(S21) - Ultimus Week

[RansackTheUniverse]

1) Playoff Predictions, Reviews:
Written: Give a short write up of one or multiple playoff matches. If completed before the airing of the sims, give your predictions; if it is afterwards, give a review of the game.

Since the NSFL playoffs have been completed, I’ll be writing a review of the Ultimus finals between the New Orleans Second Line and the Yellowknife Wraiths. Unfortunately for the fans, this one turned into a bit of a blowout as New Orleans took control of the game early and never took their foot off the gas. The Second Line forced the Wraiths to go 3 and out on their first 5 (!) possessions of the game. By the time Yellowknife registered their first first down of the game over halfway through the 2nd quarter, New Orleans had already built a 14-0 lead. The crazy thing is, the Wraiths were actually fortunate to only be down by 14. In addition to their two touchdown drives, the Second Line had 3 other drives end in Yellowknife territory with no points to show for them. New Orleans punted from the Wraiths 31, turned it over on downs at the 26, and threw an interception at the 13. Unfortunately for Yellowknife, things didn’t get much better for them. While they tallied a few first downs on their next drive, the drive stalled around midfield and the Wraiths were forced to punt. From there, New Orleans milked the rest of the half with their next drive, and added a field goal to take a 17-0 lead into the locker room. After New Orleans added another field goal to open the 2nd half, the Wraiths finally got on the scoreboard with a field goal to make things 20-3. But New Orleans was just too good on this day. The Second Line immediately answered with a touchdown that effectively put the game out of reach at 27-3. Yellowknife managed to add a couple scores in the 4th, but in the end it wasn’t enough, as the Second Line cruised to the Ultimus trophy with a 33-13 win.

6) Next Year
Written: If your team didn’t win the title this year, why do you believe they can win the next year (or the year after that)?

My team, the London Royals, may not have won the Ultimini, or even made the playoffs, this season, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of positives for us to build off of as we enter next season. We had a great locker room, and our entire team was great about getting their updates in and maximizing their TPE throughout the season. If this continues through the offseason and into next season, we should have a handful of max TPE players and plenty more approaching that 250 TPE threshold. Of course, a lot of this hinges on NSFL call ups. The Royals should actually be in better shape than most teams for this, as our entire team is comprised of S22 rookies. All of the other non-expansion teams have some S21 (and some even earlier) draftees that will be more likely to be called up than the S22 draftees. Because of this, it seems likely for the Royal to improve next season, while many other teams could be due to see some regression. Another reason for optimism for the Royals is that we should have some better luck on special teams next season. I won’t get into this here as I wrote about it in another PT, but let’s just say that special teams were an absolute disaster this season for the Royals and directly contributed to many of our losses. The DSFL is a season to season league and I truly believe the London Royals have a great opportunity to contend for an Ultimini title next season.

11) Rivalry
Written: Which team or player would you consider to be your greatest rival? Write 200 words on why you are rivals with them and why you want them to lose (don’t harass other users please).

As a member of the London Royals in their inaugural season in the DSFL, it is to be expected that we would have a natural rivalry with the other expansion team, the Dallas Birddogs. Coming into the season, we were facing an uphill battle as an expansion team and we knew that we would be hard pressed to even make the playoffs. With that being said, one of our goals entering the season was to win our games against the Birddogs and to finish above them in the standings. There had been a lot of talk in the lead up to the season, and it seemed that most people agreed that Dallas had had a better draft than London and would be the more competitive expansion team this season. We were eager to prove everyone wrong, and had a great start in doing just that. Our opening game of the season was against the Birddogs, and from wire to wire we absolutely dominated them. We won 34-7 and our confidence was at an all-time high. As can be expected, this blowout led to a bit of bad blood between the two expansion teams, and the Birddogs were eagerly awaiting their next shot at us. Unfortunately for us, our second game against Dallas didn’t go nearly as well as the first. We lost 27-10 as our offense struggled, putting up under 200 yards and failing to get into the endzone, as our only TD came on a pick six by the defense. At the end of the season, both London and Dallas finished with identical 5-9 records. As we look ahead to next season, look for this rivalry to continue, and to become much more competitive. Both teams should have a great opportunity to be among the better teams in the league next season.

