(S42) Offseason Task

[qWest]

Code:

3. Let's talk about the future. As we've seen in the ISFL and DSFL, things can go from rock bottom to the absolute top in just one quick season and vice versa. With that said, tell us about your predictions for next season. Were there any big moves made late in the season or the offseason that you believe could really shake things up? Are there any players hitting the season with a noticeably improved TPE pool or hitting regression hard that you believe could seriously factor into a team's potential success? And lastly, which team do you expect to be hoisting the trophy for either the ISFL or DSFL, and which teams do you expect will be struggling to stay away from the bottom on the pack?

Podcast option completed for task. Link here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/...od-e25bnhe

[xenosthelegend]

7. Write 600 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that 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 600 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.

It is done. The Cape Town Crash have won an Ultimus. It wasn't until after rebranding, but the third time I made the playoffs in the ISFL, we won it all. Of course I'm not alone. Myself, Cody, Pat, and Jimi were all in here since the turmoil of S25. We went 7-9 in S25, and that would be the best season we had for a very long time. In Philly, we were determined to make the best of it. We had a young core, and would be good eventually. We held on to that idea for a while, going an absolutely abysmal 33-63 over the next 6 seasons for a winning percentage of just ~34.4%. Then, things started to change. We went 8-8 in S31 after I swapped to WR to give us an offense with 3 >1000 TPE receivers. S32 went better than any of us could've imagined. We had a winning record, 11-5, the most wins in franchise history. This was the second time the Philadelphia Liberty had hit double digit wins, the first time being in S7, 25 seasons ago. The last time Philadelphia had a winning record was in S23, before a good chunk of the players had even heard about the ISFL. The gargantuan S22 draft? We had no one active from that entire draft class on the roster (if I am remembering correctly). Regardless, we secured the 1 seed. The S25 draft class had already gone through one round of regression, so we needed to make something happen as this team would not be the same next season. After our bye, we faced the Berlin Fire Salamanders, and what happened I still cannot explain. An offense which had scored below 20 points just two times all season, scored a minimum of 26 points against Berlin this season, and had a season low of 15 points in a single game, scored only 12 points in a 12-16 loss. We had failed to win a playoff game, and the team was about to get much worse. Regression hit the team incredibly hard, and players (myself included) started retiring. We had 6 wins in each of the next two seasons, failing to even come close to the playoffs after being the 1 seed not too long ago. The next couple seasons I can't really comment on as I was not involved, and paid a bit less attention to Philadelphia, all I know is that they went 8-8. In S36 however, things got a little interesting. Philadelphia went 8-8 again, but CB Willie Miller should've easily won DPOY and was completely robbed. That season Big Slammu of the Honolulu Hahalua who had an incredible season at LB won DPOY, he just didn't have the best CB season ever. This season Willie Miller had 45 passes defended (2nd most all time by 1), and 10 interceptions (most by a CB in a single season). But that's getting a bit off topic. Philadelphia was stuck in purgatory for a while, never deviating too far from a 0.500 record. Then in S39 the decision was made to rebrand as the Cape Town Crash, and we went 8-8. Then in the next season, we hit double digit wins for a third time if we continue to treat it as a shared history. Unfortunately, having the league MVP Jarvis Harbinger-Marjin was not enough to win a playoff game, and it had now been 24 seasons since the franchise had last won a playoff game (S16). At this point, myself, Cody, Pat, Jimi, and negs were all on our second players, still on Cape Town, still trying to win the Ultimus that we knew we could. Then in the most recent season, S41 it happened. We went 13-3, the best record in franchise history and it wasn't close. We won the NSFC championship game 34-20 over the Sarasota Sailfish, and all that stood in our way was the Arizona Outlaws. Any words I write here would be an injustice to how the game ended, all that you need to know is that we won. Cape Town had won an Ultimus, while it may not have been with our original players, myself, Cody, Pat, Jimi, and negs had all been on this team for at least 15 seasons, and well over 2.5 years of real life time. I guess that's how long it took, but we never gave up hope that it would happen eventually.

[Cincyfan96]

11. Write a short biography or story about your player. This could include background about how they came to the ISFL and how they’ve done so far, a story about their role in an exciting game, or anything else related to their experience in the league.

