(S24) - Ultimus Week

[Buttersqauch101]

6) The road to the playoffs are a very long, rough path with a challenge in every step. One team overcame the odds and after being the second worst team in the Season at an abysmal six and ten to going nine and seven while also being the top team in the conference. Last season they struggled to get anything going offensively due to losing star wide receiver Action Jackson and breakout quarterback Dan Wright to retirement. With a rookie Quarterback in cheese man Monty Jack and former fifth overall pick Tychondrious Hood (I think I spelled it right) at 200 tpe when he came up to play for the Sabercats. The Sabercats had the 2nd worst offense of that season only behind the Chicago butchers who were playing a 50 tpe IA QB for the majority of the season which basically meant they weren’t getting any wins if they were gonna play him (even though they did come close a couple times). The rookie QB out of Dallas finished the season with a stat line of 2715 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions for a really bad season even for a rookie quarterback. On a higher note the Sabercats did end up having their rookie running back out of Minnesota win the offensive rookie of the year award in Jamar Lackson. During the offseason they draft Kansas City Coyotes wide receiver Joshua Campbell with the 2nd overall pick in the draft. Sadly around the midway point of season 24 they traded him to the Baltimore Hawks for a pick that would eventually be the 4th overall pick in the draft. They also traded for a defensive tackle out of Colorado and a couple linebackers in the draft. The asfc was a cluster fuck of a conference this year for obvious reason with 5/6 of the conference going 9/7 and of course only three of those teams get to make the playoffs. San Jose after getting an extremely clutch win in week 16 over Nola, they not only locked in a playoff spot but also locked in the number 1 seed In the playoff. After OCO beat NOLA they were hosted by San Jose who completely locked out Franklin Armstrong and the otters offense with a final score of 17-3, and for the first time since Season 15 the Sabercats had made the Ultimus. They’d be playing a rough away game vs Colorado but they still found a way to eek out the win after an extremely clutch 4th down stop with 3 minutes left

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23)
Sadly we can’t do anything like a real life pro bowl competition as even if we used madden as a sim the developers of the series are too lazy for anything that cool as it took them years just to put in a real pro bowl, but if we could use madden, QBs franklin Armstrong and Wolfie McDummy would absolutely destroy in something like dodgeball. Not only can they throw the ball over them mountains but they can also somehow run around 50 miles per hour down the field which would help them avoid them dodgeballs like they balls were allergic to them. The catch competition where you have to catch passes in certain ways and certain places as fast as possible would be amazing and the think the goat Season 17 Wide Receiver Saba Donut who is not only fast as hell but has the hands of an all pro WR with hot glue burned onto his body. He never drops anything and tbh is held back by Jay Cue who just keeps throwing picks. On the other side of the league the nsfc would be dominated by quarterback Dexter Banks throwing to the star wide receiver Sean O’Leary out of Chicago. Dexter has the “Dexter”ity :fingerguns: of a god QB and Sean O’Leary has the hands of a star Wide Receiver

[AsylumParty]

5) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue 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 Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.






As I've written the past two seasons, there are different elements of the interpersonal nature of the league that fascinates me. That said, I think that I'll take a different approach this time around. I want to discuss the Draft Day Sports.

The first time that I ever saw the sim, I think I was like many others that did not know what it would look like - disappointed. The fantastic idea of the league that I had been presented - at least, what I had perceived - was represented in dots? Of course it was too good to be true. But by the end of the game, I'll admit, I was not quite hooked, but it had not taken long to grow on me. I was actually a bit invested in my dot, which familiarly enough, is a bit of a running joke among others as well. Since then, clearly, I have grown to harbor a love-hate relationship with Draft Day Sports. I want to begin with some of the negatives, or things that might be done better, as the vast majority of this consists of praise for Draft Day Sports. Every year I count on new, wonderful implementations and upgrades to the base that Wolverine Studios have established already. Alas, every year I seem to be let down by the minimal, un-asked-for features and, particularly, the lack of asked-for features. Wolverine could certainly stand to listen to feedback and implement that in their game more frequently. Of course, as I said, I want to clarify that I do, in fact, enjoy the sim as it is. I love the strict focus of an indie studio on accurate simulation, rather than a half-bit Madden game. I really appreciate that the game is as customizable as it currently is (though, it could certainly stand to add more user-customization).

