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So I am officially a part of the San Jose Sabercat organization! It’s been a long and strenuous journey, but it’s finally over. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what team was going to select me and what round I was going to go in. A lot of people think it doesn’t matter what round you go in, but I disagree. Though it may not reflect the type of player you are, it still affects the ego. Take a look at Brady Quinn. When he was going into the draft, all the mock drafts predicted he would get taken 1st overall by the Oakland Raiders. But little by little, his draft stock plummeted and he wasn’t taken until the 22nd pick by Cleveland. Granted, Quinn didn’t live up to his hype nor a first overall type of hype, but that’s not the point. Quinn, albeit a quiet and humble guy, had all of these guys telling him he was going 1st overall and he would be making a ridiculous amount of money for a 22 year old, and he didn’t get taken until the last quarter of the 1st round. So while it may not matter to some degree where a prospect gets drafted, it still affects him even if it’s just slightly.
Luckily for me, that wasn’t an issue. Most mocks had me going in the 6th or 7th round in the season 2 draft. I joined very late in the off-season because I hadn’t even heard of the NSFL until one of the recruiters happened to share the league at the right place and at the right time. Along with that, I am a virtual unknown. You have these prospects like my teammate Vincent Sharpei or Tim Pest who have player agencies that represent big name players from other leagues, so their draft stock is already high because of that. Me, on the other hand, I have a brand new agency and no one has ever heard of me or my agent so I am already behind compared to the other guys. Coming into the draft, like I said, I was projected to go in the late 6th or early 7th round of the draft. Instead, I was drafted in the 5th round as the 37th overall selection. What made it even better, was that the Sabercats actually traded into the 5th round to draft me. The 37th pick was originally the Wraith’s pick, so I might have actually went in the next round. So to have a team trade up to select you specifically is always a really nice feeling.
Any time a draft is over, you always have these so-called experts review and grade each teams’ drafts. So far there have only been a couple of reviews, so it’s a small sample size, but overall experts believe I wasn’t worth trading up for, which is kind of humorous. One expert said that I had an “odd build” and that I would grow to be just “an average player”. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no qualms about being labeled like that, nor do I have any bad feelings against that expert, because again, nobody knows me. However, I believe in the couple of weeks I have been here, I have definitely showed that I will be an extremely active and productive player not just for the Sabercats, but for the NSFL as a whole. If you did know me, you would know I’ve made a career out of proving people wrong in sim leagues, and fortunately, this will be no different.
Now let’s get into the meat of this article. A lot of players, especially draft prospects, yearn to play for a title contender or even the reigning champions. I’ve always been just the opposite no matter what league I’ve played for. That’s what makes this situation so ideal for me and San Jose. The ‘Cats were 4-10 last year and were 1 of 3 teams that scored less than their opponents. Their defense had the 2nd least amount of tackles, the 2nd least amount of interceptions, 2nd least deflections and only had 1 defensive touchdown last year. In other words, their defense really sucked. 4 of their current players have not put in any practice hours since early June, and 3 of those 4 played defense last season. I’m not saying I will be the key to turning San Jose’s defense around, but I do know that as long as San Jose puts their trust in me, it will pay off immensely in one way or another.
With the kind of draft that the ‘Cats had last night, their luck is starting to turn around. In just one night, San Jose bolstered their offensive line with the additions of Vincent Sharpei, Jordan Yates and Braden Sharp which was certainly suspect last year. Enchilada Charlton is probably the biggest sleeper of the ‘Cats draft last night. Although he was drafted early with the 19th overall pick, the fact that some believe they could have drafted him later on proves that San Jose’s GM was doing homework and research that his counterparts didn’t and I can easily see him being a DROTY candidate. Finally I want to talk about Denzel Diaz. Despite the fact that he won’t be the starting back to start the year, he will provide Jack Durden some much needed rest and should be able to give the ‘Cats some touchdowns from the goal line.
All in all, San Jose is definitely battling against the world. Many don’t believe that this draft will provide them with the competitive edge that they were missing last year. And considering sim league drafts are generally a shot in the dark regarding activity, there may be good reason for this general belief. However, based on my locker room experience already, along with the intelligence that ckroyal92 and RainDelay possess, I firmly believe that season 2 is just the beginning of a gigantic rebuild that will ultimately end with a championship. Whether that championship comes to us this season, next season or 5 seasons from now, everyone will look at the Sabercats’ season 2 draft and know that the trophy we all fight for, was built from it.
