Jameson Vermillion rookie recap and opinions
I suppose I should start where every good story starts, the beginning. When I first saw the league posted to r/nfl I was extremely skeptical. I mean I still clicked on it because I didn't know what it was and I was curious, and this was at a time when I wasn't sure we were even going to get a football season, a feeling I still have. I'm sure we all can't help but wonder or feel it is a matter of time before everything goes south quickly and our glorious sport is canceled for the rest of the year, although I'm sure none of use want that. This is also at a time when I had the free time to click and read every article that passed through r/nfl something I don't really do now, although i still read quite a bit of football news in the world, I digress though I'm getting off topic. I clicked the link and did some reading trying to figure out what this league was all about and figured "what the hell" I'll make a character and if I don't like it I don't ever have to come back. I made a character one that I'm pretty proud of and I was hooked. Instantly reading everything new that popped up on the site, trying to develop a base of knowledge and make as few mistakes as possible on my way to hopefully making a future hall of fame character, which is still my goal and something I feel that I can and will achieve. I've put a ridiculous amount of time in so far and I'm happier for it, I really enjoy the league as a whole, and for the most part almost everyone is a good person, although my introversion and loner attitude has somewhat hampered my friend making abilities. This article will possibly also serve as a getting things off my chest piece, because even though I have a lot of fun and don't see myself backing off my participation in the discord or on the site any time soon, it hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows, but every little gripe I've had is by far overshadowed by the positive experiences that I have had involved with the isfl in general.
Onto the important stuff, or maybe unimportant depending on how you look at it, I've written about some of this stuff already so I won't go into too much detail on the things I've already gotten that sweet media money for, but I will have to recap it just for the sake of my own brain and how I feel like this article should be written. For the most part I tend to fade in and out of character for details and articles something I'm not sure I like but I'll admit is pretty fun to do, what's the point if you only envision your character as numbers on a web page? I believe for me myself one of the best parts is imagining how my character feels or would react to certain situations, even if his personality will only come out in the occasional article from his point of view. Which brings me back to the fact that I am extremely off topic again, but I wanted to get off my chest the fact I haven't written in a while. Which with the reasons why I could probably write a full article about, but thats probably a good time to talk about the fact that even though I've had an extremely tumultuous personal life I still haven't wavered in getting all of my point tasks and prdictions in and haven't left any tpe on the the table, even though my predictions aren't always good. Holy crap my thoughts are jumbled, this paragraph was supposed to start talking about dsfl drafting and that didn't happen but it will in the next one.
The DSFL draft and scouting
I already talked about this pretty in depth and talking about it again several weeks later I feel like I haven't lost a bit of enthusiasm about it. Especially since the process is starting all over again with the ISFL scouts starting to hit me up its a great time to recollect my thoughts and really look back at how fun the experience was and why. From the time I discovered the league I was talking to one of my good buddies and coworkers about the whole process. I even got him to make a player and give the league a try, though he ultimately decided it was too much work and didn't share my enthusiasm. I still talk to him about it a lot since he is the only person I interact with daily with any idea what I'm talking about. I remember just how I excited I was when the first scout messaged me on discord, I wrote a whole article about it. You'd think after almost a whole season(dsfl week 13 in a couple hours just in case I don't finish this article today) that I would be looking back on that memory as a little silly, but it ain't like that in the slightest. That was just a small part of the whole journey but it was exciting, it was really what immersed me into the whole league, because it made me realize how much time and energy everybody is pouring into all of this. Although at that point I still basically knew nothing about the league, and hell i probably still don't but now I have the depth of knowledge to know how little I know.
I feel like the scouting process is a bit easier this time around, I'm less trying to prove myself, at this point my actions are starting to speak for me. I don't miss any opportunity for tpe production, I'm here to get better and make my character the best running back ever, wouldn't work very well if I was leaving ways to improve on the table. I've solidly taken every chance I've had and I think I have put myself at the top of the pack there. Don't get me wrong I still welcome the scouts as I really do enjoy the scouting process. I don't think I will ever understand the guys who put the big rants on here and basically say they don't want to participate in the scouting process and that all the information you need is on that media post. If I ever get to a gm spot, those people would be solidly in the "I don't want them on my team" category. I feel like it shows shaky levels of enthusiasm and I wouldn't want to have to question the motivation and ability to put in the required work of any of my teammates, to me that's a red flag, saying "I don't want to participate in the process." On the other hand I've had some great conversations with DSFL and ISFL scouts, I can't imagine willingly opting out of them. It is such a fun and immersive part of the entire league, but to be completely honest I'd have a conversation with just about anyone in the league, about whatever. Scout, gm, random dude, guy who is newer than me I love talking to people and while I may not be a grade A conversationalist, I am way more comfortable with the one on one conversations than I am in the locker rooms, although I still try my best to be there too, when I'm not busy.
