Difference between revisions of "Berlin Fire Salamanders"
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==='''Season 33'''=== | ==='''Season 33'''=== | ||
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| + | The Fire Salamanders were coming off of their best season in Franchise history and they were looking to continue the success as they entered Season 33. Quarterback Dexter Zaylren had another year of experience under his belt and there was little reason to suspect he could not deliver in a similar way that had the previous season. Another important key to the success that the team found in Season 32 was there star running back Goat Tank. It seemed like everything was in line to make sure that this season the team could finish what they started last season. Only a few questions remained and that was, could the defense keep up with the talented offense and was last season a fluke? | ||
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| + | Preseason started and the team looked confident. They managed a win in their opening preseason game but after that they dropped 3 straight by a combined score of 14 points. However, it was just preseason so there was not a whole lot to be worried about. The team seemed confident in its ability to move the ball and the Defense seemed up to the task to give the offense chances to win the game. The season started with a home game against the Philadelphia Liberty and right away you could see the talent the Berlin Fire Salamanders had on their squad. The Defense limited the liberty to only 20 points and Goat Tank absolutely dominated the opposing defense putting up 125 yard and 2 Touchdowns. Week 2 was more of the same as Berlin travelled across the Atlantic to square off against the always talented Yellowknife Wraiths. While the Wraiths managed to stifle Goat Tanks yard production they could not keep him and newly acquired Nakamura out of the endzone as they combined for 3 TDs. On the Defensive side of the ball Fuzzy George was showing leadership that could help put Berlin in a great position come the end of the season. | ||
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| + | The next two games exposed some slight weaknesses for the team as the Chicago Butchers and Sarasota Sailfish shredded the Berlin Defense and put up a combined 92 points. Two tough losses against NSFC rivals that the Fire Salamanders are going to need to beat in order to make the playoffs. The Team quickly bounced back and handily won against Austin and Colorado to improve their record to 4-2 through 6 games in the season. The Fire Salamanders seemed confident and in control the only worry was their consistency as they would go on to drop 3 in a row and fall to a 4-5 record before finding their form and winning 4 straight games to get back to an 8-5 record. The playoff race was close and the team knew how important these last 3 games were going to be. The first contest was at home against the dangerous Sailfish and the team could not manage the victory and would fall by a score of 27-20. An 8-6 record meant the team still had hope and the Colorado Yeti were a must win game and the team was unable to perform as again the offense could not top the 20 point mark. With that loss the dreams of a Title would have to wait until the next season. | ||
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| + | Individual players showed great improvement in this 9-7 season for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. However, the teams inability to play at a high level consistently was the reason they were unable to make it back to the playoffs. With another season under his belt Zaylren and the rest of the Fire Salamanders organization were going to have to buckle down in order to make it back to the playoffs in the next season. | ||
==='''Season 34'''=== | ==='''Season 34'''=== | ||
Revision as of 18:58, 18 January 2023
| Berlin Fire Salamanders | |||
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 Current season | |||
First season: 2040 Berlin Fire Salamanders season Play in and headquartered in Berlin Field Berlin, Germany | |||
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| League/conference affiliations | |||
NSFL (2040–present)
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Current uniform
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| Team colors | Red, Yellow & Black | ||
| Mascot | Fire Slamander | ||
| Personnel | |||
| General manager | Barney Stinson (Dewalt27) Nick Kaepercolin (Highhaschdi) | ||
| Team history | |||
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| Championships | |||
| League championships (0) | |||
Conference championships (0)
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Division championships (1)
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| Playoff appearances (1) | |||
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| Home fields | |||
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The Berlin Fire Salamanders is a professional American football franchise based in Berlin, Germany. The Fire Salamanders currently compete in the International Simulation Football League (ISFL) as a member club of the league's National Simulation Football Conference (NSFC) which currently only has one division.
The franchise was established in 2040 (S25) in the league's fourth expansion. It is led by GM Dewalt27 who has been around since S18 of the ISFL and GM Highhaschdi who has been around since S22. The conception of the Fire Salamanders started when Dewalt27 thought of honoring his German ancestors and Highhaschdi, who is actually German, and combined with Head Office's interest in international teams, they wanted to find something that relates directly to Germany. The Black, Yellow and Red/Orange colors represent the German flag along with the Fire Salamander mascot which is common throughout Germany and most of Europe.
