NEW JERSEY DRAGONS [GM STORM]

[GM Storm]

"Okay so if I set it up like this...

CB1: Greedy Jackson
CB1b: Jackson Havlock
CB1c: Giovanni Stitt

CB2: Jackson Havlock
CB2b: Giovanni Stitt
CB2c: Leslie Keefer

CB3: Giovanni Stitt
CB3b: Leslie Keefer

That would have us positioned with Greedy as our CB1, Stitt as our CB2 and Keefer as our CB3 in the event that Jackson Havlock misses the game this week?"

[Talon]

That should do it, yes.

[GM Storm]

"Alright I'll restate it below for our lock in. Need a good bounce back this week, coach. Glory to the House of the Dragon!"

CB1: Greedy Jackson
CB1b: Jackson Havlock
CB1c: Giovanni Stitt

CB2: Jackson Havlock
CB2b: Giovanni Stitt
CB2c: Leslie Keefer

CB3: Giovanni Stitt
CB3b: Leslie Keefer

Lock In

[GM Storm]

"I wish to begin by offering the collective of our home fans an apology. We have failed you all this season and it is unacceptable. I assure you we continue to work as hard as we can to rectify our poor performance in front of you.

Losing at home is disappointing. We dropped the ball. We might point to injuries to Jackson Havlock prior to the game, and Kyle Wright during the game, as reasons why we lost but those are simply excuses and do not speak to the fact that the Portland team simply were better than we were. It was a waste of an admirable performance in relief by Reginald Duke.

We must be better going forward. Let us hope we find what we have been lacking as we welcome the Milwaukee Barons to our house this week."

"After suffering defeats in two consecutive games have you shifted your stance on the trade market?"

"No. I will not mortgage our future for a rental piece. In most cases the impact of those players is negligible while bringing in the added risk that whoever might be acquired could negatively impact the chemistry in our locker room.

We have the right pieces here. Now, they must perform as they are expected."

"From a scoring perspective you have the fourth best performing defense in the conference, and seventh best in the league. You also have the third best offense in the conference and seventh best in the league. Where is the disconnect between those figures and your record?"

"Late collapses, mental mistakes in key moments, turnovers, injuries, there are countless reasons why we seem to be performing well but falling short of the level of success we expect in the win column."

[Talon]

 

...Well thank the supreme leader you didn't trade Duke, but FFS, losing Kyle and dropping two in a row is just a son of a bitch.   

[Talon]

 
 

Interesting development.  GM Kirk is now in charge in Milwaukee, so they'll be a different looking team for sure.

[GM Storm]

"They've been really good on offense all year it looks like it's just their defense is a sieve.

I had the same thought as you with Reg, we'd be in quite the spot if he had been willing to leave. But glad to still have him because we know he's reliable under center. I anticipate him having a big day but their offense poses some problems. Maybe we tone our aggressiveness back to balanced this week? Would that potentially help to limit their splash plays?"

[Talon]

 
 

It could help, but with McLendon also being very turnover prone there is room to make plays on the football.

So if you want to go more conservative or even balanced there are pros and cons, just like staying aggressive.  I'll let you make the call, I'm fine either way.

[GM Storm]

"Lets stick with who we've been and trust that our guys can find their form again. Glory to the House of the Dragon!"

lock in

[Talon]

AUTOLOCKED UNTIL STORM RETURNS

[GM Storm]

A large projection screen is set up in the New Jersey Dragons media room as the members of the press wait for the press conference to begin. Moments later the screen flickers to life as GM Storm, with a newborn in his arms, gives a nod to the press.

"Before we talk about football I want to say thank you to everyone who has sent their well wishes to my wife and I as we dealt with some complications toward the end of her pregnancy. I also want to thank you all for your congratulations and your patience with me. Hopefully I will be able to meet with you all in person soon but I am sure you can understand that my attention must be here first.

