02-19-2020, 01:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-06-2020, 04:27 AM by Memento Mori.)
Interview conducted through discord.
[@Duilio05]
Background: Player is Walt Green, S15. Safety for Baltimore. GM personna is Taco MacArthur. Been Baltimore GM for three seasons now. Baltimore lost to Colorado in the NSFC wildcard.
1. In your opinion, what attributes do you think are most important for a defensive back?
As a young player I went speed, all speed very early. Put very little in other stats and I still almost tied the DSFL record for ints in one season, in my first six games. QBs grew wise to me and stopped throwing in my direction rest of the season. So my experience speed is the biggest boost for a growing DB. Even more so after what happened in the playoffs that season. Shoulda won the Ultimini but I got complacent and allowed another player to get faster than me. Curse you Tom Hanks.
2. How do you deal with playoff losses as a player?
They're hard. You always want to get to the playoffs. In the playoffs the regular season no longer matters and anything can happen. Playoffs are where upsets get remembered for ever. It really depends. After the Ultimus S17 loss to OCO you wonder what happened, we were the best yet nothing went right that day and you second guess yourself. But this season as an underdog you know despite the outcome we still have everything we had, and luck didn't roll correctly for us. Despite losing in a playoff game no matter the circumstances, it's always better to be in the playoffs than at home.
3. Do you think the playoffs are too easy to get in? 6/10 teams is a lot, wouldn't you say? Shouldn't regular season success be valued more?
I think 6/10 is just right, especially broken down by each conference only having 3 teams get in. Makes the end of season a lot more exciting. S20 every game in week 13 mattered. A different outcome in any game could have change the playoffs seeding, and as sports that's what we want. Excitement & tension. When we expand maybe it'll be good to keep the team count at 6 instead of increasing to 8. But right now it still give hope to teams who'd otherwise already check out.
4. What do you think is one of the most crucial aspects for success as a GM that maybe many people don't know?
Taking it slowly. Make sure you can dedicate the time needed. And also try to start as DSFL COGM first. As a GM you're responsible for making sure every player on your team is having a good time, even when losing. And that is a very difficult challenge. HO will be very selective when choosing new GMs for expansion because we want to ensure those people have time & commitment to help players learn the league, have fun, and hopefully stay involved even if they're not the highest tpe earning users. Having the opportunity to work along side such GMs is a great form of mentorship that could get you noticed for future GM spots. With the rapid player turn over going from DSFL to NSFL, it also provides an understanding of what works and doesn't work in terms of team building strategies. Hallmonitor quickly ascended from DSFL to NSFL GM very quickly because he learned lessons from the mistakes of his previous GMs and turned a team from potential contraction to a league power house. That team building skill made him ideal to take over a NSFL team.
5. According to a recent article by user retrospace111, there is an estimated 242 players for the S22 draft class. As a GM, how do you feel about the influx of new prospects and the possibility of an expansion?
It's great for the league. New influences are always a good way to make an organization better and this is no different. It's means there's potential for older league staff to find new players that could potentially be mentored to eventually take over league positions. Just like any occupation people need vacations from their work. I think that's the greatest part of any large draft class. As GM expansion is a crazy & exciting time. The large class means we have opportunity to set the foundation of the team to make runs for the Ultimus in the future. But it also means there's potential to lose older players to the expansion teams if we do an expansion draft. Lastly it provides new challenges, there are several DSFL GMs ready to step up to the next level and this is great opportunity for that to happen.
[@Duilio05]
Background: Player is Walt Green, S15. Safety for Baltimore. GM personna is Taco MacArthur. Been Baltimore GM for three seasons now. Baltimore lost to Colorado in the NSFC wildcard.
1. In your opinion, what attributes do you think are most important for a defensive back?
As a young player I went speed, all speed very early. Put very little in other stats and I still almost tied the DSFL record for ints in one season, in my first six games. QBs grew wise to me and stopped throwing in my direction rest of the season. So my experience speed is the biggest boost for a growing DB. Even more so after what happened in the playoffs that season. Shoulda won the Ultimini but I got complacent and allowed another player to get faster than me. Curse you Tom Hanks.
2. How do you deal with playoff losses as a player?
They're hard. You always want to get to the playoffs. In the playoffs the regular season no longer matters and anything can happen. Playoffs are where upsets get remembered for ever. It really depends. After the Ultimus S17 loss to OCO you wonder what happened, we were the best yet nothing went right that day and you second guess yourself. But this season as an underdog you know despite the outcome we still have everything we had, and luck didn't roll correctly for us. Despite losing in a playoff game no matter the circumstances, it's always better to be in the playoffs than at home.
3. Do you think the playoffs are too easy to get in? 6/10 teams is a lot, wouldn't you say? Shouldn't regular season success be valued more?
I think 6/10 is just right, especially broken down by each conference only having 3 teams get in. Makes the end of season a lot more exciting. S20 every game in week 13 mattered. A different outcome in any game could have change the playoffs seeding, and as sports that's what we want. Excitement & tension. When we expand maybe it'll be good to keep the team count at 6 instead of increasing to 8. But right now it still give hope to teams who'd otherwise already check out.
4. What do you think is one of the most crucial aspects for success as a GM that maybe many people don't know?
Taking it slowly. Make sure you can dedicate the time needed. And also try to start as DSFL COGM first. As a GM you're responsible for making sure every player on your team is having a good time, even when losing. And that is a very difficult challenge. HO will be very selective when choosing new GMs for expansion because we want to ensure those people have time & commitment to help players learn the league, have fun, and hopefully stay involved even if they're not the highest tpe earning users. Having the opportunity to work along side such GMs is a great form of mentorship that could get you noticed for future GM spots. With the rapid player turn over going from DSFL to NSFL, it also provides an understanding of what works and doesn't work in terms of team building strategies. Hallmonitor quickly ascended from DSFL to NSFL GM very quickly because he learned lessons from the mistakes of his previous GMs and turned a team from potential contraction to a league power house. That team building skill made him ideal to take over a NSFL team.
5. According to a recent article by user retrospace111, there is an estimated 242 players for the S22 draft class. As a GM, how do you feel about the influx of new prospects and the possibility of an expansion?
It's great for the league. New influences are always a good way to make an organization better and this is no different. It's means there's potential for older league staff to find new players that could potentially be mentored to eventually take over league positions. Just like any occupation people need vacations from their work. I think that's the greatest part of any large draft class. As GM expansion is a crazy & exciting time. The large class means we have opportunity to set the foundation of the team to make runs for the Ultimus in the future. But it also means there's potential to lose older players to the expansion teams if we do an expansion draft. Lastly it provides new challenges, there are several DSFL GMs ready to step up to the next level and this is great opportunity for that to happen.
