![[DEV] ISFL Forums](http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/images/emerald/logo.png "[DEV] ISFL Forums"){kind=logo}
+- [DEV] ISFL Forums (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Player Development (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=8)
+--- Forum: Point Tasks (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=92)
+---- Forum: Archived Point Tasks (http://dev.sim-football.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=53)
+---- Thread: S2 - Ultimus Week (/showthread.php?tid=3747)
S2 - Ultimus Week - manicmav36 - 08-28-2017
Offensive Comparison: Compare one offensive player from each team in a series. Can be completed at any point
For the offensive comparison, I chose to compare Darlane Farlane of the Baltimore Hawks and Reg Mackworthy of the Arizona Outlaws. At the beginning of the season, Farlane and Mackworthy were coming from very different places. Mackworthy was 1a in a running back by committee who was recently promoted to lead back with his 1b (Jack Durden) moving to San Jose, while Farlane was a fresh-faced rookie taken in the fifth round. Mackworthy was an Ultimus Bowl Champion while Farlane had never played a game. Now, 14 games later, they are facing off on the biggest stage, the second ever Ultimus Bowl.
After being only the second running back taken in the season 2 draft, Farlane quickly got to work in the Hawks facilities and showed the staff that he deserved to earn the starting spot, wrestling it away from incumbent Marcus Robinson who had rushed for over 800 miles in season 1, but had since gone inactive. Farlane quickly rewarded the Hawks front office for their faith by leading the NSFL in yards, with 1267 yards on 376 carries, and 5 touchdowns. HE also added 16 receptions for 122 yards.
Mackworthy also did his best to prove his believers were correct in sticking with him for their bell cow. He finished the year with 1089 yards on 333 carries. While he averaged .1 yards less per carry than Farlane, he scored more touchdowns (7), had more receptions (27), more receiving yards (206), and more receiving touchdowns (3). While Farlane has a fantastic season, especially for a rookie, the slight edge has to go to Mackworthy for his better all-around play.
Defensive Comparison: Compare one defensive player from each team in a series. Can be completed at any point
For my defensive comparison, I chose linebacker for the Arizona Outlaws Harrif Ernston and linebacker for the Baltimore Hawks, Erasmo Broadway. Ernston, who is the self-proclaimed “best linebacker in the NSFL” and Broadway, a quiet, unassuming man, could not be further from each other in personality, yet both have had a massive impact on the field this year.
Harrif Ernston finished the season with 110 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, and 9 passes defended. In the turnover department, Ernston finished with 5 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumbles recovered. Although he finished second on his team in tackles, he more than made up for it by his impressive all-around style of play.
Erasmo Broadway the season with 115 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, and 13 passes defended. In the turnover department, he finished with 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovered, and 1 safety. Much like his counter-part, Ernston, Broadway finished second on his team in tackles (by only 1) but truly contributed in an almost reckless style of play, making plays all over the field.
Ernston has the edge in sacks, interceptions, and fumbles recovered, while Broadway has the edge in tackles, passes defended, and safeties. Although this competition in basically a wash, I would have to give an incredibly slight edge to Ernston.
Future Talent: Write about which S3 waiver pickup will or did have the biggest impact in the playoffs. Can be written at any time depending on if you choose to write about who already has or who will do good
JD Boom, a defensive end, that converted to defensive tackle for the Baltimore Hawks, will have the biggest impact of any season 3 prospect in the playoffs. Despite only playing in 11 games in the regular season, Boom finished with an impressive 40 tackles, 7 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. His 7 sacks led all season 3 prospects and is a fantastic sign of things to come. In his first post- season game ever, Boom finished third on the team in tackles with 4, and tied for first on the team in sacks with 1, while also continually pressuring the quarterback. Although his final test as a Hawk will be against the second rated offensive line of the Arizona Outlaws, Boom is up for the task.
The Hawks already had a good front 4 with Hendrix, Metas, and an occasional solid performance from Taylor but, with the addition of Boom, the Hawks front 4 became great. Add to that the phenomenal performance of linebackers Broadway and Harrison, and you have one of the best front 7s in the NSFL. Although the chances of Boom still being available when the Hawks take their first pick are low, I’m sure the Hawks would love to keep him. One defensive end (and Hawk) to another, I wish him the best of luck!
