Cowboys

We got the Cowboys next. Led by MrOhio and BloodyPStain. Ohio is a veteran owner who knows how to manage a team. I just got two questions for management. Why the Cowboys? Dak is trash and hard to use because of his windup. Also why leave so much money on the table. Being a veteran owner I’m sure Ohio has good reasoning. Leaving 26 mill on the table just seems like you short changed yourself. I’ve never been an owner so I don’t know the motive behind it. Anyways Ohio has assembled an ok roster over there in Dallas. Ohio himself has 61 career sacks in 5 seasons which is pretty good for a DL. However this season he is switching to DB which he has no stats for so I’m assuming he hasn’t played a season at the position. Ohio is always a good runner. Not astronomical stats but he will get the job done when set up with good runs. He went 4-4 last season but only amassed 183 yards on the ground. Idk if that was because of FFs or what. I expect more yardage from him this season. On to his GM, Bloody. Honestly I’m gonna be biased when talking about Bloody. Since being in the VFL through 5-6 seasons, Bloody is still one of my favorite teammates I’ve had. As my teammate he was always looking to play, wasn’t scared to challenge himself at different positions, was open to learn new defenses, helped me lab late into the night and he even practiced adjustments after i suggested it. Super easy guy to get along with and great personality. Not only is he a great teammate he is a solid player as well. In 5 seasons Bloody has 3800 rec yards, 38 TDS and 46 sacks. Not astronomical numbers but with his willingness to learn, he could double that with the right supporting cast behind him. He will be a good GM because of his attitude. Next up we got DRock at QB for 9 mil. Drock always has a unique scheme that hinges on fast paced offense and a lot of quick snaps. Drock posted a 7W-5L record last season with 1500 yards and 13TDs – 13INTS. Not the best ratio passing wise but a good record nonetheless. Through 4 seasons at QB Drock has always had around the same ratio. At 9mil he is a good pickup since they needed a QB. The next QB is Sir Bottomis. I’ve never watched Bottomis play but i know before this season he had played with the same group for quite a while. Was that holding him back? Not creating a narrative but maybe we will see better numbers out of him this season. Because in 4 seasons at QB he really hasn’t had a breakout season. Last season he went 5W-5L with 21TDs and 22INTS. With the game change to 23 you got to take those stat lines with a grain of salt. Spending 1 mil to get a 5-5 Qb is a steal in my opinion. Also who knows how close those 5 losses were. Next up we got Swift of the AP boys. Swift didn’t have the best record last season at 5W-7L but ill be honest I watched a lot of their games and they had a chance in 75% of those losses. They were a tough outing for a lot of teams last season. Swift passed for 16TD-12INTS with just under 2000 yards. He also threw 4TDS-0INTS in the playoffs. So it seems like they hit a stride at the end of the season. Utah the AP line WR accounted for 1775 yards of Swifts offense. But he has to get better on the DL only accounting for 1 sack all season. Vermont the RB of the AP line has yet to hit his full stride at RB. He hasn’t eclipsed 600 yards in a season yet. I expect to see substantially better numbers from the AP line. They hit some late momentum and I think it will carry over. They get better every season according to the stats. As for the rest of the team Doc and ProjectAutoBaby. I don’t know much about either. I have played with Doc and he is pretty solid. Maybe Ohio has some gems here. Overall this team is decent. I still question leaving the money on the table. The Cowboys have some solid lines with Drock and the AP Line. I expect them to be around .500 but I honestly hope they prove me wrong by doing even better.

