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Seattle Seahawks - 32 Teams/32 Days

Division: NFC West

Prelude - An Offseason of Shock and Awe.

The 2021 Season, on a whole, was a deeply disappointing venture. The Seahawks offense was entirely inconsistent. Russell Wilson looked off the entire year and was hampered by injury for the 1st time in his career. The run-game also failed to gel together until the end of the season. Further compounding the inconsistency was the abysmal defense; finishing 17th in Run Defense and 31st in Pass Defense.
It was a volatile season and it showed in an underwhelming 7-10 record. Their first losing record in 10 Years. The second season over that span without a playoff berth. All the while, watching the rest of the division make the playoffs, with two of them meeting in the NFC Championship, and one of them winning the Super Bowl. Frustratingly Seattle sat watching on the couch.
Even with the underwhelming result, most Seahawks fans remained cautiously optimistic entering 2022. After all, they still had an offense of electric playmakers, helmed by Russell Wilson and a defense helmed by Bobby Wagner, the last member of the legendary Legion of Boom defense.
However, that feeling of optimism wouldn’t last. On March 8th, 2022, Pete Carroll and John Schneider traded Russ and released Wagner. While most Seahawks fans maintained strong faith in PC-JS’s system, those two moves casted the first major bit of doubt into the hearts and minds of Seattle fans. Those doubts mixed with seasons of disappointing playoff returns led to the rise of a sizable dissenting group, who thought we were making a major mistake by retaining Pete over Russ.
Regardless of whether you were Team “Anti-Pete” or “Team Trust the Process”, the general expectation was that the 2022 Seahawks would suck and the season would be brutal, but we’d enter 2023 with a bright future and a top draft pick as a result…

The 2022 Season

• Record: 9-8 (2nd in Division)
  
• Divisional Record: 4-2
  
• Season Finish: Lost in Wild Card Round (@49ers - 23-41)
  

Well…one of those things ended up being true. They are certainly entering 2023 with a bright future with a top draft pick. In a twist of fate, the 2022 Seahawks did NOT suck and the season was NOT brutal.
They had even made the playoffs! They may have been promptly bounced in the first round, but finishing as a playoff contender was still far beyond the wildest dreams of most Seahawks fans entering the year.
Just how did they pull it off? Well it all starts at the beginning: in the 2022 Offseason.

Free Agency

Players Retained

Player	Position	Contract	Seahawks Tenure
Quandre Diggs	FS	3 Year, $39 Million	(2019-*)
Will Dissly	TE	3 Year, $24 Million	(2018-*)
Al Woods	DT	2 Year, $9 Million	(2011, 2019-*)
Rashaad Penny	RB	1 Year, $5.75 Million	(2018-*)
Geno Smith	QB	1 Year, $3.5 Million	(2019-*)
Kyle Fuller	C	1 Year, $1.19 Million	(2019-*)

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[Players of Note]

• In his first three seasons with Seattle, Quandre Diggs proved himself to be a worthy successor to Earl Thomas. In those seasons, he had earned two Pro Bowl berths and was coming off three straight seasons with at least three interceptions.
  
• “Uncle Will” Dissly established himself as a fan favorite TE in Seattle. His stats don’t come off the paper like the Kelce’s or Mandrew's of the league, but his true strength shines as a blocking TE with an upside as a receiving security blanket.
  
• It’s rare that you see a player finally come into his own in his mid-30s. But Al Woods is one of those rare cases. Al Woods became one of Seattle’s starting defensive tackles in 2021 and he became the perfect complement to Poona Ford and proved to be a valuable veteran leader on the defense.
  
• Rashaad Penny, had earned himself one more chance with Seattle following a stellar finish to 2021. Over the final 5 weeks of the 2021 season, Penny had finished 2nd in rushing yards (behind only Jonathan Taylor). Even though he didn’t live up to the 1st Round hype, that level of production is worth seeing through
  
• Geno Smith, was Russell Wilson’s steady understudy in Seattle. After spending his first two seasons in Seattle holding the clipboard, he finally returned to start in 2021, becoming the first non-Russ QB to start for the Seahawks in nearly a decade. With Seattle trading Wilson to Denver, they chose to put their full faith in Geno for 2022
  

Players Departed

Player	Position	New Team	Contract	Seahawks Tenure
Russell Wilson	QB	DEN	Trade	(2012-2021)
Bobby Wagner	MLB	LAR	5 Year, $50 Million	(2012-2021)
D.J. Reed	CB	NYJ	3 Year, $33 Million	(2020-2021)
Duane Brown	OT	NYJ	2 Year, $20 Million	(2017-2021)
Chris Carson	RB	FA	Retired	(2017-2021)
Gerald Everett	TE	LAC	2 Year, $12 Million	(2021)
Jamarco Jones	OG	TEN	2 Year, $4.8 Million	(2018-2021)
Brandon Shell	OT	MIA	1 Year, $1.04 Million	(2020-2021)
Rasheem Green	EDGE	HOU	1 Year, $3.25 Million	(2018-2021)
Carlos Dunlap	EDGE	CIN	1 Year, $3 Million	(2020-2021)
Kerry Hyder	EDGE	SF	1 Year, $1.5 Million	(2021)
Ethan Pocic	C	CLE	1 Year, $1.19 Million	(2017-2021)

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[Players of Note]

• Losing Russell Wilson was a painful move conceptually, but it was ultimately in the best interest in the team. The vision of Russ and of the Seahawks fell irreparably out of sync and the front office chose to trade him while we could still get something in return instead of him walking for nothing. Denver was more than willing to give up a haul to end their QB woes.
  
• Bobby Wagner was another painful, yet necessary, move for the sake of the team’s future. Dude was the linchpin of the defense but his cost was becoming too constraining and made the difficult decision to part ways.
  
• D.J. Reed was a dang good corner and an absolute steal at his initial contract. Unfortunately, his fantastic play moved him out of our price range. The Jets proceeded to get a stellar right-hand man for Sauce Gardner
  
• Duane Brown was probably the best tackle of the Pete Carroll era but the Seahawks chose to go for youth instead of re-signing their soon-to-be 37-Year old tackle. After spending most of the offseason without a suitor, he finally joined the Jets to replace the injured Mehki Becton
  
• Chris Carson was a heck of a story. You don’t often see a 7th Round RB turn into a team’s long-term answer at RB. Unfortunately, he suffered a neck injury that posed a massive threat to his health if he continued to play and he ultimately chose to retire after 5 Seasons
  
• Gerald Everett was a valuable weapon in LA but he never really rose to that higher level with us during his time in Seattle. Not a bad player by any means and he was still a decent offensive piece. It’s just that we’ve never really had a TE truly pop off under Carroll (Maybe Graham). To his credit, the Chargers proved to be a much better fit for his services.
  
• Jamarco Jones was a decent depth piece for our team and always seemed to start a game or two in each season but he never really carved out a permanent place on our team. His time at Tennessee hasn’t done a lot to change the story, spending basically the entire 2022 season on IR
  
• Brandon Shell was a solid right tackle to complement Duane Brown for a few years. But, like with Brown, we chose to go for youth at the position in 2022
  
• Rasheem Green was a solid edge rusher who flashed greatness from time to time but not enough to re-sign. Green was among the best pass rushing options in Houston in 2022, although that was to the tune of 3.5 Sacks.
  
• Carlos Dunlap’s tenure with Seattle felt like a breath of fresh air. Our pass rush at the time of his 2020 trade felt like it was stuck in a logjam. Dunlap’s arrival finally got things clicking. Heck, Dunlap was probably our best pass-rushing option during his time with us. Dunlap did end up making the right choice in the end, joining the Chiefs in 2022. After spending so many seasons without sniffing a playoff win in Cincy and Seattle, he finally got that playoff win…and a Super Bowl ring in KC. Can’t help but be happy for him.
  
• Kerry Hyder’s time with us was basically a vacation. He spent 2020 with the Niners. Joined us in 2021 for a rotational pass rush role, and subsequently re-joined the Niners in 2022.
  
• Ethan Pocic was a frustrating case for us because he was far from a bad center. However, he was never really what you expect from a second-round pick center. Center has been such a hard spot for us ever since trading Max Unger.
  

Players Acquired

Player	Position	Previous Team	Contract/Trade
Drew Lock	QB	DEN	via Russ Trade
Shelby Harris	DE	DEN	via Russ Trade
Noah Fant	TE	DEN	via Russ Trade
Uchenna Nwosu	EDGE	LAC	2 Year, $19.055 Million
Quinton Jefferson	DT	LV	2 Year, $9.5 Million
Austin Blythe	C	KC	1 Year, $4 Million
Artie Burns	CB	CHI	1 Year, $2.035 Million
Marquise Goodwin	WR	CHI	1 Year, $1.273 Million
Justin Coleman	NCB	MIA	1 Year, $1.12 Million
Bruce Irvin	EDGE	CHI	1 Year, $1.12 Million
Godwin Igwebuike	RS	DET	1 Year, $895 Thousand

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[Players of Note]

• Part A of the Russ Trade, Drew Lock became the challenger to Geno Smith’s presumptive starting job. The battle lasted all offseason, which Geno Smith ultimately won. “Horse Cock” was a fun story but he was ultimately relegated to holding the clipboard all year.
  
• Part B of the Russ Trade, Shelby Harris played a valuable leadership role on Denver’s defense and was generally beloved by Denver fans. What we got in return was that same valuable veteran presence on the defense. The 2022 Seahawks defense was young and it certainly had its growing pains. It was definitely important to have a player with Harris’s experience on the roster
  
• Part C of the Russ Trade, Noah Fant was the most statistically impressive return we got from the Wilson trade. Fant was the receiving threat of Seattle’s TE room. Although it was a slight dip in production compared to his time in Denver, Fant was a still valuable receiving target for our offense. I’d definitely be interested to see what Seattle could do with Fant in 2023.
  
• Uchenna Nwosu was the surprise winner of Seattle’s FA class. Upon Seattle’s signing Nwosu, Chargers fan, u/xThe-Legend-Killerx, opined on the signing - “I always liked Nwosu. Never truly met expectations, but showed potential” Well Mr. Killerx, Nwosu finally lived up to that potential in Seattle: 9.5 Sacks, 66 Tackles, 12 for a loss. Nwosu was the best edge rusher we’ve had since we traded Frank Clark. Dude was fantastic.
  

Pete Carroll is a sentimental man. He often likes to bring back old flames for another ride. Carroll made three of those nostalgic signings in 2022:

• Quinton Jefferson was a former starting defensive end for Seattle between 2016 and 2019. Ironically, despite playing a reduced rotational role for Seattle in 2022, he hit his career high in sacks with 5.5
  
• Justin Coleman is honestly such a depressing case. Dude was among the best Nickel Cornerbacks in the league in his two years with Seattle and got paid handsomely by Detroit for that play in 2019. Coleman made his way back to Seattle in 2022 with his old position well and open. However, 2022 Justin Coleman was a far cry from 2018 Justin Coleman. Coleman lost his job to 4th Round rookie corner Coby Bryant in the preseason. Shame to see it end up like that.
  
• Bruce Irvin was the last major reunion story. Irvin was 35 years old and well past his prime, but he was a member of those Seahawks Super Bowl teams. He brought some ties back to those teams of old. Many of the young Seahawks probably grew up watching the Legion of Boom defense. Irvin was there and a part of it. So even if he only had 3.5 Sacks, that leadership role is important.
  
• Austin Blythe became Seattle’s new starting center in 2022. Blythe started every game for Seattle, but that was probably the highlight of his tenure. His run blocking was absolutely atrocious and was PFF’s 31st Ranked Center, which isn’t exactly good for your new replacement center.
  
• Marquise Goodwin was a pleasant surprise. Goodwin carved out a nice role as Seattle’s 3rd Wide Receiver.
  
• Godwin Igwebuike was a fun late season addition. A former member of Seattle’s XFL team: the Dragons, Godwin inherited the role as the team’s primary kick returner. Igwebuike had himself a decent stretch with 104 return yards against Carolina, 83 at home vs San Francisco, 68 in Kansas City and 150 in the Wild Card Round. Interesting potential there.
  

The Great Seahawks Draft Class of 2022

For this section, I will go over each Seahawks draft pick, summarize how they did, and give them a grade
Round 1, Pick 9 - Charles Cross - OT - Mississippi State

• In season’s past, Pete Carroll and John Schneider typically played cute with their first round draft picks, drafting their ideal guys, regardless of whether the pick was a reach for that spot. Sometimes it worked, but it also could blow up in their faces. But now, after trading their franchise QB, it was crucially important to nail this first pick; not the time to mess around. So they went with the predictable and safe option, drafting Cross.
  
• Cross immediately slotted into the Left Tackle spot, a notoriously difficult role for a rookie. Cross stepped up to the task. Cross started all 17 games, played in all but two of Seattle’s offensive snaps, and finished in the Top 10 for rookie O-linemen. There are still some areas of growth with Cross to be sure. However, his rookie year is exactly what you want to see in your franchise LT of the future.
  
• Grade: A-
  

Round 2, Pick 40 - Boye Mafe - EDGE - Minnesota

• Boye Mafe was a quick riser in the draft discussion last year off of an impressive Senior Bowl. Mafe was an aggressive, physical, pass rusher at college. However, he was also a little undersized, raw in run protection, and a little unrefined in terms of technique. He was always going to be a developmental draft selection. His 2022 production shows that. Mafe was still learning in 2022, playing in under 40% of the team’s defensive snaps. To his credit, that potential has shown itself, earning 3 sacks on the year. It’s still very much a WIP. Still though, a lot to like with Mafe, so far.
  
• Grade: C+
  

Round 2, Pick 41 - Ken Walker III - RB - Michigan State

• Out of all of our draft selections, Walker was the most maligned. “The Seahawks still have Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny, why draft another RB?” the pundits cried out. However most reasonable Seahawks fans understood the motive. Chris Carson had a serious neck injury the year before and Rashaad Penny had constantly battled injuries up to that point. That foresight paid off: Chris Carson retired from his injury and Penny went down with a season-ending injury early on. K9 showed his potential as a workhorse back during his time with Michigan State and K9 quickly took advantage of his fortunate circumstances with Seattle.
  
• Walker finished the season with 1,050 rushing yards, 9 TDs, and finished with the most first place votes for NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year. After years of inconsistent or injured RB rooms, Walker looks to quickly establish himself as Seattle’s best running back since Beast Mode. A fantastic pick
  
• Grade: A+
  

Round 3, Pick 72 - Abraham Lucas - OT - Washington State

• It’s rare enough to find one rookie tackle immediately ready to start from Game 1. It’s nearly unprecedented to find two. Seattle found two. Abraham Lucas was an immensely talented right tackle for the Cougars and managed to slide to Seattle’s selection in the 3rd. Lucas immediately earned himself a role as the Seahawks’ starting right tackle and he started 16/17 games at that spot. Lucas was also graded in the Top 10 for PFF’s rookie O-lineman as well. Finally, Charles Cross and Abe Lucas are the first pair of rookie tackles to start at least 16 games in each tackle spot since the NFL expanded to 16 games back in 1978. That’s a damn impressive rookie.
  
• Grade: A+
  

Round 4, Pick 109 - Coby Bryant - CB - Cincinnati

• While Sauce got a lot of media attention leading up to the draft (and rightfully so), his partner in crime for the Bearcats was far from a slouch either. Bryant was a physical beast at Cincy and was known for imposing that might on opposing offenses. Despite his relatively low draft spot for a corner, Bryant immediately found a role as the team’s starting nickel cornerback. Bryant continued his thumping ways to the tune of 70 combined tackles and four forced fumbles. The latter stat was tied for the 2nd most in the NFL last season and the most by a defensive back. He let up a little in coverage but a nickelback is warranted a little leniency in comparison to a full-on starting cornerback.
  
• Grade: B+
  

Round 5, Pick 153 - Tariq Woolen - CB - UTSA

• Leaving UTSA, Tariq Woolen was considered a bit of a project. His ceiling was always sky high with supreme size, speed, and wingspan for the position. But he was receiver-to-corner convert at a smaller school so many expected him to be a bit of a project player. He’d likely need a year or so to get up to the NFL level. Woolen defied that expectation with Seattle and immediately earned a starting role on Seattle’s defense. Not only did he start from Day 1, but he was fantastic. He finished tied for the interceptions in the league with 6, earned a 71.6 PFF Rating, and allowed a 48.5 Passer Rating in coverage. Woolen became the first rookie drafted in the 5th round or later to make the Pro Bowl in his first year since the league instituted the modern 7-Round format. For all of these reasons, Woolen was a DROY finalist. Getting a player like that in the 5th Round is a win in every sense of the word.
  
• Grade: A+
  

Round 5, Pick 158 - Tyreke Smith - EDGE - Ohio State

• Smith is a bit of an unknown. An alum of Larry Johnson’s legendary D-line regime at Ohio State, Smith may not have been a Bosa or a Young but he was presumably drafted to help out with the Seahawks pass rush woes. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t see the field in 2022. Missing the entire season due to multiple hip injuries. It remains to be seen if Smith can carve out a role on the team, but he may be the odd man out. As it stands right now his grade is INCOMPLETE

Round 7, Pick 229 - Bo Melton - WR - Rutgers

• I honestly had high hopes for Melton. He was the saving grace of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights offense. But Melton ended up on the practice squad and was subsequently grabbed by the Green Bay Packers. However it’s hard to be bummed, the 7th Round is usually a crapshoot. So a lost player can be pretty inconsequential
  
• Grade: D
  

Round 7, Pick 233 - Dareke Young - WR - Lenoir-Rhyne

• Young stands as one of the rare DII draft selections. Young was a very versatile player at Lenoir-Rhyne and was asked to play multiple different parts on the team. While his receiving impact as a rookie was very minimal (just two catches for 24 yards), Young found his spot to shine on the special teams unit. Young played on 60% of the Seahawks special teams snaps in 2022. It remains to be seen if Young will inherit a bigger role in 2023, but what I’ve seen is promising. Even if he doesn’t become anything more, getting any significant production out of a 7th Round Pick is worth talking about.
  
• Grade: B-
  

2022 Season Game-by-Game Recap

Week	Opponent	Date	Result	Game Highlights	Succinct Summary	Play of the Game
1	Vs. Denver Broncos	9/12/22	W, 17-16 [1-0]	Highlights	Written Off but Not Writing Back	Geno escapes pressure and throws TD to Dissly
2	at San Francisco 49ers	9/18/22	L, 7-27 [1-1]	Highlights	Slammed in Santa Clara	Woolen blocks field goal for defensive TD
3	Vs. Atlanta Falcons	9/25/22	L, 23-27 [1-2]	Highlights	Seattle Stallout	Tariq Woolen’s 1st Career Interception
4	at Detroit Lions	10/2/22	W, 48-45 [2-2]	Highlights	Motor City Shootout	Rashaad Penny puts the game away
5	at New Orleans Saints	10/9/22	L, 32-39 [2-3]	Highlights	Making Mountains out of Taysom Hills	Geno Smith threads the needle
6	Vs. Arizona Cardinals	10/16/22	W, 19-9 [3-3]	Highlights	A Win to Reset The Vibe	Ken Walker outmaneuvers 7 Cardinals defenders for the 1st Down
7	at Los Angeles Chargers	10/23/22	W, 37-23 [4-3]	Highlights	Ken Walker’s Breakout Game	K9 puts it away
8	Vs. New York Giants	10/30/22	W, 27-13 [5-3]	Highlights	A High Class Bout of Teams on the Rise	Walker’s Thriller TD Run
9	at Arizona Cardinals	11/6/22	W, 31-21 [6-3]	Highlights	A Sweep at State Farm	Noah Fant with the masterful 51-Yard Catch
10	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	11/13/22	L, 16-21 [6-4]	Highlights	Mucking it Up in Munich	Tariq Woolen intercepts the trick play right over Tom Brady
11	Vs. Las Vegas Raiders	11/27/22	L, 34-40 [6-5]	Highlights	Jacob-literation	Quandre Diggs doubles it up with two interceptions in the 1st Quarter
12	at Los Angeles Rams	12/4/22	W, 27-23 [7-5]	Highlights	A Game So Fine at SoFi	DK Metcalf Game-Winning TD in spite of glue-like coverage by Jalen Ramsey
13	Vs. Carolina Panthers	12/11/22	L, 24-30 [7-6]	Highlights	We Really Got Swept by the 2022 NFC South	Tyler Lockett with the Toe Drag Swag TD
14	Vs. San Francisco 49ers	12/15/22	L, 13-21 [7-7]	Highlights	The Sheer Momentum of The Best Defense in the NFL	Ken Walker with the long catch to bring Seattle to the Red Zone
15	at Kansas City Chiefs	12/24/22	L, 10-24 [7-8]	Highlights	The Sheer Momentum of The Best Offense in the NFL	Ken Walker reverses field into a big gain
16	Vs. New York Jets	1/1/23	W, 23-6 [8-8]	Highlights	Battle of the Best Draft Classes	Ken Walker kicks the game off with a bang
17	Vs. Los Angeles Rams	1/8/23	W, 19-16 [9-8]	Highlights	The Season Ain’t Dead Yet!	Quandre Diggs keeps Seattle alive with the clutchest of INTs
Wild Card	at San Francisco 49ers	1/14/23	L, 23-41 [Eliminated]	Highlights	Had ‘Em in the 1st Half, Not Gonna Lie	DK Metcalf with the deep TD catch

The Terrifying Lows, The Dizzying Highs, (and The Creamy Middles) of the 2022 Season

[NOTE] - The full length of my post exceeded the character limit. So I have isolated the High, Low, and Creamy Middle Section to its own separate comment, down below. Ideally I would’ve preferred to keep it all together but I’m limited by the constraints of the formatting.
Link to the comment

The Stats

• Team Offensive Rankings - 407 Points Scored (9th), 3,934 Passing Yards (11th), 2,042 Rushing Yards (18th)
  
• Team Defensive Rankings - 401 Points Allowed (25th), 3,595 Passing Yards Allowed (14th), 2,554 Rushing Yards Allowed (30th)
  

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Passing Stats

Player	Position	Accuracy	Statline
Geno Smith	QB	399 Completions/572 Attempts (69.8%)	4.282 Yards, 30 TDs, 11 INTs

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Rushing Stats (at least 100 rushing yards)

Player	Position	Statline
Ken Walker III	RB	228 Carries, 1,050 Yards - 9 TDs, 0 Fumbles
Geno Smith	QB	68 Carries, 366 Yards - 1 TD
Rashaad Penny	RB	57 Carries, 346 Yards - 2 TDs, 1 Fumble
DeeJay Dallas	RB	35 Carries, 186 Yards - 1 Fumble

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Receiving Stats (at least 100 receiving yards)

Player	Position	Statline
DK Metcalf	WR	90 Receptions, 1,046 Yards, 6 TDs
Tyler Lockett	WR	84 Receptions, 1,033 Yards, 9 TDs
Noah Fant	TE	50 Receptions, 486 Yards, 4 TDs
Marquise Goodwin	WR	27 Receptions, 387 Yards, 4 TDs
Will Dissly	TE	34 Receptions, 349 Yards, 3 TDs
Colby Parkinson	TE	25 Receptions, 322 Yards, 2 TDs
Ken Walker III	RB	27 Receptions, 165 Yards
Travis Homer	RB	16 Receptions, 157 Yards, 1 TD
DeeJay Dallas	RB	17 Receptions, 126 Yards

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Defense Stats

Player	Position	Statline
Uchenna Nwosu	EDGE	9.5 Sacks, 3 Force Fumbles, 66 Tackles (12 TFL)
Darrell Taylor	EDGE	9.5 Sacks, 4 Force Fumbles, 26 Tackles (8 TFL)
Quinton Jefferson	EDGE	5.5 Sacks, 29 Tackles (6 TFL)
Bruce Irvin	EDGE	3.5 Sacks, 28 Tackles (5 TFL)
Boye Mafe	EDGE	3 Sacks, 41 Tackles (3 TFL)
Poona Ford	iDL/DT	3 Sacks, 35 Tackles (6 TFL)
Shelby Harris	iDL/DT	2 Sacks, 44 Tackles (5 TFL)
Al Woods	iDL/DT	2 Sacks, 39 Tackles (5 TFL)
Jordyn Brooks	MLB	161 Tackles (103 Solo), 1 Sack, 1 Force Fumble
Cody Barton	MLB	136 Tackles (84 Solo), 2 Sacks, 2 Interceptions
Tariq Woolen	CB	6 Interceptions, 16 Passes Defended, 63 Tackles, 1 Def. TD
Michael Jackson	CB	1 Interception, 12 Passes Defended, 75 Tackles
Coby Bryant	N-CB	4 Force Fumbles, 2 Sacks, 70 Tackles (4 TFL)
Quandre Diggs	FS	4 Interceptions, 7 Passes Defended, 71 Tackles, 1 Force Fumble
Ryan Neal	SS	1 Interception, 8 Passes Defended, 66 Tackles, 1 Force Fumble

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Special Teams Stats

Player	Position	Statline
Jason Myers	K	34/37 Field Goals Made (91.9%) - 41/42 Extra Points Made (97.6%)
Michael Dickson	P	66 Punts, 2,924 Yards, 48.5 Yards/Punt, 22 Inside-20’s
DeeJay Dallas	RB	26 Returns, 372 Return Yards - 14.3 Yards/Return
Godwin Igwebuike	RB	11 Returns, 308 Return Yards - 28 Yards/Return
Dee Eskridge	WR	7 Returns, 150 Return Yards - 21.4 Yards/Return
Tyler Lockett	WR	1 Return, 7 Yards - 7 Yards/Return

Roster Review

This will be a look back on the 2022 position groups and how they performed in 2022

• QB - Geno Smith stepped into the roster handily and showed that he can still be a great starter in the league today. Considering that we turned a long-term backup into a Top 10 starter, that deserves a great deal of credit. Regardless of if we bring Geno back or if we go for someone in FA/Draft, our QB group looks bright.
  
