Working Title: Vegas Sucks and Liberty’s the Best: A Completely Unbiased Review of the Expansion Teams by Liberty Co-GM Silver Fox
Breaking this down is going to be a tough one, but I’m gonna try and hit every aspect of what the teams have done so far. The expansion draft, trades, Team Composition, the S2 draft, and the final result heading into S2 as of the date published, along with analysis on the completely different team-building styles of both teams. It’s gonna be a fun time!
Expansion Draft
At this point, it was each team’s goal to maximize the number of active players on our teams. Vegas won the toss so they got first pick here while we got 1st pick in the S2 draft. The draft itself has been reviewed before, so I won’t rehash it here; it was my impression that both teams were happy with how it turned out overall. A brief overview:
Vegas gained (after trades): Stanislaw Maddox (S) and Vinny Cox (DT), with 7 inactives.
Liberty gained (after trades): Omar Wright (RB), Arby Krimlaw (LB), Vikian Marmeladov (S), Romeo Devitt (DT), Jameis Christ (QB, surprise active player), and S2 4th rounder, with 5 inactives.
Trades
I’m gonna try and review these – I’ve got them in chronological order by team, if not in general. My apologies if I missed one.
Vegas acquires TE Gabriel Tenzini from Hawks for S2 5th rounder. This is princekyle’s TE; now that he’s done being the simmer, he should have plenty of time to get those TPE tasks done and become a valued part of Vegas’s offense. And for only a 5th rounder! I think this is a steal, myself.
Vegas acquires WR RFFO Mademe from Hawks for S2 7th rounder. This is…a friend of @RavensFanFromOntario? Maybe? S1 player yet hasn’t done much of anything in the way of updating, but maybe he just wanted to play with RFFO so now that they’re on the team he’ll start. No idea, that’s my guess. I guess not a bad trade if RFFO knows he can ensure Mademe keeps updating; then he’s a solid WR3 or depth for Vegas.
Vegas acquires OL D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Inactive LB Sinjin Flimjollywop, WR Alexandre LeClair, DT Mark Ramrio, and Wraiths S2 6th round pick from Wraiths for S2 1st, 2nd, 4th, and S3 2nd rounders, plus future considerations. Inactive WR Jonathan Shaloiko, stolen from the Wraiths in the expansion draft, is eventually returned to the Wraiths to make up the “future considerations” part of the trade. So boiling this down, Vegas traded 3 top picks, downgraded another pick, and send 1 inactive player acquired from the expansion draft for 3 top S1 active players and an inactive LB. Would I trade 3 top picks and downgrade 1 for 3 top S1 players? Hell yes I would. The problem is that this was before the expansion draft. The Wraiths wouldn’t have been able to protect these players (or 3 other active S1 players that they did protect, if they choose to protect these players instead), and Liberty and Vegas would have gotten them in the expansion draft rather than being forced to take inactive players that were left unprotected. Thus, Vegas hurt itself to some extent, but hurt Liberty more because no active players were available to steal from the Wraiths. The Wraiths meanwhile laughed all the way to the S2 draft bank – sure they lost some active players that they would have lost anyway, but now they can make it back in S2 rookies no problem. Hopefully this is a lesson learned for expansion teams, and expansion teams in the future should be prevented from making trades until after the expansion draft.
Vegas acquires FA rights to RB Vick Bowers Jr from SaberCats for S2 8th rounder and conditional S2 6th rounder if he signs a free agency deal. It was worth a shot; if Bowers signed, it’s goodbye for Vegas’s last pick, but a good value on an active S1 RB. However, he did not sign; it looks like he’s going to the Otters instead, so Vegas will keep the 6th rounder. Ouch.
Vegas acquires CB Matthew Peterson from Hawks for S2 3rd rounder. Ehh, if you’ve gotta get a top S1 CB, you can do worse than this. I am somewhat sure Hawks would have lost an active player in the expansion draft if this trade didn’t happen, but with just 1 player traded it’s not as bad. Plus Liberty did the same thing for the Hawks kicker later on, so we’re not angels ourselves.
Vegas acquires Inactive OL Tim Tebow from SaberCats for S2 6th rounder (originally Yellowknife’s) and S3 7th rounder. For those keeping score at home, Vegas only has the conditional S2 6th rounder left, which is gone if Vick Bowers Jr. signs a deal. I think Vegas got screwed on this one. 2 picks for an inactive OL guy? There are a couple you could get in the S2 rookie draft that have just a few TPE less and will probably go just as late, and you’d get to keep that S3 7th rounder. Of course, if Tim Tebow returns, this was a steal and good job Vegas, but unless they know something I don’t, Hawks walked away the winners here.
