Hartford Grizzlies: Rebuilding and Loving It! An Imperial Football League Dynasty
 

Reading the propaganda that Fresno has been putting out, got me off my duff and forced me to do something I have always wanted to do, an FOF dynasty. Having two teams to choose from, I opted to go with the Grizzlies for two reasons. First, I have run the team longer, so more of the decisions that have been made have been mine. Second, I have a longer time frame to get the updates posted before the next game. That makes it much easier for me to handle.

Without further ado, I present to you, your Hartford Grizzlies!

I took over the team in 2003, after their second game. I chose this team because they had a 2-0 record at the time, and they were the Grizzlies. Being from Memphis, I thought that would help me keep their name straight.

After looking at the roster, I realized that I had a pretty good squad, we had a VG young QB, we had a solid RB and TE, and a good OL. Defensively, we had studs at RDE and RDT, we were solid at the other DL spots, we had a stud MLB rated 72/72 who was only in his 5th year, and we had a great secondary with Mac Breland rated 68/68 at CB, Charles Reddick at 72/72 at FS, and Roy Brown at SS at 68/68. Our other starting CB was a CB mentor rated in the 40s.

The problem was we had an old roster. Most of our players were in their 7th or 8th year. The plus side was that we were pretty close to fully developed, the bad part was we really didn't have all that many players that rated VG. Much of our strength was in our depth, which was not a terrible thing, but we were overrated as a squad because of it. Our roster strength this year was 100.

After looking at the roster, I noticed something, our VG 60/60 QB was injured and was out for the rest of the year with a ruptured tricep! Enter Harry Moss, a rookie rated 18/36. He at least had bars everywhere, and could throw a deep ball moderately well. But, for the first game I decided to let things ride and see where they would take me.


There were two key games in this year. The Orlando game taught me that I needed to start game planning as we really should have beaten them, we did have a better team than they did at that time. The other key game was against Anchorage. At the time, the Lynx were a high flying team led by Theron Galicia. We were playing at their place and needed to figure out a way to stop them. I devised a game plan that focused on shortening the game. We would run the ball against them, and use long drives to eat up the clock. Our defense would play mainly M2M coverage and we would blitz the daylights out of them. We did, and we managed to end Galicia's career in Anchorage that day. We escaped with the win, but ruined Anchorage's season as they never regained their early form. However, the game taught me how important game planning was.

With the rookie QB, we played the games pretty close to the vest, and although we did not score tons of points, even the games we lost were competitive. But, I began to see that we needed a couple of things. First, we needed a better receiving corps, my best receiver was a 48/54 that wasn't going to be getting better due to his age. My next best receiver was a 46/46 guy. My two best players on offense were my FB William Dostie a 78/78 stud, and my TE Sala who was a 55/55 guy. Both of these guys were relatively young, so I went conservative. We would run using Julian Schwartz between the tackles, and then keep the defense off balance with a short passing game.

We did pretty well, Harry Moss threw for just over 2000 yards with 15 TDs and 10 INTs, but with a completion rate of over 60%. We made the playoffs but lost in a strange game at St. Louis, where we pretty much outplayed St. Louis everywhere except on the scoreboard where we lost 17-3.

Going into the 2004 season I felt pretty good about our chances. We had a good running team, our starting QB was coming back, and we brought in some help at positions of need. First round pick RT Ryan Hartman was going to move to RT, while my starting RT was going to move to guard where I had little depth. I had originally targeted QB Reuben "Picante" Sante with my first round pick. Unfortunately, the Boston Dragons unexpectedly drafted him with the pick before mine. I scrambled, and was able to get a high second round pick where I nabbed Jerome Mueller. This was turned out to be the most important pick of the year. Later in the second round, I landed OJ Boyer who would backup my all world MLB Tony Martin. He would also help on special teams. In the 3rd round I landed Dave Billings, a FL who was not extraordinary, but he would be a solid player with good hands and would be an excellent 3rd WR. Then in the 7th round I took Randall Williamson a LDT who had a great combine who immediately began to move on up in the eyes of my scout.


We started off very shaky. Scott Nelson our QB was erratic, and would make you pull your hair out. Our defense was exposed as soft against the pass. Something needed to be done. After the SLC game, I changed our defensive coverage and moved to a mostly zone and M2M defense. It paid dividends against Anchorage, who we beat again. Then in Cleveland disaster struck again. We were getting pummelled, as Cleveland was the one team that could out smashmouth us. Scott Nelson went down in the 3rd quarter. That turned out to be the key play for us in the season. 2nd round rookie quarterback Jerome Mueller stepped in under center, and led us to a TD, that closed the gap. After a defensive stop, we got the ball back with about 3 minutes left. We drive down to the Cleveland 3 yard line. The score is 13-10, Cleveland is up. We hand the ball to sure handed Julian Schwab (I called him Schwartz before, it was Schwab), and he fumbles! The Clawz run the ball back 97 yards for a TD, to go up 20-10. Yet, Mueller wasn't done, he led the team back downfield for another TD!

With Nelson out and the undefeated Boston Dragons coming to town, I changed my offense entirely, and again went conservative. The result was a surprising 17-17 tie of the the Boston Dragons! We then ran off 4 straight wins to bring our record to 5-3-1, just past the halfway point of the season! One of those was a tight game against our division rival West Virginia, who we beat 20-17. We lost two of our next three games, to move to 6-5-1, with 4 games to go. It was a three way race for the division between West Virginia, Boston, and Hartford. To make matters worse, our schedule was not forgiving, we faced a tough Vancouver team, and an underachieving Norfolk team who had already beat us once. Then we would hit the road to take on Reno and Boston in a game that could decide the division crown!

To make matters worse, MLB Tony Martin went down with a busted knee, and RB Julian Schwab was out for the season with ligament damage in his knee, an injury that would eventually end his career. Our stud lockdown cornerback Mac Breland, who had just signed a big contract, was out with a compound leg fracture. Things looked bleak. However, the team came up big. We won three games in a row going into a showdown with Boston, in Boston for the final game.

West Virginia was at 10-5 and leading the division, Boston and Hartford were both tied at 9-5-1. West Virginia was playing Norfolk whom they always had fits with. Any of the three teams could win the division, Boston and Hartford both needed wins and a WVA loss, and WVA just needed a win. With the offense sputtering, and the season appearing to be lost in the 4th quarter. Jerome Mueller led the offense down the field. First, to score a FG, to close the gap with the Dragons. Then, he led another drive for a final TD and the game! The Grizzlies looked up at the scoreboard, and it appeared that division would be theirs as the Vipers were leading the Beasts of West Virginia. Then, Gerald Sanders led West Virginia on a TD drive as time ran out to win the division for the Beasts.

Stunned by the sudden comeback, and moving from a possible #1 seed in the conference to the #5 seed, the Grizzlies responded. They went on the road to St. Louis and defeated the Cardinals handily in revenge for their defeat the previous year. That brought on a rubber match with West Virginia in West Virginia for the right to move on to the AC Conference Finals. In a tough game, Jerome Mueller was again triumphant as he led the Grizzlies to a stunning 20-17 win over the vastly more talented Beasts.

However, no one knows who did it, but foul play was definitely involved. Some point their fingers at the scouts of the Anchorage Lynx in their effort to gain revenge against the Grizzlies for ruining their season the year before in ending Theron Galicia's career. Some point their fingers at irate Beast fans, who unable to advance in the playoffs for a second straight year took out their frustrations on the rival Grizzlies. What is known, is that 7 starters and a total of 11 Grizzly players came down with a mysterious food bourne virus that knocked them out of the Championship game. The entire backfield, except for Jerome Mueller and William Dostie came down with the illness. Half of the starting defense did as well. Even with this handicap, the Grizzlies still played hard, but fell to the Anchorage Lynx, who went on the the Imperial Bowl, only to be defeated by the Madison Demons.

booooooo

I hear Grizzlies players shave their legs.

