The Totem Pole

[Guest]

Totems 2029 Draft

1.9 Amos Irwin OLB 36/57 -> ?? I felt there was going to be a dropoff right around where I picked at 1.13, so I traded up and nabbed the guy I felt was BPA. I was vindicated when I found out after I picked that he was actually drafted last year and bumped big. It was pretty much between Irwin and O'Neill, the DE. There were other good players available but not at positions where I had a hole. Wasn't really keen on taking one of them at 1.13. I think the trade worked out for both me and Hooper, as he got a nice looking CB at 1.13.

I wanted the WR Hansen pretty goddamned badly, and I think I actually like him even more than Nutah does, but it was not meant to be. Count your lucky stars, NC, because he's going to play in the other conference. Actually, I guess Nutah does like Hansen more, because he thinks he may be better than Glynn, but I would've taken Glynn #1, Hansen #2 in this draft.

2.20 Irvin Mendheim WR 24/43 -> ?? Right before this pick I tried to trade ahead in front of Yuma. SFO traded up and took the guy I had #1 in my queue. After that, #s 2 and 3 went off my queue. I panicked and drafted this shit stack instead of some more solid options, including the S Dawkins who later went to UTA. No Combine Panic-Pick WR chasing hoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo. He has 99 volatility, so maybe he'll boom and make me look smart. Looks like a dropper though.

3.13 Brian Douglas QB 16/38 -> ?? Gem of my draft class after Irwin. He came back underrated and it looks like he is underrated. Could be a decent starting QB. If the season goes south he could be starting by the end of it. I thought UTA's QB Syron looked interesting too, but I didn't scout him and UTA took him ahead of me anyway, so there was no debate on this pick. He bumps +4 and I'm happy as a clam, he bumps less and I'm regular happy.

3.30 Jeff Stephens S 27/44 -> ?? Looks like a dropper, but I'm hoping not too much. He'll compete with whatever scrubs I can drum up at S for a spare roster spot.


4.12 Ted Pearson OLB 31/57 -> ?? With ratings like that he's bound to drop. I had DB Damon Earp in my sights, but figured he'd fall at least to here if not further. WRONG. Someone snagged him. Could move to SILB.

5.13 Darrin Holmes OLB 18/33 -> ?? Was hoping OLB Gary Jenkins or RB Tommy Florez would fall here, but they didn't. Holmes was the backup plan. The good news: he has exceptional affinity. If he holds or bumps he could make the team. The bad news: Since I was interested in Jenkins and Florez, it probably means they're both terrible.

6.12 Kenneth Ascencao FB 27/39 -> ?? Has a BP outlier and I thought "maybe I can convert this guy to RB." He only converts at 77%, due to....his 5'9" height I guess? WTF. I'll give it a shot anyway. Considered that Punter who went later Rosen here, and I probably should've picked him, because he'd be gone before I'd pick again.

7.13 Justin Eyles WR 13/25 -> ?? This guy was probably terrible to begin with and I didn't notice his red flag, to boot. Was looking for FB Dale Schneider or T Gary Parent here, but they got nabbed before I picked.

[Aston]

I think you did like Hansen more (at least at first). After Glynn came out with under 60 current I took a closer look at him and started to get the feeling that maybe he wasn't all that.

I feel Glynn will be lucky to creep a little and probably gets into the 60s only on virtue of development creep, but I might be totally wrong on this one. Hansen, 60s should be a conservative estimate. If Glynn is a creeper though, and admittedly it's sort of hard to tell with how wide I see these bars, then he's going to put the race easily out of reach.

Amos Irwin is a great LB, and it'll be interesting to see how he stacks up against Jose, who from your original spot at 13 is coming in looking pretty badass, and is a corner as well.

[Guest]

Glynn's 40 time is so sick (3.6x standard deviations, I think) that I expect him to bump big. I suspect he'll be slightly better than Hansen, but they both should be world beaters.

WE GOT A COUPLE MONSTER WRs OVAH HEEEEEAH FOLKS!

Olivarez could be quite a catch for NLB, but we'll see in TC! I wasn't as sold on him as I was on Irwin/O'Neill, and I didn't have a need at CB so I didn't scout him. If NLB was satisfied with the scouting results though I imagine Olivarez will do fine.

Irwin will be the best pass rusher I've ever had, until I sign some loser and move him to SLB when Motz retires/ages. Of course, Irwin might be so ridiculous at WLB that I have to leave him there permanently...

[Guest]

Totems 2029 TRAINING CAMP

1.9 Amos Irwin OLB 36/57 -> 43/64 - He's a beast, as expected.

2.20 Irvin Mendheim WR 24/43 -> 27/41 Could've done worse, he probably sticks, especially with his high volatility. The three guys taken ahead of him, all of which I wanted, all bumped huge though, so in that light Mendheim is a huge failure. Especially in this great draft.

