HUDSON CALLS IT QUITS IN GLENDORA

William Hudson, perhaps the most feared sideline general in the Elite Football League, announced his retirement one day after seeing his team come up one victory shy of a fifth EFL championship. In a career that spanned 2019-2028, Hudson compiled a record of 157 wins against just 29 losses and 2 ties. He directed the Dragons to seven Elite Bowl appearances, winning three of those contests.

Hudson was one of six head coaches to announce his retirement as the off-season begins, and the only one with a winning record to do so. Also searching for new people to call the shots this off-season will be Perth, Lyon, Aspen, Fort Drum and star City. Daniel Lara’s departure at Aspen comes just four wins shy of 100 with the Wampas, while Mark Lee had 195 career games on the sidelines with the Lyon Kings.

When I was gameplanning for the LC, I was shocked that I hadnt noticed a couple of things before, like the lack of speed in the secondary. I wasnt worried about the offense, it had been rolling all season, QB Puddy had made POTW almost every game. But, Phal's Phantoms really hit on the two weaknesses that I hadnt noticed as much before, the lack of speed in the secondary vs an outstanding set of receivers, the WRs all have 80+ speed. And an OL that was more "porous" than I thought, the difference in time to throw for both QBs was real noticeable in that game. The Dragon defense also got ran on, Rivera is an outstanding RB, he definitely played up to his Ai 93 rating in that game with 137 yds on 19 carries and 1 TD.

There's also the "rolls" which counts for 20-30% of the outcome in the game, and I would say gameplan is 40-50% depending on the strength of the roster. It all came to bear in that game, congrats again Phal, on to next season. We have a few open teams that would be great to get new owners for and have a full slate. If you get a moment, send a pm or 2 to other leagues & team owners to encourage them to join the Elite. we just did that in the DFL which was down to 16 teams a couple of weeks ago, and is now filled up. Its good when you can get a new owner in before the next draft. cheers!

2029 DRAFT BREAKDOWN – THE OFFENSE


A position-by-position breakdown of the 2029 draft class. Please note that players are evaluated ONLY at the position they are listed at and, as with everything, opinions are welcome to vary.

QB – Well, it isn’t a wafer-thin draft class coming out at QB this season, but it definitely is a draft largely lacking in top-tier talent for signal callers. Florida State’s Curtis Brown is generally considered by most scouts to be the top gunslinger of the draft and features a low volatility rating, but with Pass Accuracy undeveloped and maxing at 78 (as well as a low 68 ceiling showing on Look-Off), even a small slip could take him down to borderline functionality. William Cox, Larry Dearth and George Mathias should also hear their names called. Once those four names are gone though, GM’s might be reaching for the trade phone rather than the draft room phone.

RB – Good news to folks in the draft needing someone to tote the football as there appear to be at least four solid, fairly low-risk options. None of them may scream superstar, but names like Alabama’s John Huston, Illinois’ Donald Dubois, Ruman’s Daniel Hill and Other’s Donald Stephens all look like they’ll have reliable careers in front of them and could be worthy of early grabs.

FB – If you need a fullback, your target list is exactly 2 names deep. We can argue about whether rugby standout Randy Seaberg or Missouri’s George Nieto belongs at the top of that list, but no sane coach is going to suggest a third name to join them while keeping a straight face. They might be the only FB names called in the draft.

TE – You can tell this is a sim game since a Nebraska player is a potential first-round selection [insert random still-salty about losing to @#$!%%! Purdue AGAIN grumbles here...], but such is the case with Robert Halcomb, probably the tops of the TE class. A truly versatile player with a volatility rating that will entice all but the most cautious of drafters, it will be interesting to see where he comes off the board. Behind him are a number of functional TE’s that provide a comfortable level of depth at the position for the draft.

WR – Another position that doesn’t scream superstar, but could provide some decent drafting depth. Miami Hurricane Mark Joyner and North Dakota State Bison John Kendall could be among the first to hear their names called in a position group that appears to be 9 or 10 deep at functional, useful, perhaps-will-see-the-field names.