Vegas acquires WR Stormblessed, Inactive LB Brady Stropko, S Isaiah Rashad, and ADwyer S3 nudes from Outlaws for S3 1st rounder, S4 1st rounder, S4 3rd rounder, and RavensFanFromOntario S2 nudes (they have since been shared, it must be pretty cold up in Canada). Vegas’s other blockbuster trade, which let the Outlaws swap 2 active players they would have had to leave unprotected during the expansion draft for rookie picks, though they’re in later seasons and thus worth a little less. Not as great of a deal for the Outlaws as what the Wraiths got earlier, but still great for them long term. Once again, this hurts Vegas and Philly long term, but if Vegas can put together a complete active team now, those future picks wouldn’t mean much for them.
Vegas acquires S3 3rd rounder and S2 7th rounder from Outlaws for S Isaiah Rashad. Here, Vegas claws back some picks from Outlaws, post expansion draft. The high pick is S3, which is worth a little less – I think RFFO was desperate for some picks here, or Rashad threatened to walk after a season; either way, I’d rather be the Outlaws on this trade.
Vegas acquires S3 3rd rounder from SaberCats for Inactive DT Josh Cameron and an S3 8th rounder, S4 7th rounder if there is no round 8 in S3. Vegas bent the kitties over on this one. Dude’s inactive!
Philly acquires FA rights to Stephen Harris, K from Hawks for S2 8th rounder. Stephen signs 3 year extension immediately. Ohh, Philly, you so dirty. Watching Vegas piss away all the active players in the expansion draft for us, we felt the need to grab at least one active guy before Vegas got to him. Selling an 8th for a kicker seems like a lot better value than losing all your picks to me, but we still feel a little dirty about it.
Philly acquires Omar Wright, RB from Otters for future considerations. DE Lightskin Thor, stolen during the expansion draft, is eventually returned to the Otters to make up the “future considerations” part of this trade. Ahh, future considerations, or what we in the biz call “Bullshit”. Though the two instances of “future considerations” we saw both worked out reasonably well for each team, I think this is an area that could be exploited by GMs and should be eliminated via rule change. It would never fly in NFL fantasy leagues for sure.
Philly acquires S2 1st rounder (originally Vegas’s), S2 3rd rounder, and S2 5th rounder for S2 1st overall pick. Bzerkap seen walking funny, but at least he’ll have Dermot Lavelle to help rub some cream up there. For real though, this trade got both teams what they want – Philly got 2 extra picks, desperately needed to help field a full team of active players, and the Wraiths got Dermot, everyone’s favorite high profile S2 rookie CB, reportedly of excellent character and active on the forums. Even if he is just SO old and wise.
Philly acquires S2 1st and 3rd from Yeti for S2 2nd overall. We acquired yet another pick by dropping back in the 1st round – gotta get those players to fill out a team. Definitely a good call, IMHO.
Philly acquires S2 4th from Yeti for K Bojo Kicksit, a player stolen by Philly in the expansion draft. An S2 4th for a kicker we don’t need? Heck yes, sign me up.
Philly acquires S3 3rd and 5th from Vegas for Inactive OL Saggitaruitt Jefferspin and Inactive OL Jordan Weal, both recently acquired by Philly in the expansion draft. Well, so much for our (non existent) offensive line, but more picks for the future. We’re gonna be dangerous in season 3.
Philly acquires LB Arby Krimlaw and DT Romeo DeVitt from Vegas for DT Vinny Cox and RB Jack Stats. Vegas wanted Vinny Cox bad, so we swapped him for Krimlaw and DeVitt. I actually thought Jack Stats was inactive, so I’m a little less happy about this now, but we already have a great RB so I guess no big loss.
Philly acquires S2 2nd rounder (9th overall) from the Wraiths for S3 1st rounder and 6th rounder. We wanted more picks in this draft in order to fill out the team, and we got a good one courtesy of the Wraiths. Value about equal, but it means more to us than to them I think.
Philly acquires S2 8th overall, S2 12th overall, and S2 5th (34th overall) from Hawks for S2 9th overall, S2 10th overall, and S2 4th (26th overall). We had to overpay to get our guy at 8th overall, as we knew Hawks had their beady eyes on him.
