(S27) PT3 - We're halfway there

[Pib]

In the DSFL, Bean Beanman is on target to pick up defensive end of the year. He's absolutely crushing it and every time you refresh the index he seems to have added a few more sacks to his tally. With 37 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 9 sacks, he's on course to not only pick up the award but also match the DSFL all-time sack record. That's not bad for someone that also matched the tackles for loss record last season. When he eventually moves up to the ISFL, he's going to go down as one of the best edge rushers the league has ever seen. If any defensive player was to stand a chance of picking up the MVP award, I'd say it would be this guy.

Red Arrow Jr seems like a great shout for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He’s currently got the highest passer rating of any rookie, the second fewest interceptions in the league and is tied for the most passing TD’s in his class. That alone would be enough to make him a contender but when you then factor in the fact he’s leading all QB’s in rushing yards… he’s quickly turning out to be one of the steals of the draft.

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217 words

[DApolloS]

Logan Sarrasin and Duke Cheeks have been one of the most terrifying linebacker duo tge Royals have had I'm a while. They currently sit in the number 1 and 2 spots in the league respectively for tackles with Sarrasin at 63 and Cheeks at 59. The next best player is a cornerback, sitting at 51. They both have very similar stat lines this year and it's safe to say tge two of them should be the only real options to win the Linebacker of the Year Award and both also make strong cases to be finalists for Defensive player of the year as well, eith both also having a realistic chance at winning the award.

Another London player who should get legitimate consideration in multiple award categories this year will be rookie defensive end Glenn Smart. He is currently second at the position in tackles with 32, second in tackles for losses at 8 and also second with sacks, currently sitting with 6 (again, all those are at the defensive end position, not the league). He should finish with multiple nominations, and depending how the season plays out, could also punch for the awards. I believe the one award he has locked in is Defensive Rookie of the Year, seeing as all other rookies are falling behind him every time he hits the field.

[Memento Mori]

Offence gets all the love, so I'd like to talk about how some of the defensive award races are shaping up. I always find the linebacker award race interesting as it tends to lead to discussion about which stats are important at the position. The front runner has to be Sarasota's Derred de Ville, who's killed a lot of offensive drives so far this season. The former first round pick has 9 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 7 pass deflections. Sarasota's opponents will be absolutely sick of the bizarre 10 second wait before the next play after a de Ville sack.

Chicago's Juan Domine, though, poses an interesting challenge. While de Ville has excelled chasing down quarterbacks, Domine has been picking off their passes. Domine leads all linebackers with 3 interceptions, and his 7 sacks and 5 tackles for loss (in addition to a fumble recovery and 5 pass deflections) show that he makes plays in the backfield too. If both players keep going at this rate, voters will have to make a decision about what kind of linebacker they value more and who has been more impressive compared to their peers. There are other linebackers with 9 sacks or close to it, but they lack de Ville's gaudy forced fumbles stat or and tend to rank below him in other categories too. There's no linebacker quite like Domine this season though, as all other linebackers with multiple interceptions have 4 sacks or fewer, and none have more than Domine's 5 tackles for loss. Only Sarasota's Haha Mango-Panda has more tackles than Domine, and that's offset by the fact that Mango-Panda as five fewer sacks.

Of course it's way too early to call, but if the season ended today those two players would be the main contenders and I'd back Domine. (309 words)

[Pat]

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[SchwarzNarr]

This year it seems clear that there is a big discrepancy in running back statistics, and it will be interesting to see what happens as awards voters look toward the value in a team. With the traditional running back seeming to be boom or bust, I think it’s important to really look at all the stats involved with running backs. Richard Gilbert is currently the running back with the fifth most rushing yards - at 616. While this doesn’t seem great comparing him to Nakamura who has over 800 yards, Gilbert has one of the highest average yards per carry in the league and is tied for second in touchdowns. Couple that with his 250 receiving yards, and 34 pancakes, Gilbert is a monster for the team. With running backs being what they are in the new sim, he is producing enough and in the places that matter to make him incredibly effective for the Yeti offense. As the season progresses, Gilbert will continue to put up the yards - and if he continues to produce in this same way, he is one of the most effective running backs in the league right now. I think he’ll have a tough fight for running back of the year, but he should definitely be in consideration.

