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+---- Thread: *Building the Copperheads and the Butchers, Part 3 (/showthread.php?tid=14215)
*Building the Copperheads and the Butchers, Part 3 - nickyvmlp - 07-07-2019
The start of Season 16 is almost here, and most of the big moves of the offseason have already been made. At this point, unless you have a trade planned, you’ve got your Week 1 roster set. The Copperheads and Butchers have been assembled with young prospects and veteran castoffs. Will they have a chance to compete for playoff spots and Ultimus rings this season? Well, if you’re a regular to these posts, you already know my thoughts on them, but let’s see what their final roster looks like.
Austin Copperheads
QB Easton Cole - 297 TPE
RB Dick Wizardry - 955
RB Mako Mendonca - 210
WR Django Anoa’i - 640
WR Sam Hardwick - 570
WR Rod Tidwell - 447
TE Peter Larson - 230
TE Michael Rood - 112 (sent down)
OL Edmond Beaver-Dantes - 296
OL Rahm Kota - 103 (sent down)
DE Grayson Kuusela - 520
DE Joseph Henry - 218
DE Khalil Sack - 50 (sent down)
DT Nick Snider - 124
DT Bruce Waynner - 59 (sent down)
LB Sandip Bakshi - 356
LB A.J. Robertson - 249
CB Spencer Castle - 383
CB Dermot Lavelle Jr. - 348
S Chase Jensen - 534 (changed position from TE)
S Jonathan Towers - 196
S Troy Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - 175
K Alfredo Crisco - 255
Let’s start with something not so good: at this point, Easton Cole is the lowest rated quarterback in the majors. He was killer for Palm Beach a year ago, but the NSFL is a whole nother animal, and Cole will have to adapt quickly or get swallowed by it. His 80 Arm Strength stat isn’t going to wow anyone as most starters in the majors have at least 90. Same for his Accuracy and Intelligence, which also stand at 80, and even his speed is a paltry 60. The only QB he’s faster than is fellow freshman Wolfie McDummy. There’s a reason you don’t see a lot of true rookie QBs. These things will get better with time, and that’s what the Copperheads are banking on, but just know, those first few weeks may be rough, and this season should be about developing Cole, as opposed to immediate success. He’s already gained over 110 TPE since the Ultimus, so he’s off to a good start.
At least he’ll have someone to hand the ball to. Dick Wizardry is just now entering his prime and if I had to choose a running back to build my team around, I’d spend twenty minutes milling over either Wizardry and Marquise Brown, and then eventually take Wizardry. He’s brutally strong, deceptively nimble, and has hands like Velcro. He’s not the best running back in the league in any particular area, but he can do a little bit of everything, really, really well. And behind him is a rookie back with a lot of potential in Mako Mendonca. At first glance, his best attributes are an 85 Speed, 75 Agility, and 70 Hands. That’s not gonna take the tops off of defenses, but they’re a good start. If he keeps learning from the Wizard, those numbers will go up in no time. However, a sneaky big benefit of getting Mendonca is that he was on that same Palm Beach team that Easton Cole captained to an Ultimini, so that chemistry is there, and it’s undisputed. Expect maybe an 80-20 split between the two backs, Wizardry is the man, but Mako will get his scraps.
