(S23) - Ultimus Week

[slate]

Tier 2, Task 7

Looking at the DSFL MVP race, one name immediately leaps out: Crowbar Theeks. The rookie running back for Tijuana has compiled an eyepopping 1,717 yards from scrimmage and 12 total TDs, which both lead the league. Digging beneath these surface level volume stats, however, we find that these were compiled across 356 total touches, with a good but not great 4.7 yards/carry. Furthermore, the Tijuana O-Line led the league in pancakes, calling into question how much of this performance is really attributable to Theeks. And of course, some voters will take issue with Tijuana's final record of 6-8. While I wouldn't fault anyone for using their MVP vote on Theeks, I found a couple alternative names that I think are worth consideration for MVP.

The first is Seawolves QB Suleiman Ramza. Although the Seawolves' QB tandem of Ramza and Luke Skywalker mean that Ramza didn't quite compile the volume stats to jump off the page, from an efficiency standpoint he has an extremely strong case for best QB in the DSFL this season. On 206 snaps, still a very healthy sample size, Ramza lead the league in passer rating and completion percentage and threw 11 touchdowns. That touchdown number is good for second most in the league, beating out several QBs who had 150+ more snaps over the season. The Seawolves have had a great season to this point, and Ramza is a big part of how they've done it.

If you appreciate the efficiency stats but are squeamish about voting for a QB who didn't even take half the snaps for his team, then perhaps Danny King will be a stronger consideration for you. Just like Theeks' volume stats jump off the page, so does King's efficiency. The running back for the London Royals had the highest yards/carry this season of any RB (min. 50 carries). He matched Theeks's 12 total touchdowns on over 100 fewer touches, and was able to compile the 3rd most rushing yards in the league. Beyond that, he did it behind a line that had the 3rd fewest pancakes and most sacks allowed over the course of the season. To top it off, his performance helped the Royals reach the playoffs.

Overall, digging beneath the top-level stats to understand more about the team surrounding each player and the playing environment they operated in, the race becomes much more open. I’m sure at this point there are several other players worthy of consideration beyond the two I’ve highlighted here, but those are the cases that stood out to me during my research into the season.

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Tier 2, Task 12

I've now been in the league almost one whole week since joining via the /r/nfl post on Monday, so I'm basically a seasoned veteran by now. The league and all the various processes involved with it have been a lot to take in, but I've really enjoyed learning about what's going on through some combination of (mostly) lurking on Discord, reading some media, and listening to a few podcasts. In particular, the 20 for 20 podcast and the Sylphestri show were really approachable to a newbie while being informative and overall fun to listen to and get a sense of what the league is like.

The majority of my personal interactions with others in the league up to this point have been either asking for help figuring out how things work, or part of the scouting process. In either case, nearly every one has been really pleasant and I have been really impressed with how helpful and open most people in the league have been. I think I have come across well in the one-on-one interactions with scouts from the 4 DSFL teams that I've talked with so far, emphasizing my desire to contribute to a successful defense even if it means fewer personal stats and less glory as a CB. I've been invited into some open locker rooms and have talked a little bit in them, but I find it difficult to stand out among such a large rookie class in the somewhat chaotic environment with everyone trying to be seen. I hope that my steady participation leading up to the draft and my good conversations with scouts will be enough to raise my draft stock, as I think I will be much more comfortable participating after getting more accustomed to the league and being drafted.

In terms of comments on the league, one part that was really exciting in drawing me into participating in the first place was the roleplaying-like quality of creating a backstory, etc. for my player. I've heard from multiple people the analogy of D&D football, and I enjoy that description of it and the types of people who would be excited by something like that. Something that I think could enhance that experience would be a more cohesive worldbuilding behind the league. Like, we're in the year 2039 and the top football league in the world (at least based on the quality of talent being attracted) consists of 20 teams spread out across a lot of small towns between several countries. Despite that, I think everyone has an implicit assumption that college football is mostly unchanged from today. I know that not everyone is as into the roleplaying aspect and writes media/wiki to get money & TPE without too much regard for broader picture and I think that's totally fine. But I think there's a fun unexplored area for people to write about involving this weird football league alternate reality (and I think that part if emphasized could maybe even open up new avenues of recruitment).