3.13 Brian Douglas QB 16/38 -> 20/41 Probably the best QB in the draft. When you get that in Round 3 it's obviously a huge success. I finally have a QB of the future after constantly searching for one since Parrish retired.

3.30 Jeff Stephens S 27/44 -> Check your waiver wire, he got cut.

4.12 Ted Pearson OLB 31/57 -> 30/54 Dropped but should settle in the 40s, which makes him a keeper.

5.13 Darrin Holmes OLB 18/33 -> 18/33 Held steady and he'll be our reserve WLB. Has affinity to boot.

6.12 Kenneth Ascencao FB 27/39 -> ?? I converted him to RB before camp. He might stick, but he's a fringe player.

7.13 Justin Eyles WR 13/25 -> 16/27 Probably not enough of a bump for him to stick at WR.

UFA:

TE Bernie Broady 16/25 -> 20/29 - This guy will stick. LS is a plus.

Other camp movers:

C Jeremy Register: Another VSOL has him approaching 80 rating.

QB Walt Johnson: Former 7th round pick now showing 43/48. He'll be a solid backup for years to come.

QB Ted Pleasant: Vol boomed to 61/61. Things are looking up for the Dakota offense this year!

RB Rob Wickes: Down to 29/29. One of the three remaining players from our 2022 bowl team probably won't make the roster this year, leaving only J.B. Trotter and Teddy Barnikow, who are also both potential week one cuts.

[Aston]

Foos what % were you quoted on that FB->RB conversion?

[Guest]

Foos what % were you quoted on that FB->RB conversion?

77%. He went from something like 39 potential to 46 on the initial conversion, then dropped to 35 via camp.

[Aston]

Yuck. I got a guy who looks great. But converts at 65%.

[Guest]

Yuck. I got a guy who looks great. But converts at 65%.

It seems like he converts poorly due to his 5'9" height too, which seems a little silly for a RB. Whatever, Gindin! :)

[Guest]

The offense looked slightly better in week one, but committed some turnovers. In week 2, however, it set team records for scoring and yardage, despite the absence of our injured #1 receiver, Malcolm Rowland.

Not only that, but for the first time in a long time, we have a quarterback of the present (Ted Pleasant) and a QB of the future (Brian Douglas.)

For the first time since 2023, we might be fielding a genuine contender.

And....since we haven't gotten to it yet...

2029 Depth Charts

QB 1) Ted Pleasant 2) Walt Johnson 3) Nicky Stevens 4) Brian Douglas

McBriar's days are done, but we are stronger here than we've been in a long time. 7th round find Walt Johnson finally graduates to #2 and Ted Pleasant arrives as the starter. Nicky Stevens in #3 because he holds kicks on gameday, but 3rd round draft pick Brian Douglas is the future.

RB 1) Will Duckworth 2) Marco Middleton 3) C.J. Shannon
Long time members of the Dakota backfield J.B. Trotter and Rob Wickes finally got too old to stick. Will Duckworth is our bell cow and Marco Middleton spells him. We were hoping to get a more solid backup, but Middleton does the job in a pinch.

WR 1) Malcolm Rowland 2) Artie Lovejoy 3) Louie Heinlein 4) Ken Calciano 5) Teddy Barnikow 6) Irving Mendheim

I feel like we have a pretty deep receiving corps, even if they aren't as stellar as some of the better ones in the league. Lovejoy gets one final shot to repeat his excellent 2nd season as a starter with a new QB, and Heinlein excels as a 3rd down receiver. Calciano is our overpaid position group leader, and isn't bad for a #4 to boot. Barnikow is more of a special teamer, but since he's been on the team so long he is active every gameday as a special teamer and return man. Irving Mendheim? We just pray for a vol hit next year for that poor draft pick.

TE 1) Burt Shepherd 2) Devine 3) B. Broady
We suddenly have a couple good TEs, since Devine was available cheap. B. Broady is an undrafted free agent and our LS who unseated our previous #3 TE and long snapper, Sam Wilcox, who lasted only one season after being drafted.

C 1) J.Register 2.F.Domenici
Register is a pretty beastly center and Domenici could start for a lot of teams. We're solid here for years to come.

G 1) Dustin Chorak 2) M. Rice 3) J. Dotson
Our starting guards are OK but getting long in the tooth. Dotson is a good rotational G, but not really a full timer.

T 1) S. Burton 2) W. Hayes 3) D. Shields 4) S. Norton
Burton and Hayes are both solid, but Hayes has something Burton doesn't: a red flag. Shields started last year but he's just a high paid backup now. S. Norton is a slowly developing project who we hope will be a starter in a few years.

