Quote:6. Write 800 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.
I feel this is a perfect situation for me as with just joining the league, this gives me an ability to really dive into things a bit. And realistically, the first thing to stand out to me is the differences in position availability and it really ties back to the SHL for me where I have the most experience. You look at the quarterback position and it's just like the goalie market. This is the fewest jobs available, and you have to be an especially cocky person to think you're somehow going to be so special to usurp somebody who is established and likely younger as it is.
Instead, just looking at the position tracker, it's so incredible to see the gap of some positions. To think there's a running back in the NSFL who is 230 TPE is incredible. To think there's a kicker/punter who is 1300+ tpe, also fascinating to me.
I take a look at it and I think of the fact there are so many available positions at other roles, why would anybody think yeah let's go for the position with the fewest possible options to go for.
Now with my joining and reviewing this, it then brought me to another question about the league which is where the archetype comes from. With my experience in SHL being new to FHM, I'm wondering if it ties to the sim. If these are designations you put into the sim as to how the player will perform in sim, or if it's just something man-made in a way. It makes me think of the SHL of old in STHS when we created player archetypes, with strengths and weaknesses, in order to try and create some build diversity and also makes for a more interesting time as a general manager to align people.
From there, however, the amount of archetypes available here is astounding. There are so many positions in football versus hockey first of all, so it can be a bit daunting. Then each position has a list of archetypes you can use, and thankfully I had somebody to help walk me through the values of different archetypes but I do wonder if that's something the league may want to consider working on explaining a bit better or making sure it's clearly defined in the archetype post as people bounce around and through.
But again, so many options just gives you the ability to find ways to go and things to be. Why, oh why, would anybody choose to be a Quarterback with only 20 starting spots available, when you can be specifically whatever kind of any other position you want. You want counting numbers? Wide receivers are super important for a quarterback. A really good running back can do a lot of damage. Even a tight end is a position people just don't see as glorious when it's able to be extremely impactful. If you just want to be a key contributor to a team, while offense is what draws eyes, defense is what wins championships. You can even get counting stats on that side, become a pass rushing defensive end or linebacker, or a sniping cornerback or safety. You could even be an inside linebacker and have the best of both worlds in some ways.
Just looking at the index gives you a good view. A great running back appears to hit the 1000 yard mark, maybe not always but fairly well. And the number of touchdowns is astounding, 7 running backs had double digits in touchdowns. A wide receiver hit over 1800 yards, and over 25 of them had quadruple digits in yards. There were tight ends putting up some big yards and touchdowns. That's a huge add to a team to create some danger up the middle and make linebackers move consistently, opening up for a running game or for that outside passing game. There are catches to go around, there are yards to go around. You think about it, more players caught over 1000 yards this season than there were starting quarterback positions in the league as a whole.
On the other side of the ball, 19 players had double digit sacks. Even more had over 100 tackles. There are fumbles, recoveries, touchdowns, safeties. There are so many ways to contribute, and without having to be the one individual key contributor. You don't have to be a quarterback to be important. Looking at all of these spectacular players, all the different ways they contribute, it really highlights how incredibly ridiculous it is to try to play quarterback. You could be a big part of a championship winning team, you could catch that ball, you could run it in, you could make the game saving tackle or interception or sack. There are so many ways it could go, you don't have to be the one throwing the ball or handing it off. Make the person doing that worry about you stopping them from being able to, make them worry about you putting them in impossible positions, make them worry about you winning the game for them. All those yards they get, you can be the player getting the big yards after catch and making them look good. It's that simple. Be a star, make a star, you don't have to be the quarterback to do that.
So what I've gathered so far is just ... how ridiculous and cocky some people must be. And as somebody who used to play goalie, another one of those limited positions, I am super cocky and this is too much for me even. It's an interesting look and insight into a league I just don't know that well, I feel. And as we go, I look forward to really getting to know the people who made those decisions to be these different positions and the impacts they have.
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