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(S25) - Ultimus Week - Printable Version

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RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - Opera_Phantom - 11-10-2020

9) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?

Where to start... As you should know if you had a player in this sim league for a few seasons now, since Jay Cue got promoted from the DSFL to lead the Arizona Outlaws in the ISFL, the team never made it to the playoffs until this season. This means that from season 20 until season 25, they played the regular season games and that was it, season over, let us start thinking about next season and what we can do to improve. So, this season was a big deal, as we finally made it to the post season, fighting against pretty much everything that my boy Cue could throw at the team to make it more difficult, but eventually the Outlaws managed to get the 2nd place in the conference and a home game in the playoffs. Unfortunately for them, last night we saw again Vintage Cue and they lost. Done.
This brings me to the teams future. Obviously, when you have a player on the league you want to play for titles, and when you regularly miss the playoffs (or lose straight away), the player turnover gets big. We lost a few players in the previous seasons, that wanted to play for championship contenders, and after this seasons heartbreak, we already know that at least 3 fundamental players will be leaving, making us a weaker team, while improving, who knows, even conference opponents. The Outlaws have been drafting really well for a few seasons, but they seem to never get their players together during their prime. For some reason or another, they lose them right before they start being impactful, and even when they have record breaking seasons, their offensive leader is a 1400 TE QB who likes to throw INTs and fumble the ball at the 1 yard line.
I think we will continue drafting very well, we have enough picks to address some of the teams needs, but even though we tried to get some players in free agency that would make an impact right from the start, i do not think we will be able to get any.
With Jay Cue regressing by 25% in a few days and entering his last season before being replaced by Charlemagne Cortez, i feel like the team already is past the all in mode, and will be looking a bit more into shaping the team for Cortez. Well, maybe if we stop testing and randomly select strats we will be able to finally have a run at the Ultimus.

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27) The league is prone to change. Reflect on a past change in either the ISFL or DSFL that significantly impacted something - be it a rules change, an expansion or contraction, or even a complete rebranding. What were the effects of this change, and how has it shaken the status quo?

I think that every team on the league, while looking into the present and doing their best to get results, also needs to look into the future so that they do not reach a point on their franchise history and have no real objectives. This means that during every draft, teams look into their probable needs, maybe 2 or 3 seasons in advance. I can speak for the Arizona Outlaws regarding that, as a war room member, because we have had very good drafts, especially on defense, that supposedly were helping us to be set up for a championship run when the players got to a decent amount of TPE.
But then, right in the middle of it, expansion was announced, and as one of the youngest teams with active users, we knew that was bad news for our roster. Now, i do believe that expansion was needed and i welcome new teams as it makes the league bigger and better, but it sucks to be planning something in advance and then lose 3 very important player because we just can't protect everyone we wanted. And even looking at the personal part of things, you spend a couple of seasons building a relationship with some users, that unfortunately 1 day just have to go and play for a different team. Maybe we see each other again later.

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28) Select any player who was drafted in the back half of a DSFL or ISFL draft. Show how that player has outperformed their draft position, or how they will soon do so. You cannot write about your own player.

There is now way to answer this question without looking into Season 22 Draft. Lots of big players, fantastic users, that are now making a big impact in the league, being current HO members, award winners, current and former General Managers, both in the ISFL and the ISFL, league job holders and heads, definitely users that really helped improve the league experience for everyone and set the tone for the future. But one user of that draft class just dropped immensely during draft day, mainly because of his hard hitting attitude on discord, that set off a few users to even state that they did not want to be drafted to the same team as him, something that in my short experience, i had never seen before. He was near the top of the table TPE wise when the draft came, but no team pulled the trigger to pick him. So he started dropping, and dropping, until the Arizona Outlaws decided to use their 54th overall pick and select Zamir Kehla, cornerback, from the University of Texas. And for someone drafted in the 5th round, he has really outperformed that position, as he is/was a fundamental part of the Arizona Outlaws strategy and is nearing 1000 TPE already. Getting a 5th rounder with that amount of dedication is just something special.

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RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - Drizzy - 11-10-2020

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9) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?

