This is a wild time in the ISFL, with superteams being created through free agency, record contracts, large trades, and some great championship contenders! Along with some...not so hotshot contenders. I'm going to look through each team and what could possibly keep them back from a championship this season, or keep them from the playoffs in upcoming seasons.
BALTIMORE HAWKS
ISFL Roster:
Chika Fujiwara, S21 QB (1297 TPE, 1st among QBs)
James Lewandowski S21 TE (1091 TPE, 3rd among TEs)
Eldrick Avery, S22 CB (1048 TPE, 7th among CBs) (IA)
Mai Fukushu, S24 RB (824 TPE, 11th among RBs)
Ben Stackinpaper, S22 CB (783 TPE, 14th among CBs)
Joshua Campbell, S24 WR (737 TPE, 21st among WRs)
Mike Karpaasi, S23 DE(712 TPE, 13th among DEs)
IHeart Syracuse, S23 S (658 TPE, 21st among S)
Tony Yeboah, S25 S (619 TPE, 26th among S)
Korbin Brown, S24 WR (597 TPE, 31st among WRs) (IA)
Felix Archstone, S25 OL (587 TPE, 16th among OLs)
Nuniq Annastesia, S22 DT (547 TPE, 20th among DTs) (IA)
Etrigan T. Slayer, S25 DE (535 TPE, 20th among DEs)
A. J. Lucas, S26 LB (478 TPE, 34th among LBs)
Mario Messi, S26 WR (474 TPE, 40th among WRs)
Spike Suzuki, S22 LB (454 TPE, 36th among LBs)
Datsum Phastbawls, S23 KR (421 TPE, 10th among KRs) (IA)
Dermot Lavelle Jr, S16 CB (395 TPE, 38th among CBs)
Chet Larson, S26 LB (354 TPE, 44th among LBs)
Dexter Jackson, S25 LB (329 TPE, 47th among LBs)
Maui Waialiki, S27 DE (326 TPE, 35th among DEs)
King Tutankhamun, S25 RB (212 TPE, 46th among RBs)
DSFL Players:
Preston Parker, S27 RB (286 TPE)
Massimo Rocco, S27 RB (86 TPE) (IA)
Lawrence Miller, S27 CB (302 TPE)
Caven McRae, S26 S (378 TPE)
Armando Galaragga, S27 KR (115 TPE) (IA)
It should also be mentioned that Baltimore also has Matthias Hanyadi on their roster, but I'm pretty sure that's a mistake as he already recreated and Baltimore has 2 RBs on its roster anyways. If he counts then he's got 606 TPE and is 16th among RBs. (Edit: I have been informed that he counts, but it's unlikely to matter much as this is still a team with a pretty low ceiling in a rebuild and he's retiring at the end of the season)
Whether they have Hanyadi or not, in general this is a young roster with a pretty bright future, especially if their S27 and S28 guys pan out, but this is at the cost of their present. They probably are not getting to the playoffs with Fujiwara at Quarterback, and this year will probably be especially dire. They don't have a single wide receiver in the top 20 TPE, and are going with a 3-4 alignment without a linebacker higher than 34th. Outside of having a great QB and a great TE, the closest thing to a top position group that they have is their Cornerbacks, who are 7th and 14th, and each have a couple seasons before regression. Speaking of regression, it's about to take its first bite out of Fujiwara and Lewandowski, but besides them and Dermot, nobody's entering regression immediately. Dermot also has a replacement already lined up in the DSFL with Lawrence Miller. They do have a fair few S22 players who they'll need to replace eventually. To sum it up, Baltimore's in a pretty heavy rebuild, and are currently working on that rebuild. Their S26 and S27 classes seem to be a good step in the right direction.
Berlin Fire Salamanders
ISFL Roster:
Nick Kaepercolin, S22 QB (1224 TPE, 4th among QBs)
Mario VonPebbles, S22 DE (1105 TPE, 4th among DEs)
Matt Krause, S22 CB (1066 TPE, 6th among CBs)
Clark Boyd, S22 TE (993 TPE, 4th among TEs)
Joseph Petrongolo, S23 RB (928 TPE, 9th among RBs)
Claude Miller II, S22 DT (876 TPE, 11th among DTs)
Adam Schell, S24 LB (835 TPE, 16th among LBs)
Achtfunf, S23 WR (827 TPE, 16th among WRs)
Hank Steel, S22 DT (810 TPE, 12th among DTs)
Byron Dolls, S22 OL (751 TPE, 10th among OLs)
Swantavious Jones, S25 CB (701 TPE, 19th among CBs)
Susan Cash Jr, S22 WR (687 TPE, 22nd among WRs) (IA)
Cmon Skiuuup, S25 WR (655 TPE, 27th among WRs)
Jeeeroy Lenkins, S25 CB (642 TPE, 30th among CBs)
Asher Quinn, S18 CB (636 TPE, 31st among CBs)
Taylor Cooper, S22 OL (576 TPE, 17th among OLs)
Ananda Adyan, S25 OL (546 TPE, 18th among OLs)
Danny King, S24 KR (543 TPE, 9th among Krs)
BamBam McMullet, S26 LB (536 TPE, 30th among LBs)
Hingle McCringleberry, S23 LB (533 TPE, 31st among LBs) (IA)
Benoit Blanco, S23 S (467 TPE, 31st among S) (IA)
Derek Wildstar, S26 S (463 TPE, 34th among S)
Terry Yaki, S25 RB (382 TPE, 29th among RBs)
DSFL Players:
Schumi Hulkenvettel, S26 WR (303 TPE)
Rocky Jackman, S26 WR (172 TPE)
Shane Benjamin, S27 TE (159 TPE) (IA)
Cheese Farley, S27 OL (251 TPE)
Marlon Brando, S27 DT (316 TPE)
Zane Cruz, S27 DE (69 TPE) (IA)
The Berlin Fire Salamanders are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in their history, and to do that they'll need a better start than last year's losing streak. Their biggest strength is probably at Defensive Tackle, where they have the 11th and 12th highest players, each over 800. Having the 6th and 19th best CBs as your top 2 isn't too bad either. Along with a top QB, this team has the potential to make the playoffs...if their safeties and linebackers don't drag them down. Their two safeties combine for exactly 930 TPE, which to give a comparison, would be the 9th best safety in the league with 2 more people within 10 TPE of them. Their Cornerbacks are only good, not great, and they're going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting. Speaking of good not great players doing heavy lifting, Adam Schell is a great player for Season 24, and a good linebacker in general, but he's going to have to drag a 2nd year player and the almost literal dead weight of Hingle McCringleberry along for the ride. If anything's going to get the Fire Salamanders to the playoffs, it's probably going to be their extremely balanced offense, with a top 5 QB and TE, a top 10 running back, and a pretty decent receiving core to finish things off. As for regression, I'm pretty sure Berlin is the team with the most season 22 players as key players in the league, don't quote me on that. The only player on their entire team facing regression in the upcoming season is Asher Quinn, although despite being the only one, he doesn't really have a successor upcoming. I don't think having a successor to your 4th CB is all that necessary though, Berlin's in great position to take advantage of their window coming up in these next 3 seasons. After that, the bottom could very much fall out.
