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+---- Thread: S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! (/showthread.php?tid=15618)
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - jsteele14 - 09-28-2019
3) All about the QBs
This to me is probably the easiest choice and how is it not for everyone else? Having a rookie quarterback in the playoffs and hell even seeing him make the Ultimus, how is he not the most excited quarterback to see play? Of course this has got to be talking about the Orange County Otters starting quarterback Franklin Armstrong. Having him finally get the starting gig for the Otters and to see him not have too exciting of a season in stat wise but have that kind of a playoff run has got to be the talk of the league. Leading his team to victory and bringing an Ultimus to Orange County has got to be something talking about. He had a crazy stat line to what his season stats were looking like. Seeing Armstrong finish the season with over three thousand yards and having thrown twenty three touchdowns is a good stat to see how the season went, although it was 3rd to last in the whole league in comparison to the other quarterbacks. I don't know how to view his stats exactly from how his postseason went, but I know he did well especially bringing home an Ultimus.
6) Our Time
Although the Ultimini has passed, I still believed that it should have been the time for the Marshals to win. It seems that to me that I have learned that the Tijuana Luchadors seem to always win or are always the favored to win. Also, the fact that the San Antonio Marshals were seen as the second best team it would have been a good story to talk about the team winning and of course who does not want to have their own team win the championship? I know we were the highest rated when it comes to speed on defense and I believe we were ranked second in speed on the offensive side. We also had a late trade for the player that was drafter third overall in the draft one before my player Pete Parker, so they had two top five draft picks on their team and it seemed that we were going to make a good push into the championship to win. So especially after finding out the GM's of the Marshals were leaving it would have been great to at least get them a championship before they left. Sadly it wasn't the case and there's always next season.
7) Next year
Next year I know I will be up in the NSFL and be on some unknown team that I have no idea who it will be until I am drafted, but of course while being up there I will still be watching to see how my former team the San Antonio Marshals are doing. I know with a new coaching staff they will have to prove their worth and try and show that they will be a great coaching team and bring the team home a championship. It will be nice to see who is still going to be the roster on the team this time next season because I am not sure who is gonna go up and who is going to stay down and continue playing for the Marshals. With how well and active the Marshals were, it would be surprising to see who actually stays down. I am pretty confident in the future of the coaching staff and the team that will be the Marshals will be a great thing to come. I'm sure that either next season or the one after that will be the season they take home a championship! So, as for now, before i'm no longer a Marshal, GO MARSHALS!
11) Trades
One trade that I know that happened was one in the DSFL. And that trade included the man, or may I say the mouse, who was drafted before me in the draft being Stuart Little. I saw that he was drafted onto the Palm Beach Solar Bears, but once they realized that their season was not going to really end up with much other than a few wins and a bunch of losses, they decided to make a trade with another team, that team being my San Antonio Marshals, to help possibly add a playoff push for the Marshals and dare I say that it was a good trade. Having two top five players on one team, especially the trade giving us someone who is active and also a good buddy of mine I knew that they made a good choice to pick him up and he would help improve our team in areas that we needed help in. He was talkative when he first joined the locker room and to be of my surprise I cannot believe the Polar Bears even traded him, especially knowing how good of a player he is and taking him so early. Sadly, the trade did not help in the long run as we were eliminated rather quickly in the post season, but for what we got I still think it was a good trade and if I was in the position of the GM's for the Marshals, I would make the exact same trade.
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - KillKillKill - 09-28-2019
Task 1 - PBE PT
Wkdfire53
Task 7
So this year, the Austin Copperheads were not picked to be a playoff contender, but we snuck in anyway. Being a new team, I am still vastly proud of the effort that we turned in and the strides we made this season. With a strong draft, the window for our success is starting to crack open. We have a solid core of players that are putting in effort and hopefully the effort will soon pay off and we will see some wins out of this group. Finishing the year with five wins and a great outlook for the future is a result that we should all be happy with. I can't say I expected to even win the five games that we won this year, so we are right on schedule for future success. Our defense grew by leaps and bounds this past season, and I can only see us getting better with the linebacker heavy draft class coming up. With Honda and Bakshi already manning the middle of the field, an active rookie would go far in improving our growing defense. Takeda Okura was a revelation as a rookie safety and looks to also grow in that role moving forward. The offense grew as well with upstart back Ashley Owens joining Mako Mendonca in the backfield to form a two headed running tandem. The future is bright in Austin.