Team Composition – Pre-S2 Draft
QB: Philly has had Jameis Christ, initially a stopgap while we found a solution in the S2 draft, rise and potentially return to activity. He goes up against the highest paid man in the NSFL, Josh Bercovici, who just got a cool $21M contract spread over the next 3 seasons. Sure feels like the NFL Texans in 2016 for me folks, but if Bercovici plays the way he’s paid Vegas is gonna be tough to beat. Advantage: Vegas.
RB: Philly has Omar Wright, one of the top RBs in the game, while Vegas has two inactives. Vegas will need to address this situation soon, either in the S2 draft or through a trade. Advantage: Philly.
WR: Philly has Lincoln Jefferson, the former star Outlaw receiver, and is contractually required to take or trade for Fox North, the top rookie receiver in the S2 draft. They go up against the other former Outlaw, Stormblessed, world’s fastest man, and Alexandre LeClair, the former #2 receiver in Yellowknife. WR3 is a competition between Vegas’s RFFO Mademe, who might be inactive, and a definitely inactive 3rd receiver for Philly. Overall pretty close, but Stormblessed is going to be a beast this season. Advantage: Vegas.
TE: Vegas has Gabriel Tenzini – Philly has nobody. Advantage: Vegas.
OL: Vegas has D’Brickashaw Ferguson and 3 inactives – Philly has nobody. Advantage: Vegas.
DT: Philly has Romeo Devitt, former Otter, and an inactive 2nd DT; Vegas has potentially the strongest DT duo in the league, Vinny Cox and Mark Ramrio. Advantage: Vegas.
DE: Philly has an inactive guy, while Vegas has Tyler Varga and an inactive guy. Advantage: Vegas.
LB: Philly has Arby Krimlaw and an inactive guy; Vegas has two inactive guys. Advantage: Philly.
CB: Philly has nobody – Vegas has Matthew Peterson and Stanislaw Maddox. Advantage: Vegas.
S: Philly has Vikian Marmeladov and an inactive; Vegas has two inactives, one of which is a CB. Advantage: Philly.
K/P: Philly has Stephen Harris; Vegas has an inactive player. Advantage: Philly.
Takeaways: Pre-S2 draft, Philly has 6 active players to Vegas’s 11. Philly is superior in only 4 of 11 position groups. However, Philly has 12 draft picks through the 7th round of the S2 draft, while Vegas has…2. Philly only needs to hit on half of its picks for active players to have the same number as Vegas. This indicates a talent gap that will only increase each season as players progress. We will revisit team composition after the S2 Draft section.
S2 Draft
I’m not gonna do a blow by blow, just an overall. For Vegas, they picked up Kyle Cobb (RB), Johnny Rocket (WR), Thaddeus Bullard (DE), Leon Morgan (CB), Ryan Lecavelier (Inactive WR), and Typical Newenglander (Inactive DT). Of these picks, I love Kyle Cobb and Leon Morgan. Vegas needed an RB and Cobb was the best choice by miles at that point in the draft. Leon Morgan was a steal because he’s active yet they got him way late – I see him playing safety for Vegas since they’ve already got two good CBs. Bullard will also be valuable if he stays active, replacing an inactive DE and giving Vegas two active DEs. Total of 4 active players and 2 inactives.
For Philly, man, we freakin’ KILLED it. I know everyone watching and waiting for picks was thinking how slow it was, but behind the scenes we were all losing our minds. I don’t think adam2552 or I could have done it alone, there was just too much going on. Anyway, we got Fox North (WR), Micah Hendrix (OL), Tyler Oles (CB), Drew Davidson (DE), Perry Tucker (TE), Paul DiMirio (TE), Kristoffer O'Sullivan (CB), Ottokar Von Gerhardt (DE), Luke Washington (LB), Matt James (OL), Bretty Dodggy (OL), Shawn Brady (QB), Damien Kroetch (WR), Donovan Maric (LB), Bradley T. MadLad (Inactive OL), and Hunter Mason (WR). Of these picks, I love…all of them? We got almost every top guy (based on our scouting) in every position we needed. I couldn’t believe Hunter Mason was still there in the 11th round. He’s an active player! C’mon now. We would have taken him in the 10th but there was a run on OL and we were worried we wouldn’t be able to fill out a full offensive line. So for those keeping score, we got 15 active players in the draft and 1 inactive OL.
