MIAMI KILLER WHALES [GM JUSTIN]

[Talon]

Yessir; it's all we really can do at this stage.

[GM Gates]

Alright coach. I want to have a quick word with the team.

GM GATES AND COACH JOSE WALK DOWN TO THE PRACTICE FIELD WHERE THE TEAM HAS GATHERED.

Four.

Four wins to win the impact bowl.

We finished the season 10-6 but the only record that matters now is four wins. We grew as a team all season and now it's time to put all of that growth to the test. It's time to let our defence show why they gave up the fewest points per game, and for our offence to show why no one can sleep on us.

We are almost there and I know this team can win it all. I know we can win those four games needed.

Cleveland is the first. We beat them before and we will beat them again. Let's go out there and show Cleveland that they are not in our league.

——————

Strategy/Depth Chart Changes:
Offensive Pace: Very Fast
Run/Pass Ratio Changes:
1st Down: 60% Run/40% Pass
2nd Down: 60% Run/40% Pass

Re-Instate Maria Crews into the WR rotation.

QB1 - Mervin Patton
QB2 - Michael Givens
QB3 - James Sanders

Lock In

[GM Gates]

1. Talk about your wildcard game, how does it feel to advance to the Divisional round?

One word to sum that up. Clutch.

And I'm not just talking about Pattons touchdown to Little to take the lead, but Greenwood tackling Fields just shy, and Freese's performance, notably that huge tackle for loss that took them out of field goal range. It was a defensive battle, and we fought hard like we always do and came away the victor.

Hats off to Cleveland though, they gave us a fight and could be a dangerous team in the future.

2. What is the key to advancing to the Conference Championship?

Beating St Paul. We will need our great defence to continue to be great, and our offence will need to continue to produce. I don't want to see a 6-3 repeat like their game against DC. But if we can limit there offence, keep them at bay with our defence, we should be in a good spot.

[Talon]

 

Here we go!  This is why we brought in The General.  Lets go!

[GM Gates]

Those 4th quarters are fantastic coach. He's on a different level then.

For St. Paul, I think we leave everything the same. No big changes here and roll with what got us that win against Cleveland.

[Talon]

Agreed.

[GM Gates]

Then not much else to go over strategy wise. Having Coleman back will be a big boost for our secondary though.

I will let you get to practice coach, I'll be down shortly.

——————

Selina, can you send Merv Patton in to see me?

——————

Merv, fantastic work! That drive to give us the lead was great, and you never seemed to waiver at all in that game. The test gets tougher the deeper we go, but I am damn confident you will be able to lead this team through it all.

[Talon]

Every time we advance to the next round we have one simple question.... YOU LIKE THAT?!


...Damn right!

[GM Gates]

Damn right indeed! A few more wins and we can be saying that to the entire league as we hold the Impact Bowl trophy!

[Talon]

 

St. Paul is good, but its time to prove that we are better.

[GM Gates]

We definitely are the better team.

Head on back to practice, I'll see you down there shortly.

--------------

GM GATES HEADS DOWN TO THE PRACTICE FIELD WHERE THE TEAM IS GATHERED.

Hell of a win against Cleveland.

That's the kind of win that separates an Impact Bowl contender from the rest. You never gave up, you fought for every yard, and were all over them defensively.

And that's just the first. One down, three to go.

St. Paul is the next one up. They are a good team, but we are better. They have a tough defense, but our defense is better. They have an offense that can be explosive, but our offense can be better. Hell, we take away that explosive ability with our defense, and there won't be any bite in the Lynx. They will be pussy cats for us to run all over.

This is our game to win. This is our time. Now lets go punch our tickets to the Eastern Conference championship game!

---------------

Strategy/Depth Chart Changes:
Offensive Pace: Very Fast
Run/Pass Ratio Changes:
1st Down: 60% Run/40% Pass
2nd Down: 60% Run/40% Pass

No other changes

Lock In

[GM Gates]

1. How does it feel to be moving on? Talk about your game.

That wasn't the prettiest of games but we won. It was a defensive battle of attrition and in the end we were able to withstand it and come out the other side. Can't say enough about this defense and how they've kept us in so many games, or the General for always seeming to find a way to make a late game charge like he did in this one with that touchdown to Jayson Little and of course, Skipper for being able to make his field goals. It was tough in this game without Maria Crews for most of it - she's a big part of our offence - but that's why you have someone like Knox or Cross in the depth chart who can fill in.

Hats off to GM Eli for a tough games. He's got a great defence over there.

2. Finish this sentence: We aren't here if not for _______.

Our defence. They've been great all season and showed that in these two playoff games. Our defensive line has been great and our pass defence has continued to be great. If not for our defence who knows how those games go.

