I'll be doing tier 2, two topics for 5 TPE each:
13) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S24 class and later. In 400 words or more, how has your experience been in the league? Who have you met that has made your time here more fun, friendly, and exciting? Have you been satisfied with your player’s early start? What was it like being drafted for the first time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for the entire league that you think should be implemented?
Joining the league is definitely one of my highlights of 2020. If you had asked me three months ago what Simulation Football was, I’d have had no idea what you’d be talking about. Now, however, I’m so happy to have clicked on that little link on r/NFL. I didn’t know what to expect when I started, but I never thought I’d be spending two hours making a podcast for the league, or writing several thousand words about teams and players that until recently I never knew about. I’ve honestly enjoyed everything about this league from soup to nuts. It all starts with the people you meet:
The Minnesota locker room has been such a bright spot in my daily routine, weaving in and out to see the boyz chatting about their players or talking about how CC can’t ride a mountain bike without causing grievous bodily harm to himself, it’s truly been wonderful getting to know my teammates. Mag has definitely been there as a resource/mentor, even though I didn’t end up in London. But man, TWITTER is where it’s at. I’ve met so many players (a lot of veterans, which has been awesome) on Twitter, and it is truly a cornerstone of the simulation experience.
I’m so thoroughly impressed with Wasrabi’s rookie season. I truly believe he’s one of the top linebackers in a rookie class brimming with talent. I wish the team had found more success, but there is always next season. I remember being drafted, watching the stream and hearing my name called, and at that moment I knew I was going to be a Grey Duck through-and-through. Loyalty to the end! Draft night was definitely one of the most exciting parts of my experience thus far.
The only suggesting I have for the league is a humble one: If I make a podcast episode that is under the 15 minutes (thus ineligible for payout), but I post the episode transcript (i.e. the script of the episode) I think that the transcript should be graded like written media so that you could still make some cash. My episodes aren’t generally very long because I put in a lot of work to edit them and make them concise, and I stick to a script instead of speaking off the cuff. I think this makes for a quality podcast, but it’s a bummer if it’s ineligible for cash because it’s brief. Thanks!
(406 words)
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8) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?
The Minnesota Grey Ducks have to be optimistic going into next season. While this season has been a disappointment, the rookie class has done an excellent job of earning, and there will be more than a couple capped rookies returning as veterans next season. The glaring issue in Minnesota is the QB position. This season saw a quarterback by committee set-up with Sim Snowbow and Matt Peterson both sharing the snap count. Earlier in the season, Snowbow was getting the lion’s share of the snaps, however as the season progressed and his stats became worse and worse, more of the snaps went to Peterson, who is the only QB in the DSFL to not throw an INT this season. With Snowbow being fairly inactive, and wholly ineffective, I think it’s time for Minnesota to move on and either give Peterson the QB1 role, or take a strong QB prospect with their first pick--potentially THE first pick of the draft.
The rest of the offense is going to be very stalwart next season with the two headed monster RB duo in Mike Rotchburns and Jameson Vermillion. The Wide Recievers will be much more developed at the start of next season as well, thus giving the QB more polished targets to throw to. People may forget just how young this Minnesota team was this season, but almost the entire offense was run by rookies. This hampered the team early on, but will pay big dividends next season.
The defense was one of the better units in the DSFL this season, but there is a strong chance that the Linebacker duo of Alejandro Chainbreaker and Wasrabi Gleel will be split when Chainbreaker is inevitably called up by the Wraiths. I expect the Grey Ducks to target another LB early in the draft to pair with Gleel for next season in the event Chainbreaker is gone. The secondary will be in a better position with Gath being capped, and Blackfyre likely capping early next season. We could use a strong interior pass rusher a la Goat Tank, so it wouldn't surprise me to see a DT prospect picked up as high as the 4th round.
Finally, the way the team is going to have to adapt is unknown to me. It will depend on the QB situation. If Peterson stays, look for a more balanced offense, but if there is a rookie QB manning the helm next season then I would expect the Grey Ducks offense to look very similar to this year: Run early, and run often. Their RB tandem will be especially successful early in the season before rookie prospects have time to develop.
(442 words)
13) This task is exclusive to non-recreate rookies of the S24 class and later. In 400 words or more, how has your experience been in the league? Who have you met that has made your time here more fun, friendly, and exciting? Have you been satisfied with your player’s early start? What was it like being drafted for the first time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for the entire league that you think should be implemented?