Chargers

Just like with my last article I am going to be a bit bias. Chargers have JohnnyWheels as an Owner. Johnny is a good advocate for this league. Johnny is a great personality and keeps the games fun even if your not winning. Wholesome guy and great teammate. As for his GM Gmen he is a sponge in this league. Learning all he can from other Qbs. We need more of that in this league. He posted 11TD-11INT last season. While he didn’t get much in the win category. I’m sure the stats don’t tell the full story of the games. I expect him to do much better this season. Especially with Johnny stealing the Chargers at 12.5. Boy what a steal that was. I don’t understand how he got them so low. Maybe people weren’t paying attention during the bidding idk. So not only did Johnny get the Chargers but he also got the season 7 league MVP. TxJamesSmithTx. TxJames posted 30TDs-7INTS with an 11W-1L record. A phenomenal season for a QB in the VFL. I haven’t watched many of his games but I have heard a lot. Some say he is good and some say otherwise. Prior to this past season he is never had a season close to what he did this season. Posting subpar numbers in previous seasons. I guess time will tell if he is a one hit wonder or not. His runningmate and RB, AppleDanish has posted 1400 yards in 2 seasons. Which is a pretty strong showing for a running back. He also has 45 TFLS, 8 Sacks and 11 INTS in 2 Seasons. He is solid on both offense and defense. Next is Rogue Apollo which is the WR/DL of TXJames line. Rogue has some pretty good numbers. Posting 3700 yards and 44 TDs in 2 seasons. Those are well above average numbers for a receiver. This line as a collective is solid and can get you wins with the substantial numbers they put up. Id still like to see this line play tougher lines so they can shake that image that they don’t play good lines. On Johnnys team this should be line 1 and should be getting games against other line 1s. I only go off hearsay cause i never watched them play and this league can be a bit dramatic sometimes. So hopefully they take this as motivation to whip everyone’s ass. As for the rest of the team, there are no stats for most of them. I’ve played against Victis and he is pretty good. That was a good pickup. I know Dizzel plays with GMen and they have chemistry so they can lab and learn together. As for Primetime I have no information on him. Maybe Johnny got a hidden gem. With the MVP I expect the Chargers to be in the playoffs. Johnny had a tough go last season but these bidding moves definitely will bring them closer to contending. As Gmen learns the QB position more and more I anticipate he will account for at least 6 wins this season. I wish the best for Johnny and his Chargers this season and I hope to see them in the playoffs.