Contents
History
S25
With the Season 25 ISFL Expansion Draft, unlike the New York Silverbacks, the Fire Salamanders needed a RB of the future and firestart an offense in the new year, they would select Joseph Petrongolo from the Arizona Outlaws who would later lead the ISFL for RB's in the S26 ISFL Positional Awards.
In the Season 25 ISFL Draft, the Fire Salamanders had the #1 overall pick, and they selected CB Swantavius Jones. It was regarded as a clear and concise pick, having many ties to Berlin members, and was regarded as a great member off the field. They did not have a 2nd or 4th round pick because they had traded for LB Adam Schell and S Benoit Blanco as well as a S25 6th Round Pick respectively. The Fire Salamanders also traded back with their 3rd round pick to acquire an additional 5th and 6th round pick.
As Season 25 started, it was an unexpected solid start, as they would go 3-5 in their first 8 games, including wins against Liberty and the SaberCats. Unfortunately, those 3 games would be the only ones they would win as they would finish the season league last at 3-13. They in fact finished with a better road record compared to their home record. Their passing offense led by QB Nick Kaepercolin posted underwhelming stats and finished the year with 3200 passing yards and 21 passing TD's to go with 21 INT's. But not all was lost however, as they were 2nd in the league in rushing with Petrongolo and King leading the way with 2000+ combined rushing yards. Their defense also did not do them any favors after allowing the league worst 29.1 points allowed per game. CB Asher Quinn provided a light in a darkened defense though with 68 tackles to go along with 22 pass breakups and 3 INT's. But with a solid foundation, Berlin was looking like they would be able to take the next step in S26.
S26
In the Season 26 ISFL Draft, Berlin again would have the 1st overall pick. They would go on to select LB BamBam McMullet from the Tijuana Luchadores. It was regarded as a surprising pick from most mock drafts, but one that would help them out in a position of need. They also traded back up into the 1st Round by trading their 2nd Round Pick and S27 2nd Round Pick to receive Chicago's 1st Round Pick (11th Overall). The Fire Salamanders would select, S Derek Wildstar. They had him regarded very highly, and considered drafting him with the 1st Overall Pick, but LB outweighed their need for S, but they were able to get both of the guys they wanted.
With Season 26 looming, the Fire Salamanders actually had a team that could be reckoned with, or at first that's what it seemed. Berlin would actually start the season at 0-5, with 3 of the losses being by double digit points. They needed a spark, and that's exactly what happened. The Fire Salamanders would then win 7 out of the last 11 games, taking almost a 180 with the team finishing the season at 7-9. The offense had a vast improvement in the passing game compared to last season finishing 6th in the league with QB Nick Kaepercolin throwing for 4300 yards and 21 TD's with a more efficient 14 INT's. While the running game did slightly worse this season compared to last, it was just as pivotal. Petrongolo led the team with 1081 rushing yards and King assisting in the run game with 850 of his own. Berlin's defense also improved to being middle of the pack, led by LB Adam Schell with 126 tackles and FS Benoit Blanco with 117 tackles. The Fire Salamanders are looking to continue to trend up in the league.
S27
The Fire Salamanders would look to the future to build on a solid foundation on the D-Line spot, and they would do that by selecting DT Marlon Brando with the 5th overall pick in the Season 27 ISFL Draft. The pick was well regarded as he is a great locker room fit and just a well liked player around the league. They would also select OL Cheese Farley and TE Shane Cook with their 3rd round picks, and RB Massimo Rocco in the 4th round.
As far as how Season 27 went for Berlin, unfortunately it did not go as well as planned. On the offensive side of the ball, Berlin would rank 11th in the league in points scored per game. They also ranked 12th in the league in total offense by accumulating a little under 350 yards per game. Overall it would be a step in the wrong direction for the Fire Salamanders as they looked to build on the success from last season. Nick Kaepercolin would throw for 4397 passing yards and 20 TD's with 8 INT's. Joseph Petrongolo would again lead the team in rushing with 929 yards on a 191 attempts and 10 TD's. WR Achtfünf was Kaepercolin's favorite target as he accumulated 114 receptions, 1321 yards and 7 receiving TD's. On the defensive side, the Fire Salamanders did fairly well comparing to last season as they would rank 4th in the league in points allowed with only 22 per game. It was known more as a bend but don't break defense as they ranked 9th in the league in total defense with 367.5 yards per game allowed. CB Matt Krause was one of the bright spots to the defensive squad as he accumulated 113 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 24 PD's. He was also the team's starting KR/PR, and he had 667 kick return yards to an average of 31.8 per return, and 249 punt return yards including a 77 yard punt return. CB Jeeeeroy Lenkins on the other side was another solid contributor on defense as he had 93 tackles and 4 INT's as well as 22 PD's. The Fire Salamanders would go off to a decent start by going 4-4 including a 8-5 win against the Chicago Butchers, but they would go on to win only 2 of the next 8 games to a 6-10 record and miss the playoffs for a 3rd consecutive season. Berlin will need to make some major changes in the upcoming season to finally clinch that playoff berth that's been eluding them.
