03-08-2021, 09:24 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-08-2021, 09:25 AM by IsaStarcrossed.)
6) Write 800 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.
With everything that has led to the Colorado Yeti making it to the conference championship game, I just knew I had to talk about what got us to this point. The story actually starts last season where we thought we had a solid roster after making a few free agent acquisitions that we thought would get us over the hump. Unfortunately, our quarterback was in his rookie season and we highly underestimated how much his youth would hurt the team as a whole through the season. After making it to the Ultimus in back to back seasons, we missed the playoffs entirely as we managed to only string together eight wins and lost out on the opportunity due to tie breakers against Sarasota. We knew then that things needed to change for this team if we were going to make it back to the promised land, so we started looking at how to shore up our team so that we could overcome the difficulty of Caliban's youth.
We started off by looking to find Caliban some help. He had two fantastic receivers already, but they were both speedy deep threats who could really hit the home run play, but didn't offer much underneath. We went into the market to find a couple of those short range, reliable guys that could be a safety valve for Caliban. We started off by grabbing our new tight end, Frank Michell. We knew that he was a dynamic pass catcher coming in and that his blocking would need work, but with the kind of offense we were planning to run, we didn't think he'd need to block often. We wanted as many people on the field as possible to give Caliban a chance to find an open target no matter the coverage. That is why our next target was wide receiver Raphael Delacour. We brought him in the be our wide receiver three, the guy who would be out there to make the plays when we were going to full yeet it. Before the off season was over, he proved his ability to strive in the short game and make plays after the catch. He became our number two option instead and we knew he'd fill the role well. With Caliban's weapons expanded, we knew we'd done what was necessary to help our young quarterback succeed. So we took a look at our defense where we only needed to add a single player. Our front seven was already nearly elite with players like Blackstone, Big Edd, Melvin Murder-Moose, and Adelie de Pengu. We knew this was a team that could be dynamic and create a ton of pressure, we just needed to find the missing piece that would make our 3-4 defense absolutely terrifying. Enter linebacker Rusty Rucker. We knew he was a capable pass rusher and that he'd fit right in with our deadly front seven and help to make quarterback lives nightmares.
With our off season complete, we were ready to start the season and see if our changes had any real impact. At first, we couldn't be sure as we started off slow. After having an incredibly preseason, we thought we were ready to hit the ground running. Instead we started off by losing three of our first four games. We began to get concerned because all of our game planning told us we were supposed to be a better team. It wasn't showing up on the field just yet. We adjusted a few things, began to find some variety in our offense, and then finally we took off. After starting 1-3, we strung together five consecutive wins that brought us to 6-3 on the season and put us in range of contesting for playoffs. After our rough start we still had three teams ahead of us, but we knew we had a chance and that is all we wanted. The next few weeks we had some very tough games against top conference opponents, the Wraiths and the Butchers. We lost both. We won three easier games that brought us to 9-5. We had locked in a winning record on the season and had already improved on the 8-8 season we had before. We wanted to do better though. We wanted playoffs. Our final two games were against the two best teams in the league. The NSFC Conference leader and the ASFC conference leader. Our road to the playoffs looked bleak.
The first game was against Sarasota and it was one hell of a game. It was a wild back and forth where the two teams spent most of the game tied and neither could find an advantage over each other. Late in the fourth, Sarasota took the lead with a field goal. Colorado couldn't respond and had to punt. If Sarasota could have burned down some clock, they likely would have won. Instead they threw an interception that set up Colorado for a touchdown on the very next play. Sarasota got the ball back with 2:41 left on the clock. They immediately threw a massive 75 yard dagger that put them back in the lead and left only a minute to play. Everyone thought the game was over. The Colorado's Leeroy Jenkins got open over the middle and returned the favor to Sarasota for a 75 yard touchdown of his own. This sealed the game for Colorado and gave them a chance to make playoffs.
All Colorado needed was for the Wraiths to lose to one of the worst teams in the conference and for Colorado to tie or beat Honolulu. Another last minute 75 yard touchdown from Colorado let them walk out of Honolulu with a tie and Philadelphia absolutely trounced the Wraiths. Colorado had made it back to the playoffs. They immediately started off by getting revenge against Chicago and are now ready to march into the conference championship against Sarasota, a team they just beat three weeks ago. Will their journey end here? Who knows? What we do know is Colorado made the right moves to make it back to the playoffs. They made the right moves to give them a chance. And if their luck holds out, they could make their third Ultimus visit in just for seasons.
