(S2) - Weekend PT #2 - Rookies first practice

[AsylumParty]

Freakish athleticism is the story of the Outlaws' wide receiver corps following the recent draft. Watching Dustin Evans and C.A Chess lining up taking shots from Bronko has been a privilege so far and it's got me very excited about this season.

After only a single practice in, but competition in the air, they've been pushing each other to new heights, fighting for the chance to line up opposite former veteran safety, now turned wide receiver Mayran Jackson. Regardless of who ends up as the number two this season, however, there will be room to play in the slot as well.

Chess and Evans were seen carpooling to practice, which leads us to believe they've been working on chemistry since draft day, likely getting in workouts together since then. It's a good idea as trust and support within the team has become a hot commodity as of late amidst the conflict coming out of Philly and players from across the league speaking up about it.

It won't be long before we get to see where the coaches will have Evans and Chess lining up as preseason is merely a day away now, though, these four games will be even more critical determining factors as to what we see come the regular season.

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[Valtookan]

Haha, what was the first day like? Well, I don't know everyones' experience on the first day because I wasn't paying too much attention to everyone else. I do know the experiences of Luke Luechly (@`YoloSwag420`)and Hingle McRcingleberry (@Colombiano). Now, sadly, my boy Hingle was out sick for most of the day so I first of the two new LBs I met was Luke. This is how it went....



Harrif : *walks into the lockeroom*

Luke: "That's him, Jaylon?"

Jaylon Lee: "Yep."

Jayce Tuck: *across the lockroom* "Good luck kid!"

Harrif Ernston: *approching Luke* "So this is the "Greenshirt" we got?"

Jaylon Lee (JL): "Apparently, he's our new third man. Hingle couldn't be here because he is out on family business."

Harrif Ernston (H): Unfortunate. So kid, what's up?



H: *Raises arm for an arm lock*




Luke (LL): Oh, nothing much. *Raises hand to receive lock*



H:

H: And that is how we sack a QB.

LL: Haha, ok.

H: This isn't a "haha" moment.

JL, Jayce Tuck, and Coach ADwyer: "Oh god, here we go...."

H: You've made it on the Outlaws , that means everyone is looking at you, everyone is expecting you to be great! If you can't be the guy we can always ask Rashad or Mackworthy to play Linebacker.

Rashad: "What the f***?"

Mackworthy: "I'm ready to go!"

LL: "Don't worry, I'm not going to let you down, I was training a lot leading up to the draft. I know I wasn't really vocal but I got you; I'm ready to start."

H: "Best be, and last thing....

LL: "What?"

H: "Why are you wearing my jersey number?"

LL: "Oh uh, I wore it in college. Coach said because yours has a # in it I can be number "52" and you can be number "#52".

ADwyer: "Hey, don't look at me. The owner said it was ok."

H: *Picks up #52 jersey and puts it* "Ok, lets head out."

Positional LB Coach (PLBC): "Let's start with a "Speed Tackle Catch" drill.

JL: "Isn't that a bit advanced for the first day back?"

PLBC: "If you want to complain to someone, do it to Ernston. He asked to it."

JL: "Of course." :/

LL: "How does it work?"

PLBC: "Ernston." *guestures*

H: "I'm happy you asked. In a STC drill, we must first backpedal down 20 yards like we are dropping into a middle zone, then we must break and run after a moving football dummy and tackle it. The dummy breaks in a direction after 15 yards of going forwards. Then after that, we have to find another dummy which is moving and intercept a football which is being thrown towards it."

JL: "It's a lot to ask a new guy to do. You backpedal on tape is decent but the speed we do this at it... a little beyond what is asked of at the college level."

LL: "Could I see a demonstration first?"

H: "Sure, I'll go first."

*Harrif Ernston steps up infront of the dummy in a man coverage stance*

PLBC: "HIKE!"

Harrif Ernston backpedals backwards 20 yards and stops 1.5 seconds after the dummy makes its cut. Ernston then accelerates forward using he pro-level agility and wrap tackles the dummy (he almost missed it). Then he get up and quickly finds and moves towards the second dummy. In the next moment he jumps the route and intercepts the flying football.

H: "Your turn rookie."

PLBC: "That was pretty good, but you almost whiffed that tackle."

*Luke lines up*

PLBC: "HIKE!"

*Luke takes off*

PLBC: Maybe Luke can show you how it's done.

Luke backpedal was pretty good for a college player but it really wasn't pro-ready, he actually almost tripped going backwards and was almost beat by the dummy moving forwards. When he finally reached 20 yards the dummy was almost 20 yards away. Luke chased after the pushed it down with one arm.

Luke: "Wow, that was light!"

Coach Adwyer: *Smiling*

Harrif Ernston: (In his mind) "That was one of the extra heavy dummy's.... that was not light. It's hard for me to bring those down."

PLBC: "It ain't over yet Luke!"

Jaylon Lee: "Dang, he knocked it down with one arm."

Arbin Asipi: "Dang, he's good. I gotta put in more work."

Luke runs after the second dumb but he only makes it 3/4 of the way there before the ball hits the dummy.

