16)
While there have been several impressive defensive ends in the ISFL this season, only one clearly stands out above the rest of the pack with their record-setting season, and should not only be considered the leading contender for defensive end of the year, but should also be consider a legitimate nominee for defensive player of the year, as well. Yellowknife Wraiths’ Nero Alexander leads all defensive ends in tackles with 68. That is 4 more than the next closest DE, Colorado Yeti’s Immanuel Blackstone and Alexander’s closest apparent competition for the DEoTY award. Alexander also has 7 sacks, 2 more than Blackstone. However, where Alexander stands out the most is with 23 tackles for loss, which leads all defensive players by an impressive 5 TFL over New York Silverbacks’ DE Steco Ocewilder, the next closes. That’s also 6 more than Blackstone. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Alexander’s TFL count is good enough to rank second all time in league history, trailing only Spike Suzuki’s 24 in season 23! Alexander has quietly lived in the backfield this season, terrorizing quarterbacks and running backs alike, as a part of a Wraith’s defense that is 4th ranked in rushing yards allowed. Unfortunately, with the Wraith’s 7-9 record, I fear many voters will overlook Alexander’s impressive and record-setting season with an eye more towards players on more successful teams.
225 words
22)Cobra Kai is one of the top running backs in the upcoming ISFL draft. He is currently the starting running back for the Dallas Birddogs of the DSFL. This current season he rushed for 1324 yards, ranking him third amongst all S26 running backs, with a YPC of 5.1, which is the highest of his draft classes RBs. Kai also scored 7 rushing touchdowns, tied for 3rd best. He is an efficient and explosive runner, with the ability to break off for long runs. His longest run this season was for 68 yards, which was second in the DSFL. Kai is quick and strong with speed and strength ratings of 94 and 70, respectively. Kai’s biggest weaknesses relative to his class are currently his agility and hand, with meager 55 and 45 ratings in those categories. Kai was not much of a receiving threat, with only 97 yards on 16 receptions and no touchdowns. Kai is an extremely active user, with 266 TPE as of this writing, which is the most amongst the season 26 draft class. Kai is also extremely active in the Birddogs locker room, and seems to be well-liked by his peers. He has an extremely high work ethic, and what weak areas he does have can be overcome through practice and experience. Any team with a need at running back should be interested in Kai, although it is recommended they send him down for a season back to the DSFL to accumulate another season’s worth of TPE.
252 words
30)This last season’s expansion added two teams to the ISFL. The Berlin Fire Salamanders were added to the NSFC, and the New York Silverbacks were added to the ASFC. As expected, both teams struggled in their first season. The Fire Salamanders finished the year with a 3-13 record at the bottom of their conference, with both the least points scored and most points allowed by any team. They also only won 1 game at home, the fewest of any team. The Fire Salamanders biggest strength was their run game, which ranked second overall in yards per game. Their biggest weakness was pretty much everything else. The Fire Salamanders did not have a receiver over 1000 yds, with the worst passing offense in the league. The Silverbacks also struggled, finishing the season with a 4-12 record. The Silverbacks managed to loss all of their road games. A bright spot for the Silverbacks is the league’s leading rusher in Ashley Owens. The Silverbacks also lost 7 games by a score or less, so they were almost there! Pretty much all expansion teams are expected to struggle for their first few seasons, but as long as both the Fire Salamanders and the Silverbacks can continue to gain that TPE, attract a few good free agents, and build up some good draft picks in the DSFL, they should be able to compete with the rest of the league in only a few more seasons.
240 words
28)The S22 ISFL draft was a massive draft, with a total of 284 eligible players. Current Chicago Butchers cornerback Tyron Shields was drafted in the S22 ISFL draft in the 11h round, with the 126th overall pick. However, if the draft was redone today, he would undoubtedly go much higher! Shields fell so low in the draft as he was basically inactive at the time. Like most of the picks after about 50, teams were just taking shots in the dark, hoping they stuck. Well, the Butchers got lucky, as Shields suddenly decided that he was going to become the biggest draft steal of all time. While the title may or may not be up for debate, what isn’t debatable is that the Butchers definitely hit on this pick. As of this writing, Shields is currently sitting at 768 TPE, which puts him at 17th amongst all cornerbacks, and 8th among S22 corners. Shields has over 350 tackles and 30 pass deflections over the past three ISFL seasons, as well as a S23 Pro Bowl selection and S23 defensive rookie of the year nomination. So, while Shields may not be the number 1 cornerback in the league, the Butchers definitely struck gold back in S22 with pick 126, and there is no doubt in any reason person’s mind that Shields definitely outperformed his draft position.
