Where do you expect to finish record-wise in S8?
Roly has pretty much summed this up. It’s no secret that the Otters remain strong, the New Orleans Second Line is on their way up, and ourselves and the Sabercats are entering rebuild mode. However, it’s simply the nature of the game that you never can know for sure what’s going to happen. I don’t think anybody thought the Outlaws would finish anywhere but last after Season 7 Week 8 when we were 1-7, but we ended flying out to Orange County for a playoff game anyway.
How do you feel about the state in which the previous Arizona GMs left the team?
I’m highly appreciative that they left me on a team with my former-Marshals and current-Arizona GM partner! Not a bad Season 5 draft, eh?
Do you expect King Bronko to retire an Outlaw?
Without a doubt. He has been the face, heart, and soul of this franchise for years now, and I can’t imagine him ever leaving, save for retirement. Speaking of:
If so, how long do you expect him to play?
It’s hard to say. Like I said earlier, few things in football can be known for sure; It’s a game that takes a real toll on the body. What I can say is that for as long as the King is willing and able to fight the natural regression that comes with age, he’ll have a starting spot on our team.
Can you give us a play by play of draft night for the Outlaws? How did the process of decided when and who to make picks work out? Did you think you'd be able to add to your offense so much in the second round with the top WR and top TE in the draft?
This is an awesome question. As Roly said, the whole draft was made a lot easier for us thanks to extensive preparation. As for a draft night “play by play”: as the draft began, I knew it’d be a bit of wait before we had any picks to make (our first was 9OA). I did reach out to one team after the draft had began regarding a trade up into the first round, but we couldn’t come to an agreement. No big deal though: you don’t bank on a deal being made unless it’s been made. We were prepared, and there was no reason to play with cards we didn’t have. It’s a draft, not poker! Anyways, I’m sitting there waiting for it to be the Outlaws pick, and it’d be hard to not notice Viggo Squanch sliding down the board... Different teams have different needs, but Squanch was a mid to high first rounder on our board, so when it came to the 9th overall and he was still there, we selected him in an instant. The really great thing about his selection is that it meant it opened up a trade opportunity with the Hawks. By selecting a wide receiver we expect to be dominating the league in a few years, we felt comfortable trading former Arizona WR1 Budda Browning to the Hawks so that we could get another second round pick (12 overall). The trade went through, of course, and suddenly we found ourselves picking at 12 with, once again, a guy on our draftboard ranked higher for us than the pick we were on. So, yet again, it was a pretty easy decision.
To make a way too long story shorter: no, going in, we didn’t even expect to be getting more than one second round pick. Coming about, we feel great about what was accomplished and very pleased with the guys we’ve added to our roster.
You've signed your rookies pretty quickly. How were you able to move so quickly to get them signed?
Roly says it’s a good question for me but he pretty much already covered it... There’s two main reasons. One: we have our finances in order and knew what we had available to spend on rookie contracts. Two: our rookies quickly joined the team Discord which makes communications waaaaay quicker and more efficient than on the forums. (Thanks <3)
You made the playoffs last year. Is a rebuild really on, or is this a reload?
I’ll say it yet again: this game changes rapidly, etc etc. But, there are times to sugarcoat things, and this isn't one of them. From where I’m sitting now, it’s a rebuild. That doesn’t mean doom and gloom though. Rebuilds CAN be efficient and successful; not every team has to be the Cleveland Browns! It’s on us as General Managers to have attainable goals and be steadily moving towards them. I think we’re capable of that.
Roly has pretty much summed this up. It’s no secret that the Otters remain strong, the New Orleans Second Line is on their way up, and ourselves and the Sabercats are entering rebuild mode. However, it’s simply the nature of the game that you never can know for sure what’s going to happen. I don’t think anybody thought the Outlaws would finish anywhere but last after Season 7 Week 8 when we were 1-7, but we ended flying out to Orange County for a playoff game anyway.
How do you feel about the state in which the previous Arizona GMs left the team?
I’m highly appreciative that they left me on a team with my former-Marshals and current-Arizona GM partner! Not a bad Season 5 draft, eh?
Do you expect King Bronko to retire an Outlaw?
Without a doubt. He has been the face, heart, and soul of this franchise for years now, and I can’t imagine him ever leaving, save for retirement. Speaking of:
If so, how long do you expect him to play?
It’s hard to say. Like I said earlier, few things in football can be known for sure; It’s a game that takes a real toll on the body. What I can say is that for as long as the King is willing and able to fight the natural regression that comes with age, he’ll have a starting spot on our team.
Can you give us a play by play of draft night for the Outlaws? How did the process of decided when and who to make picks work out? Did you think you'd be able to add to your offense so much in the second round with the top WR and top TE in the draft?
This is an awesome question. As Roly said, the whole draft was made a lot easier for us thanks to extensive preparation. As for a draft night “play by play”: as the draft began, I knew it’d be a bit of wait before we had any picks to make (our first was 9OA). I did reach out to one team after the draft had began regarding a trade up into the first round, but we couldn’t come to an agreement. No big deal though: you don’t bank on a deal being made unless it’s been made. We were prepared, and there was no reason to play with cards we didn’t have. It’s a draft, not poker! Anyways, I’m sitting there waiting for it to be the Outlaws pick, and it’d be hard to not notice Viggo Squanch sliding down the board... Different teams have different needs, but Squanch was a mid to high first rounder on our board, so when it came to the 9th overall and he was still there, we selected him in an instant. The really great thing about his selection is that it meant it opened up a trade opportunity with the Hawks. By selecting a wide receiver we expect to be dominating the league in a few years, we felt comfortable trading former Arizona WR1 Budda Browning to the Hawks so that we could get another second round pick (12 overall). The trade went through, of course, and suddenly we found ourselves picking at 12 with, once again, a guy on our draftboard ranked higher for us than the pick we were on. So, yet again, it was a pretty easy decision.
To make a way too long story shorter: no, going in, we didn’t even expect to be getting more than one second round pick. Coming about, we feel great about what was accomplished and very pleased with the guys we’ve added to our roster.
You've signed your rookies pretty quickly. How were you able to move so quickly to get them signed?
Roly says it’s a good question for me but he pretty much already covered it... There’s two main reasons. One: we have our finances in order and knew what we had available to spend on rookie contracts. Two: our rookies quickly joined the team Discord which makes communications waaaaay quicker and more efficient than on the forums. (Thanks <3)
You made the playoffs last year. Is a rebuild really on, or is this a reload?
I’ll say it yet again: this game changes rapidly, etc etc. But, there are times to sugarcoat things, and this isn't one of them. From where I’m sitting now, it’s a rebuild. That doesn’t mean doom and gloom though. Rebuilds CAN be efficient and successful; not every team has to be the Cleveland Browns! It’s on us as General Managers to have attainable goals and be steadily moving towards them. I think we’re capable of that.
![[Image: unknown.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/735279101711220767/761677188524277830/unknown.png)
![[Image: HtYhYYf.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HtYhYYf.png)
