ANCHORAGE BRUINS [GM YOUNT]

[Talon]

 

She's going to be a return specialist and not much more dude, asking her to do much else could be a disaster.

[GM Dario]

You know me, Coach, always tryin' to look outside the box for that extra edge.

When you have a minute, I'd like to talk with Myles Jack and Lars Veldwijk.

****

Guys ! Good to see ya.

#KeepinItCrystal with ya,  I kept ya both of ya out of Preseason so we could see how well the others at TE and LB would work in Game Time Sitches.  It was nothin' against y'all. It was just to get the rooks and younger guys sone experience.

One thing I'd like to ask ya both-  did either of ya see anythin' from a players perspective that we mighta missed on Offense or Defense durin' preseason?  I know coaches look at the All22, but a player sometimes sees if differently. Just wanted to know if y'all saw somethin' we might need to watch for as we get ready for Portland. 

[Talon]

THEY HAVE LITTLE INPUT TO PROVIDE

[GM Dario]

Good stuff guys. Thanks for the input.

*****

Sometimes I wonder if I'm tryin' to play 4D Chess when I should just be playin' Dominoes or Go Fish...


Shay, send this lineup to Coach Graham please

Released -
WR Jackson
SS Tarver


QB
Alejandro McGhee
Randy Hensley
Nick Byrd

RB
Jacob York
John Provost
John Joseph
Richard Cox
Martini Lewis

FB
Randall Kozlowski
Gregory Patel

TE
Lars Veldwijk
Scott Campbell
Gregory Patel

WR
Walter Rivers
Jerry Jeudy
William Atherton
Albert Duran

OT
Eugene Jett
Israel Stinnett
Michael Roth

OG
Warner Kaminski
Jimmy West
Jey Westerlund
Charles Nelms

C
General Sargent
Zachary Castaneda

DE
Steven Butler
Ira Big-Bear
Raymond Thompson
Joseph Damico
Michael Poirier

DT
Ruben Laporta
Michael Koenig
Lance Fullerton
Marvin Swanson

LB
Myles Jack
Theodore Marks
Robert Brandon
George Michel
Oliver Martino
Daniel Mooney

CB
Kieran Stones
Jorge Alcantar
Patrick Brookins
Timothy White
Daysam al-Taalim
Antonia Haney
Stuart Cantwell

SS
Isma Soliman
Garrett de la Cruz

FS
Sam Rose
Ralph Starling

K
Tylen Dario
P
The Mongolian William Wentz

KR
Martini Lewis
Daysam al-Taalim
William Atherton

PR
Daysam al-Taalim
Martini Lewis

Smarter Football, Time to Meet SkyBear Football

LOCKED IN BABY!!!

[GM Dario]

S17 - WEEK 1 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Good to see everyone has come out to listen to the Reignin' Defendin' Undisputed Points Champion of Season 16. I appreciate the heck outta ya.

1. Talk us through opening week, what went as expected?  Where did you exceed expectations, and where did you fall short?

Overall, I thought we played adequate, but that doesn't get ya DUBS.

Loved seein' Mexico's Greatest Export, Jorge Alcantar, get those two picks with a pick 6 included. Hated seein' us get ZERO sacks, ONE Knockdown, and 5 Hurries out of the D.
Loved seein' balance outta the Receivers room with Jeudy leadin' the way. Hated seein' us get only 88 on the ground though.
Loved seein' 'Tini and Daysam get some quality returns. Hated we didn't get more opps for points.

We need to control the LOS more. We need to control the TOP more. We need to keep our D off the field. Those things happen, then Good things happen on the Scoreboard


2. Which player stood out the most to you from your opponent's team?

Not gonna single out just a player but a big ol' tip of the cap to Portland's O-Line. They made some holes for their runnin' game and kept us from gettin' to Rainey. Smarter Football bested Skybear Football.... This time.


3. [IF YOUR TEAM HAS NEWS, TAILOR THIS QUESTION TO ASK ABOUT YOUR NEWS -- IF NO NEWS, TALK ABOUT A NEWS STORY THAT INTERESTS YOU]

We're gonna put on Thermals, Gloves, Snowshoes and Tuques and drop a little antifreeze into the Kool-Aid for our trip to Los Infiernos. 

