(S25) - Ultimus Week

[retrospace111]

(2)

One of my favorite playoff stories, is the story of the s22 Yeti. The Yeti are now regarded as a power house, among the likes of OCO. They've unfortunately not been able to win the big game since s22, but they've done pretty damn well recently. They went 13-3 and have a good chance to win the Ultimus this season. But in s22, they weren't great, they weren't even first seed. The powerhouse that was the Wraiths was obviously first seed, as they've been the entire time Cooter Bigsby has been alive. They entered s22 as a 4x Ultimus loser, and it felt like they were destined to go there again, for the 5th year in the row, but their plans would be foiled by the underdog. It all started when Sarasota visited Colorado to play for a chance to go to the conference championship. The first play of the game was a pass deflection by Louisiana Purchase. The 2nd was a safety by Bubba Thumper. It's a game of sacks after that, and McDummy gets sacked the next drive and COL ends up punting. A sack from Thor Kirby forces Sarasota to punt the ball right back, and from there it's all McDummy and Owens, as they jump out to a 9-0 lead. A sack by the legendary Mo Berry forces Sarasota to punt the next drive, and Colorado wastes no time putting that good field position to use. They go up 16-0, and on the next drive, on a key 3rd down that Sarasota needed to convert, Louisiana Purchase breaks up the pass, his 2nd PD of the game, forcing a punt. Sarasota failed to score until the 4th quarter, and Rose Jenkins ended up throwing a pick six and got sacked 5 times. Colorado defense played out of their minds. Okay, Colorado got their first win of the playoffs, but it was only going to get harder. Yellowknife was a much harsher place to play in. You could say they were even better, and they had made the Ultimus the past 4 seasons, and they had big goals on their minds this time around. The first drive looked like it was going to be a 3 and out, but Owens had a clutch dive for the first down, and kept the drive alive. On another 3rd down, Owens had a big run to convert again. After a sack from the DLOTY, Giannis Kroustis, it was a big 3rd down, but McDummy caught fire, throwing for 51 yards in 4 plays, and scoring first, making a big statement drive. YKW drove down the field, assisted by a facemask penalty, but a drop and a stuffed run forced a short FG. After a great return by Ashley Owens next drive, McDummy was sacked again, but this time by Maurice Virtanen. That made sure they punted. After a punt from YKW, Colorado drove down the field for another TD, making the lead 14-3. But the Wraiths weren't done yet. After both teams punted, Hanyadi got his ducks in a row and ran all over Colorado, cutting the gap to 4. Neither team could do much before half, but a missed 54 yarder by Dougie Smalls surely leaves him still thinking about it. Yellowknife opened up with a nice drive, getting another FG and cutting Colorado's lead to 1 point. Colorado punted and YKW marched down the field for another FG, taking their first lead of the game. Both teams punt twice and Colorado has an extremely clutch drive to take the lead, 17-16.The Wraiths punt twice after this and end up never scoring again. Colorado had done it, done the impossible, and somehow won in Yellowknife, in the playoffs. Yellowknife was going to be at home watching the Ultimus for the first time in 5 seasons. Colorado wasn't done after that though. They had bigger aspirations. The Otters had taken care of business after putting up 50 against Austin. Colorado was going to be traveling to Orange County for a shot to win the Ultimus. The rest is history. OCO grabs a 7-0 lead quickly. McDummy throws a redzone INT soon after. OCO scores after both teams punt later, making the lead 14-0. Colorado sneaks in a FG before the half, making it a respectable 14-3 game. OCO starts off hot, scoring a TD after the halftime break. The lead is now 21-3. Colorado needs to score on the next drive, which they do, but they might have taken too long. They take 5 minutes to score a TD, making it a 11 point game with 17 minutes to play. Immanuel Blackstone comes up with a clutch 3rd down sack to give COL the ball back. They make good use of it, cutting the OCO lead to 3 after a clutch 2 point conversion. OCO goes on a 6 minute drive and scored a FG, giving them a 6 point lead with 4 minutes to go. That's all McDummy needed, and a 32 yard catch and run by Ashley Owens gives COL great position to make a play, and they do, with a 10 yard TD pass to James Bishop. COL takes the lead, 25-24, with 30 seconds to go. And they won. It was a great story of being the underdogs and overcoming adversity to deny another Wraiths Ultimus appearance, and another OCO ultimus win.

