*Sarasota Season Diary

[Drizzy]

Coming into this season, it feels like there’s a lot on the line for the Sailfish. Despite being a fairly young squad on the whole, it feels almost like this is one of the last opportunities for the current squad as it’s made up to make the splash they’ve always felt they’re capable of. Time waits for no man, and with regression starting to take its pound of flesh for some members of the team and getting closer for even more of the team’s roster, it feels like now is the season where their young talent is old enough but their veterans aren’t too old. Make no mistake, the goal going into the season is to win the Ultimus. Last season really showed the Sailfish to be a potential competitor as they put up a very impressive win total on the season and made their way all the way to the NSFC Championship game. Ultimately however, they fell short at the final hurdle and were left on the outside looking in once again. The team has done everything they can to make sure that this season will be different and they will go all the way, and with some serious firepower on both sides of the ball, I don’t think you can rule out the roster they’ve put together on talent. So with that in mind, I decided to do something that I’ve never done before. I’m going to keep a diary of the season on a game by game basis, recorded my thoughts on what happened in each of the games the team plays as soon as I can after the match has finished. It should hopefully provide a bit of an insight into how the team is doing at each point of the season and allows me to get down my thoughts on the way things are shaking out while at the same time earning a bit of cash. 

I’m entering this season with higher expectations than any other since I came into the league with my current player, both for myself and the team. I was disappointed last year to see a bit of a dip in my production on a personal level which meant I missed out on a Pro Bowl selection after having gone the season before. I’m hopeful that things will be different this time around; I’ve basically maxed out every usable attribute on my player at this point, but we all know how fickle the sim can be when it comes to giving out success, especially to defensive backs. I’ve always said that I’m determined to take the career of my current player as far as I can, with the ultimate goal being to earn a spot in the ISFL Hall of Fame. I’m not exactly off to the best start with a single Pro Bowl selection in the 4 years I’ve played in the league, but I’m hopeful this is when it’ll all start to get back on track. I’m excited to see how things play out, hopefully I haven’t set myself and the Sailfish up for failure by saying all this but we’ll see.

So with all that out of the way, let’s waste no more time and go straight in with our game by game diary of the Sailfish season.

Game 1: Sailfish @ Yeti (27 – 10 Loss; 0-1)

Everyone on the team knew that this was probably going to be the hardest game on our schedule this season, but even so, I had hoped that we would be able to give a better account of ourselves than we did here. We surged out of the blocks and scored an early touchdown to put ourselves ahead, but after that our offense faltered and couldn’t get going again, and we only managed to put up 3 more points in the entire game. The Yeti’s defensive unit shut up down pretty comprehensively in the end, and it was a disappointing effort and result from everyone on the team. Like I said, everyone knew that this was going to be the toughest game of the schedule, but for a team that has championship ambitions like the Sailfish do, this is exactly the kind of game that you need to win in order to prove to your rival that you can hang with them. Going 0-1 isn’t ideal but the team needs to take its lumps and learn its lessons from the game, and I believe that from here on out the schedule is a lot more easy for the team to pick up some wins and hopefully we can get back on track quickly. Jamie didn’t do much of anything in this game, putting up nothing besides 4 tackles. Not really the type of production I was hoping for in the season opener, but hopefully he can shake his slow start off after the first game and go on to put up some better numbers in the next game. All in all, not a good season opener but not time to panic just yet, as long as we can improve and grow from here. Credit has to go to James Angler for a great game despite a loss, catching 6 passes for just over 100 yards.

 

Game 2: Sailfish vs Fire Salamanders (10 – 6 Win; 1-1)

It’s not often you come across a win that leaves you very worried, but I think this one definitely falls into that category. The team had been looking to a home game against the Fire Salamanders as an opportunity to bounce back after losing in Week 1 and get their game going, but it didn’t quite work out that way. The Sailfish’s offense had been looked at as a powerhouse unit before the start of the season, with their style of play expected to pile up the touchdowns and run opponents off the field, but in this game against an expansion team playing their second ISFL game ever, the offensive unit managed to put up 3 points in total. Without being overly negative, to put up 3 points on offense against an expansion team widely predicted to finish at the bottom of the NSFC when you have ambitions of winning an Ultimus is totally unacceptable, and the team was lucky that Raphtalia Chan was able to bail themn out by taking a punt return all the way into the endzone for a touchdown and allowing them to win over the Fire Salamanders by a very slim 4 point margin. The defense did their job, limiting Berlin to just two field goals, but were a not for a successful special teams play that wouldn’t have been enough, so I imagine it’s going to be straight back to the drawing board after this one for the Sailfish in order to play a better game in Week 3. Dexter Banks throwing for only 136 yards with a 43.2 passer rating is something I never thought I’d see, so credit has to go to the Fire Salamanders defense for shutting him down, but the Sailfish know they need to be better than this. Jamie Nkiah had another very quiet game, but it was at least slightly better than the last one, grabbing 5 tackles and a PD to add some more stats onto the season’s totals. Hopefully he’ll be able to keep improving every game and by the end of the season he’ll be making a big impact out there. The Sailfish are back on the road in Week 3, travelling to Philadelphia to play the Liberty. This will be another game that the team will expect they can win, so it’s important that they learn from their mistakes and do what they need to get there a lot more comfortably next time.

Game 3: Sailfish @ Liberty (34 – 27 Loss; 1-2)

This one was very rough, as I know this was a game that we had expected to be able to win going into it. On paper we felt like we had the best roster and should have been able to shut the Liberty down, but our defense was totally porous. For a defense that considers itself one of the best in the league, allowing this many points was unforgivable and regardless of the team you’re playing, it’s going to be difficult to win games when you give up that many points, and to give credit to our offense, they did a good job of coming out of the blocks strong and scoring throughout the entire game. Opening with a touchdown pass from Banks II to Withtheblock, things looked good for the Sailfish and at one point in the second quarter they even had a 17-3 lead. The fact that Sarasota weren’t able to hold onto this lead is worrying, and it will definitely be something that the team will need to address going into future games. Although the offense gave a good account of themselves when it came to scoring, something that will need to be addressed urgently will be the pick sixes that Banks threw in this game. If Sarasota want to play the type of winning football that can get them into the playoffs, throwing interceptions that get taken all the way for a touchdown cannot happen, and I think as a matter of urgency there’ll need to be some attention given to working on Banks II tightening up the throws he’s making and looking for less risky options going forward. It was a tough lesson for the Sailfish as they go 0-2 on the road this year, but hopefully the team will finally be able to get over the hump and start winning some road games in the weeks to come. The Sailfish’s player of the game in this one has to go to Michael Withtheblock, who was able to catch 3 huge passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. He was definitely the guy that the team looked to for a big play in this one, and it’s disappointing that the rest of the team wasn’t able to play up to his high standards to try and bring home the win.