Buccaneers

Some might say this is the best QB room in the league. I would have to agree with that. While others might say that is meaningless if you are surrounded by 500k players. I would have to disagree with that. The knowledge that 3 top-end QB’s bring to the table is game-changing. Most great QB’s can play both sides of the ball and know every position. I’ll use myself as an example. I play both H2H and WL. I can run defense better than 3/4th of this league. (Open invitation in H2H if you think I’m wrong) I play against the meta every weekend. There are very few players in this league that match my defensive IQ because of how much H2H/WL/Squads I’ve played. Players like Realest(Now people can say oh Realest isn’t a QB and those same people can’t win 21 games of WL, Realest can.), Abyss, Hexied, Ebok, Cruce and Brady are on that short list of players that have the equivalent experience. That makes them such well rounded players on both sides. They have that IQ. They have played the meta defenses and have reps against almost any defense you can throw at them. They can teach these 500k players where the holes are or why this action does this to a defense and so forth and so on. The overall competitive experience these 3 QB’s bring to the table rivals any QB room in this league. Example, I was just in a party with Brady and North a couple weeks ago while they were labbing dollar. How many QB’s in this league are labbing dollar with friends? He labs it so he can understand it. That makes a great QB. Did I mention that there are 3 of them? 3 different QB’s could be labbing and figuring defense/schemes things out. Not just 3 QB’s, 3 great QB’s. 1 of which is arguably one of the best QB’s in league history, Abyss. Coming off an MVP worthy performance (again) and winning QBOTY (again). He’s the 2-time MVP, 3 time LBOTY and 3 time QBOTY. Despite not winning the MVP, Abyss put up phenomenal numbers at QB. Posting a 9-3 record with 36 TDS to 9 INTS. Most people thought he should’ve won MVP based on strength of schedule. Abyss plays anyone, anytime. Abyss is gonna be a threat at QB every time he steps on the field. He’s always going to have a scheme that nobody else has. From his normal passing scheme to his high point passing scheme, Abyss’ offense will always be top tier. He also got LBOTY which means he’s a threat at user in the middle. Next up we got Brady. Brady has had two good seasons in the last 4 seasons. 2 being at QB. He took off a season to play RB and I guess we will see how he transitions back into a QB role this season. The other season he had at QB wasn’t that great. So 2 great seasons and 2 mediocre seasons. His last winning season at QB he went 10-2 with 26TD-16INTS. So while the IQ is there, he isn’t immune to mistakes. I still think Brady is a top tier QB in this league and I expect him to have a great comeback SZN. Next up we got Beaste. Beaste’s last season was a good outing posting a 7W-4L record and 14TDs-6INTS. So we know Beaste can play QB in 23. I say 23 because it’s very different than 22. Beaste is an old head who won 2 SB’s back in the LeagueArena days. Abyss made a deep run in the playoffs so I expect no less from this team. On to the RB position. They selected Clutch, Wales and ChildPlease. Of the 3, none of them have had a 600+ yard rushing season at RB in the last 5 Seasons. Clutch did have a 700+ rec yard season. So he is one of the better receiving backs in the league. Not that this team runs the ball a lot. So I don’t expect large numbers from them this season as well. On to WR. Crazy Effectz, Gamegreen and Beefy. Crazy didn’t have the greatest season last season posting only 700 receiving yards, but the previous season he posted 1900 rec yards with 21 TDS and also won a SB. I expect big numbers from Crazy with a top end QB throwing him the ball. Beefy is Beaste kin so I’m sure he will be on Beaste’s line. Beefy did have some great seasons at DL back in the day. Amassing 23 sacks in two different seasons. The chemistry that comes along with people you know IRL is unmatched. I expect these two to get dubs together. The lowlight at receiver (or what most people assume would be) is Gamegreen. In my opionion this was a smart move. Nobody reads defenses like a QB. Getting a former QB at receiver is a smart move when trying to attack the defense with a user receiver. They know where the holes are in the defense based on the corner and safety movement. All in all this QB room is phenomenal. 3 great leaders at QB with a tremendous amount of SB experience. Highpoints got patched but Mike Evans is Mike Evans. These guys have a perfect mix of high point and normal passing. I expect these guys to be a terror in the league. As long as the supporting cast can play defense this team will stay in contention from week 1 till the SB.

