Cat 1 Task 1
Season twenty-nine in the international Simulation Football League saw several teams finally break on the good end of the sim luck. Austin, Berlin, and Yellowknife were probably three of the most shafted teams in the league last season. Austin had to have had the most one possession losses, Berlin definitely lost the most games as the favorite, and Yellowknife not only got dealt a brutal schedule, but were upset in the final week of the season and missed the playoffs by a half game(yes, a team tied and that actually gave them an advantage down the line).
Other teams saw their luck vanish. Honolulu had the 1st seed last season and hoped to fight off regression to make another Ultimus run. Unfortunately, the tropical sting rays suffered a bad midseason stretch where they lost seven out of eight games, including a sweep to Austin, which eventually kept them out of the playoffs. New Orleans, after a miraculous run to the Ultimus, got hit hard by regression and retirements. New Orleans just did not have enough firepower for Sloethisberger and Barker to realistically compete with more talented(and balanced) rosters. San Jose continued to enter deeper into their post-championship swoon as they tied New Orleans for worst record in the ASFC. San Jose lost key players as cap casualties and retirement and felt the losses dearly all season. Orange County had another sub-par season as they continue to look for answers to complete their roster before their aging cornerstones are finally eroded too far.
In the NSFC, Baltimore had another tough rebuilding year, but they managed to win 2 games this season ---- two more than they did the season prior. Baltimore has accumulated a ton of draft capital, however, losing your top picks after one or two seasons can be just as crippling as drafting a bust. Baltimore is still years away from contending, but they should have enough talent next year to be a pest to any team that sleepwalks against them. Philadelphia again finished with a losing record, but they have replaced some of their aging players rather quickly. The Liberty are one of the youngest rosters in the league, so expect a breakout season within the next few seasons. Chicago’s contending window appeared to close nearly all the way this season. After a phenomenal 12-win season, the Butchers lost crucial long-standing talent in free agency and retirement, sinking them to a 6 win season. The Butchers have several aging key cogs that might expedite their rebuild if they do not fill in the holes on their roster quick enough. The Yeti seem to enjoy being the Green Bay Packers of the ISFL: they land a legendary QB, waste nearly all his prime, get one ring with him, never fully rebuild, land another stud QB right after, remain painfully average, fail to field consistently average defensive units. Colorado will always be in the mix because of Caliban, Gilbert, and Lim, but they lack so much talent to get out of the 7-10 win rut they are currently in.
For the playoff teams, Arizona again won 11+ games with a high-powered offense. What was once a weakness became a strength for them as free agent Tatsu Nakumura powered the Arizona rushing attack en route to winning MVP. Arizona also hit big on their star defensive signing as Rich Triplet had one of the best cornerback seasons in recent history, setting a league record with 46!!! pass deflections. Arizona still is cursed in the playoffs as they suffered another one and done playoff trip, losing at home in the conference championship to Austin. New York powered their way to the playoffs on the back of their talented defense, spearheaded by Jack Banks and the famed “New York Sack Exchange”. They secured home field advantage in the wild card but their inexperienced offense doomed them against Austin.
Sarasota, the reigning champs, continued their high-powered boom or bust ways back into the playoffs. Rapthalia Chan had a monstrous season, but Harrison Andrews was the headliner, garnering enough clout to enter the MVP race. Sarasota has a majority of their core in their prime, so losing in the wildcard should not hurt much when they can clearly bounce back next season. Berlin finally converted their sim luck to the good. Crafting a high-powered defense that stifled many opponents and covered for their turnover-prone ways. Berlin just needs to focus on their sim luck in the playoffs now, as they lost to Yellowknife in the conference championship despite dominating on the stat sheet.
Austin, coming off a rough 3-13 season with over 6 one possession losses, bounced back in a big way. Austin shot off to a hot 7-2 start, before faltering to a 9-7 finish. The snakes were led by phenomenal seasons from None Videl-San and Dex Kennedy, the latter winning LBoTY and garnering MVP recognition. The Copperheads also did not like playing at home as they finished with a 5-3 road record, and upended New York and Arizona on the road. Austin beat Arizona twice on the road and Lesean Paris Crooks intercepted Charlemagne Cortez in all three matchups. Yellowknife fundamentally handled Sarasota and Berlin before engaging in a week 16 rematch with Austin that saw Yellowknife squeak out a win after a final minute score and stop. The Ultimus played a reverse script where Yellowknife jumped out to a sizeable lead and forced crucial stops and turnovers to hold Austin off for the 19-24 victory.