Go Dragons! ;)

Naw, we just knock the dookie out of people.

That said, I need to come up with a new uniform...

You walked into a nice setup with Boston. They've got the talent to compete for a playoff spot this year. Next year, with good off season moves, they might be one of the favorites in the division.

That said, I'd like to see someone play as well with the worst talent in the league right now!

The league has a Murfreesboro team? Awesome. :)

Does anyone know how to bring in the charts without all the formatting going away?

What charts? Sorry, I just woke up. Try using the code tags for whatever you're doing.

Going into the 2005 off-season I had some decisions to make. For two straight years, we had a playoff team that was arguably the best or second best in the conference playing with rookie QBs!

Jerome Mueller's stat line from 2004:
219 of 337 for a completion percentage of 64.9% for 1944 yards at 5.76 per attempt throwing 10 TDs against only 2 INTs for a QB rating of 87.6. More importantly his record in his starts was 9-2-1.

Just underneath Mueller for first on the lifetime completion percentage was our 2003 QB, Harry Moss. His numbers:
243 of 403 for 60.2% for 2325 at 5.76 yards per attempt throwing 15 TDs against 10 INTs for a QB rating of 78.3. Moss' record in his starts was 8-6.

I felt that we would be set with Mueller for at least another year. He did exactly what we asked of him, and he did it better than Moss had. Only 2 INTs really helped our defense out, as that clamped down after our first two games. Scott Nelson was tradeable since he was too mistake prone for us, and never seemed to play up to his ratings. We shipped him off to Newark for a 2nd round draft pick.

We had several holes that loomed large after our injuries from the previous year. First, at RB we had no starting caliber backs. Wallace Marcano was a capable runner, but he was in his 8th year and was best used as a backup. At LB, we needed to add another body, preferably a good one since Martin had still not recovered from his injury and we did not know if his ratings would take a hit. In 5 starts in 2004, he had 38 tackles and 17 assists! For those keeping track, that is 7 tackles and 3 assists per game. He also had 3 passes defensed, which is good for a starting LB. At CB we were in big trouble, Mitchell Green was entering his 13th season and was beginning to slip. The good news was he was a mentor. Mac Breland was back, but his ratings had taken a beating. He was still outstanding at BnR, but we were not a BnR team. At safety, we needed help because Charles Reddick was slipping and was entering his 14th year, and Roy Brown, although not slipping, was getting up there in age as well.

However, this was still the team that nearly made the Imperial Bowl the year before. I decided to stick with the team as is, and just add some draft picks.

Our picks were in the 28th slot for all the rounds. In the first round, Stanley Jamison fell to us. This was a bit of a surprise since he was the second best RB on the board, but his combine was average, and some of his bars left something to be desired. However, there were two things that stuck out to me. First, he had a maxed bar for endurance and 3rd down running. Avoid fumbles was at 96 as well. So this was a guy that could handle the load, and when we needed something in a 3rd down situation he would be the guy, plus, he wouldn't fumble. Additionally, he was a good receiver out of the backfield which would fit in well with my offensive philosophy.

In the second round, we originally did not have a draft pick. However, sending Scott Nelson to Newark netted us the 17th pick in the round. We picked a very solid MLB out of Penn State, Danny Scott. I figured that if he panned out, he would start at MLB, and if Tony Martin came back with full ratings, we would have enough quality backers to either trade him, or move to a 3-4.

For my next pick, I followed a philosophy of mine. If possible, always pick up a QB in the draft. If he booms, the pick will be worth it. If he doesn't work, you have a cheap roster filler. In the third round, I moved up seven spots to 21st to pick up a promising QB out of Texas. His max potential was 54, but he had very good combine scores across the board. I figured that he was worth the pick because he would max out at roughly the same level as Jerome Mueller. Plus, Mueller's potential had slid the previous year, and I wanted some insurance.

My other picks were minor for the most part. Except in the 7th round, I picked up Howie Lucas at 7.28 and he was a mild boom. Instead of roster filler, he might get some playing time at DE.

After the draft, I about had a heart attack. Mueller's numbers slid again. Rufus Swett, a 14 year DE had a precipitous ratings drop, going from high 60s to low 50s. WR Maxwell Roush's ratings also took a hit. Charles Reddick's ratings slid to the point where he was only good at zone defense. Then, Stanley Jamison's bars showed he would only be an average runner, however he would be a big threat out of the backfield. To make matters worse, the entire OL, except for my center and RTs took small hits. My gamble had failed.

However, there was some good news. I had wisely spent two drafts upgrading my LB corps and my WR corps. I might not have any game breakers at either position, but we weren't going to lose a lot, and with luck might even improve at each position. I had a better QB position than I had, with both Mueller and Hickman good young QBs. At RB, I at least had someone that could chew up some yards and handle the load. The DL had not completely fallen apart, but was going to need overhauling in the near future. The secondary was a mess.

We had our normal start of the year swoon. We start out 0-3, but then move to 5-3 at mid-season. We appear as though we are off to our late season run, and just as in the previous year, our starting QB goes down. This time it is Jerome Mueller who goes down with ACL damage. We move Jim Hickman to starter and real off two wins. We lose four in a row, a couple of them were heartbreakers, so we don't panic yet. Then, we right the ship in an impressive performance against Texas. But, we lose 3 straight to finish 6-10.

The frustrating part of this season is that we were unable to run, pass, or play defense. We used smoke and mirrors during our winning streak, even had to resort to a 101 yard kickoff return for a TD to beat Albuquerque. Changes need to be made. Our defense was exposed as having no pass defense at all during our losing streak at the end of the year.

Most frustrating was our inability to defeat our division foes, we go 1-5 in the division, and that is a big reason why we are stuck with a draft pick in the top 10 of the draft for the first time.

We entered the 2006 off-season with a number of questions and answers. First, Tony Martin had returned in the middle of the 2005 season, and that corresponded with our late season swoon. However, he was still one of the top MLBs in the game (72/72). At QB, we have two proven players, Jim Hickman actually played very well in his first season, and played well enough to be considered a starter in 2006. In 10 games, he threw for over 2000 yards, which is very good for the Grizzlies QB. He completed 61.4% of his passes, and threw for 10 TDs and 12 INTs. The problem was the INTs were killers. He was a step up from Mueller, who only threw for over 100 yards in 3 of his starts! However, we had no plans to move Mueller since he had a proven track record from the previous year. He was also 3-3 in his starts in 2005.

The secondary was a mess. We needed to find adequate players, but also players who could defend against the run, as we had very little run defense in 2006. Even though Martin had returned from his knee injury at full strength, we needed additional depth and players at LB. We had drafted well in the previous two seasons, acquiring OJ Boyer in the third round of the 2004 draft, and Danny Scott in the second round of the 2005 draft. Both were promising young ILBs who should start for a long time. We needed additional OLBs, since Clyde Athey was an average player, and Jonathan Leong was a pass rush specialist. On the D-Line, we needed to get younger as Rufus Swett was only going to get older, and my other two starters were getting up in years. In the secondary, Charles Reddick retired so I needed help at FS.

The flip side, we would actually be drafting fairly high in the first round of the draft. I had a middle of the second round pick due to my dealing Scott Nelson in 2005. My plans were to pick up a good WR in the draft in the first round, and then get a solid LB or DB in the second round of the draft.

The draft list came out, and it was dreadful. The top WR was rated at a 61 potential and had a low endurance. Not exactly the type of guy I wanted to see. At D-Line there was one standout, and a couple of other solid players. At QB, there were a ton of options, but no one that I really saw as an upgrade to Jim Hickman (whose ratings inched up in the off-season). There was a stud CB prospect, but after that, not any great 1st round players. At RB, there were a couple of intriguing prospects, but I did not want to spend two 1st round picks in a row on RBs. On the O-Line, there was one great prospect, but no other sure-fire top of the first round players. At OLB however, there were three good prospects.

