Raphael McTurtle
 | |
| No. 96 – Orange County Otters | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive Tackle |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 21, 1997 (aged 63) New York Sewer, New York, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight: | 330 lb (150 kg) |
| Username: | Cementhands |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Hard Knocks |
| College: | Shaolin Temple |
| ISFL Draft: | 2048 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6 |
| DSFL Draft: | 2047 / Round: 2 / Pick: 4 |
| Career history | |
| Roster status: | Retired |
Player stats at ISFL.net | |
Raphael McTurtle (born July 21, 1997) was an American football defensive end for the Tijuana Luchadores of the Developmental Simulation Football League (DSFL).
Contents
Early years
Growing up with my brothers Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo was an amazing childhood. As we were young turtlings we were exposed so some wierd ooze which it totally legal by the way, but it gave us all the ability to talk and get strong. We were discovered by our Master, Splinter, who taught us the ways of the skilled ninja: Discipling, Control, Precision. After putting these skills to good use, we tried out for a local football team to help cool down after an evening of fighting crime. Our lack of thumbs made it very difficult to throw or hold the ball, but we could smack some heads on the defense! After we were finished with high school, we were all offered scholarships to study and train at the Shaolin Temple. I was able to line up next to my brother Leo, and we had some major schenagins! It was an amazing 4 years of partying and trying new food, and I think it really prepared us for the next stage in our long lives.
College career
Finishing highschool and being presented with a few offers for scholarships, one that really caught our attention was the Shaolin Temple. This offered us the ability to continue our martial arts training, and they also had spots available on the football team. One bonus that we weren't really too focused on at the time of signing was the academics were actually top notch over what we were used to from back in New York. They even offered to give us some one onn one tutors to get us caught up on skills we were missing - mostly math and caligraphy for me. The food scene was a big change. Pizza was not very common around the temple either, so to avoid starving Leo and myself decided to try to go on a tour of all the local noodle houses and find the best noodles. We tried dozens of these places, and after a few months narrowed our list to a top 3. As far as stats go, I was only able to secure 1 sack in my college days, but I was able to force 10 fumbles and recover 3 of those. My goal is to one day get a touchdown of my own.
College career statistics
| Career statistics | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Other | Punt returns | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Reg | TFL | Sack | Int | IntTD | DefTD | FFum | FRec | PD | Sfty | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2042 | Shaolin Temple | 13 | 62 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2043 | Shaolin Temple | 13 | 65 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2044 | Shaolin Temple | 13 | 87 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2045 | Shaolin Temple | 13 | 103 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 52 | 317 | 116 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Professional career
Raphael was drafted to Tijuana with the 4th overall pick of the second round (12th overall in the draft) in the S32 DSFL entry draft. After a relatively underwhelming prospect bowl and combine, Raphael suited up for all 14 of Tijuana’s games and recorded a stat line of 31 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack. Raphael alongside his brother Leonardo helped lead the Tijuana Defensive line to a playoff appearance where they lost to Norfolk in the conference championship game. While his stats did not manage to jump off the page, Raphael was nominated for the S32 DSFL DT of the year award, ultimately in a losing campaign. The “Turtle Brothers” were quickly known amongst the league as a feared opponent who had relentless determination to break through the line and put pressure on the quarterback. After the trade deadline they were joined by one of their Brothers, Michelangelo who at the time shared a DT position.
Raphael was taken 6th overall in the S33 ISFL draft to the Orange County Otters, the same team who picked his brother Leonardo 5 picks earlier with the first pick of the draft. Both of the brothers were immediately called up after the draft. Playing as pure rookies they were able to help the Otters clinch the second seed in the conference, and an Ultimus appearance, which they ultimately ended up losing after blowing a 24 point lead. Statistically Leonardo had a much better rookie season than Raphael. Finishing with 16 tackles (1 per game), 2 tackles for a loss and one fumble recovered Raphael had a very low statistical season for his rookie season. One could try to argue that he brought intangibles that aren’t noticed in statistics pages, but even avid fans of the Otters will admit that his rookie season was pretty unremarkable. What was the achievement was how Orange County turned around a 3 win season to a second place season, especially while fielding 3 recent drafted pure rookies.
