(S20) - Ultimus Week

[Ben]

Because it was around that time that @bovovovo promised that he would stick a plunger up his butt if the Yeti went two seasons without winning a game. Well, it happened. The Yeti did their part, but no plungers were stuck anywhere as far as I know (right @Ben?). Quite unfortunate.

lmao @Beaver remember when your OSRS username was plungerbovo?

[hihihi_62]

3) Revenge (210 words)

Another season has passed and unfortunately it ended it yet another Wraiths Ultimus loss, although this year at the hands of someone new... the Austin Coppherheads. That's why I can't wait to face Austin next season to exact some level of revenge. The Wraiths were once again home team favourites but our defence just could not find an answer for QB Easton Cole who threw for 4 TDs. I take that very personally being one of the key defenders on the defence and know that next season I need to step up to shut him down. On the offensive side of the ball Cooter Bigsby just could not quite get going and threw 2 picks and only 1 TD in the big game. At this point it seems like we are cursed but next season when we face off against Austin in the Regular season we have big plans to step on the gas pedal and blow the Copperheads out to help us heal our wounds slightly from the 37-20 Ultimus blowout. I plan on personally picking Easton Cole off 4 .. maybe 5 times to improve our defences mojo heading into next years post season. Until then though I guess We have to live with the pain of that loss...again!!

4) Rivalry (209 Words)

After several very notable and well publicized Ultimus losses to this team I think it's safe to say that the Orange County Otters are the Wraiths biggest Rival at this point. The two of us have become perennial powerhouse teams and have many similarities which make all of our games very competitive and much watch TV. Much like us the Otters have a power house defence led by the likes of Lanzer Grievous and Tyron Biggums but where they really shine is there absolutely loaded offence. Led by Franklin Armstrong the team puts op gawdy numbers year after year. At his disposal he has two of the leagues leading receivers in Dexter Banks and Hugo Mongo which makes them a challenge to defend even when lined up against a formidable defence such as our own. The Otters are still a relatively young team and it seems that the two of us may be matching up in more Ultimus games in the neat future. That being said the rivalry between the two of us has grown so strong that both teams make offseason decisions solely based off of what needs to be done to beat the other. As this rivarly continues to bloom it'll be must see smash mouth football.

7. Next Year (219 Words)

This one feels like crazy deja vu to me. I have been in the league 6 years, have made the final each year and have lost each season! Next year is going to be our year though...we'll change the ending. Unfortunately for us we have a bit of an aging roster and I think that we will do whatever it takes to load up and make at least one final run at winning some of the vets a title. We still have 5 players over 1000 tpe and a handful of guys knocking at the door of 1000 which makes us a highly competitive bunch day in and day out. QB Cooter Bigsby has struggled in the past couple of Ultimus games but with a couple well made free agent acquisitions in the form of more weapons for him I think he can flip that script and live up to his potential. We still have a couple of young studs coming out of the backfield at the RB position that will surely light it up next season. On the defensive side of the ball we are still a strong core and still have a couple young up and comers in Mervin Leonard and Maurice Virtanen who will sure be looking to make a splash in next years championship game.

20) Ultimus Ad (218 words)

The commercial would begin at an old folks home in a snowy, quaint Yellowknife neighbourhood. The camera would pan to the doors of the old folks home and out would come Wraiths Season 19 WR Rayne Gordon pushing Season 13 WR Nate Swift. Both would be smiling and having a hearty ole time. Next the camera would pan to Season 13 CB Johnny Snuggles playing Cribbage with the much younger and more handsome Season 17 Mervin Leonard. Once again the two would be having a jolly time. Cooter Bigsby would then walk in stating, "Here at the Yellowknife Wraith Old folks home we take pride in taking care of our aging roster". There would then be a loud thud and the camera would pan to ancient Season 10 Wraith Danny Grithead falling to the ground with a heart attack. The camera would then pan back to Cooter, "We pride ourselves on ensuring our residents live out there final years with a smile on their face surrounded by loved ones". Mathias Hanyadi would then be seen in the background giving Lightsout Lewis a sponge bath...the two would both be grinning ear to ear. Cooter once again enters the shot, "If you or a loved one is approaching regression consider the Yellowknife Wraith Old folks home for your final years!"

