1) This week will see the S26 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? Who do you think will win the final? If you’re writing this after the finals were decided, were you surprised by the outcome?
The Season 26 Ultimus saw the New Orleans Second Line return to the Ultimus to take on the Sarasota Sailfish. The two teams had extremely different paths to the Ultimus and how they got there. While they both had quite a few similarities, in a lot of ways they were quite different. One of the more common similarities between the two teams is a lot of recent playoff experience. Sarasota, like all expansion teams, had a little bit of a slow start. Still, the future was always bright for them and it appeared as though they were destined to be a perennial contender. New Orleans on the other hand has had a pretty solid run of competitive seasons. While not always being a top team in the ASFC, the Second Line found themselves in contention and more often than not a playoff berth. Like I mentioned quite briefly, this was the second Ultimus in a row for the dooters out of Louisana. Unlike the previous season, almost no one would have believed New Orleans had a real shot of making it to the Ultimus. We’ll dive more into that in a moment.
Being a player on New Orleans, my knowledge and experience regarding both teams and their journey is going to be quite skewed. Sarasota appeared to be on a roll from start to finish this season. They went 12-4 and never lost a game by more than 5 points. While a fair number of their wins were also close games, it shows who clutch they were down the stretch. That’s a sign of an elite team who can continually win the close ones. While Mike Boss Jr. is still a young a promising quarterback, the strength of the team came in the ground game. Outside of maybe Nakamura for Arizona, no one was more impressive in the rushing game than Chan. With his 17 rushing touchdowns, 97-yard-long rush and 1508 yards, he was a force to be reckoned with all season. Teams knew what was going to happen to them and they still couldn’t do much about it. They were certainly not one dimensional though. Boss Jr. had consistent targets in Witheblock, Angler and J’Vathon to throw to all season. Michael racked up was most impressive of the group though, coming up with 109 catches for 1411 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, Sarasota was just as impressive. They were a top three unit in points and yards allowed while being the absolute best against stopping the run. The only blemish was the pass defense at times. I think it’s fair to say that Sarasota were expected to be one of the top teams in the league and they delivered.
NOLA was in quite a different boat. After making an awesome run in the playoffs last season, it appeared that the Second Line were a strong candidate to take a step back. The team was a mix of a few big-time players from their Season 21 championship playing out their final season mixed with a lot of young talent. Not a bad place to be, but the young talent aspect takes time to develop. The ASFC is also highly competitive and sometimes has most of the conference in the mix for a playoff spot. One that emerged that most never saw coming. Slothlisberger unleashed his inner beast. He threw for over 5000 yards and 37 touchdowns on the season while also only throwing 9 interceptions. He was the Aaron Rodgers of the ISFL and earned himself a league MVP award (sorry for the Packers reference Sloth). Like Rodgers, Slothlisberger needed a Davante Adams to throw to. Luckily for him he had Barker. Ed Barker had a career season, catching 111 passes for 1753 yards and 13 touchdowns. McCormick was also a huge weapon to throw to, producing 86 catches and over 1000 yards. Even though he is getting deep into regression, he proved a lot of people wrong and put together an awesome season. The only blemish was a slight lack of touchdowns, with Adam Spencer catching 11 himself. Defensively, New Orleans was below average the first half of the season but finished strong in the second half of the season. Speaking of second half of the season, that was what put NOLA in the playoffs. Sitting at 2-5 and then 3-6 just over halfway in the season, it appeared the Second Line were close to earning a top draft pick than a playoff birth. Week 10 against San Jose was the defining moment of the season. Down 21-0 with 2 minutes left in the first half, the game and effectively the whole season appeared to be officially done. A favorable kick return and a couple decent plays helped NOLA get a last second 54-yard field goal to end the first half. Things were still bleak after field goal, as it was a 3-possession game. Slothlisberger and company came out hot, scoring two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. The defense did their part and held the Sabercats to only three points in the second half, along with quite a few three and outs. NOLA was able to score two more touchdowns, including with just 1:23 left in the game to win 31-24. The team rode this energy throughout the rest of the season winning 6 out of our last 7 games and sneaking into the playoffs. To even be in the playoffs seemed almost impossible just 7 weeks prior, but there we were. A lot of were just happy to be there, but still wanted to put our best foot forward. Two huge road wins over Arizona and Honolulu found us back in the Ultimus. Mason Blaylock had two outstanding playoffs games and showed the league that he still had something left to give. While the season didn’t end very will a big loss to the Sailfish, it was one hell of a ride down the stretch. We were basically in playoff mode for the 10 weeks. Here’s to hoping NOLA has one or two playoff runs in us yet while Mason is still playing.