225 words
While there have been several impressive defensive ends in the ISFL this season, only one clearly stands out above the rest of the pack with their record-setting season, and should not only be considered the leading contender for defensive end of the year, but should also be consider a legitimate nominee for defensive player of the year, as well. Yellowknife Wraiths’ Nero Alexander leads all defensive ends in tackles with 68. That is 4 more than the next closest DE, Colorado Yeti’s Immanuel Blackstone and Alexander’s closest apparent competition for the DEoTY award. Alexander also has 7 sacks, 2 more than Blackstone. However, where Alexander stands out the most is with 23 tackles for loss, which leads all defensive players by an impressive 5 TFL over New York Silverbacks’ DE Steco Ocewilder, the next closes. That’s also 6 more than Blackstone. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Alexander’s TFL count is good enough to rank second all time in league history, trailing only Spike Suzuki’s 24 in season 23! Alexander has quietly lived in the backfield this season, terrorizing quarterbacks and running backs alike, as a part of a Wraith’s defense that is 4th ranked in rushing yards allowed. Unfortunately, with the Wraith’s 7-9 record, I fear many voters will overlook Alexander’s impressive and record-setting season with an eye more towards players on more successful teams.
225 words
22)Cobra Kai is one of the top running backs in the upcoming ISFL draft. He is currently the starting running back for the Dallas Birddogs of the DSFL. This current season he rushed for 1324 yards, ranking him third amongst all S26 running backs, with a YPC of 5.1, which is the highest of his draft classes RBs. Kai also scored 7 rushing touchdowns, tied for 3rd best. He is an efficient and explosive runner, with the ability to break off for long runs. His longest run this season was for 68 yards, which was second in the DSFL. Kai is quick and strong with speed and strength ratings of 94 and 70, respectively. Kai’s biggest weaknesses relative to his class are currently his agility and hand, with meager 55 and 45 ratings in those categories. Kai was not much of a receiving threat, with only 97 yards on 16 receptions and no touchdowns. Kai is an extremely active user, with 266 TPE as of this writing, which is the most amongst the season 26 draft class. Kai is also extremely active in the Birddogs locker room, and seems to be well-liked by his peers. He has an extremely high work ethic, and what weak areas he does have can be overcome through practice and experience. Any team with a need at running back should be interested in Kai, although it is recommended they send him down for a season back to the DSFL to accumulate another season’s worth of TPE.
252 words
30)This last season’s expansion added two teams to the ISFL. The Berlin Fire Salamanders were added to the NSFC, and the New York Silverbacks were added to the ASFC. As expected, both teams struggled in their first season. The Fire Salamanders finished the year with a 3-13 record at the bottom of their conference, with both the least points scored and most points allowed by any team. They also only won 1 game at home, the fewest of any team. The Fire Salamanders biggest strength was their run game, which ranked second overall in yards per game. Their biggest weakness was pretty much everything else. The Fire Salamanders did not have a receiver over 1000 yds, with the worst passing offense in the league. The Silverbacks also struggled, finishing the season with a 4-12 record. The Silverbacks managed to loss all of their road games. A bright spot for the Silverbacks is the league’s leading rusher in Ashley Owens. The Silverbacks also lost 7 games by a score or less, so they were almost there! Pretty much all expansion teams are expected to struggle for their first few seasons, but as long as both the Fire Salamanders and the Silverbacks can continue to gain that TPE, attract a few good free agents, and build up some good draft picks in the DSFL, they should be able to compete with the rest of the league in only a few more seasons.
240 words
28)The S22 ISFL draft was a massive draft, with a total of 284 eligible players. Current Chicago Butchers cornerback Tyron Shields was drafted in the S22 ISFL draft in the 11h round, with the 126th overall pick. However, if the draft was redone today, he would undoubtedly go much higher! Shields fell so low in the draft as he was basically inactive at the time. Like most of the picks after about 50, teams were just taking shots in the dark, hoping they stuck. Well, the Butchers got lucky, as Shields suddenly decided that he was going to become the biggest draft steal of all time. While the title may or may not be up for debate, what isn’t debatable is that the Butchers definitely hit on this pick. As of this writing, Shields is currently sitting at 768 TPE, which puts him at 17th amongst all cornerbacks, and 8th among S22 corners. Shields has over 350 tackles and 30 pass deflections over the past three ISFL seasons, as well as a S23 Pro Bowl selection and S23 defensive rookie of the year nomination. So, while Shields may not be the number 1 cornerback in the league, the Butchers definitely struck gold back in S22 with pick 126, and there is no doubt in any reason person’s mind that Shields definitely outperformed his draft position.
225 words
![[Image: zoottx.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/zoottx.gif)