As for the ISFL draft coming up I have no idea where I'm going to go, I would not at all be surprised to be the first running back off the board. My volume of work speaks pretty well for me, and tpe-wise I'm at the top of the pack. I don't know if I will go as early as I did in the DSFL draft, but then again I was pretty surprised there which was a great moment, the surprise was real and a very fond memory. I think it'd be pretty awesome to be valued as high as a first round pick, I suppose the expansion draft will really give me clues as to how that is going to go, although I won't really know anything for sure until it actually happens, then again with two new teams needing running back the expansion draft could open that opportunity up for me to go early unless these new teams decide running the ball is overrated. I don't know if I'm excited to see the expansion draft live, I mean I'll probably watch it just like I did with the DSFL draft, but the names and people won't mean a lot to me because at this point I still don't know who most of these people are, I've never met them and likely won't for a while, hell there are still people on my own team I don't know.
One thing that has come up at some points is that with the expansion draft, people may not be seeing that allegedly typical second year in the dsfl. From the moment I made a character people told me that it was pretty standard to spend two year in the developmental league. Expansion definitely looks like it is going to throw a monkey wrench into what exactly is typical. It looks like some teams are going to need players right away. I wouldn't ever reveal what was said or who said it in discussion with a scout, but some definitely hinted at the possibility of a few of the season twenty five rookies going straight to the ISFL. That is an interesting prospect. I don't really feel to strongly one way or the other, I've been prepared for at least two seasons since I showed up, but heading up there right away would make some record setting slightly more possible. Either way it goes I'm cool with it I suppose. I don't hate all of the Grey Ducks so hanging out there for another year wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
I don't want to spend much time talking about the prospect bowl and the pre-season. While they were fun lead ups to the regular season in retrospect they really didn't matter. I am still totally proud to have been a Landshark though, that team really needs to be part of the league it had way better branding and cool bits behind it than some of the actual teams which brings me to the opinions I have about some of the branding around here.
Branding oh boy..
I would like to start this off with a disclaimer that none of this really reflects my opinions of the team itself or my desire to play for said team. Hell I'm a Grey Duck right now and I think that is pretty dumb, but I embrace it and have never really made that opinion known until now, I'm still pretty shocked that someone looked at the San Antonio Marshals and thought "you know what would be cool? If we were the Grey Ducks instead!" I do not follow or agree with that thought process, but oh well I'm a Grey Duck so instead of complaining ill just tweet at the birddogs pictures of dogs with duckbill muzzles on them, that right there is classic turning a negative into a positive. Making the best of my opportunities is something I tend to at least try to do.
For the most part the opinions I have developed on peoples mascots and overall branding is typically pretty positive. Of course there are still some that I dislike and some that I like more than other. I suppose it is easier to pick the low hanging fruit and start by talking about how I feel about the two new expansion teams.
I'll give the good news first, I really love the fire salamanders. I think it is unique and interesting, which unique isn't usually one of my more prominent points when critiquing team names, but when something is truly unique it definitely has a certain sense of style to it that other things just can't. From what I have seen I adore it, and the only thing I have that is negative is it just isn't a tough critter and when I think of football, I think tough and gritty, but I think unique wins my heart on that one.
Then the bad news, the Silverbacks. Boy are gorillas everywhere, from Harambe to King Kong, Gorillas are just boring. Maybe I've been soured by the all to often Grizzly vs Gorilla argument where the vast majority of people who are just absolutely ignorant seem to think a gorilla could beat a grizzly. First off they are wrong a grizzly is several hundred pound of mayhem incarnate designed to kill and eat anything it damn well pleases. Also the silverbacks gm's were wrong for making this. It is boring, gorillas are boring and overdone, New York is boring and overdone, the whole thing is unimaginative and lazy. Still though if I end up being a silverback I'd find a way to own it.
There's a few other ISFL team names and what not I'm not terribly fond of, and several that I love, because they are awesome, I'm not going to hit all of them, but I feel like getting stuff off my chest today, don't take this personally. This is for me, not to insult you and the hard work you put into thinking about the teams you may or may not have helped create.
Gonna start with dislikes this time, because patterns are for suckers.
I gotta go with the Liberty as one of my top four least favorite team names in the league. I mean I guess I get it, their logo is a bell. Haha very funny Liberty Bell, that will strike fear in the hearts of your enemies. I would also point out though that the Liberty Bell cracked, and it is very hard to not talk about how their season went right now because that isn't really what im trying to talk about or the purpose of this article. However it is dumb, I can't think of anything weirder than naming yourself after a concept. They didn't even use a physical object, just liberty which is an idea, I'm perplexed. Perhaps if I ever get my own team it'll be the Vainknight Perplexion. Which is totally a real city, and definitely a word.
The Sarasota Sailfish. I feel like I don't even need to do this one. This one has got to be everyone's least favorite, I mean is anyone scared of a Sailfish? What is cool about this one? How did this one get approved? Is there anyone that says I want to be a Sailfish when I grow up!? This is boring in a way that makes every time I have said boring so far in this article seem like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Like it isn't enough that you had to pick a dumb sea creature, but it couldn't have even been a scary one. Like I'd have been happier if they named themselves the jellyfish.
I figured while I have some negative opinions and positive opinions about some of this stuff that it might not hurt to do a middle ground of things that while I may not like or dislike them, I definitely nothing them and nothing is certainly something so here are two of those.