 

Game 4: Sailfish vs Butchers (22 – 7 Win; 2-2)

Bouncing straight back after losing in Game 3, the Sailfish faced a tough matchup in Game 4 against the Butchers but were still able to go out and get a hard-fought win against a tough opponent. The Butchers are one of the teams with the most total TPE in the whole of the ISFL, so the Sailfish would have definitely identified them as a tough opponent and put a lot of focus on this game as one that they would need to push themselves hard to win. The biggest factor in this game that I can see is the Sailfish’s ability to keep the ball out of the red zone. The defense was vastly improved from the previous week, which can be seen by the fact that we were able to hold the Butchers to just 7 points in the whole game. There being only one score in the whole game came despite the fact that George O’Donnell was able to complete 40 passes for not far off 400 yards in the game, which definitely suggests that when it came time to get it done on third down and keep the ball out of their half, Sarasota were able to come up big. Dexter Banks II was able to bounce back from last week also, throwing for 286 yards and a touchdown with no picks, a clear improvement on what he put up last week. Big Edd had a huge game on defense too, putting up 3 tackles and 2 sacks in the game after terrorising the Butchers’ offensive line all game. This was really a strong performance from the Sailfish and one that should help restore some confidence after what had happened a week earlier. For a game like this, the scoreline they were able to produce was about as good as you could hope for, so there’s really not much more you can ask for based on what we saw here. Hopefully this isn’t just a one-off, and the team is able to start producing these quality performances with some more consistency as we get further into the new season and nerves start to settle down. Without a doubt the best game the Sailfish have played so far this season, and they’ll be hoping that there’s a lot more still to come in that area.

Game 5: Sailfish @ Wraiths (27 – 22 Loss; 2-3)

In a way that’s incredibly frustrating, it feels like as soon as the team looks like they’ve started to turn a corner and make some meaningful improvement to their play, things start to go wrong and they’re straight back to square one. This was definitely the case this week as after a strong showing in Week 4 against the Butchers, the Sailfish were once again playing on the road, and once again turning in the type of performance that simply isn’t good enough. Letting the Wraiths, who going into this game were 1-3, put up 27 points on the vaunted Sailfish defense is simply not good enough, and despite the offense putting up numbers that aren’t too bad all things considered, they were never in this game once again, and it will go down as probably a closer scoreline than the Sailfish deserved it to be. It was another poor showing from quarterback Dexter Banks II, throwing 2 interceptions and a single touchdown, as his tough season continues. I don’t want to put the blame on any one person as this is ultimately a team sport, but he simply hasn’t been playing to the level of which he is capable. The Sailfish’s season is in the balance at this point, and I feel like I’m saying it after every road game, but if they can’t start winning games away from home then they aren’t going to get very far this season. The worst thing that the team could do is keep splitting these home and away games to give the illusion that they’re capable of competing before being dumped out in the first round of the playoffs. The defense simply must be better too. Besides a fumble, there was little turnover pressure put on the Wraiths’ offense, and despite doing a fairly good job of getting to the quarterback throughout the game, the inability to make stops killed their momentum and it allowed the Wraiths to consistently get into the redzone. From there, the Sailfish simply couldn’t stop them, and they were able to score seemingly at will. It’s another disappointing outing for the Sailfish, and I think that at this point I’m starting to get seriously worried about the way that the team is trending this season. We’re currently tied for the worst record in the NSFC, and for us to pull ahead of the teams that were sharing our record with, we’re going to really need to elevate our performances in the weeks to come. It’s disappointing, but the season isn’t over yet. We’re going to need to be a hell of a lot better on all fronts however for us to be able to have any chance of making our way into the playoffs. It’s not going to be easy, but Game 6 is a must win for the Sailfish in order to save the season.

Game 6: Sailfish @ Otters (24 – 23 Loss; 2-4)

This one was one of the toughest games to watch of the season. After two fourth quarter touchdowns that should have tied the game, the Otters were gifted a win on the back of a missed field goal. I’ve spoken at length about how bad the team has been on the road this season, but honestly, I don’t think the result in this case was as bad as was expected. The Otters are undefeated this season, and for the Sailfish to go into the own house and run them as close as they did in the game as this is nothing to be ashamed of. However, it’s hard for me to feel too good about this one considering both the way in which it was lost, and the context it brings to the rest of the Sailfish’s season at this point. It’s simply a fact that Sarasota have been terrible on the road this season, and this loss here takes the team to 0-4 when not playing in their own house. As I’ve said many times, for a team that has championship ambitions, the inability to win games away from home is simply not acceptable, and I think at this point there are major questions around the rest of the Sailfish’s season given that this loss now reduces the team to a lowly 2-4 season record. The fourth quarter of this game might be the most painful for anyone watching the Sailfish to endure this season. After closing the gap with a touchdown from Chan early in the fourth, the fact that the Sailfish were then able to score a touchdown in the very last second of the game on a pass from Banks to Angler, which made it 24-23 was huge and many took it that we were headed to overtime. The fact that the otherwise totally reliable Jacob Small missed the extra point with the game on the line was a crushing moment, and at this point I’m worried about how the team recovers from this one. I think we’re one loss away from the season being over for all intents and purposes; with the competition in the NSFC this season, digging their way out of a 2-5 record through the first 7 games of the season will be an incredibly difficult obstacle for the team to have to overcome. There’s a lot of pressure on the team now, and although they had the chance to win in this game they ultimately did not. As much confidence that the team can take from this type of result, it’s simply not acceptable to continually be losing games in this way. There’s still a lot of the season left to be played, but with the NSFC looking the way it does the team needs to act now to ensure they can get themselves a spot in the playoffs at the end of the season.

