10-27-2021, 10:58 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-27-2021, 10:58 PM by 124715. Edited 1 time in total.)
Long Form Task 1. This week will see the S31 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?
How bout them rays, huh? The S31 playoffs, featuring Austin, Arizona, Honolulu, Colorado, Sarasota, and Chicago, were perceived to have four contenders and two “pretenders” - Honolulu and Chicago. We all know how that turned out, but there’s more to the story than just the TPE totals.
Let’s paint the picture by introducing two of the teams that didn’t make it - S29 Ultimus champion New York Silverbacks and playoff mainstay Berlin Fire Salamanders. Both of these S25 expansion franchises have proven their worth among the ISFL’s top teams, and S31 wasn’t expected to be any different. For New York, there was no sign of trouble until around the midway point of the season. Sure, there was an embarrassing season opening blowout at home to the Outlaws, but Arizona was seen as prohibitive championship favorites at that point. After that, the Silverbacks rattled off 4 wins in a row, sitting pretty with the best record in the conference. It goes downhill fast from here, as the Silverbacks can only muster two more wins in 11 games to close the season out. A huge loss to the explosive Wraiths was one thing, but a last-second defeat as heavy favorites to the visiting Honolulu Hahalua left a sour taste in fans’ mouths. New York finished the season 6-10 after a 2-9 skid to close the year, and a career year from Sam Howitzer wasn’t enough to make the offense remotely watchable for a fanbase with high standards.
Standards were lower somewhat for the Berlin Fire Salamanders, as they were starting wild card rookie QB Dexter Zaylren who had seemingly loitered in the d-league for an eternity. The inverse of the Silverbacks, Berlin started the season at an unimpressive 2-5, sitting at last place in their conference. After that, Zaylren turned his play to another level, storming into the MVP conversation buoyed by the elite WR trio of Hood, Skiuuup, and Abed. The Fire Salamanders won 7 of their next 8. Unfortunately for them, a season-ending loss to Chicago in which Berlin had almost as many turnovers as points left Zaylren and co. sitting on the couch for the playoffs. While the team was expected to join the postseason, fans were happy with the season and Berlin retains one of the deepest DSFL stashes in the entire league.
So, if New York and Berlin were the teams that were “supposed” to make the playoffs but didn’t, let’s talk about the teams that weren’t expected to make it out of the regular season but did - Chicago and Honolulu. Fans were ecstatic with the Butchers’ performance all season long, especially that of rookie quarterback Kazimir Oles Jr., who played at a very high level with weapons that paled in comparison to Zaylren - the inconsistent Mike Hunt and aging Luca Scabbia. The real story was the defense, though. All-pro linebackers Juan Domine and Wasrabi Gleel had tackles up all night every single week, as the duo combined for an unfathomable 38 sacks between the two. The unstoppable pass rush was more than enough to cover for a young secondary featuring young, high-potential players such as Tim Soulja and Dee Walt. The end result was the league’s best scoring defense and a fearsome unit against the run.
Scarcely a point per game behind Chicago in the defense rankings was Honolulu. Likewise to Chicago, season 31 constituted a stunning turnaround for the Hahalua that not even the most biased fans could have predicted. In season 30, the outmatched Honolulu unit allowed almost 30 points per game, ranking 12th. In season 31, following a blockbuster trade for Wraiths linebacker Big Slammu, those figures improved to 21 points per game and 2nd in that department - plus first in yards and passing defense. Slammu was huge in his first season, approaching 20 sacks and freeing up Guy Fields to roam the interior of the field. Additionally, another season of development for crucial young starters like David Frank, Raeni Clarke, and Miles Weperom proved crucial to the unit. The stunning improvement of the defense evoked memories of season 27-28’s vaunted reef defense, which ranked in the top 3 for points allowed both seasons, but also created a somewhat unfortunate connection to the team’s offenses from that era. Fans slammed the offensive depth talent, which included names such as Lalo Salamanca and Ace Savage, and indeed the team finished just 10th in the league for points per game.
The playoff run itself was a classic Cinderella story for the ages. First, Honolulu waltzed into the stadium of the Arizona Outlaws as two-score underdogs, having not beat the Outlaws since season 28, expected to be little more than a cool little out-of-nowhere story. That game got out of hand really fast, and soon Austin’s careful gameplanning for the Outlaws went out the window. The last two games of Honolulu’s season ended in 30-27 wins for the rays, with each game as action-packed and chaotic as the entire season. The playoff run was completely unforgettable, and I’ll always cherish the ‘ship we were able to win!