Team Composition – Post-S2 Draft
QB: Philly added Shawn Brady, our highest QB prospect in the S2 draft. Combined with Jameis Christ, we have better depth than Vegas but Vegas still has Bercovici. Advantage: Vegas
RB: Vegas picks up Kyle Cobb. Great pickup, but no match for Omar Wright. Advantage: Philly.
WR: Philly added Damien Kroetch and Hunter Mason. Lincoln Jefferson is planning to convert to safety as of the time of this article, leaving Fox North the head of the WR crew with Kroetch and Mason backing him up. Vegas added Johnny Rocket as a third active WR, and another inactive guy. Stormblessed and LeClair still headline for Vegas. Advantage: Vegas.
TE: Philly picked up Paul DiMirio, the headlining S2 TE star. Personally I think he’s gonna beat out Tenzini, but they’re close enough in TPE that we’ll call it a wash. Perry Tucker is converting to LB. Advantage: Tie
OL: Philly picked up Micah Hendrix, the top OL prospect beyond Clegane, Pest, and Sharpei. Then we added Matt James and Bretty Dodggy, 2 other active players, and one inactive guy. Vegas is unchanged with D’Brickashaw Ferguson and 4 inactives. Advantage: Philly.
DT: No changes. Philly has Romeo Devitt, former Otter, and an inactive 2nd DT; Vegas has potentially the strongest DT duo in the league, Vinny Cox and Mark Ramrio. Advantage: Vegas.
DE: Philly picked up Drew Davidson and Ottokar Von Gerhardt, while Vegas added Thaddeus Bullard. Vegas already had Tyler Varga. Davidson and Gerhardt are two of the best S2 DE prospects, but Varga has the experience and if Bullard remains active it’ll be close. Advantage: Tie
LB: Philly picked up Luke Washington and Donovan Maric and is converting TE Tyler Perry to LB. Arby Krimlaw is already waiting for the new rookies and Philly will thus field a full LB group, while Vegas still just has 2 inactive guys. Advantage: Philly
CB: Philly picked up Kristoffer O'Sullivan and Tyler Oles, two of the top S2 CB prospects. It won’t be enough to unseat Peterson and Maddox, but it’s a lot closer now. Advantage: Vegas.
S: Philly is converting Lincoln Jefferson to safety to play with Vikian Marmeladov; Vegas is gonna have a CB playing S in Leon Morgan along with an inactive. Advantage: Philly.
K/P: No changes. Philly has Stephen Harris; Vegas has an inactive player. Advantage: Philly
Takeaways: Post-S2 draft, Philly has 21 active players to Vegas’s 15. Philly is superior in 5 of 11 position groups, while Vegas is superior in 4 and there are 2 ties. The draft closed the gap between the two teams considerably. Arguably, Philly is the slight victor even now, with a significant advantage in defense and a small disadvantage in offense. If the ratio of active players remains the same, Philly will only continue to overtake Vegas.
Team-Building Styles & Conclusion
Vegas has clearly done everything it can to be competitive immediately. With only 2 S2 draft picks in the first 7 rounds, Vegas sold the future for what it can get now. Doing so got it a potentially league-winning set of WRs, Stormblessed and LeClair, a strong if overpaid QB in Bercovici, and strong DT and CB groups with Cox, Ramrio, Peterson, and Maddox. DE Varga is also a top competitor, and rumors have TE Tenzini showing great improvement in the preseason now that other commitments are out of the way. Finally, the OL is anchored by a strong lineman in Ferguson, and the OL in general is impressive with only 1 bot.
The weakness of this style was depth – Vegas can ill-afford anyone to go inactive, and its many current inactive players will only be effective for so long before being overtaken by active players on other teams. This is particularly an issue on the offensive line, which will probably hold up well for another season or 2, but eventually get outclassed by active opposing linebackers. Vegas’s own linebackers are also weak with no active players and 1 or 2 bots, depending on setup – they will have to depend on exceptional skill by their DTs and Varga himself to hurry the opposing QB and make any sacks.
Philly on the other hand is looking to be competitive in the future, making trades that set itself up for as many picks (and hopefully active players) as possible. Having traded down from 1st overall, and again from 2nd overall, as well as various other trades, Philly acquired 5 additional picks in the S2 draft in order to have as many chances as possible of finding quality rookies. With even a 75% success rate at converting rookies to active players for a full season, Philly will be significantly stronger overall a season or two down the road. We killed it in the draft, and as of right now only have a single inactive player and a bot on the OL – every other position will be filled by actives.
