PEARL HARBOR PREDATORS [GM ANELLI]

[GM Anelli]

Excellent. Please get Mr. Steve Rosenhaus on the phone.


Mr. Rosenhaus, how are you today? I have the regrettable task of informing you that we will be releasing your client, RB Daniel Collins, to free agency. He has done nothing wrong and we appreciate his contributions, but he is not in our plans for the future and his playing time here will be scaled back significantly with Jacob York on the roster now.

[Talon]

 

...Not ideal, but I appreciate you making the move now and not after the deadline, hopefully a team needing an RB claim him off waivers before trading for someone else.

[GM Anelli]

I understand that it is not ideal. In an effort to soften the blow for you, personally, I do need to fill a roster spot and if someone like SS Elmer Turner is still available we'd be willing to bring him onto the roster for the rest of the season at the veteran minimum.

[Talon]

 

Sure, Elmer will sign.

[GM Anelli]

Molte grazie.


RB2 - William Holloman

TE2 - Alfredo McFarland

OC3 - Matthew Colwell

OG1 - John Bear
OG2 - Anthony MacLean
OG3 - Wilson Scarborough
OG4 - Basil Pemberton

DT1` - Poseidon Antetokounmpo
DT2 - Aron Rosenbaum
DT3 - Graham Lynch

Lock In

[GM Anelli]

Really tough loss for us. I thought we had the Scorpions on the ropes and to let them back in the game because of a special teams failure isn't great but we move on. We still hold the keys to the division and have a big game with Miami this week. They seemed to have figured their early season struggles out but I think with the weapons we've got on offense we can win this game.

I know you all are curious where we stand with the trade deadline looming. I'm not sure what our activity level is going to look like. I'll do whatever is best for our team for the long haul. If that means acquiring a top caliber player then we'll pull the trigger on that kind of deal. If it means securing draft capital, then we'll do the same.

I don't think I can let you all go without heaping praise on Shaun Day even in a loss. I think he's shown he's more than capable of starting in this league. To do that after only being here for a couple of weeks? I'm glad to have been able to make the trade we made with Myrtle Beach just to have him here for the final stretch.


Heartbreaking loss, Coach. They are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook. How are the guys handling it?

[Talon]

 
 

I may have wanted that win more than anyone else in the building, but that is just a personal thing for me, but I tried to make sure the team understood what great work we did offensively.  Yes defensively we need more stops, but after only scoring 6 two weeks ago against Cancun, we've put up 38 and 41 in back to back weeks against tough conference opponents.  We're on the right path and we have the core to build around.

[GM Anelli]

Hopefully going forward we'll be able to build the defense around players who really fit your vision. But I agree we're on the right path. So lets focus forward on the task at hand. We've got to get after the Miami QB as much as humanly possible this week.

[Talon]

 

Absolutely.  They have had struggles on the right side of their line especially so we'll be apply as much pressure as we can.

[GM Anelli]

Would it make sense to have Pope swap with Simmons at times to get him matched up against the weaker side of Miami's line?

[Talon]

 

We could flip them based on formation, but that's about the only way to do that. One in the nickel, one in the 4-3, if you want to we can.

[GM Anelli]

Yeah. I think we stick with our standard defense in the 4-3 since that's our base, and then in the nickel swap him and Simmons.

How did you feel Poseidon did in his first game with us? I know stats aren't necessarily how we rate DT's. Mainly just want to know if he felt like a fit for your defense and if the effort was there.

[Talon]

 

I tried to get GM Metro to trade for Poseidon last year when I was running the D in Vegas, so I've always liked what he brought to the table. I think he'll be a good fit, one thing to consider in the future, if we have the opportunity to work on his football IQ it would definitely help his game.

[GM Anelli]

We can definitely do that. I think I'll put a call into his agent to see if we can't secure him long term. I have put a few feelers out for trades but I'm guessing we are probably going to end up playing out the season with what we've got. If anything changes with our roster I'll touch base with you before locking in.

Diana please get Bobby Shapiro on the phone.


Mr. Shapiro, good day. Having traded for your client Poseidon Antetokounmpo recently I would like to make sure we have him here for the long haul. I was thinking a figure of 13 million for 4 years.

[Talon]

 

We'll take that deal.  Its a little short of what I wanted, but still in a fair range and Poseidon is happy to be here.

[GM Anelli]

I am sure there will be a point in the future when I can repay you by compromising a little more in your direction. Good doing business.

[Talon]

 

Yeet Yeet Skeet Skeet!

[GM Anelli]

Diana, Coach Ito please.