I do have responsibilities to the New Jersey Dragons organization, however, and I still am striving to do my job. So let me say I am quite proud of our team over the past couple of weeks. We won a hotly contested matchup against a very good Seattle team, and we lost a last second heartbreaker to a team with a Quarterback who should be in consideration for offensive player of the year and most valuable player. When a quarterback doesn't make mistakes he puts his team in a very good position to win and Mr. Mazza has been doing that all year for the Vancouver team."

"Do you take any issue with the holding penalty that was called late as it cost you the game winning touchdown and made the kick that James Edwards needed to make significantly more difficult?"

"Of course you hate to see that kind of play wiped out by a penalty, and you'd like for the referees to let the guys play if at all possible. But I think if you look at the statistics you can see that they had been calling those kinds of penalties all game long, and they had been calling them on both teams and really that is all you can ask for. Call it evenly for both teams and call it consistently. The referees did that. It is our mistake and I know that both Victor on the penalty, and James on the kick, will use these missteps to fuel them to be better going forward."

"Kyle Wright is reported to be on the verge of returning but with the way Reginald Duke is playing are there any chances you choose to stick with him?"

"Kyle Wright is the starting quarterback of this team when he is fit. But it is a luxury to have a quality player like Reginald backing him up. Not many teams around the league have that kind of reliability in their QB2. What we want to make sure of is that Kyle is fully healthy. Given that it is a shoulder injury he has been dealing with, we want to be careful not to rush him back onto the field before he is ready. So I cannot say whether or not Kyle will be our starting QB this week but if Coach Woods and I are told that he is not at risk of injuring it further, and he is ready to go, then he will start."

"Amsterdam comes to town this week and earlier this season you had sharp words for the Smoke. Anything you want to add, given their recent turmoil?"

"No, there is no reason to. If you remember earlier this year AJ Campanelli guaranteed victory in our house and, as I'm sure you can understand, that rubbed some in the organization including myself the wrong way. But we took care of business and that is that. We cannot allow that victory to cause us to let our guard down. They are still a dangerous team even with the turmoil. We must play our game and if we do this, we will win."

"The DC Cobras seem to be running away with the division do y-"

"Yes, they are playing well. This is why we cannot afford a loss this week. We do not want to give them any help.

Will you all excuse me. I am not sure how much time I am going to have and I would like to have an opportunity to talk with Coach Woods before I am required elsewhere. Good day."

The screen flashes off. A moment later in GM Storms office a planned zoom call is connected and Storm appears.

"Ah, Coach Woods. Thank you for holding down the fort for me. I believe that is the expression, yes? I appreciate your hard work. The only question I have is regarding Kyle and his injury, as I mentioned to the press. If he is cleared to play is there any danger in him suffering a setback given that he is still listed as probable?"

[Talon]

 

Doctors say he should be fine, so it looks like he is safe to play as long as he gets the final clearance at the end of the week.

[GM Storm]

"Okay. I will trust your judgment on that. How would you feel about scaling our aggressiveness back to balanced on defense?"

[Talon]

 
 

I am fine with that.  I don't want to be conservative, but balanced is fine.

[GM Storm]

"We will see how it goes this week.

Keep up the great work, Coach. Bring fire and blood to Amsterdam and Glory to the House of the Dragon!"

Change defensive attitude to balanced.

lock in

[GM Storm]

"An important victory was achieved this past weekend, as we kept pace with the Harriers and DC stumbled. If you're counting, that would be five straight wins over the Smoke for the Dragons. To give you greater context, the Amsterdam Smoke haven't beaten the New Jersey Dragons since week 2 of season 15. So you'd have to be pretty delusional to call a Dragons victory over Amsterdam something that happens every once in a while. For someone who doesn't like losing to us, they sure have been doing it a lot under a certain General Managers regime.

And if you're keeping track that makes it 3-0 in favor of New Jersey since I took over. But lets move onto things that actually matter and not waste any more time talking about a team that has won fewer games in nearly two full seasons than it took this team to win in my first eleven weeks."

"The Detroit Fury come to town in danger of their season being ended with a loss and your team has had its struggles at home this year. What has to change in order for you to secure another victory?"

