TASK ONE
I would like to start by looking at a team I think most of our users considered the favorite to win the ASFC: the Arizona Outlaws. This is a team that struggled through the early half of the season, winning just three of their first eight games and finding themselves chasing other perennial contenders and some surprising competition for a chance to appear in a playoff game. The second half of their slate was, fortunately, much kinder to them, and perhaps even more fortunately, the rest of the conference seemed to slip. Six more wins was just enough to allow the Outlaws to sneak past the Honolulu Hahalua for second in the conference, and although this team finds itself in unfamiliar territory playing in the wild card game, they managed to grit their teeth and ensure their fanbase would yet again get to see their team in a home playoff game.
The bigger surprise in the ASFC this season, however, may have been the shocking fall from grace we saw for the New York Silverbacks. Despite their relatively recent introduction to the league, this is a team that has time and time again managed to find success, including an improbable Ultimus victory against the Berlin Fire Salamanders. However, this season was not the same Silverbacks squad we are used to; despite opening this season 4-1 and positioning themselves as early favorites to make the playoffs, the Silverbacks dropped nine of eleven games down the stretch, finishing well outside of the playoff picture.
In place of the Silverbacks, we see a surprise challenger for the Outlaws: the Hahalua. It has been a rocky road since the Hahalua last appeared in the playoffs in season twenty-seven, and this season started no better for them, as they matched the Outlaws’ early showing of three wins through eight games. However, after starting the second half of the season with a dominant shutout victory over the Baltimore Hawks, the Hahalua added six wins down the stretch, and finished even with the Outlaws, although they tragically lost the tiebreaker and will be on the road for the wild card round.
All of that said, no ASFC team had a more complete showing this season than the Austin Copperheads, who, in spite of a few early missteps, took control of the conference relatively early and held on to finish the season as a twelve-win team. The Outlaws and the Hahalua are nothing to sneeze at, so the Copperheads shouldn’t get too comfortable with homefield advantage, but there is little doubt the Copperheads have earned the right to play on their turf.
Meanwhile in the NSFC, maybe the most surprising team in the league this season was the Chicago Butchers, who managed to find their way into the playoffs as a shocking ten-win team. Rookie quarterback Kazimir Oles Jr. had some mild growing pains, but stunned the league with his poise as he, backfield mate Madison Hayes, and lead receiver Mike Hunt showed time and time again what they are capable of doing with the football. What’s more, this team had the stingiest defense in the entire league, allowing just three hundred thirty points on their way to a wild card berth.
The Butchers’ opponents in the wild card are, of course, the perennial powerhouse Sarasota Sailfish. There was a lot of concern for both of these teams down the stretch, as both the Yellowknife Wraiths and Philadelphia Liberty were heavily in the hunt all season, and the Berlin Fire Salamanders even snuck back into the race late, but ultimately, the consistency of the Sailfish squad was enough to carry them back into the playoffs for a date with the Butchers in Sarasota.
And, of course, what playoff picture is complete without the looming presence of everybody’s favorite cryptids, the Colorado Yeti. Although this team cooled off as winter began to roll into the Rockies, they were easily the hottest team in football early, opening the season a sturdy 7-1. Even that early, the Yeti making the playoffs was almost a given, and despite winning just four of their last eight, they comfortably outlasted the Sailfish and the Butchers for first in the conference and homefield advantage for the conference championship. Once again, we have a dangerous Yeti team on the field, and they are not to be overlooked as the Ultimus looms.
This is an extremely difficult playoffs to call, as some of the better football teams on paper failed to secure homefield advantage and others failed to find their way into the picture altogether. I think if the Yeti can return to their dominant ways from the early half of the season, they might be the team to beat despite finishing with a worse record than the Copperheads (who are still, obviously, no joke); however, don’t count out the underperforming but dangerous Outlaws, the sturdiness of the Sailfish, or either of the surprise Butchers or Hahalua; anything is possible in the sim.
