03-29-2023, 11:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-01-2023, 08:24 PM by Caleb_H. Edited 1 time in total.)
Code:
1054 words and some super cool gifs. I'm poor so please grade swiftly
To say my time in the DSFL has been up and down is an understatement. Not many players get drafted to be the successor for their ISFL team while remaining a backup down in the developmental league. Usually, you want those guys playing as much as possible to see how they grow. That has been the opposite of my time in Minnesota. Taken as a late round flyer at the end of Season 37, I always knew it would be an uphill battle for playing time. In fact I barely saw the field in my first full year (S38) despite having some gaudy numbers in limited action. My lack of playing time didn't deter New York from investing in their future by drafting me in the second round. They must have done a lot of research because there is not a lot of tape on me, even dating back to college. I was finally able to get my shot starting in S39 despite the incumbent starter being sent down the DSFL again. I don't think Painted Penguin was very happy and he definitely was not a fan of losing his starting position. But the brass liked what I had shown in limited action and gave me a shot. I played pretty well and thought I was deserving of the starting spot. We went back to the playoffs and thought that was enough to secure my starting position for S40 but boy was I wrong. Chicago sends Penguin down, AGAIN, and he wasn't about to sit behind me for another season. I don't know why the Butchers sent him down but this basically started one of the best quarterback rivalries the league will ever see.
Let's rewind back to this offseason. Fresh off a playoff loss I was determined to lead the Grey Ducks back to the playoffs and try to improve my game since it would be my last year in Minnesota. It was about half way through the summer workouts when rumors started swirling about Penguin getting sent down again. Now, we weren't friends by any means but we weren't enemies. Nobody likes to hangout with the guy that is actively trying to take your job. Especially when that guy took it from you after you just led the team to the playoffs the year before he took over. Penguin was the Minnesota starting quarterback when we went to the playoffs in S38, and me in S39, we were both fighting for the right to lead the team into S40. The competition was pretty fierce straight from the get go. Banter back and forth, good days and bad days on the practice field, but when the dust settled the brass had chosen Penguin to be the quarterback for the new season. I was not pleased one bit. First off, how are you gonna get sent down four times. Let the kids play and go hold a clipboard. You had your time and now it is my time to lead the team. This culminated in an after practice scrap that I'm not too fond of. Thinking that I had the job pried out of my hands, I got in Painted's face about the situation. He didn't like what I had to say and some punches may have been thrown. Maybe that was a sign of things to come but we failed to make the playoffs and neither quarterback played well. Neither of us could get into a rhythm and the team suffered due to it. I had a really rough year. My completion percentage dipped and my interceptions went up. I was also hit a lot which didn't help much. I asked for a trade midseason but the team said there weren't any teams looking for borderline backup quarterbacks to lead their teams. So I did my team and just waited and waited until the season is over now that I am head to the Big Apple to play quarterback for the Silverbacks. They talked through this situation with me the entire time and were very supportive of me. I did a lot of film study and stayed to my workout regiment. I tried to soak up as much knowledge and experience I could get over the second half of the season. So now we head into a new season in a new place with the ability to make my career what I want it to be for the first time I can remember.
Ever since college I have been at the mercy of whatever situation I walked into. Unable to control my own destiny, however, this new situation has inspired me to fully put myself accountable and work my hardest for my team. I have gotten down before and blamed others for my own failures. That hasn't stopped me from playing with a chip on my shoulder or for holding grudges, because I do, but I'm tired of using it as an excuse. If the DSFL has taught me anything is that quarterbacks are plentiful and can be switched out on a whim. My overall career stats aren't that bad. Thirty five touchdowns and seventeen interceptions. Over fifty-six hundred yards. I truly believe there is a football player within me and I will work my hardest to show that I am not only better than all of the other quarterbacks in my class that got their chance to lead their teams for multiple years. I am out to show Painted Penguin and Minnesota that I am the one they should have stuck with and I am the superior signal caller. So this is a call to arms if you will. You are officially on notice Chicago and Mr. Penguin. You think you can take my job. You think you can lead a team better than me. You think you can throw a better spiral. I don't think so. I plan on hoisting that Rookie of the Year trophy next season and I intend on winning an Ultimus before you do. I cannot wait until we play you guys (checks schedule and notices the schedule hasn't been released yet) at some point next season. I intend on making sure your fantasy owners wish they would have picked the Silverback quarterback with tremendous upside. The lefty slinger with the great pedigree. Silverback Nation, Let's Ride!