Playoff Recap Infographic: Make a graphic displaying the results of the playoffs. Must be completed after the Championship Game
![[Image: kzkVUwg.png]](http://i.imgur.com/kzkVUwg.png)
Bottom Half: Write about why two of the four teams were not able to make the playoffs. Can be completed at any point
The Philadelphia Liberty were a trendy choice to finish in last place in the NSFL before the season started. Being an expansion team, they were clearly at an early disadvantage. While the other expansion team, the Las Vegas Legion, traded away their future for players that were already established in the league, the Liberty built a team the old-fashioned way, through the draft. At the end of their first seasons, it seems that the Liberty made the right choice. Although they struggled mightily early on, the young team built themselves up quickly and soon become a solid team in the NSFC. Unfortunately, they seemed to be missing a very important piece, an offensive line. The Liberty finished the season ranked sixth out of 8 teams in pancakes. Not terrible, right? It gets much worse. At the end of the season, the Liberty sat in dead last for sacks allowed. With 65 sacks allowed, quarterback J. Christ had been sacked 10 more times than the next quarterback, and more than triple the amount of times Yellowknife QB C. Orosz was. Their struggles on the offensive line are most likely the main reason they finished last in rushing yards as well.
The other team I would like to take a look at would be the Las Vegas Legion. Although they had a few bright spots on their team this year, their struggles are well known. Much like their fellow expansion team, a lot of their offensive woes can be blamed on a struggling offensive line. The Legion fared better than their fellow expansion team and allowed only 48 sacks on the year, good enough to put them in sixth place. However, they finished with least amount of pancake blocks in the league, with only 187. League leading Yellowknife had exactly 300. Another big contributing factor would be the play of quarterback Bercovici, who only completed 48.1% of his passes and threw 23 interceptions. Whether he or his line was more to blame for his play has yet to be seen.
S2 - Ultimus Week - Bzerkap - 08-28-2017
Playoff Predictions: Give a short write up on each of the playoff matches (including the championship game).
Let's get some predictions in here why don't we?
First off, a matchup of two quite different teams, Yellowknife vs Baltimore. In Yellowknife, we have a team that relies on its wide-open, dynamic offense to cover up a suspect defense. Clearly, the air attack, led by likely MVP Chris Orosz, is the focal point of the offense but former MVP Bubba Nuck does enough to keep the defenses honest. That isn't to say the defense isn't without its bright spots as they have had timely stops and turnovers at times of need. They face a team in Baltimore of quite a different nature. Baltimore relies on a strong defense, led by their fierce front seven, and their pounding rushing attack fronted by Darlane Farlane, a good bet to win OROY this year. My prediction is that the Wraiths air attack overcomes the average Baltimore secondary and leads them to victory. Wraiths 31 - 23 Hawks.
Second, we have two strong teams in the ASFC, the Outlaws and the Otters. The Outlaws are defined by their fierce, fast, and dynamic defense. The Outlaws defense is clearly in a class of its own and gives Arizona an advantage against anybody. This is good as their offense, outside of Reg Mackworthy is quite average. It's more than enough to be the class of the league though. The Otters have a strong D as well but are defined more by their gunslinging QB, Mike Boss. Boss is known for interceptions and stalling drives with them. Now, he still throws a lot but is not nearly as bad as last year or early this season. However, with Boss prone to interceptions and that being the Outlaws forte, I predict an Outlaws victory. Outlaws 24 - 17 Otters.
So in the championship game we have another Offense vs Defense matchup with the Outlaws facing the Wraiths. The Outlaws have spectacular outing behind their offense and the defense does enough to hold on. Wraiths 20 - 14 Outlaws.
Code:
331 WordsBottom Half: Write about why two of the four teams were not able to make the playoffs.
There are a couple of teams that are pretty obvious as to why they didn't make the playoffs, Legion and SabreCats. I won't touch those. I will however talk about the Liberty and Yeti.
So the Liberty are an easy case to analyze as they are an expansion team. So, even with the amount of activity and talent they have on their roster, they are still a very young team. Almost all of their impact players are S2 draftees and with that comes a lack of TPE compared to S1 player laden rosters. It's only natural that they wouldn't make the playoffs. However, the future looks extremely bright for this team as they did much better than expected and competed with every team out there. They are a team to look out for in S3.
The Yeti have a world class defense and a talented offense. However, there is a serious lack of talent on the OL, causing Logan Noble to run for his life on every passing down. Even the inept pass rush of the Wraiths were able to home in on Noble and bring him down. It's too bad as well, because the defense for the Yeti was top notch, generating one of the best point differentials in the league. Unfortunately this is the NSFL, and #AnyGivenSimday can rear its head at any moment, even with playoff tiebreakers. The Yeti didn't score as many points as the Wraiths and were left out in the cold. They'll be back next year though, so have no worries, even if the NSFC is easily the toughest division, the Yeti still look like the best of the bunch.