Task 8
Like with any new team, you want to build a solid core of players and build outward from there. Austin has done well in adding the likes of Easton Cole, Ashley Owens, Honda Edmond and Takeda Okura, just to name a few and I am sorry if I left a few out, in the previous draft. Now the team must build outward from there. Maybe another linebacker like Thudd Kassel in the linebacker room to go along with Honda Edmond and Sandy Bakshi would propel the defense to the next level. Kassel would be great defensive addition, but we also couldn't go wrong in adding Gaines or Virtanen as well. If we can build a solid defensive foundation, it would also help out with offense by keeping the opposing defense on the field and winded. Hall and Ironside would be welcome additions on the interior defensive line, so those are good options as well. This is a defense heavy draft with the consensus top ten draftees consisting of defensive players so chances are good that any of the available defensive options available when its Austin's time to choose, will go far in helping a budding defense. Selfishly though, I hope it is another linebacker.
Task 9
So what is the definition of an enemy in the NSFL? Is it a team that I have a personal grudge against? If that is the case, my natural answer would be the team that drafted me and then immediately traded me away on draft day. Although I don't harbor any real animosity towards this team, you can't help but to feel a little slighted at the action. I am also aware that it took a one in a million deal to make the trade palatable, so again, I can't really be too mad about it. My production on the field has spoken for itself so I have no real need to twist the knife further. Another enemy candidate could be all of the players drafted before me. Most of those guys are my friends, so I'm not mad at them personally. Rather, I make it my goal to force every team that drafted a player before me to rethink their draft strategy and second guess their results. I wish every guy, personally, who was drafted before me all of the success in the world. It's the teams that I want to suffer for their oversight. So to answer the question of who is my enemy, I will say my enemy is every team in the NSFL not named the Austin Copperheads. I am offended that I wasn't number one on every team's draft board, and I will make you regret your picks by showing you what you could have had every week.
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - toivo - 09-29-2019
7) New Orleans will win the championship next year. Next year will be very important for the progress of the franchise. Francisco is emerging as one of the top quarterbacks to ever step on the gridiron. Bona’beri Jones is reaching his prime as a receiver and will connect with his QB to make some more huge plays that we saw in the regular season this season. There were times this season when we saw New Orleans show flashes of brilliance. For example, the season opener against Austin Copperheads where the Second Line won 31-10. All look good early on. Yet, the Second line went on a 4-9 record to finish last in the ASFC. It’s how she goes sometimes. Francisco threw for 3482 yards this season, 15 touchdowns. That’s going to go way up next season, you can bet on that. Not many people will be expecting a big breakout from New Orleans next season, but they will surprise the masses. The Second Line picked up their 4th win of the season in the last game against Baltimore, outscoring them 38 to 28. 3 of the wins for New Orleans came in the last five weeks of the regular season, demonstrating the progress of the team’s development. Next year it’s ours.
8) I hope New Orleans adds another wide receiver to Francisco’s dangerous toolset. Bona’beri Jones and Vladi Frodorovich are the two wide outs that Francisco looks for now, adding an extra weapon there could push New Orleans over the hill and towards a championship. Ideally, the team would look for a good receiver in the first round and steal one of the best available receivers early on. However, I am confident in management and our scouts’ ability to find talent in the later rounds. Jones was picked up late and had developed into a quality receiver, all things considered. The Second Line could have a dominating offense that stands up over any defense with the addition of another good receiver. Francisco would be thrilled to have another receiver he knows will get open and make the catches he lobs at them. We’ll see where the team goes with the draft, while having a focus is good in theory, it should really be the best player available approach. Targeting a receiver will be in the best interests of the Second Line, but if another great player is available, that’s the way to go. So, in essence, there should be a focus on wide receivers, but some flexibility is warranted.
12) The Second Line were 4-9 this season, but picked 3 of those wins up at the end of the season, i.e. the last 5 games. New Orleans finished strong and because of this, they should get into the playoffs. The playoffs are a brief little tournament to decide the champion, but really this should extend further into the season. Re-work the schedule so that teams getting the easy matches ups in the first few weeks don’t get an advantage. The first few weeks are tough on players from a conditioning standpoint. Towards the later part of the season, players are at their peak conditioning and that’s when the season should really start. The Second Line were a strong team during those last 5 games. They should get some recognition and credit for that. It’s hard to say who they should be in the playoffs over, but that’s a tough decision that the league has to make. Let the Second Line in the playoffs, let Francisco throw some incredible passes down the field to Fyodorovich and see the Second Line lift the championship. Perhaps calling what happened to the Second Line this season a robbery is a stretch, but after that excellent football they played down the stretch, it just doesn’t sit well.
