NEW JERSEY DRAGONS [GM STORM]

[Talon]

So the bad news is I just got replaced as his agent, the good news is I placed a call to him to make the offer, just in case.. and BOOM. WE GOT HIM BACK!  He's on his way as soon as you send the paperwork to the league office.

[GM Storm]

You were not his agent any longer?

STORM CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY AS THOUGH HE MIGHT BE IN DANGER

Who was his new representation?

[Talon]

 

Well you see, after my ousting from the PFL as an agent and me publicly announcing I wanted to get my clients out of the league they encouraged my clients to hire new agents so they could black ball me from the league.  This new chick on the block, Roux Rawlins or something like that became a hot name, but I called Jewell and even though they were working on a partnership, he decided to comeback to me and agree to a deal with you.  So I'm appreciative and he's excited to join.

[GM Storm]

Good then. I will file the paper work now.

Until next time, Mr. Shapiro.

[Talon]

 

Excellent. Appreciate you, my man!

[GM Storm]

An, I would like to speak with Coach Jose Mackey. If you would like, you can let him know I would like his suggestions regarding our offensive guards and which would be the best to start at right guard now that we will have Jewell Paige starting at left guard.

[Talon]

I love adding Paige, a great signing, yes... With him at LG, we play Ames at right with Vail as the next man up for either position.

[GM Storm]

Thank you Mr. Swope.

Please adjust our starting offensive line to reflect this on the depth chart.

LT: Dale Hardaway
LG: Jewell Paige
OC: David King
RG: Daren Ames
RT: Travis Brothers

Let us go bring fire and blood to the Smoke.

Lock In

[GM Storm]

We had many very good performances this week that resulted in a thrilling overtime victory over a divisional rival. The weather was quite unpleasant and made things difficult on all involved. Our young Quarterback Kyle Wright shone brightly under such pressure. You know that he carried himself well if someone such as Reginald Duke is making a point to be sure the whole world is aware of it.

This week we travel to Orlando, Florida to play the Stampede and I am certain they will be looking to rebound from a tough loss to the Cobras this past week. It will be our goal to show the Stampede that the Cobras are not the only team from this division that they should fear. I look forward to Kyle Wright leading us to another victory.

[Talon]

 

A satisfying conclusion to this weekends game, yes.

[GM Storm]

Yes, we are playing good football and Kyle is getting more confident each week. But this does feel like somewhat of a trap game with the Stampede. They have lost some important players but still look dangerous to me on paper.

[Talon]

 

An animal is most dangerous when wounded with its back against a wall.  They will be throwing everything they have at us.

[GM Storm]

This is what I suspect. They appear to be strong against the pass but perhaps vulnerable against the run?

[Talon]

 

That was the case this week, but for the season they are 18th vs the pass and 8th vs the run.  their biggest weakness is their offense ranks last in points.

[GM Storm]

Thank you for this information Mr. Swope.

An, I am contemplating placing our guard, Clyde Colbert, on IR for the remainder of the season in order to free up salary cap space in order to potentially make a trade. Would your father be willing to sign off on the injury rebate waiver if I was to do this?

[Talon]

 

Father has given his blessing to use the injury salary waiver for Mr. Colbert.  Since this is the first time it has been used, I remind you that it is only a rebate of the salary available if the player was released, meaning that at this point in the season we only receive a 25% rebate, meaning we would receive $2.25MM in rebated salary to use at our leisure.   That would bring our available salary cap to 7.7MM available funds.

If you would like to use this, we simply announce to the league office that we:

a.  Place Clyde Colbert on the injured/reserve.
b.  Utilize the Injury Salary Waiver to recoup 25% of his salary cap space

[GM Storm]

Thank you. And to make sure I have everything in order, I believe our numbers are different as you may not have added Jewell Paige's salary to your figures. I believe that it would leave us with 2.7 million in cap space if I have done my math correctly.

[Talon]

 

Oh, Foolish me, you are correct. I had not done that addition to this sheet.

[GM Storm]

No no. It is a busy time of year and we lean heavily on you to keep us all in line. A simple oversight that I am sure you would have caught even if I had not brought it up. Think nothing of it.

Instead, please contact Mr. Bobby Shapiro and inform him I would like to offer our cornerback Cory Taylor a 3 year contract extension beginning next season at a rate of 4 million per season.

[Talon]

YOUR OFFER IS ACCEPTED.

[GM Storm]

Thank you Mr. Shaprio.

An, next I would like for you to let Mr. Leslie Keefer know we would like to extend his contract starting in season 17 for 3 seasons at 4 million dollars per season.

[Talon]

I'm happy to sign a deal that keeps me here in Jersey, Thanks boss.

[GM Storm]

We are happy to have you here, Mr. Keefer. Keep up the good work.