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[Jguy]

Tier 2 Task 12:

This is my first time participating in any type of sim league for any sport. Football has always been my favorite sport ever since I was young, and I am worried about how the global pandemic will effect this year's season. When I saw the post on the NFL subreddit I was immediately intrigued. It offered a way for me to enjoy something football that won't be negatively impacted by covid-19. So far everyone has been super friendly and helpful. I have already been invited to several DSFL team discords as I am being scouted. And I have to say that I am really enjoying playing the epic-rpg in the London royals discord with Z-Whiz.

I can not wait to get drafted and not only see what team I end up with, but how early I will be drafted because I would love to have the bragging rights. And I am really looking forward to seeing how my player Joe Show improves in his performance as his stats increase. However my main goal is to be a part of a Championship winning team at least once before retirement. I care more about winning as a team, rather than individual accomplishments.

As far as my experience as a first time rookie, it is definitely a lot to learn. I have never done any type of sim like this before and I am not used to navigating this type of website. However I am starting to get more of a hang of it the more time I spend exploring. The Youtube videos have been very helpful as well in terms of guiding me how to start and set up everything I need to do. And others have helped as well through the discord giving advice in addition to what is said in the youtube videos. For example as an offensive lineman, I put my weight more mid level of the range available. However I was advised in the OL discord, that maxing my weight give me a bonus advantage that has no downside. And is one of the ways that a real player OL can be better that an OL who is a bot.

From what I have experienced so far, I am sure that I will enjoy being a part of the DSFL and ISFL for a long time. The community is great, and I have the freedom to invest loads of time when I have it available, or less time if things come up. The flexibility is a big plus. And as a true rookie just starting out, I have a lot to look forward towards.

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[JKortesi81]

Tier 1: 800 words

The Austin Copperheads currently sit on the brink of their second Ultimus victory in only 8 years of existence. Even though they haven’t been around that long, it’s very clear that they’ve been pretty important to the league, and you could make a case that they may have been able to win 3 or even 4 Ultimii in their history if things fell properly. There are more than a few players who are battling for the Copperheads’ “Mt. Rushmore”. Narrowing it down to 4 was pretty difficult, but I think I nailed it. I will start off by saying that AdamS will NOT be on this list. He’s the single most important person in the history of this franchise, being its creator and all, but this is about four players, and because Adam has already had two different players for this franchise, you can’t really put one on here above some others. But, I wanted to give Adam his due for sure. (The following stats are from Week 15 of Season 23)
The first person I’d put on the Mt. Rushmore for Austin is Dermot Lavelle Jr. Dermot was our first ever draft pick, and he’s been with the team for the entire ride. He’s proved to be invaluable over the years, offering his sage wisdom and advice whenever asked. Lavelle Jr. has been the anchor of this defense from Day One, and he’s also been a fantastic kick and punt returner for us as well. It’s Dermot who draws the assignment of the opposition’s #1 WR each week, and he tends to do a pretty good job. Yes, we’d love to see more interceptions out of him, but he’s been an inspiration on and off the field with how hard he works to be the best player he can be. Lavelle has some impressive career numbers anyway, with 15 interceptions, 107 pass deflections, 455 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, and just over 9100 return yards, with 3 Punt return TDs. He also has a pick six.
The second spot on the Mt. Rushmore goes to Mako Mendonca. When he was taken with the 8th pick in the S16 Draft, nobody batted an eye. Sam Torenson was widely considered the only “breakout star” running back in the small S16 draft class. Austin taking an RB was a blip on the radar and nobody had high hopes for the running back from Rice. However, they were quite wrong. Mako became the starting running back almost right away, and he single handedly made it okay when Ashley Owens burned the franchise. Mako has consistently been near the top of leaderboards for rushing each of the last 5 seasons, and while his running abilities are top notch, its his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield that has made him such a dual threat. Mako has a nose for the end zone as well, scoring 8 or more touchdowns each of the last 5 years, including double digits in three of them. Mako’s career numbers are nice. He’s just over 10,000 total yards (7078 rushing, 3038 receiving), and he’s scored 72 total touchdowns in his career, 54 rushing, 18 receiving. Mako also gets extra credit for coming aboard as the Co-GM of the team when Adam stepped down, and his hard work, scouting, and testing have proved literally INVALUABLE to the Austin Franchise. Someday this will all be his.
The third spot on the Austin Copperheads’ Mt. Rushmore belongs to star wide receiver Rod Tidwell. Tidwell has just announced that he’s retiring after the Ultimus, putting to bed a fantastic career. Tidwell has been nothing short of spectacular for the Copperheads, to prove he recently won the ISFL WR of the Year trophy last season, finally capturing the award after a few “should haves” in seasons 19 and 20. Tidwell was drafted in Austin’s first ever draft in Season 15, and he’s been Easton Cole’s favorite target ever since. Tidwell has some impressive career numbers as “the guy” in Austin’s offense. He has 450 catches for 7703 yards and 51 Touchdowns. It’s going to be incredibly hard for the likes of Eddie Jeeta, Videl San, and even Net Gaines to keep up with the Austin legend.
The final piece of the Mt Rushmore puzzle for the Copperheads is pretty self serving, and I know it. But there is no doubt that the last player is going to be none other than Easton Cole. Cole has been the QB of the Copperheads since Day One. He’s won awards, and he’s played pretty great. Yeah, he has a penchant for interceptions, but he was money in the S20 Ultimus, winning game MVP that game. For every bad pick he throws, he makes up for it with a memorable play, such as his 63 yard rush against Orange County where all 11 Otters couldn’t bring him down. He’s been a top QB for a few seasons now, and his career numbers are pretty damn good. Cole has completed 57.4% of his passes for 26,790 yards. He has thrown for 168 TDs to go along with his 103 interceptions. He has also rush for 1217 yards, and 10 rushing touchdowns, which is great when you realize he didn’t start running the ball until a few seasons ago. He has won breakout player of the year and performance of the year as well. He was completely robbed of the MVP won by Cooter Bigsby not too long ago, Cole had very similar numbers but wasn’t able to inflate his stats against teams like Chicago. It changed the way the industry does awards in fact.
So there you have it. These four players stand out above all of the great Copperheads in Austin history, and there’s little doubt that they are the ones that should be on the Mt. Rushmore of Austin. (974)

