New Talent: Without a doubt, the biggest trade of the season came before the DSFL's 9th season even began. In what was initially seen as a lopsided trade, the Tijuana Luchadores and the San Antonio Marshals swapped picks and defensive talent. The Luchadores walked away with the 2nd overall and 14th overall picks, the Marshals continued to build their elite defense with CB Danny Vranos and DT Omar Wrong. Were the Marshals crazy to send away to valuable picks for two inactive defensive players? Well, they couldn't have known who the Luchadores were going to select, but let's see how things turned out. With the second overall pick Tijuana selected Achilles Hondo, the first real active fullback in several seasons. They liked what they had in their run offense and wanted to make it better. With their 14th pick the selected Xandra Troyski, wife of the GM, Icy Douglas, and a top CB prospect to fill the shoes of Danny Vranos. The season itself took a somewhat surprising twist. Danny Vranos turned out the best season of his career to date and has a real chance at defensive back of the year. Omar Wrong had a very good season as well. Troyski, for her part, played well but not enough to distract from the season of the former Luchador. Finally, Achilles Hondo went relatively silent on the stat sheet. Could he have been a bust? will his productivity flourish in future seasons? We'll have to just wait and see, but we can be certain that the playoff landscape would have looked very different without this blockbuster trade.
Unsung Hero:
![[Image: XmsG90v.png]](https://i.imgur.com/XmsG90v.png)
@HalfEatenOnionBagel
Sit down with a fan interview: Icy Douglas/Ben Horne
Sit down with a star: Questions from iseedoug
The Hawks had a shot to win it all this year, but ultimately lost late in the game. How do you think the team bounces back from this? Will they have a shot next year?
It's a heart breaker for sure. But I don't think it's the end of the line for anyone (LeClair aside who was going to leave at the end of this season regardless). The Hawks used to be pretty dominant and went to back to back Ultimus games despite winning neither. But we are a different team now, and every team has do go through that heart break I think before they can find success. Next season will be our season, I have no doubt.
Your friend, Epictitus Milburn, was able to do what only two previous teams have done before: win back to back championships. What is next for him?
He can have a strong personality at times, but one on one he comes across as pretty humble about his successes. Nevertheless, he has been pretty clear with me (and I think with others), that he wants to keep on pushing on. He wants to see himself achieve a certain level of greatness, and personally, I find that commendable. My bet is that he and Icy Douglas will keep on doing what they're doing until they get tired of it.
You had 679 yards receiving with 3 TDs this year, a slight decrease from your S7 career high of 729 yards receiving and 8 TDs. Despite this decrease in offensive playmaking, you had a career high pancakes this season. Is this a transition from red-zone TE to blocking TE? Or do you think this is just the result of splitting receptions with other playmakers on the Hawks?
We tried out some different things this year and had somewhat of a crowded receiving core--its a good problem to have. So this season I decided to focus a lot more on my strength and on my mental game. I think that's where the pancakes came from. But I'm not worried about this season's stats, really. After all, I ended up with the second most receptions in the league for the third season in a row. I see myself as a do-it-all player--I even had a rushing TD this season. So I'll just keep plugging along and see what happens.
Looking at the NSFL overall, there have been a lot of changes, from superstars retiring to blockbuster trades. What player change do you think is going to have the biggest impact in the S10 season?
Just before sitting down for this interview I heard about the Akselsen/Pennington trade. That's huge. Rarely do we see such leaders, especially quarterbacks, swapping teams like this. San Jose at least knows what they are getting in Akselsen for the next season. And they've now get 3 of the top 4 picks. As for Yellowknife, it all depends on how things go for Brad Pennington. Can he turn into the star that he's projected to be? We'll just have to wait and see.
Unsung Hero:
@HalfEatenOnionBagel
Sit down with a fan interview: Icy Douglas/Ben Horne
Sit down with a star: Questions from iseedoug
The Hawks had a shot to win it all this year, but ultimately lost late in the game. How do you think the team bounces back from this? Will they have a shot next year?
It's a heart breaker for sure. But I don't think it's the end of the line for anyone (LeClair aside who was going to leave at the end of this season regardless). The Hawks used to be pretty dominant and went to back to back Ultimus games despite winning neither. But we are a different team now, and every team has do go through that heart break I think before they can find success. Next season will be our season, I have no doubt.
Your friend, Epictitus Milburn, was able to do what only two previous teams have done before: win back to back championships. What is next for him?
He can have a strong personality at times, but one on one he comes across as pretty humble about his successes. Nevertheless, he has been pretty clear with me (and I think with others), that he wants to keep on pushing on. He wants to see himself achieve a certain level of greatness, and personally, I find that commendable. My bet is that he and Icy Douglas will keep on doing what they're doing until they get tired of it.
You had 679 yards receiving with 3 TDs this year, a slight decrease from your S7 career high of 729 yards receiving and 8 TDs. Despite this decrease in offensive playmaking, you had a career high pancakes this season. Is this a transition from red-zone TE to blocking TE? Or do you think this is just the result of splitting receptions with other playmakers on the Hawks?
We tried out some different things this year and had somewhat of a crowded receiving core--its a good problem to have. So this season I decided to focus a lot more on my strength and on my mental game. I think that's where the pancakes came from. But I'm not worried about this season's stats, really. After all, I ended up with the second most receptions in the league for the third season in a row. I see myself as a do-it-all player--I even had a rushing TD this season. So I'll just keep plugging along and see what happens.
Looking at the NSFL overall, there have been a lot of changes, from superstars retiring to blockbuster trades. What player change do you think is going to have the biggest impact in the S10 season?
Just before sitting down for this interview I heard about the Akselsen/Pennington trade. That's huge. Rarely do we see such leaders, especially quarterbacks, swapping teams like this. San Jose at least knows what they are getting in Akselsen for the next season. And they've now get 3 of the top 4 picks. As for Yellowknife, it all depends on how things go for Brad Pennington. Can he turn into the star that he's projected to be? We'll just have to wait and see.
![[Image: 56106_s.gif]](https://signavatar.com/56106_s.gif)