Honolulu Hahalua, haha very Hawaii.
New Orleans Second Line, oh boy this one is an interesting nothing, my gut instinct was to hate it, but then I did some research and oh boy, I am now definitely in the nothing range. It is just interesting and cultural enough for me to not hate or like it. So they are certainly something and I guess a thing. Congratulations New Orleans I nothing you.
Now freshly out of our detour through the midlands. We have arrived to the ones that I really like, mind you this is on name alone, I likely wouldn't tell anyone how I really feel about where I would like to play because it doesn't matter. Whether you are the team I would like to play for or the team I would rather not, you are going to get the same me, one hundred percent, someone is going to get the future best running back ever.
So here we go with number one, the San Jose Sabercats. I only really need one word to explain why they have one of the best team names, and that is cats. Cats are life, cats are wonderful, the heck out of her Birddogs you aren't wanted here with your canine namesake give us the Sabercats. Who cares if it is a prehistoric monster that would eat my face off, it would still get a good scratching on its way to my brutal murder. Also they happen to be in San Jose, which fun fact, houses the only strip club I have ever been to, despite being from Illinois, it was awful strip clubs are dumb, still a fond memory though.
I think the best goes to the Yellowknife Wraiths. Perhaps it is because I am a dungeons and dragons nerd, or that I have a zombie deck in magic the gathering or maybe it is because it is just awesome and unique. They could have called themselves the reapers with all the same branding and it would have fit and worked and been alright. However they took it up a notch and the guy who founded the team was like "we're gonna be the Wraiths, because everyone else can't be as cool as us." That is my official unofficial story of the entire founding. Until someone comes out with the Helsinki Hellfighters the Yellowknife Wraiths are without a doubt the coolest.
Anyway back to career recap which is part of the reason I wanted to write this article, although honestly the main reason was my own mental health. Writing an article without a specific goal in mind and just going where my brain wants me to go to put all these thoughts down and clear my mind in preparation of a new season. Is this a sign of things to come? Probably not, I really doubt I will be in this mindset again toward the end of next season, while this has been a blast to write so far, I see myself going back to the smaller more typical articles. Hopefully at least the next two months will be less tumultuous than the last two.
Anyway diving right in with game one which i wil skim over because I already did an in depth article about it. Seventeen carries on hundred thirty eight yard and two touchdowns, those are stats i wouldn't equal for the rest of the season. A huge eight two yard touchdown lead the way so it really looks a lot better than it was, there was also a catch for six yard and three kick returns for eighty five yards. When game one happened i really thought it was a sign of things to come. I started envisioning myself as mvp and just having records upon records for my rookie season. It would have been pretty awesome to be honest. Reality was about to smack me in the face at that point. It was nice to be on top of the mountain, at least for one game, I like to think of it as a sign of things to come even now, but really only time will tell on that part. I suppose it is also worth mentioning that this game was a loss for the Ducks, this was a sign of things to come, unfortunately, while here( at four in the morning after game thirteen) it looks like there is no chance of a playoff berth even if we win next week.
Game two was another loss and boy was this one I wish I could forget. Twenty to zero against the Norfolk Seawolves. We couldn't get anything going in this game and honestly watching it, everything looked bleak. We barely lost to London in week one, but this was rough. However Norfolk was last years champion and London was in the playoffs last year, plenty of hope to be had from me and the rest of the locker room. Nine carries for forty two yards, things were starting to look rough.
Game three, this was our first win. Against the Portland Pythons. While my character sidn't personally contribute as much as I would have liked, it was still great to get one in the win column. Mike Rotchburns overshadowed me for the first time in my career, which is totally fine when you win. I don't care who has to do what if we get that win I will be more than happy with it. However I feel like this is the perfect time to talk about my grudge with the Portland Pythons. The funny thing is I didn't even want to go to Portland, the couple times I tried to participate in their locker room things were.. strange... I suppose. However I felt like they were going to draft me, I organized all eight teams into a four tiered list with Minnesota and Portland in tier one as most likely to draft me and with Portland picking first it seemed most likely. Not only did they not do that, they turned a tight end into a running back instead of taking someone who wanted to play running back. So this team is the only team to pass on me twice and then tried to create a new me, which *checks notes* failed. So boy kicking their butts was nice, a feat which we would recreate later in the season! Another fun fact hailing from this game is some media from the Pythons players called the Grey Ducks the worst team in the league. After me making fun of them for that it turned out that tidbit came from higher up in the pythons leadership. So not only did they get beat by us, but they then failed to see the irony in calling us the worst team after having been beaten by us. Alanis Morissette would have had a blast with that one, especially after the second game.