Code:
276 WordsFuture Talent: Write about which S3 waiver pickup will or did have the biggest impact in the playoffs.
The championship game is coming up and the Outlaws are trying to defend their championship against the surprise upstarts of Baltimore. Not many people expected Baltimore to be here when the season started, but everyone expected the Outlaws. This allows for an interesting storyline of new kids on the block and well travelled vets. However, there is a new kid on the block that plays for the Outlaws that just might be enough to to tip this game in their favor. That player is DT Godfrey King. King was picked up in the middle of the season and inserted into a starting DL role for the Outlaws. He isn't the most talented defender on a world class unit, but he is definitely a key component. King does the dirty work in the middle of the line with Arbin Asipi, and allows the stellar ends, Jayce Tuck and Dental Dam to rush the passer with abandon, knowing the middle of the line is shored up. They also allow the superstar linebackers, Ernston, Lee, and Luechly to flow to the ball freely without having to engage the big nasties on the OL. This lead to Lee leading the league in tackles and Ernston, and Luechly to create crazy impact plays. Whoever gets King in the draft will be getting a gem.
Code:
219 WordsDefensive Comparison: Compare one defensive player from each team in a series.
The Hawks and Wraiths didn't play the most exciting game, but they sure did have some great defensive performances. Who am I comparing here? A.C. Hackett and Stephen Harrison of course. Both of these linebackers are among the best in the NFL by far. However, for both being top linebackers they really couldn't be more different in their approach. Harrison is the large, hulking, fast, bruising backer that wraps up the back and takes him down. Hackett is the more cerebral, quick twitch, tweener type of linebacker that spends as much time running sideline to sideline as he does matching up with receivers.
So who played better? Well, they basically played exactly the same. Harrison had 13 tackles with 1 TFL, showing his ability to get downfield in a hurry. Hackett had 12 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass deflection, and a forced fumble. Hackett really showed his dynamic ability, creating negative plays and shutting down in coverage while still wracking up the tackles a linebacker needs to. So, who had the better game? I think Hackett made many more game changing plays than Harrison and showed his ability. However, to give Harrison a chance, he is playing on a much better defense and so there is much more of a chance for other players to get the plays over him, but in the end Hackett had the better night.
Code:
229 WordsPlayoff Series MVP: Choose an MVP for one of the playoff series and write about why you chose them.
With the Ultimus in the rear-view mirror let's discuss the MVP of that game. There was one guy who stepped up when it looked like they would only win 6 and then only win 13. He pushed them over the top to make them win by 27. This guy was clearly important, and it's none other than Kicker/Punter extraordinaire Cristiano Ronaldo!
Arizona really sucks, and without Cristiano there really wouldn't be a team. The offense was stopped a total of 10 times this game, pretty pathetic. But when you have the 'golden third leg' back there, nothing can stop you. Cristiano averaged a completely amazing 51 yards per punt, with a long of 64 yards. Do you know how long that is? That's over half the field! He's a field position demon! Not only does he change the field with his 'golden third leg' but he generates points with it too. He was a perfect 2/2 from extra point range, but come on even I could hit those. He also was a perfect 1/1 from less than 20 yards away. Did I say the Outlaws offense sucks? The real creme-de-la-creme emerging from that 'extension' out of Ronaldo is the perfect 4/4 from 30-39 yards. What a great man, a real just amazing human being, the full offense of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Code:
220 WordsS2 - Ultimus Week - Deusolis - 08-28-2017
Bottom Half: Write about why two of the four teams were not able to make the playoffs. Can be completed at any point
Sometimes “good” just isn’t good enough, a lesson the Colorado Yeti learned the hard way as they watched this year’s NSFL playoffs from the outside looking in. While the tiebreaking methods that left the Yeti out of the playoffs deserves to be re-examined, as the team led the entire NSFC in point differential, no amount of hand-wringing will change the fact that the Hawks and Wraiths were in the playoffs while they weren’t. On the defensive side of the ball, the Yeti were the class of the NSFC when it came to preventing points. But you have to score to win football games and the Yeti simply struggled in that regard. As others have written, and Yeti players themselves have acknowledged, the root of their offensive problems likely stemmed from a piss-poor offensive line. Noble is as talented a quarterback as there is in the league, but he can’t throw from the ground
From the ASFC, the expansion Las Vegas Legion finished with a 3-11 record, “good” for last place in the conference. There really isn’t much to say about the Legion’s situation except that they aren’t particularly talented at the moment. They have a few stars on either side of the ball: Tyler Varga and Mark Ramrio on the defense and LeClair and Stormblessed on offense, but aside from the big names the team is incredibly shallow. Credit their GM for being willing to take major risks at the beginning of his tenure, but, unfortunately, those decisions likely set the Legion back several years in their development.
