(S25) - Ultimus Week

[Swanty]

Task 13

As we approach kickoff of the S29 season, let's take a look at some of the favourites for the Ultimus and some of the not so favourites. First off, we start with the reigning champions Berlin. 4 seasons after coming into existence, they've finally hit their peak. With the vast majority of their roster made up of S22 players, they've enjoyed very little regression up until now, but just received the first batch of it last season, so it's now or never if they want to grab a 2nd title.

Looking over at the ASFC and Arizona look the most likely to meet Berlin in the S29 Ultimus. With a solid core that was formed from the S24/25 drafts, the Outlaws are just now hitting their peak. And with a ton of depth from previous drafts, they could be a mighty force for a long time to come. They'll have to duke it out with the youthful Honolulu as they look to keep their playoff streak alive.

And in the NSFC, who is likely to make a challenge to Berlin this season? They've experienced a couple of tough years since their dominance previously, but Colorado and Sarasota could be primed for a resurgence. Both teams struggled as their QB continued to find their feet in the ISFL, but both sides are looking to pick up where they left off just a few seasons ago.

One side that might be ready for a comeback are the Yellowknife Wraiths. The aging stars of old have passed the torch to a new breed who are just now starting to approach their peak. the NSFC is the toughest division in the league at the moment, but the Wraiths might be on their way back to the top.

And what of the league's newest teams, Tokyo Tanuki and Singapore Sun Bears? Both suffered tricky seasons, with Tokyo receiving the 1OA for the second year in a row and taking Dermot Lavelle III. Having drafted young, they believe they might be able to snatch one of the 8 playoff spots up for grabs, but are realistic in that their peak is likely a few seasons away still. Singapore might be a little more bullish. They were the better team last season, but just missed out on the playoffs with their 1st expansion pick Joseph Petrongolo leading the league in rushing. Having avoided regression, they'll be expecting to make it to their first postseason this time around.

Task 16

If there's one player deserving of an award from the Berlin Fire Salamanders debut season, it's star kicker Karmichael Hunt. Over the course the S25 season, only 3 kickers were 100% on all field goals. One joined NOLA halfway through the season and of the other two, Hunt attempted and completed the most, with 27. It's not like they were chip shots either. 2 were from 50+, including a monster 56 yarder, and 9 were from 40-49. One of the most memorable moments of the season was in their first ever game against NY. Hunt scored a Field Goal to put Berlin in the lead with just 41 seconds to play, earning them a huge victory in their debut game. The one blotch to Hunt's name, and the reason it might be a tough ask to take home the award, is two missed extra points.

Looking at the competition for KotY, it seems like the biggest challenge will be from Honolulu's Venus Powers, who was a perfect 49/49 from extra points and missed just one field goal for the year. The insane volume of kicks she was asked to convert combined with an impressive hit rate means this is likely hers to lose, but being from the ASFC, I would expect Hunt to at least win the starting job in the Pro Bowl for the NSFC lineup.


Task 18

My favourite game of the season was the aforementioned debut game for both Berlin and New York. It was a rusty start, with the first 3 attempts at a play resulting in penalties: Illegal Motion, Tripping and too many men on the field.

Berlin got the upper hand early on, as Asher Quinn returned an interception to the house after less than 4 minutes on the team. But immediately afterwards, Ashley Owens returned NY's first ever kick return 107 yards to tie the game.

The next few drives for both teams were fairly cagey. Berlin came away with two field goals before a long New York drive resulted in a Snyder touchdown to edge into the lead.

Into the second half, and New York again put together a very long drive to take them into the redzone and then into the endzone. Thankfully for Berlin, Smalls missed the extra point, leaving it as a 7 point game. A few punts back and forth and it was Berlin's turn to string together a long run, capping off a sequence of 8 straight runs with a 20 yard pass to Dre Matthews to tie the game.

The momentum was with Berlin now heading into the 4th quarter. Petrongolo got on the scoreboard to give Berlin the lead, but with just 5 minutes to go, QB Kaepercolin made a crucial error, throwing an interception that was taken to the house to tie it up once more.

However, it was Berlin that would have the last laugh, stringing together a drive that ended with a Karmichael Hunt gamewinning field goal with just 41 seconds to go, handing Berlin their first ever victory.

[Jimi64]

Tier 2

9) The Philadelphia Liberty are in a difficult position going into next year. We unfortunately lost a few key members of the team through free agency: a star on defense, a star wide receiver, and a young running back with a  lot of potential all chose to continue their careers elsewhere.. Although this past season can be considered a success, it may be that Philadelphia is taking a step backwards. However, this is not to say that there are not bright spots on the team and areas where we can expect growth. The offense was high powered, led by veteran quarterback Brock Pheonix. In order to have a successful season in S26, the team must once again lean on the offense to win games. With Randy Vuxta departing, Flash Panda will be the top priority at the wide receiver position. Although he will be successful, the team could potentially use some more wide receiver depth. The team needs to prepare for the departures of its veterans in the future. This includes not only PHeonix, but also running back Torenson and tight end Blocksdale. Although there are some prospects with high ceilings on the defense, take for example Tex Wrecks, there are simply too many holes in the secondary for the defense to be a dominate force. Therefore, the strategy going into the next season will be to build for the future. The draft will be a high priority for the liberty. Since this next season will not be successful, this could be a good time to draft backups to the veterans I previously mentioned. By the time the draft picks will have earned enough to be useful in the ISFL, the veterans will be on their way out due to regression. This also helps for the next year simply because it keeps the Liberty from doing too well and getting a higher draft pick. Although the current team will see losses, this helps the team for the future. If the team would rather put out a team that has a small chance to battle for a playoff spot, then the draft should definitely focus on apparent needs, such as multiple defensive backs and potentially a running back to take some of the weight off of Torensen. This could potentially create a duel threat offense that becomes an issue for other teams. There is definitely some cap space for signing free agents, but the issue is that Philadelphia’s reputation is not highly regarded at this point, so it is currently not the most attractive spot for free agents, though they will undoubtedly receive great playing time if they decide to sign to Philadelphia. This next season will be important for restoring Philadelphia’s image as an enjoyable place to play.

