Quote:Do Not Grade Yet
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On a sunny afternoon in Phoenix, Arizona, the Arizona Outlaws invited members of the media to the Bandit Pit in the wake of the S8 NSFL Draft. General manager @run_CMC and co-GM @Roly are both on a stage inside the sunny auditorium as reporters file in. Unlike past seasons and past media scrums in the Bandit Pit, there's little to no tension and the media numbers aren't as high as they used to be.
Tapping on the mic, co-GM Roly steps up to the podium.
"Hello, thank you for coming. We've prepared a brief statement we'd like to release and then we will be taking all questions from the gathered members. Until we open for questions, please refrain from asking.
"With our statement, here's Run:
“Hi everyone! @Roly and I are about to enter what will be our first full season as GMs together at the NSFL level. We worked together on the Marshals back in S6, but we're in the big leagues now! With the draft done and the regular season approaching, we thought it'd be nice to hold a joint media day where you can ask questions pertaining to us as GMs (if you ask Q's about Darren Morris or Dean Jackson we won't complain, but, the emphasis is on management). Feel free to direct questions at either one of us, or both at the same time.”
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Questions & Answers: Run_CMC in Red, Roly in Gray
Where do you expect to finish record wise in S8?
I think its fair to expect the team to compete this season. Although we have holes, the same as couple teams in the league right now, we also continue to have some really talented players - some Hall of Fame locks - who won't be taking the season off in any way. I think I can safely say that both myself and @run_CMC owe it to those guys, guys like the King and Mack, who have been here for seasons to continue to strategize to our best.
It might not be the prettiest this season. Its no secret we barely squeaked into the playoffs last season and when you look at some teams, NOLA in our division in particular, it's easy to expect them to get better every season while our top guys start to fight regression. But with NOLA still developing and San Jose starting a rookie QB, I think its fair to once again expect the ASFC to be both competitive and worse than the NSFC again. So a likely record I can't guess, but I think there's a real shot we go anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the division.
Roly has pretty much summed this up. It’s no secret that the Otters remain strong, the New Orleans Second Line is on their way up, and ourselves and the Sabercats are entering rebuild mode. However, it’s simply the nature of the game that you never can know for sure what’s going to happen. I don’t think anybody thought the Outlaws would finish anywhere but last after Season 7 Week 8 when we were 1-7, but we ended flying out to Orange County for a playoff game anyway.
How do you feel about the state in which the previous Arizona GMs left the team?
Our former GMs did the best they could with the information they had. Its easy to now look back and say, yeah that wasn't the hottest trade or that wasn't the best decision. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that. So, while I'm not going to lie and say I didn't desperately wish some of those actions hadn't happened, its also not my place to judge predecessors in GM roles on the Outlaws.
I will say that it has taught our franchise an important lesson on the value of not mortgaging the future. I don't think you'll ever see Run and I use a similar approach, and that's not to say that we didn't learn a lot from our past GMs - namely @AdamS and @DeathOnReddit - because we did learn a lot. But we can also learn from what some people could say, with the benefit of hindsight, were mistakes.
I’m highly appreciative that they left me on a team with my former-Marshals and current-Arizona GM partner! Not a bad Season 5 draft, eh?
Do you expect King Bronko to retire an Outlaw?
I think I can safely say that we are going to give the King every opportunity to stay with the Outlaws as long as he wants to fight regression and I'd personally love to see him retire an Outlaw. He's an essential part of our team, our locker room, and our history. It would be a shame to see him go anywhere else, but of course that's always a decision for the player. I can't imagine he'd need to go looking for championships, he has enough hardware to put Home Depot out of business.
Without a doubt. He has been the face, heart, and soul of this franchise for years now, and I can’t imagine him ever leaving, save for retirement. Speaking of:
If so how long do you expect him to play?
Great question. I'd love, and I think Run agrees on this, but for Bronko to continue playing for as long as he wants to fight regression. It's a decision that will be made by the player, and we'll respect it, but as long as he wants the starting gig here, it's his.
Regression is a tough beast though, and I wouldn't blame him for wanting to retire and get a fresh start.
It’s hard to say. Like I said earlier, few things in football can be known for sure; It’s a game that takes a real toll on the body. What I can say is that for as long as the King is willing and able to fight the natural regression that comes with age, he’ll have a starting spot on our team.
Can you give us a play by play of draft night for the Outlaws? How did the process of decided when and who to make picks work out? Did you think you'd be able to add to your offense so much in the second round with the top WR and top TE in the draft?