I actually think this is a really interesting time to make this kind of evaluation for the Sailfish, because the undeniable truth is that next season is going to be a lot tougher for the team. Despite the fact that very few of our players are in regression and we should still have a lot of growth from the younger guys on the team to get better at their position, we've lost probably our biggest piece of all in the form of our quarterback Dexter Banks II. Banks has been an unstoppable force this season for Sarasota and is arguably the best candidate to win the MVP award this season; add in the fact that Sarasota's offense so heavily revolves around him and his ability to push the ball downfield, and the fact that he has now played the last snap in his career is something that adds some uncertainty to the team's prospects for next season. It's not like we don't have a great young quarterback who is going to be able to step in and contribute, but for the new rookie signal caller it's going to be a big test to look to do what Banks was unable to; lead this team to an Ultimus trophy. If I'm looking at things totally objectively and taking any wishful thinking out of the equation, I don't think we're going to be good enough to be in a position to win an Ultimus next season. It's a shame as I'm at a position where I don't know how many good years I've got left in my career as I head into regression soon, but I think this upcoming season will be a bit of a step back. We're up against the cap which will limit us when it comes to making some moves in free agency or the trade market, but we do have some draft picks that we can use to try and restock the cupboards a bit. Our defensive unit should be a lot for any team to handle however, and I'm hoping that it'll be good enough to help us get through the growing pains of a rookie quarterback; even if it doesn't, I think the group itself is still young enough to have some good seasons left in it which means beyond just next season this team still has some years left in the tank. Besides something like going out and trading for an experienced QB which at this point in time wouldn't really make sense, there's not a lot that Sarasota can do to get around the issue. Every team has to go through the challenge of changing to a rookie QB at some point, and I'm just hopeful that the rest of our team can make it as easy as possible for him and do what we can to pick up some wins next season.

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10) Pick any position, and determine who in your view is the greatest player to ever suit up at that position. Why do you view them as the GOAT? What achievements, records, accolades, or statistics do they hold? How do they stack up against the other legends in their position, and why does your chosen candidate come out on top?

I thought about going with safety here but instead I'm curious about who the greatest to ever play the first position that I did when I came into the league is. My original player was a defensive end, and after some investigation into the matter I've come to the conclusion that the undeniable best player at the position of all time is Jayce Tuck. I always loathe writing about the greatness of players who were around during the league's very first seasons because the level of competition was so much less than it is now, but Tuck was undeniably and historically great. It's also tough that he happens to be the specific player to talk about here due to the unfortunate history of his agent in the league with the multi scandal that he was involved in. Even taking all this into consideration, I'm finding it hard to write about anyone else as being the best to ever play the position. We all know that in our sim, the primary stat for a defensive end is tackles for loss, and Tuck just happens to be the ISFL's all time tackle for loss leader at the time of writing. I don't think this will stand for too much longer because Nero Alexander is hot on his heels and should surpass him soon, but at this point Tuck has the most. Curiously both Alexander and Tuck are at 9 seasons played at this point, and Tuck having a handful more tackles in less games played means that I see his career as being slightly better. Besides his success when it comes to tackles for loss, Tuck was also one of the most proficient players of all time when it came to sacking the quarterback. He is fourth on the all time list, being the only player who played defensive end to crack the top ten, and currently holds the single season sack record for anyone to ever play in the ISFL with 32; 8 more than his next closest competitor. Add into this the fact that Tuck was a multiple time Ultimus winner, and you're left with a player whose resume looks almost impossible to topple at this point in time. I think that there's an argument to be made that Alexander has a chance of surpassing Tuck at some point, but for now there's no way to look past Jayce as being the greatest to ever play the position. Although there's some obvious issues that overshadow the way he's looked at by some, Tuck had an incredible career and in my mind has to be looked at as the greatest DE of all time.

