07-13-2021, 10:49 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-13-2021, 03:27 PM by allbetsonjames.)
Well, that was a disaster.
That would about summarize my immediate reaction in the aftermath of the Prospect Bowl. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be prouder of how the Isle Royale Cellymoose performed. We didn’t win the whole thing (Congrats to the Robins!) but we gave it everything we had. With apologies to the Manatees and Robins, I can’t imagine a better group dynamic than what we of the ‘Moose built in our short time together as teammates.
No, I’m talking about, well…myself. I know, it’s tacky. I’ve always tried to be a team-first guy. But from a certain point of view the Prospect Bowl is actually more about individual than team performances. Every scout from the DSFL and most of them from the ISFL are there every year because they want to see us, the draft prospects, play live. And with every team in the league watching, I blew it. Badly. The very first time the ball came my way, in our very first game, I got flagged for defensive pass interference, giving up 22 yards and an automatic first down. I thought it was a bad call at the time, and I still do. But that doesn’t matter. There was definitely a little contact, and if the ref thought it was DPI, then it was DPI. And that’s on me; you just can’t take careless penalties like that. Making matters worse, the Manatees receiver was Jaycee Higgins (@"Netlandic"), who I’d gotten to know well enough that I talked a little friendly trash with him on Twitter. He burned me, I knew it, I panicked, and I messed up. And that was how every single one of my potential future employers was introduced to Spike Daniels, football player. They knew Spike the person already; in fact I think I did pretty well in all of my scouting interviews. But ultimately these teams are drafting someone for their game, not their ability to hold a conversation. And the standard of the first was looking an awful lot lower than the standard of the second.
After the DPI, it was like I couldn’t get out of my own way the rest of the night. Rewatching the tape, I see myself looking lost out there. There’s a few plays where I just stand stock still as the action blows by me, too slow to react as the play develops. I wouldn’t blame anyone if they questioned whether I’d even played football before. I drew another really bad flag in our second game, when I botched a substitution and cost us 5 yards for having too many players on the field. I’d never done that in my life before, not even in high school! Only in our last game did I finally show a bit of what I can actually do by breaking up two passes. Even then, one of those was a certain interception, and I straight dropped it. I made a diving tackle against the Manatees that probably saved a touchdown, but that only happened because the running back juked me. So when I did bring him down it may have looked stylish, but an experienced eye would see it was just a desperation play after an earlier mistake. I’ve been telling anyone willing to listen that I’m the best safety available in the draft this year, and I went into this Prospect Bowl confident that my play was going to back that up. But I blew it.
I still think I’m the best safety in this draft. But I know that’s not what I showed the scouts tonight. I think the scouts did see that this is overall a very strong DB class. My Cellymoose teammate Lucas Arnold (@Luke_Is_Rox) lit it up in Game 1: 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumbles recovered! (And I thought turnovers were my thing!) He finished the night with 18 total tackles, and I’m a little surprised it wasn’t more; he seemed to be in on every play! And it’s no surprise the Robins were champions when they had a player like Siaosi Multiauaopele (@TubaMasterFlex); I’d heard some noise about him coming out of BYU, but this was the first time I’d actually seen him play. Wow! This dude is going to be a great pro. He had a monster statline: 23 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and a pick. Add in some boss performances from cornerbacks like Tessie Garciaparra (@"RenoJacksonHS") and Felix Halloway (@Deathdog) from the Manatees or Ben Delabaguette (@Helcim) from the Robins, and DSFL teams in need of defensive backs will have plenty of outstanding options on Wednesday night.
I’m disappointed. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried a little. To be a first round pick has been my goal through this whole process, and after the Prospect Bowl I just had, that seems...unlikely, at best. But we’re all going to have days like this, days that blindside us and knock us flat, days that shake our confidence and make us question whether we really belong. Life is a journey, and attitude is everything. Succeeding doesn’t mean you never fell; it means you always got back up. So I’m going to get back up, and get back to work. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if I’m a first round pick or Mr. Irrelevant; I’m going to be playing professional football, and I’m going to give that my all on every down.
