TUCSON STARS [GM PANCHO]

[Talon]

Douglas, that is not an offer I will even entertain.  Rodolph proved his value with 24 catches for 460 yards  and 5 touchdowns in the final 4 games of the year.   He has proven his value is far beyond that level of salary.

I am seeking a starting position for Rodolfo or at least starter pay if you want to keep him as a part of your loaded receiver corps.  He is happy to stay here and is grateful for your investment in him, but at some point he has to be able to spread his wings.  He is 28 years old he is running out of time to make a career for himself.

[GM Dougie]

I understand. In that case I might let him entertain the market. Please understand we love him here but you are right that with Randolph and Finch it will be difficult to get him time.

Let's talk about Garza. As an undrafted free agent he made some contributions. How about two years and $1MM per season?

[Talon]

 

We can do 2 years at $2MM, I think you'll see growth out of him as he moves up the charts.

[GM Dougie]

Let me match that money from an incentive standpoint.

This coming season $1.5MM. Without Hyde or Chance there are yards to go around. Garza gets 500 yards and then S18 he gets $2.5MM. Fair deal?

[Talon]

 

Fair, but not right now. I'd rather just have it in hand.

[GM Dougie]

Alright. I'll do your deal. 2 years $2MM. Thank you for that one.

Ok last one.

Jorge D'Angelo is set to be a free agent. He's a solid kicker. He missed out on the incentive so I want to offer a raise. How about either 2 years at $2MM per season or 3 years at $1.75MM per season?

[Talon]

 

I'd rather test the market if those are the options.  He was 7th in FG % this season and the 7th highest paid kicker was at $3.5MM last season.

[GM Dougie]

He had significant improvement this season but also historically he's at around 77% and not in the upper half in the previous 2 seasons. I put faith in him and I think our offense put him in great situations. Jorge and our offense are a good pair and I think it makes sense for both of us to stay together. That said, a statistical outlier season should be built upon for the bag.

How about this. 2 years $2MM but if he's top 10 again in S17 then I'll give him $3MM in S18 and an option year in S19 for $3.5MM. He earns it and has the option to leave and gain more as the market and cap changes going forward.

[Talon]

 

Lets circle back after others have a chance to make their offers.

[GM Dougie]

That works for me.

Amber thank you for your time. We had a lot of clients to discuss and I know you have many others to deal with.

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Ms. Morningstar, whenever Mr. Crowley wants to speak with me I'm ready.

[Talon]

Well Douglas, it was a great season, until it wasn't.   I feel like celebrating Mister Maldonado's achievements should have been the start of an amazing run that would crescendo with a championship sitting in our trophy case.

...but instead, a loss to Dallas and an early exit from the playoffs by way of "Smarter Football" just leaves a rotten taste in my mouth that not even the strongest moonshine can wash away.   Now I know you are not satisfied with this result either, as is evident by your plans to change the coaching staff hierarchy, and I support you there... but lets make sure next year ends with a deeper run,   It's not championship or bust but I sure would love to have no choice but to offer you a lucrative contract extension next season instead of playing out this contract, and that comes from making it closer to our primary objective of winning the whole damn thing.

Vegas may have the trophy right now, but they are just keeping it warm for us, because its your job to make sure the Stars shine brightest on the biggest stage.

[GM Dougie]

I'm going to remember that I'm getting a nice contract with a deeper run. Your words not mine.

Thank you boss.

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Ms. Morningstar, thank you as always for another season. Send everyone on the team some kinds words on their achievements this year, especially the MVP.

For now, we Lock In

[Talon]

   

Hey boss! 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!

[Talon]

   

Well, I've got my marching orders.  We're on the same page so I'll get to making my calls. Time for this next generation of Stars to shine bright.

[Talon]

 

   

Hey Boss, please look over our recently league officed rookie deals, the 6th and 7th round have a S18 team option we need to specify and we didn't do that.

[Talon]

 

   

Hey Boss

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.

18MM Remaining Salary.

13.5MM Remaining Bonus.

0 Remaining Off-Season Bonus.

0 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.

[Talon]

 

GM Doug,  you had reached out before the draft about Daniel Jennings; if you're still interested in that deal for 2 years at $8MM  with the 2nd year being a $10MM salary, we'd sign that deal.