• RB - Our investment in Ken Walker proved wise. After Rashaad Penny went down, Walker stepped up into a bellcow role as a rookie. Our RB depth beyond Walker is still a question mark, but as long as Walker leads the show, and most importantly, stays healthy, then our RB room should be strong.
  
• WR - With two wide receivers with No. 1-level talent, our offense has a nice stable floor. DK and Lockett showed just why we extended them long-term. Like with the running backs, our depth is still a question mark. Marquise Goodwin was great as a speedy, deep threat but he’s on the wrong side of 30 and coming off of an injury. Depth is a key priority.
  
• TE - Our tight end group was a three-headed dragon. Noah Fant, Uncle Will, and Colby Parkinson, all had their time to shine. It was especially present in our 3-TE sets which helped get the ball down the field at multiple points. If Shane Waldron can utilize their talents even more in 2023, then they can prove to be a crucial part of the offense.
  
• OT - When you have two rookie tackles hit the ground running from Day 1, that is a great O-Line in the making. I can’t wait to see how Cross and Lucas improve in Year 2.
  
• iOL - This is a critical area of improvement for 2023. Damien Lewis is still a decent starter and Phil Haynes is a great depth piece but Gabe Jackson looked washed on the field and Austin Blythe’s production was really poor. Upgrades are needed
  
• EDGE - While Nwosu and Taylor both had decent seasons, we’ve lacked an absolute wrecker on the pass rush for a good bit now. Boye Mafe is developing nicely, but outside of him, depth has also been a bit of a concern.
  
• DT - This position needs improving, big time. Poona Ford brings talent but he’s a FA and his playstyle isn’t a perfect match for our scheme. Al Woods is a veteran leader but he’s 35. Most damning of all, is our perpetually piss poor run defense. We’ve GOT to work on that.
  
• LB - Linebacker was a very up-and-down spot for our team. Jordyn Brooks was a tackling machine but his performance regressed behind the line of scrimmage. Cody Barton was also maddeningly inconsistent. With bright moments but also plenty of infuriating plays. Not awful by any means but you could feel the inconsistency there.
  
• DB - The secondary has consistently been Pete Carroll’s best area. He always seems to bring the best out of his players. Tariq Woolen mastered the project corner Any% speedrun over the offseason, quickly becoming our best cornerback in his first year. Mike Jackson provided a decent No. 2 option alongside Woolen. Coby Bryant also stepped up into a productive Nickel corner in 2022. Although his coverage skills are still growing, he brought a great degree of physicality to the secondary. Quandre Diggs was still a ball hawk, as per usual. It seemed as if he was still hampered by a broken leg suffered at the end of the 2021 Season, as his tackling ability regressed greatly. We regrettably lost Jamal Adams to another season-ending injury, but Ryan Neal stepped up admirably in his absence, finishing as PFF’s top safety in 2022. Whatever form the secondary takes in 2022, you can count on it to at least be solid.
  
• ST - Special Teams was also a pretty consistent group in 2022. Jason Myers was almost always money, going 34/37 on field goals and 41/42 on extra points. He did make a few errors (a potential field goal in Week 4 to keep the game from growing as close, A missed extra point to prevent a 3-point halftime lead in Week 5, and missing a potential game-winner in Week 18) but on a whole, he was mostly money. Michael Dickson was still as stellar as ever as a punter. Losing your Long Snapper can be very risky but Carson Tinker managed to take over the role without any issue. The other spots from gunners, to returners also lived up to expectations.
  

Staff Review

• Pete Carroll - Head Coach/Executive VP of Football Ops - If there was any doubt about Carroll’s ability in a modern NFL, they were put to rest in 2022. Entering his 71st year on Earth and 13th with Seattle, Carroll weathered all storms, adversity, and concerns and returned Seattle to the playoffs. This season to me feels like Carroll solidifying a truly strong case for the HOF. I’ve never felt more vindicated in my trust and faith in a staff-member. Godspeed you gum-chewing legend
  
• John Schneider - General ManageExecutive VP of Football Ops - Schneider's image also went through a similar refurbishment. After multiple years with multiple draft misses, many questioned if Schneider could still draft like he did during 2010-2012. Well it turns out that he could. Schneider and Carroll stopped playing cute with their selections and picked for needs without reaching too far to meet them. The results showed. If Schneiders hits on the 2023 Draft like he did in 2022, expect this team to step up big time.
  
• Shane Waldron - Offensive Coordinator - Waldron’s offensive scheming in 2021 caused mild concern with the offense underwhelming late down the stretch. 2022 was another story entirely. Geno Smith proved a far better fit for his scheme and it showed in the offensive returns. Definitely happy with where Waldron stands.
  
• Clint Hurtt - Defensive Coordinator - After firing Ken Norton Jr, following the 2021 season, we hired his replacement internally. Said replacement being D-Line coach, Clint Hurtt. I wish I could say that we made big strides under Hurtt in 2022, but that hasn’t really panned out that way. The defense feels…slightly…better than last year but a lot of the defense’s two major flaws still reared their ugly heads: piss poor tackling and awful run defense (which especially sucks because that’s right in Hurtt’s ballpark). One has to hope that better players on D and better tackling will fix these issues. But if the problem is systemic from coach-to-coach, then that’s a big problem. Let’s hope not.
  
• Larry Izzo - Special Teams Coordinator - Izzo has been a large part behind the general consistency of the Seahawks special teams unit. Even when players go down, Izzo is able to coach adequate replacements. Carson Tinker and Godwin Igwebuike being particular examples.
  
• Sean Desai - Associate Head Coach/Defensive Assistant - Sean Desai was a hot coaching candidate entering 2022, with multiple coordinator jobs potentially on the table for him. Desai instead chose to join Carroll’s defensive staff in a reduced role. Some theorized that he may have been an heir apparent for Carroll. In terms of 2022, from what I can best gather, is that his role was on working with the secondary. Considering that Seattle’s secondary was the highlight on the defense, I can see where the hype for him came from. However, that hype eventually grew too great for us to hold onto, as Desai joined the Eagles as their defensive coordinator.
  
• Dave Canales - Quarterbacks Coach - Dave Canales was one of the last remaining staff members from Pete’s first year in Seattle. Canales bounced around multiple roles on the Seahawks offense, from WR coach, to Pass Game Coordinator, to QB coach. 2022 was Canales strongest year with the team, helping foster Geno’s return to stardom. That role led to him being a hot interview candidate for OC jobs, ultimately leading to a promotion as Tampa Bay’s Offensive Coordinator position
  
• Aaron Curry - Defensive Assistant - It’s not very often when you see a team’s biggest bust come back to play a valuable role for the same team he busted for. Aaron “Safest Pick in the Draft” Curry came back to the Seahawks in 2019 as a defensive assistant. After a few seasons under Seattle, he was promoted to the Steelers’ defensive staff as their interior linebacker coach.
  

The remaining coaches on Seattle’s staff have less to say about them than the bigger names. That's not to say that they're bad coaches, there's just not a lot that I can add to the discussion. So they’ve been omitted.

Free Agents on the Horizon

Significant Free Agents specifically

Player	Posistion
Geno Smith	QB
Poona Ford	DT
Ryan Neal (RFA)	SS
Cody Barton	ILB
Rashaad Penny	RB
Travis Homer	RB
Drew Lock	QB
Mike Jackson (ERFA)	CB
Godwin Igwebuike (ERFA)	RS
Marquise Goodwin	WR
LJ Collier	EDGE
Tyler Ott & Carson Tinker	LS
Bruce Irvin	EDGE
Penny Hart	WR
Josh Jones	SS
Laquon “” Treadwell	WR
Jonathan Abrham	FS
Artie Burns	CB
Kyle Fuller	C
Justin Coleman	NCB

Ranking Team Needs for 2022

• 1.) Interior Defensive Line - We have to fix that Run D somehow - Need: EXTREME
  
• 2a) Interior Offensive Line - Major holes at C and RG, that need to be filled posthaste - Need: Very High
  
• 2b) Edge Rushers - We need to improve at pass rush and our ability to get after the QB - Need: Very High
  
• 3.) Quarterback - Whether it's Geno, a top prospect, or both. We need to solidify our QB plans for 2023 - Need: Very High
  
• 4.) Linebacker - Our linebacker’s flaws showed themselves on the field in 2022. Getting a solid interior option to help support Jordyn Brooks and stop intermediary runs is crucial - Need: High
  
• 5.) Wide Receiver - Depth beyond Metcalf and Lockett is up-in-air. Getting our 2023 QB a solid 3rd receiver can’t hurt. - Need: Somewhat High
  
• 6.) Cornerback - Can’t hurt to find a talented No. 2 to go alongside with Woolen - Need: Somewhat High
  
• 7.) Tight End - While we have a solid group right now, only Dissly is under contract beyond 2023. Some long term insurance would be reassuring - Need: On the Horizon, Growing Closer
  
• 8.) Offensive Tackle - Cross and Lucas should be stalwart starters for the next two seasons but depth is needed to keep the skies from falling if they miss time - Need: Depth Support
  
• 9.) Running Back - K9 is pretty locked in as starter but, like with OT, depth could be addressed - Need: Depth Support
  
• 10.) Special Teams - Both our kicker and punter are elite and under contract. Pretty well set - Need Minimal
  

Why Root for the Seahawks

The Seahawks are a team on the rise. Plenty of young, exciting players with the cap space and draft capital to expand to even greater things. The team culture is incredibly fun and chill; from the players to the coaching staff. The moments of excitement and intensity keep you invested. We play in a division full of teams that always keep things interesting, with two strong divisional rivalries with the San Francisco 49ers and LA Rams. We also have some growing rivalries between fellow young teams on the rise with the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets. The fandom is a passionate one with a penchant for being loud, but we welcome new fans with open arms and we’d love it if you'd choose Seattle if you’re looking for a team. Go Hawks.

Some Final Words

Finally, I would like to share a few words of thanks. Firstly, I want to thank u/ehhhhhhhhhhmacarena for hosting this series and allowing me to take part. This has always been a small dream of mine for a few years now. I’m really stoked to finally be able to write one up.
I would like to thank the Seahawks fanbase, whether among my personal circles or online. I couldn’t have done this without the passion and joy that this team and fandom has brought me.
Finally, I would like to thank u/King_Rajesh. Rajesh was the person behind the Seahawks' write-ups on NFL over the past 7 years. He always brought a great deal of dedication, passion, and focus to his research. I’ve always respected that from his pieces. From one king to another, I offered my deepest degree of gratitude for the years of service.
I put my heart and soul into this piece. It was a great deal of work. I hope that it has lived up to the standards that are to be expected for these pieces. I hope to carry on what I’ve learned here into the future.
Thank you all for your time!

We've got a bit of a tech logjam situation going on - can't update MacOS at church beyond Catalina because we'd lose interlaced video output, and so can't update ProPresenter beyond a certain point - we're sticking with 7.7 for now.
But at home, where people often make bits to bring in, that means potentially not being able to upgrade to Ventura if nothing before 7.11 works properly.
I could live with that, but I'm wondering what experience people have with exporting material with backwards compatibility in ProPresenter. Do things generally break if people use different versions from the last year or two? Or is there a backwards compatible way to export playlists and presentations? Thanks!

Title: Shadow War.
Theme: DO Vs The Anti-Cult.
Battle Pass.
Pages.
Page 1.
The Iron (Skin)
The Iron's Holopad (Back Bling)
Iron's Plasma Spike (Pickaxe)
Iron Jets (Contrail)
Iron Wings (Glider)
Suiting Up! (Built-In Emote)
Iron Orca Cat (Emoticon)
Loyal DO Iron (Spray)
Iron Pink (Wrap)
Iron Battle (Music Pack)
Anti-Lighting Strike (Loading Screen)
Page 2.
Anti-QXR Yuri (Skin)
Anti-Decoder (Back Bling)
Anti-QXR Yuri's Claw (Built-In Pickaxe)
Anti-Decode (Contrail)
Powers Of Anti-QXR Yuri (Built-In Glider)
Roar Of Anti (Built-In Emote)
Decoding QXR (Emoticon)
QXR's Regin (Spray)
Black Purple (Wrap)
The Iron (Repulsor Armor) (Style) Collect Repulsor Armor At Iron Industries (3)
Last Decode (Loading Screen)
Page 3.
Ennard Yuri (Skin)
Wired Knife (Back Bling)
Wired Knife (Pickaxe)
Purple Wires (Contrail)
Wire-Shute (Gilder)
Powered Wire Claws (Built-In Emote)
Crazy Wire Monster (Emoticon)
Purple Wires (Spray)
Wire Purple (Wrap)
The Iron (Leg Armor) (Style) Collect Leg Armor At Decoded Fortress (3)
Rivals In Decode (Loading Screen)
Page 4.
Anti-Stacy (Skin)
Buzz-Plush (Back Bling)
Self-Harming Handsaw (Pickaxe)
Arm Blood (Contrail)
Knife Glide (Glider)
Self-Harm (Emote)
S-H (Emoticon)
That's What They Want You Think (Spray)
Arm Of Self-Harm (Wrap)
Get Antied (Music Pack)
The Anti-Blimps (Loading Screen)
Page 5.
Anti-Charon Nobleheart (Skin)
Anti-Charon's Cowl (Back Bling)
Glove Of Sadness (Pickaxe)
Anti-Gems (Contrail)
Anti-Flight Power (Glider)
Cry Idiot! (Built-In Emote)
Crying Elf (Emoticon)
Anti-Elf (Spray)
Anti-Gem Shard (Wrap)
The Iron (Body Armor And Helmet) (Style) Collect Body Armor And Helmet Armor At DO Sanctury (1)
Anti-Realm (Loading Screen)
Page 6.
Doctor Penny (Skin)
DO Orchestrator (Back Bling)
DO Eradicator (Pickaxe)
DO Dropjets (Contrail)
DO Stealth Sail (Glider)
DO Holo Update (Emote)
DO Higher-Up (Emoticon)
Armored Penny (Spray)
Dream Edge (Wrap)
DO Combat (Music Pack)
DO War With Anti (Loading Screen)
Secret Page.
Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (Skin) Search Anti-Chests (3)
Armored Anti-Mantle (Back Bling) Deal Damage With Anti-Weapons (100)
Anti-Eradicator (Pickaxe) Destroy Props Or Structures Near Anti-Areas (10)
Anti-Dropjets (Contrail) Visit Anti-Blimps (3)
Anti-Blimp (Glider) Dance On Top Of Anti-Blimps (3)
Anti-Copy That (Built-In Emote) Collect Anti-Files At Anti-Command Cavern (3)
Anti-Leader (Emoticon) Defeat Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (1)
Leader Of the Anti-Cult (Spray) Visit Anti-Cult POIs (3)
Anti-Realm (Wrap) Enter The Anti-Realm (1)
Anti-Arrival (Music Pack) Land At The Anti-Fortress (1)
Depression Giver (Loading Screen) Collect Depression Potions At Anti-Command Cavern (3)
Bonus Pages.
Page 1.
Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Skin)
DO Time Cape (Back Bling)
DO Time Baton (Pickaxe)
DO Clocks (Contrail)
DO Time Flight (Glider)
Page 2.
DO Time Dance (Emote)
DO Time Shout (Emoticon)
DO Time Master (Spray)
Insanity's War (Loading Screen)
Page 3.
The Iron (Iron Man Suit)
Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Classic)
The Iron (Pink Diamond) Complete All Week 1 Challenges (1)
Anti-QXR Yuri (Purple) Complete All Week 2 Challenges (1)
Ennard Yuri (Fixed) Complete All Week 3 Challenges (1)
Page 4.
Anti-Stacy (Gunnar Armor) Complete All Week 4 Challenges (1)
Anti-Charon Nobleheart (Purple) Complete All Week 5 Challenges (1)
Doctor Penny (Battlesuit) Complete All Week 6 Challenges (1)
Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (Sharp Armor) Complete All Week 7 Challenges (1)
Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Glowy) Complete All Week 8 Challenges (1)
POIs: DO Sanctury, DO Station, Ohio, Junk Junction, Lazy Lake, Glitchy Compound, Anti-Blimps, Anti-Command Cavern, The Anti-Fortress, The Decoded Fortress, Iron Industries, Buzz Lightyear Landing Sites, Ohio Obliterated, Junk Crashsite, Lazy Landing, Anti-Corpses, Glitchy Crash, College Ruins, DO Mech Construction.
NPCs: Spencer Tellin Zero, Armored Tony The Talking Clock, Springtrap, Baldi, Benson, Toodles, Hector Rivera, Cartoon Cat, Nephrite, Monika, Anti-Charon Nobleheart, The Lost, The Bloody, James Yuri, Lightyear-Bots.
Bosses: The Iron, Anti-QXR Yuri, Ennard Yuri, Anti-Stacy, Doctor Penny, Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock, The Wandering Sniper, Hugevoir, The Tamer, Anti-Caretakers, Persona Hunter Nikocado, The Flaming Drinker, Damon The Glyph Master, Darth Silvervale, Shylily.
Funding Station.
Done For The Season!
New: DO Whiplash, DO Tanks, DO Armored Battle Bus, Anti-Tanks, Anti-Rifle, Anti-Minigun, The Iron's Repulsors, The Iron's Unibeam, Anti-QXR Yuri's Claws, Ennard Yuri's Knife, Anti-Stacy's Stinger SMG, Doctor Penny's Striker Og, Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock's Anti-Rifle, The Wandering Sniper's Hunter DMR, Hunter DMR, Buzz Lightyear Jetpack Boxes, Buzz Lightyear's Jetpack, The Tamer's Techno Whip, Anti-Sideways Shotgun, Persona Hunter Nikocado's Persona Katana, The Flaming Drinker's Burning Stinger AR, Damon The Glyph Master's Rift Edge, Darth Silvervale's Lightsaber Knife, Shylily's DO Orca Blade, Shrimp, Yuno Gasai's Katana.
Unvaulted: Hunter Bolt Action Sniper, Tanks, Lever Action Rifle, Poison Trap, Ranger Shotgun, Lever Action Og, Sideways Minigun, Cupcakes, MK-Seven AR, Rey's Lightsaber, Kingsman, Combat AR, Hunting Rifle, Stark Industries Energy Rifle, Stark Industries Jetpack.
Vaulted: Luigi's Poltergust G-00, Link's Sword, Corrin's Yato, Pit's Bow, Ganondorf's Sword, Samus Aran's Arm Gun, UmberonTrap's Combat SMG, Marshal's MK-LGBTQ AR, Lever Action Pump, Anti-Stacy's Anti Fists, Darth Miyo's E-11 Blaster, The Flaming Journalist's Magma Gauntlets, The Shotgunner's Burst Shotgun, Shockwave Bow, Swords, Birthday Cake Slices, Birthday Presents, Suppressed Pistol, Burst SMG, Stinger AR, Drum Shotgun, Rapid Fire SMG, Auto Sniper.
Challenges.
Week 1.
Search Chests At DO Sanctury (7)
Eliminations At Condo Canyon (3)
Visit DO Station (1)
Talk To DO NPCs (3)
Deal Damage To Anti-Cult Bosses (100)
Distance Traveled In A DO Whiplash Or DO Tank (50)
Week 2.
Search Chests At DO Station (7)
Eliminations At The Joneses (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Ohio (1)
Land At Anti-Zones (3)
Eliminations With Anti-Weapons (3)
Attend The Tsundere Collison Live Event (1)
Week 2 Reward: Anti-QXR Yuri (Purple)
Week 3.
Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Ohio (7)
Eliminations At Sanctury (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Junk Junction (1)
Talk To Lightyear-Bots (2)
Land At Buzz Lightyear Landing Sites (3)
Distance Traveled While Flying With Buzz Lightyear's Jetpack (100)
Week 3 Rewards: Ennard Yuri (Fixed)
Week 4.
Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Junk Junction (7)
Eliminations At The Daily Bugle (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Lazy Lake (1)
Search Ammo Boxes At Anti-Command Cavern Or Rave Cave (3)
Deal Damage With A Stinger SMG (100)
Eliminations With A Stinger SMG (3)
Week 4 Rewards: Anti-Stacy (Gunnar Armor)
Week 5.
Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Lazy Lake (7)
Eliminations At Coney Crossroads (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Glitchy Compound (1)
Collect Anti-Gems At Anti-Cult POIs (3)
Deal Damage With An Anti-Sideways Shotgun (100)
Eliminate An Opponent With An Anti-Sideways Shotgun (1)
Week 5 Rewards: Anti-Charon Nobleheart (Purple)
Week 6.
Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Glitchy Compound (7)
Eliminations At Sleepy Sound (3)
Visit Anti-Command Cavern (1)
Talk To Doctor Slone (1)
Deal Damage With A Striker Og (500)
Eliminations With A Striker Og (3)
Week 6 Rewards: Doctor Penny (Battlesuit)
Week 7.
Search Chests At Anti-Command Cavern (7)
Eliminations At Shifty Shafts (3)
Visit The Anti-Fortress (1)
Eliminate Anti-Monsters (10)
Defeat An Anti-Caretaker (1)
Unlock All Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock Cosmetics (11)
Week 7 Rewards: Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (Sharp Armor)
Week 8.
Search Chests At The Anti-Fortress (7)
Eliminations At Logjam Lotus (3)
Visit The Decoded Fortress (1)
Collect Clocks At DO Complex, DO Sanctury, Or DO Station (3)
Visit Coral Castle At Nighttime (1)
Visit Rave Cave At Daytime (1)
Week 8 Rewards: Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Glowy)
Week 9.
Search Chests At The Decoded Fortress (7)
Eliminations At Shuffled Shrine (3)
Visit Iron Industries (1)
Collect McDonalds Bags At Rave Cave (3)
Find A Crowbar To Destroy Pyra (1)
Find Darth Yuri's Lightsaber At Darth Vader At Outposts (1)
Week 10.
Search Chests At Iron Industries (7)
Eliminations At Rave Cave (3)
Visit Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Find A Calling Station Near The Hill (1)
Deal Damage To Damon the Glyph Master (100)
Defeat Darth Silvervale (1)
Week 11.
Search Chests At Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Eliminations At Reality Falls (3)
Visit Ohio Obliterated (1)
Find A Crash-Landed UFO (1)
Talk To Rick Sanchez (1)
Find Rick Sanchez's Portal Gun (1)
Week 12.
Search Chests At Ohio Obliterated (7)
Eliminations At Greasy Grove (3)
Visit Junk Crashsite (1)
Tame A Boar Or A Wolf (1)
Eat Meat (3)
Bring A Boar Or A Wolf To A Darth Vader Outpost (1)
Week 13.
Search Chests At Junk Crashsite (7)
Eliminations At Synapse Station (3)
Visit Lazy Landing (1)
Dance On The Orca Mech At DO Mech Construction (1)
Defeat Shylily (1)
Deal Damage With Shylily's DO Orca Blade (100)
Week 14.
Search Chests At Lazy Landing (7)
Eliminations At Butter Bloom (3)
Visit Anti-Corpses, Glitchy Crash, College Ruins And DO Mech Construction (4)
Eliminate Anti-Monsters (10)
Activate An Anti-Sideways Encounter (1)
Defeat An Anti-Caretaker (1)
Week 15.
Search Chests At New POIs (7)
Eliminations At New POIs (3)
Visit All New POIs (25)
Talk To All New NPCs (5)
Defeat Any New Boss (1)
Attend The Anti-Collision Live Event (1)
Week 15 Rewards: Doctor Penny (DO And Anti-Cult)
Wild Weeks.
Week 11: DO Domination.
Stage 1: Collect DO Weapons (3)
Stage 2: Deal Damage With DO Weapons (100)
Stage 3: Eliminations With DO Weapons (3)
Week 12: Anti Ambush.
Stage 1: Collect Anti-Cult Weapons (3)
Stage 2: Deal Damage With Anti-Cult Weapons (100)
Stage 3: Eliminations With Anit-Cult Weapons (3)
Week 13: Womp Womp!
Stage 1: Eat Shrimps (3)
Stage 2: Defeat Shylily (1)
Stage 3: Eliminate An Opponent With Shylily's DO Orca Blade (1)
Week 14: Bargain Bin.
Stage 1: Spend Bars (500)
Stage 2: Spend Bars (1000)
Stage 3: Spend Bars (5000)
DO Armored Rick Sanchez's Level Up Challenges.
Week 11.
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Sanctury (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Station (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Junction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Lake (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Compound (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Command Cavern (1)
Week 11 Rewards: DO UFO Cruiser (Gold)
Week 12.
Collect A Level Up Token At The Anti-Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Decoded Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Iron Industries (1)
Collect Level Up Tokens At Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio Obliterated (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Landing (1)
Week 12 Rewards: DO Hammerhead Morty (Gold)
Week 13.
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Corpses (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At College Ruins (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Mech Construction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Shadow Mech (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Simulation Blimp (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Crashed Airship (1)
Week 13 Rewards: DO Butter Bot (Gold)
Week 14.
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Sanctury (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Station (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Junction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Lake (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Compound (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Command Cavern (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Anti-Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Decoded Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Iron Industries (1)
Collect Level Up Tokens At Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio Obliterated (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Landing (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Corpses (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At College Ruins (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Mech Construction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Shadow Mech (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Simulation Blimp (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Crashed Airship (1)
Live Events: Tsundere Collison, Anti-Collison.
Battle Events: Battle For Ohio, Battle For Junk Junction, Battle For Lazy Lake, Battle For Glitchy Compound.