Game four, after the highs and lows of the first three games I almost needed game four. My rushing stats which are my main focus as a running back weren't spectacular in this game fifty five yards and a touchdown, but the whole game itself made me realize there was much more than "run ball." Two catches for nineteen yard both on the same drive that went for points and a huge seventy three yard kick returns that also went for points. This was the game where I started to realize that I could be a lot more the team than just a running back. I think this is the first moment I actually felt like a team player and started to really get invested in the teams success. Before this game I was in it for myself, but when I saw that my efforts were putting other people in the end zone, boy was i happy. We got another win here and it was exhilarating, I thought this was gonna be our turning point, I was wrong, but even figuring out i was wrong was exciting. This league is a blast every step of the way and watching how things unfold has been nothing but fun even as the rest of the season happened as it did.
Game five, playing the Dallas Birddogs. I think this is about the time I started Twittering. The duck bill muzzle was just hilarious some of my best pre game banter. No regrets even with the loss. Twelve carries for seventy yards not a bad stat line for a loss, but this game was one that would matter, we needed the wins against beatable opponents, apparently we got messed up their and could only beat teams at the top of the ranking while anyone in the middle or the bottom could beat us easily. Still pretty confused about all that but oh well a lost against the Birddogs wasn't that terrible at this point it was the next several weeks that really hurt, although we really hoped to get a win against the lowest ranked team in the league at that point.
Game six, I don't remember much about this game against the Coyotes, at least leading up to it. I don't think I'll ever forget that eighty nine yard touchdown though. It has a lot of special meaning to it for me, based on one interaction. On some random media post the user for Bronko Mills said he'd be the best rb and I said something about "no me" and he bragged about his eighty eight yard touchdown. A few games later and eighty nine yards, sometimes I wonder if my pettiness is truly so powerful that it can change the universe itself and then sometimes I realize everything is all random. I know me writing this means next Monday he is going to get a ninety yard touchdown, but until that happens... in your face Bronko Mills.. you may not remember.. but I do... I never forget. Anyway this game finished with sixteen carries one hundred sixty yards and an average of over ten yards a carry, awesome game for me, average loss for the Ducks.
Game seven, I barely remember this game happening. I mean I am sure it did, there is evidence, but one hundred and four yards on twenty two carries. Throw in a nine yard catch and it wasn't that bad of a game personally, another average loss for the Ducks.
Game eight, our second loss to the Royals. At two and five this was starting to get worrisome we needed to get back to winning and I thought with our first chance at revenge this might be it. I was wrong, while Seventeen carries for eight nine yards wasn't a bad personal stat it certainly didn't do the team any favors. Revenge wouldn't be ours until next week, and not against the Royals.
Game nine, two and six what a way to start the year. We had to win to remain relevant, and we did! It was however with little thanks to myself. Fifteen carries for sixty five yards, it was really a pedestrian effort, but it helped get the job done. Rotchburns was way more the hero in this one. Some good kick returning was thrown into here, but having to do a kick return is usually.. not good. Regardless a win over a team that had shellacked us in the first game, that certainly had to be a turning point right? Wrong.
Game ten, oh boy I already pretty much spoke about this, but feeling like we were losing our chances at a playoff berth i spoke pretty freely in the locker room. " I don't care how we do the rest of the season so long as we win this game." They got what they deserved. A rare duck win at this point but this one was good, it was my personal Ultimini. Totally fine with how everything played out just for this one game to happen like it did.
Game eleven, Montezuma's revenge. Wait.. Tijuana, which is pretty much the same thing. Tijuana had evolved into the number one seed for the league by the time this game happened and it was on their home turf. We all had high hopes, but I also had a feeling we were pretty well screwed in this one. We got beat up, but put up a pretty good fight. Seventy one yards from me and the same from Mike Rotchburns. We gave it a good go but we couldn't pull through in the end.
Game twelve, the bird dogs man they have our number, probably a lot like how we have Portland's. I really thought with our offense performing better this game would go a lot differently, but oh boy did that not happen, I am pretty sure we forgot which way we were supposed to move the ball for this one. Not our first time getting shut out this year, hopefully our last.
Game thirteen, I'll be honest i didn't expect to win this one. Twenty two carries for one hundred twenty four certainly helped the whole team, but even with a win here were eliminated from playoff hopes. Sure it'd be nice to won next week too, but I think we need at this point Portland and Kansas city to lose and to beat Myrtle Beach by like one hundred and fifty points. So... fingers crossed.
Game fourteen, well this ain't even happened yet, but this game doesn't matter our place for the season is pretty much done.
In retrospect with one game left Jameson Vermillion has the fourth most rushing yards, touchdowns weren't a stand out stat, but he has the best yards per carry in the top ten of the rushing stat leaders. I could see an argument for offensive rookie of the year, but that could be a pretty big toss up. I would love to see an award my first year, can't really tell if that is unrealistic or what not haven't seen the process myself. Could seal it with another big game, maybe in week fourteen there will be another monster touchdown? At least I sure hope there will be it would be pretty awesome.
Alright season talk is over until next season. That almost wraps up everything I wanted to get down. I'm thinking if I do end up doing an article like this every year they will be awesome tools to look back on and reminisce, next year when I'm playing for the championship it will likely have to wait until after that, we are pretty much dead in the water so this seemed like a good time to do this one, plus I was in a bit of a rut with just trying to form an idea with everything going on at home.
Until the next article, this will have to do, have a good one anyone who cared to read this!
