(S24) - Ultimus Week

[Ephenssta]

Tier 1: option 5

As you read this, please remember that this is being written in my individual role as a league member who is also in the head office, not as a representative statement of the beliefs and priorities of the DSFL Head Office as a whole. That is a very important distinction as, contrary to popular belief and conjecture, the Head Office is not a monolith. We frequently have internal disagreements and substantive arguments regarding how we should best make improvements and tweaks to the league. While we stick by each other and the decisions we make, the group does have a diversity of opinion that is readily apparent in our discussions of new ideas and proposed rule changes, like the ideas I am discussing below.

There are a handful of problems facing the league that do not have solutions that are simple or easy to implement. These challenges and issues are what originally inspired me to join the ranks of the Head Office and have kept me engaged in the league, as I want to be someone who actually works towards positive solutions instead of simply complaining about things that I don’t like. One of the most important issues in my mind is that of waiver claims and guaranteed playing time. The way the sim rules are structured currently, rookies who are claimed on waivers during the season are not required to follow the same playing time regulations as other active players who were selected in the draft or who were sent down to play continue their development with another season in the DSFL. The feelings around this rule are complex and there are good arguments for both why it should be reformed and why the rule should be allowed to stay as it currently is. Changing the rule to favor giving increased playing time to the new creates could effectively make teams worse, since in many circumstances the waiver claims will be near 50 TPE and may reduce the player time of higher TPE players, effectively reducing team performance. This could create a situation in which teams are more hesitant to claim players, extending the amount of time they are on waivers and reducing the team’s enthusiasm for welcoming new players to their clubhouse. Additionally, implementing that kind of rule change may reduce the playing time for other active players by requiring that the load of playing time be evenly distributed. Some argue this effectively punishes players who have been in the DSFL a little bit longer.

The other viewpoint is that the league should be doing everything possible to get new people involved quickly and suggesting that includes getting them quick playing time. There is some belief that lack of playing time right off the bat may effectively lower the retention rate by driving people to inactivity through boredom or frustration with a lack of playing time. The fact is that this rule is confusing since it appears to go against the normal playing time rules and is contentious since there are many factors and varied interests in either keeping or changing this rule. I am of the opinion that it should be changed to guarantee at least some playing time for new creates who are picked up on waivers. I believe this would improve our new user experience and, as a direct result, slightly improve our retention rates. Others, particularly GMs or those trying to consider the viewpoint of the GMs disagree and relevantly suggest that this might disincentivize claiming players on waivers. This is not an indictment of the current GMs, as they are often placed in a difficult position and are doing their best within the context of the current rules and trying to keep a multitude of people, including us nosy nerds in the head office building, happy. Unfortunately, tracking how quickly most waiver claims get playing time and to what extent they see the field is challenging and is not something that the Head Office has found the time and manpower to properly investigate yet. This is something that I hope to address during the next couple seasons so that we may collaborate with all interested parties to make our decision based on the feedback we are getting from DSFL players themselves rather than simple conjecture and hypotheticals flying back and forth between the relevant parties. As I am writing this, a survey is conceptualizing that should begin to fill in those holes in the data and begin to give us a better picture of the complete DSFL experience from the perspectives of waiver pickups, new players who went through the draft, send-downs, and recreates on important issues like playing time, how effectively the league is supporting them, and other relevant concerns and areas of interest. I am hopeful that this survey will not only better inform our decisions about the rules, but also that they may be used to further our improvement efforts in the league and show a sincere effort on the part of HO to continue gathering feedback from the community that make this league fun to continue participating in.

849 words.

[CementHands]

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?

My experience with the league so far has been alright. I have found it that I have trouble following along with the games throughout the season to the point that when I pop into the discord I ask how we’re doing and one of my team mates is usually pretty quick to point me into the right direction. Overall the discords I’ve had trouble finding a good balance – seeming to be either too busy where almost every channel is getting muted, or there isn’t much going on at all. I’m not sure a good formula to strike a balance though, and people appear to be having fun, which is contagious.
My DSFL team seems to be super active and bubbly. I feel like the old man out sitting by myself in the corner – this is fine for a limited amount, but definitely have felt a disconnect there. My ISFL team is still building its culture, so it’s a lot more sparse, but I have already noticed a upward swing for the amount of chatter going on, and overall team activity. It’s nice to be a part of.
Now, overall I’m very satisfied with Ragnar’s first two seasons in the league. We won it all in my first season and I felt like I was a pretty good piece to the puzzle. We made our way to the finals this season, and unfortunately couldn’t win that last game, but still what a record since coming in!
Being drafted the first time is definitely a unique experience. The production value of the draft is top notch with the stream and commentary. The picks move fairly quick and there is pretty good discussion for the first few rounds of picks. Now the downside to all the production and things being done in advance is if the draft happened on a Wednesday then I would notice all messages with teams fell off around Friday or Saturday. Then it’s just silence waiting with nothing to do. No more scouting because you’re already gone, but you don’t know when or where. The other thing I had was a lot of teams not wanting to converse over forum messages. I get that discord is easy and convenient, but if it’s scouting I’d like to keep things organized and have my site messages, not fill up my discord with additional servers or messages that clutter everything up. Ideally I think teams should be more perceptive to forum message scouting, but if that means I drop and someone gets a better pick later because of that I’m fine.
Overall the entire process of the rookie season – from creation to draft to the season to the ISFL draft is a fun experience and very engaging.