Season 34 was a difficult one for the turtles and especially Raphael. The team regressed hard, being bottom place in the conference and it seemed every week was the same thing - losing by just enough. It was almost like every week was a repeat of the s33 isfl championship, reliving the collapse was getting difficult. Driven to drink, Raphael ended up reporting to training camp 15 pounds over his playing weight from the previous season. Naturally this raised alarm bells from the teams upper brass as it was pretty obviously not all muscle - in fact most of it was not. He came back a big chunky boy from the offseason festivities. The team is pretty lax with rules and regulations for the players in their offseason, they give a workout plan, but there were rumours about Raphael going back to Tijuana with Leo where they played their DSFL and substance fuelled fight rings were in the news. Contrary to what the team thought, Raphael actually scored 0.0001 Second faster than the previous season on the 40 yard dash with the extra weight.
The S35 campaign brought some success. The Otters made it back into the playoffs, securing the third seed with a few games left in the season, but they were unable to finish the season strong, stumbling into playoffs. They met the familiar Arizona Outlaws in the first round and unfortunately for them that was the end of their season. Statistically this is Raphael’s best season to date. Increasing his tackle count by 14, adding some tackles for loss and 2 sacks. His defensive numbers are continuing to improve season after season and his effort and training is showing as he is evolving into truly one of the premier DT’s in the league. The future is looking pretty bright for Raphael. He’s just beginning to hit his prime, and all of his stats are on the upswing. So far on the field there hasn’t been a huge noticeable impact of the turtles manning the line, but based on their continued progression and super smart analysts this should be soon to change.
Season 36 was one full of strife for Raphael and Orange County. Again he was able to increase his seasonal stats, to continue his trend of pumping out his best season, but that was due very much to a massive final game of the season, when playoffs were already out of reach. Feeling it difficult to describe a career best season as ‘disappointing’, Raphael was able to prop up lack of team success and team cohesion as a big factor. Citing the struggles in the team, their seeming inability to put together a consistently strong team where wins felt deserved, Raphael signed a 1 season “show me contract” heading into S36 fully expecting either a trade if things were not turning around, or ideally things to get better. When neither of these things happened, it was off to Free Agency for the turtle to attempt to find a new home. While the season itself was disappointing, Raphael and his brother both signed with Arizona – A team with a proven winning track record (in the regular season), and proven ability to coax the most out of the DT position as seen with Chuck Roth.
Season 37 brought with it extreme winds of change. For the first time ever, Raphael was leaving his team behind and testing out Free Agency. Many teams reached out. And many teams had exceptional pitches. What the team would be like with these two in the fold. How they help them achieve success. It was all bright. At the end of the day, Raphael chose Arizona. They were known for consistent greatness in the regular season, but had a playoff curse. This was a change to break it. Break it they did in droves! S37 ISFL champions Arizona Outlaws! The brothers had finally achieved that team success that was missing them. In addition to the team success, Raphael had by far his best season, shattering his previous best Tackles, TFL, Sacks and Forced Fumbles. Across the board his stats were on new highs that he had not seen since that initial season in Tijuana, and even then a lot of the numbers were quite a bit grander. Feeling on top of the world, Raphael heads into S38 as one of the premier DT's in the league.
Season 38 is the repeat. Arizona cruised through the regular season to one of the best records in the league, and one of their better ones in recent history. Now, history hasn’t been kind to them with strong season performances, but this time the team put up. They showed the league why they deserved to accomplish a back to back. As well with the team success, Raphael again bested his career bests and had another ultimate performance. Among the top of the league in all stats for Defensive tackles, Raphael improved his second team all pro showing from s37 into a unanimous first team vote, alongside fellow class mate Marachino. Doubling his Forced Fumbles and Fumble Recoveries, showing up with 12 Sacks and 8 tackles for a loss, Raphael made teams take note of where he was, and proved once again to be one of the best in the league. Top player on a top team, is it possible we see a not seen before 3 peat this next season? Time will tell!