3. What is the key to advancing to the Impact Bowl?

Beating Atlanta. Last season they knocked us out and we haven't forgotten. We're going to need to play the game we've played this entire run. Our defence will need to be on point and as tough as they have been, and we will need the General to once again lead our offence to help us pull away from Atlanta. We do that, our defence plays it's game, and we will be in a good spot in this game.

[Talon]

 

It wasn't pretty but we're here and we get the home field!

[GM Gates]

Sometime it doesn't have to be pretty as long as we get the win and move on. I'm just glad the injury Maria picked up during that game isn't going to keep her out - she's too important to what we do offensively.

The one big injury is Bender. I know Bear is likely going to slide into the LG spot, but who is the better choice for the other guard - Lawson, Brill or one of our centers?

[Talon]

 

I think Brill is our best bet, overall.

[GM Gates]

Brill it is. That's who I was leaning towards anyways.

I'd assume there's nothing we can really do to slow down Atlantas offensive attack. I know how dangerous AMC can be, but I do t necessarily want to change anything on defense...we've been playing too well on that side of the ball.

[Talon]

 

Its their best against ours.  I believe in our defense

[GM Gates]

Then there's not much else to go over. Let's go down to the practice field and I will have a word with the team.

GM GATES AND COACH JOSE HEAD DOWN TO WHERE THE TEAM IS GATHERED ON THE PRACTICE FIELD.

What a win. It might not have been the prettiest, but you battled and you fought and kept us in that game. And the clutch plays continued. That 78 yard touchdown to keep things tied, timely sacks...clutch. And now that's two wins down.

Two more wins to go.

Atlanta is up next, on our turf, and while they can be a tough out at times, they haven't faced a team like ours or a defence like ours. Last season, they put us out of the playoffs and this year, it's our turn to repay the favor.

We've got the team to do it, we've got the talent to do it, now we get to go out on our field and prove it to everyone.

Two more wins to go. Let's go fucking win this one!

———————

Strategy/Depth Chart Changes:
Offensive Pace: Very Fast
Run/Pass Ratio Changes:
1st Down: 60% Run/40% Pass
2nd Down: 60% Run/40% Pass

LG1 - John Bear
LG2 - David Brill
LG3 - Pasquale Lawson

RG1 - David Brill
RG2 - Pasquale Lawson

Lock In

[GM Gates]

1. How does it feel to return to the Impact Bowl?

It feels great to return to the Impact Bowl. It's a tough task to get here so to get back here, it's a great feeling. And it's a great feeling for the team as well. Some of them have never been here before and others are here again. It wasn't easy to get here as we faced some stiff competition, but we fought hard and here we are. This team has been incredible this season and I know we aren't done yet.

2. One player on each roster that will determine who wins it all... go!

Merv Patton and Patty Owens. Or is that answer too easy? Even still these two men move the chains and if they can't do that, their team may have a harder time then they are used to. They can each turn the game on its ear in a second and have shown that during these playoffs.

3. What does this game mean to you?

Everything. This is the game every GM is busting their ass to get to every year, the game every player wants to play in so of course it means a great deal. Even for people who have won it before, it still means a lot the second, third, fourth time you get here.

[Talon]

This is our time...  Championship season.  Our chance to add our name to the books ONE. MORE. TIME.

Lets go baby!

[GM Gates]

Fucking right coach. This is our time!

I do have to ask coach, what happened with Maria in that last game? Was she still feeling the injury that kept her from finishing the St. Paul game? It didn't seem like she was out on the field at all, and just want to make sure that she's good to go for the Impact Bowl cause her presence will help us immensely against Winnipeg.

[Talon]

 

She wasn't feeling right, so we limited her use to being more of a decoy.. I just didn't want to put her in harms way.  She's 100% now though.

[GM Gates]

Excellent. Kept her healthy for the big one for sure.

Other than that, I'm ready to go. Do you want to start off with a speech for the team?

[Talon]

 

I'm definitely down to speak to the guys; you ready?

[GM Gates]

I'm ready. Let's head down to the team.

GM GATES AND COACH JOSE HEAD TO THE PRACTICE FIELD WHERE THE TEAM IS GATHERED.

Congratulations on making it to the motherfucking Impact Bowl!

I don't care what anyone might say, we've earned our spot here. We've earned the right to play for the championship. We have a stout defence led by an amazing contingent of players. We have an offence that can attack in the air or on the ground with multiple weapons. We have players who have been to an Impact Bowl before, players who have never made it, but no matter what the situation, we are a team that can get the job done. I'm proud of this team and what we have been able to.

