(S23) - Ultimus Week

[WildfireMicro]

5) Since I can write about anything league related in this tier, I will discuss my experience with my first two seasons in the league. I came into the league when quarantine was in full effect, and I had left my former main sim league due to the drama. I had heard about this league before, but the fact that it is fourm based intimidated me. But with this newfound freedom I figured I'd give it a shot just to see if I can get away from the boredom. I joined the league, created Eric Richards, and got to work on the Rookie Task Points.

The Task Points were mostly easy but very time consuming. The most challenging one that I still hate to this day is creating a Wiki. I have a lot of issues with that because no matter what I try to do with this Wiki code, I always need help to make it look good. That is definitely one thing that needs improvement and refinement in this league. The Rookie Mentors were very helpful in that regard thankfully. But moving away from that, I was immediately smitten with the Media section that let me flex my cretive muscles and create a backstory for my player.

I loved the fact that we can make league money from doing things that I already loved doing anyways, and I wrote more words there then I had in many months. I wrote stories more because I had an idea then for the money, so it was a win win. It, along with NSFL Ramblings, was a thing i became known for as they mentioned it in both of my drafts. I played ok in all of the prospect games, but that was because it was before the updates were applied.

I was extremely excited for the DSFL draft, where I was picked in the third round by the London Royals. Everyone in the Royals locker room waa extremely excited for the season, helping me get excited about a sim league season for the first time in a long time. The now GM of the Royals Sylphreni helped me get my first episode of NSFL Ramblings off the ground by inviting me to his podcast and donating the episode to me. We ended up just barely being able to makr the playoffs when the Portland Phythons blew their opportunity to make the playoffs by losing both of thier final games while we won at least one of ours.

We were riding high, especially after we upset the Minnesota Grey Ducks with an Overtime Field Goal to make the Ultimini. The locker room was partying like mad after that, though the party ended when we lost to the Luchadores, but still it was a fantastic season. After all of that, I ended up winning DSFL Linebacker of the Year, which surprised me a lot. I was in the Awards Committee and did nominate myself, but I did not expect to win. I was very happy to accept the award and the locker room was extremely hyped for me.

Afterwards, it was time for the NSFL draft. I was admittedly not a max earner during my first season, so maybe that's why I fell to the 4th round. I was extremely tense during that whole draft until I was finally picked by the Chicago Butchers. Even the GM of the Butchers, Bayley, said I was an insane steal. He still says that by the way. I was determined to be a max earner the whole season, and I think I reached that goal. My second season was the one where I really immersed myself to the league and put the most time into it. On the field however the season didn't go so well. We only won 3 games. The first was a win over Philly, then a win over Arizona, then a shocking blowout of New Orleans. The whole locker room was hype after that last one.

The whole season however playoffs were a pipe dream. We knew it was q season of rebuilding and upgrading. We pushed our players hard to upgrade, and hopefully next season will be a lot better. The locker room was still a lot of fun however and we were always very supportive of each other. The only thing I say can improve morale is to bring back Game Balls to determine who made the most impact on offense and defense every game. The Royals did that and it was great.

Overall I really enjoyed my first two seasons in the league. Thier were a lot of ups and downs and it was very balanced. I went from the height of all winning a championship to the low of a 3 win season. I wouldn't change a thing however. Thank you ISFL for becoming my new main sim league, and here's to many more seasons to come.

[MrStennett]

Task 7

I'm going to start with why London Royals linebacker Juan Domine should win the DSFL Defensive Player of the Year award. I know that no one in awards land really gets impressed by tackles. It's all about the flashy stats, right? As Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friend. Domine not only led the league in tackles, he owned the spot. He had over twenty tackles more than the player in second place. Domine's single-handed domination of the middle of the field was one of the key factors for the Royals to go 6-2 over the course of their last eight games and end up making the playoffs when it looked like they'd be lucky not to end the season in last place. All the tackles are nice, but Domine certainly wasn't a one-trick pony. He filled the stat sheet across the board, amassing three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, three sacks, two interceptions, and seven pass deflections. While none of those are huge numbers, it proves that Domine was solid in all aspects of his game, including stuffing the run, rushing the quarterback, and playing lockdown coverage over the middle. A vote for anyone for this award not named Juan Domine would simply be foolish.

