If you’ve seen the title, you have a good idea of what’s coming. If you just want my official statement and don’t have the time to read a bunch of word vomit, then I suggest you skip this next paragraph.
After a bye week following the week 9 games for the DSFL, Maui had a lot of time to reflect on his recent play and performance. He had a lot of mixed emotions and feelings regarding his time in the league. He had fallen a lot in the draft, despite being a top prospect. A lot of people attributed it to him being an offensive lineman, and deep down he knew that it was true, and offensive linemen were just not going to be seen as key as other skill position players. It’s a natural thought to have, and probably a justifiable one, but Maui was tired of the narrative. He was hopeful, wanting to shift the narrative and show how drafting an offensive lineman could turn a team’s fortunes around. Dallas drafted two offensive lineman, and it’s not a coincidence that they have one of the best offensive lines in the league now, and the best rushing attack behind Cobra Kai, the MVP frontrunner. Now, this isn’t to say Maui was discouraged from this lens through which the league viewed offensive linemen. Maui had dealt with these thoughts throughout all of his career, and the reason he had continued to play offensive lineman all throughout high school and college was to show how much one lineman can change a game, and just provide that key block to open up a hole for that running back. Unfortunately, Maui hasn’t been playing as well as he would like. Maui has always been a very physical player, relying on his raw power and size to move people around. He had played offensive line in high school because it was easy, especially as such a big guy, and because the team didn’t really need him at a defensive line position. Because of Maui’s size, he was always going to play at a lineman position, the question was always just whether it would be offensive or defensive. When he was required to play at the college level, most teams just treated him as an offensive lineman No one wanted to put him on the other side of the field with no experience, especially after so many years playing at offensive line and learning the techniques and such. Maui had thought occasionally throughout his time as a football player that he might be better off as a defensive lineman, and in several drills for fun where he and his fellow offensive line buddies tried to break each other’s blocks, Maui always did exceptionally well. Now it’s all coming together. Maui hasn’t had too great of a rookie campaign in his inaugural DSFL season. HE still hasn’t given up a sack all season, which is tremendous, but he hasn’t been as involved in the run game as he would hope. But there are many other star OL who are outperforming Maui and Maui seems to be the worst of the bunch. His coaching staff hasn’t been too happy either with his performance, and they’ve discussed some things they can do to improve Maui’s future. One, they could try new techniques and a new position on the offensive line, moving him to guard or center, but Maui refused. He knew it didn’t matter where on the offensive line he played, he wasn’t just feeling it. They experimented playing Maui at DL one day at practice, and it worked fairly well. Maui, excited for the future, decides to play the rest of the season at offensive line, but has made up his mind for the future. He would be a defensive end moving forward next season.
So, now that we’ve gotten the canonical story out of the way, let’s talk. To all the ISFL GMs reading this, I’m publishing this article early to give you guys a heads up before you start making plans. I’m hoping most teams’ management will see this because it would be unfortunate if I switched positions and GMs were unaware. Now, to get to the why. Why am I switching positions? I just feel like I wouldn’t be interested in this league in the long term if I played at offensive line for my entire career. Not showing up in the play by play, or having any big contributions to the team, I almost feel kind of left out, and I want to provide more of a benefit to my team in a way that I can also appreciate. I know that I am helping plenty at offensive line, but I’d prefer to be the one getting key plays and actually doing stuff. Why am I switching to defensive end? Because I feel like I’ll have the biggest chance for success as a defensive end in the ISFL. I’ve done some research and planning into this move, and I think with the switch to the new engine I can become a dominant player in this new era. I can actually see my player do meaningful things like making tackles for loss and sacking the QB. All very exciting things that I can’t wait for.
Now, this position switch is far from final, but it’s most likely going to happen. I’m going to request an immediate call-up. I don’t that that’s too much to ask for, especially for a position that’s needed across the league. If you are an ISFL GM and envision me playing in another spot that can also guarantee an immediate call-up, please contact me on discord and reach out to me if you don’t want me to jump the . I may hold my switch to after the draft depending on how my scouting conversations go, but as of now, the plan is to switch after the Dallas Birddogs’ season ends. To any players involved in the draft process of their ISFL team, I recommend you show this to your GM so that way everyone’s on the same page. Don’t hesitate to contact me and ask me questions, as nothing is final. I just wanted to be transparent and outline my future.
