Tier 1, option 2, or 3
The Story of the s14 playoffs, but mainly the Pythons
The time? It was the off-season between DSFL S13 and 14. After a strong DSFL class before S11, things had settled down. The next few classes were weak. Teams around the league were running out of talent. Portland had captured the S11 DSFL championship, but the next few seasons had been met with disappointment. They made the playoffs, but continued to lose in the first round.
At this point in time, Portland was running on empty. They had a solid QB in Caleb McCoy, two very good linebackers in Gekume Stokeley and Leighton Lee, a decent receiver Bonaberi Jones, and a serviceable running back in the Pythons legend Smallwood-Chess. The locker room was dead, and morale was low. Then, something happened that would change NSFL history. The legendary S15 NSFL draft class entered the league. All of the sudden, two new teams, Norfolk and Palm Beach, had to come into play to take on this new wave of talent. DSFL GMs were scrambling to scout 100+ new players.
The Pythons knew all along they would draft Edmonov Emoji with their first pick. But what about the later rounds? For the Pythons management, drafting a running back was key. Sure, Terry Taffy, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Marshall were in this draft. But Portland decided to draft the bouncy Kermit Stronglegs. The froglike running back showed a lot of potential, but wasn't good enough to make it past the developmental league. In the 3rd round, Portland grabbed another elite corner Richard D'Attoria to play across from Emoji. With that, and the send down of the Pythons linebacker core, the Stranglehold defense was born.
In the fourth round, Portland grabbed yet another stud defensive back Xerxes Ridley. They weren't done adding defense. In the fifth, they added the guy who would go on to set a DSFL record for tackles in Lanzer Grievous. They added yet another killer LB by drafting Lightsout Lewis in the 6th
With a returning QB, and a strong RB prospect, it's clear Portland wanted to beef up the defense. With that done, they were willing to trade away their 7th round pick for what would become the s15 1OA. They'd had a good draft, and could go home, right? Nope, they drafted Otters stud DT AJ Lattimer in the 8th, grabbed future Otters star and the best QB in the draft Franklin Armstrong in the 11th... Oh, and they drafted the best kicker in the draft in the 13th. All in all, a good draft, but a lot of teams had good drafts. The season was yet to be played.
Oh and BTW, the Colorado Yeti called up QB Caleb McCoy to play safety. This set the stage for rookie Franklin Armstrong to prove he belonged.
In week 1, Portland let the world know they weren't here to mess around. A 41-0 win at home vs Tijuana was a massive accomplishment. Then, they immediately killed their fans dreams by losing 17-20 @ Norfolk. In weeks 3-4, they destroyed the Kansas City Coyotes (the team which faired the worst in the draft) twice. Then in week 5, they traveled to San Antonio to play the undefeated Marshals. Cooter Bigsby and Co squeaked out a win, and suddenly, Portland is looking like the strongest 3-2 team of all time. Portland was 5-2 when San Antonio got to visit Portland. Cooter tossed a costly interception at the goal line, and the Pythons squeezed out a 20-17 win.
Week 9 was a trap game. On the road against a Luchadores team they had dominated week 1, they couldn't pull things together and lost 24-20. They followed that up with a win in Norfolk, then lost an embarrassing game in Kansas City vs the hapless Coyotes. They bounced back and cruised through the 3 game home stretch to close out the season 10-4. In the other division, San Antonio was 13-1...
The first round of the playoffs, Portland faced the scrappy expansion team from Norfolk. It was an ugly game, but Portland survived 16-13. On the other side of the bracket, the sim gods bestowed favor upon Portland. Tijuana rode into San Antonio and crushed the Marshals 15-1 dreams. Remember the Alamo indeed. Now the Pythons would face the team they had beaten 41-0 in week 1... For the title.
Franklin Armstong had an incredible rookie season that lead to MVP, QBoty, and Roty wins. Bonaberi Jones had an WRorty caliber season. But, perhaps it was the RB carousel that allowed the offense to thrive. Stronglegs, BSC, and the waiver acquisition RKANSAW N/A relentlessly wore down defenses. In the Ultimini, perhaps this is most apparent. Armstong tossed 3 picks. The offense should have collapsed. But the RBs combined for over 200 yards on incredible efficiency. Shout out to the defense that held future star Corvo Havran to 15/29 for 165 yards, and Forest Gump to 15 carries and 78 yards. A dominant season ended in a dominant 34-20 win.
