Last year’s Ultimini champions are making a break for the trophy again this season with some clutch veteran players and a great group of rookies. But the road to victory is fraught with… pirates.
The S25 London Royals, with a 10-3 record, are already a lock for a top playoff spot in the NFC North. With only one more DSFL regular season game to go, the Royals maintain a three-win lead over the rest of the teams in the division (all tied at 7-6). So it looks like they will have home-field advantage for the division championship game. This sets them up nicely to make it to the title game, especially having won regular season away matches against all division teams and home matches against all but the Pythons (the final game of the season). In the NFC South, the 10-3 Myrtle Beach Buccaneers are also a clear favorite to make the title game, facing little competition in their division. With the clear head-to-head against the Royals, who were unable to win both on the road and at home against the Buccaneers, Myrtle Beach is likely to host the title game (barring an unexpected loss to Tijuana at home to end the season). So the road to a second-in-a-row Ultimini will likely take the Royals to the land of pirates, where they will have to defeat a team they have struggled against all season. The Royals have the roster to pull this out, but they will need their defense and offense to both show up big to get it done. If both sides of the ball play at their peak, then: BANG BANG LION GANG.
For the first time in my player's career, there is no post season. This will also be the first season Mason Blaylock has a losing record. It's a strange and somewhat lonely feeling to miss out. I think it's fair to say there is quite a bit of disappointment to go around in NOLA. NO player ever likes letting down the teammates, coaches and fans down. Things aren't all doom and gloom, though. New Orleans has plenty of talent to make a couple more runs at an Ultimus. We have a young QB who will be entering and playing in their prime for the foreseeable future. We also have enough talent on both sides of the ball to get things done. NOLA was pretty much a top 5 team in regard to TPE. Sometimes it really matters where that TPE is of course, though I don't think that was our problem. Sometimes the sim just doesn't call your number and bad results come your way. We have traditionally been a team who has built through the draft and have done that about as well as any other team. I wouldn't mind seeing us take a look at a potential FA or two out there this offseason. You never know who might be looking to make a move and give your team a huge jolt. Still, I expect the Second Line to keep amassing talent through the draft. Picking earlier than we normally do, we should be able to find ourselves some truly elite young players.
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Well, this New Orleans Second Line season has not been as impressive as we have hoped. We definitely thought like we could be a playoff team this season but sadly this will not be the case. We had an alright season still and had 7 wins and 9 losses. But sadly that was not enough to get into the playoffs. I feel like we had a decent season on both sides of the ball at times but just not have the consistency to do it every game. Both sides of the ball are still young and we are still trying to get better every season. I really think next season we will have another better chance that we will get into the playoffs. Our QB will get better again as he gets more TPE and our defense will improve as well. I think in general, I look forward to the next season. It's going to be a great improvement and hopefully we can all do well. On a personal level, I am super happy with my rookie season and look forward to being even better next season. I had 16 tackles for loss in 16 games, which is exactly what I had hoped I would achieve.
The New Orleans Second Line have struggled this season. While the team itself is strong, they haven't been able to find the right synergy on the field needed to duke it out in the highly competitive ASFC. The team was able to secure a few meaningful wins, but it wasn't quite enough. As they find themselves on the outsides of the playoffs this season, they've put season 25 in the rearview and are focusing on their future instead of worrying about the post-season stress. They're exploring options within this free agent pool as well as keeping a close eye on the upcoming draft to identify the perfect selections for the doot squad. The team is looking to keep encouraging their young core while lining up replacements for those older members of the team. They'll be looking to invest in fresh faces for the likes of Marcella Toriki, Quentin Bode, and Forrest Gump in the near future, and members of the secondary a few seasons down the road. With notable rookies waiting patiently in the DSFL, the team is in a good spot with a bright future. Once the last few pieces are able to click into place, NOLA will be back on track to dominate once more!