Chicago Butchers
ISFL Roster:
George O'Donnell, S21 QB (1236 TPE, 3rd among QBs)
Osiris Firestorm Fjord, S21 CB (1156 TPE, 4th among CBs)
Tyler Oles Jr, S22 CB (1031 TPE, 8th among CBs)
Tyron Shields, S22 CB (1030 TPE, 9th among CBs)
John "Tripod" Smith, S21 DT (1030 TPE, 9th among DTs)
Von Hayes, S22 DE (986 TPE, 7th among DEs)
Baby Yoda, S21 RB (986 TPE, 6th among RBs)
Benson Bayley Jr, S22 OL (985 TPE, 3rd among OLs)
Daymond Brooks, S22 DT (978 TPE, 10th among DTs)
Tree Gelbman, S21 TE (973 TPE, 5th among TEs)
Juan Domine, S24 LB (905 TPE, 12th among LBs)
Luca Scabbia, S23 WR (905 TPE, 13th among WRs)
Julio Jones, S23 OL (900 TPE, 6th among OLs)
Sam Sidekick, S22 KR (885 TPE, 4th among KRs)
Hamish MacAndrew, S22 S (838 TPE, 14th among S)
Sean O'Leary, S19 WR (748 TPE, 20th among WRs)
Givussafare Rubbe, S18 OL (730 TPE, 11th among OLs)
Julio Tirtawidjaja, S22 RB (706 TPE, 14th among RBs) (IA)
Alejandro Chainbreaker, S24 LB (685 TPE, 23rd among LBs)
Icebox Riposte, S24 OL (650 TPE, 14th among OLs)
Damian Blackfyre, S25 S (644 TPE, 23rd among S)
Wasrabi Gleel, S25 LB (637 TPE, 27th among LBs)
Timmy Dimbi, S25 DT (499 TPE, 21st among DTs)
Oliver Sloan, S24 S (451 TPE, 35th among S)
Alexander Franklin, S26 OL (424 TPE, 27th among OLs)
Zed Keppler, S22 RB (416 TPE, 24th among RBs) (IA)
Mike Hockhurtz, S18 LB (409 TPE, 41st among LBs)
Perry Tucker Jr, S21 OL (322 TPE, 35th among OLs) (IA)
DSFL Players:
Madison Hayes, S27 RB (330 TPE)
Mike Hunt, S27 WR (273 TPE)
Devonte Crook, S27 LB (295 TPE) (Says IA on the budget sheet?)
James Gath, S25 CB (379 TPE)
HeHateMe PickSix II, S27 CB (368 TPE)
Evan Jones, S26 S (348 TPE)
Chicago's very much in win now mode, as some of their offseason moves made very clear. Among other things, they have one of, if not the single strongest Cornerback room in the league, a top 3 QB, and by far bar none the strongest Oline group in the league. Their 2 starting DTs are both top 10, and will be paired with another top 10 DE to make for an imposing Defensive Line. There are really only 3 problems I see with this roster, and two of them I'm not sure are that serious. Their Wide Receiver group of two top 20s and no 3rd option is only so-so, unless having no 3rd option is really damaging, in which case bump that up to extremely worrying. Their safety group is extremely weak unless they play a CB out of position, and if that's not really damaging then I have no complaints whatsoever on that front. This should be considered a championship roster with a massive time bomb attached to it: This is one of the oldest rosters in the league by a ways and is about to get hit with massive regression on a number of fronts. They have 8 important players from season 22, some of whom are pretty low on TPE and could suffer from a single season of regression. While players like Mike Hockhurtz and Perry Tucker Jr are in or about to be in regression and already have been replaced, I'm much more worried for Chicago when I look at the duo of Sean O'Leary and Rubbe, each multiple seasons in regression at this point. Next season the Chicago Oline could go from world beaters to merely average, and their Wide Receiver group could go from slightly below average to absolutely dreadful. Then there's the 4 Season 21 players they have: George and Osiris are each over 1100, and could easily survive a season or two of regression to still be top of the line players, but Gelbman and Yoda are both currently below 1000 and I know Yoda was inactive for a while before this month. At the point they're at, they're maybe a season of being a good player and one more of being serviceable after regression, and practically useless after 3. Running Back in particular seems like a position where the Butchers have one player in the DSFL pipeline to cover up 2 holes in Yoda and the inactive Tirtawidjaja, who is about one season of regression away from being in the TPE doldrums. They've got quite a bit of talent in the DSFL, 4 people who are a season or two away from being worthwhile in the league and maybe a 5th if that inactive guy isn't actually inactive, but they have many more holes than just those 5 that are about to appear.
