05-03-2023, 04:39 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-08-2023, 10:33 AM by xenosthelegend. Edited 1 time in total.)
I've been busy doing a project on how good, or how bad, each franchise in the history of the ISFL is. However, I've run into a few problems since I tried to start this project, most notably in how difficult it has been to get all time records for any franchise. So I'm doing it the hard way: By myself, in a way that will get me a lot of fake money.
I decided to start with the Sabercats, as I usually start with the Hawks when going franchise by franchise. So starting from the other side of the list, we have the San Jose Sabercats. Created in S1, one of the 6 founding teams of the League, the Sabercats joined the ASFC with the Outlaws and Otters. Overall, they have gone to 4 Ultimus and won 3.
S1: 4-10
S2: 4-10
S3: 5-8-1
S4: 9-5 (Dan Miller wins DPOY)
S5: 8-6
S6: 11-3 (0-1 in playoffs)
S7: 5-9
S8: 1-13
S9: 2-12
S10: 4-10
Through the first decade of the ISFL, the Sabercats had a 53-86-1 record for a 37.9% win rate, no playoff wins, no Ultimus Berths, and one major award win. Getting to the Playoffs only once was a bit unlucky for the Sabercats, as in both S4 and S5 they had the same record as the 2nd place team but lost out on tiebreakers. That being said, it's still notable that every other team in the ISFL was able to reach at least 2 playoffs in this first decade other than San Jose. Their lone playoff berth had them lose in the first game, leaving them with an 0-1 playoff record for the first decade.
S12: 10-4 (0-1 in Playoffs)
S13: 12-2 (Joilet Christ wins MVP, tied with 2 others) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S14: 9-5 (Joilet Christ wins OPOY) (2-0 in Playoffs, 1st Ultimus berth and 1st Ultimus win)
S15: 11-3 (1-1 in Playoffs, 2nd Ultimus Berth)
S16: 7-6 (0-1 in Playoffs)
S17: 6-7 (Joilet Christ wins OPOY) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S18: 4-9
S19: 4-9
S20: 5-8
Through the first half of the decade, the Sabercats were close to the most successful team in the ASFC. After making the playoffs once in the first 11 seasons, the next 6 seasons would see the Sabercats make postseason play each and every time. I would like to throw a caution flag starting in S16; this was when the Butchers and Copperheads joined the league and until the next expansion, 60% of the league would make the playoffs. Both the S16 and S17 berths had the Sabercats finish 3rd in the conference with a mediocre record and then immediately lose in the playoffs. Still, that first half of the decade was nothing to sneeze at. Joilet Christ became a legendary QB and a Hall of Famer in this period, winning 2 OPOYs and one of 2 tied MVP awards in league history (and the only one that was tied 3 ways). The Sabercats made 2 Ultimus during this period, and went 3-5 overall in the postseason.
That being said, the latter half of the decade drags the success of the period down a decent chunk, going from well above .500 to barely so at 69-66, a 51.1% win rate.
S26: 8-8
S27: 8-8
S28: 5-11
S29: 6-9-1
S30: 4-12 (Rickie Vaughne wins DPOY)
The Sabercats record over the decade was 66-87-1. This is a 43.1% win rate. If transposed to the NFL, that would be the 5th worst win rate of all time, smack dab in the middle between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons. Since the year 2000, this is a worse win rate than the JETS. During this 10 year period, they won one award, probably due to Rickie Vaughne getting 3 TDs and 8 picks, and went to the playoffs only twice. They went undefeated in their only two playoff berths during this time and won two Ultimus titles.
You guys tell me how to judge this.
As a bit of a mitigating factor to their lack of success in the second half of the decade, in S25 the league expanded to its current size of 14 teams. Since this expansion came without a concurrent expansion to the number of teams making the playoffs (at 6) less than 50% of teams made the playoffs starting in S25.