[toivo]

8) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?

The team is going through some change. Management is seeing a new regime come in. Whenever that happens, there are many questions left about which direction the team will go in. Usually, new management will want to shape the team in their own ways. Stan Francisco has been a noble franchise quarterback for new Orleans, but father time catches up to everyone. Management might look at the position and seek out an upgrade or have a hot up and coming quarterback play under Francisco’s guidance for a few seasons. Stan Francisco has plenty of experience and wisdom to pass down to a growing quarterback. Then there are other positions that might need upgrading. Management will give a long evaluation to the crop of players New Orleans now has, and look at the upcoming free agency class. The management will have some tough choices to make. Often times, a new management can rush into decisions. But in New Orleans case, I think there is a plan laid out that new management can look at, evaluate, and decide it is good enough. Things can turn sour quickly, but I think New Orleans has a good grasp on the future. There is a lot of synergy in the locker room. Players are eager to show up and want to win another championship. Thus, I think the new management has a lot of work cut out. Yeah, there will be some evaluation of free agents. There might be some new faces in the locker room. But, ultimately, the Second Line ought to resemble the franchise that it has been for the past few seasons. Time will tell whether this comes to fruition. The most important point is that New Orleans is taking a proactive role, rather than passive, by hiring a new General Manager. With this newly hired position comes increased energy and passion. There’s momentum behind this decision. Next season will be a base line test for the team. It will really give a good picture about where the team’s strengths and weaknesses are. I am a big fan of Stan Francisco, but I imagine quarterback might be a position of need for the Second Line. All to often, we hear about the importance of the quarterback position. Therefore, the new management will need to make sure the team has a good quarterback for next season, and the many seasons going forward. New Orleans is in a solid position, and going forward, the new manager might breathe some new life into the organization.


11) Give a thorough examination of a league scandal from any point in time. What made this particular drama so noteworthy? Who were the major participants involved, and what was the offense? What kind of impact did this scandal create on the league, and have any permanent changes come about as a result?

