(S44) Offseason Task

[Piercewise1]

Task 1:

The Portland Pythons journey to the Ultimini began with the draft. Picking in the second spot, the Pythons grabbed a pair of starting safeties in rounds 1 (Jamie Orion) and 4 (Felix Waterman) as well as a cornerback in round 3 (Xavier Moreno). Together this rookie trio combined for 37 pass deflections, 7 interceptions, 6 recovered fumbles, 7 sacks, a safety, and a defensive touchdown. The Pythons also got a huge steal in round 6 with lineman turned linebacker Thor Dangerson, who led the team with 101 tackles, 13 TFL, and 11 sacks. On the other side of the ball they added receivers in rounds 2 (Jordan Bamford) and 5 (Mattrim Cauthon) who together contributed 1,010 yards and 7 touchdowns on 82 catches. They also snagged kicker Unuway Jepthat in round 9 who led the league with 115 total points. For perspective, 3 of these rookies (Dangerson, Orion, and Bamford) would go on to be 1st round picks in the ISFL.

This influx of talent would propel the team to an 11-3 record, the best in the DSFL that season. Portland averaged a staggering 31.8 points per game, a full 4.5 better than 2nd place (Tijuana Luchadores). MOP Jay Cue III loved to spread the ball around; though Portland didn’t have a receiver in the top 10 in receiving yards, they did own 12th-14th place inclusive! In the backfield, Eldroh Kove and Sean Aldrich ended 6th and 7th in the league in rushing yards. This balanced attack proved difficult to stop; the London Royals were the only team able to hold the Pythons under 30 points (though London still lost both games with identical 24-17 scores).

The playoffs proved to be more of the same, as the Pythons forced 5 total turnovers and outscored their opposition 64-24 in two games. Sam Mercury’s 105 yards were the biggest two-game total among the Portland receivers, and he snagged 2 of Cue’s 3 TD passes as well. The Kansas City Coyotes kept things relatively close in the North semifinal, as Lenard McRobinson broke away for a 41-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 7. But the Pythons grip was too tight, and they shut out the Coyotes in the final period to secure the win. In the 1st quarter of the Ultimini, Felix Waterman took an interception return 24 yards to the house as the Pythons grabbed the momentum early. The team would pile on 3 touchdowns in the final 3 minutes of the half, building up a 33-0 lead and coasting to the championship.

The biggest surprise in the postseason came in the South semifinal, when Tijuana upset the Dallas Birddogs 21-16. While Dallas had cooled off a bit since their red hot 4-0 start, they still had the best record in the South and had swept Tijuana in the regular season (admittedly in a pair of one-score games). Tijuana had a prolific offense but their defense had given up nearly 24 points per game in the regular season. But they came up with a huge pick-six early in the 1st quarter to take an early lead, and by the 4th quarter they had built that advantage up to 21-2. The Birddogs piled on the passing yards in the final period, and even managed to claw to within a score after a pair of long touchdown passes care of Octavion Speedings. But the Luchadores hung on and punched their ticket to the Ultimini, despite being outgained 433-261 on the day.

The DSFL had its share of highs and lows for the Pythons this year, but still saw them raising the trophy at season’s end. A balanced offense and an aggressive young defense combined to form a winning combination as the team shook off its recent misfortunes and claimed the title.

[ZodiacEXE]

I've always felt ties were a strange way to end a competitive sporting event. The team prepares for a week, the players go out there for 70 minutes, and neither team comes away with a win. Depending on the scenario, it even makes sense for some teams to play for a tie since it sets them up for a playoff spot better. A tie was actually instrumental in a playoff race in the DSFL this season, with London falling short of going to tiebreakers with Kansas City-- tiebreakers that would have put London through instead of the Coyotes. It's not fair to put it all on the tie, but perhaps if the tie was forced to a decision then the Royals would have had a shot at continuing Portland's curse.

This scenario, however, doesn't compare to what I've come to call "the year of the tie." In most seasons even one tie is rare, with it usually happening only once every few years. There was even a stretch between S7 and S21 where no ties occurred at all. But in S34, things got crazy. Not just one tie, not just two, but three ties occurred over the course of the season. Were they instrumental for the playoff race? Mostly just for seeding, but it's still an interesting rarity.

The first tie occurred in Week 11 when the Philadelphia Liberty (now the Cape Town Crash) visited the San Jose Sabercats. Despite the Liberty outpacing the Sabercats by nearly 130 yards, controlling TOP, and forcing 4 turnovers while giving up none themselves, they simply could get the ball into scoring range. It doesn't help that their kicker struggled, missing 4 kicks from 40+ yards with two of them coming during OT. The defenses feasted despite the relatively high amount of yards, combining for 15 sacks. Neither team was too impacted in the standings however, the Sabercats getting the win would cause them to lose on the conference record tiebreaker and the Liberty were a victim of the NSFC having three clear top teams.