Future Talent: Write about which S3 waiver pickup will or did have the biggest impact in the playoffs. Can be written at any time depending on if you choose to write about who already has or who will do good
Objectively speaking, Brice Boggs was not the most impactful S3 rookie in the playoffs. Fuck objectivity.
In his one game in the playoffs, Wraiths MLB Brice Boggs recorded five tackles and no secondary stats. And, for my money, it was the most meaningful 5-tackle game that has ever been or ever will be. Of his 5 tackles, 3 of them were 3rd-down stops. Obviously you need to record tackles to get in that situation, but when the team needed him Boggs delivered like clockwork. But Brice's contributions transcend what can be recorded in a box-score. We all know the cliches that "you can't measure heart" or "It's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog," but, in Boggs' case, those sayings fit like a glove. Whenever the Wraiths needed a big play in their games against the Hawks, or in their season in general, Brice was there.
Moving to the intangibles, Brice has one of the trickiest roles in the entire league. In a traditional scheme. the MIKE linebacker is responsible for making the reads for the entire defense. Even though that's technically Brice's job, he's also sandwiched between the two smartest linebackers in the league, both of whom think they can predict the upcoming play. Over the course of both the playoffs and the regular season, Brice masterfully managed the twin intellects (and egos) in order to make sure the defense ran smoothly.
Whatever team lands Brice in the draft, watch out, you're getting a real one.
@Daybe
Playoff Predictions: Give a short write up on each of the playoff matches (including the championship game). Must be completed before the simulation of the Conference Finals. (Completed 8:18 EST, 8/28/17)
In the NSFC championship game, the star-studded Yellowknife Wraiths will face off against the upstart Baltimore Hawks. As has been discussed ad nauseam , the Hawks are in the midst of a worst to first turnaround. Last season the Hawks finished with the conference's worst record and as the consensus worst team in the league. This season, on the back of star rusher Darlane Farlane, they placed first in the conference and are looking for more. Unfortunately, their limited secondary isn't a match for the receiving duo of Josh Garden and Bailey Cook. At home or no, expect the Wraiths to win in a one-sided shootout.
42 
21In the ASFC, the defending champion Arizona Outlaws are facing off against the Orange County Otters in a rematch of last season's ASFC title bout. Last season, the Outlaws came within a field goal of tripling the Otters point total and, unfortunately for Otters fans, I forsee a similar outcome tonight. With the utmost respect to the Otters, a well-balanced team that in any other era would be a true contender, the Outlaws are just in a different weight class. The Otters will put up a fight, but beating the Outlaws at home is neigh impossible
35 
7Of courser, this leaves us with the Wraiths matching up against the Outlaws. The NSFLs most explosive offense against its most terrifying defense. While the league's prognosticating class has overwhelmingly picked the Outlaws in this matchup, this one feels different. With the addition of star WR Bailey Cook and hired gun linebacker AC Hackett, the Wraiths have gotten faster, smarter and more athletic. Even though it'll be an uphill battle, if the Wraiths can force a shootout, they can topple the Evil Empire.
38 35Playoff Series MVP
There are truly no wrong answers to the question of who deserves the title of Playoff Series MVP (with the exception of Mark Strike, with a passer rating of 0, he would be the wrong answer). If you’re a valor-in-defat kind of guy, AC Hackett recorded 12 tackles, a pass defended, a sack and forced a fumble in the Wraiths 16-14 defeat at the hand of the Hawks. If rewarding team dominance is more your fancy, we could very easily make like the NBA in January 2015 and award the entire Outlaws roster playoff MVP for their dismemberment of the Baltimore Hawks in the Ultimus Cup. The list of people who have plausible cases for series MVP is close to endless.
But even though there is no wrong answer to our aforementioned question, there is a right answer. It comes in the form of a man who didn’t record a single stat in his best game. If you were solely going by the Hawks stat sheet, it’d be fair to ask if star corner Antoine Delacour even dressed for the conference championships. In a full 60 minutes of football, Delacour failed to record an interception, pass defended or even a tackle. But a quick gander at the Wraiths’ side of the sheet tells you all you need to know about the job Delacour did. Last season’s top Wide Receiver, voted the fourth-best player in the entire NSFL, did not record a single catch. In that game, Antonie embodied the idea of a “shutdown corner,” playing such airtight defense that the quarterback didn’t even dare to make the throw. For a game the likes of which professional football rarely see, Antoine Delacour is my playoff series MVP.