That would about summarize my immediate reaction in the aftermath of the Prospect Bowl. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t be prouder of how the Isle Royale Cellymoose performed. We didn’t win the whole thing (Congrats to the Robins!) but we gave it everything we had. With apologies to the Manatees and Robins, I can’t imagine a better group dynamic than what we of the ‘Moose built in our short time together as teammates.
No, I’m talking about, well…myself. I know, it’s tacky. I’ve always tried to be a team-first guy. But from a certain point of view the Prospect Bowl is actually more about individual than team performances. Every scout from the DSFL and most of them from the ISFL are there every year because they want to see us, the draft prospects, play live. And with every team in the league watching, I blew it. Badly. The very first time the ball came my way, in our very first game, I got flagged for defensive pass interference, giving up 22 yards and an automatic first down. I thought it was a bad call at the time, and I still do. But that doesn’t matter. There was definitely a little contact, and if the ref thought it was DPI, then it was DPI. And that’s on me; you just can’t take careless penalties like that. Making matters worse, the Manatees receiver was Jaycee Higgins (@"Netlandic"), who I’d gotten to know well enough that I talked a little friendly trash with him on Twitter. He burned me, I knew it, I panicked, and I messed up. And that was how every single one of my potential future employers was introduced to Spike Daniels, football player. They knew Spike the person already; in fact I think I did pretty well in all of my scouting interviews. But ultimately these teams are drafting someone for their game, not their ability to hold a conversation. And the standard of the first was looking an awful lot lower than the standard of the second.
After the DPI, it was like I couldn’t get out of my own way the rest of the night. Rewatching the tape, I see myself looking lost out there. There’s a few plays where I just stand stock still as the action blows by me, too slow to react as the play develops. I wouldn’t blame anyone if they questioned whether I’d even played football before. I drew another really bad flag in our second game, when I botched a substitution and cost us 5 yards for having too many players on the field. I’d never done that in my life before, not even in high school! Only in our last game did I finally show a bit of what I can actually do by breaking up two passes. Even then, one of those was a certain interception, and I straight dropped it. I made a diving tackle against the Manatees that probably saved a touchdown, but that only happened because the running back juked me. So when I did bring him down it may have looked stylish, but an experienced eye would see it was just a desperation play after an earlier mistake. I’ve been telling anyone willing to listen that I’m the best safety available in the draft this year, and I went into this Prospect Bowl confident that my play was going to back that up. But I blew it.
I still think I’m the best safety in this draft. But I know that’s not what I showed the scouts tonight. I think the scouts did see that this is overall a very strong DB class. My Cellymoose teammate Lucas Arnold (@Luke_Is_Rox) lit it up in Game 1: 5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumbles recovered! (And I thought turnovers were my thing!) He finished the night with 18 total tackles, and I’m a little surprised it wasn’t more; he seemed to be in on every play! And it’s no surprise the Robins were champions when they had a player like Siaosi Multiauaopele (@TubaMasterFlex); I’d heard some noise about him coming out of BYU, but this was the first time I’d actually seen him play. Wow! This dude is going to be a great pro. He had a monster statline: 23 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and a pick. Add in some boss performances from cornerbacks like Tessie Garciaparra (@"RenoJacksonHS") and Felix Halloway (@Deathdog) from the Manatees or Ben Delabaguette (@Helcim) from the Robins, and DSFL teams in need of defensive backs will have plenty of outstanding options on Wednesday night.
I’m disappointed. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried a little. To be a first round pick has been my goal through this whole process, and after the Prospect Bowl I just had, that seems...unlikely, at best. But we’re all going to have days like this, days that blindside us and knock us flat, days that shake our confidence and make us question whether we really belong. Life is a journey, and attitude is everything. Succeeding doesn’t mean you never fell; it means you always got back up. So I’m going to get back up, and get back to work. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if I’m a first round pick or Mr. Irrelevant; I’m going to be playing professional football, and I’m going to give that my all on every down.