At wide receiver, the Copperheads get to put an exciting, young trio on the field of Django Anoa’i, Sam Hardwick, and Rod Tidwell, and all three have updated recently. Even Hardwick, who’s been MIA for a couple of months. I don’t know if he appears once and leaves often, but it gives Austin’s receiver corps, easily the team’s best unit, another big shot in the arm. Starting with Django, this dude has some of the best hands in the majors. His 93 Hands is second only to Xavier Flash. And he’s a smart dude who runs tight routes and won’t get penalties called on him. He doesn’t have breakaway speed or elite elusiveness, but if you need ten yards, Django will find an opening. Sam Hardwick on the other hand can be that big play, Odell-esque receiver. His 97 Speed and 65 Strength can let him sprint past defenders and make contested jumpball catches. And then there’s Rod Tidwell. After two years of developing in Tijuana, he’s already the most agile receiver on this team, with a very healthy 75 Agility. His 91 Speed and 90 Hands are also good enough to get the ball in his hands consistently. I could see Austin using a ton of three-receiver sets, with Hardwick and Tidwell on the outsides, and Anoa’i in the slot. Finally, tight end Peter Larson is a work-in-progress. He doesn’t have any stats in the 80s yet, so he may not see a ton of snaps at the start of the season. As someone who was a rookie tight end last year, this is normal. As the season goes along though, if he keeps his nose to the grindstone, he’ll see the field more and more. (Oh, and complain for more snaps, that helps too. I did just that and the next week, I went for 7-85-1. Just saying, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.)
Along the lines, we’ll start with Edmond Beaver-Dantes, their lone active human O-linemen. I don’t know exactly how much “TPE” an O-line bot has, but right now, EBD is the best human OL in the game, so if anyone’s going to get used. it should be him. On the other side of the ball, things are pretty dire. But starting with the positives, they have Grayson Kuusela, one of the fastest edge rushers in the game. He can blow by tackles with the greatest of ease with his 85 Speed. But he’s not just speed, he’s also technique. His 75 Intelligence is tied for the best at his position, so he can out maneuver O-linemen who aren’t ready for him. And now for the bad news. The Copperheads will also be starting Joseph Henry and Nick Snider, who are both not good. Henry has Speed and Strength at 80, but nothing else on either of these guys leaps out and says “starter”. And with their fourth D-linemen, I assume they’re investing in a bot, because otherwise, they’d be starting 59 TPE Bruce Waynner. No thank you sir.
At linebacker, we begin with Sandip Bakshi, another lightening fast pass rusher. His 90 Speed leads his position, so don’t be surprised if he and Kuusela are able to get to the quarterback with regularity. Unfortunately, Bakshi’s tackling is a paltry 71, so he might be on the receiving end of a couple of highlight runs and evasions. And seeing as how linebackers are pretty important to rush coverage, this needs to improve ASAP. Alongside him is A.J. Robertson, who’s a jack of all trades, master of none kind of backer. 82 Speed, 75 Strength, and 75 Agility are all fine, but won’t blow the doors off. Finally, since Bakshi and Robertson are the only two linebackers on their roster, I think they’ll play one of their three safeties out of position, and I think Troy Humuhumunukunuku?pua?a would be the man for the job. His 62 Strength isn’t great, but it’s better than Jonathan Towers, and his 86 Speed should get some nice results.
In the secondary, we’ll start with cornerbacks Spencer Castle and Dermot Lavelle Jr. These two have their roles very clearly defined. Castle, with his 95 Speed, will usually be paired against the opposing team’s fastest receiver, and will be expected to win jump balls against those receivers. Lavelle on the other hand, will likely cover slot and short yardage receivers, since he won’t get knocked off his feet with his 80 Agility and 75 Intelligence. Plus his 75 Hands will make him much more of a ball hawk, so don’t be shocked if he leads his team in interceptions. At safety, they’ll be starting the former tight end Chase Jensen and Jonathan Towers. Jensen still has a lot of his key attributes from his days as a tight end, with 75 Strength (tops among safeties), 91 Speed, and 79 Hands. Those skills should translate nicely to safety, and while he needs to work on his tackling, the rest of his game is falling nicely into place. Finally, there’s Jonathan Towers, who’s probably one of the worst starting safeties in the league. He doesn’t stand out in any significant way, and safety will likely be an area of need in a year when the draft rolls around. Finally at kicker, they have Alfredo Crisco, who’s young and active, so what more could you ask for?
