1) IT IS OUR TIME THIS (NEXT) YEAR - COMPLETED 231 WORDS
They’re technically not my team anymore, but I really do need people to understand the bright future of the New Orleans Second Line. They are set at QB for a long, long time with Borkus Maximus III, DSFL bust and NSFL stud, just entering regression. He’s also got his best weapon, Vladimir Fyodorovich, still hanging around after a stellar season where he was top 3 in receiving yards. The roster is quickly being reloaded with young talent as well! Grayson Kuusela and Lo Rax brighten up the future of the New Orleans defense, while Tyler Swift helps the outlook for the offense. The Second Line dynasty showed that to win the Ultimus consistently, you need two sets of players – the old talent in the back end of their prime, and the rookies through 3rd years who can earn quickly and hold the team over for the future. (Note that other Ultimus winners who didn’t become dynasties didn’t have this – the S7 Liberty come to mind.) I won’t say the Second Line are quite there yet, but if they draft well (read: flawlessly) they are much closer than people think. Plus, it’s not like they were a dumpster fire this year, either. Borkus played decently throwing to nobodies and inactives (including 166 TPE Paul DiMirio!) and as their young talent pool continues to grow, he will easily mitigate the effects of regression.
2) SPOTLIGHT ON THE YOUTH - COMPLETED 273 WORDS
Having top-notch veteran players is always great, but the Otters have been able to maintain their success for years due to how they groom their rookie crop. There’s always the next generation pushing for playing time, ready to make an impact. For that reason, it was really hard to pick just one player for the spotlight, but I’ll pick 931 TPE S/LB Danny Grithead. Nobody will remember this, but he entered the league as a RB with the Coyotes. He had a monster season with video game YPC numbers, and the Otters told me he’d be back next season. I was thrilled to be able to build the offense around him, but without warning they switched his position and called him up, where he instantly contributed. He’s hardly youth by this point, but he’s still young enough that he’s got lots of career left. His impact in the playoffs was easy to spot, racking up 8 tackles in the first game and 5 tackles with a sack in the second. One important part of Grithead’s game that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is his versatility. The Otters invented, popularized, and rely on the hybrid safety/linebacker or “moneybacker” role. Some (like Mason Brown, guessing by stats) play only LB, while some (guessing maybe Grithead) play both S and different LB spots. This allows incredible flexibility when building rosters, because you can basically fill out two spots with one guy, regardless of position, and let the $LB play the other one. Girthead is exactly the player you want on your defense: active, high TPE, positional flexibility, and performance on the field.
The Otters have the remarkable ability to get the best out of every level of their roster, and that starts with the young guys.
3) POST-GAME - COMPLETED 229 WORDS
Wow! This year’s Ultimus was a game for the ages. Even though the Otters stayed ahead throughout the game, QB Micycle McCormick still played well. In fact, the entire Yeti team played well! WR Verso L’Alto ( @nunccoepi
love you btw, this is all in good fun) absolutely exploded for 12 catches with 126 yards – impressive especially considering that wide receivers rarely break 115 (it’s easier for TEs, but Verso L’Alto is not a TE). Actual TE Alvin Chipmunk had a fantastic 3.8 yards per reception – yes, reception, not per carry! Howard Miller also racked up a respectable 86 yards. Danger, Oakes, and Mills all had fantastic games on defense, but the Otters’ offensive attack was too much to contain even though Gus Showbiz was shaky at best, tossing two touchdowns and completing 60% of his passes. However, the reason the Otters were a championship team is their ability to overcome challenges – we saw it in the conference championship, and we saw it now as the Otters’ rushing attack chipped in a valuable 100 yards, and FB Ricky Adams was fantastic as well, notching 140 total yards through the ground and the air. The Otters’ regular season was a little worrying, but it turns they still have the systemic winning was lingering through the organization. A valuable lesson (that everyone should have already known) was learned: never bet against Orange County.
