[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Close, really close, but...

We choked. The football gods were 2/3rd of the way with us today, as the Harlem Apollos and Orlando Talons both lost. It created a window of opportunity for us, the Maassluis Merchantmen, to sneak into the playoffs. But to get there, we still had to beat our rivals from up North: the Gothenburg Giants.


Week 17 vs Gothenburg: 24-16 loss
After being called a 1.7 in 1,000 longshot to make the playoffs, an encouraging 4-game winning streak put us in a dependable, but eventually a win is in situation. The season on the line, the pressure was on.

Our rookie QB Harrison Singleton delivered, throwing a 40-yard catch and run pass on third and long to TE Garrett Alcala on the first possession of the game, but a bunch of plays later, he was sacked in scoring position and after he fumbled the ball, the opportunity was gone. The defense struggled and Gothenburg took a 7-0 lead on their first possession. The second drive was a thing of beauty, slowly, but steadily, we marched downfield and Singleton himself pounded it in from 2 yards out to tie it up 7-7. Then our cornerbacks fell asleep and gave up a 65-yard passing touchdown to hand Gothenburg the 14-7 lead.

We started the second quarter by pinning Gothenburg at their own 1-yard line, but their own punter delivered to not give us much of an advantage by pushing us to our 20-yard line. Another strong drive ensued, but a face mask penalty put us in third and long and we settled for a 46-yard field goal, these days a walk in the park for K Oscar Harrington. After three and out, our rookie RB Cary Delgado broke free on third and 3 for a 33-yard gain, but it got us nothing close than pushing them back. QB Harrison Singleton found TE Garrett Alcala for a 51-yard gain as we called a gung ho play and after we scored a 36-yard field goal, we were down just 14-13. Luck was on our side as the Gothenburg kickoff returned was stripped from the ball and we quickly kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 16-14 half time lead.

But as the Merchantmen defense took control of the game, with a quick interception by LB Gus Coleman, we found ourselves playing an unfamiliar kind of football, losing the field position battle to the Giants. Eventually they scored on a 39-yard field goal to take a 17-16 lead. The QB Harrison Singleton got picked off at midfield and the scare for a choke job started oozing through Oranje Haven. Gothenburg marched downfield and none other than Gus Barrymore caught the touchdown for their 24-16 lead.

Strong defense and sloppiness on the offenses then made for quite the unfancy football game. Gothenburg missed a 48-yard field goal with 7 minutes to go, keeping us still within a single score. With just over 2 minutes to go, it was still 24-16 in Gothenburg advantage and we found ourselves pinned at our own 7-yard line, already down a time out. QB Harrison Singelton kept the chains moving and on a now or never fourth down scramble, he took more risks than necessary and ended up fumbling after not sliding as he wanted to get more than just the first down. It was game over there: Gothenburg 24, Maassluis 16.

QB Harrison Singleton threw for 246 yards and ran for a touchdown. TE Garrett Alcala gained 129 yards receiving. But with his 5-2 win-loss record, what should be considered a 6-2 record, we have to believe that our 8-8 record is on the low end this season.

European Division:
1. Gothenburg 12-4
2. Maassluis 8-8
3. Bordeaux 4-11-1
4. Paris 3-13

Typically, had we swept Gothenburg, we would have won the division. But that's "would have, should have". Gothenburg was bailed out by Atlanta as they beat San Antonio in their place, gifting Gothenburg a bye week. We ended up outside the playoffs as 8-8 Harlem had tie-breakers over their division rival North Plainfield, over Orlando and over us. To be fair, in the other conference the 9-6-1 Brooklyn were left outside missing the playoffs, while even fourth place Frederick posted a 9-7 record.

Alas, we didn't make it. Do I regret not benching QB Evan Drake earlier on? No, I had reasons to believe that he was still capable of throwing the ball, but after too many struggles, it was time to move on. It was encouraging to see us come close, but in our inability to beat Gothenburg, it was too little too late. It is what it is.

We go into the 2109 off-season with the #6 and #16 overall draft picks, as well as a late 2nd rounder and the 3.1 and 4.2 picks on top of our own 2nd through 7th rounders. We're at a somewhat healthy cap situation at roughly $80M over the cap. Relatively speaking, of course. The only realistic risk is losing WR Calvin Maxwell to retirement, which would cost us at least $14M in cap space. In paper he was still our WR1, but despite 30 more targets, he gained 368 yards less than last season. We've really used him incorrectly this past season.

But if we indeed have found our QB and he's already established a sweet connection with young WR Preston Gray and the underappreciated TE Garrett Alcala, we might be a new star WR away from challenging the Giants and Tigers again in the AOC, because the defense is set.

Or maybe we still need a game planning masters to actually make these talented players play up to their potential...