[Tomasnz]

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php...2254#pid2782254

sHL afiliate

[Lemon]

6) Expansion

For approximately two months, I have now been a General Manager of a team within the MLR. If I were in charge of an expansion team in the NSFL or DSFL, I would aim to operate in a similar method to how I operate my team in the MLR. This includes placing a priority on player activity over performance, as I believe that the best portion of these online leagues is the sense of community incurred by the collation of like-minded players. This enables the team to flourish consistently and grow a presence within the league, beyond their titled legacy. Additionally, these active players will likely encourage each other to perform well, and remind each other of upcoming tasks. As such, the more active players are also more likely to participate within the league in a way that optimizes their performance within games as well as outside of them. The second highest priority to a team within a simulator league after activity is optimization. Each player within the team will have a certain amount of effort they are willing to put into the game, and as the general manager of the team, it is up to you to ensure that this effort is spent in the most effective way possible. Finding the most optimal path is the online equivalent of designing a training regiment for each player.

9) Brotherly Love

I'll always have a soft spot for @juniped Catfish. Within the MLR and the NFSL, Juniped has taken on a fatherly love for everyone he interacts with. Juni is always open for a conversation, about absolutely anything, and is also always willing to lend an ear or a hand to help with whatever he can. This upcoming season, Juni is taking over as General Manager of the Norfolk Seawolves, our alma mater DSFL team. I absolutely wish him the best in his endeavors and I'm sure his rookie class will love having him around as their mentor. Within the clubhouse, Juni has already invited many prospects, and continues to engage and educate them on the game. I know as well that Juni has recently become a father in real life, and watching him learn to become a father to a small child, has seemingly increased his warmth. In a similar collateral vein, I have watched Juni's profile picture shift in the last year. It has reflected his growth in character, shifting from a cute, childlike panda that slept, into a grown, adult panda, looking professional and responsible. Although we are likely to be separated by the draft next season, I will always respect and love my online father figure, Juniped Catfish. <3

10) Reform

I have spoken at large about my gripes with the forum in my media series, The Forum Sucks. As such, my biggest gripes with the league are operational. I believe that as the league grows, it will eventually collapse under its own weight, as it requires more and more coordination between the unique departments and roles in order to accomplish the same level of engagement. Already I have begun to watch the league stress as it has become slow update. I believe that some clever use of free, online, public tools such as Google Docs, Forms and Sheets, as well as GitLab or similar, could improve the quality of the NSFL for both operators and players alike. Although still a ways off due to the MLR offseason, I am more than willing to lend my skills in website development towards the NSFL when possible. I believe the first task to optimize would be banking. Transactions could instead be done in a transactional, relational database, storing the balance at each point in time, and updating in real time. Players could also enact their own transactions such as weekly training and equipment without manual approval of each. This information could then be exposed via a website, and to Google Sheets for public viewing.

[speculadora]

3) Revenge
I'd like to get revenge on the Arizona Outlaws. Yes, the Outlaws. I know they missed the playoffs, but they did a couple of very, very annoying things. One, they beat us in Orange County, costing us a tie with Austin atop the conference. Granted, Austin still would have had the tiebreaker there, but I digress. Second, they won their final three games after being virtually - if not definitively - eliminated from playoff contention. Those three games cost the Otters the two seed by way of creating a three-way tie between us, them, and NOLA. That meant the tiebreaker became combined head to head, which NOLA had over us because they went 2-0 against Arizona. If the tie had been between OCO and NOLA alone, we would have earned the #2 seed on the conference record tiebreaker. That turn of events cost us round one home field, a shot at redemption against Austin, and any hope for another improbably Ultimus run. So this season I hope we crush the Outlaws, but what will probably happen is that we'll lose to them in OCO and then beat them in Arizona, just like what has happened for each of the past 5 seasons or something.

