01-02-2024, 08:49 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-04-2024, 11:45 AM by lemonoppy. Edited 3 times in total.)
Ranking Every HOF O-Lineman Pt 1
Hello guys, today we are back ranking another HOF position group. O-Linemen might be the hardest position yet as they have the most limited stats of any position. Pancakes and sacks allowed are really the only available stats, so O-Linemen are a little skewed towards awards like pro bowls and all pro’s. I tried to remedy this by earning points for each player ranking in sacks allowed and pancakes (ex. 1st is 14 points, 7th is 2 points) and giving 0.02 points per pancake, (I know the numbers a little weird but I did it that way to balance the rankings) and points for pancakes and sacks allowed on a per snap basis to maximize the statistics available. Despite the limited appreciation , there are many legendary HOF O-Linemen and they deserve as much respect as QBs, TEs, CBs, or K/P. You can also make the argument that O-Line is even more impressive because of the team player aspect of a user spending hours so he can block better. But going back to the main concept of the article, there are 7 HOF offensive linemen that I found (please tell me if I missed anyone) and they are listed here:
Manhattan Project
Jaja Ding Dong
Icebox Riposte
Givussafare Rubbe
Byron Dolls
Bruce Buckley
Adam Mellott
(also as a note, there were seasons without OL pro bowls and positional awards. To make sure the rankings are fair I will be using @NicholasTheGreat incredible rankings and awarded OLotY and pro bowls during those seasons)
But with the candidates, let's start the rankings:
7th Place: Byron Dolls (43.5 points)
Despite a lustrous career, Byron Dolls ranks last of the HOF O-Linemen. Dolls is the only player on the list without an all-pro or OLotY award and ranks 2nd last in pancakes. He also wasn’t dominant on a snap-by-snap basis, finishing with the same placement in sacks allowed per snap and pancakes per snap, 3rd and 2nd last respectively. Those were the main factors limiting Dolls ranking along with an inability to win an ultimus which also dropped his ranking.
Dolls had a good rookie season from the 33rd pick for the Hawks, managing to not allow a single sack all season. He also had a solid 45 pancakes. This was enough for his first Pro Bowl birth and started an impressive Pro Bowl streak. He followed it up with another great season as Dolls allowed 2 sacks (tied for his career-high) but improved to 77 pancakes. The Hawks also showed improvement as they went from 3-13 all the way to 8 and 8 and a wild card loss. Byron Dolls came back for his 3rd season in S23 with another Pro Bowl campaign as he again allowed only 2 sacks and had a career-high 93 pancakes. The Hawks took a big step back through to 3-13 and Dolls was taken by the Fire Salamanders in the expansion draft.
As expansion franchises usually do, the Salamanders struggled going 3-13 in year 1. But despite that Byron Dolls had the best season of his career with 80 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed. In S26 Dolls had another great season with 84 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed as the Fire Salamanders improved to 7-9. Dolls had a very similar season the year after with 85 pancakes and zero sacks allowed but missed the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. The Salamanders also struggled. regressing to a 6-10 season. Dolls stepped it up in S28 though with a career-high 129 pancakes. 129 pancakes currently places 29th all-time for pancakes in a season, and was the franchise record at the time and easily secured Dolls another pro bowl. But that didn’t matter as the Fire Salamanders made the playoffs for the first time in their history. The excitement was short-lived though as Berlin fell 17-13 in their first NSFC championship game.
Dolls took an expected step back in S29 but still had 80 pancakes and only 1 sack allowed but missed the Pro Bowl. But the Salamanders excelled again, going 13-3 and beating the Sailfish 23-20 to make their first Ultimus. The Salamander's defense collapsed in the big game though, losing 40-20 to the Silverbacks and leaving Dolls ringless. Dolls had a very similar season in S30, having the same amount of pancakes as last season but allowing one more sack. Berlin regressed to 9-7 as their playoff run was ended by the revenge-minded Sailfish 30-24 after beating the Wraiths. Dolls was ready for a final run in S31 with 85 pancakes and only 2 sacks allowed, making his final Pro Bowl. The Fire Salamanders started 6-6 before making it to 9-6 and a game in week 16 against the Butchers for the final playoff spot. There is only so much one player can do though, much less an offensive lineman as the offense stalled to lose 14-3 and end Berlin’s playoff hopes. After the disappointing season Dolls hung up his cleats, ending his successful career with a HOF career but Ultimus empty-handed.
6th Place: Givussafare Rubbe (50.9)
Givussafare Rubbe had a very productive career and was the first OL legend. He is the first HOF O-Lineman and was considered the GOAT when he retired. Rubbe is still very important as an OL legend and the catalyst for most of the other guys on this list, the true forefather of the HOF O-Lineman.
Rubbe appears near the bottom of the HOF O-Line list because of his lack of pancakes. He has only 745 career pancakes, good for last among HOFers, and is in the same spot for pancakes per snap. The sim has changed throughout ISFL history and pancakes have massively increased recently. But I see it as a change of era’s and depending on how much you value era’s you could Rubbe as high as #1. (It's the same as in the NFL where Jared Goff has better stats than Johnny Unitas) But aside from the pancakes Rubbe is set in every other stat with only 11 sacks allowed, 7 pro bowls (3 awarded using @NicholasTheGreat awards), 3 all pros, and an ultimus win.