Title: The Return.
Theme: DO Vs The Middle Reality.
Battle Pass.
Pages.
Page 1.
Blake Harden (Skin)
DO Chain Holster (Back Bling)
DO Chain Sword (Pickaxe)
DO Chains (Contrail)
DO Chainboard (Glider)
Chained Dumbbells (Emote)
Tough Blonde (Emoticon)
DO's Toughest Agent (Spray)
Chaining DO (Wrap)
Failed Simulation (Music Pack)
Pumping And Rolling (Loading Screen)
Page 2.
The Simp Destroyer (Skin)
DO Bounty Pad (Back Bling)
Blue Sun Axe (Pickaxe)
Blue Shine (Contrail)
Bounty Hunting Cloak (Glider)
You Must Be Terminated (Built-In Emote)
YOU ARE BANNED FROM REALITY (Emoticon)
Middle Reality's Greatest Threat (Spray)
Daycare DO (Wrap)
Stary MK-Seven Pistol (Weapon)
Bounty Hunting Sun (Loading Screen)
Page 3.
The Force (Skin)
Caged Cross (Back Bling)
DO Eradicator (Pickaxe)
Crossing Fall (Contrail)
Cross Of Flight (Glider)
Armor Up, DO Agent! (Built-In Emote)
Ugh, Whatever (Emoticon)
Succubus Hunter (Spray)
Eradicating DO (Wrap)
Stary Rail Gun (Weapon)
Forced Assassin (Loading Screen)
Page 4.
SaaVtuber (Skin)
Hypno-Simp 8000 (Back Bling)
Snake Claws (Pickaxe)
Simpy Abduction (Contrail)
Trailblazers Of Simps (Glider)
Look Into My Eyes Senpai~ (Built-In Emote)
Hisssssss (Emoticon)
Middle Reality's Snake (Spray)
Scaly Hypno (Wrap)
Middle Suspect (Music Pack)
Poisonous Fight (Loading Screen)
Page 5.
Misa (Skin)
Love Note (Back Bling)
Middle Reality Chainblade (Pickaxe)
Ripped Pink (Contrail)
Pink Chainboard (Glider)
Love Me Big Boy~ (Built-In Emote)
*Scribble Scribble Scribble* (Emoticon)
Love Me Or ELSE!!! (Spray)
Drawn Pink (Wrap)
Stary Ray Gun (Weapon)
There Here (Loading Screen)
Page 6.
Trinity Pelon (Skin)
Middle Reality Jetpack (Back Bling)
Middle Reality Eradicator (Pickaxe)
Middle Jet Hands (Contrail)
Middle Stealth Sail (Glider)
Hehehe~ (Emote)
Play With Me~ (Emoticon)
GET AWAY FROM ME TRINITY!!! (Spray)
Middled Edge (Wrap)
Trin-Ittack (Music Pack)
Chaser Of Spencer (Loading Screen)
Secret Page.
The Simp King (Skin) Visit Simp Abductors (2)
Vortexted Simp (Back Bling) Equip Middle Reality Jetpacks (1)
Straight Renders (Pickaxe) Destroy DO Tech (5)
HA! (Contrail) Jump From The Battle Bus As The Simp King (1)
Returning Power (Glider) Visit Middle Reality POIs (2)
Show No Mercy! (Built-In Emote) Emote As The Simp King (1)
Yea, I'm Evil Bitch! (Emoticon) Talk To Evil NPCs (3)
Fight For The Middle (Spray) Dance On Simp Abductors Or At The Simp Pyramid (1)
King's Armor (Wrap) Bounce Off The Simp King (1)
Simp King's Anthem (Music Pack) Eliminate Spencer Tellin (1)
King Of The Simp Sideways (Loading Screen) Enter A Simp Sideways Zone (1)
Bonus Reward Pages.
Page 1.
Woody Zero (Skin)
Lassoed Cape (Back Bling)
Lassoed Knife (Pickaxe)
Ripped Lassos (Contrail)
Snake In The Boot! (Glider)
Page 2.
Ride Like The Wind Bullseye! (Emote)
Stopper Of The Simulation (Emoticon)
Victorious Cowboy (Spray)
The Day Has Been Won (Loading Screen)
Page 3.
Blake Harden (Blue Diamond) [From 100 - 120]
The Simp Destroyer (Blue Diamond) [From 120 - 140]
The Force (Blue Diamond) [From 140 - 160]
SaaVtuber (Pink Diamond) [From 160 - 180]
Misa (Pink Diamond) [From 180 - 200]
Trinity Pelon (Pink Diamond) [From 200 - 220]
The Simp King (Pink Diamond) [From 220 - 240]
Woody Zero (Blue Diamond) [From 240 - 260]
Page 4.
Blake Harden (Armored) Complete All Week 1 Challenges (1)
The Simp Destroyer (Moon) Complete All Week 2 Challenges (1)
The Force (Red Skin) Complete All Week 3 Challenges (1)
SaaVtuber (Scary Mouth) Complete All Week 4 Challenges (1)
Misa (Yandere) Complete All Week 5 Challenges (1)
Trinty Pelon (Craved) Complete All Week 6 Challenges (1)
The Simp King (Obliterator) Complete All Week 7 Challenges (1)
The Simp King (Islandbane) Complete All Week 8 Challenges (1)
Woody Zero (Armored) Complete All Week 9 Challenges (1)
POIs: Glitchy Compound, Stary Suburbs, Washington, Lazy Lake, DO Complex, DO Cavern, DO Bunker, DO Labotory, DO Compound, The Simp Pyramid, DO Blimp: Glitchy, Crashed Invader #1, Dastardly Ship, DO Blimp: Stary, Crashed Invader #2, Simp Abductors, Simp Mothership, DO Blimp: Washington, Crashed Invader #3, DO Blimp: Lazy, Crashed Invader #4, Pixel York, The Unpixel's Compound.
NPCs: Spencer Tellin, Tony The Talking Clock, Springtrap, Baldi, Benson, Toodles, Hector Rivera, Cartoon Cat, Nephrite, Monika, The Force, Woody Zero, Bruno Madrigal, Camilo Madrigal, Sayori, MC Carnage, Dadsuki Venom, Michael Afton, Nagatoro, Trickywi, Frollo, Shan Yu, Cassidy, Erisa, Mirabel Madrigal, The Pixelator, The Myth, The Catcher, The Comebacker, TheGrefg.
Bosses: Blake Harden, The Simp Destroyer, Trinity Pelon, Captain Yuri, Simp Caretakers, Kerra The Succubus, Wolverine Escaper Yuri, Nagatoro Caretaker, The Commander, SaaVtuber, Dick Dastardly, QXR, Misa, The Harpy Queen, Terrancewi, The Simp King, Experiment #8, The Original Founder, Camilo The Salvaged King, Antonio Madrigal, YukiTrap, Yuki Caretaker, Doctor Regin, The Tsundere Protector, Kit, Marauders, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Mythra, Pyra
Funding Station.
Revealed In Chapter 3: Season 9.
Boss Funding Station.
Revealed In Chapter 3: Season 9.
New: Simp Saucers, Blake Harden's DO Pulse Rifle, The Simp Destroyer's Combat SMG, Trinity Pelon's Ray Gun, DO Pulse Rifle, DO Recon Scanner, DO Rail Gun, Simp Ray Gun, Kerra The Succubus' Simp Sideways Rifle, Wolverine Escaper Yuri's Claw, DO Presents! The Commander's MK-Seven Shotgun, The Original Founder's Found Chains, SaaVtuber's Thermal Scoped AR, Dick Dastardly's Recycler, Thermal SMG, QXR's Combat AR, Misa's Simp Sideways Minigun, Burst DO Pulse Rifle, The Harpy Queen's V-Render, Terrancewi's Claws, Corrupted Pistol, Experiment #8's Caretaker Claws, Camilo The Salvaged King's Sideways Shotgun, Antonio's Long Blade, YukiTrap's Bloody AR, Doctor Regin's Arcane Gauntlets, Doctor Regin's Mystical Bomb, The Tsundere Protector's Plasma Spike, Pixel AR, Pixel Shotgun, Pixel Zapatron, Pixel SMG, Unpixelator, Poke-Bomb, Mythra's Ray Gun, Pyra's Simp Sideways AR, The Simp King's Staff Of Straightness.
Unvaulted: Pulse Rifle, Recon Scanner, Rail Gun, Captain Yuri's Shield, Sledgehammer, Combat AR, Sideways Scythe, Sideways Shotgun, Icy Grenade, Ice Trap, Icy Grappler, Burst SMG, Tornados, Lightning, Flare Gun, Kit's Charge Shotgun, Kit's Shockwave Launcher, Bones, Primal AR, Primal Shotgun, Primal SMG, Primal Bow, Primal Flame Bow, Primal Stink Bow, Meowscles' Peow Peow Rifle, Alien Nanites, Knifes.
Wildlife: DO Wolves, Mountain Lions.
Vaulted: Corrupted Ex Bully's Sideways Minigun, Corrupted Yandere Yuri's Bat, Corrupted Karien's LED Combat Shotgun, Corrupted Bloody Monika's Repulsors, Captain Yuri's Adamantium Shield, The Slap, Dellor Mega Laser, Yuri's Hunting Rilfe, Natsuki's MK-Seven Infantry Rifle, MK-Seven Infantry Rifle, IO Guard Disguised Yuki's Seven Railgun, Wolverine Natsuri's Claws, The Survivor's Crowbar, Crowbar, Sideways SMG, YuriTrap's Stinger Flare AR, Stinger Flare AR, Sidways Shotgun, Sideways Pistol, Cube Monster Parts, Water Pistol, Muffin Cakes, Sledgehammer, Wolverine Ben's Claws, Flora's Stinger SMG, Clara Afton's DO Pulse Rifle, Sideways Minigun, Bat, Combat Shotgun, Lube, Quad Launcher, Hunting Rifle, Primal Shotgun, Burst SMG, MK-Seven Shotgun, Flamethrower, Cyber Shotgun, Pulse Rifle, Recon Scanner, Rail Gun, Hoverboard, Loot Drones, Dual Serpy Hunters, Sideways Minigun, Sideways Scythe, Bat, Hand Cannon, Rift-To-Go.
Challenges.
Week 1.
Search Chests At Cornered Compound (7)
Eliminations At The Joneses (3)
Visit Surrounded Suburbs (1)
Collect DO Weapons (3)
Search Ammo Boxes At DO POIs (3)
Talk To DO Members (3)
Week 1 Reward: Blake Harden (Armored)
Week 2.
Search Chests At Surrounded Suburbs (7)
Eliminations At Sanctury (3)
Visit Warned Washington (1)
Eliminate Simp Trespassers (2)
Destroy Structures On Simp Invaders (3)
Deal Damage To Simp Saucers (100)
Week 2 Reward: The Simp Destroyer (Moon)
Week 3.
Search Chests At Warned Washington (7)
Eliminations At The Daily Bugle (3)
Visit Layered Lake (1)
Deal Damage To Simp Trespassers At Cornered Compound (100)
Search Ammo Boxes At Cornered Compound (3)
Defeat Kerra The Succubus At Cornered Compound (1)
Week 3 Rewards: The Force (Red Skin) Battle For Glitchy Compound (Loading Screen)
Week 4.
Search Chests At Layered Lake (7)
Eliminations At Coney Crossroads (3)
Visit DO Complex (1)
Visit Middle Reality POIs (3)
Talk To Middle Reality NPCs (2)
Place Middle Reality Posters Near IO Or Seven POIs (3)
Week 4 Reward: SaaVtuber (Scary Mouth)
Week 5.
Search Chests At DO Complex (7)
Eliminations At Sleepy Sound (3)
Visit DO Cavern (1)
Search Ammo Boxes At Surrounded Suburbs (3)
Eliminate Simp Trespassers At Surrounded Suburbs (2)
Collect The Original Founder's Found Chains At Surrounded Suburbs (1)
Week 5 Reward: Misa (Yandere) Battle For Stary Suburbs (Loading Screen)
Week 6.
Search Chests At DO Cavern (7)
Eliminations At Shifty Shafts (3)
Visit DO Bunker (1)
Spray Middle Reality Logos At The Daily Bugle, Sleepy Sound And Layered Lake (3)
Eliminate IO Forces Or Seven Sentries (3)
Collect Love Potions At Slurpy Sludge (3)
Week 6 Reward: Trinity Pelon (Craved)
Week 7.
Search Chests At DO Bunker (7)
Eliminations At Logjam Lumberyard (3)
Visit DO Labatory (1)
Search Ammo Boxes At Warned Washington (3)
Unearth The Original Founder's Found Chains At Warned Washington (1)
Unlock All The Simp King Cosmetics (11)
Week 7 Rewards: The Simp King (Obliterator) Battle For Washington (Loading Screen)
Week 8.
Search Chests At DO Labatory (7)
Eliminations At The Fortress (3)
Visit DO Compound (1)
Visit Crashed Invaders (3)
Search Ammo Boxes At Layered Lake (3)
Collect Simp Monster Parts (10)
Week 8 Reward: The Simp King (Islandbane)
Week 9.
Search Chests At DO Compound (7)
Eliminations At Command Cavern (3)
Visit The Simp Pyramid (1)
Hunt Wildlife (3)
Visit Chonker's Speedway, Rocky Reels, Synapse Station, And Condo Canyon (4)
Detach Lassos On Fences At Greasy Grove (3)
Week 9 Reward: Woody Zero (Armored)
Week 10.
Search Chests At The Simp Pyramid (7)
Eliminations At Camp Cuddle (3)
Visit DO Blimp: Glitchy (1)
Search Ammo Boxes At Layered Lake (3)
Destroy Middle Reality Tech Or Equipment At Layered Lake (10)
Assist On Eliminating Middle Reality Forces At Layered Lake (3)
Week 10 Reward: Battle For Lazy Lake (Loading Screen)
Week 11.
Search Chests At DO Blimp: Glitchy (7)
Eliminations At Greasy Grove (3)
Visit Crashed Invader #1 (1)
Visit Different DO POIs (3)
Search DO Chests (3)
Talk To DO Members (3)
Week 12.
Search Chests At Crashed Invader #1 (3)
Eliminations At Tilted Towers (3)
Visit Dastardly Ship (1)
Hunt Mountain Lions (3)
Find A Hunted Deer Near The Hill (1)
Attend The Gacha's End Live Event (1)
Week 13.
Search Chests At Dastardly Ship (7)
Eliminations At Synapse Station (3)
Visit DO Blimp: Stary (1)
Mantle Walls (3)
Destroy Couches (3)
Talk To Mirabel Madrigal (1)
Week 14.
Search Chests At DO Blimp: Stary (7)
Eliminations At Rocky Reels (3)
Visit Crashed Invader #2, DO Blimp: Washington, Crashed Invader #3, DO Blimp: Lazy, Crashed Invader #4, Pixel York, And The Unpixel's Compound (7)
Distance Traveled While Swimming (100)
Collect A Harpoon Gun Or Fishing Rod (1)
Catch Fish (2)
Week 15.
Search Chests At New POIs (7)
Eliminations At New POIs (3)
Visit All New POIs (17)
Talk To All New NPCs (20)
Defeat Any New Boss (1)
Visit Past Battle POIs (4)
Week 15 Reward: Holo Battle Star (Blue And Pink)
The Origin Of Originman LTM.
Find Master Nas X (1)
Distance Traveled On Foot (100)
Complete The Origin Of Originman LTM (1) Reward: His Origin (Loading Screen)
The Original's Device.
Week 10.
Stage 1: Discover The Original's Device (1)
Stage 2: Participate In The Lazy Lake Battle By Visiting Lazy Lake (1)
Week 11.
Collect A Simp Data Card By Eliminating A Simp Monster Or Trespasser (1)
Week 12.
Fix DO Cars Near Command Cavern Or The Simp Pyramid (3)
Week 13.
Destroy Love Potions At Hydro 16 (3)
Week 14.
Erase Spray Paint Of The Middle Reality's Logo At The Daily Bugle, Sleepy Sound, And Lazy Lake (3)
Week 15.
Aim The Nuke At The Simp Mothership (1)
Week 15 Reward: The Return (Loading Screen)
Wild Weeks.
Week 11: Brrr....
Stage 1: Visit Snowy Areas (3)
Stage 2: Use Icy Items (3)
Stage 3: Distance Traveled On Icy Feet (100)
Week 12: Weather Forecast.
Stage 1: Get Struck By Lightning (1)
Stage 2: Enter A Tornado (1)
Week 13: Throwback To Splashdown.
Stage 1: Deal Damage To Kit Or Deal Damage With Kit's Charge Shotgun (100)
Stage 2: Shoot A Flare Gun (3)
Stage 3: Defeat Marauders (5)
Week 14: TheGrefg's Lava Rumble.
Stage 1: Buy The Mythic Goldfish From TheGrefg (1)
Stage 2: Collect Firefiles (3)
Stage 3: Burn Structures (10)
Stage 4: Play Matches Of Unarmed Floor Is Lava (3)
Week 15: Bargain Bin.
Stage 1: Spend Bars (100)
Stage 2: Spend Bars (200)
Stage 3: Spend Bars (300)
Stage 4: Spend Bars (400)
Stage 5: Spend Bars (1000)
Battle Events: Battle For Glitchy Compound, Battle For Stary Suburbs, Battle For Washington, Battle For Lazy Lake.
Live Event: Gacha's End.

A fresh gallon of milk sat next to a second gallon of milk, both positioned in front of a third, bloated gallon with a milky crust ring. A new two-liter of orange soda towered above a few beers while four random eggs spread about the shelves.
“So, you went to Target?” Jacob closed the refrigerator. Once white, years of greasy hands had turned it a deep tan and previous residents had littered with magnets and stickers, which Jacob believed were now integral to the fridges structural integrity.
“I did,” Wesley said with the satisfaction of a toddler who had used the toilet but missed the seat by several inches. “I bought milk.”
“Why?”
“There was only a quarter of a gallon left. We could have run out.” Wesley sat hunched over his laptop on the kitchen table, in almost the exact same position, still wearing the light blue boxers, he had on when Jacob left for work in the morning. Hopefully, he had showered, but by the look of his chin-length brown hair clinging to the three-day stubble it wasn’t certain.
“Heaven forbid we run out of milk,” Jacob muttered.
“Also, I bought some Día de los Muertos candles.”
“Neither one of us is Spanish.”
“How else can you keep the zombies away if you don’t have magic candles?” Wesley said, his eyes still focused on his laptop
“I’m not saying you’re wrong on this one, but I am almost certain you’re failing to understand another holiday’s core concept.”
“This is just like when you weren’t prepared for Canada Day.”
“Canada Day is nothing like ‘The Purge.’ You’re a server, getting mugged is a professional hazard.”
It was 7:30, too early to think of skipping dinner. A combo meal at McDonalds would run over ten bucks and it wouldn’t address tomorrow’s lunch. In order to maximize his week’s food budget he’d have to buy real food from a store and cook it. “It’s under the toilet because you wouldn’t let me keep it in my bed.”
“Well excuse me for feeling uncomfortable sleeping above a loaded gun.” Wesley said. “Did you hear from the MSO?”
“No one calls you to let you know you didn’t get the job.”
The two sour notes he’d struck on his violin still echoed in his head with the same soul-crushing-cringe they’d carried in the symphony’s rehearsal space. Had he’d landed the opening on the orchestra he’d be looking at a reasonable five-figure income, health insurance, and be generating respectable side gigs.
For a second Jacob started to kick off his shoes, then remembered walking barefoot was never advisable in their apartment. Honestly, the using the word “apartment” to describe their living quarters was generous, perhaps an abuse of the word.
Wesley and Jacob shared a former machine shop in an aging-factory-cum-artist-colony called “The Sídhe,” in a reference to Irish folklore. But, they could walk the streets with the manicured graffiti of the Wynwood Arts District. “Manicured graffiti” isn’t a metaphor, rich people gave top graffiti artists real money to give the neighborhood a faux-hip environment.
Smudged, whorled fingerprints from paint covered fingers were smeared against most surfaces. They were still used the loft bed they’d bought second hand in college. For all of this they paid $431 a month with an extra $20 for a wi-fi password, in area of town where it’s hard to find a studio apartment for less than two grand a month.
Jacob picked his way past a drying painting to get to their bathroom. Wesley worshiped at the altar of Vermeer, Kalf and Rembrant, and could imitate any of them stroke for stroke. His ability should have proven profitable, if he wasn’t slavishly devoted to his fandom. No one wants to buy an original oil painting riffing off a Danish sea side town with a crashed Star Destroyer in the background. Well, they would, but aren’t willing to pay $650. Jacob was just happy something had moved Wesley creatively.
Once a closet, someone shoehorned a shower surround tacked up by two-by-fours with a garden hose for a shower. There was also a mismatching sink, mirror and shower that all drained somewhere outside. Jacob pulled the string on the bare lightbulb, the jumped back as something wet and hot licked his leg.
“Holy Christ on a cross!” Jacob’s fight or flight instinct kicked in, chosin the “Run dummy run,” option. He staggered back, his feet catching an uneven lip of wood and sending him crashing to floor, back first.
“Wesley?” Jacob saw now it was a dog. His shock switched to anger. “Are you off your meds?”
“I’d have to take meds to go off them.”
A dog, a reddish Labrador mutt sat on his bed. The dog sat wrapped in a nest of multi-colored paper. His dark eyes examined Jacob for a moment before his head collapsed back onto his front paws, an underwhelmed look in his rich brown eyes.
“Wesley? Why is there a dog in our bathroom?”
“Happy Birthday!” Wesley wore his best I’m-rather-proud-of-myself-for-adulting grin.
“My birthday’s in March.”
“And?”
“Halloween was last week?” The dog looked up at Jacob with hopeful eyes.
“You said you missed having a dog.”
“Damn it Wesley! I say a lot of things, and ‘I miss having a dog is what sticks in your mind?’ I also miss having streaming services, and a door with a lock.”
“We can’t afford those things,” Wesley said, a smile cutting through his voice.
“Dogs are super expensive.” The dog seemed to be surrounded by bits of wrapping paper with cartoon snowmen and Christmas trees. “They’re like rich white people expensive.”
“Aww, he didn’t like the bow.” Wesley bent down and scratched the dog on his head. “Oh no you didn’t. No, you didn’t.”
“We have no money!” Jacob paused, realized he might have another problem, and asked.
“Did, did you put on pants when you went outside?”
“You’re not my supervisor.” Wesley grinned and held out a cupcake with a small candle. “You haven’t even blown out your candle. Also, I didn’t ‘buy’ him. I found him. Isn’t that how you get a dog?”
Giving credit where credit’s due, for Wesley, a dog was thoughtful and insightful. He’d put a respectable bit of thought and effort into this, even spending money on a cupcake and a candle. Buying dog food though was, of course, too much to be asked for.
“Found?” Jacob sighed. “So, he might have rabies and Parvo?”
“I don’t know what those things are, so I’m going to say no.” Wesley handed him the cupcake. “Normal people say ‘Thank you,’ when someone gives them a gift. Also, what’s Parvo?”
“Thank you, for a potentially rabid dog, who might also have worms.” Jacob motioned for Wesley to be quiet as he approached the dog. The dog seemed to regard him with little thought. He wasn’t neutered, so he might be less than six months old, still maybe a puppy.
“So, boy. I’m just going to pet you a little bit.” Jacob made a fist, and held out his hand. The dog sniffed the hand for a moment, a long, pink tongue leapt out of his mouth and licked Jacob’s hand. The tongue felt like wet sandpaper, and was as close as to an acknowledgement of friendship he’d get.
Jacob started scratching the dog’s side with his left hand as his right hand started turning around the collar.
“He doesn’t have any tags,” Wesley said. “No tags means he’s free.”
“Again, I’m not saying you’re wrong,” Jacob paused. “No, screw it, you’re wrong. It’s like you’re intentionally trying to misunderstand the core-concept of pet ownership.”
Jacob felt around the collar, Wesley was right, there weren’t any tags. Something small and tube-like was sewn into the thick material of the collar. The collar was made of canvass and small wooden slots held together with a stretchy string.
“So, can we keep him?”
“Long enough to find his owner,” Jacob said. “We’re going to have to put up posters....”
There was an audible click from the collar. and a small cylinder shot out. Jacob tried to catch it but it landed on the floor and skittered towards Wesley.
Whatever it was, it was wrapped in a thick paper. Wesley unrolled and read it out loud.
“Behold this rodule belongs to Zeke, the Mighty and Dreadful; if found please return to 114C Mystérieux Rue. A reasonable allowance will be made for your trouble. Feel free to keep the dog if you wish. No reward will be given for his return. as he has been proven to be untrustworthy, and unintellectual?”
“Awww, those aren’t nice things to say buddy. I’m sure you’re intellectual, when compared to dogs of similar size. Which, is how you measure a dog’s intelligence? Are bigger ones smarter? I mean they have bigger brains, right?” Wesley looked down at the dog and scratched him behind the ears. “Also, you’re like one hologram away from being R2-D2. I feel like we ought to go downstairs and talk to Old Ben.”
“Ben’s last name is Kennedy, not Kenobi. Also, he’s like 32, just prematurely gray.”
The note was written in wide letters on a thick paper felt like a worn dollar bill. It was signed, “Zeke, the Mighty and Dreadful!” followed by a smiley face. The piece of wood was small, like the size of a golf pencil -- and growing.
“Wesley? It’s getting bigger.”
“I’ve been told I have that effect on men.”
“Not my penis, you dick,” Jacob sighed. “The wooden cylinder-shaped thingy.”
“Ha, I gave you wood, and it’s growing.”
“Shut up.” Jacob watched the cylinder grow; expanding from a tiny, bare cylinder to almost a foot-long wand covered in ornate runes. It grew so hot, hot like the handle of a frying pan left in a stove. Jacob tossed it out of his hand and it bounced to a landing.
“It’s smoking!” Wesley went to stomp the wand with his bare feet. The wooden floors were unsealed and as fire resistant as balsa wood. Everyone living in The Sídhe held a healthy paranoia of a fire breaking out, but didn’t do anything to prevent, or plan for one.
Wesley stopped his heel once, then twice, before shout, “God bless it, it’s hot.” He started to hop up on one foot as he tried to keep his balance holding his right foot with both hands, trying to examine it for any damage.
While he tried to crane his head sideways enough to see if his foot was smoldering, he lost his balance and fell. Wesley’s arm hit an easel, sending a still wet brush down on his face.
Jacob started laughing.
“Dude, that’s not funny.” Wesley held his foot with one hand and wiped his face with the other
“It is from this angle. I mean I’m laughing.”
The dog seemed underwhelmed. He gave a yawn and settled down into in the bathroom.
“Why don’t we have any pot holders?” Jacob looked for something to pick up the rod with.
“Because our stove doesn’t work?”
“Fair point.” Jacob searched through their kitchen and pawed through their one utensil drawer until he dug out a pair of tongs. After a few attempts he clasped the tongs around the wand and let loose a victorious, “Ha ha! Now, what?”
“The toilet?” Wesley asked.
“Sure.” Jacob smelled something melting. His tongs were red hot where they held the wand, and the heat transferred through the aluminum shafts in seconds.
“OUCH!” Jacob’s skin started to burn as he lurched towards the toilet. The heat grew too hot too fast. Instinct demanded Jacob release the burning tongs.
The wand dropped on the aging wooden floor with a ceramic clink before rolling to a stop. One end was now thicker, and had a beveled edge, it rolled on its front point so the tip faced the kitchen.
Jacob looked down at Wesley, strands of his light brown hair started to stand on end. It felt like Jacob stepped into a dryer full of static electricity, pulsing with a hundred, tiny blue lighting strikes moving collapsing inward to the wand until the tip glowed, alive with power
A blue spider’s web of electricity fanned out from the rod, striking the industrial kitchen rack they used for shelving. Sparks cascaded from Wesley’s computer as it leapt into the air and split at its seams. The energy crossed the kitchen and the disappeared into the thirty-year-old stove.
A second or two of silence passed before thick, blue tendrils of energy climbed up the stove and latched onto the cast iron pan they used for almost all their cooking. The spell danced and crackled around the pan with growing intensity.
“That does not look good.” Wesley got back to his feet. “This thing is going critical. What do we do?”
“Nothing?” Jacob said, breathless words escaping his lips.
“Done and done.” Wesley said with a triumphant chirp.
The energy grew. Fat tendrils of power reached across the stove, humming and sending up a small fire as it found a film of grease.
A white light flashed and sizzled. It was like standing inches away from a camera flash in a pitch-black room. Jacob couldn’t see anything. He smelled something burn, and heard Wesley scream like a ten-year-old boy.
“I’ve got this!” Wesley dove into a heap of heavy blankets and dirty clothes. He pulled out a massive, ancient, silver fire extinguisher. How had a giant fire extinguisher been in the loft the whole time? Jacob hadn’t seen anything similar since he was in elementary school.
As Wesley fumbled with the fire extinguisher Jacob saw the pan wasn’t cast iron anymore. It looked like thick Paper Mache, and burning out of control. Jacob reached over to the refrigerator, grabbed the hand towel they kept on the handle and tossed it over the pan. This made the flames burn higher.
“This will not end well,” Jacob said, his voice deadpan, devoid of emotion.
“Pull the pin, aim, squeeze, sweep!” Wesley repeated it over and over like a mantra. “Pull, aim, squeeze, sweep!
Wesley reared up, cocked his head back and pulled the extinguisher’s pin. When he squeezed the trigger, a stream of white powder emerged from the nozzle. He rocked it back and forth a few times, releasing a death-grip like hold on the trigger only after covering the stove in velvety extinguisher powder.
“I’m pretty certain this stuff is full of cancer,” Jacob said. He grabbed the side of the canister and did some quick reading. “God, this is like all carcinogenic.”
A fine white powder hung in the air. Jacob couldn’t breathe. They were both coughing. Jacob’s throat felt dry and raw. They ran into the hall and down the rickety wooden steps, Wesley still dragging the fire extinguisher behind them.
Even on the best days a smog from hipster hookahs, clove cigarettes and skunky, dank marijuana smoke covered the first floor. Ostensibly an “Indoor RV park” it was a logjam of aging trailers and camper vans among a rat’s nest of power cables and water hoses. The guys kept running until they reached the side door and stepped out into the tiny parking lot.
“So, it wasn’t just any wooden cylinder-shaped-thingy was it?” Wesley asked once he hacked up a whitish-tan glob of mucus he spit on the sidewalk. He set the fire extinguisher down next to him.
“Yeah, this is the part where as ‘the rational one’ I’m supposed to say it’s not a magic wand,” Jacob said. “But screw it. We’ve got an honest-to-Jesus a magic wand. Like I don’t know if those are things, but if they are, it just made the laws of physics and matter its plaything.”
“So, you’re saying magic is real?” Wesley said, childlike excitement creeping into his voice.
“Or one, or both of us, -- and this is far more possible -- suffered some sort of psychotic break, and this is all part of some crazy elaborate delusion.” Jacob said, talking as fast as he could think. “Unless… did you slip me some LSD again? Cause it wasn’t funny the first two times. We had that super long and serious discussion about how dosing your friends with illegal drugs isn’t cool.”
“LSD is like super expensive these days. If, if I was going to do anything it would be bath salt. Bath salts are so much more cost effective.”
“I don’t think you’re reassuring me all that much,” Jacob paused. “No, no, you’re being equally disturbing.”
They stood in silence. The sun hadn’t set yet. The humidity crept into their lungs and enticed sweat from their scalps.
“So, magic is real?” Wesley rocked up and down on his heels until he jumped up and down. Excitement exploded from his muscles and swept him away into a hyperactive fit of movement.
Wesley reached out and grabbed Jacob’s hands before he started jumping up and down.
“Dude!” Jubilation combined with long delayed gratification consumed Wesley’s spirit as he started jumping up down. “Jump with me! Magic is real! It’s really, really real!”
As long as he’d known him, Wesley had lost things. His mother, his scholarship, the idea he’d be a professional artist. Even though Jacob didn’t know what had just happened to them he couldn’t bring himself to take this away from Wesley, not now. If this wasn’t real Wesley would have to learn it in his own time.
“Okay,” he started to jump. They were like some barely-in-synch basketball team, bobbing in the air. “Why are we jumping?”
“Because Hogwarts is real!”
“Actually,” Jacob tried to start a sentence.
“Because hobbits, dwarfs and elves are real.”
“We don’t know enough to confirm the existence of elves.”
“Oh my God. Can we find our way to Fillory now?” Wesley ran through a million thoughts a minute. “Or Narnia? Do we you think we should go to Fillory or Narnia? I mean I’d think Fillory would be better because they seem to be okay with gay people there, but Narnia, Narnia is like a classic. Oh my God, I wonder if this means Star Wars is real too? If Star Wars is real I want to fly an X-Wing! I call dibs on an X-Wing! Or, or the A-Wing, they’re faster and have concussion missiles!”
“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves.” With a practiced, steady hand, Jacob brought his friend down to Earth. “Also, those things happened in a galaxy far, far away in a time long, long ago.”
Still, they continued to bounce like some misfiring cylinder.
“So,” Jacob said once they stopped bouncing. “I have to say this is an awesome birthday present.”
Wesley didn’t say anything. He just looked back at the fire extinguisher and grinned.
“Why are you smiling?” Jacob asked before realizing he knew the answer. “You’re going to spray me with what’s left in the fire extinguisher, aren’t you?”
“It would be a shame to waste it,” Wesley brought the nozzle up.
“I must warn you, I won’t go down easy.”
Jacob lunged at Wesley as a stream of extinguisher powder hit him just under the chin.

