*The Dallas Birddogs - A Story Written in Youth

[Talls]

The Dallas Birddogs - A Story Written in Youth
Talls
November 4, 2021

With the upcoming DSFL draft coming up, I want to take the time to analyze the championship winning Dallas Birddogs.  What they did right, what they did wrong, what they got lucky with, and where they are headed.  The intent of this article is to give fans of the DSFL a better understanding of this team, if you are not already a die hard fan.

There are some background information any reader needs to consider before reading this article. 

1. I am a new analyst of the International Simulation Football League
   
2. I am making (sometimes incorrect) assumptions due to my ignorance
   
3. I am open to any and all criticisms and critiques that I can use to create better, more meaningful media in the future
   
4. I work for good comments and feedback (like, subscribe, and click that bell icon for more content   )
   

The Roster Before the S32 Draft Class

The roster consisted of S29 - Ivan Toastovich - WR (250 TPE), S30 - Ricky Stanzi - QB (250 TPE), S30 - Jimmy Nardello - RB (112 TPE), S30 - JJ Jay Jay-Jaymison Jr - DT (250 TPE), S31 - Anthony MacGuire - TE (241 TPE), S31 - Sakeem Webb - CB (250 TPE), S31 - Orpheus Czargyros - LB (250 TPE), and S31 - Ben Delabaguette - CB (250 TPE).

S29 - Ivan Toastovich - WR

Ivan Toastovich is capped out at 250 applied TPE with a total earned of 406 TPE.  Toastovich will be called up to the Austin Copperheads next season.  His best attribute is his speed at 88, which matches perfectly with his 70 in hands.  He has a decent bit of strength and agility, making him a decent wide out.  He is lacking in the intelligence area but what does he need to know besides catch ball and run fast.  He obviously played all 14 games and racked in 88 catches, 1606 yards, and 10 touch downs.  That all with a staggering 18.2 yards per reception.  Those are eye popping numbers for a 14 game season.  For reference, that is 114.7 yards a game.  This guy was an obvious star for the team and definitely contributed to the team's success.

S30 - Ricky Stanzi - QB

Ricky Stanzi is capped out at 250 applied TPE with a total earned of 254 TPE.  Stanzi has an arm, is smart, and is accurate.  All perfect attributes any team would want in their starting quarterback.  He is not going to be moving around much, with an agility of 40 and a speed of 45.  He is the definition of a pocket passer.  It really shows in his stats from the last season.  In his 14 starts, he through for 4644 yards, 33 touch downs, and a 62.6% completion percentage, all with only 10 interceptions.  This guy has it all.  And all of this from a quarter back that has not been active since August.  (Would be a great time to draft a replacement).  He had what it took to get the job done and succeeded in the ultimate goal of winning a championship.

S30 - Jimmy Nardello - RB

Jimmy Nardello is not capped out at 250 applied TPE and only has a total of 112 TPE at all.  This half hearted player is a speed back, with decent agility.  This guy is more of just a person to fill a roster spot.  It is not all bleak though, he pops in every now and then to do an activity check.  But, as he is not very active, his statistics show.  Last season, he only put up 279 rushing yards for the entire season.  He did supplement his rushing yards with an additional 109 receiving yards.  And as such, only scored three total touch downs all season.  This is one player that did not have a huge impact on this team.

S30 - JJ Jay Jay-Jaymison Jr - DT

JJ Jay Jay-Jaymison Jr is capped out at 250 applied TPE and a total of 254TPE.  This is where my greenness to the league is going to show.  Jaymison Jr is an interior rusher with a massive 86 strength and capped 75 speed.  He is also decently intelligent.  Unfortunately, he is not very competitive, so securing those tackles came as a bit of a challenge.  In 14 games, he recorded 38 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and no sacks.  If I remember right, it is difficult for a defensive tackle to get sacks when compared to line backers in this league.  He is a strong and fast tackle that definitely would require some attention from the offensive line.

S31 - Anthony MacGuire - TE

Anthony MacGuire is only at 241 TPE.  This possession Tight End is strong, fast, and has good hands.  All things that would be a staple of a possession Tight End.  He could stand for more competitiveness to break some blocks, though.  In the championship season, MacGuire racked up 900 yards, 67 receptions, and 5 touchdowns.  All good for 13.4 yards per reception.  That seems incredible for a Tight End in this league.  This guy was a vertical threat that had this excellent offense absolutely humming to a cup.