I suppose I should start where every good story starts, the beginning. When I first saw the league posted to r/nfl I was extremely skeptical. I mean I still clicked on it because I didn't know what it was and I was curious, and this was at a time when I wasn't sure we were even going to get a football season, a feeling I still have. I'm sure we all can't help but wonder or feel it is a matter of time before everything goes south quickly and our glorious sport is canceled for the rest of the year, although I'm sure none of use want that. This is also at a time when I had the free time to click and read every article that passed through r/nfl something I don't really do now, although i still read quite a bit of football news in the world, I digress though I'm getting off topic. I clicked the link and did some reading trying to figure out what this league was all about and figured "what the hell" I'll make a character and if I don't like it I don't ever have to come back. I made a character one that I'm pretty proud of and I was hooked. Instantly reading everything new that popped up on the site, trying to develop a base of knowledge and make as few mistakes as possible on my way to hopefully making a future hall of fame character, which is still my goal and something I feel that I can and will achieve. I've put a ridiculous amount of time in so far and I'm happier for it, I really enjoy the league as a whole, and for the most part almost everyone is a good person, although my introversion and loner attitude has somewhat hampered my friend making abilities. This article will possibly also serve as a getting things off my chest piece, because even though I have a lot of fun and don't see myself backing off my participation in the discord or on the site any time soon, it hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows, but every little gripe I've had is by far overshadowed by the positive experiences that I have had involved with the isfl in general.
Onto the important stuff, or maybe unimportant depending on how you look at it, I've written about some of this stuff already so I won't go into too much detail on the things I've already gotten that sweet media money for, but I will have to recap it just for the sake of my own brain and how I feel like this article should be written. For the most part I tend to fade in and out of character for details and articles something I'm not sure I like but I'll admit is pretty fun to do, what's the point if you only envision your character as numbers on a web page? I believe for me myself one of the best parts is imagining how my character feels or would react to certain situations, even if his personality will only come out in the occasional article from his point of view. Which brings me back to the fact that I am extremely off topic again, but I wanted to get off my chest the fact I haven't written in a while. Which with the reasons why I could probably write a full article about, but thats probably a good time to talk about the fact that even though I've had an extremely tumultuous personal life I still haven't wavered in getting all of my point tasks and prdictions in and haven't left any tpe on the the table, even though my predictions aren't always good. Holy crap my thoughts are jumbled, this paragraph was supposed to start talking about dsfl drafting and that didn't happen but it will in the next one.
The DSFL draft and scouting
I already talked about this pretty in depth and talking about it again several weeks later I feel like I haven't lost a bit of enthusiasm about it. Especially since the process is starting all over again with the ISFL scouts starting to hit me up its a great time to recollect my thoughts and really look back at how fun the experience was and why. From the time I discovered the league I was talking to one of my good buddies and coworkers about the whole process. I even got him to make a player and give the league a try, though he ultimately decided it was too much work and didn't share my enthusiasm. I still talk to him about it a lot since he is the only person I interact with daily with any idea what I'm talking about. I remember just how I excited I was when the first scout messaged me on discord, I wrote a whole article about it. You'd think after almost a whole season(dsfl week 13 in a couple hours just in case I don't finish this article today) that I would be looking back on that memory as a little silly, but it ain't like that in the slightest. That was just a small part of the whole journey but it was exciting, it was really what immersed me into the whole league, because it made me realize how much time and energy everybody is pouring into all of this. Although at that point I still basically knew nothing about the league, and hell i probably still don't but now I have the depth of knowledge to know how little I know.
I feel like the scouting process is a bit easier this time around, I'm less trying to prove myself, at this point my actions are starting to speak for me. I don't miss any opportunity for tpe production, I'm here to get better and make my character the best running back ever, wouldn't work very well if I was leaving ways to improve on the table. I've solidly taken every chance I've had and I think I have put myself at the top of the pack there. Don't get me wrong I still welcome the scouts as I really do enjoy the scouting process. I don't think I will ever understand the guys who put the big rants on here and basically say they don't want to participate in the scouting process and that all the information you need is on that media post. If I ever get to a gm spot, those people would be solidly in the "I don't want them on my team" category. I feel like it shows shaky levels of enthusiasm and I wouldn't want to have to question the motivation and ability to put in the required work of any of my teammates, to me that's a red flag, saying "I don't want to participate in the process." On the other hand I've had some great conversations with DSFL and ISFL scouts, I can't imagine willingly opting out of them. It is such a fun and immersive part of the entire league, but to be completely honest I'd have a conversation with just about anyone in the league, about whatever. Scout, gm, random dude, guy who is newer than me I love talking to people and while I may not be a grade A conversationalist, I am way more comfortable with the one on one conversations than I am in the locker rooms, although I still try my best to be there too, when I'm not busy.
