Arizona Outlaws
| Arizona Outlaws | |||
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 Current season | |||
First season: 2016 Play in and headquartered in Outlaw Stadium Phoenix, Arizona | |||
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Current uniform
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| Team colors | Maroon, Gold, Black | ||
| Personnel | |||
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| Team history | |||
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| Championships | |||
| League championships (8) | |||
| Conference championships (12) | |||
| Division championships (12) | |||
| Playoff appearances (27) | |||
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The Arizona Outlaws are a professional American football franchise based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Outlaws currently compete in the International Simulation Football League (ISFL) as a member club of the league's American Simulation Football Conference (ASFC) which currently only has one division. The franchise was established in 2016 (S1) as one of the six original teams. They have a storied rivalry with the Orange County Otters, who they have faced in multiple ASFC championship games. The Outlaws won the first three NSFL Championships in a sequence of Ultimus Bowls, though the validity of the latter two would come into question in latter years. The Outlaws had an extended postseason drought, having missed the playoffs every season since 2023 (S8) till 2030 (S15). They broke the curse with a fourth Ultimus Bowl win in 2031 (S16) their first playoff berth, after 2022 (S7).
Contents
History of the Arizona Outlaws
The Jay Cue Era
2035 (S20) was an important year for the Arizona Outlaws as they had finally called up young QB Jay Cue. The QB was able to win an Ultimini for the Portland Pythons in 2033 (S18) and looked to be a franchise QB. After playing in the DSFL for three years Jay Cue came in and shocked the NSFL with his incredible performance. The Arizona Outlaws looked great starting off the season 3-0 with victories over Baltimore Hawks, San Jose Sabercats and Orange County Otters. Unfortunately this lead to a rough stretch of games where the Arizona Outlaws would go 1-6 in the next seven games including two brutal losses against division rivals New Orleans Second Line 41-16 and Orange County Otters 46-17. The team ended the season strong going 3-0 to close it as they did to start it including an exciting shootout against Chicago Butchers 44-42. While they missed the playoffs this season they found something better than postseason success, a new franchise QB to build around. Jay Cue was able to bring home not only the ORotY award but was also able to bring home the QBotY award. Ending the season with the highest QB rating in the league as a rookie it was a new era in Arizona. The leagues leader in receptions and yards Jamemerson Irving the Arizona Outlaws were poised to be a threat for years to come.
2036 (S21) was not the year most expected out of the Arizona Outlaws, despite having a solid foundation on defense with CB Lucas Knight, LB Galf Wilf, and DTs Shane Masters and Pete Miller. The Arizona Outlaws had the worst defense in the league allowing 29 PPG, and did not pose a huge threat on offense either. Even with Jay Cue, star WR Saba Donut and Jammerson Irving leading the league in receptions again the Arizona Outlaws posted the worst offense in terms of YPG. Due to a lack of a running game, weather by play calling or by lack of ability the Arizona Outlaws averaged less than 80 yards per game rushin. It was a rough season for the Arizona Outlaws as they did not win a single game until week 5 followed by another victory in week 6. 2-4 is a rough start but we have seen teams come back from it in the past, the Arizona Outlaws were not one of these teams as they would not win another game until the final game of the season against Yellowknife Wraiths. While the Arizona Outlaws did not have a first round pick after a trade for CB Desmond Scarlett, the user behind him Unicorn would become the new GM for Arizona making the trade worth it.
2037 (S22) was a slight improvement for Arizona, starting two young rookie tackles in Calvin Golladay and Bruce Buckley the Arizona Outlaws looked to improve their running game with rookie RB Baby Yoda. This year added two new teams into the league in the Honolulu Hahalua and the Sarasota Sailfish making Arizona call up more rookies than usual. Starting the season off against the Austin Copperheads the game would end in a tie, interesting but not the most exciting thing for Arizona. Arizona would go on to lose their next two games before their first win against the new expansion team Honolulu Hahalua. They would then win two and lose two in their next four games before finishing the final 5 games 1-4. A 4-8-1 record was a slight improvement and while they lead the league in passing offense, the defense suffered greatly. Allowing the most yards on the ground and through the air, Arizona knew they had solid young players but having to call up three rookie CBs really hurt the team. Despite the lost season there were some positive things, rookie RB Baby Yoda had almost 1,000 yards on the ground and star WR Saba Donut had nearly 1,200 yards through the air. QB Jay Cue lead the league in passing yards but regressed slightly from previous years throwing for only 15 TDs with 8 Ints. The team had a solid young core with a franchise QB in place and looked towards the future by taking LB Stanislaw Koniecpolski to help solidify the defense that was the worst in the league.