18) Awards Season
Written: Make the case for one of your teammates to win an award at the NSFL or DSFL levels. What have they done to earn the nod?

When looking at potential winners for the DSFL Defensive Player of the Year award, there is one player that stands out above the rest. That player is Derred De Ville. From the opening game of the season he was an absolute wrecking ball out there on the field and filled the stat sheet game in and game out. He amassed 147 total tackles on the season, tied for 2nd most in the league. He also finished in a tie for 2nd most sacks in the league, finishing with 9 on the year. De Ville also came up big in the turnover department, finishing near the top of the league with 2 forced fumbles and s fumble recoveries. Not only was De Ville a monster in the run game, he was also very involved in defending the pass. He had 8 passes defensed (among the league leaders for linebackers) and even added an interception. With all of these impressive stats, it is hard to envision anyone else beating out De Ville for Defensive Player of the Year. But in case, you weren’t sold on his stats, Derred was also a great leader and locker room presence for the team. He always had a positive attitude and was always pushing his teammates to have their point tasks completed and helped to ensure that everyone was at their best come game time. If Derred De Ville doesn’t win this award the voters will definitely have some explaining to do.

[J0EB]

11) Rivalry

As a player on the Norfolk Seawolves, I think my biggest rival among the other DSFL teams would easily be the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers. They beat us at home which stung, but when we beat them in their home it felt so great. They were the favorites the whole year, and they just have a different atmosphere around them that I don’t particularly enjoy. They knocked us out of the playoffs and it hurt pretty bad. We had high hopes in Norfolk and they were crushed when we lost in the playoffs. What made it worse was that nobody seemed to give Norfolk a chance. MB were the top dogs all year, and seeing them go on to win the Ultimini seems unfair I guess since everyone loves an underdog story. They’re admittedly a great team though obviously. There are a lot of great players on the team and I’m sure they’re all good guys. Despite this, I just still feel that hatred towards Myrtle Beach. I try not to actually take the rivalry too seriously though because I know that this is just a big game. I wouldn’t go as far to say I respect MB still though. I more so despise them because they’re so good, but I’ll acknowledge that what they’ve put together is great. For me, personally at least, I think they’re a lot like the Seattle Seahawks. I’m a Cardinals fan, so I absolutely hate the Seahawks, but I can’t deny that they have a pretty good team. It’s just annoying though seeing them be so good.

12) Pay It Forward

There are probably at least a dozen people I could write about here. I’ve met some incredibly awesome people in this league, but one of my best friends I’ve made here so far has to be Lightnoir. Light is such a great guy. He’s super nice, friendly and funny. He’s seemingly always around and talking with him is always so much fun. Whether it be about anime, video games, movies or football, we are constantly bonding around things that we like. He’s hilarious too. He always has the perfectly well-timed and clever comment to make the whole locker room laugh. I’ve caught on quite a bit to his sarcasm (mainly because my own jokes are pretty similar) so I’ve gotten to the point where I can predict his punchlines and beat him to saying them, which is quite humorous to me because I get to see his even funnier reactions. His jokes really brighten up the locker room. He has an awesome podcast too that’s also really fun to watch, even if he’s been a bit too busy recently to post a new episode. All around, Light is a really great guy that I really enjoy talking to and I’m glad I’m able to call him my friend. Here’s hoping we’re both drafted by the same team so that we can carry on this incredible legacy that began in Norfolk. Safety Bros for life! <3

14) Get Interviewed by a Fan

My Interview with slm

19) Team Culture

I am so glad to be a part of the Norfolk Locker Room. We have a lot of active members, so there’s almost always someone online to talk too. We have great users who are all super friendly and supportive. I think at this point everyone in the league knows Tesla and how nice she is. Her spirit really gives a huge boost to the locker room, and I know that she’ll always be there to help me if I need it. Among the whole team, the conversations we have are lots of fun and we have some jokesters within the group as well that always can bring out a good laugh. I know that my fellow Seawolves are always gonna be there for me, and I’m always gonna be there for them. When it comes to our culture, the main focus is having fun as a team and supporting each other. Obviously we want to go out and win games, but we also understand that life happens, and at the end of the day, this is all just one big game meant to be fun. We try not to take things overly seriously because of this. We’d much rather just be thankful that we’re all together as a team. This all influences the culture of Norfolk and that’s why I think it’s one of the best in the NSFL. In the end, I’m glad to be a Seawolf because of the family I’ve made in the locker room and that’s what makes me the happiest.

