Long form task, 800 words for 10TPE.
2. Tell us about your draft class. Is there anything that makes it special in comparison to other classes? Where did your fellow draftees land, how are they doing? Did anyone turn out to be an unexpected steal of that draft based on what you know today? Do you think anyone in your draft class will become a hall of famer? If you’re new to the league, how do you think your class will do? Where do you think people will get drafted to?
I can’t speak too much on the other Rookies this year, as I am brand new to this league and I spent my time focusing on my team the Pythons. So I will only be able to comment on the Rookies who played on the Pythons, and primarily the Defense rookies as they helped the Defense as a whole, carry the Pythons to the top of the division. The Pythons had 6 total players in the top 35 in defensive total tackles. 4 of those players were Rookies! CB Gallagher, CB Upshar, LB Murphy, and LB Hord (myself). There were 3 rookies who were in the top 20 of pass deflections: CB Gallagher, CB Upshar and LB Hord. Teams knew that they weren’t going to be able to run against this defense, but little did the league know that NO team was going to be able to pass on this squad, especially with these Rookies running all over the field making plays earning their spot on this coveted defensive unit legacy.
CB Gallagher took the role of starting CB seriously and created “Gallagher’s Island”. Any WR who went on a route, found themselves stranded on “Gallagher’s Island” with no hope of leaving with a catch. This is how he ended up 4th overall on the Pass Deflection list with 21. The few times a receiver actually came down with the ball, he wasn’t finding the end zone. He made sure to secure a tackle well short of them crossing the goal line, with 84 tackles (2nd on the team, 14th overall). He also added a Pick 6 to his impressive stat line for the year.
CB Upshar was set up nicely on the opposite side of the field, and receivers found themselves “Up Shar’s creek without a paddle” when they saw him lining up in front of them. Once he had his sights on you, he wasn’t going to let you out of his grasps. Racking up 66 tackles (5th on the team) 12 pass deflections AND 4 forced fumbles (recovering one).
LB Murphy enforced “Murphy’s law” every single game for the opposing team. What ever could go wrong, he was going to MAKE it go wrong for you! He played OLB and the team sent him Sack Searching a lot. He found the QB 3 times for sacks. He was 3rd on the team for tackles with 70. He also recovered 2 of the MANY fumbles forced by this defense.
LB Hord was drafted in the 2nd round to help lock up the middle of the defense. He played MLB and immediately began to “Horde the yards” and not sharing one inch to the opposing offense. He was 6th on the team for tackles, with 65. If you didn’t know he was a LB you would have thought a CB was playing in the middle of the field, as he swatted 10 passes and stole 2 INT’s.
Again, these are just the rookies on the Defense. This entire stout squad put up these amazing numbers as the top defense of the league: 691 tackles (3rd), 29 forced fumbles and recovered 23 of them (1st/1st), 38 sacks (1st), 79 pass deflections (2nd), 11 interceptions (6th), 3 touchdowns (T-1st).
If there is anyone who deserves to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year, there is no argument its CB Gallagher. He was drafted towards the end of the 1st round/beginning of the 2nd round by the Pythons and he did not disappoint them, solidifying that he was the “Steal of the Draft”. Any player who can step into a starting role as a rookie and dominate like he did, earned this coveted title. And if it wasn’t for the record setting year by Python veteran LB Walls, Gallagher would have been in the strong discussion of Defensive Player of the year. With this performance and forthcoming Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, he will be one of the top prospects going into the ISFL draft. He will undoubtly be the very first defensive player taken in the draft, and shouldn’t fall further then a top 3 pick in the draft. He will fit into any teams locker room and in time will play his way into their Ring of Honor, on his way into the ISFL Hall of Fame.
If the Pythons can keep these rookies together, they will only become stronger and MORE dominate. They will be able to be the anchors of this defense for multiple years if not called up to the ISFL. The team is losing their starting QB, and the Defense is going to have to keep bringing the same intensity every week to put the young offense in good positions to win games. But as their rookie year showed, these 4 players are able to take on that daunting task!