As for the ISFL draft coming up I have no idea where I'm going to go, I would not at all be surprised to be the first running back off the board. My volume of work speaks pretty well for me, and tpe-wise I'm at the top of the pack. I don't know if I will go as early as I did in the DSFL draft, but then again I was pretty surprised there which was a great moment, the surprise was real and a very fond memory. I think it'd be pretty awesome to be valued as high as a first round pick, I suppose the expansion draft will really give me clues as to how that is going to go, although I won't really know anything for sure until it actually happens, then again with two new teams needing running back the expansion draft could open that opportunity up for me to go early unless these new teams decide running the ball is overrated. I don't know if I'm excited to see the expansion draft live, I mean I'll probably watch it just like I did with the DSFL draft, but the names and people won't mean a lot to me because at this point I still don't know who most of these people are, I've never met them and likely won't for a while, hell there are still people on my own team I don't know.
One thing that has come up at some points is that with the expansion draft, people may not be seeing that allegedly typical second year in the dsfl. From the moment I made a character people told me that it was pretty standard to spend two year in the developmental league. Expansion definitely looks like it is going to throw a monkey wrench into what exactly is typical. It looks like some teams are going to need players right away. I wouldn't ever reveal what was said or who said it in discussion with a scout, but some definitely hinted at the possibility of a few of the season twenty five rookies going straight to the ISFL. That is an interesting prospect. I don't really feel to strongly one way or the other, I've been prepared for at least two seasons since I showed up, but heading up there right away would make some record setting slightly more possible. Either way it goes I'm cool with it I suppose. I don't hate all of the Grey Ducks so hanging out there for another year wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
I don't want to spend much time talking about the prospect bowl and the pre-season. While they were fun lead ups to the regular season in retrospect they really didn't matter. I am still totally proud to have been a Landshark though, that team really needs to be part of the league it had way better branding and cool bits behind it than some of the actual teams which brings me to the opinions I have about some of the branding around here.
Branding oh boy..
I would like to start this off with a disclaimer that none of this really reflects my opinions of the team itself or my desire to play for said team. Hell I'm a Grey Duck right now and I think that is pretty dumb, but I embrace it and have never really made that opinion known until now, I'm still pretty shocked that someone looked at the San Antonio Marshals and thought "you know what would be cool? If we were the Grey Ducks instead!" I do not follow or agree with that thought process, but oh well I'm a Grey Duck so instead of complaining ill just tweet at the birddogs pictures of dogs with duckbill muzzles on them, that right there is classic turning a negative into a positive. Making the best of my opportunities is something I tend to at least try to do.
For the most part the opinions I have developed on peoples mascots and overall branding is typically pretty positive. Of course there are still some that I dislike and some that I like more than other. I suppose it is easier to pick the low hanging fruit and start by talking about how I feel about the two new expansion teams.
I'll give the good news first, I really love the fire salamanders. I think it is unique and interesting, which unique isn't usually one of my more prominent points when critiquing team names, but when something is truly unique it definitely has a certain sense of style to it that other things just can't. From what I have seen I adore it, and the only thing I have that is negative is it just isn't a tough critter and when I think of football, I think tough and gritty, but I think unique wins my heart on that one.
Then the bad news, the Silverbacks. Boy are gorillas everywhere, from Harambe to King Kong, Gorillas are just boring. Maybe I've been soured by the all to often Grizzly vs Gorilla argument where the vast majority of people who are just absolutely ignorant seem to think a gorilla could beat a grizzly. First off they are wrong a grizzly is several hundred pound of mayhem incarnate designed to kill and eat anything it damn well pleases. Also the silverbacks gm's were wrong for making this. It is boring, gorillas are boring and overdone, New York is boring and overdone, the whole thing is unimaginative and lazy. Still though if I end up being a silverback I'd find a way to own it.
There's a few other ISFL team names and what not I'm not terribly fond of, and several that I love, because they are awesome, I'm not going to hit all of them, but I feel like getting stuff off my chest today, don't take this personally. This is for me, not to insult you and the hard work you put into thinking about the teams you may or may not have helped create.
Gonna start with dislikes this time, because patterns are for suckers.
I gotta go with the Liberty as one of my top four least favorite team names in the league. I mean I guess I get it, their logo is a bell. Haha very funny Liberty Bell, that will strike fear in the hearts of your enemies. I would also point out though that the Liberty Bell cracked, and it is very hard to not talk about how their season went right now because that isn't really what im trying to talk about or the purpose of this article. However it is dumb, I can't think of anything weirder than naming yourself after a concept. They didn't even use a physical object, just liberty which is an idea, I'm perplexed. Perhaps if I ever get my own team it'll be the Vainknight Perplexion. Which is totally a real city, and definitely a word.
The Sarasota Sailfish. I feel like I don't even need to do this one. This one has got to be everyone's least favorite, I mean is anyone scared of a Sailfish? What is cool about this one? How did this one get approved? Is there anyone that says I want to be a Sailfish when I grow up!? This is boring in a way that makes every time I have said boring so far in this article seem like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Like it isn't enough that you had to pick a dumb sea creature, but it couldn't have even been a scary one. Like I'd have been happier if they named themselves the jellyfish.
I figured while I have some negative opinions and positive opinions about some of this stuff that it might not hurt to do a middle ground of things that while I may not like or dislike them, I definitely nothing them and nothing is certainly something so here are two of those.
