ANCHORAGE BRUINS [GM YOUNT]

[GM Dario]

SEASON 15 - Week 8



1. Discuss your week 8 results.

MANNNNNNNNN! I'm just gutted to the bone here.  For 59 minutes and 58 seconds, The Skybear's team did what we wanted to do: Play Bruins Football. Keep Rookie Haitch protected, and have a chance to win it... And we did all that. But I missed the game winner off Mr. Post... and now we're 3-4 instead of 4-3...

As the GM, I'm just gutted. The staff has done a wonder with what we've had to work with. As a player, I feel so badly for my teammates. These guys are bustin' their asses to do what we need to do to get into the post season, and I let'em down. But I gotta tell ya, I like the future of this team. We had 10 rooks playin' significant time on both sides of the ball, and shout out to Randy Hensley, comin' in and definitely not lookin' like a Rook. His poise on the line, his command of the huddle, and that beautiful pumpfake on his lone TD throw to Jeudy... This kid's gonna be a good one. And overall, this KC Team is an up and comin' team that's really growin' with every game they play. And I can't say enough for Coach Graham, Coach Seaton and Coach Piper to get these guys ready every single week. And right now we're doin' without two of our captains in Julius and Makai, yet these guys won't quit. I'm gutted that we lost... that I lost this game for us... but I'm stoked with how this team is gonna look down the road.

2. Discuss any news that interested you, also what are some of the stats and/or stat leaders that have surprised you at the mid-point of the season?

Obviously the news of me kickin' just above 50% on Field goals is not news I wanna hear but it's the truth. Case in point, I missed two in Pear Harbor and one of those would have won it for us.  I gotta do better.  I'm happy to see Running Wolf in 5th with 800+ yards on the ground. We need to cause more turnovers though. but we're still +1 so I can't be too mad about it. 

And I'm always down for a good story about Kickers  so big ups to Franklin King for knockin' down four 3's to win over the #1 team in the land and Jidenna from Nigeria on a game winner over the North Koreans to keep their Undefeated Streak alive.

3. Discuss your next opponent and game. What is your biggest advantage in this contest?

So we get to host Keegan and the Mariachi Boys this week at the Skybear's Wigwam.  They're comin' in rested and healthy, two things we're not. But we're gonna continue to try and play Bruins Football with Rookie Haitch at QB1 this week, as we hope to see Julius back on the field very soon.  Dallas is a very good team, much better than their 2-5 record, and they play well on the road.  They're gonna give us all we can handle, but if we can do the things we did in Pearl Harbor - Run the Ball, Keep Hensley protected, play our Bend it Like Beckham D, and knock down a few more kicks inside the uprights, we might just even up to 4-4.

For a little extra-extra, I'll drop a tweet about some bizz and buzz I wanna let y'all know about as well.

*****
Coach Graham... All I can say is... Sorry, man. I screwed that one up.

[Talon]

Hey boss, you just make the next one and put it behind you.. Short memory baby, that's the key.  You know it, I know it.  Just got to back up what we preach.

[GM Dario]

I know, Kicker's mentality. Just feel bad for the guys. But I'll see if I can't fix this against El Mariachis.

So I made a move and sent Griffith to Vancouver. Navarrete is a little raw from what I scouted,
but I feel like we can coach him up, if not this year, we should for next. 
The bigger piece was getting a 2 that we really needed in the upcomin' draft. 
We can slot Nav at CB5 behind Richmond for now.

I'm excited for how Hensley did. No knock on Mojica, but Randy didn't look out of place in his first start.
Good game plan by you and Coach Seaton to help Rookie Haitch out. We're still down Julius and Makai
for another week so we'll just continue with what we got goin' right now against Dallas.

I'm gonna be workin' the wires a bit to see if we can't get a few more future pieces.
I don't wanna send up a white flag just yet, but if we can get a piece or two and still
stay competitive this year, it's gonna benefit us next season.  We're 3-4 and sittin' in
like 12th in the playoffs, not impossible, but I don't wanna run into missin' out on
futures, and end up in the lower 8, ya know?