But the fun isn't over. This run isn't over yet. We've got one more game to play, one more hurdle to overcome.

One more game to win.

And I know we can win it. This is what everyone here fights for every season and I know we have what it takes to get the job done. We have the fight. We have the passion. We have the drive and determination to focus on this game and win. This is our time!

It's time to end Winnipegs run with ONE MORE WIN!

Coach, the floor is yours.

[Talon]

You guys know I'm not a big rah-rah speech guy, but listen.   

For those of you who were here with Coach Rhodes, GM Garcia, Sully... the entire title team; it wasn't easy getting back here was it?   You never know when your LAST chance will be to play for a championship.  Don't let this moment slip through your fingers.

Players go their entire career without getting this chance.  They spend their entire career trying to get over the hump of a conference title game.. look at the guys in Lincoln, Atlanta, St. Paul... Great teams, great players... never having this shot that you have tonight.

To you guys who weren't here, the rooks, the young kids, the guys like The General who we brought in during the season...

This is a once in a life time moment.  Your first chance at immortality.  Go Seize it.    Things change fast in the league.  One minute you're on top of the conference, the next your coaching staff is moving on, your GM is taking a new job for no reason at all, and trades tear apart your roster.   You can't waste this moment, because believe me, the "BIG RED BUTTON" is always *this close* from being pushed and we don't even realize it...

Winnipeg wants to cement their dynasty, but they have to get through the deep waters to do it, and nobody swims like a Killer Whale!


LETS GO!!

[GM Gates]

LETS FUCKING GO!

——————

Strategy/Depth Chart Changes:
Offensive Pace: Very Fast
Run/Pass Ratio Changes:
1st Down: 60% Run/40% Pass
2nd Down: 60% Run/40% Pass

Utilize Maria Crews in the WR rotation

RB1 - Maria Crews
RB2 - Christopher Knox
RB3 - Frederick Cross

LG1 - John Bear
LG2 - David Brill
LG3 - Pasquale Lawson

RG1 - David Brill
RG2 - Pasquale Lawson

Lock In

[GM Gates]

1. What went wrong out there, what was the difference in victory and defeat in your opinion?

First off, I want to congratulate GM Cory and the Winnipeg Arctic Foxes on a great game and their victory.

As for what was the difference...untimely penalties that gifted Winnipeg extra yards and made it easier for them to score. I'm not trying to take anything away from them though, they have a great team over there with some great players, but had we not been giving them 15 yard chunks for unsportsmanlikes, they would have had to work harder to get into the end zone. You could also play the what if game...what if Rodney holds onto that interception late? Maybe that turns the game on it's head.

With that said, I'm still proud of our team and what they were able to do. They battled all game and never gave up until the final whistle. Our defence did what they could to hold us in the games and Patton led the offence on multiple occasions down the field to score. This team had the fire and determination, we just came up a bit short.

I'd like to take this time to thank them all for a great season, and look forward to getting back there next year.

2. You had major contributions from Patton, Chow, and Freese.. had the game turned in your favor, who do you think would have been named MVP?

That's a tough one. I think if Patton had led a charge at the end to give us the win he would you been named MVP. He was near perfect and had we scored a touchdown he would likely have been the reason why. But that doesn't take anything away from the awesome games Chow and Freese had. They stepped up and did everything they could. I just feel like the voters would have picked Patton.

3. How do you recover from this loss and make a push to return to the title game next season?

You take some time to shake it off and then you probably have to make a few tweaks to get over the hump and make the team more complete. Everyone here knows what it takes to get there and knows it was unfinished, so I'm sure they will be hungry to get back.

4. Is there anything you would do differently, now that the season is over?

I might have pushed harder to make some deals happen earlier in the season. Like maybe we don't wait so long to bring in Patton, maybe we look at bringing in some other players to help balance our team out. But hindsight is 20/20 right? You don't always realize what you're missing until you're in a spot where you realize you're missing it.

5. What is next for you and this club?

We get ready to build towards next season and getting back to the Impact Bowl.

[Talon]

We played conservative at times; but I think we brought the right game plan..  the penalties were killers and it's just something we couldn't have planned for.

I hate it for the guys, but especially for Patton.  He brought his A-game.

[GM Gates]

Yeah the free yards were a killer facing a team like Winnipeg. We needed to keep our cool but not everyone was.

I feel for Patton too, especially with the game he played. If he doesn't retire, I want to get back there and get him a ring for sure.

Hell of a season though coach.

[Talon]

 

It was.. we just have to get back here again and finish the job; easier said than done though.   The Impact Bowl hangover is real.   