I can't find a season where the ISFL has more than one tie other than S34, so it's nearly inconceivable that these two games happened during the same week. Alas when Week 14 rolled around, 4 out of the 14 ISFL teams would neither win nor lose. The first matchup was between the Sarasota Sailfish and the Berlin Fire Salamanders. It was a back and forth contest with both sides coming up with huge plays. Sarasota put up points thanks to both a 48 yard TD pass from Carter Knight and a 57 yard pick 6 courtesy of Raeni Clarke. Berlin was reliant on their defense, who gave them 4 turnovers to work with. When Dangle caught a touchdown pass with a minute remaining, it seems the game was over. However, the Sailfish got it into FG range for Rainbow Dash and sent it to OT with 20 seconds remaining. Dash would get a chance to walk the game off with 3:16 left in overtime, but couldn't be the hero. The clock ran out on this game knotted at 24. This game could have caused a change in the playoff picture if Dash had hit that OT kick, as Sarasota could have drawn even with Berlin and stolen home field advantage for the first round.

The other Week 14 game took place between the Chicago Butchers and the Arizona Outlaws. This was a huge defensive struggle, with most of the scoring done with kickers. Levy Tate for the Butchers and Cade York for the Outlaws were both a perfect 3/3 in regulation with both teams putting up a touchdown to keep it close. York's chip-shot with 30 seconds remaining sent the game to overtime. The Butchers would start with the ball and move it methodically down the field. However, with 4th & 1 on the ARI 2, Chicago calls out Tate for a chip-shot to put them up by 3. Instead of trying to punch for another yard and 4 more chances at icing the game, the Butchers allowed Arizona a chance to retaliate. They moved the ball with purpose, but ended up with 4th & 3 from the CHI 23. They felt the only choice was to tie it up once again, and Tate didn't disappoint. With only 46 seconds remaining, Chicago went three and out and gave the ball back with only 11 seconds. Arizona would try to make something happen, but there simply wasn't time. The tie potentially cost Arizona the bye in the ASFC, as they would have gone to the PF tiebreaker and stolen that from Honolulu. Meanwhile Chicago's loss and Berlin's victory in their respective tied games would have evened their records, but the Butchers' dominance in conference play would seal their ticket anyway.

[Ephenssta]

10. I feel like I always do this one because I rather enjoy it for whatever reason, even though I am pretty sure I would hate the task of being commissioner. I work on a research team with human subjects in real life. It is a fascinating job and one of the things I am quickly learning is that you pretty much need a protocol or documented process for EVERYTHING. Not only for the data collection, analysis, and recruitment or enrollment, but also for simple things like the expected time frame eat which you will make a second attempt to call someone or how soon after they email you back are you expected to call them? I think we have seen the league suffer from this a few times where something potentially punishable was handled with a private DM or two and little to no follow-up, leaving the community or members who reported the potential offense left wondering what was done, how it was done, and what follow-up, if any, is being taken. I think my first task would be to overhaul the rulebook with descriptions of processes clearly written out. Sometimes things that get reported aren’t exactly punishable, but we can still inform those who made the reports of what action, if any, was taken and the reasoning behind it, if the event does not rise to the level of needing a whole forum post. We can talk about how in situations in which a person receives a DMed warning, perhaps a similar but unnamed warning is sent out to the server in which it happened (provided, of course, that it happened in an official league server) with a reminder of the rules or a reference to the community standards that are expected to be enforced in those spaces. I think doing that will take away some of the nebulousness of the enforcement process and help things run a bit smoothly, preventing another fiasco in which we have people up in arms like we did with the “in good standing” ordeal. I think standardizing the process takes some of the wiggle room and vagueness out while still allowing things to be handled privately when they don’t need a full forum post. I also think there are times when the league as a whole can take a more proactive approach to defending its members from unwanted attacks on the basis of personal characteristics. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. That kind of thing. Now that does not mean that the immediate response has to be a ban or a suspension, but I think we could proactively warn the user that content of certain natures is not allowed in this league if they have content that would violate league rules in a place that is easily identifiable. So, for example, if someone joins the league and has a link to a youtube channel in their personal bio that takes us to a page talking about globalist conspiracy theories with transphobia clearly visible on the end of that link, perhaps that user should be notified that similar takes, should they be shared openly in league spaces, would violate our conduct detrimental clauses and result in a swift punishment. From there, the use can choose how to proceed with their engagement with the league. But enough serious stuff, on to a few fun ideas. Move the DSFL cap toa  system more like the SHL has. Perhaps the first year cap is 125, then 175, then 250, then 300! Let players be two way at corresponding positions. Perhaps an OL can also play DT, a RB can also be a LB, a WR can play in the secondary. Kickers and punters can…be BANNED! That’s right, no more kickers and punters, every team just gets a 900 TPE bot or something like that. Alternatively, allow users to create and update TWO players, one on each side of the ball. A 500 TPE WR could also have a 500 TPE DE, but you can only use a position swap once per career on ONE but not both of the players. Will it take more admin work? Probably! Will it make max earners that much more valuable? Of fuckin course it will! We’ll have to work out some things like how drafts or trades work, but I believe in us. Hope everyone has a fun season as we get around to that time of year again