@37thchamber
Conference Final MVP Sig: Make a sig for a player of your choice who you felt was the MVP of a Conference Final matchup. Must be completed after the Conference Finals
![[Image: 10xhx87.jpg]](http://i66.tinypic.com/10xhx87.jpg)
S2 - Ultimus Week - Dangles13 - 08-28-2017
Offensive Comparison:
When comparing two playoff teams the first comparison almost always has to start with the quarterbacks. Chris Orosz and Scrub Kyubee are very similar as quarterbacks right down to size. The 6'5" Orosz hails from Chicago and is exactly what you want in a franchise pocket passer. He has the IQ to call the right plays and the arm to go with it, the coach might want some more agility out of the big man but it isn't holding him back. Kyubee is the Canadian counterpart and he has more or less the same skill set as Orosz but he does lack some arm strength. Statistically Orosz was far and away the better of the two, he led the league in quite a few of the major passing categories like yards, passing percentage and quarterback rating. However that could be because of the supporting cast that the Wraiths have acquired, including their mid season trade for stud WR Cook, or it could just be the growing pains of a young quarterback. While Kyubee did not lead the league in any of the passer categories he was still a top 5 slinger and has room to improve next season. Will any of this matter come playoff time? You never really know and that is why we all love football!
Defensive Comparison:
No team would be a playoff team without a bonafide starting cornerback and both the Hawks and Wraiths boast two of the premier young dbs. Darnell Turner and Dermot Lavalle have had a healthy rivalry as rookie backs and very similar rookie seasons. Lavaelle being the smaller of the two corners would inherently be the better playmaker on the ball and the slightly bigger Turner would be the better tackler in most minds but their stats tell a different story. Turner led all rookie defensive backs in passes defended with 16 and even had 3 interceptions to go with it but only put up 47 tackles, which while respectable was 11 short of Lavalle. Along with this 58 tackles Lavalle had 4 picks and 15 swats. You wouldn't be able to say which player had the better season without looking at more advanced stats but either way you can't go wrong with either one. During individual drills Dermot had the edge in the agility drills but Darnell had a definite advantage in straight line speed. During catching drills both players were impressive but you couldn't notice either one pulling away and ditto the tackling drills. Where you noticed a huge discrepancy was the strength testing, Lavalle was a beast with the weights and that could explain his higher tackling ability.
S2 - Ultimus Week - RedCydranth - 08-28-2017
Offensive Comparison
The Arizona Outlaws and the Orange County Otters are squaring off against one another in the ASFC Conference Championship Game. It is a rematch of last season's ASFL, and the primary receivers have changed of Arizona. Last season the Outlaws had Stormblessed and Jefferson. This year they have Jackson and Evans as their primary threats. I will focus on Phelps and Jackson.
A quick comparison would show that Phelps is a superior player over Jackson. He had 83 receptions for 1406 yards. Jackson is a Free Safety converted to Wide Receiver, and in his first year as a receiver he put up 83 receptions for 1201 yards. A 205 yard differential. But if you look at the Touchdowns, Phelps is eclipsed by Jackson 8 to 5. So those 3 touchdowns almost mitigates the yard difference. Both players are important to their franchise and would not be in the playoffs today if not for their contributions.
Comparing Jackson to Phelps's numbers last year, because it is Jackson's first year at WR, It's practically the same story. Phelps has more yards and about the same receptions in his rookie year as Jackson, however Jackson has more touchdowns. If Jackson keeps improving, he could very well be the best wide receiver in the NSFL.
(211 Words)
Defensive Comparison
The Wraiths are travelling to Baltimore to face the Hawks in the NSFC Conference Championships. Both teams rely heavily on their defense, and most people who study the tape knows that good linebacker play can be to edge when it comes to winning and losing games. Yellowknife has a linebacker named AC Hackett who has come on strong in the NSFL as the Wraiths leading tackler. Baltimore has a tackling machine of their own, named Stephen Harrison. Their season have been remarkably similar thus far.
AC Hackett leads the Wariths with 114 tackles. Stephen Harrison only has 2 more, sitting at 116 tackles. Harrison has been slightly more efficient taking down the running back behind the line of scrimmage than Hackett, as he has 4 tackles for a loss, to AC's 3. Neither of them registered a fumble or a recovery. Hackett makes up for the 1 less tackle behind the line by having 2 more sacks than Harrison. Both of these outstanding and versatile players came down with two interceptions. And both were adept at getting their hands up and batting down passes at the line. Hackett was slightly more efficient in this, registering 8 pass deflections to Harrison's 7. These two players are close in stats but one final stat pushes the edge to Hackett's side. Hackett scored a defensive touchdown. In the direct comparison this is the defining edge that makes AC a better linebacker this year than Stephen.
Of course that minor difference probably will not matter come game day as both of these men will take the field and play lights out for four quarters.
(270 words)
Bottom Half
It's a sad thing when a team of people put their heart and soul into playing every week and fall short of making playoffs, and have to watch their rivals contend for the Ultimus Trophy. Four teams failed to make the playoffs, San Jose Sabercats, Philadelphia Liberty, Colorado Yeti and Las Vegas Legion. Two of them are new to the NSFL this season, and I will take a look at how and why these teams failed to make their first appearance in the post season.