SHL PT
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - iamslm22 - 09-29-2019
8) Draft Focus
Written: What areas of your team has the biggest holes that you are hoping get filled in the upcoming gigantic S18 draft? What round are you hoping it’s filled?
Well the Philadelphia Liberty team that I took over certainly has a lot of holes and there's a lot of things that we have to fix and we need a lot of players and there's a ton of stuff and players that we need to fill. The first and primary focus obviously needs to be the defensive line and when discussing when it will get filled it is tough to say because the two best DL prospects Isa Star crossed and Hall Moniter will AKA Bjorn Ironside and Zach Hall are definitely going to go in the first round but if we don't make the pick in the first round then we can make it in the second round and if we don't do that we can do it in the third round and if we don't do that then maybe the fourth round and if we don't do that maybe the fifth round and if not then definitely in the sixth round. The Liberty also have a multitude of extra picks, having an extra third rounder and two extra fourth rounders and then we have no fifth round picks but we have extra 6th rounder so it will be fun to see how the draft goes. 207
Sit Down with a Star - thanks @ADwyer87
1 - What was the midseason trade like for you?
It was expected. Everyone knew i wasnt happy with the Otters. I thought things would be different with a new QB at the helm, but somehow they were worse! Thats what you get when you learn from "the extra t is for extra turnovers" Showbiz
2 - How did it feel to play in the Ultimus against your old team?
It was pretty crazy. Like, hwo did those bums make it here? I have no clue how they won, they just got lucky i suppose. I'm sure if I was there the otters woulda won by 50, so no big deal, shit happens
3 - What are your personal expectations for S18?
I expect to win the top reveiver award, like i do every season! Whether or not the stats show it, i'm always the best guy on the field on offense. We'll see if the voters finally wise up and say so in the next few seasons
4 - What are your career goals?
goals? goals are for people who still gotta prove something. I'm the best in the game already man. 3 championship trophies, what more do you need? nah, only goals i have is with the new cheelreaders, if you know what im saying
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - Jiggly_333 - 09-29-2019
PBE PT or this JPT. I don't know which you want, but I did the PBE PTs this week.
5) Stupid Tiebreaker!
So, the NSFC was a complete and utter mess this season. The three playoff teams were all tied and the two teams missing the playoffs were tied. Just a complete shitshow. The tie breaker, for all of American sports it seems, was points scored. The Yellowknife Wraiths had 361 points scored, the Baltimore Hawks had 343 points scored, and the Chicago Butchers had 336 points scored. But while having the least points scored, Chicago is a defensive based team. Simply judging them on points scored is bullshit. They ended up playing away to the Baltimore Hawks, losing horribly.
In the NSFL, home-field advantage means so much more than in real life. At least in my experience, home-field advantage gives a team about a 4-5% higher chance of winning. This isn’t the exact number from it, but I’ve done research on this in MLS stuff. But in the NSFL, not getting home-field advantage in the playoffs is almost a death sentence. Having this massive three-way tie seriously screwed over a team that did play very well in the season. In fact, they had the second best point differential, meaning that if chosen through that they would’ve had home-field advantage during this game.
17) Robbed
I’m going to write about this three times apparently and here’s the second time. While the Chicago Butchers did make the playoffs, they were screwed out of winning. I mean, there’s two different things a GM can do. You can test-sim to your heart’s content, trying to find whatever mysteries of the sim you can gain, checking every single possible angle, weighing the win percentages to find the best strat. Or you can not have the sim and just go in blind. I have no clue if we went in blind, which is a good indicator that we probably went in blind. I’m not in charge of strats.
Being destroyed that badly doesn’t quite make sense when you look at our team. I think the sim just hates me specifically whenever I’m a GM. It’s like I cheated judgement my first season as Chicago Blues and this is the gods of the sim wreaking permanent retribution upon me. Is there some way to absolve this sin, I do not know. All I know is that the sim hates me when I’m a GM. It’s ambivalent when I’m a player, but I feel like I’ve been screwed over again. This is all Noble’s fault. Er’s rigging the sim.