@run_CMC was our draft wizard mostly, so I'll let him give you the most of the details.
But I'll say that our extensive scouting beforehand, and knowing how each other operates and having that level of trust on our front office team really helped the process. We think very much alike and it showed in internal scouting and draftboards. We had a very good idea of who we wanted and our list fortunately deviated from the rest of the league in certain spots.
I could not have hoped for such a great draft by our team only a few short weeks ago. At that time we were with no R1 pick and only a 13 OA pick, then 20 OA picks. In short, if not for a lot of Run's negotiations, we would not have gotten either Durden or yourself. So to be able to move up even incrementally was huge for our team and our future.
This is an awesome question. As Roly said, the whole draft was made a lot easier for us thanks to extensive preparation. As for a draft night “play by play”: as the draft began, I knew it’d be a bit of wait before we had any picks to make (our first was 9OA). I did reach out to one team after the draft had began regarding a trade up into the first round, but we couldn’t come to an agreement. No big deal though: you don’t bank on a deal being made unless it’s been made. We were prepared, and there was no reason to play with cards we didn’t have. It’s a draft, not poker! Anyways, I’m sitting there waiting for it to be the Outlaws pick, and it’d be hard to not notice Viggo Squanch sliding down the board... Different teams have different needs, but Squanch was a mid to high first rounder on our board, so when it came to the 9th overall and he was still there, we selected him in an instant. The really great thing about his selection is that it meant it opened up a trade opportunity with the Hawks. By selecting a wide receiver we expect to be dominating the league in a few years, we felt comfortable trading former Arizona WR1 Budda Browning to the Hawks so that we could get another second round pick (12 overall). The trade went through, of course, and suddenly we found ourselves picking at 12 with, once again, a guy on our draftboard ranked higher for us than the pick we were on. So, yet again, it was a pretty easy decision.
To make a way too long story shorter: no, going in, we didn’t even expect to be getting more than one second round pick. Coming about, we feel great about what was accomplished and very pleased with the guys we’ve added to our roster.
You've signed your rookies pretty quickly. How were you able to move so quickly to get them signed?
Once again a good question for Run, but I'll give a quick reply:
We try our best to keep a tight eye on finances and knew what offers we wanted to go with and where our priorities were. We are happy to have you and Squanch signed and ready to go. Of course it helps when the players were eager, and you both gave very good negotiations.
Roly says it’s a good question for me but he pretty much already covered it... There’s two main reasons. One: we have our finances in order and knew what we had available to spend on rookie contracts. Two: our rookies quickly joined the team Discord which makes communications waaaaay quicker and more efficient than on the forums. (Thanks <3)
You made the playoffs last year. Is a rebuild really on, or is this a reload?
I think that this is an interesting question. Is it a rebuild or a reload? I think you could definitely make an argument that this season we are more reloaded than rebuilt. Our two offensive cornerstones have returned with the King and Mack, and we have given them new rookie options to develop. Our defensive needs major focus, but I'll be playing Free Safety this season which I'm personally very excited for.
Playoffs in the ASFC is tricky. NOLA is a fantastic team and a real threat, and they continue to develop massively each season. San Jose has a tonne of great talents, but a rookie QB is, generally, a severe hamper on team success. I think we'll have a real shot at the ASFC playoff spot, but we'd be the David versus Goliath once again.
I don't mean to mince words: this is going to be a rebuild. Run and I are on the same page, and we made sure that a lot of our scouting focused on finding talent that won't just be impactful now - but in the seasons down the road. We need to pivot this team in regression to hit the bottom and bounce off it and not get stuck there. We don't want to be meagre for multiple seasons but rebuild with a purpose. Whether or not that follows through this season is anyone's guess.
I’ll say it yet again: this game changes rapidly, etc etc. But, there are times to sugarcoat things, and this isn't one of them. From where I’m sitting now, it’s a rebuild. That doesn’t mean doom and gloom though. Rebuilds CAN be efficient and successful; not every team has to be the Cleveland Browns! It’s on us as General Managers to have attainable goals and be steadily moving towards them. I think we’re capable of that.
@Supersquare04 @dub
RICARDO MORRIS
Arizona Outlaws | Defensive Tackle | S15 - Present
Career: 554 TPE | 82 TCK | 4 TFL | 2/1 FR/FF | 10 SCK | 1 TD
Arizona Outlaws | Defensive Tackle | S15 - Present
Career: 554 TPE | 82 TCK | 4 TFL | 2/1 FR/FF | 10 SCK | 1 TD