Rubbe had an interesting start to his career, being drafted 34th overall in the S18 draft class. He started his career with a 50 pancake, 0 sack allowed season. He also made a Pro Bowl* in his rookie year to start his career. NOLA was good for the first time in 8 years, snapping their playoff drought with an 8-5 season, making the wild card. NOLA was able to beat the Copperheads 28-17 before running into the 3-peat Otters and losing 28-13. But the signs of progress were there heading into S20. Rubbe himself showed improvement with 63 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed onto a Pro Bowl* nod and an OLotY award. NOLA showed improvement as well despite a worse record. They only went 7-6 but sneaked into the playoffs and upset the Otters to redeem their NSFC championship game loss. For the second year in a row though they would lose to the Ultimus winner as the Copperheads eked out a 26-17 win over the Secondline. Rubbe continued his development in S21 with even more pancakes (73) and a 3rd straight year without allowing a sack. Those stats helped him snag back-2-back OLotY awards and another Pro Bowl* nod. As a team, the Secondline finally took the leap from borderline contender to favorite, starting the season 9-0 before slipping to 9-4 and the 2 seed. They then faced the team that kept them out of the Ultimus the past two seasons, beating Austin 23-17 in the first round and Orange County 27-24 to make it to the big game. There the Secondline blew out the perennial Ultimus bowl loser Wraiths 33-13 for their 3rd Ultimus win and the first ring of Givussafare Rubbe’s career.
*these are the pro bowls awarded retroactively using @NicholasTheGreat formula (pancakes - sacks allowed x 10)
Rubbe and NOLA both took steps back following the Ultimus win as Rubbe allowed the first sack of his career while posting 8 fewer pancakes than last season. Even with the small decline, Rubbe was still able to make another Pro Bowl. The Secondline were good in the regular season, finishing 8-5 but they couldn’t repeat the playoff success losing to the revenge-minded Copperheads 34-27. Rubbe was able to bounce back from a letdown year by posting the best season of his career in S23. He had another season without allowing a single sack and broke his personal pancake record by 2 for a total of 75. NOLA was able to repeat its regular season success from last season going 9-7 in the first 16-game season to make the playoffs as the 2 seed. But to Rubbe’s dismay, NOLA ran into a major obstacle known as the Copperheads in the first round of the playoffs, losing 20-15. (side note, has there ever been another time teams have played each other 5 years in a row in the postseason? Austin’s and NOLA’s weird playoff rivalry is very unique to me).
After the playoff loss Rubbe did more than bounce back with the best season of his career in S24. Another season without allowing a sack while crushing his career high for pancakes with 94 pancakes, the second most in the league. Considering his success while having the most pancakes without allowing a sack Rubbe made another Pro Bowl and won his final OLotY. The Secondline made some changes with a new QB under center but still managed 9 wins, good enough for the 3 seed. But the team could only go so far with a rookie QB and fell 31-21 to the Otters in the first round. Rubbe had another great season after his OLotY last season, finishing with another 84 pancakes and not allowing a single sack, enough to make his final Pro Bowl. At this point in Rubbe’s career he had allowed 1 sack in 7 seasons, that's a sack once every 100 games. I also found Rubbe’s pass-blocking snaps (roughly estimated, took pass attempts + sacks allowed by the Secondline in S25 as a reference, divided by the number of games and used that to get 42.43 pass-blocking snaps per game) to learn that at this point in his career, Rubbe had allowed a sack every 4,244 snaps while getting a pancake roughly every 9 snaps, truly elite stuff. Despite Rubbe’s great play, the Secondline got off to a slow start (3-5) and missed the playoffs at 7-9 for the first time in Rubbe’s career.
After the disappointing season, Rubbe ended up becoming a Chicago Butcher in preparation for season 26. Rubbe took a bit of a step back in his new environment allowing a sack for the first time since S22 while only having 63 pancakes, a 25% dropoff from S25. The Butchers were quite good in S26, finishing 10-6 and winning 3 of their last 4 games to grab the 2 seed in the NSFC. But the success didn’t last as the Butchers lost a heartbreaker 24-23 to the Sailfish after Raphtalia Chan caught a Mike Boss Jr. touchdown pass on the last play of the game to tie and Jacob Small’s extra point sent the Sailfish to the NSFC championship game. After the heart-wrenching ending and watching his former team make it to the Ultimus, Rubbe needed to rebound. Personally, Rubbe finished with similar stats (60 pancakes and 1 sack allowed) but the team improved to 12-4 and got the 2 seed again. But another season of playoff misery ended when the Butchers got first rounded by the Yeti 24-19 in another devastating loss, from which the Butchers and Rubbe struggled to recover from.
Rubbe had been slowly regressing since he left the Secondline but his play took a big hit in S28 with his fewest pancake total since his rookie season (57) and allowed more sacks than he had up his career at that point (5 sacks allowed). The Butchers also fell off to a disappointing 6-10 season after a promising 2-0 start, leaving Rubbe and the Butcher's future in doubt. Rubbe was also deep in regression, ready for a last stand in the ISFL. And a last stand Rubbe had, bouncing back to 62 pancakes and 3 sacks allowed, nothing compared to his peak but a pretty big step up from last season. The Butchers were not able to rebound like Rubbe was, going 5-11 with a dreadful offense. Givussafare Rubbe ended his career with a whimper but his accolades and accomplishments left him as the best O-Lineman of his generation and the GOAT of OL when he retired.
5th Place: Jaja Ding Dong (59.64)
Next on the list is 4th place, Jaja Ding Dong. Ding Dong had an interesting career as he started as a TE before position switching near the end of his second season, S27. Ding Dong made up for his slow start with incredible efficiency, having 8 triple-digit pancake seasons. He places 5th on this list because of his pancakes. He has the 2nd most pancakes of all HOFers and is the most efficient pancake maker of anyone on the list (1st in pancakes per snap). But the reason someone with so many pancakes is so low on this list is how many sacks Ding Dong allowed. He allowed the most sacks and most sacks per snap of any HOF O-Lineman. He also lacks awards beyond Pro Bowls with only a single first-team all-pro. Also like many other players on this list, Ding Dong is without an Ultimus win.Ding Dong was the GM of the SaberCats so he was automatically drafted with the SaberCats second-round pick, 19 overall. He was drafted as a TE and started his career at the position. After a productive S26 and an unproductive S27 at TE, he abandoned the position switching to a full-time OL before week 12 of S27. SJS still missed the playoffs though and Ding Dong’s OL career really kicked off in S28.
