I have never seen a perfect fantasy season before. Until last season, I couldn't recall anyone getting particularly close. Every team generally faces the same conditions in fantasy football - NFL scheduling, fantasy scheduling, injuries, BYE weeks, rogue coaches, team/player financial interests, and luck. These all make up just some of the forces outside your control when bringing together a group of guys, no matter how legendary. To defy these forces, and reach a truly legendary season, one must execute with with the skill of a true master and have the magnetizing luck of a winning gambler. Noah captured both requirements this season. Thus, the perfect season is born.

Interview

I start the process of looking into 14-0 by starting at the source himself. Noah has been a prominent member of the Super League media for some time and has become the most polarizing figure in the league over the last 14 weeks. He is currently very much in the Magic Johnson AIDS race, and he has most of the league actively praying on his downfall. This is a persona that Noah very much plays into, a persona that has become his brand. Despite the theatrics, when I approached Noah for this interview, I knew he'd give me the honest truth about my questions.

My questions/comments are in this format, his answers are in the quote sections.

I want to give you my sincerest congratulations on making history. This is a record that will undoubtedly stand forever in Super League history.

We've heard rumors of retirement after this season, do you have anything to say on that matter?

For me it's hard to say. I believe this is the greatest fantasy season I've ever seen. The only way to one up this would be to go undefeated AND win a championship. At that point, what else is there to accomplish. Co-manager Nick is leaning more on the retirement side for himself, as he has hopped into a team and in his first season gone undefeated. I have to respect his personal wishes.

You've spoken a lot about respect and the lack thereof towards the Penguins. What specifically did you find to be disrespectful from me or the league.

Every week I hear how our team isn't good enough compared to other teams. It has literally happened the whole season. We prepared for this well before this year, had one of the best drafts ever assembled, traded away key pieces (that we were told we were stupid for doing it), added superstars who won us games (Ceedee in particular), and we just keep winning. All year I have heard from the commissioner is that the Bud Ice Penguins can be hit or miss on trades, that I can't figure out who to start or sit, that we are on upset alert, but the commissioner still continues to ignore that we WIN games.

We know you, Noah, but many Super League fans may not realize that your brother, Nick, is also a co-owner. How involved was he this season, and what's a key move that was his idea?

I would say Nick has been the brake pedal that I have needed throughout my fantasy career. I tend to press the gas a lot but Nick has really been the one backing most of our guys. The move he had the most influence behind was clearly the trade for Derrick Henry, but Nick has really been there for most everything. Every move is usually suggested by me or brought to him by me but I have always given him a say.

Some critics may claim that this is a Mickey Mouse record. What would you say to that?

I don't make the schedules folks. The Penguins are #1 in All Play record over the Sharks. We have the most 140 point games in the league (after the Sharks it's a significant margin between 2nd and 3rd), we have 11 top 10 or fringe top 10 position players with only 2 players total outside the top 20 (Likely and Conner), we beat 2 fringe playoff teams 3 times each, and we're fucking 14-0. What else. There is probably 100 more metrics I could find to prove we are the best team in the league but The Hate Brigade still doesn't want to hear it.

A big portion of the league believes the 14 win season means little if you do not achieve the ultimate goal: winning a Super League title. What would you say to those people?

First of all, I probably have more fantasy football seasons under my belt than anyone else in this league. Second of all most of these guys are legitimately braindead. So anything they say to try and discredit OUR perfect regular season literally DOES NOT MATTER. Now for my opinion on the matter, being 14-0 is legitimately close to impossible in any somewhat serious to serious league. There is a champion every year, but I have literally never seen an undefeated regular season and I've been playing FF for over 12 years. There's good teams in this league too. It's not like it's fucking a bunch of chumps we are playing against. And I'm never going to discredit winning a championship either. A championship is important which is why 14-0 is behind us for now. We celebrated. But it is a new season. We're 0-0. It's time to go to work.

I have never seen a perfect season in fantasy. Where does this accomplishment rank in your life achievements?

It is probably top 10 confirmed. I mean this was 2 years in the making really. Most of these guys didn't see the mistakes that were made in year 1. And then to crawl back in year 2, make the moves that I made, and then worked with Nick to make the best possible team here in 2023 to give ourselves a shot at the title. I mean no one will understand.

Noah addressed all of the criticism and highlighted his skill, but it still took both skill and luck to get here. I will take a look at both of these elements and how this perfect season happened, and why it will never happen again. 

Skill

A lot of positive can be said about Noah this season, but what about Noah last season and before? If you are new to the league, you may be surprised to know that Noah was essentially a perennial loser in this league for the first two seasons. In 2021, Noah started a solid 6-4, then dropped 4 straight when it mattered most and missed the playoffs with a 6-8 record. This was clearly not a tanking move, as Noah had traded his first round pick away, and was very much a playoff hopeful. 3rd worst in an 8 team league; a team he had 100% control over in terms of drafting and strategy. This could only be described as a failure of a season and was not a good sign. 

2022 was when Noah really started coming into himself (pause?). The win total got even worse, but as he started the season with little draft capital, he embarked on a total year rebuild. This kind of season is only really possible in a league like Super League, but Noah figured out the secret to the game. 

