Pat’s Season 25 DSFL Mid-Season Check-In Hello, hello, hello DSFL fans! Pat “The Media King” (last name redacted) is back at you again to do a check-in on how his pre-season predictions for the DSFL (link here) are looking so far at the mid-point of Season 25!
The format will be very similar to my original season preview, except instead of making guesses I will be commenting on how accurate my guesses were! Time for me to eat crow or break my arm patting myself on the back!
Time for some fun!
Section One – Team Overviews
Minnesota Grey DucksSeason 25 Record: 4-3 (T-2nd NFC North)
Offense: 15.7 PPG (5th) | 332.9 YPG (2nd) | 154.3 Rush YPG (5th) | 178.6 Pass YPG (2nd)
Defense: 13.0 PPG (1st) | 293.7 YPG (3rd) | 158.7 Rush YPG (5th) | 135.0 Pass YPG (2nd)
Big question for Season 25: Can they take advantage of their returning depth?
Mid-season Answer: YES
As I called out in the preview article, Minnesota brought back a lot of its core players from Season 25, including five starters on defense, and it shows. Minnesota might be tied with two other teams in the NFC North right now, but anyone who’s been paying attention knows that this team is going to be a contender down the stretch. They get four of their final seven games at home, and two of their road games are against Dallas and Norfolk, who are the two worst teams in the league currently.
On offense the Grey Ducks brought back their 1-2 combo at RB from last season, Jameson Vermillion and Mike Rotchburns. Vermillion was called up to the ISFL after Week 4, but in the games he played he had compiled nearly 300 yards rushing. Rotchburns has been every bit as good as last season, too, as he currently ranks second in the league in rushing yards and is one touchdown back from the leader, also.
Pre-season Player to Watch: Quarterback Ryan Negs @"Ryan Negs"
In the preview I called out Minnesota’s need to improve their passing attack in Season 25, and it appears management agreed. They’ve allowed their rookie QB, Ryan Negs, to sling the ball, and it’s worked out in their favor so far, as he’s currently second in the league in passing yards and is two off the lead mark for touchdowns.
Dallas BirddogsSeason 25 Record: 1-6 (T-Last in SFC South)
Offense: 15.4 PPG (6th) | 329.1 YPG (3rd) | 170.3 Rush YPG (1st) | 158.9 Pass YPG (4th)
Defense: 22.4 PPG (8th) | 327.6 YPG (7th) | 195.0 Ruch YPG (8th) | 132.6 Pass YPG (1st)
Big Question for Season 25: How’s the offense go without Watts?
Mid-season Answer: Pretty damn well
As I called out in the preview article, Dallas lost one of the best players in team history, Zoe Watts, to the ISFL (where she is absolutely dominating for Austin) and would need to make replacing her a priority. Rookie running back Cobra Kai has done more than you could ask out of a rookie this year, as he’s currently third in the league in rushing with 702 yards, has totaled four touchdowns, and is running at an insanely efficient 5.4 yards per carry, a full half yard per carry than the next highest running back in the league.
Moving the ball has not been Dallas’ problem this season – taking care of the ball has been. Through seven games, the Birddogs have thrown twelve interceptions. If they’re able to cut down on their turnovers, Dallas might be able to surprise a few teams in the back half of the season.
Player to Watch: Linebacker Richard Leaking @ReverendOReily
In the first half of the season, Leaking has definitely been a force on the field as he leads the league with 81 tackles and also has six tackles for loss. As I called out in the preview article, Dallas would need him to get to the quarterback as much as he could, and unfortunately for the Birddogs, Leaking has yet to register a sack on the season.
Kansas City CoyotesSeason 25 Record: 4-3 (T-2nd in NFC North)
Offense: 17.6 PPG (4th) | 299.7 YPG (6th) | 161.7 Rush YPG (3rd) | 138.0 Pass YPG (7th)
Defense: 16.7 PPG (6th) | 289.9 YPG (2nd) | 129.1 Rush YPG (1st) | 160.7 Pass YPG (5th)
Big Question for Season 25: Will the real Coyotes please stand up?
