(S26) - PT 5 - Fortune Teller

[Cincyfan96]

I don't know about the new sim and I'm no fortune teller when it comes to new recruits and how we'll grow from here, but what I can tell you is that the team to watch out for in S27 and forward is found in Berlin and they are FIRE (salamanders). Berlin is set up to be the breakout team this coming season with a maxing QB, tremendous RB in Joe Petro, and a defense that, while they have allowed a LOT of points this year, has the foundational pieces you're looking for. This team is a few roster moves and weeks of player development away from being a wrecking ball. There is virtually no regression to be feared as they drafted young at the time of their inception 2 seasons ago and have a plethora of players looking to peak at the exact same time. That combined with a fun locker room, great GMs, and a handful of players who are too gosh darn stubborn to quit until we make it to the top, and you're looking at a team that you don't want to make the flight to your stadium next year. Ready or not, here we come!

[GoonerBear]

With the new sim engine around the corner, I would figure there will be much more breathing room for running backs with the ability to add another back into formations. I would expect an increase in RB creates accordingly. In addition, bruiser backs might actually be viable in a sim engine and progression setup where speed is much more limited on players who aren't committed to it, and players committed to it suffer in other aspects. San Jose should come out more consistent in the run game with two options now able to stand on the field together, and not necessarily in a FB/HB pairing. 2021 is going to be a time of figuring out a new metagame, building new kinds of teams from the available players, players experimenting and wanting to be the first great of new build types. Though, in general, I expect it to take a couple of seasons before we get to an arrangement where teams will try to copy the "best" team and players will try to copy the "best" players. Just like its real-life counterpart, the ISFL is a competitive league where copying the leader gets results, even if not Ultimus trophies.

On defense, I would imagine speed also would make players really try to lean more into their roles there as well. Speedy corners, sure, and perhaps linebackers, though ends and non-speed LBs will have different choices to make. Safeties may have to consider whether speed or other aspects are worth more.

In general, I am hopeful for a more diverse league to be viable, where speedsters have their moments and matchups to shine but have to yield in situations where they cannot run away and where tactics will change accordingly.

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[bex]

As one of the alluded to re-creates, I'm very excited about what 2021 means for the league. I think we're positioned at a great turning point. Looking at 2020, we had five major changes: the league changed its name, changed its forum, changed its sim engine, and expanded twice. These things were great for the league and positioned us for continued growth in 2021. I think we'll see another expansion within the next year, as well as a lot more excitement regarding watching the streams and building players. We'll see less burnout with the phasing out of major sim testing, and we'll be able to focus on what we love about the league rather than what we dislike. I think we'll see teams more consistently perform at their skill level, and will be able to celebrate folks who have put in time and effort into making their teams and players the best they can be. The beautiful thing about this change is that all teams will be on equal footing in terms of sim knowledge, so it will continue to contribute to the era of parity our league has entered. Depending on how things go re: the s28 recreates, we may see moves towards multiple QB teams, or creative ways of handling our booming QB economy.

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[Thor]

I believe 2021 will be a pivotal year in the history of the ISFL, whether it be positive or negative is clearly yet to be determined, but with the significant change of a new sim things will at least be interesting regardless. My personal belief is that the new sim will start out being shiny and different, but as we progress through the first few seasons it's flaws will quickly become exposed and before long may be responsible for major frustrations just like the Sim before it.

I don't believe the 'no testing' mentality will actually survive into the new sim, it will only be a matter of time before somebody decides they want a competitive advantage and find ways to break it. There's no way for us to know yet how old rules may affect play with an new sim either, so revisiting past decisions will be essential over the transition.

A new Reddit class is promising, I will be intrigued to see whether we have tapped our r/NFL as a resource or if we will continue to see significant class sizes from these recruitment drives. While I hope for the sake of the league they continue to be large, for my own sanity in scouting maybe not too big.

[y2bobman]

Concentrating on the move to the new SIM, something very similar happened like this with UK football (soccer) back in the 1990s.  Back then, support was dwindling, the game was going nowhere, no one cared about it any more.  In stepped Rupert Murdoch and his Sky TV.  They saved football, they reinvented football.  No football existed before their takeover in 1992.  Footballers no longer had to live next to regular people, their salaries would increase.  They would no longer have to drive poor cars.  They were turning into celebrities, exactly what they deserved.  And that's what the move to the new SIM will do. 

Some teams will thrive, some players will show their potential on the world stage.  New players will join and elevate the standard of the game.  More importantly though, the move will see those who have become complacent drop away.  Teams who were competing at the so called elite level will fade away without proper plans and structures, tactics and strategies will need to be exciting and innovative to win now.  Players can no longer just turn up, that gap in class has widened.

