[MIJB#19]

Scouting The Competiton: European Division Rivals
The International House Of Football is heading for the start of the 2007 season. Going into the last pre-season games it is a good timing to scout the three division rivals of the Maassluis Merchantmen. The Bordeaux Vineyards, Gothenburg Giants and Paris Musketeers all made interesting moves this off-season to improve their teams for 2007 and the future. So, what happened and what do they look like in 2007?



Bordeaux Vineyards

Schedule:
Week 10 at Maassluis
Week 17 vs. Maassluis

Quarterback:
Joe Johnson will lead the Vineyards offense for the fourth year in a row. Johnson is all around good and developed, except that his timing is bad and he's better in throwing longer that short passes. With only 5 interceptions in the 2006 season, Johnson made a strong case for being the best quarterback in Europe. For the future, the Vineyards drafted Earnest Barlow in the first round of the draft. Barlow has good potential all over and will be third string behind mentor Victor Whyte.

Offensive Weapons:
Bordeaux acquired All IHOF Second Team Running Back Gerald Harris to be the new star in town. Harris posted 1,000 yard seasons in all of the previous three season, although his yards per carry figure dropped to 3.2 in 2006. Harris will also be a great second option in the passing game, behind the retained wide receiver Toby Williams. Williams has the tendency to drop accurate passes and is fumble prone, but his yardage figures are of a great receiver. And you'd almost forget they still have 11,000-yard runner Rashad Burse to backup Harris, even though Burse's prime time (2005) looks decades ago. Burse might even not make the regular season 53-men roster.

Defensive Front:
The most familiar name to Merchantmen fans is defensive end Harold Wells as he played in Maassluis during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Wells has grown into being an elite pass rusher and he's also an excellent supporter for the run defense. Playing side by side is defensive tackle Joey Hammer, who can stop the run and saw his sacks figure increase with the help of Wells. Behind the two linemen, the Vineyards have a bunch of decent linebackers. Jacinto Moore and Calvin Newton are overall very good players and with all-round Chris Ruelas and run stopper Nicholas Seymour on the sides, they should be a good team.

Secondary:
Orlando Gragg and Jared Arteaga are useful cornerbacks, but it's safety Cecil McIver who's the star of the group. McIver is an amazing football player who can do it all, except make the occasional interception. Although, that was a concern of the past seasons, in 2006 he recorded four picks with one returned for a score. Still, if there's one postion where teams should exploit the Vineyards' defense, it's the safety position.

Special Teams:
Scot Guilen is a useful punter, while Paul Fabrizio in talent looks like an awesome kicker. But over time, Fabrizio showed some serious problems with scoring, as he missed 19 of 57 field goals attempts the past two seasons. Toby Williams is a top punt returner, yet he's fumble prone. Bordeaux lacks a stud kickoff returner and, although they've been looking for one, they haven't found one yet. Maybe rookie cornerback Maurice Firsch turns out to be the solution there, if he ever get's the opportunity.



Gothenburg Giants

Schedule:
Week 11 vs. Maassluis
Week 15 at Maassluis

Quarterback:
Duane Davis was the top rated quarterback for the first half of the 2006 season. As soon as Davis' play dropped, the Giants started losing games. Davis still has the problem of not being able to read defenses but makes up with his talent in other areas. With the addition of Lionel Helfrich, the Giants expect to have a backup plan if Davis would get hurt.

Offensive Weapons:
Cecil Maxwell ran for 1,205 yards in 2006, but nevertheless the Giants acquired Nicolas Dutra from Anaheim to take over. Dutra has been backing up 2005 first rounder Kurt Basso for two years and the Giants give him a shot at starting. Maxwell is the more elusive guy, while Dutra has more power and ability to see the holes in the defense. With the hiring of tight end Saul Delgado, the Giants have a legimite star receiver to accompany wide outs Dominick Nemeth and William Walker.

Defensive Front:
Lloyd Pedersen and David Millard form a good duo defensive ends to be good pass rushing sidekicks of big name defensive tackle Chris Nagel. Behind them, a bunch of outstanding linebackers try to stop opposing offenses on every play. Steven Marshall is all-round one of the best linebackers in the league, George Runion is an elite run stopper and Hubert Cox and Andrew McDaniel are super guys to have on the outside. Recent addition Jesse Davis provides a bit of depth.

Secondary:
Wanna see a shutdown cornerback? Don't look further, the Giants' Harley Gowan is one of the best examples. With 19 interceptions in the past two seasons, Gowan also threatens the opposing quarterbacks for bigger problems. Dario Velasco is the decent other corner and Rod Frizzell is the run stopping strong safety. Chris Peterson is another run stopping safety.

Special Teams:
Punter Darell Allen is a decent play, while kicker Damien Deming has a strong but not so accurate leg. With William Walker, the Giants have one of the very best punt returners and with Nicolas Dutra they added a second specialist. Russell Eberhart is the kickoff returner, but he's not an elite returner at all fumbles a bit too easy.



Paris Musketeers

Schedule:
Week 1 at Maassluis
Week 8 vs. Maassluis

Quarterback:
E.G. 'The Great' Lumpkin is the new name. After Fabian Parker, 'Super' Mario Hudson was the second quarterback victimized by Paris. Lumpkin is a bit prone to interceptions, but is otherwise a talented passer. Lawrence Watters is the likely number two, but he lacks experience and the true skills to be reliable in case of injury.

Offensive Weapons:
Maybe he's not the most talented running back, but Joe Boulware ran for almost 1,400 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. With Henry Gayle the have a good #3 wide receiver behind long-gains Myron Sperling and the recently acquired 2005 #1 pick Tyrus Shaye. With Shaye, Paris should make a big move forward with their passing game.

Defensive Front:
As always, Paris' weakness is the defensive line. Former Merchantmen end Scot Dick is the new guyin town to start opposite 2006 first round pick Grady Kramer, if Kramer still has the confidence of the management. Parker Jones is the runs stopping and pass rush supporting defensive tackle that every team could use. At linebacker, Foster Sokol is the big guy, but other than him Paris has no real studs talentwise. But then, both Devin Rodarte and Paul Dunkle posted 100-tackle seasons in the past.

Secondary:
Cornerback Steven Randall is a guy every offense should fear. Randall runs all over the field to cover his man and support the defense where needed. Edward Boatwright and Jason Pink are the very good safeties who can do a bit of it all. Who the second corerback is depends on the system a bit. Michael Truitt is a bump and run expert, but Casey Bush has more potential, especially as an interceptions specialist.

Special Teams:
Keith Horne is the all word punter who should help Paris out for the next ten years. The second year player already developed into being the best player at his position. He can punt both long punts and the in-twenties. Joshua Hunt is the kicker, but rumors are that Horne will do kicking duties as well. Hunt has an accurate leg, but not as powerful as Horne. Myron Sperling is a good return specialist in both punts and kickoffs, Henry Gayle can be a good alternate for kickoffs, Randall Smith is the punt return alternate.



Overall, the Merchantmen management thinks that Bordeaux will be back strong to defend the division title, while Gothenburg and Paris improved a lot the past off-season. As the Merchantmen roster saw little improvement, expectations are that a third place is again realistic, even though the progress of past seasons should call for a longer stay in the race for the playoff tickets in 2007. But with a stronger Paris and Gothenburg, two wins inside the division would, again, be the 'on par' performance. The victory total will have to come on out of division home games and winnable road games, of which there are very few.