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RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - jzajenius36 - 11-10-2020

#7

I’ll take this opportunity to talk about the Portland Pythons of the DSFL, my former and first ever team.  I was a bit sad to see myself go once I was drafted and immediately called up to the Philadelphia Liberty in the ISFL, as I had come to feel like ‘one of the snakes,’ and was excited to see where we could go in year two.  Well life goes on and I had to watch the Pythons from afar.  And what I saw early made me think I was going to miss a really epic season.  The defense that I was a part of was mostly back, and in a big way.  The linebacking core boasted returning studs in Matty Martinsson and Donald McBobby, the defensive line featured returnees Cirelli and and Slayer, as well as positional switch player Chuck Roth.  Ben Anabender was back to shore up the secondary, which was infused with some really strong rookie talent.  Offensively, the stable was still full in the backfield, with Christiansen and Darren Pama returning to tote the rock behind their monster tackle Marc Hamel.  Yet despite all of that returning talent, it was clear that the team would succeed or fail based largely on their rookie quarterback Lebron James III.

The season started as well as it could’ve for Portland.  Despite a few hiccups in the preseason, the Pythons shot out of the gate with 3-straight wins.  Portland outscored its opponents by a combined 79 to 27.  Week 4 was a nailbighter, with the Pythons losing to the Luchadores 13-10.  Although the Pythons played well and had the ball with a chance to tie or win on the last possession, the near-realized hopes of high octane offense to match its defense began to fade.  In the next six games after its 3-0 start, the Pythons scored 20 or more points just once while hanging strong defensive efforts out to dry.  Despite this extended stretch of losses, the team kept grinding.  The Pythons, sitting at 4-5, reeled off 3 wins in its next 4 games to put itself at 7-6 and within a shot of the playoffs.  However, the task stood too tall as the Pythons were unable to pull off a win against the eventual NFC North champion London Royals.  While there is a lot to be optimistic about, including the solid play from rookie QB Lebron James III and rookie receiver Messi, who finished lead the league in receptions, the Pythons will likely lose nearly all of its impact defenders, including stat-stuffer Donald McBobby.  This was a big missed opportunity for the Pythons, who sat at 3-0 at one point and were poised to make noise in the playoffs.  I know I’ll be watching to see just how quickly coaching and management can retool the shed.


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#8

So the DSFL award for defensive player of the year will likely go to Richard Leaking, who lead the league in tackles and amassed 8 tackles for loss, or Lagazzy Burfict, who tallied the second most tackles along with 11 sacks, because voters love those linebackers with huge tackle numbers.  However, I’m here to argue for a little guy for defensive player of the year.  I’m here to argue for a rookie for defensive player of the year.  I’m here to argue for Mo Skeeter for defensive player of the year.  The Portland Pythons corner came into the league with some big shoes to fill, having to take the reigns from 2nd overall pick in the S25 draft in Dan Foster, and the 21st overall pick Davriel Lavigne.  Most came into the season hoping the secondary could just play competently enough, relying on the playmaking of Donald McBobby, Matty Martinsson, and Etriegan Slayer to make the secondary’s life easier.  But right out of the gate it was clear there was a new X-factor in the group.
Moe Skeeter debuted in week 1 with 5 tackles and two sacks, though he was overshadowed by McBobby’s incredible 12 tackle, 5 sack performance.  Well perhaps Skeeter took that a bit personally, because he dialed it up another notch in week 2.  Skeeter tallied another 5 tackles but also took his first career interception 32 yards to the house.
While every week wasn’t as exhilarating for Skeeter as his first two professional games, he ended up making mention as a Top Defensive Performer in three different weeks.  Skeeter finished tied for second in the league with 4 interceptions, and lead the DSFL in defensive touchdowns thanks to his two pick-sixes.  Moe Skeeter also finished tied for third amongst defensive backs with 4 sacks.  All this despite teams deciding early in the season to stop throwing towards him.
Although the chances of Skeeter winning defensive player of the year with only 67 tackles is basically zero, it’s clear that the Pythons have themselves a player worthy of taking the passed torch from Lavigne and Foster, and perhaps even elevating it higher.  That is, assuming some ISFL team doesn’t scoop him up and insert him on day one next season.  If he does say, we can all rest easy knowing that the Pythons Defensive Coordinator will be telling reporters how “Moe has the unique ability to make plays and generate turnovers.”