Chiefs

Up next we got the Chiefs. Led by owner Champ and GM Hexied. Honestly this might be a short one because of the unknowns going with this team. Not a lot of info out there about Dexi, KingKlay, PaidDough or Try Luv. So let’s talk about what we do know. Champ pairing with Hexied is kind of killer for real. Champ is a veteran owner who only requires one thing to get wins, Farah. Farah and Champ have been together since I’ve been in the league and they are always a tough matchup for anyone. Together they amassed an 8W-3L record last season on the Chargers. Champ threw 19TDS – 6INTS and 1900 Yards. 19 of those TDS went to Farah at WR. As a duo they are prolific in the passing game with few pairs even coming close to rivaling them in this league. I don’t expect that to change in season 8. Next up we got Hexied. I’ve known Hexied for awhile. We’ve played MUT together or against each other for the last few years. Hex came in hot with the shit talk and backed it up by making it to the SB. Hex is a great player. He is sometimes overly toxic but he is young. Maturity is just on the horizon for him. He has the talent to be one of the best QB’s this league has ever seen. He is looking to back up all the shit talk again this season. I don’t expect any less from Hex. He is definitely a top tier QB. Sometimes the immaturity doesn’t mesh well with the team around you so we will see how that pans out. Most people don’t give a damn if they are winning. Hexied posted 15TD-7INTS in his debut season. I expect a lot better numbers this season as he gets more comfortable in the VFL setting. Up next we got UngluedTiger. I don’t know if they are on the same line but pairing two toxic people together sounds explosive. A lot of mumblings around the league that Tiger is toxic and is not easy to get along with. Idk how that will play out between management and Tiger but I will be watching that for sure. Aside from the toxicity, Tiger has posted 3 great seasons at RB with two of those seasons hitting over 1000 yards rushing. He has 35 Rushing TDs in 3 seasons. Wow. That’s pretty freaking good. Kind of shocked by those numbers. Amazing numbers but tie that in with the toxic teammate trait is probably why he went so low. Is the toxicity a tactic to keep the price down? IDK. Next we got WRNZO. He was on Hex line last season and he put up pretty solid numbers for the first time in his VFL career. He got 718 Yards and 10TDS on the ground to go along with 9.7 yards per carry. WRNZO had a breakout season. I dont expect him to get much higher than that season just because the Chiefs team as a whole loves to pass. Great back but he will probably be more utilized in the passing game. Dexi and King Klay are Hexied’s MUT homies. If we can take anything from last season it’s dont count out the MUT players. Me being one of the MUT players as well. I know there are some really good team play players in MUT. I cant speak for Dexi or Klay because I’ve never played with them or against them. Most MUT players are hip with the meta defenses and cheesy offenses which is why the league has seen more Spinner/DB fire these last couple seasons. Jury is still out on whether Klay and Dexi can transition to regs team play. As for Paid Dough and Try Luv. There aren’t any stats for either so I dont have much to go off of in their realm. If they are coachable I expect Champ, Hex and Farah to have them ready for the season opener. All in all, I expect this team to be competitive and be in the top 3 of the Power Rankings all season. They have built a really good squad over here. Full of toxicness but also full of game to back it up. Once again another great season ahead for the Chiefs under Champs leadership.

Tiger is a solid player, can sometimes be a bit cocky, however he definitely has backed up his cockiness when it comes to his performance as a RB! I think defensively he’s pretty average, but on offense he is a game changer type of guy!

1. This being your first season not on Koolaid’s line, do you think it will be a fun experience? Or do you think it will be business as usual and you’re going to ball out regardless?

Koolaid is a great QB with a great scheme and some really good plays. I do think some of my best runs came from his play calling but at the end of the day you can still make the wrong decision toting the rock and mess up even the best plays. So I still think I will be a top 4 RB just like every other season I’ve been in the VFL. Especially now playing with Champ and Farah who ultimately have the same scheming and mindset/approach to madden

2. Originally starting on the Browns must have been a dream as a RB/DL and now you’re on the Chiefs. Though, they do have a great roster both on madden and in the VFL. Has your attitude changed at all since being originally picked up by the Browns? Please explain why or why not.

I mean, I went in being the top RB outside of the 3 Browns RB’s last season using arguably the worst RB on any team last season.  So yeah, I was excited cause I’ve used Chubb and always got 150+ yards in every team play game I’ve used him.  So I was a little salty to get sent off before even running one scrimmage with them. But at the end of the day I’m back with some people I played with my first season and I’m happy to be on the Chiefs. I think we have the best roster right now and definitely expect big things this season.

3. I’ve played on your team in season 6 and I know you’re a great RB. There also seems to be a lot of people in the league that haven’t played on your team that seem to think you are “toxic”. How would you respond to those people? (myself sort of included 😂)

End of the day, I am a competitor. I’ve never had fun losing. So even in a free-to-play league I don’t know how you can have fun if you’re losing. I don’t bite my tongue because if I see something that can be fixed I will say it to give my team the best chance of winning. I’ve toned it down from when I first started but at the end of the day every league needs a villain. So I don’t mind having that image cause my numbers back my talking ten-fold.

4. Where do you see the Chiefs ending up in the standings as well as the Super Bowl race?

We will definitely be top 2.  I don’t see my line or Hexied’s line losing more then 1 game if that. Our goal is to have two undefeated lines and I definitely think it’s attainable.  And obviously we are my super bowl favorites.

