Another chapter in Coaches Corner .......

For those of you who don't know, Sfniner08 runs the team called "S F", this team can be found Here in Dragons 1.1

For those of you with a G*I account, Sfniner08's team can be found Here , but do hurry though ..... this unloved and semi-abandoned team look likely to go Bot at any second

Interviewer (in Bold) is SH8888 , Interviewee (not in Bold) is Sfniner08.

Interview available now (see Below)

To aid understanding of the love for the red and gold, can you explain the significance of "Sfniner08" , I thought it was because you were born in 1908 , but apparently it's not, so what is it all about ?

Growing up as a young boy in the state of Washington one would think I would be a Seahawk fan. I lived in a family that didn't watch football so there were no allegiances to worry about. So I ask you, if you had to choose the Dave Krieg led Seahawks at 7-9 in 1989 or the Superbowl bound 49ers of 1989 who would you choose? I chose a winner, and stuck with them. That was towards the end of the Montana era and the beginning of the Young era, Young being jersey number 8.

Right, let's get straight down to the nitty-gritty, I know what's coming next from you, so I'll just put my earplugs in. OK, hearing successfully blocked-up, so ...... What are your views on MOTY ?

I like it the way it is. In the past it didn't make sense to have it in the playoffs as everyone in the playoffs is already pumped up to play. In the regular season though it is not uncommon for a team to rise up and pull off an upset of a perceived better team. The better team may indeed not play at that 100% level. But they are professionals is what I hear from opponents of MOTY, yes but they are also human beings.

Ahhh, now that onslaught is over, a follow-up question to MOTY (difficult to do a follow-up question, as I don't know your answer yet ! .... but I can guess) ..... so, if MOTY is good because it simulates the 'motivational effects' of a head coach, can you answer me this one .............I've heard in the past (from you and others) something along the lines of "I used MOTY against Team A because I thought they were going to use MOTY against me" ..... so how does this fit into the "MOTY is like motivation in real-life" scenario ? ..... because it seems extremely artificial to me.

If you are equating it to coaches motivational effects isn't it plausible, and even likely that in a big game both coaches are giving those kind of motivations?

In fact, a further question .... What do you say to people (like me) who think MOTY is more Poker than Football ? Why do you think MOTY is NOT artificial ?

First, I don't see poker and football as all that different. Perhaps that analogy isn't what you're looking for? As an avid poker player (and pretty darn good) and football watcher I notice the following the same about the two. The mental side of football is huge, there is psychology in it as in poker. In football you are trying to create misdirection to gain advantages, do you not also in poker do the same? In poker you sometimes use your power of chips to force your opponent into a bad play, how is it different in football when you take your "strength" and force your opponent to change their tactics?

A straightforward question .....I actually wanted to ask Solana_Steve this too, but it seemed a bit impertinent to say "Does the SD Blitz actually Blitz" !!! ....so, Do you Blitz often ? or always ? or never? Is it LB blitz ? Or Safeties too ? Do you think the benefits of the blitz outweigh the risks ?

I do not blitz much right now, more so it depends who I am playing. If they are a passing team, ironically I don't blitz at all. I fear the big play. If they only run then I will blitz against the formations that may be more conducive to it. In the future I can see blitzing becoming more important than it is now. The reason being teams will have less holes on defense so they can afford to blitz.

Imagine this scenario .... You are 6-9 in your 1.1 league. You are safe from relegation. You are safe from the relegation/promotion playoffs. You won't be involved in the playoffs (i.e. The wildcard is out of reach). You have one game left to play. Do you (A) Tank , in order to get a better Draft pick (B) Put out your best team and try to win the game ? ...... and why did you choose the option you chose ?

Put out my best team. Any other course of action I find highly distasteful. You don't get a better draft pick for sure anyway by losing. The bot picks, managers not setting up a board, and the differences in managers opinions of what a great player are vary so much that you may just get your #1 choice late in the round anyway. There are too many variables and factors to consider that outside your control to obsess about improving your draft status by 4 picks at best.

Talk to me about the 49'ers current situation ...... is the Quarterback very average and not good enough to lead a team to the SuperBowl ? Are the Wide Receivers (Manningham, Moss, Crabtree) too inconsistent/too low quality to be part of a Superbowl winning offense ? Are the Running Backs up to the job ? Is Frank Gore looking a bit too injury-prone and maybe getting past his best ?

