Tier 1 Task 1
Season Twenty-Seven in the ISFL will be remembered as an iconic moment in the league history as it marks the first season in the DDPSF 21 era. This is only my 6th season but I learned some key trends from the old era: new teams struggled to maintain consistency, Orange County dominated, game manager quarterbacks were overpowered. However, the sim team worked hard in the offseason to ensure that there was more parity and balance among teams and individual player builds. The first season in the new era has proven to have worked as far as creating unpredictability and shredding the old stereotypes that made the league somewhat of a rail shooter where everyone follows the same path if they want to win. I know some war rooms must have hated having to toss their old tried and true strategies out the window whereas other teams were likely more excited to not have as much pressure to have perfect strategies and gamble a little with their playcalling.
With that all said, that’s not to say everyone saw a new twist of fate or a better outcome on the season, some teams suffered similar fates regardless of the sim. In the NSFC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Berlin, and Yellowknife missed the playoffs. Baltimore is enduring one of their roughest stretches in franchise history. Since the most recent expansion, Baltimore has bled talent worse than mid-table Bundesliga clubs. In the midst of another lost season, Baltimore saw both their GM’s leave, trade away multiple players, some who made the pro bowl, and essentially watch themselves enter the winless season bookmark. Philadelphia is a very young team, and their 6-10 record is reflective of that. But their acquisition of pro-bowl RB Darrel Williams kept the team competitive during their retooling phase. Philadelphia scored a big win in the season finale against Yellowknife that kept the Wraiths out the playoffs. Berlin, also young like Philly, seemed to be a sneaky pick for the playoffs as last season they had the most sim luck work against them. However, the team struggled to make the initial transition a competitive one, mainly from stud running back Joe Petrongolo who had a very down season compared to his standards. The Wraiths were a half game from making the playoffs, they went 10-6 despite having roster of either clearly regressed players or young studs on the verge of becoming superstars. If people had seen the brutal schedule the Wraiths would be dealt, I’m sure less people would have picked them to make a deep playoff run.
In the ASFC, the Austin Copperheads slugged along with another rebuilding year. A key miscalculation effectively wasted their first new sim year, but Austin definitely has a lot of talent on paper, which is why people were shocked at the down year Zoe Watts had. Orange County learned the hard way that the new sim will punish teams that have glaring holes in their roster. Their 27 season playoff streak snapped due to not having any stable running back and having to over rely on a young QB testing a new build. All streaks have to end, but I bet 10 seasons from now, we’ll be looking back at this season as the biggest anomaly. For New York, some people may discredit their 1st place season in season 26, but they played the games given to them and won what they needed. Then they add one of the best CB’s in the league in Colt Mendoza. However, as solid as the defense was all season, having one reliable receiving option(no matter how much of a stud Kingston has been) likely led to the Silverbacks fall out the playoffs, ending the season on a 5 game skid. San Jose, essentially had the same problem, as much of a stud Ty Hood has been, overreliance on one player with no solid second option will stall your offense. San Jose had plenty of talent to make another run but everyone not named Hood on offense had very erratic seasons.
For the playoff teams, the ASFC had three teams equipped with strong offensive units whereas the NSFC had three of the best defenses in the league. New Orleans outgunned Arizona in the desert behind their trademark stifling secondary and another scintillating performance by Sloethlisberger who would be my vote for QB of the year. Sloethlisberger again would eviscerate the upstart Honolulu who emerged as late season contenders after their mid-season acquisition of Chika Fujiwara. The veteran savvy from the bayou proved too much for the inexperienced islanders. On the flipside, Colorado and their loaded pro-bowl laden defense, sneaking in by half of a game, grinded out the Butchers in Chicago and took out the proverbial favorites to win the title. However, they ran into the titanium buzzsaw from Florida who used their mix of balance everywhere to carry a dominating unit to a victory over Colorado and then New Orleans(both proved to be nowhere near equal) en route to their first Ultimus. And the scary part is that Sarasota could have acquired een more talent during the season but turned it down last second after deep debilitations.
