VANCOUVER WOLFPACK [GM DAZZ]

[GM Dazz]

So Papa D as our starter and goal line back with Robles in as 3rd down back then? Sounds like a good plan to me. I don't really want to change much else. Hopefully we get some good pressure on the QB this week and cause another big upset and get ourselves back into the division conversation. I'll leave the deeper dive into performances and effort for next week when I have the league stats to go through. Cheers Coach

Strategy Changes:
Roger Hardwick is the replacement G for Reigns if Reigns can't play.
If Villanueva can't play put Papadimitriou as the primary RB and goal-line RB
Robles to be used as 3rd down RB

Lock in

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 9 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

It's always a bit of a worry coming out of a bye week because you never know whether the lads are going to need time to get back up to speed again. I needn't have worried though. Great win on the road this week against the division leaders. I'm obviously delighted to get the victory but I'm particularly pleased with the performance that went with it. There can be no complaints that we only won because of injuries this time as we controlled large parts of that game, particularly in the second half again. That's 2 wins in a row against top tier opposition, 4 games unbeaten now and we're right back in the hunt for the division title. To go into a rival's stadium and to dominate time of possession the way we did was pretty impressive and when you look at the difference in 3rd down conversions in such a hostile environment it speaks volumes for the improvements in discipline we've seen over the last few weeks. I'm very proud of the lads this week and I'm looking forward to seeing how far we can keep this run going.

What do you make of the HIFLPA's call for more player power?

I think the players have plenty of power as it is. There are players I've had on teams that I've been forced to build around because of guarantees other GMs signed and when you look at how easy it was for players to rip up contracts during the PFL nonsense last season I think the argument for more player power from the HIFLPA is pretty weak. Having said that, I don't entirely disagree with their complaints this week. I really do shake my head sometimes when I see some of the announcements in the league office. I personally wouldn't trade away a player I just drafted or just signed to a new deal and I can understand why the players are angry. That said, there are always players every year that I wish I'd been able to draft so if one of those becomes available I'm always going to look to make a deal. Similarly, I don't think a sign and trade deal is a bad thing if the player and agent are kept in the loop. When players sign a new contract they expect stability so I get why they get angry when the rug is pulled out from under them. I think the HIFLPA has probably missed the worst one though and that's players being traded away immediately after being traded for during the season. Personally I'd be pushing for a rule to restrict player registrations to no more than 2 teams in a season if I were in their place. I wouldn't support rookie guarantees though because sometimes guys come into camp from college and they are so far below the required standard that it'd be unfair on them to keep stringing them along when they have no future in the league.

At the mid point of the season, discuss your division and your placement in the standings: are you where you want to be and what is the biggest surprise for you so far this season?

The division is still pretty open at the mid point of the season, which is great for us after the gauntlet we had to run in the first 4 games. Our win against Salt Lake this week helped drag them back towards the pack and another big division game this week could see 3 teams separated by a tie game. These kinds of divisions are much more fun to be a part of than the ones where one or 2 teams run away with it every season. At least I imagine that's the case having never managed in one of those latter divisions. It's difficult to judge our season so far considering the pre-season expectations and quality of opposition we've faced. Before the season started we were one of those teams that could have been great or terrible depending on how a few things went and early on we were looking pretty awful defensively. We've really turned a corner on that now though and we're looking much better. I'd say we're probably slightly ahead of where I expected us at the midway stage and now we've got to be looking at fighting for something important over the latter half of the year instead of blooding in young players for next season. Before the Winnipeg game I was probably looking at being a net seller at the trade deadline but we're likely looking to buy now instead. I think we're doing well and my belief in this group only grows each week. 

Who is your MVP at mid-season and why?

Normally I'd avoid these questions but the way Mazza "The Manimal" has been playing so far this year he has to be in the conversation for league MVP, surely. I thought he was underrated in Atlanta and he looked pretty good in the PFL but I'm not sure anyone expected him to be quite this good in his first season back in the league. His confidence is sky high at the moment and his connection with our WRs is fantastic to watch. He's a real leader on and off the field and a joy to work with. We have plenty of other players having really good seasons but he's playing at a level I've rarely seen.

How would you grade your head coach after your first 8 (or 9) games of the year?

Coach Action has been doing a great job so far this season. I came in and made a lot of changes to the team and the way we play and yet we came out of the blocks fast offensively and haven't really looked back. We had some issues with our defending to begin with but the strides we've made in the past 3 or 4 weeks have been a credit to him and his team. There are still improvements to be made, as the stats released this week make very clear, but we're on the right track.