[zaynzk]

2 400 Word Tasks

13) 

Looking ahead a couple season I believe that their are a few teams i think will be in contention while other will be rebuilding. Starting with Arizona, who have been unfortunately shedding players to free agency, however I think Z-Whizz can turn the culture around given a few years, while I think 3 seasons might be too soon, since i think Que has another season in him so they will be pushing for a run next year. However for Cortez and Whizz to be competing, i think that they can get the pieces together to make a dominant team in a few season. Next team is Austin, who i believe will be in their window to window to win it all, they have built a young core and many of their top earners will be hitting crazy levels of TPE by then, as long as they can hold all their young pieces together i can see Austin going far. Baltimore is a weird one, their QB Chika will be entering regression in 3 seasons and their young pieces should be hitting their prime, however Baltimore is another team that is shedding peices, so their is a chance that it wont be Chika but whoever they draft to replace her, that could lead baltimore to a Ultimus. Berlin is another weird team to me, they have drafted like they expected to win right away and might suffer for it, can their QB convert hold on, he feels like more of a Bandaid so than a long term solution in my own opinion. Chicago is in their window right now, so in 3 seasons they will likley be having a down year as they look to rebuild for O'Donnells replacement. Colorodo with the retiring of Wolfie, might be entering a slight down year, however by 3 seasons time unless the wheels fall off they should be back on top. Honolulu is another team that should be entering their championship window soon, however with stiff competition from other teams i could see this team missing out. NOLA is a bit of a mess for the future, a weirdly unbalanced team based on age, and with their stars retiring sooner rather than later, i could see bad times ahead for the Sloth. New York on the other hand has an incredibly young team, and will likley be hitting its prime within the next three years. OCO is good, and will stay good, with a easy transition from Armstrong to Ramza, and guys sent down to clearly replace the ones before. Philly is a mess right now, and I feel like it will take more than three seasons to fix them, especially if their S25 guys get tired of losing. I dont think sarasota will be good SJS will probably be ok, and YKW will also be a middling team



15) Coming into the ISFL was a lot more fun then i initially thought it would be, with me getting sucked into the league a lot faster than i originally thought during the draft process. In the DSFL I mostly stuck with a lot of cool people on my ISFL team the dallas birddogs, who i enjoyed hanging out with before the draft. However it was only after I was drafted by the New York Silverbacks in the 3rd round of the ISFL draft where i found new teammates and new friends which i have gotten to know very well. I would love to take this opportunity to discuss a lot of the people i have come to enjoy and spend a stupid amount of time sending silly messages on discord and getting passionate over simulation football. Firstly I would love to give a shout out to Woelkers and Westy, who have shown nothing but kindness and have rooted for me, allowing me to serve in the war room and gain some stats (even though despite their best efforts i still sucked). I would also like to give a shout out my former GM Kya and Steg, who have been super fun have added me to my Dallas War Room as well. Now its time too look at my teammates. To Time Consumer, a man who surprised me with how talented he is, while at the same time being a likable and down to earth man, and who does not hesitate to drop cute photos of his crab cage. To Daybe, a really funny guy who may or is now. The each of the members of the former members of other teams, such as Plat and Beebob who i beefed with during the draft process, but i have grown to enjoy them despite their unforunate upbringing and i hope that they have grown to enjoy me aswell.  A few other silverbacks i would like to shout out is Moosey, whose always a cool guy, who hand drew me a cool sig,  Sam Howitzer our fearless QB, Roche whose is my fellow newby in the New York War Room and writes about them these damn prospects, Thor Kirby who is killing the interception game, and all the other player who have continued to have a presence in the ISFL community , and despite being on new teams continue to root for and have fun with the boys. Basically i love everyone who plays in the, even that man Zamir. (417 words)

[Leafs4ever]

SHL PT Affiliate

Task 24:

While we didn't make the playoffs in Philadelphia, that doesn't stop us from looking at the playoff teams and thinking we should be there instead of them. Right now, I'm looking squarely at the Chicago Butchers.