I want to branch out at this point and elaborate further on the awesome user-customization and capabilities already available that adds to the immersion necessary to actually be invested in your little dot. I think that Draft Day Sports get a lot of flak for it's lack of such, but I think that is conflated with the lack of meaningful progress *from* this point, rather than what is available. Modifying formats, for me, is huge. Be it the format of the playoffs, or even overtime can allow us to experiment as a league that attempts to emulate the National Football League with a number of limitations. Some of the limitations are number of teams and funds. So having the ability to adapt to these limitations and still maintain our goal of professional football emulation is critical, in my opinion. Further, player creation, customization, trading, and editing is incredibly easy. Of course, having several hundred active members make this a chore no matter how you look at it, but it could be much more difficult than it is, and I think Wolverine Studious has done a tremendous job of maintaining an easy-to-use functionality that is a big help to our league, especially considering the limitations that I mentioned earlier. Additionally, being able to customize things that are graphical improvements in a game that clearly does not make graphics a focus is very much appreciated. What I'm referring to are things such as the endzones (that now feature Chika), the logos, midfield, and uniforms. These really help in making teams differentiate themselves from one another. The fact that we can discuss things like branding that are also relevant in professional leagues is thanks in big part to Draft Day Sports' capabilities. Something else that is hugely complimentary and critical to this league would be the historical aspect. Games like Madden that tout the claim simulation football, often enough, do not provide any historical, or few historical additions. These play well in more minor awards, like those that occur week to week, but are very crucial in awards that occur over a player's career, like the hall of fame, or even season-to-season, like seasonal awards. Breaking it down even further, measuring players based on week-to-week, or seasonal and career stats is very important for a league like ours, which is based entirely on the simulation aspect. So, of course each of us wants our player to be a hall-of-famer, but with our index provided by Draft Day Sports, we have the opportunity to watch that struggle, from our bad games to our best ones each and every week. I know that this sounds like a commercial or advert, but I think it is important to emphasize the capabilities already allotted to us before considering where we go from where we currently are. And it is even worth mentioning things that our league does not make particular use of, but can still be compelling for users. Something I enjoyed looking at when I first started was the newspaper that covers things like stand-out performances across the league, as well as trending teams, be it upward or down. It is just another aspect of Draft Day Sports that lends itself to an immersive experience.

[r0tzbua]

7) Awards season is a big part of the offseason festivities. Take the stand, in 400 words or more, for one or more players that are not your own, and argue why they should receive awards glory. They can be your teammates or anyone in the league. How did their stats and on the field contribution contribute to their case this year? (400 Words, 5TPE)

A lot of great players earned their awards this season, if they win them or not. But for me personally (and I am biased, I know) Zoe Watts single-handedly needs to win DSFL Most Valuable Player for me. While the Dallas Birddogs (sadly) did not tear up the league and did not win the Ultimini (or did not even reach the Playoffs) no player other than her defined the identity of a team as much as she did.

While for me there is no question she should win Running Back of the Year, our record alone may hold some of the General Managers back to actually vote for her for MVP, but for me the team record does not matter in that discussion, because it is more about what players achieved in a league and less about what the team the player is on achieved and Zoe Watts clearly should lead the league in what she did this season.

Let’s start to look into the stats for her. In the rushing category we have 1303 yards, which leads the league with a slight margin of 22 yards to the next Running Back who is Captain Rogers. With an average that comes down to 4.9 yards per carry she is also in the upper third of all RBs and easily leads the Touchdown category with 10 Touchdowns. And that’s only rushing. Her Receiving yards are not that great with only 49 yards on 8 touches, but she was rarely used in that category in the Dallas offense. What adds her to the discussion of MVP even more is what she did on special teams. While only working on Kick Returns and not Punts, she amassed 763 yards and a touchdown with an amazing 23.1 yard average on kick returns. In a league where field position is extremely important this kick return yardage made sure that Dallas often started out with good field position on their offensive drives.