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[SmittyHextall]

34. New players join our teams every season, so which of those new players made the biggest impact on the field for your team? (Written Option)

Norman was on the minnesota gray ducks this past year. In the minnesota Grey ducks player who had the biggest impact on the team was the new quarterback That was brought in. Tua TurndaBallova 100% Had the biggest impact on the gray ducks this year. Not only was the biggest Reason why the defense had such a stat heavy season with all of the turn over Is that he made by throwing interceptions. He couldn't hold on to the ball either. Multiple games with multiple interceptions and he even threw some touchdowns occasionally. Wholeheartedly, he was the reasons that great ducks went four and ten this season because the defense and the wide receivers did their part. I would have to give him a little credit to the fact that because of all of his turnovers, the defense was able to make up a lot of stats in tackles and sacks this year. If it wasn't Him norman wouldn't have gotten a ward honors Nominations.

33. When looking at the teams we have in the ISFL and DSFL, is there any team you believe is in need of a major rebrand or update to their current branding? Why or why not? (Written Task)
Once again, I am here to talk about how Honolulu has the worst branding and needs to have a change made. I do not like the logo I do not like the colors. The logo looks like a stingray with a big old porn stash over its lip. That is the only thing that I see whenever I see that bad logo. Just do it tampa bay Did in real life and be the rays. Call it generic and dumb it at least works and you wouldn't be restricted to A weird ass logo. Next is the colors blue and gold why. Their color rush colors are really good use them the entire time They are unique and don't make you look like a half discount dallas bird dogs. This is the one team. I did not want to go to when I was drafted. Because I did not want to have that logo anywhere near my player and those colors near my player. I think it is bad, really bad. Update this team as soon as possible and fix it because they need it. How do you make a team that looks worse than otters. Every single branding is better in every single way then Honolulu.

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)

Norman smiley currently plays a Athletic linebacker position. So if that position wasn't available to him. I think the best course of action for the switch would be either to move to safety or to a speedy defense end. I think safety would be the most adjacent to how norman would play as a linebacker. High agility high speed movement and solid Tackling. And I think it would be easier for him to make more interceptions if he was at that position. Which is interesting because I think he is gonna end up playing nickel a lot for the butcher's next year. The other position I think he would fit well in would be as a speedy defensive end. I think incorporating the speed into an edge rusher would fit him Personality wise I think a defensive end is not exactly what I want with norman. If though I would think you would have a lot of success Is at the position if he was there. If you had to move to the offensive side of the ball, I think tight end would be a interesting Choice. Since Catching in speed is what he does And the titan could maybe incorporate more strength oriented blocking. If so I think all three of those positions could work but I Is very happy At linebacker and plans to stay there.

28. Football is a game that has been going on for a while, loved by fans all over. But what if you were able to make some rule changes? Talk us through your new version of football, and what would be different and why? (Written Task

Generally I believe that football has a lot of good rules. You should definitely Is protect players If and protect their safety as well as their futures after the game. But I believe refereeing as a whole needs An overhaul. Yes protecting the Passer is very necessary. But I want a hundred percent believe that sometimes the quarterbacks Is fake and get calls For barely getting hit and roughing the passer is a problem. What I wanna cause is big penalties and big fines for these calls. I think a review should be in place For roughing the passer. To me there isn't really a downside to it Unlike pass interference where I think it would cause a big issue. If your defence gets called for a Roughing the passer call it needs to Reviewed before it's assessed It may slow the game down But it prevents fifteen yard penalties and fines. I think every defensive player would be okay with this. And the only people who wouldn't be quarterbacks and they get enough profit Get special treatment as it is. so fuck em. They get paid the big money they better be able to take the big hits And if it was unwarranted they should get penalized for it. But if it was just a call that looked kind of hard and Any roughing the passer I think there would be the best Rule change I could offer to the game Of football.

