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*To Worthy Adversaries - kckolbe - 10-19-2017

First off...being the best feels amazing. I can only imagine how rock hard @ADwyer87 was for his first Ultimus, because I still can't believe it. And yeah, not having been expected to win it helps a LOT. At the beginning of the season Tijuana was the favorite, then Norfolk, then Chicago. San Antonio wasn't the favorite until after the first round of the playoffs when we suddenly had home field advantage. Granted, we were never picked to finish last or anything, but winning is definitely more satisfying when no one expects it.

In an opinion that will surprise absolutely no one, I feel I deserved and earned it. Since the DSFL is about learning, I will share what *I* think earned me this success.

Before picking my filler bots, I decided on a concept for offense and defense. I wanted 3-4 defense focused on run-stopping. I wanted not just a run FIRST offense, but a run ALWAYS offense. In the draft, my top priority was players who both fit those schemes and would not be called up for TWO seasons. I wanted long term success. Additionally, I knew QB would get a ton of attention, and patiently waited as 4 of the 5 opponents picked a QB in the top 2 rounds. I waited until the 9th round. My first two picks were a blocking TE (Tkachuk) and an NT (Green). I considered them vital to the schemes I had decided on. Tkachuk was the best blocker in the league with 23 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed while also leading the DSFL TEs in receptions and yards despite a low volume pass offense. Green, despite mainly having the job of eating blocks, finished with 64 tackles (5 for loss), 8 sacks, and 2 safeties. I think it's safe to say that I got exactly what I needed out of both.

I didn't execute this alone. I picked an excellent co-GM in @bovovovo, told him my vision for the team, and gave him a ton of freedom with building a draft board to execute it. As the season went on his knowledge quickly improved, and I felt safer trusting him to determine strategies (he did all the test sims), so I pushed more off onto him. I only had to replace him due to promotion, something ANY leader should be proud of. When that happened, I picked @iamslm22 even though he is a conference rival and we clash at times. There were multiple applicants I was friendlier with and might have ENJOYED working with more, but he was the best pick for the job. We played 4 games after hiring him, 2 of which were on the road and 3 of which were against playoff teams. We won ALL FOUR. Considering how little time he had to get the sim and learn a lot more about the teams, that is an amazing accomplishment. For everyone who wants to be a DSFL GM, know that the deciding factor for his hiring was that he was the only applicant who watched the DSFL games being streamed. I knew he cared and would be at least somewhat familiar with who had what to throw at us. I highly encourage other DSFL GMs to look for this should they have openings.

Okay enough teaching (translation: bragging). I want to take a minute to give credit to OTHER DSFL and NSFL GMs.

First off, thanks to @Bzerkap for allowing ALL his players to participate in strategy sessions, even when they were rookies who knew fucking NOTHING about the sim. I learned a ton from him and @Ballerstorm and would have made a ton of rookie mistakes had it not been for that experience. As it was, I only made a couple.

Thanks to @HENDRIX for showing me how to be tight-lipped while still feeling out other teams' intentions. I know I love to talk, so I let Bork handle negotiations while I mainly evaluated offers. This helped keep my over-sharing in check.

To the DSFL GMs, I have to start with @`To12143` and @Perry87. You guys did a LOT of what I bragged about above. Your strategy was followed beautifully. You got a great QB and surrounded him with good PASS blocking and above average receivers, then used your waiver claims to shore up weaknesses. You got a TON of unlucky breaks that I don't understand, but that team was legit. You were the only team I could have handled losing the championship to. I'd feel bad for you, but given that you have an extra second round pick next season, maybe I'll save my pity.

@124715 and @WinstonKodogo, how the FUCK were you competitive? You lost 3 of your first 4 draft picks this year, your first two before the season even started. And you weren't just competitive, you fucking killed it. The Coyotes had the second-best point differential in the league, and were one score away from having home field all the way through the playoffs.

@loco, I get why you got frustrated, but there was a reason so many teams were afraid of you. You knew your window and jumped for it like a mad man. Rich Gucci, Connor Tanner, and you were all ONE YEAR players, and you also were a fiend at grabbing waiver claims, snagging everyone who wasn't claimed. Had Bot and Tanner not been called up prematurely, I really don't see any team having a chance. Hell, even with all you lost, your team still has the best depth going in to next season, not to mention high draft picks.