Strengths: Receiving corps, Running Game, Special Teams
Weaknesses: Defensive Line, Quarterback, Linebackers
Season Prediction: 3-10, Fifth in ASFC
Chicago Butchers
QB Rose Jenkins - 609 TPE
RB Ricky Adams - 595 (after regression)
RB Aksel Daniellson - 412
RB Sam Torenson - 343
RB Ben Bortboy - 159
WR Kazimir Oles - 1389
WR Roger Batoff - 386
WR Felix Hasslehoff - 338
WR Andre Thorton - 50 (sent down)
TE Declan Harp - 592 (after regression)
TE Timmy Hoss - 191 (sent down)
OL Ben Tu'inukuafe - 190 (sent down)
DE D’Pez Poopsie - 1055
DE Kwame Mbanefo - 848
DE Trevon Simmons - 50 (sent down)
DT Curtis Saul - 453
DT Will Foster - 271
DT Poster Nutbag - 50 (sent down)
LB Gekyume Stokeley - 433
LB Guy Nikko - 422
LB Blake Faux - 297
LB Buddha Lebowski - 50 (sent down)
CB Achilles Hondo - 702
CB Xerxes Ridley - 489
CB Bobson Dugnutt - 345
CB Neon Demon - 50 (sent down)
S Lightsout Lewis - 483 (changed position from LB)
S Jack Rambo - 321
S Avery Thomas - 69 (sent down)
K Kulture Fulture - 635
K Paul DiMirio III - 50 (sent down)
I’d say things are looking good for Butchers, and that starts at quarterback with Rose Jenkins. This will put my theory about KC having a poisonous locker room to the ultimate test, because last season, Rose was absolutely dreadful in the minors, but on paper at least, she’s at least a mid-grade starting QB in the majors. Her 90 Arm Strength and Accuracy will get the job done, and her 70 Agility will help her evade some tacklers, but don’t expect Jenkins to pull off any 87 yard rushes or anything.
In the backfield, the Butchers have three capable backs, and we’ll likely see all of them in action. Ricky Adams is the veteran and highest TPE of the bunch. He excels in the passing game with 84 Hands (third best at his position), and when he’s handed the ball, he can make lax tacklers pay the price with a punishing 75 Strength. Finally, 74 in Intelligence (second best among RBs) will make him a safe play who won’t get penalized. After him, you’ll find Aksel Danielsson, and this dude is heckin’ fast. 100 Speed, you literally can’t get better than that. Yea, he’s a one-cut back, but those cuts could cause sonic booms. Aside from that, his only other noteworthy stat is a 79 in Agility, so if he has to evade a defender, he can, but he’s definitely a Chris Johnson-like back. Fast, fast, and more fast. Then there’s the rookie Sam Torenson. I honestly thought Torenson might see time in the DSFL this season, since Ricky Adams is going through regression, and he might see more use next season, but the Butchers are gonna have a role for him this year. Like Danielsson, Torenson is really darn fast with a 95 Speed, and a 70 in Strength will let him plow through defenders instead of around them, like Aksel would do. The Butchers will likely have a committee system going with these three, so expect all of them to get decent but not amazing numbers.
At receiver, there’s one guy that teams need to worry about: Kazimir Oles. The best player in our league today. Tops at his position in every category that matters, and even tops in the ones that don’t. He’s even maxed out Kick Power, just for those trick plays. But seriously, 100 Speed, 90 Hands, 90 Agility, 80 Intelligence, 65 Strength, 100 Endurance. Kazimir Oles can do literally anything you need him to do. Just throw the ball vaguely to his side of the field, and Oles will come down with it. Unfortunately, depth is a concern, as their other two wide outs are both under 400: Roger Batoff and Felix Hasslehoff. Both Batoff and Hasslehoff play similarly, low 90's Speed, low 80's Hands, low 70's Agility. You could probably have them swap jerseys and no one would notice a difference. That’ll be a concern to address down the road, but they do have a solid #2 target in tight end Declan Harp. Harp can do it all, and while he’s not the best tight end in the league, he’s up there with his 85 Speed, 83 Hands, 80 Strength, and 80 Intelligence. As a tight end myself, I can say that those are numbers to strive for.