LL: "Shoot, my bad."

H: Err... good try for the first time. You have to tackle with technique though."

LL: "Sorry, I just never had to do that in college. I'll try to learn quickly."

Jaylon stepped up to the line.

PLBC: "HIKE!"

Jaylon went through his drill, knocking down the dummy with perfect technique and catching the football right before it hit the dummy.

Adwyer: Time for a little 11 on 11.

Most of the team: "Woo, lets go!"

H: "Are we really going to rush Luke on the field like this?"

Jaylon: *Lining up on the first play* "You didn't watch that much tape on this kid did you?"

H: "Not really."

Jaylon: "That makes sense why you don't know."

H: "Know what..."

JL: "That the kid has a knack for playing in a live game."

LL: "Hey guys, let's pay attention. Mackworthy just pointed his foot left." *Shouting now "HEY, it's a run left! It's a run left!"

King Bronko: "Good eye, Burner BLUE BURN EAGLE LEFT LEG GOLDEN GREEN EYES 46!"

LL: *tells to Jaylon and I* "Wild guess, it's still a run Mackworthy's foot didn't move."

King Bronko: "Hike!"

He was right! Mackworthy is handed the football and he take off towards the outside shoulder of Tim Pest. Luke L had already taken off towards the outside shoulder of Tim Pest, but little did he know Pest was pulling in the play.

H: (In mind) "This kid is about to get run over, how can I use this opportunity to get to..."

Luke and Tim makes contact; Tim has the longer arms so it looks like this is over... then it happens...












He used the freakin' rip move I showed him in the lockerroom!




In the next moments I see Luke tackle Mackworthy behind the line of scrimmage and force a fumble. J. Williams is in the vicinity and recovers the fumble. Yep, and I'm just standing there dumbfounded.

Jaylon Lee: "He's pretty good huh."

Flock: "Dang, that's what I'm talking about! An elite level play!"

Dental Dam: "How'd we get this guy in the draft?"

Coach Adwyer: "Any final though Harrif?"

Harrif Ernston: "Just one..."






















@RayCobaine @Foompin @Destroyer @DeathOnReddit @youngcricket @theFlock @ErMurazor @ADwyer87 @Esa77 @`TimPest`

[37thchamber]

With so many new faces at The Nest, it's not easy to really single out anyone in particular. But I've noticed we picked up two very dangerous weapons on offense. Matthew Vincent I can remember from college, and he looks sharp. We haven't gone head to head in training yet but it looks like he's psyched up for that. He's learning the playbook already, saw him run a few near perfect routes in drills this morning, and he's quicker than I remember... should be interesting.

Speaking of quick... Darlane Farlane. Jesus. I know Kurt and I were probably the quickest guys on the team last season, but this kid is definitely gonna give me a run for my money. We split some reps on return drills today which was interesting, I think even though I'm a bit quicker and more elusive, Darlane is surprisingly strong. He breaks tackles where I'd juke. He doesn't seem to tire either. I think we might compete for return duty as the season goes, so I'll be giving it everything I've got in pre-season to keep him on his toes.

After seeing these guys work out, along with the all-new offensive line to help protect Scrub, I'm really looking forward to our first game of pre-season. The boss man has done some great work plugging all those gaps we had and strengthening the squad and I'm confident we're gonna surprise a few people this year.

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[RedCydranth]

I just want to say that those articles are hilarious. I'm not sure if you thought anyone would take the time to read them but that's awesome.

[Player1]

When you think of a rookie in training camp, you probably would expect them to keep to themselves and look to veteran players to give them guidance and advice. That's far from the truth for Otters first round pick Gregor Clegane. Clegane spent practically all of last season on the Otters, including their playoff run, and is considered to be a staple on the team. After threatening to hold out if anyone else drafted him, other teams strayed away from the best overall prospect coming into the season 2 draft, allowing O.C. to snatch him late in the round. He doesn't have the outlook of a rookie at all, in fact quite the opposite, as Clegane has taken the Otters new OL additions under his wing to show them how things work in training camp. Ferguson, Finkenlarkin, and even to an extent the TE George Wright who continues to seek improvement as a blocker all follow the leadership of Winchester and Clegane. Both men are gruff and off-putting, but like a good sergeant beating his men into fighting shape they both deeply care about their teammates and do everything they can to impart their knowledge on them. Clegane doesn't have quite raw talent of Winchester but is a bit more cerebral, with refined technique. There's no doubt that the Otters are happy to have their man back in training camp getting their rookies ready for a difficult season to come.

[GSD]

Jorge Masvidal has been settling in with his new team and new city, the Baltimore Hawks. Leading up to the first practice, it wasn't football that was stressing Jorge out, it was the cold weather and finding good food. "Coming from Southern California I could get quality tacos around every corner and I'd grab a burrito to change things up from time to time. So my first mission once arriving here in Baltimore was finding a quality spot to get my fix. Oh, and the weather has been a rude awakening! But I'm already getting use to it", Masvidal told reporters after his first practice with the team. Baltimore media was impressed with Masvidal's speed in the first practice of the season, and his Sub 4 second 40 time drew lots of attention from everyone watching. The Baltimore Hawks coaching staff was also impressed with Masvidal's speed on the field, and the defensive coordinator is looking forward to the options the speed opens up. The strength and conditioning coach believes he can improve the speed of the already blazing fast safety after working with him one on one before practice on the field, saying "Jorge is a beast in the gym for a guy his size, and this is only the beginning!".