"The simple answer is to play to our ability but the two things that have truly been our downfall this season are allowing big plays and committing penalties. I believe this to be a product of our aggressiveness early on. Against Amsterdam we cleaned things up. The Smoke managed one truly significant play and that wasn't until late in the game when victory was already assured. Further, we only committed one penalty. Put all those things together and you have a performance worthy of the Dragons faithful and one that we must build off of if we wish to provide the fans with another home victory."

"Some analysts are saying that your chances of making the playoffs are well below 50% given the difficulty of your final three games, the last two of which are on the road in a hostile division environment. How do you make sure this team doesn't suffer another late season collapse like a year ago."

"It is cliche and you have heard it from other General Manager's already this week, but we must play like our playoff livelihood depends on it because it does. However, I believe Coach Woods has had this team prepared for every game as if making the playoffs depends on securing victory so I don't think we have to do too much different."

"If you were to fall short of the playoffs again this season would you have concerns about your job safety?"

"If we fail to make the playoffs again this season I think it would be fair for Mr. Tong to question whether I am the right man for the job here. There is a standard that we hold ourselves to and not living up to that standard for two seasons in a row would be unacceptable. For what it is worth, I am not concerned about that hypothetical because I believe we will be in the playoffs and, truly, I believe when the regular season is complete we will be the division champions.

That will be all of the questions I field for today. Thank you for your time."

STORM RETURNS TO HIS OFFICE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A FEW WEEKS.

"Bravo, Coach Woods. Your leadership of this team has, in part, helped to expose the delusion of Amsterdam's General Manager and drawn us nearer to the playoffs at the same time."

[Talon]

 

The job isn't done until we are in the playoffs, then the real work begins.

[GM Storm]

"We must win this week then. As always, bring fire and blood to the Fury and Glory to the House of the Dragon!"

Lock In

[Talon]

TWO WEEKS REMAIN.  FEEL FREE TO LOCK IN FOR BOTH WEEKS, IF YOU WANT TO

[GM Storm]

"Heartstopping victory. There's a football team years and years ago that picked up the nickname the Cardiac Kids. I can't remember who it was, but the guys on this team apparently want to pick up that moniker and carry on with it. There was a moment there where we were teetering on the bring. Down by two scores, late in the 4th and hope seemingly fading as Kyle Wright exited with an injury. But then Reginald Duke reminded us yet again just how good he is. Larry Russell reminded every one why he's a folk hero in New Jersey and that his magic carries over into real life from a video game.

There's two games left to determine our future. The first sees us travelling to London to face the team that has been the biggest thorn in our side since my arrival here. I know that we are talented enough to win this game, but the guys in the locker room need to believe it too. They knocked us out of the playoff hunt a season ago and when we had the opportunity for revenge earlier this season we came up short. Yeah, they've had our number. So what are we going to do? Are we going to be like Amsterdam, burying our heads in the sand to the reality of the past? Or are we going to hold ourselves accountable and be undeniable with the playoffs hanging in the balance?

Those are the questions we have to answer. Do you all have any more for me?"

"Do you have any concern about Kyle Wrights injury history up to this point?"

"Kyle's gonna bounce back and be fine. But there's always a concern when you're letting your QB get beat up like we have at times this year. The responsibility isn't solely on the line. Kyle needs to make sure he's getting the ball out quickly. But it isn't entirely his responsibility either as the line needs to make sure they're giving Kyle the time he needs."

"With a lot of money invested in the defense is it frustrating to see so many points be given up?"

"Regardless of finances we still need our defense to lock things down more effectively than we have been. We can't be counting on Reginald Duke to throw 3 touchdowns in the final few minutes of the game and pull us out of the fire. It's good that we have that card in the deck but you aren't going to pull that one all the time. So yeah, they need to be better and nobody knows that more than they do."

"What do you think the reason is for those defensive struggles? Is it the coaches? Is it the players?"

"No, it's that we're consistently playing the highest powered offenses in the league. We don't have the likes of Dallas and San Antonio sitting at the bottom of this division giving away free wins left and right. We actually have to earn it in the Eastern conference, and so seeing it be challenging to stop some of these offenses isn't shocking at all. We just have to make one more stop than our oppponents and our coaches and players have done that well enough.