455 Words



PBE PT

[Booger]

7.) One player who I think has set himself up well for the upcoming award ceremony is Sarasota Sailfish linebacker Haha Mango-Panda. Panda and I were the two linebackers protected by the Sailfish, so I've gotten to know him well in the locker room and have witnessed first hand his accomplishments on the field. Obviously, the main factor in awards consideration is stats. Haha Mango-Panda had a phenomenal season, ending with 106 tackles, 10 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 20 passes defended. He had the second-highest tackles of the team, the highest number of sacks of the team, and also led the team in passes defended as well as interceptions. Panda didn't fail to produce stats of any type this season, and he's a large reason why the Sailfish did so well compared to previous years. This newfound success might also be related to Panda's offseason semi-position swap, where he and I traded places with him moving to the weak side linebacker position. While in previous years he was mainly tackle oriented, this season he improved in pass coverage and blitzing situations. There are 4 awards I think Panda deserves to be in consideration for: Defensive player of the year, breakout player of the year, linebacker of the year, and defensive performance of the year. 

I'll start with defensive player of the year. Panda was everywhere, and his stats, when ranked, put him near the top of every category. However, since there are so many great players in the league, this one will be tough for Panda to bring home. Breakout player of the year is an award I think Panda has a great shot at winning. Compared to last season, Panda had 23 fewer tackles, 2 fewer tackles for loss, 8 more sacks, and 12 more passes defended. Though he lost some tackling stats, he made up for those losses with tremendous gains in both sacks and passes defended, earning a spot on the shortlist of viable breakout candidates. Next, linebacker of the year. This is another tough one to win, especially given the monster year De Ville was able to put together. Panda I think should definitely be able to crack the ballot however, as he was one of few incredible LBs this season. Some notable competition of his includes Arizona's Galf Wilf, Chicago's Hingle McCringleberry, Yukon's Douglas Quaid, and the aforementioned Derred de Ville. The final award I believe Panda should be in the running for is defensive performance of the year. Panda's most outstanding performance came in week 1 of the season when he racked up 9 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defended, and 1 interception.

Overall, I think Panda makes a great case for all of these awards, and I'm looking forward to him winning some hardware on awards night.

26) 
One player who was drafted by the Sarasota Sailfish and ended up vastly outperforming initial expectations is the tight end, Clark Boyd. Boyd was selected with the 122nd pick in the S22 NSFL draft, and it's safe to say no one outside the Sarasota war room expected much out of him. However, I'm extremely happy to report that he has remained very active since joining the Sailfish and has ultimately gone down as one of, if not the, greatest draft steals of all time. This past season, Boyd eclipsed 500 TPE and has continued to earn, taking his current total to around the 600 mark. I went back into the draft video to see what was said about him and found out that not only was he at 50 TPE at the time of the draft but that his only recent activity was requesting a role for Myrtle Beach. I have no idea how Frost and RainDelay knew to make this pick, and I'm assuming they were just taking a shot in the dark but it is incredible to see how much Boyd has done. He even had a great S24 campaign, and could definitely be seeing himself on the awards ballot tonight if things work out. 
Not only has Boyd been super active on the forums, but he's been a great addition to the Sarasota locker room. He's one of the top guys on the team message leaderboard and he brings great enthusiasm and positivity towards the games.
Unfortunately, though, he wasn't missed by the other teams during the expansion draft, as he ended up being taken by the Fire Salamanders. It's very sad to see him go but I'm glad he was able to leave and become a true TE #1 for an expansion team and I look forward to lining up across from him in the future!

27) Some positions are still under-appreciated. Talk about the offensive linemen and/or special teamers on your squad. Show how they have contributed to the team, both on and off the field, and why they deserve recognition.

One super underrated member of our team is kicker/punter Jacob Small. Jacob Small was another late-round draft pick for the Sailfish in S22, coming in at pick 110. Small had 103 TPE leading up to the draft but has since earned very well and currently sits at 530. On the field, Small has been a very reliable kicker for the team. In S24, Small had a field goal percentage of 91.4, including a perfect 17/17 from between 20 and 39 yard lines. Small also went 43/46 on XPs this season, giving him a percentage of 93.4. As a punter, Small was just as good, with a total of 86 punts for  3982 yards. Small had an average punt distance of 46.3 and landed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. Small has also been a really great locker room presence and is quite active in the discord server. Frost and RainDelay made a great choice to draft Small back in S22, as they managed to lock down the kicker position for quite a few seasons to come. I look forward to what Small will do in the coming seasons, and I hope he will only get better as time passes.