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RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - qWest - 11-10-2020

Task 3 in podcast form.

Listen on Spotify HERE 

or on Anchor HERE

RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - ddrector - 11-10-2020

1) The league has a rich and fascinating history, and our perspectives on it differ from person to person. In 800 words or more, describe any significant non-playoffs moment in ISFL or DSFL history, whether you were around for it or not. Describe the context, the significant members, and the events. What exactly made this event so famous (or infamous) and why does it deserve to be remembered?


There have been many significant players in this league that were not human. One of these players recently accomplished something extremely significant in the league. Prior to this season, no player had surpassed 1300 tackles as the career leader at the end of the season was Selich with 1275 tackles. However, that record only lasted for a season as star New Orleans Second Line linebacker and future first ballot hall of famer Quenton Bode, the massive polar bear, has not only surpassed the 1300 tackle mark, but finished the season with 1332 total tackles. He might also be the first and only player to reach 1400 tackles before he retires. He currently has over 50 tackles more than the next player on the list. That's insane production. Quenton Bode will go down as the greatest tackler in the history of the league. Unfortunately for him, the new 16 game schedule means his record won't last forever and someone down the line who only played in 16 game seasons will blow his record out of the water, but considering the majority of his career was played in shorter seasons I would say he is a no doubt first ballot hall of famer.


The 1300th tackle of Quenton Bode's career came in week 13 of the season on the road against the defending Ultimus champion San Jose SaberCats. Bode came into the game only needing 8 tackles to reach 1300 tackles. He had only failed to get at least 8 tackles once during the season and that was in week 4 against the Yellowknife Wraiths. It didn't take Bode long to get his first tackle of the game as the first play for the SaberCats was a rush by Jamar Lackson, and Bode tracked him down and recorded his first tackle of the game. A few drives later in the game, but still in the first quarter Bode got two more tackles as he tackled both Thomas-Fox and Jack. In the second quarter Bode exerted his dominance as he single handedly forced a three and out. First he tackles George on first down for a short 2 yard gain. On the next play he sacked Jack for a 7 yard loss, and then on third and long he tackled George again well short of the line to gain. He added his seventh tackle of the game late in the half on a first down rush by Lackson. San Jose got the ball at the beginning of the second half and after a couple passes by Jack he handed the ball off the running back Jamar Lackson who found a hole in the defensive line of the Second Line, but then didn't make it much farther as he met a familiar and also intimidating face in the massive polar bear that is Quenton Bode as Bode tackled Lackson he became the first player in league history to reach 1300 tackles for his career. Even as an old bear who has been hit hard by regression he still has made a huge impact as he was only 1 tackle shy of leading the league in tackles this season.

Quenton Bode's career is not over yet. He has less than 70 tackles until he reaches another huge milestone of 1400 career tackles. While regression is making it harder and harder for him to continue it is safe to assume he has at least one more great season left to reach that 1400 tackle mark. I imagine when the day does come that Bode decides to call it a career and stop tackling that a massive parade will be thrown in New Orleans celebrating all that he accomplished in his career. Bode was a major part of the rebuild for the Second Line that saw us go from worst team in the league with the first overall pick in Season 18 to Ultimus champions back in Season 21. He has seen ups and downs like few others and has been a mainstay for the team and the community. A new statue will appear outside the stadium once Bode retires and it will be a massive statue of Bode that is double his actual size as he towers over the Second Line complex as fans will walk by and admire his works before they enter the stadium.

Most people probably watched that game against the SaberCats and saw Bode make that tackle and didn't realize the significance of it. Hell, Bode himself was too focused on the game to know that he had hit 1300 tackles at that point. That's what is truly amazing about him. He is one of the best players in the league, but also one of the most humble players in the league. He was of course excited to find out he had hit 1300 tackles for his career, but he has always been more focused on getting the next tackle than worrying about the tackles he has already made.

RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - xTri - 11-10-2020

TIER 2
12) Give a thorough examination of a league scandal from any point in time. What made this particular drama so noteworthy? Who were the major participants involved, and what was the offense? What kind of impact did this scandal create on the league, and have any permanent changes come about as a result?