Game 7: Sailfish vs Hawks (40 - 21 Loss; 2-5)

I didn’t think that the team could play a game as bad as this one, but damn. The Sailfish sure were able to prove me wrong here. Going into this one I talked about how it was a must win in order to get the season back on track, especially given the fact that before the season started, there weren’t many people out there who would have ranked the Hawks roster close to Sarasota’s in terms of overall quality. But the slide continues, and Sarasota’s season still feels rudderless and in serious danger of stalling out before it even started after the team blow a game in their own house like this. The Hawks ran up 26 unanswered points on the Sailfish, which points to a total collapse on both sides of the ball from Sarasota, as their defense proved totally incapable of stopping the Hawks from marching down the field, and their offense stalled out every time the pressure was on them to answer back and try and make a play happen. The score eventually extended to a pitiful 40-7, before two garbage time TDs from Dexter Banks II did something to make the scoreline look a little bit more respectable but was ultimately meaningless. I’m not considering those two final touchdowns as anything more than stat padding; empty calorie numbers like this mean nothing in terms of the game itself, and putting up points like this when the game had already escaped from the team is certainly nothing to take any comfort in. I think the most damaging part of this game is that it saw Sarasota’s bad form extend to games in their own house. They’ve obviously struggled all season when asked to play on the road, but for me and others on the team, we believed ourselves to be a very difficult opponent to play for visiting teams to the stadium. The fact that an opponent who we arrogantly would have considered to be lesser was able to not just come in and beat us, but to put on a blowout of the most painful terms, definitely has set the alarm bells off for the team. At this point, the season looks gone. It’s going to take nothing short of several minor miracles in order to rally and attempt to steal a playoff spot, and at the time of writing I feel no shame in saying that the Sailfish totally do not deserve a playoff berth. Things have been woeful all season, and it’s getting to the point where the team may need to sit back and evaluate whether a trade or two needs to be made in order to try and get things back on track, either by bringing in some more talent to try and kickstart the process or look to send a player or two away to send a message to the rest of the team and help bring in some assets that can help the team down the line when they may be more ready to compete. For Jamie Nkiah, this was another mediocre game to go along with the rest of the substandard games he’s had this season. For someone who wants to be considered to be one of the best safeties in the entire league, putting up 4 tackles and a sack against an offensive unit that he believes himself good enough to straight up bully on the field is not enough. We’ll see if lessons can be learned from this on, but at this point I am very concerned that the ship has sailed and this season is over for the Sailfish for all intents and purposes.

Game 8: Sailfish vs. Silverbacks (41 – 13 Win; 3-5)

After that horrific performance in Week 7, to say that the Sailfish were in desperate need of a bounceback game would be an incredible understatement. The team was very fortuitous in that their next opponent was the winless New York Silverbacks, who in their rookie season in the league have struggled to get much going and would undoubtedly make for an easier opponent than they might have faced. Credit does need to go to the team and their coaching staff however, as even though they were playing an opponent where they were far superior in quality, they were able to show a measurable difference in the standard of their game as they came out with a clear sense of purpose. Two first quarter touchdowns got the Sailfish off to a hot start, and two more TDs followed in the third quarter to push the Sailfish out to a sizeable 31-6 lead after 45 minutes of play. The Sailfish haven’t had the season that they would have expected on the offensive side of the ball, but the fact that they were able to score points consistently throughout the game, rarely going without a field goal or a touchdown to cap off a drive, is certainly a step in the right direction and at least gives them something to look to take some inspiration from as they push on with the season. It’s true however that when evaluating the game, optimism really does need to be kept in check for the rest of the season. Being at the halfway point now, there’s not long left for the Sailfish to get things back on track; I’d said that a Week 7 loss would mark their season over, and I’m not ready to go back on that just yet. Beating up a bad Silverbacks team will certainly boost their confidence but it can’t lead to complacency. The Sailfish go on the road to Arizona for their next game in what will be a much more difficult contest, and it’s important that they stay hungry and go into it very well prepared. I will say however, that this game against New York was the kind of performance that Sarasota has been searching for all season. To see things finally starting to click is good to see, and if it’s possible to build from here then maybe it isn’t time to abandon all hope just yet. The key now is stringing wins together; if they’re able to get a few back to back wins, then things really could be set to improve, but it is important at this point to keep everything in check and just focus on going game by game. For Jamie Nkiah on an individual basis, it seems like he was finally able to get in stride in this one and deliver the kind of performance he’s been searching for all season. 5 tackles, a quarterback sack, an interception and an extra pass deflection makes for a very solid performance, showing his ability to play well when used as part of the pass rush and in coverage. Hopefully this good performance isn’t just a one off, and he’s able to continue to deliver some strong performances as we push into the second half of the season. A good win for the Sailfish this week, but there’s undoubtedly a long way still to go for them.

Game 9: Sailfish @ Outlaws (37 – 29 Win; 4-5)