OL – Since there’s so much intermingling of the positions, I won’t try to keep everyone straight at their position. As usual, teams will probably be able to locate quality linemen into the 4th round. Illinois’ Russell Gilmore, Colorado’s Kelly Lemon and Baylor’s Carlton Cardenas are probably three of the first names we’ll hear vanishing on Draft Day.

P/K – For owners who actually use draft picks on people paid to kick the football, Colorado punter Lawrence Tharp is a name to have circled on your list, provided your coverage unit doesn’t require him to tackle anybody. At kicker, Michael Christensen and John King are functional with single-digit volatility ratings. Carol Edwards might be the best of the kicking crew with a pay-your-money-take-your-chances 40 volatility while Edward Jackson out of Jackson St. is the ultimate risk-reward drafting dice roll with a good starting value but mid-80s volatility.

I’ll hit the defense later…

2029 DRAFT PREVIEW – THE DEFENSE

Same deal…blah blah blah…players are only considered at their listed position, not necessarily their best position because, hey, the folks who do extra work deserve some rewards for their efforts, right?

DE – In the words of one foul-mouthed GM, who may or may not own a team in Australia, “what kind of bullsh!t is this?” This is not the draft for you if you’re looking for a future HOF DE. This is probably not the draft for you if you’re looking for a guaranteed starter at DE. This is a draft that, realistically, might not have a player listed at DE as a starter in this league come the 5-year mark. The best, and that’s a loose term, might be USC’s Charles Gabler and LSU’s Robert Beauchesne (great generated LSU name, btw!), but seriously the best bet might be waiting until the later rounds, grabbing a high volatility and sacrificing a virgin to the gods of random number generation for a boom.

DT – Having sufficiently trashed the outside elements of the D-line draft class, allow me to introduce the cream of the crop. LSU’s Jose Garner is, what we call, a stud, albeit a stud with a 78 volatility. While that’s scary high, with a default rating of 94, someone is going to pull that trigger. Central Florida’s Kenneth Gonzales is also solid top-shelf talent with a high 50’s volatility. Philip Long and John Desantis similarly have the potential for long, productive EFL careers.

SLB – If I counted correctly, there were only 5 players generated at the SLB slot. Of those, Notre Dame’s John Williams is likely the consensus best among scouts and the best shot to vanish from the board in Round 1, but he comes with a 58 volatility so it won’t be a shocker if he’s still around when Round 2 begins.

MLB – I will continue the moaning fest about defensive prospects in this draft with the middle linebacking position. Again, there are no HOF’ers to be found here outside of awesome training camp dice rolls. Kenneth Hicks out of football powerhouse Eastern Kentucky defaults at 74 with a 22 volatility and is probably the safest play for people who absolutely, positively need someone in the middle of the D.

WLB – Step on up! Take your chance and win a prize! William Wiseman defaults at a 90 at WLB and the Arkansas Razorback is likely to get someone rolling the first round dice on him as a result, despite a 78 volatility. Only slightly below that, at an 87 default, is Billy Bailey out of Maryland with a 68 volatility. These are the sorts of decisions that team owners earn the big bucks over…who is going to take their spin on the wheel of fortune for a crack at hitting one out of the park?

CB – In a position that can see first round runs, there’s good help to chase after here. Michigan State’s Wallace Durant, with a volatility of 10, might not be the overall best CB prospect, but is likely the safest. Alabama State’s Wesley Lawson comes with more risk but similar skills and Juan Palacios, while not in the same league as the other two, is mercury-on-a-frying-pan fast with a low volatility that will increase his chances of coming off the board early.

SS – Do you need a strong safety? I hope you don’t need a strong safety, because only eight of them generated and, of that number, only three default to a rating above the mid-60s. And none of them are entirely risk-free. Texas Longhorn Henry Belanger is probably the safest pick at strong safety. But with punish receiver, zone and M2M all undeveloped, it will take a favorable training camp to pay off on a pick.

