(S23) - Ultimus Week

[GotDatWeeFee]

5) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.



For my Ultimus Week submission, I’m going to choose to write about the data and statistics in the league. I will cover how important the stats and data are in this league when it comes to decision making and evaluation. I will also cover a specific stat or stats that I wish were already being recorded for further analysis. Furthermore, I will touch on what I’m doing to analyze and manipulate the data within the league so that others and myself can find and display some more interesting facts and analyses. Please keep in mind I am still relatively new here my first player creation having just completed his first season in the DSFL so consider that when I say something ignorant.

Some of the best things that come out of most leagues and that I have seen done in the ISFL as well as other leagues are ranking players by position based on statistics. The creation of these articles and media allows everyone to see a breakdown of each player and see why they were placed where they were and who the clear-cut top athletes are in the league. The need for this matters more in this league than in any other league. Stats and numbers in the NFL and NCAA only account for so much because many other variables exist one key one being the human one. Accounting for different levels of play and how each player plays with a specific attitude must be taken into consideration when ranking them and when deciding on who your team will pick in the draft. Within the ISFL this factor can for the most part be left out. This gives more weight and value to the concrete statistics they will help guide people into making the best decisions for their teams. It also helps each player see how they stack up against their peers and understand their self-worth and the value that they offer to their team.

A statistic that I wish was recorded within the league (and if it is, forgive me and direct me to the location of it please!) is the one on one statistics. This would help identify the elites on both sides of the ball. You could easily look at a defensive back and see how many catches/yards they allow every game and compare it with others in the league to see who is the best defensive back that week and that season is. This essentially already exists but it would require a person to look at a specific defensive back every week see how many yards and catches the opposing player they were matched up with had. Doing that would take forever especially when you are talking about trying to record it for every single defensive back in the league. This field of data would open a lot of statistical analyses that could be made. You would be able to look a quarterback’s potential QBR or completion percentage when targeting that defensive back. It would also show key one on one matchups that could be focused on during the game to add extra viewer excitement. If you have a star wide receiver going against a proven elite defensive back, you could see who truly is elite and whose numbers are just inflated. This single area of data collection could help with decisions from general managers when it comes to player decisions and could help voters when it comes to who deserves an award. This data is crucial and could be arguably the most important stat to look at for defensive backs.

This brings me to what I am currently working on and possible future projects that I would like to see implemented into the league. I am currently working on a script that will take in the existing data within the league index and allow me to manipulate it. The purpose of this is to allow me to write multiple articles rating each player in each position based on the stats that they put up each season. I plan to start with each position in the DSFL so that it can help players understand if they are trending in the right direction and help teams decide if they want a player or not. A future project I would like to work on or see implemented would be the one stated above with the one on one statistics for a defensive back so that we can try and see who the top defensive backs are in most situations.

In this submission I covered why the statistics in this league are extremely helpful and valuable for making decision and evaluations, I discussed potential additional stats that could be recorded to help improve decision making within the league, and I also touched on some of the things that I am working on or would like to see implemented into the league. This will hopefully help with new additions, innovations, and ideas within this league and community.

WC from Word: 828

[ddrector]

2) This week will see the S24 Ultimus and Ultimini races begin in earnest. In 800 words or more, recount any of the previous playoff cycles of either league. How did each team arrive at the playoffs? Were there any dark horse or Cinderella teams that went unexpectedly far, or any presumptive favorites that fell flat? How did the title game play out, and which players made their mark on the field? Tell the story of those playoffs as completely as you can. Do not simply recount your own experience in those playoffs or that of a singular team.