Graded
Breaking this down is going to be a tough one, but I’m gonna try and hit every aspect of what the teams have done so far. The expansion draft, trades, Team Composition, the S2 draft, and the final result heading into S2 as of the date published, along with analysis on the completely different team-building styles of both teams. It’s gonna be a fun time!
Expansion Draft
At this point, it was each team’s goal to maximize the number of active players on our teams. Vegas won the toss so they got first pick here while we got 1st pick in the S2 draft. The draft itself has been reviewed before, so I won’t rehash it here; it was my impression that both teams were happy with how it turned out overall. A brief overview:
Vegas gained (after trades): Stanislaw Maddox (S) and Vinny Cox (DT), with 7 inactives.
Liberty gained (after trades): Omar Wright (RB), Arby Krimlaw (LB), Vikian Marmeladov (S), Romeo Devitt (DT), Jameis Christ (QB, surprise active player), and S2 4th rounder, with 5 inactives.
Trades
I’m gonna try and review these – I’ve got them in chronological order by team, if not in general. My apologies if I missed one.
Vegas acquires TE Gabriel Tenzini from Hawks for S2 5th rounder. This is princekyle’s TE; now that he’s done being the simmer, he should have plenty of time to get those TPE tasks done and become a valued part of Vegas’s offense. And for only a 5th rounder! I think this is a steal, myself.
Vegas acquires WR RFFO Mademe from Hawks for S2 7th rounder. This is…a friend of @RavensFanFromOntario? Maybe? S1 player yet hasn’t done much of anything in the way of updating, but maybe he just wanted to play with RFFO so now that they’re on the team he’ll start. No idea, that’s my guess. I guess not a bad trade if RFFO knows he can ensure Mademe keeps updating; then he’s a solid WR3 or depth for Vegas.
Vegas acquires OL D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Inactive LB Sinjin Flimjollywop, WR Alexandre LeClair, DT Mark Ramrio, and Wraiths S2 6th round pick from Wraiths for S2 1st, 2nd, 4th, and S3 2nd rounders, plus future considerations. Inactive WR Jonathan Shaloiko, stolen from the Wraiths in the expansion draft, is eventually returned to the Wraiths to make up the “future considerations” part of the trade. So boiling this down, Vegas traded 3 top picks, downgraded another pick, and send 1 inactive player acquired from the expansion draft for 3 top S1 active players and an inactive LB. Would I trade 3 top picks and downgrade 1 for 3 top S1 players? Hell yes I would. The problem is that this was before the expansion draft. The Wraiths wouldn’t have been able to protect these players (or 3 other active S1 players that they did protect, if they choose to protect these players instead), and Liberty and Vegas would have gotten them in the expansion draft rather than being forced to take inactive players that were left unprotected. Thus, Vegas hurt itself to some extent, but hurt Liberty more because no active players were available to steal from the Wraiths. The Wraiths meanwhile laughed all the way to the S2 draft bank – sure they lost some active players that they would have lost anyway, but now they can make it back in S2 rookies no problem. Hopefully this is a lesson learned for expansion teams, and expansion teams in the future should be prevented from making trades until after the expansion draft.
Vegas acquires FA rights to RB Vick Bowers Jr from SaberCats for S2 8th rounder and conditional S2 6th rounder if he signs a free agency deal. It was worth a shot; if Bowers signed, it’s goodbye for Vegas’s last pick, but a good value on an active S1 RB. However, he did not sign; it looks like he’s going to the Otters instead, so Vegas will keep the 6th rounder. Ouch.
Vegas acquires CB Matthew Peterson from Hawks for S2 3rd rounder. Ehh, if you’ve gotta get a top S1 CB, you can do worse than this. I am somewhat sure Hawks would have lost an active player in the expansion draft if this trade didn’t happen, but with just 1 player traded it’s not as bad. Plus Liberty did the same thing for the Hawks kicker later on, so we’re not angels ourselves.
Vegas acquires Inactive OL Tim Tebow from SaberCats for S2 6th rounder (originally Yellowknife’s) and S3 7th rounder. For those keeping score at home, Vegas only has the conditional S2 6th rounder left, which is gone if Vick Bowers Jr. signs a deal. I think Vegas got screwed on this one. 2 picks for an inactive OL guy? There are a couple you could get in the S2 rookie draft that have just a few TPE less and will probably go just as late, and you’d get to keep that S3 7th rounder. Of course, if Tim Tebow returns, this was a steal and good job Vegas, but unless they know something I don’t, Hawks walked away the winners here.