Next, I'm going to lay out the case for Otters quarterback Franklin Armstrong to once again be the ISFL MVP. He once again had a spectacular season all the way around. He led all quarterbacks in rating at 88.2, five points higher than his closest competitor. He was second in the league with twenty four touchdown passes, and was the only quarterback to throw single digit interceptions at just eight. That's just one pick every two games! Everyone knows by now though that Armstrong isn't just a threat with his arm. He can use his legs as weapons at his disposal as well. He racked up over four hundred rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground, tied with Jay Cue for the most among quarterbacks, but the most impressive stat related to his rushing ability is how he broke off a season long run of seventy one yards! Fully into regression at this point, Armstrong is still putting up MVP caliber numbers and making dominating the league look easy. There are some other guys out there that have flashy numbers here or there, but don't allow yourself to be fooled. Armstrong is still the total package and absolutely deserves to be taking home this award.

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Task 9

I'm going to pick a position that is near and dear to my heart, and quickly discuss who is one hundred percent the best defensive tackle in league history. I suppose I could throw my humility out the window and try to convince you that my very own Thorian Skarsgard fits the bill, but we both know that would be quite the lie. The real deal best defensive tackle in league history is none other than Hall of Famer Dan Miller. Miller was a Season One create who had an outstanding career as a member of both the San Jose Sabercats and the Colorado Yeti. Some of you may be saying, well this is rather obvious. Of course he's the best defensive tackle in league history! He's the all-time leader in sacks! Yes, I know that, and that is certainly one reason behind my rationale, but even that number doesn't truly describe how dominant Miller was. The beginning of the league is well known for being rampant with defensive stats. Defensive end Jayce Tuck still holds the single season record for sacks with thirty two. THIRTY TWO! That being said, Miller only had one season where he accrued more than twenty sacks, in which he tallied twenty four. That being said, he is still the Sabercats all-time sack leader with ninety over his time there. Pretty impressive already. Well, my friend, those ninety sacks came over just six seasons! That's an average of fifteen sacks a season. I won Defensive Lineman of the Year twice with Skarsgard and both times he had fourteen sacks or less. He never even tallied fifteen sacks once in his career and it was Miller's average over the time he was in San Jose. Then, he tallied forty two more sacks in three seasons with the Yeti. As proof of just how consistent Miller was over his nine season career, he only ever tied for the league lead in sacks twice, and never once topped the chart by himself. Even his spectacular twenty four sack season came the same year as Tuck's all-time high of thirty two. Like your classic pass rushing defensive tackle, Miller failed to accrue much in the way of tackles for loss over his career, zeroing in only on the quarterback. He did, however, force ten fumbles over his career, including four in one season, which is still a Sabercats record to this day. He also had a season where he recorded eighty one tackles, which is an absolutely insane number for a defensive lineman. Miller was a star at a time when there were many stars dotting the NSFL landscape, but he certainly shined brighter than most.

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[Kotasa]

Task #3: For any team, certain players and users have gone above and beyond, shaping the legacy of the franchise. Choose any ISFL or DSFL team - with the exception of the Sarasota Sailfish and Honolulu Hahalua - and create a Mount Rushmore for that team. Who in your mind are the four most noteworthy figures of the team’s history? Why does each one of your included figures deserve that recognition, and how did each of them make their mark?