FS – Oh. My. God. Look, I don’t know how in the **** James Nichol escaped the attention of Power Five teams in college to end up playing his ball for San Jose St., but nobody is going to ignore him in the EFL. This doesn’t even look like a question of whether he’ll be in the HOF at career’s end, only a question of what helmet he goes in with. The guy defaults to a rating of ninety-FREAKING-seven. Yes, I have a man crush on him, don’t judge me! And don’t worry if you miss out on that lottery ticket, because Baylor’s Walter Frausto and Iowa State’s Duane Bundy aren’t exactly bad runner-up trophies to score. If you need a FS, this is your year because the depth at that position is a thing of beauty from where I’m sitting.

SO HOW’D THAT WORK OUT FOR YOU?

After a brief spell away, Headline Sports is back with the answer to the question everyone is wondering now that Training Camp is over and the results are known. The numbers have been crunched and spies paid off to give this replay of the first round of the draft…with the results of training camp so you can see how that person you almost took fared vs. the overweight prospect that showed up at your training camp a step and a half slower than he was at the combine.

Training camp results reflect my personal rating values and may differ up or down from what individual coaches experience on their own. Player positions show the player’s current listed position, not necessarily the position where they were drafted.

1. SS-James Nichol, Mt. Washington +14/-1
2. FS-Walter Frausto, Bennington +5/-5
3. QB-Curtis Brown, Hawai’I +11/-1
4. SS-William Wiseman, Reno +8/0
5. RG-Russell Gilmore, Fort Drum +3/0
6. WR-John Kendall, Brooklyn +13/+2
7. DT-Jose Garner, Santa Fe +13/0
8. RT-Kelly Lemon, Aspen +14/+3
9. C-Carlton Cardenas, Santa Fe +7/+2
10. CB-Duane Bundy, Tacoma +11/-9 (worst loss)
11. CB-Juan Palacios, Natchitoches +3/-2
12. MLB-Tommy Woodard, Arkansas +3/-3
13. FS-Wallace Durant, St. Louis +18/-1
14. WLB-Kenneth Hicks, San Diego +6/-1
15. FS-Patrick Mays, Rancho Cucamonga +4/0
16. FB-Randy Seaberg, Star City +6/-8
17. RB-Donald Dubois, Lyon +9/+3
18. RG-Maxwell Cottrell, Boise +11/-3
19. LT-Steve Stansberry, California +7/+5 (biggest gain)
20. QB-George Mathias, Perth +6/-4
21. TE-Robert Halcomb, Canton +12/+4
22. SS-Gary Bremner, Charleston +3/-2
23. FS- Wesley Lawson, Maine +4/-7
24. CB-Mauricio Rivera, Salem +7/-2
25. WLB-Billy Bailey, Milwaukee +11/-6
26. RB-George Nieto, Toronto +8/-7
27. C-Brian Dekker, Columbus City +11/-7
28. WLB-Henry Belanger, Milwaukee +6/-5
29. LG-Paul Franz, Santa Fe +7/0
30. CB-Karl London, Tallahassee +19/0
31. WR-Mark Robinson, Canton +9/-4
32. CB-Mark Wilson, Maine +3/-3

Average overall movement of 2029 first rounders: -1.84

We hit on every single pick... Unreal, never had that happen before!
Well I've got a few players I'm open to move to make room for my new guys, send me your trade offers!

PERTH FIRES O-LINE SCOUTS

Get your resume ready if you've ever wanted a career in professional football. The Perth Wallabies have sacked the entire scouting division tasked with locating offensive linemen. While no official reason has been given for the sudden abundance of job vacancies in the Wallabies' front office, speculation is that the horrific training camp performance of all three of Perth's O-linemen from the Class of 2029 draft class is to blame. One individual inside the Perth front office, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, remarked shortly after training camp, "it was embarrassing. None of them were remotely close to what we'd been led to believe. Going 0-for-3 might get you paid millions in baseball, but here in the EFL that's the sort of thing that ruins a team."

That makes me feel so much better opening the season against you...

I need Defensive scouts, have good Offensive scouts. Want to trade?

This is Phalduns world and we're all just living in it. Gonna take some time for my guys to get up to speed still :-)