Talk to us about your game this week

I believe we host Amsterdam this week. They've been in a bit of a difficult spot lately and it was pretty disappointing to see Tank Mixon pay the price for that last week. Any team losing a player of his talent is going to be worse for it. We can't afford to look past Amsterdam though. They're not far removed from an Impact Bowl appearance and they play a style teams just aren't used to facing very often so they're always going to be a tricky team to play. They probably match up well against areas we could do with improving at as well so we're going to have to work hard for this one. I know the fans will be behind us though and the lads are full of confidence.

[Talon]

GM Dazz, you know why I'm calling.    Tank is ready to bring it to Vancouver on a vet minimum deal for the next two seasons since he's getting paid plenty from Amsterdam after that amnesty.

[GM Dazz]

I appreciate you getting in touch. I'd be very happy to have Tank here on those terms. I need to free up a roster spot for him before I can make it official but you can consider that contract negotiated. Thank you Mr Crain.
--------

Anna, could I see Coach Action please?
--------

Coach, congratulations on the win this week. The fans might not agree but I thought this one was more important that the Winnipeg victory both in terms of how it impacts the division and also in how we managed it. I was impressed with the adjustments after half-time and the way we dominated possession and controlled the tempo throughout. You and the rest of the coaching staff have been doing a great job.

[Talon]

 

We all appreciate that support.  We've got a good ball team and with Mazza playing such great football its elevating the rest of the roster with him.  Now we just need to keep playing good ball and make sure we keep taking care of our division games especially.

[GM Dazz]

Absolutely. And with that in mind I want to discuss Zook. He ranks 2nd for most missed blocks this season and at the halfway point has already missed twice as many as he did in the whole of last season. His pancake numbers are looking pretty good though and his sacks allowed aren't bad, not great but not bad. I don't really know what to make of it. Awful in one stat but serviceable in the others. I'm working on trying to find an upgrade but that's tough in season. My instinct is to drop him to the bench but I don't want to do that if it's going to create too much disruption or if we don't have a suitable replacement at LT. I like Edwards where he is but is he capable of shifting over and how capable is Hawk of stepping into that role?

[Talon]

 

I think the majority of his missed blocks have come in the run game, and honestly looking at his analytics, he's graded great in every game since week 3 other than the rough outing vs. Lincoln and Ngozi.  As frustrating as the missed blocks are, he's our best pass blocker on the roster.

[GM Dazz]

Let's leave it as is then. Thank you for the insight, it's really useful. Generally we're heading in the right direction so I don't want to make any sweeping changes to anything this week. The only other thing I wanted to discuss in on defence so I'll let you get down to practice while I speak to Coach Joseph about that. Cheers Coach.
------

Anna, could I speak to Coach Joseph please?
------

Coach, great work on improving the performances these past few weeks. We look like a different team from the start of the season. One area where I am a little concerned still though is in tackling. We rank bottom 5 for tackles and bottom 2 for tackles for loss. For me this suggests an issue at DT, which aligns with the warnings in the camp report. Vance is doing OK but I'm particularly disappointed with Peacock. I had expected to see Peacock opening up more space for our LBs but we're not seeing a lot of tackles or TFLs from them either. Have I diagnosed this right and, if so, is it worth trying Taylor and Vance as the DT pairing for a few games?

[Talon]

 

I don't know if it will help, but it can't hurt.

[GM Dazz]

OK. I had issues with DTs in Sydney as well and it cost me in the playoffs ultimately. I seem to have a bit of a blind spot at that position. I've always tried to pair a big nose tackle with more of an agile interior rusher but apparently that's not worked out, or I've been bad at identifying those types. If some DTs become available, or in the off-season when we need to replace our current group, what should I be looking out for trait wise? What in your view does a good DT pairing look like?

[Talon]

 

if you want to get to the QB, speed, strength, and tackling.

If you want to stop the run, I'd say strength, tackling, and IQ.

Its not an exact science but look at this data I just had one of the sports science analytical nerds get for me.
The top 5 DTs in tackles right now are:  Worthington, Wilkinson, Rich, Tarr, and Elliott.
The top 5 DTs in TFL are Wilkinson, Worthington, Tarr, Elliott, and Emery. 
The top 5 in sacks are Wilkinson, Elliott, Reed, Rich, and Worthington.
Top 5 in Hurries are Elliott, Worthington, Tarr, Thomas, Steele.
Top 5 in knockdowns are Elliott, Reed, Worthington, Tarr, and Antentokounmpo.

Now lets see what they do best.