I would like to take this chance to recount the great playoffs of Season 21. First, let’s look at the contenders on each side and who got left out. As this was the last season with a ten team league only two teams missed the playoffs in both conferences. In the NSFC, the Hawks led the way with a 9-4 record. The Yeti were second with an 8-5 record and in the wildcard spot is the Wraiths with a 7-6 record. Chicago and Philadelphia both finished below .500, so there weren’t really any close playoff races as far as missing the playoffs, but a one game difference between first and second, as well as second and third means there were a lot of possible outcomes even as late as the last week in the season. In the ASFC, the Second Line looked like they were going to run away with the best record as they started the season with 9 straight wins. However, they lost their last 4 games of the regular season and the Otters took the top overall seed at 10-3. In third place was the Copperheads at 7-6 and like the NSFC neither San Jose or Arizona were anywhere close to .500. In the wildcard round the Wraiths traveled to Colorado and took care of business against the Yeti. The Second Line took care of Austin at home in a game that’s final score looks closer than it really was. In the conference championship round both road teams won. In the NSFC, the Wraiths got off to a hot start with a 24-0 lead in the second quarter. Baltimore tried to make a comeback but fell short as they lost 24-19. In the ASFC, the Second Line took a pretty substantial lead early on and they were up 17-3 at the half, but a few Otters scores later and the fourth quarter ended with it all tied up at 24 a piece. New Orleans was able to get in field goal range and kick the game winning field goal on their first drive of the overtime. How many times has neither one seed made the Ultimus Championship game? I can’t imagine it’s happened many times at all considering how much the sim loves home teams. So the Ultimus was set with the three seed Wraiths from the NSFC traveling to the two seed Second Line from the ASFC. The Second Line got off to a hot start in the Ultimus game with both Austin McCormick and Bona’beri Jones catching touchdown passes from Stan Francisco in the first quarter. Add on a Herbert Prohaska field goal at the end of the second quarter and it was a 17 to 0 game at the half. After both teams scored field goals in the third quarter Francisco found Forrest Gump on a 49 yard receiving touchdown to increase the lead to 26 to 3 going into the final quarter. After the Wraiths had to settle for another field goal early in the quarter the Second Line went on a long drive that eventually ended in a Marcella Toriki one yard rushing touchdown to make the score 33 to 6 with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game. The Wraiths did finally find the endzone with just over 2 minutes remaining when Cooter Bigsby hit Orien Drake on a 25 yard pass for the Wraiths only touchdown of the game. There wasn’t enough time remaining though as the final score was Second Line 33 to Wraiths 13. Looking at the box score for this game the offense for the Second Line was really clicking on all cylinders. Stan Francisco had an impressive 353 passing yards and 3 touchdowns and finished the game with over 100 passer rating. Cooter Bigsby had a decent passing game himself for the Wraiths with 278 yards and 1 touchdown. The biggest difference is when you get to the rushing section of the box score. Both Forrest Gump and Marcella Toriki rushed the ball 25 times and both for over 100 yards. Gump had 102 rushing yards and Toriki had 123 rushing yards as well as a rushing touchdown. For the Wraiths, they didn’t have much success running the ball against a stout front seven for the Second Line as Hanyadi only rushed the ball 11 times for 46 yards and Drake had 6 attempts for 11 yards. The total team yardage difference for the game ended up being 578 to 337 and the rushing yardage difference was the biggest contributing factor to this massive difference. The rushing success for New Orleans also meant they controlled the time of possession by a massive amount with 36:50 compared to 23:10. On the receiving side, both Jones and Gump had over 100 receiving yards in the game and both also had a touchdown. That’s right, Gump had over 100 yards both rushing and receiving in the game for a total of 221 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. That performance earned Gump the Ultimus MVP award, which was well deserved after such a great effort.

[Ace]

Task 5 -

It’s Ultimus Week! It’s always a fascinating time to go out there and get a boatload of TPE. I will say that had I not been exposed to this type of PT in the SHL world, I would’ve quickly shunned it and not participated, but the benefit is undeniable.

So far, my experience with the ISFL has been eye opening. The draft process is entirely unfamiliar – with my 10 years of experience in the SHL, it’s always been a true live draft. As a GM, I love the excitement of courting prospects and engaging with them to see what their level of interest would be in our franchise. There’s a degree of payoff as well, nearly immediately after you draft your prospect, you can engage with them in conversation, invite them to your Discord and community and get going right away. The fact that the ISFL draft is all pre recorded and these scouting departments and General Managers sit on their hands and manage to stay hush hush is pretty impressive. It’d take a lot of discipline and integrity not to ping the guy you were clamoring for in the draft once he miraculously fell to you. I’d want to shout from the rooftops and pop champagne bottles, and that’s possible in the SHL.

With that said, despite me thinking it’s a defined negative characteristic of the league, the ISFL certainly does well with the delivery of the draft. Having a live show with a crisp draft board and graphics for every pick makes it very intriguing. It moves at a faster pace than a live draft, and the hosts on the stream provide lively and often times educated analysis on a pick by pick basis. Unless your name is Arik Eller, and when you are picked, the commissioner disconnects from the stream and the whole draft goes sideways for about 2 minutes. Upon return, they just move on to the next pick like nothing happened. My wife was actually watching alongside me and laughing. “You fuckin’ broke the draft!” she joked at me.

I was picked up by Chicago. Bayley and Muford do a good job keeping it lively despite the fact that the Butchers are widely regarded as a basement team, the culture in the room seems like anything but that. It reminds me a lot of the way things are in the SHL, but the contract rules are certainly peculiar to say the least here. In the SHL, no matter what, you get three years of rights control on a prospect you draft whether you sign them or not. If the prospect signs a one year deal they remain a Restricted Free Agent, and other teams cannot bid on them unless they went untendered in contract negotiations, turning them into an Unrestricted Free Agent. When Muford informed me that at the conclusion of my one year deal I would be a free agent, able to sign wherever I wanted, it came as a bit of a surprise to me. Surely, a rebuilding team that is looking to get their feet underneath them should receive more support from the league than allowing a rookie to strong arm a franchise into chasing free agency immediately and leaving the team that drafted them at the altar? I would certainly expect there to be a better degree of asset management and player control for those that you spend a pick on.

