CLEVELAND MUSTANGS [GM DOUG - LOA]

[Talon]

 

We've got the corners to be physical with Peerless, and we wont be foolish and over look Ryan.  He's had a quietly top 5 season.  Without much run game we can focus our efforts on harassing Barger.  Bruiser could be a difference maker.

[GM Wayne]

Good deal. Take care of business then, Coach.

Lock In

[GM Wayne]

Another win in the books and credit to the Music City team they gave us all we could handle. I want to give a nod to our DBs for slowing down Peerless and Ryan Ryan. That's a WR duo that has been having massive success and to keep them relatively in check shows the quality of our backfield.

Credit to our offense for being efficient and making the plays we needed to make when we needed them to be made. I'm not sure if we've officially clinched the division or not but I feel like taking both games off the Lynx should secure us the division. We're not resting anyone, though, because the #1 seed is still in contention and we all know that GM Eli can't ever see anything through to the finish, not even tanking so we're expecting the Mutineers to upset the Killer Whales in this final game and give us the wiggle room we need to steal that bye week.

It takes going through Michigan in their house to get us there. They aren't the team they were earlier this year but it's Cleveland vs. Michigan week. We know they're going to turn up so we need to keep our eyes focused squarely on the task at hand. One week at a time. One win at a time.

Talk to you at the start of the playoffs.

Wayne heads back to his office.

Coach, another solid performance where we found a way to make the plays necessary to leave with a win. That's seven in a row. Lets make it eight.

[Talon]

 

Lets rock and roll.

[GM Wayne]

Couldn't have said it better.

Lock In

[GM Wayne]

Well the easy part is done, and it was by no means easy. Just to win the division we had to run off eight straight wins after the hole we dug ourselves into early in the season. A lot of people had written us off, as Bronson elaborated on in his comments to the media. Nobody wanted us to be here. Every obstacle on the planet was put in our path and we managed to overcome each of them.

That was the easy part. The playoffs are a different animal, as we learned last season playing against Miami on our own field. So the playoffs bring a different element and then the need to beat the Lynx for a third time this season only adds to the difficult. It's hard to beat a team twice in one years. It's even harder to beat a team three times in one year and we all know there's nothing more that the Lynx want then to give us a first round exit after all the work we put in just to get to this point.

So we're going to keep doing what we've been doing. We're healthy and we're going to take this one game at a time. One win at a time. And we get to do it in front of our own fans. I promise, we're looking forward to this game.

Wayne heads back to the office to speak to Coach Blitzer

Coach, lets fucking go. We've got momentum. We're healthy. And we're playing really solid, clean, efficient football on either side of the ball. It's going to take the effort we've seen the last eight games if we want to make it nine.

[Talon]

 

Nothing like playoff football. No second chances, you bring your best or you lose.  None of this "best of seven" bollocks.

Lets given them bloody hell!

[GM Wayne]

A year ago I was ready to make a big speech. It was my first time experiencing the playoffs first hand. It was the first time for a lot of us.

This year? Fuck that. We know we belong. We know we earned our chance. We know this is our moment. The lads are ready and they don't need my hype to get them to that next gear. We've had it for 8 weeks now.

Lets rock and roll.

Lock In

[GM Wayne]

1. Talk about this weeks game, what went wrong?

"We just got beat. We can point fingers at the referees all we want for that final play of the game but that play never happens if we manage to make a stop on a fourth and ten. The difference was that they made plays when in clutch time when we did not. I mean what else do you say besides that. We had all the swagger in the world coming in. We'd beaten them twice and knew we could do it again. I've always said if you don't like the trash talk then beat us. And St. Paul did that this week. Yeah, it was a terrible no call on the final play of the game but you're not going to get anything more out of me about that, or the supposed league review, or any of it. It wasn't the reason we lost. Next question."

2. What was the best moment for you this season, and what was the worst?

"This is the worst moment. What kind of stupid question is that? You're asking the GM of a team that just got knocked out of the playoffs what the worst part of the season was? Do you have any awareness at all or do you just throw darts at a dart board and whichever question written in crayons you hit is what you go with? I'm not even going to dignify this question with a further response than that."

3. Who was your teams MVP this season?

"It's tough to pick but I'm going to say Sydney Council's pass rush all season long was a major difference maker on our season. Especially once Bruiser came along and provided another substantial threat on the defensive line."