6) Expansion
This is tough to say without knowing exactly how expansion is likely to be structured, assuming it happens. Basically allowing expansion teams to draft in S22 will give them very close to a full compliment of players, meaning they'll need very little from existing teams to fill out their rosters. In this scenario, it would probably be very difficult to go for the 'compete out of the gate' strategy that a team like Chicago used at their inception. You would almost certainly have to build a team that can have a window of Ultimus contention around S25 or so. Alternatively, if expansion teams get, say, 50% of a full draft's worth of picks from S22 and fill out the rest in expansion draft, then you could compete right away. Ultimately my preference is toward the latter because of my experience as a GM. Competitive teams help build a good culture and that is what makes people want to stay and take cheap contracts and the like. It's kind of hard to get people to be patient enough to wait for 3 or 4 seasons of development. Doable, but difficult. So, if I had a team, I'd probably try to get a QB in the expansion draft or from S20 or S21 if at all possible. That'd enable me to compete quicker than I otherwise would by drafting my QB from S22. Then I'd just try to build a team that can compete.

12) Interview a Star
I interviewed @ValorX77

1. How do you feel about the Butchers going forward after an inconsistent but encouraging season?
2. What do you think is the biggest thing Chicago needs to address this off-season?
3. What made Ryan Leaf Jr. want to try his hand at RB? Do you feel like your defensive line will still hold up without him?
4. If Leaf Jr. pans out as a RB, the Butchers offense should be pretty scary. What are you most looking forward to seeing from that unit next season?

I feel extremely confident on the way the butchers are heading, the slow start is only the beginning for what is to come for the franchise, hiring steel was probably what set the team forward he’s the reason all those trades happened he was the one who created the future contender. The butchers do not have that many holes currently just Tight End, in which we will phase Espeeyeeseetee into that role and make O’Leary the primary wide receiver for the twenty first season. Another hole we have is at LB and CB, we will likely pick up this position in the draft or free agency. There was a big reason why leaf became the running back for Chicago, our RB’s were both inactive and low on TPE so I volunteered to make the switch and the return of the classic "I’m something of a running back myself " memes to the league. I’m expecting an Ultimus run from these guys, look, two 1,000 yard receivers definitely mean something, and an 1,000 TPE running back to follow that up? That’s an elite offense, and also a 1,000 TPE QB to help aid this offense? This team is ridiculous, I’m not sure if any like the otters or wraiths could handle my boys.

13) Get Interviewed by a Fan
I was interviewed by ValorX77

[Bauer]

PBE PT

Task 1 - Now if we’re talking about the Ultimini playoffs I’m going to have to toot my own horn a little bit here. I created at the deadline not thinking much of how I was going to do this season. And for the last few games of the regular season, I really didn’t do much at all. I felt kinda bad not coming up for the ducks in a big way, but the team was so good that it didn’t matter. But something drastically changed in the playoffs, and I can’t even really explain how or why it happened. Thubba Bumper just went on an absolute tear in the championship game. I know the other team kinda killed themselves with penalties, but my oh my did Bumper go wild. After having minimal tackles in the regular season and no interceptions, I had not just one, but two interceptions in the championship game. I don’t want to say i’m the entire reason we won that game, but I definitely played a huge part in it. It made it even more special that I was to assistant gm for that as well. It was amazing to go out on top, and can’t thank the ducks enough for letting me get them there. Duck Ultimini champs!!!