In his very first full season at the position Ding Dong excelled, finishing with 111 pancakes (11th in the league) and 3 sacks allowed, an elite season for a first-time offensive lineman. The season was impressive enough for Ding Dong’s first Pro Bowl of many. This season also set a precedent for Ding Dong’s entire career, a lot of pancakes but also a lot of sacks allowed. Despite Ding Dong’s successful inaugural OL season, the SaberCats started poorly at 1-5 and never bounced back, falling to 5-11 as one of the worst teams in the ISFL.
Ding Dong got fully adjusted to the position in S29 and his stats showed it. Ding Dong had a magical season with a league-leading 140 pancakes, 7 more than 2nd place. He also improved his sacks allowed from 3 to 1. Leading the league in pancakes while only allowing one sack is an easy recipe for a Pro Bowl but he somehow missed out on a first-team All-Pro, having to settle for a second-team award. SJS also got off to a start as great as Ding Dong’s with a 4-2 start. Though the SaberCats struggled down the stretch, going 2-7-1 the rest of the season to finish 6-9-1 progress was clearly made.
An expected step back was taken in S30 as 140 pancakes just wasn’t sustainable. He still had a great season with 116 pancakes (finishing 9th in pancakes) but did allow 2 sacks. 2 sacks allowed in a season sounds minuscule but is a considerable amount compared to other HOFers like Rubbe, who only allowed 11 his entire career. This would also be the only season interrupting a long stretch of Pro Bowls for Ding Dong as he missed his first Pro Bowl while playing OL. Despite Ding Dong’s success, the SaberCats struggled as the hope of S29 proved false. They started 0-6 and limped to a 4-12 finish, tied for worst in the league. As the hope of S29 died, SJS entered a dark age.
Ding Dong finally fixed his biggest issue in S31, his habit of allowing sacks. This was Ding Dong's first season without allowing a single sack, a trend that he hopes would continue. There was a small drop off from in Pancakes going down to 107 from 116 which placed 12th in the league. Even with the drop off in pancakes Ding Dong had easily improved and started a streak of Pro Bowls that would continue for the prime of his career. Ding Dong’s success would continue but so would San Jose’s struggles with another losing season. SJS won their first game but would lose the next two and never again came close to .500. They struggled to a 6-10 season which was good enough to tie for 4th in a weak and top-heavy ASFC. But remember, theirs always next season.
Another year, another 100+ pancake season for Ding Dong. He finished S32 with 101 pancakes (a career low but still 8th in the league) and his 2nd consecutive season without allowing a sack. The career-low in pancakes proved insignificant as Ding Dong made his 4th Pro Bowl in 5 years. For the first time since S29 San Jose had a winning percentage above .400! The bad news is that they still missed the postseason. They alternated every game until week 7 to 4-3 until they lost 2 in a row. They were able to win 3 out of 4 to reach the thick of the playoff race at 7-6. They hosted the Silverbacks (7-6) in an important matchup for playoff hopes. The SaberCats were getting boat-raced 39-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter and the furious 22-point San Jose comeback came back short in a crushing 39-36 loss. They got one more chance to save their playoff hopes in a week 15 game against the Outlaws (10-4). But they lost again in a 48-20 blowout. They won their last game to finish 8-8 but ended up 5th in a significantly more competitive ASFC compared to last season.
S33 turned out to be one of Ding Dong’s most successful seasons. Ding Dong had 112 pancakes (6th in the league) and produced his 3rd season without allowing a sack. No one in the league had more pancakes without allowing a sack than Ding Dong. He made another Pro Bowl and a second-team All-Pro, with future HOFer Icebox Riposte and Alexander Franklin beating him out for first team. Ding Dong had only made one playoff game in his career (S27) and he lost it. Could this finally change? Absolutely not as San Jose had another disappointing season. The SaberCats parlayed a 1-5 start into a 5-11 campaign.
Ding Dong saw a return to old habits in S34 in good and bad ways. In a good way: his pancakes were up to 116 (8th in the league), tied for second-best number in his career. The bad way: Ding Dong was back to allowing sacks with 3 allowed this season. Another Pro Bowl like usual( which is crazy impressive to say about any player), and a 2nd team all pro even with all the sacks allowed. SJS was still stuck in a losing cycle, starting the season 2-6. It continued like this until week 11 where a last-second TD and multiple missed field goals in overtime allowed SJS to hold onto a chaotic 14-14 tie. That spurned a 4 game-win streak (the last 3 wins were one score) that left SJS 7-7-1 and with playoff hopes. All they needed to do was beat the Silverbacks (7-8) to secure a playoff berth. But they went down 17-0 early and never recovered in what became a 37-13 blowout loss that let the Secondline into the playoffs.
By S35 Jaja Ding Dong was starting to lose significant TPE to regression, but his pancake numbers refused to show it. In his 10th season in the ISFL, Ding Dong still put up 120 pancakes (4th in the league) with only 2 sacks allowed. These impressive numbers allowed Ding Dong to make another Pro Bowl and after a decade in the league, his first first team all pro. Just like last year, San Jose started slow (though not as slow) reaching 4-6 and seemingly falling out of the playoff race. They split their next two to reach an even more dire 5-7. They won their next two to give them a chance at 7-7 against the 8-6 Otters for the final playoff spot going into week 15. But San Jose would lose and Orange County would win to eliminate SJS from playoff contention for the 9th year in a row.
Ding Dong finally started to age in S36 after a 50% TPE loss to regression. He was still highly effective again, with 96 pancakes and 2 sacks allowed, but was no longer a Pro Bowl-caliber player. It was his first OL season below 100 pancakes and only his second OL season without a Pro Bowl. None of that mattered though as for the first in a decade the SaberCats were competing. The SaberCats played 10 one-score games as the cardiac Cats went 5-2 to open the season. The success continued to 8-4 as the SaberCats just kept winning. They split their final 4 games to finish 10-6. Despite the impressive win total, the flaws were clearly there as San Jose did all of this with a negative point differential. They ended up playing the Outlaws (9-7) whom they had already beaten twice in the the regular season. The flaws showed though as a quick 13-7 lead dissipated as Jay Cue Jr. ran all over them and the offense stalled to lose 28-13, leaving Ding Dong still searching for a playoff win.
