MIAMI KILLER WHALES [GM JUSTIN]

[Talon]

 
 

Our tackles have struggled to provide a long pocket for the deep passing game, Kitchen has been sacked 44 times which is on pace to be about 20+ more than he took last year in St. Paul, its tough to block against HIFL pass rushers for that long, but they're not getting it done at a good rate which makes it even harder.

[GM Gates]

Luckily their contracts are up at seasons end so maybe I can use them to bring in some other tackles who may block a bit better.

Thanks for that insight though, gives me an idea of what to keep an eye out for.

I would assume that giving Hathaway some reps in game wouldn't improve us by any stretch?

[Talon]

 
 

...You never know. He does have a great work ethic and a good pass block technique with his footwork, he's just unrefined and can misdiagnose the defense.

[GM Gates]

Yeah I didn't word that the best but it's good to know where he's at.

I'll likely be in touch with some possible scouting reports to see if any potential tackles are actually upgrades for us in the pass game.

[Talon]

 

Sounds good.

[GM Gates]

Well, I wasn't able to bring in any help for the offensive line yet, so hopefully we can keep ourselves alive. There's still time.

For now, let's go get a big win here.

———————

Strategy/Depth Chart Changes:

James Van Driver to WR2 in all packages
Hunter McDonald to WR3 in all packages
Wayne Blackwell to TE1 in all packages
Elliott Williams to TE2 in all packages

Master Depth Chart Changes:

WR1: Clyde Kidwell
WR1b/WR4: Hunter McDonald

WR2: James Van Driver
WR2b/WR5: Hunter McDonald

WR3: Hunter McDonald
WR3b/WR6: Dan Burley
WR3c/WR7: Jannet Fields

TE1: Wayne Blackwell
TE2: Elliott Williams
TE3: Brent Hardy

RB2: John Provost

LB5: Boris Whitlow
LB6: Jon Luis
LB7: Christopher Nichols

Lock In

[GM Gates]

We survived and held on to win a game where we had one of our best offensive performances of the season. Long Beach is a good team and Albert Neeley is a beast, but we held on to win after they missed that field goal at the end.

Kitchen balled out all game, even with being hounded. JVD had a fantastic performance in a game where Kidwell was clamped down by Okafor. Our defense held us in the game and kept it close so we had a chance to win. Of course there were areas where we could have been better, and I'm sure we will be. I'm always trying to improve this team to get better, as seen by our addition of Wayne Blackwell. We've still got time to get back into the thick of the division and it starts this week.

I'd like to just shout out to JVD again. We moved him up the line up and he showed us all his ability to stretch the field. Hats off to him for the performance. I always knew he was that type of player.

This week we take on Orlando in the Florida Cup rematch. This time we are closer in the division and have the chance to make a statement with a win here. They've changed some stuff up on their end but so have we so things look different then our first meeting. If we have a similar game as last week, and protect Kitchen better, we will have the Cup back in Miami.

[Talon]

 

We haven't lost since the last time we played Orlando, now they come into our Fish Bowl and we're about to show them that a Stampede can't swim in the deep waters.

[GM Gates]

Damn right we will. Time to bring the cup back home.

I will say though that our OLine play the last game was less than ideal. Finding an upgrade has proven difficult so we may be riding out Fenton and Jett for the duration.

[Talon]

 

High end O-line help is hard to find, I get it.  Teams aren't rushing to part with All-Star tackles. We'll do what we can with what we have.

[GM Gates]

With that said, I think earlier in the year we reduced our tempo. Do you think increasing it might help us avoid some of these sacks?

[Talon]

 

No, the tempo just effects how long we take in between plays, nothing to do with getting hte ball out faster.

[GM Gates]

I thought so but figured I'd ask. Anything to try and fix what ails us.

On the positive for the offence, Aaron Kitchen looked more like the Aaron Kitchen we know he is this past week, and our new addition Blackwell had a great debut for us.

[Talon]

 

Absolutely right.  JVD turning back the clock was a big part of taking the top off of that defense, and that is what we need.

[GM Gates]

Oh for sure. More of that means that games where Kidwell can't get much room, we still have a deep threat for Kitchen.

Last week you mentioned bringing in another wide receiver...does the addition of Blackwell change that for you? Or do you still feel like we need someone else to complement our top three?

[Talon]

 

If JVD can keep stretching the field, then Blackwell gives us the extra hands we need and we're good. 

Now if a high end speed receiver who could be a more sure thing than JVD comes along, it would be nice, but only if the price is right.

[GM Gates]

I will keep an ear out to see what's out there. For now I will let you get back to practice and I will get you the information for this week.

———————

Selina, can you send James Van Driver to see me?

———————

James, fantastic week against the Mermen. You were looking great out there stretching the field and putting up some insane numbers. And congratulations on the franchise record for receiving yards in a game. It was a great performance.

[Talon]

I just appreciate you believe in me, my man.  We did this, and now we strike back at the whole league and get to the chip

[GM Gates]

Damn right. And with more performances like that, everyone else in the league will have no choice but to believe in you.

[Talon]

 

Hell yeah.

[GM Gates]

Thanks for coming up James, I'll let you get back to practice.