4) QUARTERBACK MATCHUP - COMPLETED 211 WORDS
The league is way too unpredictable to make looking ahead worth it, so I'm just going to look back instead. It's not hard to find the difference between Yeti and Liberty QBs in the conference championship game: A 4TD:2INT QB will win 99/100 games against a 2TD:5INT performance, and that's exactly what happened. I don't think that that game was indicative of Falconi's future, but she certainly didn't help the Liberty win the game. The other game, Otters vs Sabercats, was much more interesting, as it pitted the always-dominant Otters against the upstart Sabercats. SJS’ Joilet L. Christ had outperformed OCO’s Gus Showbiz throughout the entire year, even though Showbiz was leaned on much more. In the playoff game, the two quarterbacks had similar attempt numbers, although Showbiz’ passer rating was higher, and he didn’t commit any turnovers. In the NSFC Championship game, we saw the drastic effect of 5 interceptions, but let’s not pretend that one pick isn’t huge. Erasing one pick can cause a 14 point swing – the Otters’ margin of victory was just 10. And that doesn’t take into account momentum shift, crowd enthusiasm, and QB rhythm. It’s not like Christ played badly, but with the way Showbiz and Orange County played, he needed to step it up.
5) UNSUNG HERO: WHO WAS THE UNSUNG HERO OF THE PLAYOFFS, CONVINCE US - COMPLETED 224 WORDS
A lot of names will be brought up for playoffs MVP for the Otters – Ricky Adams, Mason Brown, even Gus Showbiz. But how about LB Rickey Ramero?
whomst?
Yeah, that’s right. The bust #1 overall LB that was just one in a long string of Yeti failures. Of course you noticed his DPOY in week 15, where he put up a decent 9 tackles and even picked off a pass. But his perhaps better week 16 performance probably slipped through your eyes. He was flying around the line of scrimmage, racking up 11 tackles and a TFL where he leveled Micycle McCormick in the backfield. In the playoffs, the most important thing is consistency. In the regular season, you can say things like “we’ll win the next game” or “we can rebound”. In the playoffs, you don’t get that chance – you get to “rebound” from your couch, watching the championship game you’re not in. While Mason Brown may have had a flashier performance in the Ultimus bowl, he was disappointing from the SLB position in the divisionals, racking up just 6 tackles with no other stats. The same was true for Ricky Adams and Gus Showbiz. So why am I choosing Ramero over obviously better players like Brown? Consistency is key, and Ramero showed out in both games when his team needed him most.
They’re technically not my team anymore, but I really do need people to understand the bright future of the New Orleans Second Line. They are set at QB for a long, long time with Borkus Maximus III, DSFL bust and NSFL stud, just entering regression. He’s also got his best weapon, Vladimir Fyodorovich, still hanging around after a stellar season where he was top 3 in receiving yards. The roster is quickly being reloaded with young talent as well! Grayson Kuusela and Lo Rax brighten up the future of the New Orleans defense, while Tyler Swift helps the outlook for the offense. The Second Line dynasty showed that to win the Ultimus consistently, you need two sets of players – the old talent in the back end of their prime, and the rookies through 3rd years who can earn quickly and hold the team over for the future. (Note that other Ultimus winners who didn’t become dynasties didn’t have this – the S7 Liberty come to mind.) I won’t say the Second Line are quite there yet, but if they draft well (read: flawlessly) they are much closer than people think. Plus, it’s not like they were a dumpster fire this year, either. Borkus played decently throwing to nobodies and inactives (including 166 TPE Paul DiMirio!) and as their young talent pool continues to grow, he will easily mitigate the effects of regression.
Code:
2312) SPOTLIGHT ON THE YOUTH - COMPLETED 273 WORDS
Having top-notch veteran players is always great, but the Otters have been able to maintain their success for years due to how they groom their rookie crop. There’s always the next generation pushing for playing time, ready to make an impact. For that reason, it was really hard to pick just one player for the spotlight, but I’ll pick 931 TPE S/LB Danny Grithead. Nobody will remember this, but he entered the league as a RB with the Coyotes. He had a monster season with video game YPC numbers, and the Otters told me he’d be back next season. I was thrilled to be able to build the offense around him, but without warning they switched his position and called him up, where he instantly contributed. He’s hardly youth by this point, but he’s still young enough that he’s got lots of career left. His impact in the playoffs was easy to spot, racking up 8 tackles in the first game and 5 tackles with a sack in the second. One important part of Grithead’s game that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is his versatility. The Otters invented, popularized, and rely on the hybrid safety/linebacker or “moneybacker” role. Some (like Mason Brown, guessing by stats) play only LB, while some (guessing maybe Grithead) play both S and different LB spots. This allows incredible flexibility when building rosters, because you can basically fill out two spots with one guy, regardless of position, and let the $LB play the other one. Girthead is exactly the player you want on your defense: active, high TPE, positional flexibility, and performance on the field.