[Nhamlet]

12) Pay It Forward
I'm never going to give up a chance to pump up my boy Rindiee's tires regardless of where we are. I think he's easily a glue guy for the locker room, real mood setter and just all around great person. Doesn't matter what the situation is, I would probably reach out to him first if I needed somebody reliable.
Having a party? Rini
Need a heart-to-heart? Rindog
Have a fight and need somebody to help you ambush him with you? Probably Rindiee. Actually I don't know if he's into that sort of stuff but he'll he'll probably be there anyways because that's the kind of person he is.
In more realistic situations like sharing a locker room, I've had the privilege to do so with him and he's a big reason as to why I feel like I got to blossom in another sim league. It's pretty intimidating going into any kind of locker room as if it's too intense, it's hard to make your presence or own space in it. On the other hand, if it's just too quiet, it almost becomes depressing trying to create the mood on your own. Not with Rindiee as it's always a hoot regardless of whoever I see him chatting with.


16) Scouting Report
Scouting Report on Eugene Smoothie

Smoothie looks to be a big fish out of a little pond having come over from the Canadian youth system when he was young, having to quickly acclimatize to the more competitive college football scene upon reaching the age of 18. His inexperience has been compounded upon with limited reps at UCLA being deployed sparingly in multiple situations and lacking a lot of exposure to get a true indication of his abilities. However in the limited time that he has been put in during game time situations, there hasn't been a whole lot of negative to point out which in itself is a positive.

Smoothie has shown himself to be capable at the college level of occasionally being a vertical threat, though his greater asset has been the secure hands when targeted. His ability to get open is probably the greatest area of concern if he wants to improve his ability to produce both at the DSFL and especially NSFL level.

When it comes to his strength, Smoothie has a bit of a ways to go before showing that he can dominate the competition but has not shown himself to be outmatched when called on for run blocking plays. From what we have gathered, he has not misused his extra time off the field and has a strong habit in the gym.

17) Sponsorships
For an unknown prominent Chinese knock-off brand known as the Whyway iGalaxy S21S, it would be an advertisement looking to demonstrate all that Smoothie will be known for.

Speed.

First it'll be Smoothie, sprinting down the field casually, leaving everybody in his dust as he takes off towards the endzone. Only except, he's just on his phone doing 4 different things. Texting, watching Youtube, browsing memes and a video chat. Then the scene changes to some person holding the same phone the same way, doing all the same things without a single blip in their experience.

Power.

Then Smoothie shows off a couple things. First plowing over defenders while lead blocking, but again, while playing some games on his phone (a football game doing the exact same thing) Scene changes now you have the same person from before who's also playing games at a whopping 120hz at home pulling off the same pancakes and bull rush moves in their mobile football game.

And finally, hands.

Not really a phone thing but it'll be to show off how well the phone feels in the hand, almost as if you could never drop it. Smoothie celebrates a touchdown and being carried off the field by teammates only for his phone to drop out of his pocket and that same fan from before catch it easily, handing it back as the two wink at each other.

Advertisement masterpiece.

Last one: SHL PT

[KillKillKill]

6. Next Year

This team is way too talented and dedicated to not be successful for a very long time to come. Last season we tried to steer in a different direction on the offensive side of the ball and go a bit more pass heavy. That didn't necessarily jive as much with our setup and style of play, so we regressed a bit. That mixed with some teams playing us a bit better, led to an early exit from the playoffs. So our GM and Co GM went back in the lab to cook up a strategy that will maximize all of our potential and I am more than certain that they came up with the formula for success. We will see the direction that they chose to go in, come draft day. I am not putting our disappointing end on any one aspect of the game however, and I am not trying to take away from those teams that played us well. I do think that we will rebound and once again become the team to beat. The team as a whole is full of active and hungry players, so we will close the gap on teams "above" us and surpass them just as we did when we hoisted the Ultimini a couple seasons ago.