All together this puts her total All Purpose Yards to 2115 yards in this season, which leads the league easily in this category. Everyone who followed Dallas games should be able to see that in a lot of games Watts WAS the Dallas Offense without any question. While her supporting cast did great things in a lot of games, no one exceeded what she did for this team and she was the greatest impact player of any team in the DSFL, which should totally give her a shot and a deserved MVP award in my opinion.

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13) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S24 class and later. In 400 words or more, how has your experience been in the league? Who have you met that has made your time here more fun, friendly, and exciting? Have you been satisfied with your player’s early start? What was it like being drafted for the first time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for the entire league that you think should be implemented? (400 Words, 5TPE)

I wrote about the same topic the last time I did the Ultimus task, but it was very basic. I was here for a week then, I had no clue of anything and I didn’t really know anyone but some of my fellow rookies and people in some of the lockers rooms I was invited to. I did not know what to expect yet, I did not even know if I would like it here long term or it was something I would lose interest in pretty quickly. Boy, was I not prepared for what would come in my first season here. At most I thought I would spend some time here per week and make some acquaintances and that would be it. I did not expect I would find people I am actually close to calling friends already. (May also be a pointer to my sad state of friendships I have right now, but still awesome). Basically, when I joined the Dallas Lockerroom after the draft I instantly loved the energy in there. Loved the people and the discussions and the jokes we have going on in there. Everyone is super active and I feel like us Season 25 rookies generally blew a lot of life into the league as a whole which is great to see. But us Birddogs, I feel like we have a special locker room going on. That may be something every team member says, and I can not confirm that we are actually different than other teams, but I could not single out one person in that place that was not enjoyable to talk to.

Even outside of Dallas I met a lot of very special people that make my time in this league super enjoyable, but I want to single out a few different people which make it even more special to be here and to be accepted that quickly.

To my dear captains and GMs at Dallas who let me into their war room so quickly and started to teach me about what it means to be a captain and how to act in a war room and with your team: Thank you, you are a special bunch and I want to thank you for the trust you put in me and everything you taught me.

Being drafted for the first time was super exciting. I did not know what to expect, where I would be drafted and what it would be afterwards, but everything turned out great and while the season did not work out perfectly for us as a team it was still a great year where I put some nice stats on the board.

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[Beefstu409]

2) This week will see the S24 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.

Task 2:

The SaberCats were not a favorite coming into the S24 season.  In fact in season prediction threads they only showed up as a playoff team in about five percent of prediction posts.  It was far more common to find them last in their division.  In general this made sense, their TPE ranked in the lowest tier in the league and they weren't set up for success very well.  Outside of Honolulu they were the lowest TPE team in their division, it was steep odds.

It didn't take more than an unexciting 9-7 season to get up to first in the conference.  The SaberCats tied the Outlaws, Second Line, and Otters with that record and the ASFCs mediocrity in the playoffs was set, critical in ensuring the Cats could compete.  It wasn't terribly surprising they were able to make the championship game, more their path to the playoffs was doubted.  Matching up against the Outlaws in round one they were able to jump out to an early lead and hold that lead the entire game.  Their defense proving to be formidable holding the Outlaws to only 10 points.  Their play calling was also well split, 30 passing attempts and 34 rushes.  The balance allowed them to outclass Arizona.  On the other side of the quarterfinals, the Otters were able to take care of business with NOLA in largely the same fashion.

Moving to the semifinals the SaberCats faced the Otters.  Again their defense reigned supreme holding Orange County to only 3 total points and keeping them out of the endzone.  The rushing game was non existent for Orange County and they had to rely on Armstrong who had decent air yards, but couldn't find the endzone.  Meanwhile the SaberCats followed their same strategy as before - 35 passing attempts, 39 rushes.  They were shutout going into the half but scored the only points in the second half, enough to win 17-3 and advance to the Ultimus.  Awaiting them was a 14-2 Yeti team looking to reclaim the throne.