With that said, excuse me. I have business to attend to."

STORM RETURNS TO HIS OFFICE.

"Two more wins, Coach. But none more important than this one."

[Talon]

 

I wouldn't have it any other way.   A must win vs a division rival.  This is best on best, and we're going to emerge as the better team.

[GM Storm]

"No other way to do it. Bring them fire and blood and Glory to the House of the Dragon!"

Lock In

[GM Storm]

"After the way our season ended a year ago it feels good to know we will be playing playoff football this season, and that we secured that for ourselves by beating the Harriers for the first time in my tenure. The Cobras have clinched the division, and there's nothing that we can do about that at this point. But we can roll into the playoffs with all the momentum in the world by putting the division champs in their place as our final act of the regular season."

"If you had to choose, who would your first round playoff matchup be against?"

"I think we'd make short work of the Mustangs to be frank. But it doesn't matter. We believe we can beat any of the teams we could be matched up against."

"What will it take to beat the Cobras this week?"

"Provided they play their starters? It will take our defense stepping up and shutting McCaffrey down. He makes life easy for Solis to be able to hit pot shots to a talented receiver corps. But if you can shut McCaffrey down the team becomes very one dimensional and beatable. But slowing him down is easier said than done."

"You've had a relatively one-sided beef with Winnipeg all season long. With the Arctic Foxes on the precipice of completing a historic season defensively do you feel any differently about the team that C4 has assembled?"

"I said what I said. When you play in a conference with as many JV teams as the Arctic Foxes do, you'd expect to have a historic season on all sides of the football. Put Winnipeg in the meat grinder that is the Eastern Conference and I assure you there season would be far closer to the baseline than it currently is. Of course they are good, but they are not so far and away better than everyone else that they cannot be beat or that I, or this organization, is intimidated by them.

But I'd rather focus on the task at hand with DC than talk about a team that isn't even going to make the Impact Bowl. So if there's no further questions, I've got work to do."

STORM RETURNS TO HIS OFFICE.

"Another great victory, Coach. No need to dawdle on this one. Bring the Cobras fire and blood.

And bring Glory to the House of the Dragon!"

Lock In

[Talon]

PLAYOFF PRESS CONFERENCE -- TALK ABOUT THE END OF THE SEASON, YOUR PLACE IN THE PLAYOFFS, AND HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR CHANCES TO MAKE A RUN AT THE IMPACT BOWL

[GM Storm]

"I am a believe in momentum and statement games and the stretch run for our season featured statement games that garnered us momentum. It is unfortunate that we dropped a few games early on and gave the Cobras an easy path to the number one seed and the division championship, but we all have the same chance now. All of those regular season wins and losses are erased and each of us is 0-0 and needing to win to keep our season alive.

But before we get to your questions about the playoffs, I do want to take a moment to celebrate Coach Woods. A season ago with everything on the line we dropped the ball in humiliating fashion. This year, with everything on the line over the last few weeks we did the exact opposite. We won the games we had to win to get to the playoffs. I think it speaks volumes about her and her ability that we're here and neither her former team, nor the former coach of this team, are featured in the playoffs in any capacity."

"It is a touch unusual for a team that is a wildcard to be favored heading into a road playoff game. What are your thoughts on the oddsmakers leaning your direction?"

"Well, we appreciate their support but football games aren't played in the casino, they're played on the football field where anything can happen at any given time.  I do think it is a bit disrespectful to the Myrtle Beach team and their fans, and I'm not all that appreciative of the oddsmakers giving them that kind of bulletin board material but to be quite honest if the Mastodons need that kind of motivation to get up for this game then we're in a good spot."

"It appears this is going to be a strength on strength game with your high octane pass game going up against vaunted defensive backfield that Myrtle Beach boasts. What do you think gives you the edge?"

"Yeah, no doubt that a big key to the game is who is going to win that battle. To answer who gives us the edge you've got to get away from the receivers and quarterback and look at the young man Jack Ortiz at running back. He was buried on the Cancun depth chart to start the season with no real chance of seeing the football field. But we took a flyer on him and he has turned out to be an absolute steal and a key piece of our team. Listen to the stats. 208 carries for 1062 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. He added an additional 45 catches for 400 yards and a touchdown in the pass game. So if you want to know who gives us an edge, if we end up having one? It's Jack."

