Welcome to the Season Three NSFL in Review series! There will be 8 parts to this, one for each team in record/elimination order.
So far in this season’s series:
8. S3 Las Vegas Legion: The Good, Bad and Future
7. S3 Colorado Yeti: The Good, Bad and Future
6.S3 San Jose SaberCats: The Good, Bad, and Future
Next up are the Yellowknife Wraiths, who finished 3rd in the National Simulation Football Conference this season, missed the playoffs for the first time in their history.
![[Image: aboz4lL.png]](http://i.imgur.com/aboz4lL.png)
Yellowknife Wraiths
7-7
Third in NSFC
The Good
Number One: Just Bad Luck: Watching the Wraiths this season, you could be forgiven for thinking this team were destined for the playoffs. Yellowknife did almost everything right, and that is why this will be the theme for number one of the good, and bad. Kevin Cushing said the Wraiths won every game they we’re supposed to lose, but they couldn’t win games they weren’t suppose to, I may be paraphrasing, however the sentiment remains. Good luck only reared its head for the Wraith’s in their week 14 victory against a playoff bound Otters in Santa Ana. Losses to the SaberCats, Yeti, and Baltimore saw lady luck favour their opponents. The Wraiths had numerous close games, and lost several games by less than one score, which tells me that a couple of dice rolls the other way and the football gods have the Wraiths winning the division with a 10-4 record.
Number Two: Bork Bjornsson has been a force to be reckoned with this season. His impact on the team as a player cannot be diminished. With 23 sacks on the year Bjornsson has established himself as a premier defensive lineman. Finishing Season two with 52 tackles, and 8 sacks, projecting an explosion to the 68 tackles and 23 sacks we witnessed this year would be almost impossible. Another offseason under his belt, who knows what Bjork Bjornsson will bring to the field in Season 4. His impact extends beyond the playing field, and after his recent traineeship in the DSFL Bjornsson has become the Co-GM of the Wraiths. Whilst his appointment is new, it can be said the It’s is clear that Bjornsson is a big part of the Wraiths future both on and off the gridiron.
Number Three: Writing this column for the Wraiths was difficult, focusing on only three positive areas was hard enough, and picking three topics for the Bad was almost impossible, this team was unlucky not to make the playoffs, and not many people could argue with that. Consistency with the offense hasn’t been a problem, this has been a high performing unit and will continue to be if all of the pieces are retained. A real credit needs to be handed out to the Wraith’s defence for their overall improvement from Season 2 to Season 3. Here is a team who was derided for their inability to defend last year, and the Wraiths addressed this both by converting the GOAT TE Ricky Maddox into a defensive end, and in the draft by bringing Brice Boggs back into the fold, although he was then traded for Wyatt Fulton, Eidur Gustavsson, James Warner, Ryan Fitzfatrick, Kiko Bakari, Dion Jacobs, and Eddy Kim, a total of seven defensive picks. These players will develop into contributors in time, and this only looks to bolster an already improved defence. The Wraiths racked up improved stats in all categories. 46 tackles for loss (^11), 76 sacks (^29), 15 interceptions (^3), 57 pass defences (^2), 5 safeties (^4), and 2 blocked punts (^2). This is a huge amount of improvement in a short turnaround and the Wraiths will be looking to improve even further and apply more pressure to the opposition.
The Bad
Number One: Not Getting It Done: The other side of the number one coin. The Wraiths just didn’t do enough to get themselves into playoff position. Losing at home to Arizona is okay, losing at home to the SaberCats isn’t if you want to be a dominant team in the league. Whilst the result of 50/50 plays is exactly that, losing games by one score or less is heartbreaking, and the Wraiths had plenty of heartbreak this season. Yellowknife don’t need to adjust much to resurrect their playoff hopes next season, addressing the following two points should see them jump back into the top two positions immediately. The Wraiths appear to need some stability, there have been a lot of changes, such as the aforementioned Maddox to defensive end which lead to a defensive lineman being placed on blocking duty for field goal attempts, which could have contributed in no small way to seeing Booter miss 11.4% of his extra points for the year. Once they gain this stability it is not hard to see this team turning things around.
Number Two: The reality of the Yellowknife situation is that the defence isn’t quite there yet, they have pieces, the secondary needed help and Kevin Cushing shifted into cornerback, which left a hole at a linebacker position, the maths isn’t as easy as it seems, and the Wraiths will be hoping to attract any free agents into Canada to add pieces to this team. It’s safe to say linebacker and safety are positions of concern; and how the Wraiths address these concerns will be one of the stories of the offseason. Statistically the defence aren’t poor performers, they just aren’t quite up to championship level just yet, and with Cushing leaving after next year, they are going to need some help quickly.
Number Three: This spot was hard, but it became clear I had to identify one area this team needs to see drastic improvement. Jordan Askins had a very quiet year even by tight end standards, hauling in 34 receptions for 211 yards and 0 touchdowns. Whilst Orosz is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and might not require the safety blanket of dominant tight end, the fact Askins was so underutilised is damning. For comparisons sake, Connor Tanner had more receptions, yards, and scored 5 TDs to boot, in four less games. Askins is young however, and he does have the opportunity to grow in the offense, and the Wraiths will be desperate to make sure that happens.
The Future
The future always looks bright in Yellowknife. Their team is stacked and ready for a championship run, the offensive line is concern, and their defence is one or two pieces away, but that could be said for any team not based in Arizona. The Wraiths really were unlucky, and I know as a competitor how great it felt both times we played them, they have been great contributors since the league began and the future looks bright for the Wraiths.