[Talon]

 

Absolutely sir. You can count on me.

[GM Storm]

I know that I can.

An, while I wait to hear back on some trade negotiations will you let Mr. Mike Maker know that I would like to extend DT Harry Steele's contract a further 2 seasons at a value of 6 million per season beginning in Season 17.

[Talon]

 

Mr. Maker declined our offer. Apparently Mr. Steele wishes to return to London when possible.

[GM Storm]

Have Mr. Steele come and see me, please. And thank Mr. Maker for his quick response and for making us aware of this.

[Talon]

 

Ello.

[GM Storm]

Mr. Steele, thank you for coming by. I was surprised to hear of your desire to return to London when possible as it is my understanding they once had you in their employ and gave you away to Miami.

I will not begrudge anyone for wanting to go home. I often feel like a man between two worlds, being here in America and yet having roots in Moscow. Yet I also recognize the great honor that comes from being a part of the New Jersey Dragons franchise. I imagine there is double honor for you, playing for such a prestigious franchise and a coach of such great repute like Mr. Joan Swope is.

I say this to say, we wish to provide loyalty and security long term for you and believe it would be an unfortunate event if you returned to a team that cast you aside like a toy they had grown tired of.

[Talon]

 

I appreciate you lookin' out for my security, but I started my career here in New Jersey through GM Kirk's Li-Ning Academy from the UK.  So I've made a return here, I believe I could make a return there.  The truth is its nothing against The Dragons organization, I'm going to play my arse off for you and try to break every quarterback we face in the process, but even if the Harriers aren't interested in bringing me back to the team, I'd just prefer to return to the UK.  Too many bloody wankers here in the states, walking around shootin' off their fireworks to celebrate being a bunch of ungrateful treasonous colonists.   

[GM Storm]

I appreciate you giving your best to the organization while you are here.

There is much work left to do. Let us wreck this frenchman this week. 

[Talon]

 

Oi, I'll get after him. Bloody wanker will croak like the frog that he is.

[GM Storm]

Good good.

An, Mr. Steele was just about to head down to the practice field. Can you let Coach Swope know that we have acquired two new cornerbacks and I would like to know how he wishes to organize our DB's now.

[Talon]

 

He has recommended a base line up of:

1. Greedy Jackson
2. Daniel Jennings
3. Giovanni Stitt
4. Leslie Keefer
5. Cory Taylor

But he also suggested allowing him to rotate them regularly so they all get some time in the various positions and to keep everyone fresh.

[GM Storm]

That is excellent. We will do as he wishes.

Please let Mr. Swope know to implement all of that as he sees fit.

We are ready for Orlando.

Lock In

[GM Storm]

This was a tough week, yes. We earned a hard fought victory over a team with very good talent on defense. However, we also have very good talent on defense as we showed by holding the Stampede to one touchdown. It is important that we have the ability to win in many different ways. Last week Kyle Wright showed that he has the skill to lead a potent offense. This week, while the offense struggled some, our defense made plays for us to lead us to victory. I must applaud Mr. Anteros Jackson for his defensive touchdown, and also Mr. Frank Falcon for accumulating 4 tackles for loss. These are significant performances, as is the pressure that Harry Steele, Christopher Chandler and Adam Stringer had Mr. Bellerose under all day long.

Now, we turn our attention to the Lincoln Pride. They have had their struggles this season but as we all witnessed this past week they still are competing at a high level. We will need all hands on deck if we wish to continue our winning ways and move forward in securing our place in the playoffs.

Also, I was impressed by the thoughtfulness of Mr. Maldonado in Tucson. After seeing his draft class peers suffer significant injuries this weekend it is a good look on his part to express his admiration and well wishes on their behalf. That is how you lead, and it is no surprise that the Stars find such success with him guiding them.

Now, if you would excuse me I must speak with Mr. Tong about the future of the Dragons organization. Thank you for your time.

STORM PAUSES IN CASE THERE ARE ANY LAST MINUTE QUESTIONS. HE THEN EXITS AND RETURNS TO HIS OFFICE.

An, what are my next steps now? Am I to meet with your father before talking to the coaching staff or will he reach out when he is ready?

[Talon]

Ni hao Mr. Storm,

Your work so far has been admirable, especially after the way my last general manager brought shame and disgrace to my organization; but the world has a funny way of showing those who stand against the Tong Dynasty that they are not missed in New Jersey.

I have been pleased with your attitude and your approach.  If you see yourself as a member of this organization and you believe that you have what it takes to succeed in the HIFL, then I would like to formally offer you a contract.   

Does this interest you?

[GM Storm]

привет, Mr. Tong.

As I said in my initial press conference, it is an honor to have been appointed to guide this franchise through the remainder of this season and it would be an even bigger honor to continue to do so in the future.

I am most assuredly interested in hearing your offer, sir.