The Season 26 Ultimus saw the New Orleans Second Line return to the Ultimus to take on the Sarasota Sailfish. The two teams had extremely different paths to the Ultimus and how they got there. While they both had quite a few similarities, in a lot of ways they were quite different. One of the more common similarities between the two teams is a lot of recent playoff experience. Sarasota, like all expansion teams, had a little bit of a slow start. Still, the future was always bright for them and it appeared as though they were destined to be a perennial contender. New Orleans on the other hand has had a pretty solid run of competitive seasons. While not always being a top team in the ASFC, the Second Line found themselves in contention and more often than not a playoff berth. Like I mentioned quite briefly, this was the second Ultimus in a row for the dooters out of Louisana. Unlike the previous season, almost no one would have believed New Orleans had a real shot of making it to the Ultimus. We’ll dive more into that in a moment.
Being a player on New Orleans, my knowledge and experience regarding both teams and their journey is going to be quite skewed. Sarasota appeared to be on a roll from start to finish this season. They went 12-4 and never lost a game by more than 5 points. While a fair number of their wins were also close games, it shows who clutch they were down the stretch. That’s a sign of an elite team who can continually win the close ones. While Mike Boss Jr. is still a young a promising quarterback, the strength of the team came in the ground game. Outside of maybe Nakamura for Arizona, no one was more impressive in the rushing game than Chan. With his 17 rushing touchdowns, 97-yard-long rush and 1508 yards, he was a force to be reckoned with all season. Teams knew what was going to happen to them and they still couldn’t do much about it. They were certainly not one dimensional though. Boss Jr. had consistent targets in Witheblock, Angler and J’Vathon to throw to all season. Michael racked up was most impressive of the group though, coming up with 109 catches for 1411 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively, Sarasota was just as impressive. They were a top three unit in points and yards allowed while being the absolute best against stopping the run. The only blemish was the pass defense at times. I think it’s fair to say that Sarasota were expected to be one of the top teams in the league and they delivered.
NOLA was in quite a different boat. After making an awesome run in the playoffs last season, it appeared that the Second Line were a strong candidate to take a step back. The team was a mix of a few big-time players from their Season 21 championship playing out their final season mixed with a lot of young talent. Not a bad place to be, but the young talent aspect takes time to develop. The ASFC is also highly competitive and sometimes has most of the conference in the mix for a playoff spot. One that emerged that most never saw coming. Slothlisberger unleashed his inner beast. He threw for over 5000 yards and 37 touchdowns on the season while also only throwing 9 interceptions. He was the Aaron Rodgers of the ISFL and earned himself a league MVP award (sorry for the Packers reference Sloth). Like Rodgers, Slothlisberger needed a Davante Adams to throw to. Luckily for him he had Barker. Ed Barker had a career season, catching 111 passes for 1753 yards and 13 touchdowns. McCormick was also a huge weapon to throw to, producing 86 catches and over 1000 yards. Even though he is getting deep into regression, he proved a lot of people wrong and put together an awesome season. The only blemish was a slight lack of touchdowns, with Adam Spencer catching 11 himself. Defensively, New Orleans was below average the first half of the season but finished strong in the second half of the season. Speaking of second half of the season, that was what put NOLA in the playoffs. Sitting at 2-5 and then 3-6 just over halfway in the season, it appeared the Second Line were close to earning a top draft pick than a playoff birth. Week 10 against San Jose was the defining moment of the season. Down 21-0 with 2 minutes left in the first half, the game and effectively the whole season appeared to be officially done. A favorable kick return and a couple decent plays helped NOLA get a last second 54-yard field goal to end the first half. Things were still bleak after field goal, as it was a 3-possession game. Slothlisberger and company came out hot, scoring two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter. The defense did their part and held the Sabercats to only three points in the second half, along with quite a few three and outs. NOLA was able to score two more touchdowns, including with just 1:23 left in the game to win 31-24. The team rode this energy throughout the rest of the season winning 6 out of our last 7 games and sneaking into the playoffs. To even be in the playoffs seemed almost impossible just 7 weeks prior, but there we were. A lot of were just happy to be there, but still wanted to put our best foot forward. Two huge road wins over Arizona and Honolulu found us back in the Ultimus. Mason Blaylock had two outstanding playoffs games and showed the league that he still had something left to give. While the season didn’t end very will a big loss to the Sailfish, it was one hell of a ride down the stretch. We were basically in playoff mode for the 10 weeks. Here’s to hoping NOLA has one or two playoff runs in us yet while Mason is still playing.
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