The first was Lenny Olson. He had a great upside, but his bars and his workouts put me off a bit. The second was Derrick Goodwin, he had a great current, a very good potential, but again, his combine put me off a bit. The intriguing one to me was Courtney Cleeland, he was third in potential, but had a good current, and an incredible combine. Plus, his bars in Run Defense, Pass Rush Technique and Strength were the best of the bunch. So I figured, I would take a chance on him, even though he had a high volatility. I picked him, and he had a minor boom as he increased 6 points in potential after the draft!

In the second and third rounds, we shored up the RB and S positions by drafting Martin Baker, who had running skills that mirrored Stanley Jamison, and Dwight Jones who has potential to be a solid safety. In a surprise move, we shipped off Jerome Mueller to the Pittsburgh Power in exchange for their second round pick. We picked up a promising young QB with that pick, Deron Markel, a 29/61 prospect with solid combine numbers. He will be a solid QB to backup Jim Hickman, or use as trade bait later. With our second third round pick we pick up Chuck Knight who is a solid backup CB, however given our current situation, he will start for us. We also pick up some help for the front line with Jerome Sales manning the front line for us now, with James Brockaway mentoring him. Our later round picks are basically nothing, so we move on.

Other roster notes, Jim Hickman's potential has inched up a bit to 58. He looks like he is going to mature into a solid, if not very good QB. Our secondary is going to be a mess, but it should be better than in 2005. Our front seven should be solid, and we should have a decent running game. Our passing attack should be somewhat improved with the acquisition of Neal Khan, a deep ball threat.

The 2006 season was a roller coaster ride. We opened the season with a 2-0 record, but against below average competition. Our game against Madison appeared to be a watershed game as we compiled our highest yardage total (417), allowed the fewest yards rushing (28), and our highest sack total (10).

Unfortunately, we lost a heartbreaker against Fresno, as we had a TD called back in the last two minutes on a penalty, on the next play we threw an INT to effectively end the game. In the next game, we had held our arch-rival West Virginia to under 200 yards for the game. Then, 16 year vet Gerald Sanders led the Beasts on a 80 yard drive in under 2 minutes to score a last second TD to send the Grizzlies to defeat.

We then went into a downward spiral that turned into a 3-7 record. It appeared our season was going to be a disaster. Our last six games were against playoff contenders. However, the team pulled together to defeat the Power and the Clawz (the eventual NC and AC North Champions). Then, we went up 17-0 against the Ogres before a 4th quarter collapse cost us the game. We followed that with avenging our earlier loss to West Virginia. We lost a close game to Dakota which ended with us driving to the Dakota 40 as time ran out. Then, we defeated the eventual IFL champion Norfolk Vipers in a final showdown. So we went 4-2 down the stretch against teams with a cumulative record of 55-41. Oddly enough, we lost to the two non-playoff teams.

So the season ended on a high note. We garnered two end of the season awards, 1st Team All-IFL tackle Wesley Flemming and Defensive Rookie of the Year Courtney Cleeland. Other important developments included Jim Hickman developing into a quality starter at QB. Stanley Jamison averaged 4.41 YPC down our closing stretch which is good for any back. Stanley Jamison set a club record for rushing TDs, Jim Hickman set team records for passing yardage and completions, and Courtney Cleeland set a team record for sacks (9.5). All three of these players are completing their first or second season in the league.

2007 The Return of the Grizzlies?
 

2007 dawned with hope for Grizzly nation. We only suffered one retirement as Mitchell Green our CB mentor retired. While we were sad to see him go, his skills had eroded to the point where his only reason for being on the team was to mentor young CBs.

After our last 6 games of the 2006 season, we had reason to feel optimistic. We had been in every game. If we had a few breaks go our way, we could have gone 10-6 and been in the playoffs (assuming we would have won the Fresno, West Virginia, Dakota, and Lansing games, all of which we could have conceivably won). Still, at 7-9 we have the 12th pick in the draft and have few glaring holes.

Here is an overview of our situation at the beginning of the 2007 season.

QB - We have our best situation at QB since the league started. Jim Hickman continues to improve his potential, he is now a 49/60 that has steadily improved since he was drafted in the third round of the 2005 draft. Backing him up is 2nd year man Deron Markel who is a 36/62 player (his ratings have increased marginally since last year). We will again give the nod to Hickman who has better bars in reading defenses, sensing the rush, timing, scrambling, avoiding fumbles, and avoiding interceptions. He also has excellent accuracy, the only quibbles I have is that he is only fair at short, medium, deep, and 3rd down passing (45, 43, 43, 39 future respectively). Our third string guy is going to be cut, to make room for another QB prospect.

RB - We have our best RB situation since the middle of the 2005 campaign. We have Stanley Jamison who finally hit his stride running at the end of last season, and is a huge threat as a receiver out of the backfield. Backing him up is Martin Baker who is very similar to Jamison. Baker lacks the receiving threat that Jamison is out of the backfield. Ryan Royse is a 4th year man who will probably be cut if we can find another back in FA or the draft.

FB - Arguably our strongest position. We have William Dostie who has been one of the top FBs in the IFL for the past three seasons. He has averaged 4.05 YPC over the history of the league, and he has caught at least 51 passes each season. Anthony Gaudette is a quality back up for Dostie. He has also been a steady blocker converting over 40% of his KRO the last two years.

TE - We enter the season with only one player under contract. Fletcher Sala is the Grizzly leader in career receptions. In each of the last two seasons he has caught over 60 passes for over 600 yards. He has also been a solid blocker.

WR - We have never had top notch talent at WR. This is one of our top priorities this off-season. Returning we have Neal Khan, Dave Billings, Maxwell Roush, and Vernon Watkins. Watkins is at best a career backup. Dave Billings excelled last year as a 3rd WR (leading the team's WRs in receptions). Neal Khan is the deep ball threat, but was blanketed by the other team's DBs last year. Roush was once a productive player, but he has steadily declined in each of the last few years, and is entering his 12th campaign.

Offensive Line - Another strength of the team, the offensive line is solid. Wesley Flemming has been a 1st team All IFL tackle three of the last four seasons. Kyle Hartman is a former 1st round pick that has developed into a solid, but unspectacular RT. We have a hole at LG, as James Brockway's contract has expired, but in his 14th season, I do not know if he should have his contract extended. At RG, Stephen Suarez has been a solid run blocker who converted 34.5% of his KRO last year. Anchoring the line in the middle is Tracy Damian who is one of the better centers in the league. He has posted a respectable 30.4% career KRO conversion rate. He is entering his 6th season. We have depth at center, but lack depth at the other positions.

Defensive Line - On the left side of the line, Andy Rick has been burying opposing runners for four seasons. His skills have been eroding, but he is still an excellent (84/87) run defender. At NT, Bryce Tan is a two time 1st team All-IFL NT. He is the IFL's career leader in sacks for a DT. On the right side of the line, Randall Williamson is a restricted FA who will be resigned. He has shown improvement in potential every year since he was originally drafted in the 7th round of the 2004 draft. He posted 6.5 sacks in the 2006 campaign splitting time with former starter Rufus Swett who will not be retained. There is little depth here aside from some young low round draft picks.

Linebackers - This is our strongest position on the defense, and probably our best position on the team. In each of the last three seasons, we have drafted a linebacker who has started at least one season. The best player here was the IFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2006, SLB Courtney Cleeland. In his first season, he posted 72 tackles, 20 assists, 9.5 sacks, 1 blocked pass, 4 hurries, and 9 passes defensed. At SILB, we have Tony Martin a stud (72/72) who is entering his 8th season. He was a beast last season where his tackle percentage was 17.9%! At WILB, we have 3rd year man Danny Scott who is a solid all around player. At WLB, Jonathan Leong has finally found a home as a dedicated pass rusher. He posted an impressive 2006 season with 47 tackles, 19 assists, 4 sacks, 3 blocked passes, 9 hurries, 1 INT, 1 TD. We have quality depth in OJ Boyer who posted 72 tackles in 2006, and Clyde Athey who added 2 sacks in 2006.