2038 (S23) is a bit of a heart breaking season for Arizona. The defense stepped up tremendously throughout the season becoming best in the conference and third in the league in terms of PPG. Allowing the second least yards among all defenses this looked like it would be Arizona's year despite starting 1-3 in some heart breaking losses. 2 of those losses came by one possession and that would be a theme for Arizona. With the 1-3 start Arizona was not defeated and went 3-1 in their next 4, sitting at a cross roads at 4-4 with some dominating wins Arizona could've gone either way throughout the rest of the season. They had their ups and downs, they had three huge wins over Philadelphia Liberty (34-13), Yellowknife Wraiths (46-13),and San Jose Sabercats (40-3). While suffering heart breaking losses against New Orleans Second Line (40-37), and Austin Copperheads (16-15). The loss against the ISFL is what hurt Arizona the most, as they had lost to them in week 4 in another close game (33-29). Due to ending the season at 8-8, tied with Austin Copperheads and being swept by them they were not able to make the playoffs. Some interesting things about Arizona in 2038 (S23) is that if you flip games that were decided by one possession the Arizona Outlaws end the season at 12-4 which is good enough for the first seed in the conference despite still being swept by the Orange County Otters in this scenario. Another interesting thing is if the Outlaws and split the series with Austin Copperheads even if they would have a tied record they would have had to rely on point differential for the playoffs. Which Arizona had a PD of +122, the best in the conference. It was truly a heart breaking season for the Arizona Outlaws, despite Jay Cue have another solid season, throwing for almost 4,000 yards. Having Saba Donut eclipse 1,400 receiving yards and having 12 touchdowns and RB Baby Yoda put up almost 1,200 yards with 10 TDs it just wasn't enough. Arizona would look to make the playoffs in the following year with their promising core.
In 2039 (S24), the goal was to keep quarterback Jay Cue surrounded with young talent so that the star quarterback could continue to compete for an Ultimus. After a .500 record in 2038 (S23) and missing the playoffs due to a tiebreaker with Austin Copperheads. Resigning RB Zed Keppler after losing RB Baby Yoda, star TE Heath Evans, upcoming WR Thomas Passmann top lineman Bruce Buckley while drafting Gunner Thorbjornsson. They reloaded for another run, however this season started with ups and downs. In the first game against the Honolulu Hahalua they only managed to score one touchdown. Putting up over 300 yards of total offense the team should have won the game on paper, but QB Jay Cue ended the game with 3 interceptions and no touchdowns in the air. The team would go on to be 2-4 by week six with some devastating losses, such as the 45-10 stomping by the hands of defending champions Yellowknife Wraiths. Something clicked in those 4 loses for QB Jay Cue as he had a feeling they would turn things around in Arizona. Taking to twitter to ask the fans how many interceptions he would throw the results motivated him against the red hot Colorado Yeti where they would go on to destroy them 42-9. With Jay Cue threw for three touchdowns and rushing for one as well. Things were looking up in Arizona as the outlaws went on to win their next 5 games including some tight wins and another blowout win against the Chicago Butchers 47-24. The final 5 games of the season had the Outlaws going 2-3 with a season ending victory against the Orange County Otters 30-22, despite this victory the ASFC was a strange conference in 2039 (S24) as the Arizona Outlaws, Orange County Otters, San Jose Sabercats, and New Orleans Second Line would all end the season 9-7. Despite that last victory against Orange County Otters the Arizona Outlaws were 4-6 in their conference records missing the playoffs by way of tie breaker.
2040 (S25) was the year that the Jay Cue curse seemed to finally break, Arizona went 9-7 and placed second in the ASFC to make the playoffs with homefield advantage in the first round. Arizona stopped relying on Cue as much this season and posted the best rushing attack in the league, with rookie running back Gunner Thorbjornsson leading the way along with trading for former league MVP and long time Yellowknife Wraiths Mathias Hanyadi the Arizona Outlaws backfield was no joke. Alongside a dominant rushing game the Arizona Outlaws defense was nothing to scoff at. The best pass defense in the league along with the 5th best rushing defense allowed Arizona to choke most teams out with time of possession being in their favor. Starting 1-3 with their only victory coming off the new expansion team New York Silverbacks Arizona quickly got it together going 3-1 in their next 4 games. Sitting at .500 Arizona knew they had the team to make the playoffs. With some of the best players in the league the Arizona Outlaws put on a show against Mathias Hanyadi's previous team Yellowknife Wraiths scoring 55 points and holding them to just 17. It was at this moment the league knew that the Arizona Outlaws was a force to be reckoned with. Winning their final two games again Honolulu Hahalua and New Orleans Second Line to not only play spoiler but also take the second seed. Securing homefield advantage was huge for the Arizona Outlaws as they would play host to the third seeded San Jose Sabercats defending champs. Despite it being's Jay Cue's first time in the playoffs, they were able to bring the defending champs to overtime. While San Jose Sabercats quarterback Monterey Jack threw an interception early Arizona Outlaws was unable to capitalize, as Jay Cue threw an interception that resulted in a walk off touchdown by San Jose Sabercats cornerback Tyron Brackenridge. Cue's cue was said by many Arizona fan's on that day. After the game it was announced by Jay Cue that the next season would be his last as he chose to stay with the Arizona Outlaws and try one last run to get a ring for the franchise. Later franchise cornerback Zamir Kehla who helped set the team up for the best pass defense in the league would opt out of his contract. Leaving the franchise and ultimately retiring from the league. Along with the loss of Heath Evans Arizona would have some holes to fill for 2041 (S26).