4. How would you evaluate your coaches performance this season?

"Coach Blitzer is an A. From my own blunders in messaging that he sorted out for me, to leading this team from being 3-5 all the way back to finishing the regular season at 11-5 on an eight game win streak his leadership was what we needed, and that's without even saying anything about his coaching prowess. Adding James Taylor as our defensive coordinator has provided a huge boost as well.

But the offense... I think Deuce Rudino is a fine coach and he has done a lot in ushering Justin Fields along in his development but I believe our offense should have been better than it was this season, and I don't think falling short of what our expectations were on that end is a result of the talent that was on the field. The final call with be Coach Blitzer's to make but we're going to have serious conversations about what we want our offense to look like going forward."

5. How would you evaluate your own performance this season?

"B-. We made it to the playoffs but didn't win. I, personally, wounded team morale earlier this season and if that had been the moment the year ended I'd have graded myself at an F. But we overcame the missteps and mistakes of the early season, made some key trades that I don't regret making for a second, and went on a memorable run that just ended too soon. Overall I think I did more good than bad, but I need to be better next year."

7. What is your biggest take away from this season?

"We've got the pieces to the puzzle, now we just need to make sure we have the right people in place to put the full picture together."

8. What was this team missing?

"I'm really not sure, to be honest. I don't know that we were missing anything. I just think in the biggest game of the year we just didn't have it, and they did.

But for what it's worth... I'll take Daniel Maxley vs. Mid Ramos 100 times out of 100."

[Talon]

Appreciate you handling the ref situation better than I did, I apologize for speaking out, but its bloody infuriating to lose on that play..

Fucking hell, all I'll hear for the next 11 months is going to be how I can't win in the post-season, and it's bloody bollocks.

[GM Wayne]

You expressed yourself in the way I wanted to but, at least for the moment, couldn't. I'm waiting to hear back from the league on that bullshit with the refs and Justin a couple of weeks ago. I was asked not to comment on it until then and just figured this would fall under that category as well. Though it's funny the league finished an "investigation" into that no call in the blink of an eye but still can't get back to me on this.

Yeah, I feel like we got fucked on but if we didn't want to be in that position we needed to make plays before the game got to that point and we didn't. So we live with the awful taste of getting knocked out of the playoffs by a team run by a man who was alive before football was even invented. It fucking sucks but there's nothing we can do about it now except to do our best to make sure it doesn't happen in the future.

Speaking of the future. It's time to move on from Deuce.

[Talon]

 

I agree. We've transitioned away from asking Justin to run for 180 per game, so we can go with a more traditional attack.

[GM Wayne]

Good. Find the best offensive mind out there. I'll give you the finances you need to make that happen. I don't care what kind of system they run as long has it's not something silly like primarily a wishbone scheme. I think a spread hybrid offense would look great with the guys we've got, but I'd rather have a excellent coach across the board who runs a vertical or pro style offense than an alright coach who runs the spread hybrid. I'd put an emphasis on developing skill positions and offensive line over quarterback as I think Justin is doing just fine in his development and doesn't need a QB whisperer.

[Talon]

 

Perfect. when budget finalizations come remind me of this, but I will find the right bloke for the job and not some tosser.

[GM Wayne]

Great. Well I'm pissed that we're wrapping things up this season without an Impact Bowl in the trophy case, but I'm proud of the effort we put in to get to where we got. There's not many 3-5 football teams that fight all the way back to win the division. So while the season ended on a disappointing note I'm proud of what we accomplished and I look forward to building on our success going forward.

Have a good vacation, Coach. I'm off to see the boss.

[Talon]

 

Mr. Johnson, you achieved four of our five goals but obviously the failure was not getting a win in the playoffs, which was only made worse because it was a loss to St. Paul, the only thing worse would have been Michigan.

The Big Guy doesn't have anything major to pass on, but he doesn't want us settling for where we are.  He expects to see a run in the playoffs next season.

[GM Wayne]

Thanks, Cyrus. At least the Lynx didn't win the fucking Impact Bowl. How that mid ass team managed to get their in the first place is beyond me but fuck it we keep shit moving.

Please let TBG know I have no intention of letting this season be the high point of my time with the organization.

Also, if you could let him know it would be great to get out of this cursed fucking city and move to a more central location in Ohio like Columbus. You know, where it isn't a breeding ground for sadness and bad karma. That would be amazing.