Catch the full episode: https://www.wealthformula.com/podcast/348-jim-rickards-inflation-interest-rates-and-the-supply-chain/
Buck: Welcome back to the show, everyone. Today my guest on Wealth Formula Podcast is a wealth of Knowledge. He's been on the show before. He's the editor of Strategic Intelligence, which is a financial newsletter to which I subscribe. He's also a New York Times best selling author and economist. You may recall the books The New Great Depression. And then there was The Road to Ruin. The most recent book, though, is Sold Out! How Broken Supply Chains, Surging Inflation and Political Instability Will Sink the Global EconomySold Out: How Broken Supply Chains, Surging Inflation, and Political Instability Will Sink the Global Economy. Jim, welcome. Jim Rickards Welcome to our show again.
Jim: Thank you. Great to be with you.
Buck: So, yeah, you know, the last time I talked to you was actually before COVID and a lot has changed since that time. You know, the big elephant in the room ultimately is, you know, what's going on with inflation. Why is inflation as high as it is? And where is this ultimately going to lead? And I know you have addressed this in the context of supply chains a little bit in your book. You want to do you want to start out with kind of giving us a broad perspective on, you know, why we're at where we're at right now?
Jim: Sure. I'd be glad to. Of course, the book is “Sold Out!”. It's about the supply chain disruption. It was around this time last year, I think, November 2021, when I talked to my editor and we outlined the book. Of course, at that time you go back a year. The headlines were, you know, full of supply chain shortages, bare shelves. The paper goods aisles were cleared out. You know, it wasn't, you know, East Germany in the 1950s. But by American standards, it was pretty severe. We hadn't seen anything like it since. Well, certainly in gasoline, the oil crisis in 1974. Before that, I think you have to go back to World War Two. And when you had ration coupons and you could buy gas every other day or groceries and so forth.
But for two generations of Americans, this is something they had never seen before. And again, like I say, it was sort of like, wow, a year. One day would be the paper goods. Say you go back to the store. They might not have your favorite, you know, tomato sauce or corn chips or so whatever it was. But it was always something and it persists, persisted.
So we organize the book. It has three chapters specifically on the supply chain. So chapter one is mostly anecdotal and tells stories about the supply chain. For example, there's a famous place in New York called Junior's Cheesecake. They make this world-famous cheesecake. Well, they were out because cheesecake is 85% cream cheese and they couldn't get cream cheese, so they couldn't make their cheesecakes. I'm sure that's disappointed some people in terms of dessert. But then there were more serious episodes last April, May. But even continuing today, the baby formula shortage, jeopardized the health of infants and was highly distressing to mothers and continues. So we just kind of chapter one, Chapter two, we take a deep dive with a lot of data to back it up in terms of why the supply chain broke.
It's one thing to go to the store and ask where you are and people got that. I mean, it was kind of in your face. But then I said, well, why? And this is America in the 21st century. Why are we running out of good? So select a basis and we get the answers there. The war in Ukraine was part of it. The pandemic was part of it, but the origin really goes back actually to the Trump administration and the trade war on China. We have the data to back that up so we could show this really the breakdown started around 2018, but then it just kept getting worse. And then chapter three, we take the story forward. We explain why the supply chain there always supply chains, but it's disruptive right now, why it will come back, but it will not be the same.
You can have a very different world, and that's important from an investors perspective because whenever we have a you know, physicists call that a phase transition or mean quite a paradigm shift, whatever you like, you go from one what I call supply chain 1.0 to supply chain 2.0. It'll still be around, but it will be different. But that produces winners and losers. And we identify the countries and the brands and the products that will be helpful in either category. So obviously a pretty simple from an investment point of view, avoid the losers and go for the winners. But I make the point that even in financial distress, you can still make a lot of money if you can see it coming and kind of act accordingly.
But then after that discussion, my others say, Well, Jim, merely the supply chain is causing inflation, so we have to have a chapter on inflation. So of course, we do. Yeah, I thought of that and we absolutely will do that. I said, All right, but I'm also going to write a chapter on deflation because that's what people don't see coming. There's a deflation disinflation right behind the current inflation. Now we talk about that as well. So that's kind of an overview of the book. I start with actually in the introduction before you even get to chapter one, I tell the story about a shipwreck off the coast of Turkey in a place called Lulu, marooned on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey that's been dated to the late Bronze Age, around 1200 B.C. And in that vessel, a sponge diver found by accident, he saw a funny-looking jar, said, It's got ears. All experts knew that the ears were handles, you know, to move the jar. You notify the authorities that it's ten years of underwater excavation, and underwater archeology. And it was the greatest preserved cargo from the Bronze Age ever discovered. And in that they found, for example, Amber, which comes from the Baltic Sea gold, which at the time came from Sudan, and weapons which would have come from present-day Syria and Israel. Phoenicia at the time, Damascus and olive oil and figs and things that for foodstuffs that would have come from Greece or Italy. And there was even a carving of a Queen Aphrodite, who was probably on its way to Alexandria. But the point is this one vessel, there were goods from almost the Arctic Circle to almost the equator from as far east as Persia at the time, present day, Iran as far west as Spain. And that's an area of 5 million square miles all on this one vessel. And they were pick yourself up and dropping things off as it went along. So I make the point the supply chains or at least go back at least to the Bronze Age, if not further. They're always around, but they're taking new a new form. And that's what that's what's coming as what we talk about in the book.
Buck: So I presume your thesis is ultimately, obviously, that supply chains are the major factor for the inflation that we're seeing right now. And if that's the case, what's going on with supply chains now? And does that potentially correct or potentially even overcorrect the problem in the coming months or years?
Jim: Yeah, it's a great question. So first of all, they the inflation's here is evident. And, you know, again, it's in your face. You see it at the gas station, you see it in the meat counter and the dairy and eggs and clothing and a lot of other things. And this really started the inflation started in the middle of 2021. That's back when Jay Powell was saying chairman of the Fed, Japan Reserve was saying it's transitory. Transitory. Well, by November 2021, he gave up. He was actually testifying before Congress. He said it's time to retire. The word transitory. So even Jay Powell recognized the persistence of inflation. Then it only got worse from there. And the readings throughout most of 2022 were the highest in 40 years.
You'd have to go back to 1982, even 1981, to find higher inflation. So that's real, is persistent. And and again, people know it. They don't they don't need to be told that they see it every day. But here's the here's the problem. Inflation can come from two sources, broadly speaking. One is the supply side. It's called cost push inflation.
The cost of supply goes up and it gets pushed down to consumers. That's what we're experienced. That's what's going on now. Energy shortages, transportation logjams, again, shortage of goods. So people obviously pay more for what they can get. So the inflation we're seeing now is from the supply side. Now, inflation can also come from the demand side from consumers, and that's mainly psychological. It involves the consumer saying, you know, gee, I was thinking of getting a new, you know, washing machine or couch or suit of clothes or whatever. What's the hurry? But if you think prices are going up, you might run out and get it today, like, hey, I'm going to get it now because I'm worried the price is going to go up. And that's called demand pull inflation. You're pulling the demand forward by anticipating higher prices and you want to get something today. So two different kinds of inflation, but very different dynamics. Now, in the 1970s, we had an interesting sequence from one to the other. It started out from the supply side. There was the Arab oil embargo after the Arab-Israeli war in 12 and I started in 1973.
The Arab oil embargo was just seen in 1974, oil prices quadrupled. They went from $3 a barrel to $12 a barrel. Doesn't sound like a lot by today's standards, but a lot of the time and when you multiply anything by four, that's a shock. So and that caused the initial bout of inflation. And if you remember, Jerry Ford was president and our Greenspan was the Council of Economic Advisors, and they were tallying these buttons that said win win, it's super whip inflation.
Now we run this big anti-inflation campaign. The problem was that the high oil prices threw us into a recession, a bad one. The stock market crash in 1974 got hit with the recession. Unemployment went up, the inflation kind of disappeared briefly. But then it came back because the oil prices continued to go higher. Nixon had gone off gold and then we had two really incompetent chairs of the Federal Reserve, Arthur Burns and Chu William Miller. They put the pedal to the metal in terms of money supply and then the inflation psychology did tip over into the demand side. From the supply side to the demand side. I remember very well I started my career at the time I was working at a I was international tax counsel, Citibank in the late seventies. They would just give you a raise. She didn't even have to have said, We just give you a raise. Here's another 20,000, which was a lot of money at the time. But the point is, they were, where are you going to quit and take another job or whatever that went out of control. And then famously, Paul Volcker comes in and takes interest rates to 20%, destroy the inflation.
So there you had both our supply side morphed into the demand side and Volcker snuffed it out with high interest rates. Now, here we are today. The inflation has come from the supply side. That's real enough, but it has not taken off on the demand side. The investor psychology has not changed. People are very fearful. They're nervous, a lot of uncertainty. They're not spending money. They're spending some actually both, but not spending as much. Their credit cards are maxed out. We're probably heading into recessions kind of starting right now. And the point is that houses that demand what's called demand pull inflation has not taken over. Now, here's the problem. Jay Powell, chairman of the Fed, is determined to eliminate inflation.
He wants to get rid of the supply side, inflation. I just described. But the Fed can't do anything about the supply side. They don't jump off oil. They don't drive trucks. They don't have farms, they don't wash crops. They don't do anything that you need to deal with supply shortages and supply chain disruptions. The only thing they can do is raise interest rates so high that you can destroy demand and then, yeah, that'll play out on the supply side because as I say, you know, maybe the price of filling up your Ford F-150 truck has doubled from $75 to $150. That's inflation. But if your business fails and you get fired, you're sitting home and you don't buy any gas. That's a that's a different kind of outcome. That's that will bring prices down a lot. But so here's the question. How much how much demand destruction do you have to do to squash inflation? From the supply side, the view on the demand side is different, but to squash on the supply side, using demand destruction, you have to destroy the economy.
You have to basically crush demand, raising interest rates very high, and then they'll feed back to the supply side eventually. You know, the old saying the cure for high oil prices is high oil prices when they're high enough, long enough, the costs get too high and people and businesses fail. So that's the path the Fed is on right now.
Buck: You're talking about the supply side. You know, obviously with the supply chain issues that we dealt with during COVID and thereafter, that was a big part of it. In addition to everything that you said, is there is it your sense that the supply side itself could naturally increase just because things are back, are getting back to normal and that supply chains are less, you know, volatile now? And that in itself could potentially, you know, help with the inflationary pressures.
Jim: Short answer is no. Now, I think it's important to make the point, as I said before, this is Whac-A-Mole. It's not every shelf is bare all the time, but it is popping up in different places. But the really good question, Buck. And I'm hearing this a little bit later saying, well, Jim, you know, it's great that you have a book on supply chain, but, you know, that was last year story. This is pricing in crisis is over. Kind of interesting that, you know, it's over and stuff is starting to come through. That is not true. Some things, yeah, it has improved a little bit. Container prices are down. Shipping lanes are less jammed than they were this time last year. So capacity is back. It's actually cheaper. You can get it.
So there are certain aspects of the supply chain that you can point to that have that are much improved. But the problem is, well, the problem the supply chain disruption has just moved to different part of the process. Let me give you a concrete example. Literally this week, this is brand new, just to illustrate my point. So right now, go down to your Walgreens, your CBS, your Rite Aid, or wherever your local pharmacy is, you can't get or else the shelves will be greatly depleted, but you can't get Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Motrin is a over-the counter medicine called Tamiflu. I was a kid. We called a cough medicine that basically relieves some flu like symptoms. Okay, You can't get those. Why is that? Well, the answer is no. I'll just digress a little bit. But, you know, China has had this zero-covid policy, which makes no sense. I mean, the the lockdowns, the mass, all that, none of that stuff works. The vaccines don't work. They don't even have a very good vaccine. And our vaccines don't work either. So what's the point? But they have been doing that. They've been locking down Shanghai, a city of 26 million people, a locked down Beijing, a city of 22 million people. And they've been doing this for several years. Well, finally got to the breaking point. November 24th, end of November, there were riots or demonstrations. People went out. They tore down the COVID testing centers, in their words, are basically tents. Every three blocks. They tore those down, broke down barricades, you know, riots in the streets. They had to put it down with, you know, tear gas and water cannons and worse. A lot of people got arrested.
But this was a this is kind of an existential threat to the leadership of the Communist Party of China. This reminded them of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations. They weren't riots. They were demonstrations in 1989, which were ended with a massacre of they don't even know how many people, but several thousand people were killed when they put that demonstration down. So all of a sudden, the leadership in China does a 180. They're like, Yeah, you know what? We had such success and this is all lies, but this is what they say. We've had such success with zero. Copy that. We're now in a position to ease up. So now if you test positive, they're like, Hey, just stay home. We're not going to, you know, well a steel I-beam to your door to lock you and make you a prisoner. We're not going to lock down whole cities. We're not going to require you to be tested every two days. We're just going to do a real ease up on the zero colored policy that has implications in terms of where the virus goes from here.
But I can tell you just briefly, the math is pretty simple. The 1.4 billion people in China, if you if you let the virus up, you and zero COVID, you just let this thing rip, you're going to get at least a 30% infection rate that's based on data from the U.S. and Europe could be higher. But let's just say 30% to be conservative, 30% at 1.4 billion people is 420 million people. The fatality rate is about a quarter of 1%. So good news is 99.75% survival rate. But a quarter of 1% will die, maybe more. But at least that may well, one quarter of 1% of 420 million is over a million people. If you let this virus ship, you're going to have a million people dead and tens of millions more in the hospital. The problem is China doesn't have the intensive care units, the oxygen, the hospital beds and all the and the clinical facilities that we have in the United States are as were stressed or China is going to be super stressed because they don't have them. Now, the Chinese people are smart enough to know this. They can see this coming.
So guess what they're doing? They're running down to the drugstores and they're buying all the ibuprofen and the Tamiflu and the Advil they can get because they know they're going to have to self-medicate when this virus gets out of control because they don't have the medical facilities to deal with it. Well, guess what? We get 90% of our stuff from China. All those brands I just described, maybe the brands are different, but the medicine is the same. We get that from China. The Chinese are stripping the shelves bare and hoarding it. Therefore, there's not enough to ship to the United States. Therefore, our shelves are now bare. So somebody says, well, how can a public policy decision in Beijing, a fact whether I can get ibuprofen for my kid and, you know, Portland, Oregon?
The answer is it does. And it works exactly the way I just described. So, yeah, some alleviation of some parts of the supply chain. Yes. The new problems emerging all the time. And that's what happens with a complex, dynamic system. Say there's basically a domino effect and the impact goes from one area to the other. So the supply chain situation is still a mess will remain. So new problems are solved, all problems in solve the new problems are emerging all the time. So the book is more timely than ever and this is going to persist.
Buck: Talk about that transition then, like the forces behind the transition to, you know, the inflation that we have, what the Fed is doing about it, and also, you know, this transition into I see not necessarily deflationary, but, you know, rapidly decreasing inflation. Like how does that happen? If you could talk about the pressures that will ultimately create that scenario.
Jim: Sure. Let's go back to Jay Powell and the Fed being on a path to crush inflation. So they're running the Volcker playbook right now. Now, Jay Powell has given four speeches in recent last few months, August 26th, to Jackson Hole, September 21st, that following the FOMC meeting in Washington Federal Open Market Committee on November 2nd, another FOMC meeting in Washington and November 30th at the Brookings Institution. And he's got another one coming up December 14th, another FOMC meeting, sadly, five speeches altogether. He said the same thing every time. He said inflation is job one. We're going to crush it. We're not going to stop until we do, and unfortunately, we're going to be in a recession. He does not use the R word. He can't. But you don't need a decoder ring to understand.
He's saying there's going to be a recession and unemployment is going to go way up. And it's too bad about the employment recession. But that's the price of getting inflation under control. And if we don't, inflation gets worse, the price is going to be even higher. So whatever pain you feel right now, sorry about that, but we're trying to prevent something worse. We've got to get inflation in a box, and that's what he's doing now. They going back to March 20, 22 and March 1st, 2022, interest rates are zero. The Fed policy rate was zero. Yeah, right now they're four and a quarter is going to be 50 basis point hike on December 14th. That's going to get it to four and three quarters.
In the next meeting we have the 2023 calendar or some secrets on the Fed website. The next meeting is February 1st. The one after that is March 22nd. I expect Jay Powell to raise rates another 50 basis by 75 to 50 on February 1st and perhaps 25 basis points on March 22nd. So we have three more rate hikes coming December 14th, February 1st, March 22nd. That's going to take the Fed funds policy rate, Fed funds target rate to five and a half. So from zero March 1st, 20, 22 to 5 and a half by March 2023, that's Volcker country. I mean, that's Volcker was doing higher levels, but five and a half percent in one year. That's that's crazy. There's rarely been anything like it.
Buck: Along that lines. Are you surprised, Jim, that we haven't you know, the employment numbers are actually surprisingly good still. Look, it just seems like the nine months and 5% you would expect there would be, you know, some effect on the labor markets. Now, are you surprised about that?
Jim: I know for a couple of reasons. Number one, labor conditions are a lagging indicator. They're not a leading indicator. So when you're an employer or a small business, you're running a restaurant or dry cleaner or, you know, whatever, the last thing you want to do is lay off workers. You will if you have to. But that's the last thing you do. You cut expenses. You you know, you don't get bonuses. You argue with your vendors, with their risks. And then when you're desperate and the recession has kicked in and your business really is hanging by a thread, that's when you lay off workers. So, number one, it's a lagging indicator. And number two is completely misleading. And this is why the Fed always gets it wrong.
I'll explain in a minute why they're getting it wrong again. But they use these this Phillips curve, which is says there's an inverse relationship. So between unemployment and inflation, so low unemployment can mean higher inflation, high unemployment can mean lower inflation. So this inverse relationship and you're right that the unemployment rate is 3.7%, which is low historically, you have to go back to the 1960s to find an employment base like that. So the Fed says, well, that must mean inflation is still strong. So we have to keep raising rates. First of all, the Phillips curve is junk science is worse than climate change science, which is complete junk. The last time I looked at the Phillips curve, you know, you plotted out just a bunch of numbers. It was flat like where I went to school, workers were flat, they were curved.
But that was it doesn't work at all. And then seeing ingredient, if you will, is the and you see this in the labor force participation rate. So the way it is to be unemployed, to be counted as unemployed, of course you don't have a job, but you have to be looking for a job. You have to show up at the unemployment office or go online or you go to a job interview, make some effort to find a job, and then you're counted as unemployed. If you're just sitting home eating Doritos, watching the, you know, World Cup or whatever, and you're not looking for a job, they don't count you as unemployed. You are unemployed, but they don't count you. Now, how big is that cohort? The answer is 8 to 10 million people who are not who are in the labor force, but they're not counted as unemployed because they're not looking.
If you put those people in the unemployment calculation, the rate would be like more like eight or 9%, and that is recession level rates of unemployment. So some of it's legitimate. Some of those people are homemakers, some are early retirees, some are students. They're perfectly good reasons not to be looking for a job, but not 10 million people. That's a huge number. So so two things are wrong. Number one, unemployment is a lagging indicator, starting to go up now. It will go up a lot worse, but that's probably because the recession is already here. And number two, it doesn't count upwards of 10 million Americans who just aren't looking for jobs. But you do see that in the labor force participation rate, which has been coming down, meaning a smaller percentage of the total labor force is either working or looking for a job.
So that unemployment rate is a very misleading number. I'm not saying they cook the books. I mean, I'm sure they calculate it correctly. I'm just saying doesn't mean what the Fed thinks it means. And they're missing the black hole in the whole thing, which is this large group who are just not looking for work. And then I expect unemployment to go up from here.
Buck: So you see, obviously, this can't persist and will probably end up in a fairly deep recession based on what's going on now, correct?
Jim: Yes, mainly because of the Fed's blindspot, which we just talked about. So so what is what is Jay Powell looking for? Where is he going to when is he going to stop raising rates? Well, he doesn't know. I think five and a quarter, five and a half percent is a good estimate. But he's he's sort of like I have looking for the white whale. And like in Moby Dick, he's looking for what they call the terminal rate. So what's the terminal rate? No one knows what I don't know about us. No, he's like pirates two or, you know, and he sees it. But the definition of the terminal rate, it's a Fed funds target rate that's high enough to bring inflation down on its own without further rate hikes.
So we've taken it to the point where inflation we don't have to do anything. We just have to pause and wait and inflation will come down on its own because we reach the terminal rate. And that does not mean that interest rates have to be higher than inflation. They don't. They just have to be high enough to make inflation come down on its own. And that's what Powell is looking for right now. He thinks it's five and a quarter or five and a half, and he'll get there in March. What if and I think this is the case by the way, and Wall Street's kind of saying the same thing, although I diverge from them on other matters. What if they're already at the determined rate?
What if they're there and inflation is coming down? And by the way, in the last couple of months, inflation has come down. It's still too high. I'm not wishing it away and it needs to come down more. But the fact is, starting to come down on its own suggests that they're at a terminal rate. They just don't know it. So if they keep going, this is like, you know, wild card running off the cliff and not realizing is off the cliff. It always is three more times, which I expect. But they're already at the turnover rate. That means they're going to go way too high, strangle the money, have monetary tightening that's way too strong and throw the economy into a severe recession, which is what I see coming.
Now, here's where now Wall Street's saying something similar, but not exactly the same. Wall Street's kind of saying, hey, you know, inflation is coming down, growth is slowing. Maybe you are at the terminal rate and that's a good thing because you'll hold off on that March increase, maybe not even to the February increase. You'll cut rates by March. This is the famous pivot, you know, pivot to rate cuts that at these monetary conditions will have a soft landing, Goldilocks ending and so by stocks, I mean, well, Wall Street always ends up everything just by saying buy stocks, you know. But so so they've got, you know, the power is at the rate as a terminal rate. Inflation is coming down those up so I'm Goldilocks buy stocks here's where I diverge I think I would agree with Wall Street that we probably are at the terminal rate that's probably true.
Inflation is coming down. That's in the data. You want to debate it. You can see it coming down, but the path is going to keep raising rates. He's not going to get the memo and this is going to throw us into a severe recession. It's not going to be a soft landing. It's going to be a crash landing and Goldilocks is going to get hit by the bears. So that's a very different outcome that Wall Street expects. They both start from the same place, which is said the Fed's already there. Rates are higher, not they shouldn't go higher, but Wall Street says he'll get he'll get the message is off. Yeah, I'll live happily ever after. My view is he will not get the message. He'll keep tightening.
The Fed may pivot by June or July. They may lower rates by June and July. I don't think that's a stretch, but not for good reasons. So do it because we're in a severe recession, severe contraction, unemployment soaring, stocks are down 30%. And the Fed's like, oh, gee, it looks like we made a mistake better cut rates. So they will cut them, but they don't see that now. And it will be for all the wrong reasons, which is we'll be in a severe recession.
Buck: What is your timeline for all this? Because you mentioned Putin easily the Fed could be in a position by June. So we're only talking about six, seven months here. Do you think that as you as you've kind of alluded to, we're in a recession now and then those numbers come back and that in itself maybe slows the Fed down with rates and then, you know, they've had this nine months of raising rates without waiting to see if it actually does anything. And then during this big recession and that's when they reverse the rates and they actually start coming down. And you think that's all in six, seven months?
Jim: Yes, but the damage will be done. And they say that the Fed will pivot in June is not an encouraging sign, because what it means is that they held on too long rates and too high. We're in a severe recession. Okay. You got a recession. They're going to cut rates. That's obvious, but it'll be too late. They will have already caused the severe recession. So that's where I don't see that as as a so-called soft landing. And there's a reason for that. You got to get and Jay Powell said a little bit here, why won't Jay Powell see it? Why won't Jay Powell pivot the way Wall Street wants him to? Why will he persist in driving off the cliff?
This goes back to 1980, something called the Volcker mistake. And recall Paul Volcker became Fed chair in 1979. Inflation was already out of control. He started raising rates immediately and raised them pretty significantly in 1980 and was on the path that we're talking about. The one Jay goes on now. But 99 or 1980, we had a severe recession. It seemed to come out of nowhere. It had nothing to do with Volcker or the Fed or monetary policy. It was a regulatory screw up by the Carter administration. They put a cap on credit card interest rates, and the banks said, okay, well, we'll get out of the credit card business if we can't make any money. And that caused a severe credit contraction. And then the economy plunged. Now it got so bad that farmers across America, they were driving tractors and front loaders and they surrounded when they started driving tractors up the steps of the Federal Reserve, Congress was up in arms. People wanted to burn Paul Volcker in effigy. And Volcker blinked because the recession came out of nowhere. It was banned.
The protest was so bad, Volcker interest rates seven percentage points, not 770 basis points, seven percentage points from a pretty high level, because this recession that was a huge blunder for a couple of reasons. Number one, the recession was over very quickly. It never did have anything to do with monetary policy. But the job at the fight against inflation was not over. And when Volcker cut rates, inflation took off again and went even higher. And that's when And in 1981, he had to raise interest rates to 20% and he caused a second recession. The second or two years that was the worst recession since the Great Depression. So Volcker looked back on that and said that I blinked. I never should have done that. I should have kept raising rates, recession or no recession. Just keep going until the job's done. Now, that's economic history. But Powell knows that Powell does not want to be that guy. He does not want to be the guy who blinks. The guy who books cuts rates too early, then inflation takes off and he's got to raise them even higher.
And he's repeating the Volcker mistake. So and the difference is that in Volcker's case, going back to what we said earlier, the inflation was coming from the demand side. Today, the inflation is coming from the supply side. You really can't question if you raise rates high enough. We see it already with mortgage rates and monthly payments going up and housing prices start to go down immediately. So but Powell doesn't want to repeat the Volcker mistake. He's going to persist, you know, until inflation starts to come down a lot more. But when it does, it'll be it'll be it'll have a life of its own. It will be because we're in a recession. The damage will be done. And at that point, even a pivot, meaning a rate cut in June 2023, which is entirely possible, will be too little, too late. It will already be in recession.
Buck: Fascinating stuff, Jim. I know you. I know you are off to London here for the book launch. The book is out here. It's called Sold Out How Broken Supply Chains, Surging Inflation and Political Instability will Sink the Global Economy. If you have not read a Jim Rickards book, I highly encourage it. He's a great speaker, obviously, but a tremendous writer as well. By the way, Jim, I have to say thank you. Thank you so much, Jim, for being on the show and good luck to you.
Jim: Thank you.
Buck: We'll be right back.