That was a joke about the anti-freeze - We're not plannin' to spike the SkyBear Kool-aid, y'all. 

But the weather peeps are callin' for an Ice Bowl in Rapid City. Not gonna complain about it. Both teams gotta play in the elements. We're just gonna have to keep our wits about us and play our game despite the frigidity.


4. Do you feel like you put your team in the best position for success coming into this week 1 game?

We're still an unfinished product but we're never gonna be a complete product either.  It's kinda like sayin' that an injury has a player "day to day", but we're all day to day in life.   I've got irons in the fire to try to give KC the best chance of winnin' each week. But to add a tag on that Honda Meme- "I Coach, You GM, Players Play." We all gotta do our part.


5. Talk about your opponent for week 2 and what you will need to see from your team.

Rapid City is gonna be hungry in this division matchup.  They had the bad end of a TOP loss just like we did, so we're both gonna be tryin' to keep the O on the Field as much as we can. Hyland is always dangerous, so we gotta get him on the ground as much as we can. We need to watch out in the Special teams for Tia T, who took one to the house last week.

Out of our side, we need to play our game. Run the ball. Control the clock. Limit Mistakes. We need to make the weather our ally as much as we can. And we need to get out of the Frozen Dakota with a DUB.

Questions for me?

[Talon]

What do you make of the news during the pre-season that some players felt like you were stealing their spotlight with your increased jersey sales and using your position as GM to boost your celebrity?

[GM Dario]

I don't put too much stock into it. 

People are buyin' jerseys from all the teams. Some like the nostalgia players. Some like the Current Stars. Others like up and comers. I'm bettin' there's people buyin' and collectin' Dario #1's because it's a unique thing.  There's much better players on the SkyBear's team and other HIFL Teams than me. By records and rings, there's better GM's in the league than me. But there's only one GM who's an active player, and just happened to win Points Champ in Season 16. 

And all those sales goes to the team and to the community, not me. My Player contract monies go to the local charities in Kansas City so I'm glad that everyone is buyin' cause they're helpin' out the people who need it. And if I can use what celebrity value I got to help our KC Fam, Imma do it.

[Talon]

  We had them in the first half, but just let it slip away.

[GM Dario]

We held our own in the first half with some good defensive plays on the turnover battle. But we were on the wrong side of the +/- in the 2nd half. We couldn't pick up the Blitz either so that's somethin' we gotta work on too.

Run game was supposed to be our strength though and we couldn't break 100 as a team. We're gonna need that run game in Rapid City since we're playin' in a Snow Globe event. Any tweaks we should make or just keep the schemes the same because of the snow and ice?

[Talon]

 

Hard to break 100 yards when you only have 7 runs with your RB1.

[GM Dario]

Sounds like a Switch from Committee to Bellcow is in order.
I'll make the adjustment on the lock.

Defensively, keep everything status quo?

[Talon]

 

I dont like making changes unless is a painfully obvious one, until we've had a few weeks to evaluate it in real time.

[GM Dario]

#KeepItCrystal, Coach I like it.

So we just added OT Donn Brown to the OLine.
Had to move Damico but we have enough at DE to hold down the fort.

With Brown in house, would ya recommend throwin' him into the fire or does he grade out lower currently than Jett and Stinnett? 

[Talon]

 

Probably would've benefitted us to scout him before trading for him, since I don't know him from Adam, but I'll give him a look over.

[GM Dario]

Then we will just evaluate his practice and keep him at T4 for the week.

So let's roll out to the Snow Globe!!!

RB Focus from Committee to Bellcow (York as RB1)
Donn Brown to OT4
Michael Poirier to DE4

LOCKED IN BABY!!!

[GM Dario]

S17 - WEEK 2 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Here we go, Baby!   Let's do the dang thang!

1. Talk about your team's performance this week.

Good game for the most part, despite the temps. Nice seein' KStones take one to the Haus this week, like Alcantar did last week. Pass Protection-wise, the OlIne did a decent job givin' up just 2 sacks and 5 other touches. I like seein' the Voodoo Chile gettin' the EZ as well. Plus yours truly hittin' a BOMB from Sixty is always Plusses. I thought AMac was holdin' his own despite the conditions but losin' him to a concussion really hurt. Randy did all ya can ask for in relief, tryin' to make somethin' outta nothin'. But we missed our opps at the end and took a second straight loss.