Joining the league is definitely one of my highlights of 2020. If you had asked me three months ago what Simulation Football was, I’d have had no idea what you’d be talking about. Now, however, I’m so happy to have clicked on that little link on r/NFL. I didn’t know what to expect when I started, but I never thought I’d be spending two hours making a podcast for the league, or writing several thousand words about teams and players that until recently I never knew about. I’ve honestly enjoyed everything about this league from soup to nuts. It all starts with the people you meet:
The Minnesota locker room has been such a bright spot in my daily routine, weaving in and out to see the boyz chatting about their players or talking about how CC can’t ride a mountain bike without causing grievous bodily harm to himself, it’s truly been wonderful getting to know my teammates. Mag has definitely been there as a resource/mentor, even though I didn’t end up in London. But man, TWITTER is where it’s at. I’ve met so many players (a lot of veterans, which has been awesome) on Twitter, and it is truly a cornerstone of the simulation experience.
I’m so thoroughly impressed with Wasrabi’s rookie season. I truly believe he’s one of the top linebackers in a rookie class brimming with talent. I wish the team had found more success, but there is always next season. I remember being drafted, watching the stream and hearing my name called, and at that moment I knew I was going to be a Grey Duck through-and-through. Loyalty to the end! Draft night was definitely one of the most exciting parts of my experience thus far.
The only suggesting I have for the league is a humble one: If I make a podcast episode that is under the 15 minutes (thus ineligible for payout), but I post the episode transcript (i.e. the script of the episode) I think that the transcript should be graded like written media so that you could still make some cash. My episodes aren’t generally very long because I put in a lot of work to edit them and make them concise, and I stick to a script instead of speaking off the cuff. I think this makes for a quality podcast, but it’s a bummer if it’s ineligible for cash because it’s brief. Thanks!
(406 words)
-----------------------------------------------------------
8) It’s always important to look forward to the future. Examine your team, and in 400 words or more, talk about how they can improve themselves to get a stab at trophy contention next year. Are you loaded with draft capital for the next draft? Do you have plenty of cap space to sign free agents? Go through the roster and note the different strengths and weaknesses, and how you think those will change over the next few seasons. How should your team adapt?
The Minnesota Grey Ducks have to be optimistic going into next season. While this season has been a disappointment, the rookie class has done an excellent job of earning, and there will be more than a couple capped rookies returning as veterans next season. The glaring issue in Minnesota is the QB position. This season saw a quarterback by committee set-up with Sim Snowbow and Matt Peterson both sharing the snap count. Earlier in the season, Snowbow was getting the lion’s share of the snaps, however as the season progressed and his stats became worse and worse, more of the snaps went to Peterson, who is the only QB in the DSFL to not throw an INT this season. With Snowbow being fairly inactive, and wholly ineffective, I think it’s time for Minnesota to move on and either give Peterson the QB1 role, or take a strong QB prospect with their first pick--potentially THE first pick of the draft.
The rest of the offense is going to be very stalwart next season with the two headed monster RB duo in Mike Rotchburns and Jameson Vermillion. The Wide Recievers will be much more developed at the start of next season as well, thus giving the QB more polished targets to throw to. People may forget just how young this Minnesota team was this season, but almost the entire offense was run by rookies. This hampered the team early on, but will pay big dividends next season.
The defense was one of the better units in the DSFL this season, but there is a strong chance that the Linebacker duo of Alejandro Chainbreaker and Wasrabi Gleel will be split when Chainbreaker is inevitably called up by the Wraiths. I expect the Grey Ducks to target another LB early in the draft to pair with Gleel for next season in the event Chainbreaker is gone. The secondary will be in a better position with Gath being capped, and Blackfyre likely capping early next season. We could use a strong interior pass rusher a la Goat Tank, so it wouldn't surprise me to see a DT prospect picked up as high as the 4th round.
Finally, the way the team is going to have to adapt is unknown to me. It will depend on the QB situation. If Peterson stays, look for a more balanced offense, but if there is a rookie QB manning the helm next season then I would expect the Grey Ducks offense to look very similar to this year: Run early, and run often. Their RB tandem will be especially successful early in the season before rookie prospects have time to develop.
(442 words)