[Maglubiyet]

Prior to this ISFL season, the single game rushing record stood at 227, a mark set by the famed Orange County Otters QB Franklin Armstrong. Despite a poor passing outing, Armstrong's insane ground game (3 touchdowns on just 10 carries!) was enough to earn him the Offensive Performance of the Year award for Season 20. Now in Season 27, Armstrong's record fell after Baby Yoda's monstrous performance in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Liberty. Yoda did not just barely nip the record either--he massively blew past it, with a whopping 280 yards on the ground in a 31-24 victory for the Chicago Butchers. In addition to his yardage totals, Yoda added two rushing touchdowns, 29 receiving yards, and a couple of pancakes for good measure. If 227 rushing yards was enough to win Armstrong an award, Yoda's efforts to put up an additional 53 yards--almost 25% more volume--should easily see him capture the same Offensive Performance of the Year award. This is not simply a product of the new sim either--the player with the second-highest rushing yard performance this year was Rando Cardrissian of the San Jose Sabercats. Against the Baltimore Hawks, Cardrissian ran for 201 yards--an outstanding performance in its own right, but still a far cry from Yoda's week 2 line.

[excelsior]

Starting off with the QB position, I believe there's 2 QB's that are battling it out, and honestly either could win their positional award. Ben Slothlisberger and Luke Skywalker are both doing very well, each of them both near the top in all categories, flashing excellence in everything. Slothlisberger is 2nd in passing yards, 2nd in passing TDs, 1st in TD:INT ratio, 3rd in passer rating, and here's the kicker, 7th in completion percentage. On the other hand, Skywalker is 5th in passing yards, 1st in passing TDs, 3rd in TD:INT ratio, 2nd in passer rating, and 2nd in completion rating. Both are top in most categories, with Skywalker doing really good with a bit less volume. Slothlisberger is averaging about 1.5 more YPC, but both QB's have around the same attempts. The real seperation here will probably be team success, and even if Slothlisberger is playing better, Skywalker might get the nod because Honolulu is having more team success. If Honolulu makes a deep playoff run and NOLA is a first round exit or misses the playoffs, then I don't see Slothlisberger winning an award. 

For runningbacks, Tatsu Nakamura is currently ahead, but all the RBs are neck to neck, so one big game from anybody could put them on the map. He leads the league in rushing yards and TD's, and his YPC isn't that far behind, so if the season ended now he'd definitely win RBOTY.

[ZootTX]

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[ValorX77]

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[Faded]

Well, it's halfway through the season, so now we must start talking about awards, and pro bowls, and whatever. With this, there are some people on my team who are poised to receive recognition for what they have done in this season thus far. Luke Skywalker, while unfortunately stricken with being IA, is poised for at least a pro bowl season (according to the rulebook he is still eligible so yeah). While he is middle of the pack in yards, Skywalker is in the upper crust of completion percentage, tied for first in touchdowns, minimal interceptions, and almost has the best passer rating. On paper, if he keeps up what he's doing, he may be a sleeper pick for a slot in the ASFC roster of the Pro Bowl! With this, major props to a person who is on the other side of the ball, in the trenches; Ke'oke'o Kāne-Maika'i has been a nightmare for offenses since day one. Currently, he is the leader in sacks at a monstrous 11, and watching him play is always fun, as he continuously racks up hat tricks of sacks in games. With this, he is currently in the upper echelon of defensive ends in tackles with 30, and other than that he has mediocre stats. But I guess they say sacks are the new touchdowns? Poised for a pro bowl berth, if he keeps up his work, a sleeper for DEOTY.