S28
Off the back of yet another disappointing season, the Fire Salamanders were still in search of the first winning season in franchise history, strengthening their team with solid pickups such as Troy Abed, Dexter Zaylren and Logan Anderson in the Season 28 ISFL Draft.
Going into the regular season hopes were high in the Berlin camp, and these hopes were shown to be justified throughout the first half of the season as the team won all of their first six games, before being delivered their only loss of the first half of the season in Week 7 at the hands of the Chicago Butchers, in a shootout, 41-37 loss. This did not deter the Fire Salamanders however, a team used to losing, as they powered their way through the back half of the season, winning another 5 games to give themselves a 12-4 record and first seed in the NSFC going into the playoffs, marking their first ever franchise playoff appearance. Unfortunately for Berlin, and despite having the bye week to prepare, this playoff appearance was short lived, as they lost the Conference Championship Game 17-13, as Colby Jack threw in the winning touchdown with 4 minutes left on the clock.
At the awards show it would not be all disappointment for Berlin though, as General Managers Highhaschdi and Dewalt27 would scoop up the General Managers of the Year Award
S29
Off the back of the franchises best season to date, the Fire Salamanders were in a position to do even better, and looked to capitalise on this, strengthening their roster before the season even began, in the draft. They picked up tight end Gronko Muerto with their first round pick and defensive tackle Ilove HotSalads with their second, as well as kicker Izuku Campbell in the third. Despite all the positives for Berlin, their season would actually get off to a poor start, as they lost 2 of their first 3 matchups, beating only the [[Yellowknife Wraiths]] in that period of time. However, they quickly got over this poor streak of form as they won their next 4 before losing to the Second Line in Week 8. This halfway mark loss would turn out to be the teams last of the season, as they would go unbeaten for the rest of the regular season, winning 8 in a row.
The teams 13-3 record would be good enough to give them a first round playoff bye, with not just the top seed in their division but the top seed of the entire league. The resulting home field advantage would be enough for the Fire Salamanders to triumph over the Sarasota Sailfish in the Conference Championship Game, 23-20, thanks in large part to a game tying Adam Schell pick 6 in the fourth. Unfortunately for Berlin, it would not be enough for the Ultimus game, as they would lose out, 40-20, to the New York Silverbacks, however the efforts of their two GMs would allow them to repeat their GMoty from last season.
Season 30
With Season 29 providing the Fire Salamanders with their best finish in franchise history there was a lot of excitement for what the team was going to be able to do in Season 30. Now, it was going to be hard for them to repeat the success that the had found the following season but, veteran QB Nick Kaepercolin was back under center and their were still plenty of weapons for him to utilize including his favorite target from the season before and the offensive captain for the team Cmon Skiuuup. On the defensive side of the ball the Fire Salamanders were looking a little more inexperienced but they still had all the tools necessary to have a strong season. The team elected to go with Jacob Raske, a Rookie as the Captain for the defense.
The Team got off to a hot start grabbing huge wins early on in the season over the Colorado Yeti, Sarasota Sailfish, and the Yellowknife Wraiths. With those 3 teams looking to be the Fire Salamanders biggest competition to find their way back into the playoffs. The win-streak would continue as well as Weeks 4-6 saw the Fire Salamanders make short work of the likes of the Philadelphia Liberty, Chicago Butcher and the Baltimore Hawks. While expectations were lower this season the 6-0 Fire Salamanders were a steam engine that did not look to be slowing down anytime soon. However, all good things must come to an end and in two nail-bitingly close games the Arizona Outlaws and the New York Silverbacks would cause the team to fall to a 6-2 record at the halfway point in the season.
The second half of the season saw the team unable to find the offensive success that was bringing them the victories early on in the season. The team would grab two wins to start the latter half of the season with a domination 42-10 performance against OCO and a 20-14 defensive brawl against Baltimore but, following those games the team would only score more than would only score 3 TDs in a game 2 more times all season as they would struggle with the remaining games of the season dropping close games to Colorado, Philadelphia, Chicago. These games were all crucial as the Fire Salamanders were in the Playoff hunt and needed every win to make it, fortunately a Week 13 win against Sarasota was all the team needed to secure another trip to the playoffs.