This was a season of growth for Really Creative-Name. Going into the year, he wasn't sure how to feel about the team he was on in Berlin, but growing up a Cincinnati sports fan, he embraced his blind optimism and predicted them to finish 3rd in the conference. Thankfully, Creative-Name is not a gambling man, as Berlin finished the year in dead last, despite showing some improvements near the end of the season. For Creative-Name, however, this was another season of improvements. He continued to grow as a receiver, even though the addition of Mada sent him back to WR3 duties. But the three headed monster in Berlin proved effective, finishing as the only trio of receivers to land in the top 15 in the league in receiving yards. Creative-Name spent the season gleaning as much information as possible from his two veteran teammates, watching their hip rotations, route running, and workout routines in order to advance his own game moving forward. It turns out, working with those two showed Creative-Name that one of the biggest things he was lacking was simply endurance to keep on going for that one extra minute. So, he spent the offseason running distance rather than sprints for the first time in his career. Upon returning to camp, teammates noted that Creative-Name, who has always spent extra time in the film room, was now spending extra time on the training field. When asked about it, Creative-Name's reply was simply, "I'm not tired yet, so I might as well keep working." With this newfound energy, Creative-Name hopes to take his game one step further as Berlin tries to go from a cellar dweller to a force in the ISFL. Creative-Name was heard telling teammates, "When my uncle, Adam Schell, was playing here, this team was a force. I'm ready to get us back to that level."

23. What are your thoughts on the sim engine? What sort of improvements would you make to the sim engine if given the opportunity? (Written Task)

In general, our sim engine does a great job. I like it better than the last one, and it makes the game generally easy to watch which is the most important part from my perspective. However, I have one big qualm with the engine. When there is a pre snap penalty that results in a first down, the sim engine doesn't seem to notice. This results in strange situations like 3rd and -2, or an incomplete pass resulting in a first down. I'm sure it hasn't had a huge effect on our league's results, but such a situation as this does lend itself to coming into play at the very end of a close game and potentially impacting a result of an important matchup and I would hate to see that happen. I know nothing about sin engines or how to tweak them, this is simply something that I've noticed and wanted to pass along.

24. You’re in charge of entertainment for the Ultimus or Ultimini half-time show. What would you do? (Written Task)


This year, we're going interactive for the halftime entertainment at the Ultimus. That's right: petting zoo. We're gonna have animals all over the field with an invitation to any families with kids under 10 to come down onto the field and pet some exotic animals. I'm talking zebras, I'm talking giraffes, I'm talking snakes. This ain't no sheep and goats petting zoo, but something that these young fans will remember forever. The rest of the game is for the grown ups and older kids, but this year I want to see our younger fans get an opportunity to have the time of their lives at the big game as well. Plus, if this is an announced event, it will encourage more people with kids to attend the event and may just help to perpetuate the fandom in our sport even more! It may not be Brittany Spears or a traditional halftime show, but it's gonna be an absolute blast.

[Tylertokesome04]

19. London has announced a new stadium being built along the river Thames this morning.  It will be a short walk from The Tower of London across London Bridge for game day visitors. Team owners have also announced the new Royal Entertainment Village being built in the surrounding the block radius with shopping, eateries, night clubs, theaters, and spacious flats to live in the center of the action. Inside the new stadium, guests can expect new wider seats to fit any American visitors, a 100x100 ft 4k Scoreboard for in game highlights of all the big plays. Owners have promised a revamped menu offering along the concourse set to include the Bachman Burger with double beef patties, Fajita’s a la Sizz – served sizzling hot, and the new MVP dog, coming in two styles, one for each of their award-winning Quarterbacks. Inside the locker room, players can look forward to state-of-the-art training, recovery, and relaxation. No expense will be spared to treat our players like Royalty.


20. @Martin.Bachman Not enough can be said about my teammate and great locker room presence. Every game he is always in the locker room cheering on the team. I never think I’ve even seen him impressed with his own player’s performance; he just wants London to win. Always ready to take on any challenge from scouting to just checking in on teammates, you couldn’t ask for a better guy. I was lucky enough to be in the same draft class as Martin, and I was thrilled to see him go so high to the New York Silverbacks in the draft at such a high pick. They don’t know just what treasure they picked up with that pick. We were so lucky he fell to London in the 3rd round of the DSFL draft. I’m not looking forward to seeing him on a different team when I arrive, but I know for a face Martin is going to do big things in this league.