[GM Dougie]

Let's do that deal! Thank you for reaching back out!

[GM Dougie]

Ms. Morningstar, James T. Crain please.

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James, Can we do the UDFA 500K contract for tight end Jose Anderson?

[Talon]

Yep

[GM Dougie]

While I have you here, I want to add a veteran Wide Receiver to our group. How about Richard Taylor for 2 years at $1MM per season?

[Talon]

 

  Make it so, yo.

[GM Dougie]

Awesome. Thank you for doing business as always.

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Ms. Morningstar, Eli Harris please.

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Eli, can we do the UDFA 1 year $500K contract for running back Clifton Dennison?

[Talon]

 

  Deal.

[GM Dougie]

Thank you for the deal!

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Ms. Morningstar, Can I get a hold of one of the Campinellis please?

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Lets talk about Edward Sparks. We're a little strapped so I apologize if this isn't the best offer on the market. But we also have a defined role we're looking for. Edward would be backing up Modiba at the strong safety position so there's time to see the field in a rotation. BUT Edward is also really fast and he could be competing for one of our top return positions. And you know Tucson is a winner.

Lets do 2 years at $1.5MM and the 2nd year is a player option. What do you say?

[Talon]

   

How are you doing, GM Doug?

We're seeking $3MM to sign right now.

[GM Dougie]

Thank you for asking!

How about $2MM for 2 years and a $1MM bonus paid from the bonus funds if he returns a kick or a punt for a touchdown at any point in the season?

[GM Dougie]

Well. Scratch that. Its my understanding he took another deal.

How about William Stacks? Is he available for 2 years at $1.5MM?

[Talon]

 

   

Sorry, but we got our $3MM from Miami.

As for Mr. Stacks, He's looking for $4MM and significant playing time.

[GM Dougie]

Understood. Well I won't yank your chain he would be behind Modiba so we'll have to circle back to this. But thank you so much for your time.

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Ms. Morningstar, Bobby Shapiro please.

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Bobby, can we do a 2 year $1.5MM deal for Michael Thurston?

[Talon]

DEAL

[GM Dougie]

While I have you, can we do that same contract for Christopher Glenn?

[Talon]

 

   

...No, we'd sign for a year at $3MM

[GM Dougie]

Thank for the information. I'll circle back to this as needed. I appreciate your time.

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Ms. Morningstar, Amber Molina please.

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Hi Amber, wanted to touch base on Walter Turner. We're looking for depth at free safety. Would he be willing to join Tucson for 2 years and $1.5MM?

[Talon]

 

   

We would do this year, but no way I'd sign him for two years at such a low salary. He should be competing for a starting job, not accepting two years as a back up.

[GM Dougie]

Fair enough. 1 year for $1.5MM. Deal?

[Talon]

   

Si!

[Talon]

 

   

Let me know if you have any questions on the Lock-In sheet, boss. That's what I'm here for.

[GM Dougie]

MUSICAL LICENSES

1. Doubt Me (Beartooth) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfY5VokMkL8
The heavy rifts of the chorus kick in throughout the stadium as the Stars burst out of the tunnel as the lyrics are heard throughout the stadium, "Remember every time you doubt me, it makes me stronger than before. When you doubt me, it fuels the fire even more. So give me all you got. I can't wait to watch you rot. If there's one thing you should learn about me, don't ever f*cking <---(censored for families) doubt me". The chorus repeats as all the players are on the field hyping the fans up for the game.

2. AmEN (Bring Me The Horizon) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TjcPpasesA
Only the chorus of this song is used. This can play either right after a big sack, a big stop, a turnover, a massive gain on offense, any pivotal moment that turns the game in favor of the Stars. It's a loud violent message that the Stars are out to shine this year.

[GM Dougie]

Lock In

[Talon]

 

   

We're all set to shoot for the stars!

[GM Dougie]

1. Welcome back, what was the most challenging part of the off-season, and where do you think you did the best as GM of this club?