S31 - Sakeem Webb - CB

Sakeem Webb is capped at 250 TPE, with a total TPE total of 490.  Webb is listed on the roster as a line backer but he is playing the corner back position with the Birddogs.  That, in itself, is an interesting storyline.  To have the size of a line backer but the speed to keep up with wide receivers is crazy to me.  He is agile and fast.  He is definitely a call up to the New York Silverbacks and has been seen improving all aspects of his game.  For the Birddogs, he was the primary kick returner, with a 20.7 yard average.  He had 89 tackles, 1 forced fumble and recovery, 2 sacks, and 4 interceptions.  This guy did it all.  He was a huge part of this defense in persuit of the cup.

S31 - Orpheus Czargyros - LB

Orpheus Czargyros is capped at 250 TPE, with a total TPE total of 440.  Czargyros is a call up for the San Jose SaberCats for the upcoming season.  For the Birddogs, he was strong and fast.  Perfect for a pass rushing line backer that he is.  In his 14 games, he had 112 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 5 sacks.  Those are just the numbers you expect for a defensive leader on this team.  Czargyros really helped solidify the defense against the pass rushing offense.

S31 - Ben Delabaguette - CB

Ben Delabaguette is capped at 250 TPE, with 263 total TPE.  Delabaguette has a lot of speed and agility, a common trait among corner backs on the team.  He could stand to improve his competitiveness and tackling to become a more well-rounded player for his future ISFL team.  In his second year for the Birddogs, he started all 14 games, coming up with 59 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery, and 2 interceptions.  He has room to grow on the team but his efforts have definitely paid off this season.

As anyone could see, this active roster is pretty light.  But, what they lack in numbers, they make for in quality.  This leadership corps is stacked and made huge strides in making the team better.  Assuming that none of the S29 players get called up, the Birddogs should only be better next season.  Let's compare that to the draft class the Dallas Birddogs brought in.  

The S32 Draft Class

The draft class consisted of 6 overall John Riggins - RB (226 TPE), 14 overall Kalam Mekhar - LB (219 TPE), 22 overall Escanor Sama - WR (221 TPE), 30 overall Lance Witt - S (194 TPE), 38 overall Eater Piefell - DT (69 TPE), 46 overall Taylor Swayman - TE (57 TPE), 54 overall Spooky Bazz - KP (57 TPE), and 62 overall Frost McMillian - CB (50 TPE).  Additionally Jessie Carson - LB (71 TPE) was acquired after the draft.

John Riggins - RB

John Riggins is already capped at 250 TPE, which is saying something for a rookie.  He is a power back (which I love to see) with great speed, strength, and agility.  He could use a little more endurance required to be an every down back.  Surprising to me that Riggins became such a well rounded back in the championship season.  With 104 rushing attempts, 489 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, on top of 414 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns, and 37 catches.  This man does it all.  He is a more than capable rusher but with his receiving ability, no wonder he went so high in the draft.

Kalam Mekhar - LB

Kalam Mekhar is also capped at 250 TPE, and at a total of 291 TPE.  This corner back turned line backer has great speed and strength, but a little lacking in the hands department.  If he is going to ever succeed as a corner back, he will need to get better at catching the ball.  Which he did and will be great at this upcoming season.  He was definitely lacking at line backer, only starting 5 games.  He was more of a depth guy.  He had 42 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 4 sacks on the season.  His additional at depth really helped propel the Birddogs forward to the championship.

Escanor Sama - WR

Escanor Sama is also capped at 250 TPE, and at a total of 265 TPE.  This possession receiver is strong, agile, fast, all with good hands.  He could stand to improve in the areas of endurance and competitiveness to get those yards after catch.  This guy is the new star on the team.  In his rookie season, he racked up a staggering 1420 yards, 88 catches, 11 touch downs, all with 16.1 yards per reception.  This guy is a living cheat code.  And it all makes sense when you realize this team only had two receivers on the team TOTAL.

Lance Witt - S

Lance Witt is currently sitting at 218 TPE.  But don't let that fool you, he is an agile and fast safety who could stand to improve in competitiveness and hands.  With those limitations, he still started 14 games last season and he was still able to get pretty great statistics.  He had 62 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 4 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries, and 3 interceptions.  Not too bad for the rookie safety who was seeing a lot of time on the team.  Witt really helped solidify the back end of the team to help keep big passing days only a dream for opposing offenses.

Eater Piefell - DT

Eater Piefell is currently sitting at 69 (nice) TPE.  He has not been active since mid September.  You can't hit on all of your picks.  He has an okay strength and that is about it.  He needs to improve in almost every aspect, if he hopes to make a mark in this league.  He did get all 14 starts at tackle and recorded 33 tackles with that time.  But with no forced fumbles or sacks, he was more of a hole to fill than anything else.  If he were to just come online and update, he could be a real force to be reckoned with.

