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15 Questions: Joe Malloy

Ever the valiant soldier in a never ending quest of the elusive Lorne Sundby Cup, Joe Malloy is a shining example of the kind of gentlemanly respect that surrounds the USA Football League.

Malloy joined the USAFL back in the hey-day of the Front Page Sports Football days on the internet. "It seems like everyone who had the game was involved in at least one of the coaching leagues on the net," recalls Joe, "but none was like the USAFL. Their focus was completely on the GM side of the game, letting the computer handle the coaching side. I wanted in."

Malloy signed on and took over a talented Dallas Cowboys team, laden with stud defensive linemen like Sammy Stacy and Darryl Cole, and Darrin Carr steering the offense. He won two straight Super Bowls with that team. Bill Barnwell served as his Assistant General Manager.

Malloy has yet to duplicate that success in the modern USAFL. But that has not shattered his hopes of reaching those lofty heights again.

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NEW YORK GIANTS - GM Joe Malloy

1. You, Todd Ricotta, Bill Barnwell, and Tom Edwards all joined the USAFL in the final seasons of it's first era around the summer of 1998, the pinnacle of success for Sierra's Front Page Sports Football Pro series. At that time all the online leagues were coaching-leagues, where participants actually coached the games as well as assembled the talent via trades and the draft. What was it about the USAFL that attracted you to join? Was it the GM Only aspect?

I couldn't get into coaching leagues. I knew how the engine worked and stuff, but I didn't know that much about it to take advantage of it. I'd get eaten alive in those coaching leagues by teams with less talent, simply because they were better coached. The GM Only aspect rules, because you don't have to spend a lot of times going into your PPPs and editing your plays, each and every last one of them, to take advantage of your teams strengths and cover up your weaknesses.

2. Back in those days the sim calendar was an accelerated two weeks, not like the three we use today. Which do you prefer?

I like the three week calender now. It gives you more time to look over what you need and try to make acquisitions and stuff to fill those holes. You can also study your roster a bit more and prepare for training camps.

3. You have several years of experience playing the FBPRO game online as well as running several other leagues on the internet. Tell us about the other leagues you are currently or have been involved in.

Right now, besides the USA Sports leagues, I'm mainly in hockey leagues run on the FHL simulator. SCHL, AHL, AWHL, and FHSNHL99 are the leagues I'm in. I also run the SCHL. I had considered one time when the SCHL was on hiatus to make a hockey league as part of USASports, but I kind of figured it wouldn't be easy to run the offseason, plus the random nature of the schedules wouldn't fit. I think a baseball league could work though... *ponders*

4. How does the USAFL compare to those other leagues?

Competition-wise, it's about equal. As long as the league is competitive, full of good-to-work-with GMs, it's a good league. The competitive, and features, are similar for the most part.

5. Let's talk about your Giants. Specifically, 2016. You had just come off one of your worst seasons ever as a GM. Your 2015 Giants were the league's worst team at 1-13. They went out the very next season 8-6 and won the NFC East Division in 2016. You surprised the Dallas Cowboys 23-17 in overtime in the first round, then really shocked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-10 in the NFC Championship. And you had just lost to the Bucs in week 14 17-6. Talk about a Cinderella ride into the Super Bowl. But you had to face Todd Ricotta's mighty Buffalo Bills who had gone 13-1. Your Giants got pummeled 25-6 but set the standard for a team to take advantage of a last place schedule and ride it to the top.

Well, I had thought my 2015 Giants were a very talented team that just happened to underachieve. I thought we had the pieces that season to compete and be a playoff team, but they proved me wrong. We had signed Ernie DeGrange for the 2015 season, and at the time he was considered the best LB in the league. We also traded for Cedric Pritchard, and he was a very talented DB. I think the biggest mistake I made though that year was trading Jeff O'Shea and Tim Tang. They were very old, but still very talented. Having O'Shea and DeGrange at LB would've been nasty. James Carrier, that 2015 season threw for 25 TDs with only 10 INTs. The problem was that we just couldn't run or get to the QB. Next season, I picked up Ken Pearce to help with the pass rush. I also saw holes that needed to be filled, and I figured since I didn't get a good pick in the lottery, I'd fill it. I brought in Dave Sanders and Miguel Laird. It helped a little bit, but the stats were just about similar for the most part from 2015 and 2016. I just took advantage of that last-place schedule in 2016. However, when you get the first place schedule the next season you need to prepare for it.

6. Just occurred to me that your current starting Tackle, 13 year veteran Jarvis Woodson was a rookie on that NFC Championship team. How satisfying would it be to get him back into the Super Bowl ........ only to win it this time?

