Post-Draft Team Medals

Hello neighbor,

It’s been awhile since I’ve graced the denizens with my “oh so thoughtful” ramblings, and, with the rumblings of a new “Golden Age” of league on the wind, I figured it was time to pick up my pen once more in hopes that others will follow in my footsteps to give league the content they deserve. Without further ado, here’s our first medalist.

The Glad I’m Not on Their Team Medals: Car RoseRod and Legal Puffs-

I never thought I’d see the day that I’d rank a DDP team so low, let alone tied for last. DDP first overall is no surprise and a good pick, but then you get to the second round pick of Raul and any momentum you guys would have had from getting the DDP squad stops there. Instead of rectifying your mistake with a strong 3^rd rounder you pick Adub up WAY too early. That dude has always gone 4^th round and below and, while I’m sure he’ll love you both forever and ever because he finally gets to play with Dan the Man, you should have sought out a different pick and saved him for later and taken someone like Parks or JP. Unfortunately, the drafting doesn’t get any better from here. Too many throwers and not enough defenders are going to make for a rough season. Kellie and Jenny are two solid picks, but this league has a strong group of ladies and it’s going to be tough to keep up with the copious amounts of FUEL and Diesel women on the field.  The silver lining here is that if there is anyone who could take this team into a deep playoff run, it’s DDP.

When I first looked at the draft board I thought Legal Puffs had a decent team. Schimmel, Drew, and Fletcher? That’s a solid hybrid handler core – now they just need some athletes to cut. What proceeded to happen was they drafted a bunch of guys who are past their prime and will struggle to get open when there’s so many more athletes on the field. With Fletcher behind the disc, your best cutter now becomes Jay “sometimes gets the dropsies” Nwokolo or Chris “I was fast 5 years ago” Alarcon. The saving grace for this team is that their ladies are good, but likely not good enough to make up for the lack of athleticism on the men’s side.

The Hey at Least We Won’t Finish in Last Medals: Bowlisek and Miller Futral

The first thing I want to say about the Bowlisek crew is that they have some damn fine women on their team. Personally, I think they’re on par with the overpowered Adam and Eves’ ladies because of their depth. Their first two men picks were also solid. Steven is here so Goetz finally doesn’t have to handle! Oh wait, yes he does. Who else is going to handle with Steven? Lemons and Lyle, the two dudes who can get shut down by placing a big enough rock in the dump space? What’s that you say? Brandon and Josh Barker can handle and they’re athletic? True, but how many throws until Brandon turfs an around pass or Barker juices a flick out of bounds? No, this team will have to rely on Goetz to move the disc with Steven, and while that won’t be the worst thing since Goetz has gotten used to being a pseudo-handler, Mr. Rogers thinks that this team will struggle to move the disc effectively and efficiently.

The dynamic duo of Andrew Yanuck and Aaron Colverson are back at it again. Didn’t people learn their lesson from earlier this year when another team led by these two crashed and burned? On top of that, Yanuck is supposed to be missing a good portion of the games so any chance at a redemption arc is already going to be hard to reach. The good news is that they have some athletes on their team in Ben, JP, and Liam, as well as Skool, who can fill in on the days that Yanuck is gone. Any edge that this team gets over their medal counterparts is counterbalanced by the truly tough lady competition this league. Bari has improved greatly since her time on FUEL, but we’ll have to see how she and Allison can lead and stand up to the deep pool of female talent represented in this league. Mr. Rogers thinks this team will live or die by the attendance of Yanuck, assuming he can get back in shape.

The You’re Pretty Ok… Maybe Medals: Bachzoggin’ and Layton’s Lil Falkers

If there was one captain in league that could be called predictable, it would be Alek Hartzog. Alek is never one to gamble with picks and tends to play it safe. This typically leads to his teams doing fairly ok in leagues, but is also why his teams tend to never bring home the trophy. Unmil and Ryan are solid picks and will help to ensure that the disc keeps moving. Add in some decent defenders in Bailey and Brennen, combined with the solid all-around Grillon and you’ve got a decent squad. The ladies on this team are nothing to scoff at either and are probably more impressive than the guys, and I have zero doubt that this was largely due to Jamie’s understanding of the league women! Speaking of Jamie, not sure how they managed to convince the captains to allow Jamie to go so late, but that in and of itself is a big reason their ladies are so strong. Lauren hasn’t played in a while, but I’m sure she’s still got it. Alexa and Pu bring up the rear and round out this impressive collection of ladies. Although there isn’t one particular player or combo of players that makes this team stand out, Mr. Rogers believes Alek’s “play it safe” draft tactic has provided him with one of the stronger teams this season.

When I started this article I immediately dubbed Layton and Falk as the winners. How could I not with them somehow getting Josh AND Billy on the same team? It was only after some investigative journalism that I discovered Billy has a severe knee injury and will be gone for half the season at minimum with the chance of him not playing this season at all. Hence the reason this team is in this category. Even without Billy, this team is still good. Getting TK and Arbutine on the swing were great pickups. Add some more height in Will Ford, Marcus Elliot, and Michael Ford (assuming he’s tall like his brother) and the rest of league better pray there aren’t too many windy days this season. Looking at the rest of the team, men and women, and the only person I don’t recognize as having played before is Ruddy. That makes for a lot of collective experience and with Falk and Layton leading the team you can bet that it’ll be utilized to its full potential. The ladies on this team are strong all the way down. The strength lies in the fact that all of the ladies play(ed) for FUEL or Diesel.  Rosie is their first rounder, no doubt a result of picking Billy, and it remains to be seen whether Rosie can rep a first round draft pick. Not to say Rosie isn’t good, because she is and she’s steadily improving thanks to Tabby, but she will have trouble matching up with some of the other first rounders this season, as, and not to sound like a broken record here but, this is a REALLY strong group of ladies. I don’t think this team can win it all without Billy, but if he does show up fully recovered, I will be shocked if this team doesn’t win it all.

The What the Hell Were All the Other Captains Doing Medals: The Brown Notes and Dr. Taylor and Mr. Hyde

First off, I want to tip my hat to Fresca and Sam for drafting such a good-looking team. After last season, I was skeptical at best. If there was one word that could describe this team it would be “athleticism”. I feel for every other team in league who has to try and cover the top 5 dudes on this team. The women won’t be much easier to manage with Ness, Fresca, and AM. Fresca and Sam got a steal nabbing Parks and Kash, and with experienced B teamers like Grez and Shea, and Fleury helping out, this team is more than capable of making it to the semis – and probably the finals. I feel like I should say more about the Brown Notes, but unless Fresca and Sam captain this team into the ground (and I don’t think they will) this team is going to be one of the best this season.

Last, but certainly not least, this team. This frakkin team. Was everyone at the draft higher than Bob Ross when he’s painting or what? The crazy thing is that, looking at the rest of their picks, it doesn’t even look like they were penalized for Adam and Tori pairing! But I digress. This is perhaps the only other team in league that is as tall if not taller than Layton and Falk’s team. What’s scary is that Fleming and KJ can handle, while the Adams terrorize the downfield cutting space. Sure, some of the ladies on this team will have their hands full matching up with the really strong female contingent of Fall 2019. However, that is a moot point whenever you get Tori, the undisputed best woman in league, and pair her with the undisputed best dude in league. Look for this team to crush the regular season and then to make a finals appearance and, looking at Carr’s history, win the whole thing.