(S5) - Weekend PT #5 - Reflections

[Raven]

Written: Must Include 150 Words. The season is coming to a close and as such it's time to do some reflecting on the season. Simply write about a season making, or breaking, event that your player/team had experienced.

I think the biggest event our us this season was the 5 win streak we went on after starting the season 1-4. I`m not sure if it was some line changes or if we suddenly just started to click, but we tore it up a stretch there. Winning 2 home games and 3 away games. The away games were against the Yeti and Legion, which we were expected to win. I think the big one was the away game against the Outlaws we won. Which was huge and ended up giving us enough wins to make it to the playoffs passing the Philadelphia Liberty.

That turn around did a lot for us as a team and I definatly think the moral boosts we gained from it ended up helping us so much the rest of the season. After the winning spree we didn't lose any games which we shouldn't have which was brilliant, because before we lost a few questionable games.

[37thchamber]

After a poor start to the season, the Hawks had a big turnaround with their five game winning streak mid-season. Key among those wins was the convincing home win over the NSFC regular season champion Wraiths. The Murder Chickens emerged 27-16 winners in The Aviary, with Gosh Jarden's late touchdown reducing an eighteen point lead to something a little more respectable. Ultimately, it was that win, that separated the Hawks and the Liberty in the race for a playoff berth. Both teams ended the season with 8-6 records, and almost identical point differentials, but the conference record tiebreaker settled it, and Baltimore's home win over the Wraiths was something the Liberty could not match.

Perhaps even more crucially for the Hawks, it showed that they are still a solid matchup for the Wraiths. Their narrow defeat in opening week had many asking questions about whether the Hawks could challenge their Yellowknife rivals for NSFC dominance, but a convincing result in the return fixture seems to have changed the landscape of that discussion and sets up an interesting NSFC Championship Game in Yellowknife next week.

(184 words)

[iamslm22]

The moment that turned the Hawks season into a playoff season was in week 7. The Hawks started out the season 1-4 and were in dire straights. People were talking a lot of smack on the team in spite of tough close losses to division rivals Yellowknife Wraiths and Philadelphia Liberty. The Hawks went into Colorado and got the expected easy win. But starting out in Week 7 they had a stretch of tough yet winnable games. They went into Arizona and wound up beating the Outlaws in spite of many doubting they would (Hawks beating the Outlaws at least once is always a tradition). The Baltimore offense against Arizona was straight up clicking. Avon Blocksdale through for three TDs and no interceptions as well as over 350 yards. Alexandre Leclair caught 161 yards, Trey Willie over 100 yards and a TD and John Wachter, star Rookie, Caught two TDs. Additionally Owen Taylor ran for over 100 yards a TD. This game is the one that turned it around.

169

[run_CMC]

[Alfredo_Pasta]

I'm here today to reflect on this past season and a moment that was a making point for my Portland Pythons team. There wasn't really any one moment. We had several different things happen. I would say it started in the dsfl draft. Getting the biggest steal by far was getting the best receiver in the game, Dwayne Aaron, and getting him late. Another defining moment for the Portland Pythons was getting blessed storm from tijuana. To this day I will not understand why they did such a stupid trade. Another defining moment was picking up Boro Gore off the waivers. Boy was that a big move. He has been an absolute beast for the Portland Pythons. He secured the most touchdowns by running backs this season. And he split time with two other running backs. And of course our last big defining moment was picking up Thomas Kane the third from the waivers. He's been absolute beast in the linebacker position. He's recorded a sack in every game he's been in this season. And of course, our gm PDXballer, and his endless testing and continuously trying to make out team the best. He definitely has and he is the reason the Portland Pythons are the best team. If we would of had a certain other gm we would of been four and eleven too.

Words:225

[SwagSloth]

For Eric Kennedy, no single moment stands out compared to the enormity of what was accomplished this season. In addition to being part of the Wraiths’ best season ever at 10-4, Kennedy also had his best season ever as an overall player, a season so good that it was mired in controversy. Despite being rather mediocre for several seasons, Kennedy’s goal has long been to become respected as a dual-threat both on the ground and in the air. S4 was a big step forward as he rushed for 361 yards (at 3.0 YPC) and put up 66 catches for 503 yards. These aren’t big numbers by any means, but for a player that had struggled since entering the NSFL, it was progress.