But how did the Colorado Yeti get here to begin with?  They were clear favorites unlike San Jose, and they led the league in TPE.  They trounced the regular season sporting the most points for and second fewest points against good for the best differential in the league.  By the time the playoffs arrived their two losses were distant memories, the Sailfish in week3 and in Arizona week 7.  With all the confidence in the world they waltzed into the dance riding the high of a nine game winning streak.  Facing the wraiths (who they recently routed 43-13) there was all the confidence in the world.  It was a tough game but Wolfie McDummy was able to air it out for 50 passing attempts and 2 touchdowns.  Though his accuracy was low, it was enough to force overtime after giving up an early lead.  In OT a huge stop off the kickoff forced a punt and great field position for McDummy's team to work.  They were able to work down to Yellowknife's 17 yard line before kicking the game winner and walking off to face the Sailfish who had a cushy matchup against the Butchers to start their playoff journey.

After a tough quarterfinals the Yeti came out a little flat and again fell behind early.  McDummy was far less involved in this game and was vastly outshined by Dexter Banks II who threw for 355 yards but no touchdowns and adding another 38 on the ground.  McDummy on the other hand aired out for only 187 yards and two interceptions.  However the Yeti defensive unit mostly bailed them out and held the 12-4 Sailfish to only 20 points.  The Sailfish had the ball deep in Colorado territory on a 4th and 3 with 1:55 to go but couldn't convert and turned over on downs allowing the Yeti to run out the clock.  Another hard fought close game tilted in favor of the Yeti and they had to feel good going into the Ultimus.  The most difficult games were behind them.  Or so they thought.

Anticipation was everywhere heading into the Ultimus.  The league was ready to crown the Yeti and nearly overlooked San Jose entirely.  After the first four drives ended in punts, the script of the game was decided, a defensive battle.  This would play to the SaberCats favor as their defensive unit had been strong allowing only 13 total points over the first two games of the postseason.  The SaberCats long drive ended in a 4th and 1 field goal from the 3 yard line of Colorado and the ball was back to the Yeti.  They were able to drive down the field and match the score with a 34 yarder of their own.  Another punt later and the Yeti had the ball back.  McDummy threw what would be the most critical interception of his career.  Krause picked him off and returned it 62 yards for the touchdown.  10-3 SaberCats.  People were starting to believe.  A good return was forgotten by another 3 and out for the Yeti and the ball was back to SJS who was able to drive down and pick up another touchdown extending to 17-3 going into the half.  They just had to ice the game, something the Cats had been great at and the third quarter proved it as it sported 8 punts.  But McDummy's Yeti wouldn't be ignored for long, they drove down the short field and scored a touchdown early in the 4th putting them in striking distance at 17-10.  2 punts later and the SaberCats were pinned deep in their territory.  Starting off a 1st and 10 with 8:46 to go on their own two.  Jack took the snap but was promptly sacked in his own endzone for a Safety, was a meltdown starting?  Not if the future champions defense had anything to say about it.  Another Yeti three and out followed by one for the SaberCats.  With 5:56 to go the Yeti take over from their 12.  They drive into enemy territory on the 45 setting up a 4th and 1 with just over three minutes left.  They... punt?  Did I read that right?  Yes they punt to the Cats and Jamar Lackson is able to ice the game on the ground for the Ultimus - a crazy unlikely ride that ends in ultimate(us) glory!

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[Mooty99]

7) Award season is upon us again and a number of Austin Copperheads are up for awards and eagerly await the voting but GMs and HO. Let's go through a few of them shall we? First of all for the dead certs and both are the same player, Austin's veteran cornerback Dermot Lavelle Jr. Dermot is up for both the returner of the year and corner back of the year and is the front runner for both of these awards. Returner of the year award is quite simple, dermot had got 3 returning touchdowns this season, the next nearest person has 1. Scrap who has the best average yards and things like that for this award that single fact will surely be enough to win this award. The other award dermot should be dead cert to get is cornerback of the year. Dermot leads not just cornerbacks but the league in interceptions with 6 this season including 1 for a touchdown. Dermot also has 20 pass deflects which is 3rd out of corner backs. Again this should be an open and shut case to why he should get this award as well. The next Copperhead who should be in line for an award is another old manner, this time the now retired Alfredo Crisco. Crisco is no stranger to awards and has had an amazing career and this season has been no different and he really should win Kicker of the year. Crisco was 1 of 3 kickers to score 100% of their extra points but he also scored the most with 38 out of 38. When it came to field goals he had a percentage of 97.2% making 35 field goals out of 36 attempts, giving him the 2nd most field goals made and the 2nd best accuracy. To top it all off when you combined field goals and extra points Crisco has scored more total points than any other kicker this year and well deserves the award over any pretenders. The last award should be my own, this is my (Mendonca's) last season and what a seaso  it has been with me in the mix for runningback of the year, what do I have go for me, well it is my combined rushing and receiving figures. I have 1810 total yards this season, over 300 more than my nearest rival. I have the highest average gain to boot and the 3rd most touchdowns, surely this old man deserves an award!