After a bye week following the week 9 games for the DSFL, Maui had a lot of time to reflect on his recent play and performance. He had a lot of mixed emotions and feelings regarding his time in the league. He had fallen a lot in the draft, despite being a top prospect. A lot of people attributed it to him being an offensive lineman, and deep down he knew that it was true, and offensive linemen were just not going to be seen as key as other skill position players. It’s a natural thought to have, and probably a justifiable one, but Maui was tired of the narrative. He was hopeful, wanting to shift the narrative and show how drafting an offensive lineman could turn a team’s fortunes around. Dallas drafted two offensive lineman, and it’s not a coincidence that they have one of the best offensive lines in the league now, and the best rushing attack behind Cobra Kai, the MVP frontrunner. Now, this isn’t to say Maui was discouraged from this lens through which the league viewed offensive linemen. Maui had dealt with these thoughts throughout all of his career, and the reason he had continued to play offensive lineman all throughout high school and college was to show how much one lineman can change a game, and just provide that key block to open up a hole for that running back. Unfortunately, Maui hasn’t been playing as well as he would like. Maui has always been a very physical player, relying on his raw power and size to move people around. He had played offensive line in high school because it was easy, especially as such a big guy, and because the team didn’t really need him at a defensive line position. Because of Maui’s size, he was always going to play at a lineman position, the question was always just whether it would be offensive or defensive. When he was required to play at the college level, most teams just treated him as an offensive lineman No one wanted to put him on the other side of the field with no experience, especially after so many years playing at offensive line and learning the techniques and such. Maui had thought occasionally throughout his time as a football player that he might be better off as a defensive lineman, and in several drills for fun where he and his fellow offensive line buddies tried to break each other’s blocks, Maui always did exceptionally well. Now it’s all coming together. Maui hasn’t had too great of a rookie campaign in his inaugural DSFL season. HE still hasn’t given up a sack all season, which is tremendous, but he hasn’t been as involved in the run game as he would hope. But there are many other star OL who are outperforming Maui and Maui seems to be the worst of the bunch. His coaching staff hasn’t been too happy either with his performance, and they’ve discussed some things they can do to improve Maui’s future. One, they could try new techniques and a new position on the offensive line, moving him to guard or center, but Maui refused. He knew it didn’t matter where on the offensive line he played, he wasn’t just feeling it. They experimented playing Maui at DL one day at practice, and it worked fairly well. Maui, excited for the future, decides to play the rest of the season at offensive line, but has made up his mind for the future. He would be a defensive end moving forward next season.
So, now that we’ve gotten the canonical story out of the way, let’s talk. To all the ISFL GMs reading this, I’m publishing this article early to give you guys a heads up before you start making plans. I’m hoping most teams’ management will see this because it would be unfortunate if I switched positions and GMs were unaware. Now, to get to the why. Why am I switching positions? I just feel like I wouldn’t be interested in this league in the long term if I played at offensive line for my entire career. Not showing up in the play by play, or having any big contributions to the team, I almost feel kind of left out, and I want to provide more of a benefit to my team in a way that I can also appreciate. I know that I am helping plenty at offensive line, but I’d prefer to be the one getting key plays and actually doing stuff. Why am I switching to defensive end? Because I feel like I’ll have the biggest chance for success as a defensive end in the ISFL. I’ve done some research and planning into this move, and I think with the switch to the new engine I can become a dominant player in this new era. I can actually see my player do meaningful things like making tackles for loss and sacking the QB. All very exciting things that I can’t wait for.
Now, this position switch is far from final, but it’s most likely going to happen. I’m going to request an immediate call-up. I don’t that that’s too much to ask for, especially for a position that’s needed across the league. If you are an ISFL GM and envision me playing in another spot that can also guarantee an immediate call-up, please contact me on discord and reach out to me if you don’t want me to jump the . I may hold my switch to after the draft depending on how my scouting conversations go, but as of now, the plan is to switch after the Dallas Birddogs’ season ends. To any players involved in the draft process of their ISFL team, I recommend you show this to your GM so that way everyone’s on the same page. Don’t hesitate to contact me and ask me questions, as nothing is final. I just wanted to be transparent and outline my future.