The ISFL would not be the league it is today without the Orange County Otters, the ASFC team has been a stable in the league and will continue to be one for years to come. With a historic 8 Ultimus wins under their belt, all coming off back to back or threepeats, they are THE team you think of when it comes to the ISFL. How though, did they reach such historic heights? Some of it is great drafting, some of it is great coaching, but most importantly they had guys who wanted it more than everyone else. Some of these guys are regarded as the best at their position in the history of the league. Picking 4 is tough to do but I think you have to start at the most important position in football.
Mike Boss, most times referred to simply as the GOAT, only played for 8 years for the Otters. In those 8 years he would shape the league for years to come. Drafted early when the league had only started Boss came out and put on a rather disappointing rookie season. Analysts were saying that he was not the guy, starting in 11 games boss threw for a 11 TDs to 19 INTs. Most people would move on but little did they know they had the goat on their hands. In just 3 years Boss would go on to claim his first MVP of three and begin to show why the team had stuck with him. Boss went on to have one of the greatest seasons the league had ever seen in 2021, winning league MVP, his second Ultimus championship, a back to back that would soon become a threepeat, Threw for over 5,500 yards with 65% completion and a TD:INT of 41-15. Mike Boss is on not only the Otter’s mount Rushmore, but the entire leagues.
Mike did not do what he did alone though, he had to have some help, and that came from one of the greatest receivers we have ever seen play the game along side him. Bradley Westfield played along side Mike for his entire career and did not disappoint. During the 2021 season Bradley was a great option for Mike to throw to, but it was the following year trying to bring a fourth title to the Otters that he had the best season of his career. With an insane 1,620 yards on 89 receptions and 15 touchdowns Bradley was unstoppable. Not to mention his production on special teams with 1,050 kick return yards Bradley was a staple in the Otters offense. While not bringing a fourth championship home Bradley was a key player for the Otter’s offense during their three-championship run. Only playing one season without Mike Boss and retiring shortly after him, Mr. Westfield has earned his spot on the mount Rushmore of the Otters.
A Mount Rushmore is not complete without someone who is willing to do the dirty work, and this player did it on both sides of the ball. Angus Winchester has had an interesting career to say the least, starting as an all-pro caliber lineman the first year he entered to switching to an all pro linebacker only 3 years later, Winchester has seen what it’s like on both sides of the ball. A stud as a rookie when the league started to have more androids as offensive lineman Winchester took it upon himself to become one of the best linebackers in all of football. With an okay first season most looked at him questionably at the position, but he went on to prove that the choice to switch was a great one. In the first championship of three Winchester became the linebacker of the year, just a year removed from his offensive line spot. He then continued to lead the league in sacks the following two seasons and leading to two more championships. While he still plays for the Otters to this day, he was an incredible piece for them in their historic run that made them the leagues go to team for any player.
Another defensive anchor for the team was Marc Spector, not the flashiest of DBs but if someone is throwing to win the game you want him on their receiver. Marc was another player that was apart of the historic three peat and his lockdown way paved the secondary into them. Marc was never a big interception guy but was loved swatting the ball away from players. Becoming a probowler and a champion just two years into his career everyone watching knew he would be special. Marc went on to become a staple in the Otter’s defense played great in the three Ultimus championships the team won. While not as spry as he once was, Marc continues to play for the Otters alongside Angus they are ushering in the new era of defenders. Marc went on to make 5 pro bowls and is a sure fire hall of famer after he hangs it up.

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(836 words)

[Cheech65]

#7
Awards season is rapidly approaching, and I think that 3 of my fellow Sarasota Sailfish deserve to be recognized when the time comes.
First, and perhaps most obviously, Rayne Gordon should at least get the nomination for Wide Receiver of the Year. He finished his season with 3rd best total yards (1282), 2nd best average (17.6), and the 2nd most receiving TDs (11). As the best receiver on the expansion franchise, Gordon put up big numbers last year, but only improved in the offseason, jumping not only to within the top 10, but the top 2 receivers in the league, a feat that deserves, nay, demands recognition.
In my eyes, James Angler is an easy Offensive Rookie of the Year nominee, if not winner. As the top receiving rookie in the league, he was able to break 900 receiving yards and scored 3 touchdowns. On top of this, he was the most targeted receiver in the receiver-heavy Sailfish offense. Though he may not have had the most scoring opportunities, Angler was always the option who could keep the drive moving. Competing with Rayne Gordon is not an easy task. Keeping up with him is another matter entirely, and Angler managed to do so. On top of his receiving stats, he put up 12 pancakes and only 1 sack allowed; pretty impressive for the most worked receiver on the team.
The other Sailfish I think deserves some awards contention is Dexter Banks II. Making the switch from wideout to starting quarterback was a big ask, and he brought a big answer. I think Banks should at least be nominated for Breakout Player of the Year. Not only was he able to hold the Sailfish together for a .500 record, he excelled where few expected him to. He was able to out-pass Stan Francisco, Chika Fujiwara, and Corvo Havran, and was only 40 yards behind 2x QBotY Franklin Armstrong. Banks managed to land in the top half of the QB field in only 1 season, coming off a position switch instead of a call up. Granted, I don’t know what the historical expectations or precedences are for this situation, but I think that he succeeded when it was unlikely.
These 3 are not only the top producers of the team, they are what anchor the team and will lead it to playoff runs in the future. Setting a brand new team on this path is easier said than done, but these players have set us up for success and their efforts should be rewarded.