Tier 3

25) I think the ISFL Pro Bowl should have an Among Us tournament. This would be fun to actually have if it was somehow able to be organized but that would be way too difficult. It could be streamed to dedicated ISFL fans, with the opportunity to see the perspective of your favorite player. I’m not sure if you could really crown a champion of that game, but it would still be hilarious to just see them play. It has the potential to create some spicy drama as we see which players have a vendetta against others. For example, maybe a Colorado player becomes imposter and they always kill San Jose players because they’re salty about losing the Ultimus again. Maybe crewmates will refuse to reveal the identity of an imposter because it’s their teammate. In fact, I think this could be expanded to include other games. Mario Party has the same power as Among Us to ruin friendships and inspire betrayal. Let’s have a series of Mario Party games with a representative from each team. The trophy from that competition would be coveted just as much as an Ultimus trophy. Maybe teams will start scouting players for their ability to spam buttons in mini games. It could completely reshape the value of players just for one silly pro bowl event. Teams already play games together in their locker rooms, so we might as well take advantage of that and broadcast it to everyone for maximum entertainment.

27) The expansions of two new teams to the ISFL impacted the league in a variety of ways, but the one that was most pertinent to me was its effect on my Norfolk Seawolves. Expansion and the expansion draft creates sudden holes in teams as their assets were pried away. This means that any decent earners still in the DSFL suddenly become risks to being called up. This crushed Norfolk this past season. Having made their way to the Ultimini two seasons in a row, the Seawolves were bound to regress regardless, but the resulting call ups left Norfolk’s roster a barren wasteland. Some of the losses were expected, such as Suleiman Ramza as quarterback, but it is quite a drastic change to a team when they go from one of the top teams to easily the worst. Other teams were hurt as well, but they were already in various stages of rebuilding towards contention. Of course, the goal of the DSFL is to help players grow and set them up for success in the ISFL, but it’s still not fun to see you favorite team do poorly. Despite a successful draft with high earners that followed these events, there were simply too many needs of the team in order to produce a successful season. If this fate does not befall Norfolk again, then they can begin growing back into a contending team, but one never knows how soon a player will be called up.

[Boo_T]

27) The league is prone to change. Reflect on a past change in either the ISFL or DSFL that significantly impacted something - be it a rules change, an expansion or contraction, or even a complete rebranding. What were the effects of this change, and how has it shaken the status quo?

It was the summer of 2009 when I first learned of the Mrytle beach buccaneers it was a crisp evening, I was enjoying a tea on my porche and suddenly a young neighbourhood wipper snapper told me "Boo! Boo! you have to check out these new fangled Buccaneers!" I said "Little Jimmy, what're you talking about?". Jimmy then said "Well, Boo, you have to know about this, it's the football team!" I said "Oh, like Liverpool?" And Jimmy said "Oh Boo, no the American football team.". Well that was the start of my love affair with the Mrytle Beach Buccaneers and when I learned of the relocation to Bondi Beach I felt like a child of mine had been abducted. I felt like I had been betrayed by a lover. I felt the move has affected me by not liking them anymore and I feel like I like the status quo of maintaining rich team history and this change has made me scared for future relocations of teams I love. I can only hope that other teams will choose to honour their history instead of going where the money and booty's are because this is a great league with ample history that should not be thrown down the drain.

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?

Well I met with Doug Howlett and he helped me get a start on the league and that definitely made the deal a bit sweeter aye. My experience so far has been average, it was hard to create my character and topic and navigating the website. If Doug Howlett wasn't here to help me I don't know how I would've completed the tasks and created my character as the website is difficult to navigate and the updating system is convoluted and hard to understand. I have only just created and have yet to meet anyone outside of Doug Howlett but I play DND with Swanky, Guritear Malululu and Aiyce Ventura. They were all lovely so I assume that will continue in this league also. I haven't even started so I can't comment on my players experience yet but I hope it'll be great. I haven't been drafted yet but I think it will be great. I am looking to becoming a full on big ass player. I don't know of many recommendations for the league but I think everyone should just have fun and live their best life. I think we could also create an opportunity to introduce more roles such as waterboys and streakers and coaches and stadium managers and cheerleaders and commentators and groundskeepers and wags/girlfriends of football players and groupies and cameramen and boom guys and reporters. Really deepen the emersion of the league for all those involved. My initial character choice I would've liked to have played would have been a water person but I found out this is not an option as of right now. If I was to make a change in the league it would be to be able to make it more inclusive for those who don't want to play on the field but have a role on the team regardless. This could be in the form of those aforementioned but also could expand to whatever a user so desires. This category of character creation could be its own sub position called the "support team". I also recommend the league to have an option to watch and follow a character creation as I struggled without assistance. This would include pictures and a nice song to follow along to. I am excited to see which team drafts me and be involved in the experiences Doug Howlett goes on about. I am really looking forward also to seeing all the league pets.