Be honest, you are trying to get me to take a jab at Crabtree. I think they lose a few more games this season than last season. Not because they are worse, in fact I think they are better. I just think last season was one of those magic seasons they let get by them. It isn't often you have a season like they did where things bounced their way often. My fear is Gore. Is he great? perhaps, but I've never been sold on him as he can't last a whole season with production. It seems every damn season he starts off great and then tails off at the end. In the freaking playoffs were we running the ball? Hell no we were throwing, not only throwing but to damn 2nd and 4th wr's as our starting 1 and 2 wr's. That is how bad he was hurt. Ugh, see what you made me do? lol. I like our WR's better this season. Is Moss going to be the old Moss? No, but he will be a threat in the Redzone, our biggest offensive issue last season. Can't double team V Davis if you have Moss, Crabtree, and Manningham to contend with. In the end I expect us to win the division with maybe a first round bye. After that who knows...

Does Brandon Jacobs add any value to the 49'ers team ?
His value is taking some carries off Gore and possibly extending his season production wise.

The Legendary 'Intelligence Tree' that you utilise. You said Kickers & Punters with Intell of 45+ ....do you think K/P actually need that ? Or is that just a waste of player who could potentially be a good LB/QB ? The other question worth asking .... as the values are Gaussian, do you think you'll be able to get hold of enough 45+ Intell guys to fill your needs at QB,LB, K & P ??

lol, I made that up off the top of my head to give the general parameters when I evaluate a player. I use intelligence as high for kicker and punter on the sole basis that Peter said it would be a factor later on. I had to look up Gaussian (as I understand it is a bell curve). I already have filled those roles. I have 3 lb with 50 intelligence, 1 QB with 44 intelligence but I am looking to improve that, and my punters and kickers are up there. I do not think the kicker and punter are THE priority with my intelligence youth. All those players are under 25 years old by the way.

Dragons 1.1 is the weakest of all the 1.1 leagues, discuss ...........

Bullshit. lol. Then how is Dragons 1.1 the only league that has both it's participants left in the CoC when it is down to the final 4? How about in the SuperCup playoffs there are 2 of the final 8 from Dragons? The rankings that are used global are just not accurate. It had only 2 dragons for a long time in the top 25 and they were both from 2.X. I do think Galaxy and Admiral are pretty good too. Please note that I am speaking overall quality as well.

I noticed that you seem to be a big fan of Friendly Cups, do you think playing Friendly Cups is useful in the process of learning to successfully play in RZA? And if so ... why ? what do you gain from a Friendly Cup ?

Yes as it lets you know where you stack against the big boys as that is who is in a lot of those cups. I knew I finally reached the level of a really good team when I won the Iron Cup out of 32 teams. There is also the gain in credits that is helpful. I have over 300 credits right now and my supporter is extended to almost Christmas. I only paid for one supporter package so far. I will say that you should speak to those "big boys" before playing them if you want to evaluate your team properly. Ask them if they will play their regular players. Because the other advantage is helping your players gain TC and experience and as such a common practice may be to put some players in there to accomplish that task.

NFL predictions ..... tell me who you think is going to win each NFL division. (and if YOU say any team other than 49'ers for the NFC West I'm going to ROFL ! )

Rams suck and Hawks really do with Lynch issues. So Yes, Niners in the West.

NFC East it will be the Eagles. Did you know they were the only team in its division to have a winning record within division? They were 5-1 vs NFC East. Cowboys and Redskins were 2-4 vs division. Giants were 3-3. The giants were also negative in pd for the season. Philly had by far the best PD with a +68. Finally the Eagles were an atrocious 3-5 at home and I can't see that happening again. If we are honest, the Giants weren't that great of a team, they just got lucky and hot at the right time.

GB in the NFC North, but if they slip, and dear Lord I can't believe I'm saying this but the Lions could surprise.

NFC South Atlanta but Carolina could surprise. Saints are a gutted fish right now.

AFC East. Damn, I guess I have to say Patriots, although I would love nothing more than to see poor -G.O.A.T- crying on the sideline amidst a 5-11 season.

AFC North is anyone's guess. Baltimore or Pittsburgh.

AFC South, I like Tennessee over Houston.

AFC West blows monkey chunks. Any of those sorry teams could win the division.

Game-planning/Preparation/Scouting ..... how much do you do ahead of each game ? And what is actually involved in this ? What benefit do you think it gives you ? Can you think of any examples where it has helped you win a game ?