Against Dallas, do we need to change any focal points or just play SkyBear Football?

[Talon]

 

I think we just play our game.

[GM Dario]

Sounds good Coach. I'll circle back to ya shortly.

****

Shay, Sa-Shay, Shay, Sa-Shay, would ya be so kind and hook me up with Scott Forrest please?

****

Mr. Forrest, it's Dario in Skybear Country.  Harold Gallegos is one of your clients and right now is under a FG contract. I'm gonna be upfront with ya and ask if any offers work out wanting Harold, would you and he waive the FG?

[Talon]

 

That would depend on the trade partner, but if they are a playoff contender, we'd waive.

[GM Dario]

Duly noted, Mr. Forrest. If somethin' comes along, I'll give ya a heads up on it...

****

Shay, whenever the HighChief is available, let him know I'd like a few minutes to talk all things Skybear.
But for now, would ya mind gettin' James T Crain on the line.

****

James T, It's Tylen D in KC. 

So we just picked up Shawn Navarrete from Vancouver,
and I know he was traded to them so he's rackin' up' major frequent flier miles.
And I don't wanna have him thinkin' about if his bags are gotta be packed 24/7, instead of playin' ball. 
So here's what I'm gonna do: I'm gonna tag Shawn's contract for the rest of this season
and next season as Fully Guaranteed, so he doesn't have to worry about where's he's lyin'
his head after the game. I just want the Rook thinkin' about playin' ball, ok?

[Talon]

Make it so!

[GM Dario]

It's been Made So, JTC... 'Preciate it...

*****

Shay, Keep the Trade Hotline Bling Phone on Point tonight...

And see if Julius is available.

*****

Jules, just wanted to see how that groin is.
Mojica and Hensley are keepin' ya spot warm,
but KC runs on a different fuel with QB4 drivin' the SkyBear's bus.

[Talon]

Groin is definitely needing more attention from the massage therapists on my rehab days, but it's getting there.

[GM Dario]

Just don't let'em get too handsy.
Last thing we need is some sorta lawsuit that keeps ya off the field for 2 years or somethin'

Hope to see ya back on the field soon, Jules

****

Shay, please make sure all of our NDA's are up to date with the HighChief's legal team.
I'll be available if anyone's needin' a chat or we get a trade call.

[Talon]

We're all good, sir. The High Chief doesn't play with his legal team, trust me.

[GM Dario]

Shay, I'll need Coach Graham for a few...

****

Coach, I know I'm probably causin' a few disturbances with Griffith and now Gallegos goin' out.
So I wanna get on point with the starters as it stands.

With Gallegos out, Cowley or Gary Lefthand will slide into that starting slot. Which is the better left Guard, Johnson or Cowley... or Gary L?

[Talon]

 

Without question Johnson is our top guard, by FAR so I see him on the left side. He can run and pass block very well so he's just too balanced to juggle around. 

On the right side, all our remaining guys have holes in their pass blocking game, but Lefthand has the best run blocking to go with it and is our strongest guard bar none, so I think we got to go with the Native kid.

[GM Dario]

So, for our starters this week, we're lookin' at

Jett
Johnson
Smith for Makai
Lefthand
Stinnett

On Defense, with Griffith gone, the Secondary should look like this-

CB1 Alcantar
CB2 Brookins
CB3 White
CB4 Richmond
CB5 Navarrete
CB6 Morrison
CB7 Fultz

NCB1 White
NCB2 Richmond

Am I correct on that assessment?
and Is Navarrete better for the Slot/Nickel or on the Outside?

[Talon]

 

He's definitely more of a slot unless he adds a lot of strength to be more physical.

[GM Dario]

Good to know. Right now, we'll just keep him in that CB5 role then.

And I think Plunkett got your message this past week, with that 8 Tackle, 3 TFL, and 1 Sack.
If can continue to generate that rush, along with BigBear, we might get our D off the field sooner.

We've only got the 1 INT on the year, but I know it's a trade off, because our Penalties have gone down as well since we made the change.
Is there a suggestion from you or Coach Piper that might help us cause our Turnover+/- to be more on the plus side?

