Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know OS now has an official Discord that you can join right now. We’ve kicked around Discords for individual games in the past, but it felt like the right time to make it more of an official thing.
Steve and I have wanted to get this going for a bit because we obviously still hear from y’all who are unhappy with some stuff on the forums, plus when there are forum outages we still want to have a place for everyone to hang. My overarching goal for the longer term is to have both Discord and the forums ultimately work together. There are some logistical issues with the vBulletin forums that don’t allow things to sync right with Discord so there will be a little maneuvering as we try to get mods and forum members any proper roles/tags they need on the Discord, but we can work through that stuff easily enough as people join.
Our general goal is to give people more options to interact with OS community members, whether that’s Discord, the forums, this newsletter, or improved apps. If people want to stick more to the forums, that’s cool. If people want to stick more to the Discord, that’s also cool. In my perfect world, we do a lot of BSing and day-to-day chatting on the Discord about games and sports, and then more of the “in-depth” discussions or hefty things like long slider breakdowns or analysis of gameplay end up on the forums so that can act as a sort of “best of” area for anything OS community related. That said, you all will ultimately shape how the ecosystem shakes out, I just want to give you spaces you like so you can have a good time with other folks in the community.
The same general rules will apply on the Discord as they do on the forums, and we’ve brought most of the forum categories to the Discord as well so there should not be too much confusion as you navigate around.
With the Operation Sports and Discord announcement now out there, it’s also worth mentioning our OS premium newsletter, which quietly launched a couple of weeks ago. Built off the Not Just Another Roster Update newsletter, it offers a mix of retrospectives, guides, interviews and deeper dives into the sports gaming world—covering both current and classic titles.
- The Giants are entering a brand new ERA after they raced out to a 4-1 Record then collapsed to a 7-9 Finish. After the rough crash, Head Coach Tom Coughlin officially retired and was promoted to General Manager after Jerry Reese was shown the door after the Giants missed the Playoffs for the third year in a row. 
-Now we head down to DUUUUUVAL! The Jags struggled in 2014 but we got a glimpse of their future with their #3 Pick in the Draft Blake Bortles as the "Quarterback of the Future". However he already raised eyebrows after going down with a injury in Preseason and missing the first month of the Season. Head Coach Gus Bradley got a taste of his new Quarterback in 13 Games Bortles had just 13 Touchdowns and 13 Interceptions. 
- Entering the 2014 Season many speculated Rex Ryan would be fired if the Jets missed out on the Playoffs for the 4th year in a row. Ryan lost Quarterback Geno Smith to a torn achillies and he invited USC Quarterback John David Booty to Camp. The signing did wonders. Not only did the Jets make the Playoffs but Ryan saved his job. 
- The Lions began a new ERA under former Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell. Detroit was 4-4 and finished with a 6-10 Record as the Team struggled with Jim's System. Franchise Quarterback Matthew Stafford struggled with Caldwell's Schemes and the Lions struggled as the year went on. 
-The Packers are entering a new ERA after Mike McCarthy hitched a ride to South Beach. The 2014 Packers were just a car accident. After a 6-2 start, the Green and Gold faltered to a 9-7 Record and missed the Playoffs for the first time since 2008. Many headlines over the Season drew attention as McCarthy was having issues with his locker room. Many times Players like Jordy Nelson, Eddie Lacy, and QB Aaron Rodgers called their Coach out. 
-The Carolina Panthers had such a terrible Season that they were eliminated from the Playoffs before the 0-16 Oakland Raiders. Yes, you read that right. 
- The Dynasty added another Super Bowl to their resume defeating the Seattle Seahawks in blowout fashion in Super Bowl 49. Now Bill Belichick will go to work on retaining his Dynasty for another run next Season. 
- The Raiders are in for a rough Off-Season. The Team finished with a 0-16 Record becoming the 2nd Team in NFL History to do so. Head Coach Dennis Allen, Offensive Coordinator Greg Olson, and Defensive Coordinator Jason Tarver were all fired. 
- Jeff Fisher has kept his job as the Rams finished with a 8-8 Record. Ownership made it clear that Fisher wasn't going anywhere as they look to keep building in St. Louis. 
- On Opening Sunday, Franchise Quarterback Joe Flacco went down with a injury and the Blackbirds rallied behind QB Tyrod Taylor to a 4-4 Record. When Flacco returned, Baltimore stumbled to a last place Finish in the AFC North with a 7-9 Record. 
- The Skins' were in a new ERA under new Head Coach Jay Gruden. The Team finished 4-12 as QB Robert Griffin III was hurt 4 times throughout the year. Washington rallied with Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy at Quarterback. As the Redskins have Cousins and RG3 under Contract, McCoy is looking for a extension or the Tag. Given RG3's injury history keeping McCoy might not be such a bad idea. 
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