[Akoustique]

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.

Kairo Knight, born in Los Angeles, California, grew up around a football father. His father, Harrison Knight, was a quarterback in a Canadian football league outside of the ISFL and retired at his peak. Because of the knowledge that his father passed down to him, Knight was immediately thrust into the football world from a young age. At first, due to his height, his coach slotted him in at a tight end position, but the speed that he showed was enough to convince the coaches to move him into a wide receiver position. While his high school years were marred by a falling out between him and his quarterback, he was eventually put onto waivers for the DSFL; the league his father never managed to get into. Since then, his life changed dramatically, becoming a weapon for the Bondi Beach Buccaneers that was downright lethal alongside the other receiver corps.

Unfortunately, the stress of being picked in the first round at such a deep position was enough to make his jump to the ISFL much, much harder. Playing for the Cape Town Crash, he was lucky to grab an Ultimus in his first season up, right after winning an Ultimini with Bondi down in the DSFL. After that, it became much more of a struggle than either he or the team anticipated. S42 was his breakout season thus far, with 79 receptions and just under 900 yards on the season. That fabled 1000-yard ISFL season has eluded Knight so far, and it's becoming a bit of a heavy weight on Knight's shoulders. With receivers like Johnny Blaze Jr. and even tight ends like Mister Hogmally taking up most of the spotlight in the league, it's becoming more and more important for Knight to shine through this season and become a great receiver... or else he may run out of time and not leave a mark on the ISFL like he had desired.

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14. Expansion Expansion Expansion! Tell us why you think the league should expand / not expand or include any ideas (in words) for team branding ideas you have or team locations.

Expansion time! I love to talk about expansion, even if I haven't actually done so yet. To be perfectly clear, I don't think there's a need to expand yet, especially with the upcoming class being short on new creates and primarily made up of recreates. That being said, I believe that the ideas behind the expansion classes should be opened up. At the moment, the longest travel anyone has would likely be in the DSFL to Bondi Beach in Australia. In the ISFL, Cape Town would be the longest travel time, as they reside in South Africa. But I believe there's a significantly underrepresented continent... and that would be Antarctica!

Of course, the logistics of this are definitely up in the air. But with the funding that the ISFL has in order to fly their players between Cape Town, London, Tijuana, and wherever the Ultimus and Ultimini end up, I think they've got enough to spare in order to dump a stadium right on an icecap. It would certainly need to be a domed stadium, as I don't think the winter weather on the arctic icecaps makes it very manageable to play football in. That being said, not only could dumping a football stadium in Antarctica prove fruitful for land development and populating this barren continent, but it would prove to be a challenge that I'm sure plenty of ISFL players would absolutely be willing to take on. And for the team... well, the Antarctic Avalanches would be my first choice! Taking a force of nature comparable to a destructive force would strike fear into many other teams, as well as raising awareness about many of our currently melting icecaps. There is already a yeti mascot, so I believe some sort of glacier mascot or even a snowman could work as their mascot. Just a thought in case we're considering expansion in the future!

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[Tiktaalik]

PBE Affiliate - 2.5 TPE

[nickWilliams]

19. Your team has announced that they will be laying ground on a new stadium next season. What additions would you like to see included in it. (Written Task) +2.5 TPE
The Berlin Fire Salamanders are excited to announce the construction of their new stadium for the next season. The new stadium will feature a number of exciting new attraction to foster team spirit. These will include a holographic salamander experience and foams cannons. The holographic salamander will appear every time the Salamanders score. A salamander will appear and slither around and above the field to celebrate. This will surely be a thrilling experience for fans of all ages. The foams cannon experience will consist of a section of seats in the stadium that will be equipped with foam cannons. These will spray down foam in the team colors after every touchdown and field goal. This is a unique and fun way to celebrate the team’s success and to keep the fans cool on the hot days. The Salamanders are committed to providing their fans with the best possible experience. The new stadium is just one way the team is showing their appreciation.

24. You’re in charge of entertainment for the Ultimus or Ultimini half-time show. What would you do? (Written Task) +2.5 TPE
The next Ultimus half-time show will be epic. We will still be providing musical entertainment, but this will come in the form of a lip-sync battle between the players and the referees. There has always been a touchy relationship between the two so this battle will provide a healthy way to have them battle it out. The players will be made up of those from the two teams who lost in the ASFC and NSFC championships. The referees will consist of all the referees in the league who are not officiating in the Ultimus. They will each have to put on their best performance and battle it out for everyone to see and enjoy on prime time. The audience will then be able to vote live for who they think performed the best. The loser of the lip-sync battle will have to do a challenge that was pre-selected by the opposing team. This will hopefully foster a friendly sense of competition between the players and referees and will provide some fun entertainment for those joining us at home.