20) Let’s get Wild!(card)
If the Chicago Butchers had won just ONE MORE GAME, they’d be the #1 seed. This team was designed from a “win-now” perspective, so not “winning now” hurts a lot. With high TPE inactives with good builds, an active offense, and a star on defense it looked like this was where something had to happen. But nothing happened. After three seasons of playoffs, the team is getting dismantled now. Well, first dismantled on the field at least by the Baltimore Hawks.
That’s what makes it so difficult because this is supposed to be a fairly even game, but the Hawks just wrecked Chicago so bad. It’s tough to see that sort of score. There had to be some sort of differentiation between the teams in the regular season in order for a better looking playoffs, but all of the teams had the same record. Once again, it’s hard to look and it’s hard to understand how that sort of game could even happen between two even teams. Or at least, they’re as even as you can say. Maybe the difference was in activity and between the regular season and the playoffs.
Either way, the sim gods are real and they have abandoned us.
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - TomHanks - 09-29-2019
9. Enemies
Got damn I'm glad y'all set it off
Used to be good now you're just weak and soft
First you was good on the draft day
And now I see you trading all your picks for Trae-IA?
Lookin' like straight bozos
Numbers saw it comin' that's why he went HO
And kept on stompin'
While y'all motherfuckers lost it all in Portland
Livin' with the snakes, one big house
And any recent trophies are fakes
I started off with too few draft picks
Dropped Jake Dropson now I'm gettin' all the chicks
Luchadores are rulin'
“The greatest team in the league”, who ya foolin'?
Y'all Pythons just phony
I put that on my mama and my dead homeys
Saba Boy's on your team, so you're losin'
Ay yo Cue, you play like you’re snoozin’
Said you’d win it all, but you weren’t that slick
RKANSAW saw your team and went IA quick
You got jealous when I got my Ultimini
But I'm a man, and only Scorp was helpin' me
Tryin' to sound like your strats are the best
Toast could test all day, still be no contest
'Cause you know I'm the one that flown
Ya done run 100 yards, but you still got one to go
With the L-U-C-H-A M-O-B, and ya'll disgrace the your city
'Cause you're gettin' fucked out your rings by Tijuana
With no Vaseline
1) Playoff Predictions, Reviews:
Y’all already know what playoff game ol’ Jimmy is reviewing. I had been dreading leaving Tijuana since I decided to make the move, but with one final game we were gonna put on a show. We’d been to the Ultimini before as a team, but we had a lot of rookies, so for a good chunk of the team this was a totally new experience. That wasn’t the case for our quarterback, who turned in a very efficient performance and earned himself his second consecutive Ultimini. The team as a whole was fantastic as we had been all season. However, there are two guys I really want to highlight. The first is Chase Osborn, who gave us the game winning touchdown on the first play of the 4th quarter, capping off a great drive and giving us the lead. The other guy I want to highlight, Junior Lopez, came up even more clutch than Osborn. Down by 1 point, Portland had the ball and a chance for Cue to march down the field and score a game winning touchdown like his predecessor, Franklin Armstrong did so many time before him. Instead, Lopez came flying across the field on Cue’s first attempt of the drive, snagged the ball out of the air, and secured the game our team.
7) Next year
Ooh boy I’m looking forward to moving up to New Orleans right now. I know I just said I was dreading leaving Tijuana, and I’m still a bit of a wreck since then. It’s gotten so bad now I get sad drinking tequila, and I used to love margaritas. But the Second Line is poised for the future. Our window opens next season and I don’t see it closing for a long time. Our quarterback, Stan Francisco has been developing steadily, and will be taking control of the offense next season as he is beginning his peak. Our WR has a great veteran presence in Vladimir Fyodorovich, who agreed to come back on a generous contract, and will be taking a mentorship role for our receivers. Jones has come a long way and will be a force to be reckoned with next season. Jackson plays both at tight end and wide receiver, and his role is poised to grow a lot with Stan’s improvement. On the defence we have maulers on the D line like Brayden Ennis, who might be the strongest man I’ve ever seen, Bode, who led the league in tackles last season, and the swiss army knife that is Johnny Slothface. We also have lock down corners in Andrews and Taylor. All of those guys have been making huge strides, and NOLA is looking to be a shut down defence next season.
