5. The league has a rich and fascinating history, and our perspectives on it differ from person to person. In 800 words or more, describe any significant moment in ISFL or DSFL history, whether you were around for it or not. Describe the context, the significant members, and the events. What exactly made this event so famous (or infamous) and why does it deserve to be remembered? Events might include championship wins, the inducting of players to the hall of fame, or even a league scandal.
It was the off-season just before season 23 and the Dallas Birddogs were looking to fill out their roster. As a second year expansion team, alongside the London Royals, they were entering the new season with big hopes. They had gone 5-11 their first season and they were looking to build up their new team with one goal in mind. Find defensive players that fit their system. General Managers Inverted and Steg felt they had a good offensive core but they needed to build the defence core… after all, defence wins championships. At the draft itself, they ended up taking 5 defensive players out of their 8 picks. Tyler Montain, Hingle McCringleberry, Byron Blackwell, Yuuto Kira Cloudera and Bradley Owens. Even then, they weren’t finished as they converted their third round pick, Tomas Mcgullagher and their fourth round pick Raphael d’Alcott from wide receiver to safety and cornerback. It was a group of young graduates who would have to come together quickly, some of whom had never played on this high a stage before, others had not even played the defensive side of the ball… this was going to be a rough year. Or at least that’s what people thought would happen.
Greedy Sly and Tyler Montain were effectively neck and neck going into the draft, so it was obvious that whoever went first, the other would go second. The DSFL has always been a run heavy league so drafting the highest rating Defensive Tackle made sense for the Birddogs at second overall. So far, he’s paid early dividends for Dallas as he would anchor the swiftly growing stronger defensive line. He would end the season with 5 sacks, 2nd out of all DT’s by one sack and 35 tackles. The only really knock against Tyler is that he ended the season with no Tackles For Loss, then again it was tough for any DT’s to really get many of those last season so its not as big a deal as one might think.
With Griffin Porter and Tyrone Woods gone in the first round, McCringleberry was the highest rated Linebacker available. The man was one of the highest working linebackers coming out of college so it was an easy choice for Dallas with this pick. With a pressing need to protect their QB, McCringleberry would be given his baptism of fire very early in the season. A legitimate contender for Defensive Rookie of the Year that season, Hingle would collect 17 Tackles for Loss (leading all Linebackers in the league), 16 Pass Deflections (tied for league leader with Sackson Sr), 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He’s been the biggest bang for the buck in Dallas and has entered the DSFL with no slow down in his game.
The surprise of the draft for Dallas was Raphael d’Alcott. They had predicted that d’Alcott would have been off the board a round ago by this point and took him immediately when he was there. Raphael has caused quite a stir amongst the GMs in the league with his draft interviews with Norfolk reportedly wanting to take him with pick 27. Like McGullager, the former Ohio State standout wide receiver would not stay on the offensive side, converting to Safety before the season started. With this conversion, Dallas would gain the reputation of the “No Fly Zone” as d’Alcott would put on a season to remember. Another contender for Defensive Rookie of the Year, Raphael would finish the season with a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, 3 interceptions, 10 pass deflections (leading all free safeties in the league) and a pick six in the final game of the season. d’Alcott has rocketed up draft boards recently to the point where he is predicted to go in the first round, a far cry from being a 4th round selection. It goes to show that while you can judge a player's numbers, you cannot judge his work ethic and heart. With that pick, Dallas was laughing all the way to the bank.
With Montain taking the spotlight at DT it was hard for Kira Cloudera to get a chance to prove himself. To his credit, the Gakuin Graduate proved that there is raw talent that can be converted at the next level. With 30 tackles, a forced fumble, two sacks and a safety, Yuuto proved that he could get it done when called into action. What Cloudera needs is consistency and unlike other higher rated players from this class, Yuuto is keeping active in training sessions and trying to work his way up the depth chart.
Just goes to show that late round choices can be just as important as 1st rounders. Originally a Quarterback, Owens was convinced to become a Linebacker by the Dallas front office as they believed he could convert his raw athleticism and strength at this level. He would not disappoint. 11th in tackles overall at 118 total recorded, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery and 5 total sacks paint a very pretty picture for a 9th round pick.