[GotDatWeeFee]

I chose option 2 with 800 words.

I haven’t been around the league long, but I feel the S24 season for the San Jose SaberCats was legendary. A team that wasn’t expected to make an Ultimus run let alone win one is impactful. When talking about the SaberCats and their national title run, we need to take a step back and look at the previous year and the build-up to what they were working with when coming into the season. It was the end of season 23 and the SaberCats are at the bottom of the ASFC. Looking to rebuild most teams take at least a couple of offseason to develop into a team that can compete for an Ultimus let alone win one. After having a strong draft class and some even stronger call ups the saber cats were ready to make an improvement on the previous year. Rolling into season 24 the SaberCats were much improved moving into the season rolling through the season breaking even the entire way through. Their final two games were going to be the biggest difference seeing as how the rest of the conference was pretty neck and neck they couldn’t afford to slip but luckily they had to home games with that sweet sweet shitty home-field advantage that our great lord and savior draft day sports bestowed upon us. The SaberCats won out both of their home games leaving a four-way tie to end the regular season. Due to the elite tiebreakers from the SaberCats, they got to hold the top spot and secured the easier of the two games, going against the Outlaws.

The SaberCats did what the SaberCats do best and shut down the opposing team’s offense allowing only 10 points bringing the final score to 20 – 10 giving the SaberCats the edge and moving onto the Semi-Finals. The SaberCats got to this point from heavy and slow tempo allowing their defense to dominate so why change something that is winning. Well, that’s what they did…. nice and slow and suffocate the opposing team the Otters. Looking into this match everyone expected this to be a slugger, but no one expected it to be so one-sided. The SaberCats were able to come out on top of the defensive battle completely shutting the Otters offense down and limiting them to a single field goal bringing the final tally to 17 - 3. Time to move on to the big game, the Ultimus itself. Before the playoffs even started the Yeti were the clear favorites moving into this game.

They dominated the regular season only dropping two games along the way. In the playoffs, they secured their wins up to this point as expected. One thing to take note of though, the Yetis work securing all their victories by a close margin. Won by three against the Wraiths, and only won by four against the sailfish. Was this the plan all along to try and throw everyone off their real strategy going into the Ultimus game or was this the beginning of a whole in the Yeti’s impenetrable armor. Moving into the game everyone still expected San Jose to get trampled without a second thought. It was finally time for the showdown and battle for it all the ULTIMUS. The SaberCats got the ball to start the game and to no one's surprise, it ended in a punt. The ball going to the Yetis which also led to a punt. This back and forth continued throughout the entire first quarter of the game excluding a field goal for each team. Going into the second quarter tied no one felt any different they knew this would most likely be a close defensive game but were still very sure of the Yeti’s victory. Colorado started the second quarter started and out of nowhere, McDummy threw an interception…. the roars hushed…the fifty…. the forty…. the thirty…. the twenty…. ten…. five…. TOUCHDOWN. Matt Krause had what would later be known as the play of the game, as he picked off McDummy and returned the ball sixty-two yards for a touchdown. You could feel the air leave the stadium as the Yeti’s sideline stood still and their fans grew quiet. This was the moment that doubt started to creep into the thoughts of everyone on the Yeti sideline and doubt festers and can completely change the swing of a game. The SaberCats ecstatic were reinforced with the fact that they can do this and were showing everyone else what they already knew…the SaberCats can win this. To compound this error the Yeti went out and had a three and out on their previous drive. To build on the SaberCats knew what they needed to do. They drove downfield pounding and demoralizing that Yeti defense to secure a second touchdown. The Yeti had another three and out, but with the SaberCats driving, they were unable to beat the clock and secure any additional points before the half was out. The third quarter was another constant defensive battle with zero points and leaving both punter's legs tired. In the fourth, the Yeti started climbing their way back into the game. They secured a Touchdown, then had a huge special teams/defensive play. Punting the ball all the way down to the SaberCats two and sacking Montey Jack to secure the safety. Momentum started to swing back in the Yeti's favor as they were getting the ball back. Though the SaberCats defense was stout and allowed no additional points to be scored and securing the upset. Along with it came the highly coveted Ultimus trophy it was a great day for the SaberCats.

GO CATS BACK TO BACK CHAMPS BABY!!!!

[excelsior]

6)

