(S9) - PT 5 - Revisiting Expectations

[Grapehead]

Damien Arnold’s expectations from earlier in the season were that he would play his way into being a first round selection in the NSFL draft. While we can’t say for certain that will or won’t be the case, we do know that Arnold had a very good rookie season with the Portland Pythons. Some questions linger about commitment to training, and whether teams can expect Arnold to continue developing at, or better than his current pace. It’s true that he has been known to miss the occasional session throughout the season. On the field though, he has been playing the kind of solid defense that teams need to have. He’s provided the Pythons with reliable coverage all season long, and chipped in with a couple of interceptions as well. It remains to be seen if he has truly set himself apart from his fellow draftmates this season, or if he’ll come up short of his expectations, but from here it looks like he may have pulled it off; we’ll see in the coming weeks. Right now Arnold and the rest of the Pythons are gearing up for a showdown with the Coyotes in the DSFL playoffs, and looking to avenge their first round loss last season.