@Jiggly_333, yeah, we all made fun of you for undeserved wins, but how many know the FIRST trade of the season was between the Blues and the Marshals? You weren't a big game planner, but you weren't as vacant as I made you out to be either. And being the best team of the first regular season, as well as breaking double digits in wins is nothing to be ashamed of.

@PDXBaller and @cosbornballboy, despite being rookies, you guys are making names for yourselves FAST. PDXBaller is working with me on the NSFL in Review series, and cosbornballboy was one of the better applications as well as a significant part of the baseball sim league being created. These are both smart, hardworking guys who are taking over a team with great draft picks. Be afraid.

Thanks to everyone who read this. Simply being selected as a DSFL GM was a huge honor, and being the first champion was pretty important to me. As you may have guessed from my initial strategy, I intend to be back in the running this year, too.

*To Worthy Adversaries - PDXBaller - 10-19-2017

Thank you for the kind words sir! Looking forward to meeting your team on the field (DSFL and NSFL).

*To Worthy Adversaries - ADwyer87 - 10-19-2017

I never STOPPED being rock hard lol

*To Worthy Adversaries - Jiggly_333 - 10-19-2017

(10-19-2017, 06:06 PM)kckolbe Wrote:@Jiggly_333, yeah, we all made fun of you for undeserved wins, but how many know the FIRST trade of the season was between the Blues and the Marshals?  You weren't a big game planner, but you weren't as vacant as I made you out to be either.  And being the best team of the first regular season, as well as breaking double digits in wins is nothing to be ashamed of. 
I guess I should probably clear up what exactly my strategy has been. As you all have been made well aware of, my background is mostly soccer. In that game there are two main ways to manage a team. The first is "The Tinkerer," who meticulously mixes things up for every game, never playing with the same exact tactics more than once throughout the season. I fucking hate those guys (at least in soccer). My belief is that if you've built your team with a strong core at the beginning, it will stay strong throughout the season. I don't know what that person's nickname is, but I'm that guy.

When it comes to this league, a lot of people like to work with the percentages and which thing has the highest chances of things, running test sims day and night (or whenever you have convenience) to find the formula that's nearest to perfect. After working closely with that sort of thing with the Otters, I realize that it's basically random and while test sims can tell you certain things, the test sims aren't the game.

Before I drafted a single player, I had a certain style of offense and defense I wanted to run. I tried to draft around those needs, but I was woefully unprepared for the draft. The only thing I did know was how to properly judge builds and so I chose the bots that I felt worked the best for me. And I think you can see that my team was pretty much run by bots. Other than that, I trusted the universe and randomness. I knew that my strategy wasn't exactly tailored for whatever game I had coming up next, but it was built through a base strategy that worked.


Also, I don't have the game, so that's a problem when it comes to test simming.

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Ummm, but fuck it. It works.

*To Worthy Adversaries - HENDRIX - 10-19-2017

Thanks for the kind words, congrats on the championship.

*To Worthy Adversaries - DeathOnReddit - 10-19-2017

(10-19-2017, 07:06 PM)kckolbe Wrote:First off, thanks to @Bzerkap for allowing ALL his players to participate in strategy sessions, even when they were rookies who knew fucking NOTHING about the sim.  I learned a ton from him and @Ballerstorm and would have made a ton of rookie mistakes had it not been for that experience.  As it was, I only made a couple. 

Wtf @ADwyer87 how come you dont do this for us in arizona.

*To Worthy Adversaries - kckolbe - 10-19-2017

(10-19-2017, 06:24 PM)DeathOnReddit Wrote:Wtf @ADwyer87 how come you dont do this for us in arizona.

I may have just accidentally done more damage to the Outlaws than I could EVER do on purpose.

*To Worthy Adversaries - ErMurazor - 10-19-2017

(10-19-2017, 06:24 PM)DeathOnReddit Wrote:Wtf @ADwyer87 how come you dont do this for us in arizona.

Quiet boy. Get back in line and play with your shiny new ring.

*To Worthy Adversaries - DeathOnReddit - 10-19-2017

(10-19-2017, 08:28 PM)kckolbe Wrote:I may have just accidentally done more damage to the Outlaws than I could EVER do on purpose.

I demand a trade to the wraiths.

*To Worthy Adversaries - ErMurazor - 10-19-2017

(10-19-2017, 06:45 PM)DeathOnReddit Wrote:I demand a trade to the wraiths.

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