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Las Vegas GM TurfToe made himself available for a brief interview earlier today. Here are some of the sound bites courtesy of KLAS - Channel 8 in Las Vegas. Beat reporter Stew Pidasol recorded the following exchange...
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: It appears as though the Rounders are coming off another season of excellence with no division title. What does this say about 2024?
[b1d05799][u1d05799]TT[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: Is that an observation, a statement or a question?
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: Well, history identifies great seasons from the Rounders resulting in mediocrity the following year. For example, Vegas won the CFL Bowl as a Wild Card team in 2018 only to go 9-7 in 2019. What does 2023's 12 wins mean for 2024?
[b1d05799][u1d05799]TT[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: Stew, you've been covering this league long enough to know that every win counts and every win is difficult to come by. Even though we couldn't win the ROF in 2018, we still had the potential to win any given week. Aside from some tough losses in 2018 with average differentials of less than 7 points, we played about as well as a team can play. Last year, we had another tough go of it in a 2023 season that mirrored 2018 to a great extent besides our loss in the playoffs. That being said, I sure don't expect 2024 to mirror the 2019 season in any way. Our roster on paper is better than any other in the history of our franchise, which I credit to our moves this off season. Alkateeb and Giles will give us a defensive line that will not only make our defense more stout but could also make it one of the best defensive lines in the league. We'll surely miss Aaron Dostoyevsky but he was an obvious piece to the trade with Memphis.
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: Even though Vegas as absolutely no draft picks next year, are you happy with continuing to mortgage the team's future by trading the 2026 and 2027 first round picks?
[u1d05799][b1d05799]TT[/b1d05799][/u1d05799]: The plan was to not touch any more picks following 2025 until we got past 2025. However, GM's who stick with a plan for the sake of sticking with that plan and not being flexible are the ones who complain they never find good deals. I have identified 2024 and 2025 as our window. It's bowl or bust in the next two years for this club. Even if we get to the bowl it will still be bust. We have stuck to our strategy as it relates to the salary cap and modified our tactics as trades became available. Tactically, we didn't have Alkateeb or Giles on our radar. In fact, the tactical plan was to lock up a starting corner but there weren't any to be had. When defensive linemen like Alkateeb and Giles become available, you have to pull the trigger. My job of putting the best product on the field is complete. I'll deal with my job in 2026 and beyond when that task is at the top of my priority list. It's not quite there yet.
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: Speaking of not quite there, what thoughts can you share on Moore's career progression and Hutchins' no-show last year?
[b1d05799][u1d05799]TT[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: I'm not sure what you mean about Moore or what you were trying to infer. We know what we have in MoMo. People are expecting him to work miracles like he did in his rookie year. I'd say his career is progressing nicely. He was a little under 2:1 in TD:INT last year but he had a 93.7 passer rating, 59 throws of 20 yards or more and posted 5 300+ yard games. Aside from his passer rating, these are all career highs. I expect him to improve yet again this year, especially with Hutchins getting healthy. I don't know what you want to know about Hutchins. It was unfortunate that he suffered the foot injury but he came through camp like a new back looking even sharper than he did last year. The veterans have a lot of respect for him after seeing him deal with that injury last year. He did a lot of maturing and despite his denied efforts to get back into the lineup, the guys have rallied around him this year. In fact, he already lost his Division 2 nickname from last year. They've accepted him. Phil Vandersommen has meant a lot to his development.
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: What will Vandersommen's role be this year, especially considering his hold out?
[b1d05799][u1d05799]TT[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: *laughing* Oh yeah, his holdout. Big V is getting up there in years and he's to the point in his career where training camp has a different meaning than it did when he was younger. His body is older and needs extra rest. His kids are a lot busier now that they are older. His marriage is also to the point where it can use the extra days in the summer more than his football skills do if you know what I mean. Vandersommen has earned his right to have the veteran quirks and you won't get my office to help you make this a story. Phil's content with the football part working itself out. He knows Hutchins is our future at his position and that he also may be asked to be the featured back once again, as anything can happen.
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: So where does that leave Shapiro and Seaman?
[b1d05799][u1d05799]TT[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: It is what it is. These are two young backs that are fighting every day to see who stays. Heck, they both may stay but I'm not going to keep this competition from working itself out since it's making them both better backs. I do know this, the coaches are raving about Seaman's motor. He's not the most powerful runner but he does it all. He's earned himself an interesting nickname which could be trouble for Shapiro...when a guy gets a nickname it usually means the players, the coaches, or both have taken a guy under their wing and will make sure I know how much they think he means to the team.
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: What's your prediction for the Rounders in 2024?
[b1d05799][u1d05799]TT[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: Same as it always is...we'll win the ROF. We'll win some playoff games. We'll win the Championship. Predicting anything less would be surrender.
[b1d05799][u1d05799]Stew[/u1d05799][/b1d05799]: Thanks for your time TurfToe, this is Stew Pidasol saying so long and so what.
_________________ ROF Division Champions: 2039 - 2043, 2045, 2047, 2054, 2056 - 2060, 2063, 2066-2067, 2070-2072
WFC Conference Champions: 2018, 2041, 2042, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062-2063
CFL Champions: 2018, 2041, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062
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