By S37 Ding Dong was super deep into regression (75% TPE loss) and it showed massively. Ding Dong had a career-low (at OL) 51 pancakes (65th in the ISFL) while allowing 3 sacks. Ding Dong was no more than a barely replacement-level OL but stuck around to see if his beloved Sabercats would ever see any team success. And well, they did not. San Jose went 6-10 in a disappointing season. Probably as karma for going 10-6 with a negative PD, they went 6-10 with a positive PD this season. As Ding Dong was near his end, it was interesting to see if the franchise he had helped so much could help him back.
Ding Dong just wasn’t good by S38. He had a worse blocking season than his 2nd TE season (with fewer pancakes and more sacks allowed) and struggled even more than he did in S37. He had only 37 pancakes and allowed 3 sacks. 37 Pancakes finished 2nd last among all offensive linemen in the entire league. At this point, he was a veteran presence in the locker room and a team leader, barely even a player anymore. He stuck around so long just to watch a 3-5 San Jose struggle to midseason. It couldn’t end like this, right? Well, it didn’t as San Jose proceeded to win 7 in a row to secure a playoff bid at 10-5. They dropped their last game but it didn’t matter. They had a top 3 scoring offense, a serviceable defense and a home playoff game against the Silverbacks. They started the game up 3-0 after kicking a field goal. They would never regain the lead. It turned into another embarrassing blowout as the Silverbacks won 31-9.
At this point, Ding Dong had to retire. The league would let him play 2 more years but he was already below replacement level. He would retire as a great individual talent wasted on bad teams, but also as the 5th best HOF offensive lineman.
4th Place: Adam Mellott (66.74)
There were 2 main reasons for NOLA being comfortable with the loss of Givussafare Rubbe: one is regression, as Rubbe had his 4 best seasons on NOLA and was starting to regress. The other reason was Adam Mellott. What do you do when you lose your team pancake leader and a HOF O-Linemen? You draft another. NOLA was confident enough to trade up (24th overall and 80th overall for 19th overall) to draft Mellott with the 5th pick of the second round. Mellott would spend his entire 9 season HOF career with the Secondline and racked up some pretty great achievements, 3 pro bowls (though not listed in Wolfie bot), 2 OLotY plus a first-team all-pro, and some impressive counting stats. He places 4th among HOFers in pancakes (887) while allowing only 7 sacks his entire career, good for 2nd place in sacks allowed. But like half of the list he is held back by his lack of victory in the big game.Mellott’s career started off pretty standard for a new OL user statistically. 72 pancakes, enough to lead the team along with allowing 4 sacks which is a pretty standard number. Mellott was in an S26 ASFC with limited OL users, allowing him to make the Pro Bowl with 14/18 votes. NOLA was also in the middle of a chaotic season, starting 5-1 before playing sub-.500 ball for the rest of the season. The great start allowed NOLA to coast the rest of the season in a wildly chaotic and even ASFC. Entering week 15 NOLA was 8-7 and in the hunt for a playoff spot before crushing the Otters 42-10 to improve their odds. They did end up losing their final game to the Outlaws but ended up on top of a 5 way tie at 9-7 for all 3 of the ASFC’s playoff spots, entering the playoffs as a two-seed. They then went on to beat the Otters for the 2nd time in 3 weeks to face the Silverbacks in the championship game. They ended up winning a crazy game 43-37 with a walk-off TD in overtime after throwing 2 pick-6s and allowing a safety to make the Ultimus. In the Ultimus they faced a superior Wraiths team and got blown out 49-17 with NOLA QB Ben Slothlisberger throwing 3 picks including a pick-6 to Wraith's corner Dan Foster (somehow Cobly Jack won game MVP).
After the Ultimus loss, Mellott continued his development with a massive jump in his production during S27. He nearly doubled his pancake total up to 118, 2nd best in the league. He also dropped his sacks allowed from 4 to 0. This incredible season obviously concluded in a Pro Bowl and Mellott’s first OLotY award of his career. After the playoff run last year the Secondline took an unexpected early step back, stumbling to 3-6, far behind the 6-3 Sabercats for the last playoff spot. But in week 10 NOLA had a crucial upset of the Sabercats that launched a 4-game win streak. Even though the win streak paired with the Sabercats collapse they were still tied at 7-7 after a costly loss to the 4-9 Otters. But the Secondline had the lowly Copperheads while the Sabercats had the playoff-bound Wraiths. NOLA won and SJS lost leading to a 9-7 Secondline clinching the final playoff spot. Somehow NOLA was able to replicate their previous run with road wins against the Outlaws (41-21) and Hahalua (24-15) to make the Ultimus. Also like last time came Ultimus Bowl embarrassment, with the Sailfish blowing them out 34-10 in another disappointing end to an electric season.
Even though NOLA wasn’t, Mellott was able to keep up his success, putting up 4 more pancakes than last season while not allowing a single sack again. Though not able to win back-2-back OLotY awards, Mellott settled for another Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro. Mellott could only do so much from OL though, as NOLA fell into disrepair. Though they came back from a 3-6 start last season, they were not able to come back from a 0-6 start, but they were capable of splitting their last 10 games to remain a respectable 5-11.
S29 was a small step back for Mellott, regressing from an OLotY candidate to a player who didn’t finish top 10 in pancakes. But he still refused to allow a sack, only one of 4 players with at least 85 pancakes to do so. The slightly disappointing season ended with nothing added to the trophy case, as Mellott missed out on a Pro Bowl appearance. Luckily for Mellott, his personal woes were dulled by NOLA’s return to the playoffs. Like last time they couldn’t make it easy, sitting at 6-7 behind the 8-5 Otters. NOLA was able to beat said Otters 48-26 in week 14 for their second road win of the season and to keep them in playoff contention. The Secondline offense kept rolling, putting up 40 and 37 the last two weeks to make it to 9-7 again. The Secondline was also able to joyously watch the Otters self-destruct against the other 2 ASFC playoff teams to fall to 8-8 and hand NOLA a playoff berth. To Mellott’s disappointment, their previous playoff magic did not sustain as the Silverbacks scored a last-minute TD pass to end NOLA’s comeback bid.