———————

Selina, Coach Jose again please.

———————

Coach, one thing I wanted to ask about...if John Peyton can't go this week, who ends up being the fullback? Is there a configuration that you default to? I know there were some plays that Blackwell lined up there last week, so wanted to make sure we had the right person there.

If it's up in the air, does Provost being in that spot in case Peyton can't go a good idea? Or do you prefer someone else?

[Talon]

 

Elliott Williams is our best bet, he's a phenomenal blocker

[GM Gates]

Sounds good coach, I will make that note.

I've made some calls as we head into the trade deadline. Don't know if anything will come of it but right now, let's focus on the Stampede and getting the Florida Cup back.

———————

Strategy/Depth Chart Changes:

FB2 - Elliott Williams (to be FB1 if John Peyton is unable to go due to injury)

Lock In

[GM Gates]

That is the kind of game I knew that this team was capable of all season. Maybe we just needed to find the right set up or time to gel, but we are definitely finding our stride. Once we took the lead in the second quarter, we never looked back. We kept up the offensive performance and our defence helped clamp down on Orlando. We came away with an important win and it put us right back into the thick of everything.

What are your plans for the trade deadline?

Im going to approach this trade deadline as I have every trade deadline since being in the league - I'm going to do what I can to make this team better. But I'm not going to grossly overpay. So if a deal that makes sense doesn't come to fruition, then we will stand pat and build from within. But I'm also not going to sit back and not explore my options.

This week you head to Pearl Harbor to take on the Predators. Thoughts?

Pearl Harbor is a good team that won't be easy to beat. They just went toe to toe with Las Vegas and almost put a scare into the Scorpions. So we need to be ready. But if we play like we did this past week against Orlando, then we should be able to come away with a victory. We are going to need to protect Kitchen and give him the chances to make the plays we need him to if we want to have a chance but I know this is something we can do.

——————

Coach, big win. Every win from here on out is just as big. We're finally starting to look like the team we expected to look like at the start of the season.

But let's jump right into this week.

I wanted to ask about David Brill. What are some things he needs to work on to become a better tackle and is he a better option, right now, to start then Jett?

[Talon]

 

We can give it a shot.  He's not far off from him in most evaluations so he could be a spark.

[GM Gates]

Maybe we will give him some extra training and go that route it we can't find anything else on the market.

Speaking of, outside of any big time deals I don't think there's much we need to do. We are starting to find our stride at the right time. Last week looked more like the team I had envisioned is looking like all season.

[Talon]

 

Outside of the hits on Aaron, I agree.

[GM Gates]

Yeah I hear you and I agree. I'm going to see what's possible this deadline.

I'm going to let you get back to practice while I take care of some business.

———————

Selina, can you send Brent Skipper up to see me?

———————

Brent, thanks for coming to see me. I wanted to talk to you about extending your contract here in Miami. I wanted to offer a 2 year extension worth $2.5 million a season, that would start in season 18.

[Talon]

 

I'll kick here in Miami as long as you're willing to pay me a fair wage.  I love it here.  Lets go!

[GM Gates]

Awesome, Skipper. I've sent the paperwork through. Head on back to practice.

——————

Selina, Steve Rosenhaus please.

——————

Steve, how are you doing? I wanted to touch base with you about some contract extensions.

First up, I wanted to discuss CB Patrick Brookins. We acquired him from Kansas City and are hoping to have him stick around. I wanted to offer a 3 year extension worth $6.5 million a season.

[Talon]

Not even close, baby.  I'm looking for more than double that.

[GM Gates]

Ah then my apologies for that horrible offer. Perhaps we might have to circle back on Brookins later in the season or before free agency.

Let's talk about Herbert Peters. What would you and him be looking at to stay here in Miami?

[Talon]

 

Well, lets see what you have to offer.  We're listenin' baby.

[GM Gates]

My offer would be a 3 year deal worth $8 million a season starting season 18.

[Talon]

You know what, we'll take that deal baby. 

[GM Gates]

Awesome, glad to be able to keep Herb around. I'll get it to the league office shortly. Pleasure doing business Steve.

——————

Selina, could you get Coach Jose and Coach Schwartz for me?

——————

Coaches, I wanted to pick your brain on the defence. Specifically our secondary.

I've had packages to split reps for Marquez and Calabrese at strong safety but I'm thinking about putting Calabrese as our SS1 going forward. Nothing against Marquez but I feel like Calabrese gives us a better look. Am I out to lunch here?

[Talon]

I'm a big fan of Brese'  Think he should've been SS1 since he got here.

[GM Gates]

Then I will make that change and have him be our SS1.

When it comes to cornerbacks, we currently have Greenwood and Gray as our 1 and 2 with Brookins as 3, presumably in the slot. I had been debating swapping Gray and Brookins but wanted to know if we are set up better as is?

[Talon]

 

I think we could give them a shot to swap spots and see how it works out.  Sometimes you never know until you try.

[GM Gates]

Perhaps we will give it a try in the next few games.

Obviously we've made some trades and the piece on defence coming in is DE Daniel Gossett. I know we have Chow currently playing DE but my hope is that either this week or next we can slide Gossett in as DE2 and Chow back to LB.