I suppose I personally can’t complain about this rule however, as I could leverage it against Muford and Bayley and the additional members of the Butchers front office. I may not be a top end player for my class, but if I can continue this pace, I’ll be a more than serviceable defensive end. Now, because of the lack of restricted free agency, I can hit the market and see what kind of money I can reel in. I have no plans on doing media or getting a job here as my hands are full with the SHL, so I need to rely heavily on contractual compensation. Consider this my declaration of free agency I suppose, when in Rome do as the Romans do, right?

One thing I am having a hard time getting my head around is the overall time it takes to accurately re-tool a franchise. When I was drafted to Chicago, a few of my SHL buddies had a bit of a snicker about landing there. “They’ve always been in the basement” I believe one of them said. Was it inept management that led to the perpetual ineptitude? Or do people just give up and head out to where the grass is greener as soon as their deal expires? I think some improved parity could go a long way for the ISFL. Predictions got me a lot of TPE, and I basically copied the majority of the folks in that PT. It shouldn’t be that easy.

[Lightnoir]

15) Alright this one is easy because I can just choose my player's best game, luckily it was a phenomenal win for the entire team. That game is Week 10, Orange County Otters at Philadelphia Liberty. We find Philadelphia in an uncomfortable position: their record is 4-5 and they look like they're going to miss the playoffs if things don't change, and things don't look like to change. Their next four games are two home, two away, the home games are against juggernauts OCO and Colorado. Early on in the first quarter Armstrong makes a critical error in forcing the ball towards Eriksen, who picks it off. From there on they found it impossible to establish a tempo or gain momentum. Two touchdowns from Phoenix to Varga put Philly in good position, and OCO can only answer with a field goal. Right before halftime Armstrong makes a fatal error in getting picked off by Eriksen again, who takes it home for a defensive touchdown. At halftime the score is 21-6. From then on it was a defensive showcase as Liberty add another field goal in the second half and Orange County added a lone touchdown. The final score was 24-13 as Philly began a four game win streak that would ultimately just barely scrape them into the playoffs.

(217 words)

13) I think Safeties are underrated. A lot of times their stats get spread around, a couple of sacks, a couple of picks, a handful of tackles and that's it. They can struggle to get the INT numbers of a CB, or the tackle numbers of an LB. Sometimes you get a player who manages to be exceptional regardless. The Swiss Army Man I think should win Safety of the Year, is none other than Matt "Son of Havoc" Cross. Cross was third among safeties in tackles this season, bringing in a monstrous 119 tackles, but what he has on the lads ahead of him in that regard, is everything else. Cross added 3 picks, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 recovery this season, not to mention 12 PDs as well. He did absolutely everything. It'd be hard to take this award away from some of the other frontrunners (Blaylock comes to mind), but for this young man to fly under the radar the way he has is preposterous. He's the glue that holds together his secondary, like a melted cheese on a Philly cheesesteak, and if I were still working on the Awards Committee, I'd be putting this guy on the ballot first.

(204 words)

7) I think success starts at the defense. They buy time for your offense to take a breather, they frustrate your opponent, occasionally defenses score points as well. In that way a defense could single handedly win a game, theoretically. No one seems to have as many single-handed game changers on defense as the New Orleans Second Line. Two come immediately to mind: Mason Blaylock and Ugarth Dissector. For this prompt, I'm going to talk about Ugarth the Dissector. In terms of sheer tackles Dissector is all the way down at 15th (his companion Bode does most of the dirty work getting tackles over the middle) and yet he still racked up 121, averaging about 7.5 tackles a game. You'll find Dissector fails to top any one category, but he's a machine regardless, because his game allows him to do everything at once. Most LBs either specialize in run stopping, blitzing, or pass protection, but Dissector is able to do all of these simultaneously. Not only does he have all those tackes, he also knocked down 19 passes (I am massively in love with PDs, especially for LBs, so this is a big deal to me. An LB who can pass protect is worth their weight in gold) and sacked the quarterback 10 (!!!) times. He's an absolute engine of a player. He even got an interception (and forced a fumble) this season and took it back for a touchdown. There's literally nothing the man can't do. There's barely anything else you could ask of them, maybe some TFLs, but not a ton of LBs rack up that statistic. It's also absurd he can put up these numbers in a system that has him playing alongside over exceptionally skilled players. I feel a lot of players get awards or nominations because they have to pick up the slack from the rest of the team, but that could not be further from Ugarth's position. I also feel awards often go to one dimensional players who do one thing the most, which is understandable, but I think it can lead to players like Dissector, who contribute far more to their team with their versatility, in the lurch. I hope the Awards Committee isn't blind and can realize this gem of a player in his prime and get him the kudos he deserves. Although I bet he doesn't mind either way. His play has led his team to a god-only-knows-how-many playoff appearance, and he doesn't show any signs of slowing down yet.