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) +2.5 TPE
Nick Williams has decided to start a podcast called Celebrity Drops. Every week he publishes an hour long podcast on the going ons in other sports. The focus of the episodes will range from larger sports such as basketball to smaller sports such as ultimate frisbee. Nick is going to bring on one to two guests every week that are experts in their respective fields. His aim for the lesser known sports is to introduce people to them and to the main athletes in those fields. This will hopefully pique peoples curiosity and open them up to new interests. As far as for the more popular sports, he hopes to bring conversation surrounding their celebrities and scandals. You never know if the podcast he is dropping that week will be an educational one or a juicy one full of gossip and drama. However, Nick is committed to the truth. You can be sure that anything that is shared on the podcast has been independently verified by various sources. So, you know that the information you are receiving is trustworthy. Tune in weekly at 7 on Wednesdays to get your dose of Celebrity Drops.

35. Create the front page of a newspaper celebrating the win or the Ultimus or Ultimini winner. (Graphic Option) +2.5 TPE

[Jiggly_333]

SHL PT

[Z-Whiz]

36) Affiliate: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3422421

[DangWookie]

#3 - 600 words - 10 TPE

Selfishly, I’m going to talk about my team, the Sarasota Sailfish. Last season, we came agonizingly close to a playoff appearance and the locker room took it pretty tough. This upcoming season, I think there is a lot to be excited for. Now, when you look at the regression list for this season, you see some pretty important players for the Sailfish pop up: Lucius Salem, Swantavius King, Thomas Robinson, Harley Andrews, and Aqeel Steel to name a few. With some of the biggest names on the Sailfish starting to regress, it begs the question: what is there to be excited about? Well, for starters, the Sailfish offense is still one of the most exciting offenses in the league. Quarterback Willier Miller is sitting right around 1200 TPE and was one of the most prolific QBs in the league last season. He was able to rack up the most passing yards, completions, and second most passing touchdowns in the league. With the addition of Wide Receiver Thomas Robinson, Miller will have another elite target on the field. Robinson, still at just over 1000 TPE, will help fill the gap being left by the heavy regression of Tight End Lucius Salem who is still serviceable in his own right still in the top five for TPE at his position. To toot my own horn a little bit, Ace Anderson was also able to pick up the Raw Talent trait and is saving up enough TPE to get to 100 speed. Even though Ace had super low TPE for a starting running back last season, he was still able to chip in with 992 rushing yards, 339 receiving yards, and eight total touchdowns. With the upgrades, I would hope that he’s able to be more effective on the ground and open up more opportunities for the Crown Jewel of Sarasota’s offense: Johnny Blaze Jr.

There really is no understating the important of Blaze to Sarasota’s pass first, ask questions later offense. At the halfway point of the season, it looked like he was going to break the record for receiving yards and touchdowns in a single season. If not for the collapse of the Sailfish later in the season, he probably would have done it. Blaze is currently third in all time touchdowns (58) for the Sailfish having surpassed the likes of James Angle and Lucius Salem over the course of the past season. With a few more solid seasons left in him after regression starts to kick in, one would think that he would definitely have a chance of catching Nick Kaepercolin Jr. with his record of 85. Touchdowns. In the past three seasons, Blaze has racked up a whopping 4896 yards and with type of productivity, one would hope to see him surpass the all-time yardage leader for the Sailfish, Saleem Spence, with his 9938 season receiving yards. 

Even though there’s plenty of things to be excited about when it comes to the offense, Sarasota’s defense is really the question mark on the whole team. Last season, the Sailfish had the 457 points against, only 15 fewer points against than the 3-13 Butchers. If this team is going to challenge for a playoff spot, that is where they need to improve. It’s not all doom and gloom though, veteran Harley Andrews is still over 1100 TPE and Fronky Fresh just about at 1000, the Sailfish still have two of the best corners in the league. Linebacker Max Honestly and Defensive End Ginand Toxic are continuing to grow at a steady rate and up and coming linebacker Spruce Willis, will help reduce the pressure on aging linebacker Aqeel Steel.

To sum it all up, I think there’s a real chance we see the Sailfish in the playoffs this season. If there’s one thing we do well, it’s put the ball in the endzone and if we’re able to be a little bit more efficient in this upcoming season, I think we could give anyone a run for their money.