It would be extremely satisfying. He's been the heart of our offensive line since his very first season. You really hate to see someone you consider to be the heart of your team go through their entire career without a championship. It's funny that some people, myself included, get so attached to some of the players that we watch develop to the point where we actually feel bad if they don't get rewarded for their hard work. It would be satisfying to me, and if he existed, I'm sure it'd be satisfying to him. I've had a few players I felt that way about. Woodson, Rafferty Raish,
Alonzo Johnson, George Turner.. those players I wanted to try to win for in the end.

7. In a few days the league will be launching it's brand new Free Agency Market, a completely automated online system that allows GMs to login and tender offers to eligible free agents. As a member of the beta-test team, how satisified are you with it's performance and design? How will it effect the off-season strategies for GMs?

I think it'd be a lot easier for us with the new system. There'd be no more bids on the same player that you'd waste a bid on because you didn't notice the player already being bidded on. Also, it'd promote a lot more player movement I think. It'd force a GM that could lose some of their star players to have to think about making a trade to replace them, or even rebuild, especially if they come off of a disappointing season.

8. In our league, there are several different levels of competiveness. Describe your competitive spirit when it comes to the USAFL. What keeps you involved?

Well, I try my best to win. I know when I need to rebuild, though. But if I can win a decent amount of games in a rebuilding year, it makes me happy and I know that I have the talent to win in the near future. The building of my team from pretender to contender keeps me involved.

I think you've all seen my competitiveness when it comes to the USARL in becoming a winner :). I think it's a bit easier to be a competitor in the USAFL than it is in the USARL.

9. What one feature of the USAFL would you say is by far, the best component to the league?

The rookie draft, obviously. Draft one guy and watch him rise through the ranks of the USAFL. With potentials, you never know who could be a stud and who could be a dud. A guy that comes right out of a draft with good ratings could not get much better, like Sergio Harmony and Carlin Armstrong, while a third rounder like Jarvis Woodson could turn out to be a franchise player.

10. If you could have any ACTIVE player in the USAFL on your team right now, who would it be?

Keith Gunn, no question about it. He might be the greatest HB I've ever seen in any FBPro league, no offense to Tom who had raised a couple of great HBs himself in another FBPro League I was in with him. The Giants never had an intimidating ground game, but with Gunn, he could be the ultimate final piece in the puzzle to give the Giants a Super Bowl championship.

11. Let's say you do make the Super Bowl this season, which team would you like to face?

I'd love to get there, no doubt about it. The first place schedule is going to be tough, and I like to think I prepared for it. If I do get to the Super Bowl.. it'd either be Buffalo or Miami. Miami because me and Tom broke into the USAFL at almost the same time, Buffalo because I have a hard time beating them.

12. How many of your family/friends know that you are a hard-core USAFLer? Do you talk about it with them? Or are you a closet USAFLer?

I'm mostly a closet USAFLer. There are a few that know I'm invloved in it, but not too many. They don't really talk to me about it that much. As far as they know, the USAFL is one of those Yahoo/Sandbox type fantasy football leagues that score based on player performances.

13. Which GM that you met through the USAFL have you gotten to know the best?

I knew Tom, Fred, and Jean from before I entered the USAFL, or in Fred and Jean's cases when they entered. As for through here, I'd have to say Andrew, as well as Ben and Flip. I met Mike through
learning the ropes of being a GM through him, and Bill by him being my AGM.

14. Describe your environmental setting on a draft night. Do you draft from work/home? Do you order out for pizza/wings/etc? How much paperwork are you looking through to make your selection, or is all your scouting work done on the computer?

Entirely done on computer. I use an excel spreadsheat, and my own team roster, to determine who I want to get. Usually I draft a player depending on a camp I'm planning to run this year or next
year. I also look for certain ratings above a certain point, which makes camping a lot easier because I wouldn't really need to try to run a camp. Doesn't mean I won't eventually, however. As for eating, I take care of that before hand. :)

15. Which of the following would you rather have in your trophy case? One Lorne Sundby Cup, three James Maurer GM of the Year Awards, six NFC Championship trophies, four Bing Bennett Most Valuable Player Awards, five Tim Arkwright Rookie of the Year Awards, or ten NFC East Division Championship trophies?

I'd like to get that one Lorne Sundby Cup, even though I have won two in the old USAFL with the Dallas Cowboys led by Hall of Famer Sammy Stacy. Of course, I inherited that team instead of built one from the ground up. Wanting to do that with a team I built from the ground up like the New York Giants would be an awesome thing. The Lorne Sundby Cup is the pinnacle of success in the USAFL. All the other awards are nice, especially since they are voted on by my peers, but the championship is what we all truly strive for.

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NEXT WEEK: Tennessee Titans GM Jean Lefebvre