[MIJB#19]

Roscoe Corrales Is The Sure Thing In Maassluis
It's summer 2007. The teams in the IHOF are preparing for training camp. Most of the teams have filled out the 53 roster spots and 7 pre-season additional slots. For training camp, teams may hire another 10 players. Usually it means there will be exciting positional battles. The Maassluis Merchantmen already hired 70 men and have a lot of these battles set up. But one player has no reason to fear for his job. Roscoe Corrales is the one sure thing for 2007.

Roscoe Corrales? I see you watching in amazement, have the Merchantmen traded in a new player? No, not at all, Corrales is the Merchantmen's all-time punter. The Merchantmen even opted to draft or sign a new punter, but the fans seem to love Corrales. In a recent poll, Corrales was a top ten name for most popular Merchantmen football player. And then we haven't even looked at his stats.

86 punts, 3,411 yards. That's an average of 39.6 per punt in 2007. The expert sees these are not the most overwhelming stats, but Corrales' trade isn't the length of his kick or the precission of kicks (Corrales had 28 In20 kicks.) Corrales used to have the best hang time in the IHOF and it paid of in the 2007 season. Of the 86 punts, only 22 were returned for a total of 122 yards. In 12 of 16 games, the Merchantmen allowed less than 10 yards returned.

Cody Cluff, the Merchantmen's middle linebacker and gunner, praises Corrales: "It's easy with Roscoe. You see the snap, Roscoe gets the ball, he kicks and the ball vanishes from sight. When the returner finally gets the ball, Mike [Kershner] and I can pile up on the returner." Long snapper Charlie Martins adds: "Roscoe is so good, even if the snap goes wrong, Roscoe saves the day with a big punt."

In recent history, the Merchantmen have taken more and more time to build a good special teams unit. Just take a look at the 2006 roster, quarterback Mel Atkins, tight end Charlies Martins, wide receiver Matt Offord and kicker Al Bettis wouldn't have the roster at their own positions. Atkins is an excellent holder, Martins provides outstanding lonsnapping, Offord returns punts and Bettis is one of the best kickoff kickers in the league. Some people in the Merchantmen organization even claim that the 8-8 record in 2006 was based on good special teams.

"It's a sign, the offense and defense can rank in the bottom third of the league, in both passing and running, but the overall performance was one of an average team," Corrales himself is proud on the movement. "In Maassluis, special teams are a real part of the team. Maybe the drafting of Alvin Ladner hurt the confidence in Cary [Coles], but at least they show they care. And look at the addition of Jerry Beyer and Emanuel Jennings, it seems the team learned from the mistake to release Lonnie O'Reilley last season."

Lonnie O'Reilley, remember that name? During the amazing 2005 campaign, O'Reilley was the number three receiver, punt returner and reserve kickoff returner. He had 30 receptions for 357 yards and even started in 4 games. But then, just before the 2006 regular season, the Merchantmen played the numbers game wrong and made Lonnie O'Reilley their last casualty. General manager M.IJ.B. called it the toughest decission in his career in the IHOF. O'Reilley was bitter, but didn't sign anywhere else and is sadly out of football.

"We tried to stay in touch with Lonnie," Corrales says, "but he was too bitter to even return phone calles. Granted, the management had been advertising as the second coming of Mouse Tail Perry [Famous undrafted Fort Worth wide receiver], but out of nowhere he's without a job." Punt returner Matt Offord was mostly affected by it. The fans called him out for being O'Reilley's replacement. Lucky for him, Offord returned one of his punt for 88 yards and the touchdown in the second game of the season.

In 2007 the Merchantmen will again rely on the duties of the special teams players. Mel Atkins will return as holder, Charlie Martins does the long snapping, Al Bettis makes the kickoffs, but Matt Offord isn't even safe to make it. Rookie Jerry Beyer is said to be a punt return specialist himself and another newby, Emanuel Jennings can return both punts and kickoffs. With Devin Henson for kickoffs and the placekickers Alvin Ladner and Cary Coles battling it out.

The special teams unit is improved, again. There should be more good things coming from the once worst team of the league. With the addition of Ivan Jacques, the non-departure of Tai Wayne, the amaizing draft class and the improvement for Louie Flannery, a winning record isn't impossible at all. But you've got to be careful what you say. There's still only one sure thing in Maassluis: Roscoe Corrales will be punting.