Task 9 - Now I think we all know who I’m going to talk about when it comes to brotherly love, my boy woelkers, also known as Bubba Thumper. I mean, come on, my new player's name is the inverse of his. In all seriousness, he is basically the sole reason that I stayed in this league. I would have just been an inactive corpse if he didn’t give me the motivation to stay here. As it stands, I already got bored of my other player, so my new journey has started, but he’s the reason that I made my new player. I really think he’s one of the best guys in all of the sim leagues, and I’m so glad that I met him. He keeps me level headed, and I hope I do the same for him. Obviously he has moved up to being a big boy GM, so hopefully he’ll take me into consideration for next season's draft. If not, I think it will be a ton of fun to go head to head against him. Regardless, I’m just happy he’s around. Stupid ultimus week and making my feelings come out. Alright I just need a few more words to fit the total word count required for this to count, so I’ll give a shoutout to bex for being kinda cool I guess.

Task 18 -

[pazuzu]

PBE PT

Revenge - Task 3

Like an elephant Bender never forgets, especially when he is the one being duped over. This past season the Copperheads won the championship but hurt him 3 times as bad that they did. During the regular season, Austin put the beatdown on the second line, scoring over 60 points in the two games they played. Plus, he finished with just over 50 yards receiving in both games, which does not make Bender a happy camper. Also, in both those games Bender saw Austin banging on trash cans on their sideline, he knew that had some sort of radio technology to hear what plays were being called. The only reason he knew was because he was doing it as well, but sneakily and better! Good cheaters they deserved to win. But, not only that, Bender’s new team Yellowknife lost to the wraiths in the Ultimus finals. This season Bender will be going out on a vengeance to destroy those pesky snakes the best he can… but cheating as much as he can. He said he hopes they make the finals again this season coming up so he can beat their pansy butts, and show them how a real cheater can cheat. His last comment was this is for New Orleans and Yellowknife now.

Brotherly Love - Task 10

There are a bunch of players that I have a fondness for in the NSFL. I love meeting new people and making new friends. One of my good friends, that I have known for over half my life is my boi Moosecop. Even though we have never been on the same team in the NSFL, I have rooted for both Barnes and now Wilf to have continued success in this league, and also the Outlaws. And this offseason I recently left New Orleans and they will always have a special place in my heart and wish them the best, as well as the amazing teammates I had on the Secondline too.

Tom Hanks and Juosu were amazing and I wish them the best of luck with the team in the future. Another person on the Secondline I have grown close with is Slothface through the NSFL and the PBE. It was tough saying goodbye to them but happy to meet some new people on the Wraiths. One person I am happy to be on a team with is Timeconsumer, he has been an amazing dude in the PBE and happy to get to share another locker room with him in Yellowknife now. I just hope Bender can do enough to help the Wraiths win a title!

[bex]

PBE PT


4) Rivalry
Playing for the same team doesn't mean you can't have a healthy rivalry




5) Armchair GM

Here's the thing about the New Orleans Second Line: they do not have enough running backs to be a truly viable team. Now, I know you might say: but what about Marcella Toriki and Forrest Gump? This running back duo is well known in the league, and is, naturally, a fairly good start. We'll be keeping them. But it is not enough. New Orleans needs to keep an eye out for more running backs in Free Agency. So, if I were the GM, my plan would be as follows: sign at least one running back free agent. Really, you should be gunning for the free agent running backs on a normal year, but especially if you're NOLA. Now, we've got three RBs in addition to the DSFL running backs that NOLA holds the rights to. The draft is approaching, and it's time to turn the focus on the next need on our list: Running backs. Now, s21 has a decent amount of really strong backs. Tequila Sunrise, Juniped Catfish, Baby Yoda, Rando Cardrissian to name but a few. My move as GM is to trade up to as many early-round picks as possible to draft as many of these phenomenal running backs. If New Orleans isn't walking out with at least six new running backs, they've failed, and will not be able to make the Ultimus until they manage to get their hands on these major pieces.