Forget anything that happened before the move to the new SIM, it's going to become a little like the uncle you never talk about, that you're a little ashamed to know.  The new SIM is all that will matter now.  Record win with the old SIM?  Doesnt count any more.  Back to back Ultimus victories?  Yeah, that's ancient history.  It simply doesnt matter any more.  The new SIM will define who is good, who is bad, no hiding. 

And in a way, Burfict is arriving at the right time. He's had a pretty anonymous debut season, still learning at this level.  Hopefully by the time the new SIM arrives he'll be at that elite level and be one of the players everyone remembers at being there at the rebirth.  We'll see.

[Mooty99]

New year new sim but also new Austin. The copperheads will be going through a huge change just as the new sim kicks in and that is the retirement of Cole and the incoming of their new quarterback Jackie Daytona. Now Austin will be strong next season, there will be almost no regression and with their strong core of players and a new and every improving quarterback next season will be a hopeful and exciting one for them. The sim switch means it is hard to work out which stars will be best but more than likely Watts and Videl-San will continue to dominate the offence while Crooks, Montain, Thomaslacker and Bowie will do the same on the defence. Personally I am boy looking forward to working out my own new build for Jackie Daytona, there are so many options to play around with like mobile or scrambler with dual threat trait or pocket passer or field general with game manager trait. It is going to be really exciting to work out the best build. It is also going to be hard work helping the whole team do the safe but I am just very lucky to have such an amazing group of players in Austin with me that there will be plenty of people to test and ensure that Austin will be ready to complete and slowly dominate for seasons to come.


WC 233

[Raven]

Written Option: The New Year is fast approaching along with a flashy new sim, a wave of re-creates, and a potentially larger draft class overall. What do you think 2021 is going to look like for the league? Do you think the new sim will dramatically impact player/team performance? Are there any specific players or teams you think will stand out from the rest in the coming months?

2021 will be a huge change to the league. We already had a big change this year with the new site being launched which brought a complete new interface to the league and changed the selling factor of our forums.

With the new sim engine on it's way it will be interesting to see how the league adjusts to it. Will the new sim engine become a huge selling factor in future recruitment drives? Will it improve the quality of life for all the players in hte league. A new sim with improved attributes and even a new one attribute which adds a little more variety to builds. Traits will also add a very new angle to building a player.

I am not sure how it will impact preformances of players and teams and at the ned I wonder howmuch of an improvement it will be over our current sim engine. I trust in the sim teams ability to find certain aspects that might break this engine.

Heading into 2021 I believe we will see a jump for Honolulu. It's something I would have said every season and after back to back 8-8 seasons and only improving this season should have looked very differnt, but alas the sim decided that this year we were the unfortunate ones. I love the franchise and I hope to see us make our first playoff push soon.

[JuOSu]

Obviously 2021 is going to be the best year ever for the New Orleans Second Line of the International Sim Football League. I think this team really has a bright future ahead of itself with so many young players still max earning and getting better every season. We are kind of in a way where we are getting older too with some guys getting out of the team but we are always re-tooling and getting new max earners too. I really hope that my own player, Medicinal Toblerone can be a great addition to that New Orleans Second Line team and bring them another championship or ideally a few in the year. I am only in my second season but already doing really well and happy with my player as well. I think that there will probably the majority of my career with this player this year. I am not sure how many seasons are in a year but I think I will probably still be on Medicinal Toblerone by the time the year is over. I look forward to crushing it with this player and hopefully I can break some records as well, not just for my team but also league wide. The new sim will make that interesting as well since it might change strategies or stats completely around so who knows what records will even look like at that point.

[ajtigger]

I think 2021 is going to bring massive changes to the league simply because of the use of the new sim. I believe that the new sim is going to put pressure on users to find what is the most overpowered version of players and their archetypes. To this point, testers are going to become more important than ever for teams. Figuring out how each bit of the code works could help teams find a way to build a championship contender before their opponents. I also think that the playbooks may drastically change with the introduction of a new sim. We may see teams that were traditionally pass heavy converting to a more running style and vice versa based on what they find works with their team. Finally, I expect a lot more early retirements in the next couple seasons. Players will be very tempted to try out new builds in the shiny new sim and thus may be calling it an early career for some of their current players. I think we will see some big time users calling it quits to start over again if their player is not currently on pace to find themselves in the ISFL hall of fame. Overall, I am very excited to see what the new year has in store for the ISFL and look forward to observing each and every teams new strategies moving forward.

[3lewsers]

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