[MIJB#19]

The 2013 Season, Lest Us Forget Asap
It's over, the season of horror. No, we didn't go 0-16, but from start to finish things were ugly. The Merchantmen defense turned into arguably the worst in the league. 4th most rushing yards allowed, 4th highest quarterback rating allowed. We were 4th worst in total yards allowed too. Did I mention we had the worst red zone defense, by far? On the bright side, we still managed to win 8 games and but there wasn't much comfort there.

At my last update, we were 7-6 and still alive for the division and the playoffs. A disappointing 38-13 loss at the Gothenburg Giants ended our European division hopes. A week later, a 20-14 win over the Williamsburg Colonials couldn't avoid the elimination from the playoffs, 9-7 was clearly not going to do it this season (any season) in the AOC. The last game was a 20-14 loss at the Bordeaux Vineyards, to our agony with their backup quarterback Earnest Barlow starting.

The most intersting news in the last few weeks was a mental problem with kickoff kicker Al Bettis. Short Al was forced into a rehab clinnic, being diagnosed with tobacco withdrawal system. More injuries hurt us, resulting in some players ending up on injured reserve and the arrival of some new players for a week or two. Running back Scottie Grey played 2 games, with 16 carries for 45 yards, rookie wide receiver Willie Bennett returned to the team as a 'practice squad' player, punter Quinn Ingram played two games as replacement for Sean Smalley and cornerback D.J. Williams received some money for being on inactive roster status.

It's over, maybe I'll get over the horror and into writing a longer season review, but for now, I'd like to turn the black page and get into the off-season mood. Why? We didn't suffer a series of retirements, we've got cap room and we've still got our own first round pick! There isn't much reason to expect we'll get past the Bordeaux Vineyards, who reached the AOC championship game. We do hope to make the playoffs and end up in Futility Bowl IX against the defending IHOF champions. That's right, Merchantmen fans, the team y'all root for when we're out of it, the Rochester Lake Monsters defeated the Chesapeake Chitterlings in IHOF Bowl X!

2014, here we come.