Secondary - This is a position in shambles this year. While we are in a better situation overall than this time last year, we are looking for a starter at CB and FS. However, our two starters are solid defenders. Roy Brown was a 1st Team All-IFL safety in 2005 and was robbed in 2006. He has posted three straight seasons of at least 6 INTs. Larry Seifert was a solid defender in 2006 with 3 INTs. He is an excellent zone coverage (91/91) CB, and can hold up well against the run. If we can find starters at FS and CB, we will actually have some pretty good depth, but the question is will we be able to find those players?

Looking at each of these positions, this is my list of priorities for the off-season:

1) WR - If we can add a top notch WR, I expect that our offense will finally be able to take flight. We have a quality RB, TE, FB, and solid depth at WR. We just need that top WR to take the pressure off the other WRs on the team.
2) CB - We need a starting quality CB badly. If we can get a guy that is solid at multiple coverage schemes great, if not I would be happy with a "system" guy.
3) FS - See comments above
4) LG - Ideally we find a stud here so that we can run anywhere behind the left half of our line. There are plenty of quality guards in FA, so I think we will get our wish.
5) DE/DT help - We are set at our starters, but depth would be appreciated.

After FA stage 1, we filled three of our top four needs.

RG Lowell Stubblefield, a 61/61 RG 6 year vet, signed a 4 year deal at roughly $2.5-3 million per year. I am going to see whether Stubblefield or Suarez plays better on the left side of the line, but in either case, our left side of our offensive line is going to be a beast.

SS Steve Frausto signed a 3 year $4.5 million deal. He immediately steps in as the starter and the captain of the secondary. He is a wonderful fit for us both on the field and off, as he is developing affinities with several of our DBs. On the field he is a good run defender and is great in zone coverage which will be our primary scheme this year.

WR Ed Gaylor came over in a trade from Tulsa. Ed is a former first round draft pick, he is currently 44/52, but has excellent route running skills and is a good third down receiver. This is exactly what we were looking for. We gave up a 4th round draft pick this year, and a 2nd rounder next year. His current cap number is $1.78 million, but we are attempting to negotiate a contract extention that will keep him here for at least three more years with a maximum cap number of $2.75 to $3 million in the last year.

We are still pursuing a couple of DBs and another S in FA. However, the initial ventures in the FA and trade markets have accomplished two things. First, we have gotten younger on the OL and in the WR corps. Second, we have filled significant holes for the next three years at least. If we can swing one or two more trades and make a FA deal or two, we will be sitting pretty. As it stands right now, we have two major contracts that expire next year with close to $30 million in free cap space to resign those players and add 7 or 8 other players to fill roster spots.

2007 FA Stage 2
 

Unfortunately Gary Montiel decided that Dakota would be a better place to play then in Hartford. This is a bit of a blow to us. I was hoping that Montiel would sign with us, and give us more depth in the secondary. We still have one more CB that we are targeting, but that will need to wait until tomorrow at the least.

We restructured several contracts. MLB Tony Martin's contract was extended to a three year deal at a range of $1.08 to $1.75 million. P Bernie Reid, RT Ryan Hartman, and WR Ed Gaylor also signed restructured deals. In the case of Ed Gaylor, we are getting him for just over $2 million per year for the next four years!

This gives us a very good cap number for the next couple of years. We are getting younger, and we have locked up our core players for the next few years.

We also brokered a surprise deal today. Houston sent 33/70 RT Overton to us for 36/62 QB Deron Markel and a fifth round draft pick next year. This gives us two young, intelligent, capable tackles that have less than 5 years experience on the line. The future of our OL appears to be Damian, Stubblefield, Overton, and Hartman. We just need to find a young LG/RG and we're set for the foreseeable future.

We also are trying to work another trade out, but this one may not be as easy. There is a significant cap number that needs to be dealt with, and I am not sure if we will be able to work that trade out.

looking good Warhammer

Thanks, its good to see that someone is reading this!

2007 FA 2
 

We just brokered another deal. Again, we are dealing picks for WRs. We pick up Gary Ferreira from the Albuquerque Matadors along with pick 2.9 in the upcoming draft for our pick 1.12. This is a good deal for both teams. Albuquerque is clearing nearly $6 million in cap room, while we get another good route running WR for our revamped WR corps.

To make room, we are cutting the following players:

G Augustin Cimino
LB Richard Patton
S Burt Mc Williams

Additionally, it is rumored that Ferreira is seeking to renegotiate his contract for $1.5 million for this year. We will still have plenty of room to sign other players to keep filling holes.

2007 FA 4
 

The big prize SS Eric Brito is still not signing with anyone. We managed to get Ferreira's cap number down to manageable levels and signed CB Curtis LeClair. He's nothing super special, but he is a good zone coverage guy. I want to stockpile several of them and see how they perform during the season.

I plan on taking CBs Seifert, Lister, and Knight with me into the season. I need two more guys back there. What I love to do, is play zone between the 20s and then move to a BnR coverage inside the red zone, but Seifert (who is clearly my best CB) is not that great at BnR. I can double team to his side, but I might need to scrap this plan as there are not many dual Zone/BnR guys out there.

2007 FA 5 and 6
 

Eric Brito decided to stay with Dakota, but he still signed for a big wad of cash. This is not the end of the world for us, but it would have been nice had we signed him. He played well in all sorts of coverages, so we could have switched things up quite a bit down the road if we needed to.

We also lost out on Edward Latham. He was a guy that I decided to put a late bid on after I traded Markel. He was a solid mid 40s QB that would have been an ideal backup to Hickman this year.

Our big signing over the last few days was Hector Smith. He was brought on to bring Charles Overton along and backup Flemming at LT. We probably overpaid for him, but the impact a mentor can have on an O-Line guy is big.

The other interesting tidbit, West Virginia has officially gone into rebuilding mode. This is HUGE for us. That takes away the biggest threat in the division behind Norfolk. However, Boston is making some moves that could be troublesome for us as well. But, given what we have done and what they have done, I think we have improved the most in our division this year.

Other good news around the AC, Fresno has been making huge moves all off-season. This bodes well for us as that means more competition for Albuquerque and Anchorage. If they are busy beating each other up, hopefully, they won't be able to compete for the Wild Card. As of right now, I think the two teams that have improved the most this off-season in our conference is Fresno and us. Hopefully, that will carry over to the field.

2007 FA 7 and The Draft Begins
 

Not much happened on the FA front. We made an offer to our 14 year vet LG James Brockway. I hope he signs, if only for his mentor status as we have G Jerome Sales who is entering his second year. He should become a solid backup G with some help.

In the draft, I had targeted a few needs:

1) TE - This draft was rich with TEs, so I figured I should be able to get a good TE to backup Sala and eventually replace him.
2) QB - With the trade of Deron Markel, I needed a new backup QB.
3) CB - There was plenty of good young talent at CB, I figure I can get someone who can help in the draft.
4) S - Even though I upgraded the S corp, Roy Brown is in his 14th year and Bertram Richardson is not far behind.
5) DE - Even though the DT pickings are slim, we can get younger at DE with several promising young DE prospects.

The original plan was to take Jorge Donnalley or Irv Molnar with my pick at 2.9. Then, I would take which ever QB of the top 3 which were still available. Jorge Donnalley and Molnar were both taken at the end of the first round. No worries, there were two safeties I could pick up who could make an immediate impact. No such luck though, both prospects were picked up in the first few picks of the second round. Then, I figured I could take DE Bennie Garner who had a great combine, good skills, and a high volatility. Unfortunately, Murphreesboro picked him at 2.5. So we took our top rated DE on the board at 2.9, Nolan Fisk. He is a bit of a risk, as he does not grade out at absolute top of any category, but he is top 10 in all but agility, where he is in the top 20% of the position. He has a high volatility, so that could hurt us a bit, but his bars back up his ratings, except for play diagnosis. Since he has a Solecismic score of 30, we might get a decent boom from this.