While the team was not performing well for much of the latter half of the season they made sure that they were ready come playoff time and in the first round they squared off against the Wraiths and despite the odds they were able to secure an opening round victory and earn a trip to the NSFC title game to square off against the Sarasota Sailfish. Unfortunately that would again be where the season would end for the Fire Salamanders as they would fall by a score of 30-24. An unfortunate end to the season but, in the end, a season that the Fire Salamanders can be proud of as an organization.
Season 31
The beginning of S31 marked a new era of QB for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. The team was in need of some way to improve upon their S30 performance and to them that meant giving the offense from Nick Kaepercolin over to the young rookie Dexter Zaylren who would also serve as the team's offensive Captain for the coming season. A similar supporting cast would surround Zaylren this season as Hood, Skiuup and Danny King Jr. would be there to support the young rookie. On the defensive side of the ball a new captain would be named. Jason Bradshaw would be named Captain and join players like Adam Schell and McMullet on the field to try and repeat their strong defensive performance that the team showed the season before. Anytime a team makes the playoffs and falls just short it is always their goal to get back to the playoffs as quickly as possible and this season was going to be no different.
With a new QB the team got off to a rather slow start as they would lose their opening game to the Colorado Yeti in nail-biting fashing by a score of 23-22. However, they would not be down long as they were able to bounce back quickly against the Sailfish and win by a score of 28-20. Sitting at 1-1 the team were set to start a 3 game road trip and would go onto lose against the Hawks and the Wraiths by a combined total of 8 points and securing another win against the Copperheads by a score of 34-19. There is nothing more frustrating for a team to lose close games week in and week out and unfortunately for the Salamanders they would incur two more losses by a combined score of only 12 points and no loss being by more than a TD. Regardless, of the tough losses they were able to finish the first half of the season in emphatic fashion beating the Sabercats 38-21 to improve their record to 3-5.
The team was going to need to go on a strong run in the second half of the season to get back into the hunt for the playoffs. Luckily the players were up to the challenge and quickly put together a 4 game winning streak, including a 56-23 win against the Hawks in Week 11. Finally sporting a winning record of 7-5 the team would struggle and go onto lose another one score game in Week 12 to the Sailfish meaning that all 6 of their losses on the season had been by fewer than one score, a stat that would come back and haunt them later on. Despite going 3-1 to finish out the season the Fire Salamanders were unable to overcome their slow start and would go onto miss the playoffs even though they would put up the same number of wins that they earned the season prior. While some view it as a missed opportunity the organization looks poised to build off this season and come back even stronger for the next one.
Season 32
Coming off a tough season in which the team suffered 6 losses by less than one score and missed the playoffs the team was looking for a way to fix the issues and that led them to bring in the ever dangerous Goat Tank to the squad. The rushing game had always been an are of trouble for the Fire Salamanders and the organization decided that now would be the time to invest in it and see what would happen when they did. On the offensive side Dexter Zaylren would wear the Captain badge again as he came off a very solid rookie campaign and Jason Bradshaw would once again lead the extremely talented Fire Salamander Defense throughout the season. With returning to the playoffs on their site the new look Berlin Fire Salamanders were ready to kick off Season 32.
A strong pre-season set the team up for very early success as before you knew it Goat Tank and Dexter Zaylren would have the team at an impressive 3-0 record. Zaylren would have a 5 TD game to start off the season and then in Week 3 against the Colorado Yeti Goat Tank would show how dangerous he can be when he rushed for a monstrous 20 carries for 312 yards and 4 TDs. The one score losses would find their way back again though and the team would lose their first game of the season to the New York Silverbacks by a score of 27-20 and then would lose their next game to the Sailfish before falling to a 3-2 record. Eager to get back to the form that they were in early in the season the team leaned more heavily on their defense and they were able to grab 2 more wins before losing the final game at the halfway point moving their record to 5-3.
The team would start the second half of the season in a very similar fashion to the first half and quickly grab 3 wins on the back of solid defensive performances and more explosive games from Goat Tank. With their record now at 8-3 the Fire Salamanders were in the driver’s seat and had an opportunity to challenge for the Division Title and their Week 11 showdown against Philadelphia was going to be the biggest deciding factor in the battle. However, it would be Philadelphia that would get the best of them and take back control of the Divisional Title Battle. The Fire Salamanders would go on to win their next two games by a combined score of 78-29 against both the Hawks and the Yeti before dropping another close game to the Sailfish. With playoffs all locked up they went into the final game of the season needing a huge point total to try and knock PHL off the divisional lead but, unfortunately even though they would go onto win they would finish runner-up in the division. Despite losing the Divisional Title the team looked strong all season posting the 2nd best rushing offense and 4th best passing this season on their way to their 11-5 record and playoff appearance.