The Butchers finished one game ahead of us, with an 8-8 record. They weren't that impressive this season, but got in because the other teams in the NSFC weren't that good either. However, I think we stacked up well against Chicago and should be there instead. Firstly, our offense was better. We scored more points this season, 368 to 253, and finished ahead of them in every offensive category except one. They rushed better than us, but everywhere else we bested them. Our quarterback play was way better, throwing around 500 more yards and 7 more touchdowns. I don't think their quarterback play warranted a playoff berth while our quarterback stays home. On defense, yeah they may of been better, but we still gave up the least amount of pass yards in the conference. Our whole offense was better than them while a segment of our defense was better than everyone else's. They didn't really dominate any one area on the field, which is not something you usually say about a playoff team. Some wonky luck propelled Chicago to a playoff berth, but I think we deserved it in Philadelphia.

(226 words)

Task 29:

Behind every good offense is a really good offensive line. That was no different in Philadelphia. With the help of the offensive line, quarterback Brock Phoenix finished with his best statistical record.

On the offensive line, that group gave up the third lowest amount of sacks in the whole ISFL with only 12 sacks given up. The most impressive part of that number is they did it with the third lowest amount of pancakes. That shows you the line excels in technique and footwork and not just relying on brute force. A line that can navigate the rushers to the outside and make them exert a ton of energy while going nowhere is a huge advantage throughout the game. Speaking of pancakes, another stat that shows our incredible balance on the line is that while we were third from the bottom in pancakes, our very own Simon Tremblay led the league in pancakes with 95. So we had our powerhouse on the line who let the rest of the linemen use their superior skills and talent to move the rushers away from the quarterback.

There were a few seasons in Philly where the offensive line cost them games, but in the last couple of years they've become a key piece to the success of the offense. This season, it was no different.

(222 words)

Task 30:

It's always a hard proposition for expansion teams to be successful in their first season of existence. This season, the ISFL showed that they are no different than any other league in regards to expansion teams struggling. The Berlin Fire Salamanders and New York Silverbacks came into the league this season and, predictably, struggled against the already established teams of the ISFL.

In Berlin, they finished with a 3-13 record, good for dead last in the ISFL. They scored the least amount of points and gave up the most points, good for the clean sweep of futility. To be fair to them, they came into this season with a very young roster. They really wanted to build up to something special and not just fill their positions with over the hill veterans so they could fake compete. They was to build up their young talent and I don't think you can fault them for that. Ignoring their results this season, they have some special pieces to build with. Their rookie running back King was fourth in rushing which is impressive and their quarterback, while throwing 21 interceptions, also threw 21 touchdowns. They also have a solid rush defense so there are definitely some bright spots that Berlin can continue to build from.

In New York, they fared a tiny bit better, finished 4-12 for second last. They also scored the second least and gave up the second most points so the symmetry is there for them too. Their bright spots are very bright though and they all come on offense. Their rookie quarterback had a great season, throwing for 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Those are great numbers already and he's only going to get better. They also have a solid veteran running back in Ashley Owens who led the league in rushing. He still has something left in the tank and will be a big piece to help them get over the early humps. At wide receiver, they have breakout star Kingston, who finished with 1311 yards and a league leading 15 touchdowns. That's crazy that they have these pieces already. If they can add a couple solid players on defense, that offense might be ready to make them competitive sooner rather than later.

Expansion teams are almost always at a disadvantage, but their future is usually brighter than any other team. I think you can say the same thing applies to the ISFL's newest franchise, Berlin and New York.