When you look for a league scandal, the scandal must generate a good amount of views, otherwise by definition it wouldn't be called one. A popular are for scandals can be found in the media section, and when you sort it by page views, you get one article that blows away every other article. The top article has well over 6000 views while the second highest was only 3,400. Now I present: The Bachelorette Scandal.
On September 17th, Tesla posted a media article titled The Bachelorette introducing a side spin-off ISFL show inspired by the actual realty show where he invites many contestants to 'Roleplay' to try to win the bachelorette, and in this case, was the ISFL commish Bex. Now the actual main post was fully edited away so I currently can't see any details nor don't remember all of the details but I remember Tesla was recruiting contestants to write many words/articles to mimic the actual show. He also posted this in the league announcement section which confused many people wonder how this even relates to the league.
The first several reactions in this thread says it all. Many users were confused saying "Why is this in league announcement", "What in tarnation" and "Delete This". They were asking why was this even approved at all by the Head Offices. People were weirded out by this 'creepy' nature that we have to do this to 'win the hands' of the bachelorette. Someone in the thread said that anyone with common sense would know that this was a very bad idea in the first place. This thread was also popular enough that many inactive/retired users came back onto the forums to show their disgust on this idea as well as the league.
Now I don't fully know the nature of why post this. Was it because Tesla wanted to make easy league money with a long series of articles in the future? Or was it a genuine interest to start an ISFL bachelor show? Nonetheless, the league has shown their general consensus reaction to this.
On a general impact to the ISFL league, there wasn't any big harm with no one getting banned or anything. This event was probably a misunderstanding by the original creator. There wasn't any permanent changes that came to fruition from this. But in my opinion, this event definitely spread through other communities/sim leagues and I can tell that ISFL's reputation definitely lowered from this. Possibly people who were thinking about joining the league would not after hearing about this.

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TIER 3
30) Reflect on the two expansion teams. How did their first seasons go? What were their key strengths and weaknesses, and how are they poised to improve in seasons to come?

The two new expansion teams, the Berlin Fire Salamanders and New York Silverbacks, in their first season went as about expected: Very very bad. Both teams only won three to four games while the rest of the league had a minimum of 7 wins. The Salamanders were setup for disappointment only winning one game out of 12 within the NSFC conference. The Salamanders started the worst QB in the game, Kaepercolin, who had only a QB rating of 71.5. They placed dead last in most team stats including Points, passing yards and total yards. Their only redeeming factor was rushing where they lead the league in rushing yards carried by runningback duo D. King and J. Petrongolo. On the Silverback side, they had one of the worst starts ever going 0-10 in their first ten games. Then they redeemed themselves with a 3 game winning streak. The team had a great quarterback with Howitzer holding a 86.5 QB rating but their team defense was fairly lacking as well as other pieces in the offense. Overall, both teams are obvious lacking in good pieces to compete in the playoffs (as they should be), but with Silverback having a future QB ace in Howitzer, I predict that the Silverbacks will reach the playoffs faster than the Salamanders.

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RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - roastfuego - 11-10-2020

GM UW Pass

RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - C9Van - 11-10-2020

8) Awards season is a big part of the offseason festivities. Take the stand, in 400 words or more, for one or more players that are not your own, and argue why they should receive awards glory. They can be your teammates or anyone in the league. How did their stats and on the field contribution contribute to their case this year?

Well, this will look slightly biased all things considered but I 100% legit think that I am easily in a running for Running Back of the Year or at the very least Offensive Player of the Year in Development Sim Football League in my very first season. I could have done Tom Teboat as Tight End of the Year since he is the only good Tight End in this minor league but I figured being selfish made more sense.

The reason I believe this becomes very apparently when you look at the total picture. I am, this season, the Norfolk Seawolves' offense. Without Lazzy we basically become unable to run or do a lot of everything whatsoever. We won our 2 games purely cause of how destructive he could be overall. He did not have a back up to help share the work load either, it was him against the world if anything. Whilst the other running backs did. Some also didn't who did very well but they had an offense through passing and we did not. 