Code:
273The Otters have the remarkable ability to get the best out of every level of their roster, and that starts with the young guys.
3) POST-GAME - COMPLETED 229 WORDS
Wow! This year’s Ultimus was a game for the ages. Even though the Otters stayed ahead throughout the game, QB Micycle McCormick still played well. In fact, the entire Yeti team played well! WR Verso L’Alto ( @nunccoepi
love you btw, this is all in good fun) absolutely exploded for 12 catches with 126 yards – impressive especially considering that wide receivers rarely break 115 (it’s easier for TEs, but Verso L’Alto is not a TE). Actual TE Alvin Chipmunk had a fantastic 3.8 yards per reception – yes, reception, not per carry! Howard Miller also racked up a respectable 86 yards. Danger, Oakes, and Mills all had fantastic games on defense, but the Otters’ offensive attack was too much to contain even though Gus Showbiz was shaky at best, tossing two touchdowns and completing 60% of his passes. However, the reason the Otters were a championship team is their ability to overcome challenges – we saw it in the conference championship, and we saw it now as the Otters’ rushing attack chipped in a valuable 100 yards, and FB Ricky Adams was fantastic as well, notching 140 total yards through the ground and the air. The Otters’ regular season was a little worrying, but it turns they still have the systemic winning was lingering through the organization. A valuable lesson (that everyone should have already known) was learned: never bet against Orange County. Code:
229The league is way too unpredictable to make looking ahead worth it, so I'm just going to look back instead. It's not hard to find the difference between Yeti and Liberty QBs in the conference championship game: A 4TD:2INT QB will win 99/100 games against a 2TD:5INT performance, and that's exactly what happened. I don't think that that game was indicative of Falconi's future, but she certainly didn't help the Liberty win the game. The other game, Otters vs Sabercats, was much more interesting, as it pitted the always-dominant Otters against the upstart Sabercats. SJS’ Joilet L. Christ had outperformed OCO’s Gus Showbiz throughout the entire year, even though Showbiz was leaned on much more. In the playoff game, the two quarterbacks had similar attempt numbers, although Showbiz’ passer rating was higher, and he didn’t commit any turnovers. In the NSFC Championship game, we saw the drastic effect of 5 interceptions, but let’s not pretend that one pick isn’t huge. Erasing one pick can cause a 14 point swing – the Otters’ margin of victory was just 10. And that doesn’t take into account momentum shift, crowd enthusiasm, and QB rhythm. It’s not like Christ played badly, but with the way Showbiz and Orange County played, he needed to step it up.
Code:
2115) UNSUNG HERO: WHO WAS THE UNSUNG HERO OF THE PLAYOFFS, CONVINCE US - COMPLETED 224 WORDS
A lot of names will be brought up for playoffs MVP for the Otters – Ricky Adams, Mason Brown, even Gus Showbiz. But how about LB Rickey Ramero?
whomst?
Yeah, that’s right. The bust #1 overall LB that was just one in a long string of Yeti failures. Of course you noticed his DPOY in week 15, where he put up a decent 9 tackles and even picked off a pass. But his perhaps better week 16 performance probably slipped through your eyes. He was flying around the line of scrimmage, racking up 11 tackles and a TFL where he leveled Micycle McCormick in the backfield. In the playoffs, the most important thing is consistency. In the regular season, you can say things like “we’ll win the next game” or “we can rebound”. In the playoffs, you don’t get that chance – you get to “rebound” from your couch, watching the championship game you’re not in. While Mason Brown may have had a flashier performance in the Ultimus bowl, he was disappointing from the SLB position in the divisionals, racking up just 6 tackles with no other stats. The same was true for Ricky Adams and Gus Showbiz. So why am I choosing Ramero over obviously better players like Brown? Consistency is key, and Ramero showed out in both games when his team needed him most.
Code:
224
Jurisprudence Jones, OL ![[Image: cYhSwFY.png]](https://i.imgur.com/cYhSwFY.png)
