[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: goodbye Harrison Singleton and Bart Tanner
In the 2120 off-season, we had to make the tough decisions to release QB Harrison Singleton and QB Bart Tanner. Both were on our team a long time and were our starting quarterback for many seasons. Fun to watch players, with the awareness and speed to extend drives with their running skills. And both had their ups and downs with us. Let's give them each one last shout out.


QB Harrison Singleton
In the 2108 draft, after the selection of LT Earl McBirney, DE Frank Bernard, DT Efrain Hutchins and LB Caiden Hastings all within the top 36 picks of the draft, at pick #37 the Maassluis Merchantmen selected QB Harrison Singleton. An agile and fast player with enough arm strength to also throw the ball downfield. The plan was to bring him slowly behind QB Evan Drake, but once injuries and lack of performance hurt Drake, Singelton received the keys and guided the team to a 5-2 record as a starter.
The 2109 season saw Singleton build on it, throwing for 25 touchdowns versus 6 interceptions in a 9-7 campaign, he earned All-IHOF Second team honors, the first Merchantmen quarterback to ever get recognition as a top2 quarterback in the league.
In 2110 the progress continued in the win-loss part of things, as Singleton guided his team to a 12-4 playoffs reaching record and earning his first playoffs win, a 22-6 victory at the Harlem Apollos. That season ended with a 21-34 loss at Gothenburg.
In 2111 the woes started with an uncharacterstic 22 interceptions whilst also throwing for an (eventual) career high 3,862 yards. The 6-10 record was a major letdown.
In 2112 a 9-game winning streak with Singleton under center saw the Merchantmen thrive, but a career altering knee injury took him out in week 16.
After spending the 2113 season still recovering and waiting for his return that didn't come, his comeback came after all in 2114. But after 6 games with no less than 10 interceptions thrown, it was clear he wasn't the same and the team moved on to Bart Tanner as the new starter.
In 2115 injury to Tanner brought Singleton back to the front and the Merchantmen managed to go 5-0 when Singelton was on the field. It was just enough action to get Singleton willing enough to stick around.
He hung around as the backup for 3 more seasons and the inactive third choice in 2119, but in the 2120 off-season an overhaul of the quarterback position was also cause for release of Singleton.
His career in Maassluis and the IHOF ended after 88 regular season games, with 17,606 yards passing, 111 touchdowns, 83 interceptions, 2,811 yards rushing and 19 rushing touchdowns. Singelton also played in 3 playoffs games. His career ended with a 47-33 win-loss record.

QB Bart Tanner
A 4th round pick in 2112, Tanner was initially picked to be the backup to Harrison Singelton. Then regarded as the best fit as the understudy, the Merchantmen felt it was one of the steals of the draft. Due to injuries for Singleton, Tanner already got to start twice as a rookie, but with the first one being a 5-interception game, expectations were somewhat dampened.
In 2113 the Merchantmen signed QB Dakota Peterson to fill in for the injured Singleton, but as Peterson struggled to mimic Singleton's performance, Tanner took over in week 8 and despite struggling to guide the team to wins, it was clear that Tanner was the alternate from there on.
In 2114 it became clear that Singleton was less agile and speedy. As a result, Tanner took over, guiding the Merchantmen to a 8-2 record (when starting) and a playoffs spot, but also a depressing 6-34 loss at Tucker in the playoffs.
Despite now promoted to the clear starting role, in 2115 the good vibes looked gone and Tanner threw more interceptions than touchdowns in 13 games, going 5-8 as a starter.
Then Tanner bounced back strong in 2116, leading the Merchantmen to the playoffs in his first 16-start season with 4,210 yards passing and 24 touchdowns versus 13 interceptions. The wild card round loss in Gothenburg was enough inspiration to keep improving.
Although, improvement wasn't the right word in 2117 as Tanner struggled with 23 interceptions, yet he also threw for 4,388 yards and 25 touchdowns, and with a 10-6 record, the Merchantmen snuck into the division title, surprised with a convincing win over Augusta and played a close game against the powerhouse Toronto Lake Monsters.
Despite improving to 4,422 and 4,692 passing yards in the next two seasons, the Merchantmen struggled and eventually blamed Tanner for it. Especially the 0-8 start to the 2119 season threw his win-loss record to below .500.
Tanner was cut in the 2120 off-season to make cap room for the arrival of QB Renaldo Wilson. The Merchantmen could have capped out Tanner to keep him as a backup, but chose not to. After not getting a call from another team, Tanner decided to call it a game.
Tanner finished with 26,056 yards passing with 157 touchdowns and 133 interceptions, whilst rushing for 2,666 yards and 13 touchdowns. He played in 104 regular season games and 5 playoffs games, finishing with a 51-53-1 record as a starter.