I’m slowly allowing optimism to creep back in after this win. Finally being able to put up a road win and for the first time win back to back games, the performance here has allowed the team to tie for fourth  place in the NSFC and allow the Sailfish to think that playoffs might just not be out of the question. The Sailfish went into Arizona desperate to try and recover their season with a hugely important win over the Outlaws, although considered to be the underdog based on the testing outcomes the Sailfish had looked to do. Pulling off the unlikely victory will do a great deal of good for the team’s confidence however, and I’m sure that they’ll be confident in their ability to win their upcoming home games based on their performances on the road. The game didn’t start off in the way the Sailfish would have liked at all, giving up a safety on the opening drive of the game. Two first quarter touchdowns for the Outlaws ran them out to a 16-3 lead and making it look like we had another potential Sailfish collapse on the cards. It’s to the credit of the team’s coaching staff that they had them prepared for this type of situation, and a string of defensive stops and a touchdown in the second quarter, the gap was closed to 16-10 and the Sailfish looked as if they may be able to fight their way back into the game. A touchdown pass late in the quarter from Jay Cue to Thomas Passman nullified it however, and the Sailfish went into half time down 23-10. The Sailfish refused to give in however, and a touchdown run from Dexter Banks II once again closed the gap and got them right back into the game. A broken coverage from a pass play deep in their own half however allowed the Outlaws to break off a 73 yard touchdown and pull 29-17 ahead. It’s from here out that the team was able to show what exactly it is they’re capable of, as they managed to score three unanswered touchdowns to turn the 29-17 deficit into a 37-29 win by the end of the game. A touchdown kick return from Cuco Clemente and two passing touchdowns from Banks II in the fourth quarter managed to put the game away, allowing the Sailfish to pull off an unexpected win and highly improbable comeback. The Sailfish are in the position from here on out this season where every game is vitally important for them to win to ensure that the playoff dream is not dead, and being able to go to Arizona to beat a tough opponent certainly doesn’t harm their chances of making it into the postseason. Things were really able to click for the team when it mattered, and I’m hopeful that we can build on this performance through the rest of the season. We have two upcoming home games that I really think we should win, against the Philadelphia Liberty and the Berlin Fire Salamanders. If we can pick up two wins in our upcoming home stretch, our record will go better than .500 and it’s my belief that we’ll then be holding a playoff spot. Really important that we’re able to put those wins together and get that done, but given what we’ve done in the last two games we’ve played I’m certainly hopeful that we’re able to live up to our potential.

 

Game 10: Sailfish vs Liberty (44 – 28 Win; 5-5)

I can honestly say for the first time this season that it looks like the Sailfish finally have some momentum behind them. When we found ourselves sitting with a 2-5 record, I really was worried that we weren’t going to be able to dig ourselves out of the hole we were in, but it’s definitely to the credit of the team that we’ve been able to dig ourselves out of it and pull our record back to .500 with 6 games still to play in the season. Perhaps the most important thing about this win is that it’s allowed us to climb up to third place in the NSFC, which is something I really didn’t expect to be possible based on the way that the team had played in the season up until now. Going into this game, both the Sailfish and the Liberty had a 4-5 record and it was essentially billed as both teams’ last serious chance to make a bid for the playoffs. Both teams had it as a must win game in order to keep hope of making it into the postseason, which really ramped up the level of intensity out on the field. For the Sailfish, they were able to live up to the level of expectation that they had set for themselves, but the game didn’t get off to the best start possible as the Liberty opened the scoring with a touchdown just 4 minutes into the first quarter. The mental focus of the Sailfish was such however that they were able to answer back a few minutes later and pull the score even at 7-7. The game was very tight through the first two quarters, and the teams went into the locker room at the half with the score just 15-14 in favour of the Sailfish. Although they had the lead, the feeling among the team was that they really needed to go out and cement their superiority in the second half, and the team was able to do that emphatically. 15 points in the third quarter allowed the Sailfish to extend their lead to 9 points going into the fourth quarter, and two touchdowns in the fourth were able to seal away the victory for the Sailfish. I’m unbelievably proud of the Sailfish for doing such a good job of digging themselves out of the hole we found ourselves in after Week 7, and we’re in a spot now where a strong finish to the season should see us comfortably into the playoffs. We’re currently tied with the Butchers when it comes to records, so it’s not like we’re out of the woods just yet but with 4 of the team’s remaining 6 games coming against teams with losing records at the time of writing, the Sailfish should consider a playoff spot a real possibility at this point in time. They aren’t out of the woods yet and I still feel like every game should really be looked at as a must win at this stage, but being able to win 3 games straight has definitely put the Sailfish in a much more solid position than many people would have thought possible for them. Their next game sees them make the trip to Berlin, and as a game that the Sailfish will be favoured in it’s one that they’ll really need to come away with the win from in order to maximise on what they’ve been able to do so far. For Jamie Nkiah, this was another game that was solid. In terms of tackling numbers, Jamie was a little quieter than he would have liked, only recording 5 in the game, but he was able to consistently threaten the offense when playing in coverage, and was even able to record an interception late in the game that helped to prevent any chance of the Liberty coming back in. With 6 games left to be played in the season, if we can continue to see the type of production he’s been able to put up in recent years then a spot in the Pro Bowl certainly shouldn’t be considered out of the question. A special mention has to go to Sailfish quarterback Dexter Banks II this time around, as he was able to put up an absolute monster performance to lead his team to victory. Completing 20 passes on 26 attempts for a 76% completion percentage, 5 touchdowns and zero interceptions, the Liberty defense were simply unable to stop the Sailfish’s air raid offense and it showed up on the scoresheet in a big way. He also put up some solid rushing numbers, posting 34 yards in 7 attempts (including a 24 yard run), to earn the honour of being by far the best player on the field in this game. A great showing for the Sailfish where they were able to deliver the type of performance that we’d been waiting for from them all season, hopefully they are able to keep this going and take it forward into the next game they play in Week 11.

Game 11: Sailfish @ Fire Salamanders (33 – 16 Win; 6-5)