Honolulu Hahalua, haha very Hawaii.
New Orleans Second Line, oh boy this one is an interesting nothing, my gut instinct was to hate it, but then I did some research and oh boy, I am now definitely in the nothing range. It is just interesting and cultural enough for me to not hate or like it. So they are certainly something and I guess a thing. Congratulations New Orleans I nothing you.
Now freshly out of our detour through the midlands. We have arrived to the ones that I really like, mind you this is on name alone, I likely wouldn't tell anyone how I really feel about where I would like to play because it doesn't matter. Whether you are the team I would like to play for or the team I would rather not, you are going to get the same me, one hundred percent, someone is going to get the future best running back ever.
So here we go with number one, the San Jose Sabercats. I only really need one word to explain why they have one of the best team names, and that is cats. Cats are life, cats are wonderful, the heck out of her Birddogs you aren't wanted here with your canine namesake give us the Sabercats. Who cares if it is a prehistoric monster that would eat my face off, it would still get a good scratching on its way to my brutal murder. Also they happen to be in San Jose, which fun fact, houses the only strip club I have ever been to, despite being from Illinois, it was awful strip clubs are dumb, still a fond memory though.
I think the best goes to the Yellowknife Wraiths. Perhaps it is because I am a dungeons and dragons nerd, or that I have a zombie deck in magic the gathering or maybe it is because it is just awesome and unique. They could have called themselves the reapers with all the same branding and it would have fit and worked and been alright. However they took it up a notch and the guy who founded the team was like "we're gonna be the Wraiths, because everyone else can't be as cool as us." That is my official unofficial story of the entire founding. Until someone comes out with the Helsinki Hellfighters the Yellowknife Wraiths are without a doubt the coolest.
Anyway back to career recap which is part of the reason I wanted to write this article, although honestly the main reason was my own mental health. Writing an article without a specific goal in mind and just going where my brain wants me to go to put all these thoughts down and clear my mind in preparation of a new season. Is this a sign of things to come? Probably not, I really doubt I will be in this mindset again toward the end of next season, while this has been a blast to write so far, I see myself going back to the smaller more typical articles. Hopefully at least the next two months will be less tumultuous than the last two.
Anyway diving right in with game one which i wil skim over because I already did an in depth article about it. Seventeen carries on hundred thirty eight yard and two touchdowns, those are stats i wouldn't equal for the rest of the season. A huge eight two yard touchdown lead the way so it really looks a lot better than it was, there was also a catch for six yard and three kick returns for eighty five yards. When game one happened i really thought it was a sign of things to come. I started envisioning myself as mvp and just having records upon records for my rookie season. It would have been pretty awesome to be honest. Reality was about to smack me in the face at that point. It was nice to be on top of the mountain, at least for one game, I like to think of it as a sign of things to come even now, but really only time will tell on that part. I suppose it is also worth mentioning that this game was a loss for the Ducks, this was a sign of things to come, unfortunately, while here( at four in the morning after game thirteen) it looks like there is no chance of a playoff berth even if we win next week.
Game two was another loss and boy was this one I wish I could forget. Twenty to zero against the Norfolk Seawolves. We couldn't get anything going in this game and honestly watching it, everything looked bleak. We barely lost to London in week one, but this was rough. However Norfolk was last years champion and London was in the playoffs last year, plenty of hope to be had from me and the rest of the locker room. Nine carries for forty two yards, things were starting to look rough.
Game three, this was our first win. Against the Portland Pythons. While my character sidn't personally contribute as much as I would have liked, it was still great to get one in the win column. Mike Rotchburns overshadowed me for the first time in my career, which is totally fine when you win. I don't care who has to do what if we get that win I will be more than happy with it. However I feel like this is the perfect time to talk about my grudge with the Portland Pythons. The funny thing is I didn't even want to go to Portland, the couple times I tried to participate in their locker room things were.. strange... I suppose. However I felt like they were going to draft me, I organized all eight teams into a four tiered list with Minnesota and Portland in tier one as most likely to draft me and with Portland picking first it seemed most likely. Not only did they not do that, they turned a tight end into a running back instead of taking someone who wanted to play running back. So this team is the only team to pass on me twice and then tried to create a new me, which *checks notes* failed. So boy kicking their butts was nice, a feat which we would recreate later in the season! Another fun fact hailing from this game is some media from the Pythons players called the Grey Ducks the worst team in the league. After me making fun of them for that it turned out that tidbit came from higher up in the pythons leadership. So not only did they get beat by us, but they then failed to see the irony in calling us the worst team after having been beaten by us. Alanis Morissette would have had a blast with that one, especially after the second game.
Game four, after the highs and lows of the first three games I almost needed game four. My rushing stats which are my main focus as a running back weren't spectacular in this game fifty five yards and a touchdown, but the whole game itself made me realize there was much more than "run ball." Two catches for nineteen yard both on the same drive that went for points and a huge seventy three yard kick returns that also went for points. This was the game where I started to realize that I could be a lot more the team than just a running back. I think this is the first moment I actually felt like a team player and started to really get invested in the teams success. Before this game I was in it for myself, but when I saw that my efforts were putting other people in the end zone, boy was i happy. We got another win here and it was exhilarating, I thought this was gonna be our turning point, I was wrong, but even figuring out i was wrong was exciting. This league is a blast every step of the way and watching how things unfold has been nothing but fun even as the rest of the season happened as it did.
