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Columbus Dispatch
CD: Hello everyone, allow me to welcome new Columbus Catfish owner and GM Brandon Berg. Brandon, how are you?
Berg: I'm doing great. I'm glad to have finally been able to get my mitts on an OSFL team and it's a pleasure for it to be the storied franchise in Columbus.
CD: You've taken over the team just before the season, do you think this team can win this year?
Berg: Well, given the history of the franchise and coming off of a year with Brent Columbo taking the reigns for the first time, leading the team to an 11-5 record, I definitely think we have the talent and leadership to get into the playoffs and make some noise.
CD: What are your first impressions of the team/roster?
Berg: I think there is some talent on this squad. We're solid on defense with a couple stars, veteran and rising. They'll need to be leaders on that side of the ball and I think they can. Ultimately, we return the league's 6th best scoring defense largely intact from last year. We should be great against the run, but I would like to see the guys up front help out the secondary and get more pressure on the QB. Almost half our sacks came from Renaldo Schulte from the LB position and, hey, that's great for him, but that can't be the case again.
Offensively is going to be what seperates the team from an 8-8 or 11-5 season. We lost the team's top rusher and the best returning RB coming back is Tracy Conlan, who finished with 65 rushing yards last season. He'll battle for playing time with rookies Chris Beyer and Harvey Tircuit. We also lost our best wideout of many years in "Tex" Dennis, who'll go down in team history as one of the best we've had. Columbo will have to find a way to make due with what he has and prove he's the player we saw last year. If we can find enough ways to move the ball consistently, we can have another winning season, but it's going to be tough and it could take a little while to figure out.
CD: Could you make any moves to improve the offense before the deadline?
Berg: I don't want to get too much into the matter yet, but we are close to acquiring another ballcarrier that should make things a little bit easier for Columbo. This has been my top priority ever since I took control of the team. With a running game taking pressure off him and the league's top pass protection unit back, he should be able to be efficient in taking care of the ball and moving it through the air.
CD: What style of play could we be seeing from the offense this season? Anything creative to get the ball moving?
Berg: You very well could see some new things in the scheme this year. We've brought in some running backs with receiving skills, which we could use as an extension of the running game. We could experiment at times with two TE sets, given that we think we have two receiving options at the TE position in Donovan Webb as well as Nick Connors. Ultimately, we'll see how it plays out, but I think we have some flexibility to work with this year.
CD: Do you plan on sticking with the defense's 34 scheme upon the conclusion of the season?
Berg: I tend to have stronger beliefs in the 43 defense, but I think the athletes in the linebacking corps are there to make it work. Our pass rush wasn't the best last year, but if we can snag another end in the near future, we could really disrupt the passing game and I think that's one of the most important skills that a defense needs to have.
CD: I know you're a busy man, so I'll let you get going! Thanks for sitting down with us today, we hope to hear you again soon.
[B]Berg:/B] Thanks for having me, I'm very happy to be here and hope to help keep the Catfish momentum going! Go Cats!
CD: Hello everyone, allow me to welcome new Columbus Catfish owner and GM Brandon Berg. Brandon, how are you?
Berg: I'm doing great. I'm glad to have finally been able to get my mitts on an OSFL team and it's a pleasure for it to be the storied franchise in Columbus.
CD: You've taken over the team just before the season, do you think this team can win this year?
Berg: Well, given the history of the franchise and coming off of a year with Brent Columbo taking the reigns for the first time, leading the team to an 11-5 record, I definitely think we have the talent and leadership to get into the playoffs and make some noise.
CD: What are your first impressions of the team/roster?
Berg: I think there is some talent on this squad. We're solid on defense with a couple stars, veteran and rising. They'll need to be leaders on that side of the ball and I think they can. Ultimately, we return the league's 6th best scoring defense largely intact from last year. We should be great against the run, but I would like to see the guys up front help out the secondary and get more pressure on the QB. Almost half our sacks came from Renaldo Schulte from the LB position and, hey, that's great for him, but that can't be the case again.
Offensively is going to be what seperates the team from an 8-8 or 11-5 season. We lost the team's top rusher and the best returning RB coming back is Tracy Conlan, who finished with 65 rushing yards last season. He'll battle for playing time with rookies Chris Beyer and Harvey Tircuit. We also lost our best wideout of many years in "Tex" Dennis, who'll go down in team history as one of the best we've had. Columbo will have to find a way to make due with what he has and prove he's the player we saw last year. If we can find enough ways to move the ball consistently, we can have another winning season, but it's going to be tough and it could take a little while to figure out.
CD: Could you make any moves to improve the offense before the deadline?
Berg: I don't want to get too much into the matter yet, but we are close to acquiring another ballcarrier that should make things a little bit easier for Columbo. This has been my top priority ever since I took control of the team. With a running game taking pressure off him and the league's top pass protection unit back, he should be able to be efficient in taking care of the ball and moving it through the air.
CD: What style of play could we be seeing from the offense this season? Anything creative to get the ball moving?
Berg: You very well could see some new things in the scheme this year. We've brought in some running backs with receiving skills, which we could use as an extension of the running game. We could experiment at times with two TE sets, given that we think we have two receiving options at the TE position in Donovan Webb as well as Nick Connors. Ultimately, we'll see how it plays out, but I think we have some flexibility to work with this year.
CD: Do you plan on sticking with the defense's 34 scheme upon the conclusion of the season?
Berg: I tend to have stronger beliefs in the 43 defense, but I think the athletes in the linebacking corps are there to make it work. Our pass rush wasn't the best last year, but if we can snag another end in the near future, we could really disrupt the passing game and I think that's one of the most important skills that a defense needs to have.
CD: I know you're a busy man, so I'll let you get going! Thanks for sitting down with us today, we hope to hear you again soon.
[B]Berg:/B] Thanks for having me, I'm very happy to be here and hope to help keep the Catfish momentum going! Go Cats!
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