The win streak just keeps rumbling on here, as the Sailfish made the trip across the pond to go up against the Berlin Fire Salamanders with a lot on the line.  Having won their previous 3 games, confidence on the team was high and they knew that a win in this one would propel them up the standings and give them a real chance of seizing a playoff spot. After a loss earlier in the day for the previously second placed Baltimore Hawks, the pressure was really on and the Sailfish were once again able to deliver a clinical performance to beat out the Fire Salamanders and deliver them something they hadn’t seen at all this season; a winning record. After having taken the lead in the first quarter with two field goals, the Sailfish delivered an impressive performance on both sides of the ball, never letting up the pressure on defense and forcing a lot of turnovers, and running wild on offense, racking up 33 points in the game to deliver an impressive 17 point winning margin. The turnovers I mentioned earlier really were the story of the game for the Sailfish. They were able to consistently get to Berlin’s quarterback Nick Kaepercolin with their pass rush, sacking him on two occasions, and forcing him to make bad throws. This led to Kaepercolin being picked off 4 times in the game, with a different member of the defensive unit grabbing one each time. It was one of the most productive games in terms of picks I’ve seen in a long time, and the Sailfish did a fantastic job of forcing these bad throws and then anticipating well enough to get the interceptions to go along with them. After being despairing of the team’s prospects when we went down to a 2-5 record after Week 7, the team’s ability to win 4 games in a row has totally turned things around and left us with a really good shot of making it into the playoffs. Despite there being no short supply of naysayers (myself included earlier in the season), the team’s ability to pick themselves up and take one game at a time in order to get things back on track has been seriously impressive, and it speaks to their grit and determination as a unit that they’ve been able to accomplish what they have. There were numerous great individual performances that gave the Sailfish their victory in this one, credit again having to go to quarterback Dexter Banks II for a sublime game in which he threw for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns with no interceptions. His favorite receiver in the game, Michael Withtheblock had a game that he won’t forget any time soon either, catching 7 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. The level of play that we’ve seen from them offensively has been like night and day, and it’s very impressive the way that they’ve been able to turn things around to elevate the team to the point we’re at now. A special mention has to go to rookie Dexter Jackson too, who had a huge breakout game racking up 4 tackles for loss, along with forcing a fumble and recovering it. A monster game for the rookie, he’s certainly made his name one that people should remember as someone to keep an eye on for seasons to come. Individually, an interesting game again for Jamie Nkiah. I’m not actually sure what position he’s being played in this season, but there’s been a pretty sharp decline in his tackling numbers this year has he currently averages a little under 5 a game, and this clash was no different as he only put up 3 in the game. He was however able to record an interception to go along with it which makes me feel a little bit better about the contribution that he was able to make to the team’s winning effort. It’s good to see him get some good play going anyway, hopefully a strong end to the season can keep him up there statistically. I’ve already broken my previous best season’s sack total and after this game have tied my previous best interception total in a season, so hopefully I can keep things moving in the final 5 games to put up a season that I can be really proud of. Next up for the Sailfish is probably one of the biggest games of the season, a grudge match against the Colorado Yeti in our stadium. We’ve had a bit of a bad time against the Yeti lately, losing to them in last season’s conference championship game and then again on opening night of the season on the road. There’s still a lot on the line with us currently being tied with two other teams for second place in the NSFC, so the pressure really will be on to play a big game and pull off a win that we desperately want. It won’t be easy but the whole team is desperate to keep the winning streak alive for as long as possible, so I’m really interested to see the way it plays out.

Game 12: Sailfish vs. Yeti (41 – 27 Win; 7-5)

This season really doesn’t stop surprising and the streak really doesn’t want to die. Having won four straight going into this one we knew it was going to be a huge challenge to play the team who had been by far the best in the NSFC all season, and so tried to keep our expectations somewhat in check when it came to preparing for this one. Having been beaten by the Yeti pretty convincingly at the start of the season we knew that this one had a lot on the line for, but I really didn’t think that it would be possible to run up quite the kind of performance that we were able to. Before the game started we’d seen the Baltimore Hawks and Chicago Butchers both win their games making this one even more important so that we didn’t become the odd man out in the conference. The Yeti were able to get going quickly, putting up 10 unanswered points to start the quarter and it looked as if we’d stumbled out of the blocks again, but a late first quarter touchdown run from Raphtalia Chan rounded off a nice drive and brought the Sailfish right back into the game. Annoyingly, the kickoff following the touchdown was taken by William Lin and run all the way down the field for a touchdown that immediately cancelled out the ground we’d just gained back on the previous drive. The Sailfish offense were able to keep their cool however and went straight back out there and scored another touchdown to open the second quarter. A late quarter field goal from Jacob Small tied the game up before halftime and through two quarters we were all tied up at 17 points each. Sarasota’s offense really showed up in the second half however, and we were able to put up another 17 in the third quarter and a touchdown in the fourth to ice the game away, scoring 41 points in another huge day for the unit. Being able to win this one really has sent the mood on the team to another level. We have now won an incredible 5 straight games to turn our season completely around, going from a lowly 2-5 to a very competitive 7-5, and there’s no denying that we’re really in the hunt for a top 3 spot in the conference and a playoff berth to go along with it. Credit has to go to all of the players on the team and the coaching staff for making the adjustments after a terrible first 7 games and doing what needed to be done to get the season back on track and give us some hope that this season could still turn into a successful one. We’ve reached a point in the season now where 4 more games are to be played. With the level of competition in the conference as high as it is, we basically need to come away with wins in as many of those as we possibly can; two of the biggest and most important games of the season are still to be played when we go on the road to face Baltimore and Chicago. Both of those games are going to be huge challenges with massive implications for the playoff picture, so ideally being able to win the other two games remaining on our schedule would give us some potential breathing room going into those. It’s not going to be easy from here on out to guarantee ourselves the kind of spot that we’d like but all we can do is keep showing up and playing like we have been so far during this winning streak. Huge credit has to go to Sarasota’s quarterback Dexter Banks II, who after a tough start to the season has been able to transform his season so much that he’s probably the MVP frontrunner at this point. Leading the league in passing yards, touchdowns and passer rating speaks to the level of performance that we’ve seen from him, and if he is able to keep producing at the rate that we’ve seen from him in the last few weeks then it will honestly be difficult to look past him for the award when the season is all said and done. Individually, this game was far from the type you dream about but I guess was solid enough. Getting 6 tackles and nothing else to speak of is definitely a dip in terms of production from previous games but it wasn’t going to be realistic to keep getting sacks or interceptions every single game, so hopefully that’s something that can come back in the next game that we play. Honestly, I’m much less bothered about how I perform on an individual basis if the team is winning games which we definitely are, so can’t say that I’m too worried about having a pretty quiet game every once in a while. Massive win for the team this week, hopefully we’re able to get right back at it in another home game against Austin in Week 13 and pick up another win that’ll keep the hope alive for our season. 