16) Unsung Hero
Unsung hero of the playoffs is going to go to a guy who was the best damn offensive lineman in the DSFL this season, Brave Ulysses. During the regular season, Ulysses produced 2 fewer than the record number of pancakes in the season with 65. He also didn’t let in a single sack. Given the job of protecting McCann from DLotY Mike Franchet, as well as bulldoze him out of the way for our RBs was no easy task. Despite that, Ulysses not only didn’t let in a sack all game, but he held Franchet to a single tackle and no TFLs. In addition, Brave planted his opposite man on the floor on 7 different blocks. In the Ultimini with the stakes raised, Ulysses continued to perform extremely well, notching 5 more pancake blocks onto his impressive season, and finishing strong without letting in a single sack. His opposite man, Sanchez, was held to 3 tackles, none of them for a loss. Ulysses was able to win at the point of attack through 100% of both games in the playoffs, made huge holes for Ducky and Osborn to run through, and kept the pocket clean for McCann to pick apart the opposing defence. He ends his DSFL playoff career with the 3rd most pancake blocks, 31.
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - PaytonM34 - 09-29-2019
(09-29-2019, 11:45 AM)TomHanks Wrote:9. Enemies
Got damn I'm glad y'all set it off
Used to be good now you're just weak and soft
First you was good on the draft day
And now I see you trading all your picks for Trae-IA?
Lookin' like straight bozos
Numbers saw it comin' that's why he went HO
And kept on stompin'
While y'all motherfuckers lost it all in Portland
Livin' with the snakes, one big house
And any recent trophies are fakes
I started off with too few draft picks
Dropped Jake Dropson now I'm gettin' all the chicks
Luchadores are rulin'
“The greatest team in the league”, who ya foolin'?
Y'all Pythons just phony
I put that on my mama and my dead homeys
Saba Boy's on your team, so you're losin'
Ay yo Cue, you play like you’re snoozin’
Said you’d win it all, but you weren’t that slick
RKANSAW saw your team and went IA quick
You got jealous when I got my Ultimini
But I'm a man, and only Scorp was helpin' me
Tryin' to sound like your strats are the best
Toast could test all day, still be no contest
'Cause you know I'm the one that flown
Ya done run 100 yards, but you still got one to go
With the L-U-C-H-A M-O-B, and ya'll disgrace the your city
'Cause you're gettin' fucked out your rings by Tijuana
With no Vaseline
https://tenor.com/xjGE.gif
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - pazuzu - 09-29-2019
PBE Task
PBE JPT
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - speculadora - 09-29-2019
1) Playoff Predictions, Reviews:
Written: Give a short write up of one or multiple playoff matches. If completed before the airing of the sims have predictions, after if it is a review of the game.
After an improbable run to even make it to that point, the Orange County Otters found themselves in an unusual situation; playing for the Ultimus, but as the underdogs. In each of the Otters' previous six appearances in the game, they had found themselves favored, including in their Season 7 loss to the Liberty. Yet, with a 5-1 record in the big game, you knew the Otters wouldn't go down without a fight. And fight they did. The Otters opened the game with an 11 play, 85 yard, 6:20 drive, capped off by a Franklin Armstrong sneak for a touchdown and keyed by a pair of huge catches from Johnny Blaze that netted 46 yards. The Hawks quickly returned fire, however, traversing 58 yards in a matter of just 2 minutes en route to a Sunnycursed touchdown against his former team. The Otters and Hawks traded scores from there, with the game tied at 14 with 11:47 to go in the 3rd. Franklin Armstrong then engineered another long drive for the Otters, capping it off with a 19-yard touchdown to receiver Hugh Mongo, and Orange County didn't relinquish the lead again. They cut a promising Hawks drive off at a field goal and scored again with 9:22 left in the 4th, effectively sealing the game by extending their lead to 11 points. Neither team posted another score as the Otters won their 6th Ultimus.
8) Draft Focus
Written: What areas of your team has the biggest holes that you are hoping get filled in the upcoming gigantic S18 draft? What round are you hoping it’s filled?