Coach, we've made some more acquisitions and have one more on the way. We can talk about our new players soon but I wanted to ask about player in need of position training. Leo Baird is a name I know needs some help in that department, as well as William Holloman. Is there anyone else you can think of?

[Talon]

 

Hill and Rosenbaum are the only other two that are also in a position to contribute.

[GM Anelli]

Very good. Thank you that information.

With our new acquisitions how do you feel they best fit into your defense?

[Talon]

 

I don't know them all that well, so I was hoping you'd know where you wanted them since you traded for them.

[GM Anelli]

I know what I have heard and seen but I've asked our scouts to get a report to you on those guys just now. My thought was to bring Petrovic into the middle of our defense as our starting MLB, and to have Ly be our DT2.

[Talon]

 

That would work for both of them, we'll get you the scouting ASAP.

[GM Anelli]

Okay after looking at the reports you got to me I have a different feeling for where these guys should go. Will get you an updated base depth chart shortly as well as the depth chart for the nickel package with Simmons and Pope swapped.


Base Depth Chart

RDE1 - Sean Pope
RDE2 - Isaiah Simmons
RDE3 - Leonardo Gilbert

RDT1 - Poseidon Antetokounmpo
RDT2 - Aron Rosenbaum
RDT3 - Michael Ly

LDT1 - Michael Ly
LDT2 - Aron Rosenbaum
LDT3 - Graham Lynch

LDE1 - Isaiah Simmons
LDE2 - Leonardo Gilbert
LDE3 - Michael Ly

ROLB1 - Djokovic Petrovic
ROLB2 - Anteros Jackson

MLB1 - Patrick Fox
MLB2 - John Judge

LOLB1 - Anteros Jackson
LOLB2 - Francisco Young

CB1 - Richard DeJesus
CB1b - Nathan Woodson

CB2 - Cory Taylor
CB2b - Nathan Woodson

CB3 - Ronnie Paige

SS1 - Dave Funk
SS2 - Anteros Jackson
SS3 - Elmer Turner

FS1 - Eric Moya
FS2 - Jim Wolf

K Luis Gustafson

P - Djokovic Petrovic

3-3-5 Nickel

RDT - Sean Pope
NT - Michael Ly
LDT - Poseidon Antetokounmpo

RILB - Djokovic Petrovic
LILB - Patrick Fox
LOLB - Anteros Jackson

RCB - Richard DeJesus
LCB - Nathan Woodson
NB - Ronnie Paige

FS - Eric Moya

SS - Dave Funk

4-2-5 Nickel

RDE - Isaiah Simmons
RDT - Poseidon Antetokounmpo
LDT - Aron Rosenbaum
LDE - Sean Pope

SLB - Djokovic Petrovic
WLB - Patrick Fox

RCB - Richard DeJesus
LCB - Cory Taylor
NB - Ronnie Paige

FS - Eric Moya
SS - Anteros Jackson

Lock In

[GM Anelli]

We are finding ourselves able to hang with really good teams but we haven't yet learned how to close them out, and this game with Miami is evidence of that. Credit to their coaching staff and players for not giving up but continuing to fight. It was a well earned victory for them and a disappointing loss for us. Now, we must rebound. We play a Rapid City team that is in the same situation we find ourselves in. This game is a must win for us.

[Talon]

 

The luxury of accepting defeat is no longer available to us.

[GM Anelli]

But we still have the luxury of preparing for what is ahead. You will have us ready for Rapid City. I do not see any reason to change what we are doing. So let us go and get back on track with a victory.

Lock In

[GM Anelli]

We performed well against another team fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. I was really happy with the way our defense performed in the second half, only allowing one score before the game was in hand and we began to try and run the clock out. Thought Dominic had a good first game back coming off an injury. Our schedule doesn't get any easier coming out of this game against Rapid City. We all know what kind of expectations the Long Beach team had coming into the season and we know that so far they have fallen short of the mark but that does not mean they are pushovers. We will have to work hard to go into their house and ensure their losing streak continues.

But what a funeral it will be.

[Talon]

 

We are going to get the Inferno's best shot. For them to make the playoffs they have to win out and get help so they are fighting for their lives.

We can not go in with anything less than the same mentality, especially if we want to comeback and win this division and make the playoffs ourselves.

[GM Anelli]

I have an idea but let me check with Diana to make sure I am correct in our finances.

Diana, I have us with 1 million in bonus money left. Is that right?

[Talon]

 

Yes sir, 1MM salary. 1MM bonus.