First we'll start off with the Las Vegas Legion. Many questioned their strategy of trading away all their draft picks for players before their expansion draft. By doing so, they missed out on a lot of players that they could build their franchise upon, but arguably the players they got in these trades were just as good if not better than the ones they could have drafted. So, then why did they lose? Well, overall lack of talent. Even with the expansion draft and the trades to get guys like Stormblessed and Ramiro, they were left with much less activity than the original 6 teams. Another contributing factor was Quarterback Josh Bercovici started his season in a really bad slump. After winning their first game, he threw 14 interceptions and only 2 TDs during their 6 game losing streak.
The Liberty chose to take a different path in their inaugural season. They actually drafted in the first 6 rounds. Not including the forced pick of Fox North, they picked up Micah Hendrix, Tyler Oles, Drew Davidson, Perry Tucker, Paul DiMirio, Kristoffer Sullivan, Ottokar Van Gerhardt and Luke Washington all before the Legion could take their first pick. Plus a late pick of Damien Kroetch really helped them as well. They're poised to be better in season 3 than the Liberty by taking this approach. But why did they not make playoffs this year? Well, partly because they were in a tough division. All three teams above them had winning records, and it took the Liberty 4 games to find a groove. If you look at their last game against the Sabercats, you'll see they're not a bad team.
(363 words)
Future Talent
It's a strange rule in the NSFL, that allows players who declare for the S3 draft to be picked up and played in the season before they're drafted. But, that's how it goes. Players like Dermott Lavelle and Tim Pest did it last season. So, who is the big pickup for S3 that has helped a playoff team?
I think that's an easy question. JD Boom has been an unrecognized hero for the Baltimore Hawks. His stat line does not show what he truly is capable of doing. He's a team leader in the locker room and should he fall to another team in the upcoming S3 draft, he leaves a big hole in that Baltimore locker room. On the field though, he certainly can make his presence felt. Through the course of the season, Boom has found his way to the quarterback 7 times, with one time forcing a fumble. His stock is very high going into the third season. Some project him to be a top five pick. It all depends on team need, but the Hawks will more than likely do what it takes to keep this rising star in Baltimore. JD probably likes being there too.
(200 words)
Playoff Series MVP
The NSFC Championship game was a nailbiter. With a final score of 16-14, the Hawks had to rely on several players, and maybe some dumb luck to pull off the win against the Wraiths. If you look at the stat sheet, there's several contenders for the MVP. Kyubee, Vincent, Christmas and Farlane all put up big games, but which actually helped win the most? For that, I dug deeper into the Play by Play.
As I scanned the drive by drive analysis, Kyubee consistently drove the ball, and passed to everyone wearing a Hawks jersey. But when it came time for the big play, they only were able to get it into the endzone once. The Wraiths defense did a fantastic job stopping the Hawks from scoring touchdowns at will. The Wraiths fought back and made the game close. They were able to be quite offensive with scoring a return TD and an offensive TD. But there was one man who helped the Hawks win that game more than any other. Often the unsung hero of all games, the kicker. Turk Turkleton was 3 for 3 with 1 extra point. He was responsible for 10 of the Hawks points. Playoffs are stressful and all 3 of his field goals were from either the 39 or 40 yard line. Not the easiest of kicks. If the Hawks want to have any shot of beating the Outlaws, they're going to need Turkleton's golden leg.