Thank god I can talk about holes I need filled here, unlike in the repressive and strict PBE. So anyway. Orange County. The defense is kind of aging and there are definitely some holes that, if they don't exist now, will in the near future. Specifically I would be looking at the defensive back position, where we have Dan Schneider, Gus T.T. Showbiz, Jonathon Rice, Gordon Ramsey Jr., and Shannon Hobbs. Literally all of whom are now in regression or have been for more than a season now. So that's a need that can't afford to be ignored. We also did quite successfully with a running back by committee approach late in the season, and after sending Corey Trevor back to the Hawks, I think that's an area worth addressing so we don't overwork Apollo Reed, who is quickly blossoming into a star. Less pressing but still very much worth addressing is the defensive line position. Thorian Skarsgard and Tommy Salami will start regression next season, while Kwame Abayomi Mbanefo is currently in regression. While Skarsgard and Mbanefo have high enough TPE to sustain a loss, Tommy Salami does not, and as such is someone Orange County should consider finding a successor to.
9) Enemies
Written: Not everyone loves each other, write 200 words on an opposing player or player in this year's playoffs about how they will struggle, why do you want them to lose? (Don't be too mean).
I have nothing but a begrudged respect for Outlaws quarterback Andrew Reese, but man did I want to see him fail in these playoffs. For obvious reasons, of course. After Arizona upset the Otters in last season's playoffs and won their own Ultimus, I was very much hoping that the Otters would be able to pay back the Outlaws in kind. After taking care of business in the wild card round against the San Jose Sabercats, we had just such an opportunity. And particularly after dropping both games against Arizona in the regular season, it was starting to feel as though we had some bad juju going on when we played them. Thankfully for us, we got our wish, and were able to trounce the Outlaws 37-20. Not quite as dominating a performance as when they came into Orange County and walked all over us, but still one that left little doubt who was going to win throughout the matchup. And, as part of that win, our defense really held Andrew Reese down. He did throw for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, but he also needed 45 passes to put up that line and he completed just 19 of them. We were also able to sack him 3 times, ultimately making it a rough day all around. Again, nothing but respect for Reese as a player and user, but I think that was a win that the Otters really needed after dropping 3 straight to the Outlaws, and it always makes your life easier as a team when your opponent's QB struggles. I look forward to the continued rivalry between Orange County and Arizona, as it had been lacking for far too long.
11) Trades
Written: Talk about a player who was traded this past offseason or before the trade deadline and how they will affect the Ultimus, or how they helped their new team in making the playoffs, or cost their old team.
Whoops. When I pitched Sunnycursed to come back to Orange County this past off-season, I did so as earnestly and truthfully as possible. I ran tons of tests that showed he could be even more productive than he was in Season 16, when I (and some others) believed he should have won the Wide Receiver of the Year award over teammate Vinny Valentine. Then the season started and we just weren't what I expected as an offense. I don't know how or why the tests and results were so dramatically different, but it quickly became apparent that I couldn't deliver what I promised Sunnycursed without sacrificing our ability to win games. I talked things through with Dwyer and tried to make it work, but as the season went on I just felt we were wasting his last prime season while not even contending to make up for it. So we agreed that shopping him might work out, and the Baltimore Hawks, who were looking to make an Ultimus push, were a great fit. They pursued him hard in free agency and fell just short, but that also meant they'd have a strong chance to re-sign him this off-season. We agreed on a deal that I think even in hindsight was strong for both of us. As the season went on it looked like Sunnycursed was thriving in his new offense, while the Otters were maintaining their playoff streak while looking toward the future. It was a win-win. Then came the playoffs and we made this unexpected run, only to beat the Hawks in the Ultimus. And so in the end not only did we cost Sunnycursed about half of what could've been an award-winning campaign, we also wound up beating him in the Ultimus. There's no guarantee anything plays out identically if we don't make that trade, however, so it's interesting to look back on it and realize just how much Sunnycursed impacted things this season.