So I wanted to do some digging through the index and I thought I'd do game reviews for this. As I went through the past champions for the past 25 seasons, I came across the rivalry that is Wraiths vs the Otters. They were in the Ultimus 3 times. C. Bigsby will go down as one of the best QBs of all time. He may have not had the success in the big game like F. Armstrong, but he was still pretty damn good. The Wraiths first made the playoffs in S16. They had an unfortunate first round exit to Philly. In that game, Bigsby played pretty well, going 21/32 for 271 yards and 2 TDs. Why did they lose? The 3rd down conversion rate was terrible. When you don't convert 6 3rd downs, you'll lose. N. Swift has a big game for the Wraiths, and you'll see that trend continue in most of their playoff games. Their defense broke down late, as they were up 31-21 early in the 3rd quarter, but Philly put up 14 points in 3 drives, and took back the lead. The Wraiths offense laid an egg and that's all she wrote. The next season the Wraiths had clinched the 1st seed, and ended up facing the Baltimore Hawks. The Hawks started out strong, going up 27-10 early in the 3rd. Their defense let up back to back TD drives, but nothing else. That was all they needed, as it was a game of defenses in the 4th quarter. The legendary Bigsby didn't perform as well in this game, throwing 24/44 for 355 yards and only one TD. Swift was spectacular again, catching 7 for 92 yards. Moving onto the next season, the Wraiths dominance began. They went 11-2 and easily got the first seed. They faced the Hawks again and got their revenge. Bigsby played worse in this game, but Havran played even worse. Havran threw 4 interceptions and gave the Wraiths the easiest win they'll get. But give some credit to the Wraiths defense, which had 4 ints, 3 sacks and a forced fumble. After that great game, the Wraiths were matched up against the 10-3 Otters. The Otters had won the Ultimus last season, and they didn't have the home field this time, but they still had Armstrong, and you can never count him out. The Otters got up to a big 13-0 lead, but their amazing defense did not let up. They had 1 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR, 8 PDs, and 2 ints. Not a bad showing. Bigsby had a nightmare of a day and the ground game could never get off for the Wraiths. They would end up losing 16-10. Fast forward to next season. The Wraiths are again the 1st seed, and they're playing the Hawks for the 3rd time in a row. Bigsby went nuclear, going 25/39 for 395 yards with an average of over 10 YPA. He also had 3 TD passes, 1 of which went to Swift, who caught 6 passes for 120 yards. The offense showed up, even if the defense didn't. They won 55-14, a convincing win. They played the Otters in the championship game again. The Otters had won back to back and were looking for the threepeat. The Wraiths jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead, but the Otters scored 20 unanswered, and the score was 20-10 going into the 4th. The Wraiths managed to score on all their drives, making it 23-17 with around 4 minutes left. Armstrong threw for over 50 yards on 2 throws and scored easily. The Wraiths offense sputtered out on the next drive and the Otters won 30-27. Next season, it seemed like the Copperheads would be the favorite. The Otters had gone 7-6 and were the wildcard, and the Wraiths had a wide open path to the championship. They handily beat the Yeti in the conference championship, and went up against the 1st seed Copperheads in the championship. Bigsby played terribly, throwing 2 ints and losing his 3rd straight Ultimus. Next season was different. The Wraiths had finally had a bad season, going 7-6, and being the WC. But never count out Bigsby. The Wraiths upset the Yeti in the wild card and then they faced Baltimore for the 300th time in the conference championship. Wraiths dominance continued and they were going to the Ultimus. NOLA has already taken care of the Otters, and they had an easier path to winning. The Second Line managed to shut down the Wraiths, winning 33-13 in dominant fashion. The Wraiths lost their 4th Ultimus. Next season it seemed they would go back to the Ultimus again, as they went 11-2 and got the 1st seed. Unfortunately they were upset at home by the Yeti, who went on to beat the Otters in one of the best Ultimus games I've looked at. The Wraiths would finally get their karma, as in S23, they clinched first seed and beat the Yeti in a rematch of s22, and then beat Austin in the championship in a s20 rematch.

This was the story of how the Wraiths broke their Ultimus curse and finally won one for Bigsby

[ComebackZak]

15. I've been in the International Simulation Football League since the beginning of September right after the trade deadline. Admittedly a first I was apprehensive at looking at dots on the screen however I've come to love that aspect of the streams and seeing my player, Tugg Speedman, dominate on the field as well as my team the London Royals. I've met some truly awesome people since I've joined. Actually, before I joined Frick was the one who helped me build my wide receiver and get started and I really appreciate him for helping me do that. I started my time out in the Portland Pythons locker room as their trade deadline line waiver pickup. I received a lot of help and warm welcomes in that locker room and it really helped my transition early on. While the International Simulation Football League isn't that different than the Pro Baseball Experience, there are still small things that are unique to each league that have a slight learning curve. From Wiki help to some additional build questions, I couldn't have felt more at home to start the league in that locker room. It helped me get off to a great start at being a max earner for my draft class. From there I was drafted by the London Royals with the last pick in the second round of the Developmental Simluation Football League, where I felt even more at home. I was recruited by Katarn and I knew this is where I wanted to be and fortunately it is where I was drafted. The London locker room is the most active locker room I have ever been in and probably one of the best, if not the best spanning between the International Simulation Football League and Pro Baseball Experience. The league does an exceptional job with their drafts. When I went through the Developmental Simulation Football League draft, it was cool to see all of the graphics and cards made for the rookies. It was such a welcoming experience and really draws you in with how immersive the league can be. I'm happy I can go through this process again as I prepare for the International Simulation Football League draft. That initial excitement is stirring up again and I'm looking forward to Friday night! I'm beyond excited with how Tugg Speedman has performed as a rookie and while I was hoping he would accomplish more, the London Royals offense is absolutely stacked so I'm just happy to be a part of a great offense. I think the only aspect that might be more helpful is already being done with weekly tasks and updates being due on Sunday's mainly because it's the same schedule as the Pro Baseball Experience. I think the other thing, at least because I haven't really been able to find it, is a league schedule that shows when games are and more importantly dates for the offseason. Other than that, I have no issues with the league and I'm looking forward to many more to come.

506 words

22. Here is the scouting report for the sensational rookie wide receiver Tugg Speedman of the London Royals:

Speed - He's up there with the best of them in his draft class. He's quick off the snap and can create separation.

Agility - Speedman is one of the more agile and quick players at the wide receiver position but also in this draft class. Look for him to get possible future nods at being a punt and kick returner.

Hands - Speedman has exceptional hands, probably the best out of this season 26 draft class. He rarely has drops and is very dependable in the passing game. Probably a guy you want to have for important drives and third downs.