2041 (S26) would begin with some changes in the front office as long time GM Unicorn would step down, being replaced by his Co-GM Z-Whiz, who appointed Crunk to be his Co-GM. These two new GMs looked to get off to a good start in their first draft, with a multitude of picks, including Safety Moe Skeeter, who would never play a snap for the Outlaws, leaving for the Austin Copperheads in the offseason prior to 2044 (S29), aswell as linebacker Logan Sarrasin and Tight End Tom Teboat. The start to the regular season would not be a good one either for the new GMs, as they lost to the Orange County Otters in a 45-42 shootout, thanks to a walk off field goal from the OCO kicker. They would lose again in weeks 2 & 3 before picking up their first win of the season in Week 4, in a blowout, 38-16 victory over the previous seasons champions. This win did not do much to steady the ship however as they managed to win just 2 more games by the halfway point in the season, sitting at 3-5 in Week 8. The Outlaws did not let their poor form dampen their spirits though, as they went on a strong run of form, winning 6 of their last 8 games, losing only to the New York Silverbacks and Orange County Otters in that timespan. After Week 16 the Outlaws thought they had done enough to secure a playoff berth, however Jay Cues final season under center came to a brutal ending, as in a cruel twist the Outlaws missed out on the playoffs, their 9-7 record being good only for 5th in the division, in a 5 way tie between ASFC teams. It would be a bittersweet ending for Jay Cue, as he did manage to take home OPoTY at the postseason awards show, this award not doing much to soften the blow of what happened during the season.
Post Cue - The Cortez Era
2042 (S27) would mean big changes for the Outlaws, as franchise legend Jay Cue would step away from his role as Gunslinger, allowing for rookie Charlemagne Cortez to take the helm. They would look to build a good core around Cortez in that seasons' draft, drafting young talents such as Fergus Callaghan Jr. and Cade York. However the regular season once again began poorly for Arizona as they lost by 3 points to the San Jose Sabercats in the opening week and then by 1 point the following week to the Austin Copperheads. This did not faze the Outlaws however as the team then proceeded to go on an emphatic 9 game winning streak, which would eventually come to an end in Week 12 at the hands of the Chicago Butchers. The Outlaws then won two and lost two of their final four games. The Outlaws had done enough for the number 2 seed in the division with their 11-5 record, missing out on the first seed by a draw. However despite a new QB in charge for the Outlaws, their playoff form from the past few seasons would not change much, as they were stunned in the first round by the New Orleans Second Line, losing 41-21 with Cortez throwing three interceptions. Their would be some more positives to take from the season for the rookie QB, as he scooped ORoTY at the end of season awards show. This award did not mean much to him in the grand scheme of things, as the franchise had their sights firmly set on a long awaited Ultimus.
As the Outlaws went into 2043 (S28) with their hearts set on winning the big trophy they made one big addition in the draft, using their only pick in the first three rounds on Defensive End Glenn Smart. In what now seemed to be a regular occurrence for the Outlaws, their season began poorly as they lost by 4 points in week 1 to the Honolulu Hahalua and then 7 points in week 2 to the Austin Copperheads. They would then proceed to go on a powerful run of form, winning all their games until they lost again to the Honolulu in week 12, and suffered their 4th and final loss in week 13, by a point at the hands of the Philadelphia Liberty. This time, the Outlaws 12-4 record would be good enough for the first seed in their division, giving them a bye straight into the conference championship. This would be as far as they would go in the season unfortunately, as they lost a close Conference Championship game to the Austin Coppperheads, 16-13. Once again the Arizona players would experience success in terms of awards, as Running Back Tatsu Nakamura was crowned MVP, becoming the first non-quarterback MVP since Mathias Hanyadi five seasons prior.