A total of 1638 yards for 8 touchdowns. Sure people could argue I ran the ball a little too much compared to everyone else but that only make me .8 below 2nd on average runs. I still blow them out by 200+ yards. Now imagine if we had Wide Receivers or a max Qaurter Back to be able to help Lazzy out. Or hell even a back up.

I do not know if you can really call anyone else an offensive powerhouse to the level of what this running back brought to his team. Sure, they finished last overall but that is due to major losses to call ups. I do not think if you remove other running backs from teams they would be anywhere near my stats and Lazzy would do better in there. I purposefully built this running back to be designed to get the most out of him 1 month before creation to get the most out of the sim engine and that is what has exactly happened throughout the season. 

I feel like Running Back of the Year is the correct ward more than Offensive player or Most Valuable Player. I could argue that I am those since without this running back the whole team does not win or be competitive at all but probably not enough wins overall since our defence is not insane either. So yeah. Mr. Forty Two for one of these awards!

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13) Take a step back and predict what the league will look like three seasons from now. Who do you predict will be the dominant teams? Which young players do you think will have morphed into superstars? Will the league have expanded again in the next three seasons, and where would these new franchises be? Don’t be afraid to be creative, but don’t be entirely outlandish either.

Oh this one sounds quite fun actually, sure. So I will just do a disclaimer that I am doing this from limited knowledge and do not get offended by this. I do not care if I am right or wrong in this but right now it feels based off record that everyone is just roughly even with a couple struggling cause they are new and a few dominating cause it is the peak of that team. I think the Chicago Butchers will have replaced the Colorado Yeti for best team by then. Like how they did with Yellowknife but it could be the same for Baltimore Hawks too. Maybe a competitive battle for it?

I will also easily point out that the New York Silverbacks and the Berlin Fire Salamanders will also both get way better if they are able to pick up great youth players on top of the people they currently have. So I can see them being contenders or even able to do what the San Jose Sabrecats did and make a great play-off run. I think we will see quite a bit of change then cause teams regressing and having payers who retire will change everything. So I get the feeling with that and a handful of players running around to other teams we could have a quite different looking league by this seasons standings.

Only one I will say looks roughly the same would be probably the Orange County Otters. Cmon on person reading this. They have never had a trash season since I have been here, I doubt it even starts now either. If they are not the favourites for some strange reason they probably will have picked up some people hitting the prime most likely. You know exactly what they are like. Whether or not they win it is another story.

Speaking of predicting the winner? I guess I will do the final. I think I am going to pick Philly vs New York finals in 3 season. Bold and a hot take. Why exactly? Simple. I am 1-19 all time watching Philly on livestream including 2 finals which I can imagine sucks balls to deal with so I will throw them a bone. New York just cause I like the idea of them doing well as an expansion team mainly. Unlikely final but I guess I am predicting upsets as well if need be. All I know is I will have a lot of TPE by then and hopefully owning the league.

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2 tasks of 400 words for max teeps

RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - sve7en - 11-10-2020

Tier 2: Short Form Tasks (400+ words)
Choose up to TWO for 5 TPE each.

15) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S25 class and later. In 400 words or more, how has your experience been in the league? Who have you met that has made your time here more fun, friendly, and exciting? Have you been satisfied with your player’s early start? What was it like being drafted for the first time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for the entire league that you think should be implemented?

So far the experience has been pretty solid, but I have the advantage of understanding sim leagues from my background as someone deeply involved in the SHL as a Juniors GM. The people I've interacted with have been good though, and I can tell that the rookie experience is pretty solid with a lot of people reaching out and helping everyone, and they take no chances with the idea that someone might not know how something works. I think the biggest flaw with the site right now might just be that there aren't the normal shortcuts that I'm used to though. Not having an unread or active topics button to search for, not having the index available in the top bar, and not having the bank separate from the forum are all little points that slow me down a bit in getting around.