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17. Sponsorship

The natural and most fitting match up when it comes to a sponsorship would have to be the Honda Motor Company. They had been in contact for a deal the last couple of seasons, but for one reason or another, I never found time to actually hammer out a deal. This upcoming season, especially now that there has been a lock down of sorts, I will have my lawyer contact Honda so we can get that contract negotiated and hammered out. This partnership fits well. A quality, dependable car sponsoring a quality and dependable player. The matching names are just a bonus akin to the Khalil Mack and Mack truck partnership. It just makes sense. I do hope that the partnership extends over to the Acura line as well. I would love to get behind the wheel of an NSX. I have fantasized about that car as long as I can remember. That deal only goes for the first commercial though. Any subsequent spots will require some of that Honda money though. Maybe I could be persuaded to do the second commercial for a CBR 1000 RR though. I will have my lawyer look into that for me. I don't know if my team wants me flying around on a sport bike though, but its whatever, I will deal with that issue later.

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19. Team Culture

The culture in this locker room is amazing. I will admit that I am not as active in it as I once was, but when I do pop in and look around, not much has changed. Everybody in there genuinely cares about one another. It is a very uplifting space to be in when it feels like everyone in there has your back. Maybe that can be contributed to the fact that there are so many dads and family men in the locker room. We are little bit more in tune with the needs of others. Not to dump on non dads, but a family changes you and makes you a bit more empathetic. That caring and empathy is apparent in this locker room. Even the incoming draftees seem to fit right into the Copperhead mold from the start.The vibe is just fantastic here. This is the only team I have ever been on so I can only speak to this locker room experience. I don't know if other locker rooms are this tight knit, but I can't see many being as close as this one is. These guys are highly dedicated and active to boot, which lends itself to how we found success as an organization so quickly and why I see much more success in Austin's future.

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20. Nostalgia

There are two such events that I look back on fondly, so picking one for this entry would be an injustice. The first incident that brings a smile to my face any time I think of it would be my draft night. I had just rode a wave of success as a Luchador and did not know if that success would follow me to the NSFL. ON top of that, it is well known that I am not the most outspoken player and it seems like the players that are more front and center, tend to attract the most teams. That is not me. So I was a bit worried on my draft stock falling. A few teams had been in contact and it seemed like it was down to two teams that wanted me most. Philly and Orange County had done the most digging and I figured I was going to one of them. Then draft night came and as I watched, I saw Orange County come up on the ticker and thought my time may be at hand. Then the trade came and I figured that meant I would probably sit at least until Philly came up a bit later. Then it happened. The trade was Austin moving back into the first round and selecting me. I had some good conversations with Adam, but felt thy were all in on Ashley Owens so I had effectively ruled them out for drafting me. I couldn't be happier that they did though. The other moment would have to be winning my first Ultimus. I know this team will win many more, but that first one will always be special.

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[Baron1898]

#13 - Interview a Star
with @Raven

1. What are your goals for the rest of your career?
To continue to be one of the most effective quarterbacks in the leagues history. I've recently been hearing a ton of praise from AdamS on this topic so I hope to continue this through as I grow older and head into my final few season in the NSFL. I think positioning myself nicely on the lists of all time touchdowns and yards would be nice. I've already cracked the top 10 in touchdowns and have a few more seasons to go so hopefully I can cement myself nicely.

2. As the Hahalua’s first ever quarterback, how do you see the team performing in its first seasons?
I’m hoping to be able to suprise a few people honestly. While our core as it stands right now is pretty young they will be continuing to improving throughout the season and I think that will be showing in their play. We might start out slower, but as we grind out the game expect us to keep improving.