Game 13: Sailfish vs. Copperheads (30 – 20 Win; 8-5)

Getting the chance to play back to back games at home when you’re embroiled in the kind of playoff race that the Sailfish are is a huge blessing, and going into this one it was seriously important that the Sailfish didn’t fluff their lines. They were going to be the favorite over the Copperheads on paper based on the results this season, but with some of the results that we’ve seen so far this season you really can’t count on anything. With all of this taken into consideration, it gave me great pleasure to see the Sailfish grab an early lead in this one and other than for two and a half minutes in the first quarter, lead the entire game. The Sailfish were able to set the tone for the game early with a touchdown pass from Banks to Withtheblock just over 6 minutes into the game, and the scoring came freely for the rest of the first half for the Sailfish, with the Copperheads struggling to keep them from putting up points every time that they found themselves in the red zone. A huge first half for the Sailfish allowed them to put up 27 points, but I suppose that the only knock that you can put on the Sailfish in this one is that their production totally trailed off in the second half. Going scoreless in the third quarter and putting up only a field goal in the fourth allowed the Copperheads the chance to make the lead a little bit tighter than it had been, and although the Sailfish were able to make some important stops on defense and ultimately stand their ground, there’s definitely some things that they’ll need to work on coming out of this one and going into the games that will be down the line. If they are able to make it into the playoffs, being able to close an opponent out and not allowing them the chance to fight their way back in will be hugely important. But honestly, the way that we’ve seen this team improve and adapt over the second half of the season tells me that they’re certainly capable of changing things. With this in mind, I’d rather they get the difficult learning moments out of the way now and are ready to find themselves in the playoffs not making mistakes. When compared to the play we’ve seen from him in some of his recent games, it wasn’t the most eye catching performance we saw from Sailfish quarterback Dexter Banks II, but his 326 passing yards and no turnovers were definitely important factors in the win that the Sailfish were able to put together. A special mention has to go to linebacker Haha Mango-Panda who had an absolute monster of a game, recording 6 tackles and 3 sacks. He was in the face of the Copperheads’ offense all night, and a huge reason in the success of the team. For me on a personal level, it was another quiet game for Jamie Nkiah. 4 tackles and nothing else isn’t the type of thing to write home about but I’m happy to play my role in a game like this, leave the big superstar plays for another day and just get the job done. The win streak after this one is extended to 6. Winning 6 in a row was something that I thought totally impossible after that rough 2-5 start, and to say the season has been transformed would be some understatement. The win here pushed us up to second in the NSFC with a little bit of breathing room to go along with it, and at this point that’s something I really can’t believe has happened. With three more games to be played to close out the season, another two wins could secure us at least a home game for the wildcard round which would be a huge boost. I think Colorado are probably a little bit too far ahead to really catch for the conference lead, but we can still hopefully make their last few games a little bit uncomfortable as they have to play with keeping a lead over us in mind. We’ll see how things go from here on out, but another huge win and one that helps us get to where we’ve been trying to get to all season. Next up is a game that’s got a lot of importance attached to it, as the Sailfish make the trip up to Chicago to take on the Butchers on the road. With both teams locked in a battle for a playoff spot this one’s really going to be fiery. There’ll be a lot on the line and with both teams essentially having their seasons in the balance, I can’t wait to see what happens there.

Game 14: Sailfish @ Butchers (31 – 26 Win; 9-5)

And so it seems that the fairy tale continues and the blessing that has somehow fallen onto the Sarasota Sailfish hasn’t ended just yet. I’m almost incredulous at the fact that we sit here, two games removed from the end of the regular season with a record that I would have thought to be totally impossible 7 weeks ago. It’s no exaggeration to say that I was mentally done with this season and expected the second half of it to go much the same as the first with us ultimately not getting the job done and losing games in an ugly fashion. Instead, we’ve become a team that consistently closes out games and gets the job done with it all on the line, which is exactly what we did here against the Chicago Butchers. The 7th consecutive win for the Sailfish, this one was definitely one of the most important and the most difficult as we made the trip with a playoff spot very much in the balance. Going into the game we were one win ahead of the Butchers which obviously would have been cancelled out with a loss, and with the Baltimore Hawks having picked up a win earlier in the week, a loss would have knocked us down to a tie for third place and dependent on the tiebreaker used, potentially out of a playoff spot. With this much on the line, the Sailfish were determined not to come so far just to miss out and so came into this one with a fire burning. The game itself was different to what we’ve seen from the Sailfish on their winning streak however, in that the offense was not able to get going early. Usually we see Sarasota score early, grab a lead and hold onto it but this time around, it was the Butchers who were the first to score. Their defense did a great job of containing Sarasota through the first quarter, and we got through 22 minutes of the game before the Sailfish were able to score their first touchdown (and points) of the night, the Banks II and Withtheblock combination once again coming through for a touchdown. The key I think here was that when the offense wasn’t firing, the defense were able to contain Chicago and not give up the touchdown. There were a couple of stops not far from the goalline that meant that the Butchers had to settle for field goals on three occasions, and limiting the damage to a 9-0 deficit rather than letting them go up 21-0 definitely had a big part to play in the Sailfish’s ability to get their game going and close the scoreline. Going into the second half losing for the first time in what feels like forever, the Sailfish came out of the locker room determined, and Banks was dealing in the third quarter. Two touchdown passes from him including a 70 yard monster play to Rayne Gordon got the Sailfish back in the driving seat and a touchdown from Running Back, who is quickly emerging as one of the craftier backs in the league when it comes to finding a hole near the endzone and blasting over the line, really helped to give them a commanding lead with 45 minutes of the game played. Chicago came back to life with 10 points in the fourth quarter, but thankfully the Sailfish had enough points on the board to withstand it and when time ran out their scoring had been enough to give them a 5 point cushion. It was an unbelievable game from the Sailfish perspective, I personally had really not given us much of a chance after watching through most of the first two periods when we’d been unable to score and it looked like the Butchers were able to push our defense to what could have been breaking point for a lot of teams. The way the offense exploded in the third quarter was great to see, and I think that the Sailfish have probably established themselves as one of the best teams in the league at overwhelming a defense with quick scores on successive drives when they need to. Even in a game where Banks II didn’t throw as well as he usually has, recording 2 interceptions in the game to go along with his touchdowns, the defense was able to close off the Butchers on most occasions and limit them to a lot less points than they could have put up. I think a this point I’m running out of things to say about the way in which Sarasota have been able to turn things around. We’ve gone from looking like a really bad team to a serious contender over the last few weeks, and with the way the season’s gone I’m really allowing the optimism about what we can do to creep in. There’s only two games left in the regular season now, and a win in either of them would guarantee us a spot in the playoffs. It’s already looking incredibly likely that we’re in based on tiebreakers and stuff like that, but I would love to see the team win our last two, keep that momentum going and head into the playoffs in a position of power. Out of all of the wins that the team has put up on their streak, this might have been the biggest of all and certainly had the most immediate context for the season. Even though it was another quiet game for Nkiah, tallying nothing beyond his 6 tackles in the game, I’m just happy that he was able to play a role on the defense that got the job done and won the game. Not long left to go in the season from here, but the Sailfish have really stepped things up and have it all to play for now.