First and foremost, the hardest part was not being able to keep everyone together. Our team is special and we know that special teams usually are the ones that go through some of the biggest changes. From the hangover of getting eliminated too early, losing Vic, Daniel retiring, Jody electing to explore options, and some other things I'm sure I skipped over, it certainly left a lot of pieces to pick up. But what I think we did really excellent at this offseason was having depth. We suffered last season in some ways because of our depth. You need to be healthy to win in this league and the next man up needs to be the man who can get the job done. While there's still some areas of growth that can be accomplished, I think we did well enough in free agency and the draft to become a more complete roster.

2. After a long off-season, the regular season is within reach.  What is your view of pre-season?  Valuable or Pointless?

There will always be value in live reps. Guys come back from the offseason and even if you workout every single day, live reps are just not something that can be duplicated off the field. It also allows us to evaluate some areas where we need to make determinations on before week 1. The risk of injury looms over but it does in any game.

3. Will you completely sit any of your players for the pre-season, or is it all hands on deck in the traditional pre-season limited capacity?'

I'll discuss that with the coaches. As a collective, we haven't made a true determination on that decision just yet.

4. Having just met with your boss, the team's owner; what do you think about their expectations for you this season?

Win the Impact Bowl. That's what he wants. That's what we all want. We were good enough to do it for 2 straight seasons. This year needs to be the year. Championship windows only stay open so long.

5. The fans are clamoring, what should they expect this season from a record stand point?  Are you thinking this is a rebuilding season?  Is this a season where you will be middle of the pack and near .500?  Is this a club that should win 10+ games?  Is this team a lock to win the division, or is this team simply a real-deal Impact Bowl Contender and everything else is trivial?

I think I just answered that question. We're going to compete to win this division, go to the Impact Bowl, and win the whole thing. Expectations of anything less don't exist in this building.

6. What's the biggest position competition you're looking forward to with your team's pre-season games?

I'm interested to see two young guys at running back do their thing. We have one young man who we've been drafting and developing while another signed from our international partner. It'll truly be worth watching if one of them moves the rock more or if we're looking at a committee between the two. And what are their skills in the passing game? Steve was so well rounded as a runner, receiver, and returner. We also drafted some speed in the later round speaking of returning so I want to see who might be our primary special teams guys.

7. Look across the league, which team from the opposite conference do you think will be competing for the Impact Bowl when it's all said and done?

I think the two teams being talked about the most in the east are Miami and Cleveland. I'm from Cleveland so it would be touching to see them make it to the top...although if its against us that sentiment quickly goes away.

8. Make a bold prediction about this season:

We're winning the Impact Bowl.

[Talon]

   

Well said boss, I think you're really going to like how our pass game looks this season, those guys are showing a lot of chemistry.

[GM Dougie]

It makes sense because its the same system and you look at these guys they've been with us since I signed them. I'm really excited.

Lets start on offense. The question is running back obviously. And I'm not opposed to making a move this season because I've handed the tax repeater problem. But for years they've talked about our running game and yet Steve Dunlap put up consecutive 1200+ yard seasons.

Which one of these guys has an edge right now? Or do we split their reps in the preseason, let one start each game and see what comes of it?

[Talon]

 

   

Kostas reminds me a lot of Dunlap in his play style, so I think we give him the RB1 role and see if he can be that same type runner for us.  I dont think we HAVE to go get a back, but its a thing that if one goes on the market and we can afford him, it could add a big-play threat to our offense we dont currently have in the run game. 

[GM Dougie]

How do the coaches feel about our depth at defensive tackle? This is my first season as GM of a team with a 4-3 style of defense. I heard after drafting him that Chris might have some work ethic issues. We need two good ones up front and I trust Peacock. How's the fit?

[Talon]

   

So the honest take, Joe and Phillips are both solid DT2/DT3 type players, but I dont know if either has the potential to elevate to a high end starter.  Luis has been a rock for a long time and I am confident in his ability to hope holes for us, but Cooney might be the worst player I've ever coached, at any level.

[GM Dougie]

Noted.

Last question I think I have right now. Talk to me about the return game. What we did before was Dunlap splitting time between returns and carries. We really relied on him a lot. I drafted McGinnis partially due to his speed. Is he our primary kick and punt? Is there a better option? Or do we split kind of like before where someone is primary kick and someone is primary punt? What do you see?

[Talon]

   

I think coach Pullen suggested McGinnis and Moustakas.