Go Pythons!
2. Tell us about your draft class. Is there anything that makes it special in comparison to other classes? Where did your fellow draftees land, how are they doing? Did anyone turn out to be an unexpected steal of that draft based on what you know today? Do you think anyone in your draft class will become a hall of famer? If you’re new to the league, how do you think your class will do? Where do you think people will get drafted to?
I can’t speak too much on the other Rookies this year, as I am brand new to this league and I spent my time focusing on my team the Pythons. So I will only be able to comment on the Rookies who played on the Pythons, and primarily the Defense rookies as they helped the Defense as a whole, carry the Pythons to the top of the division. The Pythons had 6 total players in the top 35 in defensive total tackles. 4 of those players were Rookies! CB Gallagher, CB Upshar, LB Murphy, and LB Hord (myself). There were 3 rookies who were in the top 20 of pass deflections: CB Gallagher, CB Upshar and LB Hord. Teams knew that they weren’t going to be able to run against this defense, but little did the league know that NO team was going to be able to pass on this squad, especially with these Rookies running all over the field making plays earning their spot on this coveted defensive unit legacy.
CB Gallagher took the role of starting CB seriously and created “Gallagher’s Island”. Any WR who went on a route, found themselves stranded on “Gallagher’s Island” with no hope of leaving with a catch. This is how he ended up 4th overall on the Pass Deflection list with 21. The few times a receiver actually came down with the ball, he wasn’t finding the end zone. He made sure to secure a tackle well short of them crossing the goal line, with 84 tackles (2nd on the team, 14th overall). He also added a Pick 6 to his impressive stat line for the year.
CB Upshar was set up nicely on the opposite side of the field, and receivers found themselves “Up Shar’s creek without a paddle” when they saw him lining up in front of them. Once he had his sights on you, he wasn’t going to let you out of his grasps. Racking up 66 tackles (5th on the team) 12 pass deflections AND 4 forced fumbles (recovering one).
LB Murphy enforced “Murphy’s law” every single game for the opposing team. What ever could go wrong, he was going to MAKE it go wrong for you! He played OLB and the team sent him Sack Searching a lot. He found the QB 3 times for sacks. He was 3rd on the team for tackles with 70. He also recovered 2 of the MANY fumbles forced by this defense.
LB Hord was drafted in the 2nd round to help lock up the middle of the defense. He played MLB and immediately began to “Horde the yards” and not sharing one inch to the opposing offense. He was 6th on the team for tackles, with 65. If you didn’t know he was a LB you would have thought a CB was playing in the middle of the field, as he swatted 10 passes and stole 2 INT’s.
Again, these are just the rookies on the Defense. This entire stout squad put up these amazing numbers as the top defense of the league: 691 tackles (3rd), 29 forced fumbles and recovered 23 of them (1st/1st), 38 sacks (1st), 79 pass deflections (2nd), 11 interceptions (6th), 3 touchdowns (T-1st).
If there is anyone who deserves to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year, there is no argument its CB Gallagher. He was drafted towards the end of the 1st round/beginning of the 2nd round by the Pythons and he did not disappoint them, solidifying that he was the “Steal of the Draft”. Any player who can step into a starting role as a rookie and dominate like he did, earned this coveted title. And if it wasn’t for the record setting year by Python veteran LB Walls, Gallagher would have been in the strong discussion of Defensive Player of the year. With this performance and forthcoming Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, he will be one of the top prospects going into the ISFL draft. He will undoubtly be the very first defensive player taken in the draft, and shouldn’t fall further then a top 3 pick in the draft. He will fit into any teams locker room and in time will play his way into their Ring of Honor, on his way into the ISFL Hall of Fame.
If the Pythons can keep these rookies together, they will only become stronger and MORE dominate. They will be able to be the anchors of this defense for multiple years if not called up to the ISFL. The team is losing their starting QB, and the Defense is going to have to keep bringing the same intensity every week to put the young offense in good positions to win games. But as their rookie year showed, these 4 players are able to take on that daunting task!
Go Pythons!