23. Let’s talk sim engine… I’ve posted about it before, but I was so naive… like a child… I thought, honestly, no QB would spike a ball on 4th down in this simulation. There’s no way that would happen in an important moment of an important game. That would just be crazy! There clearly needs to be some work done on the back end of the play calling logic, we see far too often coaches making questionable decisions a coach would never make. We laugh and chalk it up to Sim gonna Sim but wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to make an excuse for an inexcusable play on the field. Don’t get me started on the taunting penalties… how many offensive players got called for taunting last year? It is funny when it happens though. I’m not sure what can even be done to fix these kinds of things but sometimes the questionable calls really take you out of the experience, until you learn it’s just part of the experience.


27. If I couldn’t be a QB what position would I choose instead… I’ve given this a lot of thought as I plan to have another player once this one retires. I think I would choose either Safety or Linebacker, if it were up to me, and there are a few reasons, but let’s be honest… the biggest reason and we all know it, I am indeed a stats and awards whore. I love them. I want them, I want to be the best and break records… I can’t help it. This is how I was made. I tried being a CB, and while I didn’t find it to be discouraging or boring in any way, I know where the stats live, and I want them. I do also think it would be more fun to watch a Linebacker or Safety during the game so that factors in a bit. I also want to play defense at some point in this league so there’s that.

[Bmason0520]

7. Write 600 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that 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 600 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.

It's that time again to review the stats of the of the teams that made the Ultimus and see if there was a clear factor for these 2 teams. Sometimes its just as simple as they were the best teams offensively and defensively and other times there are teams who just got hot at the right time and did just enough to make it to the Ultimus.

As always, we start with a congrats to this year's champs, the Cape Town Crash! Not only were they the Ultimus champions, but also the regular season champs. While some people predicted this, the heavy, heavy favorite was the Arizona Outlaw. While they didn't win either award, the Outlaws were the ASFC champs and lost to the Crash in the championship.

Looking at regular season records, the Crash were 13-3 with losses to the Butchers and Otters. Two loses were 1 score and the other was a 2 score loss, but other than that, they were pretty dominate all season long. The Outlaws on the other hand, had quite the season. The first half of the season, people didnt even think they would make the playoffs as they sat at the bottom of the ASFC with a 2-5 record at one point. Week 8 was a turning point though as they would go on to win 9 straight. They ended up tying Honolulu with a record of 11-5, but Honolulu won the tie breaker.

A new stat this season is looking at the teams TPE counts. The Crash had an 826 avg per player (3rd best), total offense TPE of 9,670 (3rd best), 2,250 being bot TPE (tied for 4th highest), and a total defense of 8,502 (6th best) for a grand total of 18,172. Arizona was just behind them or just ahead in these stats. 807 avg per player (4th best), total offense TPE of 9,003 (6th best), 1,500 being bot TPE, and total defense of 8,753 (5th best). Basically, in all these areas, both these teams rank top half or better. While there are some teams who may have been better in one area or another, they lacked in other areas. The one anomaly to this is the Austin Copperheads. They had the best over TPE, avg per player, second to lowest bot TPE, 4th best offense and 3rd best defense yet finished the season 7-9 some how. Doesn't make sense...Yes, I'm a little salty over it, but moving on.

Looking at points for and points against, the Crash are exactly what you would expect from a dominate team. They had the most points for this season with 454 while allowing only 294. Only defense that was better was the Wraiths with 290. The Outlaws were mid tier with 358. not the best but not the worst. Same with their defense at 5th best with 329. Since they were favorites to win by most people and clearly had the TPE stats of a good team, I wouldn't say that they were a team that "got hot at the right time", even with the beginning of the season struggles, but looking at just these stats, it kind of appears that way.