Worthington has strength, tackling, Speed.
Wilkinson - Tackling, Strength, and IQ.
Rich - Strength, Tackling, IQ
Tarr - agility, Strength, Tackling, and IQ
Elliott - Speed,  Agility, Tackling, IQ
Emery - Strength, Tackling
Reed, Strength nad Agility


Obviously I cant tell you how great they are at each, but that might help?

[GM Dazz]

That's very helpful, thank you.

The other thing I would like to look at is how we set up against opposition when they go 4 wide. I believe we're set to match up corners to WRs but we only have stats for 3 of our CBs this year. Do we use a dime look and, if so, are we using a safety in the dime position?

[Talon]

 

Dodge has logged 151 snaps this season, he's just not being asked to do much.

[GM Dazz]

GM Dazz looks confused before lifting a finger as if to pause Coach Joseph for a moment while Dazz flicks through his notes.

Dodge? Loren Dodge... the Sydney CB? I hope he's not getting snaps here. At least he's made some tackles and been targeted 3 times but I'm talking about Gonzales, Amoah or Blocker... I assume you've met them. None of those three have a single target, tackle, pd or any other stat. Which of them is our dime back and how many snaps are they getting?

Look, I know I get confused sometimes and put Sydney on paperwork still but you work with these players day in and day out.

[Talon]

 

Sorry, a little too much time in the sun today without enough hydration.

Our depth corners have been playing plenty.

Amoah has 50 snaps.  Blocker has 56 snaps, and Gonzales has 70 snaps. I know none have stats, but they're all grading high against their assignments.

[GM Dazz]

Great, thank you for that. It's very helpful for me to know that because it shows what the stats don't in that they're doing a very good job covering their guys rather than not doing anything, which the stats would suggest. The only change other than the DTs I'd like to make to the starting personnel in that case is to put Jurrell Johnson in as LDE in the dime look. I think it would help his development to get some more game time and in those pass heavy downs his athleticism could help get more pressure on the QB. You'll probably be pleased to hear that's all I've got for you this week. Please go get yourself some water on your way back to the practice field. Thanks Coach.
-------

Anna, I was just about to put the paperwork in to clear a roster spot and officially sign Tank Mixon when it occurred to me I may have misunderstood Mr Crain. I don't like to bother anyone like this but I want to make sure I've understood correctly. Can you please confirm with him that when he said "next two seasons" he meant seasons 18 and 19 so if we're signing Tank today it's a 3 year contract and not a 2 year one?

[Talon]

ANNA CONFIRMS THAT YOU ARE CORRECT.

[GM Dazz]

Excellent. The paperwork is all sorted. Thanks Anna.
---------

Strategy changes:

DT depth
DT1 - Vance
DT2 - Taylor
DT3 - Peacock
DT4 - Coleman


RB1 - Villanueva
Cover - Robles
Goal line - Papadimitriou
Cover - Mixon
3rd down - Robles
Cover- Mixon


Dime formation
LDE - Jurrell Johnson
LDT - Vance
RDT - Taylor
RDE - Obaje

lock in

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 10 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE


TALK ABOUT ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE THIS WEEK.


Well that was exciting, wasn't it? I sound like a broken record at this point but the lads showed a lot of heart to fight back and win that game in the 4th quarter. I know Amsterdam are in a tough spot but I was worried that the way they're built would be a bad match up for us. If you look at the stats I think that probably showed up as I expected. We struggled to run against them but also struggled to contain their run game. They're built big up front and If they leant into that more the result might have been different. I get the desire to put the ball in Campanelli's hand though and I'm glad they did because it played into our defensive strength. Gamboa's interception really capped what I thought was a very good "bend but don't break" showing from our lads. It's not my preferred style but it's working well at the moment. If you think of a GM Dazz team it's defensive TDs from guys like Turnover Taylor or Haney, or it's big hits and forced fumbles from guys like The Cotter or Pope.  We're not able to be as aggressive as I'd like but you need to do what suits your players and this more passive style is working well at the moment.

We're currently top of the division thanks to the draw and our earlier bye but it would be great to put a bit of daylight between us and the following pack. I didn't particularly expect us to be here so early in the project but now that we are we'll work hard to make this place our own. Seattle are the form team since their change at QB but we're on a good run ourselves and confidence is high. If we can keep playing clean football and keep defending the goal line like we have been lately we're going to be a tough match up for anyone.

[Talon]

 

  Big game with Seattle.. They've got some momentum since bringing in Slinger, but we've got M(azza)VP ready to do the damn thing.