10) Reform

I'd like to scream this one from the top of the rooftops. Please let's pay people more. We have so many people doing hard work for this league: updaters, graders, mentors, general managers, simmers, bankers, and so many others. And yet, we have a ton of burnout, turnover and with finding people to fill job openings when they become available. While the cause of burnout in the league is a complicated one, I think one very controllable factor in it is helping people feel like their work is adequately valued. One example that gets to me is media graders. Their salary of $4 million per season does not go particularly far. And media graders are aware that they likely could be making significantly more money writing media than working on grading it. Which I can only imagine is hugely discouraging. If we are counting on people to do work for the good of the league, I feel like the baseline should at least be covering weekly training for the season. Now, does this mean we need to examine other league jobs as well to make sure they're scaled appropriately? Yes, absolutely. But I'm also of the opinion that almost every league job would benefit from an increase in pay.

[scorycory]

4) Rivalry
I am going to be talking about the team I GM fo here, Myrtle Beach. There are really only two options for us as far as rivals go and that would be Minnesota and Tijuana. I am going to stay in our division and choose Tijuana here. I know the Luchadores had a down year but hey are really the only option in our division to be our rivals. Nofolk and the dogbirds aren't even worth consideration or any more time even being mentioned in this piece. First of all Tijuana has a fantastic General Manager who I have a tremendous amount of love and respect for; the one and only Bagel. He is a great dude that I am sure will continue the fine tradition and heritage of Tijuana. And this is the other reason Tijuana is our true rival. They have deen the perennial dynasty of the DSFL pretty much as long as the DSFL has existed. Despite the fact that they had a rough season I am convinced they are going to turn things around in no time. I fully expect them to be a legitimate contender again next season and we will be hard pressed to win our division again because of Tijuana.

10) Reform
This is a topic I am very grateful to be included and hopefully suggestions are regarded and listened to in some degree at least. There is honestly a massive amount of reform needed in this league and a lot of it has been mentioned already. A new sim engine, a new website, a new name are a few very common suggestions that I would fully endorse. However there are two things in particular that I would choose to focus on if I had the ability to make change in this league. To a certain degree they go hand in hand. The first would be a dramatic rewrite of the rulebooks. Many of the rules are very poorly written and very ambiguous. A lot of times they just leave things entirely up to HO's discretion. Many rules are remnants of a different time in the league that are no longer pertinent to the league in it's current state. In general it is an archaic construct that lends too much power to those who are writing and enforcing it. This leads to my second point. There need to be more checks and balances with HO. There should be more open league-wide voting and HO should be held accountable to more than just the other members of HO. There should also be more fallback options and backup plans in place in case we have a mass exodus of HO members and GMs as we have lately. It seems like the league/HO flies by the seat of it's pants more often than not and it leads to general chaos more than it should.

13) Get Interviewed by a Fan
http://nsfl.jcink.net/index.php?showtopic=...ndpost&p=258153

19) OL or K/P Appreciation

There are a couple of great offensive lineman that I would love to talk about here but there is one in particular that NEEDS to be talked about here. That player is none other than Simon Tremblay. Not only is Simon a terrific player on the field he is an absolute wonderful player off the field. He is without a doubt the greatest person and influence in our locker room and an absolute joy to be around. When we picked him up off of waivers I had no idea the caliber of person and player we were getting and I consider myself and Myrtle Beach to be absolutely blessed to have had him on the team. He works hard for the team and gives us his absolute best every week. He keeps a positive attitude no matter what happens. A lot of people tend to get bored with being an offensive lineman and quit but Simon seems to actually love the role as he is the ultimate team player. He is a genuinely wonderful and sweet person and I dread the day that he gets drafted and called up to the NSFL. Simon is the type of person I wish could be on my team forever.

[Tesla]

1. Playoff Review: S20 Quarterfinals Hawks VS Yeti
The first quarter got off to an exciting start with an interception in the first minute of game time. It was an especially exciting first quarter for those that appreciate defense with only one play going over twenty yards, and the only points of the quarter coming off a blocked punt by Lejune. Logan Lejune had an especially good first quarter being involved in a number of stops for the Colorado Yeti. It closed out with continued defensive dominance thanks to a sack of McDummy by Poopsie.