5. Tell us a little about yourself whether it’s madden related or personally? Let the league get to know you!

I run a sports bar in the middle of Charlotte. Take care of my dog and my snakes in my free time.  Madden is about the only game I play on Xbox anymore. When I do have some free time I play golf. I joke a lot so most people in the league take my jokes very literally cause my sense of humor is dry. But the people I talk with and play with mostly know when I’m joking and when I’m bluntly telling them them they’re ass.

The AFL is a very important part of our league! This season The Rev God and staff have agreed to make some changes to make it more sustainable! First, I’d like to take the time to introduce our AFL owners!

1. The Realest (AKA THEVFLGOAT)- realest has been in this league for a long time now, one of the vets if you will, he’s won multiple super bowls and is sitting out this season to focus on helping the league grow both NFL and AFL levels! (WPMOY?)
2. Spacious horse- Spacious is usually a fairly active player, he’s pretty average madden skill wise, but a great guy to be around. Great on the DLine and I would expect him to people to help his guys in the AFL understand the rules and get accustomed to the way things are done here!
3. Sixth mallard- Mallard was the AFL Packers owner last season and did a tremendous job running his team and doing everything in his power to make sure games were played. He had his own discord chat for all the AFL owners to be in so games are properly scheduled and if someone needed a sub he had his active team locked and loaded just so guys were getting stats and field time! Also he is the VFL Bills owner this season! I expect Mallard to train his team up well and keep them active!
4. The Pork side- the Youngblood in the league, Pork just joined recently and has already made a solid name for himself! I’ve been in parties with him and he is super excited for the league and is a sponge for knowledge! Also knows how to play the game at a solid level as well!

Now that we have our owners out there, let’s talk about the biggest change we will see this season with our AFL! If you signed up late you will not be eligible for call up until at least a week has been attempted to be played in the AFL. This promotes activity in the AFL while making sneaky stuff much more difficult! Previously Blacklisted players must play a season in the AFL or sit out an entire season!

Also, another big change with the AFL this season is the teams! Owners select two divisions and can the players can pick from the pool of 8 teams from those divisions. This brings diversity into the teams being used in games and lets people truly show off their user skill instead of just hiding behind the abilities. Plus the ability to use 8 teams will help take away the repetitive nature of using the same few teams!

With these changes going on I see great things in the future of the AFL!

Let’s go ahead and show which owners got what divisions!

Realest- NFC South/ NFC East

Teams: Panthers, Falcons, Bucs, Saints, Cowboys, Commanders, Eagles & Giants

Mallard- AFC North/ AFC South

Teams: Bengals, Browns, Ravens, Steelers, Titans, Jags, Colts & Texans

Spacious- AFC West/ NFC West

Teams: Cardinals, Rams, 49ers Seahawks, Chiefs, Chargers, Raiders & Broncos

Pork- NFC North/ AFC East

Teams: Vikings, Packers, Lions, Bears Bills, Jets Patriots & Dolphins

Let’s give it up for these owners and wish them and their teams the best of luck in the upcoming season!

Victims is a relatively new face to the league last season he was a late sign up and played on sixth mallards AFL packer squad, he’s a solid player with a good attitude!

1. Playing in the AFL last season what were your thoughts on that experience? And what would you like to see changed to help that portion of our league grow?

 I honestly thoroughly enjoyed the AFL. If for whatever reason, I did not end up on a VFL roster I would be totally okay playing on an AFL Roster.

I got lucky and had Mallard as an owner and he made the experience a blast. The only thing I would like to see different is more attention geared towards it. Some videos, articles, and what not to help generate some opportunities for the guys who get forgotten in the AFL. I feel like a lot of players if given the exposure could do really well in the VFL.