[GM Dazz]

It would be nice to get Villanueva back and see if we can get the run game going again but this injury just seems to be lingering. I don't want to keep chopping and changing though so tempted as I am to put Tank in as the primary back while he's still out I'll leave things as they are and give Robles another chance to impress, unless Larry's back of course. I'd really like to up the aggression defensively but we're doing well at making things difficult in the red zone at the moment and it's working for us so I don't want to disrupt things and risk seeing us return to how we played in the first few weeks. In short, I don't think I have any changes for you this week. I have a couple of additional contracts I'd like to try and tie up and I'll keep looking for upgrades at T and DT if they're available but otherwise I'll let you get on with prepping for this big game. Thanks Coach.
------

Anna, could I please speak to Meadow Campanelli please?
------

Ms Campanelli, I hope you and your father are well. I wanted to talk to you about your WR client Steven Matos. He's been more involved than I expected this year and I'd like to keep him on the team longer term. Would you take a 3 year deal starting next season at $4MM per year?

[Talon]

 

I was thinking $6.5MM per season

[GM Dazz]

I think I can manage that. Thank you.
-------

Anna, could I speak to Coach Neuman please?
-------

Coach, I'm planning ahead for next season before the trade deadline. I know you're focused on the now so I'll keep this short. Knowing Luckett's agent it's going to be tough to keep him next season and I'd rather have a bit of certainty when it comes to C so I wanted to ask about Raymond Tibbs. He looked pretty good in his final season at Texas Tech but he's probably a bit undersized and hasn't seen much HIFL action so far. How has he looked in practice and what would you say his main strengths and weaknesses are?

[Talon]

  Tibbs big weakness is his strength and his position skill.  His college system didn't really translate to the pros, so he has a lot to refine to become confident and comfortable playing in a pro offense.  His run blocking is his strength, the technique is great but that lack of power effects him obviously.   His pass blocking is okay, but its a big drop off from what Luckett provides.  He's got good IQ, compared to our other centers, and just like his run blocking technique, its the highest of his peers on the team at center.  HE's not ready to start, but with some serious off-season work and training camp work he could become a suitable starter for us if it all goes well, but Luckett is clearly better across the board right now and probably in the immediate future, but if we can't bring him back then I see Tibbs as a guy we can bring up to par

[GM Dazz]

Luckett will be the priority but it never hurts to have a good backup plan. I'll see if I can get Tibbs signed up on a longer deal and we'll invest in his development. Thanks for the input. I'll let you get back to prepping for Seattle. It's going to be a huge game for us.
--------

Anna, could I speak to Amber Molina please?
--------

Ms Molina, it's always good to speak to you. I'd like to keep your client Raymond Tibbs for an initial 2 further years in order to invest in his development and see if he can grow into a strong starter in this league. I'll start that investment this week with some additional position training as well. I can offer a 2 year contract at $2.5MM per season starting next season.

[Talon]

We'll accept those terms, GM Dazz.

[GM Dazz]

A pleasure doing business with you as always. Thank you.
------

Anna, please send down the following information to the coaches.

Strategy changes: None

Lock in

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 11 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE


TALK ABOUT ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE THIS WEEK.

When you have two teams fighting for the lead in the division I think that's the game you're hoping to see. For neutrals and our fans alike I'm sure it was an exciting encounter and a great advert for the league. For me, there was a lot to like in that performance and some fantastic individual performances I'm sure we'll talk about for years to come. The battle between St Brown and Black was one for the ages and I think both men will come away from that feeling rightly proud of how they did. In my opinion Black, like our team in the end, probably just edged the encounter but it was engrossing to watch two top players going head to head like they did. Seattle is packed with great players and had some great performances in that game as well. Robert Marshall was probably the outstanding WR on their team in this one, Slinger was mostly excellent and Ackerman was a real thorn in our side all game. Unfortunately for Seattle we had individual players who just slightly out performed them in the likes of Mazza, Robles (who was outstanding), Black and Obaje. Mazza in particular really grabbed this game by the scruff of the neck. Of course I can't talk about the great stories of the game without talking about the clutch kick in the dying seconds of overtime to win it from Garcia. He's had some stick from online trolls and the media earlier in the year but the way he bounced back from having just missed a kick to go on and win it was the definition of mental resilience in my view.

Of course, he shouldn't have needed to make a game winning overtime kick in the first place and this is where I'm less happy with that game than the media, fans and neutrals will be. It is never good enough to allow 37 points and never good enough to allow a 16 point lead to evaporate in the final 4 minutes of the 4th quarter. We have to defend that advantage much much better and, looking at the great individual performances we saw from defenders, that has to be a problem with how we're scheming those situations and in play calling. We shouldn't have to rely on fantastic individual displays to win us games but collectively we're not defending well enough and that doesn't make much sense to me when you look at the players we have and the individual stats. We can't keep playing that badly defensively as a unit and hoping individuals bail us out because we will be caught out and it will be sooner rather than later when you look at the run of games we have coming up. It sounds ridiculous to be complaining about defending when we've won against a great division rival and forced two interceptions from a top QB and the three fumbles but those are the stats of game changing individual performances. 37 points and over 450 yards allowed are the stats of a defensive unit that isn't playing well enough as a group.  I'm annoyed because I believe in this group's ability to be much better than it currently is and I need the players and the coaches to believe it too.