(417 words)

[abh89]

7) Awards season is a big part of the offseason festivities. Take the stand, in 400 words or more, for one or more players that are not your own, and argue why they should receive awards glory. They can be your teammates or anyone in the league. How did their stats and on the field contribution contribute to their case this year?

The London Royals have a pretty stellar defense across the board, but there is one player that jumps off the stat sheets at you. That player is Juan Domine. From his first snap as a rookie, Domine took the lead of a veteran-heavy Royals defense and never let go. It is almost a given that you will find his name in the Defensive Player of the Game field week after week as he seems to be involved in every tackle or defensive stop. You name it, and he excels at it: tackles, tackles for loss, forced fumbles, sacks, interceptions, passes defended. He currently leads the league with 151 tackles, which is 13 more than second place. He is second among linebackers in interceptions and eleventh in the league. He is tied for third in forced fumbles. Domine’s impact is more than just pilling up stats though. When the Royal’s have had their backs against the wall and are in need of a defensive stop, Domine seems to be the one that comes in to save the day. On third down, if you are a running back fighting towards the first down marker or a receiver coming over the middle hoping for a quick catch to avoid having to punt you can bet that Domine will be meeting you there. In my opinion, his resume at a minimum is worth of the Linebacker of the Year title. I think he should be the lead candidate for Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year as well.
Another player that I feel stands out in comparison to his peers is Datsum Phastbawls. While he may not be in the running for Kicker of the Year this season, he seems like a slam dunk pick to repeat as Punter of the Year. Phastbawls leads the league in every counting stat for punters and has been a valuable asset for the Royals in the field position battle. With his 13 punts inside the opponents 20, he has given the Royals defense plenty of breathing room to get the stops they need to keep the opponent off the scoreboard. Also, with an average punt of 46.4 yards, it almost a given that he will flip the field on the opposing offense. His 71 yard long is also just 1 yard short of tying the league record. The only thing standing in his way may be an unwillingness to crown players with the same award multiple times in consecutive seasons.

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417 words

8) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S22 class and later. In 400 words or more, how has your experience been in the league? Who have you met that has made your time here more fun, friendly, and exciting? Have you been satisfied with your player’s early start? What was it like being drafted for the first time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for the entire league that you think should be implemented?

As an S24 player, I have not been a part of this league for long. That said, my experience in the league has been quickly evolving and becoming more involved every day, but more importantly it has also gotten more and more fun as I get more entangled in my team from an operations standpoint. I joined around the time the S22 playoffs were kicking off after stumbling upon a Reddit post inviting users to join the league. At the time it seemed interesting, but that was all I really knew. I certainly did not see myself being as involved in the league as I am now, but I would not have it any other way. As a new player that was quickly embraced and given opportunities by team leadership, I made my way into the Royals war room and have been trying to contribute as much as I can to show they made the right choice in taking a chance on me. I am excited for my future in the league and to see how my journey continues to unfold.
I mentioned how open my team leadership was to the idea of allowing such fresh players to be involved in different phases of team operations, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that those users are among my list of people that have made my time here more fun and exciting. I am talking about Sylphreni, Highhaschdi, modern_duke, DeadlyPlayer, and Exilizer. I appreciate the help and guidance, or sometimes just laughs, that each of them has provided along the way. Some other users that have been positive influences in my first season in the league, and happen to be teammates of mine, are Z-Whiz, Maglubiyet, crow19, and The_Kidd. They’ve each contributed to my success in different ways, from helping me improve my simming experience via competition to collaborating with me on media articles.
My draft experience was probably an uneventful one according to most people. I had been scouted, albeit briefly by most teams, but one really stuck out above the rest, the London Royals. My expectations on draft night were fairly low and I had estimated I was probably on the upper end of the mid-tier prospects. I was not too concerned about where I would be drafted, but I was surprised to have gone 23rd overall. It was also a huge plus for me that the team I felt was the best fit ultimately ended up drafting me. I feel a similar level of uncertainty for the upcoming ISFL draft, but this time around I think I have improved on my draft stock and expect to hear my name called at least a little bit sooner than pick 23, but the jury is still out on that one.

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461 words

[IHateBobNutting]

5) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.


I'm going to discuss which DSFL Playoff teams are statistically the best in different categories (through 13 games) as and how it affected the season and the semifinal playoff games.

Norfolk is far and away the best passing team. They are the only playoff team with more Touchdowns than Interceptions. They have 18 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. They also have the best Completion percentage and the best rating. No team is within 5 rating points of them. They have the fewest passing yards among the playoff teams but considering the other stats, Norfolk easily takes the Passing category.

London is the best rushing team and It's not much closer than passing. They have the most Yards and Touchdowns of any Playoff team. At first it seems like they're definitely the best team but regarding the most important stat (yards per rush) all 4 teams are within 0.1 yards per rush so it's more that they win on tiebreaker than it's a blowout.

