SEATTLE LUMBERJACKS [GM STARK]

[GM Stark]

Of course, I want to talk about BD first before I talk about anything else. BD's passing is hard, it's surprising, and overall it feels surreal. When you're a part of the HIFL club, it feels like you're gonna be doing this job for a long time. BD worked so hard wherever he GM'd and he was a big part of HIFL's charm, if I'm being honest. I don't know him like the rest of my colleagues, but I'm sure they're hurting too because they were close enough with him to be considered a good friend. I want to pay condolences to BD's family, and I want the league to remember what kind of man he was: A good one.

Um, to talk about the game, I was satisfied with our defensive presence. It's a balance where sometimes things click on one end of the ball and other times it seems like we're stuck in the mud. We're gonna keep playing until we figure out what the heck we can do to get back on the winning side.

[Talon]

 

Three straight close losses sting.  We played good enough to win, but we also didn't play good enough to win.  Its frustrating.   We can't take it easy against the Knights, we have a stretch of games that we can rebound with and try to salvage the season and it starts with doing the work to beat San Antonio.

[GM Stark]

You're right. Listen, I don't know if it's something I did in the team's sheet, but I can't afford to have Vicky out there with Ronnie down at the moment. She can hold her own, but she's gonna need some work in the pass game. Can we make sure to place Richard Jones at Center to start against San Antonio? I can even revamp the depth chart before we lock in to make sure we're set.

[Talon]

 

I hear you.  When you originally moved Jones to back up Potter at RG, you said to swap them, so we pushed Vicky to C2 in the swap. 

[GM Stark]

So it was my fault, I apologize. So, we're gonna just swap it like this: We're gonna have Richard Jones swap back to Center and have Vicky play backup behind our Guards again, alright?

[Talon]

 

You got it partner.

[GM Stark]

Awesome. I also wanted to change our QB tuck and run option to Normal if it was set to be more frequent too.

[Talon]

 

Definitely, I'll make sure we do that if you add it when we lock in later.

[GM Stark]

Alright, so we're gonna do this:

LG1: Charles Higgins
LG2: Vicky Afalo

C1: Richard Jones
C2: Ronnie Vance (DNP)

RG1: Adam Potter
RG2: Vicky Afalo

QB Tuck and Run: Normal

Don't give up yet Coach, we have time to change it around. Good luck.

LOCK IN.

[GM Stark]

First want to say that was a heck of a game and a heck of a showing from our offense. Um, it's great seeing the offense coming together in a way I hoped it would when I took over the team a season ago. If we can keep being consistent, I think we have a shot at winning some more games. Kudos to Kiki and Obi for their performance on the ground, also. I mean Kiki's been great in his role as kind of being the vet in our running back room and helping Obi come along. He did it in New Jersey when I was GM there, and now he's doing it here. Those two are pounding the rock and when the run game is going that gives our guy under center a chance to make plays down the field.

Now we're going to Portland, we have a tough test there. Don't let the record fool you, they are a good team and that's credit to GM Josh and the moves he made during the offseason. You talk Michael Hodge into joining your team, you got a good young QB in Richard Rainey, and then you got a host of talent on offense and defense. We've also made some moves ourselves, and we're gonna showcase that in this game against Portland.

[Talon]

 

With the big acquisition of David-Allen Slinger from Cancun, do you see yourself moving RoMar back to Wide Receiver?    Are your QBs on the trade block?  What is the plan going forward?

[GM Stark]

I'm going to talk with Robert to see what he wants. I genuinely wanted to give him another go at QB because I think the guy is talented. He's been such a team player, and I want to respect whatever decision he decides to make. We're going to talk and once that conversation is done, I guess you're going to get your answer come game day. As for the QB situation, unless otherwise guys like Timothy Manning are here, and if I can give him a starting opportunity elsewhere, I'm more than happy to do that. But, he's a Seattle Lumberjack until further notice. As for my plans, this was the first step in my plans for the future, where we go from here depends on how well we finish this season.

[Talon]

 

Big gamble bringing in Slinger, but he's come in and gotten right to work.  I think he's ready to start.

[GM Stark]

And he's gonna do just that Coach. Listen, I'm gonna make the rounds, talk to David, talk to Robert, and then we're gonna get set for the week. I won't be long with David, I just wanna welcome him to the team and then you and the coaches can get him adjusted to the playbook, alright?

[Talon]

 

Sounds good!

[GM Stark]

Good luck this week Andre and if you can just tell David to come up to talk. Thank you.



