[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Yes!
Back on top: division title secured!

Remember the 2078 season? You know the one, if you're a true fan, that season where we signed quarterback Bennett Morris for a season (I'm still disappointed he bailed on us after that one season) and picked Walt Blair (a running back of all positions, a kid that missed 6 games due to injuries and we let walk away after 4 seasons) in the first round. It was a fun season, because the offense was clicking (we were 2nd in scoring) and the defense was doing just enough to get us to an 11-5 record, our season ended in the conference championship game. Technically, we improved in 2079, Ellis McAlister's first season as a starter, with a 12-4 record, but it didn't feel as special.

It's early, but this season is starting to feel similar. Sure, we've got a great bunch of guys, that state of the art wide receiver in Theodore Bondy, a ditto future hall of fame cornerback in Kirk Hitchcock, perhaps our most talented offensive line ever, but more specifically a defense that's playing top of the league defense. It will take two serious beatings in the last two games to drop from the status of #1 in least points allowed.

Stop, wait, why are we looking to the big picture? Wasn't today, week 15, the game of the season? Why yes, it was supposed to be and it turned it to be the game where we secured the division title and a bye week as a bonus. The Gothenburg Giants came to Maassluis, a stingy defense, with an offense that in recent seasons somehow always plays above their standards against us, especially running back Jack Crane.

First quarter, first possession for Gothenburg. We manage to hold Jack Crane short and despite that they managed to reach midfield, we forced them to punt. Our first possession and things went, well, different from what we're used to. First, Moe Sheldon runs for 15 yards on third and long to move the chains, then he completes a 19-yard pass to run blocker Jeffery Blake and then on third and one Francisco Patter gets the ball and breaks out for 18 yards. George Stuckey then makes a 13-yard catch and although a sack forces us to kick the 31-yard field goal, the first signal was there: we were ready to beat that defense. Gothenburg reaches midfield again on their second drive, but Reggie Thongchanh does his punt return magic again with a 26-yarder to even things a bit. We're forced to punt quickly though, and then, when we least expect it, Mercury Pierece sees an opening in our defense, makes a deep throw to one of his receivers and he breaks away for a 61-yard touchdown. Gothenburg's 7-3 lead was there. Our reply? Moe Sheldon to rookie Clarence Gore for 43 yards to quickly move into their half of the field. Thongchang then runs for 16 yards, Patter for 15 yards, but a sack by Heath Oliver of all people (oh boy, was it a sad day when we had to let him go) breaks our stellar drive.

We get forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal and trailing 7-6, is this going to be another one of those games where we kick too much? The Giants first play in the second quarter: a 23-yard pass. later on in their drive, they convert on third and seven and then Jack Crane breaks away for a 31-yard reception. A tremendous goal line stand pushes them back, Gene Kondovski finally made a crucial sack, the man of $5M per sack, we're happy to see them kick the 30-yard field goal. Moe Sheldon then finds Theo Bondy on a triplet of short gains, while the Patter-Thongchanh tandem keeps the drive alive, all setting up Clarence Gore's drive anchoring 19-yard reception. Again, we settle for three points, but at 10-9 down, it's all still a game. No three and out on Gothenburg's next drive, it becomes three and picked off as free safety Riddick Newsome (so glad we kept this old guy around!) on a very deep throw. A couple of three and outs come next, but as we get one more possession before half time, our rookie revelation Clarence Gore makes a triple of big catches to reach their half and helped by a holding penalty, we get to see Mark Giles do the unthinkable: convert a 54-yard field goal to take a 12-10 lead.

The second half begins not so great for our offense as Moe Sheldon goes on a typical short scramble and Theodore Bondy let yet another third down catch slip through his fingers. But after three and out by our defense, the Clarence Gore show continues with a 14-yard catch to eventually see us punt, but at least start winning the field position battle. The start feeding it to Jack Crane more and more, but as we stuff him on second down, on third and pretty short we can afford to let him gain just half the distance to the first down. Theodore Bondy then does make a crucial third down catch and two plays later, Clarence Gore turns a screen pass into a 20-yard gain. Branden Sandlin makes a key third down catch, Bondy a 15-yard catch to reach the red zone and finally it's Sheldon to Gore for the touchdown and a 19-10 lead. The defense continues to get stronger, stuffing Crane for a 4-yard loss and then Andy Russell sacks Mercury Pierce on third and long to end the third quarter.

