Bertie Mannering-Phipps
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 Bertie running | |||||||||
| No. 34 – Arizona Outlaws | |||||||||
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| Position: | Runningback | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | December 2036, 9 (aged 2051) New York, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||
| Username: | Bernardhibou | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | The Winchendon School | ||||||||
| College: | Princeton | ||||||||
| ISFL Draft: | 2058 / Round: 2 / Pick: 21 | ||||||||
| DSFL Draft: | 2057 / Round: | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career ISFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Career DSFL statistics | |||||||||
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Bertie Mannering-Phipps (born June 28, 1915) is an American football runningback for the Arizona Outlaws of the International Simulation Football League (ISFL).
Contents
Early years
Born in New York, NY to wealthy industrialist parents, Bertie was raised to be the under-18 world champion croquet player and competed in the 2050 and 2054 U18 World Cup of Croquet, finishing fourth and eleventh respectively. Although his skill with a mallet was unquestioned, his father's brutal training regimen took a huge toll on Bertie's mental conditioning. Following a key injury in the round-robin stage of the 2054 World Cup, caused by his father's insistence that he should drink a gin and tonic at the half-time tea party, Bertie called it quits and absconded from home, allegedly with the entire contents of the summer house silver collection. With this significant nest-egg, he decided to enrol himself at Princeton and tried out for the Tigers after being scouted by the offensive co-ordinator at a charity croquet event. Even though his experience in team sports was limited, he was motivated by a desire to shame his father by participating in a sport of the common people.
College career
As a freshman in 2054, Bertie spent most of his time on the bench and in the video room, but following an injury to the starting RB was able to contribute consistently after a rough first game that featured two fumbles. As he familiarized himself with his role, his attempts and offensive yards per game increased significantly. The next season saw significant roster turnover following a locker room scandal, and Bertie capitalized on this opportunity by setting new personal records for touchdowns (6) and rushing yards per game (70.4), although his propensity for fumbles had him sit out a key matchup vs Harvard as coaches worked with him to build consistency. Off the field, Bertie took some time to acclimatize to his new team members, but his participation in local charity fundraisers and intense offseason training regimens saw increased all-round performance in subsequent years. Scouts for various professional leagues liked what they saw in terms of speed and endurance through the course of a game, and he was flagged as a prospective draftee for season 42 of the DSFL.
College career statistics
| Career statistics | Rushing | Offensive Line | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Att | Yards | Avg | Lg | TD | Pancakes | Sacks Allowed |
| 2054 | Princeton Tigers | 10 | 36 | 120 | 12 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
Pre-Draft Measurables
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | Wonderlic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
195 lb (88 kg) |
5.1 s | 4.5 s | 8.25 s | 35 in (0.89 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
14 reps | 35 | ||||
| 2058 ISFL scouting combine (S43) | ||||||||||||
Professional career
S42
Bertie joined the Bondi Beach Buccaneers as a waiver pick-up just prior to Season 42 despite missing the draft on account of a family emergency. He found his feet quickly in a team that embraced young talent as they sought to rebuild themselves out of the league basement. In his first season, Bertie accrued 1188 rushing yards in 14 games, with a rushing average of 3.9 and 10 rush touchdowns. Although the season started with some close games against key rivals, the sheer number of new players caused challenges for the coaching staff who struggled to find the right offensive balance for the middle part of the season as BBB settled at the bottom of the standings. Following a closed-door players meeting with four games to go, the team was able to string a few wins together and show that there indeed was future promise. Bertie finished the season with 4 offensive player of the game awards, a pleasing achievement for a first-year player.
S43
Season 43 saw Bertie's star rise as he settled into the no.1 RB role on BBB. Over 14 games, he set new personal records across almost all observable metrics, leading the league in rushing yards with 1334 on 285 attempts, although he saw his TDs drop slightly from 11 to 8. This was despite a significant offensive makeover that saw a more balanced attack from BBB. He again garnered 4 offensive player of the game awards for BBB (including a game vs the Royals where he exploded for 196 yards), which narrowly missed making the playoffs but looks to be a threat in S44 and beyond. Although he received several nominations including MVP and First Team Offensive RB ½ at the end of season awards, he was not able to convert on any due to an unusually talented player pool. He looks to channel this disappointment into improved results in S44.