GRADED
So far in this season’s series:
8. S3 Las Vegas Legion: The Good, Bad and Future
7. S3 Colorado Yeti: The Good, Bad and Future
6.S3 San Jose SaberCats: The Good, Bad, and Future
Next up are the Yellowknife Wraiths, who finished 3rd in the National Simulation Football Conference this season, missed the playoffs for the first time in their history.
Yellowknife Wraiths 7-7
Third in NSFC
The Good
Number One: Just Bad Luck: Watching the Wraiths this season, you could be forgiven for thinking this team were destined for the playoffs. Yellowknife did almost everything right, and that is why this will be the theme for number one of the good, and bad. Kevin Cushing said the Wraiths won every game they we’re supposed to lose, but they couldn’t win games they weren’t suppose to, I may be paraphrasing, however the sentiment remains. Good luck only reared its head for the Wraith’s in their week 14 victory against a playoff bound Otters in Santa Ana. Losses to the SaberCats, Yeti, and Baltimore saw lady luck favour their opponents. The Wraiths had numerous close games, and lost several games by less than one score, which tells me that a couple of dice rolls the other way and the football gods have the Wraiths winning the division with a 10-4 record.
Number Two: Bork Bjornsson has been a force to be reckoned with this season. His impact on the team as a player cannot be diminished. With 23 sacks on the year Bjornsson has established himself as a premier defensive lineman. Finishing Season two with 52 tackles, and 8 sacks, projecting an explosion to the 68 tackles and 23 sacks we witnessed this year would be almost impossible. Another offseason under his belt, who knows what Bjork Bjornsson will bring to the field in Season 4. His impact extends beyond the playing field, and after his recent traineeship in the DSFL Bjornsson has become the Co-GM of the Wraiths. Whilst his appointment is new, it can be said the It’s is clear that Bjornsson is a big part of the Wraiths future both on and off the gridiron.
Number Three: Writing this column for the Wraiths was difficult, focusing on only three positive areas was hard enough, and picking three topics for the Bad was almost impossible, this team was unlucky not to make the playoffs, and not many people could argue with that. Consistency with the offense hasn’t been a problem, this has been a high performing unit and will continue to be if all of the pieces are retained. A real credit needs to be handed out to the Wraith’s defence for their overall improvement from Season 2 to Season 3. Here is a team who was derided for their inability to defend last year, and the Wraiths addressed this both by converting the GOAT TE Ricky Maddox into a defensive end, and in the draft by bringing Brice Boggs back into the fold, although he was then traded for Wyatt Fulton, Eidur Gustavsson, James Warner, Ryan Fitzfatrick, Kiko Bakari, Dion Jacobs, and Eddy Kim, a total of seven defensive picks. These players will develop into contributors in time, and this only looks to bolster an already improved defence. The Wraiths racked up improved stats in all categories. 46 tackles for loss (^11), 76 sacks (^29), 15 interceptions (^3), 57 pass defences (^2), 5 safeties (^4), and 2 blocked punts (^2). This is a huge amount of improvement in a short turnaround and the Wraiths will be looking to improve even further and apply more pressure to the opposition.
The Bad
Number One: Not Getting It Done: The other side of the number one coin. The Wraiths just didn’t do enough to get themselves into playoff position. Losing at home to Arizona is okay, losing at home to the SaberCats isn’t if you want to be a dominant team in the league. Whilst the result of 50/50 plays is exactly that, losing games by one score or less is heartbreaking, and the Wraiths had plenty of heartbreak this season. Yellowknife don’t need to adjust much to resurrect their playoff hopes next season, addressing the following two points should see them jump back into the top two positions immediately. The Wraiths appear to need some stability, there have been a lot of changes, such as the aforementioned Maddox to defensive end which lead to a defensive lineman being placed on blocking duty for field goal attempts, which could have contributed in no small way to seeing Booter miss 11.4% of his extra points for the year. Once they gain this stability it is not hard to see this team turning things around.
Number Two: The reality of the Yellowknife situation is that the defence isn’t quite there yet, they have pieces, the secondary needed help and Kevin Cushing shifted into cornerback, which left a hole at a linebacker position, the maths isn’t as easy as it seems, and the Wraiths will be hoping to attract any free agents into Canada to add pieces to this team. It’s safe to say linebacker and safety are positions of concern; and how the Wraiths address these concerns will be one of the stories of the offseason. Statistically the defence aren’t poor performers, they just aren’t quite up to championship level just yet, and with Cushing leaving after next year, they are going to need some help quickly.
Number Three: This spot was hard, but it became clear I had to identify one area this team needs to see drastic improvement. Jordan Askins had a very quiet year even by tight end standards, hauling in 34 receptions for 211 yards and 0 touchdowns. Whilst Orosz is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and might not require the safety blanket of dominant tight end, the fact Askins was so underutilised is damning. For comparisons sake, Connor Tanner had more receptions, yards, and scored 5 TDs to boot, in four less games. Askins is young however, and he does have the opportunity to grow in the offense, and the Wraiths will be desperate to make sure that happens.
The Future
The future always looks bright in Yellowknife. Their team is stacked and ready for a championship run, the offensive line is concern, and their defence is one or two pieces away, but that could be said for any team not based in Arizona. The Wraiths really were unlucky, and I know as a competitor how great it felt both times we played them, they have been great contributors since the league began and the future looks bright for the Wraiths.
GRADED
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