(S24) - PT 4 - Trial by Fire

[WhatAmUs]

Connor Quigley - OL - Kansas City Coyotes

“Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth”.  

The old Tyson quote is ubiquitous and applicable in so many different situations, however, it especially rings true in my personal journey to the DSFL.  Coming off of a relatively unassuming and easy-going college career, I unfortunately assumed that as an offensive lineman I would coast into a cozy early round draft pick and settle nicely into a team.  I used my first 50 TPE haphazardly and neglected to obtain any more before the draft, setting me up for immense failure.  It was only through sheer luck that I was drafted in a later round to Kansas City, as they had decided to draft all human offensive line players in an unprecedented move.  

Post draft, off the field issues persisted in my personal life and kept me from learning the league and gaining much needed TPE.  It wasn’t until about week 6 that my teammate Thomaslacher sat me down and asked what was up; why wasn’t I updating or contributing to the locker room?  I was in a hole, much like when you let course work in college pile up and the weight of it seems insurmountable.  He proceeded to meticulously walk me through every step of completing point tasks, purchasing equipment, doing activity checks, and doing weekly training.  A solid two hours of his personal time was spent getting me up to speed and making sure my update page was air-tight and organized.  Now, at the time of writing this, I have the most pancakes of any guard in the DSFL.  I owe Thomaslacher a great debt, and any future success in the DSFL and ISFL is entirely because of his guidance and kindness. 

So, like any good comeback story, my inner monologue went from “welcome to the League, scrub” to “welcome to the League, brother” and I can only hope to pay it forward in dividends someday.

[Kyamprac]

Zoe Watts' first real game in the DSFL was with the Dallas Birddogs in Season 22, shortly after she was picked up off of waivers. She played a total of four games as a kicker/punter that season and in some ways probably ended up doing more harm than good. In part due to her less than impressive performance, Dallas lost 3 of their 4 last games by a small margin and didn't end up making the playoffs that year. Watts finished the season with an abysmal 85.7 XP% and 50 FG%, causing many people to wonder why the Birddogs later selected her 4th overall in the DSFL draft. 

It was at this moment, however, where Watts rebounded and became the player she was truly destined to be. Not long after joining Dallas, Watts position switched from playing kicker to speed back. In Season 23 she proved her worth and recorded 1,160 yards in 237 attempts and 9 touchdowns - making her the second most successful rookie running back in the league just behind Crowbar Theeks. Watts also broke franchise records previously set by her partner in the backfield, Bob Murphy. Midway into Season 24, Watts has continued to show continued success despite the Birddogs' struggles and is on pace to break her previous records with 792 yards in 159 attempts 9 games into the season. Going into the future, it's expected she will effectively fill the shoes left behind by Mako Mendonca for the Austin Copperheads.

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246 words

[Thor]

Through his first season in the DSFL and the first two in the ISFL (Formerly NSFL), Heath Evans has been... an acceptable player who didn't particularly stand out. Coming out of college where Evans was a renowned player who fit into the UCLA offense as a utility, he was touted for his receiving ability and athleticism but knocked for his lack of blocking ability, this quickly changed in the DSFL where he led the league for non-OL pancakes in his rookie season. While many believed that he would be better served continuing his career with the Buccaneers before joining the Outlaws to allow his receiving to develop further, he was called up immediately following the draft and put into the starting line up to fill the shoes of an aging and regressing Jammerson Irving.

While Evans hadn't been an outstanding player through his first two seasons in the ISFL, in his third season and contract year he has pulled out all of the stops and has elevated his play to be on par with the rest of the competition in the league. Coming into week 12 he leads the league in receptions with 74, and leads tight ends with 717 yards and three touchdowns. While the first few seasons in the league were a 'welcome to the league' moment, Evans has definitely come into his own and has developed into the player that pundits expected him to be coming out of his college career.

[Sushi]

SHL Welfare

[YoungTB]

When Korbin Brown entered the league he did absolutely shit because he was really young and he had zero experience in the field of football besides his days in Calabasas High because he is very privileged and rich. Anyway, one moment that was truly the "welcome to the league" moment for Mr. Korbin Brown would be when he played the Tijuana Luchadores in week whatever because I'm making this up anyway. Anyways, Korbin Brown was on the Dallas Birddogs, a crappy team because they didn't draft him afterward and they never even threw to him which was pretty shitty it was such a waste of time but whatever Korbin was still racking up those teps which is what really matters. Anyways so he catches the ball for like the first time ever and he gets hit by this really big dude named Mr. Refridge Erator. He's retired now he actually only played one game on the Tijuana Luchadores squad. He retired after this hit because it was the peak of his career and he quickly realized that he'd never be able to hit a pinnacle like that ever again. Either way, Korbin Brown was knocked flat on his ass and he couldn't do shit but look up in awe at the big man that hit him.

216 words.

[Frick_Nasty]

I will not be talking about Dave Batista for the point task at this time. I think it is too early in Big Dave Batista career to see his growth. Instead I will take the time to talk about the greatest of all time in my opinion of the one and only Mo Berry. Mo Berry had a very ok season in the developmental simulation football league in season 14. He was not the top prospect of the linebackers in season 15. He was the fourth linebacker drafted. He however would go into win defensive rookie of the year for season 15. To finish out his career Mo Berry would end up with making the pro bowl i. All seasons but his rookie season. Mo Berry would also won 4 linebacker of the year awards and 3 defensive player of the year awards as well. So I think it goes to show the rookies of the league and those who may get disheartened by their draft position in the international simulation football league. You could go from a nobody with a lackluster developmental simulation football league season or two and go on to be one of the greatest to ever play the game.

[majesiu]

PBE Affiliation

[Arvot]

[Pat]

During his college career at the University of Minnesota, Vance Slattery was always the big man on campus. Both figuratively and literally. Weighing in at a whopping 310 pounds, he was easy to spot. His impressive girth helped him become a dominant player for the Gophers, as he was named All-Big Ten twice during his years with the team. This led Vance to believe that just being big would be all he needed to continue dominating in football and in life. He fashioned himself as a foodie and started eating everything he could, even if he wasn't hungry, just to maintain his whalish size.

That all changed after being drafted by the Tijuana Luchadores of the DSFL. Slattery knew that the competition would be tougher, but he didn't realize that as the Nose Tackle, he would up being the anchor for the rest of the defensive. Asked to occupy multiple blockers at a time, Vance's sole purpose was to take up space to allow the playmakers behind him do what they do best - dominate. Unfortunately for Vance, his lackadaisical approach to conditioning made it a little easier for the Tijuana offensive line to push him around in practice, as he was constantly getting run over at training camp, and was heavily winded before the days were over. After the first two days of training camp, with Linemen Adam Mellot and Icebox Riposte repeatedly pushing him around, Vance re-dedicated himself to getting stronger. He changed his workout habits and most importantly his food habits. See, in his first few days of living in Mexico, Vance had developed quite the love of flan. He was eating it with almost every meal, even creating a breakfast he called, "Flan-8," which was pureed flan with V8 carrot juice. Unfortunately for Vance, flan is not exactly workout food, as it's mostly sugar and milk, with a couple of eggs tossed in. 

By the time their first regular season matchup with the Dallas Birddogs came around, Vance had a completely new focus on football, and it showed, as he shined in the matchup, disrupting the Dallas offense, and recording 4 tackles and a sack.

He still eats flan every day, but this time only as his bedtime snack.

[KC15]

PBE Affiliate PT