#24
I may not have been around long, but I’ve been around long enough to recognize a major change when I see it. I joined the now-ISFL towards the end of S21, and like an idiot joined as a S22 rookie, thus placing me immediately on waivers, where the Buccaneers scooped me up. But that entered me into the ISFL Draft, where I was selected by the Sarasota Sailfish. That S22 expansion was huge for the league, at least in my eyes. Firstly, the draft class was incredible, with more than 250 new players. Also that season, the Sailfish made the playoffs. In their first season as a team. I think that is remarkable. The S22 expansion and Draft were, I think, a turning point for the league. Not only did it show how much the league could grow, but it also showed that there is more than enough talent to go around. An expansion team made up of redistributed players made it farther than they should have, to be honest. And with more people joining the league each season, new expansions are bound to come. But I don’t think that they’ll match the incredible circumstances that the S22 expansion did. I don’t think they’ll even come close.

#25
In the S22 ISFL (at the time NSFL) Draft, I was an 11th round pick for the Sailfish. But the man drafted before me, in the 10th round, has had much more success than his draft pick (#115) would ever have suggested. Kevin Fakon, in his first DSFL season, rushed for 1042 yards and 9 TDs. In his second, 972 and 5, respectively. And that was as a secondary rusher behind Andrew Nova. This season, with the Kansas City Coyotes in the Ultimini, Kevin Fakon led his team in rushing for the first time with career-bests of 1159 yards (#5) and 11 TDs (#1). Now a rushing leader for the DSFL, Fakon was undervalued as a draftee due to his workload being cut down. But, as he opted for a 3rd and final DSFL season, he was granted the opportunity to shine, and it looks likely that he may lead KC to an Ultimini victory. He very well might win himself some awards as well. And to think that the ISFL waited 10 rounds on him. I think that he’ll find more success once he comes up to the big leagues, and I can’t wait until he hits the field with us in the green and blue next season.

[s4ndr0p]

21) Make a comparison between your own team and a playoff team, if your team failed to make the postseason, showing why your squad was better.

Okay, it's great to have this opportunity to salt about the fact that the New Orleans Second Line made it to the playoffs after defeating my Arizona Outlaws in fascinating fashion!
The Win over the Arizona Outlaws was extraordinary. Evil tounges might say there was a lot of luck involved. The Outlaws ended the season with the top passing attack, New Orleans was 7th in that category. New Orleans had the better rushing stats, though. The Wild thing is though, that New Orleans managed to get into the playoffs with a point differential of -21, you might say "yeah, does not sound like a playoff-team to me" and you're right! The Arizona Outlaws had a point differential of +122. To be honest it's as much of a riddle to me how you can actually go 9-7 with a negative point differential as how you can go 8-8 with +122. Let's hope that my Outlaws are able to bounce back strong with a better rushing attack after being second to last in the last season. The rushing attack might have been the deciding factor to why the Second Line got their Playoff spot since it helps controlling the game without having to rely on your defense to make the crucial stops. Let's hope that the rebuilding outlaws will get a chance to smell some playoff air in the next season.

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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?