How bout them rays, huh? The S31 playoffs, featuring Austin, Arizona, Honolulu, Colorado, Sarasota, and Chicago, were perceived to have four contenders and two “pretenders” - Honolulu and Chicago. We all know how that turned out, but there’s more to the story than just the TPE totals.
Let’s paint the picture by introducing two of the teams that didn’t make it - S29 Ultimus champion New York Silverbacks and playoff mainstay Berlin Fire Salamanders. Both of these S25 expansion franchises have proven their worth among the ISFL’s top teams, and S31 wasn’t expected to be any different. For New York, there was no sign of trouble until around the midway point of the season. Sure, there was an embarrassing season opening blowout at home to the Outlaws, but Arizona was seen as prohibitive championship favorites at that point. After that, the Silverbacks rattled off 4 wins in a row, sitting pretty with the best record in the conference. It goes downhill fast from here, as the Silverbacks can only muster two more wins in 11 games to close the season out. A huge loss to the explosive Wraiths was one thing, but a last-second defeat as heavy favorites to the visiting Honolulu Hahalua left a sour taste in fans’ mouths. New York finished the season 6-10 after a 2-9 skid to close the year, and a career year from Sam Howitzer wasn’t enough to make the offense remotely watchable for a fanbase with high standards.
Standards were lower somewhat for the Berlin Fire Salamanders, as they were starting wild card rookie QB Dexter Zaylren who had seemingly loitered in the d-league for an eternity. The inverse of the Silverbacks, Berlin started the season at an unimpressive 2-5, sitting at last place in their conference. After that, Zaylren turned his play to another level, storming into the MVP conversation buoyed by the elite WR trio of Hood, Skiuuup, and Abed. The Fire Salamanders won 7 of their next 8. Unfortunately for them, a season-ending loss to Chicago in which Berlin had almost as many turnovers as points left Zaylren and co. sitting on the couch for the playoffs. While the team was expected to join the postseason, fans were happy with the season and Berlin retains one of the deepest DSFL stashes in the entire league.
So, if New York and Berlin were the teams that were “supposed” to make the playoffs but didn’t, let’s talk about the teams that weren’t expected to make it out of the regular season but did - Chicago and Honolulu. Fans were ecstatic with the Butchers’ performance all season long, especially that of rookie quarterback Kazimir Oles Jr., who played at a very high level with weapons that paled in comparison to Zaylren - the inconsistent Mike Hunt and aging Luca Scabbia. The real story was the defense, though. All-pro linebackers Juan Domine and Wasrabi Gleel had tackles up all night every single week, as the duo combined for an unfathomable 38 sacks between the two. The unstoppable pass rush was more than enough to cover for a young secondary featuring young, high-potential players such as Tim Soulja and Dee Walt. The end result was the league’s best scoring defense and a fearsome unit against the run.
Scarcely a point per game behind Chicago in the defense rankings was Honolulu. Likewise to Chicago, season 31 constituted a stunning turnaround for the Hahalua that not even the most biased fans could have predicted. In season 30, the outmatched Honolulu unit allowed almost 30 points per game, ranking 12th. In season 31, following a blockbuster trade for Wraiths linebacker Big Slammu, those figures improved to 21 points per game and 2nd in that department - plus first in yards and passing defense. Slammu was huge in his first season, approaching 20 sacks and freeing up Guy Fields to roam the interior of the field. Additionally, another season of development for crucial young starters like David Frank, Raeni Clarke, and Miles Weperom proved crucial to the unit. The stunning improvement of the defense evoked memories of season 27-28’s vaunted reef defense, which ranked in the top 3 for points allowed both seasons, but also created a somewhat unfortunate connection to the team’s offenses from that era. Fans slammed the offensive depth talent, which included names such as Lalo Salamanca and Ace Savage, and indeed the team finished just 10th in the league for points per game.
The playoff run itself was a classic Cinderella story for the ages. First, Honolulu waltzed into the stadium of the Arizona Outlaws as two-score underdogs, having not beat the Outlaws since season 28, expected to be little more than a cool little out-of-nowhere story. That game got out of hand really fast, and soon Austin’s careful gameplanning for the Outlaws went out the window. The last two games of Honolulu’s season ended in 30-27 wins for the rays, with each game as action-packed and chaotic as the entire season. The playoff run was completely unforgettable, and I’ll always cherish the ‘ship we were able to win!