[tlk742]

Yellowknife – As the team gets ready for the preseason, the Wraiths are showing promise. As of yesterday, the team traded 9th round pick Offensive Lineman Jazzy J for 6th Round Pick Matt James. The factors that led to this trade is nothing short of a bloody and still ongoing contract negotiation dispute. Shots have been fired from both camps and it likely won’t be solved until the Wraiths face the Liberty in week 4 of preseason. Also on offense is Darren “Checkers” Smallwood. Smallwood has been getting some hype as he has been listed as a steal by some teams, and so far it is looking like it. Although no one does, or should, believe Garden is not the top receiver in Yellowknife, Smallwood has been a strong compliment and now made a strong receiving duo into an unstoppable trio. This offense is potent.
However, the wraiths didn’t just bolster their offense, as their draft primarily revolved around boosting the defense. Lavelle has unsurprisingly made splashes and looks to shut down any receiver that comes his way. Reyes has been the hype of the camp, as the teams “swiss army man”, who is able to go wherever the team needs him to and flourishing. Cushing has been making a strong case the league’s top LB next season. A lot of people say the liberty won the draft, but the drive, commitment and power that the rookies have provided to the team lead me to believe that Yellowknife could be holding the Ulitmus for years to come.

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[Ltsmashie]

The first practice of Season 2 where the rookies showed up was a nerve-racking one for the Yeti's power running back turned Linebacker Luke Tiernan.

Not only did he have to show his fellow team mates and coaches all of the hard work that he had been putting in during the off season that would allow him to play in this new position, not only did he have to impress them enough so that they would trust him in key plays, but he also had to impress upon a rookie draft pick, who had been playing linebacker for longer than Tiernan had been playing American football at all, that he was better than him, and that Tiernan's position as a starting linebacker was not up for grabs.

Steve Austin was being touted by the Yeti's front office as being the steal of the draft. The Yeti were considered to have one of the best linebacking corps in the league given that Tiernan's strength and athleticism would compliment Saint and Fulton's rushing prowess excellently.
However Austin is someone with huge upside and thus, any one of the presumed starters positions could be up for grabs.

From even before the very first drill it seemed like Tiernan was doing whatever he could to one up the rookie linebacker, as customary, the rookies were asked by the trainers to carry out some of the gear, pads/watter bottles etc. Tiernan spotted Austin carrying one big Gaterado cooler, so he found two more, stacked one on top of the other, and walked briskly so that he would be walking onto the training field at the same time as the young rookie.

"Gotta try harder than that Steve if you want to take my spot" said Tiernan with a big smile on his face.


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[Jbearly]

Our rookie focus for this will be the ever impressive Isiah mcginn who has been absolutely killing it recently and did in his debut last season with the woeful Baltimore hawks. Now Isaiah has already started to impress our otters training staff with his not only intensity but overall love for the game he shows constantly throughout even just practices. His ball hawking skills are pretty advanced for such a young player that we do have to believe hell become better and better as the year goes on and he settles in to a secondary armed with 3 other rookies. He does not have the huge expectations as other rookies do due to his late draft position being In the sixth round after a kicker too. Most people slept on him but us here in orange county know the talent he brings to the talent which is why we Took him on such a late deal. We are hoping for big things including a defensive player of the year worthy rookie season though it'll be hard with all the other talent. All I know is the otters got extremely lucky with this draft pick as mcginn fell so low we could get him and now it looks to be paying off ten fold

[Noppadet]

The team's first practice with rookies was a good one. A lot of players came in with a chip on their shoulder and that's exactly what we like to see at Baltimore. We players who have been told their entire life that they can't do it, or that they won't be anything when they're older, because those are the guys who have something to prove; not only to everyone who doubted them but most importantly to themselves. Many of the greatest athletes come from nothing - the projects where dope dealers run the streets and children are enticed into gangs to protect themselves. You see it all the time in players like Randy Moss, Richard Sherman, in athletes in other sports like Evander Holyfield and countless others. Those are the players the Hawks were looking for - the ones who have faced incredible odds but came through on their strength of character.

In the first practice the rooks were looking very promising. The offensive linemen were strong like Brokk The Plow Lee, Dieter Koch, Pat Pancake, Blocksdale and Charles. Our new running back Darlane Farlane is already incredibly quick, Masvidal, Turner, Taylor, and Wright are looking to shore up our defense, with Charles, Vincent, Sanderson, Baker, and Gibson looking to improve the offense. All in all this is an incredibly exciting class who came onto the gridiron in practice with something to prove for our first practice. Look forward to many of them making a huge impact this coming season and in future seasons to come.

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