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+---- Thread: *Damien West: From Boom to Bust (/showthread.php?tid=5059)
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - GoodLeftUndone - 10-05-2017
[div align=\\\"center\\\"]The Damien West Story
![[Image: hilton-ty-02.jpg]](http://prod.static.colts.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/imported/IND/article-images/2013/gameday/reg12-ari/hilton-ty-02.jpg)
Damien West watches from the sidelines as the Colorado Yeti get blown out 49-0 by the Baltimore Hawks
Rewind to the Season One Inaugural Draft in the NSFL and you'll hear Damien West's name being called as the fifth overall pick for the Baltimore Hawks and the second receiver off the board behind Josh Garden.
Damien West had tons of hype coming into the league with a strong prospect series performance and a solid preseason with the Hawks. He quietly went for over 1,000 yards receiving in his first season for the Hawks with four touchdowns. He was one of four receivers to reach the 1K mark in the league. One would think a season like that would cement him as a franchise cornerstone still for the Baltimore Hawks, right?
No. West was traded in the offseason to the Yellowknife Wraiths, a team who already had the league's best receiver in Josh Garden and had just drafted another promising prospect. West went from a top receiver in the league to a team's WR3 and mostly playing in the slot position.
The quiet receiver was still able to amass over 700 yards receiving and three touchdowns that season as the Wraiths held an 8-6 record. Most people had forgotten the name Damian West but his stats still showed that he was a great receiver given his role right?
No. West would start the S3 campaign again as the team's #3 receiver and would start to see even less targets. The team would go onto trade him 8 games in to the Colorado Yeti, West's third team in as many seasons. Perhaps the Yeti were on to something seeing the steady production West had given teams throughout the years despite going lower and lower on the depth chart while still quetly showing up to practices and working on his game.
While not on track to top S2; West has shown immense improvement in just two games with the Yeti being the team's top targeted receiver in just two games. He even was a big factor in the team upsetting the team that traded him the night before.
Perhaps Damien West will never be the BOOM player he was expected to be when drafted but he will likely avoid complete BUST status as we do see him on the rise in Colorado.
But how did this all happen? West is obviously talented. What behind the scenes factor are in play here that are holding the dynamic receiver back?
"Damien came into the league with a lot of fire and passion for football. He wasn't shy of the media and made a name for himself before even playing. He was talented and when you can back up what you say with talent team's like that. But as the first season progressed, something changed. It wasn't his talent, he could still ball. But the fire Damien West brought to the league was burning out quick and it didn't look like it would resurface."
-Former Baltimore Ravens coach
Damien West became quiet and management knew it. The talent was still there but his leadership that a Baltimore Hawks team desired wasn't and the team wanted to win.
"We were thrilled with the prospect of growing our receiver core by adding Damien. We thought maybe that fire would re-ignite when he was pitted against the one receiver that everyone always said was better than him before the first season. Nothing changed though. Damien still complimented the offense but we didn't see any passion return to his game. He missed some practices and showed up to some drunk. He wasn't taking the game seriously."
-Assistant Coach for the Yellowknife Wraiths."[/i]
Things only got worse for Damien in Yellowknife. His personal life was taking a hit and it was starting to affect his football life as well. Prior to Season Three, Damien was arrested for selling illegal contraband. It wasn't drugs or anything too serious and he was let off with a fine and community service and still allowed to play in the NSFL. Obviously the Wraiths weren't pleased but they were unable to find a trading partner until later on in the season.
"Honestly we didn't want Damien West at first. We took him on as a favor for the bigger picture of the trade. Maybe it was a good thing though because he's surprisingly really changed his attitude and his performance has been surprising."
-Colorado Yeti General Manager
In fact things did change for Damien. Realizing he was being traded for the third team in as many season really took it's toll on his own perception of himself. Fire and passion for the game resurfaced and he happily showed up to practice with his new team. Still far off from his old self though; Damien is making strides to being great again.
As to why this all happened. We finally heard from the man himself:
"The reality is I was broke. I claimed bankruptcy three weeks into the first season. I was terrible with the limited amount of money the team gave me for a "team-friendly" contract that I happily signed at the time. They didn't point me in the direction of a Finance expert or anyone that knew anything about managing money. Nobody did. I was struggling in life to even just get by. Teammates helped a bit but when it became a constant thing everyone turned their backs."
West would go through all of his first two seasons experiencing this. He had a three year "team-friendly. deal and he wouldn't even remain on that team.
"The league was setting players up for failure. West came from a poor family and went straight to the pros, forgoing college. You can't expect someone like that to succeed in this kind of environment without proper guidance. You're giving a gun to a kid and not telling him what it does or how to use it."
-Current EFL Cornerback Peterson Jr.
Peterson Jr became that eventual mentor for West but it wasn't until Season 3 when he caught wind of what was going on and helped him mend things. West got himself a much better contract lined up for S4 thanks to the help of someone who comes from a family that's 'been there, done that'.
"Knowing how to budget money and being able to live happy and healthy makes a huge difference. Until now I was beginning to hate the game and what it did to me and how it affected my personal life. I was selling my own merchandise just to make an extra buck and companies didn't want anything to with me endorsing their products anymore. I was ready to quit football. I'm glad I didn't"
-West
Damien West looks to regain his pre-NSFL form and rise from the ashes. Expect big things going forward for the former BOOM prospect and the current BUST has-been. West is neither of those things now, he's a whole new man.
[1,162 words]
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GRADED
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - kckolbe - 10-05-2017
Good article, bank account starting to look good
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - PDXBaller - 10-05-2017
Great article! The future looks bright for the Yeti!
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - BOOM™ - 10-05-2017
Relevant article. I'm BOOM and a bust, so I appreciate the mention!
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - Bzerkap - 10-05-2017
(10-05-2017, 05:29 PM)BOOM™ Wrote:Relevant article. I'm BOOM and a bust, so I appreciate the mention!You're BOOM and you like busts
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - Ben - 10-05-2017
(10-06-2017, 11:41 AM)Bzerkap Wrote:You're BOOM and you like busts
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - BOOM™ - 10-05-2017
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media.giphy.com/media/ZrAQWUXamDmkE/giphy.gif)
*Damien West: From Boom to Bust - SimmerDownBruhh - 10-06-2017
It's been a pleasure running the receiving corps and #WraithsNation with you, brotha! I wish you the best for your career!