Football IQ  - Speedman has relatively high football IQ. Having played multiple positions, he understands assignments of a running back and wide receiver and can help keep fellow players in check when lining up on offense.

Off-Field - Some may consider Speedman's personality a little too much. We hear different things around the league. Those that play with him and share a locker room love him and those who aren't familiar with the player outside of his interviews with the media are not fans.

Final Scout Grade - Tugg Speedman is an elite receiver and while some may think he would be a distraction others dispute that fact and think he's a gifted and reliable receiver.

229 words

26. There is a good chance that this might not be the most popular opinion but I believe my player, Tugg Speedman, should be voted Most Valuable Player of the Developmental Simulation Football League playoffs. Despite losing in the Ultimini Championship game, Tugg had a phenomenal showing in his first playoff run. In the first game, Tugg shredded the Minnesota Grey Duck secondary ripping off 9 receptions, 113 yards, and a touchdown. In his second game, Tugg put up 5 receptions and 103 yards. During this time, Tugg broke 3 different London Royal records - receptions in a game, yards in a game, and longest catch in a game (which was 39 yards). Despite the Ultimini loss, I believe Tugg Speedman was an integral part of the offense's success and he helped them move the ball down the field through both games. In total, Tugg Speedman had 14 receptions for 218 yards and a touchdown. A very solid showing in two games. If I had to choose a different player, I think the other obvious choice would be Tijuana Luchadores QB Mike Boss Jr who compiled 407 passing yards, 6 touchdowns, and no interceptions while completing 58 percent of his passes between his two Ultimini games. He would be the clear choice from Tijuana's team.

213 words

29. The London Royals wouldn't be who they are without the help of our special teamers. We're more than just passing, rushing, and receiving touchdowns. Our kickers, Thor Snakechuckers and Something McDerpants went a combined 34 for 35 in extra point kicks which almost seems unprecedented these days, not only in the International Simulation Football League and Developmental Simulation Football League but in real life with the National Football League. In addition, the kickers went a combined 23 for 25 on field goals. The tandem went a perfect 6 for 6 in the 20 to 29 yard range and a perfect 5 for 5 in the 30 to 39 yard range. Beyond 39 yards was solely Something McDerpants' territory. From 40 to 49 yards McDerpants went 11 for 13, and beyond 50 yards he was 1 for 1. Both of these players were extremely efficient and vital to the London Royals' success this season. On the flip side of kicking, both of these players also punted the ball for London. Both players netted an average of 43.6 yards per punt. McDerpants had 14 punts fall within the opponents 20 yard line while Snakechuckers had 2. Lastly, the duo both had monster punts at one point in the season as McDerpants' longest was 66 yards and Snakechuckers longest was 65 yards.

219 words

[Tesla]

Tier 2 - 400+ words – #8

Okay this is a bit of an interesting one for me, but I am going to take on two different choices here as I cannot successfully argue the one without arguing the other for something else. My initial argument is that Mason Blaylock of the New Orleans Second Line is deserving of Safety of the Year. This is admittedly biased as Blaylock is on my team, however despite this I do believe I can make a good case for them.

Now Blaylock's stat line on the season is 87 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 7 sacks, 5 interceptions, and 11 passes defended. That by itself means nothing other than eight takeaways being terrific by any metric. However those 87 tackles are good for 10th among safeties, and despite having no tackles for loss Blaylock is tied for tenth there given the rarity of the stat. Blaylock is second in forced fumbles, tied for first in fumble recoveries, tied for fifth in sacks, tied for first in interceptions, and tied for fourth in passes defended. The only area Blaylock is outside the top ten in fact is in touchdowns as his zero touchdown returns is only good for eleventh among safeties.

That leads me to Blaylock's greatest competition for Safety of the Year this season Prince Vegeta of the Orange County Otters. Their stat line on the season is 79 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 4 sacks, 5 interceptions, 9 passes defended, and 3 defensive touchdowns. Vegeta's ranks are twenty-first in tackles, tied for tenth in tackles for loss with zero, eight in forced fumbles, fifteenth in fumble recoveries with zero, tied for nineteenth in sacks, tied for first in interceptions, tied for eighth in passes defended, but with a strong lead of first overall in defensive touchdowns.

Personally I value extra takeaways more than return touchdowns, however I know I am a bit unusual in that regard so voters would probably lean Vegeta. That said I think that would be a mistake as Prince Vegeta deserves to run away with one hundred percent of the vote for Defensive Performance of the Year for their performance in week four against the Arizona Outlaws. Their stat line for that one game 8 tackles, 3 passes defended, 3 interceptions, and 2 defensive touchdowns. Undeniably the best defensive performance of the year with three takeaways when two of them were returned for touchdowns. However that heavily hinders his Safety of the Year argument in my eyes as that means in the other fifteen games his stat line was only 71 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended, and 1 defensive touchdown.

Now to just take away his would be unfair and so Mason Blaylock's best performance as well which came in week ten against the Orange County Otters where he accounted for 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defended, and 1 interception. That would still mean he had 82 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 6 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 9 passes defended. That would drop his tackles rank down to seventeenth, but nothing else drops out of the top ten with the next largest drop being to ninth in sacks. Still going up against Vegeta's full season stats removing Blaylock's best game only makes him worse in comparison in terms of interceptions and defensive touchdowns. Since so many of Prince Vegeta's came in one game I make the case that Blaylock was the more valuable throughout the season and deserving of Safety of the Year.