Colorado Yeti
ISFL Roster:
Immanuel Blackstone, S21 DE (1396 TPE, 1st among DEs)
William Lim, S22 WR (1178 TPE, 2nd among WRs)
Richard Gilbert, S22 RB (1092 TPE, 5th among RBs)
Adelie de Pengu, S23 LB (1058 TPE, 6th among LBs)
Greedy Sly, S23 OL (1023 TPE, 2nd among OLs)
Leeroy Jenkins, S22 WR (936 TPE, 11th among WRs)
Matthias Caliban, S24 QB (929 TPE, 8th among QBs)
Mo "Mamba" Magic, S22 OL (883 TPE, 7th among OLs) (IA)
Melvin Murder Moose, S24 LB (860 TPE, 15th among LBs)
Joel Drake, S24 S (795 TPE, 15th among S)
Big Edd, S22 DT (724 TPE, 14th among DTs)
Randy Vuxta, S20 CB (724 TPE, 16th among CBs)
Albert Ruschmann, S25 CB (696 TPE, 21st among CBs)
Rusty Rucker, S25 LB (658 TPE, 25th among LBs)
Nationalsimulation Footballleague, S25 S (655 TPE, 22nd among S)
Silver Banana, S20 KR (607 TPE, 8th among KRs)
Dick Thruster, S23 OL (516 TPE, 19th among OLs)
Raphael Delacour, S26 WR (493 TPE, 37th among WRs)
Anders Christiansen, S25 RB (412 TPE, 27th among RBs)
Arlington Heights, S24 DE (403 TPE, 29th among DEs)
Tycker Om, S23 DE (397 TPE, 30th among DEs) (IA)
Redbeard McFredbeard, S26 CB (367 TPE, 42nd among CBs)
Frank Mitchell, S24 TE (335 TPE, 18th among TEs)
DSFL Players:
Drip Dad, S27 RB (249 TPE)
Benjamin Ankers, S27 LB (159 TPE)
Sparky Sparky Boom Man, S27 S (319 TPE)
Colorado's in a bit of a state of flux. They could be very strong in a couple seasons, but right now they're still in a bit of a recovery period from their almost dynasty. They have some incredibly strong players, including one of the best top 2 wide receivers on a team in the league, the highest TPE defensive player, two top 10 Olinemen, and a top 5 Running Back. So what exactly gives? A quarterback that's still a season or two away from the peak of his powers, and depth problems at a number of positions where depth actually matters. The biggest problem I see is that they have an awful secondary, with no player in it above 800 TPE, and if they have to trot out a 5 CB package they'll be playing a CB with less TPE than a season 27 CB still in the DSFL. I think they're running a 4-3, as they only have 3 linebackers on the roster, but that means their defensive line will be extremely hot and cold, with the best defensive player in the league by TPE in Blackstone on one end, followed up by a mediocre DT in Big Edd, followed up by 2 DEs who combine for less TPE than he has even if they could clone themselves a third member. Also, I'm guessing having that bad of a Tight End is going to be an issue in the sim, but less so than having terrible defensive position groups outside of linebackers. Regression is not going to be all that kind for this team in the near future. Silver Banana still exists and will steadily get worse, but he's a kicker so that might not matter all that much. More pressing is a cornerback coming up on his second season of regression, which will keep the position group pretty poor until seasons 25 and 26 get closer to their peak. Regression is about to smack Blackstone, and while he's got more than enough TPE to survive 2 seasons under it as an elite player, the defensive end group might need more than 3 seasons to completely rebuild. Looking into the future when Season 22 begins to regress, Lim and Gilbert are each in the same situation as Blackstone where they can still be elite even after 2 seasons of regression, and Leeroy Jenkins will almost certainly still be elite after 1, but Mamba Magic is inactive and Big Edd has too little TPE to be even near elite after their first bout with regression. In terms of what's coming up the pipeline for them, they have a possible stud safety in Sparky Sparky Boom Man, and a possible replacement for Anders Christiansen if he continues earning poorly in Drip Dad. If not, then he can take over for Gilbert when he regresses too much or retires.
Philidelphia Liberty
ISFL Roster:
Matt "Son of Havoc" Cross, S22 S (1115 TPE, 4th among S)
Darrel Williams, S20 RB (1106 TPE, 4th among RBs)
Flash Panda, S21 WR (1015 TPE, 9th among WRs)
Brock Phoenix, S19 QB (860 TPE, 11th among QBs)
Simon Tremblay, S21 OL (812 TPE, 8th among OLs)
Tex Wrecks, S25 DE (699 TPE, 15th among DEs)
Doy Fieri, S25 CB (685 TPE, 26th among CBs)
Gary Goodman, S25 LB (683 TPE, 24th among LBs)
Dave Batista, S25 TE (664 TPE, 10th among TEs) (Retiring at the end of the season)
Jimi DeSoto, S25 LB (642 TPE, 26th among LBs)
Honky Tonk Haywood, S25 DT (637 TPE, 19th among DTs)
Killian Chambers, S25 WR (616 TPE, 28th among WRs)
Jake Fencick, S25 KR (611 TPE, 7th among KRs)
Jeremiah Zelos, S24 S (527 TPE, 29th among S)
Fuzzy Dotson, S18 RB (511 TPE, 22nd among RBs)
Atlas Quin, S21 CB (484 TPE, 36th among CBs) (IA)
Thomas Rose, S24 LB (479 TPE, 33rd among LBs)
James Hoffman, S25 CB (404 TPE, 37th among CBs)
Sam Roes, S25 DE (390 TPE, 32nd among DEs) (IA)
Inspectah Deck, S20 LB (352 TPE, 46th among LBs)
Macaroni "Mac" Elephant, S24 OL (319 TPE, 35th among OLs) (IA)
Sam Torensen, S16 RB (309 TPE, 36th among RBs)
Laxus Dreyar, S26 DE (286 TPE, 38th among DEs)
Brent Silva, S25 DT (50 TPE, literally not worth going how many people are better than him at the position) Edit: Silva actually has 261 TPE, so he's better than nothing. He's currently the 29th highest TPE DT with 261, but is also inactive, so he's still not worth all that much.
DSFL Players:
Ryan Negs, S26 QB (454 TPE)
Exo Cortal, S27 QB (82 TPE) (IA)
Xander Creed, S27 RB (348 TPE)
Tsuyu Asui, S27 WR (343 TPE)
Borgo San Lorenzo, S27 TE (335 TPE)
Philadelphia is one of 3 or 4 teams in a pretty deep rebuild with good news over the horizon. As far as right now goes, I struggle to find a strength for them. I guess in the new sim, RBBC isn't as necessary and so Darrel Williams will work despite the other 2 running backs on the roster combining for less TPE than he has? The strength of this team is in its youth, with good players in the DSFL and a number of good to great players from Season 25 on their roster already. Regression might actually make next season's team even worse than this one is, Brock is already in regression and probably has at most 2 more seasons including this one until he's replaced by Negs if he continues to earn, Darrel Williams is going to hit second regression after this season and will be below 1000 TPE probably for the rest of his career after that point, Flash Panda will no longer be elite in terms of TPE, Tremblay will take a massive hit, and finally Dotson will go from an OK RB2 at this point to a dead weight. This team's almost certainly not contending for 2 or 3 seasons at this point, but they might have their QB of the future and their Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End of the future as well all stashed away in the DSFL.
Sarasota Sailfish
ISFL Roster:
Raphtalia Chan, S21 RB (1430 TPE, 1st among RBs)
Michael Witheblock, S22 WR (1219 TPE, 1st among WRs)
Cuco Clemente, S22 S (1182 TPE, 3rd among S)
James Angler, S22 TE (1176 TPE, 2nd among TEs)
Derred De Ville, S22 LB (1115 TPE, 3rd among LBs)
Haha Mango Panda, S22 LB (1103 TPE, 4th among LBs)
Jamie Nkiah, S20 S (1059 TPE, 5th among S)
Fawn Dilmiballs, S22 DT (1056 TPE, 8th among DTs)
Son Goku, S23 DE (1000 TPE, 6th among DEs)
Jacob Small, S22 KR (887 TPE, 3rd among KRs)
Harrison Andrews, S24 CB (875 TPE, 12th among CBs)
Mike Boss Jr, S24 QB (846 TPE, 12th among QBs)
Tre'Darious J'Vathon, S24 WR (775 TPE, 19th among WRs)
Peter Patterson, S25 CB (702 TPE, 19th among CBs)
Teddy Utterstruzen, S25 S (575 TPE, 27th among S)
Ernest Lover, S26 DE (549 TPE, 19th among DEs)
Jacoby Clay, S20 WR (481 TPE, 38th among WRs) (IA) (Appears to have not undergone regression yet?)