This is a period of time where a team went to 2 playoff berths over 10 years with a win percentage that is worse than the Cardinals or the Jets since the turn of the century. They won 20% of the titles during that period. It's like the Bucs of the NFL, just with a slightly better winning percentage and smushed into a single decade.
S38: 10-6 (Owen Farrell wins OPOY) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S39: 7-9
S40: 5-11
Over this decade, the Sabercats went 72-87-1 for a 45.3% win rate. It's multiple percentage points above the S21-30 time period, leading to the same number of playoff berths and no playoff victories. It's a very barren decade; one DPOY and OPOY, no MVPs, no playoff wins at all, and a win percentage that isn't awful, but isn't particularly good either.
Major Award Wins: 1 MVP, 3 OPOYs, 3 DPOYs
Best Team Period: S12-S15 (4 playoff berths, 2 Ultimus Appearances, 1 title, 1 MVP, 1 OPOY, 42-14 record over 4 seasons, 75% win rate)
Worst Team Period: S8-S11 (8-48 record over 4 seasons, 14.3% win rate)
This is a team that I could very easily call the worst team of all time if I flipped the result of 2 games that they were strong underdogs in. With 5 Hall of Famers (though I personally am campaigning for a 6th to be added), the only team anywhere near them in Hall of Famer count that is anywhere near as old is the Philadelphia Liberty/Cape Town Crash (who I believe are also in the running for the worst ISFL Franchise ever category); literally every other team in the original 8 has more than double the Hall of Famers. The award cabinet is also looking extremely thin, though there are a couple other teams with as barren or even more barren of an award cabinet. Most damning is that playoff Berth percentage; if the Sabercats are unable to make the playoffs for the next 4 seasons including this one, they will fall to a 25% playoff percentage. This is a league where 43% of the teams make the playoffs currently, and for most of its existence 50% of teams made the playoffs (or 60% between S16 and S22). Heck, considering they got the last spot of the over 50% playoffs twice and did nothing with it either time, if you counted those as half a trip each then you could claim that they already have fallen to 25%.
Either way, it's an abjectly awful stat, one that I believe is the bottom rate in the league. Also not great is the 15 seasons without a playoff win streak that's still in progress.
There has not been an exceptional decade from the Sabercats, no decade where they made more than 6/10 playoff appearances, no matter how you slice it. There's been no decade where they have made the Ultimus more than twice, and when you just do it by batches of 10, only a single decade that is barely above .500; if I'm looking at this right, the years of S11 to S20 are the only 10 concurrent years where the Sabercats have a winning record overall. If you move it to S10 to S19, then it becomes a .500 record.
All of these would have me put them down as the worst franchise easily; however, they have something no other competitor for that unfortunate title has: Multiple Ultimus wins. Full disclosure, I think there are 4 franchises in the running for Worst in the ISFL's History, and the Sabercats are one of them; but they have as many Ultimus wins as the other 3 combined. Really, the S21-S30 decade is kind of my feelings on them as a whole: Not many playoff berths, not many awards, not many HOFers, and a record well below .500, but they did win the Ultimus two more times than you'd expect for a team of their caliber.
In my ranking, I think the Sabercats are unlikely to get above 10th. But two Ultimus wins in S24 and S25 take them from being a frontrunner for the bottom to what I think is more of an outside shot at the 14th spot.
I decided to start with the Sabercats, as I usually start with the Hawks when going franchise by franchise. So starting from the other side of the list, we have the San Jose Sabercats. Created in S1, one of the 6 founding teams of the League, the Sabercats joined the ASFC with the Outlaws and Otters. Overall, they have gone to 4 Ultimus and won 3.