Code:

Word Count: 594

Tier 2 – 400+ Words – #14

This is an easy one for me actually as I realize looking at it that one of the two teams that I have belonged to would qualify. So I am going to write about the Norfolk Seawolves who had the worst DSFL season of all time in S19 where they won zero games, lost fourteen games, and were outscored three to one. In fairness that was a contracted team and so were there no humans attached to it. However I believe that it still counts as a comeback when the team came back from nonexistence into a meaningful place in the DSFL.

This started in S20 as Scorp was allowed to bring the team back and did so quite well if I do say so myself. That draft would get key contributors Dorfus Jimbo Jr, Ryan Scott, Atlas Quin, Juniped Catfish (Now known as Flash Panda), Tequila Sunrise, Jeff Personsacker, and Remon Kurisito (Now known as Future Trunks). That season the Norfolk Seawolves would turn around from their zero win record to a six win record and a playoff berth for the first time since S14 back when they were also a human team. First year back from contraction and they started their comeback strong.

Year two was even better for Scorp's Seawolves as he was joined by Juni to help the team through the largest draft class in DSFL history. This massive draft class was of immense help to the Norfolk Seawolves as they were able to draft about a dozen decent or better players. Starting with Thubba Bumper in the first and all the way through Suleiman Ramza in the fifteenth round. Suleiman would be the absolute steal of the draft as a future MVP at the DSFL level and a player who would go on to be arguably the greatest Seawolf of all time. This roster proved its worth quickly as they would be the first Seawolves team to reach eight wins in a season as they continued their climb. That would be good enough to make the playoffs again, however they were knocked out in the first round as they were in their first season back.

The following draft class was much smaller by comparison, but would bring in solid replacements for those that got called up. Including de Pengu and Jadakiss who would stand in for the greatest DSFL safety duo of all time Cross & Eriksen. Braxton Sinclair who filled the shoes of Magnus Rikiya quite well, and Dre Matthews who would become a super star in the receiving corps. This team tied the team record of eight wins in a single season, although was also a first round exit come the playoffs.

Now the season that makes me comfortable saying the Seawolves made a true comeback from their zero win season started with a decent draft getting Quentin Button to bolster the secondary, Captain Rogers who would prove to be a reliable running back, and a couple of offensive line players in Rickie Vaughne (Now a cornerback) and Thad Pennington Jr. What really made this class though was the acquisition of Daria Guava-Fresca off of waivers as she would go on to have a terrific season kicking as the team got to a ten win record good for best in the league. The reason I say kicker Daria Guava-Fresca was the most important acquisition is she would go on to win player of the game for their first playoff win since the inaugural season of the DSFL off of a perfect performance of one for one on extra points and four for four on field goals. She would also win player of the game for the next game as two for two on extra points, four for four on field goals, and outscored the opposition more than two to one on their way to a twenty-six to six win for their first Ultimini win in team history.

This is a team that came back from nonexistence and had five consecutive playoff appearances. Two Ultimini appearances with one win which would be their first win in franchise history. I consider that a comeback of the highest order. Scorp bringing the team back, Juni stepping up to be a superb CoGM, J0EB and Blasoon being part of the S21 draft and eventually taking over as general managers, and the waiver wire pickup of perfect kicker Daria Guava-Fresca. There were a bunch of other terrific moves made during this stretch, however from zero wins to ten wins and an Ultimini I think speaks for itself fairly well.

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[EMPER0R]

7.
San Jose SaberCats barely made the playoffs this season.    They finished the season 9 - 7 going 3-3 in their last 6 games.  They were one game ahead of Honolulu and 2 games ahead of Austin. 

In week 15 San Jose hosted Austin in a game that could have changed the entire playoffs.

Going into the 4th quarter the score was 16  - 14 With Austin leading.  San Jose had just made an interception at the end of the 3rd quarter.  They quickly scored a Touchdown to take the lead 21-16.  Austin came back with a field goal making it 21-19.  San Jose answered with another touchdown but missed the extra point making it 27-19.  Austin got the ball back with less than 4 minutes to go and with a minute and 28 seconds left they scored a touchdown making the score 27-25.  They missed the 2 point conversion and failed to recover the onside kick giving San Jose the win.  Had Austin been able to make the 2 point conversion and win the game in overtime they would end up on the playoffs with the conference tie breaker and San Jose would have missed it.  Most likely outcome would have been Colorado playing Orange county in the championship game and Colorado finally hoisting the trophy.

San Jose was very mediocre in the regular season.  They were in the bottom 3 of offensive scoring in the conference, and gave up more points than they scored.  They did tie for the league lead in rushing Touchdown and had a defense that always seemed to know when to show up.

8 of their 9 wins were one score games.  Anyone of those games going the other way knocks them out of the playoffs, but they boast one of the league's best rushing offense.  If they have the lead late in the game, it's very hard to beat them because they can control the clock with their run game.

Their dual rushing attack is lead by Jamar Lackson who had a very good year.
306 attempts for 1256 yds with 12 touchdowns.  He also add 26 receptions for 105 yds and 3 Touchdowns.
 
The second back Rando Cardrissian had
233 attempts for 953 yards with 7 touchdowns and added 44 receptions for 442 yds and 1 touchdown.

They had 2 backs in the top 10 in rushing and only one other team (Colorado) could say the same.  Both teams played again in the championship this season. 

San Jose can win the close games because of their rushing attack and their defenses ability to play well late in the game. They certainly know how to win in the playoffs.