[Orhanello]

Tier 1 topic 3
There are certain teams, groups of players that when they come together can accomplish amazing tasks. A team's success rarely falls onto just one player or a certain group of guys but rather the complete organization itself is a great reflection of why that team was successful. That is not to say that without key players championships aren’t won. It does take special talent to bring your team over the hump that most teams get stuck at. There has been many great organizations throughout the international simulation football league's great history. The historic team that I am writing about today is the orange county otters, The professional team in franchise based in Santa Ana, California. I believe they have a true Mount Rushmore players that helped them get over that hump and earn championships. Their multiple Ultimus Bowls are the stuff of legend. Winning three straight Ultimus Bowls twice is completely unheard of. That is why I see as a franchise as an organization they are very successful from top to bottom. I believe the heart and soul of their success was due in part to four particular players. Mike Boss arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks in international simulation football league history. He would develop one of his favorite weapons and targets in Carlitos Crush. That tag team duo of quarterback and wide receiver would propel this already great team to championship level dynasty. Angus Winchester would be Mike Boss’s best friend. Protecting and making sure my boss could do what he needed was his number one objective and he was one of the best in the league at it. Not many people in the international simulation football league want to make players as lineman especially offense of lineman. Yet when at least one person chooses to do this and is extremely successful in developing and obtaining TPE for that specific player, the reward for the whole team is huge. The biggest beneficiary for having an active and great lineman is obviously the quarterback. Having more time in the pocket and better protection avoiding sax can result in more touchdowns in driving a ball down the field ultimately winning championships. That’s why this duo, this pairing of different players is so underrated but yet here they are on the mount Rushmore of the orange county otters. The next thing a quarterback needs is that true wide receiver one. A player the quarterback can count on no matter what, his go to weapon, his ace in the hole. Carlito crush was just that guy. Carlito crush however was a tight end. This was huge for the Orange County otters. Entering 2022 The orange county otters went through a massive overhaul and player overturn. The orange county otters acquired the extremely talented tight end and very reliable Carlito crush. Carlito crush was very talented and extremely successful in converting the first down, scoring in the Endzone and fighting for those extra yards his team needed to keep the ball moving and keep the chains going. The ability to pass block as well as catch balls made Carlitos crush the ultimate weapon for the Orange County otters. The instant chemistry that my boss in Carlito crush had on the field pay dividends to the orange county otters in there push to a championship. The combination of Carlito crush with other great wide receivers on the orange county otters held this high octane potent offense to score points and keep leads against their opponents. The last man but extremely important piece of the orange county otters has to go to a defensive player that was the anchor for this team. Angus Winchester was a devastating force for the orange county otters on defense. Angus Winchester recorded a league high 23 sacks as a linebacker for the orange county otters. The orange county otters pass rush was extremely potent and put teams on their heels. Angus Winchester was one of those players that would play sideline sideline always attacking the ball or a person that had the ball in their hands. One of Angus Winchesters biggest upside was that he never gave up on a play. That trait combined with his mental edge and intelligence for the game allowed him to not make mistakes and be aggressive thus resulting in 23 sacks a league high and almost unheard of for a linebacker. Whether it be on offense or defense the orange county otters add play makers on both sides. They had players in every position that went after the ball that had one goal in mind to keep striving to be the best they could be and win the championship at the end of the season. It takes players like this to come together and work towards a common goal to find that success in the orange county otters found that in abundance winning championship after championship after championship. That is why the beginning I said it takes a whole organization scouting coaches in ownership to work together and be a collective unit the orange county otters show that almost better than any franchise in the international simulation football league. A true mount Rushmore of players, a great franchise, the orange county otters. (869 words)

[Tesla]

Tier 2 - Task 7 - 400+ Words - 5 TPE

Thor Kirkby. A fantastic name, but an even more fantastic stat line. Their stats as a free safety on the season were seventy-five tackles, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, twelve sacks, three interceptions, six passes defended, three safeties, and one touchdown. That is four traditional takeaways, and seven total takeaways if you count safeties as takeaways. Now that by itself makes for a reasonably impressive stat line deserving of recognition for safety of the year in my honest opinion.

The reason I can say that is that only three other safety players had as many takeaways. Shawn Dawkins with five interceptions, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. Philip Stein with five interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, Mason Blaylock with three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. So Shawn Dawkins and Philip Stein both have six traditional takeaways, and Mason Blaylock has five. My value of a safety as equal to or greater than a traditional takeaway means I think Thor Kirkby should run away with this. (The reason I value a safety more is that is a play where you get points and possession. Whereas a takeaway touchdown is good; the safety gives you the possibility for more points.)