Mid-season Answer: Outlook positive
As I called out, the one theme throughout Season 24 for Kansas City was a lack of consistency. They’ve seemed to have corrected that issue somewhat so far this season, as they are 2-1 at home and 2-2 on the road so far, with road wins against Tijuana and Norfolk, but also a home loss to division rival Portland. Heading into the second half, Kansas City has home dates against Myrtle Beach and London, but still have two division games on the road, including a week 14 matchup in Minnesota that could have big playoff implications.
Pre-season Player to Watch: Linebacker AJ Lucas @Alucas
I’m giving myself half credit on this callout for Kansas City. I got the position right, but I picked the wrong player to watch. Don’t get my wrong, Lucas has had a very respectable first half to the season, totaling 49 tackles, with 3 for loss, and chipping in 2 sacks thus far. The real star of the Coyotes’ defense in the first half, however, was Linebacker Thomas Rose, who is a strong candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, with 62 tackles, 5 TFL, 4 sacks, and 3 INT.
Myrtle Beach BuccaneersSeason 25 Record: 6-1 (1st in SFC South)
Offense: 22.6 PPG (2nd) | 346.0 YPG (1st) | 159.0 Rush YPG (4th) | 187.0 Pass YPG (1st)
Defense: 15.1 PPG (4th) | 321.3 YPG (6th) | 136.1 Rush YPG (4th) | 185.1 Pass YPG (8th)
Pre-season Big Question for Season 25: Is it Daytona Time?
Mid-season Answer: It most definitely is!
Coming into the season one of the biggest questions for Myrtle Beach was if second-year QB Jackie Daytona was ready to take over an offense that was returning three stud receiving options in WR’s Crossley and Reed and TE McJimmerson. Simply put, he has shown that the team was right to go with him as he currently leads the DSFL in passing yards, is one touchdown off the leader (8 total) and has only thrown two interceptions all season. His 80.2 passer rating is also good enough for second in the league. I was excited to see how this team would play on offense and they’ve been every bit as fun as I was hoping. The Buccaneers are going to be a tough out for every team through the year’s back half.
Player to Watch: Tight End Djibutee McJimmerson @UberBJ
Yet another great callout here as in my preview I predicted two things: McJimmerson would be a favorite for TE of the Year and Myrtle Beach’s offense would need to simply score lots of points to make up for a porous defense. McJimmerson is hands down the best Tight End in the DSFL this year, as he leads all TE’s in catches and yards and is one off the lead for touchdowns. His yardage total of 382 yards leads the next highest total from a TE* by 173 yards, and he is currently eight in the league in receiving yards.
Editor’s note: London Tight End Frank Mitchell currently has 349 yards and 5 touchdowns receiving, but he lines up at Fullback predominantly, so I’m not including him in this comparison.
Portland PythonsSeason 25 Record: 4-3 (T-2nd in NFC North)
Offense: 17.9 PPG (3rd) | 318.4 YPG (5th) | 163.9 Rush YPG (2nd) | 154.6 Pass YPG (6th)
Defense: 13.1 PPG (2nd) | 288.7 YPG (1st) | 132.4 Rush YPG (2nd) | 156.3 Pass YPG (4th)
Pre-season Big Question: Will the Pythons' luck continue?
Mid-season Answer: It’s not luck. It’s skill.
I got some crap from Pythons player after I called their team lucky, and I will admit I was wrong. They have played outstanding football so far in Season 25, and that defense that I called out has looked extremely dominant. The only real bad spots for Portland are the fact that their two home losses were both to division rivals London and Minnesota, and having to play both of them on the road in the second half (Weeks 12 and 14) might cause some big problems for their playoff hopes.
