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+---- Thread: *Darren Morris Presser (/showthread.php?tid=8362)
*Darren Morris Presser - Roly - 04-16-2018
Darren Morris is a pretty quiet guy, he's never really made a big fuss about himself. So it was a surprise to many when he signed a two-year $6.5 million extension, including no trade clauses, with the Arizona Outlaws this offseason prior to his final year of his original rookie contract. After the extension and before the beginning of the S7 season, Morris held his first press conference - open to questions from the gallery.
In addition, questions regarding the Marshals and DSFL are welcome.
@iamslm22
Many are predicting the Outlaws to finish 3rd or 4th in the conference this season - agree with that sentiment?
I don't think there's a doubt that the ASFC is an elite competitive division. The Otters are repeat Ulimus champions and the Sabercats came infamously short to beating them in last season's ASFC Championship game. If we are to have a chance of beating those predictions, coming in 2nd, then we'd have to beat some of the best NSFL teams. Do I think its possible? Sure, any given Sunday right? But the odds of 14 of those Sundays staking up aren't great for our team this year. And that's an honest assessment. Credit to Orange County and San Jose for building those teams to compete this season.
But, where I see hope and why I signed with the Outlaws this extension, is that we are a team that is going to develop and compete in a short amount of time. Beyond the Siberian Swatter draft pick by the Otters this season, if I look at what those two powerhouse teams have lined up for S8 and beyond, I think the Outlaws have a real shot at not only competing in this division but dominating.
Our biggest competition, looking ahead to S8 and S9 will be the New Orleans Second Line. They have a young roster, younger than ours, that is really starting to click. When the older guys start to slow in Orange County, San Jose, and even here in Arizona, they are going to be hitting their prime. I think out of those three teams facing them, only Arizona has the type of S5+ talent to compete right now.
Odds SA repeats?
The DSFL has become a league of parity. After eligibility kicked in this offseason and we lost huge pieces of our defense, including Isaiah Rashad, Jorge Masvidal, and Rafael Reyes, the path ahead looked pretty stormy for the Marshals to repeat.
But I can't be more pleased about what our team is gearing up to look like. I'm honestly excited about the Marshals offense, and its potential dynamism, this season. How often have you been able to say that? I think last season Run and I turned the team from a perennial defensive-focused team, built on the foundations of yourself, kolbe and bovo, and added and offensive element to it. That was the biggest change, in my opinion, is that we suddenly weren't only focused on the ground game and defensive stands.
So this draft, grabbing guys like DJ and, afterwards, Wallace, and then having Catcherman and Chipmunk return to us with Vick behind the line, is a huge win for us before even hitting the field. Our secondary is heavily depleted, but with LBs BWIII and Ramero, there is potential for it to still work enough to stop our opponents.
So tl;dr, better than 50% but definitely not a lock. And I love that - the more competition the better. Especially big shout out to TIJ for their work to turn that team into someone we need to actively gameplan for and strategize around.
Any player you model yourself after in the league?
You know its funny, I don't think there is a specific player I modeled after in the NSFL. Obviously there are guys like @Molarpistols Ian Bavitz and @Beaver Blackford Oates who are high performing safeties in the league, so I definitely was aware of how they developed and the importance of maxing speed in the position. But as a playmaking safety, and someone committed to maxing playmaker, I realized early on that I would have a different development path than those centre-fielders.
I do keep attention on the other safeties, including @CDub2 Cameron Taylor. I love how he's gone All Around build and developing that type of safety, which is different and unique enough that I really appreciate it. Huge nod to him, and Bavitz, also splitting the Breakout Player of the Year Award. Its great seeing safeties getting more recognition, perhaps from GMs starting to gameplan their skills better.
Last mention here, but I'm keeping an eye on @speculadora Jaylon Broxton has a guy quickly developing as a centre-fielder. Great to see so many high-skilled safeties in the league.
@nunccoepi
Will the Marshals repeat this year?
See above on iamslm's question on the odds of SA repeating this season for a longer explanation, but I'll put a brief summary here again. The DSFL is growing in parity, which you very well know being the co-GM for one of the team's that is really making savvy moves and is going to one of our huge obstacles to repeating this season. We also lost a lot of talent in the secondary to eligibility restrictions this season.
That said, I love our Marshals offense and we have some very high level talent in the front seven, so I have high hopes for this team. I'm above 50% odds on us repeating, although not significantly. While I'm excited to see the damage we can do, I'm excited for hopefully even more competition this season from every team - this could be a whole new level of gameplay for the DSFL.
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*Darren Morris Presser - iamslm22 - 04-16-2018
Many are predicting the Outlaws to finish 3rd or 4th in the conference this season - agree with that sentiment?
Odds SA repeats?
Any player you model yourself after in the league?
*Darren Morris Presser - nunccoepi - 04-16-2018
Why will the Marshals repeat this year?