The Season 32 post-season started with a home game against the ever dangerous Sarasota Sailfish. With the newly found experience of Goat Tank and QB Dexter Zaylren with an extra year under his belt the team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The ground and pound approach would work and the Fire Salamanders would secure a 34-17 win to move on to face the Liberty in the NSFC Title game. While the Liberty got the better of them for the division it was Berlin that would walk away champions of the NSFC as the team would win in a close game 16-12 to earn their first ever trip to the Ultimus. The Ultimus set up a match-up between the fellow expansion team New York Silverbacks and the game definitely lived up to the hype. The Fire Salamanders trailed 13-0 at halftime and unfortunately despite outsourcing the Silverbacks in the 2nd half they could not overcome the deficit and would go onto lose 27-24 putting an end to an incredible season.
Season 33
The Fire Salamanders were coming off of their best season in Franchise history and they were looking to continue the success as they entered Season 33. Quarterback Dexter Zaylren had another year of experience under his belt and there was little reason to suspect he could not deliver in a similar way that had the previous season. Another important key to the success that the team found in Season 32 was there star running back Goat Tank. It seemed like everything was in line to make sure that this season the team could finish what they started last season. Only a few questions remained and that was, could the defense keep up with the talented offense and was last season a fluke?
Preseason started and the team looked confident. They managed a win in their opening preseason game but after that they dropped 3 straight by a combined score of 14 points. However, it was just preseason so there was not a whole lot to be worried about. The team seemed confident in its ability to move the ball and the Defense seemed up to the task to give the offense chances to win the game. The season started with a home game against the Philadelphia Liberty and right away you could see the talent the Berlin Fire Salamanders had on their squad. The Defense limited the liberty to only 20 points and Goat Tank absolutely dominated the opposing defense putting up 125 yard and 2 Touchdowns. Week 2 was more of the same as Berlin travelled across the Atlantic to square off against the always talented Yellowknife Wraiths. While the Wraiths managed to stifle Goat Tanks yard production they could not keep him and newly acquired Nakamura out of the endzone as they combined for 3 TDs. On the Defensive side of the ball Fuzzy George was showing leadership that could help put Berlin in a great position come the end of the season.
The next two games exposed some slight weaknesses for the team as the Chicago Butchers and Sarasota Sailfish shredded the Berlin Defense and put up a combined 92 points. Two tough losses against NSFC rivals that the Fire Salamanders are going to need to beat in order to make the playoffs. The Team quickly bounced back and handily won against Austin and Colorado to improve their record to 4-2 through 6 games in the season. The Fire Salamanders seemed confident and in control the only worry was their consistency as they would go on to drop 3 in a row and fall to a 4-5 record before finding their form and winning 4 straight games to get back to an 8-5 record. The playoff race was close and the team knew how important these last 3 games were going to be. The first contest was at home against the dangerous Sailfish and the team could not manage the victory and would fall by a score of 27-20. An 8-6 record meant the team still had hope and the Colorado Yeti were a must win game and the team was unable to perform as again the offense could not top the 20 point mark. With that loss the dreams of a Title would have to wait until the next season.
Individual players showed great improvement in this 9-7 season for the Berlin Fire Salamanders. However, the teams inability to play at a high level consistently was the reason they were unable to make it back to the playoffs. With another season under his belt Zaylren and the rest of the Fire Salamanders organization were going to have to buckle down in order to make it back to the playoffs in the next season.
Season 34
Season 35
Season 36
Season 37
Season 38
Season-by-Season Records
| Season | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | |||
| 2040 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2041 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2042 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2043 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2044 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2045 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2046 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2047 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2048 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2049 | 11 | 4 | 1 | .719 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2050 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2051 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 100 | 91 | 1 | .523 | 4 | 5 | ||
Players and Personnel
Current roster
 | This article is pending review by an Approver on the wiki team. Do not award TPE yet. |
Berlin Fire Salamanders roster
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| Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
DSFL Send-downs
Rookies in italics
Roster updated January 24th 2024 | ||||||
Current staff
Template:Berlin Fire Salamanders staff