Now lets take a look at what players helped carry their team to the Ultimus. We will start with the super obvious one for the Crash with JHM, the MVP. He finished the season with 1,846 yards and 14 touchdowns. Thats 22% of the teams points for just by the running back. This was complemented by a passing attack from Jerrith (3,803 yards and 25 TDs) and Prince (1,294 rec yards and 5 TD). As for Arizona they were led by Sailor (3,584 yards and 28 TDs) and Blondin (973 rec yards and 6 TDs) and Sinkwater (929 rec yards and 7 TDs). Nedelko provided a good rush complement (1105 yards and 9 TDs). Both teams dominated in sacks, good turnover counts, and had a few touchdowns. it always helps when the defense can complement the offense.

[110radio]

I should begin by saying that this is my first sim league. I was not aware that there was a place on the internet for something like this. Of course, there is though, because this is awesome. I once told a friend of mine I would love for D&D to fuse with the Madden franchise…lo and behold the ISFL had already been in existence. And to make things even better there are many aspects of the ISFL that add more playability to an already fascinating hobby. Should you have a knack for graphic design, there are a very talented team of folks pumping out art for the league. Do you have the gift of gab, check out the different podcasts created by the user base. Are you fascinated with statistics and building a unique and technical character? That’s covered too…all of the aforementioned and much more.

Personally I find a great deal of interest with the development of podcast media. I have some history with audio production and am itching to put together an audio series that documents the goings on around this league. I would like to incorporate gameday sim results with in character player interviews and produce a weekly show of this content. Taking it a step further, and getting really ambitious, I would like to grow that podcast into the official news media outlet of the league(s). I picture developing it into something like the ESPN or Fox Sports (whichever flavor you prefer) for our little corner of simulated football. I would especially like to see more coverage for the DSFL pre-draft. My understanding so far is that there isn't much in the way of mock draft activity specifically for the DSFL, understandably so. However, perhaps its just because I am new to the league and a rookie myself, I get excited at the idea of building up the environment surrounding the fresh blood. 

In addition to media creation I am also interested in learning more about a couple other aspects of the league, including the ISFL Fantasy League, and the Casino. Admittedly, in my brief time with the league I have not had the chance to learn about these aspects. There seems to be something a little self gratifying about creating my own player, building him up, winning in this league in simulations, then drafting him to my own fantasy football team. It's like a full circle sports fantasy experience. It makes me wonder if any IRL professional sports players draft themselves and play fantasy sports. I dont have anything to say about the inner workings of the casino as I have not had a chance to check it out. Thats the strange new world for me around here right now. That said though, in addition to the casino, apparently we also have an account set up with Dotts for digital trading cards. I've created an account there and plan to head down that rabbit whole sooner rather than later.

Finally, and perhaps the part I am second most looking forward to (see above for the forthcoming Simulated Football News Network for the most exciting offering I can think of) I am excited about the upcoming DSFL draft. I am eager to see a player I created in action, and looking forward to seeing my player make it to a team and get some time playing in sim games. I am fascinated by the idea of being able to develop the skills and traits of that player, and hope to create a playmaking, ring winner. I also enjoy the idea that my time commitment and effort of involvement leads to the growth of that players attributes. That really scratches the itch I have for RPG player building. I suppose that most sums up what I have learned about the league so far, and what I am excited to learn more about here.

[ElMerchanto]

8:

As a rookie of the extremely successful Season 41 class, I've found my journey into the league extremely interesting so far. I was very lucky to get picked up by Dallas in the draft and immediately found myself in a good spot locker room and culture wise in Dallas with the Birddogs. I've been fortunate enough to end up playing my part in taking part in the war room and shaping the future of the team which is great. Shoutout to everyone both former & current in the GM array of Dallas as those guys made getting into the league a tonne of fun and extremely easy. My rookie DSFL season wasn't too much to write home about, as the team has essentially done a too good job at drafting players recently and therefore has been talent raided for a few seasons, as Dallas alumni go on to have great careers in the ISFL. I was lucky enough (or honored enough) to play only one season in the DSFL, and was called up to the Yeti immediately after being drafted. Not long after, I was traded to CTC and got to play an immediate starting role in their insanely well rounded defence. CTC have been a superb team to join and I've stepped into the war room there as the culture fit is superb, they strike a great balance between fun & competition whilst not treating things are life or death, and I've been very lucky to land there. Unfortunately I can't be the most socially active player as my professional and personal life is extremely busy, but any time I dip my head in CTC it's always a laugh with people which is great. I can't wait to welcome in some fresh blood in the S42 DSFL draft to Dallas and get to play a similar role to what their war room did for me a couple of seasons ago. 