Bertie was drafted in the 2nd round at number 21 in the S43 ISFL draft by the Baltimore Hawks. Scouts were attracted by his committment to developing his speed, as well as his pleasant locker room demeanour. Due to Baltimore's strength in the RB position, both teams came to the mutual conclusion that Bertie would be best served by remaining down in the DSFL to undergo additional seasoning and development.
S44
Season 44 promised to be a successful one for Bertie, with a powerful game 1 performance vs the Seawolves that featured 212 rushing yards and 3 TDs. However, BBB's fortunes took a slide as they proceeded to go on a 6 game losing streak, which put them in a hole that they were ultimately not able to recover from, finishing last in the South division. Teams were that much more ready for BBB's rushing offense, and Bertie found himself smothered by opponents' D-lines on multiple occasions. Despite these challenges, he was able to put together a solid individual campaign, finishing second in rushing yards, but returning to double digits in rushing TDs and achieve 4 receiving TDs on top of that. Efficiency continued to be his strong suit, with 1247 total rushing yards on 308 attempts, for an average of 4.0. After being snubbed in the S43 awards for Pro Bowl RB1/2, he was named South division RB1, and followed it up by clinching Offensive Player of the Year, a nomination he had lost the previous season.
S45
Season 45 saw Bertie finally called up to the ISFL for his first season with the Baltimore Hawks, fresh off their Ultimus victory in the previous season. Almost immediately, it became apparent that all the DSFL accolades he had accrued the previous season meant very little in the face of grizzled veteran ISFL players, and his production fell off a cliff as he struggled to adapt to the big leagues. He also saw his time split with his fellow rookie call-up at RB, Anakin Skywalker, which also chipped away at his production. In his first game, a 31-17 loss to the Crash, he only managed 14 yards on 4 attempts, getting almost completely shut down. This was a trend that would continue through the first half of the season, slightly improving at the half as Baltimore staff worked with him to improve his competitiveness against stifling ISFL D. He finished with 579 yards on the season with 5 TDs, a disappointing campaign, but not completely unexpected given the splitting of duties at RB. Despite this, the Hawks managed to secure 2nd in their division, but were unfortunately unable to repeat as champs. In the offseason, Bertie decided to test the waters of free agency, ultimately opting for the warmer climes of Arizona where he hoped for a fresh start in S46.
S46
Season 46 brought with it new challenges, as Bertie worked to integrate himself into a perennial ASFC powerhouse, the Arizona Outlaws. Already stacked at offense, with world-class RB Danny Nedelko firmly in the number one spot, Bertie worked hard to become a reliable target, but continued to struggle in the same way he had in Baltimore. Following a sit down with management, and a refreshed focus on improving his agility, he started to see some improvement, particularly in the form of TDs, where he developed a bit of a reputation as a short range TD vulture. Although his season total for rushing yards (543), average (4.4) and attempts per game (7.8) stayed roughly the same, he almost tripled his TD output from the previous season, with 11 rushing TDs and 2 receiving TDs. Arizona ended up finishing first overall, and after a quiet opening game versus the Sabrecats, Bertie finally broke through in what felt like a career-defining conference final game against bitter rivals Austin, scoring 3 touchdowns and 101 total yards gained. He wasn't done there, contributing a key touchdown in the Outlaws' Ultimus win versus upset opponent Yellowknife. He hopes to continue this momentum in S47.
DSFL Stats
| Career statistics | Rushing | Offensive Line | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Att | Yards | Avg | Lg | TD | Pancakes | Sacks Allowed |
| 2057 (S42) | Buccaneers | 13 | 314 | 1188 | 3.9 | 32 | 11 | 14 | 1 |
| 2058 (S43) | Buccaneers | 14 | 285 | 1334 | 4.7 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 2059 (S44) | Buccaneers | 14 | 308 | 1247 | 4 | 49 | 14 | 9 | 2 |
ISFL Stats
| Career statistics | Rushing | Offensive Line | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Att | Yards | Avg | Lg | TD | Pancakes | Sacks Allowed |
| 2060 (S45) | Hawks | 16 | 128 | 579 | 4.5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 2061 (S46) | Outlaws | 16 | 124 | 543 | 4.4 | 0 | 13 | 28 | 4 |
Achievements and records
S43 DSFL Offensive Player of the Year
S43 DSFL Pro Bowl RB1 Nomination
S44 DSFL Offensive Player of the Year
S44 DSFL Pro Bowl RB1
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