A secondary question I raised was how the team would do after the departure of Sam Howitzer to the ISFL and while you can’t exactly replace an MVP that easily, rookie LeBron James III has done his part to ease the pain of losing him. He currently leads the entire DSFL in completion percentage, has a passer rating over 78, and has thrown 7 TD compared to 4 INT. Portland has got to be ecstatic knowing they’ll have him under center for a couple of years.
Player to Watch: Running Backs Darren Pama and Anders Christiansen @ztarwarz @bluesfan55
As I predicted, the Pythons’ offense shifted from a pass-first team to a run-heavy team in Season 25, and the results have been better than I think anyone could have imagined. As a team they are averaging over 160 yards per game on the ground, and second year back Darren Pama currently sits fourth in the league in yards. His backfield mate Anders Christiansen is currently 10th with 481 yards through the first seven.
Tijuana LuchadoresSeason 25 Record: 3-4 (2nd in SFC South)
Offense: 11.6 PPG (7th) | 299.4 YPG (7th) | 142.4 Rush YPG (7th) | 157.0 Pass YPG (5th)
Defense: 14.7 PPG (3rd) | 307.3 YPG (5th) | 165.9 Rush YPG (7th) | 141.4 Pass YPG (3rd)
Pre-season Big Question for Season 25: How will they handle losing three Wide Receivers?
Mid-season Answer: Not well. Not well at all.
Talk about taking a step back from one year to a next. Tijuana ended Season 25 with the best record in the league on the back of one of the best offenses, led by star WR’s Doug Howlett and Friedrich Vequain, and rookie Mark Walker. As I mentioned in the preview article, all three were tapped to move up to the ISFL, so the Luchadores had to reload quickly on offense. One of their rookie WR’s, Quavious McGrady, has performed well so far in his first season, but the offense has not played well as a unit. Tijuana was returning one of the highest amounts of TPE of all the teams in the DSFL this season, and unfortunately they did not play up to that level in the first half. Their defense has still played admirably, but when you’re struggling to score more than 10 points a game, the defense can only do so much.
Player to Watch: Linebackers Vincent Jones and Bam Bam McMullet @huck24 @manicmav36
One of the sole bright spots for Tijuana so far in Season 25 has been the play of their rookie Linebackers, Vincent Jones and Bam Bam McMullet. The pair have combined for 110 tackles and six sacks so far, and the Luchadores currently lead the league in sacks. As I said, replacing Defensive Player of the Year Adam Schell was going to take a team effort, and these two have shown that they were up to the task.
Norfolk SeawolvesSeason 25 Record: 1-6 (T-Last in SFC South)
Offense: 8.7 PPG (8th) | 228.9 YPG (8th) | 115.9 Rush YPG (8th) | 113.0 Pass YPG (8th)
Defense: 22.0 PPG (7th) | 346.7 YPG (8th) | 163.9 Rush YPG (6th) | 182.9 Pass YPG (7th)
Pre-season Big Question for Season 25: New team, who dis?
Mid-season Answer: This number is currently not in service.
I don’t want to dog on Norfolk too much here. It’s been a tough first half for them, as I think everyone expected given the amount of talent they lost moving into this season. The team is in a bit of a rough patch right now, but if there’s anything I know about Norfolk from my time here it’s that they know how to build a team, and I expect them to be right back to competing again next season.
Player to Watch: Running Back Mr. Forty-Two @C9Van
Mr. Forty-Two has been probably the only bright spot for the Seawolves in Season 25, as he’s been the feature back of the offense and has pretty much done everything for them. He currently leads the league in carries (213), yards (744) and is one off the lead for touchdowns with four. The fact that he’s been able to produce at such a high clip even with the team’s struggles is a testament to the quality of player he is. I fully expect to see Forty-Two on everyone’s short list for Positional Excellency Awards this off-season.