Word Count: 321 (5 TPE)

16. 

Both my player's and my teams journey was pretty exceptional this season all things considered. I spent the majority of my rookie season in Cape Town playing with the Crash, so I'll focus there. As for personal achievements, I think it's fair to say that I massively exceeded my highest hopes, which came as some what of a shock to me. I played the majority of the season starting at LOLB for the Crash and managed to put up 16 sacks on the season, tied for 2nd highest across the whole ISFL. I'd love to rack up some more stats in other key metrics as I was a little lacking, except for PDs which I did pretty decent in, but Fumbles especially would be great to get up. However ultimately my personal achievements led to me winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year for Season 41 which is just about the best honour I could have hoped for, and hopefully the first such accolade in a to-be long list of a Hall of Fame career heh. As for the team, Cape Town did superbly! Winning the Ultimus is an incredible achievement, and really I was just lucky to be along for the ride. I managed to play my part but all credit goes to my incredible teammates and the great leadership shown in building such a well rounded team. We managed to hit the most difficult thing, which is rather than relying on one explosive strength, we performed as a well rounded elite team across the board. My hope is that we can go towards a repeat next season, if even we make a good run into the playoffs I think we will still be excellently timed to compete in the upcoming seasons. We have some great talent coming up to join us and aren't losing much at all, so this seasons strengths look set to continue, which challenges the rest of the league to move up to contend.

Word Count: 329 (5 TPE)

[Ace]

Tier 3 - Task 36 (2.5 TPE)

SHL PT - https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3370777

[H0PPY75]

21. Written Option: If your player had a show starring them, what would the plot be? Graphic Option: Create the cover art for your player’s show.

If the Baltimore Hawks were to have a show starring them I think it would probably end up being a football version of The Wire mainly because they would both be set in Baltimore. Now this could be done by creating a world that is sort of like the “Fansville” commercials by Dr. Pepper where football rules everything in the surrounding area. Some of the players could be cops and some of the players could end up being criminals but I think it would be kinda cool to have a cop show and one of the caliber of The Wire and make it into a purely football show. Now obviously just because of the way the league would want this done to help protect the league image that this show wouldn’t be able to get away with much that they were able to get away with on the original Wire but with that said we could make this work somehow make this work and if we can’t then we could just create the professional football equivalent of Blue Mountain State.

27. Imagine your current position was not available to be picked when you created your player. What other position would you have picked, and why? (Written Task)

Well since I just position swapped last week to a pass rushing linebacker and if this position wasn’t available I guess I would make a speed rusher defensive end because that was the position that I was playing before. It would be a natural switch for me because I have played the position before and in the case of Sledge Hammer all he knows how to do is run at things, hit the thing and destroy the thing so by continuing to play on the defensive side of the ball because the main skill set for a defensive player is run, hit, and destroy. Now if you asked me what position I would play if either of those two positions were not available then I would probably end up choosing fullback. It may be the ugly sister of running back but it would still allow Sledge Hammer to continue to do what he does best and fuck shit up without the worry of possibly dropping the ball.

32. Your player has decided to start a podcast since it's what all the cool celebrities are doing these days. What would the name of your player's podcast be and what would they talk about/do on the podcast? (Written Task)

If Baltimore Hawk’s outside linebacker Sledge Hammer were to create a podcast and why wouldn’t he, it’s so easy to do every week he would probably call it one of two things. It would either be called “Off The Cuff” and if it was called this the subject matter of the podcast would be basically anything and everything. There wouldn’t be much planning going into it, just turn the microphone on, hit record and talk about whatever comes to his mind that week but also to make sure that the subject matter of the podcast still remains related to the league. The other option would be called “The Hawk’s Nest” and it would clearly be about Tony Hawk. I’m just kidding about it being about Tony Hawk but it would be pretty funny to do a podcast purely on the greatest skateboarder to ever live. No this podcast would be about the Baltimore Hawks obviously and it would be a behind the scenes look at the team and would reveal more than what most fans get to see from the team. Obviously I can’t show them everything because that would give away team secrets that other teams could use against them but it would be cool to pull back the curtain a little bit and show the fans what it’s like to be a Baltimore Hawk on a weekly basis.