S30 brought a small wave of pancake production for OL across the league, and Mellott rode the wave to a career-high 126 pancakes. It wasn’t all the league changing though, as Mellott finished 6th in pancakes and had his 4th straight season without allowing a sack. NOLA also got off to a good start at 2-1 but the 61 points they allowed to Arizona in their week 2 loss (including 23 points in the 2nd quarter) showed the cracks in the foundation as NOLA collapsed to 5-11, starting a playoff drought.
The way S30 was a big fall off from S29 for NOLA, S31 from S30 was for Mellott. His pancakes dropped off by more than a 3rd to 80. The main reason for the drop-off was giving the coveted LT spot to his up-and-coming partner in crime Cade Williams. But in true Mellott fashion, he again refused to allow a single sack, making it 88 games since he had allowed a sack. But the lack of pancakes prevented him from receiving any Pro Bowl consideration. NOLA made a comeback as a team, winning more games by week 9 than it did all of last season standing at 6-3 and in good playoff positioning. The Secondline followed up the hot start with an unacceptable and brutal collapse, losing their final 7 games of the season. The collapse was so brutal they finished tied for the 3rd worst record in the entire ISFL.
S32 was a new low for Mellott, under 75 pancakes (73), and a sack allowed for the first time in more than half a decade. 31st in pancakes was his worst career finish and 3rd on his own team was another low. But the sacrifices (switching from left to right tackle) would all be worth it for team success. Sadly, no team success would come as NOLA struggled through another losing season. Like last year, there was an illusion of success after they turned their 1-4 start to a solid 5-5. The Secondline ran out of juice as the wheels fell off after a week 10 win over the Otters, losing ending the year 6-10. Despite having the number 1 rush offense, the Secondline had another season of watching the playoffs from their couch.
S33 was a refreshing new start for Mellott, as Cade Williams switched to DL and Mellott reclaimed his old LT spot. The improvement was immediate as Mellott’s pancakes increased from 73 to 95 in a return to form for Mellott. He also had another season of only 1 sack allowed, incredible for the average player but about par for the course for Mellott’s standards. The bounceback was most evident in going from 31st place in pancakes all the way to 13th place. Despite Mellott’s bounceback, NOLA was in the midst of its worst season since S15, with everything other than the rushing offense being dreadful. They were the worst team in the league but were able to secure the number 1 pick because of their record. As Mellott neared the end of his career, there was nowhere to go but up.
S34 continued Melott’s return to form as he had 100 pancakes for the first time in 4 seasons while only allowing a single sack. He finished the year 11th in total pancakes with 101 and was in an elite group of 4 OL users who had over 100 pancakes and only one sack allowed that season. He still wasn’t able to make a Pro Bowl, but NOLA showed promise as a team for the first time since S29. They got off to a very hot start, making it to 3-1. Like previous years they struggled after a fast start losing 4 in a row to 3-5. Determined to not collapse like S31 and S32, they bounced back to 6-5 before reaching 7-7. They lost an important game against the Outlaws in week 15 to enter a crucial week 16. The Secondline needed to beat the Copperheads and the Silverbacks to beat the SaberCats. NOLA took care of business in a 10-point win over the Copperheads while the Silverbacks blew out the SaberCats to secure a playoff berth. Despite NOLA getting battered by the Outlaws 30-3 in the first round, Mellott had played on his first successful team in years.
After the Secondline’s first great season in years, Mellott had run out of gas and hung up the cleats on his HOF career. He ended his career with 887 pancakes, which currently places 11th all-time and is the 4th best HOF OL.
3rd Place: Icebox Riposte (75.78)
Icebox Riposte might be the single most balanced player on this entire list. His unique blend of pancaking ability and sack prevention is unmatched as he is 3rd in pancakes, pancakes per snap, sacks allowed, and sacks allowed per snap. He is the only HOFer to be top 3 in all of those categories and Mellott is the only one even close (4th in pancakes and pancakes per snap) leaving Riposte alone in his consistency. Riposte also has an Ultimus, another reason he’s so high on the list. The main thing holding him back is his late start with only 2 Pro Bowls in his first 7 seasons. He is 2nd last on the list in Pro Bowls with 5 and only has 3 OLotY/1st team All Pro’s. That is quite a lot compared to normal players but is behind two other HOF O-Linemen (I’m looking at your 8 first-team all-pro’s Manhattan Project) which leaves him at 3rd. Icebox Riposte was drafted 13th overall with the first pick of the 2nd round by Chicago in the ISFL S24 draft. He spent one more season in the DSFL before being called up before S25. He finished with 89 pancakes and 2 sacks allowed. Those 89 pancakes were incredibly impressive, 4th in the league and 19 more than the 2nd best rookie. He was awarded a Pro Bowl for his spectacular rookie season. The Butchers were able to get out to a good start thanks to a lights-out defense that guided the team to a 3-0 start. The success dulled but remained as they made it to 7-5 and in good playoff position. Their weak offense struggled throughout the year though, especially down the stretch. But an offensive outburst in a week 15 game against the Silverbacks brought them a crucial win, and a Hawks loss allowed the Butchers to limp into the playoffs at 8-8 even with their offense finishing 2nd last in PPG. In the first round of the playoffs, the offense had a surprisingly effective half to go up 20-3 and fought off a Sarasota comeback to win 27-20. Their run ended soon after though as they ran into the Yeti’s number 1 defense in a 34-7 blowout loss.