2. Who all is on your line this season and have y’all played together prior to this season? If so how long have y’all been playing together and what is y’all’s chemistry like?

 My line this season is Gmen1085 and Dizzel50. We have played squads for years now. Our chemistry is top notch and none of us are easily shaken. The fact we are so close I feel is a benefit. There is no chances of one of us cutting and running if things get tough. We will work hard and fix any issue we come across.

3. Do you have any suggestions to help the league get better as a whole?

  As a struggling content creator, I love what is done here so far. I would love to see some Twitch/YouTube streams that are a mock type of show you would see on The NFL Network

or ESPN. If ever given the opportunity I would like to help with something like that as well.

4. Have you met any new people since joining the league? Made any friends or enemies?

  I’ve met several people who I consider friends and they all have helped me improve my game in one way or the other. I wouldn’t say I have any enemies outside the occasional sarcastic smack talk, and even with those individuals I am able to learn from.

5. What do you think will help the chargers excel this season and help push Johnny into the playoffs?

  I think the addition of Gmen1085 as GM and James’ line will push Johnny’s team over the hump and get them into the playoffs. I have known Gmen for over a decade and he knows how to build something and make it turn out great. He has succeeded in everything he put his mind too and I don’t think this will be any different. Also with James on the line I think he will improve everyone’s gameplay on The Chargers. I have played a few games against him and he is extremely helpful, it has already paid dividends in all of our talent levels.

Bhedden is a new owner this season, he was on staff last season and decided to give being an owner a shot. We all know that being a new owner in the league can be an extremely difficult task. No one knows your capabilities yet, and that can make it difficult to convince people to take your GM spot or even have faith in you as a player, so far Bhedden’s team looks solid and doesn’t seem to have these issues. 

Let’s see what he has to say so far:

1. As a new owner in the league, how would you describe how the first couple of weeks have been?

It has been a very busy first few weeks. The amount of players moving around directly after draft has been a lot to keep up with. But it has been very fun. 

2. Picking the dolphins up for one million could definitely be a sleeper pick, you have speed all over the place. However, the biggest question mark on the team is Tua. Were the Miami Dolphins your initial pick? 

No they weren’t the initial pick at all. But I had a price cap in mind and all of the teams with QB abilities went way above it. Cruce and I talked about the Ravens/Eagles and ended up settling with the Dolphins. We knew Tua would be less than ideal but having Waddle, Tyreek, and Mostert on offense, as well as a secondary that is almost all over 90 speed seemed worth it. 

3. You have a few solid names on your team right now with Painkiller and Accountant being two of the top defensive lineman in the league last season. Would you say stacking your teams defensive lineman was a goal for you going into the bidding? Also how would you describe your strategy going into the bidding?

Going into bidding, we had a few guys that we absolutely knew we would be able to get cheap because no one knew who they were except Cruce and maybe Hexie. I was dead set on getting a couple guys regardless of cost and then going from there,  but I actually ended up getting them for a lot less than I was expecting. So I was able to spend a lot more and beef up my DC’s.

4. Who has been your biggest help so far when it comes to making sure everything is going smoothly and keeping up with how to handle things as a new owner? 

Cruce has been a huge help. Even just bouncing ideas off when it comes to trades and everything. He was the one who told me that Verts was a steal at QB even at 2.5 mil.

5. Where do you see your team ending up this season as far as standings, playoffs, etc?

I feel like we will 100% make the playoffs. We have put together a very solid team and am very happy with it.

With the recent acquisition of the blunkster I HAD to get mallards thoughts on picking him up and some of his other strategies as a new owner!

1. Were the bills your number one team going into the bidding or did you have other teams in mind?

   Yes, the Bills were my #1 team going into the bidding. I went into bidding thinking that I was ready to spend around $15m on the Bills or a team similar to them because I know an elite in-game QB like Josh Allen can make things significantly easier on VFL QBs and that was a goal of mine with team selection. I was also looking for an elite defense, and the Bills have a top-3 defense in the game. I was a huge fan of the Cowboys (who probably have the best defense in the game IMO) leading up to the draft, but I cooled on Dak quite a lot once I played more with him.