Early in the league’s history Arizona was a powerhouse. The Outlaws were winning everything and in the Season 4 draft, they held the first overall pick. They selected linebacker Noah Goodson who would go onto win a championship in Baltimore and be a pro-bowler. His time in Arizona was uneventful and short. The team was imploding thanks to a massive multi scandal. Things going into the draft were looking good for Goodson. Moral was high, but that quickly changed as the off-season was dominated by this scandal. It would take Arizona 13 more seasons to become the ASFC champions and they went onto defeat the Philadelphia Liberty. The scandal impacted the team for quite awhile since it took 13 seasons to get back. As far as lasting impacts go, it appears that the league grew more suspicious and concerned with multis. The scope of the scandal likely led to increased scrutiny of accounts that seem suspicious. Despite being drafted to Arizona, I supported the harsh backlash the team received. Multis can really throw off teams and give an unfair advantage. For transparency sake, it is a good thing the scandal happened early into the league’s history. It may leave some questions about the validity of the early championships, but it is best that Arizona did not go on to win more championships with multis on the roster. That would have hurt the league even more. It’s regrettable any championship team was benefited by multis, but I can see scenarios where the situation would be much worse. Ultimately, I think a scandal of this scale is unlikely to be replicated again. It’s fitting that this scandal involved the championship week and I am analyzing the scandal during championship week. Years ago, when I was drafted in Season 4, I did not expect to one day write about this time with an infamous tone. While I do not have as firm of a grasp on team reputations as most people do, it would seem that 20 seasons later, the league does not assign a “cheaters” stigma to the Outlaws. Though, I could understand some arguments that claim the “cheaters” stigma is warranted. When I left Arizona, I did not see myself playing there, and I didn’t return there during Goodson’s career, but I have no qualms with the franchise now. Time has treated Arizona well and it seems that this scandal is mostly a distant memory. Fortunately, this team can serve as an example of how to rebound following a massive scandal.

[yonggarius]

Task 4
I want to take a retrospective to the Colorado Yeti's season 21- season 22 offseason. While that offseason was a big turning point for not only the Yeti, but the whole league, with an unprecedented 284 people mega draft class ready to be drafted and two new expansion teams ready to roll out, it was especially big of a turning point for the Yeti as their offseason changes and strateges culminated in the team winning the ultimus bowl trophy in season 22 for the first time in the team's long history.
Going into the season 22 NSFL draft, the expansion draft was the biggest unknown against the Yeti's draft strategy. Every team could potentially lose up to three players outside of their initial seven men protection slots, and it was most important to adjust the team's strategy in massive and resourceful season 22 draft according to their losses in the expansion draft. The day of expansion draft came, and it turned out that the Yeti had suffered some big losses. They lost Steco Ocewilder, one of their starting defensive ends, and their number one wide receiver Laszlo Forty- Two to the Sarasota Sailfish. Honolulu Hahalua, the other expansion team, took reliable veteran receiver James Bishop later in the draft, but Bishop was returned to Yeti right after the draft for a price of 9th round pick as he wanted to be a franchise star and retire a Yeti. So ultimately, the Yeti headed into the draft adding a Defensive end and a wide receiver to their list of needs.

In the draft, the Yeti mostly focused on quality more than quantity. While this draft was deep in almost every positions and many teams used it as an opportunity to restock their roster in a flash, in other words it meant contender level teams like the Yeti can use this draft to get the specific players they really want, in expense of some draft capital.

With their first pick in the draft, eighth overall pick in the first round, the Yeti selected Mo Magic, a defensive tackle. The Yeti needed a defensive tackle, as Bubba Thumper was the only one in their roster, and Mo Magic was certainly one of the best in the position. However, this pick was more of a user pick than a player. Tvc was very high on Yeti's draft board from what I heard, and he was- and still is- regarded as a future GM material. And the fact that he was a great locker room presence was another added bonus.
Next, the Yeti traded up six spots in the second round via a trade with the Sailfish, giving them a sixth and seventh roubd pick along with 20th iverall pick for the 14th overall pick. And with that pick, they selected cornerback Thubba Bumper. While Bumper was not the most flashy cornerback prospect in the draft class, his user, bauer, had deep ties with the Yeti organization, and was known as a great locker room presence. Yeti, with their roster largely established, didn't hesitate to get the player/ user they wanted and snagged him before other team took him.