3. Personally, who do you view as the greatest quarterback in NSFL history thus far?
That is a tough answer, because there are so many great quarterbacks to look back at. I think the one that stands out the most though has to be Mike Boss. Three MVP awards together with five quarterback of the year awards speak volumes on how much of an impact Boss has made on the league while he was playing. No other QB comes close to those 5 QBotY awards and he leads the league in completion percentage, yards, touchdowns and second in attempts and completions.

4. Why is kicker the best position?
Because it's a position that can make a huge differnce in a tight game. 1 field goal can be the differnce between losing a game and tying a game up or winning a game.

Also we have the coolest gang, the kicker mafia and currently have some kickers walking around who have shots at taking records away which is always exciting too look towards. Too bad they are my records haha.

[ml002]

SHL PT Task

[Gamaliel]

11) Rivalry
Written: Which team or player would you consider to be your greatest rival? Write 200 words on why you are rivals with them and why you want them to lose (don’t harass other users please).
My rivalry started before I joined the league. This person isn't even part of the league, but I consider every I play against to embody this person. And who is this person? You already know who it is. It's Carole Baskin. That's right, the cats out of the bag. She is my greatest rival and will always be. I see her in Quarter back when they throw a deep ball. I see her in the Running back when he does a spin move. I see him in the Wide Receiver when he catches a deep bomb. I see her every where. The hate that I have bred for her over the years has bubbled over into every aspect of my life and I can't control myself. That anger drives my career on the football field and helps me to destroy the competition. Why do I consider her to be my rival? Well it's because of everything and history is far too deep to talk about in just one small journal. I suppose I could create media about it and talk through why exactly she is the worst ever. But that would take a long time, so stay tuned about that to learn
12) Pay It Forward
Written: Write about someone in this league who you look up to or who you think of as a friend. Why do they deserve to be lauded?
Given that I don’t know hardly no players in this league. There is only one person that I would consider my friend @PersonMann. Why? Because he’s cool that’s why. Oh and because he happens to be my CO in another league that I’m a part of. What league? Professional BASEBALL EXPERIENCE LEGAEGUAUAUA. That’s right. YA BOI, is a multi sport athlete. I also happen to go by a different name in that league and am also way younger and smaller, don’t ask how that’s possible, because I don’t know. It’s just the way it is.
MR. PM. Is the best GM that I have ever had the honor of Gming with ( don’t let it go to your head, I’ve never Gmed with anybody else). There are other users that I know here, so maybe next season I can “LAUD” them, whatever that means.
Another thing about PM, is that he is offensive line which is cool I guess. They have this weird cult like following that and like to talk about pancakes? I don’t understand it, I just try to get past them and sack their stinky QBs. Some of those O Lines guys are dumb as rocks though, they never say anything, they never seem to age. They just accumulate pancakes, weird. This is all weird.
16) Scouting Report
Written: Write a scouting report for one of the incoming draftees in either the NSFL or DSFL.
Well, let me tell you about draftee that is very near and dear to my heart, JOE EXOTIC. That's right, myself. I am a top tier draftee!! That's right. I'm a super extra duper high tier earner who is going to blow past the competition and light up every QB on the field. Watch out, I'm taking league over with storm. Even though I know literally 0 teams in this league. GMs haven't even scouted me yet, that's their loss. Is there even any other draftees other than me? I couldn't tell you. I don't check on these other scrubs I only care about my, myself, and I; Joe Exotic. I might not be the smartest player out there or the quickest moving, but I hit hard and sack the quarterback and this is football, so nothing else matters right? Well, one thing might matter, the team is going to have to be okay with me bringing my cats along with me to the away games because that's how I get hyped for my games. Listening to eye of the tiger while looking in the eyes of the tiger, duh
Anyways, teams should draft me because I will have an immediate impact on the field and inside each team's locker rooms.