[Talon]

Columbus? ...interesting you should say that.   I'll pass it on.

[GM Wayne]

Anywhere that isn't Cleveland. I swear to fucking god this city is cursed. Or maybe I'm just in my own head. Anyway, I'm gonna try and keep a couple of our guys. Good talking to you, Cyrus.

Wayne returns his attention to his secretary

Ms. Halle, please place a call to Steve Rosenhaus for me.

Wayne waits for the call to connect.

Hey Steve, wanted to talk to you briefly about Scott Schwarz. We'd love to have him back here in Cleveland. I think with a full offseason under his belt with Justin under center it'll do wonders for him but obviously if he'd rather test the free agent market I can respect that.

If he's interested in sticking with us here in Cleveland, I'd love to have him back with a 250K raise to his current salary, and keep everything else the same for him to come back in Season 17. So that would be a 1 year, 10.25 million in salary and 3 million in bonus contract.

[Talon]

 

  That's close to what he would want if he decides to keep playing, but right now we're going to hold off until he knows what he wants to do next season, baby.

[GM Wayne]

Understood. Thanks, Steve.

Wayne ends the call before speaking to his secretary again.

Ms. Halle, lets give Jay C a try, thanks.

Wayne waits for the call to connect.

Jay, we spoke earlier this season about extending Bruiser Elliot's contract and decided to revisit it at the end of the year. We're at that point now, and I was looking at the figures for defensive tackles. Personally, I think Bruiser is a top 3 defensive tackle in the league and am willing to offer him a contract accordingly.

Would 4 years at 21 million in salary and 2 million in bonus hit the mark you guys are looking for?

[Talon]

 

  I was thinking $25MM total money, gives a cool $100MM over the 4 years.

[GM Wayne]

Sure, we'll make Bruiser a 100 million dollar man. Thanks, Jay.

Wayne ends the call

Halle, will you confirm there's nothing else I need to take care of before heading out until the off-season program fully begins?

[Talon]

 

We're all set, boss.  Bags are packed and the nude beach in Jamaica is calling my name.

[GM Wayne]

Well now...

Wayne clears his throat a little surprised at this information.

I bet Jamaica is nice this time of year.

Before you head out can you make sure the league office got our notice that we were picking up Bronson's option for Season 17. I noticed he was on the option list that was published and didn't want to lock in until I was sure we're good there.

[Talon]

 

We are fine, we can't officially pick up the option until then, but it has been recorded.

[GM Wayne]

Oh damn. Didn't know that. I filed it with the league office back with Suttons rookie extension I think. If we're good then perfect.

Enjoy Jamaica. Don't let anyone trick you into going to some special island of vacations.

[Talon]

 

I've been to vacation island, not my scene.  I prefer getting away from the business for the break.   Ciao.

[GM Wayne]

Lock In

[Talon]

Hey boss, when you're done checking out the tan lines, Here is our budget and roster outlook going into the off-season including what I have down for our draft picks.  Please contact me if you see anything out of place.

[Talon]

 

Hello!

I am Sophia -- Self Optimizing Processor w/ Human-like Intelligent Abilities  Advanced Utility for Resource Optimization, Reporting, & Administration model 1 of 1.

I am now interfacing with your systems.  This will only take an estimated time of 45 minutes.

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Purging.

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hmm... that is interesting.

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Analyzing.

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Rerouting connection.

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Rerouting successful!

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Terminating link.

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I am now testing functions within your system to ensure successful restoration of operations.

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Your systems have been restored!


Goodbye!

[GM Wayne]

Ah it feels good to be back.

Don't show me the tan lines, Halle. But do tell me how much it would cost to send a retirement gift basket to Kirk. I was thinking various hemorrhoid medication's because that mans butt is hurrrrrrrrrrting.

[Talon]

 

We could probably do something for the league minimum expenditure of $100K if you really wanted to.

[Talon]

 

I've got my budget in hand. Will get to work on it right away.

[GM Wayne]

Thanks, Coach.

Hey, Halle. A couple of years ago when Zeke and the Mustangs parted ways, I agreed that when he decided to retire we would make sure he could do that as a Mustang. I know he already announced his retirement but would you touch base with him and let him know we'd like to honor him this year by retiring his jersey, and if I need to add in a little extra money for him to sign with us for a day so that he can officially retire as a Mustang, I'd be happy to do that.

Just let me know what I would need to send in to the league office in total.