P/K Marcum and Selmon return as our punter and kicker respectively. K. Horn handles the kickoffs because Selmon just isn't into that.

DE 1) A.J. Hassett 2) J. Gaylor 3)W. Pimentel 4) K. Ackerman
This is the one part of the team we don't have to worry about each year. Hassett is a beast, Gaylor and Pimentel both get lots of playing time, and Ackerman provides depth and affinity.

DT 1) J. Howe 2) H. Peters 3) W. Draper
Howe seems to be more comfortable as a NT than a LDT, and H. Peters backs up him, making up for the departed C. Caldwell and B. Abrams. W. Draper, while not necessary, was too good to cut.

OLB 1. Cole Motz 2) A. Irwin 3) D. Holmes 4) D. Alamar 5. R. Jennings
Solid group here. Jennings is more of a ST guy than a LB for us. Irwin is a future beast at WLB. Alamar, although listed as an OLB starts as our WILB.

ILB 1. R. Montgomery 2. L. Ferguson 3. P. Janis
Montgomery is probably in his last year with us as he's getting expensive and old. he's been franchised about 5-6 straight years. Ferguson is better than Montgomery against the run, but not as good in coverage. Janis is just our position leader.

CB 1. C. Hutchins 2. L. Troglia 3. J. Raffray 4. E. Farnell 5. R. Dudgeon
Hutchins and Troglia return as our solid starting tandem. Raffray regressed last year after an excellent first season with us at nickel back. Dudgeon returns to the team that drafted him, Dakota, as a special teamer and position leader.

S 1. L. Rivera 2. C. Maiher 3. J. May 4. W. Altuna
The same guys are back. They don't shock you with their ability but they get the job done. Altuna was an UFA we picked up last year but didn't quite make the roster. He's back this year and probably sticking.

[Guest]

5-1 in Week 7, and our offense is the best we've had in years. The defense has been pretty fantastic too.

First time I'm thinking championship in a long, long time, as opposed to "Well, maybe we'll get on a roll in the playoffs..."

It'll all hinge on staying healthy and the play of our QB. Pleasant is the one facet of the team I can't really count on yet. Sometimes he looks very good, sometimes he's mediocre. Whenever this team puts up 21+ points though, with this defense, we should win.

The cohesion for our offense is pretty low, and I wonder if it may be the dreaded "red flag" effect, since I have a couple red flags on offense this season. I assume that doesn't show up on the actual cohesion rating though, or someone would have noticed it already.

[Guest]

7-1 after victories over a couple tough opponents, Charlotte and Columbus. This team is very good and is only a stud QB away from being dominant. First time my OSFL team is better than my FOFL team in a long, long time.

As long as Pleasant doesn't turn into a pumpkin at midnight or we suffer a rash of injuries we should at the very least go deep into the playoffs, and it looks like we might get a rare (for Dakota) first round bye. It's a tough conference, and my first season here I went 14-2 and still had to play in the first round!

The time to win a bowl is now as we have some new talented owners in conference who will undoubtably have some powerhouse teams in a few years, and some of the old superstar owners will rebuild their aging teams which are currently in a lull.

[Guest]

Dropped our second game of the season after Ted Pleasant was knocked out before he even attempted a pass. We'll be without him for a few weeks, but hopefully Walt Johnson can do enough to secure us our bye week. Having a game plan with all of his formations in it instead of Pleasant's will probably be a big help to him.

[Guest]

First "maximum effort" start for Walt Johnson, a 7th rounder we picked up years ago who bumped nicely in his first TC and continues to rise. He responded by going 22/33 for 221 yards 1 TD 1 INT.

I've probably mentioned it already, but this is probably the best defensive unit I have ever fielded, although my safeties have nothing on our tandem of yore: Roosevelt Dunn and George Harper.

The only slight disappointments this year have been Will Duckworth, who has been decent but not spectacular, and Malcolm Rowland who doesn't seem to make many catches. Rowland missed a few games with injury, but his few catches have at least tended to be big ones and he's been excellent as a return man.

It's starting to get to the point where it's going to be a disappointment if we don't get to the Bowl game this year.

[Guest]

12-3 and we're a lock for the #2 seed. It feels like a hell of a luxury to sit out the first round of the playoffs for me since it's so rare, but just having a solid team make it to the playoffs is a treat. Took me a little longer than expected to turn the team around since our rebuild began in 2024.

Why? It took that long to find a QB who wouldn't crap the bed.

[Guest]

Huge, convincing win over my #1 OSFL nemesis Yuma and we advance to the conference championship for the second time in our tenure.

We face the #1 seed in our conference, Boston, who is looking to advance to their first ever OSFL bowl game.

Can this scrappy band of loudmouth, red flag malcontents do it? If the New York Jets of Rex Ryan's first two seasons are any indication, the answer is a resounding NO.