David, great to have you here in Seattle. We brought you because we want to find an answer at QB. Your potential can't go unrecognized and so I pulled the trigger and now here we are. You're going to be our starter and we're gonna do our best to set you up for success here. Glad to have you here and if you need anything don't hesitate to ask, alright?

[Talon]

 

I'm grateful for the opportunity to come in and help this team turn things around.  I'm going to let it rip when the time is right.

[GM Stark]

Glad to hear it. I just wanted to welcome you and hope you get yourself adjusted to the team. Coach Bly and this staff will do everything they can to get you accustomed to our playbook. Good luck out there and here's to a new relationship.



S.O.P.H.I.A. can we get Robert Marshall in here?



Robert, hey, so listen I wanted to ask you something. So you've met David-Allen, and as of right now, he's going to be our starting quarterback. I want to come to you face to face to see what you wanna do in terms of QB. You're an athlete, and no matter where you play on the field I trust you're gonna do everything to help us win. But the decision is up to you, and it would've been rude to make assumptions about what you want. So I want to ask you now so that when you come back from your injury we can have a clear idea of where you fit into the gameplan.

[Talon]

 

  Honestly, I'll do whatever you need me to do for the rest of the year.  If you want me as a return man, I'll do it.  If you want me at RB or WR, Im there. If you want me holding a clipboard and helping Slinger, that's fine.  Its my final year of the contract, we get things taken care of then in the off-season we see what is what.

[GM Stark]

We're gonna have you get back into the groove at receiver again if there are no complaints then. Heal up, get some good rest, and we can't wait to see you back on the field, Robert. We're gonna find a way for you to cook one way or another.

[Talon]

 

  Sounds good man, lets work.

[GM Stark]

Get well soon.



Alright S.O.P.H.I.A. we're gonna alter the depth chart at QB. It's going to be:

QB1 - David-Allen Slinger
QB2 - Timothy Manning

And for Center:

C1 - Richard Jones
C2 - Ronnie Vance

Also it goes without saying but Anthony Williams is TE1 until Barry Smith and Trevor Flowers come back. And that's gonna be it.

LOCK IN.

[GM Stark]

What can I say, we had a great game out there. David-Allen was a great acquisition, I liked his poise in the pocket, even with getting sacked two-times he looked completely comfortable out there. Everything seemed to be rolling out there, our defense played solid, shout out to Allan Tols for stepping up in the third quarter to tie it up for us. Overall, I liked what I saw and we're going to get a chance to get back to .500 and build upon what I hoped for when the season started.

We have a game coming up against Kansas City. My philosophy is to never count out a team that's struggling. We go into these games knowing that anything can happen, so let's make the one thing that can on our side of things, and win. We've got a chance to turn this ship around, and we need to take every opportunity to do that.

[Talon]

 

What a win.  That was a good one.

[GM Stark]

Couldn't agree more. Also while I got you Andre, I've thought it over, and I'm going to be submitting to reposition RoMar back at wideout again. He's too good of a player and too great of a teammate to have him warm the bench.

[Talon]

 

Sounds good.  How do you want us to use him?  WR2, WR3?  only in certain packages? 

[GM Stark]

I don't mind having him at WR3, that gives us three good options for David to throw to. I'll be sure to get that faxed off to the League Office as soon as possible. By the way, I wanted to see how Dennis Maynard is doing. He did a great job last week and I wanted to relay that message to him if that isn't too much to ask of you, Coach Bly.

[Talon]

He's been in a better mood now that he got some playing time.  I'll pass it on to him, always easier to hand out some kudos during a film session vs. breaking their balls.

[GM Stark]

Sounds good to me, Coach! I don't have any more business to talk about at the moment, so we're going to lock in for the week and get a W. Good luck out there.

LOCK IN.

[GM Stark]

I wanna say I'm proud of our guys for turning things around. We're back at .500 and we're 2nd in our division so I'm happy that we weathered this storm and we're competing like the team I believe we are.  David's settled into his role as the starter for us and it seems like we've got a newfound confidence. Winning in all facets of the game, I can't ask for anything more. Now we've got to turn our attention to Amsterdam. They had an absolutely lights-out affair on defense. Lincoln Doss is an amazing QB so being able to get to him out there like they did is impressive. We have to be alert, and I think Coach Bly will be sure to emphasize that to the offense. Defensively, we know this team is a step up from Kansas City, especially the guy taking snaps under center. I'm all too familiar with AJ Campanelli and I know what he's capable of, so we need to make sure we're prepared for him come gameday.

[Talon]

D.A. has been a game changer.  That deal is going to age like fine wine.