[GM Anelli]

Thank you Diana.

Coach, please let the guys know if they can win this game against Long Beach I'll give them a bonus of 530K from our bonus pool to be split evenly amongst them. But if they can manage to win all 3 of these final road divisional games they'll get the full 1 million we have remaining available in bonus to be split evenly amongst them.

[Talon]

 

Hell yeah. I'll relay the message.

[GM Anelli]

Better go get my funeral attire. We're ready, Coach.

Lock In

[GM Anelli]

Anybody ever go to a funeral and have the body in the casket wake up and smack you right in the mouth? It's not a nice experience, as we learned in our trip to Long Beach this past week. We can not allow that to discourage us, though, as the playoffs are still possible, and we must continue to do all we can to reach them. Attention has to go to the Oakland Silverbacks now. Their defense is playing as well as anyone's but our offense has been relatively potent all year long. Let us see what kind of grit and fight this team has in them.

[Talon]

 

...to say that was a humbling weekend for a lot of us would be an understatement.

[GM Anelli]

We got a little high on our own supply, Coach. Humbling is a good word for what happened there but I'm really more concerned about our fourth quarter performance again. This is another game we've had a lead in the 4th. More worrying to me is the fact that we have a tendency to get careless with the football when we're down in the 4th. I chalk it up to trying to do too much but that's a trait we've got to get rid of.

[Talon]

 

Agreed.  I think developing football IQ is a good key for fixing that.

[GM Anelli]

It will be a focus going forward.

We must bounce back this week or our season is likely over. Lets give it our best.

Lock In

[Talon]

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

[GM Anelli]

No easy games and this one was no different regardless of the point differential. We have all seen how Oakland has been terrorizing the league the last few weeks and I think most expected the same thing to happen when we travelled to their house. One thing our team has done really well this season is rebounding after a tough loss. Now we need to carry the momentum we should have from shutting a divisional rival down and carry it through our final two games against Tucson and Sydney. The division is still in play and if we win out I believe the division is ours so that has to be the focus. Take care of business against Tucson. Then take care of business against the Stingrays.

[Talon]

 

That was a great win. We sweep Oakland and now turn our focus to a Tucson team that is in the thick of their own division race.  We win this, we prove we belong in that spot at the top of the division.

[GM Anelli]

Then that is what we must do.

Good luck, Coach.

Lock In

[GM Anelli]

We let another game slip from our grasp late. Our season would look completely different if we had managed to close games out. As it is, we need to win and hope for the aid of others if we wish to make the playoffs but we must do our part if we want to have any hope at all.

We will talk more after this week is over.

[Talon]

 

I believe our only path to the playoffs now is a win and a LB/OAK tie... all we can do is our part.

[GM Anelli]

If nothing else we can ruin someone elses season.

It has been an interesting ride. Time to do our part.

Lock In

[Talon]

 
END OF SEASON PRESS CONFERENCE

1. Talk about your first season as a GM in the HIFL, was it what you expected?


2. What was one thing you feel like you would change about your off-season or regular season if you could?


3. This club was a win away from a division championship, what is the missing ingredient right now?


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

[GM Anelli]

1. Talk about your first season as a GM in the HIFL, was it what you expected?

It was enjoyable, though perhaps not as much as I had hoped. I did learn that there are more vultures than peers in this business especially as it relates to trade negotiations. Rather than have open and honest discussions and negotiations that would benefit both teams, there are some who would rather tell you what the value of your players are and why you should trade them away for pennies on the dollar. It may have been a bit naive of me to expect differently but there are worse things to be.


2. What was one thing you feel like you would change about your off-season or regular season if you could?

I would have been more aggressive in building the team in the image I had rather than try and mesh some version of what was here before with what my vision is. By the time I realized that it needed to be done we were already a number of games into the season and at that point it is hard to reset and find success.


3. This club was a win away from a division championship, what is the missing ingredient right now?

Football IQ. We had a bad habit of giving away points, penalties and turnovers in the final quarter of games down the stretch. We will improve this wholesale going forward. The one bright spot about missing the playoffs so narrowly is that our final victory took the Stingrays out of the playoff hunt as well.

[Talon]

Well, season one is in the books. We have learned a lot about the roster we have and hopefully it gives you a vision for the future.
Let's talk before everyone clears out after the Impact Bowl, it will give you a chance to handle any final conversations and the like before we close out the year.

See you then.

[GM Anelli]

Well... heading into the offseason I feel like we've got two main areas of concern to work on roster wise. Are you content with your coaching staff or would you like to move on from anyone?