Demon Jaxon, S26 DE (477 TPE, 26th among DEs)
Running Back, S23 RB (415 TPE, 26th among RBs) (IA)
Thad Pennington Jr, S24 OL (357 TPE, 31st among OL)
Sigismund Sternenstaub, S24 RB (342 TPE, 31st among RBs) (IA)
Cleg Manclaw, S25 TE (334 TPE, 20th among TEs) (IA)
Clay Stallworth, S25 OL (333 TPE, 33rd among OL, enough 3s) (IA)
DSFL Players:
Lebron James III, S26 QB (471 TPE)
Big Chungus, S26 RB (193 TPE)
Giovanni Bianchi, S27 RB (248 TPE)
Quavious McGrady, S26 WR (255 TPE)
Joseph Radetz, S27 WR (293 TPE)
Owmy Back, S26 TE (103 TPE)
Vilhjalmur Kuebler, S27 TE (73 TPE)
Boo Tee, S27 LB (109 TPE) (IA)
Elijah Torres, S25 CB (211 TPE)
This roster's going to give me so much to talk about. Let's start with the positives, of which there are many. This is an ultimus contending roster, right here, and it can even be that way for a couple of seasons. Although there is no committee for this to even possibly be a running back by committee, Raphtalia Chan is the top running back in the league, Witheblock is the top Wide Receiver, they have 2 top 5 linebackers, 2 top 5 safeties, and 2 guys on the line who are top 10. They really only have 2 problems that I can see. First off, their Quarterback is 3rd from the bottom in terms of TPE and could be an issue for their title contention. That's really the only problem that I can see with their current roster's contention. The other problem is that I think this group of Season 21 and 22 players are going to be their entire title window for a while, outside of maybe pulling off a heist in trades or free agency. They do have the tools to try that, Lebron James could be very helpful for a team such as Chicago with a QB on the verge of regression and no QB in the DSFL, but by the time season 22 players are past their peak in approximately 3-4 seasons, this team's core is going to be shattered. Raphtalia Chan is probably going to set a record for TPE, and that might keep her elite for 3 seasons after regression instead of the usual 2, but 7 of this team's 9 players over 1000 TPE at the time of writing are going to be leaving elite status at the same time as her, leaving only Son Goku of this current crop, and Jamie Nkiah is already a season into regression and probably has 2 more seasons as a key player. There isn't much good youth on this team, in terms of top tier players below S24, they have only 6 that I can spy, 3 of which are still in the DSFL. They're not going to complain if this 3 to 4 season window gets them an ultimus or 2, though. As for replacements up the pipeline, those are much more scarce. Giovanni Bianchi appears to finally be a hit from the Sailfish's attempts to draft someone to replace Running Back after 2 previous attempts went inactive, Radetz and possibly McGrady could replace Clay (who really needs it) and Witheblock (eventually), but besides that their only DSFL player who's capped is a QB who they do not need in the slightest with Mike Boss still 4 seasons away from regression at this point. They most notably don't have anyone positioned to be a heir to their veteran defensive players, and although they have the time to do so, it's going to take a pretty hefty amount of work to try and keep the Sailfish's window open past the Sell By date of Season 22.
Yellowknife Wraiths
ISFL Roster:
Douglas Quaid, S21 LB (1387 TPE, 1st among LBs)
Colby Jack, S22 QB (1252 TPE, 2nd among QBs)
Patrik Money, S22 DT (1181 TPE, 6th among DTs)
Bruce Buckley, S22 OL (1088 TPE, 1st among OLs)
Kai Sakura, S23 WR (1056 TPE, 4th among WRs)
Johnny Hellzapoppin, S22 S (1013 TPE, 6th among S)
Acura Skyline, S22 RB (949 TPE, 8th among RBs) (IA)
James Cho, S22 DE (940 TPE, 8th among DEs) (IA)
Zee Rechs, S22 TE (932 TPE, 6th among TEs)
Magnus Valdyr, S22 S (889 TPE, 12th among S)
Mervin Leonard, S17 CB (782 TPE, 15th among CBs)
Dan Foster, S25 CB (696 TPE, 22nd among CBs)
Djibutee McJimmerson, S25 CB (690 TPE, 24th among CBs)
Mark Walker, S25 WR (666 TPE, 25th among WRs)
Blago Kokot, S24 KR (628 TPE, 6th among KRs)
Jameson Vermillion, S25 RB (598 TPE, 17th among RBs)
Dre Matthews, S23 WR (588 TPE, 34th among WRs) (IA)
Leonard Taylor, S26 DE (507 TPE, 22nd among DEs)
Maurice Virtanen, S18 OL (504 TPE, 20th among OLs)
Big Slammu, S26 LB (469 TPE, 35th among LBs)
Mack Arianlacher, S19 LB (432 TPE, 38th among LBs) (IA)
Douglas Quail, S21 OL (405 TPE, 28th among OLs) (IA)
Arthur Naught, S26 WR (373 TPE, 42nd among WRs) (IA)
Nero Alexander, S15 DT (295 TPE, 27th among DTs)
DSFL Players:
Donald McBobby, S25 LB (417 TPE)
Kita Chiasa, S27 CB (264 TPE)
Tre Washington, S27 S (147 TPE)
The returning Ultimus champions bring a very mixed bag to the table. On one hand, a top tier QB, people with over 1000 TPE in the secondary, the linebacking core, on the offensive and defensive line, and a top class wideout. On the other hand, their running back who was poised to break out in a big way never lived up to his potential and will almost certainly fall out of the top 10 by the end of the season, and their young running back had to step away for some time and thus might also not reach his full potential, they have 3 good but not great cornerbacks, and they're going to have to start multiple people below 500 TPE at Linebacker, along with a guy who probably only didn't retire because they didn't have anyone to replace him in Nero Alexander. This isn't the worst roster I looked at today, but it's far from the best. Regression is also about to hit this team like a ton of bricks. With only 3 players currently in the DSFL, two of which are slow earning, they don't have much to fill in the gaps. Quaid has more than enough TPE to survive 2 seasons of regression, but Arianlacher is coming up on his second season of it and arguably didn't have enough TPE to survive the first season. Leonard is deep in regression but already has his replacements lining up beside him right now, and Chiasa is coming up the pipeline as well. My guess about what will hurt the most, besides Alexander needing to be replaced basically next season, is that 2 of the 3 olinemen on this team are about to regress into oblivion. This team probably has two more seasons contending in this current window, and then it needs to start finding youth in a hurry. The Wraiths pair of season 25 cornerbacks, its season 25 wide receiver, and its season 26 Defensive End are good starts but it's going to need more.
I will go over the ASFC later in the week, but so far I'd say that the Sailfish and the Butchers should be considered Ultimus contenders and powerhouses, with the Butchers having a much shorter window and the Sailfish possibly having their window close harder, the Wraiths, Yeti, and Fire Salamanders are all playoff contenders with weaknesses specifically on defense. The Hawks and the Liberty are both in a rebuild, and have large holes on both sides of the ball. Will any team be better than the Sailfish or Butchers? Probably not. Will any team be worse than the Hawks or Liberty? Maybe.