(411 words)

[Symmetrik]

PBE PT

[Forty Jordy]

Task 9
I would like to start this task by examining what I wrote last year to see if it holds true and whether or not we need to adjust our needs or if our needs are the same. Last season I more or less wrote that I was cautiously optimistic about our success this year. Primarily because of our young Quarterback. However, this was not as much of an issue as I had thought as we finished the season with 11 wins. I also thought that we needed to pick up players at wide receiving, defensive line, and line backing. And what do you know, it seems like someone in front office read my post because we picked up GOAT TANK, Richard Leaking, and Owen Holloway. Enough looking back let’s look towards the future. We are really set up for the future at the moment. We only have a few gaps where we need to fill in. Bobby Boucher is our only Defensive End and thus need a player to fill in on the other side. Probably more important then filling in the opposite side of Boucher is our kicker and punter. Alex D is a seasoned S15 player who will likely hang up the reigns this season. It could not have come at a better time as we can afford to draft a kicker higher than we normally do if there is someone we really want to nab. Beyond defensive line and kicking, we need to bring up new secondary. Abernathy and Biggums are in their first season of regression. This means they have next season and potentially the following season to play depending on when they would like to retire their player. This means we need to bring on young backfield talent. This means whoever we draft we can keep in the DSFL for a minimum of one season which will allow them to come in their first season with decent enough TPE to be competitive. Now I am not sure whether or not we need grab two players in the secondary, I suspect it will depend on the draft class. There are perhaps 40 active players in this draft allowing for 3 full rounds of picks. This should allow us to fill in most of our needs. If we pick up two defensive backs first, then we may be able to also pick up a kicker and defensive end. By the way, I have no knowledge of what the team plan is. I am only making an observations based off of quick analysis of the compendium and TPE tracker.

Code:

431

[AgentSmith]

15) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S25 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? (5 TPE)

I’m a recent import from the SHL, which is my first sim league. I joined over there in April, so I’m still relatively new to the whole sim sports craze. I was convinced to join the ISFL by some friends, and there are a lot of people from the SHL in the ISFL that have made the transition much less lonely. I’d like to shout out Kyamprac, the GM of the Dallas Birddogs, for bringing me in as a Free Agent Prospect and getting me the locker room experience as soon as possible. I’d also like to point out SouthPaw for getting some early scouting done and inviting me to the Portland Pythons locker room to see how I fit in there. It’s super helpful that both of these locker rooms have people I know from the SHL, and everyone is willing to help me with my player build and advice for the future.
I’m really looking forward to the future of my player, Borgo San Lorenzo. I currently have him set as a Vertical Threat TE, and in his first game with the Dallas Birddogs, he had 2 receptions for 24 yards. I love being part of a team that is willing and able to use my player to be successful (even though we lost that game). In his second game, San Lorenzo had 2 catches for 6 yards in his second and possibly final game with the Birddogs (assuming they don’t draft him), in a close victory over the Norfolk Seawolves to end their season. 
Since I’m writing this before the draft, I can’t say anything about how it feels to be drafted, but the scouting portion has been fun so far. I love talking to the GMs of different teams (X so far) and getting to know their needs and how their locker rooms feel. If the draft is anything like how the SHL drafts work, it’ll be an exciting lead-up to a tense and exciting draft night. I’m hoping to go somewhere in the first round, as I am currently in the top 10 earners in the class with no signs of slowing down.
There are a few suggestions I have for the league, but I’m sure most of them have already been considered or already mentioned by other players, and most of them generate from my experience in the SHL. An automated bank system would go a long way to improving new player understanding of how to purchase training and an easy way to check my player’s bank balance without having to look at a google sheet or ask a discord bot (although the latter is pretty neat). The other thing that could be implemented is a way to export a player build from the player builder tool, either as plain text or as a link that can be shared. I’m a huge fan of being able to complete PTs right away as a DFA to earn that much more TPE as soon as possible. I’m also a big fan of the Rookie PT as a way to get rookies to explore the site and learn how to do certain things that might not be super obvious to new players. I’m also a big fan of the player wiki, which allows users to be that more invested in their player and willing to keep updating to see their player wiki page evolve.

Code:

567 words

18) Choose your favorite non-playoffs game of this season, whether your own team or another. Explain what was so special and why the winner ultimately came out victorious, including key players and moments.