[Talon]

 

Very good.  My offer to you is 3 seasons, $2MM per season, and if you make the playoffs we will immediately renegotiate to increase your wages.

[GM Storm]

This is very fair, thank you. I accept your generous offer.

[Talon]

 

Be sure to send it to the league office.  Good luck the remainder of this season.

[GM Storm]

Thank you, sir.

An, please let Mr. Swope know I was pleased with our victory this past week. If he wishes to discuss our gameplan for the Pride please inform him I am available at his convenience.

[Talon]

 

Hello, yes.

[GM Storm]

Mr. Swope it is good to see you. What can we expect out of the Lincoln Pride this week? It seems they should be much better than their record indicates.

[Talon]

 

They have a lot of talent, yes.

11th ranked offense, 3rd ranked run game. 4th in total yards per game.  With Worley at QB now their passing attack is better than their 18th rank.   They have the #1 run defense and the 2nd to last ranked passing offense. 

We will need Wright to throw us to victory offensively, yes.

[GM Storm]

Then we will trust in him to do so. I believe we are ready, Mr. Swope.

Lock In

[GM Storm]

A disappointing result for the House of the Dragon but there is much to be proud of. Being down twenty points with about 16 minutes to play it would have been easy for us to quit. Instead, we showed character and fought back to make the game close. We simply ran out of time. These things will happen at times and when they do they provide great opportunity for us to learn from the mistakes that left us in that position that we might not allow them to occur again.

Do you have any questions for me?

This loss has left you on the outside looking in in the playoff picture. What is the message to the team this week to ensure they keep fighting?

The message is simple. The history of this organization, the players that have come before and given so much to this team and these fans, and the fans themselves demand that they continue to give everything of themselves for the cause of the House of the Dragon. To do anything less than to keep fighting is simply not acceptable and anyone who does not embrace that mindset will not be seeing the football field.

Clint Dickey is close to setting the all time record for career catches. Are you planning any sort of celebration for if and when he achieves this?

I am certainly hoping it is able to happen in front of the Dragons fans. However, in order for him to break the record he needs to catch the football 13 times so I do not anticipate him reaching that mark this week. After that, we do not have a home game until week 15. Should he complete this accomplishment at home I expect there will be a brief timeout from play taken, the ball he caught secured for his keeping, and a moment of applause and respect given to him for such a successful career. If it were to happen in London or St. Paul, however, I cannot speak to how those organizations would handle it. I would like to think they would honor him, but as you have seen in the comments between GM Wayne and GM Rinaldi, resentment and bitterness is sometimes felt between individuals and the same is true for organizations as well.

Speaking of your game this week, are you expecting to beat an Alabama team that continues to be without Jamie Ortega for another week or two?

We expect to beat every team that we play but football is football and as you saw with the Lincoln Pride, sometimes you fall short of your own expectations for yourself. The Nighthawks without Jamie Ortega are still very good. Their record, at 5-5, much like our own indicates there have been some struggles there this season. Genaro Lewis, though he is not Jamie Ortega, is still a very talented Quarterback capable of leading his team to victory. They still have Bruce Wilkinson who is shattering all understanding of what can be accomplished by a single player in a game, and in a season. They are coached well and they are lead well. So while we expect to beat them, and that would be true whether Jamie Ortega is their Quarterback or anyone else, we are aware that they pose a significant challenge and will require us to be at our best to do so.

The House of the Dragon will bring fire and blood to the Alabama Nighthawks this week, as we do every week. And when all is said and done we will see who is left standing.

STORM PAUSES IN CASE THERE ARE ANY LAST MINUTE QUESTIONS. HE THEN EXITS AND RETURNS TO HIS OFFICE.

Coach, I was surprised to see us fall behind as we did without turnovers being the culprit. How did we let this one get away from us so quickly?

[Talon]

 

The first quarter was dreadful.  All four drives were three and out. Three sacks on our first two drives, bad penalties on Harrington and Brothers on our final two drives of the first quarter.   Our defense was worn down early because of a heavy run attack and our offense not keeping the ball long enough for them to recover.  It was a recipe for struggles.  Once tired, we gave up a big 65 yard play to Molina to set up another score, and it was a hard whole to dig out of, yes.

[GM Storm]

Then I will take this showing has a testament to our teams character that we were able to fight back into it. You should be applauded for your leadership, Mr. Swope.

Now we must turn our focus to the Alabama Nighthawks and their way of doing things. How do we overcome the challenge they pose?

[Talon]

 

Their young quarterback is not Jamie Ortega, BUT he is very talented as a runner and can throw well in short spaces.  We have to contain him, which is not an easy task.

In the past I have committed heavy to the run to stop the Alabama run attack with varying successes, but i believe we must focus on the run this week or we will be in big trouble, yes.