Now I also think it is worth looking at from a historical perspective as there are only two players in the league this season with multiple safeties. Counting those two the league has only seen ten players achieve multiple safeties in a single season.  Now that is just multiple safeties period, but only one other player in league history has had three safeties in a single season. A. Tomlinson set the record there all the way back in S2, and it has only just now been matched. This is also the first season where two players have had multiple sacks in a single season.

That makes a fair case for Thor Kirkby to win safety of the year, but I think they are also deserving of recognition when it comes to defensive player of the year. Going by takeaways first there are only a handful of competitors. Dermot Lavelle Jr with their six interceptions, Andrew Witten with their five interceptions, Brandon Booker with their five interceptions and two forced fumbles, LeSean Paris Crooks with their four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and fumble recovery. Plus the aforementioned Shawn Dawkins and Philip Stein. That puts the top takeaway total at six, but Thor Kirkby if you count safeties has seven

Takeaways I think are the flashiest defensive stat, but Kirkby also comes up in the sacks conversation as there are only five players ahead of them in sack total. That is where I think we find another challenger for the defensive player of the year award though. Derred de Ville had 117 tackles, two for loss, two forced fumbles, thirteen sacks, two interceptions, and led the league with twenty-nine passes defended. Outside of de Ville though there is no one ahead of Kirkby in sacks with a significant amount of takeaways or other stats. Although credit to Big Edd who is in a three way tie for defensive tackles with thirteen, but also has two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery to give them the lead for that award.

In the eight person race I give the lead to Thor Kirkby and given my preference for defense would also then give them the nomination for most valuable player as well. Although I admit that is an argument that rarely gets any response. I can say their season tying a record that has stood for over twenty seasons as well as standing superb by itself should be recognized though.

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Word Count: 611

Tier 3 - Task 23 - 200+ Words - 2.5 TPE

Agent Tesla: Now a new skills competition for the Pro Bowl sounds like a lovely idea and as it does say similar to the NFL I know there are more than a few good ideas that we could take from them. What do you say you help me out with this task Magnus?

Magnus Rikiya: I will help long enough to say we should have a bench press competition. That is the one thing that I would support one hundred percent.

Agent Tesla: Of course the man who competes in all the strongest man competitions wants to be able to flex on the rest of the league by doing a bench press competition. Are you sure there aren't any other fun games you would want to compete in though?

Magnus Rikiya: Any strength competition would be good in my book. Since teamwork is a good thing I will also say tug of war.

Agent Tesla: Tug of war would be wonderful! Now as ridiculous as it might be I would also love to see a mini golf competition just because I have fallen in love with it due to Holey Moley. Plus with the budget that the league has they could come up with some truly amazing obstacles.

Magnus Rikiya: If we are talking ridiculous obstacles have the pro bowl by Midoriyama and see who can do the best there.

Agent Tesla: That would be brilliant! Magnus you are a genius! Okay so our final suggestions are bench press competition, tug of war, mini golf, and Midoriyama also known as Mount Midoriyama in America. Now that we have a few new tasks come up with for our potential pro bowl. What conference would come out on top Magnus?

Magnus Rikiya: If we are just taking the best players from the conferences for the contests than the American Simulation Football Conference will dominate when it comes to the bench press and tug of war thanks to Bruce Buckley of the Arizona Outlaws and myself. Mini golf is a wild card and I will give it to the National Simulation Football Conference. Why? Because I am giving Midoriyama to the American Simulation Football Conference because I bet Rector gets through more of it than anyone else. Most agile player I know and you can just watch some of their returns to see it for yourself.

Agent Tesla: Well said. Due to blind homerism I am going to just say the American Simulation Football Conference for all of them and sign off. Thanks for joining us!

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Tier 3 - Task 24 - 200+ Words - 2.5 TPE

My choice for playfoffs MVP is Matthew McDairmid who over the course of the playoffs went four for four on extra point attempts, one for one on 20-29 yard field goal attempts, one for one on 40-49 yard field goal attempts, punted 14 times for 775 yards, an average punt of 55.4 yards, a long of 76 yards, and four punts inside the twenty yard line. Three of which would come in the Ultimus and was a key part of the San Jose SaberCats winning the game.

Now their kicking was terrific as they were perfect on all six kicks they had throughout the playoffs. Especially valuable come the Ultimus as they scored five points in what ended up being a five point game. However none of those kicks by itself was especially exceptional, and so those are not won them the award in my opinion. Although it did keep things in their favor as a kicker winning it I feel has to be perfect as a kicker.