My favorite game this season was only the second that I participated in and happened to be the last game of the season for the Dallas Birddogs, who faced off against the Norfolk Seawolves. While my player, the Tight End Borgo San Lorenzo, only had 2 catches for 6 yards, the Birddogs ended up winning the game 14-10 on the backs of a big game from Running Back Cobra Kai and the last play touchdown connection of QB Mattathias Caliban to Wide Reciever Mark Callous. If you just look at the stats, the game probably should have gone in the favor of Norfolk. They led in first downs, total yards, completions, had fewer penalties, and led in time of possession. The Birddogs came away with this last game of the season with a W, however, by having a great defensive game. Led by Linebacker Big Slammu, who had 10 tackles and 1 sack, and Defensive Tackle Monkey D. Luffy, who had 9 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack. Another standout player comes from the Offensive Lineman Smitty McGhee, who had 6 pancakes in a game where the next closest on the team was OL Duncan Donuts and your new favorite TE, Borgo San Lorenzo, both with 2. I’m hoping to play much better in the coming season for whatever team drafts me.

Code:

224 Words

22) Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, highlights, or totally fraudulent mail-in ballots. Whatever rookies get up to these days.

[overdoo]

15) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S25 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?

(5 TPE)

I suppose I am about the youngest draft class that can answer this! My experience in the league so far has been great, I've been contemplating it for a while, and decided to finally create, so here I am. I found out about it through Kyamprac, who has gone out of her way to recruit many users to both the SHL, and ISFL. Believe first I heard of the league was my first year scouting in the SMJHL, and ended up talking to her about it a bit. I didn't create then, but mentioned that when a good time opened up to create, to let me know. That was (a couple weeks) before the trade deadline this season, but it has been a super easy transition. Plenty of it is similar to the SHL, with some real cool additions like the Wiki, so no trouble navigating anything, and if so, I've got a few people to help. Speaking of, Norfolk ended up being the team to send a message out to me first, after my player was approved. Blasoon, to be more specific. I had messages from other GMs as well, but Norfolk had gotten me through waivers, and have also been extremely helpful, along with welcoming. Both J0EB and Blasoon have been great, and are each helping me with an article already, so I'm thankful for that.

For my own player, Lawrence Miller, has been doing, I'm pretty happy. I don't know a whole lot about football, I know the rules, down count, all that, I know NFL teams, but I just learned what a "PD" was a few days ago. I think having as many as I do is good for a CB, especially one who is quite literally league minimum in TPE due to having no update, so no complaints. Norfolk on the other hand haven't been doing crazy good, but I wasn't looking for that in a team. Of course like I mentioned, I am a waiver claim for them, so I'll be entered into the upcoming draft. It's been exciting so far, and some hype is ramping up a little bit with finals coming up as well. As of the time I'm writing this, no scouts, but in reality I don't expect messages to come in until after the finals. I got a couple messages right after I typed that out. I'll be glad to rant on about my experience in a PT or media post in the future. 

As far as improving the league, can't really think of anything. Personally I like the signing system the SHL has for the users creating after the TDL, but that is a huge change and completely unnecessary when you have something that works well, like waivers. Plus it would force people like me to go to new LR's rather than signing with who I know. Mentors in the Rookie Discord have been great, even though I haven't really used them personally. Always someone on to help the new people, and that has become more evident with your recruitment starting up here. Can't really think of anything else right this moment.

523 / 400 Words

29) 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.

(2.5 TPE)

Well, fellow Norfolk waiver claim, Mills Wallace, has been having himself a good few games recently. In the four games he has been a part of Norfolk for, he has gone an easy 3/3 for extra points, and 2/2 with the field goals the team has gotten him to attempt. It is obviously a small sample size, but Wallace has at least been consistent, and will likely remain that way wherever he goes in the draft, if it isn't Norfolk. It isn't just kicking that he brings to the table, however. Wallace has an average of 44 yards per punt, which is god for fourth in the DSFL this season. He has gotten 5 punts within 20, which is incredible for a new player, in 4 games. He also "only" has a long of 60, which means his punts are also quite consistent, at least compared to some other players in the league. 