[Talon]

 

We're playing a conservative defense, it's partially to back off on penalties, but it also cuts out some of our chances at turnovers, if we keep adding talent ot the team we can eventually transition into the defense I want where we are extremely aggressive, but we know we have the speed on defense to make up for missed plays tooo.

[GM Dario]

So at the moment, keep playin' the Bend but don't Break, until we line up a few more 4's and 5's

Offensively, we're still run-centric to ride on the backs of Running Wolf and York,
and use timely passin' to keep us in control of the clock, as well as protect our Backup QB's while Jules is out.
Is it the same factor here as it is on the D- Add More 4's and 5's and we can change it up a little or
is our mindset still gonna be Run then Play Action?

[Talon]

With Coach Seaton, we're likely to stay pretty simple in our approach.

[GM Dario]

Makes sense. Let the playmakers make plays. That's how Coach Seaton works.

Speakin' of makin' plays, El Mariachis have added Nutt to Lash on the D line. That means Israel will have to face one of them on passin' situations.  Do we leave the rook on an island or should we chip with a RB or maybe keep Lars or Campbell in to help Protect Rookie Haitch?

[Talon]

We'll hopefully get him some help, but its not something we can just type in.

[GM Dario]

I gotcha, Coach. Let the players play.

So here we go-
LG1 Johnson
RG1 Lefthand
LG2/RG2 Cowley

CB1 Alcantar
CB2 Brookins
CB3 White
CB4 Richmond
CB5 Navarrete
CB6 Morrison
CB7 Fultz

NCB1 White
NCB2 Richmond
NCB3 Navarrete

DT3 Billingsley

Let's see if we can't go all Desperado on El Mariachis and take home a Dub.

LOCKED IN BABY

[GM Dario]

SEASON 15 - Week 9



1. Discuss your weeks results.

It was another tough loss for the Skybear's team. Lookin' at the stats you'd think we might have one, until ya get to the turnover stat.  When ya have 5 in that column, I don't care who ya are, you're not winnin' that game.  Hensley did a bang up job under center, but kudos to El Maraichis Defense on rattlin' Rookie Haitch.  That bein' said, we need to do better and not play from behind. If we can stay in front of the chains and in front on the scoreboard, we don't force things to have to happen, then we're better off.  It's been on the job trainin' for Hensley and all the Rooks, so as a whole, I'm still happy with our direction.

2. Discuss any news that interested you, what do you make of the recent GM moves around the league?

I tell ya just when ya think ya got the HIFFLE figured out, then HIFFLE's GONNA HIFFLE.  Lots of movin' parts in play so far and it's just gonna be more in depth this week.  The question's popped up about #JeudyJeudyJeudy possibly movin' out of KC.  Imma explore all the avenues to keep Jerry here, but if that's just not gonna happen, then we'll try to maximize the return back. 

3. Rate your teams activity level this week when it comes to the Trade deadline, should fans have their notifications on for a big deal, or is it likely to be quiet?

I'm always open to makin' moves that benefit the SkyBear's team, despite what My Broski Brossi might say. Some moves are long term, others are short, a few ya just make for cap room, or maybe piece together as part of another trade. We're gonna be willin' partners if the price is right for KC.


4. How safe do you feel you are right now, is your job secure?

10 wins in 3 years is not a pretty picture.  I wouldn't blame the HighChief for givin' me the Scalp Job for my performance. But I can't plan for the what-might-happen with KC Management, so I'm gonna work on the what-can-I-do-to-make-the-team-better for the Bruins instead.

5. Discuss your next opponent and game. What is your biggest advantage in this contest?


This week we host the Enfuego from the Dakotas.  They picked up a big Dub at home against the Great State of Lincoln. The Hylander is a little banged up but at this time of the season, we're all a little banged up. Our biggest advantage is that we're playin' loose. There's no pressure on  us. But Rapid City is in the thick of the Divisional race.  We still need to just play SkyBear Football- Run the Ball, limit the turnovers, keep pressure on their QB, and stay close til the end.  It's been our M.O. since Day One, so we're not gonna change it. It's worked 3 times, we're gonna try to get #4 this week.