36. Affiliate PT from either SHL/SSL/PBE. The Weeks must match with the timeframe of this Offseason Task. And you may only use a max of 1.
PBE Affiliation

[soevil]

Prompt 6 (636 words)

Well, it’s that time of year again. The time where I get to look back at the S36 draft class and ask “where are they now?”. Previously I have done the entire first round and on a couple occasions the wide receivers selected. As to the surprise to no one, I am once again going to go over the prominent wide receivers selected in the S36 draft. As our draft class draws ever closer to regression (this is our final season before it hits!), I want to highlight career stats and awards(as accurate as I can be), and maybe give a little projection for how each players career will finish.


I forget the exact order that the receivers were drafted, but I think it was something like: Zaphod Beeblebrox, Thomas Robinson, Don Dobbler (now PeePee Poop-Eater sr), Octavio Peréz, Austin Morley, Mandrews McHollywood, and Derrick Prince.

Zaphod Beeblebrox - Austin Copperheads - 1462 TPE
Stats: through 6 ISFL seasons, Zaphod Beeblebrox has 601 receptions for 7044 receiving yards, making for an average catch of 11.7 yards. Beeblebrox has hit paydirt 37 times and has logged 41 dropped passes in his career. Beeblebrox also took over kick returning duties the last three seasons and has 1367 return yards for an average of 24.9 per return. Although I think Beeblebrox leads the group in receiving yards,
it doesn’t appear that they have earned any postseason honors.

Thomas Robinson - Orange Counth Otters - 1458 TPE
Stats: In 5 ISFL seasons, TomRob has compiled 4549 receiving yards on 402 receptions (11.3 ypc), 31 touchdowns, and 22 drops. They have not contributed to the return game. Not much comes up when I run this player through the Wolfie HOF resume thing.

PeePee Poop-Eater Sr. - New Orleans Secondline - 924 TPE
Stats: In his 5 ISFL seasons, Poop-Eater has 432 receptions for 5689 yards which is good for 13.6 yards per catch. He is responsible for 45 touchdowns through the air and has 32 drops. Over 4 seasons as a returner, he has amassed 3392 kick return yards (26.3 per return) and two touchdowns. He also has 468 punt return yards (7.1 average).
Awards: 2x 2nd team All Pro (S41)

Octavio Pérez - Honolulu Hahalua - 1444 TPE
Stats: Through 5 ISFL seasons Pérez has spent time with the Hahalua, Firesalamanders, and Butchers. With those teams he has 5111 receiving yards on 391 catches (13.1 avg). Pérez has 35 touchdowns through the air with only 18 drops. With two seasons as a returner, he has 1059 yards (24.6 avg) and one touchdown.
Awards: 1x 2nd team All Pro (S41)

Austin Morley - Chicago Butchers - 1473 TPE
Stats: In Morleys 5 ISFL seasons he has tallied 392 catches for 5377 receiving yards (13.7 average). He also has 34 touchdowns with 33 drops. Morley has mostly excelled as a returner as he has 2547 kick return yards for a career average of 29.2 yards with one touchdown. As a punt returner he has 1140 career yards for a 10.7 yard average.
Awards: 2x Pro Bowl (S39, 40), 2x 1st Team All Pro (S30, 40), 1x 2nd Team All Pro (S40)

Mandrews McHollywood - New York Silverbacks - 1450 TPE
Stats: In 5 ISFL seasons, McHollywood has 5170 yards on 371 receptions, good for 13.9 yards per catch. He has accounted for 37 receiving touchdowns with 31 drops in his career. As a returner, McHollywood has 2685 kick return yards (26.1 average), and 529 punt return yards (8.9 average) and 1 touchdown.
Awards: 1x First Team All Pro (S40)

No disrespect to McSix or Prince, I just don’t want to go over the limit. They have both had solid careers and I *think* Prince is the only WR of the group to have an ultimus win. He also had a fantastic S41.