[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Off to a good start
Opening day victory!

2091 was here and albeit feeling shaky about our chances, we had a chance to prove that 2090 was an outlier, one season for the ages in the wrong direction. The Paris Musketeers came to town and boy were they in for a beating.

The game started terribly, as our starting quarterback Moe Sheldon was sacked on the first play from scrimmage. But on Paris' ensuing drive, a sack from Clayton Jackson was followed up with a pick by Jackie Richardson and returned from midfield to inside Paris' red zone. Moe Sheldon tossed a short pass to Reggie Thongchanh and Thong' ran it in for a 15-yard touchdown catch. The bad news came right away: center Butch Pearson left the field injured and it turned out to be a a nasty shoulder injury that likely will sindeline him for the remainder of the regular season. On Paris next drive, it was Darien Fletcher making the sack that lead to another three and out. Things went bak and forth for a bit, without much success and on our fourth possession, Thong' ran for 21 yards, later followed by Sheldon finding Branden Sandlin for 32 yards and Thong' pounding it in for 3 yards out for a 14-0 lead.

Paris struck back earlier in the second quarter through rookie running back Bob Yanez. A rookie of our own then came to the spotlight in fifth round pick Clarence Gore. Our receiving tight end made catches for 19 yards, 13 yards, 9 yards and then a 36-yarder for the touchdown and 21-7 lead. Our defense kept them short again, and on our next possession, we moved fast, but the big one came at the end as Francisco Patter ran it in from 21 yards out. At 28-7, it wasn't quite over yet in the first half as Darien Fletcher picked off a pass in Paris' half and returned it into their red zone. We settled for a 33-yard field goal and a 31-7 half time lead. Or so we thought, as suddenly the Musketeers woke up and marched down field, just quick enough to score their second touchdown of the day for a 31-14 half time score.

The third quarter turned into a defensive festivity, bend but don't break style, punting on and off, until our offense finally broke the sequence. Slowly, but smoothly we moved into Paris' territory and eventually saw Francisco Patter pound it in from 3 yards out for a 38-14 lead.

The fourth quarter was all defense again. Paris eventually reached our half of the field, but eventually they had to go for it on fourth and 10 to have a shot at it, Tony Whiting got through and sacked their quarterback to change possession. Rookie Trey Beyer was thrown on the field in place of injured Francisco Patter and by his feet and the blocking of our linemen the clock got drained efficiently enough to give Francisco Farley the opportunity to knee drop to victory.

A couple of things went wrong today though. Apparently not telling the staff who to give the punt returning duties will make them fool around with which players to activate and deactivate. At quarterback Francisco Farley all of a sudden got Brandon Bell's QB2 role, while rooke Trey Beyer took over special teamer Asher Ford's RB3 role, mentor Sherman Bridges received run blocker Renaldo Crawford's active spot, but most importantly backup center Jared Labbe was activated in favor of our starting free safety Riddick Newsome.

The damage eventually was manageable. Labbe was forced into action, replacing Butch Pearson, while second-year Jon Brotzman isn't a huge stepback from Newsome. We got the job done and then some, we clearly outmatched the Musketeers today. Elsewhere in Europe, the Gothenburg Giants beat the Bordeaux Vineyards 26-14, holding #6 overall rookie quarterback Walt Czech to 124 yards passing with 2 interceptions, but with that score meaning we jump into the early division lead once again.

Standings:
1. Maassluis 1-0
2. Gothenburg 1-0
3. Bordeaux 0-1
4. Paris 0-1

Next up we will visit the reigning IHOF champion Kansas Creationists. An all pass offense (most likely) which isn't something we like to see, but with our talent and depth on defense, something we can actually cope with. I have no idea how good we can be on offense though. Yes, I've decided this is once again Moe Sheldon's offense, but by now it should be clear that I'm not hesitant to pull him in favor of Brandon Bell, although Bell's continuous lack of improvement has been a cause for concern.

Not more to say for now, we made a good start, outgained Paris by 158 yards, won the turnover battle 2-0 and had several other bright lights. Rookie tight end Clarence Gore actually lead the offense with 90 yards from scrimmage, he's off to a great start. As are we as a team for this season. Let's keep it going, Merchantmen.