This season, the Wraiths found a winning formula. One that nearly broke multiple records. Embracing the slot receiver position for the first time this season, Kennedy was given an opportunity to showcase what he could do. And, as the Wraiths pivoted to a strong passing attack after the rise of Mat Akselsen at QB last season, that increased role in the passing game came with a lot of opportunity. The results spoke for themselves. He broke the current season catch record with 130 catches. He also outperformed the previous total yards record with 1655 yards, though he still came in 2nd place in that category as Bradley Westfield shattered his own record with an amazing 1756 yards. And he walked away with 14 receiving Touchdowns, which is more than twice the number of all-purpose Touchdowns he achieved the previous season.

Of course, success always comes with controversy when it comes out of nowhere. Especially in sports. People had overlooked Kennedy for too long to be able to accept him as an all-star player. Accusations were made. Some claimed that Kennedy was using PEDs while others flat-out accused him of playing dirty on the field. Even the Wraiths were caught in the cross-fire as other teams questioned aloud if they were using illegal means to find success. Fortunately, a deep review by NSFL officials cleared his name even though there was never much evidence to begin with. Success at the highest level tends to be a monopoly in the NSFL and it’s a hard glass ceiling to break, but somehow, Eric Kennedy has found a way to do just that. And now he will be a name that all NSFL fans recognize, not just the Yellowknife faithful. Of course, he’s far too unconventional to receive a positional award. Despite his numbers, he’s not a Wide Receiver and his usage doesn’t match that of a traditional Running Back. However, with over a 1000-yard surplus and double the number of Touchdowns from his last season, it would be hard to argue that Kennedy doesn’t deserve Breakout Player of the Year. Awards aside, though, it has been a long journey to the top for this multi-faceted player. Only time will tell if he can continue to perform at this level for many more seasons or if S5 will turn out to be a magical outlier in an otherwise mundane career.

518 Words

[PDXBaller]

The Philadelphia Liberty had a rough season this year despite the big trade to get elite wide receiver Josh Garden and the free agent signing of Jaylon Lee. We had high hopes going into the season and the moves made were great to help shore up our weaknesses, but after finishing 8-6 and tying the Baltimore Hawks for the second best record in the NSFC, we fell short of the playoffs after making it the last 2 seasons. The scheduling for the Liberty was tough and after going 3-3 in the conference, we lost the tiebreaker to make to the playoffs. I think the turning point was our loss at home against the Wraiths in week 2. I know it was pretty early in the season, but losing home games is critical especially against a division rival. It’s tough to bounce back and winning at home is a resounding way to illustrate consistency in a playoff contender. I’m looking forward to next season, but the Liberty will need to play more consistently throughout the season.

[Bwestfield]

There was no one point that made or did not make our season. But upon reflection I do recall be disheartened when we lost our first game of the season. How could you go from winning the ultimus trophy to losing the first game? We were supposed to get better, not worse. I'm not saying that the San Jose Sabercats are a pushover but we should have won that game. Well now it's time for playoffs and I don't know who we will face because I am unfamiliar with the tie breaking rules but whoever we face I sure am glad we locked up home field advantage. All the teams in our division are very good in their own way. Every little bit helps. The orange county otters play hard week in and week out. It doesn't matter how you win. It just matters that you do. Ultimus here we come!

[ralams123]

This season was not at all what Jonathan expected. Jonathan knew that he would be competing all season long for a spot but was still hoping that his stats would on par with the other big name DBs in the league , sadly that was not the case. His stats were better than his rookie campaign and his sophomore year was spent in the DSFL so he had a lot to prove. with a couple games left in the season Jonathan finally showed his worth in a Week 12 win against the Baltimore Hawks. Jonathan caught his first interception of his NSFL career and his only one of the season easing what was seemingly a rather underwhelming third year. Hopefully in the playoffs Jon can step up and prove his worth on the team and show a good reason why he should be kept on the Otters as his contract is slowly running out.

(153 Words)

[White Cornerback]

While not neccessarily a season ending moment the yellowknife loss to san jose sabercats at home was certainly a season changing moment this season z in the final two games of the season yellowknife went on to pummel boh the legion and the yeti away from home and had they not have lost previously to san jose c Yellowknife would have clinched home field advantage with the best regular season record in the league over the orange county otters z instead because of the loss should yellowknife beat the hawks in the conference finals they will play the otters who will be defendin their home turf infront of a sold out crowd who will be cheeringb them on to hopefuly their second consecutive ultimus trophy Z Yellowknife will now face an uphill battle to defeat the otters and attempt to secure their first ever ultimus trophy win in season five but you cant help but think z that win in san jose could have dire consecuences