London RoyalsSeason 25 Record: 5-2 (1st in NFC North)
Offense: 22.9 PPG (1st) | 322.0 YPG (4th) | 147.7 Rush YPG (6th) | 174.3 Pass YPG (3rd)
Defense: 15.1 PPG (5th) | 301.3 YPG (4th) | 134.0 Rush YPG (3rd) | 167.3 Pass YPG (6th)
Pre-season Big Question for Season 25: Will there be an Ultimini hangover?
Mid-season Answer: Blokes from London Don’t Get Hangovers
I just don’t know how they keep on doing it. After seeing all of the talent that the Royals lost to the ISFL this season, I really did not think they would be nearly as strong of a team in Season 25. Just goes to show you that for all the research and predicting you can do, sometimes you’ll just be flat out wrong. This team looks every bit as strong as they did in Season 24 (honestly, stronger in some regards) and should probably be everyone’s favorites to represent the NFC North in the Ultimini this season. I get that if you look at their offensive and defense numbers you might not be too impressed, but the Royals show that to be successful you need balance. They don’t really jump off the page at you in any specific areas, but they also don’t have any areas they’re extremely weak. At the end of the day, this is a team that has shown they know how to win. A bonus for them right now is that they have a 3-0 record in conference, meaning that there’s a good chance they will end up holding tiebreakers over every one of their in-conference rivals.
Once again, the Royals absolutely dominated in the DSFL draft as they have rookies that have been playing well beyond their year. Defensive End Ernest Lover is currently second among all DE’s with 40 tackles, and also have five sacks, which leads all players at that position. Wide Receiver Tugg Speedman has pitched in 41 catches for 470 yards on the season, which rank third in the league in both categories.
Pre-season Player to Watch: Linebacker L’Gazzy Burfict @y2bobman
I called out Mr. Bufict here as the next great London Linebacker before the season and I’m happy to say that I was 100% on point. Through the first half, L’Gazzy has already matched his tackles AND sacks totals from a year ago (72 and 5, respectively) as he’s helped lead the Royals to a 5-2 record. I’m a big fan of Burfict’s play and I expect him to keep that defense humming along and to be on everyone’s lists for Defensive Player of the Year as well as Linebacker of the Year.
Section Two - Offensive and Defensive Award Winner Watch List
In this section I’m going to show who I picked before the season to be the top 5 for these awards, and then show you my updated rankings at the mid-point of the seasons.
Pre-season Offensive Player of the Year
Tijuana Running Back Bronko Mills @PaytonM34
Myrtle Beach Quarterback Jackie Daytona
Minnesota Running Back Jameson Vermillion @Vainknight13
London Running Back Terry Yaki @Doomraider
Dallas Running Back Cobra Kai @OrbitingDeath
Mid-Season Offensive Player of the Year
Dallas Running Back Cobra Kai
London Quarterback Charlemagne Cortez @MrStennett
Minnesota Running Back Mike Rotchburns @SchoolboyShue
Dallas Wide Receiver Mark Callous @McCransky
Myrtle Beach Quarterback Jackie Daytona
Check-in Status: The mid-season list for Offensive Player of the Year is mostly new blood, as we had three players from my pre-season list fall short of the cutoff.
Leading the pack is someone I was very high on from the start of the season, and that’s Cobra Kai. The Birddogs rookie has been crushing it this season, with more than 700 yards, four touchdowns, and an absurd 5.4 yards per carry. If the Dallas defense could get teams off the field and their quarterback could stop throwing interceptions, I could easily see Kai hitting in the 1,500 and 12 TD range on the ground.
London QB Charlemagne Cortez is picking up right where he left off last season as he currently leads the league in touchdown passes and passer rating, is second in completion percentage, and third in yards. He’s done a great job steering a Royals offense which currently rank first in the DSFL in points scored.