TALK ABOUT HOW YOU PLAN TO APPROACH THE TRADE DEADLINE.

It's tough. You look at our position and we're top in a very competitive division so we should be looking to add to the group to push for that division title. On the other hand, we've got some ridiculously tricky games coming up and could be out of the playoff picture in 3 weeks time and be looking a bit silly mortgaging the future. For the record, I expect us to do well in those games and still be in the hunt right up to the end of the season but you never know in this league. There are a few spots where we could use some reinforcements but the other issue is whether those guys are going to be available at this point in the season. Add onto that the fact that it's very difficult to negotiate a fair deal in this league and the trade deadline will look pretty quiet from the outside. I'll be very busy working the phones of course but I'd not hold my breath for a big trade from Vancouver if I were the media or fans unfortunately. Then again, I think we have a squad that is good enough as it is so there's no need to make trades just for the sake of it.

TALK ABOUT THE GAME THIS WEEK.

I don't know what it is I did to the schedulers in previous seasons but once again we have a very tough game on the road against another division leader that is absolutely flying this year. We actually haven't had 2 home games in a row since weeks 4 and 5 and don't have two in a row until weeks 16 and 17.
This week it's on the road in Tucson who are always a good team and it's always a very tough game. They're well managed from the GM's office to the coaching staff and have a roster full of great talent. We're obviously very confident coming off the back of some brilliant wins against the league's top teams so another one is always a possibility, particularly with the players capable of individual brilliance like we have. It's another huge game and there's another one right after it so we need to work hard to keep this level of performance going and build on this momentum. 
--------

Coach, overall i want to say well done this week. Putting an end to Seattle's winning run is a great achievement and everyone should be pleased with that. However, I'm pretty angry about how we defended in the final 4 minutes and I think we need to look at the ratios and playbook for those situations. That should have been a comfortable win and not a heart attack inducing back and forth in overtime like it was. I believe I set the end of game blitz ratios, so obviously I take responsibility for that, but we've made some tweaks to overall strategy since then so could you confirm what percentages we're using now and, if you can, what Coach Joseph would recommend we use if different?

[Talon]

Currently our end of game blitz ratio when leading is 36%  and our losing percentage is 29%.

Coach Joseph would suggest 57% when losing and 30 when leading.

[GM Dazz]

I don't think dropping 6% when we're ahead makes much difference but then again I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it. I'm not sure on changing things for when we're behind though considering how well we've fought back late in games recently. I'll give that some thought.

Offensively, we saw a lot of WRs and even a TE running the ball but nothing from Papa D or Mixon despite a couple of short yardage situations where they both thrive. Was there something about Seattle that favoured that approach? I'm not complaining considering it worked out pretty well but I'd like to have answers if I get a couple of annoyed RBs in my office asking why these other players are getting their snaps.

[Talon]

Tank won't get many reps barring injury because of the depth chart unless we set somethign up just for him.  As for Papa D, just a game flow thing this time around, he's listed as our goal line guy.

Now if you want to make sure they get on the field more often, we could set up a few packages with them as RB2 and set those as the package for a certain formation each, then they would get subbed in on the committee when we did run from that formation.  Its a round-about way to get to it, but thats the best I can suggest.

[GM Dazz]

I'm not looking to force anything so we'll leave it as is. We have 4 RBs capable of starting so there will always been some patience required from one or two of them. I expect it'll only be 3 next season which is more manageable but it's not a bad issue to have.

Unless I manage to pull off a big deal before the deadline I don't expect us to change much this week. I'm very happy with how we're playing offensively and, while I'm pretty annoyed with our defensive play, I don't really have a clear idea on how to improve things. I'll let you get down to practice while I think things over. Thanks Coach.
------

Anna, could I see Coach Joseph briefly please?
------

Coach, we dropped the aggression back early in the season to try to help simplify things for the lads and it seemed to help a little but for me the bigger impact was from changing the marking scheme and reducing the blitz percentages. At the time the intention was always for the reduction in aggression to be temporary and I think the past game has shown we have the playmakers capable of big game changing moments. I think it's time we added some aggression back into our play but I wanted your view on that first. Have we got enough pace in the secondary to cope with that?