As a single blue-collar worker dealing with inflation, I feel that I have been left behind with the current policies that the NDP are pushing.
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Energy
Introduce smart grid technology, to bolster Canada’s energy security and distribute clean power across the country.
Set a target of net carbon-free electricity by 2030, and move to 100% non-emitting electricity by 2040.
Environment
Set a target of reducing our emissions by at least 50% from 2005 levels by 2030. To help us reach that goal the NDP would eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, put in place carbon budgets and change the mandate of the Bank of Canada to focus on contributing to net zero.
Improve the National Building Code to ensure that by 2025 every new building built in Canada is net-zero.
Retrofit all buildings in Canada by 2050
Enshrine in law an Environmental Bill of Rights and protect 30% of our land, freshwater and oceans by 2030
Create and fund a Climate Accountability Office, to provide independent oversight of federal climate progress.
Establish a new Canadian Climate Bank that will help boost investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low carbon technology across the country.
Immediately ban single-use plastics.
Hold companies responsible for the entire lifecycle of their plastic products and packaging, help municipalities improve their waste management and recycling systems, and support improved standards for what products can be labelled as recyclable.
Ban the export of plastic waste and help reduce electronic waste by removing unnecessary restrictions preventing people from repairing their devices.
Force big oil companies to pay to clean up inactive wells.
Create an Office of Environmental Justice to address the disproportionate impacts of pollution and loss of biodiversity on low-income, racialized and other marginalized communities.
Infrastructure
Support transit by permanently doubling the Canada Community-Building Fund and the NDP will develop a public inter-city bus program
Require the use of Canadian-made steel, aluminum, cement and wood products for infrastructure projects
Make sure that every Canadian has access to affordable, reliable high-speed broadband within four years
Electrify transit and other municipal fleets by 2030.
Support creating high-frequency rail along the Quebec-Windsor corridor, expand rail service options in other regions, and work to restore the Ontario Northlander to support the crucial transportation link for communities and businesses alike in Northern Ontario.
Make it easier to get and use a zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV). As Canada moves towards 100% of all new car sales being zero-emissions by 2035, the NDP will make sure that more of these vehicles are built here in Canada.
Waive the federal sales tax on ZEV purchases, and grow these incentives up to $15,000 per family for made-in-Canada vehicles.
Create a centre of excellence for research and development of ZEVs to move forward related technologies such as hydrogen, batteries, and energy storage solutions.
Indigenous Peoples
Support Indigenous food sovereignty, working in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to expand access to healthy food
Fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action.
Establish a National Council for Reconciliation to provide oversight and accountability for this process, reporting regularly to Parliament and Canadians.
Replace mere consultation with a standard of free, prior and informed consent for Indigenous communities affected by government policies – including for all decisions affecting constitutionally protected land rights, like energy project reviews.
Respect Inuit self-determination by co-developing the federal government’s Arctic Policy Framework through shared governance within the InuitCrown Partnership Committee
Fully implement Jordan’s Principle, working with the provinces and territories to end the delays and ensure equitable access to health services and educational supports for Indigenous children from coast to coast to coast.
Work with the provinces to establish Indigenous history education programs for all Canadians, based on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 62 and 63.
Create a Northern Infrastructure Fund to fast-track investment and focus on improving much-needed infrastructure like roads and broadband internet for communities in the north.
Housing
Create at least 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next ten years
In order to kick-start the construction of coops, social and non-profit housing and break the logjam that has prevented these groups from accessing housing funding, the NDP will set up dedicated fast-start funds to streamline the application process.
Spur the construction of affordable homes by waiving the federal portion of the GST/HST on the construction of new affordable rental units.
Re-introduce 30-year terms to CMHC insured mortgages on entry-level homes for first time home buyers.
Double the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit to $1,500.
Put in place a 20% Foreign Buyer’s tax on the sale of homes to individuals who aren’t Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Taxes
Introduce a temporary COVID-19 excess profit tax that puts an additional 15% tax on large corporate windfall profits during the pandemic.
For the highest income individuals in Canada (those making over $210,000), the NDP will increase the top marginal tax rate by two points to 35 percent.
Increase the capital gains inclusion rate to 75 percent.
Boost the top marginal tax rate two points, put in place a luxury goods tax on things like yachts and private jets, and ask the very richest multi-millionaires to pay a bit more towards our shared services with a wealth tax.
Roll back the Conservatives’ corporate income tax cuts by three percentage points to 2010 levels.
Take measures to close loopholes that include eliminating bearer shares, compelling companies to prove the economic reason for their offshore transactions, and improving transparency on the taxes paid by large corporations.
Jobs and Skills Training
Make sure that small businesses wage and rent subsidies continue until small businesses are able to fully reopen.
Create a new Workers Development and Opportunities Fund to expand training options beyond people who qualify for Employment Insurance (EI).
Put in place a living federal minimum wage starting at $15 an hour and rising to $20 an hour, indexed to the cost of living.
Ban unpaid internships outside of education programs.
Health Care
Create a national pharmacare program that provides universal, public, comprehensive coverage to everyone in Canada.
Tackle wait times and improve access to primary care across the country
Establish a crown corporation charged with domestic vaccine production so that Canadians are never again at the back of the line.
Develop a roadmap to incorporate universal dental care into Canada’s public health care system.
Ensure Canadians living with a disability have a guaranteed livable income.
Bring in mental health care for uninsured Canadians.
End the criminalization and stigma of drug addiction.
Support overdose prevention sites and expand access to treatment on demand.
Research and Innovation
Convene an auto summit with provincial, municipal, industry and labour leaders to develop a consensus on a National Automotive Strategy to attract and retain jobs and investment.
Diversity and Inclusion
Tackle femicide and the NDP will deliver a National Action Plan to end gender-based violence.
Prioritize pay equity
Address violence against Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQI2S+ people by working with Indigenous peoples to implement all the Calls for Justice of the National Inquiry.
Tackle obstacles to women’s political participation by reforming the electoral system and introducing legislation to encourage political parties to run more women candidates.
Immediately legislate a ban on conversion therapy in Canada.
Establish a clear and permanent path for resettlement of LGBTQI2S+ refugees in Canada.
Take on white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups with a national action plan to dismantle far-right extremist organizations.
Prioritize the collection of race-based data on health, employment, policing and more with the goal of improving outcomes for racialized communities.
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This is the 2021 platform. I still voted NDP, but I don't see why I would now.
Considering the emphasis on families now, which I do not have, and the targeting of major resource extraction with no plan (we should be working with allied countries and spreading the footprint among us instead of supporting rival countries to keep within our green targets for individual countries, HELLO IT IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM THAT NEEDS GLOBAL COOPERATION). Not to mention the large amount of rural communities that thrive off of these resource extractions that is needed to keep the Canadian economy afloat.
Taxes are clearly not working to combat environmental issues.
The housing situation I support considering Canada's aggressive immigration targets. I'm completely for this with an actual plan that can be put in motion, our current targets under the liberals are unsustainable without a solid housing plan, which needs to be in part funded by public dollars. This will help with below point.
Minimum wage increase is tone deaf. We need that focus to be more into job and skill training for PR and citizens. The immigration targets should cover shortfalls and thus increasing it alongside advanced training opportunities for those that attain PR and/or citizenship. This should promote growth and help all, without increasing inflation via Minimum wage increase. One of the largest expenses I see for low income families is housing!
Immediately banning single use plastic is short-sighted. Offer tax breaks to smaller companies that rely on it, and banning the export is also foolish until we have a stable alternative. Dumping these fast pace changes onto the consumer (which is what is happening now as there are no protections from companies just dumping the cost on us) just puts undue stress on the working class. Build a clear path with experts from industry and environmental protection groups to come up with a stable plan to actual achieve these goals.
The short sighted and reckless energy goals are just unforgivable. This is a large, cold, and majorly barren country, these goals, even more so for us, take time to accomplish. While in major metropolitan areas this is realistic, for the millions of Canadians not in Montreal, GTA or GVA, we just aren't ready yet. We need to support our allies in making changes by perhaps us ramping up our production, and use their reduction for counter of increases. With green being a focus for us, we can use our advantage with resources to practice greener than our potential rivals on the world stage(Looking at you Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran) We are a resource rich country, we can help by providing our allies with safe, clean, and unbloodyied energy and resources for the betterment of the world. We should be looking to expand, not restrict, as well as integration of our green goals with our immediate allies. We can then turn around and use these profits to initiate long term green practices and build infrastructure and a fund to eventually ween ourselves off of our own practices and sacrifices, along with the above mentioned training and schooling should have our economy ready for such hits as we join the rest of our allies in a greener future.
With the attacked on the natural resource extraction in BC, I feel that the government is blind in regards to those that are just extracting and those that extract and add a green technology to offset the damage. For example, I work for a company that extract resources and has a secondary company that uses these resources to advance green technology(Alternative to concrete). Thus in the long run helping our green initiative, and lowering of the carbon footprint in the long term. The government doesn't recognize this and blankets bans without further consultation or clear plans. Thus affecting blue-collar workers and the environmental protection initiative that is being pushed.
We have had some scary talks in regards to our jobs.
We need think-tanks, targeted tax increases on companies refusing to changes, and tax breaks for those that will, and policing to ensure what is claimed is true.
TLDR:
I expect to be downvoted, I just think the NDP has no real chance in a GE while propping up the Liberals, and ignoring realistic goals that I think if presented, would give us a real chance to get elected.
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Looking for discussion and dialogue

The star shortstop is hitting free agency. Payroll is supposedly going up. After being fully harvested - and producing some yields beyond anyone's imagination - the farm is beginning the long process of growing again.
While it won't be quite as compressed as the frenzy of last year's post-lockout binge, the 2022-23 offseason will present some massive decisions - and opportunities - for the Braves. I'm writing this preview partly to procrastinate, but partly to help fans - especially newbies and casuals - understand what the next four months before spring training will look like.
This is incredibly long, so while I see the 'I ain't reading all that' comments already, it's not meant for a single read so much as it is a piece you can flip through as you're thinking about various parts of the team.

The Farm System

While we usually think about the offseason as a time for free agent signings, some of the biggest trades of the last few years (Lindor to the Mets, Mookie to the Dodgers, and, of course, Jay Jackson to the Braves) have been offseason moves. So the Braves' trade ammo in the farm system is worth a look.
The upper levels are somewhat interesting. On the pitching side, there's actually a logjam of potential backend starters, between Kyle Muller, Bryce Elder, Freddy Tarnok, Dylan Dodd, Darius Vines and Jared Shuster. Muller and Tarnok have the most upside of this crew, and probably the strongest potential as relievers if starting doesn't work out. Elder, Vines and Shuster all have fastballs that get hammered hard if they can't locate, which limits the upside that comes from their excellent secondary stuff. Dodd also isn't much of a flamethrower but has moved up the system pretty quickly. This is probably the part of the farm the Braves should trade from; with four rotation spots tentatively filled (Fried, Strider, Wright, Morton), these six guys will compete with Soroka and Anderson for one spot in the rotation. That's overkill, and since some of these guys like Muller are already losing value, I'd see if there's a way to package a few of them to get a platoon LF bat, get someone to eat money from Ozuna's contract, or just get some younger lottery-ticket prospects.
The only legitimate upper-level prospect on the hitting side is Justyn-Henry Malloy. Malloy is in the process of learning LF after converting from 3B earlier the season, and he jumped from High-A all the way up to AAA by the end of his first full professional season. The real appeal here is the bat. Malloy has shown power even in some very pitcher-friendly environments, and he's run incredibly high walk rates all the way through. Keith Law highlighted him as one of the top prospects in the Arizona Fall League, and if you're looking to bet on a Braves prospect to have a Harris/Grissom/Strider type impact midseason next year, he'd be the guy.
The lower levels are where the bulk of the talent in this system is. After being shut out from the IFA market because of sanctions, the Braves have signed a couple of well-regarded international hitters in Diego Benitez and Ambioris Tavarez, and the 2022 draft saw the Braves splurge on prep pitchers (Owen Murphy, JR Ritchie, Cole Phillips) after shying away from that demographic early in drafts in past years.
Overall, there are certainly interesting pieces in this system, but unlike last year, when tons of Braves prospect-watchers were convinced that Strider and Harris were being underrated by national scouts, Malloy is the only guy this year who might be a Top 100 snub. It's going to take a while for the talent in this farm to yield results, and that'll probably hamper a trade attempt for a star (which is why you won't see Willy Adames listed as a SS option below).

The Major Leaguers

For each position, I've listed the players who are under contract (or arb-eligible) for 2023. Then, I point out some potential free agent targets.
Starting Pitcher
Under contract: Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright, Charlie Morton, Ian Anderson, Mike Soroka, Bryce Elder, Kyle Muller, Jake Odorizzi (if player option exercised)
It feels safe to pencil in Fried, Strider, Wright and Morton assuming health. The Braves are betting on Morton looking at least closer to his 2021 form than his 2022 form. It's certainly not a surefire bet, but on a one-year deal, and with how the free agent market looks (more below), I get it. Beyond them is the logjam I mention above; Soroka struggled in AAA and I wouldn't count on him in the Opening Day rotation, but between him, Anderson, Elder, Muller and potentially Odorizzi, the odds of someone being a viable fifth starter seem high.
Potential targets: Jacob deGrom, Carlos Rodón, Justin Verlander, Andrew Heaney, Ross Stripling
deGrom, Rodón and Verlander are all extremely high-end options. The Braves-iest choice would be to give Verlander a super-high-AAV one-year deal. It's risky counting on a 40-year-old power pitcher to hold up, but I think it's likelier than AA giving either of the first two guys the long-term mega-deals they'll inevitably want.
Heaney and Stripling are options on the cheaper side. Heaney had a renaissance in LA this year, but I'd be very leery of letting Snit manage him; LA pulled him before he completed 5 innings in 10 out of his 16 appearances, and I think we all know Snit would rather pull a guy a batter too late than a batter too early. Stripling had a great year as a hybrid startereliever after very rough 2020 and 2021 campaigns, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone's willing to give him a much richer deal than I'd like to stomach.
Verdict: Do nothing. I think the Morton deal is the only veteran starter the Braves make a move for.
Reliever
Under contract: Tyler Matzek (out for season), Dylan Lee, AJ Minter, Collin McHugh, Raisel Iglesias, Jackson Stephens, Silvino Bracho, Kirby Yates
Four Braves relievers hit free agency: Luke Jackson, Jesse Chavez, Darren O'Day, and Kenley Jansen. I could also see the Braves non-tendering Bracho, who seems like an generic last-spot-in-the-bullpen type. All the pieces are here for a quality backend in 2023; in a perfect world, Snit wouldn't appoint a closer and would just play matchups with Iglesias, McHugh, Minter and Lee in high leverage. But I fully expect that Iglesias will be closing. Especially with Matzek out, this group needs a few bodies, but the idea that the Braves need to sign some big-name reliever for them to be an excellent bullpen is off base.
Potential targets: Luke Jackson, Jesse Chavez, Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, Craig Kimbrel, Adam Ottavino, Matt Moore
A bunch of these are just reunion options; I think there's a very good chance the Braves bring back Chavez and Jackson. I could see them bringing back Jansen (though there are fair questions about how he'll be affected by the pitch clock) at a significantly lower price than the $16M he collected last year. Martin and Kimbrel were Dodgers this year and performed very well and somewhat poorly, respectively. I'd be cool with either on a one-year deal. Ottavino is another high-strikeout righty reliever. Matt Moore had something of a renaissance year this year coming out of the pen; after flaming out as a starter the last few years, his fastball velocity was as high as it's been since 2012 and he got good results. If the Braves want a lefty version of McHugh (versatile, potential multi-inning reliever who can spot start in a pinch), Moore might be the guy.
Verdict: Sign one high-leverage relief type (think one of Jansen, Martin, Ottavino) and fill the other spots with cheap adds like Chavez or minor league relievers.
Designated Hitter
Under contract: Marcell Ozuna, William Contreras
All of the Ozuna salary-dump ideas are stupid. The Braves should not trade him for an even worse contract (like Bumgarner's). At this point, I think you grit your teeth and deal with the fact that you've got him for two more years. He's actually a sneaky good platoon partner with Contreras at DH; he did some really quality stuff against RHP.
Potential targets: N/A
Verdict: Do nothing.
Catcher
Under contract: Travis d'Arnaud, William Contreras, Manny Piña
After nearly league-worst production at catcher last year, the Braves had an embarrassment of riches this season. Contreras broke out as one of the better hitting catchers in all of baseball, while d'Arnaud continued his late-career renaissance. The Braves were one of the best catching teams in baseball despite getting basically nothing from Manny Piña, who had an early-season injury. Piña was one of the best second catchers in baseball the last few years, and he's under contract at $4.5M for 2023. He might actually be an attractive trade chip; after Willson Contreras, Piña compares favorably to basically every free agent catcher on the market.
Potential targets: N/A
Verdict: Try to deal Piña, but otherwise do nothing.
First base
Under contract: Matt Olson
After first base was by far the most interesting offseason quandary last year, it's a complete nonfactor this year. Turns out that when you trade for your new franchise first baseman and sign him to an eight-year contract, it'll settle things.
Potential targets: N/A
Verdict: Do nothing.
Second base
Under contract: Ozzie Albies, Vaughn Grissom, Orlando Arcia
Albies had his second campaign in three years robbed by injuries. It'll be great to see him back on the field next year. Grissom came up with a hot start and cooled off a bit as the year went on; he's not quite on the Harris/Strider tier of prospects, but he's very talented and profiles nicely as a potential Swiss Army knife for the team (think Chris Taylor or Ben Zobrist as the upside outcome.) Arcia quietly had a great year, hitting to a career-high 105 wRC+. Weirdly, his defense, which was positive at shortstop every year in Milwaukee, has been negatively valued every year at second base. I don't really know what to make of that.
Potential targets: N/A
Verdict: Do nothing.
Third base
Under contract: Austin Riley
My hot take on Austin Riley remains that he's a much better fit in left field (where he graded out slightly positively in a short stint in 2019) than at third base, where every defensive metric kills him for his horrendous range. That being said, he's playable at third base and the bat is incredible. I'm guessing the Braves play him at third till they decide it's time for him to primarily DH.
Potential targets: None
Since the only players worth targeting at third would be guys good enough to start (and thus shift Riley to LF), I'm choosy here. The closest to a quality starting 3B available on the free agent market this year is Brandon Drury. Drury had been worth -1.1 fWAR over the four seasons prior to this year. He promptly put up a 3 fWAR campaign by massively over performing his batted-ball numbers. That profile is just screaming 'pay me at your own peril'. No, thanks.
Verdict: Do nothing.
Shortstop
Under contract: Orlando Arcia
I've seen a lot of 'worst case, just start Grissom at shortstop', but he wasn't even a particularly good second base defender in the bigs this year, and he wasn't a good shortstop in the minors. Arcia, on the other hand, was a pretty good defensive shortstop for a number of years in Milwaukee. Frankly, though, neither is a guy you want to be rolling out at short every day if you're a contending team.
Potential targets: Dansby Swanson, Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts
Bogaerts randomly was a great defender this year after being a ... not great defender for four years prior. I don't think the Braves will want to take that risk. Turner is a Braves killer and a pretty good defender. My worry with him is that speed is a big part of his value, and that's not a trait that ages well into your thirties.
That leaves Correa and Swanson. Correa is polarizing. He's historically not the most durable player. He's also arguably the best shortstop in baseball when healthy, the youngest player in consideration here, and basically universally beloved by teammates. Swanson is the hometown guy and his offense has taken a major step forward this year. I think a big part of evaluating him comes down to whether you think this year's offense production is just who he is now, or if it's an outlier year. He's a valuable player either way, but the degree of value is meaningfully different.
Verdict: If their asking prices/lengths are even somewhat similar, I'd go all-in on Correa. I trust Correa's offense way more, his defense is basically as good and while I know some people think the 2017 scandal is a nonstarter, Correa would be the fifth player from that team the Braves have signed. Nothing new. If Correa's ask is significantly higher, I'd go with Dansby and allocate the savings elsewhere.
Left field
Under contract: Eddie Rosario, Marcell Ozuna
Left field is the biggest question mark on this team other than shortstop, but fortunately it's the least valuable defensive position. Rosario had a nightmare season in which he was not all that much better after eye surgery. He's an awful defender, even if he rebounds to being an average hitter next year. They might continue to play Ozuna a bit in left field as well; while his arm is shot, he's arguably a more fundamentally sound defender than Rosario. Neither is pleasant to watch out there, though.
As mentioned above, this is where I'd expect Justyn-Henry Malloy to get reps if he impresses this year.
Potential targets: Mitch Haniger, Adam Duvall, Chad Pinder, Robbie Grossman
The goal here is to find someone who mashes LHP; Rosario and Ozuna are both better against RHP. Haniger is the Cadillac option here; he's probably the best player of these four and will cost the most for the longest. He's a pretty crappy defender, though, and I'm not sure how many 'you'd rather he be a DH' types the Braves want to retain. Duvall and Grossman would be reunion options; with Duvall, the question is how long he can remain a plus defender, but he's almost certainly going to be the best defender of these four guys anyway. Pinder would be another Oakland signing; he's got positional versatility (Arcia's the only Brave we can really say that about right now) plus he's hit LHP pretty well over the years.
Verdict: Get a cheap platoon partner for Rosario. Defensive value a plus.
Center field
Under contract: Michael Harris II, Guillermo Heredia
Like 1B, this is a position that's been solidified significantly over the last year. I won't belabor the point here; MH2 is a stud, and Heredia is an adequate backup/double-plus clubhouse presence.
Potential targets: N/A
Verdict: Do nothing.
Right field
Under contract: Ronald Acuña Jr.
I'm excited to see Ronald with a full offseason to recover and work out.
Potential targets: N/A
Verdict: Do nothing.

