02-23-2020, 10:24 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-26-2020, 11:28 PM by Modern_Duke.)
2) League Milestone
For the most thrilling playoff game of the past couple of seasons, I will have to go with the Season 16 Ultimus, between the Arizona Outlaws and the Philadelphia Liberty, which was actually also one of the first games I had ever seen as a new user to the site. This was a very unlikely match up for an Ultimus, with both teams finishing with 7-6 records and barely making the playoffs in the first place. Amazingly, three teams finished with 10 wins that season, but none of them reached the championship game.
As for the game itself, both teams reached the endzone in the first quarter, leaving the score tied at 7-7 after 15 minutes. Arizona then fired with two quick strikes to take a 21-7 lead. After trading field goals to close out the first half, the score was 24-13 at halftime. However, Philly began its tremendous comeback and finally took over the lead at 30-27 with just under 8 minutes left in the game. Outlaw veteran quarterback coolly lead the team back to retake the lead with 1:30 left on the clock. With the championship trophy on the line in a classic two-minute offense situation, the Liberty started their drive by interestingly running the ball. After another quick play to pick up 15 yards, the Liberty were at about midfield. Falconi found Vander Jones down the left sideline with room to run. However, Arizona's Lucas Knight was quick on his tale and made the game saving tackle at the 12 yard line as time expired to clinch the Ulitmus.
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6) Expansion
Funny that you ask this question, because it turns out I actually am in charge of an expansion team! So now I just have to figure out what the hell I'm doing and then I will have an answer for you. Just kidding. Obviously the first step was to figure out what our team would be called and where we would be located. Franchet and I wanted to do something kind of different, so we looked at a map of where all of the current NSFL and DSFL teams are located and saw unoccupied spaces in Florida and most of Canada. But we also had the thought of going even further out there, and quickly turned our focus to Europe. From there London seemed like an obvious choice, and the Royals name came naturally.
As for the actual work of putting a team together, we are obviously going through scouting prospects now, so I don't want to give away too much, but Franchet and I agree that the key to success is having players who are active and interested in getting better. And we know that the best way to keep players active is to create an environment that they want to be in. That is why our main focus is on people, not players.
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19) OL or K/P Appreciation
To celebrate an unsung hero, I want to explore the special teams play of Austin Copperheads kicker/punter Alfredo "Thighmaster" Crisco during this playoffs and see how much of an impact he had. Crisco had a solid regular season, missing only one extra point and three field goal, and finished with the most points scored in the league. Most notably, Crisco famously broke the league record for longest field goal in the Copperheads Week 6 victory over San Jose with an astonishing 65 yarder. Alfredo also performed well as a punter, leading the league by a decisive margin with an average of 50.0 yards per punt, and the longest punt of the season, a 78 yarder.
In the semifinal against New Orleans, Alfredo made his only field goal attempt, and made all three of his extra point attempts. He also averaged 49.9 on 8 punts, including one downed inside the opposing 20 yard line. In the Ultimus, Alfredo was perfect again, hitting all three of his field goal attempts and all four of his extra points, as Austin cruised to an easy victory. While the Copperhead's Ultimus victory did not directly rely on Crisco's performance, such success is a lot easier to manage if you are not worried about leaving points on the field.
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16) Dynasty
The Colorado Yeti are now firmly in their window of becoming the next great dynasty. On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Wolfie McDummy was coming off a breakout season in season 19, and did not disappoint in the follow up. Wolfie is still young and has several seasons of prime production left. Running back Ashley Owens continued to be a huge addition to the offense particularly in the passing game, where he proved himself once again to be one the best receiving threats out of the backfield in the league. Lazslo Fourty-Two and Jim McMahon proved to be a formidable duo in the receiving corps.
Things are possibly even more exciting on the defensive side of the ball. Mo Berry is possibly the most talented linebacker in the league and is a surefire bet to be named defensive player of the year for season 20. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Bubba Thumper may be Berry's biggest competition for the award. In the secondary, the Yeti will again feature on of the most talented defensive back corps in the league, with three top cornerbacks in Alex Hornbacher, Quentin Sinclair, and Louisiana Purchase, not to mention star safety Pete Parker entering his prime as well.