[Talon]

 

The strange thing about our roster is our corners aren't as fast as our safeties,  so if its a question of speed, I'd say we don't have that kind of speed at corner to play very aggressively, but the safeties are faster than most pairings in the league as well.

[GM Dazz]

That explains quite a lot and will need addressing in the off-season then. We'll have to leave things for now though.

I brought in some cover for Taylor in Ammons but I'm hoping he can start showing the promise he had coming out of college. I'll likely ask you about how he's getting on in practice in a couple of weeks but in the meantime I'd like to use him in the dime formation with Vance. The other player I brought in is Joseph Sauer who will hopefully make a bigger impact immediately. He's going straight in as a direct replacement for Shrader. I know we've been giving JJ snaps as the LDE in the dime but I want Sauer and Obaje starting in all formations. I still want JJ to get snaps to help his development so is it worth setting him up with something like 25% usage at one of the DE spots?

[Talon]

 

We'll try to get as close to that % as we can, no worries. 

[GM Dazz]

Great, thanks Coach.
----


Strategy changes:

Palacios to G4 in all formations
Palacios to T4 in all formations

Ammons to be primary cover for Taylor in all formations other than Dime
Dime:
DT1 Vance
DT2 Ammons

Sauer to LDE1 in all formations
JJ to get target usage of 25%

Lock in

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 12 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE


TALK ABOUT ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE THIS WEEK.

Last week was the top of the division clash neutrals and pundits wanted to see. This week was the top of the division clash I wanted to see. I'll take a 30 point victory against an elite team over a nail biter any day of the week. I thought we were excellent in every phase and we completely dominated on the road against a fantastic team that had only lost twice all season previously. I think we also have the longest active winning streak in the league after that win as well. There are so many players and stories in there that deserve a mention such as: Mazza's near perfect performance, Sauer's impressive debut with 2 sacks in his first game, Johnson and Soriano each going 6 for 6 and over 110 yards, another 2 turnovers forced by Black... but the thing that stood out to me was Tucson finishing 0/7 on third down conversions. I was critical of our collective defending last week but this week the lads really pulled together and were stifling. That's no easy feat against a top QB like Maldonado and not many teams have kept Tucson quiet this season, particularly in their own house. The lads were brilliant and I'm hoping they can keep this level of performance going.

I saw the comments Mazza made in support of GM Wrong and I think it shows the kind of humble guy he is. There's a lot of noise in the media about him leading the MVP conversation... as there should be... but he's not the kind of bloke who's going to let that get to his head. He has shown respect to the people that helped get him where he is and I think that's great. I agree with his point as well. I don't think you can have a go at GM Wrong for signing Hyland to a big deal because at the end of last season it looked like a really smart move. I certainly wasn't looking at the Rapid City roster at the start of the season and expecting it to struggle like it has done. I'm sure they'll turn it around, but hopefully after we've played them in a couple of weeks.

I guess I should comment on the news out of Kansas which has probably been coming for a while if I'm honest. Dario is a great character and one I hope finds a way back into the league... though apparently not in Sydney. We're happy with our situation at kicker though so no space here I'm afraid.

This coming week we have another tough game against a quality team in the form of New Jersey. They've been one of the big teams in the league since the day I started working in Pearl Harbor 10 or 11 seasons ago and they'll always be a tough fixture. They've come off a big win at Seattle as well so they'll be confident coming into our home. I do think we match up a bit better against them than Seattle did so hopefully we'll be better prepared to take them on but we'll need to be at our best.

[Talon]

 

Strong performance at the right time, this division race is in our hands if we just keep winning.

[GM Dazz]

I think the extra threat from Sauer opposite Obaje made a big difference in that game and I'm hoping to see that partnership build across these final weeks. It would be stupid to change anything after that performance so let's go again and see if it was a one off or a sign of things to come. Cheers Coach.

Strategy changes:
None

lock in

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 13 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE


TALK ABOUT ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE THIS WEEK.