2. How do you feel about your team after two weeks?

I feel like we're better than 0-2. We're not complete by any means but we're tallyin' up stats galore. But the only stat that matters in the HIFL is a DUB, not an EL.  We got two EL's right now.

3. Is the seat warm in SkyBear Country?

The short answer is Yes.  Expectations are to get 10+ wins and make the playoffs this year. We're down 0-2 toward those goals.  I'm not happy with how the Run Offense or Run Defense is goin' and we can't go to 0-3 and expect to get to our goals. We're gonna look at changin' up a few things to try and make things work with what we got. If that doesn't work, we might need to go in a different direction or two to get our goals. 


4. Talk about your opponent for week 3 and what you will need to see from your team.

So much drama as we head to the  LBC. The Merman won their last home game with a good passin' attack but they beat the brakes off of the Vegas D on the ground. We gave up an Al Bundy to Andre Dillon and the Rapid City's ground game last week, so we cannot let the same thing happen again or the seat's gonna be toasty in KC.

Questions for me?

[Talon]

 

346 yards allowed on the ground this week, How do you fix the run defense?

[GM Dario]

That's the $64K Question, huh? 

We'll start with schematic changes. May change up the Personnel rotation a bit. May have to commit to put 8 in the box and bring Soliman down to help.  Coach Graham, Coach Shoes and Coach Reyes will be workin' all the options this week.

Plus controllin' the ball on Offense and gettin' a lead can make a opposin' team one dimensional as well, so Coach Luce and Coach Ayala need to put in some time on that.

In any account, we all got lots to do to make 0-3 Not Happen.

[Talon]

We've got to stop the damn run.

[GM Dario]

And in a Hurry, Coach.  I'm with ya on this.

As it sits, we've got our Defense doin' this -


Attitude- Aggressive
Focus - Balanced
Coverage - Mixed
DL Focus - Pass Rush
LB Focus - Balanced
Radio - Myles
Match CB - Yes
Align Man Coverage - Balanced


First Item I see is that the DL should switch to Run D.
It'll put more on the DB's cause they'll be more on an island but I think they can handle it.

Personnel wise-  You've said before that Laporta, Koenig and Fullerton are space-eaters at DT so they should be effective at run stoppage. On the edges, are any of the DE's better against the run than the pass? Maybe Situational Substitutions would work? 

Thoughts?

[Talon]

 

Big Bear and Butler are our best run defenders, best strength and best tackling talent.

[GM Dario]

So the starters are still the cream of the crop.  Maybe the focus will change up things.
Do we need to tweak the LB's to cover more run or just leave it at Balanced for now?

[Talon]

 

I like them staying balanced, I do like them not neglecting their zone coverages in training, which is the big change, so no need to go into a pure run focus.

[GM Dario]

Makes sense. I thought we needed more pressure on the QB but it left us soft on the run, so that's on me for  these past two weeks.

Now, not only do we gotta stop the run, we gotta at least get some yards on the ground too. 

Last year, RW and York were runnin' wild for the SkyBear Offense.  York has the motivation, per Coach Gonzales, but so far, it's not been very stat-worthy.  Is the OL not as strong or is it more scheme than players? Like zone block instead of power rush? 

[Talon]

 

Its a combination of things, possibly.  One of them is our linemen are all better pass blockers than they are run blockers.  Nothing wrong with that, but our guards are generally not as good as the rest of the line in the run game.   Makes me think we switch the running focus to running outside; see if that helps with better lanes and plays.   

I dont know what to do about York's morale, but its at an all-time low.  Maybe the run game being more open for him to make plays gets him out of the rut he is in, but that could also be a factor if it is affecting his play.

[GM Dario]

Ok. I can see where the focus could change up the results. We've always had strength in the middle but this year is more on the edges.

Last season, AMac mentioned that the offense Coach Cannon uses and what he playin' in the PFL were different. Is that the same principal with Coach Luce? I don't wanna change everythin' up all at once, but I do wanna keep the idea in my head in case these first tweaks don't pan out.