16.

I believe Mason Gillion should be nominated for defensive player of the year in the DSFL.  Gillion went from Nickle Cornerback last season to a Hybrid position playing safety in Tijuana's base defense then sliding to nickle cornerback in their nickel defense.

In his first year playing safety, Gillion lead all defensive backs with 88 tackles.

He was 3rd in sacks among defensive backs with 4.

Along with this he had a tackle for a loss, a forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, a blocked punt, 2 interceptions and 5 pass deflections.

It is unlikely that he would win defensive player of the year but he certainly was top 5 defensive backs this season.  He was all over the field this season and helped Tijuana secure their 8th championship. He led Tijuana in tackles on their playoff run.


If there was a defensive back of the year, it would be hard to give the award to anyone else.  No one else had the all around stats as Gillion had, he pretty much did a little of everything last season.  He had multiple games with 10 or more tackles including the championship game which he had 10 tackles.  His last tackle of the season was a first down saving tackle in the championship game which was the last tackle of the year by Tijuana.

30.
The Berlin Fire Salamanders and New York Silverbacks struggled as expected in their first season.  Berlin notched 3 wins this season and New York had 4.  Both teams were at the bottom of points allowed on defense.

New York's first round pick Hank Winchester lead the ISFL with 154 tackles.  Nailing you first round pick in your first draft is what you need to do as an expansion team to quickly improve

New York didn't win a game until week 11 starting 0 -10.  Then after their first win they won 2 more in a row after that.  They ended up going 4-2 in their last 6 games giving them a lot of momentum for next season.

Berlin started the season 2-2 but ended their season losing 8 straight games.

Berlin still needs to help on both sides of the ball. If they can get a key player in the upcoming draft on each side of the ball they will improve a lot.  They need a wide receiver and a defensive back. 

New York also needs an impact wide receiver but there defense improved quite a bit over the year.  They were in the top 5 in tackles for loss and sacks.  They were in the bottom half of the league in pass deflections and interceptions.  A strong cornerback will boost their team immediately. 

Going forward New York will be middle of the road team where Berlin will still be struggling next season

[xenosthelegend]

6) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.

The DSFL at the start of the season was plagued with bot kickers. However, leading the way in scoring were 2 human kickers, we will be talking about the #1 leading scorer, Leo Bloomfield. Scoring 112 points, Bloomfield outscored the #2 scorer by 19 points. Myrtle Beach went 11-3, and was the #1 ranked team in the DSFL. But do they get there if Bloomfield didn't score a single point? We now enter what I am going to call, the Timberlake Dimension. Bob Timberlake was a real life NFL player, he went 1/15 on field goals for the worst field goal percentage of all time (6.7%), what happens in this dimension is all field goals and extra points for our subject will have a 6.7% chance of being good. For this I will be using google's random number generator to pick a number from 1-1000, if the number is 1-67 the kick will be good, if not the kick will miss, all kicks that already missed will still be considered misses. With that out of the way, let's see how Bloomfield does. Is he still the leading scorer? Does Myrtle Beach have the #1 seed? Does Leo Bloomfield even manage to score a single point? Before this happens I just want to say this brought me pain to do. Here we go.

In real life Myrtle Beach won their first game 33-7, Bloomfield went 4/5 on field goals, and 3/3 on extra points. In the Timberlake Dimension, Myrtle Beach still wins the game, but the score is 18-7, and Bloomfield missed all his kicks. In week 2 Myrtle Beach was absolutely destroyed, they lost 10-44, and Bloomfield in total was 2/3 on kicks. But the Timberlake Dimension only desires pain, and wants to make already lopsided losses even worse. Myrtle Beach has an even worse day as they now lose 44-6. Bloomfield, the league's leading scorer, has yet to score a point. In week 3 we have the first game where the winner could possibly be different, a 13-6 victory for Myrtle Beach where Bloomfield was 3/4 on kicks. In this simulation, Bloomfield missed all his kicks again, leaving the score tied at 6-6. In week 4 Myrtle Beach won their game 27-16, they still win in the Timberlake Dimension, but the score is 18-16, and Bloomfield still has yet to successfully make a kick. In week 5 Myrtle Beach won their 4th game of the season this time 16-14, improving their record to 4-1. Myrtle Beach loses 7-14. But something very important happened, Bloomfield got his first point of the season, an extra point early in the third quarter of their 5th game. But instead of being 4-1, Myrtle Beach is now 2-2-1. In week 6 Myrtle Beach won another lopsided game, this time 42-10, with Bloomfield only having a 6.7% chance to successfully score on any kick this shrinks to a 36-10 lead as he only attempted extra points that game. In week 7 Myrtle Beach won their game 17-9, in the Timberlake Dimension Myrtle Beach wins their game 12-9. At the halfway point of the season instead of being 6-1, they are 4-2-1, and Bloomfield has scored only a single point so far. In week 8 Myrtle Beach lost 3-20, instead they now lose 0-20 and have tied their loss total for the season. In week 9 Myrtle Beach won their game 20-18, now they lose that game 12-18, and are now 4-4-1, and Bloomfield has still only scored a single point all season. In week 10 Myrtle Beach got blown out 10-48. Myrtle Beach still loses this game, but Bloomfield fails to score even a single point leaving them at 6. In week 11 The outcome does not change, Myrtle Beach still wins, but instead of winning 17-9, they win 12-9. Myrtle beach won their next 3 games all by margins that would not change if Bloomfield missed all his kicks, but let's see if he can increase his point total. Bloomfield scored zero points in week 12, and in week 13, but in week 14 Bloomfield doubled his point total by scoring another extra point, this time early in the second quarter. Myrtle Beach instead of going 11-3 instead go 8-5-1, and Bloomfield instead of being the leading scorer in the league scores only 2 points, 110 points less than what he actually got. Leo Bloomfield in real life was 34/34 on Extra points, and 26/30 on field goals, perfect from <20 yards, 20-29 yards, and had the DSFL longest successful field goal, a 57 yard kick. But in the Timberlake Dimension, only pain exists, and a kicker who had his confidence destroyed by missing all but 2 of his 64 total kicks for a total of a 3.13% field goal percentage, and being directly responsible for his team losing 3 more games, and no longer being the #1 team in the DSFL.