Another hugely important win in another tight game against another top team. I'm sure we must have already played a whole extra game with all of the OT minutes we've played so far this season. Huge credit to New Jersey for making that a real nail biter and to GM Storm for taking things with so much class afterwards. I would not have been so understanding of the officiating in his position, even though they were spot on with that call. I do have sympathy for the New Jersey players who must feel like they were robbed but that final TD doesn't happen without that hold so the refs had no choice but to call it back. I don't want to focus on that one moment though when there was so much more to that game than that. For one, I completely forgot that Duke isn't the usual starting QB in New Jersey and he's clearly good enough to be starting somewhere. I thought he played with the confidence and skill he's shown throughout his career. Even so, i thought we were great defensively again this week. I know I was critical a few weeks back but the past few weeks have seen us perform much better as a unit. We defended the end zone very well once again and I was impressed with the partnership Obaje and Sauer have already started building in just 2 weeks playing together. Offensively we were able to step up when the pressure was on at the end of both halves and that 30 second drill from Mazza at the end of the game was the stuff MVPs are made of. I honestly thought we were done for when we went behind with 42 seconds to play but there's just no quit in this team. For me the main praise needs to go to our Special Teams this week. A blocked punt from Obaje, some excellent punting from Gough to give us space to defend and some clutch kicking from Garcia were probably the difference in a very tight game. I bet the people hounding Garcia on social media all those weeks ago are feeling pretty stupid now.

There have been a few massive news stories this week so it's hard to know where to start to talk about them. I guess the pressure is really starting to mount as the season heads towards the climax and some of the GMs seem to be letting it get to them. We saw the extraordinary meltdown of GM Powers just a few weeks back in Milwaukee, the unforced error from Dario in Kansas that has him kicking in Sydney... instead of the very talented Stanton Welsh which baffles me to be honest... and just last week the ridiculous comments from GM Bone, completely out of character mind you, that have seen a top coach walk out and a locker room turn on the GM if reports are to be believed. Pressure has a strange way of impacting people and I'm sure there will be more twists before the season ends. I guess one of those twists is coming from the PFL now. That league can't seem to go a season without trying to interfere with the HIFL in some way or other. While I would welcome a New York team I don't think it would be appropriate for them to just lift that team complete with staff and players and shift them into the HIFL. I'm definitely not just saying that because there are a few of those players in New York I'd be happy to offer a place in HIFL in Vancouver instead, much like we did for Mazza this season.

Looking forward to this next week, it seems we have a very cold trip to Rapid City to prepare for. I know they've had some struggles this year but you can't sleep on a team like the Inferno and Hyland is too good of a QB to continue to play like he has been. Our secondary makes things hard for most QBs though and our DEs have the ability to make QBs rush things which can lead to errors so I'm confident we can put some more pressure on Rapid City this week. If we can get another win and keep the longest streak in the league going that puts us probably 1 more win away from a playoff spot so there's plenty for us to fight for this week. We know they're fighting for their playoff lives in this one so it should be a good one to watch.

[Talon]

 

I know it burns up GM Fosters that we keep extending our lead with this win streak.  Lets keep it going so we can lock up this division sooner rather than later.

[GM Dazz]

Considering the tough start we had I'm sure Fosters is pulling his hair out at how we've caught and then overtaken Salt Lake this season. Let's keep things going as they are and hopefully keep that gap there or growing if we can. No need to drag things out so I'll let you get the lads prepped for a cold weather game. Cheers Coach.

Lock in

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 14 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE


TALK ABOUT ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE THIS WEEK

Hats off to Rapid City for a hard fought victory this week. I think GM Wrong has already proven his doubters wrong over the past few weeks and he seems to have found a solution for Hyland's problems. I probably should have been putting more pressure on both of them in the lead-up to this one but I honestly thought our defence would pile more misery on their team anyway. We scored enough points to win and our performance throughout was very good. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the officials. I praised them last week when they did well so it's only fair that I call them out when their inconsistencies decide a game. I thought the roughing the passer call on Pope was marginal and if we're going to call things like that then we may as well be playing flag football because this apparently isn't a contact sport anymore. The one that really got me was the pass interference at the end. I have watched it multiple times from every angle and I saw nothing i didn't see in almost every passing play of the game before that. I don't understand why the officials wait until the final seconds to start throwing flags they weren't throwing earlier. All we ask for is consistency in the application of the rules so that we all know the limits we're playing within. If that was going to be considered interference in this one then fine but it needed to be flagged every time and not just at the end when the home fans were screaming for it. I can't fault the lads for their performance this week and I feel sorry for them having to endure a 1 point loss in that manner.

I believe it's divisional play from here on out for us with two of those at home after a trip to Portland this week. I would love to do the double over all three division rivals but our focus has to be on the next game in front of us. Win and we keep things in our own hands with home games against Seattle and Salt Lake. Portland may be eliminated now but there's still plenty for them to play for and they've got a lot of talent in that roster so it's not going to be an easy trip. That's what the lads need to remember every week from now until our season ends. There are no easy games and you cannot afford to take your foot off the pedal for a single drive. There's no quitting in our lads though so I fully expect a strong finish from this group and we'll see where that takes us.
-------

Coach, I was very unhappy with our defensive performance this week. Individually we had some good performers but collectively this wasn't good enough. How early did Sauer get injured and who was primary cover for him/ would be this week if he's not cleared?