Okay, let me say one thing first: I would be shocked if Galf Wilf would not take an award home this year. Wilf exceeded all of the expectations i had in him although his last year was very strong as well. Galf Wilf gave everything he had both on the field and in the practise facilities and let us just say, it showed! Wilf ended his season with 118 tackles, 1 Tackle for Loss, a fumble recovery, 16 Sacks, 3 Interceptions, 12 Pass Deflections, a safety and a td and also a blocked punt. This man was all over the field making plays and most remarkably in the backfield tackling the QB. Wilf's 118 tackles are only enough to be 20th in the league (15th among Linebackers), but he also had to share the turf with Stanislaw Koniecpolski who ended the season 5th in tackles. The Arizona defense might also have one of the strongest Defensive Line in the ISFL who stole tackles from Wilf, which also shows in Wilf's Tackles for loss number. Wilf did not need to focus on the run with great players like shane masters, claude miller II and pete "plop" miller in his defensive line. Wilf used this situation for his advantage perfectly thoght as Galf Wilf leads the league in Sacks among all players with a good cushion. He pairs this accomplishment with 3 interceptions, which is T1st among all the ISFL Linebackers, and 12 Pass Deflections which is 11th among all Linebackers. He also was named the defensive player of the week in weeks 6 (with a performance of 10 tackles, 2 sacks and an safety) and 13 (with a performance of 4 tackles, 2 sacks and an int). You definitely could make the point that other player's would have similar chances to become the ISFL Defensive Player of the Year (I mean players like Mo Berry, Douglas Quaid etc.) but I can not imagine him not winning at least the Linebacker of the Year award. Wilf should be rewarded as one of the most important impact players for his team in the league. You rarely see players that will rise to the occassion if his team is in a bad situation nearly every time like Wilf does. The Outlaws needed an important stop? BAM - Wilf sacks the QB. This guy averaged 1 Sack per Game and he is not even a pass rusher, he is everywhere and he does a great job. A Future Superstar of this league in my opinion and he should get rewarded for that.

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24) The league is prone to change. Reflect on a past change in either the ISFL or DSFL that significantly impacted something - be it a rules change, an expansion or contraction, or even a complete rebranding. What were the effects of this change, and how has it shaken the status quo?

As the questions already implies our league has gone to quite some changes. I do think there's quite a bit of great work being done with the rebranding, new activities like the charity event (I could actually write a whole article about), the new homepage that is going to come and important changes into the game.
I really like the new rule changes like adding a couple more regular season games, although it might mess with historical stats or at least peoples' perception of them, I think it makes the playoff runs quite a bit more interesting. Another change I really like is the splitting of the Defensive line player of the year award into awards for defensive ends and defensive tackles. This will, unfortunately, not have an immediate impact for my player because of a mediocre season but it gives defensive ends also some hopes to get an award. I would also like to add that I am excited for the new wave of rookies recruited through r/nfl again. I do belive right now the ISFL is taking large steps for a bright future. The rebranding of the league alone is a huge step towards the right direction and the charity event makes this league quite more attractive for people not involved with the league.

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[Doomraider]

Tier 2 #12

Though I have only recently started my journey in the ISFL I have found it fun and exciting to prepare my player for their first draft. From getting all my free first time TPE from all the various rookie activities to min maxing my player to be draft ready. It has been the beginning I had hoped it to be and can’t wait to see it through.

Thus far I have not met too many people however those I have interacted with have been lovely. I’d first like to start off by saying that all the tutorials and helpful guides that are posted around the site have been quite informative and useful for getting my player ready. As for people I have actually interacted with, the two scouts who contacted me from the DSFL have been very welcoming and reassuring in these early stages. They made it feel as though these are not just faceless teams/organizations but actual people who care about their teams and you as a player and are willing to do what they need to in order to make a great team and make you a great player that can thrive in the ISFL.

So far I have had a lot of fun building my character. Being a fan of RPGs I had the most fun coming up with background information and the design of my player. I could have easily just made a meme character and done little beyond that but I actually want this character to succeed and make a true career for themselves. What I hope most of all to do is to create a story for my character out of his career. By making articles and maybe graphics every week I hope to create a detailed story from his journey and make him feel like an actual flesh and blood character. And maybe just maybe win the Ultimus one day.

I have not been drafted yet but I hope to be drafted very high, not just for the prestige but for the confirmation that I made a player who means something to a team and is worth the investment.