You would think that Norfolk would be the best receiving team but they aren't. In fact, they may be the worst. Norfolk is first in touchdowns but is last in both receiving yards and yards per reception. Every team besides Norfolk has between 8 and 11 touchdowns. Kansas City has the most receiving yards and yards per reception making them the best receiving team this year.

Defense is going to be based on Sacks, Tackles for Loss, Fumbles Recovered, and Interceptions. Among playoff teams, Dallas is first in sacks with 30. London is first in tackles for loss with 43. Kansas has the most Fumbles Recovered with 8. London has the most interceptions with 12. Because London won 2 categories they're the best defensive team.

Every team except Dallas won an offensive category. This shows in how the season went as Dallas is the only playoff team with fewest than 260 points in the season. Dallas had 239 points. London won the most defensive categories but it doesn't show at all. They gave up the most points of any playoff team. They gave up 241 points. Norfolk gave up 240 points, one less than London. Dallas gave up the fewest points with only 219.

The semifinals matchups are The Norfolk Seawolves vs The Dallas Birddogs and the Kansas City Coyotes vs the London Royals. I'm going to go category by category and compare each matchup. First up is Norfolk vs Dallas. As we discussed earlier, Norfolk is the best passing team so that doesn't require further discussion. Dallas has more Rushing Yards and Rushing Touchdowns and Norfolk has a better Yards per Rush. Yards per Rush is the most important statistic in rushing but because it is a difference of 0.1 yards, the advantage goes to Dallas. Dallas has more Receiving yards and yards per reception and Norfolk has more reception touchdowns. Dallas has the advantage in more categories and in the most important category which is yards per reception so the advantage goes to Dallas. Dallas has the lead right now with an advantage in 2 categories to Norfolk's 1. For defense I'm going to combine the amount of tackles for loss, sacks, interceptions, and fumble recoveries. Dallas has 81 and Norfolk has 77 so Dallas has the advantage. Norfolk has a higher Field Goal Percentage and a better yards per punt average. Now both teams have the advantage in 3 categories. The 7th and final category is returning. Dallas has better yards per return for both kick and punt returns so they have the advantage and I think Dallas will win the game against Norfolk. Next is Kansas City vs London. Kansas City has the advantage on yards, completion percentage, and QB Rating so they have the overall advantage in passing. I explained earlier that London has the advantage in rushing so we won't discuss that further. Kansas City has more yards and yards per reception and London has more receiving touchdowns. Kansas City has the advantage in 2 out of the 3 categories and in the most important one (yards per reception) so they have the advantage in recieving. Kansas City has the lead like Dallas did earlier with an advantage in 2 categories to London's 1. Using the Tackle for loss, sack, interception, and fumble recoveries combined number for defense, London has 82 and Kansas City has 82 so it is a tie. Kansas City has a better Field Goal Percentage and London has a higher yards per punt average. Because we don't have a tie we won't be going to returning for a tiebreaker. Kansas City has an advantage in 3 categories and London has an advantage in 2 categories with 1 tie so Kansas City has the overall advantage and I think they will win the game. That means that Dallas will face Kansas City in the Ultimini. As a part of the Dallas Bulldogs, I hope we win the Ultimini. Despite my predictions being made with statistics, 1 game playoffs are very unpredictable and any player having a bad game can shift the game in an unexpected direction. I'm excited to see how the DSFL playoffs go.

[Bwestfield]