[Talon]

 

Oh yeah, for sure. We don't run anything like what those bozos in the PFL run in Bay Area.

[GM Dario]

Speaking of AMac, he's doubtful after he got his Bell run in the fourth last week. It'll probably be best that Randy take the 1st team reps.

With Randy being less mobile than McGhee, would it make sense to change up the QB Run options with the Offensive Playcallin' against Long Beach?

[Talon]

 

Do you mean like changing the playbook, or changing the scrambling/tuck and run frequency?

[GM Dario]

Sorry Coach, lemme rephrase-

With Randy being less mobile, would it make sense to change up the QB Tuck and Run Frequency to Low instead of Normal against Long Beach?

We don't need to blow up the whole playbook. This isn't that weak ass Canada Matts playbook on McFadden 25 we're talkin' bout.

[Talon]

 

Yeah, that might make sense, I dont think its a big factor if the QB is already not very mobile, but it could help. 

[GM Dario]

Works for me Coach.

I'll make the changes accordingly. Need to check in with Shay for one minute.

*****

Shay,  let's talk with Steve Rosenhaus please.

*****

Steve! It's TD in KC Baby!

We got Patrick Brookins in the last of his rookie deal: I wanna keep him in Skybear Country for the next 4 years at 8M per startin' next season.

We got this?

[Talon]

   

We'd rather wait and see right now.  Pat isn't loving his role as CB3 and really misses Gary Plunkett.

[GM Dario]

Ok, Steve. We'll circle back later on.
Maybe a few W's will help ease the loneliness.

*****

Shay, Let's send this over to Coach Graham then -

Run Focus to Outside
DL Focus to Run Stop
QB Tuck & Run to Low

QB1 Hensley
QB2 Byrd
QB3 Dario

QB McGhee Inactive


**LOCKED IN BABY!**

[GM Dario]

S17 - WEEK 3 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Hello Everybody, Another Week, and Another not-so-pleasant result for the SkyBear's Team

Let's get into it though...


1. Talk about your team's performance this week.

I'm not pleased that we're still holdin' a Donut in the DUB Column. Randy did Yeoman's work this week for AMac, but we put him into situations we didn't need to be in, and errors happened. Happy to see York get fired up a bit on offense, but we just didn't get the chances and when we did, we didn't capitalize.   We had just 23 minutes of TOP. That's not enough time for the O to get goin' and way too much time for the D to be on the field. Couple that with still not bein' able to stop the run... or the BIG PLAYS.... That's gonna lead to L after L after L like the Mayweather Meme.

That's why we're lookin' up at nearly everyone in the league and That's gotta change up quick or we're gonna be in deep with no way out.

2. Do you feel a particular coach has stood out on your staff, and why?

At 0-3, it's tough to say that anyone has really stood out. Players, Coaches, or the GM.  We're all accountable for this mark, so No. No one has really stood out just yet.

But I also don't think anyone on the roster, the staff or the front office has given up on us just yet. We just gotta keep fine tunin' the band until we get it right.

3. Talk about your opponent for week 4, do you see any holes in their game that you can exploit?

Charlotte comes in to the Wigwam lookin' for their first DUB of the season like we are. They've played well against Lincoln and Myrtle Beach. Atlanta held that TOP tremendously against them and that led to a blow-out. 

Vardy stirs the Crow Drink though. We have to keep the ball out of his hands and we have to get to him when he does get it. If we can clog up their offense, force some turnovers and stops,  we might be able to piece together a few drives and come away with somethin' other than a Donut in the standin's

Questions?

[Talon]

GM Dario, I don't think I need to stop by your office to tell you this, but the Great Sky Bear has compelled me.

You should view this weeks game with Charlotte as one of great importance on your journey.

If we do not win, I expect to see you make major changes, or else I will be commanded to do so by the Great Sky Bear.


....Clear Skies and Good Days, I wish for you.

...yikes.




COACH GRAHAM ENTERS, LOOKING FRUSTRATED.

  Alright. Looks like we get Alejandro back this week.  Time for us to put it all together and play a complete freaking game. 

[GM Dario]

Hi

Yikes is definitely right, Shay. But I can't fault the Highchief for havin' a Come to SkyBear PowWow.  If you don't mind, Stay here with Coach Graham on this. Some outside the box ideas might be useful.