The Summary

The three must-haves this offseason are a starting shortstop, a platoon partner for Rosario and an extra bullpen arm or two. Another starting pitcher would be a fun luxury. Overall, this is a well-constructed team whose path to improvement is actually clearer than it was last year, IMO.

By Allan Stein October 22, 2022 Updated: October 23, 2022
A line of commercial barges carrying soy beans sits "dead in the water" in the receding Mississippi River near Poinsett Rice & Grain in Osceola, Ark., on Oct. 20, 2022. The barges have been in dock for days after a company barge became stuck in the shallow mouth of the loading port. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times) hi-res version of title img
audio 11 min
OSCEOLA, Arkansas— Jeff Worsham is a realist regarding the weather because he believes what he sees.
That the regional drought is a bad one, getting worse, is beyond dispute. The Mississippi River is at the lowest it’s been in decades, he said.
Worse, the barges are backing up because of it, running aground, and wreaking havoc on the regional supply chain.
“There’s no relief in sight as far as rainfall,” said Worsham, port manager of Poinsett Rice & Grain’s loading facility in Osceola, Arkansas.
When will it rain next?
Worsham said, “Who knows?”
Jeff Worsham, port manager of Poinsett Rice & Grain in Osceola, Ark., said the Mississippi River is at the lowest it’s been in decades due to an ongoing drought wreaking havoc with commercial barge lines. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
Loaded at about 65 percent capacity with soybeans to reduce weight, the barges at the Osceola facility have been “dead in the water” for days in a jagged queue, blocked by a single barge that became stuck in the shallow mouth of the port.
Unprecedented Times
“I’ve never seen it this bad,” said Worsham, who’s been with the company for over 20 years. “We had water [levels] close to this in 2012. But it was August, and it wasn’t the harvesting season. It wasn’t a big deal for us.”
At the height of the corn and soybean harvest, and with tons of products waiting to be shipped, Worsham remains optimistic.
“A lot of the soybeans have been stored on the barges. We’ll be down a little bit on volume and stretched out. We’ll be able to get the bushels [out]. It’s just going to take longer,” he told The Epoch Times.
Barge loader Raul Rivas walks to the loading station at Poinsett Rice Grain on Oct. 20, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
Worsham said a tow boat would eventually drag the stuck barge to deeper water and free up the other barges. He said until then, nothing can get in or out of the port—and then the phone rang.
It was Worsham’s boss asking for an update.
“It’s more than hard,” Worsham told his supervisor. “They would get them [out] if they could … I don’t know what else to do.”
The situation is no less challenging with other competing barge lines, Worsham said.
In recent weeks, hundreds of barges have become stalled in the receding Mississippi, caught in the lower depths. In early October, some 2,000 barges reportedly clogged the channels in long pileups along the river south of Memphis.
The barges need around a nine-foot depth to navigate. The problem is that the water levels have fallen so low in many places even the tugboats are getting stuck.
Barges sit in the port facility at Poinsett Rice & Grain in Osceola, Ark., on Oct. 20, 2022. Behind the barges, the river tributary’s water line has been receding for months in the continuing drought. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
Near the Gulf of Mexico, the ocean has begun seeping into the weakening river, threatening the water supply. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to build a temporary levee to fend off the ocean’s slow advance north.
Situation ‘Grave’
As the nation’s second-largest river, the Mississippi stretches 2,340 miles from its source at Lake Itasca in northwestern Minnesota to the Gulf. The river provides easy access for midwestern farmers looking to ship their products cheaply and efficiently.
Commercial barges each year account for about 418 million tons of goods moved between U.S. ports along the Mississippi River system. Nationally, it’s around 700 million tons.
But as water levels continue to fall, it allows less room for the barges to navigate and more opportunities to become stuck, said Ben Lerner, vice president of public affairs for the American Waterways Operators, a national trade association.
Lerner said the Mississippi River at a historically low level presents a significant challenge for the nation’s supply chain.
“In some spots in the river, it is at its lowest level since 1988, so it’s a real challenge for the supply chain and our industry,” Lerner told The Epoch Times.
Barges laden with agricultural products now have longer waiting times to deliver their cargos while in transit, causing back-ups along the river.
Lerner said a standard barge has 16 rail cars or 70 semi trucks carrying capacity, but it’s cheaper and more efficient.
“The bottom line is the American barge industry is a major component of the global and American supply chain. If we can’t move cargo on the Mississippi efficiently, that ultimately has far-reaching economic implications,” he said.
“I don’t want to understate the gravity of the situation we’re dealing with—the tremendous strain on the supply chain.”
Barge loader Raul Rivas (R), deckhand Clifton Brown (L), and other workers at Poinsett Rice & Grain in Osceola, Ark., walk to the loading docks on Oct. 20, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
At its widest point, the Mississippi River is over seven miles wide, allowing for as many as 42 lashed barges to operate, pushed by a single tow boat.
“We’ve got a river now that’s shallower and narrower than it’s ever been,” Lerner told The Epoch Times.
Many commercial barge lines have reduced loads by as much as 50 percent to compensate for the shallower water. Other barge lines have switched to shipping via the more costly and less efficient rail and trucking systems.
“The more shippers switch to rail or truck to move their cargo, the more congested our railways and highways ultimately become,” Lerner said.
It also translates into higher costs for the nation’s agricultural producers, 92 percent of whose output travels through the Mississippi River Basin.
About 60 percent of grain and 54 percent of soybeans for U.S. export rely on barges for delivery to foreign and domestic markets, according to FreightWaves.
The market research site ReportLinker.com projected that the U.S. barge transportation market should grow from $25.17 billion in 2021 to around $39.9 billion by 2028 due to increased demand, infrastructure, and investment.
Poinsett Rice & Grain deck hand Clifton Brown points to where the water level used to be at the loading port near the Mississippi River on Oct. 20, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
“The system needs water,” said Lerner, confident that the commercial barge industry is resilient and accustomed to operating in a crisis.
‘Game Time’ For Farmers
“It’s a significant challenge for U.S. agriculture and farmers to be successful and profitable,” noted Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.
The organization comprises 13 state soybean boards, including the American Soybean Association and the United Soybean Board, encompassing 85 percent of soybean production.
Steenhoek said while farmers are geographically distant from coastal ports, they enjoy easy access to inland waterways like the Mississippi, Ohio, and Illinois rivers.
“It’s game time for agriculture,” Steenhoek said. “When the system operates as normal, there’s no more effective way of moving commodities long distances in an economical manner” than commercial barges.
“When the system goes awry, it poses a significant hardship.”
The problem going into 2022 has been the lack of rain and snowmelt to replenish inland rivers to allow the ground to become saturated ahead of the spring planting season.
A large pile of beans lies under a tarp at Consolidated Grain & Barge in West Memphis, Ark., as seen from the highway on Oct. 20, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
While crops this year have benefited from the available moisture, very little has made its way into the water system, contributing to lower river levels.
“When you have a [barge] grounding, it’s a major effort to alleviate,” Steenhoek said. “It shuts down the river. So you have to resort to putting less freight per barge.”
Steenhoek said in the case of soybeans, for every 12 inches of lost channel depth, a standard barge must shed 5,000 bushels—about 136 tons—to stay afloat. He said it means that fewer barges can operate in tandem, resulting in the industry-imposed maximum of 25 lashed barges per shipment.
“You don’t have your optimal route available to you. It still will find a way—maybe not as much as normal—not as efficiently as normal,” Steenhoek said. “Whenever you have a disruption like this, those costs get passed on. It adds a lot of costs [and] the farmer will bear a lot of that.
“Some of it’s going to be borne by the shipper. It adds insult to injury when you’ve got challenges with our inland waterway system.”
Other barge lines, such as Consolidated Grain and Barge Co. in West Memphis, have begun storing beans in large outdoor piles under tarps in the wake of the barge crisis.
Steenhoek compared switching transportation modes from barge to rail and truck to a garden hose attached to a fire hydrant, where “you’ve got lots of [product] volume” and less efficient ways to move it.
A towboat sits in its dock along the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tenn., on Oct. 20, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
“When you’re in that scenario, it’s not efficient, and it’s not as cost-effective. There are consequences,” he said. “What’s particularly inopportune right now and consequential is how comprehensive it is—not just one part of our nation. It’s the whole [transportation] system” under stress.
Worse Before It Gets Better
Poinsett Rice & Grain operates with a fleet of 100 barges, each of which carries around 85,000 bushels of rice, soybeans, or corn to ports along the river. Those volumes are about 35,000 bushels less in the drought to reduce weight and increase floating capacity.
“Hopefully, we will be able to continue operations. It’s gotten a lot worse [but] we’re still loading,” Worsham said.
The company, which ships around five or six million bushels per year, had expected to ship eight million bushels this year, given the robust harvest.
Worsham said that number is down to around three million bushels.
“We’ll probably match last year’s volume” of around four million bushels.”
Poinsett Rice & Grain barge loader Raul Rivas points to the long line of barges awaiting delivery of soybeans on Oct. 20, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
Barge loader Raul Rivas said the barge logjam at the Poinsett facility is a logistics headache.
“We can’t load that many barges right now. The traffic right here can’t get in and out. Right now, this will be our last barge for a while,” Rivas said.
Typically, Rivas’ crew will load three barges daily with soybeans, rice, or corn from loading towers.
“There isn’t much we can do. Everything we’ve got is overstocked or on the ground. We got one [barge] stuck last night. We had to get to the tugboat at least until it broke free. Then we finished loading [the barge],” Rivas said.
“Supposedly, when it gets down to a negative 12 [feet level], that’s when they’re supposed to shut the barges and boats down.”
A grain loader operator awaits instructions at Poinsett Rice & Grain in Osceola, Ark., on Oct. 20, 2022. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)
Poinsett deck hand Clifton Brown said that dock workers have been “running into a lot of problems” with the low water levels, now going on two months.
“That’s about the worst of it—[barges] getting stuck. It’s pretty rough on us just loading barges right now. See that barge over there, stuck on the bank, on the corner?”
Brown pointed toward the far end of the port at the former water line where that “used to be to those trees.”
In the current drought, Brown also remains positive, saying it’s only a matter of time before the Mississippi is back up and running as the water level fluctuates.
“We’ll be down for another week or so until the river comes back up. Everything is good.”
Allan Stein is an Epoch Times reporter who covers the state of Arizona.

Hi /warriors,
I'm continuing this post from yesterday, where I laid out goals and fears for every member of "the Foundational Six." You can read that here.
I thought it might be fun to say what I specifically want to see from each major player on the roster in the next season and check it on how it’s going as the season progresses. Of course, players could evolve and/or disappoint in ways I don’t say here, but for each player, I’ll list some realistic goals and fears. The former is self-explanatory. For the latter, fears are ways each player could disappoint or underperform in some way based on their past history and general trends (i.e. I'm not going to fear Steph shooting 30% from the line, but I might be slightly worried about Wiggins not falling into the low 60's from the stripe). These are meant to be pretty measured yet critical takes, so forgive me in advance when I theorize about unfortunate possible outcomes.
Again, I'd like to emphasize that this is supposed to be realistic goals for each player and a fairly critical take on how their games could evolve and/or regress. If you're looking for someone to tell you the Warriors are going to have 12 All-Stars next year and that Poole and Wiseman are going to look like Penny and Shaq by mid-November, look elsewhere. Additionally, injuries are assumed as part of every player's fears.

Part 2: The Young Lottery Core on Rookie Contracts

Each one of these players figures to be a major part of the rotation: James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody. Are they a future championship core? Can they compliment the current squad sooner rather than later? Or are we going to be irrelevant after Steph retires? Despite a lot of hype, most of it well deserved, these questions are still unanswered, but hopefully, we'll know by the end of the season what direction it's going.
Again, just as a warning: some will read this piece and be outraged that I think there is a (much greater than) non-zero chance that James Wiseman is bad this year, or that I don’t think he’s shown much to indicate that he has true superstar potential. Let me be clear: I WANT EVERYONE ON THE WARRIORS TO BE A GREAT PLAYER. I’m just trying to provide realistic goals and fears for each player. I want nothing more than for these young guys to blossom and lead us to championships. However, this is not an exercise about wishful thinking, it’s an exercise in discussing what each player needs to do to get better, and how they can get there.

Moses Moody

The “old soul” of the three young studs the Warriors have coming off the bench (Poole is in another category because he’s an established player), every piece of evidence we have points to him being the most ready to contribute to high-level winning basketball right now, and the coaching staff seems to agree with me. Most importantly, Damion Lee is off the team, so Steve Kerr has no more excuses to play him over Moody. The kid from Little Rock had a great summer league, a nice preseason, and has a clear path to playing time. However, there’s still a lot of questions I have about him: is the on-ball stuff he flashed against lesser opponents in Summer League real? Is the rebounding prowess he shows at times going to be a steady thing? Can he evolve into a better on-ball wing defender (something he vocalized as a goal during a Summer League interview)? What kind of three point shooter can he evolve into? I have very few concerns about Moody becoming a steady bench player eventually, and probably a lot sooner than that. The question is, how steady? If Moody can evolve into a true 3&D wing, that would be invaluable. I was encouraged by how ready he was to hoist (and hit) shots from the perimeter during Summer League and preseason, but the on-ball defense department was still a little lacking, which is very normal for a second-year player lacking elite size and athleticism.

GOALS

• Average >7.5 3PA/36. The league average for shooting guards is actually 10.6 attempts/36 minutes, and Moody averaged 6.5 last year. That’s not asking a lot, so I’d ideally like to see him more in the 8-9 range, but I’ll take 7.5 attempts/36 considering that he’ll rarely be more than the 3rd option. He actually averaged 37% in SL and 41.2% from deep in preseason, both of which were higher than his numbers last year, so this is looking pretty good!
• Become a more competent on-ball defender. Moody already has nice help instincts and BBIQ, but some steps forward would really help the Warriors in terms of their wing depth.
• Emerge as a solid playoff rotation piece by the end of the year (beyond what he did last year).

FEARS

• Isn’t able to hold up as a wing option against better players and doesn’t show any signs of being able to do so
• The JTA syndrome: too focused on being a good teammate to actually take shots with confidence

Jonathan Kuminga

While some may think James Wiseman has the highest upside of the three players I’ll discuss today, I actually believe it’s Kuminga who has the higher floor AND ceiling of the two. Why? First of all, Kuminga is a wing, and Wiseman is a big. Wings with ball skills generally have more potential and more value to championship-winning teams than bigs. Kuminga is also more than a year younger than Wiseman and arguably already the better player, especially defensively. Kuminga also has shown far more on-ball aptitude and growth so far.
With all that said, Kuminga is the young player who has the least defined role on this team and the rotation. His shooting is not good enough yet to be a 3 in most lineups, and while he’s taken huge strides as a defender of quicker wing players and guards, I haven’t seen evidence that he can guard centers yet, which is a shame because I think the ideal version of Kuminga is a small-ball 5. His ability to attack the basket is fantastic, and he has that Giannis-like knack of bulldozing players and getting the foul call. For now, he’s kind of stuck as the 4, and there’s a logjam at that position, with guys like Draymond, Wiggins, J. Green, and even Klay (at times) probably going to receive minutes there. Even for a 4, Kuminga is still not a natural shooter, and that makes playing him with Wiseman, Looney, or Draymond can present spacing problems. I think the most natural fit for him would be with J. Green at center, but I’m not sure how much Kerr will want to go for that.
Additionally, it’s very hard to come up with specific goals for Kuminga because he has so many different ways he can shine. That also means he has many different ways he can disappoint. For Kuminga, I think it’s best to list them all with the expectation that hitting all of them at the same time is probably unrealistic or even impossible.

GOALS

• Improve his FT shooting. This is honestly more important than his 3pt shooting, because Kuminga’s greatest weapon right now is foul-drawing. 68.4% is bad, but not completely awful. He shot worse during summer league, but amazingly, hit his free throws at an 85% clip in preseason. If he can just break into the low 70’s for now, that will remain an extremely effective weapon for him.
• Improve his 3pt shooting. He actually shot a semi-respectable 33.6% last year, but shot 27.8% in Summer League and 27.3% in preseason. Additionally, last year, I doubt there were many players this side of Russell Westbrook who were left more open than Kuminga, so to be honest, just repeating his 33.6% would be an accomplishment. The goal isn’t to turn him into a sniper, but making that a shot defenses have to respect would do wonders for the team’s spacing AND Kuminga’s drive game.
• Continue to show improvements regarding decision-making and passing. He’s young and still very raw, so I’m just looking for some steps forward here. One thing about Kuminga that is tantalizing is that he flashes some very good vision at times; he had two or three great passes to Wiseman in the last few preseason games that had me hopping off the couch.
• Hustle! At times, Kuminga has looked disappointingly passive for a player who can probably average 12/5 on hustle and offensive rebounds alone. He’s done a much better job cutting, running the floor, and contesting rebounds than before, and I’d love to see that continue.
• Carve out a consistent role in the rotation and force Steve Kerr to play him minutes every night.
• Keep improving defensively. This is where Kuminga has improved the most by far. He didn’t even get into a stance on defensive possessions during his first Summer League, and now is capable of giving guys like CP3 or Devin Booker a lot of trouble. Never EVER underestimate the sheer value of having a pesky, athletic wing defender you can put on another team’s best player. He has all the tools athletically to be an amazing defender, so this is one area where if he doesn’t improve, I’ll be very disappointed.
• Get in the pick and roll action as both the ball handler and the roller. Kuminga has pretty good ball skills for someone his size. Yeah, he needs to tighten up his dribble. Yeah, he’ll often throw the ball off the backboard. The rest of the time, he’s going to bully his way to a layup or throw down a lob dunk. I’ll take some warts if it comes with buckets, especially if he’s growing as a lead offensive option as he does it.

FEARS

• None or few of the things listed above happen, and Kuminga remains one of those guys who is two years away from being two years away.
• A lack of effort, growth defensively, and decision making would probably be the most concerning, considering that’s stuff that should grow naturally with plenty of practice and maturation.
• He gets buried on the bench

James Wiseman

After Draymond Green, Wise is probably the most polarizing player on the roster, and definitely the player with the widest range of potential outcomes. I remember reading a comment on /nba that said the team “is hoping Wiseman becomes Giannis with a jump shot,” a player that would probably dethrone Jordan as the GOAT. Personally, I’m just hoping he continues his strong preseason showing, stays healthy, and firmly moves himself out of “potential bust” consideration. I’m going to break this down into two categories: offense and defense, but first, let’s remember one very important thing: highlights are not really representative of how good a player is. Wiseman has a handful of highlights that make him look like, well, Giannis with a jump shot. That one clip of Wiseman blocking a shot, dribbling down the court at full speed, and slamming the ball into the basket against the Pistons in the 2021 season comes to mind. Unfortunately, for players like this, it’s the little things and boring, moment-to-moment defensive decisions that matter more. Basically, think about Kevon Looney’s effectiveness vs. highlight frequency and compare that to Wiseman’s.
Offensively, I loved Wiseman’s approach in the preseason after a tough Summer League. Gone were the fadeaway elbow jumpers and the 20-foot post-ups. Instead, his shot diet consisted of a ton of dunks, layups, and little jump hooks over smaller defenders, usually as a roll man or in transition. That’s exactly what his role should be on this team, and where a player of his size and athleticism should look to dominate. If he develops a post game some day, great. But for right now, there are just far more effective offensive options than that for him, and I’m glad he’s actually using his size and athleticism and not shying away from contact. He also bobbled far fewer passes, made decisions quicker, and looked like he knew what he was doing MUCH more frequently. He played with a lot more confidence, too. When he messed up in the 20-21 season, he often looked like he was about to cry. Now, he’s just shrugging and jogging down the court, which is a huge step forward. Hopefully, Kerr continues to rely heavily on pick and roll with Wiseman, because simplifying the offense for him can do wonders, and it’s where he can be most effective, anyways. I also think that Wiseman SHOULD take open 3pt shots, because if he can hit them, that’d open up so much for both his own growth and the team’s. Besides, it’s not like anyone can block him! Rebounding during SL and preseason was a bit of a mixed bag, but he did look a little better. He should be grabbing more rebounds, but he’s clearly learning about how to deal with physicality and when to box out. Luckily, watching Looney is about the greatest lesson in that regard I can think of.
Now comes the defensive portion of his assessment. Like Kuminga, there’s a lot of things Wiseman can do, but there’s also a lot of things he can’t yet. Unlike Kuminga, I don’t think Wiseman has shown much defensive potential yet outside of blocks (which might be the single most overrated defensive stat). Again, compare Wiseman to Looney. Looney isn’t going sky high to swat the ball into the 5th row. He’s staying on his feet and using his height to contest without fouling, and as a result, he’s far more effective; the key is to make shots difficult rather than trying to erase them all with blocks. Wiseman does seem to be fouling a little less, but there’s obviously a lot of room for growth there.
Being a good center in the NBA requires elite defense, switchability, and help instincts. Even someone like Nikola Jokic, who is looking to retire as one of the greatest offensive players to ever play, is a liability at times in the playoffs because of his defensive flaws. This is the nature of the center position in the modern NBA, where slower players or ones with lower BBIQ can be exploited by elite perimeter talents. Now, Wiseman is a lot (x10) more athletic than Jokic, but it’s the BBIQ stuff I find most worrying. Can he reduce his astronomical foul rate? Can he learn where to stand on defense more? Can he rely more on verticality and good contests (again, like Looney) rather than just trying to block every shot, as impressive as it looks sometimes? There are so many things Wiseman needs to improve on, but that’s also a bonus for him in a way, because if he just improves a little on a few of them, he’ll be much more conducive to winning basketball.
It’s also important to remember that centers can be quite productive regular season players but get run off the floor or have their roles severely reduced during the playoffs if their defense isn’t up to snuff. Domantas Sabonis, Jonas Valanciunas, and JaVale McGee are some examples of centers who can put up gaudy regular season stats in various roles but would never, ever sniff the later rounds of the playoffs without having their roles limited to bench appearances. Meanwhile, Mr. Triple Single himself, Draymond Green, is probably the best playoff center of the past decade because of his elite, versatile defense. There’s a world in which Wiseman thrives offensively, yet disappoints defensively, and while that’d be a massive improvement over previous results and would in no way mean Wiseman wouldn’t have value, it WOULD mean fans and the organization should take careful consideration of what Wiseman’s real value to a team with championship aspirations could realistically be.
Just like Kuminga, there are too many goals for Wiseman to realistically meet, and so if he just hits a few, that’ll be considered a success.