Vegas acquires WR Stormblessed, Inactive LB Brady Stropko, S Isaiah Rashad, and ADwyer S3 nudes from Outlaws for S3 1st rounder, S4 1st rounder, S4 3rd rounder, and RavensFanFromOntario S2 nudes (they have since been shared, it must be pretty cold up in Canada). Vegas’s other blockbuster trade, which let the Outlaws swap 2 active players they would have had to leave unprotected during the expansion draft for rookie picks, though they’re in later seasons and thus worth a little less. Not as great of a deal for the Outlaws as what the Wraiths got earlier, but still great for them long term. Once again, this hurts Vegas and Philly long term, but if Vegas can put together a complete active team now, those future picks wouldn’t mean much for them.
Vegas acquires S3 3rd rounder and S2 7th rounder from Outlaws for S Isaiah Rashad. Here, Vegas claws back some picks from Outlaws, post expansion draft. The high pick is S3, which is worth a little less – I think RFFO was desperate for some picks here, or Rashad threatened to walk after a season; either way, I’d rather be the Outlaws on this trade.
Vegas acquires S3 3rd rounder from SaberCats for Inactive DT Josh Cameron and an S3 8th rounder, S4 7th rounder if there is no round 8 in S3. Vegas bent the kitties over on this one. Dude’s inactive!
Philly acquires FA rights to Stephen Harris, K from Hawks for S2 8th rounder. Stephen signs 3 year extension immediately. Ohh, Philly, you so dirty. Watching Vegas piss away all the active players in the expansion draft for us, we felt the need to grab at least one active guy before Vegas got to him. Selling an 8th for a kicker seems like a lot better value than losing all your picks to me, but we still feel a little dirty about it.
Philly acquires Omar Wright, RB from Otters for future considerations. DE Lightskin Thor, stolen during the expansion draft, is eventually returned to the Otters to make up the “future considerations” part of this trade. Ahh, future considerations, or what we in the biz call “Bullshit”. Though the two instances of “future considerations” we saw both worked out reasonably well for each team, I think this is an area that could be exploited by GMs and should be eliminated via rule change. It would never fly in NFL fantasy leagues for sure.
Philly acquires S2 1st rounder (originally Vegas’s), S2 3rd rounder, and S2 5th rounder for S2 1st overall pick. Bzerkap seen walking funny, but at least he’ll have Dermot Lavelle to help rub some cream up there. For real though, this trade got both teams what they want – Philly got 2 extra picks, desperately needed to help field a full team of active players, and the Wraiths got Dermot, everyone’s favorite high profile S2 rookie CB, reportedly of excellent character and active on the forums. Even if he is just SO old and wise.
Philly acquires S2 1st and 3rd from Yeti for S2 2nd overall. We acquired yet another pick by dropping back in the 1st round – gotta get those players to fill out a team. Definitely a good call, IMHO.
Philly acquires S2 4th from Yeti for K Bojo Kicksit, a player stolen by Philly in the expansion draft. An S2 4th for a kicker we don’t need? Heck yes, sign me up.
Philly acquires S3 3rd and 5th from Vegas for Inactive OL Saggitaruitt Jefferspin and Inactive OL Jordan Weal, both recently acquired by Philly in the expansion draft. Well, so much for our (non existent) offensive line, but more picks for the future. We’re gonna be dangerous in season 3.
Philly acquires LB Arby Krimlaw and DT Romeo DeVitt from Vegas for DT Vinny Cox and RB Jack Stats. Vegas wanted Vinny Cox bad, so we swapped him for Krimlaw and DeVitt. I actually thought Jack Stats was inactive, so I’m a little less happy about this now, but we already have a great RB so I guess no big loss.
Philly acquires S2 2nd rounder (9th overall) from the Wraiths for S3 1st rounder and 6th rounder. We wanted more picks in this draft in order to fill out the team, and we got a good one courtesy of the Wraiths. Value about equal, but it means more to us than to them I think.
Philly acquires S2 8th overall, S2 12th overall, and S2 5th (34th overall) from Hawks for S2 9th overall, S2 10th overall, and S2 4th (26th overall). We had to overpay to get our guy at 8th overall, as we knew Hawks had their beady eyes on him.