And in the third round, the Yeti selected my player, William Lim. While I mostly received lower prospect grade than Eddie Jeeta because of my inferior possession receiver build while having similar activity and locker room presence, the Yeti knew for a fact that I was open to an archetype switch and change my build into something more optimal and fitting the team's scheme. And as they also liked my activity in discord, they immediately selected me with the 32nd overall pick when the Copperheads selected Jeeta with the pick right before.

In the fourth round, Yeti traded down, trading their pick to the Outlaws in exchange for a fifth and a seventh round pick. And with that fifth roubd pick, 51st overall, the Yeti selected defensive end Ismael Sanchez. Sanchez was a reinforcement in a position of need, as the Yeti needed a defensive end to fill in Ocewilder's old spot. On top of that, Sanchez's user, Ismael, was known to be one of the best locker room guys in the Yeti prosect zone. Yeti waited on him because the need for a defensive end league wise has lessened since a lot of them were taken in earlier rounds to needy teams.

In the seventh round, the Yeti had two picks. The first of the two, 76th overall pick, was used to select runningback Richard Gilbert. Gilbert was a good earnerx and only slid to seventh round because of insane talent level of this draft class and runningback value dropping due to less needs. So he was almost a still at that point, especially he was a solid locker room presence too.
The other seventh round pick was used on wide receiver Leeroy Jenkins. The Yeti traded back into seventh round via a trade which they sent their third round pick for next season to the Copperheads. Jenkins, who was still a good earner despite not being the top tier receiver prospect, was too good of a player and user for the Yeti to pass, and they didn't hesitated in grabbing a good player and locker room guy.

After that, Yeti's draft was relatively quiet, except for them acquiring inactive receiver Jake Dropson from the Liberty for a 10th round pick.

After the draft, the Yeti called up Magic, Lim and Sanchez to the big leagues while sending the others back down to DSFL. All three players who were called up, plus Dropson, had sognificant contribution to Yeti's strong regular season campaign and miraculous playoff run that season. And now in the back end of season 23x where all those players except Jenkins are up and playing in Yeti uniform, there's even more impact by the class, both player wise and user wise. Lim became number 1 receiver, Gilbert ran a strong rushing attack alongside owens, Magic and Sanchez anchored half of the scary defensive line, and Bumper became a great nickelback. User wise, 4 of the season 22 class draftees are in the war room- tvc, bauer, ismael and me- and others are still generating positive energy and activity while contributing to the Yeti culture heavily. All in all, this season 22 offseason and the season 22 draft class truly was a turning point for the Yeti.
(1063)

[Drizzy]

TASK 8

So, today I'm going to be talking a little bit about the team that I play for, the Sarasota Sailfish, and giving my opinions on where this season went wrong in terms of securing a playoff spot. Last season saw the team sneak into the postseason when we probably had no reason to really be there. The problem that sneaking in like that causes is an expectation of similar performance in subsequent seasons. Therefore, based on our ability to do it last time around and some improvements to the team's roster that definitely helped things but didn't really go far enough to "fix" all the problems, we all came into the season thinking that a playoff spot was something that we could reasonably expect. We saw our best wide receiver, Dexter Banks II position change to quarterback for this season. While this addressed one (desperate) need, it sort of created another. Outside of Rayne Gordon, our wide receiving core this season was probably not up to the ability that it should have been. Banks II was somewhere below average in completion percentage, but I blame that more on the inexperience of the receivers than Banks' himself ability. I think the clearest fix for next season would be to go out and make a trade for a wide receiver who's able to step in and elevate the team's performance next season. I think the Sailfish's young defense probably got a little bit exposed this season. We had some good performances, but on the whole, we sat toward the bottom in a lot of the main defensive statistics. While it may suggest that we played defense in a different way to the teams that piled up the stats, I felt like on multiple occasions our defense let us down and simply weren't up to the job when it came to getting stops and helping our offense out. I think my player will be the highest TPE player on defense next season, so I'm hoping that a boost there will improve our defensive play. But I would also really like for the Sailfish to get bold and make a play for another star player on defense. Someone who can step in and make some big plays and really help us get the ball back would go a long way toward improving our chances of making the playoffs next season. I don't know what the GMs of the team have planned, but it's a balancing act at this point. Do you go out and trade for guys to help now or wait for your young team to grow a little and fix the holes themselves? We'll see what happens this season, but it's certainly an interesting development for now.