8) Austin have had a great run of making six playoffs in a row which came to an end this season, it was a shame especially as it was done to bad luck rather than anything else that stopped our 7th consecutive playoff appearance. Going forward Austin are on a slight down swing when you look at age, especially for the QB but I hope and think it will be a very short down swing if managed correctly. First let's look at the offense. Austin have lost here, RB1 has retired as has WR3, luckily Zoie Watts is coming up ready for RB duties and we have 2 Stella WRs and 1 more years of an aging but very talented Nets to contend with. At TE we have Larson for 1 more season but as he is aging a replacement should be sought soon. OL is another issue with Beaver retiring and so a replacement is required for her post haste. Lastly there is QB, Cole has been great but is looking long in the tooth, but he has 1 final season of good play left him him. Next defence, the defense is younger and getting in better and better which is only a good thing. With Montain coming in and Bowie coming up to replace Sexjoke this defense is about 2 good players away from being down right dangerous. Now how are we going to improve, quite simply it has to be through free agency, we don't have enough draft capital to pick up more than 2 or 3 complementary pieces in the draft due the the using of draft picks on the likes of Montain and the fact we need to pick up our future Quarterback in the second round so the bulk of our work should be done looking at Free Agents. Luckily for Austin the scouts are already scoring so hita in finding players ready to play, some only for a season or 2 others hopefully should be in it for the long term to lead Austin to another Ultimus. Of course I have forgot 1 last position that needs filling? Yes that is right we will need a new kicker after team legend Crisco has finally retired. It is a sad day but finding a new kicker  should be easy either through free agency or the draft but who ever comes in to replace him with have some very big shoes to fill both metaphorically and physically!

[Oneski]

Tier 2 - Task 7
Zoe Watts - OPOY - @Kyamprac
If there's anyone on the Dallas Birddogs roster that deserves true award recognition, look no further than the current face of the franchise, Zoe Watts. 
Leading the DSFL in rushing yards (1303), rushing touchdowns (10) and sitting at 4.9 yards per carry (fourth among runningbacks with over 200 carries), Watts was the clear cut offensive weapon in the DSFL this season. Now, I can hear the cries, "LoL but Dallas are trash" and here's where I say, this is an individual award recognising exceptional effort and its correlation to wins. So sit down, shut up, and lets look at how Watts contributed to Dallas' six wins, and their three game winning streak to close the season.

In Dallas' six victories, Watts amassed 623 yards on the ground on 129 carries, which puts her right around her average yards per carry (4.8 as opposed to 4.9), which accounts for near 48% of Watts total yardage on the ground this season. In practical terms, this means Watts carried the ball an average of 21.5 times per win and 16.8 times per loss. This in turn translates into an average of 103.8 yards per games when the Birddogs won, and only 85 yards per game in the remaining games, also known as losses. See the correlation? You get Watts the ball, good things happen. 

