Tier 2
7)
Warren Stephens’ career has been exceeding expectations so far. I began as a safety, thinking it would be fun to roam over the top of the field and disrupt the passing game by breaking up or intercepting passes and laying some punishing hits. Maybe it’s just because the DSFL doesn’t have a highly developed passing game or maybe safety just wasn’t the right place for me, but I found myself craving something different. After consulting with my coaches, GMs of the future, and trainers, I decided to spend an offseason working out and made the move to linebacker. Since being called up at linebacker, I feel I have made a significant impact on the team at the Liberty. In my 26 games as a starter, I have recorded nearly 250 tackles, forced three fumbles, and picked a ball off. After my rookie season, I was on the ballot for defensive rookie of the year, something I am tremendously proud of despite not winning the award. It is disappointing, though, realizing that I will probably not come closer to any awards for some time and, although it is too early to make serious Hall of Fame predictions about my career, it is entirely possible I could be snubbed from that too since I play middle linebacker and do not accumulate the “wow” stats. The fact of the matter is this league does not value middle linebackers. This season, I broke the Philadelphia Liberty’s single season tackle record by recording 134 tackles. I was one behind the leader, Honda Edmonds, who recorded 135 tackles, the most tackles in a single season since the league reduced the number of games in a season to 13. Yet Edmonds was not even included in the LBotY awards ballot for this season. Watching a fellow middle linebacker get snubbed despite having a singularly spectacular season is disheartening, as it means that as my career continues to progress it is entirely possible that I will face similar levels of disinterest in my career since I specialize in run stopping rather than chasing down QBs or getting interceptions. It is clear to me that the league as a whole, though I must say the Philadelphia GMs are incredibly pleased with my performances and are some of my greatest supporters, does not value these talents and will likely continue to overlook outstanding players like myself in favor of more flashy ones. Flashy plays are not the only indication of a great player, and I urge the league and their awards committees to keep that in mind as they evaluate players going forwards. I beg you not to ignore history being made as you did this season. It’s really quite shameful.
Tier 3
10) I understand that there are more flashy stats around the league than tackles and that people can, and have, made strong arguments for why tackles alone should not secure awards for linebackers. And I’m not arguing that impressive tackles alone should be enough. But how can you possibly justify ignoring a historically great tackling season? Honda Edmonds, the middle linebacker for the Austin Copperheads, racked up 135 tackles on the season, leading the league in tackles. That is the single highest tackling season we have seen in the league since we decreased the season to 13 games per year. It is top 10 all time, which should be even more impressive considering the various nerfs defenses have faced throughout the ages, including reduced blitz rates, diminished ability to play out of position, and now having fewer games to pick up records. When you combine those factors, anyone racking up this many tackles and having a historically great season doing it deserves tremendous recognition, or at least the possibility of receiving a positional award, but I don’t think this is likely given the league’s tendency to reduce the value of tackles. Edmonds was arguably the most impactful linebacker on the field this season, stuffing the run game and receivers coming through the middle at an impressive rate all season long. Take a moment to think about how impressive it is to be a top 7 all time single season leader in tackles in the modern day of the NSFL and then wonder why he was snubbed by the awards committee.
7)
Warren Stephens’ career has been exceeding expectations so far. I began as a safety, thinking it would be fun to roam over the top of the field and disrupt the passing game by breaking up or intercepting passes and laying some punishing hits. Maybe it’s just because the DSFL doesn’t have a highly developed passing game or maybe safety just wasn’t the right place for me, but I found myself craving something different. After consulting with my coaches, GMs of the future, and trainers, I decided to spend an offseason working out and made the move to linebacker. Since being called up at linebacker, I feel I have made a significant impact on the team at the Liberty. In my 26 games as a starter, I have recorded nearly 250 tackles, forced three fumbles, and picked a ball off. After my rookie season, I was on the ballot for defensive rookie of the year, something I am tremendously proud of despite not winning the award. It is disappointing, though, realizing that I will probably not come closer to any awards for some time and, although it is too early to make serious Hall of Fame predictions about my career, it is entirely possible I could be snubbed from that too since I play middle linebacker and do not accumulate the “wow” stats. The fact of the matter is this league does not value middle linebackers. This season, I broke the Philadelphia Liberty’s single season tackle record by recording 134 tackles. I was one behind the leader, Honda Edmonds, who recorded 135 tackles, the most tackles in a single season since the league reduced the number of games in a season to 13. Yet Edmonds was not even included in the LBotY awards ballot for this season. Watching a fellow middle linebacker get snubbed despite having a singularly spectacular season is disheartening, as it means that as my career continues to progress it is entirely possible that I will face similar levels of disinterest in my career since I specialize in run stopping rather than chasing down QBs or getting interceptions. It is clear to me that the league as a whole, though I must say the Philadelphia GMs are incredibly pleased with my performances and are some of my greatest supporters, does not value these talents and will likely continue to overlook outstanding players like myself in favor of more flashy ones. Flashy plays are not the only indication of a great player, and I urge the league and their awards committees to keep that in mind as they evaluate players going forwards. I beg you not to ignore history being made as you did this season. It’s really quite shameful.
Tier 3
10) I understand that there are more flashy stats around the league than tackles and that people can, and have, made strong arguments for why tackles alone should not secure awards for linebackers. And I’m not arguing that impressive tackles alone should be enough. But how can you possibly justify ignoring a historically great tackling season? Honda Edmonds, the middle linebacker for the Austin Copperheads, racked up 135 tackles on the season, leading the league in tackles. That is the single highest tackling season we have seen in the league since we decreased the season to 13 games per year. It is top 10 all time, which should be even more impressive considering the various nerfs defenses have faced throughout the ages, including reduced blitz rates, diminished ability to play out of position, and now having fewer games to pick up records. When you combine those factors, anyone racking up this many tackles and having a historically great season doing it deserves tremendous recognition, or at least the possibility of receiving a positional award, but I don’t think this is likely given the league’s tendency to reduce the value of tackles. Edmonds was arguably the most impactful linebacker on the field this season, stuffing the run game and receivers coming through the middle at an impressive rate all season long. Take a moment to think about how impressive it is to be a top 7 all time single season leader in tackles in the modern day of the NSFL and then wonder why he was snubbed by the awards committee.