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TASK 9

As someone who thoroughly enjoys getting involved in "GOAT" debates, I'm very happy to be able to get stuck in and talk here about the person who I believe is the clear greatest of all time at their position and any other position. As someone who was lucky enough to joint the league when they were at the peak of their powers, the person that I'm going to be talking about is none other than the undisputed GOAT, Mike Boss. The quickest way to prove the argument is simply bringing up the awards list that he won. He might not have had the career length that some other QBs in NSFL history have had, but try this for size; 3 back to back MVP seasons, 3 NSFL OPOTY awards, 5 QB of the year awards, 8 Pro Bowl selections (every season he played besides his rookie season) and perhaps most importantly, 3 consecutive Ultimus Bowl rings. What Boss was able to achieve at the position was simply incredible. He basically created the instruction manual on being a quarterback in the league, and the resume that we've seen above really sums up exactly how he was able to assert his dominance, even when playing at a time loaded with great quarterbacks. Despite the fact that he has been retired for well over 10 years, he still holds nearly 40 touchdowns over the second place leader. He is so far above anyone else who's played the position in what he's achieved it's quite frankly staggering. Perhaps the most crazy statistic is that he holds 6 of the best 8 seasons in terms of passing yards per season, including the top 4. This just proves that when Boss was on his game there was just no one near to him. There are many ways in which you can approach the GOAT argument, and I honestly believe that Boss has the edge in all of them. Whether it's team success, individual awards or career statistics, he was simply a dominating presence in the league and someone who we will likely never see the likes of again. It's impossible to deny what he was able to achieve, and will always be talked about as the greatest to ever play the position of quarterback. Maybe in the years to come we will see someone potentially come close, but with the way things have changed regarding NSFL offense's, it's likely anyone is able to come close to any of his records or number of individual accolades.

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[enigmatic]

13) Create an argument for your own player, or for someone else on your team, as to why they should be nominated for awards. Lay out their stats or compare them to other contenders. Make a convincing case.

All season long I knew this would be a point I would try to make in my Ultimus Week because I was doing really well but it would have been easier to argue a couple of weeks ago when I was actually leading a couple of categories but life sucks I guess. I'll try to argue a lost cause.

I should totally win wide receiver of the year because I managed to get really good numbers on a team obsessed with running the ball. The two league leaders are on Tijuana and they seem like a team that focuses a lot more on throwing than most other teams in the league, since they are leading the DSFL in passing yards despite being one of the worst teams offensively in the entire league. We all know that the DSFL is a run-heavy league and my team was no different.

I feel like I gave my rookie QB a chance to shine the 4.1 times he did pass the ball and although it rarely led to a TD, I at least gave the team some much needed yardage more often than not, as is proven by my total yards this season.

I don't think it counts either but I was also quite wonderful on special teams. My kick and punt returns were simply amazing, including a return of no less than 94 yards. I have the best stats in returning in the league and I wish this was included in the argument because I actually believe it's the only way I'd ever win this award.

18) Create a billboard, magazine cover, or video game cover depicting a superstar of the league. Graphics only.



25) Select any player who was drafted in the back half of a DSFL or ISFL draft. Show how that player has outperformed their draft position, or how they will soon do so. You cannot write about your own player.

Did you ever hear the tragedy of Colt Mendoza The Wise?

"No."

I thought not. It’s not a story the commissioners would tell you. It’s an ISFL legend. Colt Mendoza was a sleeper pick of the DSFL (he went 147th to the Dallas Birddogs) so powerful and so wise he could use his charm and his top earner cred to influence the general managers to draft him first overall in the ISFL… He had such a knowledge of the sim engine that he could even help the ones he cared about develop their useless players into actually decent athletes.

"He could even make Luca Scabbia okay-ish?"

The ability to test with the Draft Day Sports: Pro Football sim is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful… the only thing he was afraid of was getting only one interception, 89 tackles and 12 passes defended all season long, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentices everything he knew, then they were better than him in the sim. Ironic. He could save others from sucking in the sim, but not himself.