As for the league I only have some minor comments and complaints. I’d like to first state that some of the more intricate parts of the forum are not explained very well. These are things such as explanation of how to use features such as the quotes and word count code. I would hope that the methods of which to use these are more easily explained and shown up front similar to the video tutorial used by players to create their first update page. A series of videos about these and other topics to be presented to new players would be a wonderful addition. I also think that a better explanation of what each stat does when making a player for the first time. While I realize stats such as speed, hand, arm, etc. are pretty self explanatory stats such as intelligence are bit more vague in what are there for. Overall I love what is initially presented to new players to help them gain more TPE, make their updates, and overall be a more part of the community but there are still a few minor things that could be added or changed.

Overall I just wanna say that the league is great and I can’t wait to be drafted. And I can’t wait to see who wins the Ultimus.

(577 words)

[Aenir]

Task 5:

One of the strongest things that have helped me thus far in my time in Chicago is the level of activity that has gone on since I was drafted there in the fourth round of the season 23 draft. I already had a lot of knowledge of the people who ran the team, mostly because Muford is my brother, and I was on San Jose when we drafted Bayley back in Season 3. Outside of those two, I already knew Oles from a lot of our late night gaming sessions back in the Season 13-14 San Jose Sabercat days, where we would be up until odd ass hours of the night playing Heroes of the Storm mostly. Outside of those three, I have heard sparingly about Evok, Enigmatic, and a few others on the team but that is mostly it. I will say though, since being drafted in Chicago, it has been one of the better experiences I have had in the league since I have been around since Season 1. Dare I say it is one of the most active teams I have ever been apart of. This all plays an important role in what I am here to talk about, which is activity breeds activity. I have learned through my multiple years of sim leagues that if you have an very active team, even with the hard times, you will make it through and get to the great times that lie in wait. The most recent one, where I was drafted to San Jose in Season 10, My Quarterback’s Clone *Chris Orosz (clone)* was taken yet again, in the fourth round. They were making something special happen there, by continuing to add some great pieces in Muford *again*, Oles, Andrew Warren, GoonerBear, and the like. San Jose was a laughingstock for a long time, but they kept bringing in competent and active players and low and behold they were able to turn it around and win a title in Season 14. That is exactly what I see happening in Chicago Right now. The team is young, but do not let that fool you. The Locker room is bumping every day, every single fucking day. We have a great mixture of veterans in Muford, Bayley, Oles, Evok, Enigmatic, as well as CDub, BluLine, and our Quarterback Leafer. Those old heads have been around the league, most since the early days, which is just crazy to me. But outside of those old heads, the young bloods we have kept bringing in, are just what helps this team show that they want to win it all in Chicago and we can keep pushing that envelope. The young bloods on this team, TheCC, Ithica Hawk, McCringleberry, MVP, and Wildfire have all taken a turn to figure out what it is they want from the team and how they can help the team and have all been invaluable to turning the Chicago Ship around. Everyday I wake up and look in the Chicago Locker Room, there is discussion going on, whether it be about the league, about other leagues, or about someone’s personal life when someone wants to share their story, it has been such a humbling experience. I always try to jump in and add gifs all the time, yes, I am that guy. But all in all, this team has had their head down to the grindstone and has continued to update and be a giant family to one another since I was drafted here and I love to see such great activity throughout the team. Top to bottom, GMs, to the guys in the minors even, the whole team has one goal in mind, and that is to right the ship of Chicago that was fucked for such a long time, and I am so glad to be apart of it. Like I stated earlier, back in San Jose, once you get everybody on board with the same message, and want to be there, and want to enjoy each others company, work towards one goal of turning a franchise around while having fun with it, then it only becomes a matter of time. That is where Chicago is at right now, and I honestly don’t see myself going anywhere else but here. I truly love everybody that I have talked to and worked with in Chicago so far and I can not wait to see this team come up from the ashes and continue to push forward and be the best team that they can be. We have had so many guys that just want to do what’s best for the team and go above and beyond to assist with whatever anybody is needing, that I can not really say I can see myself anywhere else but Chicago. The Butchers have been my home for only one season so far, and I will say it has been one of the best seasons of my stay in the NSFL.