For the most thrilling playoff game of the past couple of seasons, I will have to go with the Season 16 Ultimus, between the Arizona Outlaws and the Philadelphia Liberty, which was actually also one of the first games I had ever seen as a new user to the site. This was a very unlikely match up for an Ultimus, with both teams finishing with 7-6 records and barely making the playoffs in the first place. Amazingly, three teams finished with 10 wins that season, but none of them reached the championship game.
As for the game itself, both teams reached the endzone in the first quarter, leaving the score tied at 7-7 after 15 minutes. Arizona then fired with two quick strikes to take a 21-7 lead. After trading field goals to close out the first half, the score was 24-13 at halftime. However, Philly began its tremendous comeback and finally took over the lead at 30-27 with just under 8 minutes left in the game. Outlaw veteran quarterback coolly lead the team back to retake the lead with 1:30 left on the clock. With the championship trophy on the line in a classic two-minute offense situation, the Liberty started their drive by interestingly running the ball. After another quick play to pick up 15 yards, the Liberty were at about midfield. Falconi found Vander Jones down the left sideline with room to run. However, Arizona's Lucas Knight was quick on his tale and made the game saving tackle at the 12 yard line as time expired to clinch the Ulitmus.
----
6) Expansion
Funny that you ask this question, because it turns out I actually am in charge of an expansion team! So now I just have to figure out what the hell I'm doing and then I will have an answer for you. Just kidding. Obviously the first step was to figure out what our team would be called and where we would be located. Franchet and I wanted to do something kind of different, so we looked at a map of where all of the current NSFL and DSFL teams are located and saw unoccupied spaces in Florida and most of Canada. But we also had the thought of going even further out there, and quickly turned our focus to Europe. From there London seemed like an obvious choice, and the Royals name came naturally.
As for the actual work of putting a team together, we are obviously going through scouting prospects now, so I don't want to give away too much, but Franchet and I agree that the key to success is having players who are active and interested in getting better. And we know that the best way to keep players active is to create an environment that they want to be in. That is why our main focus is on people, not players.
----
19) OL or K/P Appreciation
To celebrate an unsung hero, I want to explore the special teams play of Austin Copperheads kicker/punter Alfredo "Thighmaster" Crisco during this playoffs and see how much of an impact he had. Crisco had a solid regular season, missing only one extra point and three field goal, and finished with the most points scored in the league. Most notably, Crisco famously broke the league record for longest field goal in the Copperheads Week 6 victory over San Jose with an astonishing 65 yarder. Alfredo also performed well as a punter, leading the league by a decisive margin with an average of 50.0 yards per punt, and the longest punt of the season, a 78 yarder.
In the semifinal against New Orleans, Alfredo made his only field goal attempt, and made all three of his extra point attempts. He also averaged 49.9 on 8 punts, including one downed inside the opposing 20 yard line. In the Ultimus, Alfredo was perfect again, hitting all three of his field goal attempts and all four of his extra points, as Austin cruised to an easy victory. While the Copperhead's Ultimus victory did not directly rely on Crisco's performance, such success is a lot easier to manage if you are not worried about leaving points on the field.
---
16) Dynasty
The Colorado Yeti are now firmly in their window of becoming the next great dynasty. On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Wolfie McDummy was coming off a breakout season in season 19, and did not disappoint in the follow up. Wolfie is still young and has several seasons of prime production left. Running back Ashley Owens continued to be a huge addition to the offense particularly in the passing game, where he proved himself once again to be one the best receiving threats out of the backfield in the league. Lazslo Fourty-Two and Jim McMahon proved to be a formidable duo in the receiving corps.
Things are possibly even more exciting on the defensive side of the ball. Mo Berry is possibly the most talented linebacker in the league and is a surefire bet to be named defensive player of the year for season 20. Meanwhile, defensive tackle Bubba Thumper may be Berry's biggest competition for the award. In the secondary, the Yeti will again feature on of the most talented defensive back corps in the league, with three top cornerbacks in Alex Hornbacher, Quentin Sinclair, and Louisiana Purchase, not to mention star safety Pete Parker entering his prime as well.
![[Image: image0.png?width=822&height=426]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/830854638353645609/830854703713746954/image0.png?width=822&height=426)
![[Image: purchase_sig.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/319945672310784010/629840905351725069/purchase_sig.png)