"Is it possible to learn this power?"

Not unless your teacher is Colt Mendoza.

SHL PT

[tMuse]

Task 6):
The Yellowknife Wraiths have a strange relationship with the Ultimus.
They have reached the playoffs again this season (S23) and therefore have a new chance for the title. But the problem of the Yellowknife Wraiths is that they reach the playoffs quite often - the last step, winning the finals, rarely works at the moment.
The Yellowknife Wraiths made it into the playoffs in the following seasons:

• Season 22: They lost against the Colorado Yetis in the semi finals 16 - 17
• Season 21: They lost against New Orleans Second Line in the Ultimus 13 - 33
• Season 20: They lost against the Austin Copperheads in Ultimus 20 - 37
• Season 19: They lost against the Orange County Otters in Ultimus 27 - 30
• Season 18: They lost against the Orange County Otters in Ultimus 10 - 16
• Season 17: They lost against the Baltimore Hawks semi finals 24 - 27

So they're now in the playoffs for the 7th time in a row - 6 times in a row they have missed the chance to grab the title. In my opinion, Nate Swift, the wide receiver who signed his contract with the Yellowknife Wraiths in Season 14 and is now possibly playing his last season before he retires, is especially hard hit. Nate Swift has now for the 7th time in a row the chance to win his first title with his team, which accompanied him throughout his career.
Just to make it clear, the Yelloknife Wraiths have already won their first title in Season 8, but they couldn't get the job done after that.

And now in Season 23, the Yellowknife Wraiths are back in the Ultimus and once again they play against the Austin Copperheads. The Yellowknife Wraiths beat the Colorado Yetis in the semi-finals by a narrow score of 13 - 10.
All in all, the Yellowknife Wraiths had a good season. They lost their first game against the Baltimore Hawks, but had a winning streak of 4 wins afterwards. Except for the last two weeks, week 15 against the Colorado Yetis and week 16 against Philadelphia Liberty, the Yellowknife Wraiths have not lost two games in a row. They have thus won their way through the ISFL with a standing of 10 wins and 6 defeats. They even won 5 of the 8 away games, which is something only the Orange County Otters have managed to do this season. The Yellowknife Wraiths definitely deserve to be in the Ultimus, and with their solid performance this season, they could also secure the home field advantage for the Ultimus. After all, it's no secret that it generally helps to play at home - and maybe this is the decisive advantage the Yellowknife Wraiths need to finally win another title.

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Task 14):
I chose the renders of @sakrosankt, @Frostbite and @RainDelay (in that order) as they have shaped and build Sarasota as one of the newest teams in the league. Super happy to be part of it.


Task 18):
Anyone who follows the league a bit saw that Frost sims that huge 100k article draft thingy Tesla did.
It is finally time to announce FROLFs PP League for the Wii!

[Rabidsponge21]

1) The league has a rich and fascinating history, and our perspectives on it differ from person to person. In 800 words or more, describe any significant non-playoffs moment in ISFL or DSFL history, whether you were around for it or not. Describe the context, the significant members, and the events. What exactly made this event so famous (or infamous) and why does it deserve to be remembered?


I have chosen for this task to not cover one single event which was a cause of major drama or concern or excitement, but the single instance that is known as the Colorado Yeti.

A ISFL team that is a part of the original 6 teams, never have a seen a team be so incredibly inept at winning games on a sustainable click. Currently sitting all time at a record of 115-186 (good for a .382 win percentage, which is still worse than the normally tauned Chicago butchers) has me thinking that this has been a that has been manged terribly from day 1. Now I am not ISFL historian, as the reality of it all, is that it is my 3rd league for priorities sake after SHL and PBE, but from looking at the history pages lets see what we can find as to WHY the Yeti have been so bad for so long.

Before we dive into it all I think it's also important to have a look at their playoff record as they sit all time at 6-9 (.400). Why would we have a look at this first, well lets dive a bit deeper. The main thing that should be looked at here is how many championships the yeti currently have. One. Compared to the rest of the Original six teams? Well they actually aren't doing terrible, as San Jose (1) - Yellowknife (1) are in the same boat as the yeti when it comes to end of season successes. The regular season is a bit of a different story, but to have a title under their belt is at least a small bonus to their terrible regular season showings. Their title was recent so after season of sheer terrible, they look to be on the up swing, but we aren't here to talk about that. What could be fun as a comparison for the Yeti could be the Buffalo Bills of the ISFL in the Wraiths who went to 4 Finals in a row, just to lose all 4 (to 3 separate teams no less). Glass half full mentality, at least when the Yeti makes the playoffs they tend to do a little more with it than the Wraiths do.

