(S29) PT 2 - Double Trouble?

[ReverendOReily]

If my player Richard Leaking were invited to a young fan's birthday party, there is no doubt in my mind that he would do everything in his power to attend the party. After all, fans are the backbone of this league, and indeed all sports leagues - without the fans' sheer numbers and expendable income, Leaking's paychecks would be seriously lacking in the digit department. Back to this party - if Richard were invited, he would not only go, but he would try to get as many of his teammates as possible to attend with him to try to make this young Otter fan's day as memorable and spectacular as possible. This would also give Richard a chance to flex his skills in the kitchen! Richard could prepare his famous Orange Otter Creamsicle Cupcakes, which, despite the not so great name, are often a big success at Otter related functions. Lately, Richard has also been working to perfect the ratios for his newest recipe - flaming Grand Marnier coffee (get it because Grand Marnier is orange like the otters). This may either get Richard in trouble because he brought a cocktail recipe to a child's birthday party, or make some of the parents enjoy the party a lot more. You win some, you lose some.
I think Richard would have a pretty good chance at convincing his teammates to come along with him, because if there's one thing we like in Orange County, it's making the fans happy. Also partying.

[Amidships]

Tyler Montain would not go to the fan's birthday party. As flattered as he is, he does not have the time to go to every party that would inevitably request his attendance if he started showing up to events that sent him random invitations. He would, however, do his best to make the fan's birthday memorable by taking the time record a personal video and send a gift for the child including signed memorabilia, some Copperheads gear, and a set of tickets to a game at 16 Copperhead Road. He would also include another letter for the child's parents asking them about the situation and why they think it's a good idea to be having a birthday party during a pandemic. He would include pamphlets and links to other resources for COVID friendly celebration ideas, and provide personalized team masks for the family. While he would love to surprise every fan at their birthday party, it would simply take up too much of his time that he spends working to better himself with the goal of becoming the most physically talented individual to ever play the game. Between studying film, working on his strength and conditioning, and going over the week's game plan, he has far too much on his plate to attend multiple parties. Especially during a health crisis.

[Evok]

[Tomasnz]

lets make a quick scale for assessing this question of over the under achievers. i basically glanced at the tpe called up from the budget sheet and then a little at the schedule. 

over achievers
 

under achievers





on par achievers 

basically everyone else.. 

so the first thing to note is that OCO are doing far better than their tpe ranking would infer. but they have played 5 games against incredibly rubbished sides and crumbled in the one contest that they faced a quality side. i expect that it is going to change in the second half of the season, with a significant dropping off, i can see them only getting one more win the entire season. 

honahulu haha expected to have a rough season with their rookiee qb, but this ride has been even worse this season that even the most pessimistic on the site site could have predicted. 

austin have one of the best rosters in the league and find them selves trailing at the bottom of the league. they got all the way to the ultimatis game last season. this is absolutely disappointing. 

butchers.  wow have a rebuild now starting. but i think that will affect this season and probably next significant 

baltimore and a few other teams are basically riding those expectations. and achieving them. baltimore already at 2 wins feels great.

[TheRocheLimit]

[frazzle14]

SHL PT

[siddhus]

As someone that is in the ASFC, probably easier for me to talk about surprises and disappointments that are happening in there. First off for dissapointments. Looks like Austin is not doing too well this season. After slipping into that third playoff spot off of tiebreakers last season, this season they are sitting at 1 win, 5 losses, and a one tie, which really is not too well. There is a chance they can pick it up, but with the roster they have in place, this should not be where they are at right now. As for surprises, probably San Jose. There roster is not too good, and Hood has left their team in free agency, but in typical San Jose fashion, they managed to be bad with their better rosters, and somehow get better when they have a worse roster. Will be interesting to see if they can keep it up, and end the season with an playoff appearance again. Looking over at the NSFC real quick, I did not expect the Butchers to be there at last place, and instead, while I thought they wouldnt do well, at least like 5th place would make sense. With their roster very based on the S21 draft class, two regressions is hitting them hard though. Can't really see any surprises on their side of the league though.

[Oles]

In the DSFL the team that I think is currently overachieving would be the London Royals. Just looking at their TPE totals they have the worst TPE in the DSFL, but so far they have been saved by a somewhat easy schedule. They lost to what many consider to be a top 2 team in the league in the Grey Ducks, and then have rattled off 3 straight wins against Tijuana, and at Norfolk and Bondi Beach. Norfolk and Bondi Beach are not great teams by any stretch of the imagination, while Tijuana is a decent team but road games can always be an issue. London is a team, especially looking at their next 4 games, that I could easily see going from 3-1 to 3-5 or 4-4. London may miss the playoffs, in part due to the fact that their division is incredibly strong with both the Grey Ducks and Coyotes looking like teams that can a win a title, so it’s going to be hard for them to find a path past those two teams.

On the flipside, Tijuana is a team that I think shouldn’t be too concerned by a pretty slow start. They may be second in the South, but their offense has not been great, putting up only 58 points, only better than 0-4 Bondi Beach. They’ve also allowed 115 points, which is only better than Norfolk at 1-3 and Bondi Beach at 0-4. Tijuana also had an absolutely nightmarish game in Minnesota, where they lost 48-7, so why do I think they’ll be fine and make the playoffs? Well, it’s simple, the South is atrocious and all they have to do is beat out the SeaWolves and the Buccaneers, so even if they do get 7 wins, that may be all they need when all is said and done. (305 words)

[iStegosauruz]

So I write these prompts all the time for PBE but normally I claim an affiliate link so I can cop out of writing them. It always feels weird to pick an overachieving team because the sim is so volatile who really knows who is doing better than we should expect. If I had to pick in a vacuum, however, I think the San Jose Sabercats are exceeding the expectations anyone had for them early on in the season. At 4-2-1 they're a smidge above where I would expect them to be. I think they might be the product of a fairly early season schedule - they lost to Orange County and Arizona on the road which are expected losses. Tying Austin is an interesting outcome and is probably beneficial to them. Austin is a team I definitely expect to bounce back as the season goes on. After reaching the Ultimus last season, Austin is a team that is built to win now but is sitting at a depressing 1-5-1 on the season. They have a roster that I think should be able to win but haven't been able to produce offensively, sitting at 3rd in the conference in points scored and right in the middle of the pack overall. They should get a bump as the season progresses.

[Sylphreni]

When Emperor de Pengu heard about the opportunity to visit a young fan, he jumped at the opportunity. Penguins are naturally familial creatures, and de Pengu realizes the importance of involved childcare. Humans are fond of saying “it takes a village” but de Pengu knows it takes a waddle.With that understanding, de Pengu made all the preparations necessary for the child's party. He made himself available for autographs for all the children present, as well as posing for pictures. He made several perimeter checks throughout the party to make certain that the surrounding area was safe from sea lions and potential orca threats.Finally, when the time came to sing Happy Birthday to the child, de Pengu joined in vigorously, despite not fully understanding the ritual. As the song wound to an end, de Pengu got the feeling that there was meant to be some sort of “big finish” to the whole affair, and he thought what better than the gift he had brought for the child? As the rest of the party goers finished with “to youuuuuuu” de Pengu grabbed the child's head, wrenched it backwards, and regurgitated into his mouth the half-eaten fish he’d had for breakfast that morning. Truly a party the child is certain to not forget for the rest of his life!