Their punting however was phenomenal and absolutely deserving of recognition. Averaged 55.4 yards against the toughest competition in the league. Of course McDairmid led in the regular season so that is not too absurd, however they increased their average by almost five yards per punt. Regarding punts inside the twenty the league leader hit them about twenty-six percent of the time, but against the toughest competition McDairmid managed over twenty-eight percent.

You might wonder why I focused on efficiency stats there well there is a good reason for that and it makes McDairmid's punting even more impressive for these playoffs. The highest average punts per game during the season was 7.25 punts held by PhastBawl. Number two was Sam Sidekick at 6.5 punts per game. McDairmid kicked 14 across two games for an average of 7 a game, and still was more efficient than anyone else was during the regular season.

Between their hyper efficient punting and their perfect kicking I think it fair to say Matthew is deserving of recognition here, and I am happy to give them credit where it is due. Although I think the Ultimus win is enough for them right now.

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[UberBJ]

Tier 2 (400 words) - 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?

ISFL awards are often a point of speculation and intrigue once the season reaches the midway point. Heath Evans, TE for the Arizona Outlaws, should be the front runner for 2 in particular. It is my firm belief that he is an absolute lock for Tight End of the Year (TEotY) and of the highest consideration for Breakout Player of the Year (BPotY). 

He is far and away the best TE this season, posting a league best in every receiving category except for one (And he is a very close 2nd in that category). Firstly, he was an absolute monster in the amount of balls he reeled in. He had 106 receptions on the season, with very few drops, which is 13 more than any other RECEIVER (not just TE) in the ISFL. He also broke both the Outlaw season record and career record for receptions this year. He had the largest amount of yards by any true TE (discounting fullbacks) with 1064, which is 350 more than the next closest. While he didn’t win the yards per reception battle, he came up with the second best at 10 ypr, falling just 0.2 shy of the league leading 10.2 (McCormick, NOLA) He also tied with the most TDs among TEs at 5, with a long of 36, showcasing not just his sure hands, but his ability to put points on the board when it mattered.

Breakout player of the year is a harder sell, but he should definitely be in consideration for the award. He faces stiff competition there (I’m not going to make a case against the other nominees, but rather a case FOR Heath), but looking at his S23 statistics versus his S24 statistics is like seeing night and day. While he had a respectable season in S23 being a key player for Arizona, in S24 he became a household name and someone that opposing teams had to game plan for. Let’s break down each stat and how much he grew in the offseason. First off, he became a key receiver, seeing a <50% increase in targets from 70 to 106 on the season (and taking the record as noted earlier). It’s not clear if he just created more separation, WR departures, or if he paid Cue.  His yards expectedly went up by a wide margin (+526 yards) given the volume add, but more importantly he saw a 2.3 yard per catch increase as well, making the most of each new pass as well. I think the biggest part of his game that showed growth was in the TD department however, jumping up %500 over the previous year. Now granted, going from 1 to 5 isnt a huge difference numerically, but it is enough to be a position leader. 

With all that in mind, it would be a SHAM to not see him receive TEotY and a sad misdemeanor to deny him a top 2 spot in the BPotY voting.

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Tier 3 (300 Words) - 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.

Hank Winchester is a dark horse candidate for LBotY. He was a rookie for S24 in the DSFL, so he didn’t have a TPE advantage but still played at a capped players level easily. I know the argument made against him is that he didn’t lead in any category, but he was a “very good at all trades” type player who was plug and play for whatever Myrtle Beach needed.  He contributed meaningfully in every stat except for INTs and TDs, but did also throw up 3 pass defenses even if he didn’t get the pick. He had a great motor and shot the gap successfully often, which contributed to his league 2nd in tackles for loss with 4. He also managed to get home to the QB multiple times, not counting his pressures, with 2 sacks. He was also a close 2nd in tackles for rookies with 111, only 9 behind the leader Fields, and also had a nose for the ball with 2 forced fumbles (of which he recovered 1 himself). I know the stat lines aren't amazing, but he brought so much value to his team and was a huge part of a defense that often times was the only thing keeping the Buccaneers in the game (let’s not talk about the offensive woes). With all that in mind, even if he wouldn’t win, he definitely deserves recognition by being named to the ballot.

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Tier 3 - #19: Create a billboard, magazine cover, unique trading card, or video game cover depicting a superstar Fan Favorite of the league. Graphics only.