Game five, playing the Dallas Birddogs. I think this is about the time I started Twittering. The duck bill muzzle was just hilarious some of my best pre game banter. No regrets even with the loss. Twelve carries for seventy yards not a bad stat line for a loss, but this game was one that would matter, we needed the wins against beatable opponents, apparently we got messed up their and could only beat teams at the top of the ranking while anyone in the middle or the bottom could beat us easily. Still pretty confused about all that but oh well a lost against the Birddogs wasn't that terrible at this point it was the next several weeks that really hurt, although we really hoped to get a win against the lowest ranked team in the league at that point.
Game six, I don't remember much about this game against the Coyotes, at least leading up to it. I don't think I'll ever forget that eighty nine yard touchdown though. It has a lot of special meaning to it for me, based on one interaction. On some random media post the user for Bronko Mills said he'd be the best rb and I said something about "no me" and he bragged about his eighty eight yard touchdown. A few games later and eighty nine yards, sometimes I wonder if my pettiness is truly so powerful that it can change the universe itself and then sometimes I realize everything is all random. I know me writing this means next Monday he is going to get a ninety yard touchdown, but until that happens... in your face Bronko Mills.. you may not remember.. but I do... I never forget. Anyway this game finished with sixteen carries one hundred sixty yards and an average of over ten yards a carry, awesome game for me, average loss for the Ducks.
Game seven, I barely remember this game happening. I mean I am sure it did, there is evidence, but one hundred and four yards on twenty two carries. Throw in a nine yard catch and it wasn't that bad of a game personally, another average loss for the Ducks.
Game eight, our second loss to the Royals. At two and five this was starting to get worrisome we needed to get back to winning and I thought with our first chance at revenge this might be it. I was wrong, while Seventeen carries for eight nine yards wasn't a bad personal stat it certainly didn't do the team any favors. Revenge wouldn't be ours until next week, and not against the Royals.
Game nine, two and six what a way to start the year. We had to win to remain relevant, and we did! It was however with little thanks to myself. Fifteen carries for sixty five yards, it was really a pedestrian effort, but it helped get the job done. Rotchburns was way more the hero in this one. Some good kick returning was thrown into here, but having to do a kick return is usually.. not good. Regardless a win over a team that had shellacked us in the first game, that certainly had to be a turning point right? Wrong.
Game ten, oh boy I already pretty much spoke about this, but feeling like we were losing our chances at a playoff berth i spoke pretty freely in the locker room. " I don't care how we do the rest of the season so long as we win this game." They got what they deserved. A rare duck win at this point but this one was good, it was my personal Ultimini. Totally fine with how everything played out just for this one game to happen like it did.
Game eleven, Montezuma's revenge. Wait.. Tijuana, which is pretty much the same thing. Tijuana had evolved into the number one seed for the league by the time this game happened and it was on their home turf. We all had high hopes, but I also had a feeling we were pretty well screwed in this one. We got beat up, but put up a pretty good fight. Seventy one yards from me and the same from Mike Rotchburns. We gave it a good go but we couldn't pull through in the end.
Game twelve, the bird dogs man they have our number, probably a lot like how we have Portland's. I really thought with our offense performing better this game would go a lot differently, but oh boy did that not happen, I am pretty sure we forgot which way we were supposed to move the ball for this one. Not our first time getting shut out this year, hopefully our last.
Game thirteen, I'll be honest i didn't expect to win this one. Twenty two carries for one hundred twenty four certainly helped the whole team, but even with a win here were eliminated from playoff hopes. Sure it'd be nice to won next week too, but I think we need at this point Portland and Kansas city to lose and to beat Myrtle Beach by like one hundred and fifty points. So... fingers crossed.
Game fourteen, well this ain't even happened yet, but this game doesn't matter our place for the season is pretty much done.
In retrospect with one game left Jameson Vermillion has the fourth most rushing yards, touchdowns weren't a stand out stat, but he has the best yards per carry in the top ten of the rushing stat leaders. I could see an argument for offensive rookie of the year, but that could be a pretty big toss up. I would love to see an award my first year, can't really tell if that is unrealistic or what not haven't seen the process myself. Could seal it with another big game, maybe in week fourteen there will be another monster touchdown? At least I sure hope there will be it would be pretty awesome.
Alright season talk is over until next season. That almost wraps up everything I wanted to get down. I'm thinking if I do end up doing an article like this every year they will be awesome tools to look back on and reminisce, next year when I'm playing for the championship it will likely have to wait until after that, we are pretty much dead in the water so this seemed like a good time to do this one, plus I was in a bit of a rut with just trying to form an idea with everything going on at home.
Until the next article, this will have to do, have a good one anyone who cared to read this!
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