Game 15: Wraiths @ Sailfish (38 – 23 Win; 10-5)

With this being the penultimate game of the season, the end really isn’t too far away for the Sarasota Sailfish and with that fact comes some added pressure to close out on a high note. With the NSFC finally starting to see some separation among the teams fighting it out for second place, the Sailfish knew going into this one that if the results fell in their favour, i.e. the Yeti were able to beat the Hawks and they were able to beat the Wraiths, their place as the home team in the Wildcard round of the playoffs would be secure. This added a whole lot of pressure onto this game, as they were determined to get the job done and give themselves the best chance of winning when it came to the playoffs. When the Yeti were able to beat the Hawks earlier in the day, the Sailfish knew it was all on them to beat out the Wraiths and secure their place as the home team. Doing this would give them a considerable advantage over making it into the playoffs as the third seed and so the nerves were very real, but the Sailfish were able to hit the field with a sense of calm and focus that allowed them to focus simply on getting the job in front of them done. The Wraiths are not a team to be underestimated and were able to put up the first points of the game with a field goal in the opening quarter, but after that the Sailfish were able to settle in and push themselves out ahead of the Wraiths with two first quarter touchdowns. It didn’t seem like a bit of a mental lapse from the Sailfish allowed the Wraiths to strike and get back into the game, as they picked up two second quarter touchdowns to take the lead back and put some pressure on Sarasota. The team was able to regroup and refocus however after giving up their second touchdown and from there, they didn’t let off and were in control for the rest of the day. They continued to rack up points throughout the game and were able to make some big plays on defense too, keeping themselves comfortably ahead of Yellowknife for the remainder of the game. The team left the field elated, knowing that not only had they officially secured themselves a place in the playoffs but a home game in the next round. The team now goes into the season closer without a lot to gain from it; the margin between them and the Yeti is too small to close at this point and they can’t be caught by either of the teams behind them, but their game on the road at Baltimore will have huge implications for the playoffs. If the Hawks are able to win and the Butchers don’t get a victory on the road at Yellowknife, then Baltimore will be the team that Sarasota plays in the playoff opener. For Sarasota too, being able to carry their winning streak on to 9 games and into the playoffs would give them some incredible momentum and confidence to take into the playoffs. The team has already done what many would have thought impossible in turning around their season in the way that they have, but taking things a step further and going into the playoffs having not lost a game for 9 weeks would be the stuff of legend. I think there’s some huge individual context for Dexter Banks II. He’s been having a historical season for the Sailfish and is in my opinion the MVP frontrunner at this point in time. With this season being his last in the league, everyone on the team wants to be able to send him out on a high note and I think we’ll see an extra push from the guys on offense to get their guy over the line with a great game against the Hawks. It’s going to be a really interesting week of games with the race for the last playoff spot coming right down to the wire. Even though the Sailfish are secure, they know that they can’t afford to take a week off with this much on the line. A loss to the Hawks in Week 16 would give them a psychological advantage if the teams faced in the playoffs, and that’s something that they’ll be doing everything they can to avoid. Another great performance by the Sailfish in Week 15 has really set things up for a good finish to the season. I’ve spoken so much already about the way that the team was able to change their fortunes but each win seems so much bigger than it would if we hadn’t had to go through that adversity at the start of the season. The team’s done an incredible job getting to the point that they’re at, and I’m hoping for a big performance in the last game of the regular season to go out on a high and cap off what’s been a pretty incredible run for the team so far. Playoffs are very close but we can’t be looking ahead to them just yet.

Game 16: Sailfish @ Hawks (44 – 36 Win; 11-5)

In a game without any real pressure on it besides the context of their performance in the playoffs, this was a game that the Sailfish fought hard in to ensure they came away with a victory. Having lost to the Hawks earlier in the season when playing at home, Sarasota knew that this was a game they could not afford to win if they were going to walk away with their pride intact. Inevitably, it was going to be a close game but the Sailfish were really able to keep fighting throughout the game to keep their nose out in front and secure the victory when the clock ran out. It was a back and forth battle between the teams in the game’s first quarter, with the Sailfish opening the scoring with a field goal in the game’s opening minutes before the Hawks responded with a touchdown not much later. Refusing to stay behind, a Sailfish touchdown with a missed extra point put them back in front by two points through 15 minutes of the game. The second quarter was neck and neck, with both teams scoring two touchdowns in a back and forth battle that kept everyone feeling nervous, not least the Hawks who were playing for a spot in the playoffs. The scoring was again the same for both teams in the third quarter with a touchdown apiece, but this time a missed extra point from the Hawks allowed the Sailfish to slightly widen their lead to 3 points. Two touchdowns in the game’s final act allowed Sarasota to secure the victory on the road and avenge their earlier loss to the Hawks. It was a tough moment to see Baltimore’s season come to an end like that, but for the neutrals out there watching it was an incredibly exciting game that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. This win brings to an end a very memorable regular season for the Sailfish. After a turgid start where they lost 5 of their first 7 games, they were able to turn it around completely and win 9 straight games to qualify for the playoffs as the second best team in the NSFC by some distance. With that in mind, it’s going to be interesting to see how this hot form translates into success in the playoffs. They will be hosting the Chicago Butchers in the Wildcard round of the playoffs and although should go into the games as the favorites due to their success in the regular season and the fact that it’s being played in their house, the Butchers are a very dangerous opponent and they would underestimate them at their peril. Whatever happens from this point I think that the Sailfish have to be proud of what they’ve been able to achieve in terms of turning things around and recording a season that they can be proud of. I’m really hopeful that this is the season when we make a real run at the playoffs and I think we do have a legitimate shot at winning an Ultimus, even though I doubt we’d be the favorites in anyone’s eyes. Every game we could potentially play would be very tough, and I’m not prepared to look past Chicago in our playoff opener. I think we have a good chance of winning the game, especially with the way the sim seems to factor in home field advantage, but I think I would have felt a little more confident about our chances if it was Baltimore we were playing. We’ll see how this one goes, but whatever happens from here on out, I’m happy we were able to complete the streak and not lose a single game in the second half of the regular season.

