(S25) - Ultimus Week

[Rise of Smitty]

Task #7:

The playoffs are over a champion has been crowned and it is none other than the San Jose Sabercats. It was quite the journey for the Sabercats as they were not exactly world beaters during the regular season. They finished at a solid 9-7 but third overall in their own division and made it as a wildcard team. The journey to the Ulitmus was not easy, in fact, it was the hardest path any team faced in this season's Ultimus bracket. The first opponent they had to square up was the Arizona Outlaws, who also finished 9-7, but had much better statistics during the season. The Sabercats were an underdog in this matchup but they proceeded to win 33-27 showing big offense in a season where they were an average offensive team. From there the defense took over as they ousted the Orange County Otters, the first place team in their conference, by a score of 23-14. Finally they would square off with the 13-3 Colorado Yeti. Let's be blunt here, the Yeti were a special team, and they steamrolled each opponent on their path to the Ultimus by the scores of 44-17 (versus Baltimore) and 34-7 (versus Chicago). It looked like they would likely steamroll the final opponent, another 9-7 opponent with a sub-par offense, but it didn't quite work out that way. The Sabercats shocked the world by pounding the Yeti into submission both on offense and defense with a final score of 34-17. The biggest key to the Sabercats amazing title run was the ground and pound duo of Jamar Lackson and Rando Cardrissian. This duo averaged 115 yards per game on the ground and the Sabercats ran the ball over 40 times in the Ultimus victory. The ability to continue to churn out yardage, move the chains, and control the clock was the recipe for success that they flawlessly deployed. Combining that ground game with a defense that allowed only 19 points per game over the three playoff contests and an even better 15.5 points per game against the top two teams in the league would be tough for any team in the ISFL history to overcome and beat. It is hard to say if this team will carry it over next season as they really just hit a hot streak at the right time but that doesn't matter now. What matters now is that they won the Ultimus, hoisted that trophy, and get to celebrate all the way up until Season 25 kicks off and it is back to business again for everyone.

Words: 428

Task #8:

Normally I would take a look at the offensive side of the ball when giving my take for an award winner and I would like to say Jamar Lackson should be the MVP. Today, however, I am looking at the defensive side of the ball and want to give an endorsement for the Defensive Player of the Year award. I think there are several strong contenders but none are strong than linebacker Galf Wilf of the Arizona Outlaws. When looking at the defensive players stat leaders this guy completely jumps off the page. He put up a gaudy 20 sacks for the season which is insane from the linebacker position. He was essentially a human bullet coming after the quarterback this season and was a large reason why the Outlaws were able to go 9-7 and make the playoffs as a two seed this season. However let's keep looking at the numbers because he was not a one trick pony. Wilf put up a robust amount of counting stats with 121 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 3 interceptions, and 20 pass deflections. Wilf showed immense talent and ability to not only harass the quarterback but cover tight ends and running backs with the interceptions and deflections and clean up a bunch of plays in the run game with his 121 tackles. Outside of the sacks Wilf did not lead in any statistic among his fellow linebackers but his all-around production was clearly head and shoulders above the rest in my opinion. It wasn't just the fact that his numbers were all around outstanding but he led the Arizona Outlaws to the leagues second best defense in points allowed. This shows that he wasn't racking up meaningless stats, he was meaningful impact in every game he played and in every victory the Outlaws had. Unfortunately the Outlaws were upset in the playoffs by the eventual champions but fortunately this is a regular season award. Looking at the rest of the field the next two choices would be linebackers Banks from New York and Mango-Panda from Sarasota. The difference here, other than the stats not quite being up to par, is that Banks were meaningless game stats and Mango-Panda led a below average Sarasota defense. Wilf's impact on each game is too great to overlook for this award which makes him the winner in my eyes. I think an argument could be made that Wilf should be in serious consideration for the MVP as well but that award rarely goes to a defensive player.

Words: 428