2. Picking up koolaids and outlaw (fixxer) I’m sure were high on your list of things to do, could you give a brief description of your relationship with those players and anyone else on your team you picked up.

I actually got Koolaidz into the VFL waaaaaaaay back in like Season 2 or season 3 of the leaguearena days. We used to play together on the Gamebattles team play ladders back in Madden 12, and Outlaw (or FixXxer) was our QB. We played a ton of seasons back during the LeagueArena days but, to be honest, I didn’t pick Koolaidz up because he is a friend of mine; I picked Koolaidz up because the man knows how to play QB and you need people like that to be successful as an owner in the VFL.

3. With the recent acquisition of blunkey, I would like to know what was your thought process of dropping explikcit for him?

 Well, I had originally planned on picking up a few different QBs in the draft but those guys all ended up way out of my budget. It was looking pretty likely that we were just going to roll with Shady at QB when we decided to take a lottery ticket on an available QB. We ended up picking Explikcit up. Immediately after the draft, Blunkey messaged me and told me that I had made a mistake. At first I thought it was just typical Blunkey smack talk, but he made it clear that he genuinely wanted to be on the team and wanted to improve his game to the point where he could contribute to the team’s success.

4. I said in my interview with blunkey the only issue I see with him is how bad of a teammate I perceive him to be, he’s not a terrible QB. But do you have any plans for his linemates to be able to handle him?

So I tried him out, and he actually played pretty well. He was also very receptive to constructive criticism which reaffirmed to me that he was actually committed to winning. I still have Shady as a backup plan, but I’m cool with seeing if Blunkey can capture a little 3rd line magic for me this season.

5.     I don’t think there’s anything you can do to prepare others for bad teammate blunkey. Nobody is going to be ready for that level of blame game and it’s not fair to others to subject them to it. That’s why I’ve been working with Blunkey on that part of his game. He’s going to be on a short leash when it comes to toxicity, especially towards teammates. I have not hesitated to make roster moves so far, I will not hesitate to make more roster moves looking for the 9 guys that can get this team a ring.

This move is all about wins for me. Blunkey is the only free agent QB available with any VFL experience. He has his issues, but he also went 3-5 last season on a team that finished 6-30. There’s clearly *something* there in Blunkey’s game and I’m willing to take a chance on that, depsite what others in the league may say about it.

6. Doubling up as an AFL and VFL owner do you think this will begin to overwhelm you in the sense of workload?

It might, but so far being a VFL owner has been much less work than being an AFL owner. As a VFL owner, I have 9 guys on my roster who all want to play for me. As an AFL owner, I have between 1-8 guys that may or may not want to play for me. It’s a completely different world and I don’t think there will be much different between my workload this season and last season.

7. Do you have any suggestions for staff to make the league either more exciting or easier on owners? Or both?

Let players sign up as a line. Turn the AFL into a true play-with-friends league. Don’t make me force three people, whom I have never seen play and who have never met, to play together on a line for 16 games a season. Let friends play together in the AFL.