Tier 1 Task 1
There are many different things to write about here but one in particular has left its stain on the International Simulation Football League. It all started back in Season 1. In the inaugural season for the then National Simulation Football League (NSFL) everything was new to everyone. We were all still learning the ropes. Some took advantage of that situation. A few users then used multiple accounts to create an unfair advantage for their teams. The one in particular that I am referring to is ErMurazor. Right now I hold no ill will towards him but it is the one that affected me by far the most. Back in S1 through S3 when Er was head simmer, he was also using multiple accounts to get an advantage for the Arizona Outlaws. In seasons 1 The Outlaws won their first Ultimus trophy. Not too much was thought about it at the time as they appeared to be a good team in the league. I myself often joked in weekly point tasks that he rigged the sims in order to win. It is still uncertain if Er rigged those games so the Outlaws would win, I am not privy to that information, nor was I ever made aware of such a notion. However there always is the possibility that it happened. Season 2 rolled around and they won their second Ultimus. Again the team seemed good to the naked eye. They were drafting well and they kept winning games. When season 3 came around and they won again it became clear that something was amiss. One day the use leuchly or something of that effect was posted about a VPN problem. This led some users to do some investigating. They found that Er had been deleting moderation logs and deleting and editing posts. They had no hard evidence that he was creating ‘multis’ but it was all but confirmed. It took 3 seasons, 3 Ultimus championships until it was discovered. That took far too long and it caused too much harm. It created quite a ripple in the league, the punishment needed to be exact. Users were torn on how to punish him, a person with all this power, cheating the system for… what? Maybe he just loved to win. I know there have been media articles posted in the past about it, some even with his insight. There are just too many media articles to read and they are just too difficult to look for to bother. At that time there was already another user creating ‘multis’ that damaged the league. I would go so far as to say it may be the closest the league had ever come to folding. The league was in its infancy and was soiled. The user Noble (the other user creating ‘multis’) was also to blame but he was not as prolific as Er. The Outlaws were a great team with the multis but without them they were simply put, mediocre. Without the multiple users I do not think they were championship calibur, yet alone 3 in a row calibur. That also could simply be because they used valuable draft picks on those Er users. As soon as the users were removed the team was a shell of its former self. As a member of the Otters, who were constantly losing in the divisional game against the Outlaws, I was particularly upset when I found out and felt that I had been robbed. I had been putting forth my best efforts to get my player where he needed to be. The rest of the Otters team was just as determined, if not more than I was to win a championship. We were always so close, but we never won while Er was in charge. For me it was not until I got 3 championships of my own with the Otters that I no longer cared about the scandal that happened. I don't care to speculate how the other players on the Otters felt before and after the scandal leaked. Er was also the owner of the league at the time and iamslm22 took over those duties. Some players wanted a much harsher punishment than what was given to him after he was put in a position of power and abused it. Some argued that it wasn't just that he was put in a position of power, but that he was in a position of absolute power and through a few bad maneuvers made some mistakes which lead to his eventual demise. I for one hope this never happens again. A scandal like this would destroy any trust that has been built with the head office. That trust has taken several seasons to fix. But I do have to commend the head office on the work they have done to bring the league to where it is now and where it is going. You have all done a wonderful job. Thank you.

[slothfacekilla]

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Tier 2: Short Form Tasks (400+ words)
Choose up to TWO for 5 TPE each.
6) The playoffs have finally arrived. Choose one playoff team that is not your own from either league and recount how they got here in 400 words or more. What challenges and hurdles did they face in the regular season? Did they cruise into home field advantage or have to fight off contenders for the wild card? Are they led by MVP players on offense, or is a stifling defense the engine to their success? Don’t be afraid to go deep.

I am going to look at how the 9-7 Philadelphia Liberty managed to make the playoffs after missing the big dance in the previous season. After a disappointing 6-7 season, the Liberty were hungry for the playoffs with the ISFL's new expanded schedule. Quarterback Brock Phoenix was tabbed by many as a potential breakout candidate in fantasy circles, and with the offensive firepower around the young Quarterback it was easy to see that coming to fruition. Still, there were questions whether Philadelphia could leapfrog the Sailfish into the playoffs this season, as the former expansion team managed to grab their conference's last spot.

The early returns for the Liberty were good in preseason, which saw them go 3-1 over their exhibition contests. Their lone loss was the New Orleans Second Line on the road, which is a tough place to win in and nothing to be ashamed of. Their victories included two road wins over Orange County and San Jose, which gave the Philadelphia fans a lot of hope going into the regular season. The coaching staff hoped the Liberty would carry into the regular season.

Unfortunately for the Liberty, they lost their first two games to the Yeti and Butchers oddly enough with the same exact score of 19-17. These two losses were heartbreaking, and the new offense did not show up for Philadelphia. Luckily for the Liberty, that Yeti game was on the road so that was out of the way. The Liberty followed this up with a 51-17 trouncing of the Baltimore Hawks, showing that the offense was there and could come alive any week. Next was a huge road win over the Sailfish, the team they were once again battling for the playoffs. A loss on the road to the powerhouse Yellowknife Wraiths served as a small speed bump for Philadelphia. But two wins over the giants of the other conference, New Orleans and Austin, got their season right back on track.

They followed that up with a couple more losses, but a string of 4 wins would keep them in the playoff hunt. Two unfortunate losses to the Sailfish and Hawks put their playoffs hope in doubt for many Philadelphia fans. The home loss to Sarasota was especially tough, a home heartbreaker where they fell to the Sailfish by a single point. But, in epic week 16 fashion, the Liberty smacked down the Wraiths at home 35-17, led by star tailback Sam Torenson's 112 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. The Liberty defense intercepted Cooter Bigsby twice and the Liberty were headed to the playoffs! It was a dramatic ending to the Liberty's season, and they will look to play spoiler in the upcoming playoffs.
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7) Awards season is a big part of the offseason festivities. Take the stand, in 400 words or more, for one or more players that are not your own, and argue why they should receive awards glory. They can be your teammates or anyone in the league. How did their stats and on the field contribution contribute to their case this year?