In the locker room, he has been great as well. When I first joined and he was talking, I didn't even think he was in my class. Could be because I'm a little shy at first, but man he has just seemed comfortable talking to anyone in there, and has been a great presence overall. Plus, he's in there almost every hour of the damn day. Type of guy that can really boost an LR that might need it, and he could probably get drafted off that without even having a player. I think he'll get put aside for a while since he is only a kicker, but I couldn't say enough good things about the guy. Besides, every team needs a kicker. If you need one, he's the type a guy to draft. 

289 / 200 Words

Tier 3 PT Affiliation Claim

(2.5 TPE)  

SHL PT Affiliation - Championship Week

According to my limited math skills, that is 10/10 possible TPE!

[Sutj]

8)
There is no one in the entire league that deserves more recognition and awards than my former teammate and star wideout Doug Howlett of the Baltimore Hawks. In his rookie season, Howlett has posted absolutely phenomenal numbers in the ISFL for the Hawks, solidifying himself as the year's unquestioned Wide Receiver of the Year. In 16 games, Howlett registered a league-high 102 receptions for a league-high 1646 receiving yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns, the third-highest total in the league. Howlett absolutely tore up the league, and if it wasn't clear enough how dominant Howlett was his receiving yardage was over 200 yards higher than the next player. To add to this, his reliable hands were proven with his league-leading 102 receptions. And as if all this wasn't impressive enough, Howlett put out this performance as an ISFL rookie, fresh out of Tijuana. Not only has he already cemented himself as one of the best wide receivers in the league, but that he has nowhere else to go but up as he becomes more accustomed to the system in Baltimore and improves his chemistry with his new quarterback Fujiwara, who himself had a pretty good season, with 4731 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, but 20 interceptions. With Howlett's unbelievable production in Baltimore, this has rocketed him forward into discussions for every single eligible award possible, from OROTY, WROTY, OPOTY, and I'd even consider him to be in contention for MVP. For me, Howlett is the absolutely unquestioned OROTY and WROTY, as his stats make him the best rookie wide receiver and is more impressive than Watts' rushing performances, as impressive as it was. Howlett is also what I'd say being the WROTY, as although he isn't leading the league in touchdowns, he has blown everybody else out of the water for receiving yards, and leads the league in receptions as well. As for OPOTY and MVP, that's where things start to shake up a little, with the incredible performance of Sarasota's QB Banks II, however, Howlett's value in the Hawks offense is unquestioned. In the previous season, with the same quarterback, Baltimore ranked second-to-last in terms of total team receiving yardage with 3414 receiving yards, and just 22 receiving touchdowns. As soon as Howlett was called up to join the Baltimore offense, the team receiving stats skyrocketed. This season, the Hawks finished second in the league for team receiving yardage by just 68 yards with 4731 receiving yards, and 29 total receiving touchdowns, tied for second in the league. It is undeniable that Howlett has been a centrepiece in the Baltimore offense, and he deserves to be recognised for it.

[Jiggly_333]

Tier 1: Prompt 3

I’m doing the third prompt from the Tier 1 list here, so you’re probably expecting me to talk about a team that I am massively familiar with. However, despite my personal history with everything there, I’m not going to write about the Chicago Butchers. Maybe next season. Instead, there’s another team that’s been around for much longer that I am still pretty damn confident I can talk about. The Orange County Otters.

Now, Mount Rushmore was built (on stolen land from indigenous people) long after many of the people on that cliff had died, so my very deep knowledge of old OCO is much more helpful than knowing anything about what they’re currently doing. Also, I was deeply involved with the inner workings of that team for a possibly unfortunate amount of time for the team. As such, I’m not going to be shouting out players, but users. So, Mike Boss unfortunately doesn’t make the cut, but there are plenty of other legendary players that came from these users. So let’s start.

First up is timeconsumer. He takes the George Washington position on this, but he’s not exactly the team’s “creator”. I don’t think he ever even fully took a GM role until WAY later in his time in the league. That was when he was with the Marshalls, I think? Anyway, he’s honestly more like Jefferson in terms of being the architect of the Otter Slaughter dynasty. He helped set the tone for the team that has continued to propel them forward. I don’t think the Otters ever missed the playoffs while tc was still giving orders.