[Talon]

 

Sauer went down on the 7th play of RC's first drive, the last play before their first touchdown. 

Jurrell played 28 snaps. Otto came on for 22 snaps, and Obaje played every snap.

[GM Dazz]

It's incredible the difference he makes to the overall defence when he's on the field. The pressure we get from him and Obaje rather than just Obaje seems to make the rest of the system work that much better. I think I know what we need to do to make us less reliant on those two from next season but I've rarely seen one player make such an impact coming in part way through a season. I assume we just strap up his fingers, get him the pain meds and get him out on the field. I'll definitely put some time into JJ's conditioning in pre-season so he's able to cover more consistently next year.

I don't want to panic after one loss so let's keep doing what has been working and see if we can clinch this week or at least take a big step towards it. I'd lock in for the season but if we do win the division early there are some players I'd like to rest and others I'd like to look at before the playoffs. Cheers Coach.

Lock in

[Talon]

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

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 15 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

*Standing Rule, if you have news, address it.*

This was a great way to respond to a disappointing loss to Rapid City. We controlled the game from the start and defensively we were excellent. Villanueva had a great day on the ground and Mazza continued to Mazza. All in all I'm very pleased with that. Portland are a smart team so it feels good to have been able to complete the double over them this season. Part of me is loking at these last two games and relishing the idea of having a perfect record against the division but a few injuries are biting at the wrong time of the year.

You didn't mention it in the news but if I'm capable of basic maths and understand how the standings work then I think we've clinched a playoff spot with that win. There's still a division title to play for and I really want us to do that this week in front of our own fans so our final home game against Seattle gets to be a big party. The fans have been fantastic and we're going to work hard to reward them for that.

On a personal note this makes it 4/4 for me for teams taken to the playoffs in my first year managing them. I'm not sure how many GMs have taken 4 different teams to the playoffs but I'm pretty sure I'm the only 1 to do it 4 times in year 1. Do I wait until after the Impact Bowl before the articles covering my great achievement or are you just waiting to see if I win a division title with yet another team before you write those? I am always one to stress that we win and lose as a team and that the plaudits are always owed to the players and coaches but just this once... I'm pretty good at this.

[Talon]

 

One more win or a Seattle loss and we lock this division up.  Lets put the final nail in Salt Lake's playoff hopes.

[GM Dazz]

That would be a nice bonus for the fans but my focus is on sewing up the division so we can rest a few players in the final week. I've been a bit concerned with our growing injury list and I want us a fresh as possible for the playoffs. I also want to get some backups game time so they're closer to match fit if we need them. I'll let you know who I want to play next week once we know the state of play. In the meantime, let's win this division.


lock in

[GM Dazz]

S17 - WEEK 16 POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE


TEAMS STILL IN THE HUNT OR IN THE PLAYOFFS -- NORMAL WEEK. [fast track unless you have business]


I'm finding this press conference very difficult. We played a very good game and looked to have won it with 50 seconds to go but somehow we've let Salt Lake score a game winning TD with 8 seconds left. 17 point allowed in the 4th quarter. I don't understand how that happens. Rogers is very good, no question about it, but we need to be better at defending the end zone in the final minute. I want to praise the players for how they performed but you can't be throwing games away late like that. On the other hand, Oakland clinched the division for us so I want to praise the lads for a great achievement in our first year working together. I think there's a lot more to come from this team so to have a division title so early in our development I think shows real promise for the long term success of this group. The players and coaches should be very proud of their accomplishment and we should use next week as a celebration for the fans. On the other hand, it feels a bit anticlimactic to win the division after a loss on the basis of Seattle losing too. Then finally there's how we approach next week. Salt Lake fans will have that odd feeling of cheering for us in week 17 to help win them a playoff spot but taking away Mazza's perfect season in this game removes part of the argument to start him in the final week and maybe it's King Carmazzi they're cheering for instead. Mazza will want to play, all of our players will, but with Pope going down in this one, Edwards the week before, Sauer the week before that and us locked into the #3 seed... there's a strong argument for putting in backups to keep key players fresh for the playoffs and to give some of the others a chance to show what they can do. Whatever team we put out there will give their all to win the game but I completely understand that Salt Lake will feel let down if we do rest players. Like I say, it's tough after that game so I'll need to have a chat with the coaches and key players before making a decision.

The main thing I want to focus on though is that we've won the division and proven a lot of pundits wrong in the process. The lads have been great all year and this is thoroughly deserved. I'm really excited about the future for this team and that future starts in the playoffs.