For running back of the year in the NSFL, I would have to go with Nakamura for the Orange County Otters. The young tailback managed to lead the entire league in rushing yards by over 100 yards, and did so with the highest yards per attempt of any running back in the index (I did not include anyone listed at FB and obviously not at QB). So even though Nakamura had the most rushing attempts of anyone in the league, he earned the rushing crown with efficient running as well. Nakumara also was productive in the scoring department, scoring 9 rushing touchdowns for the Otters in the regular season. This was tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns for all NSFL players last season. First place only had 4 more touchdowns than Nakumara as well so the gap was not huge between the two. Nakamura also had the longest single run of any running back this season, a 43 yard scamper. While this doesn't really mean a lot for the award, it just shows how explosive the young back is. I would have liked to see him do more in the passing game, he only had 112 receiving yards last season. But since it is harder for me to sort those stats with other positions I will give more weight to his rushing prowess. Good job Nakumara!

For receiver of the year in the NSFL, I would have to go with Saba Donut from the Arizona Outlaws. Donut led the league in receiving yards with 1420, posted the highest average per catch at 18.4 yards, caught the second longest reception of the season at 77 yards, and he led the league in touchdown catches with 12. An all around dominating season for the Donut man! With a young Passman manning the other main receiving position for the Outlaws, Donut was a favorite target of quarterback Jay Cue, and both of these players should receive considerations at their positions. Donut was also useful in the kick return game, so the special teams contributions only highlight his worth to the Arizona team. I think he'll catch the award this season.

For kicker of the year in the NSFL, I am going to have to go with Banana from the Colorado Yeti. Banana had the best field goal percentage of any kicker in the league last season, and this was while he was tied for the second most field goal attempts in the league. Banana did miss one extra point, but kickers who had a perfect extra point percentage both attempted less extra points than Banana and also had worse field goal percentages. So I gave the edge to Banana over them. Banana had the third longest field goal make of all the kickers, and only managed to miss one 40-49 kick for their lone mistake all season in the field goal department. The combination of good percentages and high attempts on both extra points and field goals gives Banana the kicker of the year for me.
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Short Form Tasks

6) The playoffs have finally arrived. Choose one playoff team that is not your own from either league and recount how they got here in 400 words or more. What challenges and hurdles did they face in the regular season? Did they cruise into home field advantage or have to fight off contenders for the wild card? Are they led by MVP players on offense, or is a stifling defense the engine to their success? Don’t be afraid to go deep.

I will try to describe how New Orleans managed to get into the playoffs despite allowing more points than actually scoring. This and the fact, that they are still number 2 in their conference was pretty astounding to my eye.
First off i looked at the team stats. It immediately stood out to me that they were first in tackles by quite a big margin. However, this is not really a positive thing to me as i shows, that the defense had troubles to stop the opponent from going down the field. And my assumption was not far off, as they allowed the second most yards over the course of the season. The inability to stop the opposing offense was a glaring weakness for the Second Line. To be honest i was surprised to see them beeing that weak. i have to admit, that i didn't follow their season in detail so i wasn't expecting that from a playoff team. While they couldn't stop anybody i have to pay respect to their potential for creating big plays on defense. With 28 turnovers on the year they led the league in taking the ball away. This performance at creating turnoves was the reason why they were able to secure some of their closest wins. The most outstanding players on the NOLA defense were Mason Blaylock and D. Rector. They combined for an impressive 11 turnovers in total.
Another fact that is not to be overlooked is that out of their 9 wins seven games were decided by seven or less points. In the games they lost only 3 times they lost in one score games. So I would say that when they lost, they lost by a pretty big margin. So we could assume they got a bit lucky here and there.
On offense the team performed above average. They finished siyth in yards and fifth in points so they were good, but not great. Their passing attack ranks seventh in the league, which was a bit of a disappointment for a team with high aspirations as NOLA have. E. Barker just managed to get over 1000 yards and got to the endzone 6 times. Their rushing game was just a little bit better. They rushed for over 2000 yards but were not really efficient in doing so as they scored only 14 touchdowns.
If they are not able to get into playoff shape in time, i only see a small chance to make a run at the title. I still see them winning in the wildcard game as they have homefield advantage there but i fear that the otters are too strong to beat on the road.

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8) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?

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My player is with the Honolulu Hahalua playing linebacker for the expansion franchise in their second year. The team is still in building mode as the most players on the team are still very young at this point. There a bunch of holes in the roster but if we would be able to fill them with the right players we can rise to a competitive play off team within a few seasons. The most glaring weakness right off the bat would be the position of the quarterback. Ravens player "Corvo Havran" maybe has played his last season and is about to retire soon. He will leave a big hole on the roster. The next quarterback stepping into these huge footsteps will be Luke Skywalker. Right now he was playing his last season with the Norfolk Seawolves. If he remains to be the quarterback is pretty much up to him, as he is not what is considered a max earner. He will have to improve his earning rate to be able to keep up with the other quarterbacks in the ISFL. Another position that has to be adressed in the near future would be the defensive line. We are pretty poorly set at defensive tackle with two players who are not regularly updating. They are sitting at 343 and 305 TPE, which simply is not enough to create a consistent pass rush and also will be lacking in terms of stuffing the run game. If we can't land a top player in free agency we will definitely have to look in the upcoming draft. Also at cornerback there is a need for antoher player as Victor Moreno went inactive.
On the other hand let's look at the positive aspects of the roster. There is still a season without regression for the top receiver Jed Podolak. His peers William Alexander and Jacoby Clay are good earners, especially Clay. At running back we also can look into a bright future. Gucci has already overtaken Ruff Ruff in terms of TPE and I expect him to be featured more heavily going forward.When Podolak finally reaches regression Clay will be ready to eventually take over from him. Defensive End also is a position where we can expect to improve drastically in the next 2 season. Logan Noble Jr is a decent earner and still 2 years away from regression. Finally at linebacker the two young players Jack Banks and Heinrich Kackpoo seek to become the successor to Mack Arianlacher. Jack Banks is earning well and was playing his second seson in the ISFL. Kackpoo is in his rookie year and among the top earners of his draft class. If we can get the important picks right, there is a real chance to take on the established teams of the ISFL.