The second quarter was a good one for the offenses as Havran connected with Maddox early for a 57 yard pass that put them at first and goal. Logan Lejune kept up their fantastic play from the first quarter though by breaking up their best chance at the end zone and helping hold them to a field goal. After that quick score it was defense central as McDummy failed to connect on their longer passes and Havran's line gave up multiple sacks. The touchdown drought was ended by three good passes from Havran two of which went to Maddox including the touchdown. Yeti looked like they were going to end the quarter down 10-3, but thanks to an almost flawless two minute drill by McDummy they were able to tie it up with thirteen seconds left.

The third quarter kicked into gear when Havran connected with Maddox for 55 yards, but despite getting to the four they had to settle for a successful field goal from Brand. That high scoring start continued as Bishop got a good block on the return and was able to outrace the Hawks special teams unit for a kickoff return touchdown. While the Hawks were able to score on their next two drives they were held to field goals thanks to timely tackles by Terry Taffy. It closed out with two more scores by the Yeti in the form of a touchdown aided by penalties on the Hawks and a safety by Ocewilder to put their team up 26-19.

The fourth quarter picked up on the drive earned by Ocewilder with the Yeti quarterback McDummy making a few good decisions with their arm and their legs to get the Yeti a field goal. Just like the first quarter the defense showed up after that at least until Havran completed a 43 yard pass to Landers and followed it up with seven positive plays before a touchdown pass to Reed got them within a field goal of the Yeti with three minutes left to play. Unfortunately for the Hawks they were unable to stop Yeti's ground game as they ran out the clock with the tandem of Owens and Vincent to get a cool 29-26 win.

This was a great game from start to finish with a first half defined by daunting defenses and a second half that showed off the high flying offenses that helped get these teams here. Logan Lejune wins player of the game as far as I am concerned although that might be my bias towards good safety play. Hawks fans can be happy though with the display put on by their team, and especially by Errol Maddox who had three receptions of over twenty yards that helped keep them in it. I look forward to seeing more from both of these teams next season as they both seem poised to make a run for the Ultimus.

2. League Milestone: S16 Ultimus Liberty vs Outlaws
This was a game destined to be good from the start between being the most recent expansion year, the first season to include a quarterfinals, a second seed versus a third seed, and just the sheer idea of Liberty versus Outlaws has to get you interested. It was one of the higher scoring Ultimus games in history and is also the third closest Ultimus game in history. That and it includes the fun fact of the second seed being best in the second quarter and the third seed being best in the third quarter. What is there not to like about a game like that? Those that like a well played game should also appreciate this one as despite all the activity on both sides there were just three penalties all game long.

The first half was an outstanding offensive performance with just two punts compared to four touchdowns and three field goals. It was all Outlaws from the outset with them scoring on the first four drives, and only being held to a field goal on the last of them. Liberty meanwhile struggled in the first half as four of their first five drives ended in kicks, and two of those were punts. Still a solid performance by both teams to make for an exciting opening for this historic game.

The third quarter saw Liberty shrink the gap to just four points as they were finally able to figure out the Outlaws' high powered offense. Liberty's defense proved their dominance by setting up their first touchdown of the half by returning an interception to the one yard line. Although they allowed the Outlaws into the redzone they were able to clamp down to hold them to a field goal. Two three and outs would show that both teams had clearly made solid defensive adjustments at halftime. Liberty managed one more field goal in the third that kept the game close going into the fourth.

This historic game had a fascinating finish as both defenses stymied their opposing offenses. Up to the point where Liberty took the lead back with an interception returned for a touchdown about the midway point of the quarter. While Liberty's defense did its level best the Outlaws offense was able to methodically march down field using up a ton of clock before they scored what would be the game winning touchdown with less than two minutes to play. Liberty's Falconi threw a deep bomb in the closing seconds of the game, but while Jones caught it he got tackled short of the end zone by Knight.

A great championship game to close off the first ten team season. Both teams demonstrated both outstanding offense and dominating defenses when it mattered. When it comes down to it you can't do much better than a defensive superstar giving their team back the lead in the fourth quarter. The fact that it all came down to a last second tackle to decide the victor just makes it all the sweeter.

