(S25) - Ultimus Week

[ReverendOReily]

13) Take a step back and predict what the league will look like three seasons from now. Who do you predict will be the dominant teams? Which young players do you think will have morphed into superstars? Will the league have expanded again in the next three seasons, and where would these new franchises be? Don’t be afraid to be creative, but don’t be entirely outlandish either.

It's the offseason; we're just about to go into the ISFL's 29th season of play. The year is 2040-something or other. As the 28th season was ending, league HO made an announcement that the league would be expanding, adding two more teams into the fold and bringing the total up to 16. In addition to adding these two teams, the Hamburg Hamburglars and the Moon Men, HO also announced that the league would under go divisional realignment; two more divisions would be added to each conference, and teams would be shuffled around amongst the new and existing divisions so that each division contained four teams. At the beginning of season 29, here's how the divisions looked:

NSFC Optimus: Baltimore Hawks, Berlin Fire Salamanders, Colorado Yeti, Yellowknife Wraiths
NSFC Prime: Chicago Butchers, Hamburg Hamburglars, Philadelphia Liberty, Sarasota Sailfish

ASFC Mega: Austin Copperheads, New Orleans Second Line, Orange County Otters, San Jose Sabercats
ASFC Tron: Arizona Outlaws, Honolulu Hahalua, Moon Men, New York Silverbacks

The season ended up being an excitement from start to finish. First overall draft pick Glerg Glorgensterger absolutely lived up to the hype he received prior to the draft, registering 13 sacks and 5 interceptions on an incredibly fearsome New York Silverbacks defense and earning himself a Defensive Rookie of the Year award. Fifth round draft pick and arguably the steal of the draft, Stubb Gubbins was the offensive rookie of the year, racking up 1382 yards and 9 touchdowns en route to a season where he did not fumble a single time despite rushing 313 times. The season was unfortunately a disaster for first year quarterback Muffin Man of the Moon men; despite staying down in the DSFL for 4 seasons and earning at a very admirable rate, he threw only 12 touchdowns on the season against 15 interceptions. However, thanks to their dominant defense, the Moon Men were able to sneak their way into the playoffs.
The teams that ultimately made the playoffs were the Yellowknife Wraiths, the Baltimore Hawks, the Sarasota Sailfish, the Chicago Butchers, the Austin Copperheads, the Orange County Otters, the New York Silverbacks, and the Moon Men. The Ultimus game was won by the Chicago Butchers 39-21 against the New York Silverbacks. New York's dominant defense controlled most of the first half, but their offense was unable to get going for the most part, and so the score of the game was 13-3 NYS going into halftime, but Chicago came out with an explosion in the second half, racking up 23 unanswered points in 17 minutes of play.

16) Create an argument for your own player, or for someone else on your team, as to why they should be nominated for awards. Lay out their stats or compare them to other contenders. Make a convincing case.
I come to you today with a very simple and straight forward argument - Cobra Kai for DSFL RBotY. I made a very similar argument this time last year for another Dallas Birddogs legendary running back, Zoe Watts, and I believe Cobra Kai is no less of a star in this league. He is sure to go on to do outstanding things for whichever team is lucky enough to draft him at the end of this week. For those who weren't able to catch many Dallas Birddogs games this year, here's how his stats shaped up on the season:
14 games played, 278 rushing attempts, 1482 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 8 touchdowns, with a longest run of 73 yards (the highest among all running backs this season)
Kai also showed himself as something of a double threat, catching 16 passes for 97 yards, although he definitely has some stuff to work on in the hands department.
There are those who may think that Mike Rotchburns deserve the RBotY award over Kai. Let's examine his stats:
14 games played, 317 rushing attempts, 1488 yards, 4.7 yards per carry, 11 touchdowns, longest run of the season 59 yards, 9 receptions, 54 receiving yards
Two things jump out at me, each in another runner's favor: Rotchburns securely has the lead in touchdowns, leading by 3, but Kai clearly has the lead in YPC, leading by more than half of a yard on the season. I don't think those 3 touchdowns are a game changer when you consider Rotchburns carried the ball 39 more times than Kai; Rotchburns scored a touchdown on 3.47% of his carries (11 against 317), while Kai scored a touchdown on 2.88%. They aren't terribly different figures. 4.7 YPC against 5.3 YPC, I would argue, is a bigger difference.

17) Create a championship banner for your team, including relevant players and iconography. Graphics only.