Let's take a look at how this presence on the ground translated into favourable situations for the Birddogs and how that in turn produced some big Ws in Dallas. 
Watts saved her best perfromance on the season for last, with a whopping 129 yards on 19 carries, and finding the endzone twice against Portland to close out the year. I don't need to elaborate too much in order for you to see the impact Watts made here. Though did I mention she has serious wheels? Gliding for a smooth 62 yarder against Portland helped end the year on a high.
Next, we have Dallas versus Minnesota. Watts took 21 carries for 120 yards, which included a chain moving 15 yard run. B, Murphy also logged a strong game on the ground, and this led to Dallas controlling the clock and pace of the game on the way to a W.
Another big performance from Watts versus the Luchadores, racking up 123 yards on on 25 carries, again, controlling the tempo of the game and time of possession, allowing the Birddogs to manage their talented, but young defence's time on the field.
At the start of the Dallas three game win streak to close the season, the Birddogs took a huge win on the road off the back of some tough running by Watts, 20 carries for 91 yards, which may not seem hugely impressive, but given that lead to a whopping 40-20 time of possession split, its clear to see Watts impact on the game, continually moving the chains and keeping Minnesota's offence off their home field.

Tier 2 - Task 13
I've loved my first season in the ISFL, and being part of the Dallas locker room has made the experience even sweeter. Not only is it exceptionally fun developing your player and checking in to see how they do every week, or watching the games when I get the rare chance (as a UK member of the league), I've met some really friendly people who've been equal parts informative, helpful and most importantly, funny. Big shout outs to Steg, Amidships, Kyamprac, Gucci, Inverted, R0tz, Rev and last, but definitely not least Zayn.
Lionel Rumper (S25) has had some start to his ISFL career. Entering the league fresh out of college, looking to impose his will as a box safety with limited coverage abilities, Rumper quickly had to change his game. Dallas asked him to play free safety, and model his game to suit, and although there were growing pains, Rumper ended the season with a respectable line of 57 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defended and even a safety. Even posting a much improved 4.28s 40 yard time (seriously that's ridiculous) when compared to his collegiate 4.6s 40 yard slog, showing that the Dallas strength and conditioning team are up there with the best of them. Winning three "best in show" awards at Dallas has been a huge personal highlight, but the best of the season was really in enjoying the wins with the locker room and blowing up twitter weekly come win or loss as a club. I think Dallas definitely wins DSFL twitter. 
Being drafted was a really fun experience. LancedJack, Nutbar and I all watched the draft the following day on discord which was so good, building up the hype, taking guesses at who was going where and eventually losing our shit when one of us (or AskedMadden), or people we met in the prospect bowl got drafted. Having Dallas trade up to grab Rumper the downhill thumper was unreal, absolutely huge buzz when the pick was announced after the trade, made the experience even more memorable, especially knowing it was the same landing spot as Madden, and eventually Nutbar too.
In terms of feedback for the league itself, I've really enjoyed how well organised and run it's seemed as someone totally new to all this. It's not been too difficult to manage either as someone who definitely isn't the most tech savvy in the world. Once I got the swing of the forums and how to navigate them I htink I've done a pretty decent job of earning TPE and cash in order to get the best experience I can in the league. I'm never likely to be a top earner given everything else I have on the go on life but I think I've found a good balance that's been very rewarding so far. 
5/5 would recommend

[Birdman]

16) My favorite game this season was the Week 5 matchup of the Kansas City Coyotes playing at the Norfolk Seawolves. It was my favorite game of the season despite it being a loss for my Coyotes because it was an old time, defensively focused game that you just don’t see that often anymore, with the Seawolves coming up victorious 10-3. LeBong Simwell had probably his best game of the season, registering 5 tackles, 1 for a loss, and forcing and recovering a fumble. While only one of those tackles was for a loss, every other tackle was only for a short gain – a dominant performance for the second year D-Tackle. The fumble recovery came 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter, it was still a 0-0 game at that point but the Seawolves were driving and inside KCC territory. Ramza had a good series, including a 25 yard rush and couple of completions before Skrills ran for an 11 yard gainer. The Seawolves were on the KCC 36 yard line and again went back to Skrills, and LeBong shed two blockers before absolutely blowing Skrills up and knocking the ball loose. LeBong fell on the ball, a huge play for KCC. Ultimately, it was the special teams unit that let the Coyotes down as a late 4th quarter punt return by Vaughne resulted in a 71 yard TD return. The Defense really showed up to play that game, only allowing 3 points (Special teams is a different unit after all) which is why it was my favorite game.