Unfortunately for me, there isn't a nice clean list that explains all the bad that was the yeti's Regular season performances as their wiki page is only updated to season 2025, but even before I start to manually search out some answers over the last few seasons, it's pretty clear a big chunk of their record is the way it is. The combine Yeti record from 2018-2022 (5 seasons) was 6-64. They literally won 8.5% of their games in a 5 season span. Dear lord. Looking at 2026+ the yeti had a nice run of things until about Season 14 where they dipped below the winning side of things again. From S14 to S18?

4-10
2-12
1-12
5-8
5-8

17-50.

I think the answers for why the Yeti look so bad as a franchise history wise can be summed up in these two stretches. So just a total of 10 seasons yielded the Yeti a record of 23-114. Now take those 10 season and match it up against Orange county? The Otters still have another 19 games to lose to even match this 10 season spread posted by the Yeti's. What makes things worse is that the Yeti's have yet to post many seasons with more than 8 wins making the gap close on this close very slowly. The Wraiths who we took a poke at earlier? 124 losses to their names. The Yeti were beyond awful for these stretches.

Why were they so bad? Well I can't answer that question as again I am not truly up to date with the way the leagues history has played out with maybe some prima donna players wanting things, or GM's being just awful, but something kept churning out the bad. In my experience across sim leagues I am going to guess it was more than likely the GM issue, especially for the first dumpster fire we say in the early seasons.

I am always truly amazed at teams history when it comes to those 1-2 teams in sim leagues which seem to just cling to the bad and consistently churn out terrible results but the personnel are willing to allow it to keep happening. There is a particular GM who has control of teams at varying points in all the different leagues histories who continually churns out mediocre product, but he just keeps at it.

As a final thought, to give an idea how long it will take the Yeti to reach close to .500 for their all time team record. The team would at a minimum have to post at least 19 seasons with a 10-4 record just to reach as close to even as possible. Yikes. (820 words)

[nutbarspadge]

Tier 2, Task 12

A buddy of mine persuaded me to do this a few days ago, and it's essentially the most fun I've had in a long time. I love football and the content it creates in it's various forms: fantasy, documentaries and now simulation football. The idea of role-playing the part of football of getting ready to be drafted and "making it in the pro's" is something I am really enjoying. I've got previous experience playing D&D with a load of friends on and off for years, and we recently just finished our first ever campaign in full during the COVID19 outbreak. My friend finding this on a Reddit thread has been a god send after that ending to keep me entertained!

Personally, I've never used a forum before in my life, so I'm having to get used to that, but the rookie mentors and the various discord servers I have been invited to have been a great help and someone is always willing to help out. The fellas over at the London Royals have made me feel super welcome, with lots of chit chat, especially Maglubiyet! Some of the prospect questionnaires from the various teams are hilarious as well - for what it's worth any teams reading this: My favourite dinosaur is a Pentaceratops.

I'm slowly becoming addicted to finding new ways to gain TPE and the way that the league is set up, you're never too far away from it. Bear in mind I only started this 2 days ago, I have created a Wiki, Twitter and performed all of the rookie point tasks! I'm now on the hunt for cash, so expect regular tweets from Sheed Thebaw. It's also encouraged me to play about with photo editing and creating graphics, something I've never done before but have always wanted to try. Like the forum aspect of the league, it is a steep learning curve but I am enjoying it immensely. I like the idea that the more active you are and involved you are, the more rewarded you are for your efforts.

I've not been drafted yet, but I can't wait to see how it unfolds for my buddies and I - I'm hopeful one or more of us may end up on the same squad!

So far, everything is great and the forum is a learning curve for me, so I'll do my best to keep on top of that with the guidance of the more experienced members of the NFSL. And I am going to try my best to learn about the leagues deep and rich history and the players who have made it what it is today!