Those are secrets man...

lol, most of the time when I've tried I've been burned by it. I pretty much look for a few things. Are there patterns of formation use? In games that team loses outside of friendlies is there a commonality? I played a team recently who plays almost exclusively from the shotgun and rush most of the time. So I changed my formation on defense from a 3-4-4 vs the 2wrsg to a 5-3 as now 2 positions (WR's) became useless and there was no need to use them. Other teams had employed that tactic vs that team with success as well. In a FC I put more planning in as there is less risk in a way. Against a certain passing British team who had trounced me in a FC game previously I constructed what the playbook was by going through his last 4 games. I found a few exploits and won the game. I feel my team is at a point where I can just throw my guys out there and expect others to adjust to me. My piece of advice to new players is to not let the playbook get too complicated as it will probably hurt you more than help you. KISS.

And now .... my favourite .... the G*I question (yessssssss !). When you played G*I, what was the highest division that you got to ? How many trophies did you win ? Why did you go Bot ? How serious is your G*I "comeback" ? Does Solana_Steve need to worry about you taking the Iron Bowl away from him anytime soon ? ..... btw ... your all-white team-kit (uniform) with the black helmet reminded me of the Raiders playing away ... lol ...bet that makes you happy !

I got to Division 2, I don't think I ever made top team. I honestly can't remember. I had a few trophies. I slowed down on playing when Peter opened up his initial AFSIM site. When this site went up I loved it so much more than G*I, I was logging periodically to avoid going bot but then just forgot at one point and that was that. Managing your players there was just too cumbersome. That is the reason my comeback there is DOA. I sat down and tried to evaluate my roster and place them in the lineups. I hated not being able to just change the positions like here. My final conclusion is that G*I is a horrible simulation. The engine is terrible, too many exploits, support sucks, graphics suck, and the user friendliness is the pits. I mean why keep going back to a place that looks bad, doesn't work, and doesn't give help? It is the opposite of here. Why stay at motel six when you can stay at the Savoy?

All you G*I haters out there can take your hands away from your eyes now ! OK , It's 'imagine this scenario' time again. Imagine that Pete is kidnapped by Aliens. Very friendly Aliens. They kidnap him for 24 hours and take him away to a Whisky Distillery and force him to drink quality whisky for 24 hours (not much forcing going on methinks !). Before the Aliens leave, they tell you (Sfniner08) that Pete has been given a 'memory-wipe' drug and that when he returns in 24 hours, he won't remember a thing. The Aliens then give you the power of 'RZA Admin' and inform you that you can change up to 3 things and Pete will never know. What do you change ? And why ?

Finish the damn draft batch. lol. Just kidding.

1. Choose where players go from the TM, either senior team or YA.
2. Make the draft a 3 day experience so people could adjust strategy. If they cant' be online one a day for 3 days they could still preset their order like now.
3. Make positions functional. It drives me crazy that a FB doesn't block for a running play and that you can't have a bootleg rush designed for a QB.
4. I know you said three but WTH? I would love to be able to have a "spy" for a player. That is have a defensive player assigned for lack of a better term to an offensive player. Imagine how much harder it would be to just run run run...

a few rapid-fire questions, just choose the one you most prefer :-

Adidas or Nike ?
Nike as I sit here in my Adidas sweats typing.
Dan Marino or John Elway ?
Elway.
BMW or Mercedes ?
Wow, outside my price range, never driven either. Don't know.
Holiday in Mexico or Holiday in the Bahamas ?
Easy, Bahamas, less tourist "accidents."
Johnny Cash or Elvis Presley ?
Presley. How old do you think I am? lol
IndyCar or Formula 1 ?
Neither
Barry Sanders or Wa l t e r Payton ?
Sanders.
Wiener Schnitzel or Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte ?
No freaking idea what they are.

Which character from The Muppet Show ... (a) Kermit the Frog or (b) Michael Crabtree ?
Whatever, I liked Rolf myself.

Talk to me about Passing in RZA .... does it exist now (The NI Ravens can do it, can't they ?) ? Does it need an Engine upgrade/rebalance ? Will your $91 Million WR draftee be useful then ?..... I also scouted your 2 QB's ..... Dave Conger looks very expensive at $39 Million ... do you think he's Draft Quality?, is he your Franchise QB ? The 15 QB's in the Dragons 1.1 draft are all fairly shite .... so what is your strategy going forward for the Draft ?.... which type of players/which positions are you looking for ?