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1) The league has a rich and fascinating history, and our perspectives on it differ from person to person. In 800 words or more, describe any significant non-playoffs moment in ISFL or DSFL history, whether you were around for it or not. Describe the context, the significant members, and the events. What exactly made this event so famous (or infamous) and why does it deserve to be remembered?

The S22 draft will go down as one for the ages. The context? The year 2020, before the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Sports were booming and the center of much online conversation. The league devised a strategy to recruit a ton of people from Reddit, with plans to hit the massive sub r/nfl. Nobody had guessed had well it would work. The influx of players following this recruitment push was staggering; they just kept coming at all hours of the day. Sim football had a ton of allure to avid fans of the game, it turned out. Just a few weeks after the Super Bowl, right as real life football was fizzling out, NFL lovers so were given something to turn their attention to. The prospect count for the S22 draft was over 200, enough to fill entire teams many times over.

The recruitment was so successful that word spread outside ISFL forums. People in SHL were talking about it; the biggest class any sim leagues like ours had ever seen. As the then Recruitment Head of SHL, I was intrigued to hear about such a successful recruiting campaign. I had to be a part of that class and see what it was all about. My old player, Wraiths wide receivers Tommy Helanen, was retired, and I was reborn amid a legendary draft class of epic proportions. Thomas Passmann, a S22 recreate, would be one name among the masses, a tiny part in a spectacular event. I imagine many recreates also created new players as I did, wanting to be written into sim league history. This wasn’t just a draft class, it was a movement, the beginning of a new era for the league. The massive growth would undoubtedly lead to major changes, we knew it then, and it has come to pass. We’re seeing the effects of such growth now, a few seasons later, with the league renaming and moving away from jcink. I think the case for S22 being the reason for this is compelling, if not 100% certain.

GMs were overwhelmed trying to scout all the new people before the draft, with mass messages sent out to the dozens of prospects. The refined personal touch of scouting that normally accompanied these sorts of messages was lost in the rollout; the sheer number of prospects required generic surveys. It would breathe new life into the DSFL though, new enthusiasm would surely follow a ton of new players. And with the growth in the number of users, and even more of them being retained that expected due to the amount of free time we all had when coronavirus lockdown shut everyone inside their homes with nothing to do in March, there had to be something done to make room for the new players. The ripple effects of it all just kept reaching further and further. The additions were obviously necessary, the problems with trying to fit so many new, young players on the existing franchises with limited spots were glaring. They were fixed by S22 NSFL expansion. The two new teams would provide additional space and accommodate this massive draft class, providing room for the upward mobility and swift progression that makes sim leagues enjoyable. This took place in April, 2 months from this initial recruitment, and it is evidence that the effects of this massive draft were seen for quite awhile to come.

It deserves to be remembered as the turning point for the league, the reason why it morphed into something more than it was. The driving factor behind a number of changes that altered the sim league experience in ways we never could have imagined, that made the league abound with vibrancy and new life, and that even would indirectly help the other affiliated leagues as the new ISFL players learned and read about other leagues like it. Quantifying all the effects or predicting what may continue to happen in the future will be impossible, but this draft will surely be the stuff of legend, a mythological take for seasons to come. I will be proud to say I was a part of it and recount was it was like to be there. It was bigger than me, bigger than any of us; it was one of the greatest drafts in sim league history. Actually, not just one of the greatest. In my mind, it was the greatest of all time. I do not see another draft having the perfect storm to be so monumental. No draft can compare to the wonder of S22.

Not every one of S22 stuck around, of course, but a great many S22 players are still here and making a difference. Perhaps in the future, we will deliberate if the S22 players drafted outside the top 100 who become surprise stars were the biggest steals of all time. In a draft so deep with so many rounds of viable players, people will surely talk and rate each team’s draft. They’ll muse about how the choices in S22 set some teams up for success, and how others stumble, ponder what could have been different, what might have been if things played out different. Time will clear up all mysteries, and in hindsight, we will see the full reach of the S22 draft.