Taylor Swayman - TE

Taylor Swayman is currently sitting at 57  TPE.  He has not been active since late September.  It looks like we are a the point on the roster where people were happy to be drafted and then fell of the face of the earth.  Which is a real shame because if these players all hit, the Birddogs would have no issues winning the cup every season.  It is not even worth talking about the player attributes anymore.  Swayman started only 3 games last season, and had 11 receptions for 52 yards, and 2 touch downs.  That is pretty good for a bench warmer.

Spooky Bazz - KP

Spooky Bazz is currently at 57  TPE.  This guy is an early September drop out.  He is an accurate kicker with some points into power.  He does the job, which is all the team can ask.  Would it be nice to have an active kicker with better stats?  Sure.  But, the Birddogs will take what they can get.  And it worked out pretty well with a 96% extra point percentage and a 83.9% field goal percentage.  He even made 1 50 yarder.  Not too bad for an inactive player who could be so much better if they put forth even a little bit of effort.

Frost McMillian - CB

Frost McMillian is still at 50 TPE.  You know, the initial allotment.  This guy couldn't even find the effort in his soul to even conceive of doing the 20 second activity check.  But, as is sim life.  This cover corner somehow still started six games for the Birddogs.  I did also get 2 interceptions, 2 sacks, and 19 tackles with zero effort.  I guess that works for a player you obviously took to make sure you had some more "active" players on the roster.  I can see the upside here, especially this late in the draft.  Hopefully, the team can replace him with a real player in this upcoming draft and not this hulking, mindless piece of flesh.

Jessie Carson - LB

Jessie Carson is at 71 TPE.  Carson actually had an update in October, which is leaps and bounds over the previous few players I have spoken about.  Unfortunately, he is now inactive but at least he is better than the low effort players from before.  He only played 8 games and started 7.  He only recorded 6 tackles.  That is a little strange to me that the low effort players from before got more playing time than a guy who at least did what he could for a month or so.  I am sure there is more to this story that I am not aware of, but hey, he got a trophy regardless.

As you can tell, that is a massive draft class.  Four out of the nine draft picks seem to be performing well.  This is good news as that would still net the Birddogs a net positive going into the next season.  

This team had active players across the board.  This definitely helped the Birddogs continue to get better throughout the season.  One thing to note is that my bot estimates are no where near correct for this league and that leads back to my ignorance of how things work around here.  Here is a team with only two wide receivers that went on to win it all, as one example.  But no one can deny the results.  It appears that the Birddogs focus on offensive talent has paid off but they definitely also go lucky.  If they did not luck out that their offense was more potent than their opponents, it could of went the other way.  A definite focus on the defensive side of the ball this draft will pay dividends in the future.

This upcoming draft class is loaded from top to bottom on all sides of the ball.  From the talented and super active Nick Flint - LB, to the over the top wide receiver Marvin Toledo, as well as the Frost brothers, there are some great picks to take advantage of in this draft.  It all comes down to how the draft plays out and I for one can't wait to see how it turned out tonight at 8 PM EST.  Hopefully, the Birddogs make the correct choices and can repeat the miracle they accomplished this season.

As I said before, good comments and feedback pays the bills here and though not required, it is appreciated.  Especially if you would like more content like this in the future.  Who knows, maybe your team is the next winner of the cup and I will do a roster analysis of them so the league can get a better idea of your secret sauce.  Or, maybe you don't want that.  Either way, I look forward to what every team does in Season 32 and good luck to all the teams an players in this next, great, historic season.

-Talls

[Asked Madden]

Holy shit dude. This is an awesome piece! Loved some of the scathing comments of the guys who went IA.
And we 100% got lucky at times. But at the end of the day we got that W!
Good luck in the upcoming draft, I'd love to see more of this style content in the future.

[Talls]

As GM myself, I know how irritating it is for people who seem great to go IA. :shrug:

[LordEscanor]

Gorgeous article

[zaynzk]

[g2019]

Great stuff, Talls! Do a Norfolk season preview

[ReverendOReily]

I appreciate the hell out of you and this article - I loved everything from the actual analysis to the snark directed at OUR FREELOADING KICKER. Love to see comprehensive works like this, especially when they're about my favorite team

[cole6249]

Amazing Writeup. I'd give my 2 running back legs to have drafted you.
 @Asked Madden and @ReverendOReily are amazing GMS (Just like you in the SHL <3) and this year was their show.