To open up S26, Riposte had a new partner in crime on the OL: another HOFer in Givussafare Rubbe! Between Rubbe, Riposte and 4x Pro Bowler Julio Jones, the Butchers led the league in pancakes and fewest sacks allowed with 436 and 11 respectively. Riposte had a solid season on this elite OL (Is the best OL of all time?) with 74 pancakes and 1 sack allowed. It did kind of seem like a step back for Riposte, but it was more due to competition than regression. The stacked OL helped lead the Butchers to a top 5 offense and a 6-2 midseason record. They coasted the rest of the way to 10-6 and the 2 seed in the NSFC. But there they faced the revenge-minded Sailfish, with Mike Boss Jr. throwing 2 TDs in the final 5 minutes to complete a devastating upset of the Butchers.
The Butchers did come back even better in S27, with the OL remaining a strength, especially with rookie Alexander Franklin joining the team. Icebox was forced to play in the interior though and his numbers showed his struggle. He had a career-low 57 pancakes and allowed 2 sacks again. Despite his issues, the Butchers had a stellar season. They were only 5-3 at midseason (including an ugly 8-5 loss where a safety and 2 field goals were too much to overcome) but got red hot near the end of the season, winning 7 of their last 8 to finish 12-4 and get the 2 seed (they lost the 1 seed to Sarasota on tiebreakers). But a surprise was awaiting them as the surprising sold 10-5-1 Yeti shut down the Butcher offense and escaped with a 24-19 win despite 3 turnovers.
After back-to-back heartbreaking losses, the Butchers fell into the NSFC cellar for a few seasons, forming a small playoff drought. Personal success did start to come for Riposte though, as his pancake numbers jumped from 57 to 86 and he refused to allow a single sack despite being in another successful and crowed OL room. Icebox missed the Pro Bowl because of a poor system (it was 5 OL per conference, but with no specified position it led to 5 tackles making it) but did qualify for 1st team All-Pro as a center. The Butchers took a big step back though as 2 4 game losing streaks marked a bad season with Chicago falling to 6-10.
Icebox had another solid season though not as good as S28 with 65 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed. Those numbers don’t look great until you consider his position, this was his 2nd season at center and Riposte easily swept voting to a first-team all-pro. The award system was also fixed to appreciate interior offensive linemen like Riposte, earning him his 2nd Pro Bowl. The Butchers struggled as a whole though, with a 1-6 start ending in a 5-11 season. Changes were coming for Riposte though with Julio Jones traded at midseason and Alexander Franklin gone after S27. With Rubbe’s retirement at the end of the year, S30 was a massive opportunity for Riposte with a move back to tackle and the stats that come with it.
The production that came with playing tackle was massive, and Riposte went through with the change smoothly. He finished the season with 110 pancakes (12th in the league, though it was fewer than teammate Mo Magic and former teammates Julio Jones and Alexander Franklin) and zero sacks allowed despite the adjustment that comes with a new position. It wasn’t enough for a Pro Bowl in a very crowded OL season, but it was still quite the year. Chicago was not able to replicate Riposte’s success, with the illusion of a 3-3 start being crushed by a 6-game losing streak that saw the Butchers fall to 6-10 and pick near the top of the draft for the 3rd year in a row.
S31 was a similar season for Icebox statistically, as he finished with 112 pancakes (8th in the league) and 0 sacks allowed. Even though Riposte didn’t improve in any spectacular fashion, the team around him did. The Butchers had a surprise successful season, as they parlayed a 7-3 start to 10-6 as their defense went from 10th to 2nd in one season. They won a defensive battle against the 9-6 Fire Salamanders 14-3 in week 16 to clinch their playoff berth. They faced the Sailfish (10-6) in the first round of the playoffs in Sarasota. The game started pretty slowly but two deep Kazimir Oles Jr. TD passes in the 3rd quarter and a goal line stand to open the 4th sealed a 23-13 Chicago victory. In the NSFC championship game they had to travel to Colorado to face the Yeti (11-5). The Yeti’s defense, slightly below average most of the season, played a fantastic game holding Chicago without a TD until the final minute of the contest. The Butchers lost, 23-10. Despite the disappointing loss, lots of progress was made and it looked like Chicago could be a contender in the near future.
Well, Chicago being a contender did not last as the Butchers fell into disrepair with a 6-game-losing streak highlighting a disappointing 5-11 season. But the failure of the Butchers did not mean a failure for Riposte. He had a career-high in pancakes with 124 pancakes (3rd in the league) and only 1 sack allowed. This season was an obvious Pro Bowl nod and a second-team All-Pro. Could Riposte have his success line up with Chicago’s like it did in S31?
Riposte’s S33 was easily the best season of his career and his stat sheet did not properly show it. He only improved by 3 pancakes and allowed another sack, but he led the entire lead in pancakes for the first time in his career. He was easily the best offensive lineman in the ISFL this season, so he was unanimous Pro Bowl, first-team All-Pro, and OLotY, a clean award sweep. The Butchers were also back as a good albeit streaky team. They won 7 out of 9, then lost 4 in a row, then won 3 in a row. After the dust settled, the Butchers had the number 1 scoring offense and the 3 seed in the NSFC. To Riposte’s dismay though, the Butcher's dynamic offense fell mute against the Hawks after a first-quarter TD and a team that averaged 32 PPG was held to 14 in a 23-14 playoff loss.
S34 was a dream season for Riposte. At this point facing serious regression, Riposte had an incredible season. His numbers did decline from S33, but your numbers will decline after your 10th ISFL season no matter how good you are. He still managed 112 pancakes (tied for 9th in the league) and only 2 sacks allowed. This was enough for Riposte to make his 5th Pro Bowl and his 3rd consecutive. The Butchers emulated the success of last season and Riposte’s own success as a 1-1 quickly turned into a dominating 7-1. They kept the momentum going the rest of the season with a 5-2-1 finish that landed them at 12-3-1 with the number 1 seed and the best record in the ISFL. This team was dominant and featured the number 1 defense and number 1 scoring offense (4th in YPG) as they got a postseason bye.