So, TC’s involvement with the team comes from a pretty innocuous moment when Shaka was looking for people to test-sim for him. The Otters used to have a completely separate discord server for Otter FO talk, so I’m not sure if those first talks are still on record, but TC was one of the first non-GMs invited into that chat. Almost instantly. I think it was Shaka, JBear, me, and maybe Teddy? But after Shaka dipped for the EFL, TC started taking charge more in that front office. No matter who was the actual official GM, TC was the power behind the throne. He perfected the sim not only to a point where he could create the very best strats and builds, but in the end he was the guy who helped the league figure out buffs and debuffs for players to try to make things as balanced as possible.

TC’s the best is what I’m trying to say.

Anyway, next on the list is MolarPistols. The first few seasons of the Otters were really shaky. First it was Grape, then it was the Shaka Triumvirate, then it was JBear. MP was the guy who came on after I left for the Blues and really helped to put TC’s plans into motion. I’d say that’s a Jefferson-esque role there. I don’t know how long he was GM, I’m not going to look it up right now because I know I’ll get caught up in a hole of memories. What I do know is that MP’s Ian Bavitz was the first player ever elected into the Hall of Fame and he when he finally stepped down from being GM it was a massive deal in the LR. I think that was sometime in my second stint with Atwell in OC.

I don’t have too much to say about MP’s management, but he was the guy who made sure that things got done and that’s about what you need to do as a GM. Good work from him.

Next is the Teddy Roosevelt position. The thing about him being on Rushmore is that it was mostly a publicity stunt so that he would approve of it and call it a national monument. Essentially, Roosevelt is the “one of these things is not like the other” up there on Rushmore. So while all of the others were GMs of OCO at some point, I don’t think this guy was.

JKortesi81 is my pick for the Teddy slot because he was a guy in the locker room who exemplified the spirit of the team. He was a true leader from the moment that Crush was traded there from the Yeti. He stuck around for an incredibly long time and his player was great, but really he was just the sort of guy you want in a locker room. He was friendly, easy to talk to, and was always willing to help his teammates. That is a true captain.

Finally, the Lincoln slot, the later of the greats. That’s Speculadora, whose original name was “Poopyface Tomatonose”. He went by PFTN for a while. It’s one of those things where, when you first see a guy come into the league with such a dumb joke name, you don’t expect them to last too long. The meme wears off. And that’s what made PFTN so interesting to me, because he actually put work into his early years in the league. So by the time he became GM, his player’s name had been changed, but his username was still PFTN.

Spec was another long-time GM of the team and he put a lot of heart and soul into it. I’m pretty sure he was responsible for a couple of my Ultimuses. I don’t really have much to say about him except that he’s always been a great guy to me and others. So, yeah, throw him up there.

And that’s it. I’ve got TC, MP, Kortesi, and Spec as my Mt. Rushmore for the Orange County Otters. Modern Otters may not remember these names, but they were important to the history of the team.

[Vorshayla]

20) Choose any award from the past 24 offseasons that you think should’ve gone to a different contender. Why was your chosen candidate’s season superior to the actual winner?

This one has always been an easy one for me.  S20 DSFL GM of the year.  To this day, I still don't know how Frost and Cory didn't win this award after guiding MB to a 12-2 record, winning 9 straight comes and losing in the Ultimini.  I don't even remember who the eventual winners were, but it was always a sore spot of contention for me when the 2-12 Portland GM's were nominated for this award that the GMs for MB wasn't.  Maybe it was just the way the graphic was set up during the presentation but I made a big stink about it then, and I'm kinda glad I get to revisit that one.  I just wish awards were based on stats and not on favoritism, but as with all things that are voted on, personal feelings are going to be a part of it and it's just the nature of the beast.  Definitely stands out in my mind as one of the biggest WTF moments during an awards presentation though.  In hindsight, 5 seasons removed from that awards show, I still think Cory and Frost got robbed and I'm not sure if anyone can convince me otherwise.  It was so bad that Frost leave MB as a co GM and went to Sarasota as an expansion GM... not really, but I'd like to think that's what caused it.