The Story of the s14 playoffs, but mainly the Pythons
The time? It was the off-season between DSFL S13 and 14. After a strong DSFL class before S11, things had settled down. The next few classes were weak. Teams around the league were running out of talent. Portland had captured the S11 DSFL championship, but the next few seasons had been met with disappointment. They made the playoffs, but continued to lose in the first round.
At this point in time, Portland was running on empty. They had a solid QB in Caleb McCoy, two very good linebackers in Gekume Stokeley and Leighton Lee, a decent receiver Bonaberi Jones, and a serviceable running back in the Pythons legend Smallwood-Chess. The locker room was dead, and morale was low. Then, something happened that would change NSFL history. The legendary S15 NSFL draft class entered the league. All of the sudden, two new teams, Norfolk and Palm Beach, had to come into play to take on this new wave of talent. DSFL GMs were scrambling to scout 100+ new players.
The Pythons knew all along they would draft Edmonov Emoji with their first pick. But what about the later rounds? For the Pythons management, drafting a running back was key. Sure, Terry Taffy, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Marshall were in this draft. But Portland decided to draft the bouncy Kermit Stronglegs. The froglike running back showed a lot of potential, but wasn't good enough to make it past the developmental league. In the 3rd round, Portland grabbed another elite corner Richard D'Attoria to play across from Emoji. With that, and the send down of the Pythons linebacker core, the Stranglehold defense was born.
In the fourth round, Portland grabbed yet another stud defensive back Xerxes Ridley. They weren't done adding defense. In the fifth, they added the guy who would go on to set a DSFL record for tackles in Lanzer Grievous. They added yet another killer LB by drafting Lightsout Lewis in the 6th
With a returning QB, and a strong RB prospect, it's clear Portland wanted to beef up the defense. With that done, they were willing to trade away their 7th round pick for what would become the s15 1OA. They'd had a good draft, and could go home, right? Nope, they drafted Otters stud DT AJ Lattimer in the 8th, grabbed future Otters star and the best QB in the draft Franklin Armstrong in the 11th... Oh, and they drafted the best kicker in the draft in the 13th. All in all, a good draft, but a lot of teams had good drafts. The season was yet to be played.
Oh and BTW, the Colorado Yeti called up QB Caleb McCoy to play safety. This set the stage for rookie Franklin Armstrong to prove he belonged.
In week 1, Portland let the world know they weren't here to mess around. A 41-0 win at home vs Tijuana was a massive accomplishment. Then, they immediately killed their fans dreams by losing 17-20 @ Norfolk. In weeks 3-4, they destroyed the Kansas City Coyotes (the team which faired the worst in the draft) twice. Then in week 5, they traveled to San Antonio to play the undefeated Marshals. Cooter Bigsby and Co squeaked out a win, and suddenly, Portland is looking like the strongest 3-2 team of all time. Portland was 5-2 when San Antonio got to visit Portland. Cooter tossed a costly interception at the goal line, and the Pythons squeezed out a 20-17 win.
Week 9 was a trap game. On the road against a Luchadores team they had dominated week 1, they couldn't pull things together and lost 24-20. They followed that up with a win in Norfolk, then lost an embarrassing game in Kansas City vs the hapless Coyotes. They bounced back and cruised through the 3 game home stretch to close out the season 10-4. In the other division, San Antonio was 13-1...
The first round of the playoffs, Portland faced the scrappy expansion team from Norfolk. It was an ugly game, but Portland survived 16-13. On the other side of the bracket, the sim gods bestowed favor upon Portland. Tijuana rode into San Antonio and crushed the Marshals 15-1 dreams. Remember the Alamo indeed. Now the Pythons would face the team they had beaten 41-0 in week 1... For the title.
Franklin Armstong had an incredible rookie season that lead to MVP, QBoty, and Roty wins. Bonaberi Jones had an WRorty caliber season. But, perhaps it was the RB carousel that allowed the offense to thrive. Stronglegs, BSC, and the waiver acquisition RKANSAW N/A relentlessly wore down defenses. In the Ultimini, perhaps this is most apparent. Armstong tossed 3 picks. The offense should have collapsed. But the RBs combined for over 200 yards on incredible efficiency. Shout out to the defense that held future star Corvo Havran to 15/29 for 165 yards, and Forest Gump to 15 carries and 78 yards. A dominant season ended in a dominant 34-20 win.