Coach Graham, I'm 100% with your frustration. This is not an 0-3 team yet here we are.

The offense still seems like we're in 2nd gear, not overdrive. Is the Philosophy from Coach Cannon to Coach Luce that different?

The defensive strategy of aggression isn't gettin" the desired effects and we're giving up the big plays. Should be dial back the aggressive stance to Normal or Conservative to try to limit the big play?

[Talon]

 

Our offensive coaches are two completely different philosophies, definitely impossible to compare them.

When it comes to defense, we can drop it to normal, if you want. I get the frustration with the big plays and we're not making big plays to counter it.

[GM Dario]

Well that makes a helluva difference that we sorta need to account for.

*Note to Self- Ask durin' trainin' camp next time*

As for the Defense, I think we may need to bump it back to normal and try to keep the play in front of us for the time bein'....

Shay, Will ya send in Coach Luce

*****

Coach Luce, my apologies for hamstrin'in' ya with putin' round pegs in square holes. I shoulda asked from jump but didn't.  Coach Seaton had a very simple offense. Coach Cannon had a very detailed offense. With who we have, what sort of things are you wanted to work on this offense?  More Spread? RPO? Play Action? And... Are we missin' a player or two that can make this offense hum?

[Talon]

 

  I like to mix it up on offense, switching between aggressive and conservative approaches. I love to go through the x's and o's because this is all I've ever wanted to do.   My offense is a run first, pro-style offense.  I like a lot of outside runs and in the pass game I prefer medium targeting that attacks the line-to-gain.  The passing game is predicated on being able to spread the ball around to multiple targets.    I like receivers who are able to do a little bit of everything, so a blend of speed, size, and physicality.  Variety is the spice of life and I like it SPICY.

[GM Dario]

Spicy!  I like that. Nothin' like keepin' stuff sprinkled with flavas.

So
Run: Outside
Pass: Medium
Mode: Balanced

With our TE room, prefer to have them block, receive or mix it up as well? And with the blocking, since we wanna run outside, would a 2 TE set with or without Koz at FB be an option?

[Talon]

 

  I like to run the offense through the pro-set, so I wouldnt like using two TE with or without Koz outside of a few goal line situations.   TE I like to be balanced, need a security blanket, but need a blocker too.

[GM Dario]

Understood, Coach.

Didn't know if it would be an option to go to 2TE and no FB at times and try to use Lars and Scott or Gregory to open up the middle of the field on the pass.

In the backfield, Jacob seemed to have a game last week as RB1. Would it be best to run him at RB1 for everythin'-  3rd down back, goal line back, etc?

[Talon]

 

Oh, I'm sorry I miss understood your question.  The traditional "2TE" formation is an Ace set with 2 TE and 1 RB, so we could do that but I don't run much of it other than a hand full of run plays and a couple of play actions.

At Running Back York is head and shoulders our best guy, yes he's not strong as a power runner, but he's shifty and has decent enough size.  Provost is a stronger runner but his skill set just isn't as sharp either.  I'd give York all primary duties and just sub him as needed.

[GM Dario]

Gotcha Coach. No need to try a limited option package that the guys haven't worked through.

I'll let ya get back to practice.

***

Shay, let's get ready for Charlotte.

Make sure Coach Graham gets these changes-

Defensive Attitude- Normal
Passing Preference - Medium
Running Focus - Outside
RB - Bellcow (York)
TE- Mixed
QB Tuck and Run - normal

QB1 McGhee
QB2 Hensley
QB3 Byrd

Dario's Confidence in the Team and the Staff- 150%

*** LOCKED IN BABY!!! ***

[GM Dario]

S17 - WEEK 4 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Hello all of you fine people. Not a happy day here but it is what it is, so let's get to it.


1. Talk about your team's performance this week and throughout this first quarter of the season.

We looked like we were in the game despite ourselves, instead of being in control.  You cannot win by runnin' the ball averagin' less than 2 yards a carry. I thought AMac did yeoman's work to keep us in the game to give us a chance to get a Dub. But Fabian Vardy is a Competitor and he competed all the way down to that last touchdown pass with 7 seconds to go. He wanted more than we could stop him. That's not a knock on our guys, that's a kudo on Vardy.