I am being patient right now with Peter's assertion that as skills improve the passing game will too. I'm not a programmer so I have to take his word for it right now. Ask me in 2 seasons. My WR is for the future I suppose. I have 2 other WR's close in skills. Conger at 39 million expensive? He is young at 22 years old and has a nice trait. 44 intelligence is fine for now as I don't use him much. He is more a stopgap until I get better. There are only 3 QB's in the Draft that would replace him outright.

For the draft you may think I wouldn't look at LB or DL as I have 3 draft LB's and 3 draft DL already. However, LB fit all defensive positions great, so they are a fairly universal defensive player. This season we have some pretty good DL. I am torn on the draft although I did set up my board already. I want to take a better QB, WR, and either OL or TE to try and beef up my passing game, but I'm winning with defense and rushing right now. I comfortably lead all RZA in rushing yards and rushing TD's without a draft RB. I'm leaning towards hoping to improve my defense in the secondary and my O-line.

What is your coaching strategy ( I noticed that you've got no FB,CB,SF and ST coach) ? Also ...why have a dedicated KR although you've got no ST coach ?

I have no secondary coaches because the passing game is blah right now. ST coach is a waste as the most you get on a return is 25 yards. the KR will be cut or sold sometime soon.

If some new(ish) manager from a 2.x team approached you and asked for the advice of a mentor, what would you be looking at ? What 3 pieces of advice do you anticipate giving to the aforementioned manager ?

I had my brother sign up to play and he is in Dragons 2.1. He took over a team that was 1-4. He ended up with the number one seed because he followed my advice. 1. Max out the damn stadium. 2. Max out your YA. 3. Restructure your team so that you s e l e c t the youth that are your core, cut the fat, and put some suitable players in to fill holes. I advise to look through the TM (start the HR for this) and buy up some free agents that you can get immediately. Many of them are better than what you have now.

Any forthcoming gems about to be promoted from the YA to Seniors that you'd like to wax lyrical about ?

choose a strategy and stick with it! Focus on one player if you have him and build some others to be fill ins or back ups.

Which teams do you fear most in Dragons 1.1 this season ? And which teams do you think might be surprise packages for next season ?

I fear Pigs most of all. The other team is Malakas as he beat the holy living crap out of me this season. There are many good teams like Pink Panthers, Mystic, Girona, Valhalla, Sweaty, and Horada that could beat you at any time.
The teams I'm looking out for next season are Steely Phils first and foremost. He lost against the established teams by narrow margins and he beat me.

Any final comments ? (please don't mention MOTY I just might cry if you do .......)
I apologize for the long answers, I've been accused of being too talkative on several occassions. Must be the ADHD lol.

OK, Thanks to Sfniner08 for the insightful answers, and his fee for taking part will be .... some Wiener Schnitzel, a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte and a season ticket for the Seattle Seahawks because it's now obvious that he's a secret Seahawks fan who is in denial

Great read! I see less G*I questions, well done Altough since I've never played that, it was a good read for me in the first interview.

One advice though: forget the soccer sim, and continue doing this, it's awesome

AFC South: Tennessee over Houston.
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I'll say this... at least you didnt do like Steve and hit me with the uppercut right out the gate. Don't get me wrong.. I kinda figured it was coming but your other predictions were so thorough and well articulated that for a second there I thought you weren't gonna do that to me.

To sh: The muppets jab was funny but quality WR production starts with the signal caller. I like Alex but he cant anything outside the hash marks.

Another good read. Thanks to both guys

To the weapons-loving man of religion : Glad you liked the muppets joke, life is too short to miss a swipe at Crabtree ...... and if you read the whole article (see the following quote) you might notice that I didn't exactly give anyone on the 49'ers team an easy ride (or Sfniner08 either !) .... "is the Quarterback very average and not good enough to lead a team to the SuperBowl " ?

To the Manc who thinks the rest of the world has a silly accent: So you should be taking swipes at the niners

+1 (Come on: It's soccer. You're English...)

Manc ? ..... nice guess, but nowhere near getting a cigar.

And as for the Niners .... the niners are the niners, love 'em or hate 'em...plenty do and plenty don't
Remember .... there's gold in them there hills ....It's just the difficult task of extracting the gold, and with players like Crabtree ...extracting teeth with no anaesthetic may be more painless