The First 10 Years
Overshadowed and Unsuccessful
Overshadowed and Unsuccessful
S1: 4-10
S2: 4-10
S3: 5-8-1
S4: 9-5 (Dan Miller wins DPOY)
S5: 8-6
S6: 11-3 (0-1 in playoffs)
S7: 5-9
S8: 1-13
S9: 2-12
S10: 4-10
Through the first decade of the ISFL, the Sabercats had a 53-86-1 record for a 37.9% win rate, no playoff wins, no Ultimus Berths, and one major award win. Getting to the Playoffs only once was a bit unlucky for the Sabercats, as in both S4 and S5 they had the same record as the 2nd place team but lost out on tiebreakers. That being said, it's still notable that every other team in the ISFL was able to reach at least 2 playoffs in this first decade other than San Jose. Their lone playoff berth had them lose in the first game, leaving them with an 0-1 playoff record for the first decade.
Season 11 through Season 20
The Greatest Sabercat Brings them to the Title
S11: 1-13The Greatest Sabercat Brings them to the Title
S12: 10-4 (0-1 in Playoffs)
S13: 12-2 (Joilet Christ wins MVP, tied with 2 others) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S14: 9-5 (Joilet Christ wins OPOY) (2-0 in Playoffs, 1st Ultimus berth and 1st Ultimus win)
S15: 11-3 (1-1 in Playoffs, 2nd Ultimus Berth)
S16: 7-6 (0-1 in Playoffs)
S17: 6-7 (Joilet Christ wins OPOY) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S18: 4-9
S19: 4-9
S20: 5-8
Through the first half of the decade, the Sabercats were close to the most successful team in the ASFC. After making the playoffs once in the first 11 seasons, the next 6 seasons would see the Sabercats make postseason play each and every time. I would like to throw a caution flag starting in S16; this was when the Butchers and Copperheads joined the league and until the next expansion, 60% of the league would make the playoffs. Both the S16 and S17 berths had the Sabercats finish 3rd in the conference with a mediocre record and then immediately lose in the playoffs. Still, that first half of the decade was nothing to sneeze at. Joilet Christ became a legendary QB and a Hall of Famer in this period, winning 2 OPOYs and one of 2 tied MVP awards in league history (and the only one that was tied 3 ways). The Sabercats made 2 Ultimus during this period, and went 3-5 overall in the postseason.
That being said, the latter half of the decade drags the success of the period down a decent chunk, going from well above .500 to barely so at 69-66, a 51.1% win rate.
Season 21 through 30
How do I judge this period for the Sabercats?/The Marlins
How do I judge this period for the Sabercats?/The Marlins
S21: 4-9
S22: 8-5
S23: 5-11
S24: 9-7 (2-0 in Playoffs, 3rd Ultimus Berth and 2nd Win)
S25: 9-7 (3-0 in Playoffs, 4th Ultimus Berth and 3rd Win)S22: 8-5
S23: 5-11
S24: 9-7 (2-0 in Playoffs, 3rd Ultimus Berth and 2nd Win)
S26: 8-8
S27: 8-8
S28: 5-11
S29: 6-9-1
S30: 4-12 (Rickie Vaughne wins DPOY)
The Sabercats record over the decade was 66-87-1. This is a 43.1% win rate. If transposed to the NFL, that would be the 5th worst win rate of all time, smack dab in the middle between the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons. Since the year 2000, this is a worse win rate than the JETS. During this 10 year period, they won one award, probably due to Rickie Vaughne getting 3 TDs and 8 picks, and went to the playoffs only twice. They went undefeated in their only two playoff berths during this time and won two Ultimus titles.
You guys tell me how to judge this.
As a bit of a mitigating factor to their lack of success in the second half of the decade, in S25 the league expanded to its current size of 14 teams. Since this expansion came without a concurrent expansion to the number of teams making the playoffs (at 6) less than 50% of teams made the playoffs starting in S25.
This is a period of time where a team went to 2 playoff berths over 10 years with a win percentage that is worse than the Cardinals or the Jets since the turn of the century. They won 20% of the titles during that period. It's like the Bucs of the NFL, just with a slightly better winning percentage and smushed into a single decade.