[GM Stark]

It seems to be all coming together. I'm also glad Robert's healthy, he did a great job out there. Say, I was thinking about getting Oki Matsuda some more positional training. He's a bull of a man and if we can get him a step faster those hurries and knockdowns could be sacks.

[Talon]

 

Oki's position training is maxed out.  His speed has been his bigger struggle, in the off-season working on his power and/or agility could help him get to convert those pressures to sacks, but position training won't help him.

[GM Stark]

Gotcha, then we have an idea of what we can do for him come off-season then. Overall, that's all I wanted to talk about. Let's go and build on this momentum. Good luck out there Coach Bly!

LOCK IN.

[GM Stark]

Can't say enough, it was a great win again for us. David's been killing it out there, our offense is finding a rhythm, and we've got a chance to take the division. I'm very proud of this turnaround we've taken, and while David has been a big part of it, guys like Kiki and Obi being a good tandem pounding the rock, Robert Marshall being selfless and playing like he never left the wideout position, and not to mention our defense stepping up in big moments; They all deserve a round of applause for their efforts and now we've got the chance to play to the up to the standard we know we can. Salt Lake's next, and they're tough, but we're riding a ton of momentum and I think we can get the job done come game-time. Bend don't break, that's the name of the game.

[Talon]

Who would you say has been the team's MVP this season?

[GM Stark]

D.A.'s played great, but RoMar's been a great leader in the locker room, he's done everything we've asked of him and he's found a way to help us win, so, I elect RoMar.

[Talon]

 

This is our time to show everyone we're a force to be reckoned with.

[GM Stark]

The team's been playing their asses off that's for sure Coach. I saw on the injury report that Pavel might be questionable this week. Darrel came in and was serviceable, but I'm pensive about having him kick for us against Salt Lake this week.

[Talon]

 

I agree. I'd feel better getting an actual kicker off of the street to come in for a week or two if needed than to ask our punter to make a clutch FG.

[GM Stark]

I'm gonna see who's available, make a call, and then we'll get locked up for the week. See you gameday Coach Bly.


S.O.P.H.I.A. can we get Jesus Dyer's agent on the phone, please?


Hey Amber, this is Henry Stark, I was going off of the Free Agency List and I was calling to see if Jesus Dyer's available. It would be $850K for this season.

[Talon]

 

We'll agree to that.

[GM Stark]

Pleasure doing business with you Amber. Have a nice day!

LOCK IN.

[GM Stark]

Heck of a close game out there. Salt Lake is a good team, like, I can't stress that enough. Derek Rogers is a damn fine QB and I'm sure this isn't the last we're gonna see of'em down the line. But right now we're looking towards this battle for the top of the division against Vancouver who are doing a great job this year in their own right. Tommy Mazza, what can you say he's been perfect, no INT's this season, what more can you ask from your QB? Our gameplan is to try and force some mistakes on offense, capitalize, and score more than the other team. I think we're gonna see a gunfight between Mazza and D.A. Slinger and I'm here for it.

[Talon]

 

Can you feel that?   That buzz from the fans?  The Media?  The Locker Room? 

We've got something here.  This feels like that lightning in a bottle that Portland found last year when they started that Smarter Football craze..   DA has lifted this team to a new level and everyone is rising to the challenge!

[GM Stark]

To be honest with you Coach, I didn't know what the Hell was gonna happen after we got Slinger, but here we are battling for the top spot of our division and I for one am goddamn excited! We keep up this momentum we're gonna have something real special on our hands for the future and beyond.

[Talon]

 
 

Hell yeah man.  Hell yeah!

[GM Stark]

I'm tellin' ya Andre, we get to the Big One, you and I are sharin' a drink. But for right now, I'm gonna let you get the men and women ready for a tough game. Meanwhile, I want to try and talk to Scott about hopefully having D.A. for a long-term deal. Wish me luck.

[Talon]

 
 

Careful talking about drinking after what just went down in Milwaukee... don't forget the.. um...

COACH MOTIONS WITH HIS EYES TO THE CEILING TO REFERENCE THE AI

...is always listening.

[GM Stark]

STARK LOOKS UP AND THEN LOOKS BACK DOWN AT COACH BLY.

I'll keep that in mind, don't worry about. Good luck out there, Andre.


S.O.P.H.I.A. can we get Scott on the phone?


Scott, it's Stark. Listen, I wanted to talk about signing David-Allen to a long-term deal. He's lived up to his reputation so far, and if he can keep this play up, I'd love to make this a permanent investment. I wanted to see if he'd sign long-term for 5 years and the contract would be $20MM in base pay with an extra $3MM in bonus cash. These terms would start come next season.