Mike Rotchburns takes over the spot held by his teammate Jameson Vermillion at the start of the season. He was a force to be reckoned with in Season 24 while sharing the ball with his teammate, and with Vermillion being called up early in the year, the Grey Ducks are going to be giving the league a healthy dose of Rotchburns going forward. He has slightly more yards than Cobra Kai and the same number of scores, but his efficiency (4.3 vs 5.4) isn’t as good, which might hurt him in the end.
I guess when I was doing these rankings for my preview article I wasn’t very high on the Wide Receiver position as a whole, as I expected most teams to be big into running the ball or to spread the ball out a bunch in the passing game. Then along comes Dallas and starts feeding the ball to Callous. The Birddogs receiver current has 42 catches (2nd) for 525 yards (1st) and 3 touchdowns (4th). The fact that he’s been able to put up numbers like that when Dallas as a whole has been a bit of a dumpster fire is nothing short of amazing. He should be the front runner for WR of the Year this season so far.
Jackie Daytona has been high on my radar since he took over the starting QB job for the Buccaneers in the final few weeks of Season 24, and I’m happy to see that the hot hand he ended the year with is still burning into Season 25. I talked about him a lot in the write-up of Myrtle Beach in my previous section, so there really isn’t much else I can add here that hasn’t been said already.
Pre-season Defensive Player of the Year
Dallas Linebacker Richard Leaking
Minnesota Linebacker Wasrabi Gleel @Crodyman
Kansas City Cornerback Petey Patterson @slate
London Linebacker L’Gazzy Burfict
Portland Defensive End Etrigan T. Slayer @Thiath
Mid-Season Defensive Player of the Year
Kansas City Linebacker Thomas Rose @bigbluex02
London Linebacker L’Gazzy Burfict
Portland Linebacker Donald McBobby @bjbren17
Dallas Defensive Tackle Primo Berto @Primo Berto
Myrtle Beach Cornerback James Hoffman @kingsleigher
Check-in Status: Yeesh, comparing my pre-season list to my mid-season list is painful. I whiffed on my projections for four of the five players I named, with only L’Gazzy Burfict playing up to the level I thought he would.
KC Linebacker Thomas Rose has been a huge surprise this year for me, and if the season would end today he would be my first choice for this award. He currently has 62 tackles (5th in the league), 5 tackles for loss (2nd among LBs), 4 sacks (5th in league/2nd among LBs), and 3 INT (1st in the league). He’s been a playmaker all over the field for the Coyotes and is a big reason why they are currently 4-3.
Putting Burfict on my pre-season list makes me look at least like I’m not a total idiot. I wrote a lot about the year he’s been having for London in their write-up in the section prior, but just know that this guy is hungry for an award, and I think he has a good shot of overtaking Rose for the favorite by year’s end.
Donald McBobby set a new DSFL record in the first game of the season when he recorded five, yes FIVE, sacks against the Norfolk Seawolves. He’s slowed down a little bit since then, picking up only 2 more sacks in the next six games, but he still leads the league in that category and is currently in the top 10 for tackles.
Dallas DT Primo Berto is the best defensive player you haven’t heard of this year. He has already totaled 11 tackles for loss and 4 sacks on the season. For comparison’s sake, the Season 24 Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Tackle of the Year, Goat Tank, only recorded 2 TFL and 7 sacks last season. Honestly, Berto could stop right now and probably win DT of the Year. Dallas’s defense might not be great, but Berto has every reason to be included on the DPoY ballot.
Linebackers get all the glory in the DSFL, but James Hoffman for Myrtle Beach has been having a great individual effort. He currently leads the league in interceptions and passes defended, and also has a forced fumble on the season.