With our pick at 2.12 we agonized for a good 45 minutes when our pick came up. There was a 33/66 TE that I considered taking there, but it was obvious that I needed to replace Deron Markel at this point. Fortunately, no QBs had been picked yet. We had the pick of the litter.

There were two QBs that we had our eye on. Both were in the top 7 in all categories except for agility. One was rated 21/58 with the best dash and strength in the class, and fifth best solecismic score. The other was rated 24/50 with the third best dash, second best strength, and the third best solecismic score. They had the same agility which was in the bottom quarter of the class. The first QB had a lower volatility, which the second had a volatility of 99. Which to choose, both had good reasons to choose each. In the end, I opted to choose Lincoln Norton. He was the safe bet, and that is what we need in our backup QB. Additionally, his bars are very similar to Jim Hickman's so we will not need to make many adjustments when he comes into the game.

Nice pick with Norton. If I didn't have bigger needs I would have picked him with 2.2.

The funny thing is, if you would have told me that I would have been able to draft him at 2.12, I would have been ecstatic. But, the way everything has gone, I was a bit gun shy.

2007 Draft Rounds 1 & 2 analysis
 

The first round was fairly interesting. Here are some of the highlights:

1) RB Scott Fortune the top rated player on the board goes to Murphreesboro with the top pick. This was a solid pick for them, and will take some of the pressure off of last year's #1 overall pick QB Otis Peterson.

2) DE Raymond Webb goes to the Boston Dragons. This is actually a very ominous pick. Webb is a 38/81 stud that would have been my pick at the top. He gives Boston two good book ends on his D-Line. What makes this worse is we get to see Mr. Webb twice every year. Boston's defense is going to be scary good next season.

3) We nade a good decision trading our 1.12 to Albuquerque for Ferreira. The top 3 WRs were off the board by that time, and none of the remaining guys on the board that we were looking at were worth the pick.

4) West Virginia took WR Carlton Weaver with their first round pick. This was a bit of a head scratcher to me. There were plenty of other options open to them, especially considering all the holes they currently have. I would have taken a good young OL or DL guy and allowed him to develop while I got other guys. They don't have a good enough QB to worry about finding targets for.

5) Boston made another stellar pick at 1.30. While I do question why they picked RB Tony Moriarty, he was excellent an excellent value at this point in the draft. Moriarty is a 40/60 RB with some upside. I was going to take him if he slipped to 2.9. This allows Boston to explore trade options for Tory Wigfall. I might need to try and swing a deal for Wigfall, he is not a bad back at all, he's just been misused I believe.

6) Norfolk picked up a solid young offensive guard at the end of the round. Dusty Stewart has good potential, but he will take some time to develop. That is good news for us. If Norfolk is going to have a weakness entering next season it is the offensive line.

7) At 1.14 West Virginia picked Nick Kersey who I think is going to be the best back out of a pretty good RB class. This could wind up being the steal of the draft, but it all depends on whether Kersey hangs on to the ball or not.

8) The steal of the draft will probably be pick 1.20 though. Salt Lake City drafted 33/67 WLB Victor Barber. This guy can play outside on a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme and is great in coverage. He might stay at WLB, but he might move over to SLB. The guy could also play inside as well. He is a can't miss prospect and should be the IFL's Rookie Defensive Player of the Year.

The second round was a had some interesting picks as well.

1) FS Kris Benton was picked by Murphreesboro one step ahead of FS Quinn Surdyk. Benton is the superior athletic prospect (not by much though), but he is going to take some time to develop and will be fooled quite a bit by a crafty offense (poor play diagnosis). Surdyk is a little more raw, but he is a quick learner. Unfortunately, he goes to Boston, who has plenty of talent in their secondary now.

2) Murphreesboro righted the ship shortly thereafter at 2.5. They picked up DE Bennie Garner, who is should be a big surprise this year. After TEs Donnalley and Molnar, RB Moriarty, FS Surdyk all got picked, I was hoping to snag Garner. It wasn't meant to be.

3) At 2.12 we take the first QB in the draft. Lincoln Norton is the safe QB pick here. There were a couple of higher volatility guys I was looking at, but given my QB situtation I wanted to take the player that was going to be a solid backup guy. If Norton improves at all, he could compete for the starting job down the road, but that was not my priority here. We need a capable player in case Hickman goes down. A 21/58 guy with potential upside here is a steal in my opinion.

4) At 2.19 Fresno makes an excellent pickup in getting J.R. Bias here. He is an 18/61 OG that should be a solid player once he develops.

5) St. Louis than makes what I consider to be a blunder. They take Cornelius Hutton, a guy who looks good, but has plenty of question marks at QB. I think they were hoping for lightning in a bottle, I think they got a load of crap.

6) At 2.19, Little Rock makes an excellent pickup in Devin Bell. This guy is another solid OLB, after him the talent in the OLB pool takes a nose dive. This guy also has the potential to improve making him a steal here. He is an excellent WLB for a 4-3 scheme in that he is stout against the run, but a little lacking in the pass rush department (relatively, this guy is still pretty good there).

7) My pick for the "Gotta Watch What This Guy Does Award" is WR Will Blackman. This guy is a high volatility guy picked by Pittsburgh at 2.21. I thought this guy was a better fit in the 3rd round, but I understand why Pittsburgh took him here. He could be a huge star, but I always worry about WRs that have a 7.20 agility and high volatility.

2007 Off Season Mid Point Report
 

Since we are halfway through the draft and the Early FA Signing period I thought I would conduct Hartford's Mid-Off-Season Report.

We entered into this off-season with two units in need of a major influx of talent. Those were our receiving corps and our secondary. We got busy right away making moves that brought WRs Ed Gaylor and Gary Ferreira to the team. Both of these players were signed to restructured deals that will keep both players in Hartford for the prime of their careers.

In the secondary we brought in SS Steve Frausto who immediately became the secondary leader and formed some strong bonds with several of his teammates back there. We also brought on Steve LeClair (?) who will serve as a nickel or dime back. It appears that we will be unable to improve the second CB position, but we should still be a better team with the maturation of CB Chuck Knight and FS Dwight Jones back there.

The offensive line was not a top priority for us, but we knew that we were going to do some retooling up there in the near future. That future is now, with the acquisition of RT Charles Overton and RG Lowell Stubblefield. Ryan Hartman had been a bit of a disappointment at RT since we drafted him with our first draft pick (post dispersal draft), but he is an ideal back up or spot starter with good run and pass blocking techniques and solid blocking strength. RT Charles Overton will be a nice upgrade over Hartman in both the running and passing game. To facilitate his maturation this year, we brought in Hector Smith to mentor him. The signing of Stubblefield is huge. Yes, we still need to bring in a young starting quality OG in the next year or two to replace Suarez, but it is no longer the top priority on the line. Jerome Sales is an adequate backup for the next few years, so we should be able to upgrade the position using a first round pick either next year, or the year after. Regardless, the offensive line is once again one of the top offensive lines in the IFL.

The quarterback situation is not as rosy as it was going into the off-season. We still have Jim Hickman running the show, but we traded Deron Markel. This is not a show stopper for us, since Markel would only see action if Hickman is hurt, but you always question trading 60+ potential QBs regardless of their position on the depth chart. However, we are pleased with Lincoln Norton in the second round of the draft. My only question is whether TJ McIver was the better pick. Both were very close in terms of initial talent and combine scores. I opted to go the safe route in hopes of acquiring a low risk backup quarterback that has a lot in common with Hickman. We got that, but I will question this decision for the time being until we see how McIver pans out. I hoped to get McIver in the 5th round possibly, but it was not to be.

The tight end position was strengthed considerably with the pick up of Tito Hernandez. He should be a solid contributor and eventual successor to Fletcher Sala. Hernandez will allow us to run a 2TE set in most formations. Hopefully, Hickman will fully grasp the single-back 2TE set so we can use that as a base formation along with the Pro Set 2TE set. His development will enable us to pass or run with equal effectiveness from each set.