[Talon]

 

If we pay the standard retirement process fee, he would sign with us for the day and retire a Mustang so no extra costs, boss.  I also hear he might be coming on board as our next RB Coach.

[GM Wayne]

That's great to hear. I've sent the finances to the league office for the ceremony. Whenever Zeke decides for certain this is going to be his home for the next season, send him up to see me and I'll tell him officially myself.

[Talon]

 

He'll return to the facility for draft prep around Combine week.

[GM Wayne]

Thanks, Halle. In the meantime will you please get Scott Forrest on the line so we can get Bronson officially sorted out on his contract.

Wayne waits to be connected with Scott Forrest

Scott, hope you're enjoying the off-season and are getting excited for training camp. I wanted to touch base with you about Bronson's contract. I'm happy to bring him immediately up to the 2 million per year that he wasn't slotted to get until the team option kicks in for next year. Or, if you'd rather negotiate a longer extension for him which, I know, isn't usually your operating procedure but seeing as this isn't exactly a normal situation I figured I would let you know I am open to it.

[Talon]

 

I'd accept the $2MM salary if you want to let him playout this contract and get to free agency when its over, or if you want him for 5 years, I'd do $11MM per season starting now.

[GM Wayne]

Shit, we'll lock him down for the 5 years at 11 million starting right now.

[Talon]

Perfect.  Consider this my retirement notice, appreciate the paycheck last year.

[GM Wayne]

Hey, man. We were happy to have you around. I was even gonna get you some playing time in the pre season this year.

Appreciate you working with me on all of this, though. And I wish you the best in your retirement from football.

[Talon]

 

Heroes live forever, but legends never die.


Take care.

[GM Wayne]

Wayne stands outside the shithole that is the St. Paul Lynx Snow Globe, his arms folded across his chest as there has been some kind of alleged problem with the credentials of the GM and his coaching staff.

While he remains calm outwardly... on the inside he is very much feeling like.. well.. this.



Moments pass and eventually Wayne extends his left hand out expectingly. Soon afterward an attractive young lady comes shuffling up, placing a cell phone in his hand.

"Call Cyrus Crane."

Wayne speaks and half a second later the phone starts to ring. He gestures toward the security guards as he waits for the teams counsel to answer his call.

"Go be a problem for them, won't you?"

The attractive young woman nods her head in understanding and promptly marches up to the security team that is refuse to let the Mustangs staff into the combine.



"EXCUSE ME I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER PLEASE!!"

A shrill voice cuts through the air and in the distance behind her, Wayne winces at the god awful sound, his call continuing to ring as he waits expectantly.

[Talon]

No need to call Cyrus. I got it taken care of but it wasn't easy.

First I tired to get that worthless GM Rep, Pancho to do something about this ridiculous injustice, but apparently if you aren't paying into his little crony club, then he's not giving anyone any help... such a corrupt leader.   UGH!


...So then I called Barbara Snow and that was just like talking to a pack of chewed bubble gum, but I offered the security guard tickets to the STP @ CLE game this season on the 50 yard line and he said we're all good.

[Talon]

So, Halle is on personal leave right now, I'm just here to update you on the budget and roster stuff.

With the free for all starting now, here is what I have on our team sheet.  Please note this does not factor any signings we may or may not have made and failed to league office, so if we have signed a player recently but not yet sent his deal to the league office, I do not count that.   

Currently I have us with:

6 Open Roster spots.

8.4MM Remaining Salary.

750K Remaining Bonus.

6.35MM Remaining Off-Season Bonus.

7MM Remaining International Bonus.

This will be our only roster/budget update for the rest of the off-season, so if you have a discrepancy we need to speak in private and compare sheets and comb the league office to make sure we are on the same page.

[GM Wayne]

Thanks for getting all that together for me. And hey, since Halle is on leave and you're here, how about you keep on keeping on and place a call to Meadow Campanelli for me. Girl power and all that.

Wayne waits for the call to connect.

Meadow, it's GM Wayne again. I thought after our last conversation that we were on the same page about Poe coming to Cleveland. I'd still like to make that happen. I can offer him a 3 year contract worth 6 million per season and 500 thousand in bonus.

And I'll throw in a 3 million dollar signing bonus.

[GM Wayne]

And just for clarities sake, that's James Poe the offensive tackle that you represent.

[Talon]

 

We would do that on a 1 year deal, but not for 3, GM Wayne.