(1043 words)
With everything that has led to the Colorado Yeti making it to the conference championship game, I just knew I had to talk about what got us to this point. The story actually starts last season where we thought we had a solid roster after making a few free agent acquisitions that we thought would get us over the hump. Unfortunately, our quarterback was in his rookie season and we highly underestimated how much his youth would hurt the team as a whole through the season. After making it to the Ultimus in back to back seasons, we missed the playoffs entirely as we managed to only string together eight wins and lost out on the opportunity due to tie breakers against Sarasota. We knew then that things needed to change for this team if we were going to make it back to the promised land, so we started looking at how to shore up our team so that we could overcome the difficulty of Caliban's youth.
We started off by looking to find Caliban some help. He had two fantastic receivers already, but they were both speedy deep threats who could really hit the home run play, but didn't offer much underneath. We went into the market to find a couple of those short range, reliable guys that could be a safety valve for Caliban. We started off by grabbing our new tight end, Frank Michell. We knew that he was a dynamic pass catcher coming in and that his blocking would need work, but with the kind of offense we were planning to run, we didn't think he'd need to block often. We wanted as many people on the field as possible to give Caliban a chance to find an open target no matter the coverage. That is why our next target was wide receiver Raphael Delacour. We brought him in the be our wide receiver three, the guy who would be out there to make the plays when we were going to full yeet it. Before the off season was over, he proved his ability to strive in the short game and make plays after the catch. He became our number two option instead and we knew he'd fill the role well. With Caliban's weapons expanded, we knew we'd done what was necessary to help our young quarterback succeed. So we took a look at our defense where we only needed to add a single player. Our front seven was already nearly elite with players like Blackstone, Big Edd, Melvin Murder-Moose, and Adelie de Pengu. We knew this was a team that could be dynamic and create a ton of pressure, we just needed to find the missing piece that would make our 3-4 defense absolutely terrifying. Enter linebacker Rusty Rucker. We knew he was a capable pass rusher and that he'd fit right in with our deadly front seven and help to make quarterback lives nightmares.
With our off season complete, we were ready to start the season and see if our changes had any real impact. At first, we couldn't be sure as we started off slow. After having an incredibly preseason, we thought we were ready to hit the ground running. Instead we started off by losing three of our first four games. We began to get concerned because all of our game planning told us we were supposed to be a better team. It wasn't showing up on the field just yet. We adjusted a few things, began to find some variety in our offense, and then finally we took off. After starting 1-3, we strung together five consecutive wins that brought us to 6-3 on the season and put us in range of contesting for playoffs. After our rough start we still had three teams ahead of us, but we knew we had a chance and that is all we wanted. The next few weeks we had some very tough games against top conference opponents, the Wraiths and the Butchers. We lost both. We won three easier games that brought us to 9-5. We had locked in a winning record on the season and had already improved on the 8-8 season we had before. We wanted to do better though. We wanted playoffs. Our final two games were against the two best teams in the league. The NSFC Conference leader and the ASFC conference leader. Our road to the playoffs looked bleak.
The first game was against Sarasota and it was one hell of a game. It was a wild back and forth where the two teams spent most of the game tied and neither could find an advantage over each other. Late in the fourth, Sarasota took the lead with a field goal. Colorado couldn't respond and had to punt. If Sarasota could have burned down some clock, they likely would have won. Instead they threw an interception that set up Colorado for a touchdown on the very next play. Sarasota got the ball back with 2:41 left on the clock. They immediately threw a massive 75 yard dagger that put them back in the lead and left only a minute to play. Everyone thought the game was over. The Colorado's Leeroy Jenkins got open over the middle and returned the favor to Sarasota for a 75 yard touchdown of his own. This sealed the game for Colorado and gave them a chance to make playoffs.
All Colorado needed was for the Wraiths to lose to one of the worst teams in the conference and for Colorado to tie or beat Honolulu. Another last minute 75 yard touchdown from Colorado let them walk out of Honolulu with a tie and Philadelphia absolutely trounced the Wraiths. Colorado had made it back to the playoffs. They immediately started off by getting revenge against Chicago and are now ready to march into the conference championship against Sarasota, a team they just beat three weeks ago. Will their journey end here? Who knows? What we do know is Colorado made the right moves to make it back to the playoffs. They made the right moves to give them a chance. And if their luck holds out, they could make their third Ultimus visit in just for seasons.
(1043 words)
![[Image: Untitled_Artwork.png]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/732271706806419517/769550826225795102/Untitled_Artwork.png)
![[Image: sketch1596853902954.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/732271706806419517/741483802865696870/sketch1596853902954.png)