After once again falling out of the playoffs prematurely, the Outlaws went into 2044 (S29) looking to reclaim the Ultimus trophy, which hadn't been in Arizona in 13 seasons, beginning these efforts by drafting linebacker Marcus Jones and running back Fitted Cuddles in the draft prior to the seasons start. The Outlaws then began the regular season strong too, picking up wins in each of the first 5 weeks by a margin of 76 points, before finally losing to the New Orleans Second Line in Week 6 and then again to the Berlin Fire Salamanders in the following week. A win in week 8 against the Liberty meant the Outlaws were sitting at 5-3 come the halfway mark of the season. The Outlaws would then lose 3 of their next 5 by week 13, before winning out the rest of their games in the season, meaning they finished with a record of 11-5, buying them the top seed in the ASFC and a bye through the divisional round of the playoffs. This would be as far as they would get however as they were bested by the New York Silverbacks in the conference championships, with 3 turnovers from Cortez in the first quarter digging too big of a hole for the team as they would go on to lose 34-27. Running back Tatsu Nakamura once again saw awards success, winning OPoTY, but the Outlaws were still without that lucrative ring.
The Arizona Outlaws came back stronger in 2045 (S30), calling up rookies Bernie Sanders and Marcus Jones and signing tight end Ragnar Krashwagen, and they started the year hot. Kicking off the season with a 51-13 blowout of the New York Silverbacks followed by an even more dominant 61-17 road win at the New Orleans Secondline, the Outlaws won 9 straight games to start the season before finally losing 38-21 to the San Jose SaberCats. Four more wins followed before their second defeat, which was on the road in Week 15 to the Austin Copperheads, 25-22. With all of their wins coming by a touchdown or more, the Outlaws finished 14-2 in the regular season, scoring a record 549 points and ending the regular season with a record point differential of +250. Having made regular season history, the Outlaws blew by the New York Silverbacks 33-0 in the ASFC Championship game before losing the Ultimus to the Sarasota Sailfish 27-10 in a hugely disappointing performance where their record setting offense just never seemed to get going. Despite this, Outlaws quarterback Charlemagne Cortez picked up the MVP Award for throwing 41 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions, with Cade York setting a new ISFL record by converting 67 extra points (with none missed) which was good enough to earn him KotY.
With rookie Kotoni Staggs and free agent safety Steven Wadham added to the roster to replace the outgoing Thomas Passmann and Wesley Eriksen, the 2045 (S30) Outlaws set out to tackle an old belief that teams perform worse the year after an Ultimus defeat. This started out promisingly, with the Outlaws beginning the 2045 (S30) season by running for 5 touchdowns in a confident 49-27 rout of the New York Silverbacks on the road. This wouldn't last, however, as a last minute field goal from Jean-Jacques Leroy would seal a 23-20 defeat by the Austin Copperheads in Week 2 and a lacklustre offensive performance at the Orange County Otters would see them lose 20-15 in Week 3. This set the tone for an up and down season that was disappointing by the Outlaws' recent standards, finishing with a 9-7 record that still gained them a playoff spot in second place of the ASFC. The Outlaws were eliminated in the Wildcard round by the Honolulu Hahalua in a 33-20 loss where they found it difficult to run the ball and their defense looked tired and ineffective. Steven Wadham declared himself a free agent immediately after the defeat, looking to sign with Honolulu. Even in a down season, defensive tackle Chuck Roth picked up DTotY for his 73 tackles, 9 sacks and a safety while Cade York won PotY.
The Outlaws maintained a largely unchanged roster in 2047 (S32), their only addition being to fill their hole at safety by sending a Round 2 pick in 2048 (S33) to the Orange County Otters in return for Eugene Smoothie. Despite losing their first game of the season 48-14 to the Austin Copperheads, they bounced back with a 48-9 win against the Orange County Otters in which Tatsu Nakamura ran for 4 touchdowns. The Outlaws went on to lose three more road division games, to the New Orleans Secondline, San Jose SaberCats and New York Silverbacks by Week 10. Fortunately, they turned it round in Week 11 with a Cortez-inspired 43-7 win over the Austin Copperheads and Week 12 with a 48-7 victory over the Yellowknife Wraiths in which Deadly Memes ran for 3 touchdowns. The Arizona Outlaws finished the season 12-4, winning their second regular season championship in three years, but their momentum would soon run out as they fell to the New York Silverbacks 28-17 in the ASFC Championship game. Defensive tackle Chuck Roth won his second DTotY with 74 tackles and 10 sacks, and cornerback Rich Triplet won his first CBotY with 5 interceptions, 91 tackles and 2 forced and recovered fumbles. Following the season, quarterback Charlemagne Cortez announced his retirement.
