General Manager Notes: Third look at the rookies: end of pre-season
Let's take yet another look at our rookies.
I'm not going to report on those that have left the facilities, flown back home to the USA and hope to get a second shot in the IHOF at some point during the upcoming 2090 season. i will mention them though.
Center Dwayne Gullett has already found a new home at the Frederick Red Menace, but it might just be short term. I have less hope for quarterback Carlton Mathews, despite his decent training camp and lack of disappointment in pre-season, but he still has the intangibles several teams look at for young players at his position. Wide recevier Griffin Iafigliola is unlucky to be around in the wrong era, although I still think he should be capable of becoming a good football player, he's got the looks of an underveloped, yet faster Branden Sandlin. It even makes you wonder why we kept Trey Samuels and George Stuckey. And then there's linebacker Ruben Caminiti. Seriously, IHOF, sign this guy, any 3-4 team not signing him just isn't really paying any attention. Defensive tackle Tyler Hanson is a tad more underdeveloped, but if given the time to develop, he can be a good pass rusher as well.
1.17 TE Clay Gaynor
Code:
rn bl XX++++____ 20/55
ps bl XXX+++++__ 30/75
bl sl XXXX______ 35
av dr X+________ 10/25
gt dw XXXXX+____ 45/60
rt rn XX++++____ 20/60
3d ct XXXXXX++__ 65/80
bg pl XXXX______ 40
coura XXXXX+____ 50/60
ad bl XX++++____ 20/50
endur XXXXXX++__ 60/75
sp tm XXXXXX++__ 60/80
To be fair, Gaynor is not ready to be a full time starter. As a result, we'll throw him out there on what should be mostly passing formations, but on running downs he's a liability. I hope he'll be good, but we won't really know until like halfway the 2091 season, I suspect.
1.19 SLB Brandon Brady
Code:
run d XXXXXX++__ 55/80
pr tc XXX+______ 30/40
pr st XXX_______ 35
mtm d XXXX++____ 45/65
zon d XXXX++____ 35/55
bnr d XXXXXXX+__ 75/85
ply d XXXXXX+++_ 55/90
p hit XXXX______ 40
endur XXXXXXX+__ 70/80
sp tm XXXXXXXX__ 80/85
Another mixed bag. Brady looks really good, but we thought even more of this kid. He'll be there on running downs, for sure, and with Espino's endurance, it wouldn't be a total waste to rotate between them on passing downs to play next to Jackson.
2.18 WR George Stuckey
Code:
av dr X++_______ 10/30
gt dw XXXXX+____ 50/65
rt rn XX+++++___ 25/70
3d ct XX++______ 25/35
bg pl XX________ 25
coura XXXXXXXX++ 80/100
ad bl X++++_____ 15/45
pnt r __________ 0
kck r __________ 0
endur XXXXXX+___ 60/75
sp tm XXXX+_____ 35/45
He's going to start the season inactive. Lack of special teams skills really hurt here. Inactive also means a season of no progress, so at some point we do need to get him out there, one way or another, to develop.
2.20 K Mark Giles
Code:
k acc XXXXXXXX__ 75/85
k pwr XXXXX+____ 55/55
ko di XXXXXXX___ 65/65
ko ht XXXXXXX___ 75/75
So he was slightly better than Wells after all. At least for now, but this is still before his very first real game. Anyway, he didn't fall apart, that's improvement from many previous highly picked kickers. And Wells was one of those, although he's actually IHOF worthy material, just not a game winner.
4.20 WR Griffin Iafigliola
Released
Yes, looking again, I'm actually convinced we should have kept him over Stuckey or Samuels. (Both, even). So it goes.
5.17 WR Trey Samuels
Code:
av dr XX+++_____ 15/50
gt dw XXXX+_____ 40/50
rt rn XX++++____ 20/60
3d ct XXXX+_____ 45/55
bg pl XXXXXX____ 55
coura XXXX+_____ 40/55
ad bl X+________ 5/15
pnt r XXXX+_____ 40/50
kck r __________ 0/0
endur __________ 0
sp tm XX+_______ 15/25
Lack of special teams skills and endurance, those are serious issues. He'll stick around, in hopes to see improvement.
5.19 DT Tyrone Hanson
Released.
6.18 QB Carlton Mathews
Released.
7.17 C Dwayne Gullett
Released.
undrafted RG Marvin Silvan
Code:
rn bl XX+++_____ 20/50
ps bl XX+++_____ 20/50
bl st X_________ 15
endur XXXXXX+___ 60/65
We kept him over veteran backup Theisen. Which was also in part a salary cap move.
undrafted MLB Brant Rayburn
Code:
run d XX+_______ 20/30
pr tc XXXX++____ 40/60
pr st XXX_______ 30
mtm d XXXX++_____ 35/50
zon d XXX+______ 30/45
bnr d XXXXX+____ 50/55
ply d X+________ 10/15
p hit XXXXXXX___ 65
endur XXXX+_____ 40/50
sp tm XXXXXXXX__ 80/80
Promising, but even now not quite there yet to see much if any action. Maybe some as a special teamer. At least he's ahead of Iveans as the fifth linebacker.