17) Sponsorships
Written: You’ve been contacted to appear in a company’s ad airing during the Ultimus. What is the ad about?
Graphic: Create a graphic depicting the ad.
After getting off the phone with a company, I immediately have to ask somebody.WHAT IS AN ULTIMUS AND HOW DO I GET ME ONE. They calmly explain,"Joe, you're an idiot, it's the league's super bowl". OH DUH.
Obviously, the only thing that I should promote is myself. The only question is which previous career should I promote? My brief career as a Major League pitcher? That one time I ran for governor? The other time I ran for president? The other time I bought and ran the biggest, best, and greatest big cat zoo in the world? My hit country music career? So many choices, all of which are equally valid. I'm not really sure which one to pick, so I'm going to bring them all together for the 30 second ad, I'm sure the ad will make perfect sense.
We open with a picture of the zoo. Then I'm playing my guitar and singing. Then I'm shaking babies and kissing hands at a political thingy. Next cut to me throwing a strikeout during one of my 4(and counting) world series. Boom roasted. Everyone loves the ad. I win an award for best ad ever and then it's time to start a new career as an ad manager.

[KoltClassic]

2) Playoffs MVP

Two players that I think should get co-MVP for the playoffs are the running back by committee in New Orleans of Gump and Toriki. I think that this running back tandem was absolutely dominant throughout the entirety of the regular season, and they continued that dominance into the playoffs and eventually led their team to an Ultimus victory. Gump personally had two performances of over 100 yards rushing in the playoffs. Toriki only had one, but was close with 93 yards in their game against the Copperheads. Both running backs were dominant against the Copperheads in YPC with Gump having 6.2 yds/carry for 125 yards and Toriki having 5.8 ( as well as a rushing touchdown). The tandem had four rushing touchdowns in the playoffs, and were also very helpful to their team as receivers out of the backfield. Both were effective as blockers for Stan Francisco as well, registering a combined 7 pancakes throughout the playoffs. One knock would be on Toriki’s penalties. She registered 6 penalties across three games, with New Orleans’ game against Yellowknife having four of those penalties. I think that the Second Line had a very well-rounded team last year and had a few great candidates for MVP, but given the continued success of their running backs Gump and Toriki should hoist the trophy.



8) Revenge

One team that I would like to get revenge on next season is the Orange County Otters. The Otters beat us in all three of our matchups during the regular season as well as in the bye week matchup, but that doesn’t really count. None of our games were particularly close either. Our first preseason game was 37-22, our first regular season game was 27-10, and our last was 34-16. I don’t think San Jose losing to the Otters was really a surprise to anybody this season. The Otters have consistently been one of the best teams in the league since… forever and the Sabercats are in the middle of a rebuild. I like being the underdog, and I think being able to pull off an upset against one of the best teams in the league would cause a lot of chaos and be a fun outcome for a week. I was only able to register four tackles between those two games and no sacks, tackles for loss, or fumbles. Although I was playing in a position that was new to me in defensive end, I think that when I switch back to defensive tackle next year I’ll be able to make a bigger impact in those games.



19) Team Culture

One thing that I appreciate about the San Jose locker room is the laid back nature of it. I’m not extremely active in a lot of parts of this league, so it is nice to be have a locker room that is pretty easy to keep up with. That isn’t to say that it is a dead locker room or anything like that though. There is still a lot of good discussion and talking that goes on and game days are really active with people chatting it up during the pre-game and the post-game. If I have a question or comment on something people will definitely show up to talk about it. I like to do graphics every once in a while and it is nice to talk to people about what I’ve made or reach out to teammates to see if anybody wants a graphic made first. There are also good opportunities to get to know people better through playing games like Jackbox or Werewolf together. One thing that I still don’t get is Pokecord, but I’ve made 0 effort to understand what is going on there so that one is on me. I’m also like four generations behind in Pokemon, so I hardly ever know which Pokemon shows up for the random encounters.