Team Composition – Pre-S2 Draft
QB: Philly has had Jameis Christ, initially a stopgap while we found a solution in the S2 draft, rise and potentially return to activity. He goes up against the highest paid man in the NSFL, Josh Bercovici, who just got a cool $21M contract spread over the next 3 seasons. Sure feels like the NFL Texans in 2016 for me folks, but if Bercovici plays the way he’s paid Vegas is gonna be tough to beat. Advantage: Vegas.
RB: Philly has Omar Wright, one of the top RBs in the game, while Vegas has two inactives. Vegas will need to address this situation soon, either in the S2 draft or through a trade. Advantage: Philly.
WR: Philly has Lincoln Jefferson, the former star Outlaw receiver, and is contractually required to take or trade for Fox North, the top rookie receiver in the S2 draft. They go up against the other former Outlaw, Stormblessed, world’s fastest man, and Alexandre LeClair, the former #2 receiver in Yellowknife. WR3 is a competition between Vegas’s RFFO Mademe, who might be inactive, and a definitely inactive 3rd receiver for Philly. Overall pretty close, but Stormblessed is going to be a beast this season. Advantage: Vegas.
TE: Vegas has Gabriel Tenzini – Philly has nobody. Advantage: Vegas.
OL: Vegas has D’Brickashaw Ferguson and 3 inactives – Philly has nobody. Advantage: Vegas.
DT: Philly has Romeo Devitt, former Otter, and an inactive 2nd DT; Vegas has potentially the strongest DT duo in the league, Vinny Cox and Mark Ramrio. Advantage: Vegas.
DE: Philly has an inactive guy, while Vegas has Tyler Varga and an inactive guy. Advantage: Vegas.
LB: Philly has Arby Krimlaw and an inactive guy; Vegas has two inactive guys. Advantage: Philly.
CB: Philly has nobody – Vegas has Matthew Peterson and Stanislaw Maddox. Advantage: Vegas.
S: Philly has Vikian Marmeladov and an inactive; Vegas has two inactives, one of which is a CB. Advantage: Philly.
K/P: Philly has Stephen Harris; Vegas has an inactive player. Advantage: Philly.
Takeaways: Pre-S2 draft, Philly has 6 active players to Vegas’s 11. Philly is superior in only 4 of 11 position groups. However, Philly has 12 draft picks through the 7th round of the S2 draft, while Vegas has…2. Philly only needs to hit on half of its picks for active players to have the same number as Vegas. This indicates a talent gap that will only increase each season as players progress. We will revisit team composition after the S2 Draft section.
S2 Draft
I’m not gonna do a blow by blow, just an overall. For Vegas, they picked up Kyle Cobb (RB), Johnny Rocket (WR), Thaddeus Bullard (DE), Leon Morgan (CB), Ryan Lecavelier (Inactive WR), and Typical Newenglander (Inactive DT). Of these picks, I love Kyle Cobb and Leon Morgan. Vegas needed an RB and Cobb was the best choice by miles at that point in the draft. Leon Morgan was a steal because he’s active yet they got him way late – I see him playing safety for Vegas since they’ve already got two good CBs. Bullard will also be valuable if he stays active, replacing an inactive DE and giving Vegas two active DEs. Total of 4 active players and 2 inactives.
For Philly, man, we freakin’ KILLED it. I know everyone watching and waiting for picks was thinking how slow it was, but behind the scenes we were all losing our minds. I don’t think adam2552 or I could have done it alone, there was just too much going on. Anyway, we got Fox North (WR), Micah Hendrix (OL), Tyler Oles (CB), Drew Davidson (DE), Perry Tucker (TE), Paul DiMirio (TE), Kristoffer O'Sullivan (CB), Ottokar Von Gerhardt (DE), Luke Washington (LB), Matt James (OL), Bretty Dodggy (OL), Shawn Brady (QB), Damien Kroetch (WR), Donovan Maric (LB), Bradley T. MadLad (Inactive OL), and Hunter Mason (WR). Of these picks, I love…all of them? We got almost every top guy (based on our scouting) in every position we needed. I couldn’t believe Hunter Mason was still there in the 11th round. He’s an active player! C’mon now. We would have taken him in the 10th but there was a run on OL and we were worried we wouldn’t be able to fill out a full offensive line. So for those keeping score, we got 15 active players in the draft and 1 inactive OL.