undrafted WLB Ruben Caminiti
released
Seriously league, sign this kid.
undrafted CB Adam Harmon
Code:
run d X+________ 10/15
mtm d XXX++++___ 30/65
zon d XXXXX+++++ 45/95
bnr d __________ 0
ply d __________ 0
p hit __________ 0
inter XXXX+_____ 40/55
pnt r __________ 0
kck r XXXXX_____ 45/50
endur XX+_______ 25/35
sp tm XXXXX++___ 55/65
We've got to give this kid a chance to develop. He's already survived a phone call where he was told it was over, only to have me make a 180 degree turn and keep him instead of a second kicker for just a little while. And now he's still here, making us release our nickelback from past season.
undrafted SS Chuck Murray
Code:
run d XXX++_____ 35/50
mtm d X+_______ 15/25
zon d XXXX+++___ 45/65
bnr d +_________ 5
ply d XXX+______ 30/45
p hit XXXXX_____ 50
inter XXXXXXXX__ 75/80
pnt r __________ 0
kck r __________ 0
endur X_________ 10
sp tm X+________ 15/20
This kid will also get the chance to develop. We'll throw him out there a little bit. He really resembles Alexander Marty, including the lack of endurance, forcing us to still look out for a third or even fourth safety to fill the playing time.
undrafted FS Jon Brotzman
Code:
run d __________ 0
mtm d XXX++_____ 30/50
zon d XXXXX++___ 50/70
bnr d __________ 0
ply d XXXX++____ 40/65
p hit XXX_______ 30
inter XXXXX+____ 50/60
pnt r __________ 0
kck r __________ 0
endur XXX_______ 30
sp tm XXXXXXXX+_ 80/90
Speaking of additional safeties, Brotzman also makes the active roster, hopefully as a key special teamer, but is already good enough to play dimeback.
Weird how so often we end up picking the real gems after the draft or with the late round picks, and them totally miss in the 2nd through 4th rounds. But it's usually also a sign that the team is already considered to be pretty good. It's not quite the surprise that I tried to move some of those picks. We got one out and actually failed to trade a second one, the trade offer came right after we handed in the name of our selection.
Including these 11 rookies, this means we're going into the new season with 13 new faces on the team and 40 returning players. 13 isn't actually that far off from what we usually do. 2088 was exceptional, with 23 new names, but salary cap woes were the cause for that. We followed up with just 8 new names. The lowest turnover was in the 2067 off-season with just 4 new players, but that was to be expected after our bowl victory, we really wanted to keep that bunch together. The cap hell in 2070 brought in 26 new players, that's how it goes when you do what we do: push the cap a bit too much to the future and eventually you'll get stuck in a transition season.
Anyway, this is it.
Oh yeah, we actually played those last two pre-season games. We lost 33-17 at Hanalei. Some kid named Chance Arnold scored two 50-yard field goals, as well as two short ones and three extra points. More importantly, we got outgained heavily: 417 vs 196 total yards. Yes, that was our worst showing this pre-season. But we followed up by doing the opposite with 426 vs 169 total yards, crushing the Arizona Miners 51-6. Guess who scored their two field goals? Emmett Wells, the other kicker picked in the third round and still in the league after we gave up him. Thomas Robertson is also still in the league, actually. He was our second round pick in 2084. Okay, so maybe we do pick talent, but are too picky to give them a chance to stick around. Robertson today is the second best paid kicker in the league. Quite the contrast with the past, as we spent a total of 8 draft picks in the second or third round on kickers and of the first four only Levon Elliott (2068) survived the pre-season roster cuts. Arnold and Robertson hung around for 4 season, but left as free agents, Wells was released this pre-season. But it's not like we did any better in the 4th through 7th rounds, of those 13 guys only 4 made the roster and one of them actually was drafted for a second time after we didn't offer him a rookie contract. Paul Welker (2020-2026) was the only one that hung around for more than 4 seasons, as did third round pick Elliott.
But enough about kickers. On to week one, home game against the Bordeaux Vineyards. 39-year old (what's age got to do with this? That's a fine age!) Brad Nestor is still around quarterbacking for them, their 2076 #1 overall pick. He's got a neat group of receivers, 3 of his guys got to 900+ yards last season. Their line is solid, but lacks endurance, maybe we can take advantage of that late in the game, when our rotating defensive lineman are slightly less worn out. Their defense is fine: strong linebackers, okay secondary, shaky defensive line. We should be able to handle them, especially at home.
Moe Sheldon is listed as our starter, but Brandon Bell made one hell of a statement in the last pre-season game in Oranje Haven in that 51-6 steamroller: 28 of 42 passes completed for 298 yards and 5 touchdowns without any turnovers. He got the ball in Theo's hands 10 times for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. We really have to not give up on this kid just yet, despite that he's basically plan B now. Having a (pass) defense that makes 6 sacks, 6 hurries, defends 6 passes and has 2 picks, that certainly helps too though.
So yeah, bring it on. 2090, new decade (well, technically not, xx90 is the tenth of the '81-90 decade, plus we started the league in 2004, so decades should basically run from '04 through '13 and so on), new opportunities. Merchantmen, let's get this ship sailing, full speed ahead!