03-19-2020, 10:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-19-2020, 10:37 PM by CalvinGolladay.)
I understand that fellow DSFL rookie OL Bruce Buckley had presented his idea for an expansion team, the Shanghai Great walls, in an article inspired by a discussion our league's OL had, and I wished to further discuss the topic of OL expansion teams.
With the announcement of two new NSFL expansion teams, the immediate reaction of most should've been one of anticipation, knowing that the OL will finally get the recognition they deserve with this chance at a new team. I've decided to detail potential ideas for such a team.
Team name/city:
There are three potential cities, with international fanbases. Wall, South Dakota; Shanghai, China; and Berlin, Germany. Wall only has a population of 870, but what they lack in numbers will be more than made up for in leaguewide support. Of course, they'll be the Wall Pancakes. The second is an international team stationed in Shanghai. It comes with a wide fanbase of 24.25 million, and contains the Great Wall of China. For obvious reasons the team would be named after this landmark, and OL brother Bruce's article goes into further detail on this. Our third option is less desirable than the first two in terms of branding, but is also unique. This team would be stationed in Berlin and be referred to as the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Berlin Wall is an unfortunate obstacle here, but this potential team would be captained (or perhaps owned) by current DSFL rookie Sylvester Berlin, an NSFL connection Wall and Shanghai lack. It also comes with a population falling between the two of 3.75 million fans.
All three are excellent options which could be voted on by the OL that will compose this team.
GM: We have a variety of options for GMs here, all of which being excellent options. Kevin Malone lacks experience at the OL position as a soon-to-be S23 rookie, but makes up for this with his NSFL experience and GMing experience. He currently holds a position as the Philadelphia Liberty GM, but we're confident he'll jump ship at a moment's notice if asked. NOLA OL Givusaffare Rubbe is a veteran OL that has served as an excellent mentor to the incoming DSFL rookies. He may lack FO experience, but would be a great Co-GM given his dominating career both on and off the field, paving the way for future OL with his elite play and activism supporting OL rights. His application to become a (not-so-legitimate) San Francisco expansion GM does complicate matters, but as with Malone we're confident he'll abandon this endeavor. Our third and final candidate is another elite NOLA OL, Brave Ulysses. Profiling similarly to Rubbe, he's been an excellent bookend for the Second Line and another loud advocate for OL rights, serving as a co-mentor with Rubbe for the DSFL rookies, and lacks the obligations of Rubbe and Malone. He also has prior experience, having GMed for Tijuana. Edmond Beaver-Dantes is also under consideration, but it's assumed that him and Rubbe will be a package deal as GM/Co-GM given their application for a San Francisco team. Ben was a former GM with Ulysses and has an excellent profile for this position, but as a current DE is ineligible for this position. Instead, he'll be the unofficial owner of the team.
Team:
Please note that if the GM is a current NSFL player they will occupy the Left Tackle position, but for the sake of this analysis and the potential for Malone being our GM we will ignore this.
Offense:
QB: Toshihide Matsumoto, OL, Portland Pythons.
None of these OL can throw, and the athletic ones will be playing "skill" positions, so Matsumoto wins the starting job with his above average intelligence.
RB: Sylvester Berlin, OL, Tijuana Luchadores.
Berlin has above average agility, which automatically wins him the job seeing as his fellow OL lack speed/agility.
FB: Joey McCabe, OL, Portland Pythons.
McCabe lacks the strength of other OL but still has requisite strength and athleticism for lead blocking at fullback
TE: Fernando Cruz, OL, Portland Pythons.
Cruz is a very well rounded blocker, but doesn't quite have the strength of his counterparts on this team's OL. As such, he's a better fit as an in-line blocker that can blow DEs off the ball.
TE: Jorcher Minor, OL, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers.
Minor will also play as an inline blocker, with a very balanced skillset that allows him to hold his own against edge rushers.
WR: Dylan Green, OL, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers.
A similar player to Cruz, Green will be great as both a pass blocker and run blocker, where he won't need elite strength to block DBs and LBs. He's only a wide receiver in name, playing as close to the line as possible while retaining his WR designation.
LT: Tommy Sacamano, OL, Portland Pythons.
Sacamano is an elite pass blocker with requisite strength for this OL, making him a perfect fit for our left tackle position
LG: Bruce Buckley, OL, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers.
Buckley has elite strength and plays with a nasty streak, so blowing holes open for RBs on the inside will be where he excels
C: Julius Augustus, OL, Portland Pythons.
Augustus had a rough start to the season with four sacks allowed in two games, but has rebounded over the past four weeks and is one of the only player centers in the DSFL, giving him an experience edge.
RG: Calvin Golladay, OL, Tijuana Luchadores.
With excellent strength and good all-around blocking, Golladay will be a great fit at right guard where he can keep the pocket clean while paving the way for his RBs.
RT: Bruce Dolls, OL, Portland Pythons.
Dolls was the 1st DSFL OL drafted, and currently leads the league in pancakes. He offers great strength and is a plus pass blocker and run blocker.
Defense:
Due to a very sad lack of OL depth and the fact that I refuse to force my fellow OL to play on the interior side of the ball, we will not be employing a defense and instead allow opposing teams to take 8 points each possession, for the sake of competitive balance. In the future we may consider expanding the team to allow the rostering of OL supporters, which will include defensive players.
