Editor’s Note: This will be an ongoing “fly on the wall” series covering the Smokeaneers. Given unfettered access by Coach mrt1212, ESBN will bring you the highs and lows of Smokeaneer football for the upcoming season
by mrt1212
Hard Blocks: Tampa Bay Smokeaneers
Season 19 Post Mortem:
Looking back on it, the team had a good but not great season. Going undefeated for 12 weeks and leading the division for those 12 weeks was quite good but dropping the last two games kicked them into the wildcard spot instead of getting a 1st round bye.
Areas of Success:
Player Health and Development – The only major loss to the team was Spike Glennon II. He had just hit 76 spp and was rocking Surehands, Kick Off Return, +AG, Accurate and Strong Arm. Then he was killed by Morg in week 12 on a 3d6. This really wasn’t a catastrophic blow to the team because he really didn’t play more than a handful of turns per game. His primary function was mostly to get Rhys the ball for OTTD attempts. Every other loss was a lino and that’s fine.
The team returns 3 players over 76 SPP with Rhys Llyod 4 SPP away from Legend.
I am fucking loving my team at the moment. Despite losing the playoffs to a coinflip I am really excited to get into next season with the players that I have. That loss was on me not the players I have.
Crab Legs Winston II: Dude got frenzy and that was something this team was sorely lacking. I was debating whether to give him side step or frenzy but the need for it really need it and there wasn’t another player within spitting distance to take it when he popped 76 SPP.
Tears in The Rain [RUT]: 2nd season for him and this is his year to break through to Super Star level. When Rhys gets to Legend I’m going to feed the rock to Tears way more and hopefully land a skill by mid season so he can take Side Step.
Smokewon Alexander III: Whooo baby, there is some potential here and I am super conflicted. One of my dreams is to have some Shadowing Sides Step on at least two or three players just to be annoying and throw a curveball in there for any Break Tackle players in the mix. But is that really the best use of 8448? Likely not. I think the plan for the season is to get him up to 31 SPP ASAP and see what Nuffle has in store. A double and I think I have to go MB Tackle at least.
Ryan Spliffpatrick: Following in the footsteps of Spike, going to try and get Surehands on him ASAP and then shoot for passing skills. I don’t really have a dedicated BC that holds up to others in the league with ST4 Surehands Blodge so maybe I’ll go SH, B, D, SS and wing it but I really did appreciate Spike’s contribution to the team by being reliable from anywhere.
Rhys Llyod: My boy! League leading scorer in back to back seasons which is fun for fluffiness. 4 SPP Away from Legend…probably RIPS on first TD attempt of the season. Again, kind of conflicted here. I would love to put wrestle on him so he can be a defensive threat on deep kicks from turn 1. But that does up the chance of him getting stomped to death which no coach would pass up the opportunity to do. So Block? That’s safe and conventional. Really will just have to see what Nuffle has in store.
Spike Evans II: Blodge Tackle Juggernaut gained at the tail end of the season. He really is a kludgey player where I didn’t really know what I wanted in a catcher due to the vagaries of the draft. That’s a dilemma I hope I don’t face again but still, I’m glad he got the double with the latest skill. This makes him way better for the team itself since Rhys most of the time needs only one block to get the OTTD but I think also can put some av7 wrestle players on notice if the that’s a block that needs to be made during a game. This also obviously helps with Standfirm but usually I look to avoid that block just for the sake of itself unless it’s part of some larger chaining play.
Vee Jax III: Shadowing, if and when he gets there.
J Rob Morgan: She’s a long way off from skilling and she’s slow as hell but she is going to remain unless there is something (there won’t be) by the time I pick.
Linemen:
Have: 1 Kick
Want: 3xFend 1xDP 2xJU 1xDauntless
Obviously I’ll take stats and doubles. But the plan here is to get some skills that aren’t reliably countered and can stymie pitch advancement through blocks alone. If I have to field 3 linos with 1 skill each, why not make it one that keeps the opponent at bay for at least one more team and subtly can change kick off return setup dynamics? Worth a shot. Also the 2 Jump ups are also there as kind of a wildcard that has to be accounted for. It did win me a game in Season 18 against licker after all. I am not wholly off the JU train obviously; just want to see how Fend en masse does for defense.
Areas of Failure:
Coaching – YOU PLAY…TO WIN…THE GAME.
Well I didn’t more often than I should have and it bit me in the ass. Less ties, more wins. Against Philly I didn’t play as tight as I should have taking the opposing team’s overall disparity in skills for granted. But Nuffle showed me what was what in scatter rolls and it got Spike killed a few turns later.
I don’t feel too bad about facing off against Bullroarer4 and walking away with 2 ties and a full distance OT coinflip loss. What I do feel bad about is not really assessing the RRs into the coin flip and then having no recourse for him turtling up. Totally got outcoached in that regard.
Team TV Management – Speaking of Bullroarer4, it is ridiculous that I gave him 3 bribes for that ridiculous ST7 Blodge roller of his. I was way less TV efficient than I should have been throughout the season but in the final game that really was apparent. The thing is, that’s really the only team with the only player that I should look out for in that regard as I’m concerned. Well, against Philly too. Hmmm. Yah, I should look for ways to conserve that but it’s hard for me to think of where besides J Rob Morgan. Maybe take away a RR and the coaches and cheerleaders despite the fact that I love the fluff of having an OC and DC and mascot (it’s that dude smoking the j in the logo).
Fouling – Don’t need two DP players. If the first one goes that should be a sign to stop. This is where I think having even one dauntless player instead could provide more situational utility.
SPP Distribution – I need a game plan for the season (and my offense). I think if Rhys makes it to Legend that will help a ton getting more even distribution. With MVPs the plan is to spend them on positionals within 5 SPP of skilling and linos in the first half of the season and then pump all positionals bar Rhys and J Rob in the 2nd half. By and large I’ve found that the turnover at lino is too high to really justify pumping them too much but if you could nab at least one +ST or +AG lino even with the anchors of Fend or Jump Up as a 1st skill, you have options.
This ends the self flagellation.
Draft Outlook:
#27 Pick…hmmmm… There isn’t going to be one goddamn Blitzer that even compares to J Rob Morgan’s slow ass in potential. There are basically 8 “Blitzer” types left and there’s no way any of them last. Not even Jerrol Garcia-Williams. So Catchers? No. Each one has a double or better and again drafting where I do that’s unlikely to have anyone better potential than Spliffspatrick even though maybe slightly better. I would be really surprised to see any +AG skilled draftees at 27.
So it’s on to linos. And there are a ton of great options for what I want to do and I should be able to get one of the better ones no matter the spot. Great mix of potential and OOB experience. That was easier than I thought.
Tune in next time when Tampa is on the clock!
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