******
S to the Haitch-O, A to the Yizz-Ay, For Cherry, my Secretary, Keepin' my Numbers so Very....

How we lookin' on the Cap Room goin' into the second half of the season? 
My Book is showin' 1.375 and 0.25 remainin'
This Jive with the Official listin'?

[Talon]

Uummm... I've got us with $2.5MM in salary and 500K in bonus.. but if you keep that scalp job talk up, I'll be giving updates to a new GM sooner rather than later, that wasn't the most tasteful comment to make in our market.

[GM Dario]

Duly Noted, Shay-Shay. 
Please do me a favor while I remove my foot from my mouth and apologize for my remarks on my Tweeter,
and send Mike Maker a message for me:

"Mike, It's Tylen Dario. I offered you an extension for Jerry Jeudy, which was declined at the time.
I'm puttin' the ball in your court.
What do you and Jerry need, to stay in KC and for how long? 
If I can make the numbers work, we'll keep Jerry in a Bruins Uni...

To quote a movie: 'Help Me Help You'... "

[Talon]

Jerry wants $18.5MM per season.. Obviously his numbers aren't where they need to be to get that right now, so he'd rather get to free agency, see the market and if he does have to sign for less, he wants to do it somewhere that he feels he can pump his numbers to get the deal he wants. So right now we don't want to sign unless you're willing to pay our ask.

[GM Dario]

Ok, Mr. Money.  14 & 4.5 for Jerry starting in S16.
I'd like 4 years for that value.

[Talon]

 

  You've got a deal.

[GM Dario]

Atta baby!  'Ppreciate it.

****

Shay, let's talk with Coach Graham please

****

Gotta question for ya, Coach. Want ya to think outside the box a bit.

So I'm playin' McFadden last night, we're still undefeated by the way, but I ran into losin' both my SS to injury, so I slid Marks into that slot. Does he have the skill set to play that position in the HIFL or is the McFadden engine just a little more sus?

[Talon]

 

No way he is fast enough for that job.

[GM Dario]

I thought the McFadden was a little generous. 

So we may have some different parts on the SkyBear's team before we play Rapid City.
Just givin' ya a heads-up.

Julius and Makai are both Doubtful, so I'd like to keep them on the bench, but active for this week.
We're gettin' some good production from all the Rooks so far, a lot of trial by fire, so to speak.
   
I've been impressed by Hensley. Coach Seaton was high on him from Trainin' Camp and it's shown in these
last two games. He's been usin' all of his receivers well, includin' the newest Rook, Doyle.
The four picks though do worry me. Was that more tryin' to play catch-up, or forcin' bad throws or somethin' else?

[Talon]

 

Hard to know with our sample size, but if he keeps adding up the turnovers we'll know he's got to tighten it up somewhere.

[GM Dario]

That makes sense, hopefully we'll see more like we saw against Pearl Harbor than we did against Dallas.

Just to keep ya in the loop, I'm keepin' our core of players together for next season.
We've gone through 53%+ player turnover each year since I took over and it's not really benefitted us in the Win column.
So I'm tryin' a little different philosophy this time, and signin' York, BigBear, Jeudy and others to extensions, was the idea.
Just 16 of 53 are free agents at the end of the season, so we're gonna be bring most of the team back for ya.

I know this falls under that Ancient Chinese Proverb - "You Coach, I GM" , but it's best to have us on the same page

How is the Mood of the Locker Room?  I know I'm in there but I also know it's probably different when I'm not in there.

[Talon]

It's not terrible.. We aren't were we want to be, but we didnt have expectations of being undefeated either, it's a proccess.

[GM Dario]

A few Wins will help brighten things up a bit as well.
Back with ya in a bit , Coach.

****

Shay, I'm drawin' a blank on what else I need to get done before trade deadline.
I know the 4th year opt is sittin' there on Hutch, but I don't wanna make that call just yet
Everyone else should be good til the end of the year.  Ya got anythin' for me?

[Talon]

 

No sir, Hutcherson's option is our last piece of business, if we plan to exercise it.