Cue Jr & Sailor - The MVP Era
2048 (S33) saw a relatively high amount of turnover in personnel for the usually stable Outlaws. Highly touted rookie quarterback Wendell Sailor was given the keys to the offense, as the Outlaws agreed a second round pick swap with the Berlin Fire Salamanders to secure the rights to the expiring contract of running back Jay Cue Jr. and sign him to a long term deal, to replace the outgoing Tatsu Nakamura. The Outlaws also brought up fullback John Riggins, defensive backs CMCs Burner and Lance Witt, linebacker Miracle Whip and defensive linemen JJ "Jay" Jay-Jaymison Jr. to add some youth to the roster. The Outlaws won their first five games, before dropping tow straight on the road to the Orange County Otters and Philadelphia Liberty, before finding their form again and eventually finishing the season with a 12-4 record and a second straight Regular Season Championship. Once again though, the Outlaws' playoff curse struck, as they fell to the Orange County Otters 34-29 in the ASFC Championship game, as the typically stout Outlaws run defense had no answer for the Otters' ground attack. Even so, Wendell Sailor led the league in QBR with a 108.4 rating in his rookie campaign, and Chuck Roth won his third consecutive DTotY award, with 69 tackles, 10 sacks and three forced fumbles.
In 2049 (S34) Arizona added a wide receiver Quinton Crash in free agency for their Offensive rookie of the year QB, and brought up a rookie offensive lineman D'Nickashaw Mangoldson. Outlaws started the season pretty slow with 2-2 record. They still finished the season on second place in the conference, recording a rare tie against Chicago Butchers and overall 10-5-1 record. Jay Cue Jr. had an outstanding season, finishing with 19 rushing TDs, good for first in the league and MVP award. In the playoffs they won convincingly against New Orleans Secondline, but came up short in ASFC Championship game against Honolulu Hahalua. Still, their future with young QB and MVP RB looked really bright.
2050 (S35) brought several rookies for the team. Additional weapons in TE Herc Kirkby and WR 'Captain' Billy Stinkwater to the offense. Defense added Spottie O'Dopaliscious at CB and Toucan Sam at DT. They lost the first game to Honolulu right at the start, but then went on a 8 win streak, that finished on week 10 against New York Silverbacks. Once again Wendell Sailor and Jay Cue Jr. led the way for the franchise. Arizona finished second due to tiebreakers, with similar 13-3 record as their main rival of the era Honolulu. Now it was the turn for Wendell Sailor to win ISFL MVP award for his efficient 36/8 TD/Int ratio. Jay Cue Jr. had to set for the OPotY. His 1939 yards became a new rushing record for the ISFL. And ageless Chuck Roth won his fifth consecutive DTotY, marking a positional record. Despite all the personal players success once again they stumbled in the playoffs against Honolulu Hahalua, with rare lost fumble by Cue and an int by Sailor.
2051 (S36) Draft looked like foundational one for ISFL teams. Big and active class saw a lot of trades between the teams. Outlaws drafted several LBs to replace their aging core, going as far as trading a first rounder in 2052 (S37) for a third rounder in current draft. Season also saw the step-down of one of long-term team's GM. The season didn't go all that well for Arizona Wendell Sailor saw a surprising drop in his play just after an MVP season. The team fully relied on Jay Cue Jr. to carry them and to continue their playoff streak. He raised to the occasion, putting one more MVP season for the team. Jay Cue Jr. finished just shy of setting new rushing record with 1907 rushing yards and 23 rushing TDs. Outlaws finished at third place in the conference with 9-7 record. They won their first playoff game against San Jose Sabercats, wo whom they lost both regular season games. Once again Arizona was stopped in ASFC Championship by Honolulu. Their playoff curse continued.