I got picked up by Minnesota off waivers, which was nice of them. I knew a few people in the locker room to begin with, but that wasn't what led to me getting picked up. Woelkers, Revolution5, Hordle, CC, and Voicelesscreator are all people I know from either scouting for my SMJHL team or from the locker room of the team my friend Faelax is the Co-GM for, but the rest of the team have all been super helpful as well. I was also invited as a prospect to the Dallas Birddog and Portland Python locker rooms, where a number of the people from the SHL that I'm close with hang out and that's been fun to see some familiar faces and reconnect with people who I've shared locker rooms with in the past.

On the field, it's been a bit rough. That's understandable for a sub 100 TPE wide receiver though. Hayes got her first touchdown and a game ball in the overtime loss to London in week 13 and that was fun to see. Navigating the index isn't too hard as someone that had experience with the old SHL index and as someone with experience working on the internet in the 90s, but I've had a hard time following the sim sometimes and identifying how my player is doing. That'll will come with time I bet.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks of my time in the league, since I've heard some good things about the way that the ISFL runs the draft and rookie stuff. I'm considering applying for a job in the SHL that will be tasked with running some of the events around the site including playoffs and the draft and it will be cool to experience this as a rookie and see what the SHL might be missing as well as what could be improved over here.

Tier 3: Written/Graphics Tasks
Choose up to FOUR for 2.5 TPE each.

22) Make a scouting report for any of the ISFL or DSFL draftees. Show their stats, abilities, TPE, highlights, or totally fraudulent mail-in ballots. Whatever rookies get up to these days.

Scouting report: Madison Hayes, WR

The latest rugby plater turning to the gridiron, Madison Hayes also brings a track background from England to fill out a profile that resembles a wide receiver more than the expected running back.
  • Just about 5'11, and doesn't lack the body size or mass expected from a female hurdler. 
  • It's clear rugby has been her focus over track and she's capable of taking hits and challenging similar sized tacklers.
  • Hands are definitely a weak point with specifically medium and deep passes. Hands on short routes and transitioning to being a runner are both above the DSFL level.
  • Could develop into one of the most dynamic ball carriers in the league, notable leg explosiveness and quickness.
  • Football IQ is low, but is a quick learner and very bright. Studied pharmacy at a top English school.
  • Lots of similarities to a receiving back or 2nd and 3rd down back. Great at pass catching behind the line of scrimmage and running outside the tackles but her handoff security is weak and it's clearly not a natural fit.
  • Played 5 games with Minnesota after coming off waivers, short routes were good and could play at DSFL level already, but long journey ahead to become more than a niche role player.
25) Imagine that the league’s Pro Bowl included a skills competition similar to the NFL. What sorts of  games could you see being implemented? Which players do you think would perform the best in ultimate frisbee, dodgeball, or other games? Which conference would come out on top?

I really want to see more alternative sports played. Stick the pro bowlers on skates, give them a bat, or put them on the hardwood and make them go at it. With the sim leagues and sim engines being what they are, just have it be a best of three series for the crossover trophy. QBs become pitchers and point guards, defensive backs and linebackers become momentum carrying defensemen on the ice, and wide receivers become base stealing monsters.

If we had it this year, I'd expect the NSFC to dominate the baseball side of things off the exceptional arm of Dexter Banks II combined with the exceptional range of Michael Witheblock, William Lim, and Doug Howlett as wide receivers in the outfield. Basketball would be a slight lean towards the ASFC with the talents of Ashley Owens and Jamar Lackson tearing it up on the hardwood with their agility and hops. The tiebreaker would be hockey then, which is an absolute tossup given that very few of them have ever put on skates before. The winner would have to be someone with a history of playing hockey, and who better to carry the NSFC to victory than the man of hockey himself, Simon Tremblay in net?

NSFC takes the best of 3.

RE: (S25) - Ultimus Week - ThunderTitan82 - 11-10-2020

I’ll be doing tier 2 with two separate prompts worth 5 each! 

14) Greatness emerges through trial by fire. Recount the story of a team who came back from adversity, whether it’s a single miracle game or an entire season or multi-season comeback. How was this team‘s challenge significant, and how did they engineer a recovery? What key moves or plays were the lynchpin to victory?