They hosted Berlin in their first playoff test against the Fire Salamanders and quickly went up 3-0. The offense fizzled though as 2 Goat Tank and 2 field goals put the Fire Salamanders up 20-6 with 10 minutes left in the 4th. Chicago quickly responded with a 42-yard kick return and 50-yard pass leading to a Mike Hunt TD, 20-13 now. Chicago kept up the pressure with an interception and ensuing TD run to tie the game at 20 with 3:40 left in the 4th. Berlin tried to answer back with a 50-yard passing play setting up the lead-taking field goal. The 49-yarder was missed though, setting up Chicago in stellar field position. They used it to their advantage, driving down to the 6-yard line where Levy Tate hit the game-winning 23-yard field goal to prevail 23-20 and make the Ultimus.
The Butchers were set to play the 11-5 Hahalua in the Ultimus Bowl and were ready for the occasion. The game kicked off and after a sluggish first quarter that ended 3-0 Chicago, the Butchers scored a TD and a field goal to go up 17-7 with a quick field goal drive cutting the deficit to 17-10 at halftime. After a third-quarter TD pass and a safety, the Hahalua had stolen the lead 19-17 and it looked as if Chicago was in danger of falling out of the game. They did manage to respond, and they did with a 64-yard TD pass and a field goal tacked on to almost secure the game. But a quick Hahalua drive answered back to go down 27-25. The Butchers then allowed the back-breaking 2-point conversion to tie the game at 27 going into overtime. Both offenses start slow, trading punts to open OT. But after a short Honolulu punt, Chicago started a slow, methodical drive downfield. 5 yards here, 7 yards there, and soon they had made it into the Redzone. A pass was broken up to force a 3rd and 7 from the 10 where a clutch 9-yard catch set them up with 1st in goal from the 1. The OL push proved too hard to stop, as Madison Hayes scored from a yard out to win the Ultimus. Game, set, match.
Realizing his age and wanting to end his career on top, Riposte announced his retirement shortly after the Ultimus win, finishing his HOF career with an Ultimus trophy.
2nd Place: Manhattan Project (76.5)
Manhattan Project might be the most unique player on this entire list. He is the only player here who didn’t play tackle for the majority of his career, being the only HOF center. So being a center, he gets the advantages and disadvantages that come with it. The main disadvantage of playing Center is the lack of pancakes, as he is middle of the pack in pancakes and pancakes per snap. But with the big disadvantage comes 2 massive advantages, sacks allowed and awards. Manhattan Project allowed only 5 sacks his entire career, and allowed pancakes almost ½ as much as any other HOFer on a per-snap basis. Manhattan Project also has the benefits of awards. He had complete dominance over the NSFC center position in Pro Bowls and All-Pro’s. His competition was lacking with usually around 5-10 user centers in the league compared to around 12-20 tackles in the league, leading to award dominance. I tried to balance this in the formula with an emphasis on pancakes and by giving him only 1.5 points per All-Pro instead of 2, but I think it’s fair the greatest interior OL ever places 2nd on the list. But now, on to his career.Manhattan Project was originally drafted as an RB with pick 11 in the ISFL S28 draft. He position swapped to OL and got called up before S29. Manhattan Project had a solid rookie season, with 64 pancakes while only allowing 3 sacks. A good season for a rookie but not up for any awards or anything like that. The Yeti had a very successful regular season as well, with a 3-2 start quickly being blown open by a 7-game win streak. They would fall to the Salamanders and Secondline with 2 wins in between to finish the season 12-4. In a highly competitive NSFC they got the 2 seed, a game behind the Fire Salamanders. Colorado was hoping to face those Salamanders soon enough but would have to get through the 11-5 Sailfish first. A game tied at halftime was blown open by the Sailfish and the Yeti would not respond the entire second half, ending the season with a 33-13 playoff loss.
Manhattan Project had a very successful sophomore season for the Yeti. He had basically the same pancake numbers (going from 64 pancakes to 63 pancakes) but took a big step up when it came to allowing sacks, as Manhattan Project had his first season without allowing a sack, being the first of many. Manhattan Project would not make a Pro Bowl this season but was awarded with a second team all-pro. The Yeti took a big step back, with a 1-4 start. Despite how bad that start looked, all 4 losses were one score and a blowout win was in the middle of the streak. Colorado rebounded in a big way though, winning 6 of 7 to reach 7-5 and a good playoff position. The Wraiths, Sailfish, and Copperheads (all with double-digit wins) would defeat the Yeti in consecutive one-score games to send the Yeti reeling at 7-8 and force them out of the playoffs. They would win their final meaningless game but were ready to get back to the playoffs in S31.
Similar to his sack-allowed jump last season, Manhattan Project had a massive jump in pancakes in S31. He went from 63 pancakes all the way to 95. This jump put him at 16th among all OLs and 2nd among centers (it’s worth mentioning that the first-place center was a bot) and in combo with 0 sacks allowed made him an obvious Pro Bowler and first-team all-pro, both of which for the first time in his career. This was the start of something massive for Manhattan Project and for the Yeti. The Yeti themselves started 1-1 with a 1-point win and a blowout loss but went on a 6-game tear to start with the best record in the league. They would lose 3 in a row but immediately bounced back with a 3 game-win streak. They split their last 2 (including a 69-13 blowout of the SaberCats with throwing 8 TDs) to finish the season 11-5 and claim the 1 seed despite a shaky defense. But that defense was anything but shaky in the NSFC championship game, not allowing a TD until the final minute and beating the Butchers 23-10 to make the Ultimus.
