good, Bad, and Future
NSFL in Review: Yellowknife Wraiths, The Good, The Bad, The Future
NSFL in Review: Philadelphia Liberty, The Good, The Bad, The Future
Next up we have the Orange County Otters, who finished 2nd in the American Simulation Football Conference this season to make the playoffs for the 3rd time in a row.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]
Orange County Otters
8-6
[span style=\\'font-size:14pt;line-height:100%\\']Second in ASFC[/span]
[/div]
The Otters had plenty of great things going for them in season 3 despite having to play in the same conference as the Outlaws. Here are the top 3 things I think they had going for them:
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Good[/div]
Number One: Mike...friggin’...Boss. He is easily the best quarterback in the league with a 91.9 passer rating and the highest completion percentage among all quarterbacks having played all games this season and leads one of the best offenses in the league with most touchdown passes thrown and only 0.85 interceptions per game. According to @JuOSu and StevenO’Sullivan’s research, Mike Boss absolutely shattered passing records in the regular season:
Most Passing Attempts (624 - beats 546 from J. Christ last season)
Most Passing Completions (380 - beats 332 from C. Orosz last season)
Most Passing Yards (4649 - beats C. Orosz 3663 from this year and 3657 from last year)
Most Passing TDs (30 - beats 28 from C. Orosz this year and 25 from K. Bronko last year)
Passing Rating (91.9 - beats 91.6 from K. Bronko this year and 84.1 from C. Orosz last year)
This was the Bossman’s year and it’ll be incredible to see what he accomplishes next season.
Number Two: The Otters have one of the best offensive lines in the league with Gregor Clegane and Angus Winchester holding the line. They play a large part in the success that the offense had in season 3. Clegane and Winchester are elite Tackles who rank in the top 4 pancakes category with 63 and 73 respectively. Winchester is one of only three offensive lineman with 0 sacks allowed and more than 60 pancakes and only ended the regular season with 2 less pancakes behind Arizona Outlaw Tim Pest. Clegane only gave up 2 sacks this season. Guard Cliff Hamilton also had a noteworthy performance this season with 44 pancakes and 6 sacks allowed. With an offensive line like this, Mike Boss can stay in the pocket longer than most quarterbacks in the league.
Number Three: Wide receivers Robert Phelps and Bradley Westfield are the other Otters duo of offensive efficiency. Mike Boss has two of the top receivers in the league and both are highly capable of scoring in a hurry. Both players rank top two in receptions for wide receivers, total yards, and touchdowns. Only San Jose and Yellowknife can boast 2 wide receivers with comparable ability, but Phelps and Westfield are miles ahead of the competition. Westfield had a phenomenal season with 1625 yards and Phelps had 1284.
Despite having the best offense in the league, the Otters are a curious case and their 8-6 record is not indicative of their overall potential. Here are the bad things we found this season.
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Bad[/div]
Number One: Free agency is here and it’s going to hit the Otters hard since Mike Boss is on the market. If he stays, then the Otters can breathe a sigh of relief and continue moving forward with developing an even more potent offense. If he leaves...well...the Otters will be scrambling to join the Quarterback sweepstakes for Ethan Hunt or Chris Orosz. With negotiations at a stand still and tensions running high in the Orange County camp, the future of Boss as an Otter is uncertain.
Number Two: Retirement has hit the mighty Otters across the face like a fish smacking an Otter...well..in the face! They’ve lost Franklin Harris Sr., Vick Bowers Jr., and recently Leroy Jenkins has announced retirement. This has left some big gaps in the Otters roster and there will be some big shoes to fill in the next season, especially if Boss leaves. The Otters won’t be able to sustain their core if more players continue to retire.
Number Three: The Otters finished the regular season with a surprising 8-6 record. This is a curious case since they have the best offense in the league and arguable, a top tier defense. Despite ranking 3rd in tackles for loss and forced fumbles, they can’t seem to close out games. The Otters also have a knack for losing to lesser teams in the league. They lost by 1 point to San Jose in week 4 and week 12 against Philadelphia. Granted these were road games, but they lost to Yellowknife at home in week 14, 32-17. It’s difficult to pinpoint the problem and they have had 8 of their games end within two scores (win or loss).
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Future[/div]
It will be imperative that the Otters resign Mike Boss. Their future will depend on his committal to Orange County. They’ll also need to consider resigning Westfield to maintain their receiving dominance. Erlich Burnsman will also need to step up this upcoming season and he’s shown some flashes of brilliance with 11 rushing touchdowns this season. Losing Jenkins will set the offense back a bit next season as Burnsman continues to develop. They’ve run running back by committee all 3 years and only having Burnsman left may have them switching up their scheme a bit.
The Otters also recently announced the appointment of JuOSu. This was an excellent choice that should keep the Otters steering in the right direction given his energy and enthusiasm to help the team succeed.
Their defensive backfield will remain strong with J.D. Boom and Julian O’Sullivan becoming new defensive stalwarts for an already elite secondary. The core is active and making great headway on overall development with already exceptional players in cornerback Marc Spector, Dominic Verns, Ian Bavitz, and George Wright Jr.
Quote:$500k to @kckolbe for helping me finish this article