03-06-2020, 06:42 AM
(This post was last modified: 03-07-2020, 10:17 AM by CalvinGolladay.)
Hey everyone, I've seen a decent amount of pressers lately so I figured I'd do my own. For those that don't know, I'm an OL that got picked 60OA by the Tijuana Luchadores. Ask away!
It's been great being a Luchadore. The GMs, players, and other rookies have been awesome, and I'm a big fan of the Tijuana OL-focused culture. Having another rookie OL on the team in Sylvester Berlin and two of my Ramblers teammates, Jim Waters and Andrew Witten, is also a big positive.
It may have just been my optimism, but I actually thought I would end up as a Luchadore by the end of the draft. I was messaged by three different teams on Discord, Tijuana (twice), Norfolk, and Minnesota, and the rest posted generic Google Forms to fill out in the rookie Discord. I was pretty busy after the initial creation and rookie TPE earning, so I wasn't able to fill many (any?) of them out and couldn't find them later, so I was a bit nervous about dropping in the draft because of that. My activity also trailed off a little bit on the forums at that time, but what really hit me as a wake up call was reading an article ranking me 7th out of the (then) 11 O-linemen, which I felt was pretty incorrect. Around the same time there was another article ranking the prospects by activity, and it placed me 6OA, but regardless I felt I needed to bump up my activity. The prospect bowl was a great event, even if it doesn't mean anything, and I was happy we managed to pull off a win in the championship. On draft night my phone was dead and I couldn't follow the first 25 minutes of the draft, and later it died a second time, so it was a bit disappointing to miss watching myself get picked with the rest of the rookies and OL. It went away pretty quickly, and I felt the draft presentation was excellent. It was hard for me to judge where I'd go in the draft, but I was almost certain I'd be the 2nd or 3rd OL drafted, as compared to 4th, but given how close it was I don't feel snubbed.
I'd like to win a starting job at LT with the Luchadores, and hopefully keep Ben clean all season. Hard to predict pancake totals, but if we can keep our rushing averages around 4.5 - 5 YPC I think it'll be considered a successful season for me.
I'd say I have what it takes to succeed at OL, and I'd rather not position change. Early in the draft process I said I'd be willing to swap positions if my GM wanted me to, but I'd really like to avoid it after spending time with the other OL guys, at least for this career.
It was brought to our attention by a member of the OL Discord, and we were encouraged to protest the lack of Pro Bowl offensive linemen. There are lots of rookies in there, but we were more than ready to protest on behalf of our brothers that were already in the league. I was encouraged by the adaption of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech to make my own modifications to another famous speech. I think the movement peaked when "We shall fight in the trenches" was a phrase repeated across the league, even among non-OL players, and I believe we'll end up with a form of representation in the Pro Bowl.
69OA would've been pretty nice, but the trade-off is that it's lower than where I ended up going. If it was still Tijuana I definitely would've preferred it because overall draft position doesn't matter so much to me. I feel bad for Vequain, going at 68OA and also to the Luchadores.
It's kind of hard to rank myself compared to "skill" position players, but among OL I had myself tied with Tommy Sacamano for the 2nd best OL spot, barely edged out by Bruce Buckley for the top spot. I didn't know much about Dolls and was pretty surprised by being the 4th OL picked (and Bruce being 3rd), but I can't complain given where I ended up.
That harmony is definitely important, and though I don't mind playing with bots I prefer having a user OL. In the game I tend to focus on myself playing, or the line as a whole, so I don't notice bots playing as compared to user OL (outside of being worse), but having other OL in the locker room is a big bonus. Bots shouldn't be a problem in Tijuana, though, because we actually have enough OL for a full starting line.
Quote:How have you enjoyed being part of the Luchadores so far?
It's been great being a Luchadore. The GMs, players, and other rookies have been awesome, and I'm a big fan of the Tijuana OL-focused culture. Having another rookie OL on the team in Sylvester Berlin and two of my Ramblers teammates, Jim Waters and Andrew Witten, is also a big positive.