"You managed to go 7-1 on the road this year, while only breaking even at home. Do you think your team is more comfortable playing on the road and if so, why is that?"

"I don't think we're more comfortable on the road, but I think at times the best teams can feed off the negative energy that the opposing fan base brings in their own house and I feel like we've done that really well this year. That's not to say it's a guarantee to happen in South Carolina inside a dome. The volume is going to be cranked up to 1 billion and everyone knows the game plays a bit faster on turf. It's going to be a heck of an environment to play in and one that we're excited to be a part of."

"When the season is all done, what's it look like for the New Jersey Dragons?"

"Impact Bowl Champions. Period."

[Talon]

 

I know you mentioned the satisfaction of winning the games that mattered and making the playoffs, and for me it is great, but there is a secondary satisfaction that comes from my old team falling flat in week 17 and they can't point the finger at "little ol' me" this time.

Now that I've said that, lets focus on Myrtle Beach.  They can score a ton, but they also give up a ton.  This one is going to be about us executing on offense and defensively keeping plays in front of us.

[GM Storm]

"I agree. I believe we play the style that has gotten us here. No need to change things up now. Well, outside of one thing.

An, maybe I am losing my mind but I seem to recall seeing an alternate helmet at some point that was primarily black with red highlights? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it would be awesome to show up in a 'playoff' kit that was black with red lettering and all."

[Talon]

Oh, this one?   It would be special to debut it in the playoffs, that's for sure.

[GM Storm]

"That's the one.

It's perfect. We'll just designate those as our playoff kit from here on out.

So, given that it's my first time experiencing the playoffs first hand is there anything special I need to be giving my attention to before we lock in? Anything I should be doing that I'm overlooking?"

[Talon]

 

Some GM's like to give a rousing speech, some like to save it for closer to or at the Impact Bowl.. It's not a requirement, but if you feel like speaking to the team I'll gather them up.

[GM Storm]

"We'll save the speech for the Impact Bowl when we get there.

Bring fire and blood to the Mastodons and as always...

GLORY TO THE HOUSE OF THE DRAGON!"

Lock In

[Talon]

HANDLE BUSINESS

[GM Storm]

"Huge performance offensively I'm not even gonna gripe about giving up the points we did give up. That offense is stellar in Myrtle Beach and to outgun them is a testament to Kyle and the offense. I don't think we change a thing, coach. With the run we're on right now, knowing we can go into their house and beat them? It's gonna take our best but we know we're capable."

[Talon]

 

We knew that to get to the Impact Bowl we'd have to go through DC.   ...Lets cut the head off of the snake and advance.

[GM Storm]

"Bring the Cobras fire and blood as always.

But most importantly, bring glory to the House of the Dragon."

Lock In

[Talon]

CONGRATULATIONS ON REACHING THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS.

[GM Storm]

"I said before the final week of the regular season I wanted the Mustangs in the first round. We didn't get them there, but we get them now.

7-1 on the road in the regular season. 2-0 on the road so far in the playoffs with another one locked and loaded. We win this one and they're going to have to start calling us the Road Warriors... what a damn rush it'll be."

[Talon]

 

This is what we've prepared for all year, to earn the right to play in the Impact Bowl.   Our offense is performing at such a high level, I believe this team is the best in the East and we can prove it with one more win.

[GM Storm]

"And that's just the next step. The final step is proving we're the best team in the league.

Let's handle our business and book our ticket to the Impact Bowl. Bring fire and blood to the Mustangs...

AND BRING EVEN GREATER GLORY TO THE HOUSE OF THE DRAGON!"

