12-05-2017, 12:59 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-11-2017, 02:55 PM by ExemplaryChad.)
Sit-down with a fan: Answer questions for an interview from a player that is not your own. You must answer at least four questions and at least three must relate to the league in some way. Link to the interviewers PT to receive credit. NOTE: THEY MUST POST THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR YOU TO GET CREDIT.
My Q&A
@7hawk77 Dan Miller
1. How do you feel about the way the playoff picture came about, with you guys narrowly missing the postseason?
I feel alright about it. It would have been great to make the playoffs, but honestly I don't think we we're positioned to make an ultimus run this year. This is the first year we've had a positive record so that feels great. On the other hand, being tied to get knocked out kinda stings. Bittersweet really.
2. Last year was a pretty record-setting year for you. How did this season compare?
I'd say pretty well. Last year Offensive lines we're complete garbage. They figured out a better way to get a lot of OL talent so things have been a bit more challenging this year. As far as stat records, I have the most sacks (16) for any defensive lineman. I was 2 away from having the overall record in the league. Beating Jayce Tuck in sacks felt great. However he's still an amazing player. He had 16 tackles for loss this year and I only had 1. If running backs weren't so scared to run on the inside against my team, it would be a different story. *Dan laughs*
3. How do you think the role of DT had evolved over your time in the league?
At first it was a race to the ball carrier. Now you actually have to shake off blockers and are much less likely to make big plays. There is definitely more going on in the trenches than when the league first started. Some of that doesn't even result in stats.
4. I know you play a lot of WoW. What draws you into the game? What race and class do you play?
(This is in character; I indicated I played the game when I wrote a PT about doing a celebrity commercial for the game.)
I was drawn to the game because my older brother played and showed it to me. I first rolled a troll priest to heal his orc warrior. Since then I've mostly played trolls, but I dabble in mage, druid, priest and rogue.
Word count: 355
Hate the player or the game: Tell us which team made the playoffs and shouldn't have, or which team didn't and should have?
It’s a shame that the Sabercats couldn’t sneak into the playoffs. According to the rules, they were kept out, fair and square. I don’t blame any weird rule stipulations on their missing out. It was 100 percent down to their own play. And yet, it would have been so cool to watch their cinderella story.
This is a team that has never made the playoffs before. They’ve never even had a winning record until this year. But now, after some bold moves in free agency and a couple of draftees coming into their own, they had a real shot at making a run for the Ultimus. They were really only a few points scored from edging out the Otters for a spot.
This season, Orosz played lights out, as we’ve come to expect from him. And the defense has been anchored by some strong line play out of Calkewlated Chambers III, who vastly improved from last season, and especially Dan Miller. He kept up with his frenzied pace from last year and amassed the most sacks in the league, even beating out GOAT Jayce Tuck. The Sabercats weren’t cheated out of a playoff spot any more than any other team who didn’t make it, but it would have been nice to see them get a shot.
Word count: 216
Root for the Underdog: Pick an away team in an upcoming game and try to convince yourself (and us) why they can win.
In the Wraiths vs. Otters matchup, anything -- almost literally anything -- could happen. In a world where the Outlaws don’t even make the Ultimus final, nothing can be sure about the football world. Up is down; left is right; black is white. Nothing makes sense anymore.
So why couldn’t the Wraiths, whom no one expected to even make the playoffs this year, defeat the Otters, the perennial second-place team in the league? I mean, it’s a fantastic feat that the Otters pulled to knock off the three-time reigning champion Outlaws, but that certainly doesn’t make them unbeatable. In fact, their defense leaves a lot to be desired, and the Wraiths could be just poised to take advantage of that weakness. Akselson has stopped being a turnover machine like he was early in the season. Overall, the Wraiths have just been playing good football. Of course, Mike Boss is still Mike Boss, and he’s capable of throwing a hundred touchdowns in a game. But will that be enough to overcome what the Wraiths are going to throw at them? It’s honestly anyone’s guess.
We’ve all spent so much time wondering who was going to finally challenge Arizona that we’ve forgotten to consider other matchups. Does anyone even know how these two teams compared in their head-to-head matchup this year? Without looking in the Index? I’ll bet you don’t. Neither do I. So really, all I’m saying is, in this topsy-turvy world of unexpected results, who knows anything?
Word count: 245
Unsung Hero: Who was the unsung hero of the playoffs, convince us.
I’d like to give credit this year to a whole unit of unsung heroes: the new offensive line bots. Years prior, but particularly last year, offensive lines were just getting destroyed by the likes of Jayce Tuck and his ilk. Sack numbers were off the charts, and run averages were embarrassingly low. While we haven’t seen the running games throughout the league make huge gains, there are certainly gains that have been made.
Passing games, on the other hand, have gone through the roof. From sack totals in the thirties for individual players down to single digits: that makes quarterbacks feel a hell of a lot more comfortable taking shots down the field. Word is that the bots are only going to get better next year, though they will also be more expensive. Not only will this make 500+ TPE players have to work a little harder to get those gaudy numbers; it will also allow for more diversity of strategy along the line. Teams will start getting one or two top tier bots instead of a line made up of essentially the same player. Where will they put them? And where will the defensive linemen be moved in order to take full advantage of their skillsets?