[Crodyman]

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.

Ryan Negs, QB, MINNESOTA

Negs was taken with the first overall pick in the S25 DSFL draft and immediately filled the void at QB for the Grey Ducks. He helped lead the team to the postseason where they fell short to the London Royals.
Looking at his stats for this past season, it’s clear that Minnesota wanted to give him ample opportunity to throw the football and develop as a passer. As a result, he had the second highest passing attempts, behind only Jackie Daytona by 8 attempts. Perhaps expectedly, the results were mixed. He threw 13 touchdowns to 13 interceptions, and completed just 53.2% of his passes, landing him at the bottom of the completion percentage category.
However, despite completing just over half of his passes, Negs wound up with the second most passing yards in the league, showcasing his ability to rip off large chunk plays with a sneaky good deep ball.
With plenty of reps under his belt and the keys to the Minnesota offense firmly in his grasp, expect Ryan Negs to take a leap statistically next season, and look for him to go as high as the 2nd round in the coming ISFL draft as teams begin searching for their QB of the future..
Draft Grade: B-
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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.

The final game of the DSFL regular season for the Grey Ducks was arguably one of the most exciting games of the entire season. The storyline was rich, as both the Kansas City Coyotes and the Grey Ducks needed a win to make it into the playoffs. The Ducks had lost badly when the two teams first met in Kansas City, but now with the opportunity to defend their home turf, the Grey Ducks were in a much better position to win.

It can’t go without being mentioned that QB Matt Peterson of KCC was drafted by Minnesota in the S24 draft, expected to be their QB of the future. Unfortunately, internal strife between Peterson and Front Office over playing time behind the nearly inactive Sim Snowbow led to Peterson requesting a trade. They ended up negotiating a 3rd round pick from KCC for their disgruntled QB.

More than just the drama and stakes surrounding the game, it was how tightly contested that game was that made it one of the best games of the season. Both teams went back and forth, scoring points seemingly at will. KCC took the lead early with a touchdown, but a strong defensive performance by Minnesota in the 4th quarter shut out the KCC defense, giving QB Ryan Negs and the offense the opportunities needed to score 10 points and eventually secure the victory. 26-21, Grey Ducks.
(233 words)




10) Pick any position, and determine who in your view is the greatest player to ever suit up at that position. Why do you view them as the GOAT? What achievements, records, accolades, or statistics do they hold? How do they stack up against the other legends in their position, and why does your chosen candidate come out on top?

Since Wasrabi Gleel is a linebacker, I decided to take a look at the Hall of Fame players at the position to see what sort of production is needed to have a HoF career, and also, to determine who is the GOAT at the LB position. I should clarify first that I only looked at players who were listed as ONLY linebackers, and not players that played multiple positions including DT, DE, or S in addition to playing LB. Furthermore, I was only able to check out the stats for players that had completed Wiki pages, so if there were no available stats to look at, then that player isn’t up for consideration. (Remember your wiki updates, people!)

With that being said, the question of who is the best LB of all time in the ISFL comes down to:
Austin Roenick, Jaylon Lee, Johnathon Saint, and Harrif Ernston. Let me be clear in saying that all of these players are tremendous, and their status of being HoF reflects that, but we’re here to find out who's the best of the best.

Starting with Awards, the second most awarded player of the bunch is Jaylon Lee with 9 team awards and 5 pro bowl nods. He leads the HoFers with 4 Ultimus victories. However, the top spot in terms of awards goes to Harrif Ernston, who won 6 team awards and 8 individual rewards including three LBotY awards and one DPotY award--both things Jaylon Lee never won. Advantage: Ernston.

Moving onto stats, I think that the player that gets an edge is Austin Roenick purely based on the fact he’s played more games than any of the other linebackers. However, the stat king in this group is by far Harrif Ernston.Here are the stat leaders:

Games Played: 166 (Austin Roenick)
Tackles: 1235 (Austin Roenick)
TFL:  45 (Harrif Ernston)
Sacks: 108 (Harrif Ernston)
INTs: 14 (Harrif Ernston)
PDs: 102 (Harrif Ernston)

Ernston was an absolute game-changer whenever he was on the field, but somewhat surprising is his lack of tackles (790)  compared to some of the others on this list. It seems like he mastered big splash plays, but was less of an every-down tackler like Austin Roenick. Still, it’s easy to see how he won so many accolades during his career. Advantage: Ernston.

After learning more about Harrif Ernston, I think I have enough information to officially declare him as the GOAT at the LB position in the ISFL, but I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge all of these players stellar careers, especially Austin Roenick who by far had the most tackles of any of these linebackers. If you were building a team around players from the entire ISFL history, you couldn’t go wrong picking any of these players to become your field general.

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