7.) One player who I think has set himself up well for the upcoming award ceremony is Sarasota Sailfish linebacker Haha Mango-Panda. Panda and I were the two linebackers protected by the Sailfish, so I've gotten to know him well in the locker room and have witnessed first hand his accomplishments on the field. Obviously, the main factor in awards consideration is stats. Haha Mango-Panda had a phenomenal season, ending with 106 tackles, 10 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 20 passes defended. He had the second-highest tackles of the team, the highest number of sacks of the team, and also led the team in passes defended as well as interceptions. Panda didn't fail to produce stats of any type this season, and he's a large reason why the Sailfish did so well compared to previous years. This newfound success might also be related to Panda's offseason semi-position swap, where he and I traded places with him moving to the weak side linebacker position. While in previous years he was mainly tackle oriented, this season he improved in pass coverage and blitzing situations. There are 4 awards I think Panda deserves to be in consideration for: Defensive player of the year, breakout player of the year, linebacker of the year, and defensive performance of the year.
I'll start with defensive player of the year. Panda was everywhere, and his stats, when ranked, put him near the top of every category. However, since there are so many great players in the league, this one will be tough for Panda to bring home. Breakout player of the year is an award I think Panda has a great shot at winning. Compared to last season, Panda had 23 fewer tackles, 2 fewer tackles for loss, 8 more sacks, and 12 more passes defended. Though he lost some tackling stats, he made up for those losses with tremendous gains in both sacks and passes defended, earning a spot on the shortlist of viable breakout candidates. Next, linebacker of the year. This is another tough one to win, especially given the monster year De Ville was able to put together. Panda I think should definitely be able to crack the ballot however, as he was one of few incredible LBs this season. Some notable competition of his includes Arizona's Galf Wilf, Chicago's Hingle McCringleberry, Yukon's Douglas Quaid, and the aforementioned Derred de Ville. The final award I believe Panda should be in the running for is defensive performance of the year. Panda's most outstanding performance came in week 1 of the season when he racked up 9 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defended, and 1 interception.
Overall, I think Panda makes a great case for all of these awards, and I'm looking forward to him winning some hardware on awards night.
26)
One player who was drafted by the Sarasota Sailfish and ended up vastly outperforming initial expectations is the tight end, Clark Boyd. Boyd was selected with the 122nd pick in the S22 NSFL draft, and it's safe to say no one outside the Sarasota war room expected much out of him. However, I'm extremely happy to report that he has remained very active since joining the Sailfish and has ultimately gone down as one of, if not the, greatest draft steals of all time. This past season, Boyd eclipsed 500 TPE and has continued to earn, taking his current total to around the 600 mark. I went back into the draft video to see what was said about him and found out that not only was he at 50 TPE at the time of the draft but that his only recent activity was requesting a role for Myrtle Beach. I have no idea how Frost and RainDelay knew to make this pick, and I'm assuming they were just taking a shot in the dark but it is incredible to see how much Boyd has done. He even had a great S24 campaign, and could definitely be seeing himself on the awards ballot tonight if things work out.
Not only has Boyd been super active on the forums, but he's been a great addition to the Sarasota locker room. He's one of the top guys on the team message leaderboard and he brings great enthusiasm and positivity towards the games.
Unfortunately, though, he wasn't missed by the other teams during the expansion draft, as he ended up being taken by the Fire Salamanders. It's very sad to see him go but I'm glad he was able to leave and become a true TE #1 for an expansion team and I look forward to lining up across from him in the future!
27) Some positions are still under-appreciated. Talk about the offensive linemen and/or special teamers on your squad. Show how they have contributed to the team, both on and off the field, and why they deserve recognition.