24) The playoffs MVP in the DSFL should absolutely be Terry Yaki of the Ultimini winning London Royals. The Royals were able to win the Ultimini through their two headed monster running back tandem. While their QB, Cortez, did enough to win games he wasn’t exactly stellar in the semi-finals or the finals. In the semi-final game against the Seawolves, Cortez passed for only 130 yards, going 15/27 (55% completion percentage), averaging only 4.8 yards per attempt. He had a nice 3 yard touchdown pass in the 4th quarter, but also threw a costly interception. Terry Yaki on the other hand made the most of his 18 carries, rushing for 99 yards for an average of 5.5 carries. He was much more efficient than Danny King, who only averaged 4.4 yards on his 24 attempts. In the Ultimini, Yaki was again the star rushing for 122 yards on only 15 attempts. He averaged 8.1 and really opened the game up for the Royals in the second quarter with an explosive 52 yard run for a TD. Cortez had a better outing under center in the Ultimini, completing 21 passes on 41 attempts for 170 yards and one TD (which was effectively garbage time at this point), but also had a costly turnover. With mediocre QB play, it was really Yaki who was the star of the playoffs.

[Rufio_NZ]

14)Create an argument for your own player, or for someone else on your team, as to why they should be nominated for awards. Lay out their stats or compare them to other contenders. Make a convincing case.

Doug Howlett ended the season with a phenomenal statistic line and helped the Tijuana Luchadores return back to the playoffs in the top seed he also was among the top in all categories for WR. Doug Howlett had 76 receptions which was the highest of all receivers while also contesting for targets with fellow maxed WR Fred Vequain, rookie stud Mark Walker, pass catching back Crowbar Theeks and tight end Thomas "the tank" Engine. This stat is often overlooked but to me it is an important facet to have a receiver that at team can rely on to make those 3rd down 13 yard catches to move the sticks. Howlett also cracked 1,000 yards for a second straight season, the second wide receiver in DSFL history to ever have two one thousand yard seasons (The first being Hasselhoff, F. in Season 9/10). Howlett came in fourth amongst Wide Receivers for the largest average (min. 50 receptions) and third in touchdowns at seven. Again, Howlett, unlike many other receivers, was sharing the ball with some of the greatest weapons in the DSFL currently but still managed to make the record books with his repeared 1,000 yard season and receptions total. If Howlett doesn't win WROTY who knows what type of chip that's going to create heading into the ISFL. (219)


26) Select any player who was drafted in the back half of a DSFL or ISFL draft. Show how that player has outperformed their draft position, or how they will soon do so. You cannot write about your own player.

The Tijuana Luchadores have been a powerhouse in recent years for creating and empowering fantastic Wide Receiver talent. This includes the likes of Fred Vequain, Jackson Kingston and Doug Howlett. For the past 3 seasons the lead role has been divided between Fred Vequain and Doug Howlett but with both now ascending to the ISFL the Wide Receiver room is shallow and will need assistance. This is where my pick for the player outperforming their draft position comes into play. Mark Walker, Wide Receiver out of Baylor University. Mark Walker was drafted in the DSFL at pick #78 but demanded atleast a top 50 pick. He is currently sitting at DSFL cap (250) and will be able to fill the vacated role left by both Howlett and Vequain. His Quarterback play should remain consistent with Boss still having a fair way to go before being called up so he won't have inconsistencies from that and Tijuana will need to either draft a wide receiver or trade for one. Needless to say that his earning has outperformed his draft position as he is now THE top receiver from his class. We can expect another great wide receiver alumni with Walker in the years to come. (204)

[rapideagle]

19) Create a billboard, magazine cover, unique trading card, or video game cover depicting a superstar of the league. Graphics only.

20) Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, highlights, or attempted armed robbery. Whatever rookies get up to these days.

14) Create an argument for your own player, or for someone else on your team, as to why they should be nominated for awards. Lay out their stats or compare them to other contenders. Make a convincing case.

21) Show your player hoisting the championship trophy. Graphics only.