(243 words)
S2 - Ultimus Week - BOOM™ - 08-28-2017
Future Talent:Written
Its'a me, Mario. Well maybe not, but for once I'm going to set aside my usual modesty and name J.D. Boom as a player that is new to the NSFL and his Baltimore Hawks team, that has and should continue to have an impact on the NSFL Playoffs. The young Defensive End was a waiver add for the Hawks and has found himself getting an increasing workload as the season progressed, albeit at the slightly different Defensive Tackle position. He has made a great contribution for the Hawks since he arrived and even though he is barely mentioned in pre-draft scouting reports or around the NSFL in general, he doesn't mind one bit. Flying under the radar is something his agency prefers, and he likes to his self-promotion on the field. His seven sacks this season were pleasing and great indicators of his significant potential, although expectations should be tempered at this early stage of his career. His disruption and eventual sack for -6 yards against the Wraith's Chris Orosz was a crucial play and has been the highlight of his season so far. The four tackles were not as vital to the Hawks victory, but were solid contributions nonetheless. The Hawks will have plenty of work to do against the Outlaws potent offense and if the goal is the Ultimus and NSFL glory, Boom will need to perform even better and many believe he can do just that. As a pass rusher playing at the tackle position, he will need to get to or at least pressure King Bronco if the Hawks are to shock the league and hoist the trophy. He has his doubters and rightly so, however Boom has untapped potential and an innate ability to find a gap to make a tackle or get a sack. If he can continue his rapid rise there is no reason that he can't be one of the factors in the Baltimore chase for NSFL fame here in Season Two. (330)
Future Talent:GFX
![[Image: bogg.png]](https://s26.postimg.org/pcym17a6x/bogg.png)
Conference Final MVP Sig:
![[Image: far.png]](https://s26.postimg.org/ta0qze9uh/far.png)
Playoff Recap Infographic:
![[Image: A3_P2011-_Week17.png]](https://s26.postimg.org/41zqsn1ah/A3_P2011-_Week17.png)
Championship Banner:
![[Image: image.png]](https://s26.postimg.org/gqpfyki15/image.png)
S2 - Ultimus Week - Valtookan - 08-28-2017
vs Victory vs VictoryOutlaws vs
VictoryPlaceholder>.>
S2 - Ultimus Week - sapp2013 - 08-28-2017
Future Talent: Make a sig for a S3 player who you feel will or did make a large impact for their team in the playoffs.
![[Image: dPZWbQJ.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/dPZWbQJ.png?1)
@BOOM™
Conference Final MVP Sig: Make a sig for a player of your choice who you felt was the MVP of a Conference Final matchup.
![[Image: H0YstmF.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/H0YstmF.png?1)
@Raven
Playoff Recap Infographic: Make a graphic displaying the results of the playoffs.
![[Image: tApSEhE.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/tApSEhE.png?1)
Championship Banner: Make a banner (sig style) featuring the MVP of the Championship Game and another player of your choice from the winning teams and S2 Champions or something similar to that.
![[Image: cfo6ZA1.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/cfo6ZA1.jpg)
@Foompin@DeathOnReddit
S2 - Ultimus Week - TheRealBK - 08-28-2017
Bottom Half: Write about why two of the four teams were not able to make the playoffs.
Times are always tough in first seasons for expansion teams, and the Legion were the bottom of the barrel in terms of the regular season. Their offense just would not click all season - just 211 points - which is vital. Everything for them starts at quarterback, where Bercovici fell last in almost every category. This could be a mix of a bad line, or bad recieving corps as well, but the blame will fall on the quarterback, and that's the result of the bad offense for the Legion. You'd have to think that Season 3's free agency will be offense-heavy.
There was one point in the season where the media were praising the Sabercats after a 3-1 start to the season. Things seemed to take a positive turn to the franchise, despite problems with their QB, Ethan Hunt. After that spotlight hit them, they went to lose their next eight games, finishing 4-10. A lot of it can be placed on both Hunt's performance down the line, and the lack of defense. Hunt just seemed to fall back to earth after starting off as one of the most efficient quarterbacks to start. He finished the season with a 1:1 TD to Games ratio, which just doesn't cut it for a team wanting to succeed. Meanwhile, on the other side of the football, San Jose's defense was just awful all year, finishing last in points allowed (374). They need to cut that number in half to become the elite team they wanted to be at the start of the year.
Playoff Series MVP: Choose an MVP for one of the playoff series and write about why you chose them.
SOLIS TROPHY MVP: Jackson Harris
Despite losing the game, Jackson Harris played the game of his life, recording 11 tackles, 2 sacks, and a pass deflection. As a corner, having 11 tackles in the game means that you've been moving all over the place in the game, and busting your ass for the team. The Otters managed to grab three interceptions in the game, and while Harris wasn't one of them, he played a major impact in the passing game, forcing King Bronko to pass elsewhere, and stray away from his key target.
An honorable mention goes to Marc Spector, with his 6 tackles, 2 deflected passes and his interception. The Otters defense overall had a very nice game, it was just unfortunate that the Otters offense couldn't capitalize on some of the opportunities. It was just the case of bad luck for the Otters this go around, expect them to be stronger next year on both sides of the football.
Offensive Comparison: Compare one offensive player from each team in a series.
ULTIMUS TROPHY - TALE OF THE SLINGERS TAPE
KING BRONKO VS. SCRUB KYUBEE
King Bronko came into the beginning of the playoffs as the middle of the line quarterback, posting numbers around the middle of every department. His 3130 yards passing was 5th in the NSFL, but he did record the most touchdown passes of the season (25), and the longest pass connection (54 yards). With Bronko flinging TD passes, and the defense stopping the ball, the Outlaws finished the season with an unprecedented 12-2 record, which goes to show that passing yards doesn't tell the whole story of a quarterback.