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The Hahalua just missed the playoffs despite what the critics may have projected at the beginning of the season to be a overall lackluster season. Honolulu's offense has been average, which means something given the lack of true veterans on the team. Despite being a relatively new talent, Luke Skywalker has played well and has limited mistakes -- which sometimes as a quarterback is contributing more than throwing 5 touchdowns a game. This has yielded above average offensive passing production. Similarly, Honolulu's defense has remained in the middle of the pack. Critics were convinced that defense would be a major problem given the costly losses suffered in the offseason, but the Hahalua's defense has remained serviceable. Honolulu will definitely be a dark horse in playoffs to come. Although they will be the underdog in the first round, they have the potential to upset given their upwards momentum. After coming last just a few season ago, our plan is working, and our offseason plan will be to continue developing new talent. Fortunately, our team is still very young by league standards with limited regression. Therefore, Honolulu hasn't even reached its true, optimum playoff window, so to be just short of a playoff contender at this point speaks to what our potential is moving forward (and the competition in the ASFC if we are being honest). Therefore, while the Hahalua will fight tooth and nail to make next year be our year, we are also sure to go deep into the playoff bracket in the years to come.
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The Philadelphia Liberty missed the playoffs in Season 25, finishing with a Jeff Fisher style 7-9 record which put them 6th of 7 teams in the NSFC. The league is extremely competitive right now, in large part due to HO's continued conservatism when it comes to expansion. With almost every team sporting a roster of active, almost-max earners 9 of the league's teams finished within one game of .500, and two of the teams that didn't are expansion teams (who finished with 3 and 4 wins). This meant that in the NSFC, 3 teams went into Week 16 with a shot at taking the final playoff spot - Philadelphia, Baltimore and Chicago. Baltimore and Chicago each finished with 8 wins, meaning that (as Philadelphia had tiebreakers over both teams) had Philadelphia beaten Colorado they would have made the playoffs. Instead, they lost 26-24 at Taco Bell Stadium with the killer blow being a 37 yard field goal from Yeti kicker Silver Banana with 1:58 remaining. In my opinion, the main reason the Liberty missed the playoffs was the performance of the defence. Philadelphia allowed 428 points in S25, the worst mark by any NSFC team not named the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Philadelphia's last 3 first round picks were spent on defensive linemen Tex Wrecks, Dorothy Zbornak and Tycker Om. Despite this, the Liberty finished in the bottom half of the league in both sacks and tackles for loss, and their leading sack artist was actually linebacker Spike Suzuki. Philadelphia was an above-average offence held back by a poor defence, which must now replace long-time starting defensive back Richard D'Attoria V who has announced his retirement. (275 words)
[OPTION]S24 (PHI): 16 GP, 73 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 FF, 3 sacks, 5 INTs, 10 PDs, 2 TDs
[OPTION]S25 (PHI): 16 GP, 67 tackles, 4 INTs, 13 PDs, 1 TD [OPTION]S26 (OCO): 16 GP, 68 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 2 INTs, 10 PDs [OPTION]S27 (OCO): 16 GP, 116 tackles, 4 INTs, 23 PDs, 1 TD [OPTION]S28 (OCO): 16 GP, 84 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR, 3 INTs, 20 PDs, 1 TD [OPTION]S29 (OCO): 16 GP, 99 tackles, 3 FF, 1 FR, 5 INTs, 23 PDs, 1 TD [OPTION]============================================================= [OPTION]ISFL Playoff Stats: [OPTION]S23 (PHI): 1 GP, 2 tackles [OPTION]S26 (OCO): 1 GP, 5 tackles, 2 PDs [OPTION]============================================================= [OPTION]Trophies and Achievements: [OPTION]Drafted 35th Overall by Myrtle Beach in the S21 DSFL Draft [OPTION]S21 Ultimini Champion [OPTION]S21 DSFL Pro Bowl Selection [OPTION]S21 DSFL Defensive Back of the Year Nominee [OPTION]Drafted 4th Overall by Philadelphia in the S22 ISFL Draft [OPTION]S23 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection [OPTION]S23 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee [OPTION]S23 ISFL Defensive Performance of the Year Nominee [OPTION]S24 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection [OPTION]S24 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee [OPTION]S26 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection
[OPTION]S26 ISFL Returner of the Year Nominee [OPTION]S29 ISFL Pro Bowl Selection [OPTION]S29 ISFL Cornerback of the Year Nominee [OPTION]============================================================= Player | Update | Wiki | Twitter |
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