Nolan Fisk was an important draft pick. Not only do we get front line help, but Fisk is an every down player at DE. He will be moved to RDE where his pass rushing skills will shine, and Williamson will be moved to LDE to backup Andy Rick and also be used in pass rushing situations. Fisk also alleviates a headache I have been worrying about for a while, if Rick retires before I expect him to. Now we have our next starter already in place. There is only one more position on the line that we need to get our starter for the next generation, NT.

I believe we have successfully turned over the roster for this squad. There are still some older contributors that need to be replaced, but we are no longer in the dire straits we were in just one short year ago. There are three starters that are getting close to the end of their careers that will leave a void, SS Roy Brown, DT Bryce Tan, and LT Wesley Flemming. In the case of Brown, Frausto will move to SS and Dwight Jones will start at FS in the short term. For Flemming, we will use Hartman (who has experience at both RT and LT) in the LT slot until a replacement can be drafted. In the case of Tan, we will have to look to the draft.

We now have a good mix of youth and experience on the team. We are no longer drafting for positions of need, but more to build depth and to acquire future starters. We have done this without breaking the bank for next year. With 46 players signed, and only two starters without contracts for next year, we are projected to be $24 million under next year's salary cap. Not only have we rebuilt, but we're ready to make more major strides next off-season.

2007 FA through st. 14 and draft though rd. 6
 

I am going to keep this brief, as I am working on a position by position breakdown along with a more indepth draft review once the draft is completed.

In round 3, we picked up Tito Hernandez. He is good enough to immediately step into our #2 TE slot, provided he does not bust.

In the 5th round, we picked up LDT Riddick Chrebet. I have high hopes for him, and will move him to NT to backup Bryce Tan.

In the 6th round, we took a risk on Dusty Forland. If this pays off, we have our LT of the future. If he is a bust, we'll cut his ass!

2007 Pre Camp Positional Breakdown AC East
 

This is cross-posted from the IFL forums, but I am using my own work!

This is a combination of past performance and expected performance in the coming year. All opinions are my own, and are open to debate.

QB

1. Harold Lozier is the best QB in the league right now and has an IFL Championship Ring to prove it. He is also the best QB in the AC East hands down.

2. Jim Hickman is the surprise #2 QB on this list. He surpasses both Mulcahy and Sante. Unlike Hickman is a bit more consistent than Sante, and does not take as many sacks. He has also scored some TDs with his feet with two in the past year. Many of the TDs this past year was due to more of the offense leaning on him, and not having the top flight receivers that could get open consistently. The result was more INTs.

3. Reuben Sante is the #3 QB in the AC East. He has the tools, but is this the year he puts it all together? He has had quality targets in his WRs, but he has been unable to get the job done. This year he should take another stride forward, if he doesn't it will be a long year in Boston.

4. Jared Mulcahy brings up the end of the list. He will never be confused with the "Colonel," but he is a heady QB who will not lose many games for you. Unfortunately, he does not have the same tools that he had in Columbia so do not be surprised if there is a drop in his QB rating this year.

RB

1. Quick, name which RB ran for the most yards in the AC East last year! If you said Stanley Jamison, you're correct! He's back, and he has a revamped OL in front of him. Expect big things from Stanley this year. Over the last six games of last season, Jamison rushed for 649 yards on 147 carries, good for a 4.41 YPA, and 6 TDs. With defenses expected to respect Hartford's WRs, Jamison should find new lanes to run in.

2. Norfolk's William Brown is the next guy on the list. He slipped a bit in 2006, finishing just shy of 1000 yards. However, don't be fooled, he is still one of the primary cogs in the Norfolk attack as he added 431 yards receiving to his rushing totals. He is the complete package and if you decide to stop the "Finger," you'll get the shaft as Brown shoves it down your throat.

3. Boston's two headed beast could be the next coming of the Byner and Mack attack, or it could be a disaster. However, there is talent here with Tory Wigfall as the battering ram and Tony Moriarty picking his holes behind his OL. The downfall of this attack is going to be the offensive line. Although Boston has two bookends, they have nowhere to run inside.

4. With the departure of Abraham Spangler, West Virginia lost the franchise's leading rusher. Nicky Kersey appears to be primed to step into the starter's role, but yards will be hard to come by. Expect opponent's to stack the line and dare Mulcahy to beat them.

OL

1. This may be a bit of a surprise. Hartford's OL gets the nod here as the best line in the East, narrowly beating out the Vipers' line. First, the line gave up 13 fewer sacks than the Vipers' line did. Additionally, the line opened up more holes in the running game than Norfolk's did. It might be comraderie that has put the Grizzlies line over the top, the guys genuinely like each other, and if one player gives up a play, they feel like they all did.

2. On paper, Norfolk has the best line in the division. However, the results have not been up to what you would expect. Still, if this line can put everything together, it can be the dominant line in the division.

3. Boston's line is nothing to sneeze at, but it is also nothing to fear either. However, they do seem to get more out of their abilities than Norfolk's line, but you get the feeling watching these guys that they are playing as well as they can. Some parts of the line are aging and one has to wonder when their performance will begin tailing off.

4. West Virginia's line is not the proud unit of year's past that formed the battle line that the "Colonel" orchestrated his gridiron magic behind. However, they are attempting to infuse youth into the aging unit by drafting several young interior linemen. This may help this unit out in the long run, but this will be a long year for them.

TE

1. Jerald Harden is easily the best TE in the division. The guy can do everything. However, though he is a capable blocker, given that Brown likes to pound it between the tackles, he does nto get the opportunities to help out in the running game as Lee does for the Beasts. He has led the Vipers in receiving each of the last two years.

2. "Lighthorse" Henry Lee has been one of the best dual threats at the position since the league was founded. He has sure hands, but can also open holes in the running game.

3. Closely behind Lee in terms of performance is Fletcher Sala. Sala has led the Grizzlies in receiving each of the past two years. He is also a capable blocker when Jamison goes to the outside.

4. Weldon Brownell is a capable player, but Sante rarely looks for him. He only caught 24 passes last year. However, he is a capable blocker in the running game.

WR

1. We're going with the proven unit here. Norfolk's WR corps has accomplished more than the more talented Boston crew the past few years. However, they do not have the best talent in the division. If Sante gets his act together, Boston's receivers might take the top spot.

2. Hartford made some major moves in the off-season. Gary Ferreira caught 51 passes last year for the Matadors, as their third option. Ed Gaylor has caught 153 passes the last two seasons, and immediately moves into the #2 WR position. Provided Hickman can get the ball to these guys, they will make plays. Hartford also has the best depth in the division as they go five deep.

3. Boston has the best top 3 WRs on paper, but it they need to turn their potential into production. However, the bigger culprits in their lack of productivity is the OL and Sante. If they can turn those positions around, expect these guys to shine.

4. Weaver and Simpson might be a dynamic duo in years to come, don't expect it this year. Simpson is still at the top of his game, but will the ball get in range for him to do something with it?

Defensive Line

1. If the rumors out of camp are to be believed, Boston's line is going to be tops in the division. With the acquisition of Raymond Webb, the line was immediately improved. When Fritz Gaddas was picked up, he was expected to play in limited duty. However, the news out of camp is that he has been the best player on the defensive side of the ball. For someone to steal headlines from Ames, he must be special.

2. West Virginia returns a very unheralded, but very effective line. They return 3 players to the front line that had at least 40 tackles and 3 sacks. Very efficient and productive if you ask us.

3. Hartford's Bryce Tan might get all the headlines, but this line gets production across the board. Andy Rick had 40 tackles last year, and just keeps getting the job done. Randall Williamson turned in 22 tackles and 6.5 sacks last season in splitting time with Rufus Swett.

4. There is talent here for Norfolk, but not when compared to the rest of the division. Robbie Devore is on the downside of his career, but Karl Austin appears primed to take his place late this year, or early next season.