Our offense starts getting better and better, with Reggie Thongchanh and Francisco Patter splitting the good carries and Thongchanh also accounting for a 21-yard catch to burst into Gothenburg turf. George Stuckey then makes a nice 12-yard catch to help set up a 35-yard field goal for a 22-10 lead. Gothenburg responds with one of their stronger drives of the game, having their backup running back run for 27 yards, then seeing Mercury Pierce complete a 23-yard pass. A couple of penalties doesn't seem to hurt them, but on fourth down from our 40-yard line they go for it and Andy Russell blocks the pass to change possession. As we try to consolidate the 22-10 lead, we run on third and short, but see Patter fumble the ball and Heath Oliver recovers it at their 47-yard line. On the very next play, Archie Exner makes a strip sack, but the Giants recover the ball to avoid back to back turnovers. With a couple of 19-yard darts and an 11-yarder, they then quickly steamroll into our red zone. The touchdown becomes a reality 3 plays later, meaning we're still leading, but now 22-17 and Gothenburg will have roughly 3 minutes, which could be plenty if they can get the ball back quickly. An 8-yard pass to Stuckey to move the chains burns their second time out and around that play two runs take away the other ones. After the two-minute warning, Francisco Patter gets the ball one more time on a third and short situation and with a smooth 7-yard run he secures the 22-17 victory and the division title!

Division Standings
1. Maassluis 10-3-1
2. Paris 8-6
3. Gothenburg 6-7-1
4. Bordeaux 4-10

The Tucker Tigers secured the Southeast division, improving to 12-4, which means we're technically still in the race for the #1 seed, but will need to see them drop both of their remaining games, while we need to win both remaining road games. The other two division leaders in the AOC are more than 2 wins behind us, which means we've claimed a bye week already.

Moe Sheldon threw for 315 yards, with 1 touchdown and thankfully stayed away from the turnovers. Clarence Gore made 8 catches for 145 yards and 1 touchdown. Who would have thought we'd find our new WR2 at the tight end position with a fifth round pick? I bet nobody did, not even the miracle drafter running the Hanalei Dragons franchise.

Securing not just the division title, but also the bye week, means it's very tempting to make some changes to the starting lineups. The obvious changes will be made for sure: dinged up players like Butch Pearson, Howard Humphrey and Brandon Brady will be benched or even made inactive. These are the no-brainers.

Second in line will be a consideration to give an additional 2 weeks off (they better not get rusty!) to our old cornerback duo of Hitchcock and Richardson, our all-time receiving leader Theodore Bondy, our main ball carrier Thongchanh (sorry for then missing the chance to break the single season punt return yard record) and most notably inactivating Moe Sheldon, our breakout quarterback. In his tenth season in the league, he's finally living up to his "one of the most careful quarterbacks" reputation, with 24 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in 14 games for 457 pass attempts.

A couple of guys will definitely not get benched, we're going to give our rookies all the playing time they could use and although we have no really intentions or desire to boost any individual statistics and honors, it will give Clarence Gore a chance to show all those fancy first round wide receivers from his draft class that it's not always about being a high first round pick.

#2 pick Samuel Mustard bombed for Chicago, he's been inactive all season
#3 pick Norm Clements already has 93 catches for 1,010 yards for Arizona
#4 pick Bryson Zimmerman played in only 7 games so far, gaining just 305 yards
#7 pick Julian Franklin so far has 25 catches for 216 yards for Rochester
#10 pick Alan Kingsley has 51 catches for 454 yards for Atlanta
#12 pick Tristan Powell has 64 catches for 718 yards for Hanalei
#16 pick Elijah Sabol has 59 catches for 511 yards for Orlando
#27 pick Bryant Lake has 9 catches for 79 yards for San Antonio
#31 pick Nicholas Robinson is starting for Tucker, but has 1 catch for 18 yards

Yes, our own second round wide receiver Rickey Lyle has been active in only 6 games and has gotten 0 looks so far. But fifth round pick Clarence Gore has been a surprise, being the second most productive rookie with 68 catches for 796 yards, sitting just ahead of Powell and only behind Clements. His 7 receiving touchdowns are actually the highest amongst all rookies. He does trail Paris' running back Bob Yanez in total touchdowns though.

But most of all, Gore has made tremendous progress and has proven to be the alternate to Bondy that he's been missing for so long. It hasn't just helped Bondy improve to a career high 8.75 yards per target, but at the same time has made Moe Sheldon turn from 'just a starter' to a potential pro bowler.

So, what's next? Two more games in Iowa and Paris. Surely we hope to win, we hope to see very eager youngsters gel with healthy veterans. Finishing the regular season with a 12-3-1 record would be nice, but 10-5-1 would, given the situation now, be acceptable. Once before have we finished a season 10-5-1 before. It was the season Shaun "The Behemoth" Hartman lifted our first IHOF Bowl trophy. We hope to repeat history...