Meanwhile, with the Baltimore Hawks, Scrub Kyubee was far from a scrub this season. Kyubee ranks 4th in the NSFL in passing, with quite literally 51 yards more than Bronko (3181 yards). While his 14 TD passes may look like he isn't a threat under center, the one thing that did feel like a threat was his 336 yards in the NSFC Championship game against Yellowknife. Sometimes, it comes from unsuspecting people that throw for the big games.
In this battle, I expect Bronko to be the main attraction in terms of passing game, but don't be too surprised if the roles are reversed. Kyubee showed to us just recently that he can step up in big games, but can he do it on the big stage, the Ultimus Trophy game?
Championship Game Recap: Do a recap of the best play from the championship game.
Wait, what do you mean 'the best play'? The Arizona Outlaws absolutely manhandled Baltimore from start to finish.
What is this about 'doing a recap of a play' when essentially it was Arizona who had the ball for 3/5ths of the game, and took Baltimore to school? I mean, we can look back and say 'hey, Scrub Kyubee got sacked twice for safeties', but that happened so many times with other teams, that it doesn't really matter. All that we can take away from this game is that Arizona is the team to beat for about 15 seasons to come, and if anyone can take them off their pedestal, it will need to be a team that has multiple star defensive players and multiple star offensive players. Whatever happens this upcoming offseason is going to be interesting, because everybody is going for Arizona's jugular. Expect a bunch of key signings by one team whose goal is to topple down the Outlaws. Who knows what team that will be, but good luck to whoever it is.
Future Talent: Write about which S3 waiver pickup will or did have the biggest impact in the playoffs.
The Baltimore Hawks only picked up two S3 waiver pickups during the season. The first man, Wallace Stone, hasn't made much of an impact since his signing. However, I feel like although he doesn't look like it now, J.D. Boom has a ton of upside with his ability to run past linemen and get to the run stopper. I feel like if he makes the necessary steps for next season's games, he could be one of those guys that can be an essential stopper for any team looking to fill out their need at the defensive line. His stat sheets in the playoffs weren't too huge, four tackles and a sack in the conference championship and only three tackles in the championship game, but there's moments where he could have had an extra sack or two at key moments, and he's just a step or two short of that happening. J.D. Boom, again, has a lot of upside to being both a run stopper and a QB stopper if he takes the necessary steps during training camp. I can't wait to see what happens to him next season.
S2 - Ultimus Week - SwagSloth - 08-28-2017
Offensive Comparison: Compare one offensive player from each team in a series in a side by side graphic. Can be completed at any point
![[Image: ultimus_off_copy.jpg]](http://image.ibb.co/c1rBu5/ultimus_off_copy.jpg)
Defensive Comparison: Compare one defensive player from each team in a series in a side by side graphic. Can be completed at any point
![[Image: ultimus_def_copy.jpg]](http://image.ibb.co/gjrpgk/ultimus_def_copy.jpg)
Future Talent: Make a sig for a S3 player who you feel will or did make a large impact for their team in the playoffs. Can be written at any time depending on if you choose to write about who already has or who will do good
![[Image: ultimus_briceboggs.jpg]](http://image.ibb.co/m6OfnQ/ultimus_briceboggs.jpg)
Conference Final MVP Sig: Make a sig for a player of your choice who you felt was the MVP of a Conference Final matchup. Must be completed after the Conference Finals
![[Image: ultimus_confmvp_copy.jpg]](http://image.ibb.co/chyO95/ultimus_confmvp_copy.jpg)
Bottom Half: Write about why two of the four teams were not able to make the playoffs. Can be completed at any point
Las Vegas Legion: Despite having a strong defense, the Legion struggled in their ability to pick up yards, ranking 7th in rushing yards and 8th in passing yards. In the red zone, they were slightly better, but only slightly, ranking 5th in passing touchdowns scored and 7th in rushing touchdowns. Of their 11 losses, 8 came at a deficit of more than points. The Legion needs to find a way to strengthen their offense without sacrificing defensive effectiveness if they intend to put together a serious bid for the S3 play-offs.
San Jose Sabercats: While having some nice pieces together, the Sabercats struggled with a 4-10 record. RB Jack Durden managed to put break 1000 yards this season and help improve their running game, but the team struggled in the passing game, ranking 6th in completions, yards, and passing touchdowns. In addition, their defense ranked 6th or worse in several categories, including tackes, TFL, fumbles, sacks and interceptions. They ranked 1st in Pass Deflections, but their inability to create turnovers or blitz opposing teams kept their defense would reaching the next level. If the Sabercats want to make a better run for next season’s play-offs, they need to find a way to improve in the passing game and strengthen their defense across-the-board.
212 words