Can DC be better?

[STZ 5,280]

This will be brief, as it is a very surface level look at the DC Dragons, 30 minutes before the TPE cut-off deadline - and thanks to Trivia offseason shutdown, I'm forced to write. This to me is an intriguing and scary idea. DC underachieved heavily last season; at least in the eyes of the players on the team. We had the thought that we were a legitamate team, but we regressed into a non-playoff team. I'm taking Graves into his final year of his prime, with over 1000 TPE, and when I had projected us to be a contending team, I look and see if we can even be as good as we were last season.

 

Let's look at the positives. Our core young players got better. Most notable will be Stone Wolski, who will need to play out of his mind if we want to compete in playoffs. Then you look at Graves and Valentino who both lead the team in TPE. Johnson, Laflamant, and Ritchie all progressed as rookie contract players. However, the negatives really create a harsh narrative for where this season could be going. We straight up lost Washington and Guy Lesieur for the cap reflief. On top of that Drumm, Aaltonen, and Boris all took hits due to depreciation; some harder than others. Then you look at our fresh rookies in Flaten and Groovy Dood, and while they are exciting players and great new members; are they really expected to fill the voids left behind?

 

So from the perspective of addition and subtraction, I think our team becomes less balanced, and more top heavy. 

 

I'm excited to start the season and get the lines rolling. I have two linemates who are up-and-coming players in the VHL. For that, I think it will be enjoyable to play alongside Laflamant and Groovy Dood. I hope we can create good chemistry, and they can quickly fill the gap in the TPE differential. I've enjoyed Graves' career so far, but at the same time it's been a lot of work and I'm waiting for the fruits of my labour to present itself. 

[IamMOOSE 361]

I honestly think it had more to do with luck than anything. D.C. played in what I feel was the more competitive conference in terms of parody. I compare it a lot to the NFC East in Football. a bunch of teams that when playing each other it goes really well, really bad, or generally right in the middle. If you play that season again, I wonder if D.C. doesn't trade places with a higher seed almost exactly. I do think your assessment is correct for this season, though I almost feel they'll be a little more surprising depth wise than just top heavy. D.C. has a good core, and scary enough that D.C. probably benefits in the long run from the wonky finish in s72.

 

8/10 (I hate the whole rating thing. Trivia better be back soon).