[GM Dario]

That's what I thought too, Shay.  Let Amber Molina know we won't exercise that option but may
explore resignin' Garry in the offseason.

Then have Coach Graham see me

*****

Coach, this may not be directly in your wheelhouse but are there any of the players
that tend to be more vocal and/or lead the players on the field?  I know we have
Captains and such, but sometimes a Veteran or Rookie takes control of a situation
to help the team. I only can hear so much while on the field on gamedays and during
practices. I didn't know if you or the other coaches might have insight on this.

[Talon]

 

We have a small handful of guys with solid leadership traits, Wolf, Koenig, Avila, Blodgett, Si'lo'Ha, Julius, and Laporta really round out the group.

[GM Dario]

Noted Coach.

I'll be back in touch to go over lineups in the mornin'.
I'm gonna field calls tonight then get us headin' to
Rapid City.

[GM Dario]

Shay, will you get Steve Rosenhaus on the line for me, por favor.

****

Steve-o, It's Dario. Let's Chat-o, baby!

You've got a Rook, Christopher Fabian, Wide Out from USC.   
Can we get him on a 1 year UDFA Deal at 350K for the remainder
of this year?

[Talon]

DEAL

[GM Dario]

Perfect-o Steve-o.!

****
Shay, Coach Graham one last time this week

****

Coach, let's put this lineup together ...

Hensley QB1
Mojica QB2
Irvin QB3 (Active)

Rivers WR1
Jeudy WR2
Malone WR3
Doyle WR4
Fabian WR5
Gonzalez WR6

Smith C1
SiLoHa C2 (Active)

Laporta DT1
Keonig DT2
Billingsley DT3

Alcantar CB1
Brookins CB2
White CB3
Richmond CB4
Cantwell CB5
Navarrete CB6

Avila FS1
Starling FS2

Now the question I have is at LB

Do we stay with Jack, Blodgett and Jarrett
or is Moody or Parks a better option at LB3
or do you just wanna let Coach Piper and you decide the matchups?

Also at WR, Which of the Rooks will fill the slot best, Malone, Doyle or Fabian?

[Talon]

 

The new LB rotation should be Jack at MLB, Blodgett ROLB, and Marks LOLB, then Moody and Jarrett backing them up.

Offensively, I'd go Malone in the slot

[GM Dario]

Then we're gonna roll with this-

Hensley QB1
Mojica QB2
Irvin QB3 (Active)

Rivers WR1
Jeudy WR2
Malone WR3
Doyle WR4
Fabian WR5
Gonzalez WR6

Smith C1
SiLoHa C2 (Active)

Laporta DT1
Keonig DT2
Billingsley DT3

Jack LB1
Blodgett LB2
Parks LB3
Jarrett LB4
Moody LB5
Martino LB6

Alcantar CB1
Brookins CB2
White CB3
Richmond CB4
Cantwell CB5
Navarrete CB6

Avila FS1
Starling FS2

*LOCKED IN BABY!*

[GM Dario]

SEASON 15 - Week 10

A visibly dejected Tylen Dario walks into the conference room and sits at the press table.



I... uh...

Dario looks around the room then sighs.

I'm just gutted right now. I didn't wanna come out here, to be frank with y'all, but Shay pointed out that it would be worse to not talk about it than to let it sit.  So, I'm here, but I'm not really feelin' much about this.


1. Discuss your weeks results.

Man, I feel for my guys. For 59 minutes and 45 seconds, we held on to the slimmest of margins over a top tier team in Rapid City. One play away. It was us or them on that one play.... and this time, it wasn't us. Outmanned. Outgunned. Three QB's down. And we still was just one play away from pullin' a major upset.  I'm not gonna call out anyone about steppin' up, because they all did in this game. We did everythin' we needed to do to pull off this win. Hyland just made a good throw and broke our will.  Our guys deserved better. They deserved this win. We just needed one more play.