[Jiggly_333]

Tier 1, Task 1:

So, I don’t think anyone around here remembers the first real controversy in the NSFL. It was back in S1, games hadn’t even been played yet. Basically, there was a GM who joined the league and got a team who didn’t actually know anything about American Football. He was Canadian, he preferred hockey, he even said as much. But he was still named a GM because he was well respected in the SHL, as was most of the GMs and leadership at the time (except Noble who had already been banned from the SHL). This wasn’t the issue, this is just setting the stage. So I’m in the draft and I’m starting to get scared about not being drafted because I’m an insecure piece of shit who somehow lives within the contradiction of having both a massive amount of self-esteem while also having a massively fragile ego. It’s very common though. Anyway, I message the guy because he was the first person to even speak to me when joining the league and he drafted me. Fun. I was a RB.

He also drafted 3 QBs. All of which said that they wanted to be the starter and refused to position-switch. This was back when position changes were still free for your first hit since we were trying to make sure all the positions were filled. But these three guys refused. So, when faced with the decision to choose one of them, the GM of the team just dipped. THat’s when he said that he knew nothing about football and couldn’t possibly be bothered enough to make such a massive decision if he didn’t know what he was doing. Fair assessment, although it puts the whole team in a really weird spot with no GM and no starting QB. So the team put together a coalition. A “Triumvirate” if you will. I was involved. I was a Co-Assistant GM alongside a guy named JBear, who would leave this league before the end of that year. The head GM was the first ever pick in the history of the league, a guy named Shaka. He would also leave very quickly, he made his own league and tried to scalp most of the league to join his instead. He’s also forgotten more about this sim than you will ever learn, which means he probably doesn’t know much anymore.

So we’re sitting around trying to figure out how to decide between the guys. All were super active and had solid reputations for being super active in the SHL. We enlist the help of a lineman who said he’s able to do test sims really quickly. We test sim with each QB to figure out who would be the starting QB. The results were… a bit inconclusive.

First out was a player named Ethan Hunt. He built a mobile QB. The test sims said that he was not going to cut it at all. He was by far the worst QB of the group. I guess we were looking more at specific passing stats. I don’t even remember stats though. I just remember the guy doing the test sims came back and said “Yeah, that’s not going to work.” So he was instantly done. Luckily for everyone, he took it well and position-switched to a WR. He also eventually changed his name multiple times and was really sporadic with activity after that.

Second player was the one who actually won the spot technically. Josh Bercovici. He clearly had the best passing stats, but not by much. I think he had more yards and less interceptions, but less TDs. I think that I gave him my vote based on the stats. Unfortunately, or I guess fortunately, the rest of the staff didn’t think he’d work out. And he didn’t. After this whole weird case where HFFO tried to blackmail my team to get his rights, Josh Bercovici ended up being taken by the Las Vegas Legion in S2. He never position-switched and was given the biggest fucking contract anyone else had heard of in league history to that point, probably even further until the team budgets probably went up over the years. Anyway, he and HFFO went inactive, the Legion mass retired, and Berc would go down in history as the most sacked QB in league history. Maybe Nick Pierno took that crown later, but I just remember someone giving that stat after Pierno had retired so I’d assume it’s still there. This was from the days before OL Bots, so it was real bad.

Finally, there was the last player. But before I reveal the last player, I’m going to reveal some other names I’ve been holding out on. First of all, this was the Orange County Otters. In S1. They were technically the oldest team based on the average age of those in the locker room. I think the average had to be somewhere in the late 20s, early 30s. The youngest two players on that team were me at 18 and JBear at 14-ish. Otherwise it was a bunch of old guys. One of those old guys: lineman Angus Winchester, the people’s MVP. It was Timeconsumer who did all of those test sims for us despite not really knowing anything about the sim beforehand. He could probably tell you guys himself, but I’m pretty sure that this situation is what inspired him to take a more active role in studying the sim itself and helping to implement better rules down the line, changing the way this league was run forever. Finally, his pick for QB:

Mike Boss.

We were worried about Boss’ super high interception numbers, but he had a ton of TDs as well. TC said that we should go with the guy who got us touchdowns, so we ended up moving forward with Boss. And Boss would go on to win 3 MVP awards, 3 OPOY awards, 5 QB of the Year awards, 8 Pro Bowls and of course, 3 Ultimus Championships. He is the all-time leader in passing yards and TDs. And he almost didn’t get the chance to do that.