The season 25 Minnesota Grey Ducks started off the season really hot. Defeating Tijuana on the road in the season opener, beating Dallas at home, and losing a very close road game to the dominant Buccaneers only to comeback a week later and blow out the Seawolves. Then tragedy struck. Jameson Vermillion, our star running back was called up to the ISFL. We managed to beat Portland on the road without him, but a four game losing streak came on us hard. During that time we never scored more than 14 points a game, and in 3 of them we only scored 7. Up to this point the defense had not allowed any team to score 20 points, but without an offense the Defense was on the field too long and would get tired. We did manage to snap the streak and blow out Myrtle Beach, then with the acquisition off rookie waiver running back Xander Creed our luck shifted. He has not played much or made a huge impact, but he does something more important. Let’s Mike Rotchburns come off the field for a rest. Since he joined the team the defense has played in its former good form, and the offense scores double what they did each game without a second running back. The Minnesota front office really made a great call with that pick up, and in my opinion that was one of the things that kept our playoff hopes alive. Had we not lost Vermillion in the first place we likely would have lost half the amount of games we did and would be in contention for the first seed in the playoffs, rather than barely making it with a win and in scenario verse Kansas City in week 14. Xander Creed joining the team and taking some heat off of Mike Rotchburns is a big reason this team has done so well in overcoming adversity. The other big reason in my opinion is the defense. This was the best defensive unit in the league without question. With players like Gleel, Lenkins, Otawara and myself stepping up in big time situations, we can never be counted out. An example is both week 13 and 14. In week 13 we were in a tight matchup with London, I had forced 2 fumbles and a recovery, but that wasn’t the killer. Gleel came out of nowhere in the 4th quarter and blocked a punt in London’s territory to set up our game tying score. Lenkins then stopped a game winning royals drive with an interception to send us to overtime. Same situation in week 14 against Kansas City. Again I had an interception in the game, but this week I blocked the punt in the fourth that set up the winning score, then Lenkins again intercepted a pass on a late KC drive that would have seen them win the game. This team has fought tooth and nail every week and overcome severe adversity to make a late playoff push and make the cut. Traveling to London in the playoffs is just another speed bump of adversity the Ducks will overcome.

15) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S25 class and later. In 400 words or more, how has your experience been in the league? Who have you met that has made your time here more fun, friendly, and exciting? Have you been satisfied with your player’s early start? What was it like being drafted for the first time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for the entire league that you think should be implemented?


My experience so far has been great. As far as player and on field goes : I got a bit of a late start to the league and missed the draft, being signed on waivers by the Minnesota Grey Ducks.  My first season was pretty average, middle of the road in tackles with really no big plays to speak of. My second season though has been soaring high. I have just finished week 14 and am the leader in interceptions and also leading in forced fumbles. About 8 people are tied for first in fumble recoveries with two and I am one of them. I’ve been the definition of a playmaker and it makes me so hyped up in every game that is simmed. Being able to really make an impact for the team, and be a big part of why we are in the playoffs has made it all that much more fun and memorable. I have my fingers crossed that I will be able to win a few awards this off-season but based on my play on the field it is very possible. Obviously the experience is going to be more fun when you play well and that is undoubtedly true. I was also named a captain on the Grey Ducks which was such a great feeing it’s unbelievable. So being a captain on the team and being one of the leaders in the LR it is great that I am able to convey that leadership to great play on the field and help out making some clutch plays. As far as the user experience has been I have had a great time. I have made some great friends on the ducks and in some other teams and just overall have a great time everytime I am logged in. Doing graphics and media, being on the dotts team, and the Ducks rep in the awards committee I have just been enjoying it and been rewarded for it so it’s a great experience. My only suggestion for improvement I thought about recently and that is involved with awards. In my opinion free and strong safety should have different awards because they both have very distinct roles on the field and can’t really be judged or compared with each other. Other than that tiny thing the league has beeen so great I just hope my player keeps playing well so I can continue to enjoy it the most like I do now. I would enjoy it either way but it’s more fun when you win? 

MIN MIN MIN