[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: We're far from ready to compete
2103 isn't going all that well after all?

Two more games in the books for the Merchantmen. And boy, did we not play up to where I thought we could be, just yet. We lost 24-10 in Houston and, more painful, 34-20 at home against Bordeaux. The last one stung, because the divisional games at home are the ones you really need to win to stay in the race for the playoffs.

Against Houston the offense wasn't up to ability. In particular the passing game was underwhelming as QB Winfred England completed 21 of 45 for 212 yards. He was sacked 7 times. I repeat: he was sacked 7 times. That's just not going to help the case at all. The defense clearly wasn't up to their potential either, giving up 5.87 yards per run and, in particular unacceptable, letting a pedestrian rookie QB complete 22 of 31 passes.

Against Bordeaux, the defensive woes continued. They ran for 187 yards on us, 5.19 per carry, while the still very skilled QB Walt Czech completed 23 of 32 for 293 yards. Our pass rush was below standards, the pass defense missing in action. Quite the bummer, given that the offense actually put up a fight. It's just very rare for us to lose a game while having a 100-yard runner. QB Winfred England once again struggled to complete passes, completing 20 of 45 for 272 yards. It almost makes you think there's something in the water here that makes talented quarterbacks unable to complete more than half of their passes.

Division:
1. Gothenburg 7-2
2. Bordeaux 7-2
3. Paris 5-4
4. Maassluis 4-5

We're defensively a disaster again. We're tied 28th in points allowed, giving up the most yards of all teams. That latter doesn't always bother me, having a topnotch special teams unit (and we are one of the best) and offensive power (which we're not quite) can force opponents to need to gain more yards, but we're also 27th in yards per carry allowed, 25th in yards per pass attempt allowed and 31st in completion percentage. Our pass rush is moderate, which means it's playing below its ability.

If you think our passing game (6th in yards per game) with two top4 wide receivers is sufficient to make up for the defensive flaws, it's not. Our running game has somewhat improved, but despite that the game plan is designed to play a 50/50 run/pass variation, we're near the bottom in rushing attempts. Which is really too bad as we've improved to middle of the pack in the yards per carry department.

Next up a game in Gothenburg, which in recent years, decades almost, has become a guaranteed loss. Our last victory there was in week 17 of the 2087 season, the last one in a series of 6 straight wins there. The Giants still feel like we dominate them, but that's the reality of how the cards have shifted towards them, we're even just 5-10 in home games since that most recent victory in Gothenburg. 5-25 since then, ouch. That's beneath us.

The defense is what worries me the most, as I kind of pointed out earlier. In particular because I see a lot of talent on this unit that somehow isn't coming to life yet. DT Gabriel Morris is making good progress and combined with DT Ben Courcy, it's tempting to say that in pure talent they're sniffing at the bowl winning duo of Shaun Hartman and Preston Urquoila of the 2060s. And the linebacker foursome is a good one, with rookie ILB Gus Coleman making slow but steady progress, despite that we're not putting him out there on all kinds of downs. Maybe we should though. Or we should get even more creative as LB Micah Halvorson and DT Gabriel Morris already see a lot of action in the defensive end slots. Which might be a hidden cause for the reason why the pass rush isn't up to standards? Or are we so used to phenomenal cohesion, that I'm expecting a bit too much from this unit?

Anyway, Gothenburg up next and it'll be a huge test. I'm afraid of another big loss. We've lost too many games by more than one score so far and the victories that we had, some we're way too close for what they should have been... I'm preparing for the worst, as has become the norm for the road game in Gothenburg. I'm not really motivated to figure it out, but this could be the longest losing streak to one particular team and at a specific site be in team history.