Pre-season Offensive Rookie of the Year
Dallas Running Back Cobra Kai
Norfolk Running Back Mr. Forty-Two
Portland Quarterback LeBron James III @Orhanello
Minnesota Quarterback Ryan Negs @"Ryan Negs"
Tijuana Wide Receiver Quavious McGrady @DoIHaveTheSause
Mid-season Offensive Rookie of the Year
Dallas Running Back Cobra Kai
Portland Wide Receiver Mario Messi @KingSean
Minnesota Quarterback Ryan Negs
Myrtle Beach Running Back Akil Ozymandias @Count chocula
Norfolk Running Back Mr. Forty-Two
Check-in Status: Offense apparently isn’t as hard to predict as defense is. Three of my five players on the pre-season list still made my mid-season list.
I’ve talked at length about the great season Cobra Kai has been having. I don’t think I need to talk any more, do I?
Rookie Wide Receivers don’t typically turn in great seasons in the DSFL, but Mario Messi for Portland has been spectacular. His 44 catches currently lead the league, and he’s also fourth in yards with 442. His three touchdowns are also good enough for third among all Wide Receivers, and fourth in the league.
A lot of the experts out there expected Minnesota to go to a run-heavy offense in Season 25 as they would be trotting out a rookie Quarterback. Ryan Negs showed them that they didn’t have to, as he currently is second in the league in passing yards, third in passing touchdowns, and third in passer rating. Minnesota’s offense looks to be in good hands for the next couple of seasons.
Think fast: who leads the DSFL in rushing touchdowns? Did you guess Myrtle Beach’s rookie Akil Ozymandias? That’s right. The youngster currently has five scores to go along with his 577 yards. Other players have more yards than he does, but only one has a higher yards per carry than his current mark of 4.9.
The current league leader in rushing yards, Norfolk’s Mr. Forty-Two, is another player I picked to be on my short list coming into the season. I spoke about him at length in my brief write-up on Norfolk’s season, and the only thing keeping him from being a top contender in my eyes is his lack of efficiency. His yards per carry of only 3.5 is well below the other leading rushers in the league.
Pre-season Defensive Rookie of the Year
Tijuana Linebacker Bam Bam McMullet
Norfolk Safety Dogwood Maple @"Dogwood Maple"
London Defensive End Ernest Lover @Mojojojo
Kansas City Safety Derek Wildstar @Legally_Blind_Gamer
Myrtle Beach Linebacker Leonard Taylor @Tayjay
Mid-season Defensive Rookie of the Year
Dallas Defensive Tackle Primo Berto
London Defensive End Ernest Lover
Tijuana Linebacker Vincent Jones
Portland Safety Moe Skeeter @TheDude83
Dallas Linebacker Big Slammu @moonlight
Check-in Status: Just like my Defensive Player of the Year projections, my Defensive Rookie of the Year projections missed the mark.
It only makes sense that the first player on my list was also on my list of contenders for Defensive Player of the Year. Primo Berto has been a monster in the middle for Dallas.
Ernest Lover is the sole player I had on my pre-season list that is still on the list in the mid-season, and they are absolutely dominating. Lover leads all Defensive Ends with 40 tackles and 5 sacks, and has also chipped in 3 tackles for loss.
Tijuana Linebacker Vincent Jones has been doing his best to make Luchadores nation forget about Adam Schell. I wrote at length about Jones and his LB squad mate, Bam Bam McMullet, further up. Jones has been playing at a high level all season and I expect him to be on the short list for this award come season’s end.
Portland Safety Moe Skeeter came out of nowhere this season and has shown he’s got the ability to play at the next level. He’s recorded 33 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and even has a defensive touchdown on his resume. Safeties can be hard to predict in the DSFL, and I’m happy that I missed the mark on Skeeter, as it’s been fun to be surprised by his play this season.
Big Slammu has been a great compliment to Richard Leaking for Dallas this season. He’s compiled 54 tackles, 1 for loss, as well as two sacks. He’s on pace to have a 100+ tackle season, and I project he will have a great career in the ISFL.
Closing Thoughts
Well, as expected, my predictions were all over the place this season. I feel like I hit just as many as I missed, but hey, that’s what makes this fun, right?
As always, let me know what I got wrong or what you agree with in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
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