Quote:Walk us through your predraft process a little bit. Did you expect that Tijuana would be the team to draft you? Did you think you would be drafted higher or lower than you were?
It may have just been my optimism, but I actually thought I would end up as a Luchadore by the end of the draft. I was messaged by three different teams on Discord, Tijuana (twice), Norfolk, and Minnesota, and the rest posted generic Google Forms to fill out in the rookie Discord. I was pretty busy after the initial creation and rookie TPE earning, so I wasn't able to fill many (any?) of them out and couldn't find them later, so I was a bit nervous about dropping in the draft because of that. My activity also trailed off a little bit on the forums at that time, but what really hit me as a wake up call was reading an article ranking me 7th out of the (then) 11 O-linemen, which I felt was pretty incorrect. Around the same time there was another article ranking the prospects by activity, and it placed me 6OA, but regardless I felt I needed to bump up my activity. The prospect bowl was a great event, even if it doesn't mean anything, and I was happy we managed to pull off a win in the championship. On draft night my phone was dead and I couldn't follow the first 25 minutes of the draft, and later it died a second time, so it was a bit disappointing to miss watching myself get picked with the rest of the rookies and OL. It went away pretty quickly, and I felt the draft presentation was excellent. It was hard for me to judge where I'd go in the draft, but I was almost certain I'd be the 2nd or 3rd OL drafted, as compared to 4th, but given how close it was I don't feel snubbed.
Quote:What do you hope to accomplish in your first DSFL season?
I'd like to win a starting job at LT with the Luchadores, and hopefully keep Ben clean all season. Hard to predict pancake totals, but if we can keep our rushing averages around 4.5 - 5 YPC I think it'll be considered a successful season for me.
Quote:The path to success as an OL in the NSFL is a long and winding one, do you think you'll ave what it takes or would you be open to switching to a different position?
I'd say I have what it takes to succeed at OL, and I'd rather not position change. Early in the draft process I said I'd be willing to swap positions if my GM wanted me to, but I'd really like to avoid it after spending time with the other OL guys, at least for this career.
Quote:Would you care to weigh in at all on the recent movement in the league to honor OL in the Pro Bowl?
It was brought to our attention by a member of the OL Discord, and we were encouraged to protest the lack of Pro Bowl offensive linemen. There are lots of rookies in there, but we were more than ready to protest on behalf of our brothers that were already in the league. I was encouraged by the adaption of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech to make my own modifications to another famous speech. I think the movement peaked when "We shall fight in the trenches" was a phrase repeated across the league, even among non-OL players, and I believe we'll end up with a form of representation in the Pro Bowl.
Quote:How upset are you that you were only nine spots away from being pick 69?
69OA would've been pretty nice, but the trade-off is that it's lower than where I ended up going. If it was still Tijuana I definitely would've preferred it because overall draft position doesn't matter so much to me. I feel bad for Vequain, going at 68OA and also to the Luchadores.
Quote:Realisticly, where would you rank yourself. Where did you expect to be drafted?
It's kind of hard to rank myself compared to "skill" position players, but among OL I had myself tied with Tommy Sacamano for the 2nd best OL spot, barely edged out by Bruce Buckley for the top spot. I didn't know much about Dolls and was pretty surprised by being the 4th OL picked (and Bruce being 3rd), but I can't complain given where I ended up.
Quote:As an Oliner the harmony between you and the other OLs is very important. How do you feel about playing with bots compaired to playing with players?
That harmony is definitely important, and though I don't mind playing with bots I prefer having a user OL. In the game I tend to focus on myself playing, or the line as a whole, so I don't notice bots playing as compared to user OL (outside of being worse), but having other OL in the locker room is a big bonus. Bots shouldn't be a problem in Tijuana, though, because we actually have enough OL for a full starting line.