As for the team as a whole for this first quarter of the season, the guys have to continue to do their jobs for all 60 minutes a game, not 53 or 55 or 59.  We gotta continue to make Routine Plays Routinely. There's no substitute for work. You can talk about all kinds of stuff, but at the end of the day, it's about the work. I'm a big believer in the idea that if you put in the work, the results will come. And they will come. There's a fine line between drinkin' wine and squashin' grapes. Right now, we're squashin' a lot of grapes with that 4 in the L column. But we will control what we can control. We're not in the business of making excuses. It's always about the next one, not the last one. And we're gonna not live in our fears, but strive towards perfection. Right now, we're just lookin' to stack Dubs but we gotta get one first to start the build.


2. How do you feel about your players placement in the league leaders, a quarter of the way through the season?  Who is an unsung hero on this roster?

Myles Jack is leadin' the league in tackles so Big Up's to Myles. Jerry is top ten in yards receiving and Walter is top ten in TD's so Big Up's to both of them. The problem is that we don't have anythin' in the Dub Column. Style Points do not matter, but Victories do. So I'm not too worried about the leaders, I'm more worried about the W's and the L's.

As for our roster heroes, Stones and Alcantar are def tops in our secondary. We just need to get them less active, and that comes from the front seven. Rose and Soliman are solid in the backend as well. We just have to do more so they all can do less.


3. Talk about your opponent for week 5, do you see any holes in their game that you can exploit?

We head to Vancouver to take on the Wolfpack. They may be 1-3 but they're solid from front to back. As for holes, we need to worry about fillin' our own, before we can exploit theirs. 

Questions?

[Talon]

 

  The league is really sent for a loop this week. If you have anything we need to do, just let me know but if not I've got nothing that can't wait.

[GM Dario]

Agreed, Coach.

Let's make a few changes though

Offensive Tempo- Normal from Fast
Defensive Tempo - Aggressive from Normal

Pass Ratio change to Offensive Play Caller decision
Blitz Ratio change to Defensive Play Caller decision


**** Locked in Baby ****

[GM Dario]

S17 - WEEK 5 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Another Rainy Day here in Mudville and It's just not lookin' all that pretty at the moment.

But, all isn't lost. We had a FANTASTIC GAME for about 59 minutes... again.

Can't say enough about how the offense battled back from bein' as much as 10 down durin' the game. Rivers was on FIYAH with 3 Tuds. York racked up over 100 on the ground. But for the second straight week, we took an L in the last minute of the game.  In this game ya gotta make stops or force turnovers to get the ball back in your hands.  Vancouver punted 3 times. We recovered 2 fumbles, no picks, and only 1 sack which was for Zero yards.   Nobody can win games like that.

And we're still lookin' at a Doughnut in the Dub Column. But Imma dig a little on these L's.

Week 1- Lost by 13
No Run game to speak of.
Shut out in the 2nd half.

Week 2- Lost by 7
Lost AMac in the 4th.
Gave up 14 in the 4th,
Hensley had a shot to tie it.

Week 3- Lost by 24
Hensley started for the injured AMac
Couldn't stop the run

Week 4- Lost by 3
Gave up the winnin' score with 7 seconds left in the game

Week 5- Lost by 7
Gave up the winnin' score with 37 seconds left in the game

Fate changes and we're 3-2 instead of 0-5.

We have the pieces of the games, we just haven't put them all together for a full game. We did that last year and good things happened. Right now, they aren't and now we have a very vocal QB who's not happy. He's not the only one not happy. Everyone from the High Chief to the Hot Dog Vendor in Section 37 isn't happy about what's goin' on in Skybear Country.

Imma talk with AMac about it. Imm talk with the whole team about it. Imma talk to the High Chief about it. Hopefully we can come to some recourse that make that doughnut go away.

We're on the road to Music City this week. We play a team that lost their startin' QB for the next couple weeks but still has a very good offense with their backup in play and a strong defense that we need to work on gettin' through.

There are no easy wins or easy losses in the HIFL. That's why it's the HIFL. But Imma explore all the options to see what we can do to right this ship in KC.

Questions?

[Talon]

Does this team need to consider trading for David-Allen Slinger?