2052 (S37) saw some changes in the team. Rich Triplet went away and Chuck Roth finally retired. To bolster team defense big free agents were signed - Mark Goodhead, Leonardo Mcturtle and Raphael McTurtle. Also, several rookies were brought up from DSFL. Despite all these signings the start of the season for the Outlaws was really slow. Arizona lost it's first game against the long time rival, and probably curse of the franchise, Honolulu. Next games saw loss against New Orleans Secondline and wins against San Jose Sabercats, Orange County Otters and Austin Copperheads. But after 3 games losing streak Arizona found itself at 3-5 at the half of the season and out of playoff picture. Also the newly revamped defense was literally the worst in the league in yards and points allowed. Things changed radically in the second half. Arizona went on to win all remaining eight games with defense radically improving. They haven't allowed more than twenty points in all but two games. Offense became the powerhouse that it should be with not one but two MVP candidates in Wendell Sailor and Jay Cue Jr. Outlaws scored more points than any other team with a comfortable margin. Now was the time for playoffs. Coming from 1st seed they met Honolulu in ASFC Championship. This time Arizona finally managed to overcome them with convincing 31-19 win. XXXVII (2053, S37) game was against Sarasota Sailfish. With huge game from all of defense and particularly offseason signing Mark Goodhead Arizona finally won their long coveted trophy. MVP era in Arizona continued with Cue Jr. winning his 3rd and Sailor getting OPotY.
2053 (S38) for Arizona Outlaws went as good as possible. It seems like Ultimus hangover didn't exist for the team. While some old players retired and Jay Cue Jr. became a bit slower, some callups from DSFL, like Cue heir Danny Nedelko, helped to make up for it. The season started with 5-0 winning streak, including win over preseason contenders like New York Silverbacks, New Orleans Second Line and San Jose Sabercats. The good luck ended with the loss to Austin Copperheads. But then the wins continued. At half of the season Outlaws had 7-1 record, and clearly showed that they are a contender they were expected to be before the season. Especially when other teams suffered a lot unexpected losses (or wins, like Baltimore). Arizona finished the season really strong. 13-3 record, best offense in the league, second best defense and point differential over 100 points. The home advantage for the playoffs was pretty important for the team, that haven't lost a home game all season long. After beating Silverbacks in conference championship Arizona went to play against the surprising XXXVIII (2054, S38) opponent - Berlin Fire Salamanders. The luck that has supported Berlin all season finally wasn't enough and that's how Outlaws won rare back to back championships. The good measure of the season that the team had were the amount of awards it players got. Wendell Sailor finally got out of Cue shadow to get his second MVP award and also MOP for good measure. Mark Goodhead got Defensive Player of the Year. Overall Outlaws had 7 All Pros which shows the high quality of the team. And now with some new signings and callups the run for the coveted threepeat awaits.
The Arizona Outlaws were expected to contend for the championship in the 2054 (S39), placing a big hope on winning the elusive threepeat, which was done only once before in whole ISFL history. And they had good chances for it, boasting the most talented players group in the league. Most of the league predicted them to become a regular season champions once more. However, their quest for the regular season championship fell just short. After 3-0 they suffered two not very close losses to Austin Copperheads and New Orleans Second Line, 30-20 and 33-20 respectively. Arizona toughed up a bit and finished first half of the season o the 3-0 winning streak against Honolulu, Berlin and Sarasota. But on the other side of the table Yellowknife Wraiths were still undefeated, so home advantage in the playoffs seemed distant. Preseason over bet of 13 wins didn't look that good too now. losses to the Baltimore Hawks and San Jose Sabercats didn't help much too. Homefield advantage and first round bye were in contention up to last week, with pretty surprising Austin Copperheads run. Arizona and Austin both finished their regular season 11-5, with outlaws grabbing the first seed by some tiebreakers I'm too lazy to learn about. Statistically, Arizona still finished first on offense, albeit by a point and third on defense. In the playoffs, they pretty much stomped New Orleans Second Line in conference championship, after surprising Nola win in divisional round. defeated by a talented team in a closely contested game. but not having home field advantage in the XXXIX (2055, S39) probably played some part in their really bad loss to Yellowknife Wraiths with horrifying end score of 34-6. Threepeat dream was no more, at least for some time. What was even more shocking, was not getting much personal awards for Outlaws players. With Cue Jr getting old, and Sailor overshadowed by other ISFL players, no MVPs and OPOY were won, first time since s34. Also, just 5 All-Pros, which was pretty low for such good team.
2055 (S40) marked one of the biggest changes for Arizona Outlaws roster. The team aging legend in Jay Cue Jr. left for stat padding to Berlin Fire Salamanders and put the team in hands of Wendell Sailor and second year running back Danny Nedelko. Also a young running back Sherwin Blue Jr got called up from DSFL. The Outlaws came back for the vengeance of having their threepeat dreams thwarted. They ran all over the ISFL, curb stomping teams to finish with overall 14-2 record, dropping just two games to San Jose Sabercats and Cape Town Crash. They finished with best offense and defense in the league, boasting a staggering 260 point differential in the end. They finished as regular season champions, guaranteeing themselves a homefield advantage through the playoffs. In conference finals they easily won against Orange County Otters, with 37-17 final score. In the XL (2056, S40) rematch with Yellowknife Wraiths awaited. This time Outlaws managed to grab a win, getting third Ultimus in four seasons, and cementing themselves as one of the best teams ever. Rookie safety Notso Smart ended up winning Defensive rookie of the year for the team.