Lock In

[Talon]

WE JOIN THE HEAD COACHES POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE AS IT WRAPS UP
 

...Look, the media has never been kind to me, so you don't have to smile and pretend you have been, but I'll just say this.   As a woman in this league, as THE only female head coach in the High Impact Football League, I definitely feel like there is added scrutiny to everything I do as a head coach.   Do I feel like I should've been let go in Long Beach?   Absolutely not.  I put my heart into that club, I mended fences people didn't know had broken, and I brought a level of accountability to the locker room that some people just don't have, so even though this was not the ending I wanted, it is a solid consolation prize to know we played in the Conference Championship game and went to overtime while GM BIG DOG and Long Beach finished in last place in the division.   

Alright,  I'm out.  Thanks folks.





END OF SEASON PRESS CONFERENCE

1. Talk about your season as a whole, what was the most memorable moment for you?


2. Kyle set records during this post season run but he also took a pounding against Cleveland, what can you do to put him in a better position to succeed?


WHEN YOU HAVE CONCLUDED YOUR PRESS CONFERENCE YOU WILL BE LOCKED UNTIL THE PRE-OFFSEASON (POST-IMPACT BOWL WEEK)

[GM Storm]

"Seeing the result of the Impact Bowl I can't help but feel like our offense would have thrived, but we didn't get the job done when we had the opportunity to set that matchup up. Credit to Cleveland's defense in the conference championship. The pressure they put on us really disrupted our offense and made it tough for us to find our rhythm early.

Before getting to your questions I just want to say that I stand behind everything Coach Woods had to say. And while she was underappreciated in Long Beach, that is not the case here in New Jersey."

Talk about your season as a whole, what was the most memorable moment for you?

"The way we performed at the end of the regular season and then in our post season run. We had to achieve a series of road wins against all three of our division rivals, plus a home game against a very good Detroit team, just to make it into the playoffs. Then to go and to beat Myrtle Beach and our division rival DC in their houses, and to have an opportunity late to beat Cleveland in their house on the road to the Impact Bowl. It was a run that I will never forget, and that I am very proud of. We represented our organization well."

Kyle set records during this post season run but he also took a pounding against Cleveland, what can you do to put him in a better position to succeed?

"The simplest answer is that we must continue to develop and strengthen the offensive line around him, while also continuing to give him the tools he needs to develop his ability to read defenses and identify where pressure is going to come from. He is a young, brilliant quarterback with a bright future ahead of him and I believe he will continue to dazzle in New Jersey for many years to come."

[Talon]

 

This is just the start for this team.   We're not done, not by a long shot.

We should be ready to get into end of season stuff as soon as the league sets up the information for the S17 closeout, so I'll see you then.

[Talon]

GM Storm, you have done everything you have said you would do when I hired you and with so much change to the landscape of the HIFL I do not wish to lose an asset that will no doubt be in demand if I allow your contract to expire.

So I am offering you a 3 year extension, starting immediately, worth $4MM per season.

[GM Storm]

"Esteemed Comrade Tong, thank you for the offer. I do not wish to work anywhere else but I will be honest, my first assessment of the financials is that they do not reflect a contractual agreement for an general manager who has, as you have stated, accomplished everything that was promised.

Is this your best, and final, offer?"

[Talon]

 

  Yes.  A conference Championship appearance is very nice, but it is not proof of sustained success.

[GM Storm]

"Then I will continue to bet on myself and stick with the current contract and evaluate my options when Season 18 has concluded."

[Talon]

 

Very good.  Bring honor and glory to this team's name and you will be rewarded.

[GM Storm]

"I will strive to do so. Good day, Comrade Tong."

[Talon]

Mr. Storm, if you have any re-signings to try to do before the off-season now is the time, if you are prepared to close out the season, you may lock in at any time and I will provide you with our off-season primer document.

[GM Storm]

"Just one, An. Please place a call to Bobby Shapiro and let him know it is about his client Adam Stringer."

STORM HUMS A NICE TUNE ABOUT HOW HE'LL MISS BEATING AMSTERDAM TWICE A YEAR.

"Bobby, reaching out about Adam Stringer. I know he's been a part of the New Jersey organization for a long time and I would prefer not to see him elsewhere so I'd like to offer him a contract extension that would see him earn  a total of 22 million per season for 3 more seasons."