Their only O-Lineman is their second rounder Ben Tu’inukuafe, but he’s likely heading down to the minors. Along the defensive line though, oh boy. On one side, D’Pez Poopsie, on the other Kwame Mbanefo. Who do you focus on? Both of these guys are maxed out in Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Tackling, Speed, and Hands, along with pretty much every other stat. Two guys this good along a D-line is borderline criminal. Add in a speedy, agile DT in Curtis Saul, and a strong powerhouse in Will Foster, and this line is gonna wreck shop. If I were opposing offenses, I’d just get the ball out of my hands as quickly as I possibly could.
And then there the linebacker corps, which might be the same way in a couple of years. The trio of Gekyume Stokeley, Guy Nikko, and Blake Faux are talented, young, and most importantly, active. As of now, they’re decent players, but they’ll only get better soon. Stokeley is the powerhouse of the group with 85 Strength and 80 Tackling, and he showed a knack of popping the ball out last season with three forced fumbles. Guy Nikko is very solid in coverage with 55 Hands and 70 Intelligence, and Blake Faux boasts those numbers too, but is slightly weaker than Nikko. All three of them have 85 Speed and at least 70 Intelligence, so these guys are young, fast, and can hit the QB hard. When this is the weakest part of your defense, you’re in good shape.
Finally, in the secondary, we’ll find another batch of heavy hitters on this secondary. Achilles Hondo is the strongest cornerback in the league with 70 Strength and is the best tackling cornerback with 72 Tackling. Basically, if Hondo is guarding you, and if you come down with it, you’re gonna regret it. And that’s going along with 95 Speed, 90 Agility, 80 Intelligence, and 70 Hands. That’s a hell of a setup for a corner. Partnered with him is last year’s second rounder Xerxes Ridley. Ridley can’t match up with Hondo in most categories, aside from one. He has some of the best hands of any defender, sporting an 80 there. He may not hit as hard, but that may not matter if he’s already running the other way with the ball. Finally, aiding them in the slot is Bobson Dugnutt, who’s fast and has good hands, but he’s straight up bad at tackling, so he probably won’t be the last line of defense. At the safety spots, we have the recently converted linebacker, Lightsout Lewis, who hits hard and brings down the ball carrier often, just don’t expect a lot of INTs from him, and Jack Rambo, another youngster with decent stats across the board, but doesn’t stand out in any one way. He’ll hopefully grow into a more complete role on this team. Finally, there’s the specialist, Kulture Fulture, the best kicker/punter in the league. This team is an embarrassment of riches.
Strengths: Defensive Line, #1 Receiver, Secondary, Special Teams
Weakness: Linebackers, Receiver Depth, No Elite RB
Season Prediction: 9-4, Second in NSFC
2859 words .
*Building the Copperheads and the Butchers, Part 3 - ValorX77 - 07-07-2019
Do I think this article is great? Yes I do, you are the best writer on this forum.
Do I agree with your suggested Butchers record? Definitely not, it’s more likely Yellowknife gets that spot and Chicago finishes third, and yes, gets eliminated by the Wraiths.
*Building the Copperheads and the Butchers, Part 3 - Oles - 07-07-2019
(07-07-2019, 09:33 PM)ValorX77 Wrote:Do I think this article is great? Yes I do, you are the best writer on this forum.
Do I agree with your suggested Butchers record? Definitely not, it’s more likely Yellowknife gets that spot and Chicago finishes third, and yes, gets eliminated by the Wraiths.
it's only more likely that wraiths get that spot because Butchers will actually end up with the best record in the league
*Building the Copperheads and the Butchers, Part 3 - ValorX77 - 07-07-2019
(07-08-2019, 01:57 AM)To12143 Wrote:it's only more likely that wraiths get that spot because Butchers will actually end up with the worst record in the leagueOh cool.
*Building the Copperheads and the Butchers, Part 3 - tlk742 - 07-08-2019
(07-07-2019, 07:48 PM)nickyvmlp Wrote:Anoa’i in the slot.
cries in WR3