S17 ULTIMUS WEEK!!! - moonlight - 09-29-2019
1. Playoff Review
Franklin Armstrong’s S17 rookie season in the NSFL was a mildly successful rookie season. He led the team to a 7-6 record and second in the ASFC to the defending champions Arizona Outlaws. He threw for 3191 yards, and a TD/INT ratio of 23/13. His efficiency was low with a 53.5 completion percentage (last in the league) and a passer rating of 78.2 (second last). The wildcard game featured a rematch of Armstrong’s first NSFL game in Week 1 against the Christ led Sabercats. The Otters avenged their Week 1 loss in a close home victory, winning 20-13. The conference championship in the ASFC featured the defending champions Arizona Outlaws vs the underdog Orange County Otters. This time Arizona was the home team who played below expectations and suffered a devastating loss, as the Otters went on to the Ultimus on a 37-20 dominating win. The Ultimus featured a matchup between the visiting Orange County Otters and the home team Baltimore Hawks. The game was back and forth as it was 7-7 at one point and eventually 14-14. The Otters managed to gain the lead and build on that lead with another big TD pass from Armstrong to Blaze. The defense held their own for the rest of the 4th quarter as the Otters went on to win 28-17 for their seventh Ultimus championship. (224 words)
3. All about the QBs
The S17 Ultimus featured another matchup between Armstrong and Havran, which has quickly become a premier QB rivalry. The rivalry started back in S14 as Armstrong, former QB of the Pythons and Havran, former QB of the Luchadores matched up in the Ultimini. That was a win for Armstrong as the Pythons were crowned champions of the DSFL for S14. Now the Armstrong and Havran rivalry has reached the stage of the Ultimus. The Hawks were heavily favored to win the game as Corvo Havran rolled into the matchup being the most likely MVP and QBotY. Armstrong had a solid but not great Rookie season. The Otters had a surprising victory as they won a close 28-17 game. The Otters were nursing a 21-17 lead before Armstrong gave them a two score lead midway through the 4th Quarter with a TD pass to Johnny Blaze. Armstrong had a stat line of 17/27, 287 yards, and 3 TD passes with 135.9 passer rating. He also was the game’s leading rusher with 11 carries, 48 rushing yards and another TD on the ground. He was named Offensive Ultimus MVP. Havran had a solid game with 25/52, 376 yards and 2 TD passes with and 85.1 rating but couldn’t keep up with Armstrong. (210 words)
12. Sit down with a star with @nunccoepi
1. What is the expectation in the Hawks locker room on how you guys can get back to the big game in S18?
The expectations are as high as they have ever been in Baltimore. We know that we have bad luck at times. That made this loss particularly difficult, if I'm being honest. But that doesn't change anything for the future. Our future is the same after the loss as it would have been after the win. There's no reason we can't be back in the big game next season.
2. Are there any defensive beasts in the S18 draft that you hope to play alongside in a Hawks uniform?
You know, I know that it's not very heads up of me, but I really haven't converned myself with the upcoming class. I see that as an off-season activity, and I know that our GMs (and now our new GMs) will be on top of it. They know our team needs, particularly on defense. We are used to having a couple of holes to fill each season so this one will be no different.
3. How are you dealing with an Ultimus loss against the Armstrong led Otters?
I kind of already spoke to this, but I'd have to say that the fact that the Otters were led by Armstrong didn't mean much to us. We've seen the Otters plenty of times, even in the Ultimus, so we were pretty familiar, even with the crew of young guys we had. But we'll keep working to move ahead.
4. What steps does Havran have to take in order to reach the next step in his development to finally be better than Armstrong?
Ooof. Well. I'm not sure he has much to do at all.
13. Sit down with a fan with @nunccoepi (216 words)
1. The Otters had a rollercoaster of a season, and at one point it seemed like you were tanking by trading away your star wide receiver Sunnycursed. How did that affect you as a QB and the morale of the team in general?
The dealing of Sunnycursed made sense at the time. He was someone looking for stats which is hard to get for someone playing with a rookie QB experiencing a growing pangs. Armstrong was certainly understanding and didn’t mind overall and I don’t anyone else on the team cared too much either way.
2. At what point did you realize that winning the Ultimus was a real possibility?
With 9:30 left in the 4th quarter of the Ultimus. That put the game at 28-17. Going into the playoffs at 7-6 with many other teams that were objectively better such as the Outlaws, Hawks, Wraiths and so on, and needing to win at least two road games to win the Ultimus, it hadn’t seem possible until that point late into the game.
3. Will Franklin Armstrong remain an Otter forever?
I certainly want to. But the aftermath of taking team friendly deals is that my bank account is drying up fast. I’d be pretty tempted to test FA so I wouldn’t have to worry about that. But I have always liked the idea of playing with one team my who career. I certainly like the weather here in Orange County.
4. What are the Otters and Armstrong’s expectations for next season?
Next season, we’re looking to repeat as Ultimus champs. But a better regular season record is essential. Winning multiple road games to win the Ultimus is a tough task. It’ll be huge if the Otters manage to get a wild card bye.