[BenGroseclose]

Task 6 – After week 9 the buzz around the DSFL was the surging Portland Pythons. They were on a three game winning streak where they outscored their opponents by 54 holding a solid 5-4 record after starting 2-4. And the week before their streak only lost by a touchdown to the league leading Luchadores. In those games they were led by their starting QB Howitzer who had 6 TDs, no picks and an average rating of 107, pretty dang good. And with the Grey Ducks next on there schedule things were looking up. On paper the at the time 3-6 Grey Ducks did not look like much, but that is why you play the game. Howitzer who basically walking around on fire came back down to earth, with only 121 and a 68 passer rating. They ended up losing a heart breaking 15-16 where they have up a field goal with 8 minutes left and were never able to regain the lead. This lose must of stung or exposed something in there scheme because after that they went on a losing streak. The once surging Pythons were now regressing and to make things worse, they lost to their rivals the Coyotes who had taken over the playoff spot as a result. So, entering week 13 The Coyotes had taken the lead by a game. And the Pythons were about to play the Luchadores one of the most dominate teams of the season, while the Coyotes were set to play off against the Grey Ducks. Who while defeated the Pythons were nothing compared to the Luchadores. If the Coyotes won and the Pythons lost they would be elimated from the playoffs. With the season most likely on the line Howitzer stepped up. He throws for 4 touchdowns, 168 yards with a 126 passer ratings. He was elite and really stepped up when his team need to and the defense was great too providing the offense with two extra possessions as a results of turnovers. The Pythons ended up winning 34 – 10. But this would have meant nothing if that did not get some help from their old friends the Grey Ducks. Who without a doubt are this year spoiler team. They snuck out a win against the Coyotes 17 – 13. Which propelled the Pythons to the playoffs. So now their future was in their hands. All they had to do was win their game and they are in. Well things did not exactly go as planned. They fell 33 – 27, Howitzer who must have used all his mojo the last game had a horrible day throwing two interceptions. So as the team walked off the field disappointed in themselves, they all quickly turned on their phones to find that indeed the London Royals saved their butts. While in no way it was how they were hoping to end the playoffs they had stumbled their way in. Looking back Howitzer who can be rightfully criticized for being up and down came through when they needed the most. Their playoff run did not last long losing to their saviors from the week before the London Royals. Overall it was an up and down season but at the end of the day they came through when they need to.

(544 Words) - 5 TPE

Task 13 – So when I first heard about the league it was through a co-worker that him and I have often talked about football. He entered S24 as a rookie just like me. At first I did not know what to expect. I did not even know there was this whole sim world out there. The easiest part was choosing my position, safety. I had played that in high school and always found that it was one of the more influential positions. I grew up a Steelers fan so I idolized Troy Polamalu. It was fun being it with my co-worker even though we were not draft by the same team, he chose to be a CB so our positions were very similar. We would often IM each other at work how our teams were doing and our players. Also, whenever we played there was a bit of trash talk and the resulting bragging rights. He was also draft much much higher than me. He was doing more of the activities than me getting more involved so that made sense. When I was drafted, their GM reached out to me and expressed how excited they were that they landed me. Because I was draft so low, it motivated me more that way to stay engage and make the people that passed on me regret it. While I might not be making people regret it just yet I hope to soon enough. 

So, I have a few thoughts on how to improve the league. The largest one would be to have a easier way and more exciting way to view your player, their stats, salary, money etc. I know this would be a huge task to create an individual page on the site for each player showing that information but I think it could help a lot. I am software develop so I know that this would not be an easy task but having a way to feel more connected to your player would be great. Outside of that I would just provide more tutorial on how to complete the TPE opportunities. It was easy enough to do the weekly train and activity checks but I never did anything outside of that mainly because I had no idea how to do them. (This can also be on me not asking around enough) but I think something like an example post would help a lot. Even stuff like on this post, How, do I let you know what tasks I doing, I usually would just look at other people and follow them. Overall, I am very happy to have joined the league and seeing my player grow. I am excited for this week ISFL draft where I am hoping to go a little bit ahead of where I was draft in the DSFL.

(469 Words) - 5 TPE

[speculadora]

Tier 1: Long Form Tasks (800+ words)
Choose ONE for 10 TPE.

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.

One of my favorite memories from my time as the General Manager of Orange County was our Season 17 playoff run, because it was definitely the one we least expected of the eight in our franchise's history. To set the stage a little bit, we came up just short in Season 16, despite being tied for the league's regular season championship, and holding what was tied for the best overall record headed into those playoffs. Unfortunately we got shocked on our home turf by the Outlaws in the ASFC Championship Game, and it felt like that really might have been our last season of contention for a little while. It was just salt in the wound as the Outlaws wound up winning the Ultimus that season. The following season our rivalry with Arizona intensified, and we ended up sneaking into the playoffs at 7-6. That was Franklin Armstrong's first regular season as a starter, and we struggled to reset our offense. Sunnycursed, our star wide receiver, struggled and ended up being traded to the Baltimore Hawks for a first rounder. We had all but punted on the season by the time the playoffs rolled around, but were obviously going to give it our best shot.

First thing we had to do was get past the San Jose Sabercats, who were the three seed with a 6-7 record. Simpler times. At that point in the season, we were trying to find ways to get our offense going. Moonlight finally reached the attribute thresholds we were aiming for, and decided to try him out as a runner. The rest, as they say, is history. I guess I'll go over it anyway. The first game with the new run-centric strategy, he actually beat our opponent with his arm, throwing for 210 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 turnovers. It was mostly a defensive battle, luckily we suffocated their offense until late in the 4th.