(4684 words)
BALTIMORE HAWKS ISFL Roster:
Chika Fujiwara, S21 QB (1297 TPE, 1st among QBs)
James Lewandowski S21 TE (1091 TPE, 3rd among TEs)
Eldrick Avery, S22 CB (1048 TPE, 7th among CBs) (IA)
Mai Fukushu, S24 RB (824 TPE, 11th among RBs)
Ben Stackinpaper, S22 CB (783 TPE, 14th among CBs)
Joshua Campbell, S24 WR (737 TPE, 21st among WRs)
Mike Karpaasi, S23 DE(712 TPE, 13th among DEs)
IHeart Syracuse, S23 S (658 TPE, 21st among S)
Tony Yeboah, S25 S (619 TPE, 26th among S)
Korbin Brown, S24 WR (597 TPE, 31st among WRs) (IA)
Felix Archstone, S25 OL (587 TPE, 16th among OLs)
Nuniq Annastesia, S22 DT (547 TPE, 20th among DTs) (IA)
Etrigan T. Slayer, S25 DE (535 TPE, 20th among DEs)
A. J. Lucas, S26 LB (478 TPE, 34th among LBs)
Mario Messi, S26 WR (474 TPE, 40th among WRs)
Spike Suzuki, S22 LB (454 TPE, 36th among LBs)
Datsum Phastbawls, S23 KR (421 TPE, 10th among KRs) (IA)
Dermot Lavelle Jr, S16 CB (395 TPE, 38th among CBs)
Chet Larson, S26 LB (354 TPE, 44th among LBs)
Dexter Jackson, S25 LB (329 TPE, 47th among LBs)
Maui Waialiki, S27 DE (326 TPE, 35th among DEs)
King Tutankhamun, S25 RB (212 TPE, 46th among RBs)
DSFL Players:
Preston Parker, S27 RB (286 TPE)
Massimo Rocco, S27 RB (86 TPE) (IA)
Lawrence Miller, S27 CB (302 TPE)
Caven McRae, S26 S (378 TPE)
Armando Galaragga, S27 KR (115 TPE) (IA)
It should also be mentioned that Baltimore also has Matthias Hanyadi on their roster, but I'm pretty sure that's a mistake as he already recreated and Baltimore has 2 RBs on its roster anyways. If he counts then he's got 606 TPE and is 16th among RBs. (Edit: I have been informed that he counts, but it's unlikely to matter much as this is still a team with a pretty low ceiling in a rebuild and he's retiring at the end of the season)
Whether they have Hanyadi or not, in general this is a young roster with a pretty bright future, especially if their S27 and S28 guys pan out, but this is at the cost of their present. They probably are not getting to the playoffs with Fujiwara at Quarterback, and this year will probably be especially dire. They don't have a single wide receiver in the top 20 TPE, and are going with a 3-4 alignment without a linebacker higher than 34th. Outside of having a great QB and a great TE, the closest thing to a top position group that they have is their Cornerbacks, who are 7th and 14th, and each have a couple seasons before regression. Speaking of regression, it's about to take its first bite out of Fujiwara and Lewandowski, but besides them and Dermot, nobody's entering regression immediately. Dermot also has a replacement already lined up in the DSFL with Lawrence Miller. They do have a fair few S22 players who they'll need to replace eventually. To sum it up, Baltimore's in a pretty heavy rebuild, and are currently working on that rebuild. Their S26 and S27 classes seem to be a good step in the right direction.
Berlin Fire Salamanders ISFL Roster:
Nick Kaepercolin, S22 QB (1224 TPE, 4th among QBs)
Mario VonPebbles, S22 DE (1105 TPE, 4th among DEs)
Matt Krause, S22 CB (1066 TPE, 6th among CBs)
Clark Boyd, S22 TE (993 TPE, 4th among TEs)
Joseph Petrongolo, S23 RB (928 TPE, 9th among RBs)
Claude Miller II, S22 DT (876 TPE, 11th among DTs)
Adam Schell, S24 LB (835 TPE, 16th among LBs)
Achtfunf, S23 WR (827 TPE, 16th among WRs)
Hank Steel, S22 DT (810 TPE, 12th among DTs)
Byron Dolls, S22 OL (751 TPE, 10th among OLs)
Swantavious Jones, S25 CB (701 TPE, 19th among CBs)
Susan Cash Jr, S22 WR (687 TPE, 22nd among WRs) (IA)
Cmon Skiuuup, S25 WR (655 TPE, 27th among WRs)
Jeeeroy Lenkins, S25 CB (642 TPE, 30th among CBs)
Asher Quinn, S18 CB (636 TPE, 31st among CBs)
Taylor Cooper, S22 OL (576 TPE, 17th among OLs)
Ananda Adyan, S25 OL (546 TPE, 18th among OLs)
Danny King, S24 KR (543 TPE, 9th among Krs)
BamBam McMullet, S26 LB (536 TPE, 30th among LBs)
Hingle McCringleberry, S23 LB (533 TPE, 31st among LBs) (IA)
Benoit Blanco, S23 S (467 TPE, 31st among S) (IA)
Derek Wildstar, S26 S (463 TPE, 34th among S)
Terry Yaki, S25 RB (382 TPE, 29th among RBs)
DSFL Players:
Schumi Hulkenvettel, S26 WR (303 TPE)
Rocky Jackman, S26 WR (172 TPE)
Shane Benjamin, S27 TE (159 TPE) (IA)
Cheese Farley, S27 OL (251 TPE)
Marlon Brando, S27 DT (316 TPE)
Zane Cruz, S27 DE (69 TPE) (IA)
The Berlin Fire Salamanders are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in their history, and to do that they'll need a better start than last year's losing streak. Their biggest strength is probably at Defensive Tackle, where they have the 11th and 12th highest players, each over 800. Having the 6th and 19th best CBs as your top 2 isn't too bad either. Along with a top QB, this team has the potential to make the playoffs...if their safeties and linebackers don't drag them down. Their two safeties combine for exactly 930 TPE, which to give a comparison, would be the 9th best safety in the league with 2 more people within 10 TPE of them. Their Cornerbacks are only good, not great, and they're going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting. Speaking of good not great players doing heavy lifting, Adam Schell is a great player for Season 24, and a good linebacker in general, but he's going to have to drag a 2nd year player and the almost literal dead weight of Hingle McCringleberry along for the ride. If anything's going to get the Fire Salamanders to the playoffs, it's probably going to be their extremely balanced offense, with a top 5 QB and TE, a top 10 running back, and a pretty decent receiving core to finish things off. As for regression, I'm pretty sure Berlin is the team with the most season 22 players as key players in the league, don't quote me on that. The only player on their entire team facing regression in the upcoming season is Asher Quinn, although despite being the only one, he doesn't really have a successor upcoming. I don't think having a successor to your 4th CB is all that necessary though, Berlin's in great position to take advantage of their window coming up in these next 3 seasons. After that, the bottom could very much fall out.