(1,049 words)
GRADED
So I am officially a part of the San Jose Sabercat organization! It’s been a long and strenuous journey, but it’s finally over. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what team was going to select me and what round I was going to go in. A lot of people think it doesn’t matter what round you go in, but I disagree. Though it may not reflect the type of player you are, it still affects the ego. Take a look at Brady Quinn. When he was going into the draft, all the mock drafts predicted he would get taken 1st overall by the Oakland Raiders. But little by little, his draft stock plummeted and he wasn’t taken until the 22nd pick by Cleveland. Granted, Quinn didn’t live up to his hype nor a first overall type of hype, but that’s not the point. Quinn, albeit a quiet and humble guy, had all of these guys telling him he was going 1st overall and he would be making a ridiculous amount of money for a 22 year old, and he didn’t get taken until the last quarter of the 1st round. So while it may not matter to some degree where a prospect gets drafted, it still affects him even if it’s just slightly.
Luckily for me, that wasn’t an issue. Most mocks had me going in the 6th or 7th round in the season 2 draft. I joined very late in the off-season because I hadn’t even heard of the NSFL until one of the recruiters happened to share the league at the right place and at the right time. Along with that, I am a virtual unknown. You have these prospects like my teammate Vincent Sharpei or Tim Pest who have player agencies that represent big name players from other leagues, so their draft stock is already high because of that. Me, on the other hand, I have a brand new agency and no one has ever heard of me or my agent so I am already behind compared to the other guys. Coming into the draft, like I said, I was projected to go in the late 6th or early 7th round of the draft. Instead, I was drafted in the 5th round as the 37th overall selection. What made it even better, was that the Sabercats actually traded into the 5th round to draft me. The 37th pick was originally the Wraith’s pick, so I might have actually went in the next round. So to have a team trade up to select you specifically is always a really nice feeling.
Any time a draft is over, you always have these so-called experts review and grade each teams’ drafts. So far there have only been a couple of reviews, so it’s a small sample size, but overall experts believe I wasn’t worth trading up for, which is kind of humorous. One expert said that I had an “odd build” and that I would grow to be just “an average player”. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no qualms about being labeled like that, nor do I have any bad feelings against that expert, because again, nobody knows me. However, I believe in the couple of weeks I have been here, I have definitely showed that I will be an extremely active and productive player not just for the Sabercats, but for the NSFL as a whole. If you did know me, you would know I’ve made a career out of proving people wrong in sim leagues, and fortunately, this will be no different.
Now let’s get into the meat of this article. A lot of players, especially draft prospects, yearn to play for a title contender or even the reigning champions. I’ve always been just the opposite no matter what league I’ve played for. That’s what makes this situation so ideal for me and San Jose. The ‘Cats were 4-10 last year and were 1 of 3 teams that scored less than their opponents. Their defense had the 2nd least amount of tackles, the 2nd least amount of interceptions, 2nd least deflections and only had 1 defensive touchdown last year. In other words, their defense really sucked. 4 of their current players have not put in any practice hours since early June, and 3 of those 4 played defense last season. I’m not saying I will be the key to turning San Jose’s defense around, but I do know that as long as San Jose puts their trust in me, it will pay off immensely in one way or another.
With the kind of draft that the ‘Cats had last night, their luck is starting to turn around. In just one night, San Jose bolstered their offensive line with the additions of Vincent Sharpei, Jordan Yates and Braden Sharp which was certainly suspect last year. Enchilada Charlton is probably the biggest sleeper of the ‘Cats draft last night. Although he was drafted early with the 19th overall pick, the fact that some believe they could have drafted him later on proves that San Jose’s GM was doing homework and research that his counterparts didn’t and I can easily see him being a DROTY candidate. Finally I want to talk about Denzel Diaz. Despite the fact that he won’t be the starting back to start the year, he will provide Jack Durden some much needed rest and should be able to give the ‘Cats some touchdowns from the goal line.
All in all, San Jose is definitely battling against the world. Many don’t believe that this draft will provide them with the competitive edge that they were missing last year. And considering sim league drafts are generally a shot in the dark regarding activity, there may be good reason for this general belief. However, based on my locker room experience already, along with the intelligence that ckroyal92 and RainDelay possess, I firmly believe that season 2 is just the beginning of a gigantic rebuild that will ultimately end with a championship. Whether that championship comes to us this season, next season or 5 seasons from now, everyone will look at the Sabercats’ season 2 draft and know that the trophy we all fight for, was built from it.
(1,049 words)
GRADED