Wildcard round: Butchers @ Sailfish

After the highs that we’d gone through for the previous 9 weeks, there wasn’t a better (or worse) way to send things crashing back to earth than losing this game at home to end our playoff dreams as quickly as they started. I didn’t have a great feeling going into this one and despite the fact that we had recently beaten Chicago on the road and were playing this one at home and so should have had an even greater chance of getting the job done, something just wasn’t feeling right and I had uncomfortable vibe about the way this one turned out. In the end, I was right to be worried about it because it was a pretty horrible experience for us from start to finish. Our offense just couldn’t get going in the first half, dropping us behind 20-3 and already at that point I felt like it just wasn’t meant to be for us. The Butchers scored a touchdown at the start of the second half to make it 27-3 in favour of them and it was at that point that I really knew we weren’t going to get there. Even when we started to fight back in the game and scored 17 unanswered to bring it within one score, it just never felt like we had enough in the tank to get over the hump and win the game. It was ultimately a really disappointing game just because I felt like through the end of the regular season we’d shown so much promise and improvement that I really felt like we could have made some noise in the playoffs. It’s ultimately a tough blow that knocks us down to earth and makes us face the reality of what we’re likely to be left with next season. The Butchers were on the day the far better team than we were and it sucks, I’m sad for all of our players and our GMs who put a lot of hard work into this season and really did deserve to come away with it with more to show than one playoff game which we lost. I really hate losing, especially on a stage like this and even though my player actually had a pretty big game as he recorded two sacks, it was a really tough game to watch and definitely ranks as the most disappointing moment I’ve experienced since I joined the ISFL. There’s not really too much more to say about this one at this point, it’s a really bad loss for us and a sad way to end what turned into a really fun and exciting season. I suppose that after it started with such an overwhelming sense of disappointment and pain, it was only right that it should end with the exact same feelings being brought back up.

What next?

If I’m being totally honest, I’m not quite sure where the Sailfish go from here at this point. With our star quarterback having left the team now to move onto retirement, we’re in a situation where a rookie is getting called up to take his spot. This is no knock against said rookie, because I believe that Mike Boss Jr. has an amazing career ahead of him and will be a huge part of the team’s future success, it’s just tough to believe that we’ll be able to replicate the same level of success with a younger player who hasn’t had the chance to earn as much TPE yet. I think the only way we succeed from here is if we see a step up in performance from the rest of the team to take the pressure off the rookie and allow him to grow into his role without having to carry too much of the weight. We have the talent, especially on defense where I think in terms of TPE we should be up there with the very best teams in the league. The receivers and backs that Boss Jr. will have at his disposal will also be extremely talented, but we’ve seen in some games this year that the Sailfish fail to turn up and often lose games where they really should have won. I’m hoping that the team learns its lessons from here and comes back stronger next time, with even more hunger and greater drive to finally bring the Ultimus home after yet another season of missing out. If Boss Jr. carries on his great earning throughout the season and the rest of the team isn’t afraid to go the extra mile to do the same and help him improve as much as they can, then I think that we should be a playoff team going into next season. I’m hoping that the talent we have is enough, and I know there’s certainly some big names who could be available in the offseason that might help the team improve a lot and give us an even better chance for next season. This is my last offseason before I hit regression, and I think now more than ever I’ve become aware that my best years probably don’t have that much longer to go with the heavy handed way TPE is taken off here. I really don’t want to see out Jamie’s career without having the chance to at least play an Ultimus and battle for a ring, so hopefully we can go back to the drawing board and come up with a strategy that works for the next season. I think this upcoming season will be a big factor in determining how long Jamie ultimately spends in the league. It’s no secret that I haven’t had the most fun with the defensive back position just because of how weird the stats are and the way that the position seems to ignore TPE and just be totally random, so a tough season for the team and for me personally might just be all I need to end things early and start fresh, avoiding the prospect of fighting regression with little to show for it.

I don’t want to end this in a totally miserable way however, and so I need to give some thanks to the team for what was a fun season for at least the second half of it. It was a good experience getting to be in the locker room as we went on our unbeaten run and I’m glad that even though it all ended in a kinda shitty way, we at least had something in that that we were able to enjoy and take some pride in. Special shoutout has to go to Dexter Banks II for a great career with the Sailfish, having been a part of the team since its very first season along with myself and one or two other OGs on the team, it’s going to be really sad to see the team play some games without him and I’d like to wish him all the best in his retirement. Excited to see what his recreate can get done when he gets the chance to play in the league, not sure how long it’ll be but I’ll keep an eye out. On a personal note, I had a pretty good season. I didn’t quite have the elite level of play that I’d hoped for but I did still beat out some personal season records, including both sacks and interceptions so I definitely feel like I accomplished quite a lot and who knows, maybe I’ll get another chance to play in the Pro Bowl this offseason. Whatever happens, thanks for reading this and I hope it provides some insight into what was going through my head during the season!

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