LB

1. In what was the toughest position to rate, Boston's LB corps takes first, edging out Norfolk's unit. They got 211 tackles out of their ILBs , and their OLBs posted respectable stats as well.

2. Norfolk's LBs take second in a close race. Their production out of their ILBs is nothing less than extraordinary. They got 194 tackles out of the ILBs last year, and they weren't too shabby against the pass either.

3. Hartford's unit goes 6 deep, and those players posted 320 tackles. As this unit improves, expect them to inch up this list, but the productivity of their defensive line hurts their numbers a bit.

4. West Virginia lacks the depth of the top three teams in the division. However, Noah is still one of the top ILBs in the league.

DBs

1. Based on past performance West Virginia's secondary appears to be the best in the division, however this appears to be by default.

2. Boston has the potential to be the best in the division, but they have a hole at the second safety position. If Quinn Surdyk is ready to step into the role, this team could easily have the best unit in the division.

3. Norfolk's unit is respectable, but they lack complementary skills across the board. They are susceptable to the big play as seen in last year's IFL Bowl.

4. Hartford retooled the secondary in the off-season. Seifert is a good cover man, but the #2 CB position still needs to be filled. Roy Brown seems to be slipping, but Steve Frauso fills the #2 safety position, and should move into Brown's SS position next season.

2007 Exhibition Week 2 TUL at HAR
 

This week, the Tulsa Cows came to town to face the Hartford Grizzlies in the exhibition opener for both squads. Tulsa was playing mainly backups, whereas the Grizzlies are using starters at several areas.

I made the decision to use my starters for a number of reasons:

1) With all the changes made, I want to develop as much cohesion as possible before the season. The primary areas are the OL, WR, and secondary.

2) I want to develop my young talent, again the primary areas here are the OL, DL, and secondary.

3) On offense, I want to see how successful I am opening up our game plan. The full plan has not been implemented yet, but the key areas have been.


This was an impressive game for us. We scored in three plays on our first possesion. We held our opponent to only 9 points until we had a 21 point lead in the 4th quarter. Hickman's numbers may not have been so impressive, but add those 3 drops to his completion total and he was 12 of 16. I will take that any day.

The RBs had a stellar day averaging over 4 YPC. The defense played well. All in all a good day for us. However, we did get pretty nicked up, but those players were placed on the inactive list and no one is any worse than a 2 week injury.

2007 Exhibition Week 2 Mid-Week
 

This week we lost out on a veteran FS that had been released by Louisiana. Ronald Dukes was an experienced player that was stellar at zone defense. We put in a minimum offer, but Tulsa got him for that.

We finished implementing the offense, however we went heavier on 1st down passing than we would normally. The reason for this is I want to see how we perform with our top offensive players in a pass heavy offense.

For running situations, I have instituted a heavy 2 TE attack. First, Fletcher Sala is a solid TE, but he is aging. Tito Hernandez is a good, albeit young, TE who we need to develop. With both on the field at the same time, we can develop Hernandez while maximizing the use of Sala while we have him.

The 2 TE sets are used through the slight passing situations. I intend to run the offense with %s between 45-55% for normal situations. By retaining the 2TE sets in the slight passing situations, I keep the defenses off balance by making short passes to the TE. Since Hernandez and Sala are excellent receivers, this should help us quite a bit with favorable matchups against LBs, who are normally weak in coverage.

In the passing situations, we morph from a Pro-set team to a single back team with a strong flavor of the strong formation. Unfortunately, none of our QBs are proficient in a 4 or 5 WR set yet, but we'll get there next year.

It was only a pre-season game, but the first half against Lawrence was impressive. We got out to a big lead, only to lose 17-16. Still, our first stringers outplayed Lawrence's first stringers which was what I was concerned about. Even better, Jim Hickman was 6 of 8 for an average of over 7 YPA! For the Grizzlies, that is something to write home about. The WR corps played especially well, and the running game was solid again with Jamison averaging right at 4.0 YPC.

I'll post the game log later today.

So I lied, no logs or anything, been busy.

A brief recap of the rest of the exhibition schedule. We played Little Rock at their house and won 16-0. We then played Vermont at our place and lost 29-20. They played an awful lot of their starters it appears and we held up rather well, they have an incredible offense and the fact that we lost by only 9 points considering we were playing without most of our top dogs on defense is encouraging.

The first part of our league preview came out last night. Our draft grade was a D+. Here is the quick low down:


I disagree with this assessment. True, Norton seems like a stretch, but he was the best QB on the board at 2.12, and arguably the surest QB of the bunch. Hickman was a draft gem, that I can't be expected to get every year. Backup QB is a crucial position on the team, and I needed someone I could win with. Tito Hernandez is going to play quite a bit this year. I needed someone to use as my #2 TE in 2TE sets and he is the man. He is not a great blocker, but he is extremely good in the passing game, so I can run a dual threat offense out of 2TE formations. That makes the team unpredictable, which we badly need to be. Pitman is going to be our #4 DB, but should move into the starting position provided he develops at the rate he has this off-season. I may even move him to the #3 slot. Finally, Riddick Chrebet and Dusty Forland both showed signs of improving their potential and shore up weaknesses from past years. Riddick Chrebet is a solid backup at NT, and becomes the top backup who will see some playing time immediately. Dusty Forland is a project, but he is another player that was a down the road need. He has progressed a bit, and with some seasoning will be a solid backup LT. If he booms in a few years, it will mesh perfectly with Wesley Flemming riding off into the sunset. Basically, I was happy with what we picked up since we picked up starters where we needed to (DE, TE) and added depth where we needed to (QB, DB, NT).

I was also disappointed to see that we were picked #17 in the power rankings. I was a bit surprised to see this, but we were also the #2 team in the league in deviation. I am curious to see who high we were slotted and how low our lowest was as I think we should be around #10-12. Still, we were picked for second in the division, and #8 in the conference (again, I think we should be #6 in the conference this year).

Our first game is against our arch-rival West Virginia. They are a shell of their former selves, so we will be sure to pile it on while we can. Still, their defense appears to be pretty stout, but we can hopefully pick them apart in the secondary. Their offense will be pretty anemic, so we should be able to win this game 23-10.

Game Log from Exhibition Game 2
 

This game was a pleasant surprise for a number of reasons:

1. Our run and pass blocking was very good against a very good DL.
2. Our RBs looked good, although I am still trying to figure out why our FB got 19 carries.
3. Our defense performed well and forced two fumbles.
4. The offense did not have a 4 and out until midway in the 3rd quarter.
5. We dominated the time of possession and were winning when we started putting in our backups.
6. The defense allowed no TDs until the 4th quarter, and one of those was on a broken play.

We do have two areas of concern. Our pass defense was a bit anemic, but I only had one starter playing in the secondary. On offense, we need to be more productive in the red zone.

I need to tweak the offense a bit, but this was an impressive performance for us.

2007 Exhibition Game 3
 

This game was a bit of a let down. The offense just didn't click. Check that, the OL didn't click. Now, there were a few reasons for this. First, I did not have my starting LT play at all in the game. However, Charles Overton did relatively well, he had 2 KROs and had 2 KRBs. The defense stepped up on pass coverage, but that could have been due to the quality of the QBs that were playing for Little Rock.

Good things coming out of this game:
1. The defense played extremely well, gave up too many rushing yards, but I didn't have my big guy at NT, SILB, or my good run d corners playing.
2. The completion % for both QBs was good. Hickman had a great day, except for the pick.

Bad things from this game:
1. Again, need to work on red zone offense. I didn't address it prior to this game and it shows.
2. The running game was awfully flat. Hopefully, nothing happens to Flemming this year, or we're screwed running the ball since Jamison sucks pounding it between the tackles.

It was unfortunate that we lost, but we played extremely well this game. Again, we did not play LT Flemming, but we also did not play WR Billings or Ferreira (both of whom sat last game as well). We played against Vermont's top corners who shut down much of our passing game, especially once Norton came into the game.