Bills

The Bills are pretty well balanced with old heads and fresh faces. How well that will translate to the gridiron has yet to be determined. I knew just by the owner being Mallard, that they would not get outbid on Koolaidz unless they just ran out of cap. I’ve known the likes of Mallard, Koolaidz and Fixxer since Madden 11 and they are a tough match no matter the game. To be honest we used to be bitter rivals back in the GB days but only because we had hell games and were fierce competitors. In my opinion that was the golden age of team play. Lets get back to these players though. We will start with Koolaidz, who in my opionion is a top 5 QB in this league. Koolaidz had a playoff run last season. His 25 TD to 12 INT with a 7-5 WL propelled him into being one of the highest paid players in bidding. The 12 INTS on defense probably helped too. Koolaidz is a schemer and honestly thats what makes a average QB, great. You pair that with being surrounded by his boys and probable lab partners, I expect big numbers from Koolaidz. Idk if he or Fixxer/Outlaw will be throwing to Mallard/Cascade this season but both have 12+ years worth of chemistry together. So I expect the passing to be at an all time high for the Bills this season. Couple that with getting one of the VFL vets in Shady and Karma at RB. This offense is so balanced there is no telling where the killshot will come from. Shady finally got back to RB where I feel he excels the most. Yeah he’s a decent QB but I’d much rather him be at back he is more dangerous there. Explikcit had a great showcase running read flat wheel. Idk how many will be fooled by that so I hope he has more depth to his offense. To me that’s the most questionable part of this team. Explikcit, Zabriel, Porkside and Smash don’t have much winning experience. Can they perform enough to keep the Bills contenders? In conclusion, this team has veteran leadership with Mallard, Koolaidz, Outlaw and Shady. I expect them to be above .500 but it will all hinge on these leaders putting them in a position to succeed. Whether they stay in contention comes down to the leaders.

Dolphins

Next up we got the Dolphins. The fastest offense in regs. With Bhedden at the helm and Cruce as GM this team is kinda stacked if you know how to use a left handed QB. A lot of people were going at the Dolphins GM Cruce and the Mut Guys (Hexied and Boxing) last season but not only did they show up, they came a fingertip away from possibly being SB Champs. Now I’ve personally known the mut guys for a few years and they got they talent to compete with anyone in this league so honestly while most of the league was surprised, I wasn’t. Bhedden locked in Cruce at GM which is a crazy pairing that I never saw coming. Not only did he get Cruce, but he got another mut QB in the draft by getting Verts. So the quarterbacks are Cruce, Bhedden and Verts. I personally have never played with or against Verts so I do not what his playstyle is like. Of the three, the only one to me looks like a true QB is Cruce. Bhedden hasn’t posted a positive season at QB according to our stats page. Verts is a noob and nobody really knows how he will shake out. The only bright spot at QB is Cruce. Lets talk about the rest of the team because to be honest it’s stacked. Management scooped up BoxingBadass which a lot of people think was top 3 DC at the end of the season. I’ve been playing with and against Boxing for awhile and he has always been a stout player. I don’t know how well his WR skills are but I know his defense is top tier. The problem a lot of MUT WR have is that hitch and go’s are banned and getting used to that and being successful is tough. Even with the hitch and go banned I dont doubt Cruce and Boxing will find some glitchyness at WR to break coverage. Lets talk the MVP Runner Up Fear. Fear went from a stellar season at RB/DL to switching positions completely. I have no doubt that Fear will put up numbers this year but I doubt it will be MVP worthy numbers. I think he would need to get back to RB for that to happen. The other RB on this team Critical Telos is a SZN 7 SB Champ. He brings character to the team, he’s a great teammate and skillful enough to give people trouble defending him. The Dolphins traded to get Accountant which in my opinion was an odd move. This team will run a lot of DB Fire and he hates that. Accountant was a phenomenal defensive pickup. Offensively not so much. He’s not really a factor on O but he doubles that on defense with the pressure he gets. As for Death and MVP there just isn’t enough stats yet for me to have an idea of what they can offer the team. In conclusion, Bhedden and Cruce have built a solid squad here. A lot of studs but a couple unknowns. If Bhedden and Verts have good seasons they could be fighting in the playoffs. I honestly don’t see it happening. A lot of people cannot utilize Tua that well. However, I’m not writing this team off because they got two 98+ speed receivers. That in itself is hard to guard. I just don’t see Bhedden and Verts doing enough to help propel this team to the playoffs. This team is stacked at WR with Fear/Boxing/Accountant. I just don’t see the QB room getting it done besides Cruce. The jury is still out on this team.