2. Discuss any news that interested you.

Well, there's plenty of news to be had around the league, but I wanna talk about what we got and what we don't.  And I want ya to understand somethin' right off the bat. Bein' the only GM to actually play in the HIFL is top notch. I'm livin' the dream being able to walk out onto the field and do what I do for KC.  But to get the biggest reality check in the world, as an assistant hands you a different helmet, equipped with the radio to hear Coach Graham and Coach Seaton in ya ear, is just mindblowin'.  To look around in that huddle as the leader of the offense, and see that look in their eyes, like 'We're with ya, TD', Man, that's just somethin' I'll never get over. It's been years since I was in that position, and All I can say is- Wow.

But now, reality has set in now that the game's over. We're gonna be lookin' for quarterbacks to bring in to play for essentially the rest of the season. Who's out there?  Dunno but Shay's already workin' on a list, and we're gonna see just who we can get for the Skybear's offense.

3. With the trade deadline in the rear view, what move surprised you the most?

There's too many to name. I honestly thought the phone would be ringin' a bit more but I guess the rest of the league doesn't see the caliber of players on our rosters, and that some might have been able to help elsewhere. I'm not complainin'. I don't like seein' guys leave. But it's the business, so we do what we gotta do.

4. Tell us a player on offense and defense you want to see more from in the second half of the season.

Offensively, we're gonna have to get more production out of Jacob York. He's had a case of the dropsies the past couple games, but he can cause matchup problems out of the backfield and we need to get a couple big special teams plays outta him as well. Defensively, Teddy Marks has his chance to bring his game to the forefront with Arthur Jarrett out for a couple games.  So we'll see what he can do as well.

5. Discuss your next opponent and game. What is your biggest advantage in this contest?

We head to the Desert and play the Stars in Tucson.  They went into Portland and brought home a commanding victory. They're solid across the board, so we're gonna have to make plays, limit their chances and get some Skybear blessin' to try and grab a Dub from them.  The biggest advantage we have is our runnin' game. We're gonna rely on it even more now with a QB to be named later in charge of the offense. So we're gonna dust ourselves off and try to make the best out of what's left of the season.

****

Well Coach, that wasn't exactly how we drew it up, was it?  Seein' Aaron go down after Randy smashed his hand and then rememberin' Jules on the sideline in streets, yeah... That's definitely not how we drew it up...

[Talon]

 

I was irritated that Julius didn't dress, but when the doctors confirmed his set back I understood.. losing all of our quarterbacks though at one time, AFTER trade deadline... I guess its a good thing we weren't in the division lead or something because that could've been a season killer if we were chasing a bit push.

[GM Dario]

Well, here's how I'm seein' it, Coach.  Mojica's basically done for the season, so we can use a IR Slot, and if Rookie Haitch's hand was better in 4, we still may not have him for 2 after that, so I'm gonna shut him down for the season as well on IR. That's 2 slots for us to fill.  Even though Julius was Doubtful the past week, he got shut down for another 1-2 so we're probably gonna have him shelved for another 4 weeks. That leaves 3 weeks left.  So I'm gonna hammer the waiver wire for 2 QB's and see what the numbers look like after gettin' two to if we can afford a 3rd while Jules is still out.

And... I would have rather had the problem of bein' in the division lead and have this problem with where we're at, but that's just the dice rolls, baby. 

So I'll be back with ya shortly Coach, hopefully with a couple QB's in tow.

*****

Shay, I need some magic fingers twinklin' the Phone keys as you dial up Bobby Shapiro.

*****

Bobby, Baby!  It's TD in KC... I'm sure ya saw the YUUUUUGE pickle The SkyBear's team is in.
I'm callin' to see if we can sign Dak Prescott to a 1M Salary for the rest of this year.

[Talon]

 

GM Dario, Dak is willing to sign on for the remainder of the season.

[GM Dario]

Atta Boy , Bobby! Glad we can get it worked out.  'Preciate the help.
*****

One for one, Shay. Let's try my girl Amber Molina on the next one.

*****

Amber!  It's TD!  I need one of my boys back in KC Colors. 
Arnold Rivera was drafted by me. He knows Coach Seaton's system and
He'd be a good fit for us for the rest of the season. 
Will 1M for the rest of the season bring Arnold back to the SkyBear's Team?