Good Things:
1. We faced the #2 pre-season team in the league and went toe to toe against them.
2. Our running game was incredible, even without Flemming in the lineup.
3. Hickman looked good again.
4. All of the RBs looked impressive, not just one or two.
5. The run defense looked pretty good.
6. Were leading up until Hickman went down.

Bad Things:
1. Too many drives stalled out.
2. Our pass defense was poor, against a backup QB!
3. Norton looked terrible.
4. No pass rush whatsoever.

Pre-Season Evaluation
 

Our primary concern heading into this season was upgrading the passing game. After 4 pre-season games, it appears that this is a success, especially in the games in which Ferreira plays. Turnovers were cut down, while TD production was up (for us anyway!).

The revamped OL played extremely well, except against Little Rock. With Flemming and Hartman on the field more during the regular season, this will be a feared unit in the league. Our running game should be one of the top 5 or 6 in the league.

All told, offensively we should be a much better unit than we were in the past. We should finish in the top half of the league in total yardage for the first time in team history. The key will be limiting turnovers. If we can do that, we should be able to compete for the division crown. If we don't, hello 8-8.

Defensively, not much has changed from last year. Schultz played well, but was not stellar in starting at RDE. The LB corps was solid as usual, and Boyer had a very good pre-season. He will start the season on the bench backing up WILB Danny Scott and MLB/SILB Tony Martin. The front seven should remain solid as NT Bryce Tan returns to duty this week after being inactive during the pre-season.

The secondary looked like we had a bunch of rookies and 2nd year guys playing back there. The good news is that is exactly who was playing back there. We should see a great increase in effectiveness when CB Larry Seifert (rated 91/91 in zone) and FS Steve Frausto (rated 100/100 zone) hit the field. The other good sign is that most of the passes were going over the middle against FS Myron Drain who was a rookie FA signing. That should stop with Frausto manning the area.

The big problem with the defense last year was the pass defense, where we were middle of the road. This year, we should be much improved. We are much more stout down the center of the field with Frausto taking over most of the reps from 2nd year man Dwight Jones, and the Scott Pitman/Chuck Knight platoon is an upgrade over the Lister who played RCB for much of last year. Also, we are much more flexible with our personnel this year. We can play a heavy zone defense, with FS Frausto, LCB Seifert, SS Brown, and RCB Knight, or we can play a zone/bump and run mix with FS Frausto, SS Brown, LCB Pitman/Lister, and RCB Knight. This way we can keep teams from focusing on any one area to attack us through the air.

If this team stays healthy, and if we can have a net positive in the turnover battles, we will finish 10-6.

Anyone reading this? Anything you want to see? Comments? Questions?

Bueller? Bueller?

looks good. I'm still reading

At least someone is. Wait a minute, don't we play you next week? Avert your eyes! :D

2007 Week 1 Hartford vs. West Virginia - The Plan
 

West Virginia our arch-rival in our division. The first two years in the league, they barred the door to us winning two division titles. But, we got the last laugh as we advanced in the playoffs, while they didn't.

They started rebuilding this year. They shipped off Grizzly nemesis Gerald "Colonel" Sanders to Columbia. In exchange, they have Jared Mulcahey who is a fraction of what Sanders was. While their offense has taken steps back at QB, WR, and OL, they actually upgraded at RB by drafting Nicky Kersey and Joel Duffy.

On defense, they are pretty stout. Their front seven is stout, but I think we can overwhelm them with our OL. Their seconary is another story. They are pretty good back there. They've got excellent safeties, but their corners skills do not match well, so any coverage they run, we should be able to get one guy open.

Unfortunately, there is rain in the forecast. Our plan on defense is to limit their running game. Our defense was one of the tops against the run last year, we hope to make a statement and prove that again this year. We will take our chances of Jared Mulcahey beating us.

On offense, I originally wanted to try and beat them through the air. However, with rain in the forecast, I am going to do what we've become known for the last four years.... Smashmouth football. On first down, we're going to run, on second down we'll mix it up a bit, but lean more towards running. On third down, we'll go to the air with a controlled passing game, but not quite as short as we went last year. We should be able to wear these guys down over time, and the more we grind it out, the more our superior talent up front make itself felt.

2007 Week 1 WVA at HAR - The Game
 

I was wrong in my prediction, we won 23-3 rather than 23-10. I won't complain. The game plan worked wonderfully! Stanley Jamison should have been player of the game with 120 on 28 carries. His long was only 16 yards, but I actually like that because it means that he was steady. That enabled us to dominate time of possession. I screwed up and had Royse as my #2 back instead of Martin Baker. Barker's skills are better than Royse's but I didn't put him on the depth chart. All three of my backs have excellent speed to the outside, but Baker and Jamison have better overall running skills than Royse. For those keeping track, we focus on running outside of our tackles since we have two very good players there and it complements our RBs.

The OL was incredible today. Anytime we get 14 KRBs out of the boys up front, we're going to win. It was even better since Charles Overton sat out most of this game with a sprained neck. With him coming back at full strength next week, we'll be in even better shape up front. Hartman played well though converting 75% of his KROs. Its good to know that we have a backup RT of Hartman's caliber.

Another good sign for us is that 50% of our receptions went to our WRs. Our YPC to the WRs was a respectable 11.85. Hickman only had one bad throw, we had two blocked at the line, and then two dropped.

Finally, I was a bit concerned that our 3rd down conversion rate might suffer a bit this year, but 11/17 on 3rd downs is exceptional. That means we're playing well. I'd like to cut down on the number of 3rd down situations over all, but when we're running the ball as much as we did today, we're going to see a fair amount of 3rd downs.

The defense played extremely well. We held Kersey and Duffy to under 3.7 YPC! Plus, we forced two turnovers. We only turned the ball over once, so we won that battle. The other good news for us, 16 defensive players made at least one tackle! We always play good team defense which limits our post-season awards, but leads to good results on the field. As expected, our secondary was much improved. WVA QBs were 6 of 14 for 84 yards and an INT. Two passes were defensed. Finally, each reception went to a different player, so we didn't have any one person that killed us. The only problem that I see, is that our defense did not register a sack, and we only got 3 hurries on Mulcahey. He is very good at sensing the rush and scrambling, so it might not be a huge problem.

Good start for Hartford.

I get a ticked off Vermont team next week. JOY

That will be a good game. I have to admit, I'm not shedding any tears if you drop to 0-2. That said, we're going to have our hands full with Newark. That is going to be an interesting game, we appear to be down in every area, but I think we can exploit some things.

I must admit, I'm looking forward to our matchup. I'll just hang out and listen, maybe you'll give some pointers about what you're planning on doing next week.
We've only ever played eachother once, back in 2003. Newark won at home 33-18.

I was looking at your team the other day, and you are absolutely stacked! I was trying to find a weakness, and my scout said, "You're screwed!" That, and I tend to have problems with teams that can out smashmouth us, and you guys can do that to us.

Plus, I have learned a lot about the game since then. Should be a good matchup, some of the areas where I am graded as inferior, it is not as bad as it looks, QB and DL are two areas where you are graded higher, but things are closer than they appear. I like my OL better, but you have one beast, where as my talent is a bit more spread out.

I wouldn't say that we are stacked. My OL is pretty much just average, moreso because I'm weak at RG, and my C is more geared to a passing offense. This past offseason I brought in Marasco to insure guys cannot double Robey and so that it would open up the running lanes.
I hope to make the playoffs this year, and I'm hoping that Vermont falters enough to let us in. The only way I see us making the playoffs is by winning our division and/or winning 11 games. I've got my fingers crossed

Your OL is above average, but the in game comparison is misleading because much of that is in Kao. Anything more than a 75 on the player rating is overkill. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have him, but the difference between a 75 and a 94 is much less than a 56 and a 75.

Still, I gotta hold off because I am going to say more about your team tonight!