20) Nostalgia

I think my happiest memory in the league up to this point was being drafted second overall in the NSFL. Like I’ve said before I’m not the most active player in the discord ( though I am lurking around a fair amount ) so I didn’t really think that I’d be that sought after as a player. Additionally, this is my first ever sim league. I’m not a member of any other sim leagues, and I wasn’t at the time of being drafted, so I assume that was a bit questionable from the perspective of some drafters. I remember being asked about it a lot from drafting scouts leading up to the draft which I thought was interesting. I think that my combination of being a high earner, as well as being in a valuable position as a defensive tackle put me higher up on different teams’ draft boards. I went in the fourth round of the DSFL draft and based on that my expectations weren’t super high on being one of the first people off the board. That being said, I definitely put myself as #1 overall on my mock draft ( you’ve gotta be your own biggest fan, right)? I knew Jeffie was going to go before me, and it was cool to see him go 1OA, but being at 2OA was really awesome to experience. The first night of being in the locker room was super hype as well.

[GoonerBear]

1) Playoff Predictions, Reviews:
Written: Give a short write up of one or multiple playoff matches. If completed before the airing of the sims, give your predictions; if it is afterwards, give a review of the game.

The ASFC Championship featured a pair of franchises with plenty of history, several titles, and, with the upset in the NSFC Championship, shaped up to give the winner the inside track at adding another Ultimus to their cabinet. The showdown between the two best scoring offenses and defenses did not disappoint, with plenty of each on display. Alex Dasistwirklichseinnachname opened the Otters' account with a field goal at the end of a 12-play drive after they stalled New Orleans in four plays.

The Second Line would call the shots the rest of the half, however, holding the Otters down while Stan Francisco struck the end zone twice and Herbert Prohaska made it two full possessions near halftime. Orange County immediately stayed in the game with a 4-minute TD drive, capped with Franklin Armstrong hooking up with the rookie Remon Kurisoto. With more defensive holding in both trenches, Orange County tied the game after Armstrong ran for it from three yards out. Marcella Toriki put the Second Line back on the advantage, though with enough time, the Otters gave themselves a chance with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, though decided to take their chances in overtime. The ball, thankfully, came back into Otter hands when New Orleans could only manage a field goal. The Second Line defense held on after allowing one first down on the drive, however, and Orange County only spent one play in enemy territory, and the rookie wideout who snagged the first TD was unfortunate in the clutch as he dropped the pass that might have kept the game going.

(265)

2) Playoffs MVP
Written: Wrote about a heroic performance on the field by any player this playoff season. Why do they deserve to be called the MVP of the playoffs?

In the Ultimus, it can be no one except Forrest Gump. A player racking up 100 yards rushing or receiving in the championship game contributed a lot to his team's performance. A player rushing for 100+ AND receiving for 100+ was doing it all, and Forrest ran and ran and ran, whether he got the ball behind the line or through the air. His touchdown in the 3rd helped put the kibosh on the Yellowknife Wraiths in the middle of him keeping the chains rolling, keeping lots of possession time for the Second Line, and all in all starring in a suffocating of Yellowknife.

A total of 28 touches out of 87 plays the Second Line ran from scrimmage, 102 yards on the ground from 25 handoffs and 3 catches for 119 yards, one for 36, one for 34 and a touchdown from 49 yards out broke the game wide open and stacked another trophy in New Orleans' case. Amid Stan Francisco rolling up on 353 yards going 22/37 and 3 touchdowns to 1 interception and Marcella Toriki putting on a better day rushing with 25 rushes for 123 yards and a touchdown as well as more receptions (7 for 44), he had stiff competition in that game and should be grateful he was only jockeying with teammates for MVP and celebrating the title.

(231)

8) Revenge
Written: Write 200 words about a team you’d like to get revenge on next season and why. Did they knock you out of the playoffs? Blow you out?

Always and forever, it is the Orange County Otters. The other California club, down the coastline, representative of everything snooty and snobbish about SoCal we in the North despise. They are the Patriots of this league. It frightens me what sort of sorcery they have going on that's built them 8 titles and only one playoff miss since the league's inception. That and they beat us good in both our encounters this season. 27-10 in the season opener. 34-16 in the return match. 34 yards for my guy in the first game and 40 in the second. No touchdowns. Absolutely irritated me. This carries over from my last create as well. It has always been a great feeling to get one over on them once in a while, especially in those seasons before the SaberCats finally won a championship. Things look about the same now as they did when my last create entered the league. Team's in a rebuild, Orange County is in perpetual contention, they're set for this QB to soak in the life force of the blood of innocent virgins to keep him sustained the full 15-season term...I hope we start beating them down sooner rather than later, though I can wait. The cork will pop off all the louder when we get ours on them. Something ain't right in there. And I will take joy in slaying the dragon every time.