[Talon]

 

Gossett can slide right into the starting rotation, for sure.

[GM Gates]

Awesome Coach Schwartz. I'll let you get to preparing for that then.

Coach Jose, for our offensive line, the plan is to start Colbert at right tackle. If we see big strides from Brill with some extra training we can slide Colbert inside to guard, but the plan is to start him.

[Talon]

 

I love it. 

Clyde's been a stud ever since I was in the league, happy to have him.

[GM Gates]

Excellent coach.

I'm working on the information for this weeks game.

Does Samuel Chow have a preferred spot on the field? Might be an odd question, I was just thinking of sliding him into the ROLB spot and leaving Peters and Brito where they have been lately, LOLB and MLB respectively.

[Talon]

 

Chow's best at ROLB so he stays on for the nickel.

[GM Gates]

Alright thanks coach. I will get you all the updated information for this weeks game shortly.

[Talon]

 

Okay.

[GM Gates]

Here it is coach. Let's keep things rolling and tame the Predators.

———————

Strategy/Depth Chart Changes:
-Philip Calabrese to SS in all packages
-Clyde Colbert to RT in all packages
-Patrick Brookins to CB2 and Willian Gray to CB3

Depth Chart Changes:

LT1 - Gary Fenton
LT2 - Clyde Colbert
LT3 - David Brill

RT1 - Clyde Colbert
RT2 - David Brill
RT3 - David Estep
RT4 - Earl Hathaway
RT5 - Michael Seals

LDE1 - David Freese
LDE2 - Daniel Gossett

RDE1 - Daniel Gossett
RDE2 - Saquan Bademosi
RDE3 - Pat Bryant

ROLB1: Samuel Chow
ROLB2: Jose Garrido

MLB1: Bryce Brito
MLB2: Jon Luis
MLB3: Boris Whitlow
MLB4: Christopher Nichols

LOLB1: Herbert Peters
LOLB2: Jose Garrido
LOLB3: Jon Luis

SS1 - Philip Calabrese
SS2 - Jaime Marquez

DEFENSE

4-3 Base
DT1 - Jared Miller
DT2 - Noah York
DE1 - David Freese
DE2 - Daniel Gossett
LOLB - Herbert Peters
MLB - Bryce Brito
ROLB - Samuel Chow
CB1 - Rodney Greenwood
CB2 - Patrick Brookins
FS - Francisco Berlin
SS - Philip Calabrese

5-2 Base
NT - Noah York
DT1 - Jared Miller
DT2 - Daniel Gossett
DE1 - David Freese
DE2 - Samuel Chow
LB1 - Bryce Brito
LB2 - Herbert Peters
CB1 - Rodney Greenwood
CB2 - Patrick Brookins
FS - Francisco Berlin
SS - Philip Calabrese

3-3-5 Nickel Base
NT - Jared Miller
DE1 - David Freese
DE2 - Daniel Gossett
LOLB- Herbert Peters
MLB - Bryce Brito
ROLB - Samuel Chow
CB1 - Rodney Greenwood
CB2 - Patrick Brookins
CB3 - Willian Gray
FS - Francisco Berlin
SS - Philip Calabrese

4-2-5 Nickel Base
DT1 - Jared Miller
DT2 - Noah York
LE1 - David Freese
RE1 - Daniel Gossett
MLB1 - Bryce Brito
LOLB1 - Samuel Chow
CB1 - Rodney Greenwood
CB2 - Patrick Brookins
CB3 - Willian Gray
FS - Francisco Berlin
SS - Philip Calabrese

Lock In

[GM Gates]

That was a great team win. We never gave up, even when the game looked like it was getting away from us, we kept battling and then when the pressure was on, Kitchen led the team down and scored that winning touchdown. The team is definitely starting to look more like it was envisioned. We overcame some rough moments to come together and keep the winning ways going. There were a number of players on the team that excelled in one way or another this week which is why I call this a team win - a win that everyone worked together on.

We made some additions at the deadline to help our team out as we hit the stretch of the season, and both additions definitely made their presence felt. Daniel Gossett gave us some more pressure from our pass rush across from Freese, which helped us keep Day uncomfortable. And Colberts presence helped our line, and I'm sure as the games go on that will only strengthen. I'm glad to have both of them here on the team.

This week we take on a Charlotte team that can't be overlooked. This is the time of year where teams can play spoiler and get big upset wins, and we aren't going to let that happen. If we continue to play the way we have been we will continue to have team wins like this past one.

——————

Coach, it wasn't perfect, but a win is a win. We fought back and while Kitchen still got sacked, it was much better than the past two games had been.

I want to talk about the new additions.

Gossett definitely seemed to provide us with more pressure off of the other side which is fantastic to see since we have him for next season as well.

And Colbert seemed to give us a bit more experience on the line. I did notice Brill got in there and was wondering if that was by design or if it was more of an injury replacement thing? Or does it happen every game and it just sucked that this game he had a bad stretch?

[Talon]

 

Clyde hasn't played much this season so his stamina was low so we had to make some subs to keep him fresh, just normal depth work.