Season 31 to 40
Much, Much less confusing, just below average
S37: 6-10Much, Much less confusing, just below average
S31: 6-10
S32: 8-8
S33: 5-11
S32: 8-8
S33: 5-11
S34: 7-8-1 (Orpheus Czargyros wins DPOY)
S35: 8-8
S36: 10-6 (0-1 in Playoffs)
S38: 10-6 (Owen Farrell wins OPOY) (0-1 in Playoffs)
S39: 7-9
S40: 5-11
Over this decade, the Sabercats went 72-87-1 for a 45.3% win rate. It's multiple percentage points above the S21-30 time period, leading to the same number of playoff berths and no playoff victories. It's a very barren decade; one DPOY and OPOY, no MVPs, no playoff wins at all, and a win percentage that isn't awful, but isn't particularly good either.
Overall Stats
More than just all time records here
More than just all time records here
All Time Record: 260-326-3 (44.4% win rate)
Playoff Record: 8-8
Ultimus Record: 3-1
Playoff Berths: 11 over 40 seasons, 27.5%
Hall of Famers: 5 (Dan Miller, Benson Bayley, Joilet Christ, Kazimir Oles, Jamar Lackson)
Playoff Record: 8-8
Ultimus Record: 3-1
Playoff Berths: 11 over 40 seasons, 27.5%
Hall of Famers: 5 (Dan Miller, Benson Bayley, Joilet Christ, Kazimir Oles, Jamar Lackson)
Major Award Wins: 1 MVP, 3 OPOYs, 3 DPOYs
Best Team Period: S12-S15 (4 playoff berths, 2 Ultimus Appearances, 1 title, 1 MVP, 1 OPOY, 42-14 record over 4 seasons, 75% win rate)
Worst Team Period: S8-S11 (8-48 record over 4 seasons, 14.3% win rate)
This is a team that I could very easily call the worst team of all time if I flipped the result of 2 games that they were strong underdogs in. With 5 Hall of Famers (though I personally am campaigning for a 6th to be added), the only team anywhere near them in Hall of Famer count that is anywhere near as old is the Philadelphia Liberty/Cape Town Crash (who I believe are also in the running for the worst ISFL Franchise ever category); literally every other team in the original 8 has more than double the Hall of Famers. The award cabinet is also looking extremely thin, though there are a couple other teams with as barren or even more barren of an award cabinet. Most damning is that playoff Berth percentage; if the Sabercats are unable to make the playoffs for the next 4 seasons including this one, they will fall to a 25% playoff percentage. This is a league where 43% of the teams make the playoffs currently, and for most of its existence 50% of teams made the playoffs (or 60% between S16 and S22). Heck, considering they got the last spot of the over 50% playoffs twice and did nothing with it either time, if you counted those as half a trip each then you could claim that they already have fallen to 25%.
Either way, it's an abjectly awful stat, one that I believe is the bottom rate in the league. Also not great is the 15 seasons without a playoff win streak that's still in progress.
There has not been an exceptional decade from the Sabercats, no decade where they made more than 6/10 playoff appearances, no matter how you slice it. There's been no decade where they have made the Ultimus more than twice, and when you just do it by batches of 10, only a single decade that is barely above .500; if I'm looking at this right, the years of S11 to S20 are the only 10 concurrent years where the Sabercats have a winning record overall. If you move it to S10 to S19, then it becomes a .500 record.
All of these would have me put them down as the worst franchise easily; however, they have something no other competitor for that unfortunate title has: Multiple Ultimus wins. Full disclosure, I think there are 4 franchises in the running for Worst in the ISFL's History, and the Sabercats are one of them; but they have as many Ultimus wins as the other 3 combined. Really, the S21-S30 decade is kind of my feelings on them as a whole: Not many playoff berths, not many awards, not many HOFers, and a record well below .500, but they did win the Ultimus two more times than you'd expect for a team of their caliber.
In my ranking, I think the Sabercats are unlikely to get above 10th. But two Ultimus wins in S24 and S25 take them from being a frontrunner for the bottom to what I think is more of an outside shot at the 14th spot.