Chicago Butchers ISFL Roster:
George O'Donnell, S21 QB (1236 TPE, 3rd among QBs)
Osiris Firestorm Fjord, S21 CB (1156 TPE, 4th among CBs)
Tyler Oles Jr, S22 CB (1031 TPE, 8th among CBs)
Tyron Shields, S22 CB (1030 TPE, 9th among CBs)
John "Tripod" Smith, S21 DT (1030 TPE, 9th among DTs)
Von Hayes, S22 DE (986 TPE, 7th among DEs)
Baby Yoda, S21 RB (986 TPE, 6th among RBs)
Benson Bayley Jr, S22 OL (985 TPE, 3rd among OLs)
Daymond Brooks, S22 DT (978 TPE, 10th among DTs)
Tree Gelbman, S21 TE (973 TPE, 5th among TEs)
Juan Domine, S24 LB (905 TPE, 12th among LBs)
Luca Scabbia, S23 WR (905 TPE, 13th among WRs)
Julio Jones, S23 OL (900 TPE, 6th among OLs)
Sam Sidekick, S22 KR (885 TPE, 4th among KRs)
Hamish MacAndrew, S22 S (838 TPE, 14th among S)
Sean O'Leary, S19 WR (748 TPE, 20th among WRs)
Givussafare Rubbe, S18 OL (730 TPE, 11th among OLs)
Julio Tirtawidjaja, S22 RB (706 TPE, 14th among RBs) (IA)
Alejandro Chainbreaker, S24 LB (685 TPE, 23rd among LBs)
Icebox Riposte, S24 OL (650 TPE, 14th among OLs)
Damian Blackfyre, S25 S (644 TPE, 23rd among S)
Wasrabi Gleel, S25 LB (637 TPE, 27th among LBs)
Timmy Dimbi, S25 DT (499 TPE, 21st among DTs)
Oliver Sloan, S24 S (451 TPE, 35th among S)
Alexander Franklin, S26 OL (424 TPE, 27th among OLs)
Zed Keppler, S22 RB (416 TPE, 24th among RBs) (IA)
Mike Hockhurtz, S18 LB (409 TPE, 41st among LBs)
Perry Tucker Jr, S21 OL (322 TPE, 35th among OLs) (IA)
DSFL Players:
Madison Hayes, S27 RB (330 TPE)
Mike Hunt, S27 WR (273 TPE)
Devonte Crook, S27 LB (295 TPE) (Says IA on the budget sheet?)
James Gath, S25 CB (379 TPE)
HeHateMe PickSix II, S27 CB (368 TPE)
Evan Jones, S26 S (348 TPE)
Chicago's very much in win now mode, as some of their offseason moves made very clear. Among other things, they have one of, if not the single strongest Cornerback room in the league, a top 3 QB, and by far bar none the strongest Oline group in the league. Their 2 starting DTs are both top 10, and will be paired with another top 10 DE to make for an imposing Defensive Line. There are really only 3 problems I see with this roster, and two of them I'm not sure are that serious. Their Wide Receiver group of two top 20s and no 3rd option is only so-so, unless having no 3rd option is really damaging, in which case bump that up to extremely worrying. Their safety group is extremely weak unless they play a CB out of position, and if that's not really damaging then I have no complaints whatsoever on that front. This should be considered a championship roster with a massive time bomb attached to it: This is one of the oldest rosters in the league by a ways and is about to get hit with massive regression on a number of fronts. They have 8 important players from season 22, some of whom are pretty low on TPE and could suffer from a single season of regression. While players like Mike Hockhurtz and Perry Tucker Jr are in or about to be in regression and already have been replaced, I'm much more worried for Chicago when I look at the duo of Sean O'Leary and Rubbe, each multiple seasons in regression at this point. Next season the Chicago Oline could go from world beaters to merely average, and their Wide Receiver group could go from slightly below average to absolutely dreadful. Then there's the 4 Season 21 players they have: George and Osiris are each over 1100, and could easily survive a season or two of regression to still be top of the line players, but Gelbman and Yoda are both currently below 1000 and I know Yoda was inactive for a while before this month. At the point they're at, they're maybe a season of being a good player and one more of being serviceable after regression, and practically useless after 3. Running Back in particular seems like a position where the Butchers have one player in the DSFL pipeline to cover up 2 holes in Yoda and the inactive Tirtawidjaja, who is about one season of regression away from being in the TPE doldrums. They've got quite a bit of talent in the DSFL, 4 people who are a season or two away from being worthwhile in the league and maybe a 5th if that inactive guy isn't actually inactive, but they have many more holes than just those 5 that are about to appear.
Colorado Yeti ISFL Roster:
Immanuel Blackstone, S21 DE (1396 TPE, 1st among DEs)
William Lim, S22 WR (1178 TPE, 2nd among WRs)
Richard Gilbert, S22 RB (1092 TPE, 5th among RBs)
Adelie de Pengu, S23 LB (1058 TPE, 6th among LBs)
Greedy Sly, S23 OL (1023 TPE, 2nd among OLs)
Leeroy Jenkins, S22 WR (936 TPE, 11th among WRs)
Matthias Caliban, S24 QB (929 TPE, 8th among QBs)
Mo "Mamba" Magic, S22 OL (883 TPE, 7th among OLs) (IA)
Melvin Murder Moose, S24 LB (860 TPE, 15th among LBs)
Joel Drake, S24 S (795 TPE, 15th among S)
Big Edd, S22 DT (724 TPE, 14th among DTs)
Randy Vuxta, S20 CB (724 TPE, 16th among CBs)
Albert Ruschmann, S25 CB (696 TPE, 21st among CBs)
Rusty Rucker, S25 LB (658 TPE, 25th among LBs)
Nationalsimulation Footballleague, S25 S (655 TPE, 22nd among S)
Silver Banana, S20 KR (607 TPE, 8th among KRs)
Dick Thruster, S23 OL (516 TPE, 19th among OLs)
Raphael Delacour, S26 WR (493 TPE, 37th among WRs)
Anders Christiansen, S25 RB (412 TPE, 27th among RBs)
Arlington Heights, S24 DE (403 TPE, 29th among DEs)
Tycker Om, S23 DE (397 TPE, 30th among DEs) (IA)
Redbeard McFredbeard, S26 CB (367 TPE, 42nd among CBs)
Frank Mitchell, S24 TE (335 TPE, 18th among TEs)
DSFL Players:
Drip Dad, S27 RB (249 TPE)
Benjamin Ankers, S27 LB (159 TPE)
Sparky Sparky Boom Man, S27 S (319 TPE)
Colorado's in a bit of a state of flux. They could be very strong in a couple seasons, but right now they're still in a bit of a recovery period from their almost dynasty. They have some incredibly strong players, including one of the best top 2 wide receivers on a team in the league, the highest TPE defensive player, two top 10 Olinemen, and a top 5 Running Back. So what exactly gives? A quarterback that's still a season or two away from the peak of his powers, and depth problems at a number of positions where depth actually matters. The biggest problem I see is that they have an awful secondary, with no player in it above 800 TPE, and if they have to trot out a 5 CB package they'll be playing a CB with less TPE than a season 27 CB still in the DSFL. I think they're running a 4-3, as they only have 3 linebackers on the roster, but that means their defensive line will be extremely hot and cold, with the best defensive player in the league by TPE in Blackstone on one end, followed up by a mediocre DT in Big Edd, followed up by 2 DEs who combine for less TPE than he has even if they could clone themselves a third member. Also, I'm guessing having that bad of a Tight End is going to be an issue in the sim, but less so than having terrible defensive position groups outside of linebackers. Regression is not going to be all that kind for this team in the near future. Silver Banana still exists and will steadily get worse, but he's a kicker so that might not matter all that much. More pressing is a cornerback coming up on his second season of regression, which will keep the position group pretty poor until seasons 25 and 26 get closer to their peak. Regression is about to smack Blackstone, and while he's got more than enough TPE to survive 2 seasons under it as an elite player, the defensive end group might need more than 3 seasons to completely rebuild. Looking into the future when Season 22 begins to regress, Lim and Gilbert are each in the same situation as Blackstone where they can still be elite even after 2 seasons of regression, and Leeroy Jenkins will almost certainly still be elite after 1, but Mamba Magic is inactive and Big Edd has too little TPE to be even near elite after their first bout with regression. In terms of what's coming up the pipeline for them, they have a possible stud safety in Sparky Sparky Boom Man, and a possible replacement for Anders Christiansen if he continues earning poorly in Drip Dad. If not, then he can take over for Gilbert when he regresses too much or retires.