GOALS

• Defense, defense, defense. I don’t care about his block rate at all. I want to see the team survive on defense when he’s out there. I want to see him not get lost on switches, hedges, and drops. I want to see communication. I want to see boxing out. I want to see fewer fouls. I want to see a little progression month to month, with the knowledge he’s going to have good stretches and bad stretches. I still expect him to finish the season as a negative defensive player, but there’s a big difference between a survivable negative and Enes Kanter-level defense. He’ll also be mostly going against backups, so if he can’t improve against them, then it’s hard to project growth against truly great players.
• Limit his offensive play types: putbacks, one-dribble dunks, rolling to the basket, layups, catch and shoot 3pt shots, etc. I don’t want to see a single turnaround jumper for the first month of the season (at the very least) unless he’s getting guarded by Trae Young.
• Effort: run the floor, box out, and compete. No worries on this end, but Wise is such a monster that he can get you a decent line just off of hustle alone.
• Stay healthy. This is a given for everyone else, but for Wiseman, it’s crucial. He’s going to miss an occasional game or two, but we need to see him play basketball and get reps. It’s the only way for him to get better, and the clock is ticking on his extension.
• Set better screens. He improved during preseason, but he's such a monster than screening can be a deadly weapon for him if he masters it.

FEARS

• Post ups and midrange jumpers. Trying to recreate the aforementioned Pistons play multiple times. Trying to be a star rather than the role player we need him to be right now.
• He’s in his own head constantly like he was as a rookie.
• No defensive improvement. This would be the most serious concern for me. If he doesn’t show us something, the FO’s not-so-secret hopes of Kuminga and Wiseman replacing Draymond are effectively dead.
• His main value remains Potentials Per Game, and he becomes our White Whale.
• Bobbling too many passes
• Isn’t able to adjust to the NBA and really struggles with physicality, especially regarding his rebounding. All the athleticism in the world can’t make up for this.

Let me know what you guys think! I hope to be done with the rest of the roster sometime in the next week. If you want, voice your own goals and fears for players I have or haven't mentioned yet. I'll try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment.

So me and my partner have been suffering from dead bedroom lately. Life challenges and stress and all that. I've been trying to come up with a way to spice it up. We both prefer to be submissive but are happy to take turns domming to satisfy each other. So I'm trying to come up with a game of chance and present it to my partner that will take some of the decision logjam out of the equation. I feel like if I know it's my week to dom, then there's less negotiation to do and we can be more spontaneous. Neither of us wants a 24/7 lifestyle permanently but I am interested in chastity and that doesn't really work in a single night/scene context. I have toyed with the idea of presenting a weekly switch but that's a little too predictable and I feel like with my low libido it might not work out evenly if it's my week to dom and I am not in the mood to initiate.
So I present my overly complex game of after getting inspired by a DnD dice set that we've been gifted but never used for much.
I'm looking for feedback, suggestions, additions, or completely different ideas in this category. (Also any resources/guides/blogs for switches because most are geared specifically for subs or doms)
Obviously this will all be discussed and negotiated with my partner but I want to flesh the idea out fully before putting it out there. Dice numbers are all subject to change. I hope someone else finds some inspiration to run with this and make it their own.
Each time we switch we roll a 4 Sided Die: The result tells us which die to roll next and why.

 1 = Number of Days Until Switch (12 Sided Die) 2-Number of Days Until Switch (20 Sided Die) 3-Number of Initiations by Dominant until Switch. (8 Sided Die) 4-Number of Nights where Dominant has at least one Orgasm Until Switch (6 Sided Die) 

Now that its been officially announced that the Top Hat will return to have live music again, who's excited?! Bout time they get back to music!
​
Live music returns to Missoula's Top Hat this fall Local News missoulian.com
Here's the article's text:
Music is returning to Top Hat this fall with six shows booked through February.
The concerts include four shows in the fall, a New Year’s Eve show and performance in February, featuring a wide range of musical guests, according to a press release sent out by Logjam Presents on Tuesday.
On Oct. 16, an Arizona-based jam quartet by the name of Spafford is scheduled to play. Ty Segall will have a solo-acoustic performance on Nov. 7, followed by an evening of heavy metal with Machine Head on Nov. 9, the press release stated.
Women-led, indie-pop group Lucius is scheduled to play on Nov. 14. On New Year’s Eve, the Top Hat will host local funk group Shakewell. Big Richard will play on Feb. 9 — they’re described as a “neo-acoustic supergroup” from Colorado.
Some of the featured artists are new to the Top Hat venue, while others, like Shakewell, have performed before.
“Over the past decade Shakewell has delivered some of Missoula’s most memorable shows, so we couldn’t think of a better band to bring the party back to the Top Hat on New Years Eve,” the press release stated.
Shakewell will be joined by Desperate Electric.
Tickets for all events go on sale Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. at the Top Hat box office, online at www.logjampresents.com or by phone at 1-800-514-3849. Ticket links can be found in the specific event page for your desired concert at www.logjampresents.com/events

Hi there
Just wanted to share my insights on how I quite often get top tier media pickups (which 85% to 90% of the time contain a follow link).
My recent background is more on the digital PR side of things, hence this is more of a PR play than a pure SEO play, but it works great for my clients.
So first off - I’m talking about winning contributed articles in the likes of TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Business Insider, etc, most of these platforms still offer follow links with these articles.
And for the record, there is big difference between “guest posting” (which in SEO-terms usually means a terrible article written by an upworker, which you then pay $50 to $200 to post onto a nothing website) and what I’m talking about here, which is exec level thought leadership on super authoritative sites.
Okay, now I’ve got that out of the way, I’ll begin…
Anyone can pitch a contributor article idea to these media outlets, but most of the pitches are rubbish and never get picked up. We’ve spent years optimizing the process and our success rate is about 60% per pitch cycle. This means 60% of the time we send a pitch to a group of similar media outlets we’ll get at least one acceptance.
This reduces a bit if we’re just targeting super top-tier, and goes up a bit if we’re just targeting more niche industry specific media.
Success is entirely dependent on the strength of your pitch and how good the idea is. We’ve created 9 conceptual frameworks that help us to quickly think of ideas and write them up. Here’s how we do it:

1. The counter-intuitive idea / challenging the conventional wisdom

This is storytelling in the style of Malcolm Gladwell; taking a pre-conceived wisdom and explaining why this is actually not the case and why the exact opposite is in fact true.
In mainstream consumer press, articles about people in their early-20s having already bought one (or more) houses and how easy it actually is for young people to own their own home (if only they didn’t buy so much expensive avocado toast) is a good example of this.
You can also frame this as ‘unconventional advice’ from an entrepreneurial/business owner point of view, and suggest an interesting spin or alternative way in which your client is running a company that might be surprising or counter-intuitive to other entrepreneurs.
Here’s a an example of how to start this type of pitch:
[Title] How The Coronavirus Will Cripple Venture Capital But Also Help Startups Get Funding
The economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus will create winners and losers, as have all crises that have gone before it.
[Client name] [Position at Company], believes that one of the losers will be venture capital. However, this may actually help startups get funded as we enter a new normal.
2. Highlighting a second-order effect of an event in the news cycle
This is a good way of coming up with something unique to say on a big story, by “seeing around a corner” at what a possible impact of the event could be.
In mainstream consumer press, articles about the possibility of interest rates going up and the impact this will have on homeowners’ mortgage repayments, etc, is a good example of this.
Here’s a an example:
[Title] A Litigation Avalanche is on the Horizon - Are You Prepared for the Deluge?
As the world attempts to return to a new normal under the shadow of COVID-19, the impact on insurers is far from over, with courts in numerous territories making rulings on cover for COVID related losses in favor of policyholders.
According to UPenn’s insurance litigation tracker, 1,256 pandemic related litigation cases have been filed in the United States alone.
[Client name] [Position at Company], believes that the new trend of litigation claims could result in not just huge costs for insurers, but an administrative nightmare as well.
3. Identifying the cause of an event in the newscycle
Another good way of coming up with something unique to say on a big story is by identifying what the underlying cause of the event was.
Example:
[Title] How to Remove Roadblocks to Conveyancing Digitalization to Avoid Future Logjams
The race to complete sales before the stamp duty holiday comes to an end on 30 June has created what some are calling “the biggest conveyancing logjam in more than a decade”.
This has brought into sharp relief the desperate need for further digitalization of conveyancing. However, this isn’t as simple as law firms investing in technology to speed up their processes; in fact, plenty of firms have already made shrewd investments in tech.
What’s needed are sector-wide and more joined up changes across both the public and private sector.
4. Critiquing government proposals / Picking a fight
A client is always going to have an opinion on regulation/legislation that is being proposed by the government and which impacts their business. However, we need to go a few levels deeper than simply saying “it’s bad for business”, so we need to prod the client to think about the second-order effects of the proposed legislation. What will be the unintended consequences?
While these pitches are to some degree attacking government proposals, they should be non-partisan. Highlighting both the positive and negative effects of the proposal can set your client as an expert without being biased.
Example:
[Title] Biden’s Misguided Plan to Fix the Shortage of Affordable Housing Offers Few Solutions
President Biden’s Administration announced a new plan to address the housing shortage on September 1. The policy initiatives included in this latest announcement seem to be setting up real estate industry players and homebuyers to be disappointed at the outcome.
In this article, [Client name] [Position at Company] offers an expert’s POV and insights into the impact of this proposal on the real estate market, including:

• Adding only 100,000 units in the next three years will hardly alleviate the situation. Even if the longer-term plan includes investing over $300 billion to add 2 million affordable units, that is still less than a third of the number required.
• The proposal’s plan to offer grants to cities to incentivize them to relax zoning and land use policies could have little impact, considering many cities have resisted these attempts over the last few decades.
• The only way we’ll get anywhere near the number of affordable housing that we need is for large institutions and volume home builders to step up.

5. Providing actionable advice
This is another good way to jump on stories such as government regulations, by offering the client as an expert who can provide specific advice on the topic. This can often be combined with one of the above angles, such as saying what the second-order effect of something will be, then offering actionable advice to help deal with the second-order effect.
Example:
[Title] An MSP’s Perspective on How to Achieve the Defence Department's CMMC Compliance
This new compliance standard will hold government suppliers across every tier of the supply chain accountable for their cyber hygiene.
Specifically, what sets CMMC apart from ‘business as usual’ under the current regime is a strict audit process that will establish compliance as a condition of doing business with the DoD.
[Client name] [Position at Company], has a birds eye view of what the implications of this are for contractors as they chart a path towards compliance. To share his insights, he would like to write an article entitled: An MSP’s Perspective on How to Achieve the Defence Department's CMMC Compliance Standards
6. Presenting findings from third-party data analysis
This isn’t just gathering a few data points to support an argument, it’s analysing raw data, presenting it in a digestible format and drawing conclusions from it. An example is a coffee exporter we work with, where we’ve analysed the internal Colombian buy rate of coffee beans released by a trade association, and drawn conclusions from it.
With this approach, you first need to decide what the data is telling you. Does it prove or disprove something? Is it very beneficial or very detrimental for people or businesses? Is the data what we were expecting? If not, what’s the client’s thoughts on why it’s different than expected? What predictions/forecasts can we glean from this data?
Example:
[Title] A Look at Colombian Coffee Prices 1 Year on From the Stabilization Fund
The article evaluates the impact of Colombia’s historic price stabilization fund, assesses the funds ability to protect farmers from volatile markets - and explains why the last 12 months have been a bumper year for Colombian coffee producers.
The article sections cover:

• The Coffee Price Stabilization Fund in Context
• The Internal Buy Rate Since the Onset of the Pandemic
• Predictions for the Future and Key Development Objectives

7. Situation overviews/analysis
Use these sparingly, as we get less pickups with these angles, as they are less focused than the above examples.
This is where we’re offering a client to provide a big picture analysis of a current situation, such as the near term future of their industry, an analysis of the market, etc. The problem with these types of pitches is that these stories are usually already “done”, or they’re just not really telling the audience anything new.
Example:
[Title] Goodbye City Hello Suburbs: a Property Market Analysis of New Yorkers’ Escape to Suburbia
With demand reportedly through the roof, favored retreats for well-heeled New Yorkers have experienced some of the biggest house price increases in the country, with the Hamptons witnessing a 25% YoY increase in Q2.
But it’s not just the traditional hideaways for the city’s elite that are experiencing surging demand and therefore prices. Midtier property markets in counties such as Westchester and Dutchess experienced Q2 YoY price increases of 7.9% and 6.6% respectively.
To provide perspective on this and what it means for investors, [Client name] [Position at Company] is writing an article entitled: Goodbye City Hello Suburbs: a Property Market Analysis of New Yorkers’ Escape to Suburbia, exploring…
8. Problem > solution
This can be used to insert a client’s product into a pitch, by setting out the context of the problem that currently exists and the innovative way the product will solve this problem.
Example
[Title] Appraisers are driving their prices up and affecting homeowners with no oversight
After the 2008 crisis, the US passed the Dodd-Frank Act to make sure home appraisers weren’t beholden to big banks, however, appraisers were given the opportunity to regulate themselves. The result, as you’ve probably noticed, is that appraisal fees are twice as expensive as they were a few years ago and the quality of service has plummeted with appraisers delaying sales, letting loans expire and even halt negotiations with buyers.
[Client name] [Position at Company] is a former real estate broker who’s seen this effect happening first-hand and how it can affect bank loans and home closings. With the appraisal system broken, he decided to create an AI-powered appraisal estimation solution that delivers reports in under 24 hours.
He would love to talk about the need for automated appraisals in an industry that is shutting out competition and creating monopolistic markets by refusing to train up new appraisers.
9. What X Means for Y
Similar to a government policy critique pitch but commenting on a disruptive technology (e.g. Web 3, GPT-3) that’s going to impact a particular industry.
Essentially this would be a commentary on a recent development/news hook and what that means for a certain industry/group/technology.
Example:
[Title] (Journalist Name) - How GPT-3 text generation is impacting the PR industry
GPT-3 text generation has been hailed as a breakthrough in AI, as it has the ability to generate long form narrative driven text that’s good enough to look like it was written by a human.
It’s now at the point where it’s jumped from research labs into commercial applications, with a multitude of PR software vendors racing to bring to market products that will automate numerous parts of agencies’ editorial and pitch writing workflows.
And lastly…
Of course, you need to write the article once you get the pitch accepted. I’ll write another post soon that explains this!
Any questions, drop a comment below.
Cheers

It seems to be common perception that Steve Smith Sr. (heretofore referred to as "Smitty") is a borderline HOF candidate. There are definitely solid arguments for and against his candidacy. This will attempt to breakdown those arguments to come to a conclusion on whether Smitty deserves to be enshrined or not.
First, the career stats with some all-time context:

• Years: 2001 - 2016
• Games: 219 (161st all time)
• Receptions: 1,031 (12th)
• Rec Yards: 14,731 (8th)
• Rec TD: 81 (29th)
• Rec Yds/Game: 67.3 (39th)
• AP Yards: 19,180 (9th)
• Total TD: 89 (39th)
  
• 5x Pro Bowl
  
• 2x 1st Team All-Pro
  
• 1x 2nd Team All-Pro
  
• Receiving Triple Crown (2005)
  
• Comeback Player of the Year (2005)
  

The Case For
Career Stats: This is a pretty simple argument. Smitty is in the top-10 all time in receiving yards and all-purpose yards (buoyed by some solid KR and PR yards in his early career). Top-15 all time in receptions. It would be tough to say that any professional player who is in the top-15 of multiple major statistical categories should be denied HOF status (Brian Mitchell nods furiously). Looking just at receiving yards, the 7 players above him are all in the HOF except Larry Fitzgerald, who should be first-ballot when he becomes eligible. Lots of players with fewer yards also in the hall (yes most of them are from a while back but stay with me). Not much more to say here.
The Highlight Reel: I casually invite you to check out any Steve Smith Sr. highlight reel on YouTube if you haven't. Dude was famous for turning bad passes (and there were many) into big receptions and his YAC abilities were absurd. He regularly abused bigger corners and the all too common double and triple teams. Smitty's blend of speed, quickness, vertical leap, and old man strength allowed him to get separation and win jump balls with authority. Some of the more infamous moments:

* First career touch is a KR TD. * X-Clown * SB TD catch * Playoff PR TD * Sonning the bounty gate era Saints * Fred Smoot Game * Janoris Jenkins Game * Aquib Talib Game (Ice up son) * Panthers Revenge Game (aka Blood and Guts game) 

It also has to be mentioned that Smitty is a HOF trash talker, TD celebration artist, and all around soundbite legend. He also put up solid numbers (70/799/5) coming off an achilles tear in his final season at age 37. Ridiculous.
Playoff Smitty: While he was only privy to 11 total playoff games, Smitty regularly elevated his play during these times. 9 total TDs, 91 YPG, 17YPC in those contests which is well above his regular season averages (usually while doubled or in bracket coverage). Highlighted by the 6/163/1 against STL in 2003 (the aforementioned X-Clown game) and the absurd 12/218/2 against the Bears in 2005.
The Case Against
Lack of All-Pro and Pro Bowl seasons: Smitty does suffer from only having 5 PB and 2 1st team AP seasons (also of note his rookie year was AP and PB but as a returner, not a receiver). So functionally he has 4 PB and 1 1st team AP as a receiver. Not a great look. This does lag behind most other HOF receivers currently (with some interesting exceptions). It paints a picture of Smitty as more of a very good player than a great one (not helped by his low-ish Rec Yds per game). This will be a significant consideration by the HOF committee.
Lack of SB win: Not his fault but it is a talking point.
Lack of TDs: 81 Rec Touchdowns is pretty low for someone with so many games and yards to his name. 29th in all time Rec TDs is good but not great.
Off the Field Incidents: Smitty had a number of fights with teammates (namely punching Anthony Bright in 2002 and Ken Lucas in 2008) which made headlines and furthered his reputation as a hot-head. The chip on the shoulder was a double edged sword, especially early in his career. He has rehabilitated his image since then but it doesn't change what happened.
Context
As in all things in life, it is important to consider context when making arguments. In my opinion, Smitty suffered from a number of circumstantial issues that hurt his HOF candidacy but can't really be attributed to him as a player. I will break these down presently.
SubPar QB Play: To me this is the biggest difference in Smitty vs most of the all time great Wide Receivers. In 16 seasons, smitty had a Pro Bowl QB in a grand total of 3 of those seasons (Delhomme in 2005, Newton in 2011 and 2013) and 0 All-Pro seasons. "Elite" Flacco had some good seasons in 2014 and 2016 but that was at the end of Smitty's career and he was not the first option on those teams. Delhomme benefitted from Smitty rather than the other way around. While Delhomme had some moments of greatness, he was at best an above average QB who relied too much on Smitty to go get jump balls (though he did more often than not). Jake was also injured quite often which meant having to deal with QB carousels which included Chris Weinke, Matt Moore, David Carr, Ancient Vinny Testaverde, and various other 1 game non-wonders. Cam was able to lift Smitty back up after the abysmal Jimmy Clausen 2010 season, but Smitty was getting past his prime at that point. Let us also remember a big portion of Cam's pro bowl candidacy was his own rushing ability. Every other top-15 receiver had much better QB play to work with on average. Panther's fans will undoubtedly remember seeing a plethora of off-target passes, moonballs, and wide open Smitty begging for throws that never materialized.
Run First Teams: Most of Smitty's time in the NFL was spent on teams that focused on the run. The Panthers had solid to great RBs during Smitty's career (Stephen Davis, Deshaun Foster, Deangelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Cam Newton) which meant less opportunities for stats. The Panther's conservative Run Run Pass playcalling was also a hindrance during most of his time there. His own triple crown season came on a team than ran more than it threw (which is another point in the for category)! This also segues nicely into the next point.
Inflated Passing Stats over Time: The pass gets more popular every year. Run first teams are becoming extinct in the modern NFL and 1,200 yard receiving seasons are becoming more of the norm than the exception. Every year that passes makes Smitty's yearly numbers look less impressive.
Injuries: Smitty missed a year of his prime (2004) which likely cost him about 1300 yards and 9ish touchdowns. He often missed one or two games a year from 2006 - 2013 which also chipped away at his totals. Not considering his rookie year where he was just a returner, Smitty played in 203 of 240 possible regular season games, which accounts for just over 2 seasons worth of missed time. Not injury prone by any means but something to consider. One could argue an additional half-season could be considered missed during the affront to the football gods that was the Panther's 2010 season.
WR Logjam for the HOF: Some big names have come up or will be coming up for HOF consideration. Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Anquan Boldin, etc. Some older guys have gotten in recently which either helps or muddies the waters for Smitty (depending on how you look at it). Again, time is not on Smitty's side here.
Conclusion:
Let's just get to the point of this whole thing. Do I believe Steve Smith Sr. is a hall-of-famer?
Yes
When taken in context with the issues I noted above, I believe Smitty made the most out of subpar situations and elevated his QB's/teams through his play. Put him with a great QB and his numbers would be significantly better, which I believe would have made him a first ballot HOF guy. To be clear he is not a first ballot guy as it stands, though I believe he should get in eventually. I believe he does match up favorably with other receivers who have not been first ballot guys but who eventually made it.
Specifically, I see Smitty similar to a Tim Brown or Isaac Bruce type guy. Took them a while to get in but their resume's won out in the end, as I believe it should with Smitty. Tim Brown is actually a very good comp considering the guys he had for QB for a lot of his career (Jay Schroeder, Jeff Hostetler, and Jeff George meh, though late career Gannon was a force). Brown did play longer than Smitty and had more Pro Bowls, but Smitty has better per game receiving numbers and the important 1st team AP. His weighted career Approximate Value (from ProFootballReference) is right in line with HOFers Brown, Bruce, Michael Irvin, and James Lofton.

This novella was very creative, but it was not for me. Didn’t enjoy this one.
The protagonist is Lana, from an alternate version of London. Lana is mostly interested in chasing girls and getting high, but is unfortunately drafted to serve as a scribe in a sort of pan-European Parliament. This Parliament governs humans, but is administered by faeries. Parliament is presently paralyzed by a series of hung votes, which is a problem, because if the logjam doesn’t break the faeries will be drowning the members, the support staff, and everyone else who is there (obviously a matter of some concern for Lana).
Overall, it didn’t work for me. Lana would have been fine as a minor character in a larger story; make her the protagonist, and she got old quickly. There were a lot of things that I didn’t really get why the author did what she did (why are there no men at all in this universe?). There are things that aren’t explained (why is most of Parliament apparently willing to commit suicide?). And the things which I got (Parliament as a barely-disguised stand-in for the United States Senate) felt very heavy handed.
There are a number of things that I could understand why someone would like it, but none of it worked for me.
Comes out on August 9.
Bingo categories: Standalone [Hard Mode]; Antihero; Published in 2022
My blog

