- Ben Sadis
Editor-in-chief’s note: So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night. The final edition of the 2023 West Perspective, the unanimous “Best Frisbee Blog of 2023,” is below. We didn’t want to screw the pooch on this one, so we gave the reigns to the chief statistician of the league, Ben Sadis. If you’re into numbers, logical reasoning, and expert analysis, this one’s for you! If you’re like me: Boring! WHERE’S THE HEAT??? (getting swept by the Nuggets probably, go Denver!)
On a more contemplative and unsarcastic note, thank you for reading - it’s been a pleasure writing and editorializing weekly bits for all you moms and dads out there.
TOP END TALENT
Rankings:
San Diego
Utah
Seattle
San Francisco
Summary:
A common take your casual WUL-watching friend who likes to regurgitate things they hear West Perspective Editor-in-chief Pawel Janas talking heads say is that Seattle wins with depth while San Diego wins with star power. Well, pat your friend on the back for choosing a good take to regurgitate – it’s true. San Diego has the most top-end talent in the league. They had five unique finalists for the WUL end-of-season awards; no other team had more than three. Yes, Seattle players’ opportunity to win individual accolades will always be hampered as long as they go with their even playing time, rotating line strategy. Seattle has some great players. Do they have two players as good as Kaela Helton and Dena Elimelech? No.
DEPTH
Rankings:
Seattle
San Francisco
San Diego
Utah
Summary:
On the flip side, Seattle has the best depth: 27 Seattle players have scored a goal this season, and 29 have thrown assists. The other teams: San Francisco - 26 and 26, San Diego - 23 and 21, Utah - 21 and 20.
Handler Cores
Rankings:
Utah
Seattle
San Diego
San Francisco
Summary:
If America runs on Dunkin’, Utah runs on Paige Kercher and Kat Songer. Kercher had over 1000 yards receiving this year – while leading the league in throwing yards by 400. For her part, Songer contributed over 2500 total yards, finishing 8th in the league, and Brooke Stanislawski finished 7th in her hybrid role. The other three teams could go in any order. Avery Jones, Rebeca Ellis, and Penny Wu have each missed three games this season, and having them all on the roster for championship weekend will be a huge pick-me-up to a San Diego handler core that struggled in their last game against Astra. Eliza Pugh and Meeri Chang have flown under the radar this season for San Francisco, but they have the ability to drive their team down the field like Kercher and Songer do. If everyone is available, however, the combination of Sadie Jezierski, Hana Kawai, and Stephanie Lim puts Seattle over the top for me.
Initiating Cutters
Rankings:
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Utah
Summary:
Another situation of a clear favorite and the other three being neck-and-neck. Kaela Helton is the best cutter (and player) in the league. Dena Elimelech is in the conversation. Alex Diaz is as well. For San Francisco, Gina Schumacher has done a phenomenal job of gaining yards on big initiating under-cuts and then shooting downfield. Malina Wiebe only played three games but is on Diaz’s level as a goal-scoring threat. Seattle, again, has tremendous depth, and Utah has good players of their own in Cori Bigham, Jen Cogburn, and others.
DEFENSIVE PRESSURE
Rankings:
Seattle
San Francisco
San Diego
Utah
Summary:
Seattle led the league in averaging 13.8 blocks per game this year. They also led the league in stalls, but that could just mean they count the fastest 🤔. San Diego and San Francisco were close behind them in overall defensive efficiency, even though San Francisco benefited from the least unforced opponent errors of the four teams. Utah had been lagging behind in defensive metrics, but big performances from Molly Robbins and Shae Wallen have them feeling hot coming into championship weekend.
HUCKING
Rankings:
San Diego
Utah
Seattle
San Francisco
Summary:
A huge storyline coming into the weekend is the discrepancy in huck rates. Seattle and San Diego huck the most in the league. Utah and San Francisco huck the least. Will that continue this weekend, and if so, which strategy will win out? Seattle tends to huck with reckless abandon, and they don’t seem to mind turning it over – trusting their defense to get the disc back close to the endzone (or if you’re Drea Baroma, in the endzone). San Diego has a more refined taste in their huck opportunities – leading the four teams with a 53% huck completion rate. Utah also completes over half their hucks, although they are even more selective.
REDZONE OFFENSE
Rankings:
San Diego
Utah
San Francisco
Seattle
Summary:
San Diego has the highest redzone efficiency in the league – and it isn’t close. The understanding they have of their systems is a testament to the fantastic job the Super Bloom coaching staff has done building this program over the years, and the chemistry they have with each other is special. Despite their penchant for scoring off of upline cuts, Seattle comes into the weekend with the lowest redzone efficiency in the league – an area in which they have noticeably taken a step back from last year. They have often looked rushed in their endzone set, leading to unforced turnovers. Their ability to tighten that up could be a huge factor in who comes out victorious this weekend.
D-LINE OFFENSE
Rankings:
San Diego
Seattle
Utah
San Francisco
Summary:
San Diego, Seattle, and Utah top the league table in D-line offensive efficiency. Having players like Kaela Helton and Kristen Pojunis play over half of their points on D-line has certainly helped Super Bloom. Seattle’s D-line offensive efficiency is almost as high as their O-line offensive efficiency, which makes sense, considering all of their players are playing across both lines. Utah rode a hot D-line offense to big leads in week 10 – they’ll need to do the same this week if they want a shot at making the championship game.
BONUS: VIBES
Rankings:
Utah
San Francisco
Seattle
San Diego
Finally, rankings that matter. Let me get the obvious one out of the way: the vibes are off with this Super Bloom team. I didn't like San Diego before the season started; after carefully examining how they conduct themselves week-in and week-out throughout the 2023 season, I am now certain that I will not be sending them Christmas cards this year. At the top, it starts with the I'm-too-good-for-you attitude of their head coach (rude!). In the trenches, it's the arrogant way the Super Bloomers strut on the field (you've noticed it, too?) - as if they have never lost before! Super Bloom Rude! To top it off, they then have the nerve to bring out-of-town ringers (are you scared?) - extremely rude! On the posi side, I get great vibes from Utah. Led by an ego-less, albeit misguided, coach, this group of team-first players goes out there, GRINDS, and (barely) wins with LOCAL, Utah-grown, 100% organic talent. On the field and on social media, you find Wild players HYPING EACH OTHER UP, spreading positive juju, and trying desperately to get chain restaurant sponsorship deals. With the best jerseys, the best fans, and the best home-field advantage in the country, how can you not like their vibes? Now look, as the resident Seattle hater, I cannot, in good faith, put Tempest in the 2 spot. But I will spare you the commentary because I was told, "don't be too mean." By the process of elimination and due to the fact that they're extremely well coached (good vibes!), San Franciso is 2nd.
Adieu!
(Editor’s note: Ben did not write this bonus. It was…. umm…. an anonymous submission.)
This Week’s Contributors:.
Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.
Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.