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1015 words, ready for grading
After 4 weeks of regular season play, wide receiver Robert Phelps is feeling right at home on the offense of the Orange County Otters. Phelps currently leads the league in catches with 26, and while his average yards per carry are a modest 14.6 yards, he has managed to work his way into 2nd in the league in receiving yards with 379. Bailey Cook still holds the 1st position for receiving yards so far this season, but Phelps is hot on his tail. Phelps may have managed a somewhat impressive 2 touchdowns in 4 games, but his counter-part Bradley Westfield is right behind him in yards carried and has 3 touchdowns in those 4 games. The battle between these two is likely to go on through the season as they try to best each other.
This storyline isn’t getting a lot of media coverage with what’s been going on in the quarterback position down in Orange County. With the three quarterbacks being asked to split starts rather than riding the hot hand, it’s no wonder the media has focused attention away from the outstanding receiver performances. Today we had a chance to sit down and talk with Phelps about his season so far.
Reporter: “Thanks for taking time to sit down with us today Robert.”
Phelps: “Thanks for having me.”
Reporter: “Before we talk about the season you’re having, I wanted to ask your opinion on the Quarterback debate that’s been going on in Orange County.”
Phelps: “It seems like everyone wants to ask about the Quarterbacks first, so I’m getting used to that. Boss had a bit of a rough start to the season, I’m not sure if the pressure got to him, or if he just had an off day, but seeing so many interceptions in a single game is upsetting for me. You could see the whole team was deflated after each one. I have to say that the blame shouldn’t all be on Boss, he definitely had a rough start, but I feel that my positioning wasn’t as good as it could have been and I do think I’m partially responsible for those picks too. Bercovici has played the last two games and was outstanding. He has been able to hit me right where I expect the ball to be and I feel like we have worked really well together. I hear that the coaching staff want to give Hunt a couple games to gauge how he works with the team and that seems to be upsetting Bercovici, who I do agree deserves some more starts after the last two games, but I think I understand where management is coming from. It’s hard to decide what to do with a 3rd QB unless you know what all three of them can do.”
Reporter: “Thanks for the insight, now back to you; I understand that you came into this league as a bit of an underdog, mostly playing as a 3rd receiver on your college squad, can you tell us about that?”
Phelps: “I made the jump to pro at a younger age than most guys do, so I never really finished my college career. When I started playing at U of W, I didn’t play well and it took me a while to get into the flow of things. I had a few good games near the end of last season that gave me hope that I might be able to make this work, but as an unproved receiver coming into this league at a younger age than most, I was not surprised to be considered an underdog. When the Otters selected me with the 73rd overall pick, I knew I would have a lot to prove, but thankfully the management staff saw some potential in me and gave me every opportunity to show what I could do. They immediately started me on a training program that has worked wonders for me and I have never been in as good of shape as I am now.”
Reporter: “Do you and Westfield have a rivalry going?”
Phelps: “I think we do, but it’s more of a friendly rivalry. He likes to rub it in when he gets a touchdown and so do I, but it’s all in good fun. I for one am extremely happy to have Brad on the team, and I’m sure that he feels the same way about me.”
Reporter: “We have heard that the Otters might be looking at bringing in another Wide Receiver to give more options on offense, how do you feel about that?”
Phelps: “I think I’ve shown this management group what I can do, and I don’t intend to stop pushing to get better and better, so if they want to add some competition into the mix, I say bring it on.”
Reporter: “Have you enjoyed being on the Otters so far?”
Phelps: “I was ecstatic when the Otters selected me. When I met my teammates, none of them had really heard of me but they all seemed willing to give me a chance to prove myself. And now that I’ve played a few games with these guys, they can’t stop saying great things about me. I know I’ve had a few good games, but it seems like a lot of praise for a guy who is fairly new to all this. So to answer your question, I love my team, and I love living in Orange County. I’m really living the dream.”
Reporter: “Thanks for joining us today.”
Phelps: “Thanks for having me.”
From unlikely beginnings, it seems like Phelps is a future star in this league and he’s off to an impressive start. Somehow he’s managed to keep his game at a high level even with the drama going on at the QB position on the Otters. If he can manage to keep up this pace he would end the season with over 1300 receiving yards, an extremely impressive number. Time will tell if Phelps is just an early surprise, or a long term draft-steal, the Otters surely hope for the latter.