Season 39 saw the unfortunate break down in Arizona’s championship run. Back to back is nothing to scoff at, and the Outlaws once again finished at the top of the conference, securing their bye week in the playoffs. Once again making the championship finals, Arizona had another hell of a season. In his ultimate season (earning wise), our favorite defensive turtle saw his first ever regression in tackles. However that’s about all that regressed. He increased his single season sack number from a high of 12 to 16 – a massive increase. 1 sack per game is outstanding. He additionally added another safety, and matched his previous season for forced fumble / fumble recovery of 4/1. The sun is beginning to set on this turtle. It should be a fairly long, drawn out period, but for the first time his age is really showing itself. He’s slowing down a bit. This season should see Raphael up for accolades again – pro bowl and maybe even a fight for DPotY – who even knows though with the absolute treasure chest of exceptional players.
Season 40 is the Outlaws back on top of the world!!! 3 championships in the last 4 years. This has to ensure dynasty territory. There were questions heading into the season about Arizona’s age – would it finally catch up to them, they were looking a lot slower than competition, but they rolled through the league with one of their most dominant seasons ever and stomped the playoff games as well. Raphael did see somewhat of a dip in his stats this season compaired to last, however those stats were still enough to elect him to the second team in All Pro votes, and another unanimous selection to the pro bowl. These accomplishments all look good, but if you ask Mr. McTurtle he’d re iterate that the only one he cares about are the rings, individual stats be damned. Heading towards another season of regression in his elder age, one has to question how this turtle will keep up. Will we see a massive decline in his stats? Will he be fantasy relevant any more?
Season 41 might end up being the most statistically relevant season in Raphael's entire career. Already a few seasons into regression, and creeping closer to retirement, Raphael put up career best season numbers in Tackles, Tackle for Loss, and Forced Fumbles. He was an absolute QB nightmare, and really honed on his ability to blast past the line of scrimmage for those negative offensive plays. As the season went, there were a lot of similarities to the Outlaw team in season 37. Ultimately starting at 2-5, Arizona was poised to miss the playoffs and by a large margin. Then the running of the table began. Every single game fell in Arizona's favor, which makes you have to wonder what exactly is in the water in Arizona. What are they feeding these geriatric turtles to produce like they are? Another Ultimus birth, but another unfortunate loss. The losses will continue to sting, but there is a small sense of accomplishment getting to the dance yet again in what has to be the best Dynasty ever to grace this league.
Season 42 saw Arizona once again return to the top as league champions! Statistically it was Raphael’s worst season in Arizona since he made the change. Seeing a huge drop off in stats such as tackles and tackles for loss, he was able to maintain relative numbers for sack totals and forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. Based on his age I think it is safe to assume those stats will continue a gradual downward trend. The goal for now is going to essentially be to maximize stats for the career totals. Some of those high end career totals are starting to look pretty good, but I do honestly have no idea how those numbers would compare against all time numbers for Hall candidacy. Arizona had a pretty smooth sailing season. Putting up 13 wins they lead the ASFC once again and ended the season on a 7 game streak. The question everyone is wondering is if they can be stopped? It has been several seasons now since people have been talking about Arizona being old and over the hill. Who knows if they can slump.
Season 43 saw probably the largest decline in statistical production in Raphael's Career. Still showing raw tackle numbers greater than his time before Arizona, all the other ones have takes a steep dive. The writing is on the wall, it's almost time to go, and some pundits are even claiming that the time to go was at the end of last season. Well boo them, there is still space and time for Raphael to finish out. For the first time in what feels like ages, the Outlaws didn't make it to the finals. For any other team this would probably be seen as a successful season, but the Outlaws have been conditioned to expect success. The entire team is going to be re evaluating their off season preparedness and will be coming back hungry. For Raph, it's likely his last season, there would be no better prize than to go out on top of the league, as 4 time champion
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
330 lb (150 kg) |
Professional career statistics
| Career statistics | Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | Other | Punt returns | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Reg | TFL | Sack | Int | IntTD | DefTD | FFum | FRec | PD | Sfty | Ret | Yds | Avg | TD |
| S32 | Tijuana | 14 | 31 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S33 | Orange County | 16 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S34 | Orange County | 16 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S35 | Orange County | 16 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S36 | Orange County | 16 | 39 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S37 | Arizona | 16 | 53 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S38 | Arizona | 16 | 67 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| S39 | Arizona | 16 | 62 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| S40 | Arizona | 16 | 51 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S41 | Arizona | 16 | 70 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S42 | Arizona | 16 | 49 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| S43 | Arizona | 16 | 47 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 174 | 543 | 58 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 2 | |||||
Achievements and records
Use this section as an example.