We had our chance at the rematch we so desperate wanted with Arizona, and intended to show them who the real kings of the ASFC were. We had certainly heard enough from them at that point. It was a road game, but we punched 'em in the mouth early on. Dan Schneider returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown. Shortly after we drove down for a field goal, and then a touchdown. By the end of the first quarter it was already 17-0. Armstrong took over from there, rushing and passing for one touchdown and again playing turnover-free football. He finished that one with a sterling 15/26 passing for 290 yards and 1 touchdown, complimented by 11 rushes for 36 yards and a touchdown. When the dust settled we had returned the favor and whooped the Outlaws 37-20. That was one of our most exciting wins, I think, because it was probably the first time a lot of us had been underdogs at that stage. It felt kind of good to get to be on the other side of that equation after we lost in a similar fashion the season before. Particularly because we, in our frustration with losing the season before, called the Outlaws lucky. And boy did they let us hear about it. Over and over and over. They were just one title behind us all-time at that point.

Anyway, on to the Ultimus. We were incredible underdogs against Baltimore, and they had the advantage of having traded for our best player earlier in the season. I think we tested something like 25% for this one. We were really just happy to be there. It was nunccoepi and iseedoug's final season as Baltimore's leadership, and it just felt like the stage was set for them to go out on top. Unfortunately for them, Armstrong's legacy was just beginning to bloom. We took the Hawks down behind one of the best all-around performances in Ultimus history from Armstrong. He went 17/27 for 287 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, along with 11 rushes for 48 yards, and another touchdown. Once again, no turnovers. He basically handled their defense with ease, setting the stage for the next couple of seasons and the rest of his Hall of Fame worthy career.

That run was really cool just from a world building perspective in the league, because it really was an upstart team being led by a player who we had no idea would become a legend. When you look back on it, it's pretty awesome to take it in with the context of Armstrong's career. At least for me. Maybe not so much for others. That playoff run, by the percentages, was one of the less probable ones that I've been around for in league history. We tested around 75% for the San Jose game, about 45% for the Arizona game, and 25% for Baltimore. The odds of that exact run were 8.5%. Not quite as low as some others, but pretty damn unlikely.

[Drizzy]

8. The Sarasota Sailfish finally broke out as one of the best teams in the league this morning, but came painfully short when they were unable to get past the Colorado Yeti in the NSFC championship game. In order to not just get back to that spot again next year, but to go even further, I think there needs to be some improvement on the team. In terms of organic progression, the team is in a good place with a core of players who earn and update consistently, and the GMs have been fairly active over the last few seasons in terms of going out and acquiring new talent to support what's there already. I think that as a team with an older quarterback however, it may be in the team's interest to make some big moves now in order to secure our chances at success now while the rest of the team is in its prime. I actually think also we came out of the expansion draft pretty well, so there aren't too many obvious moves that I can see the team needing to make to help secure things, but there are a few things that could probably help things. I liked the move last offseason to bring in Xavien Adams and help improve the team's secondary, but I think adding another elite option to the unit would really help. Jamie Nkiah is one of the highest TPE safeties in the league, so anything that can be done to support him would definitely help their chances of winning this season. On the offensive side of things, I think we don't have too many glaring holes that need to be addressed, besides strengthening the team's offensive line. We don't currently have any user OL as far as I can tell, so maybe if we were able to bring some into the team it would help provide some protection for Dexter Banks, which as he gets older and further into regression will definitely help him and the way he plays. I think the weapons that the team has provided for their quarterback are certainly good enough to win, but maybe another good option at tight end would help round things out completely. I really don't think we've been set up badly this offseason and probably have the fundamental pieces there to really make a run at things next season, but we could definitely add a couple of pieces to help push us over the edge.

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413 words

12. First off, I think that expansion was definitely needed. The rapid recruitment the league had gone through in the last couple of seasons meant that there was a bit of a logjam for spots in the ISFL and so it was inevitable that we had to add some more roster spaces into the league. I really like the New York Silverbacks as a brand too, kinda cool riffing on the whole concrete jungle thing and King Kong going to New York and stuff too, it's kinda clever. I think the Berlin Fire Salamanders is probably the worst branding I've ever seen in a sim league though, it looks like it was generated automatically by Madden. The name is horrible to say, the branding is weak and generally just feels super thrown together and weak. I think it's definitely the only team in the league that stands out as being particularly shoddy which sucks but there we go. The balance of power could definitely get a bit more interesting now that we have two new teams added to the league though. With the expansion draft actually allowing teams to pick up some pretty useful players straight out of the gate, there's certainly the opportunity for both teams to be worth watching from the get go. I liked the move from New York to bring in a young quarterback straight out of the gate in Trautner's player, the kind of veteran presence in a league like this who can really help a new team out a lot and give them a stable foundation to build off. I think besides that, both teams look to have pursued a course of building progressively through the draft and free agency rather than going out and making big moves straight off the bat, which I think is probably the most sensible way of doing things. It would be really difficult for a new team to be a legitimate competitor in their very first seasons, so allowing some time for them to get their feet under them will certainly be a more measured approach. I think it will likely be at least two or three seasons before we see both teams really able to compete, but I think that it'll certainly make things more exciting in the league when they're able to do so, and if they are able to do well in the upcoming draft and free agency class they may just be able to surprise a few teams this upcoming season.