This infamous defence, often called the No-Fly Zone eventually became known by another name. The Dallas Dawg Pound. A defence that would go on to make pro bowls and win championships in the ISFL. They truly were a marvel like no other.
(884 words)
It was the off-season just before season 23 and the Dallas Birddogs were looking to fill out their roster. As a second year expansion team, alongside the London Royals, they were entering the new season with big hopes. They had gone 5-11 their first season and they were looking to build up their new team with one goal in mind. Find defensive players that fit their system. General Managers Inverted and Steg felt they had a good offensive core but they needed to build the defence core… after all, defence wins championships. At the draft itself, they ended up taking 5 defensive players out of their 8 picks. Tyler Montain, Hingle McCringleberry, Byron Blackwell, Yuuto Kira Cloudera and Bradley Owens. Even then, they weren’t finished as they converted their third round pick, Tomas Mcgullagher and their fourth round pick Raphael d’Alcott from wide receiver to safety and cornerback. It was a group of young graduates who would have to come together quickly, some of whom had never played on this high a stage before, others had not even played the defensive side of the ball… this was going to be a rough year. Or at least that’s what people thought would happen.
Greedy Sly and Tyler Montain were effectively neck and neck going into the draft, so it was obvious that whoever went first, the other would go second. The DSFL has always been a run heavy league so drafting the highest rating Defensive Tackle made sense for the Birddogs at second overall. So far, he’s paid early dividends for Dallas as he would anchor the swiftly growing stronger defensive line. He would end the season with 5 sacks, 2nd out of all DT’s by one sack and 35 tackles. The only really knock against Tyler is that he ended the season with no Tackles For Loss, then again it was tough for any DT’s to really get many of those last season so its not as big a deal as one might think.
With Griffin Porter and Tyrone Woods gone in the first round, McCringleberry was the highest rated Linebacker available. The man was one of the highest working linebackers coming out of college so it was an easy choice for Dallas with this pick. With a pressing need to protect their QB, McCringleberry would be given his baptism of fire very early in the season. A legitimate contender for Defensive Rookie of the Year that season, Hingle would collect 17 Tackles for Loss (leading all Linebackers in the league), 16 Pass Deflections (tied for league leader with Sackson Sr), 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He’s been the biggest bang for the buck in Dallas and has entered the DSFL with no slow down in his game.
The surprise of the draft for Dallas was Raphael d’Alcott. They had predicted that d’Alcott would have been off the board a round ago by this point and took him immediately when he was there. Raphael has caused quite a stir amongst the GMs in the league with his draft interviews with Norfolk reportedly wanting to take him with pick 27. Like McGullager, the former Ohio State standout wide receiver would not stay on the offensive side, converting to Safety before the season started. With this conversion, Dallas would gain the reputation of the “No Fly Zone” as d’Alcott would put on a season to remember. Another contender for Defensive Rookie of the Year, Raphael would finish the season with a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, 3 interceptions, 10 pass deflections (leading all free safeties in the league) and a pick six in the final game of the season. d’Alcott has rocketed up draft boards recently to the point where he is predicted to go in the first round, a far cry from being a 4th round selection. It goes to show that while you can judge a player's numbers, you cannot judge his work ethic and heart. With that pick, Dallas was laughing all the way to the bank.
With Montain taking the spotlight at DT it was hard for Kira Cloudera to get a chance to prove himself. To his credit, the Gakuin Graduate proved that there is raw talent that can be converted at the next level. With 30 tackles, a forced fumble, two sacks and a safety, Yuuto proved that he could get it done when called into action. What Cloudera needs is consistency and unlike other higher rated players from this class, Yuuto is keeping active in training sessions and trying to work his way up the depth chart.
Just goes to show that late round choices can be just as important as 1st rounders. Originally a Quarterback, Owens was convinced to become a Linebacker by the Dallas front office as they believed he could convert his raw athleticism and strength at this level. He would not disappoint. 11th in tackles overall at 118 total recorded, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery and 5 total sacks paint a very pretty picture for a 9th round pick.
This infamous defence, often called the No-Fly Zone eventually became known by another name. The Dallas Dawg Pound. A defence that would go on to make pro bowls and win championships in the ISFL. They truly were a marvel like no other.
(884 words)