Alright boss; I'll let you talk to the big boss and get back to business.








GM Gates, one hell of a good season, I hate seeing another team raise their banner at our expense, but making it back to the Championship game after the struggles we endured over the past two season was a great feather in our cap..  I expect more regular season success next year so we have a smoother road to the top, but keep our defense as a top unit and I am sure we will be celebrating a championship this time next year.

[GM Gates]

Thank you sir. The plan is to have better regular season success, to have a more complete team unlike what we did have. The championship is in the crosshairs. Thank you for having the faith in me through these past two seasons.

[Talon]

Go make a splash!

[GM Gates]

Thank you sir.

—————

Selina, before we finish up, can you get me in touch with Drew Leventhal.

—————

Drew, you mentioned I check back in after the season about David Freese and I also wanted to try my hand once more at an offer for Jayson Little.

If David is open to an offer to keep him around, finish the unfinished business, I have one for him.

As for Jayson, I'd like to offer him a 4 year deal worth $15 million a season with $1.5 million in bonus money.

[Talon]

Freese is looking for a max deal on the market; and with Jayson we're wanting to test the market.  These deals just aren't doing it right now.

[GM Gates]

I can understand that Drew. I was actually thinking of something similar for David as far as a new contract goes, but if you and he want to test the market rather then sign a new deal here and now, I guess it is what it is.

[Talon]

 

If you're willing to offer a max deal, David will consider it now; lets hear it.

[GM Gates]

Well the deal I was prepared to come to the table with in the event David was willing to talk was a 4 year deal worth $31 million a season with $4 million in bonus money. Fully guaranteed. How does that line up with David's vision?

[Talon]

 

League office it, he's back and ready to make that next run at the title..

Enjoy the off-season.

[GM Gates]

Pleasure as always Drew. I'm sure we will speak soon.

——————

Selina I think that's all for now. Let's go ahead and Lock In

[Talon]

Hola Jefe!  I hope you're ready to work because we have a lot of roster spots and not a lot of money... like whoa!

I currently have us with $3.65MM in available salary cap and that we are $500K over the bonus cap.  Obviously our bonus may be helped if the coaching staff is reconfigured when you speak with Coach Jose, but we also have a lot of open roster spaces and everything else..

I have us with 13 open roster positions at this time. 

I have our draft picks as follows:

S16 2nd ORL
S16 4th SYD
S16 5th MIA
S16 6th MIA
S16 6th SEA

We have all of our own draft picks for S17 and S18 other than our S17 2nd and S18 2nd

We currently owe - $7.18MM in Tax payable from our off-season fund and/or from next season's bonus pool, which as noted is currently in the RED.

Our available off-season bonus money currently is: $7MM ($7MM from your GM Contract + 0 from your S15 budget).

I have our off-season team sheet copy here. Feel free to edit/use it if you would like.  If you have questions or disagree with my notes please let me know and we will get to the bottom of it!

[GM Gates]

Thank you for that, Selina. Can you get me in touch with Coach Jose?

——————

Alright coach, I guess we need to go over our coaching staff. Ideally, I'd like to keep Coach Peterson as the DC, but I wouldn't mind a change at OC, if you're on board with that. What do you think?

[Talon]

I'd agree with that assessment.  How much do you want to spend on offense?

[GM Gates]

Well what would our options be? I'd like for our offence to have more teeth to it and be more consistent. I want to get the best in here but our budget may not allow it.

[Talon]

 

With our budget as it is right now, I know we'd only have $4.5MM available so we'd have to lean to the younger less experienced side of the house.

For a solid upgrade over what we have we'd be looking at $6MM total, for something elite more in the $8MM range.

[GM Gates]

Well as much as I would like to go for broke and go with that elite option, I'm instead going to go with the solid one for $6 million. I should be able to fit it into the budget I've laid out for myself for next season.

Do you think throwing anything onto the defensive side of the ball would help out? Not to replace Coach Peterson, but to possibly improve the lower coaching ranks below him?

[Talon]

 

It would obviously help in some areas, but I don't know yet if it would be a game changer.  We've got an elite unit as it stands.

[GM Gates]

I think I will leave them as is this season.

I've gone ahead and put the paperwork in for the $6 million option so you can hire for the offensive coaching staff.

[Talon]

 

Excellent; I've got a great list in mind.

[GM Gates]

Selina, can you get me in touch with James T Crain please?

———————

Mr. Crain, how are you? I'd like to talk to you about your client LB Joseph Foley. We would love to keep him around here in Miami, and are offering a 2 year contract worth $1 million a season to do so.