Word count: 207
My Q&A
@7hawk77 Dan Miller
1. How do you feel about the way the playoff picture came about, with you guys narrowly missing the postseason?
I feel alright about it. It would have been great to make the playoffs, but honestly I don't think we we're positioned to make an ultimus run this year. This is the first year we've had a positive record so that feels great. On the other hand, being tied to get knocked out kinda stings. Bittersweet really.
2. Last year was a pretty record-setting year for you. How did this season compare?
I'd say pretty well. Last year Offensive lines we're complete garbage. They figured out a better way to get a lot of OL talent so things have been a bit more challenging this year. As far as stat records, I have the most sacks (16) for any defensive lineman. I was 2 away from having the overall record in the league. Beating Jayce Tuck in sacks felt great. However he's still an amazing player. He had 16 tackles for loss this year and I only had 1. If running backs weren't so scared to run on the inside against my team, it would be a different story. *Dan laughs*
3. How do you think the role of DT had evolved over your time in the league?
At first it was a race to the ball carrier. Now you actually have to shake off blockers and are much less likely to make big plays. There is definitely more going on in the trenches than when the league first started. Some of that doesn't even result in stats.
4. I know you play a lot of WoW. What draws you into the game? What race and class do you play?
(This is in character; I indicated I played the game when I wrote a PT about doing a celebrity commercial for the game.)
I was drawn to the game because my older brother played and showed it to me. I first rolled a troll priest to heal his orc warrior. Since then I've mostly played trolls, but I dabble in mage, druid, priest and rogue.
Word count: 355
Hate the player or the game: Tell us which team made the playoffs and shouldn't have, or which team didn't and should have?
It’s a shame that the Sabercats couldn’t sneak into the playoffs. According to the rules, they were kept out, fair and square. I don’t blame any weird rule stipulations on their missing out. It was 100 percent down to their own play. And yet, it would have been so cool to watch their cinderella story.
This is a team that has never made the playoffs before. They’ve never even had a winning record until this year. But now, after some bold moves in free agency and a couple of draftees coming into their own, they had a real shot at making a run for the Ultimus. They were really only a few points scored from edging out the Otters for a spot.
This season, Orosz played lights out, as we’ve come to expect from him. And the defense has been anchored by some strong line play out of Calkewlated Chambers III, who vastly improved from last season, and especially Dan Miller. He kept up with his frenzied pace from last year and amassed the most sacks in the league, even beating out GOAT Jayce Tuck. The Sabercats weren’t cheated out of a playoff spot any more than any other team who didn’t make it, but it would have been nice to see them get a shot.
Word count: 216
Root for the Underdog: Pick an away team in an upcoming game and try to convince yourself (and us) why they can win.
In the Wraiths vs. Otters matchup, anything -- almost literally anything -- could happen. In a world where the Outlaws don’t even make the Ultimus final, nothing can be sure about the football world. Up is down; left is right; black is white. Nothing makes sense anymore.
So why couldn’t the Wraiths, whom no one expected to even make the playoffs this year, defeat the Otters, the perennial second-place team in the league? I mean, it’s a fantastic feat that the Otters pulled to knock off the three-time reigning champion Outlaws, but that certainly doesn’t make them unbeatable. In fact, their defense leaves a lot to be desired, and the Wraiths could be just poised to take advantage of that weakness. Akselson has stopped being a turnover machine like he was early in the season. Overall, the Wraiths have just been playing good football. Of course, Mike Boss is still Mike Boss, and he’s capable of throwing a hundred touchdowns in a game. But will that be enough to overcome what the Wraiths are going to throw at them? It’s honestly anyone’s guess.
We’ve all spent so much time wondering who was going to finally challenge Arizona that we’ve forgotten to consider other matchups. Does anyone even know how these two teams compared in their head-to-head matchup this year? Without looking in the Index? I’ll bet you don’t. Neither do I. So really, all I’m saying is, in this topsy-turvy world of unexpected results, who knows anything?
Word count: 245
Unsung Hero: Who was the unsung hero of the playoffs, convince us.
I’d like to give credit this year to a whole unit of unsung heroes: the new offensive line bots. Years prior, but particularly last year, offensive lines were just getting destroyed by the likes of Jayce Tuck and his ilk. Sack numbers were off the charts, and run averages were embarrassingly low. While we haven’t seen the running games throughout the league make huge gains, there are certainly gains that have been made.
Passing games, on the other hand, have gone through the roof. From sack totals in the thirties for individual players down to single digits: that makes quarterbacks feel a hell of a lot more comfortable taking shots down the field. Word is that the bots are only going to get better next year, though they will also be more expensive. Not only will this make 500+ TPE players have to work a little harder to get those gaudy numbers; it will also allow for more diversity of strategy along the line. Teams will start getting one or two top tier bots instead of a line made up of essentially the same player. Where will they put them? And where will the defensive linemen be moved in order to take full advantage of their skillsets?
Word count: 207