In the Ultimus Bowl they would face the Honolulu Hahalua, a 9-7 team fresh off of a game-winning touchdown against the Copperheads to get here. The game had a weird start with Caliban getting sacked for a safety on only the 2nd drive of the game. Colorado responded with a field goal but a 59-yard TD pass let Honolulu reclaim the lead 9-3. The offenses lay dormant until the 3rd quarter when the Yeti and Hahalua alternated TD drives, though Colorado did score a second TD that Honolulu only responded to with a field goal to take a 3-point lead, 20-17. Both teams traded field goals midway through the 4th until Honolulu had the ball up 3 with 5:30 to go. But a crucial pick 6 killed Honolulu’s momentum and gave the Yeti a 27-23 lead. The Hahalua responded with a 3-minute TD drive to take the lead 30-27 with 1:44 remaining. The Yeti had two chances at the end of the game, but a turnover on downs and brutal clock mismanagement (43-yard pass to get inside the 20-yard line with 20 seconds left but were unable to get a spike off) led to a crushing Ultimus loss. Despite the disappointment, the Yeti were hoping to make it back to the game and get their revenge next year.
S32 was another stellar season for Manhattan Project. He repeated his brilliance from S31 with similar stats. He had 98 pancakes (11th among OL and first among centers) and 1 sack allowed on his way to back-2-back Pro Bowls and first-team All-Pro’s. The Yeti were a very up-and-down team to start the season but still made it to midseason at a respectable 4-4 before winning 3 one-score games to put them in good playoff position. But a team that averaged 43 rushing yards per game while allowing 136 rushing yards per game inevitably crashed with the weakness of their run game on both sides of the ball. They lost their last 5 in fairly noncompetitive games to fall to 7-9 and miss the playoffs.
Despite it only being a small improvement, Manhattan Project had the best season of his career in S33 with a career-high in pancakes. Manhattan Project had a career-high 101 pancakes (10th in the league and 2nd among centers) while not allowing a sack. This was definitely the best season of Manhattan Project’s career hitting triple digits for pancakes and not allowing a sack so he easily repeated with a Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro. Similar to last year, the Yeti had another up-and-down start but still entered mid-season at .500. Again like last season, they went on a substantial win streak (4 games instead of 3) to put them in prime playoff position. But they then lost 2 close games to the two worst teams in the NSFC (Wraiths and Liberty) to fall to 8-6 in a highly competitive NSFC. They beat the Fire Salamanders in a game that kept their playoff hopes alive but fell to the Sailfish in week 16 to eliminate them from the playoffs. And with HOF QB Mattathias Caliban retiring, an era had ended in Colorado.
After the disappointment of last season Manhattan Project took a considerable step back, falling to 87 (18th in the league, but still first for centers) but he still did not allow a sack. With another dominant (although less dominant) season Manhattan Project made his 4th straight Pro Bowl and 1st All-Pro. Meanwhile, the Yeti completely collapsed. After a 1-1 start the wheels fell off with an 8-game losing streak, immediately followed by a 5-game win streak. The Yeti’s 2 wins against the Hawks were the only thing saving them from complete embarrassment, the rebuild had begun.
S35 was a copycat season of S34 for both Manhattan Project and the Yeti. It was very similar for Manhattan Project with 1 less pancake down to 86 (23rd in the league and 2nd among centers, but first place was a bot) and a sack allowed for the first time S32. Even though the season seemed like a small downgrade it turned out to be the final sack Manhattan Project would allow for the rest of his career. It also allowed Manhattan Project to make his 5th straight Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro. And for the Yeti’s similar season, they improved from 2-14 to 3-13 and still had the worst defense in the ISFL, but progress is progress.
S36 was another year of what turned out to be an agonizing long rebuild. The Yeti make another small improvement, with a legitimate top 5 offense carrying a bad defense to a respectable (though obviously bad) 5-11 record that didn’t place them last in the NSFC. The Fire Salamanders went 2-14 and the Yeti didn’t finish last for the first time since S33. You can contribute some of the improvement to Manhattan Project’s incredible season. He had an even better season than S33 with 103 pancakes (10th among OL, but first among centers and human interior linemen) and didn’t allow a sack. Considering Manhattan Project had almost 80% of the Pro Bowl vote in S35, he was a unanimous Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro, making it the 6th year in a row he had swept both awards, a truly incredible achievement. Maybe the Yeti could finally pair team success with Manhattan Project’s personal success?
S37 was a disappointing season for both Manhattan Project and the Yeti. Manhattan Project was aging quickly and finally showing it on the field. He was still elite, but no longer as dominant. Manhattan Project had only 81 pancakes (26th in the league and 7th among centers, though 3rd among human centers), his fewest since S30. He also didn’t allow a sack, making it his 6th season of his career without allowing one, an incredible feat of consistency. But when award voting came around he ended up tied with Keane Lover in Pro Bowl and All-Pro voting, they split the awards with Keane Lover getting the Pro Bowl and Manhattan Project getting the All-Pro. The Yeti struggled immensely as well, finishing with another 5-11 record. It’s kind of a miracle they even won a game considering they had the fewest YPG and the most YPGA. Hopefully, it was just a bump in the road in a long-term rebuild. Right?
Even as the end of Manhattan Project’s career neared and the Colorado playoff drought continued, Manhattan Project still put up incredible seasons. S38 was a massive bounce-back season for Manhattan Project, reclaiming complete dominance of the center position. He was back up to 97 pancakes (17th among OL, 3rd among centers but 1st among users) and had his 3rd straight season without giving up a sack. This claimed Manhattan Project another Pro Bowl (7th of his career) and first-team All-Pro (his 8th first-team All-Pro in a row, something that might not ever be matched) to add even more awards to his trophy case. But the Yeti had another disappointing season bookended by a 5-game losing streak to start the season and a 4-game losing streak to end it. They finished 5-11 for the 3rd year in a row, even though their offense finished top 5 in YPG and their defense wasn’t the worst in the league anymore.
After another losing season, Manhattan Project was too old for the game anymore and retired after 10 seasons in the league and the greatest center of all time.
Ok I know its stupid leaving it on a cliffhanger, and its not intentional but I'm over the character limit so here's part 2.
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SAVE THE WIKI!