Team Composition – Post-S2 Draft
QB: Philly added Shawn Brady, our highest QB prospect in the S2 draft. Combined with Jameis Christ, we have better depth than Vegas but Vegas still has Bercovici. Advantage: Vegas
RB: Vegas picks up Kyle Cobb. Great pickup, but no match for Omar Wright. Advantage: Philly.
WR: Philly added Damien Kroetch and Hunter Mason. Lincoln Jefferson is planning to convert to safety as of the time of this article, leaving Fox North the head of the WR crew with Kroetch and Mason backing him up. Vegas added Johnny Rocket as a third active WR, and another inactive guy. Stormblessed and LeClair still headline for Vegas. Advantage: Vegas.
TE: Philly picked up Paul DiMirio, the headlining S2 TE star. Personally I think he’s gonna beat out Tenzini, but they’re close enough in TPE that we’ll call it a wash. Perry Tucker is converting to LB. Advantage: Tie
OL: Philly picked up Micah Hendrix, the top OL prospect beyond Clegane, Pest, and Sharpei. Then we added Matt James and Bretty Dodggy, 2 other active players, and one inactive guy. Vegas is unchanged with D’Brickashaw Ferguson and 4 inactives. Advantage: Philly.
DT: No changes. Philly has Romeo Devitt, former Otter, and an inactive 2nd DT; Vegas has potentially the strongest DT duo in the league, Vinny Cox and Mark Ramrio. Advantage: Vegas.
DE: Philly picked up Drew Davidson and Ottokar Von Gerhardt, while Vegas added Thaddeus Bullard. Vegas already had Tyler Varga. Davidson and Gerhardt are two of the best S2 DE prospects, but Varga has the experience and if Bullard remains active it’ll be close. Advantage: Tie
LB: Philly picked up Luke Washington and Donovan Maric and is converting TE Tyler Perry to LB. Arby Krimlaw is already waiting for the new rookies and Philly will thus field a full LB group, while Vegas still just has 2 inactive guys. Advantage: Philly
CB: Philly picked up Kristoffer O'Sullivan and Tyler Oles, two of the top S2 CB prospects. It won’t be enough to unseat Peterson and Maddox, but it’s a lot closer now. Advantage: Vegas.
S: Philly is converting Lincoln Jefferson to safety to play with Vikian Marmeladov; Vegas is gonna have a CB playing S in Leon Morgan along with an inactive. Advantage: Philly.
K/P: No changes. Philly has Stephen Harris; Vegas has an inactive player. Advantage: Philly
Takeaways: Post-S2 draft, Philly has 21 active players to Vegas’s 15. Philly is superior in 5 of 11 position groups, while Vegas is superior in 4 and there are 2 ties. The draft closed the gap between the two teams considerably. Arguably, Philly is the slight victor even now, with a significant advantage in defense and a small disadvantage in offense. If the ratio of active players remains the same, Philly will only continue to overtake Vegas.
Team-Building Styles & Conclusion
Vegas has clearly done everything it can to be competitive immediately. With only 2 S2 draft picks in the first 7 rounds, Vegas sold the future for what it can get now. Doing so got it a potentially league-winning set of WRs, Stormblessed and LeClair, a strong if overpaid QB in Bercovici, and strong DT and CB groups with Cox, Ramrio, Peterson, and Maddox. DE Varga is also a top competitor, and rumors have TE Tenzini showing great improvement in the preseason now that other commitments are out of the way. Finally, the OL is anchored by a strong lineman in Ferguson, and the OL in general is impressive with only 1 bot.
The weakness of this style was depth – Vegas can ill-afford anyone to go inactive, and its many current inactive players will only be effective for so long before being overtaken by active players on other teams. This is particularly an issue on the offensive line, which will probably hold up well for another season or 2, but eventually get outclassed by active opposing linebackers. Vegas’s own linebackers are also weak with no active players and 1 or 2 bots, depending on setup – they will have to depend on exceptional skill by their DTs and Varga himself to hurry the opposing QB and make any sacks.
Philly on the other hand is looking to be competitive in the future, making trades that set itself up for as many picks (and hopefully active players) as possible. Having traded down from 1st overall, and again from 2nd overall, as well as various other trades, Philly acquired 5 additional picks in the S2 draft in order to have as many chances as possible of finding quality rookies. With even a 75% success rate at converting rookies to active players for a full season, Philly will be significantly stronger overall a season or two down the road. We killed it in the draft, and as of right now only have a single inactive player and a bot on the OL – every other position will be filled by actives.
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