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416 words

[QuirkyTurtle]

Tier 2, Task 7)

Since I am a Austin Copperhead I will be talking about two Copperheads I believe deserve an award for their outstanding performance this season. The first of which is our RB extraordinaire Mako Mendonca. Mendonca went into Season 24 as his last season before officially retiring and letting new young stars in Kichwa Jones and Zoe Watts take over the Copperheads backfield. While there was a committee approach this season in the Austin backfield, and Kichwa Jones saw nearly just as many rushing attempts and posted similar YPC, it was Mendonca’s receiving play that I believe earn him the title of RBOTY. He put up 1048 yards on the ground along with 8 TDs, and another 762 yards through the air on 63 receptions and another 3 scores to go along with it. While the TD numbers aren’t anything to write home about, they are still a solid performance. However where Mendonca excelled was that he put up 300+ more scrimmage yards that the next closest. That is a massive margin of difference. Especially when he outperformed many receiving backs in the passing game. In fact he outperformed all back in this category by nearly 200 yards. In total Mako posted 1,810 yards from scrimmage. Thats one exceptional performance in my eyes.
The second Copperhead I believe deserves a ton of recognition from the awards committee is Dermot Lavelle Jr. The All-Pro CB. Firstly he lead the league in interceptions with 6. And on top of that managed 20 PDs and 74 tackles. These are elite numbers at the cornerback position and I believe is absolutely deserving to be in consideration for CBOTY. What more is I believe Lavelle Jr should be a candidate for Defensive Performance of the Year. In week 8 against the Yellowknife Wraiths, Dermot had quite the career game. In it he had 4 tackles, 2PDs, and 2 INTs. One of which he took all the way to the house for 96 yards!! You can bet that one is going in his highlight reel. Whats more is in this game, Dermot also was majorly successful in the return game. He managed to take a 2nd one to the house on a 83 yard Punt return. Thats 2 TDs for a defensive player. He scored more TDs than Easton Cole did that day and was the sole reason we were able to win that week. If thats not a performance worth a nomination for DPerOTY then I’m not sure what is.

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Tier 3, Task 16)

My most note worthy regular season game for the Copperheads came in week 4 against the New Orleans Second Line where we gave them quite the spanking. There are a couple of reasons why this game sticks out most to me. First of all, my player Eddie Jeeta had a career outing. I was able to put up 105 yards on 7 receptions, and 2 Touchdowns. I believe this was both the first time I’d exceeded 100 yards in a single game, and was definitely the first and only time I’ve managed to get into the end zone more than once in a single game. This was my first season moving into the WR2 position so I had strong expectations for my performance but this was a really fun surprise to display a really strong performance like this. The other reason is our entire team just clicked on all fronts, and were able to dominate the whole game, ending up with a 31-7 victory over a strong and competitive rival. Easton Cole would throw for 360 yards and 3 TDs with a final QBR of 128.2. Mendonca rushed for 100+ yards on the ground. Net Gaines along with myself were able to put up 100+ through the air with 3 TDs between us. And our defence kept their offence in check and held them to only 7 points. This was one fun game to watch.

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Tier 3, Tier 22)

What is quite frustrating about this season is that we had unbelievably bad luck. Losing in matchups where we had 70% and 80% win odds. It’s no surprise that Austin would hit some bad luck but usually it ends up correcting itself and we end up with a solid record overall and squeeze our way into the playoffs. Not this season though. Which would end a 6 season run of making playoffs. Quite sad. But I would argue that if it weren’t from some really unfortunate bad luck, then Austin would have been a serious playoff contender. For one thing, we scored the most points than any team in our entire division yet still ended last. And our defence didn’t perform like you’d expect as we hold some of the most talented players defensively and our Defensive line is up there with probably the best in the league. And with no disrespect to other teams, but teams such as San Jose and Honolulu who not only have a weaker QB, weaker RBs and WRs, but also I’d argue a weaker defence overall. Yet both would finish higher and the Sabercats would finish top of the division despite scoring over 50 points less on offence. But thats the way the sim goes sometimes and can’t hang your head over it. I’m very hopeful for Season 25 and this Austin squad.

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