I'm confident we can gain the support of HO and OL heavy teams to turn this expansion team into a reality. As always, we shall fight in the trenches.
1,075 words
With the announcement of two new NSFL expansion teams, the immediate reaction of most should've been one of anticipation, knowing that the OL will finally get the recognition they deserve with this chance at a new team. I've decided to detail potential ideas for such a team.
Team name/city:
There are three potential cities, with international fanbases. Wall, South Dakota; Shanghai, China; and Berlin, Germany. Wall only has a population of 870, but what they lack in numbers will be more than made up for in leaguewide support. Of course, they'll be the Wall Pancakes. The second is an international team stationed in Shanghai. It comes with a wide fanbase of 24.25 million, and contains the Great Wall of China. For obvious reasons the team would be named after this landmark, and OL brother Bruce's article goes into further detail on this. Our third option is less desirable than the first two in terms of branding, but is also unique. This team would be stationed in Berlin and be referred to as the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Berlin Wall is an unfortunate obstacle here, but this potential team would be captained (or perhaps owned) by current DSFL rookie Sylvester Berlin, an NSFL connection Wall and Shanghai lack. It also comes with a population falling between the two of 3.75 million fans.
All three are excellent options which could be voted on by the OL that will compose this team.
GM: We have a variety of options for GMs here, all of which being excellent options. Kevin Malone lacks experience at the OL position as a soon-to-be S23 rookie, but makes up for this with his NSFL experience and GMing experience. He currently holds a position as the Philadelphia Liberty GM, but we're confident he'll jump ship at a moment's notice if asked. NOLA OL Givusaffare Rubbe is a veteran OL that has served as an excellent mentor to the incoming DSFL rookies. He may lack FO experience, but would be a great Co-GM given his dominating career both on and off the field, paving the way for future OL with his elite play and activism supporting OL rights. His application to become a (not-so-legitimate) San Francisco expansion GM does complicate matters, but as with Malone we're confident he'll abandon this endeavor. Our third and final candidate is another elite NOLA OL, Brave Ulysses. Profiling similarly to Rubbe, he's been an excellent bookend for the Second Line and another loud advocate for OL rights, serving as a co-mentor with Rubbe for the DSFL rookies, and lacks the obligations of Rubbe and Malone. He also has prior experience, having GMed for Tijuana. Edmond Beaver-Dantes is also under consideration, but it's assumed that him and Rubbe will be a package deal as GM/Co-GM given their application for a San Francisco team. Ben was a former GM with Ulysses and has an excellent profile for this position, but as a current DE is ineligible for this position. Instead, he'll be the unofficial owner of the team.
Team:
Please note that if the GM is a current NSFL player they will occupy the Left Tackle position, but for the sake of this analysis and the potential for Malone being our GM we will ignore this.
Offense:
QB: Toshihide Matsumoto, OL, Portland Pythons.
None of these OL can throw, and the athletic ones will be playing "skill" positions, so Matsumoto wins the starting job with his above average intelligence.
RB: Sylvester Berlin, OL, Tijuana Luchadores.
Berlin has above average agility, which automatically wins him the job seeing as his fellow OL lack speed/agility.
FB: Joey McCabe, OL, Portland Pythons.
McCabe lacks the strength of other OL but still has requisite strength and athleticism for lead blocking at fullback
TE: Fernando Cruz, OL, Portland Pythons.
Cruz is a very well rounded blocker, but doesn't quite have the strength of his counterparts on this team's OL. As such, he's a better fit as an in-line blocker that can blow DEs off the ball.
TE: Jorcher Minor, OL, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers.
Minor will also play as an inline blocker, with a very balanced skillset that allows him to hold his own against edge rushers.
WR: Dylan Green, OL, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers.
A similar player to Cruz, Green will be great as both a pass blocker and run blocker, where he won't need elite strength to block DBs and LBs. He's only a wide receiver in name, playing as close to the line as possible while retaining his WR designation.
LT: Tommy Sacamano, OL, Portland Pythons.
Sacamano is an elite pass blocker with requisite strength for this OL, making him a perfect fit for our left tackle position
LG: Bruce Buckley, OL, Myrtle Beach Buccaneers.
Buckley has elite strength and plays with a nasty streak, so blowing holes open for RBs on the inside will be where he excels
C: Julius Augustus, OL, Portland Pythons.
Augustus had a rough start to the season with four sacks allowed in two games, but has rebounded over the past four weeks and is one of the only player centers in the DSFL, giving him an experience edge.
RG: Calvin Golladay, OL, Tijuana Luchadores.
With excellent strength and good all-around blocking, Golladay will be a great fit at right guard where he can keep the pocket clean while paving the way for his RBs.
RT: Bruce Dolls, OL, Portland Pythons.
Dolls was the 1st DSFL OL drafted, and currently leads the league in pancakes. He offers great strength and is a plus pass blocker and run blocker.
Defense:
Due to a very sad lack of OL depth and the fact that I refuse to force my fellow OL to play on the interior side of the ball, we will not be employing a defense and instead allow opposing teams to take 8 points each possession, for the sake of competitive balance. In the future we may consider expanding the team to allow the rostering of OL supporters, which will include defensive players.
I'm confident we can gain the support of HO and OL heavy teams to turn this expansion team into a reality. As always, we shall fight in the trenches.
1,075 words