2056 (S41) started with a big narrative change for Arizona Outlaws. For some time they were considered too old to compete, but now, it definitely started to catch up. Despite having a young QB successor in Donovan Winters, they decided to give Wendell Sailor a one last ride. This didn't go particularly well for Outlaws in the beginning of the season. After winning the opening game against Austin Copperheads, they had 2-5 record after week 7, with Sailor having his probably worst season ever. Something had to change and Arizona went for a rare midseason trade, bringing Carrissa Van Campen to boost teams defense. They went on a 9 game winning streak to finish the season, but still most of their games were won just by one score and the team finished in the middle of the pack for scoring offense and defense. Due to tiebreakers they also placed just second in the conference and had to start in the wild card game/ They won against their competitor in Orange County Otters and Honolulu Hahalua, to meet the surprising contented in Cape town Crash in the XLI (2057, S41). The game was close and not particularly good for both teams, but in the end Arizona mistakes were worse and they lost with the final score of 18-20. This marked the end of the long and dominant Sailor-Cue Jr. era, with both players retiring in the end of the season.
WINters is coming Era
2057 (S42) was a time for change for the Arizona Outlaws and also a heralding in of a new era, with the retirement of storied franchise quarterback, and greatest Outlaw, Wendell Sailor, it was time for Donovan Winters III to take over leadership of the Outlaws and continue the great story. In addition to Sailor, longtime offensive tackle D'Nickashaw Mangoldson, wide receiver Kotoni Staggs, cornerback Mark Goodhead and safety Amari Springer sailed off to the sunset and their retirement. This meant that the Outlaws called up wide receiver Benjo Aguilera, cornerback Benjamin Duvernay and safety Brian Vincent-Vega to help out in a quest for another Ultimus title. After a tough opening week loss to the Honolulu Hahalua, the Outlaws went on 6 games winning streak which included some convincing wins along with some close calls such as a 14-12 win on the road against the Orange County Otters. After two clear losses on the road against tough opponents in the Baltimore Hawks and New York Silverbacks the Outlaws finished extremely strong and winning the rest of the way, finishing with a 13-3 record, top spot in the ASFC and a first-round bye to boot. With rookie Winters III at the helm, the Outlaws leaned on the run game with the most rushing attempts in the league by a clear margin and brought Danny Nedelko with a deserved Offensive Player of the Year award but also Winters III play was good enough to award him a Offensive Rookie of the Year award. After enjoying their bye, the Outlaws would first come up against the Honolulu Hahalua and were able to gain adequate revenge after their opening week loss by dismantling them 34-10 in a game that was never close. After that it was off to another Ultimus, looking to avenge their loss the previous season, this time against the Berlin Fire Salamanders. This was a game that the Outlaws never looked like losing with 3 rushing scores in the first half and leading 21-0 at the half. In the second half it never got much closer and the final score was 38-14, with Sherwin Blue Jr nabbing Ultimus MVP with 3 rushing touchdowns and bringing home their 8th Ultimus title and sending the team deservedly to Disneyland!