(828)

[Muford]

Tier 2

Task 8 -

Examining the team is something that I have always done, even when I wasn’t a General Manager so asking me to do so for the Chicago Butchers right now is super easy for me. First of all, in my opinion, we have two very weak areas, which I will gladly address right now in this paragraph. The first and foremost issue that the Chicago Butchers have faced this season, is age. The Chicago Butchers, no doubt in my mind, is easily the youngest team in the league right now. We have three players under Season 21, and outside of that, the rest of the team is made up of Season 21, 22, and 23 players. Those three that are our old heads are Sean O’Leary, Mike Hockhertz and Stevie Vassallo. Two of which are season 19 in Vassallo and O’Leary, and one of which is 18 which is Hockhertz. So inexperience for our players in the big leagues has been a huge downfall, so to speak, in the ISFL this season. Our team is just packed with so many young players that it makes complete sense why we haven’t really been able to compete. Our second biggest issue on the team is the lack of talent on the Defensive Line. I will say, Our team has actives at literally every position, but defensive line. Our Defensive Line consists of John Smirh (myself), Mario VonPebbles, and Simeon Works. Outside of that, we do not have a second Defensive Tackle, which means we have to play Vassallo at Defensive Tackle. That hasn’t been the worst thing in the world, but in all honestly, with the strength and weight difference, we really need an actual Defensive Tackle to fill that hole. In my eyes, those are the two biggest issues that we have faced in Chicago this year, and those are some great issues that we can easily fix coming up. We continue to get everyone on the same page and get them updating and working through whatever issues that they might have, and we add a defensive tackle and we have the ability to compete with the best of them. We really need to hit on a couple of Free Agents that myself and Bayley have talked about getting, and watching every other team regress and lose some players to retire this season, I think Chicago will be in great shape to start competing this next season.

(405 words)

Tier 2

Task 11 -

Ugh, the issue with drama in this league, is I swear to god every time I think there will be none, something ends up popping off and I somehow, someway get involved in it, whether it would be investigating some shit, or defending some shit and being totally incorrect about the whole situation. There are two huge moments of scandals that I remember very vividly, and that drives me insane. The first, huge, controversy that I will discuss today will be the TPE scandal of Season 2. I was, and to this day, am still very close friends with Er and we were talking one night, figuring out just a bunch of TPE opportunities and other shit like that, when we brought up how the hell Noble was able to keep on top of all of the TPE tasks while being so “Busy” with his real life. He would literally complain daily about how busy he is, all the time, and Er was PT head at the moment so he had all the stuff on his computer. He sent me the link, and I clicked on it, and noticed… Noble had been claiming the PTs, but had been doing them after the time they were due. How the hell could someone be cheating so easily in front of us. So, we did some investigating. Er started at one end of the season, and I started at the other, we compared his PT list, to when the PTs were completed, and had found out that Noble had either A. Posted his PTs after they were due, by editing the post, or B. had not even completed them and yet still gave himself credit for the PT. I remember writing up a long message to, if I remember correctly, Ballerstorm, and explained the whole situation and what Er and myself had found. It was passed along to Head Office and the punishment came down swiftly. After the fact, the Noble copy pasta came out, where he talked about being a 15 year old boy yada yada yada I’m important in Canada some shit like that. This alone almost drove me to leave the league and not deal with all the shit that was going on, because if someone with such power, someone who the league trusted, was so easily and readily able to cheat, how could I continue to trust the league in keeping the interest of the people at the top of their hearts.

(413 words)

[DrChops]

6) As of writing this response, the Austin Copperheads are one game away from winning another Ultimus championship. The fact that they even made the playoffs is incredible, as they finished the season 8 - 8 and had to win a tiebreaker to get the final playoff spot in the ASFC. Austin started the season with a big 37-17 win against the Hahalua despite going 1 for 8 on third downs and rushing for less than half as many yards as the Hahalua. As will be the theme for the season, the Copperheads' explosive passing attack allowed for them to win a game that most teams would have lost; Austin QB Easton Cole averaged 19.8 yards a completion while WRs Gaines and Tidwell both averaged 19.8 yards and 26.8 yards per catch respectively. This fast start carried itself till week 8, where the Copperheads found themselves at 4-3 and facing off against the reigning champs in the Colorado Yeti. Easton Cole had maybe his best game of the season as he led the season to a 42-16 blowout, where he threw for 316 yards and 3 TDs with no picks. The Copperheads' run defense was a tough to beat, allowing only 53 yards rushing.