(234)

20) Nostalgia
Written: What is your happiest memory in this league?

The night the SaberCats won their first Ultimus. I was psyched for the game already. We finally built everything up and we finally got things to go our way. We were ready to go, and to be honest, we had a good feeling we had the game when we saw our opposition would be the Philadelphia Liberty. Not that they made it easy - we didn't pull away by more than two scores until the third, then late in the fourth as the cherry on top. Everything worked well in concert - three rushers grinding yards and possession time, all hands on deck on the defense getting stops, tackles, a pick, two fumbles...the game was a good back-and-forth for a while and we were nervous our slow start would kill us, sure. Once Flash caught our first touchdown of the game to get within 1, though, we believed pretty hard we could do it. The celebration in that locker room that night was on when Orosz punched it in with not near enough time for Philly to dig themselves out of a two-score hole. The first time I had a player in any sim league in a championship game and at that point, the first time I had a player in any sim league win a championship. The first one was the sweetest. Thinking back on it now, it made a lot of the rougher seasons before and the playoff heartbreaks and the stalled postseason pushes worth the struggle.

(247)

[iseedoug]

20) Nostalgia
Written: What is your happiest memory in this league?

There are many fun moments over the years. To name a few, the Pennington trade in San Jose. We gave away 3 picks and 3 players, including 2 first round picks, to Yellowknife for the Pennington Brothers, creating one of the best NSFL defenses in history. While it was a huge hit on my player’s career, as I moved from SLB to DE, it was worth it. That war room was so hype, trying to break the San Jose curse. It was awesome. All the championships nunc and I won in the DSFL were great. All the huge trades we made when we GMed the Hawks were great. There were three trades Nunc and I made as Hawks that were super big: 1. What I call “the Colorado Six Trade” - We gave Colorado our S15 R1, R7, R8 picks and S16 R1 pick for 6 players: Howard Miller, Haruki Ishigawa, Brian Mills, Axel Hornbacher, Viggo Squanch, and Lucari Felix. 2. What I call the “the Ennis Trade” - we traded 1st round rookie DT Ennis and a 2nd rounder to New Orleans for DT Benson Harris only 2 picks after picking Ennis (nothing against Ennis, but we wanted TPE on that DL right away). 3. And lastly “the Sunnycurse Trade” - Right before the 2032 trade deadline, we gave away 3 picks and 2 players for all-stars Sunnycurse from Orange County and Jones from Philadelphia. All of those trades were so fun to negotiate and pull off. They all felt like huge accomplishments and took way too much IRL time. Also, while I love that the league has gotten so big, I do miss when the league was a bit smaller and I knew everyone. This is partially the size, partially me not being as involved.


7) Robbed
Written: Write about why your team was robbed from making the playoffs. How did the sim screw you, and why were you more deserving?
Graphic: Explain with a graphic why your team was better than a playoff team.

Yellowknife was robbed. Now, we may have had a meh offense all season and barely slid into a wild card spot, but we made it to the big game and our offense had been on fire during the post season. After the war room did a good bit of testing I felt like we could win it, but boom, our offense couldn't move the ball. It felt like everytime we got it going, we just stopped right outside of the kicking range to punt it. Pass or run we just kept stalling out. And NOLA kept piling it on. Final score 33 to 13! I would have been more okay if we lost it, but at the last minute or at least had a shot. But we didn’t even score those points until the end. It was over before we got to half time. And of course, the sim gods wouldn’t let Dougie try a few long field goals. How can I break or tie records if it never lets me try? Anyway, after the team went to the Ultimus for the fourth time, with all the same core pieces on the team, I could have swore we would have won it. Looking at the TPE break down and player builds, it just felt like our team, particularly our offense, should have done better. But hey, each game in the sim is just a probability, and even with good odds, you can land on a bad outcome.