8. Scouting Report: Jim Waters - QB
Strengths: Jim Waters is an interesting prospect for a quarterback given his greatest asset is his absurd agility. Watch the tape and you can see him dodge defenders with the best of them. Part of that goes hand in hand with his above average awareness. Although not as good as some of the older prospects he shows a tremendous upside here given he has caught on so fast. Decision making is among the best of the prospects available and seeing the effort he puts in when it comes to film study I'd rate him one of the best QB prospects available.

Fitting for his young age he has some wheels on him and is easily a top three candidate when it comes to speed among the quarterbacks. Unusually for a quarterback with such good wheels he has a surprisingly accurate arm on him. Not the best in the class, but being launched from his mobile frame more than makes up for it. Easily one of the best dual-threat quarterback prospects I have seen in years.

Weaknesses: One weakness of the younger man is his arm strength is nothing to write home about, although it doesn't appear bad enough to be a huge limitation. If you are looking for a drop back deep bomber Jim is not your man if you need him to play day after draft. His overall strength is nothing special, but it would be wrong of me to not say that he is still a growing young man.

He also seems to tire out earlier than I would like. Much better in the first half than the second as he does not seem to have that second tank that you like to see. Still not a red flag though given his youth. Get him into your weight room and pair him with a solid strength and conditioning coach and you may just get a steal of a quarterback.

Overall: A young man who has taken to the sport as well as any quarterback I have ever seen. I may be more naturally suited to scouting defensive players; that said if I had to work with an offensive player Jim would be the one I would pick. Understandably a bit raw in the strength and stamina department, but nothing a good strength and conditioning coach can't fix. The one thing you want from a QB at the end of the day is effort and this kid has got that in spades. I'd be surprised if he fell to the third round.

11. Playoffs MVP: Honda Edmond - LB - Austin Copperheads
Honda might be an unusual pick by most when it comes to MVP, but as an agent with a preference for defense I am comfortable saying they were an undeniably important piece of a championship defense. They did not have much in the way of flashy stats, however their consistent presence from down to down was second to none. Watch the tape and focus your eyes on them and you will see what I mean. If you don't want to go through that effort then allow me to elaborate.

Their first game off the playoffs was also their worst with a stat line of just 7 tackles and 2 passes defensed. Against the Outlaws they did not allow a single completion thanks to their deflections. Although they were not able to pick off either of those balls their contribution in the run game more than made up for it as outside the first run of the game they did not give up even nine yards on a run to their side. Not a performance deserving of defensive player of the game, however it was a performance you can be thrilled by as a fan.

The semi-finals against Second Line they improved they managed to stop just about everything going in their direction. With 8 tackles and 5 passes defensed they were involved in the most defensive plays of any Copperhead. They gave up one 19 yard completion, but anytime a linebacker holds a QB to 3/8 for 25 yards is a good time. Despite their stellar performance Idlewyld rightfully won player of the game for their safety, however I would be remiss to not mention the pass defense that Edmond contributed to help them get that safety.

The championship against the Wraiths though is what sealed the deal of Honda Edmond as a playoff MVP for me. Their stat line of 13 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and two passes defensed is undeniably good. You dig deeper though and it just gets better as you see they allowed a completion, but no passing yards which is as good as another pass break up. Down to down I do not think there was a better defender in the playoffs this year, and just as this performance won them defensive player of the game; I also think it sealed the deal on being considered the playoffs MVP.

If you don't believe me just know that runs against Honda's side never went for ten yards, and they allowed just one pass completion of over ten yards in coverage. Their stat line across all three games was 28 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and a whopping 9 passes defensed. Those may not be the gaudiest of stats if I am being honest as an assessor here. However combined with their worst game being 7 tackles and 2 passes defensed it shows they could be counted on in every game of the playoffs from their decent performance in the quarter-finals to their defensive player of the game performance in the championship.