At 6-3, the Copperheads seemed like the team to beat in ASFC, but what came next was a brutal stretch of 4 games where 3 were on the road and the other was against the always tough Yellowknife Wraiths. The Copperheads would got 0-4 in these games, making a once promising season look like it was going up in flames. The final game of that stretch was a brutal 40-3 beating by the Hahalua who would make Easton Cole throw 3 picks and complete only 50% of his passes. Now sitting at 5-7 with 4 games left in the season, the Copperheads had to face off against the two teams tied for the lead in the ASFC: the Second Line and the Otters. The Copperheads breathed new life in their season with a strong defense and great play from WR Gaines who netted 144 yards and a TD off 4 receptions. The Copperheads won 24-6 but would lose their next game to the Otters 31-16. Now at 6-8, the Copperheads had to win out to have any chance at the playoff. Their in conference rivals, the Arizona Outlaws, were sitting one game ahead of them at 7-7, so this was a most win game if Austin was going to get the last playoff spot. In what might turn out to be the most important game in the regular season, the Copperheads were able to defeat the Outlaws at home with a score of 16-15 with an incredible defensive effort. The Copperhead defense held QB Jay Cue to a QB rating of 44.8, his lowest of the season. This head to head win gave the Copperheads the tie breaker and after defeating the Sabercats in week 16, the Copperheads clinched the final playoff spot at 8-8. In the playoffs, the Copperhead's strong defense and explosive passing attack allowed them to defeat both the Second Line and the Otters on their way to the Ultimus.

7) Below are my thoughts what defensive player should win the award for being the best player at their respective positions for the S23 season. These are just my opinion based on what limited information i have

Safety: I am starting with what I think is probably the easiest pick: I think Mayson Baylock should be a lock for this award for the second year in a row. He put up a lot of impressive stats this year with over 100 tackles and 2 forced fumbles. He was 2nd in the entire league in interceptions with 5, being only 1 shy of Prince Vegata. However, the most amazing stat for the season was the 11 sacks on the season: this puts him in a tie for 5th most sacks in the entire league. Keep in mind, Mayson plays SAFETY, a position that does not normally record as many sacks as linebackers or the defensive line. Honorable mention should go to the SS Valdyr, who, as a rookie, lead safeties in both tackles (127) and pass defenses (17).

Cornerback: Cornerback I feel is a much tougher positional group to judge based on how close everyone was in terms of performance. In my opinion, cornerback's main contribution to a team is making big plays and defending against the pass. This means that interceptions and pass defenses should be weighed over tackles or sacks. With that said, 3 cornerbacks are worthy of this award due to their ability to get interceptions: Lavelle Jr, Rector, and Abernathy. From reviewing their stats, I think the award should go to Abernathy due to his big play potential (had a pick six) and they recorded an incredible 24 pass defenses on the season, which led the league.

Linebacker: With linebackers, I think the most important stat is the number of tackles they rack up in a season, followed by how they did in pass protection in terms of pass defense and interceptions. Bode lead the league in tackles with 154, followed by Hockhertz with 150. Between these two, Bode recovered 2 more fumbles, had 2 sacks (compared to 0 from Hockhertz), 1 more interception and 4 more pass defenses. Bode had a more well rounded year, and that should make him the Linebacker of the year. Honorable mentions to Mo Berry and G. Wilf, who both had impressive amounts of sacks.

Defensive end: When I think defensive end, I think tackles for loss (TFL) or sacks. Suzuki lead the league in tackles for a loss with 24 with 3 sacks. Blackstone had 5 less TFLs, but 4 more sacks and 21 more tackles. I think that makes him DE of the year.

Defensive Tackle: This award comes down to four different players: Big Edd, Bubba Thumper, S. Masters and M. Rikiya. Big Edd lead DTs in sacks with 12, but had notably fewer tackles which I feel rules him out. Rikiya had relatively more tackles than Edd and a punt block, but 11 fewer sacks. Masters had 63 tackles to Thumper's 56 while they both tied at 11 sacks. Thumper had one more forced fumble, but Masters got 1 safety on the year, which I think earns Masters the DT of the year.

Defensive MVP: Mayson Baylock.

[qWest]

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