With championship feeling still going through their veins, the Outlaws started the 2058 (S43) season looking to build on that. During the off-season, there had been only one retirement, with stalwart defensive tackle Emerson Quinn hanging up his boots. Arizona was then able to call up three rookies to bolster their already strong squad, with Beeg Beeg Yoshi Jr. and [Don Tolibeo]] joining on the offensive line and defensive tackle Scruffy The Janitor beefing up the defensive line. Arizona decided to open up with a traditional opening week loss, this time on the road against the New York Silverbacks. After this initial blip, they decided to put their foot on the gas and reel off 5 straight wins, including some truly impressive performances, such as a 27-3 win against the San Jose Sabercats and a 54-14 win over the Orange County Otters, both at home. After this things started to get a bit more difficult as the Outlaws went 4-6 on the rest of the season to finish with a 9-7 record, which would give them the second seed in the ASFC. The Outlaw players were also were well-liked with 8 Pro-bowl awards and star linebacker Akaki Akayre taking home the Defensive Player of the Year award. Arizona started their playoff journey at home against the Honolulu Hahalua in the wild-card round. Arizona dominated the first quarter, while Honolulu put up three touchdowns in the second, meaning the game 21-17 in favor of Honolulu going into halftime. In the second half, Honolulu was only able to put up 2 field goals, while Arizona responded with two touchdowns and a safety, which ended up being the difference in a 32-27 win for the Outlaws. This meant that they would go on the road to face the first-seeded New York Silverbacks in the conference championship game. This was also a tight game with only 3 points being scored in the first half and not much more in the second half. In the end it was New York who was able to put up 17 points in the fourth quarter and take the game 20-13. This was an unfortunate end to the season for the Outlaws but had them again as one of the top 4 teams in the league
2059 (S44) season began in almost weird fashion for the Arizona Outlaws as there were no roster moves either in or out of the organization. On the other hand there was a big change over in management as long-time Head Coach .simo decided it was time to enjoy his time elsewhere after a marvelous run and so much success. All Arizona Outlaws wished him the best of luck in whatever he decided to do next and then prepared to welcome in new Head Coach lemonpoppy who was seen as a great young offensive mind and the next true guru. His time as head coach started off well, with Arizona opening up with three straight wins and the offense humming as it should and the defense also looking good. After trading wins and losses for the next few weeks the then were able to string back-to-back wins in weeks 9 and 10 but unfortunately followed that up with a 3-game losing streak. After finishing the last few weeks of the season, the Outlaws finished up with another 9-7 season, but this time that was enough as their proud 17-season playoff streak came to an end. This was something of a shock for the franchise and its players who were used to making it, but all good things do tend to come to an end at some point. Even with the disappointment of not making the playoffs, the Outlaws were able to scoop up 5 Pro Bowl awards, 3 All-Pro along with Jayme Jayne Jay-Jamison winning the Special Teams Player of the Year award and superstar Akaki Akayre winning his second straight Defensive Player of the Year award.
2060 (S45) was then the complete opposite of what 2059 (S44) was in terms of player movement. The Outlaws were sad to see wide receiver Louis Blondin, cornerback Outlaw Mode Sicko, defensive tackle Rapahel McTurtle and linebacker Leonardo McTurtle all sail off to the sunset of their retirement island. This was of course a huge exodus from the team, but thankfully they were then able to add a great rookie class, including wide receiverr Thomas Sutha and Jordan Bamford along with cornerback Paul Dosza. Long-time running back Sherwin Blue Jr. also had a very eventful off-season and put in a lot of work so that he would now line up on the other side of the ball as a linebacker. This meant that there was an opening in the running back room and the Outlaws decided to pounce by singing free agent Ben Goodwood. To make things even more complex, there was even a trade! With Arizona sending Defensive Tackle Dormo Bloodhand to the Cap Town Crash in exchange for Defensive End Udo E Beauty. After all these roster moves, the start of the season was quite a rocky ride in Arizona, with the Outlaws finding themselves at 3-5 after 8 weeks of the season and firmly outside of the playoff picture and wondering was this their new trend. After week 8, the Outlaws seemed somewhat galvanized, which might have been due to the great team retreat they took in Jamaica. In any case they decided to 6-2 the rest of the way, which brought them their third straight 9-7 season in a row. This time it was good for third in the ASFC, losing out the tiebreaker to the Austin Copperheads but making the playoffs! Making the playoffs was great, but this time it was not meant to be their dance as they got absolutely dominated in the wild-card round by the Austin Copperheads 41-19 and the game was never close. Outlaws again took home 7 Pro-Bowl awards, and 5 second-team All-Pro awards and it was a great honor to also see Outlaw legends Jay Cue Jr. and Wendell Sailor inducted into the Hall of Fame!
Season-by-season records
| Season | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | |||
| 2016 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 13 | 1 | 0 | .929 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2026 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2027 | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2028 | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2029 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2030 | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2031 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2032 | 9 | 4 | 0 | .692 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2033 | 9 | 4 | 0 | .692 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2034 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .385 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2035 | 7 | 6 | 0 | .538 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2036 | 3 | 10 | 0 | .231 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2037 | 4 | 8 | 1 | .346 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2038 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2039 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2040 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2041 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2042 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2043 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2044 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2045 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2046 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2047 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2048 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2049 | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2050 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2051 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2052 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2053 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2054 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2055 | 14 | 3 | 0 | .875 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2056 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2057 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2058 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2059 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2060 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2061 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .812 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2062 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 424 | 276 | 2 | .599 | 38 | 25 | ||
Current roster
Arizona Outlaws roster
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| Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams |
Reserve lists
DSFL Send-downs
Rookies in italics
Roster updated December 9th 2023 | ||||||
Current staff
Arizona Outlaw staff
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References