Three super-powers emerged this season, Washington Fantasy Team, The Process (later known as the Pirates), and Jack's squad which was known by a different name then. Notice that Washington was built on stellar keeper talent, which was acquired through the initial and subsequent drafts, The Process' entire brand was built around the draft, and Jack's team, who refused to sell draft capital to compete, all relied on the draft.  Noah followed suit and decided that loading up on draft picks and keepers was the goal of the season. In the end, two teams capitalized on a frantic arms race between two of the super-powers (and Team Tracey for some reason?), and the Bud Ice Penguins did so better than anyone, collecting the most top draft picks. 

Some may argue that Noah had a strong advantage in the 2023 draft, but that should only add to his claim of skill this season. He built this roster while everyone else was competing and not paying attention to him. The Sharks had a very similar haul of draft picks coming into 2023, but they did not go undefeated, reaching four fewer wins than the Penguins. Was it luck or skill that was the difference?

If you looked at the 2023 draft for the Penguins, there's a legit argument that they should have been better than they actually ended up becoming, with several top selections flopping. In the first two rounds alone: Bijan, Ridley, Pierce, and Watson all didn't live up to expectations. This comprised 4/5 top picks, with stud AJ Brown being the one hit of the bunch. Just when you think he's a draft fraud, he bounces back by grabbing Alvin Kamara and George Kittle in back to back rounds. So essentially, 3 good picks, 4 flops, and several mid picks are what Noah got out of that season of losing. That certainly doesn't sound like a recipe for 14 wins, and it certainly isn't. All of this to say that Noah used his greatest asset (and liability) to its fullest extent this season - the trade.

Noah didn't trade as much as he tends to (league leading kind of trader), being middle of the pack in 2023. There's a reason he could draft busts and still find success - he finds a way to sell his players. The perfect example of this is using underperforming 2023 keeper Waddle and underperforming top pick Damien Pierce bundled together to get a superstar keeper - Amon Ra St Brown. Amon Ra and bust Christian Watson comprised two pieces in an eventual CeeDee Lamb deal, a trade that brought a legitimate MVP candidate back to the Pegnuins. Noah traded AJ Brown and Achane at their peak values for a package that included Derrick Henry, Devonta Smith, and Mike Evans, which ended up being a very good trade. Noah has also made moves in preparation for the playoffs, and we will have to see how some of those age. Overall, crafty moves helped make 14 wins. 

Many of the stats, including scoring which I was critical of initially, support Noah as the top team. The numbers do match up with the dominance, even nearly catching Zach at the end for the scoring title. It's clear that the skill was masterful. But what about the rest?

Luck

Obviously, luck was on Noah's side this season. Being the team that faced the least points (tied with PGH Crooners eerily, both with exactly 1475.6) automatically means you were lucky, there's no way around that. He got lucky with scheduling, receiving the lowest possible number of games against fellow playoff teams possible - 4. That's right, 10 of the wins came against non-playoff teams. To make things even crazier, he hasn't even faced a playoff team since week 8! Noah is right that he does not create the schedule, and you could say Noah pushed his rivals (combined 0-6 against Noah) out of the playoffs himself, but it's still an insane stat that proves that luck was involved here.

Another way the Penguins were the luckiest team in the league this season - injuries. This team has not had someone on IR since week 9. They had two injuries you could say caused a real loss, Mike Williams, who was out for the season early on, and Mark Andrews, who he was able to salvage into a winning trade (credit to skill). The fact that this is the end of significant injuries is absolutely insane. Every other player he's had the entire season is healthy right now. I've never seen that kind of luck in my life. It has me wondering if Noah made some sort of deal with the devil.

The lowest points against in the league. The least playoff matchups possible. The least injuries by far across the league. These three factors contributed HEAVILY to 14 wins, despite anything that Noah says. This does not mean Noah didn't achieve something special, but it should be brought up in the conversation, and it should register that this may be why this team was not treated like Alabama in the polls.

Why It Will Never Happen Again

Given luck, skill, or anywhere in between you land with this team, you do have to admit that this is fantasy history. It is a record that cannot be broken. Even if additional matchups are somehow added, unbeaten will stand forever. We have seen two teams combine for 27 wins over their respective seasons in the past two years, and I believe this trend of high win teams will come to an end shortly. With rule changes looming, a greater emphasis will be placed on competing throughout the whole season, even the bad teams. Picks will be harder to stockpile, wins will mean more, and ultimately, win streaks will become fewer and far between. As great of rebuilds that have taken place this season, due to the changes, I can't foresee any team having the capabilities to have a 14 or even 13 win season. We have to acknowledge that we just witnessed what will live on as the greatest team season in league history. 

Say all you want about the forces that helped Noah, but he can only play the cards he is dealt. The bottom line is, there were decisions he could of made to lose any given game that he won, but he didn't. He did everything he needed to do to win every single game he played. None of us have seen this happen before, and none of us will likely see it again. It was special, and the simple fact is that it couldn't have happened without Noah.