Title: Shadow War.
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Theme: DO Vs The Anti-Cult.
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Battle Pass.
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Pages.
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Page 1.
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The Iron (Skin)
The Iron's Holopad (Back Bling)
Iron's Plasma Spike (Pickaxe)
Iron Jets (Contrail)
Iron Wings (Glider)
Suiting Up! (Built-In Emote)
Iron Orca Cat (Emoticon)
Loyal DO Iron (Spray)
Iron Pink (Wrap)
Iron Battle (Music Pack)
Anti-Lighting Strike (Loading Screen)
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Page 2.
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Anti-QXR Yuri (Skin)
Anti-Decoder (Back Bling)
Anti-QXR Yuri's Claw (Built-In Pickaxe)
Anti-Decode (Contrail)
Powers Of Anti-QXR Yuri (Built-In Glider)
Roar Of Anti (Built-In Emote)
Decoding QXR (Emoticon)
QXR's Regin (Spray)
Black Purple (Wrap)
The Iron (Repulsor Armor) (Style) Collect Repulsor Armor At Iron Industries (3)
Last Decode (Loading Screen)
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Page 3.
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Ennard Yuri (Skin)
Wired Knife (Back Bling)
Wired Knife (Pickaxe)
Purple Wires (Contrail)
Wire-Shute (Gilder)
Powered Wire Claws (Built-In Emote)
Crazy Wire Monster (Emoticon)
Purple Wires (Spray)
Wire Purple (Wrap)
The Iron (Leg Armor) (Style) Collect Leg Armor At Decoded Fortress (3)
Rivals In Decode (Loading Screen)
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Page 4.
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Anti-Stacy (Skin)
Buzz-Plush (Back Bling)
Self-Harming Handsaw (Pickaxe)
Arm Blood (Contrail)
Knife Glide (Glider)
Self-Harm (Emote)
S-H (Emoticon)
That's What They Want You Think (Spray)
Arm Of Self-Harm (Wrap)
Get Antied (Music Pack)
The Anti-Blimps (Loading Screen)
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Page 5.
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Anti-Charon Nobleheart (Skin)
Anti-Charon's Cowl (Back Bling)
Glove Of Sadness (Pickaxe)
Anti-Gems (Contrail)
Anti-Flight Power (Glider)
Cry Idiot! (Built-In Emote)
Crying Elf (Emoticon)
Anti-Elf (Spray)
Anti-Gem Shard (Wrap)
The Iron (Body Armor And Helmet) (Style) Collect Body Armor And Helmet Armor At DO Sanctury (1)
Anti-Realm (Loading Screen)
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Page 6.
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Doctor Penny (Skin)
DO Orchestrator (Back Bling)
DO Eradicator (Pickaxe)
DO Dropjets (Contrail)
DO Stealth Sail (Glider)
DO Holo Update (Emote)
DO Higher-Up (Emoticon)
Armored Penny (Spray)
Dream Edge (Wrap)
DO Combat (Music Pack)
DO War With Anti (Loading Screen)
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Secret Page.
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Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (Skin) Search Anti-Chests (3)
Armored Anti-Mantle (Back Bling) Deal Damage With Anti-Weapons (100)
Anti-Eradicator (Pickaxe) Destroy Props Or Structures Near Anti-Areas (10)
Anti-Dropjets (Contrail) Visit Anti-Blimps (3)
Anti-Blimp (Glider) Dance On Top Of Anti-Blimps (3)
Anti-Copy That (Built-In Emote) Collect Anti-Files At Anti-Command Cavern (3)
Anti-Leader (Emoticon) Defeat Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (1)
Leader Of the Anti-Cult (Spray) Visit Anti-Cult POIs (3)
Anti-Realm (Wrap) Enter The Anti-Realm (1)
Anti-Arrival (Music Pack) Land At The Anti-Fortress (1)
Depression Giver (Loading Screen) Collect Depression Potions At Anti-Command Cavern (3)
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Bonus Pages.
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Page 1.
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Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Skin)
DO Time Cape (Back Bling)
DO Time Baton (Pickaxe)
DO Clocks (Contrail)
DO Time Flight (Glider)
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Page 2.
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DO Time Dance (Emote)
DO Time Shout (Emoticon)
DO Time Master (Spray)
Insanity's War (Loading Screen)
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Page 3.
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The Iron (Iron Man Suit)
Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Classic)
The Iron (Pink Diamond) Complete All Week 1 Challenges (1)
Anti-QXR Yuri (Purple) Complete All Week 2 Challenges (1)
Ennard Yuri (Fixed) Complete All Week 3 Challenges (1)
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Page 4.
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Anti-Stacy (Gunnar Armor) Complete All Week 4 Challenges (1)
Anti-Charon Nobleheart (Purple) Complete All Week 5 Challenges (1)
Doctor Penny (Battlesuit) Complete All Week 6 Challenges (1)
Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (Sharp Armor) Complete All Week 7 Challenges (1)
Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Glowy) Complete All Week 8 Challenges (1)
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POIs: DO Sanctury, DO Station, Ohio, Junk Junction, Lazy Lake, Glitchy Compound, Anti-Blimps, Anti-Command Cavern, The Anti-Fortress, The Decoded Fortress, Iron Industries, Buzz Lightyear Landing Sites, Ohio Obliterated, Junk Crashsite, Lazy Landing, Anti-Corpses, Glitchy Crash, College Ruins, DO Mech Construction.
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NPCs: Spencer Tellin Zero, Armored Tony The Talking Clock, Springtrap, Baldi, Benson, Toodles, Hector Rivera, Cartoon Cat, Nephrite, Monika, Anti-Charon Nobleheart, The Lost, The Bloody, James Yuri, Lightyear-Bots.
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Bosses: The Iron, Anti-QXR Yuri, Ennard Yuri, Anti-Stacy, Doctor Penny, Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock, The Wandering Sniper, Hugevoir, The Tamer, Anti-Caretakers, Persona Hunter Nikocado, The Flaming Drinker, Damon The Glyph Master, Darth Silvervale, Shylily.
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Funding Station.
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Done For The Season!
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New: DO Whiplash, DO Tanks, DO Armored Battle Bus, Anti-Tanks, Anti-Rifle, Anti-Minigun, The Iron's Repulsors, The Iron's Unibeam, Anti-QXR Yuri's Claws, Ennard Yuri's Knife, Anti-Stacy's Stinger SMG, Doctor Penny's Striker Og, Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock's Anti-Rifle, The Wandering Sniper's Hunter DMR, Hunter DMR, Buzz Lightyear Jetpack Boxes, Buzz Lightyear's Jetpack, The Tamer's Techno Whip, Anti-Sideways Shotgun, Persona Hunter Nikocado's Persona Katana, The Flaming Drinker's Burning Stinger AR, Damon The Glyph Master's Rift Edge, Darth Silvervale's Lightsaber Knife, Shylily's DO Orca Blade, Shrimp, Yuno Gasai's Katana.
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Unvaulted: Hunter Bolt Action Sniper, Tanks, Lever Action Rifle, Poison Trap, Ranger Shotgun, Lever Action Og, Sideways Minigun, Cupcakes, MK-Seven AR, Rey's Lightsaber, Kingsman, Combat AR, Hunting Rifle, Stark Industries Energy Rifle, Stark Industries Jetpack.
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Vaulted: Luigi's Poltergust G-00, Link's Sword, Corrin's Yato, Pit's Bow, Ganondorf's Sword, Samus Aran's Arm Gun, UmberonTrap's Combat SMG, Marshal's MK-LGBTQ AR, Lever Action Pump, Anti-Stacy's Anti Fists, Darth Miyo's E-11 Blaster, The Flaming Journalist's Magma Gauntlets, The Shotgunner's Burst Shotgun, Shockwave Bow, Swords, Birthday Cake Slices, Birthday Presents, Suppressed Pistol, Burst SMG, Stinger AR, Drum Shotgun, Rapid Fire SMG, Auto Sniper.
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Challenges.
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Week 1.
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Search Chests At DO Sanctury (7)
Eliminations At Condo Canyon (3)
Visit DO Station (1)
Talk To DO NPCs (3)
Deal Damage To Anti-Cult Bosses (100)
Distance Traveled In A DO Whiplash Or DO Tank (50)
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Week 2.
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Search Chests At DO Station (7)
Eliminations At The Joneses (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Ohio (1)
Land At Anti-Zones (3)
Eliminations With Anti-Weapons (3)
Attend The Tsundere Collison Live Event (1)
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Week 2 Reward: Anti-QXR Yuri (Purple)
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Week 3.
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Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Ohio (7)
Eliminations At Sanctury (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Junk Junction (1)
Talk To Lightyear-Bots (2)
Land At Buzz Lightyear Landing Sites (3)
Distance Traveled While Flying With Buzz Lightyear's Jetpack (100)
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Week 3 Rewards: Ennard Yuri (Fixed)
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Week 4.
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Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Junk Junction (7)
Eliminations At The Daily Bugle (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Lazy Lake (1)
Search Ammo Boxes At Anti-Command Cavern Or Rave Cave (3)
Deal Damage With A Stinger SMG (100)
Eliminations With A Stinger SMG (3)
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Week 4 Rewards: Anti-Stacy (Gunnar Armor)
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Week 5.
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Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Lazy Lake (7)
Eliminations At Coney Crossroads (3)
Visit Anti-Zone: Glitchy Compound (1)
Collect Anti-Gems At Anti-Cult POIs (3)
Deal Damage With An Anti-Sideways Shotgun (100)
Eliminate An Opponent With An Anti-Sideways Shotgun (1)
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Week 5 Rewards: Anti-Charon Nobleheart (Purple)
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Week 6.
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Search Chests At Anti-Zone: Glitchy Compound (7)
Eliminations At Sleepy Sound (3)
Visit Anti-Command Cavern (1)
Talk To Doctor Slone (1)
Deal Damage With A Striker Og (500)
Eliminations With A Striker Og (3)
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Week 6 Rewards: Doctor Penny (Battlesuit)
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Week 7.
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Search Chests At Anti-Command Cavern (7)
Eliminations At Shifty Shafts (3)
Visit The Anti-Fortress (1)
Eliminate Anti-Monsters (10)
Defeat An Anti-Caretaker (1)
Unlock All Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock Cosmetics (11)
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Week 7 Rewards: Armored Anti-Tony The Talking Clock (Sharp Armor)
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Week 8.
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Search Chests At The Anti-Fortress (7)
Eliminations At Logjam Lotus (3)
Visit The Decoded Fortress (1)
Collect Clocks At DO Complex, DO Sanctury, Or DO Station (3)
Visit Coral Castle At Nighttime (1)
Visit Rave Cave At Daytime (1)
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Week 8 Rewards: Armored Tony The Talking Clock (Glowy)
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Week 9.
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Search Chests At The Decoded Fortress (7)
Eliminations At Shuffled Shrine (3)
Visit Iron Industries (1)
Collect McDonalds Bags At Rave Cave (3)
Find A Crowbar To Destroy Pyra (1)
Find Darth Yuri's Lightsaber At Darth Vader At Outposts (1)
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Week 10.
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Search Chests At Iron Industries (7)
Eliminations At Rave Cave (3)
Visit Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Find A Calling Station Near The Hill (1)
Deal Damage To Damon the Glyph Master (100)
Defeat Darth Silvervale (1)
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Week 11.
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Search Chests At Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Eliminations At Reality Falls (3)
Visit Ohio Obliterated (1)
Find A Crash-Landed UFO (1)
Talk To Rick Sanchez (1)
Find Rick Sanchez's Portal Gun (1)
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Week 12.
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Search Chests At Ohio Obliterated (7)
Eliminations At Greasy Grove (3)
Visit Junk Crashsite (1)
Tame A Boar Or A Wolf (1)
Eat Meat (3)
Bring A Boar Or A Wolf To A Darth Vader Outpost (1)
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Week 13.
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Search Chests At Junk Crashsite (7)
Eliminations At Synapse Station (3)
Visit Lazy Landing (1)
Dance On The Orca Mech At DO Mech Construction (1)
Defeat Shylily (1)
Deal Damage With Shylily's DO Orca Blade (100)
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Week 14.
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Search Chests At Lazy Landing (7)
Eliminations At Butter Bloom (3)
Visit Anti-Corpses, Glitchy Crash, College Ruins And DO Mech Construction (4)
Eliminate Anti-Monsters (10)
Activate An Anti-Sideways Encounter (1)
Defeat An Anti-Caretaker (1)
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Week 15.
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Search Chests At New POIs (7)
Eliminations At New POIs (3)
Visit All New POIs (25)
Talk To All New NPCs (5)
Defeat Any New Boss (1)
Attend The Anti-Collision Live Event (1)
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Week 15 Rewards: Doctor Penny (DO And Anti-Cult)
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Wild Weeks.
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Week 11: DO Domination.
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Stage 1: Collect DO Weapons (3)
Stage 2: Deal Damage With DO Weapons (100)
Stage 3: Eliminations With DO Weapons (3)
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Week 12: Anti Ambush.
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Stage 1: Collect Anti-Cult Weapons (3)
Stage 2: Deal Damage With Anti-Cult Weapons (100)
Stage 3: Eliminations With Anit-Cult Weapons (3)
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Week 13: Womp Womp!
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Stage 1: Eat Shrimps (3)
Stage 2: Defeat Shylily (1)
Stage 3: Eliminate An Opponent With Shylily's DO Orca Blade (1)
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Week 14: Bargain Bin.
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Stage 1: Spend Bars (500)
Stage 2: Spend Bars (1000)
Stage 3: Spend Bars (5000)
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DO Armored Rick Sanchez's Level Up Challenges.
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Week 11.
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Collect A Level Up Token At DO Sanctury (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Station (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Junction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Lake (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Compound (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Command Cavern (1)
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Week 11 Rewards: DO UFO Cruiser (Gold)
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Week 12.
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Collect A Level Up Token At The Anti-Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Decoded Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Iron Industries (1)
Collect Level Up Tokens At Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio Obliterated (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Landing (1)
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Week 12 Rewards: DO Hammerhead Morty (Gold)
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Week 13.
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Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Corpses (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At College Ruins (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Mech Construction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Shadow Mech (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Simulation Blimp (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Crashed Airship (1)
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Week 13 Rewards: DO Butter Bot (Gold)
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Week 14.
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Collect A Level Up Token At DO Sanctury (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Station (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Junction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Lake (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Compound (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Command Cavern (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Anti-Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Decoded Fortress (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Iron Industries (1)
Collect Level Up Tokens At Buzz Lightyear Landing Posts (5)
Collect A Level Up Token At Ohio Obliterated (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Junk Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lazy Landing (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Corpses (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Glitchy Crashsite (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At College Ruins (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At DO Mech Construction (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Shadow Mech (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Simulation Blimp (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Crashed Airship (1)
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Live Events: Tsundere Collison, Anti-Collison.
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Battle Events: Battle For Ohio, Battle For Junk Junction, Battle For Lazy Lake, Battle For Glitchy Compound.

Title: Let'sa Go!
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Theme: Nintendo.
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Battle Pass.
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Page 1.
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Luigi (Skin)
Poltergust G-00 (Back Bling)
Green Pipe (Pickaxe)
Boos (Contrail)
Haunted Piano (Glider)
Startled Luigi (Built-In Emote)
Mama-Mia! (Emoticon)
Scared To Brave (Spray)
Gooey Luigi (Wrap)
Terrifying Invasion (Music Pack)
Mansion's Anguish (Loading Screen)
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Page 2.
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Link (Skin)
Hyrule Shield (Back Bling)
Hyrule Blade (Pickaxe)
Symbol Of Hyrule (Contrail)
Hyrule Steed (Glider)
Hero Awoken (Built-In Emote)
Hyrule's Savior (Emoticon)
Hero Of Hyrule (Spray)
Hyrule Glow (Wrap)
Luigi (Zero) (Style) Eliminate Boos At Gloomy Manor (3)
Dark Lord Ganon (Loading Screen)
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Page 3.
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Funky Kong (Skin)
Bongos Of DK (Back Bling)
Funky Kong's Fists (Built-In Pickaxe)
DK Bananas (Contrail)
DK Bongos (Glider)
Your Cool! (Emote)
Chill Kong (Emoticon)
Rock On Little Dude! (Spray)
Funky DK (Wrap)
Luigi (Furious Warrior) (Style) Eliminate Greenies At Hyrule Castle (3)
Rave Cave Party! (Loading Screen)
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Page 4.
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Samus Aran (Skin)
Samus's Power Orb (Back Bling)
Arm Canon Whip (Pickaxe)
Metroids (Contrail)
Samus's Gunship (Glider)
Armor Offline (Built-In Emote)
Space Hunter (Emoticon)
Hunter Of Metroids (Spray)
Samus's Armor (Wrap)
Vs Ridley (Music Pack)
Hunt For Ridley (Loading Screen)
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Page 5.
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Corrin (Skin)
Moral Of The Dragon (Back Bling)
Yato (Pickaxe)
Dragon Chains (Contrail)
Corrin's Dragon (Built-In Glider)
My Path Is Clear! (Built-In Emote)
Cute Roar (Emoticon)
Dragon Hero (Spray)
Dragon Armor (Wrap)
Luigi (Brave) (Style) Defeat Ganondorf (1)
The Dragon Of Heros (Loading Screen)
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Page 6.
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UmberonTrap (Skin)
Umberon Trapper (Back Bling)
Knife Of Umberon (Pickaxe)
Yellow And Black (Contrail)
Monster Underneath (Built-In Glider)
What Did You Say?! (Built-In Emote)
Scaryberon (Emoticon)
Hunter Of Umberons (Spray)
Umberon Skin (Wrap)
Umberon Combat (Music Pack)
Umberon Hunter (Loading Screen)
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Secret Page.
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Pit (Skin) Emote On Top Of Rave Cave (1)
Pit's Wings (Back Bling) Complete A Daily Quest As Pit (1)
Palutena Bow (Pickaxe) Hit An Opponent With Pit's Bow (1)
Feathers Of Heaven (Contrail) Collect Angel Feathers At Rave Cave Or Reality Falls (5)
Wings Of Pit (Built-In Glider) Distance Traveled While Gliding As Pit (100)
Come At Me! (Built-In Emote) Emote Near Past Battle POIs (3)
Clumsy Me (Emoticon) Destroy Chairs As Pit (3)
Guardian Of Heaven (Spray) Eliminations At Palutena's Palace (3)
Heavenly (Wrap) Talk To Palutena As Pit (1)
Kid Icarus Theme (Smash Bros) (Music Pack) Use The Grapple Gun As Pit (1)
No One Hurts Heaven! (Loading Screen) Visit High Places (3)
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Bonus Pages.
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Page 1.
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Morgana (Skin)
Phantom Thieves' Truck (Back Bling)
Persona Sword (Pickaxe)
Persona Colors (Contrail)
Truck Of The Phantom Thieves (Glider)
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Page 2.
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You Got Em Joker! (Built-In Emote)
:3 (Emoticon)
Morgana On The Case! (Spray)
No Sad Endings! (Loading Screen)
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Page 3.
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Luigi (Self-Harming)
Morgana (Happy Morgana)
Luigi (Gooey) Complete All Week 1 Challenges (1)
Link (Breath Of The Wild) Complete All Week 2 Challenges (1)
Funky Kong (DK) Complete All Week 3 Challenges (1)
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Page 4.
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Samus Aran (Anti-Gravity Suit) Complete All Week 4 Challenges (1)
Corrin (Female) Complete All Week 5 Challenges (1)
UmberonTrap (ScrapUmberon) Complete Week 6 Challenges (1)
Pit (Injured) Complete All Week 7 Challenges (1)
Morgana (Action Morgana) Complete All Week 8 Challenges (1)
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POIs: Gloomy Manor, Hyrule Castle, The Jungles, Samus's Gunship, The Dragon Plains, Pikachu's Pizzaria, The Heavens, Toyko, Anti-Covert Cavern.
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NPCs: Spencer Tellin, Tony The Talking Clock, Springtrap, Baldi, Benson, Toodles, Hector Rivera, Cartoon Cat, Nephrite, Monika, Luigi, Link, Funky Kong, Corrin, Pit, Morgana, LeafeonTrap, SylveonTrap, GlaceonTrap, Dark Samus, Ridley.
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Bosses: Ganondorf, Samus Aran, UmberonTrap, Marshal, Anti-Stacy, Darth Miyo, The Flaming Journalist, The Shotgunner, James Yuri.
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New: Luigi's Poltergust G-00, Link's Sword, Corrin's Yato, Pit's Bow, Ganondorf's Sword, Samus Aran's Arm Gun, UmberonTrap's Combat SMG, Marshal's MK-LGBTQ AR, Lever Action Pump, Anti-Stacy's Anti Fists, Burst Shotgun, Darth Miyo's E-11 Blaster, The Flaming Journalist's Magma Gauntlets, The Shotgunner's Burst Shotgun, James Yuri's Suppressed Pistol.
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Unvaulted: Shockwave Bow, Swords, Birthday Cake Slices, Birthday Presents, Suppressed Pistol, Burst SMG, Stinger AR, Drum Shotgun, Rapid Fire SMG, Auto Sniper.
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Vaulted: Kunai Syringes, Pumpkin AR, Pumpkin Shotgun, Pumpkin SMG, Experiment Yuri's Kunai Syringes, Burned SpookTrap's Daredevil Katana, SalvagedTrap's Ranger Shotgun, Ennard Liru's MK-Seven AR, Gunnar Liam's Stinger SMG, Nightmare Yua's Bat, The Operator's Tentacles, Iron Monika's Repulsors, Iron Monika's Unibeam, Kylo Yuri's Lightsaber, Masky's Knife, Huntmaster Yuri's Thermal Knife, Midas Sayori's Drum Shotgun, Nightmare Monika's Sideways Minigun, Hoody's Sledgehammer, QXR Menma Whip, Trollge Abilites, Pumpkin Launcher.
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Challenges.
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Weekly.
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Week 1.
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Search Chests At Gloomy Manor (7)
Eliminations At Condo Canyon (3)
Visit Hyrule Castle (1)
Destroy Candles At Gloomy Manor (3)
Talk To Luigi (1)
Eliminate Ghosts (3)
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Week 1 Reward: Luigi (Gooey)
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Week 2.
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Search Chests At Hyrule Castle (7)
Eliminations At The Joneses (3)
Visit The Jungles (1)
Set Up Barriers At Non Barricaded POIs (3)
Buy Link's Sword (1)
Deal Damage With Link's Sword (100)
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Week 2 Reward: Link (Breath Of The Wild)
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Week 3.
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Search Chests At The Jungles (7)
Eliminations At Sanctury (3)
Visit Samus's Gunship (1)
Consume Bananas (3)
Collect Bongos In Jungle Areas (3)
Deliver Banana Smoothies At Believer Sands (3)
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Week 3 Reward: Funky Kong (DK)
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Week 4.
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Search Chests At Samus's Gunship (7)
Eliminations At The Daily Bugle (3)
Visit The Dragon Plains (1)
Eliminate Metroids (3)
Dance Near Geysers (1)
Find Samus's Anti-Gravity Suit At Reality Falls (1)
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Week 4 Reward: Samus Aran (Anti-Gravity Suit)
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Week 5.
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Search Chests At The Dragon Plains (7)
Eliminations At Coney Crossroads (3)
Visit Pikachu's Pizzaria (1)
Ride A Wolf Or Boar (1)
Defeat King Boo In King Boo's Reign (1)
Find An Anti-Mountain Base Near Catty Factory (1)
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Week 5 Reward: Corrin (Female)
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Week 6.
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Search Chests At Pikachu's Pizzaria (7)
Eliminations At Sleepy Sound (3)
Visit The Heavens (1)
Collect Pokeballs At Fazbear's Fright (3)
Tame A Boar Or Wolf (1)
Hit An Opponent With A Melee Weapon (1)
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Week 6 Reward: UmberonTrap (ScrapUmbreon)
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Week 7.
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Search Chests At The Heavens (7)
Eliminations At Shifty Shafts (3)
Visit Toyko (1)
Plant Birthday Balloons At The Hill (3)
Consume Birthday Cake Slices (3)
Wish Spencer Tellin A Happy Birthday By Talking To Him (1)
Unlock All Pit Cosmetics (11)
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Week 7 Rewards: Pit (Injured) 15 Years (Loading Screen)
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Week 8.
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Search Chests At Toyko (7)
Eliminations At Logjam Lotus (3)
Visit Anti-Covert Cavern (1)
Drive The Persona Truck (1)
Collect Persona Knifes At Toyko (3)
Eliminate Ghosts (3)
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Week 8 Reward: Morgana (Action Morgana)
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Week 9.
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Search Chests At Anti-Covert Cavern (7)
Eliminations At Rave Cave (3)
Visit Coral Castle (1)
Talk To Luigi Or Springtrap (1)
Eliminate Ghosts (3)
Deal Damage To King Boo Or Ganondorf In King Boo's Reign Or Ganondorf's Dark Fight (100)
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Week 10.
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Search Chests At Coral Castle (7)
Eliminations At Reality Falls (3)
Visit Stealthy Hills (1)
Collect A Burst Shotgun (1)
Deal Damage With A Burst Shotgun (100)
Eliminations With A Burst Shotgun (3)
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Week 11.
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Search Chests At Stealthy Hills (7)
Eliminations At Greasy Grove (3)
Visit Pleasant Domain (1)
Enter A DO Car (1)
Honk A Horn In A DO Car (1)
Distance Traveled While Driving A DO Car (100)
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Week 12.
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Search Chests At Pleasant Domain (7)
Eliminations At Synapse Station (3)
Visit Craggy Cliffs (1)
Visit Reality POIs (3)
Plant Or Summon A Reality Sapling (1)
Pick Fruits Off Of Reality Saplings (3)
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Week 13.
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Search Chests At Craggy Cliffs (7)
Eliminations At Rocky Reels (3)
Visit Steamy Stacks (1)
Visit Crashed IO Blimps (3)
Search Chests On Crashed IO Blimps (2)
Emote On Crashed IO Blimps (3)
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Week 14.
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Search Chests At Steamy Stacks (7)
Eliminations At Chonker's Speedway (3)
Visit The Yacht (1)
Visit Anit-Lightning Strikes (3)
Visit Cracks Near Dirty Docks (1)
Talk To Tony The Talking Clock (1)
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Week 15.
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Search Chests At New POIs (7)
Eliminations At New POIs (3)
Visit All New POIs (9)
Talk To All New NPCs (11)
Deal Damage With Any New Weapon (100)
Defeat Any New Boss (1)
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Week 15 Reward: UmbreonTrap (Nintendo Red And White)
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Wild Weeks.
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Week 11: Burst Power.
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Stage 1: Collect Burst Weapons (3)
Stage 2: Deal Damage With Burst Weapons (100)
Stage 3: Eliminations With Burst Weapons (3)
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Week 12: Exotic Exchange.
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Stage 1: Collect Exotic Items (3)
Stage 2: Deal Damage With Exotic Weapons (100)
Stage 3: Eliminate An Opponent With An Exotic Weapon (1)
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Week 13: Spray And Spam.
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Stage 1: Collect Spray Weapons (3)
Stage 2: Deal Damage With Spray Weapons (100)
Stage 3: Eliminations With Spray Weapons (3)
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Week 14: Bargain Bin.
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Stage 1: Spend Bars (100)
Stage 2: Spend Bars (1000)
Stage 3: Spend Bars (5000)
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Fox McCloud's Level Up Challenges.
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Week 11.
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Collect A Level Up Token At Gloomy Manor (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Hyrule Castle (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Jungles (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Samus's Gunship (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Dragon Plains (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Pikachu's Pizzaria (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Heavens (1)
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Week 11 Reward: Starfox Symbol (Gold)
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Week 12.
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Collect A Level Up Token At Toyko (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Anti-Covert Cavern (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Tsundere Sanctury (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Yandere Airship (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Divoty Depot (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Pressure Plant (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Sunny Steps (1)
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Week 12: Space Hunter's Knife (Gold)
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Week 13.
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Collect A Level Up Token At Lonely Lodge (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Mega Row (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Salty Springs (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Fatal Feilds (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Moisty Palms (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Lucky Landing (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Happy Hamlet (1)
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Week 14.
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Collect A Level Up Token At Shifty Shafts (Athena) (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Polar Peak (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Greasy Grove (Athena) (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Frosty Flights (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Snobby Shores (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Neo Gotham Towers (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Sharky Shell (1)
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Week 14 Reward: Fox's Starjet (Gold)
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Week 15.
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Collect A Level Up Token At Gloomy Manor (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Hyrule Castle (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Jungles (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Samus's Gunship (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Dragon Plains (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Pikachu's Pizzaria (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Heavens (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Toyko (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Tsundere Sanctury (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Yandere Airship (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At The Yandere Collider (1)
Collect A Level Up Token At Tsundere Station (1)
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Wee 15 Reward: Fox McCloud (Gold)
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Boss Events: King Boo's Reign, Ganondorf's Dark Fight, Tabuu's Finale.