2.5 TPE Task - 231 words


22) Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, highlights, or totally fraudulent mail-in ballots. Whatever rookies get up to these days.

Season 27 DSFl Draftee PickSix II is definitely going to be a high pick.  Already has 42 TPE banked max earning his way to the top without equipment.  Also has over 20m in the bank to purchase top tier equipment before he even gets drafted.  Currently PickSix II has mediocre speed, but makes up for that with his above average intelligence and hands at the cornerback position which is what many teams that are looking to beef up their secondary should be on the lookout for.  He was picked up by the Grey Ducks in the expansion draft, but basically has been taking it easy since they're playing him in the NB position, and he's just not feeling it so he's giving it the good ol college try before hitting the weight room with his banked TPE prior to the draft to upgrade his stats before his true rookie DSFL season starts in earnest.  Look for the son of former great PickSix to go higher than his pop did in this year's DSFL draft.  Scouts have even said that PickSix II possess even better hands and understands the playbook than his father.  In addition, he inherited the same trash talking mouth that puts wide receivers on edge when lining up opposite PickSix II on the field.   

2.5 TPE Task - 216 words


11) History is not always kind to the losers. Tell the story of a team who you view as an all-time great but who did not win the title game. Why was that team so dominant? What were the major focal points of their offense and defense, and who were the star players? What makes them so special? What was the reason that they ultimately fell short of immortal greatness?

Season 20 DSFL team Myrtle Beach Bucs definitely was an all-time great team.  On offense, they were led by George Ramos, Sarvepally running the ball, a rookie Leon McDavid protecting Ramos' blind side and starting his immaculate career without giving up a sack.  Bravestone as a deep threat option.  It's no secret why that offense put up 290 points that year.  As good as that stunning offense was, the vaunted No Fly Zone of the Bucs defense was the real story of that team.  
Led by Prince Vegeta at Safety along with Dax Frost prior to him changing to a running back in their secondary.  Alongside Mouseman and Stephens at the linebacker position with Rapid Eagle and Bouchier just pressuring opposing QB's.  Rotticus Scott lining up at safety beside Prince Vegeta just made this defense absolutely deadly.  If that wasn't enough star power on that defensive side, after week 6 they traded for HeHateMe PickSix out of Portland, to absolutely terrify opposing offenses and it showed with the team giving up just 119 points in the entire season.  This was a special team, since the PickSix trade, MB went undefeated the rest of the way en route to the Ultimini game where due to some unfortunate luck and a bad showing by "playoff" Ramos they were beaten the equally impressive Minnesota Grey Ducks that year.

Just how dominant was this team?  Lets look at the ISFL draft that took place after this season.  Prince Vegeta went #1 overall, HeHateMe PickSix went #4 overall, Leon McDavid and Rapid Eagle went 12 and 13 overall.  Trevor Mouseman, Rotticus Scott went 16 and 17th overall.  Simon Trembley, Larry Longshot, Dax Frost, all were drafted in the top 30.  That's a total of 9 players that were selected in the top 30 picks in that draft.  Out of the 9 players, 6 of them have been in at least one Pro Bowl in their ISFL career as well.  

This team was simply a team for the ages as evident by the next season once all their stars were moved up to the big leagues, MB finished with a record of 9-5, still good enough for being first in the conference and even winning the Ultimini that year avenging their previous year's loss.  However the most telling stat was without their defensive weapons, MB gave up 275 total points that year.  They went from giving up 119 to basically giving up more than double the points they allowed due to the departures of 3 of the 4 members of the vaunted No Fly Zone secondary with only Rotticus Scott being on that team having not been called up.  

In conclusion, the S20 Bucs ultimately fell short of immortal greatness due to a bad game by their QB and sim luck.  Both teams were 12-2 heading into the championship game, and a team had to lose, it was just unfortunate that the team that ended up losing was this incredibly talented team for the ages.  


5.0 TPE task - 499 words