One super underrated member of our team is kicker/punter Jacob Small. Jacob Small was another late-round draft pick for the Sailfish in S22, coming in at pick 110. Small had 103 TPE leading up to the draft but has since earned very well and currently sits at 530. On the field, Small has been a very reliable kicker for the team. In S24, Small had a field goal percentage of 91.4, including a perfect 17/17 from between 20 and 39 yard lines. Small also went 43/46 on XPs this season, giving him a percentage of 93.4. As a punter, Small was just as good, with a total of 86 punts for 3982 yards. Small had an average punt distance of 46.3 and landed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. Small has also been a really great locker room presence and is quite active in the discord server. Frost and RainDelay made a great choice to draft Small back in S22, as they managed to lock down the kicker position for quite a few seasons to come. I look forward to what Small will do in the coming seasons, and I hope he will only get better as time passes.
I'll start with defensive player of the year. Panda was everywhere, and his stats, when ranked, put him near the top of every category. However, since there are so many great players in the league, this one will be tough for Panda to bring home. Breakout player of the year is an award I think Panda has a great shot at winning. Compared to last season, Panda had 23 fewer tackles, 2 fewer tackles for loss, 8 more sacks, and 12 more passes defended. Though he lost some tackling stats, he made up for those losses with tremendous gains in both sacks and passes defended, earning a spot on the shortlist of viable breakout candidates. Next, linebacker of the year. This is another tough one to win, especially given the monster year De Ville was able to put together. Panda I think should definitely be able to crack the ballot however, as he was one of few incredible LBs this season. Some notable competition of his includes Arizona's Galf Wilf, Chicago's Hingle McCringleberry, Yukon's Douglas Quaid, and the aforementioned Derred de Ville. The final award I believe Panda should be in the running for is defensive performance of the year. Panda's most outstanding performance came in week 1 of the season when he racked up 9 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defended, and 1 interception.
Overall, I think Panda makes a great case for all of these awards, and I'm looking forward to him winning some hardware on awards night.
26)
One player who was drafted by the Sarasota Sailfish and ended up vastly outperforming initial expectations is the tight end, Clark Boyd. Boyd was selected with the 122nd pick in the S22 NSFL draft, and it's safe to say no one outside the Sarasota war room expected much out of him. However, I'm extremely happy to report that he has remained very active since joining the Sailfish and has ultimately gone down as one of, if not the, greatest draft steals of all time. This past season, Boyd eclipsed 500 TPE and has continued to earn, taking his current total to around the 600 mark. I went back into the draft video to see what was said about him and found out that not only was he at 50 TPE at the time of the draft but that his only recent activity was requesting a role for Myrtle Beach. I have no idea how Frost and RainDelay knew to make this pick, and I'm assuming they were just taking a shot in the dark but it is incredible to see how much Boyd has done. He even had a great S24 campaign, and could definitely be seeing himself on the awards ballot tonight if things work out.
Not only has Boyd been super active on the forums, but he's been a great addition to the Sarasota locker room. He's one of the top guys on the team message leaderboard and he brings great enthusiasm and positivity towards the games.
Unfortunately, though, he wasn't missed by the other teams during the expansion draft, as he ended up being taken by the Fire Salamanders. It's very sad to see him go but I'm glad he was able to leave and become a true TE #1 for an expansion team and I look forward to lining up across from him in the future!
27) Some positions are still under-appreciated. Talk about the offensive linemen and/or special teamers on your squad. Show how they have contributed to the team, both on and off the field, and why they deserve recognition.
One super underrated member of our team is kicker/punter Jacob Small. Jacob Small was another late-round draft pick for the Sailfish in S22, coming in at pick 110. Small had 103 TPE leading up to the draft but has since earned very well and currently sits at 530. On the field, Small has been a very reliable kicker for the team. In S24, Small had a field goal percentage of 91.4, including a perfect 17/17 from between 20 and 39 yard lines. Small also went 43/46 on XPs this season, giving him a percentage of 93.4. As a punter, Small was just as good, with a total of 86 punts for 3982 yards. Small had an average punt distance of 46.3 and landed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. Small has also been a really great locker room presence and is quite active in the discord server. Frost and RainDelay made a great choice to draft Small back in S22, as they managed to lock down the kicker position for quite a few seasons to come. I look forward to what Small will do in the coming seasons, and I hope he will only get better as time passes.
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