Philidelphia Liberty ISFL Roster:
Matt "Son of Havoc" Cross, S22 S (1115 TPE, 4th among S)
Darrel Williams, S20 RB (1106 TPE, 4th among RBs)
Flash Panda, S21 WR (1015 TPE, 9th among WRs)
Brock Phoenix, S19 QB (860 TPE, 11th among QBs)
Simon Tremblay, S21 OL (812 TPE, 8th among OLs)
Tex Wrecks, S25 DE (699 TPE, 15th among DEs)
Doy Fieri, S25 CB (685 TPE, 26th among CBs)
Gary Goodman, S25 LB (683 TPE, 24th among LBs)
Dave Batista, S25 TE (664 TPE, 10th among TEs) (Retiring at the end of the season)
Jimi DeSoto, S25 LB (642 TPE, 26th among LBs)
Honky Tonk Haywood, S25 DT (637 TPE, 19th among DTs)
Killian Chambers, S25 WR (616 TPE, 28th among WRs)
Jake Fencick, S25 KR (611 TPE, 7th among KRs)
Jeremiah Zelos, S24 S (527 TPE, 29th among S)
Fuzzy Dotson, S18 RB (511 TPE, 22nd among RBs)
Atlas Quin, S21 CB (484 TPE, 36th among CBs) (IA)
Thomas Rose, S24 LB (479 TPE, 33rd among LBs)
James Hoffman, S25 CB (404 TPE, 37th among CBs)
Sam Roes, S25 DE (390 TPE, 32nd among DEs) (IA)
Inspectah Deck, S20 LB (352 TPE, 46th among LBs)
Macaroni "Mac" Elephant, S24 OL (319 TPE, 35th among OLs) (IA)
Sam Torensen, S16 RB (309 TPE, 36th among RBs)
Laxus Dreyar, S26 DE (286 TPE, 38th among DEs)
Brent Silva, S25 DT (50 TPE, literally not worth going how many people are better than him at the position) Edit: Silva actually has 261 TPE, so he's better than nothing. He's currently the 29th highest TPE DT with 261, but is also inactive, so he's still not worth all that much.
DSFL Players:
Ryan Negs, S26 QB (454 TPE)
Exo Cortal, S27 QB (82 TPE) (IA)
Xander Creed, S27 RB (348 TPE)
Tsuyu Asui, S27 WR (343 TPE)
Borgo San Lorenzo, S27 TE (335 TPE)
Philadelphia is one of 3 or 4 teams in a pretty deep rebuild with good news over the horizon. As far as right now goes, I struggle to find a strength for them. I guess in the new sim, RBBC isn't as necessary and so Darrel Williams will work despite the other 2 running backs on the roster combining for less TPE than he has? The strength of this team is in its youth, with good players in the DSFL and a number of good to great players from Season 25 on their roster already. Regression might actually make next season's team even worse than this one is, Brock is already in regression and probably has at most 2 more seasons including this one until he's replaced by Negs if he continues to earn, Darrel Williams is going to hit second regression after this season and will be below 1000 TPE probably for the rest of his career after that point, Flash Panda will no longer be elite in terms of TPE, Tremblay will take a massive hit, and finally Dotson will go from an OK RB2 at this point to a dead weight. This team's almost certainly not contending for 2 or 3 seasons at this point, but they might have their QB of the future and their Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End of the future as well all stashed away in the DSFL.
Sarasota Sailfish ISFL Roster:
Raphtalia Chan, S21 RB (1430 TPE, 1st among RBs)
Michael Witheblock, S22 WR (1219 TPE, 1st among WRs)
Cuco Clemente, S22 S (1182 TPE, 3rd among S)
James Angler, S22 TE (1176 TPE, 2nd among TEs)
Derred De Ville, S22 LB (1115 TPE, 3rd among LBs)
Haha Mango Panda, S22 LB (1103 TPE, 4th among LBs)
Jamie Nkiah, S20 S (1059 TPE, 5th among S)
Fawn Dilmiballs, S22 DT (1056 TPE, 8th among DTs)
Son Goku, S23 DE (1000 TPE, 6th among DEs)
Jacob Small, S22 KR (887 TPE, 3rd among KRs)
Harrison Andrews, S24 CB (875 TPE, 12th among CBs)
Mike Boss Jr, S24 QB (846 TPE, 12th among QBs)
Tre'Darious J'Vathon, S24 WR (775 TPE, 19th among WRs)
Peter Patterson, S25 CB (702 TPE, 19th among CBs)
Teddy Utterstruzen, S25 S (575 TPE, 27th among S)
Ernest Lover, S26 DE (549 TPE, 19th among DEs)
Jacoby Clay, S20 WR (481 TPE, 38th among WRs) (IA) (Appears to have not undergone regression yet?)