I would like to start by looking at a team I think most of our users considered the favorite to win the ASFC: the Arizona Outlaws. This is a team that struggled through the early half of the season, winning just three of their first eight games and finding themselves chasing other perennial contenders and some surprising competition for a chance to appear in a playoff game. The second half of their slate was, fortunately, much kinder to them, and perhaps even more fortunately, the rest of the conference seemed to slip. Six more wins was just enough to allow the Outlaws to sneak past the Honolulu Hahalua for second in the conference, and although this team finds itself in unfamiliar territory playing in the wild card game, they managed to grit their teeth and ensure their fanbase would yet again get to see their team in a home playoff game.
The bigger surprise in the ASFC this season, however, may have been the shocking fall from grace we saw for the New York Silverbacks. Despite their relatively recent introduction to the league, this is a team that has time and time again managed to find success, including an improbable Ultimus victory against the Berlin Fire Salamanders. However, this season was not the same Silverbacks squad we are used to; despite opening this season 4-1 and positioning themselves as early favorites to make the playoffs, the Silverbacks dropped nine of eleven games down the stretch, finishing well outside of the playoff picture.
In place of the Silverbacks, we see a surprise challenger for the Outlaws: the Hahalua. It has been a rocky road since the Hahalua last appeared in the playoffs in season twenty-seven, and this season started no better for them, as they matched the Outlaws’ early showing of three wins through eight games. However, after starting the second half of the season with a dominant shutout victory over the Baltimore Hawks, the Hahalua added six wins down the stretch, and finished even with the Outlaws, although they tragically lost the tiebreaker and will be on the road for the wild card round.
All of that said, no ASFC team had a more complete showing this season than the Austin Copperheads, who, in spite of a few early missteps, took control of the conference relatively early and held on to finish the season as a twelve-win team. The Outlaws and the Hahalua are nothing to sneeze at, so the Copperheads shouldn’t get too comfortable with homefield advantage, but there is little doubt the Copperheads have earned the right to play on their turf.
Meanwhile in the NSFC, maybe the most surprising team in the league this season was the Chicago Butchers, who managed to find their way into the playoffs as a shocking ten-win team. Rookie quarterback Kazimir Oles Jr. had some mild growing pains, but stunned the league with his poise as he, backfield mate Madison Hayes, and lead receiver Mike Hunt showed time and time again what they are capable of doing with the football. What’s more, this team had the stingiest defense in the entire league, allowing just three hundred thirty points on their way to a wild card berth.
The Butchers’ opponents in the wild card are, of course, the perennial powerhouse Sarasota Sailfish. There was a lot of concern for both of these teams down the stretch, as both the Yellowknife Wraiths and Philadelphia Liberty were heavily in the hunt all season, and the Berlin Fire Salamanders even snuck back into the race late, but ultimately, the consistency of the Sailfish squad was enough to carry them back into the playoffs for a date with the Butchers in Sarasota.
And, of course, what playoff picture is complete without the looming presence of everybody’s favorite cryptids, the Colorado Yeti. Although this team cooled off as winter began to roll into the Rockies, they were easily the hottest team in football early, opening the season a sturdy 7-1. Even that early, the Yeti making the playoffs was almost a given, and despite winning just four of their last eight, they comfortably outlasted the Sailfish and the Butchers for first in the conference and homefield advantage for the conference championship. Once again, we have a dangerous Yeti team on the field, and they are not to be overlooked as the Ultimus looms.
This is an extremely difficult playoffs to call, as some of the better football teams on paper failed to secure homefield advantage and others failed to find their way into the picture altogether. I think if the Yeti can return to their dominant ways from the early half of the season, they might be the team to beat despite finishing with a worse record than the Copperheads (who are still, obviously, no joke); however, don’t count out the underperforming but dangerous Outlaws, the sturdiness of the Sailfish, or either of the surprise Butchers or Hahalua; anything is possible in the sim.