Demon Jaxon, S26 DE (477 TPE, 26th among DEs)
Running Back, S23 RB (415 TPE, 26th among RBs) (IA)
Thad Pennington Jr, S24 OL (357 TPE, 31st among OL)
Sigismund Sternenstaub, S24 RB (342 TPE, 31st among RBs) (IA)
Cleg Manclaw, S25 TE (334 TPE, 20th among TEs) (IA)
Clay Stallworth, S25 OL (333 TPE, 33rd among OL, enough 3s) (IA)
DSFL Players:
Lebron James III, S26 QB (471 TPE)
Big Chungus, S26 RB (193 TPE)
Giovanni Bianchi, S27 RB (248 TPE)
Quavious McGrady, S26 WR (255 TPE)
Joseph Radetz, S27 WR (293 TPE)
Owmy Back, S26 TE (103 TPE)
Vilhjalmur Kuebler, S27 TE (73 TPE)
Boo Tee, S27 LB (109 TPE) (IA)
Elijah Torres, S25 CB (211 TPE)
This roster's going to give me so much to talk about. Let's start with the positives, of which there are many. This is an ultimus contending roster, right here, and it can even be that way for a couple of seasons. Although there is no committee for this to even possibly be a running back by committee, Raphtalia Chan is the top running back in the league, Witheblock is the top Wide Receiver, they have 2 top 5 linebackers, 2 top 5 safeties, and 2 guys on the line who are top 10. They really only have 2 problems that I can see. First off, their Quarterback is 3rd from the bottom in terms of TPE and could be an issue for their title contention. That's really the only problem that I can see with their current roster's contention. The other problem is that I think this group of Season 21 and 22 players are going to be their entire title window for a while, outside of maybe pulling off a heist in trades or free agency. They do have the tools to try that, Lebron James could be very helpful for a team such as Chicago with a QB on the verge of regression and no QB in the DSFL, but by the time season 22 players are past their peak in approximately 3-4 seasons, this team's core is going to be shattered. Raphtalia Chan is probably going to set a record for TPE, and that might keep her elite for 3 seasons after regression instead of the usual 2, but 7 of this team's 9 players over 1000 TPE at the time of writing are going to be leaving elite status at the same time as her, leaving only Son Goku of this current crop, and Jamie Nkiah is already a season into regression and probably has 2 more seasons as a key player. There isn't much good youth on this team, in terms of top tier players below S24, they have only 6 that I can spy, 3 of which are still in the DSFL. They're not going to complain if this 3 to 4 season window gets them an ultimus or 2, though. As for replacements up the pipeline, those are much more scarce. Giovanni Bianchi appears to finally be a hit from the Sailfish's attempts to draft someone to replace Running Back after 2 previous attempts went inactive, Radetz and possibly McGrady could replace Clay (who really needs it) and Witheblock (eventually), but besides that their only DSFL player who's capped is a QB who they do not need in the slightest with Mike Boss still 4 seasons away from regression at this point. They most notably don't have anyone positioned to be a heir to their veteran defensive players, and although they have the time to do so, it's going to take a pretty hefty amount of work to try and keep the Sailfish's window open past the Sell By date of Season 22.
Yellowknife Wraiths ISFL Roster:
Douglas Quaid, S21 LB (1387 TPE, 1st among LBs)
Colby Jack, S22 QB (1252 TPE, 2nd among QBs)
Patrik Money, S22 DT (1181 TPE, 6th among DTs)
Bruce Buckley, S22 OL (1088 TPE, 1st among OLs)
Kai Sakura, S23 WR (1056 TPE, 4th among WRs)
Johnny Hellzapoppin, S22 S (1013 TPE, 6th among S)
Acura Skyline, S22 RB (949 TPE, 8th among RBs) (IA)
James Cho, S22 DE (940 TPE, 8th among DEs) (IA)
Zee Rechs, S22 TE (932 TPE, 6th among TEs)
Magnus Valdyr, S22 S (889 TPE, 12th among S)
Mervin Leonard, S17 CB (782 TPE, 15th among CBs)
Dan Foster, S25 CB (696 TPE, 22nd among CBs)
Djibutee McJimmerson, S25 CB (690 TPE, 24th among CBs)
Mark Walker, S25 WR (666 TPE, 25th among WRs)
Blago Kokot, S24 KR (628 TPE, 6th among KRs)
Jameson Vermillion, S25 RB (598 TPE, 17th among RBs)
Dre Matthews, S23 WR (588 TPE, 34th among WRs) (IA)
Leonard Taylor, S26 DE (507 TPE, 22nd among DEs)
Maurice Virtanen, S18 OL (504 TPE, 20th among OLs)
Big Slammu, S26 LB (469 TPE, 35th among LBs)
Mack Arianlacher, S19 LB (432 TPE, 38th among LBs) (IA)
Douglas Quail, S21 OL (405 TPE, 28th among OLs) (IA)
Arthur Naught, S26 WR (373 TPE, 42nd among WRs) (IA)
Nero Alexander, S15 DT (295 TPE, 27th among DTs)
DSFL Players:
Donald McBobby, S25 LB (417 TPE)
Kita Chiasa, S27 CB (264 TPE)
Tre Washington, S27 S (147 TPE)
The returning Ultimus champions bring a very mixed bag to the table. On one hand, a top tier QB, people with over 1000 TPE in the secondary, the linebacking core, on the offensive and defensive line, and a top class wideout. On the other hand, their running back who was poised to break out in a big way never lived up to his potential and will almost certainly fall out of the top 10 by the end of the season, and their young running back had to step away for some time and thus might also not reach his full potential, they have 3 good but not great cornerbacks, and they're going to have to start multiple people below 500 TPE at Linebacker, along with a guy who probably only didn't retire because they didn't have anyone to replace him in Nero Alexander. This isn't the worst roster I looked at today, but it's far from the best. Regression is also about to hit this team like a ton of bricks. With only 3 players currently in the DSFL, two of which are slow earning, they don't have much to fill in the gaps. Quaid has more than enough TPE to survive 2 seasons of regression, but Arianlacher is coming up on his second season of it and arguably didn't have enough TPE to survive the first season. Leonard is deep in regression but already has his replacements lining up beside him right now, and Chiasa is coming up the pipeline as well. My guess about what will hurt the most, besides Alexander needing to be replaced basically next season, is that 2 of the 3 olinemen on this team are about to regress into oblivion. This team probably has two more seasons contending in this current window, and then it needs to start finding youth in a hurry. The Wraiths pair of season 25 cornerbacks, its season 25 wide receiver, and its season 26 Defensive End are good starts but it's going to need more.
I will go over the ASFC later in the week, but so far I'd say that the Sailfish and the Butchers should be considered Ultimus contenders and powerhouses, with the Butchers having a much shorter window and the Sailfish possibly having their window close harder, the Wraiths, Yeti, and Fire Salamanders are all playoff contenders with weaknesses specifically on defense. The Hawks and the Liberty are both in a rebuild, and have large holes on both sides of the ball. Will any team be better than the Sailfish or Butchers? Probably not. Will any team be worse than the Hawks or Liberty? Maybe.
(4684 words)
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